Holder of My Heart, Chapter 2

**(Julietta POV)**

I was walking down the dirt road that led to the Quilete tribe, hoping that Jake would be there. Jacob Black and I had been friends for a while, and I thought of him as a brother. Since we were Vampire and Werewolf, though, there was always a little forced tension from our families. It had become morning by the time I made it there, seeing how I was not running nor did I have a car. I recognized wolf scent and felt relieved. I walked further onto the reservation, looking for Jake. It was hard to remember that I probably couldn't stay long due to being a vampire, but I couldn't care less. I needed someone to console my emotions to and when the Cullens couldn't do it, Jake could. I went over to his little hut-cabin place where he was fixing up a truck, it seemed like.

"Jake~!" I called out to him enthusiastically. He looked up from where he was and smiled at me.

"Hey, Julie. How are you?"

"Could be better, could be worse." I told him as he got up and hugged me. He was pretty tall, about 7 feet when you looked at him. I received a few growls from some of the tribe but didn't mind it much.

"Any other bloodsuckers with you?" He joked, knowing that I wouldn't take it offensively.

"Nope. Needed to get away from them, to be honest with you."

"What happened this time?"

"Oh, nothing. Just another fight with Victoria and being thrown into a river while I was asleep, that's all." I said sarcastically.

"You're lucky for your very eventful life, Julie."

"Am not. I'd give anything to be normal."

"Too bad you're a vampire."

"Why?"

"If you weren't, I'd-"

"You'd what?"

"Nevermind."

"Whatever, Jake. I should be going before I get devoured by your tribe." Joking again, but he got it. I walked off, giving him my usual peace sign for goodbye.

"Later.." He sounded a bit disappointed, but it didn't matter. I was going to have to find something to do for the rest of the day, and talking with a werewolf around a bunch of other werewolves who didn't like me that much. I took another walk through the forest, but stopped near the top of a hill when I smelled that girl again. She was with Edward, and apparently were talking about him. It was sunny at the top, and his skin was shining, she was marveling it, almost seemed like. I knew I was losing control, but I let that happen as I slowly came up behind the girl. She was staring at the sky right after Ed left and I tackled her from behind and pinned her arms down, my eyes glowing red. I slowly leaned into the nape of her neck, right by her shoulder when suddenly I felt someone grabbing me and pulling me away from her forcefully, so much so that it hurt me, seeing how I was still partially human myself. I was struggling to be freed as violently as I could, but the one holding me back obviously wasn't going to let me go. By that time, Edward was guarding this girl and glaring at me like he wanted to kill me. I was thirsty for blood and when I had found it, I couldn't have it.

"Let me go.." I couldn't care less for the consequences. My eyes always signified how thirsty I was and if they weren't changing back to blue, there was a problem.

"No can do, Jules." That made me wonder who was really holding me. I took a look over my shoulder and met broad yet lean shoulders, which meant I had to look up to meet his face. I knew by then that it had been a man, but was clueless beyond that. I raised my head a little, my eyes wandering to meet his.

"Carlisle, please. Let me go.." I needed blood and soon. Edward and his pet were gone. I felt weak all of a sudden, and submissed to him. I fell back a little, not really being able to stand up by myself.

"You're going to be okay. Trust me."

"Fine.." He set me down leaning on the trunk of a tree then ran deeper in the woods. Probably going to get some animal for me, which would last me a week or so. Before I knew it, he was back again, putting a rabbit into my mouth. I bit onto it as hard as I could and drank what was left in it. My eyes noticeably changed color yet again and I smiled.

"Thank you..~" I whispered.

"No problem, Julietta." And with that, he left.

Alone again, it seems.

**(Carlisle POV)**

I apparently still had a lot to learn about Jules. She didn't belong as a Cullen, or as a vampire at all, honestly. She had the look and demeanor of a human, and should have stayed as one. But, if she hadn't been changed by Jasper, if she hadn't become part of the Olympic coven, if she hadn't ran away, if she hadn't unknowingly came directly to me..

Then I would never have met her.

**(Bella POV)**

I was with Edward. He told me all about that woman, looking only about a year older than me, and why she had attacked me.. First Jasper, now her. It seemed as though I was almost irresistible to them. Her name's Julietta, which is a pretty name. I later learned from Jasper that she was 21 when she was changed, older than most Cullens. She was present during the Civil War, disguising as a man in order to be able to fight. Jasper found her, though, and thought that she was a man to begin with. That was why he changed her. He believed that she (he at the time) would be a strong asset to the Olympic Coven. She turned out to be very powerful, as he predicted, and had just about the same power as Jazzy. She could also control fire, letting it flow from her fingertips. I also found out that she is still part human, with blood flowing through her veins like me. She is not as strong as other vampires, but was one of the most powerful as a newborn. She could have a child, which is pretty dangerous. I wanted to know more of her, but wasn't going to approach her. I didn't want to get hurt, and Edward wouldn't forgive me if I did.

I just wondered why she had chosen to come here.

**(Jasper POV)**

I was on the roof, staring at the sky and thinking about my life before here. In my last coven, I was a cold-blooded killer toward all newborns who weren't strong enough. I enforced the rules down to the T, and wouldn't have let up regardless of who it was. Juliet was a newborn and during her first week she was doing things that weren't allowed due to Maria.

I remember her trying, attempting to escape. At that time, I wouldn't have let her. She would have killed so many, and we would be to blame. It was a dark night and she was slowly walking, tip-toeing out toward the edge of our camp. I was following her, too silent to be heard by any vampire, let alone human. She had made it to the edge and was wondering which way to go when I came up behind her and grabbed her by her neck. She gasped. I whispered in her ear.

"Be quiet or die." She froze and I could faintly hear her breathing. I swung her back in toward camp and threw her at the wall of a cabin. Before she hit it, though, I punched her in the back, sending her flying and before even I knew what happened I grabbed her again by the neck and pinned her to the ground. Full of rage and power, I could have tore her head off, but refrained myself and as she struggled to be freed, I gave her neck a tight squeeze, keeping her from breathing. She looked at me with her bright blue eyes, silently begging me to let her go. She was only a newborn, and I may as well have felt bad for her that she had to go through what she did just to stay alive.

"It'll be a relief not to want to kill you.." I said grimly as I released her. I was thinking about all of the male newborns who she had to fight and win against in order to survive. When she first came she had to fight our strongest men to be allowed into the coven. She ran back into the barracks, completely obvious that she was afraid of not me, but the things I could do to her. I knew that she couldn't stay here forever. I doubt that I would, but it's possible. Maria didn't want me to leave, I was her greatest and most powerful asset at the time. Once I was no longer a newborn, she'd probably get someone new. I couldn't live like this forever, though. Nobody could live like this forever.

Could they?

**(Julietta POV)**

Jasper was thinking about that day when he almost killed me. I could hear his thoughts, almost like telepathy. In that same way, Carlisle could tell what I was thinking through this damned collar. I unknowingly let him give it to me and put it on my neck, unaware of the consequences. That's all it's given me, regret and pain and remorse. I just wish my feelings could transcend to him. That's all I really want, other than to be normal. But when I think about it, I come to one conclusion.

Nobody's really normal.

Those times in the Olympic Coven, seeing all those vampires who had no place to go other than here although they'd probably die anyway. The fighting they went through, the fires that were started. I had never met the first vampire, but wasn't sure if I wanted to. I didn't want all of these sub-categories of human to exist, but then I wonder if vampires are the sub-siders or if it's the other way around. If nothing different from one race existed, then there would be peace, depending on what that race was. People couldn't live being the same as everyone else, though.

Could they?

**(Carlisle POV)**

My family. The Quiletes. Humans. I'm hoping that there is still a point to this life, even for us. It all seems so sudden, and I don't seem the one to question life, but it could end in a heartbeat. Well, it wouldn't be a heartbeat for vampires. I'm just glad to be a doctor, like I've aspired to for so long. Could I be happier? Possibly. Esme, my wife and soul-mate. She's the best thing I could ever want, and I need her. But I feel as though I need Jules too. Had she not come to me, I wouldn't be as happy as I am. I'm sure humans go through these things all the time, and probably handle it better than I can. It just doesn't seem possible, to lend your life, your soul, to more than one person. If it's not possible for me, than it can't be for anyone else. They have soul-mates just like we do. But I don't know, although I remember my first 23 years as a human well enough to know that I'd never experienced true love. It's not only possible for vampires, is it? And if it isn't, then humans can find love just like we can.

Could they? Really? Something more to question.

Love is a very tricky thing, I've learned. One of the most complex things in the world, and I've still so much to learn about it.

**(Julietta POV)**

I was super tired, needing a place to sleep. I chose the roof, laying out under the stars. It was comfortable. I stared at the stars, smiling yet frowning at the exact same time because I knew that I could be so much happier.

"Why me?" Why not some other girl you would happen to notice as a cross-dressing soldier? Why did I even join the war? Because I had nothing at home? I could have made something out of it instead of my parents thinking I was dead and my fellow soldiers treating me as one of the guys. I never wore a dress in my entire life and I would have no reason to anymore. I missed my old life. Much more than anyone could ever dream of. My life was almost a nightmare, with the man I love being married and nobody wanting to talk to you because you were different. Because you were not the same as everyone else and couldn't stand being near them. That was no reason to differentiate someone from someone else. But it happens anyway. I remember the dress my mother spent the last of her money to buy me a beautiful ball gown, deep deep scarlet and just my size for my sixteenth birthday.

"No mama, I won't wear this if it's the last thing I do."

"Please, Julietta, just one day. That's all I want is for you to at least wear it on your birthday." She still had her slight southern accent.

"I said no. I refuse to wear any dress, no matter what the circumstance."

"I won't argue with you, Julietta. Soon men will be a'comin to take you away from me and you should look beautiful for them, don't you agree?"

"I most certainly do not! I am too young to be wed, mother. Women should not be submitted to marry at such a young age!"

"That's not how it is here and you know it."

"I do.. I just wish for better, mama."

"As do I, but we can't change the present, can we?"

"No, ma'am.. I still won't wear it, though."

"Fine." She eventually gave me what I wanted, even if she didn't want that. I admired that about her, and wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

Tomorrow was March twenty-ninth. The same day that I would be leaving and not coming back until we won the war.

That memory made my eyes water, but I couldn't help it. My mom was the closest person in my entire family and I left her. I had been staring at the stars and was there for almost an hour, not noticing someone beside me. He was able to see my memory with me.

"That was your mother, Jules?"

"Sure was."

"You look like her."

"I know."

"She must've cared about you a lot."

"She did."

"I won't talk about it anymore, okay?"

"Fine."

"She was like my mother."

"I doubt that."

"It's true."

"Nope." And I rolled away from him and fell asleep. It was cold tonight, I just noticed. I could feel cold and heat like a normal human, and it was pretty chilly on the rooftop.

"Julietta, I just wanted to say Happy birthda-" And then she screamed, noticing her child was not sleeping in her bed. It was the next morning, and I was long gone by then. I never saw my mother again, wishing I could have been there for any future birthdays she may have had. I was in the army for a year now, winning multiple battles against the north although most times we didn't have a chance. My name in the army was William, the name of a boy that I had eyes on for a while. He was a mixed boy, just barely older than I with short cut hair and deep brown eyes. He had a laugh that I loved. He always was shouting and excited for everything. Of course, all of the other girls sought him out too, and I knew that I'd never have him. I admired him and every single thing I did reminded me of him. In my platoon, there were mostly men around my age. Anywhere from 16-21 made up about 80%. I heard stories of brothers who were split on either side of the battle. One of the men, Nicholas, was eighteen and just before I joined this platoon, he killed his older brother, Joseph. I've seen plenty of bloody things in this war, thankful that I didn't have to murder a family member. I may as well have, though, when I left. I was all my mother had.

That was my current dream. Remembering myself in that uniform, having my hair chopped off to look more manly. It would grow down to my lower jaw on my left and my shoulder on my right, the way it was when I became a vampire. I had just turned 20, it being late June. We were in a battle with Union soldiers when someone, whom I couldn't identify, ran around my whole platoon and made it behind me without being caught. He stabbed me in the back about 8 times with his bayonette, all of which were either at my heart or close to it. I was laying almost dead on the battlefield. I was going to be picked up soon and buried somewhere near here. That's when Jasper found me and turned me. I could barely feel any pain at all, which was a good thing. From there, my new life as a hybrid between vampire and human began..

"Is that really what happened, Jules?" He knew I was awake.

"You can ask Jasper, he can clarify..."

"I'm sorry. If only I knew I would have-"

"I don't need your pity, Carlisle."

"I'm not pitying you."

"May as well be.. Just because it happened doesn't mean I need to relive it."

"Then why would you dream about it?"

"So you could stop worrying about my past."

"Oh.. Sorry Jules."

"Quit apologizing and let me go to sleep."

"Okay.. Goodnight." He left from there, letting me fall into a dreamless sleep.

"I love you.." I knew he didn't hear me one way or another.

**(Carlisle POV)**

I had to give her some space. She was going through a rough time, and apparently wore glasses when she was younger. The ball gown was beautiful, looking perfect for her. It's a shame she was never able to wear it. And dealing with Civil war life must have been hard on her too. I decided that I was going to give her the gown that she wanted to wear now that she couldn't. Of course, she'd need an occasion to do so. I would find a way to let her have it. Now, to find that dress.

"You're gonna get your dress, Jules."

Esme would need one as well, of course. The whole family was going to need suited up. I was going to re-invent prom night, and everyone would get the surprise of their lives.

((That's it for Chapter 2~. A party with the Cullens, oooh~~ Will it be a night of fun and games or turn out deadly wrong?

-A.W))