Pain. Agony. Agonizing pain. It was all I could feel as I started to awake from what I could only assume was a deep sleep. My head was spinning and the skin where my neck had been pierced was throbbing. The air around me felt unfamiliar and smelt like rosemary, tickling the point of my nose. I heard something. A voice. It was yelling I think. There was a warm familiarity in the back of it. The words started becoming clear but I still couldn't lift my eyelids.

"You almost turned her Jordan, you dumb ass! I sent you there to get her and only knock her out for the trip. What were you thinking?" It was a girl's voice I was sure and it's yelling was pounding at my ear drums. I heard a door slam and I flinched. An almost un noticeable sigh came from the person still in the room. My hands started to roam once I had regained mobility. Everything that it wandered over was soft. It felt like silk. Definitely silk and there was embroidery at the end of the, were these sheets? I never had sheets before so I really wouldn't know, only ever seeing them in stores. I tried hard to open my eyes and finally I pried them open. Everything was a little fuzzy but I could see someone sitting at the foot of what seemed to be the bed I was lying on. The figure leaned towards me, long black hair cascading over her shoulders. "Violet?" the girl said, leaning forward some more and I felt something grab my hand. It was now that I realized she had to be someone I knew, she sounded so familiar, I just couldn't place it. Like a voice from a memory maybe. It had to be a happy memory though. I knew it had to be. My vision suddenly became clear and everything was glossed with color. I found myself staring into the eyes of a girl who looked to be seventeen or so, around my age.

"Violet?" she repeated and I gasped. There was a flash in my mind and instead it replaced the girl's looming form with that of theourteen year old Lily, saying my name. Then the girl was back.

"Lily?" I asked, sitting up and going eye to eye with her. She grinned a grin only Lily would. My eyes started to tear up and I couldn't stop it. She pulled me into a warm hug. It was Lily's hug. She hadn't changed.

"Welcome home kiddo" she said into my hair. I burried my head into her shoulder. I had missed her more than I thought, I realized as I clung on to her as if for dear life. We sat there in silence for a while. I don't know how long but I was afraid if I let go of her, she would disappear and I'd never see her again. After some more time passed I, needing answers, broke the silence. "Where did you go?" I asked, pulling away reluctantly wiping the streams of tears running down my cheeks. She shook her head, looking down at her lap.

"I was brought here by others. They were supposed to take you too, I don't know what went wrong. I couldn't come get you until..." She stopped there, looking out the window. It bedazzled me just how different she looked. Every one of her features seemed to be stretched out to their full potential. Her skin was even paler than the last time I'd seener which I had thought impossible and she looked wiser too.

"Where is here? What do you mean others? Why couldn't you come and get me before now?" All these questions were valid, and I felt the need to know the answers.

"It's so much to try and explain at once and you might not believe me" she said, looking back at me.

"I'll believe anything at this point" I said truthfully.

"Ok, well hmm...how should I put this?" She asked hypothetically and stood up, walking over to a large window in this amazing room. "Do you believe in vampires?" She asked, whirling her head around swiftly to pierce me with her gaze. This question caught me off gaurd. I guess I had always believed in them simply because I wanted to believe there was something so cool out there.

"Yes, I suppose so, but what does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"It has a lot to do with everything" Lily paused as if in deep thought. "Ok, listen to me very closely and be sure to try and take this in as rationally as you possibly can. Our parents, our real ones, were vampires. The king and queen of, anyway. Nobody had ever expected our mother to give birth to us. They had always expected the thrown would always be ruled by our parents because the only way it wouldn't is if there was an heir to the throne. Or in this case, two heirs. Every baby born from a vampire is human for starters since they are not originals, they are only destined to be turned, though some might end up just staying human though it rarely happens. The bite is binding. The only one who can turn them is their soul mates. Until they meet that one person, they are to stay human. So you see when we were born, there were suitors lined up at the door but they would have to wait until we were older of course. Some were thrown into a ravenous hunger for the throne and would do anything to bite one of us. Our parents, for our safety had someone drop us off when we were only babies to a place were nobody would have thought them to hide us. Earth was a hot spot for hiding vampire babies but they would never suspect the king and queen to give their precious ones to a rundown home in North Dakota. So when we turned fifteen, they decided it was finally time for us to return home. Since we would need to be finding a mate soon to seal our conversion so there would no longer be a threat. They went for both of us but they only had time to snatch one of us because someone was tracking them and by chance that was me. I wanted to come back for you so badly Violet. I pleaded for the first few months but our parents, our parents, they said that I had to be turned before I could go and get you. Even after I had been turned which was only a year ago, they decided that I needed to take time to get stronger before risking it and when they finally decided I was strong enough to go, they sensed that something was wrong so I had to wait. But I couldn't wait any longer Violet. So I went behind their backs and sent another for you. And now here you are" she said this all without taking a single breath. Then it registered that she didn't need to take a breath any longer.

And out of all the things I could have asked or said, I asked "You were turned?" and I smiled.

Lily