AUTHORS NOTES:

I am looking for a Beta. I've tried to keep things in line with Twilight as much as possible. I've read the books several times so I think I've done a pretty good job, but if you find anything far out of canon, please let me know.

Twilight and its characters are owned by Stephanie Meyer.

Chapter 1 – Portland

Renesmee POV

We moved from Forks shortly after the Volturi decided to let me live. Grampy said it was about time. If he waited much longer, people would start getting suspicious of his never-aging appearance. We had also outgrown the mansion. The cottage was nice for mom, dad, and me, but mom wanted more space for me to play. The mansion was getting pretty tight after they made a large portion of it my playroom.

Jacob spent many nights at our house, so they gave him a bedroom. He usually preferred to sleep outside, but Nan Esme insisted on him having a bedroom so he'd feel more at home.

Jacob spent most of his time homeschooling with Alice and playing with me. Seth and the rest of Jacob's pack came around occasionally, but things had been nice and peaceful for a while and all of the shape-shifters decided that the Cullen family – because we are a family – wasn't a threat, so they didn't feel the need to have everyone doing rounds every day and night.

Mom never said so, but I could tell she was happy to be leaving Forks. She hadn't been out in public there since before the honeymoon, which was just over a year before we moved. She couldn't, she looked completely different and people would definitely notice the discrepancy. I remember a distorted version of her pre-vampire face. It was like she went on an extreme makeover show. In two days she went from looking humanly beautiful to absolutely stunning in every way. Even her voice sounded nothing like it had when she spoke to me while I was still growing inside her.

We didn't move far, though. Everyone wanted to stay near the pack, Billy, and Pop Charlie for as long as possible, so we gathered together and decided on a small town outside of Portland, Oregon – the home of two hundred twenty two cloudy days per year on average. It was a scenic 5 hour drive away from Pop Charlie, four if dad was behind the wheel.

I deeply missed my family in Forks… the pack, all of my Quileute friends, and most of all, Pop Charlie. Since mom and dad had no trouble driving at night while I was sleeping, we'd load up the RV and drive North to visit about twice a month, spending usually two or three days at a time.

Pop Charlie took to grandparenting like a fish takes to water. Mom said he was never good at showing his emotions and usually kept quiet, but he was the exact opposite when I was around. His face would light up the moment we stepped out of the RV.

I remember the first time we arrived at his house in our huge RV. "Your dad is his usual worrisome self, Hun," my dad said to my mom as he patted her knee jokingly.

"How so?" She looked over at him, her eyes so gentile and affectionate.

"He thinks we're not coming. He's worried that he will never see us again, despite the fact that you've promised repeatedly that you would. It's only been two weeks," dad said with a chuckle and a smile.

Dad knew just how Pop Charlie felt about mom and me. He had no intentions of keeping either of us from him as long as he lived.

When we arrived, we could all hear his heart beating what sounded like 120 beats per minute, but we were all too preoccupied with excitement to take the time to count. He flung the old front door open before we even parked the RV. His face looked tired, but electric with happiness. His jaw nearly fell off his face when he saw me. It had only been two weeks since we left, but apparently I had grown more than he anticipated. As I popped out of the RV, we both came running toward each other like something right out of the movies.

He reached out and scooped me up into his arms, patting my head and hair. If I were as fragile as a normal kid, I'd have probably been suffocating from the firm grip of his hug. We had never gone this long without seeing each other. His smile was wider than I'd ever seen. A single tear fell from his eye. He probably thought I didn't notice when he tried to disguise wiping it by burying his face into my long bronze curls.

Mealtime was never awkward when we visited Pop Charlie. We always hunted before we left. After spending so much time with us when we lived in Forks, Charlie came to the conclusion that meals were another one of those "better off not knowing" subjects. Along with things like mom's voice, how Edward looked the exact same he had when he first moved to Forks, and how I grew at an abnormal rate.

We visited La Push every time we went. Uncle Billy, because he was family to me, was much like Charlie in that he was always shocked to see how much I'd grown. He seemed to understand our strange ways, and his family had strange ways of its own. Jacob moved with us to Portland. When we visited Forks, he usually spent most of his time at La Push. The RV was big, but not big enough for Jacob to be comfortable sleeping in it. The smell during the drive alone was enough to make him open the windows.

Everyone would usually gather at Billy's house one of the evenings we were in town. There were so many people that Charlie and Sam ended up converting Jacob's old garage into a makeshift covered patio complete with grill and plastic chairs. Every time we came, mom always brought a little something to make the area more complete. After a few months, it was starting to look more like what an outdoor living space should look like. Of course, Billy was as reluctant about receiving gifts as Jacob, so she had to keep the gifts practical.

When we left our first visit, Pop Charlie said goodbye as if it were the last time he would see us. The hair-hankie trick became a reoccurring event. I always pretend not to notice. Pop Charlie always sent me home with a little something. He thought of us as those people who were impossible to buy for because we had everything, but he always sent me home with a little something to remember him by.

The first time, it was a vintage reproduction of the Queen Marie Amelie Sapphire, Diamond and Pearl Tiara. He knew how much I absolutely loved playing dress up. Seven large sapphires swirled up in a line, the center sapphire the largest with the remaining three on each side slightly smaller. The sapphires were surrounded by diamonds. Smaller sapphires sat atop smaller scrolls between each large sapphire. Pearls lined the base, under a row of diamonds, with several pearls accenting each diamond crusted scroll leading to the large sapphires. Spectacular was an understatement. Of course, the stones were crystals and not actual diamonds and sapphires. The pearls were genuine, though. It didn't matter at all to me what it was made of.

It was a little big at first, but it didn't take long for me to grow into it. I insisted on wearing it the entire ride home, but I woke up as we were pulling into our driveway I found it neatly placed beside me.

I was the luckiest child in the world. I wasn't exceedingly spoiled, but I never went without. One of my favorite pastimes was playing dress-up. Everyone got in on it, but usually it was just mom, dad, and Jacob. Mom and dad always played the parts of the King and Queen. I was the princess, of course. Jacob's ensemble varied. Sometimes he was the court jester, others he was the noble steed, and if I begged enough, he'd be the prince.

Finding tights big enough to fit Jacob was a challenge; we had to have the custom made. Dad didn't mind wearing the tights. He'd worn clothes from numerous eras, what's one more? Jacob loathed the tights, but some costumes wouldn't be complete without them. For the most part, I let him choose whatever he wanted to dress up as. He would have worn the prince costume every day if I had asked, though.

My playroom in our Portland home was quite possibly the greatest of all time. During Zafrina's visit to Forks, she had shown me amazing scenes from palaces she had seen. I modeled my playroom after it, adding flair from my imagination and my family's contributions and ideas. Once I showed my dad what I was visualizing, the project began. Aunt Alice had foreseen this event long before the move, so the house was designed with it in mind. I thought the space looked a bit odd before the playroom was built, but it all made sense later.

For a while, everyone was obsessed with designing my playroom. Every family member had a part in it. Converting images of castles and palaces into something resembling a playroom was quite the task. Our imaginations were flooded with ideas. Aunt Alice, of course, had the grand idea of actually building a miniature palace, but that would be pretty ostentatious and definitely ruin any chances we had at seeming "normal."

My entire family, including Jacob, had a hand in the masterpiece. It was as though they were competing to see who could get it exactly right, but it was a cooperative effort. I was shocked at how they all worked together and with a smile the entire time. Even Emmett kept his snide remarks to himself and resisted numerous urges to decide things based on who won wrestling matches. I loved all of their ideas. After all the plans had been drafted and redrafted, and all the miniature models had been reworked time and time again, everyone finally agreed on the perfect plan and it got my seal of approval.

Each person did their part to construct it. Jasper and Grampy did most of the architectural planning. Alice and Nan Esme did all of the decorative shopping. Emmett and Rosalie built everything. Mom, Dad, and Jacob pitched in on all of the efforts.

My favorite part was traveling to China to pick the absolute perfect silks and fabrics. I had never imagined it possible to look at so many different types and colors of fabric. Alice and Nan Esme did an incredible job coordinating everything. My mom, on the other hand, had ideas of her own.

"I know you two love international travel for the sake of shopping, but for fabric? Is this really necessary? Can't we just drop in a few local fabric shops, or maybe travel out of state if absolutely necessary?" my mom questioned incredulously on the way to the airport.

"Bella, she only has one childhood. And besides, it's been fun living vicariously through her! So combine Nessie's desire for something profound and my need for absolute perfection, and that should answer your question." Aunt Alice always knew how to get her way.

"So what's next, traveling to Africa to rob the rain forest for the flooring?"

"No, Bells… Em and Rosalie have already purchased the flooring. It came from Hickory trees in a tiny part of the southern Appalachian Mountains called Blue Ridge. It'll be perfect!"

My mom resigned at that point, knowing there was no stopping Alice once she got started.

I wish we could have visited China for longer, but the weather was only going to be dreary just long enough for us to do our shopping - which took every bit of two days - and get to the airport just before the cloud cover passed. Everything was so different from our culture. Photos in history books had not done this country justice.

Once the decorating crew – mom, Nan Esme, and Alice – started putting things together in the playroom, I wasn't allowed back in. They wanted to surprise me, and I was sure I wouldn't be disappointed. They blocked off the entire section of the house with a thick, dupioni silk curtain that matched the sporadic lavender hues of the nearby family room perfectly. I could hear loud knocks, drills, and staple guns, but I couldn't see a thing.

Start to finish, the whole project took about a month. That's saying a lot, considering it was a group of nine strong adults, only one of which needing to take breaks for sleep and eating. I was very anxious to see the final result, but I knew it was important to all of them that I be good and wait for the grand reveal. The days seemed to drag. My simple bedroom filled with toys seemed so dull. I took lots of walks around the gorgeous property to try and distract myself.

I was still growing very rapidly. Grampy charted my measurements weekly. My growth came in spurts. The first couple of months of my life, I grew to the size of a two year old. After that spurt, it slowed. I reached the average height and physical development of a three year old in my first year. My growth continued to come in spurts. Sometimes I wouldn't grow at all for weeks, then I'd shoot up almost overnight. It was a good thing mom had a stockpile of clothing in all sizes ready for me, because it came in handy. I can't imagine waking up two inches taller and not having long enough skirts or big enough shoes.

The family loved me so dearly. Their biggest wish for me was to have an "as normal as possible" childhood. So every time I reached another growth milestone, they'd throw me a birthday party. I may have been incredibly smart for my time, but my desires and likes always held true to my age. There was no way I was going to refuse having multiple birthday parties per year. It was a win-win. They seemed to really enjoy doting on me. For mom and dad, it came naturally. I think the others enjoyed it because it was something new and different. They'd had the same routine for decades, or in dad's case almost a century. My childlike mind didn't care the reasoning behind it. I didn't take my position for granted, but I did relish in it when the opportunity presented itself.

A/N:

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Reviews are appreciated :-)

As I've written the story, I've collected inspirational photos. In the end authors notes I'll include a link to each chapter's album. No peeking ahead! :-). Hopefully you guys like this idea. The photos aren't usually an exact representation of what I'm describing, but they help me visualize and describe things. The one photo for this chapter is an exact representation of what I described it as. It carries significance throughout this story and the followup to it.

Here's the album for this chapter: picasaweb dot google dot com/fairytalesfanfic930/Chapter1