The night was humid and rainy as a yellow cab drove through the small town of Bon Temps. The only noise coming from its two occupants and the drive was the quiet sniffling of a crying child. A blond haired woman sat fidgeting in her seat as the vehicle drove down the familiar streets of the town she grew up in. She glanced down at the child sitting beside her, a little girl with matching blond hair, although a shade lighter than her own.

The little girl sat beside the older woman clutching a stuffed doll and sniffling every once in awhile. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, clearly in distress and uncertain what was happening and why she was so far from home. Soon enough the cab slowed to a stop in front of a white two story house. The home was unfamiliar to the little girl, but the woman clearly recognized the the home.

"Keep the engine running." The blond haired woman told the cab driver as she gathered her daughter into her arms and opened the car door.

"Mama, where are we?" The women looked down at her five year old daughter and cringed at the sight of the child's eyes. Those deep grey eyes were the spitting image of the girls father. The sight of them made the woman sick to her stomach.

"Sweetie, I want you to listen closely to Mommy." The woman kneeled down so she was eye to eye with the little girl. "I need you to behave for your Gran and give her the note I gave you earlier. Don't go causing her any problems."

"I want to go home." The little girl whispered out and clutched her stuffed doll to her chest. Her mother only glared at her words before firmly taking her little girl by the shoulders.

"That wasn't a home, Anna. This is a far safer place for you to be. Trust your Mommy." The woman then stood and knocked on the door rapidly, hoping its occupants would hear her. She then noticed the lights turn on inside, and without looking back at her child, she rushed to the cab. Mud was sent flying as the car drove off into the night, leaving a little girl on a stranger's doorstep.

Frantic knocking woke Adele Stackhouse from her peaceful sleep. Quickly donning on a robe over her night gown, the older women rushed from her room and down the stairs, turning on lights as she went. The sound of a car driving off in the rain was heard as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Gran, who's at the door?" Adele heard her granddaughter ask, she too having been woken up by the noise.

"I don't know." Adele answered as she looked out the window on the front door and saw nothing but the fading brake lights of a car as it drove off. Cautiously Adele opened the door and looked out onto the porch and gasped at the sight she was met with. A little blond haired girl stood before her, tears running down her face as she clutched a doll to her chest. She was a tiny thing and had clearly been left their for some reason.

"Oh my God. Come here child." Without question Adele Stackhouse ushered the small girl into the dry house.

Anna sniffled and shook as the old woman pulled her into the house. She was scared and alone in a house with strangers. A gasp was heard from the stairs and a much younger woman stood in shock at the little girl.

"Sookie, go grab a towel. She must have been caught in the rain, the poor thing is all wet." Adele ordered her granddaughter as she tended to the unexpected guest. The little girl was quite as Adele moved her into the kitchen and had her sit on one of the chairs.

"Here Gran." Sookie came into the kitchen with a fluffy white towel. Adele took the towel and gently rubbed the little girls head, drying her off.

"Now then, can you tell us your name little one." Adele asked in her smooth southern accent.

The little girl sniffled again and answered in a quiet voice.

"Annabel." Tears pricked in the corners of Annabel's eyes, turning into full blown sobs as she sat there before the strangers. The little girl was distraught and confused, not knowing what else to do in that moment. Her mother had taken her from her home and left her abandoned on a stranger's porch.

"Alright Annabel, can you tell me where your parents are, sweetie?" Adele gently wiped the little girls tears away.

Annabel said nothing and only pulled a note out of her pocket. Her mother had placed it there when they left the airport earlier that day. She silently handed the piece of paper to the older woman.

"What's it say, Gran?" Sookie asked, leaning over the old woman shoulder.

"Its from your sister, Mary, this is her daughter." Sookie gasped at her Grans words. Her sister had moved to Texas after dropping out of high school at 17. The family had lost all contact with her after that.

Sookie looked down at the little girl, she could see the resemblance in her light blond hair and the uncanny shape of her nose, but her eyes were a deep grey. She could only assume they came from whoever the girls father was. A stray thought came to her mind and Sookie wondered if the little girl before her was anything like her.

The young woman took a moment to focus on the little girls thoughts, but was shocked to find nothing there. She couldn't read any of the girls thoughts, all she was met with was an almost quite static or buzzing sound. It came as quite the shock to Sookie, who had never come across someone she couldn't read.

Annabel continued to sniffle as the two women tried to figure out what to do. All the little girl wanted to do was go home, but she didn't know how to do that. She had never been this far from home before and had no idea on how she would ever get back. The child was quite helpless in that moment.

"It's okay little one, we'll take care of you." Adele quickly ushered the little girl upsairts. She changed her out of her damp clothes and put her in an oversized t-shirt that once belonged to her grandson, then put the little girl to bed.

Anna clutched her stuffed doll tightly to her chest and closed her eyes. The rain hitting the house drowned out the little girls sobs as she slowly fell into a fitful sleep. Her dreams were only images of home and the nightmare her mother had put her through.

It took the Stackhouse household the next four months to get used to their newest addition. Mary's daughter was a strange one, even in their family, the child barely talked and hardly slept during the night. Causing Adele to worry over her health and take her to a pediatrician who prescribed sleep aid pills to help regulate the little girls sleep pattern.

School was another problem Adele Stackhouse came to concerning her great-granddaughter. Anna didn't speak much to anyone besides her and her two grandchildren. Making it hard for little girl to participate in class, so Adele took it upon herself to home school her. Hoping that when the girl was a little older she would open up more. It proved to be another obstacle, but Adele was smitten with the little girl. There was just something about her that drew people into the quite child's life.

The same could be said for Sookie, she adored the little girl and enjoyed dressing her up and taking care of her. It was like having a living doll for Sookie, but the child was still a mystery to the young woman. Even her older brother, Jason, had taken to the little girl and enjoyed playing with the child and getting into trouble when he was caught giving her sweets before bed.

But, there was still something strange about Annabel, something the Stackhouse family couldn't quite put a finger on. No matter how many times Sookie tried to get a read on the girl, the young woman could never pick up on the child's thoughts.

For Annabel, this change was bitter sweet. She missed her home, dearly, but the family she had in Bon Temps took her in and genuinely cared for her. She enjoyed spending time with her Aunt Sookie and her Gran. After living with her new family, Anna had slowly stepped out of her shell and grew to care for them. But that didn't stop her from feeling depressed over losing her original home.

She was only a child and knew only one way of living, until she had been taken from it. During the first nights of living in Bon Temps, the little girl hoped her caretaker would find her and take her back home, but he never came. Anna never spoke of her old home back in Texas to her new family, it was something the little girl kept close to her heart out of fear they wouldnt understand. What if they didn't like her anymore, or they got rid of her for it?

"Anna, come on, I don't want to be late for work." Sookie called up to her niece. The little girl had begged her to take her to work, not wanting to go with her Gran to her boring descendants meeting at the church.

Rushing down the stairs with her blond hair bouncing on her head, Annabel clutched her stuffed doll and followed her Aunt outside to her car. The doll was the only thing Anna had from her old home back in Texas. It had yellow yarn for hair and blue felt eyes, but what made it stand out, were the felt fangs coming out of its mouth. The doll was adorned in a little black shit and pants with a cape over its shoulders. The strange doll never left Annabel's arms, and considered sacred to the little girl.

Once at Merlotte's, Sookie placed her niece in a booth in the back of restaurant where she would be left alone and wouldn't be a bother to the customers. The little girl sat quietly in the back with an open coloring book and her stuffed doll held in one arm.

"Here you go sweetie." Sookie placed a plate of sweet potato fries and chicken fingers in front of Annabel. The dinner rush was just starting and Sookie wanted to make sure Anna was taken care of before it got busy.

Anna thanked her Aunt before starting on her dinner and looking around the small restaurant. She could hear the obvious whispers from the patrons about her and her Aunt. It was a normal occurrence and something Anna got used to in the small town of Bon Temps. But, as the night went on and poeple filtered in and out of Merlotte's, someone new entered the establishment.

Anna felt herself get cold as the stranger took a seat in a booth not to far from her own. She knew what this man was, his aura gave her a shiver down her spine, and when his eyes found hers, the little girl sank down in her booth, peeking at the vampire from over the table. The dark haired vampire gave her a charming smile in hopes of settling her uneasiness.

It did very little to ease Annabel, her mind on the words told to her once before, "Be wary of vampires." She had been well protected in her old home, but here, here vampires could hurt her and no one would be able to do anything about it.

The vampire took his eyes off Anna when her Aunt came into view and happily took the males order for one Tru Blood. Sookie took one last look at the handsome man before making her way to Anna. The young women was oblivious to her nieces unease and simple smiled down at the child.

"Arlene's going to take you home now, okay." Sookie told the little girl. Anna nodded and gathered her coloring book and her stuffed doll. The red headed waitress took Anna's hand and looked at the vampire occupying the booth with apprehension before whispering a warning to Sookie.

The ride back to the Stackhouse residence was filled with Arlene going on about the vampire, it was mostly her just rambling and talking to herself. Anna sat quietly in the back seat with her doll in her lap. Her thoughts wandered to the same vampire in the restaurant. She didn't like him so far, his aura was off and seemed untrustworthy. Annabel knew she would have to be careful from now on, he can't know of her gifts. It would be dangerous for her family.

A/N: Here it it, the the first chapter of the rewrite for Annabel. It feels good rewriting this story and seeing how much my writing style has changed. Please feel free to review and I hope you all enjoy.