Earnest Cullen

"You're what she wants. It will work out, somehow."

- Earnest to Beau

Earnest Cullen born in 1895, is the patriarch of the Olympic coven. He is the husband of Carine Cullen and the adoptive father of Archie, Eleanor, and Edythe Cullen, Royal and Jessamine Hale, and Beau Swan. He had a daughter named Grace in his human life.

In 1921, after losing his daughter, Grace, Earnest attempted suicide, but his attempt was unsuccessful. Later, Carine transformed him into a vampire on his deathbed. Some time later, the pair fell in love and married, starting to build a family of like-minded vegetarian vampires around them. Earnest possessed an unparalleled capacity for passionate love for those around him, which allowed the members of his adoptive family to consider him as the greatest paternal figure in their lives. His Twilight Saga counterpart is Esme Cullen.

Early life
Earnest was born in 1895. He came across Carine Cullen in his adolescent years and was touched by both her beauty and her generosity; Carine was subsequently touched by Earnest's heart. They never met again after Carine moved away.

Earnest eventually grew up and married a woman, who was an alcoholic. They had a daughter together, naming her Grace. When his daughter was two years old, his drunken wife forcefully took her to a cliff and jumped off. Earnest witnessed the entire experience, and was devastated by the death of his daughter. After his daughter's death, Earnest felt that he no longer had any reason to live, and attempted suicide by jumping off as well. When he was found, his condition was so bad that they didn't even attempt to revive him. He was immediately brought to the morgue, although his heart was still beating faintly. Carine was working in the area at the time, and recognized him as the happy young man she met one decade ago. In order to save his life, Carine decided to change him into a vampire.

Earnest easily accepted his new life, and it did not take long before he and Carine fell in love and got married. In time, Royal and Eleanor were transformed by Carine as well, and Archie and Jessamine joined the family, becoming his surrogate children, though Earnest has a special place in his heart for Edythe Cullen because she was the first of his new children.

Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined
Earnest first appears in Life and Death when Edythe takes Beau Swan to meet her family at their home outside. He and Carine are both warm and welcoming towards Beau, and Earnest welcomes him with open arms, acting as though he were already part of the family. This is due to his gratitude of the happiness Beau had brought to Edythe. Knowing his daughter had created a song inspired by her love for Beau, Earnest asks her to play it for him on the piano, which she does.

The Cullens later invite Beau to play baseball with them, and he and Earnest act as umpires. Before the game begins, Earnest tells Beau a little about his human life and says that he is thankful that Edythe and him have come to love, as she was her first and favorite adoptive child. He even stated that he had always worried that she would never find true love. When Joss's coven arrives, the Cullens try to pass Beau off as a vampire, but Joss catches his scent and attempts to attack him. All the Cullens spring into action to protect Beau, much to the nomads' amazement. Joss's coven leaves and the Cullens return home, though Joss and Victor have begun to hunt Beau. Earnest swaps clothes with Beau so that they could try to disguise his scent. Earnest remains in Forks with Royal to protect Beau's father during his escape to Phoenix with Archie and Jessamine.

Physical appearance
Earnest is physically the oldest member in the Cullen family, being changed at the age of 26. He is described as being shorter than Beau, with caramel-colored hair.

Personality and traits
Earnest is an extremely warm individual who is gifted with the ability to love the people around him passionately. He has always had strong paternal instincts, which is why he is able to open his heart so easily to his family. This is due to the death of his first and only child when she was barely two years old, during his human life.

Esme enjoys renovating old properties as a career and as a hobby. Throughout his years as a vampire, he has studied and earned degrees in architecturehy.

Powers and abilities
Upon transformation, Earnest's ability to passionate affection to the people around him was enhanced (as with all emotions after the transformation) and this has become his most prominent feature throughout the story.

Relationships
Earnest is the domestic father figure of the Cullen family, the birth father of Grace and the husband of Carine Cullen. He is the adoptive mother of Archie, Eleanor and Edythe Cullen, Royal and Jessamine Hale, and Beau Swan. Earnest has particular care for Edythe, being the first of his adoptive children.

Grace
Grace is Earnest's deceased daughter. His first wife was an alcoholic. One night, she took their daughter and jumped off a cliff. This broke Earnest's heart and drove him to jump along.

Even after all these years, Earnest never quite got over his love for his daughter, which is what made him such a passionate person.

Carine Cullen
Carine Cullen is Earnest's second wife, and also his creator. They first met in the 1910's, where they left a strong impression on each other. Carine's affection for Earnest was strong enough to motivate her turned him into a vampire when she found him dying after a suicide attempt following the loss of his child ten years later. After she explained to him about what he had done; he took the news quite well, and it did not take long before they married.

The relationship between Carine and Earnest is built on a strong spiritual and intellectual bond, aided by their intense love for each other. Earnest has never regretted becoming a vampire as he is able to spend eternity with someone whom he loves, and Carine's own love for him has never diminished.

Edythe Cullen
Edythe Cullen was Earnest's first adoptive daughter, and was turned into a vampire by Carine shortly before he was. They care for each other deeply and Edythe hates to cause him pain.

Earnest admits to Beau that Edythe means more to him than the rest of his "children" because she was his first adoptive child, and also because she reminds him of the daughter he once had. Throughout their years together he had worried that Edythe would never find her soulmate, until Beau came along. Earnest welcomed Beau into the family right away and treated him like another son. Earnest fondly criticizes Edythe and says that she is too much of a gentle soul, as she told Beau that he fell off a cliff rather than jumped.

Royal Hale
Royal Hale was Earnest's first adoptive son.

There are no exact details between Earnest and Royal's relationship, but they do care for one another and will do anything possible to protect each other.

Eleanor Cullen
Eleanor Cullen was Earnest's second adoptive daughter. She joined their "family" in 1935 after Royal found her being mauled by a brown bear and brought her back for Carine to change her as it was the only option to save her.

Although Eleanor can sometimes be a handful, Earnest loves her as much as he loves his wife and his other "children".

Archie Cullen
Archie Cullen is Earnest's second adoptive son. Not much is known about Earnest and Archie's relationship, but Earnest loves Archie as much as he loves his other children, and they are willing to do anything to protect one another.

Jessamine Hale
Jessamine Hale is Earnest third adoptive daughter. Not much is known about Earnest and Jessamine relationship, but Earnest loves her as much as he loves his other children, and they are willing to do anything to protect one another.

Beau Swan
"You're what she wants. It'll work out… somehow."

- Earnest to Beau.

Beau Swan is Earnest's newest adoptive son, married to her son Edward.

When Beau first comes into the Cullens' lives, Earnest notices the change in Edythe and is grateful to him for it, as he had previously worried that she would never find the kind of happiness the rest of them had. After Edythe and Beau started a romantic relationship, Earnest accepts him into the family and loves him as much as his other adopted children.

Appearances

 * ''Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined