Author's Note: Thanks to Juliejuliejulie for her support and to Gleena for her expert knowledge of invisible ink & vampire vision and to edward-bella-harry-ginny for her assistance with musical instruments & Edward's clothing!
"Once upon a time, there were two vampires who were brother and sister. Their names were Thomas and Valerie—"
"Thomas and Valerie!" Renesmee interrupted, her voice full of indignation.
"Yes, that's what I said," Edward confirmed calmly. He glanced at me, golden eyes sparkling with humor. Do you have something up your sleeve? I asked him silently. He winked.
"Daddy, you told me there would be a new story tonight," she accused.
"True."
She opened her mouth to retort and then closed it again. Her brow furrowed as she pondered the situation. Edward smiled, and I guessed he was reacting to her thoughts.
"Daddy?" she asked tentatively.
"Renesmee?" he responded in the same tone of voice.
"Is this a new story about Thomas and Valerie?"
"Would you like that?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up with joy. She touched my cheek and showed me her visions of the characters in the scenes Edward had invented and described for her: the siblings sewing shoes by candlelight in their nephew Martin's cottage, Thomas fastening their mother's bracelet on Valerie's wrist, Martin telling the story to his own children.
"Do you remember what happened to them at the end of the first story?" he asked.
"They went to another land," she said.
"That's right, sweetie. They went to another land, and there they lived in a house deep in the woods. The humans in that area did not know that a pair of vampires were their neighbors. If any hunters wandered near, Thomas and Valerie would scare them off by darting among the trees and creating the impression of a large beast just out of sight. They did not want humans to discover their home, but they would sometimes go to the nearest cottages and secretly watch the villagers go about their business.
"Valerie became especially fond of a woman who lived alone with her son Jack. The two of them had very little: only a tiny scrap of land and a small house, not much more than a shack. The woman had a limp and was never able to go far from their home, but Valerie could see that she was extremely hard-working. The garden and the family's few animals were very well-tended. Although young Jack had a tendency to forget the difference between a vegetable and a weed or whether he had completed his chores for the day, his mother was always cheerful and patient.
"One year, bad luck struck this little family in the form of a blight that affected the plants and a sickness that killed one of the cows. Jack's mother decided they had no choice but to sell their remaining cow, and she sent Jack to the market with the animal. Determined to do something to help them, Valerie intercepted him along the way. Jack was startled to see this pale, beautiful woman appear before him."
Renesmee smiled and drew in her breath with gleeful anticipation.
"'I'd like to buy your cow,' Valerie said.
"'Really?' he said. 'What can you give me for it?'
"Well, Thomas and Valerie had no money at the moment, as they seldom had need of it, but Valerie had devised a plan. She offered him a blank piece of paper.
"'What's this?' Jack asked curiously.
"'It's a magic map,' she told him. 'Leave it out in your garden in the sunshine for a day and see what happens.'
"Jack was very excited by this idea. He grabbed the paper, handed over the rope that was tied to the cow and dashed home as quickly as he could.
"'Look, mother!' he shouted as he drew near the cottage.
"'What is it, son?' his mother asked. 'Did you get a good price for the cow?'
"'Yes,' he said proudly. 'I traded the cow for this magic map.'
"Jack's mother was very distressed when she learned that their last item of value had been exchanged for a blank piece of paper. But she did not scold Jack. She knew he had done the best he could, and each other was all the two of them had now. While she prepared a meager meal, silently fretting over what was to become of them now, Jack placed the paper in the garden as Valerie had instructed him, carefully weighing down the corners with stones so it would not blow away.
"In the meantime, Valerie took the cow to a town some distance away. From the information she and her brother had picked up as they roamed all over the region, she knew that this breed of cow was common in the village nearest to Jack's home and much rarer elsewhere."
"How did she get the cow all that way?" I asked.
He grinned. "As you might imagine, she had to carry it for part of the way."
Renesmee giggled, and Edward and I had to laugh too when she showed us her image of Valerie with a large, placid-looking brown cow slung across her shoulders.
"Valerie was a very determined person, you know," Edward continued. "She explained to the buyers in this distant market that such cows gave plentiful rich milk. The customers were very eager to believe this beautiful girl with golden eyes. She bargained so well that she was able to get five times as much gold for the cow as Jack could ever have gotten in his own village.
"The next afternoon, Jack proudly showed his astonished mother what had become of the map. Valerie had written in invisible ink, and the sunlight had caused the writing to show."
"Invisible ink!" Renesmee exclaimed. "Is there really a such thing as invisible ink?"
"Yes, sweetie," Edward answered. "If you use the juice of a lemon, for example, the paper will look blank when it dries, and heat from the sun or a lamp will bring the writing out."
"I want to try it." Her eyes shone with eager delight. "I'll write a secret message to Jacob. Promise you won't tell him," she said imperiously, giving us a severe look.
"I promise," Edward assured her, as I nodded.
She grinned happily. "Now tell about Valerie's map," she requested. "I'm sorry for interrupting."
"Don't be sorry. You can always tell us or ask us anything you're thinking about. As for the paper Jack had left in the sunshine, it now showed a map to Thomas and Valerie's house in the woods. Below this map were these words: Treasure is waiting for you here in exchange for your cow. But you must visit the house only at night. Valerie specified when Jack should come, because at night, they were usually out hunting or enjoying the woods. That way she might be able to keep secret from Thomas that she was intervening with a human family."
Renesmee took a deep breath and wriggled with excitement under her covers.
"Jack's mother was concerned about the entire situation. She did not want her son to go to a strange house in the woods in the area where some sort of strange beast was rumored to live. But she had to admit that the map was clearly an invitation to Jack. She concluded that as he had given the cow for this map, he could try to use it. But they decided it was best for him to go during the day rather than at night.
"Jack had some trouble following the map and locating the house, but at length he stood before the unlocked door. Glancing at the map again, he read over the words and reminded himself that he was looking for treasure. He entered the house and began to explore. Now, Valerie had left the bag of gold on the table for him to find, but he walked right past that and began examining the books on the shelves in the living room. As he was flipping through one of the volumes that looked interesting, he heard voices as Thomas and Valerie returned home. Instinctively, Jack jumped into the closet to hide.
"'Valerie,' Thomas said immediately. 'What is going on here? I smell the blood of a human! In our house!'
"'Oh, dear,' Valerie said to herself. Apparently Jack had ignored her instructions to visit at night. Of course, she had noticed the scent too, and she had been hoping that Jack had come and gone while they were out, but it was obvious to both of them that he was right there. She told her brother that she'd explain later, and she dragged him back outside.
"As soon as they left, Jack crept out from the closet and ran home. His mother was relieved to see him safe and sound, but she was disappointed to see that the treasure he had acquired was a book. Still, they read the book together and enjoyed the illustrations. Meanwhile, Valerie explained to Thomas how she had tried to help Jack and his mother. Thomas said that maybe, since they had interrupted Jack, he would come back another time. And that is what happened. Without consulting his mother, Jack decided to return to the house.
"Once again, nobody was home when he arrived. He put the book back on the shelf where he had found it, and he began to look around. Once again, he paid no attention to the bag of gold that was still on the table waiting for him. Instead, he was drawn to a small black case in the next room. He opened it and found a flute inside, but Jack did not know what it was. He picked up the pieces and peered through them. He pressed the levers and poked his fingers into the holes. He was trying to fit the pieces together when, once again, he heard voices and leaped into the closet to hide.
"'I smell human blood again,' Thomas said to his sister.
"'So do I,' Valerie agreed. They saw that the bag of gold had not been touched, but all they could do was leave and hope for the best. As soon as the two vampires were gone, Jack raced home with the flute. His mother was surprised to learn that he'd visited the mysterious house again and brought back something different. She showed him how to assemble the flute, but neither of them could coax any pleasant sounds from it. Jack's mother advised him to leave well enough alone, but Jack was determined to use the map one more time.
"This time, things were different. Thomas and Valerie heard Jack coming. They slipped out of the house but stayed nearby to watch, keeping their fingers crossed that Jack would use better judgment on this visit. Jack was on his way to replace the flute in the living room where he had found it, when he saw a bag sitting on the table with a huge red tag attached to it. On this tag in large letters were the words For Jack. Jack's mouth fell open. He dropped the flute in its case and picked up the bag, marveling at the weight of the gold.
"'He found the money!' Valerie exclaimed with relief.
"'Finally," Thomas said. 'Now let's scare him off so he won't come back.' Thomas jumped through the window into the house. 'I smell delicious human blood!' he snarled, exposing his teeth. Jack was terrified. Clutching the bag of gold against his chest, he sprinted home.
"Jack's mother was astonished when he told her what happened. She was delighted to have the gold that was clearly intended for Jack, but she shuddered to think of his narrow escape from the bloodthirsty monster. Jack promised her that he would never go near the house again. Jack's mother invested the money wisely, and they prospered for the rest of their days."
"Thank you, Daddy. That was a funny story," Renesmee sighed. "I love Thomas and Valerie."
"Me too," I added.
"Do you think there could be another story about them?" she asked.
Edward's crooked smile held more enchantment than a compilation of fairytales. "You never know."
"I finally have a chance to answer your question, love," Edward said, taking me in his arms as we entered our room.
"What question?" I had no idea what he was talking about.
"Think back," he advised solemnly.
I'd asked about the cow, but he'd answered that. Then I realized what he meant. Laughing, I rapidly unbuttoned his shirt, and he held his arms so that when I pushed it off his shoulders, it fell to the floor. I ran my hands down along the silken skin of his arms. When I reached his hands, I caught them up and brought them to my mouth, kissing each one.
"I see that in fact you have nothing up your sleeve," I declared.
"I could still be concealing something," he said. "You'd better make sure." His low, velvet voice sent a shiver of excitement down my spine. The atmosphere suddenly felt charged with electricity. When I looked up at him, his scorching gaze made me feel hot all over. We were perfectly silent as I knelt to remove his shoes and socks. I unfastened his pants and slid the clothes off his body. He moved only to cooperate with my actions. I raked my eyes over his flawless, naked form. "Do I… pass inspection?" I was too dazed with desire to speak. I nodded, still staring at his marble perfection. "But there is something I'm hiding." We weren't even touching, but his slow, husky tone and the look in his molten gold eyes were causing my need for him to blaze out of control. "I have some tricks to show you." I couldn't take any more. I stepped forward to throw myself into his arms. I reached out towards the wall, but he grabbed my wrist as he crushed me against him. As I gasped with the pleasure of the contact, I heard his final words: "Leave the light on."
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed our story! Edward and I are working on another fairytale, but I can't say when it will be ready. Please consider sharing your thoughts on my story. Reviews mean so much to me!