When Stars Align

~ Chapter One ~

Hazel Grace sighed as she looked out at the dreary surroundings, rain thoroughly drenching everything in its path. Rain was a good sign, rain meant clouds and clouds meant safety from the sun. She was trying not to get her hopes up, but her last encounter with Garrett the nomad was promising. Mary Alice, also now known as Alice Cullen had lived in rainy Forks Washington before, which meant she could again. As much as vampires liked to profess they were superior beings, we were very much creatures of habit, meaning if we liked living somewhere we most likely kept to those locations.

Tall trees lined the road for miles making the world seem as though the only colours in existence were green and brown, Hazel immediately knew she would love this town. She had travelled many places in her numerous years and the places that rained the most always warmed her soul. Not because of the obvious protection from the sun, but because the rain was something she and her sister loved, something that when their world became unpredictable, the rain became the stable element of their lives.

Hazel had been searching for her sister for the last 80 years since she awoke to this new life, and this was the closest she had been to finding her. She woke up to this new life alone and scared with no idea what she was or where her sister was.

Hazel and Alice had been taken to the mental asylum by their own father after exhibiting signs of the devil, at least that is what their father proclaimed. Really, he was just getting married to the towns gold digger who didn't want her husband to share his attention with her and those bratty kids. So, at the age of 14 for Hazel and 16 for Alice, they were sent to an asylum for the mentally deranged.

Hazel of course was a perfectly normal child, her only crime was her mother dying during childbirth. Alice however was different; she could see the future. When her abilities became apparent to their father, he used it as the perfect excuse to get rid of the children he had been stuck with since his first wife died. As soon as the door shut on the carriage that carried them to the worst years of their life, their father promptly forgot he ever had children.

And so, their years of hardship began, stuck in a place no child should ever have been, subjected to cruel treatments and medicines that almost broke the spirit of two heartbroken children. Until at the age of 18 and 20, they made their escape, and in doing so stumbled across supernatural creatures that dragged them violently into a new world. She soon found out what she had become when she got her revenge on the doctors who had tortured her for years, when she drank their blood to calm an insatiable hunger, vampire.

Hazel gently shook her head trying to forget the past, as futile as that was, and concentrated on where she was driving. She entered the small town, which consisted of a few shops and a diner and followed Garrett's instructions out of town and down a winding road. She soon found a turning, which would have been difficult for a human to spot, and made the turn following the winding road that she soon realized was a hidden driveway.

Her hands slightly shook on the steering wheel as a beautiful house came into view, made from wood and giant panes of glass it seemed to blend in and stand out from its surroundings at the same time. Her breath came out shakily as she realized that behind that wooden door, the person she had been searching for could be here.

Taking a deep breath, she left the car, and the scent of other vampires simultaneously gave her hope and dread. What if she had stumbled across the wrong vampires and they weren't the nice kind? What if her sister was here and the reason she hadn't found her was that she didn't want to be found? What if she didn't want Hazel in her immortal life?

Hazel saw movement in the windows above her and realized that the occupants of the house were no doubt aware of their new visitor. Well, no time like the present, best pull her big girl pants on and knock on the door.

Taking another unnecessary bracing deep breath, Hazel slowly made the walk to the door and knocked. The door immediately opened, obviously, the occupant was just waiting for her to make a move and was greeted by a beautiful blonde-haired man. He towered above her small frame, which wasn't saying much, years of malnutrition and medicine had stunted Hazels' growth, and she couldn't help the small step back she took.

The blonde-haired man seemed to sense her apprehension and smiled kindly at her. She noticed he had golden eyes the same colour as hers, settling her nerves, they shared the same diet. Taking a deep breath Hazel took the plunge. "Hello, my names Hazel Grace, I'm looking for someone who might live here. Mary Alice Brandon or I've heard she might use the name Alice Cullen now" She said trying to sound confident, knowing she failed.

The man was still smiling, but there was an intrigued look in his eyes now. "Hello, I'm Carlisle Cullen. You are at the right place; Alice lives with my coven and me. Please come in" His voice was gentle with a slight British accent and it immediately calmed her nerves.

Taking another useless deep breath, she entered the beautiful house staring in awe. Carlisle seeing the appreciation in her eyes looked amused and explained, "My wife Esme designed and built the house." Gasping in surprise Hazel smiled at Carlisle, "it's beautiful".

Carlisle just smiled that calming smile and gestured for her to walk into the room next to her. She looked around in awe again, the room was full of comfortable looking sofas, a giant flat-screen TV took up one wall and the other two were full of bookshelves and paintings of serene landscapes. The back wall truly took her breath away, it was one pane of glass spanning the whole length floor to ceiling, looking out onto a beautiful back garden full of flowers before meeting a wall of trees and a forest that went as far as the eye could see.

A slight shuffling in the room brought her focus back to the room and she was slightly surprised to see a roomful of people. There were three couples, and each were stunningly beautiful, on the left Carlisle was stood next to a woman that exuded warmth. She had shoulder-length caramel coloured hair and kind golden eyes. On the sofa nearest them was a huge muscley man that would have been intimidating if it wasn't for his giant cheeky grin, when she made eye contact he winked, causing the beautiful blonde on his right to huff before rolling her eyes and sending an untrusting glare at Hazel.

The last couple to get her attention were in the middle of the room, a handsome man with golden curls and an intense stare was assessing her, and next to him was "Alice" her name left Hazel in a stuttered breath.

She was beautiful as she always was, immortality wouldn't change that, her black hair was still short and styled in cute spikes, making her look like the pixie Hazel always joked she was. Her golden eyes when they connected with Hazel's were confused and she tilted her head as though trying to see her better.

"Alice, I can't believe it's really you!" Hazel choked out before launching herself across the room and pulling the slightly taller girl into her arms. Sobs wracked her body as she clung to her sister, 80 years of desperate searching and loneliness were over, she finally had her sister back. She was overwhelmed, her sobbing seemed as though it would never end, Alice squeezed her and gently rubbed her back making her sob louder.

"It's ok, Hazel, was it? Have we met before?" Alice asked kindly. Hazel flew out of the embrace in shock staring at her sister, seeing the polite kindness on her face, but not the familiarity she was desperately hoping to see. "You don't remember me?" she asked timidly, scared of the answer.

She knew there had to be a good reason why Alice and she were separated and why Alice never came looking for her. Looking into those confused golden eyes she knew her answer, Alice didn't remember her.

"I'm sorry I don't. Have we already met?" bless her heart, face full of confusion Alice was still speaking in that kind welcoming tone. Pain lanced through her chest and stole her breath; she saw the man Alice was sitting with wince before the pain slowly lessened. "I think we would all like to know that" scoffed the beautiful blonde behind them. Hazel looked to the other people in the room, seeing their confusion and interest on their faces as they looked between her and Alice.

Deciding to just get straight to the point Hazel blurted "I'm your little sister"