Chapter 1 – Research

When I woke up, I was in a complete daze. What happened to me? I stood up and I was looking up at the night sky. There were hundreds of stars and I could see them so clearly. I inhaled and the action felt weird. The air didn't comfort me. I cupped my throat and it so very dry, that it burned. I looked at my hands and they were pale. I let my hands graze down my body. It felt hard and smooth. Was that normal? I continued breathing, feeling the cool air swirl in my body. As my hands appraised my body, I saw a plastic band around my wrist. It was some for of identification: Isabella. Was that my name? It had to be. I couldn't remember. I looked down and saw I was wearing a hospital gown. I looked around; where was I? I began walking across the field, into some trees. Hopefully, there was a town where someone could help me.

As I walked, I tried to remember how I ended up here, wherever I was. My memory was very hazy and clouded. As I walked, I came across something. I looked around, sniffing at the wind. I felt the impulse to protect myself, but how could I? I was a girl lost in the forest, alone and I had no idea where I was. "Are you lost?" a voice came from behind me. I spun around and saw a lean woman coming towards me. She had straight, silvery blond hair and her skin was as pale as mine was. She approached me slowly, "Are you hurt?" My eyes widened in fear. I shook my head, "No." The woman came towards me, "How did you get here?" I bit my lip and that felt wrong. My teeth felt so sharp against my hard lip, "I don't know. I just woke up in that field," I pointed it out. She looked over her shoulder, then back at me, "What's your name?" I made I face, "I'm not sure." I held out my wrist, "This says Isabella." She further examined the band, "Hmm, someone just left your first name on it."

I smiled sheepishly, "Alright. What is your name?" She smiled at me, "Irina." She looked down at my wrist, "This band is definitely from a hospital, but it doesn't say where." She looked up at me, "Do you know where you are?" I shook my head. Irina looked at me, "Quebec." My eyes widened, "What am I doing here?" I had a feeling I didn't belong here. I looked around myself, breathing erratically, "Why am I here? What's happen to me?" Irina tried to calm me, "Isabella, I will help you." I bit my lip and quickly wrapped my arms around her, "Thank you."

Irina chuckled and wriggled in my arms, "Don't worry about it. But, oww…" I looked up at her and pulled away my arms, "I'm sorry." She smiled, "You said you just woke up, right?" I nodded, "Yes." The burn in my throat increased. "Do you have anything to drink? My throat feels so dry." Irina sighed, "Honey, only one thing will help with that. You need to hunt." My eyes furrowed, "Hunt? Why would I have to do that?" Irina made a face, "Isabella, I don't know how to tell you this, but….." "Yes?" I prompted. "You're a vampire now." My eyes widened and I stepped back, "A what? Vampires don't exist." Irina gritted her teeth, "Yes, we do exist. I've been alive for more than 500 years." My mouth fell open, "What?" She shrugged, "And you are a newborn vampire. You need to hunt."

I looked away from her, "So I have to drink human blood?" She smiled, "I don't. I drink the blood of animals." I looked up at her, "Can I do that? I don't want to hurt people." She smiled, "Of course. I'll teach you. Come on," she took my hand and guided me through the woods. "Once we're done, you'll feel a lot better." "Thank you, Irina." She smiled at me, and her eyes fell on my clothes. She grimaced, "Then I'm taking you to get some clothes." I giggled, "That'd be great."

After hunting Irina, I did feel a lot better. She showed me to hunt and follow my instincts. I took down a giant moose and a bear. I preferred the bear. It had more fight in it. Irina took me to her small cottage in the woods and she lent me some clothes. "Go to the bathroom and clean the mud off. You made quite a mess of yourself." I groaned, "I'm sorry." She smiled at me, "Don't be. You're young. We'll just work on your fine tuning when you take down your prey." I giggled and went to clean myself up. Looking into the mirror, this was the first time I saw my face. I was beautiful. My hair was long, down to my waist, dark and had curls at the end. My lips were full. Looking closer, I noticed the top lip didn't exactly match the bottom. My eyes were so red that they were crimson. Irina explained that the blood of animals would change my eyes to gold, and when I was thirsty, my eyes would become black.

I cleaned the leaves, twigs and dirt out of my hair and off my skin. Irina explained to me the true legends of vampires; we don't sleep in coffins, burn in the sun or change into bats. Irina explained to me about our natural enemies, how we are truly killed and the laws set by the Volturi. No immortal children, no newborn armies or exposing our secrets to humans. She explained to me about her family and their history. Her mother, Sasha; I saw it pained Irina to talk about her; created her and her two sisters, Kate and Tanya. She told me her mother created an immortal child, Vasilii. They were destroyed by the Volturi, but her and her sisters were spared because of their innocence. Being with Irina, I tried to not ask about her mother. "What were doing away from your family?" She made a face, "A friend of mine went missing and I was searching for him. I found out he was destroyed by some wolves." I gasped, "Oh. Irina, I'm sorry."

She patted my knee, "Yea. I wanted to hunt the wolves myself, but I knew I would need some help." That made me nervous. I didn't want to go up against the beasts that were our natural enemy. "Irina, I know I just met you, but I don't want you to hurt yourself to avenge your friend." She looked at me, "Isabella, I really cared about him." "I understand that, but would he want you to hurt yourself for him?" She nodded in agreement. "Besides, if he couldn't escape those monsters, he wouldn't want you to do it. Besides, you're my first friend. I don't want to lose you." She smiled brightly, "You're right. You're very young and you will need guidance. For you, Isabella, I'll stay."

Staying with Irina, I learned much about my own abilities as a newborn vampire. Our days were spent reading, running, shopping and we spent our nights talking. She told me about her sisters and brother in Alaska. Her family had lived in Alaska for more than a century. "Tanya, Kate and my conquests were getting human men. They were so enchanted by our looks, they gave into anything we wanted and I do mean anything," she smirked. I giggled, "You've been with human men?" She nodded, "Yea, they're fun. Have you…..?" She trailed off and I shrugged, "I don't know." I bit my lip, "I don't think so." I truly did not remember anything from my human life. "Well, I think we should start researching on who you were," Irina suggested. We began looking up hospitals in the area, but none of them had any missing patients. "Isabella, what else do you remember?" Closing my eye, I tried to recall. "My memories are hazy, but I remember lying in a hospital bed. I was alone, when a woman with red hair came into the room. She said she was going to help me. Then…. I fell asleep. And…." my eyes whirled back and forth, "Then I woke up here." "Hmmm," Irina deliberated. "Well, we could do more research on missing hospital patients." We exhausted as much resources as we could to find out about my past, but nothing helped. Irina spent more than a year, with no success. With each failure, I became more wary that we would never find out who I was.

Irina lived in a small cottage in the middle of the forest, so she did not have many electronics. "Ohhh," her face suddenly lit up, "I know. We could go see Aro." I stared at her, "Of the Volturi? Why would we do that?" She held my hands and sat with me on the couch, "Because of his ability. With one touch, Aro is able to see every memory, hear every thought and see every idea you have ever had." I couldn't fight the smile on my lips, "Really? Do you think he will be willing to help us?" Irina shrugged, "It couldn't hurt to ask." Irina and I immediately began our plans to travel to Italy. She had to have false paperwork made for me, including a passport, driver's license, social security card and birth certificate. Within a month, Irina and I were flying out to Volterra.