Disclaimer: Twilight and all characters of this story are property of Stephanie Meyer. I have no rights to this work, and seek no financial gain from it.

Chapter One: Forks

I was lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts focused on what the recent move meant for us. My father, Charlie, and I settled in a small house in the quiet town of Forks, Washington to start our new life. I was going to school for the first time tomorrow and I was quite nervous. I had practiced my control around humans for many months, but I was still nervous about it. Charlie had home schooled me the first eight years of my life, and this was the first time I was going to be in such close proximity to this many humans for so many hours. Charlie believed I could handle it, but it still did not help my uneasiness.

Despite this being my first year in school, I would be starting my junior year tomorrow. I may have only been eight years old, but I looked seventeen. I had grown quickly and had stopped growing about 6 months ago, now I would always look seventeen. So this was the first time of many that I would be starting my junior year in a new school. I slammed my fist down angrily on my bed, causing it to tremble under my strength. I wish we could have waited just one more year, I thought. I missed my home in the mountains, and I was worried that these humans would figure out my secret and we would be forced to move yet again.

What if one of these humans discovered I was half-vampire? Could that information get back to Aro and the rest of the Volturi? I just did not understand why my father wanted to take these chances. He knew that if Aro found out about me, that he would stop at nothing to make be part of his coven. Why risk exposing us like this? I know he enjoyed his work, enjoyed interacting with humans, and most of all, enjoyed the ease of a permanent residence, but I would have been just as happy as a nomad. Yes, it was nice being clean and having a comfortable bed to sleep in during those times I did have to sleep, but I would have happily given that up. I felt safer and freer in the woods. Besides, even though I could eat human food, I preferred to hunt. Being around humans during meal times would just force me to eat human food.

"Bella," Charlie's impatient voice traveled from downstairs, "Bella, come down here now!" She could hear him tapping his foot lightly on the tiled floor downstairs. She sighed crawling out of bed, knowing that if she didn't go down now he would surely come upstairs and drag her down, literally.

She raced down the stairs and was standing in the living room with Charlie in a matter of seconds, "Yes, Dad?" she asked so quietly that if he had been human, he wouldn't have heard her. She blushed, glancing at the floor sheepishly before meeting his glare again. As much as she loved her father and understood that he'd never hurt her, his glare still managed to send a chill down her spine. He stood there glaring at her with his arms crossed, his foot still tapping tightly on the floor. His eyes were black from thirst, and his jaw was tightly clenched, but she still managed to see the love in his eyes.

"Bella, I know you do not like the idea of starting school this year, but we have already been over this. You are going!" he hissed at her in agitation.

Bella sighed, "Yes, Dad, I know." She kept her brown eyes trained on the floor.

Charlie sighed, "Come on Bells, we need to hunt. We can not afford to take any chances."

Bella grinned excitedly. She had always loved hunting with her Dad. It was something they did not get a chance to do together much anymore.

After locking up the house, they took off into the forest. Bella quickly took down two elk and a deer and waited for her father to finish burying his own kills. Despite the herbivores being less appetizing than her normal choice of carnivores, the hunt was no less exhilarating. It felt nice to run wild in the forest with her father again. She could not wait to do so again.

Of course, now that they were heading back to the house, she could not help but to dwell on her worry again. What if she could not handle this? What if someone bled? Would she be able to control herself? Would someone notice that she was different? Needless to say, Bella was terrified.

Charlie noticed her internal conflict and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Bella, you will do fine. You'll see."

Bella just gave her father a tentative smile before racing him back to the house. Of course, she had always been faster than him. He may have been much stronger, but he had nothing on her when it came to speed. They entered the house laughing heartily before Bella made her way upstairs to change for school.