My name is Josephine Earnshaw. I am eleven in the year 1854, and god forgive me, I am about make the biggest mistake of my life.

JOSEPHINE EARNSHAW was not a quite person. She was restless and chaotic, like the sea thrashing against treacherous shores, but she could also be pleasant and warm like a sunny day. She would be seen strutting about Huston with nothing but determination and courage on her face, as well as her presence always having a certain sense of freedom. Even if the girl said nothing at all you could tell their was always some selcouth; mind boggling, yet marvelous thoughts swirling around in her head.

She liked to keep herself busy, or maybe it was just away to lose track of thought. Her Mother gave birth to a loud crying baby, her father hadn't answered any of her question regarding the woman but grew tired of being ignored and stopped asking when she passed the age of six. Her sister, Maryanne, who was just a year older than her was someone she always seeked solace in, someone who Josephine adored to the bone. When her father was busy — Which he always was, Josephine and Maryanne were ineffable. Like to peas in a pod wishing nothing more than the attentions of an absent father.

Eventually, Josephine grew out of longing for a father and started putting herself first, her sister never stopped searching for their mans approval. Mr. Earnshaw was an Asshole, In Josephine's opinion, but to Maryanne, he put the stars in the sky. Maryanne was sure he loved them but he didn't have time for them. However Josephine had her theories that it was because he couldn't stand meeting the eyes of the girl who unknowingly murdered his wife by simply being born, and the girl who looked so much like the woman he lost.

One evening when the sun and everything below it was slowly being enveloped by the shadows of the night sky, Josephine wondered down to the horses stables as she always did when the sun took its leave. Only this time the girl had a look of determination on her face, she was to prove the dim witted boys who played down by the river wrong.

"Please be a nice horse, Bissy." Josephine begged. Bissy was her mothers relatively young horse, but with no one left to ride her the girl took it amongst herself to take care of the steed.

Josephine lifted herself up, using her feet to help boost herself onto the horse, Bissy's back. Placing her left foot on the horse's left shoulder and her right foot on the horse's right hip. She then swung her right leg over the horse's back to land in the center of it's back.

"I did it. I did it!" Josephine cheered, barely above a whisper as she didn't want to wake her sister or father from their slumber. For that would be an interesting discussion, and one Josephine didn't practically want to have.

Josephine dug her heels into the side of the horse, ordering it to politely move forwards, as she had seen men do with their horses. She had just started to ride the horse when it squealed and kicked its legs up to the air causing her to fall onto the dirt on the ground. She was face down on the dusty ground sighing in defeat when she looked up to see a pair of boots walking in front of her, their boyish laughs echoing all through that stables.

"Your supposed to use a saddle, when riding a horse, ma'am." The boy mumbled with a small grin on his face, looking down at her as he brushed his hand through the distressed horses main. Josephine stared at him in disbelief, her face turned a bright shade of red as he had caught her at such an odd time, and not many pretty boys had ever taken notice of her. The boy was around her age and much taller, with honey blonde hair and chestnut eyes. Smiling at her questioning gaze, he reach a hand out helping her up from the ground.

"Thank you. You see, I was only just checkin'."

"Just chekin?"

"Yes! You have to believe me." Josephine nodded profusely, with wide eyes, she pleaded in a whisper, "Just don't tell my Father — Or my sister, she couldn't keep her trap shut if her life depended on it!"

"I won't tell a soul." The boy promised watching as her frantic pace around the stable ceased and she turned him and exhaled in relief. "What were you attempting to do with the horse anyways, miss?" he than asked eyeing her curiously.

"Josephine Earnshaw. I wasn't stealing either, It was my mothers horse." She replied coming to her senses and dusting off her skirt as she attempted to avoid his curious gaze. She failed.

"I'm Jasper, Jasper Whitlock." He smiled reaching his hand out for her to shake. Josephine hesitantly stepped forwards and shook his hand when he asked, "May I ask why you were stealing your mothers horse?"

"I wasn't stealing!" Josephine exclaimed offended by such a thing, her voice softened as she explained her reasoning, "My Father wishes to sell her, and I just can't let him take her away from me. She's all I have left of Mother..."

Jasper frowned at her words, "My apologies. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

Josephine waved her hand at him, "It's okay, she passed when I was a little girl."

"But you are a little girl?" Jasper pointed out, the young boy tilted his head confusedly.

"I am not a little girl," Josephine argued. She hated the fact that people only saw her as a little girl. She was more than just a girl. She was fierce like the sea and warm like a cup of tea. She was a girl with a courageous spirit. Josephine Earnshaw was anything but just a little girl.

"Are too!" Jasper contradicted as he threw his hands in the air. Jasper new the argument was pointless but the girl had to be the most interesting thing about the town and he couldn't help but secretly find amusement in her presence .

"Am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"Well than your a little boy!" Josephine declared as she stuck her tongue out at him causing Jasper's brows to furrow.

"No I'm not!" He protested and crossed his arms over his chest in a huff.

"Yes you are!" The girl huffed. Frustrated  she stomped her foot causing a coughing fit from the both of them as they were enveloped in a cloud of dust. "Hey, your gonna get us caught." Josephine said coughing into her elbow one last time.

"Me? Your the one taking horse in the middle of the night." Jasper counted.

Josephine shrugged, positively defeated and tied from what had occurred in the dead of night. "Whatever. It was foolish idea anyways."

The comforts of slumber suddenly didn't seem so bad to Josephine, and her adventures had worn her out. The words left Jaspers's mouth before he could even process them as he watched her move towards the stable door.

"I could teach you?" He asked genuinely, "My uncle taught me so it —"

"Really?" Josephine turned to him with a smile matching his own, "Thank you. Thank you!" she said throwing herself into a hug with the boy.

"My pleasure, Jo." Jasper patting her back affectionately. He had always liked making people smile and hers seemed to be infectious.

"So what's first Mr. Whitlock?" Josephine asked as she stood in front of the horse who had previously through her off.

"Well, what's her name?" Jasper asked.

The girl smiled sheepishly, "Bissy."

"We'll get on miss Bissy here, and than hop on her without causing her to much discomfort." He told her explaining the correct way to mount the horse.

"Careful, ma'lady. You might dirty your skirts."

"See, I am not a little girl. I'm a lady."

~+~

Dear Diary, I am ashamed to admit this but I am envious, or perhaps even jealous, of my sister. She always gets everything. Why cant I just have this one thing?

IN THE YEAR 1861, Josephine had been torn. Torn between the love for her sister and a kind boy with a charming smile that could cause any woman blush. Jasper Whitlock was the most charming and kindest boy Josephine had ever met and she swore that any girl was lucky to marry the cowboy. He was also her best-friend. So, when her sister told her the news, giggling with excitement and joy, she embraced her in a tight hug expressing her happiness for the newly betrothed. Of course, she knew she could never tell her sister how she felt, after all she was too to be married herself. The Earnshaw family were never wealthy, and if Josephine was to take a husband to ease her family's financial issues than she would – her family were very dear to her, and she couldn't risk losing her beloved sibling. Maryanne Earnshaw and Jasper were to be married after he got back from the war he had been forced into by his farther. Jasper was never a violent person and never wanted to be a part of something as such. Josephine, with tears in her eyes, tried to comfort him when she was informed of the dreaded news.

"Take care of Bissy for me. She's as dumb as a door nail but she's very precious." Josephine said with a frown referring to the horse they had grew up caring for together.

"You have my word, ma'am." Jasper laughed and nudged her slightly catching a glimpse of something in her eyes. "Are you well, Josephine?"

She swallowed all thing's she desperately wanted to say to the boy and replied solemnly, "I wanna thank you for all you've done for this family, Jasper. Your an angel, I mean it."

Jasper nodded, "It was really no problem, Jo."

They basked in the silence for a little longer before Josephine stood from the step on the porch they were sat on. She handed him a kan of her deliciously baked cookies and told him that every time he felt sad to eat one as a reminder of home in Houston, and who was waiting for him there. She made a lot of cookies. The Kan was filled to brim with delicious oat covered delights, which Jasper thought was fairly strange considering baking wasn't something Jo did frequently, though he supposed goodbyes were always hard and people had odd ways of coping with them. Little did jasper know, at the bottom of the Kan, underneath all the delicious cookies, was a note. A note written in Josephine's messy hand writing all the things she desperately wanted admit, and a note Jasper wouldn't live long enough to read.

It was the year 1863, two years since Jasper joined the confederate army after educating women and children, he rode on his way back to Galveston and met the vampires, Maria, Lucy, and Nettie, who had recently lost their territories to other vampire covens. Maria saw that he was in the army and thought he could be helpful in reclaiming their lost territory. After she turned him into a creature of the night, she dismissively told him to come back when he was fed. Jasper, frightened and not understanding what he she meant, ran too were his heart belonged. Houston.

"What have you done?"

"What have you done!"

"Jasper!" Josephine wailed, her body trembled with fear as the scene unfolded before her. By the time she had heard her sisters screams Maryanne was already nothing but a limp body that Jasper clinged to as he drained the life from her. Only that wasn't Jasper, no. Jaspers eyes were an ocean blue, the monster that replaced him had bright red eyes and a hungry glow to them that caused Josephine heart to start thrumming. That wasn't Jasper, Josephine thought, he was good, he was kind. On her bad days, he accompanied her down to the stables to feed the live stock just to make her day. Before the war he was everything Josephine could ever dream of, but as she looked at him now, he was worse than any other man. Jaspers piercing red eyes locked onto her own puffy and tear filled. Blood stained his face and clothes. Her sisters blood.

Josephine was pinned to a wall. She kicked and screamed as she struggled in his arms. Jasper dived down to her neck, his teeth sinking into her skin with ease. She screamed, her body shuddered as she attempted to free herself from his iron grasp. Her blood soaked her dress and trailed down to her homes floorboards, staining the wood. The same floor boards that Jasper and herself use too play on as children. The same floorboards she would die on. Josephine's body went slack from so much blood loss, her vision blurred, but all she could make out was her sister who laid limp, surrounded by a puddle of her own blood. Soon she would join her, or so she thought.

Jasper ripped himself away, blood smeared his emotionless face. he glanced at the lifeless body of his betrothed and let Josephine's body fall to the floor beside her before he turned away and fled out the door.

A pair of crimson red eyes snapped open. Sun cascaded down through the widow and told Josephine that it was a new day. The burning pain had left her body, replaced with something inhumane. Horses neighed and birds chirped from half way down the block could be heard. Not only that, she could see the dust which speckled over the surface of the floor she had swept hours ago. She could see the chipped and old paint in immense detail, the way it flaked off the houses wall. She smelt the putrid smell of a rotting corpse and dried blood mixed with lavender bath oils. It was Maryanne, she realised. Josephine felt overwhelmed with a sickening fury, but more than anything she felt an ache in her throat.

For Blood.

~+~

Pearl — YOOO THANK YOU for reading my fic. Don't forget to vote and comment<3
I would like to end this A/N by saying the cliff hanger goes crazy and lil Jasper DID NOT let the disrespect slide 🙅‍♀️