The True History of the Cullen Family

Sweet Dreams Are Made of These

Jacquelyn-Claire Alexandra Ulrich hated her new life.

Since her mother's death, the other kids did not like her, nor did they treat her well. She was much shorter than her classmates and spoke Italian with an odd accent. She also dressed in black and tore up every doll she was given, preferring to restyle them in a way she saw fit.

Jacquelyn became interested in the Goth subculture when she was just 10 years old. She dyed her dark hair a bright yellow color with blue, purple, and silver streaks in various places, painted her fingernails and toenails black, switched her pretty dresses with dark clothing, and even got the tops of her ears pierced.

Her foster family did not understand her, and all the other kids thought her strange. They even claimed that Jacquelyn was possessed by a spirit that intended to steal her soul and claim it for herself. In fact, she was forced into therapy several times from the time she was 11 until she was 14 years old.

But therapy did her no good, as the therapist claimed that she might have been abused as a young child. In truth, Jacquelyn was suffering the ill effects of her mother's demise.

Irina Ulrich had been living with her daughter in a hotel that resembled the Garden of Eden. And as we all know, paradise on earth can be wonderful, but we must also beware of the snakes that lurk in the shadows. Irina had been bitten in the heel by a king cobra and died soon after. Jacquelyn was seven years old when that happened.

Since Irina's death, the Italian government ordered the hotel to be shut down and had the owners arrested for murder for their role in Irina's death. Jacquelyn was placed in a foster home shortly after her mother's funeral.

Now, Jacquelyn was 15 years old and had just begun her latest obsession with vampires. Vampires were real, she reasoned, and they're not monsters. Bram Stoker got that one wrong.

She had read "Interview with a Vampire" by Anne Rice, and hungered for more. She wasn't too impressed with L. J. Smith's "The Vampire Diaries" and several other vampire series failed to give her the edge that she needed.

Jacquelyn stared at a picture of Christopher Lee as Count Dracula and concluded that it was time for her to sneak out of the house and find some answers to her questions.

*****

Jasper Whitlock frowned as he tossed away the remnants of his meal, which was a frightened tourist from Belgium.

He really needed to stop eating people, as his ability to read their moods was starting to affect his thinking. He was wondering why he was recruited by the Volturi instead of just staying with Peter and Charlotte in America.

America.

He had not seen his homeland in over 100 years, nor did he hear anything about Texas. Texas, the place where he was born and raised.

That was, until Maria and her sisters Lucy and Nettie had found him one night and captured him for the Southern Vampire Wars.

For the next 10 years, war was what Jasper had known. War and death. The deaths of many innocents weighed heavily upon him and when the Volturi showed up, offering him a position in their inner circle, Jasper had taken it without hesitation.

But now, 100 years after his turning, Jasper Whitlock hungered for excitement. He needed a little human to keep as a pet. But of all the young humans living in Volterra, none suited his interests.

Until he met her, that was.

*****

Jacquelyn sighed as she packed as many of her possessions as she could fit into a bag. She was leaving home tonight. She slipped on a black shirt and skinny black jeans. After slipping on her black leather boots, she walked out the door, never to return.

*****

Jasper walked out the door with Felix, Alec, Jane, and Demetri. All five frequently scoured the underground clubs for any potential light snacks, in which they drank from the victim without killing or turning said victim.

*****

Thus began the meeting that would bring two unusual people together...