"That evening, the queen spoke to Malcolm and Caroline. 'The king and I have talked it over,' she announced. 'We have decided that you should not get married next summer as you requested.' Caroline's face fell and Malcolm opened his mouth to protest, but the queen held up her hand for silence. 'We think you should get married as soon as possible,' she continued. 'Caroline, I am sorry that I was hesitant at first, and I now believe you will be a wonderful addition to our royal family.' One month later, when the young couple were married, Caroline wore the diamond earrings that the queen had put under her mattresses to try to trick her."
Everyone listened in rapt silence as Renesmee read the conclusion of Edward's latest story.
Alice clapped her hands in delight. "Diamond earrings! Nice touch, Edward."
He grinned. "I was going to use a dried pea, like the original story. But how would the queen explain the presence of a pea? I thought the earring made more sense."
"Very well done," Carlisle praised his son.
"Thanks," Edward said. "But, Mom, no. Really, you are far too kind. You're going to make me blush." Renesmee giggled. I supposed Edward considered Esme's unspoken appreciation of his talent to be over the top.
"I'm entitled to my opinion," she said, unperturbed by his request.
"Absolutely," Rosalie agreed. "And I'm entitled to mine. Edward, I have to say that this story…" Her expression solemn, she paused to keep us in suspense, although Edward began chuckling, obviously aware of what she was about to say. "… is the best one yet," she concluded.
"Really?" Emmett asked. "I thought you liked Sleeping Beauty best, because the vampire saw something about the human that made him want to change her when she was nearly gone, and they lived happily ever after."
"Yes," Carlisle nodded. "I love the new story, but Sleeping Beauty is my favorite for that reason." He lifted Esme's hand to his lips and kissed it.
"It was my favorite," Rosalie acknowledged. "But I like how Caroline defied expectations. In my human days, girls like me had to conform to very rigid rules. Caroline was able to fulfill her role by being a good hostess and skilled at making lace, but she was so much more besides. And Malcolm loved everything about her."
"Well, you know my favorite is always going to be Goldeneyes," Emmett said. "I never get tired of hunting grizzlies, and I never get tired of hearing that story, and I never get tired of—"
"Emmett!" Edward interrupted sharply.
"What?" Emmett looked around innocently, as everyone laughed. "I was just going to say, I never get tired of evenings with my family." He smiled broadly. Edward rolled his eyes at his brother's disingenuous words.
Jasper spoke up. "Alice and I are both partial to the Shoemaker story, but for different reasons."
"She likes it for the shoes," I guessed.
"Of course!" Alice exclaimed. "Making things is good, but making things beautiful is even better. Valerie's flair for design was a very important element of Martin's success."
"I like it because Thomas and Valerie turned away from life in a vampire army. Despite that experience, they respected humans. They really appreciated Martin's generous and kind nature," Jasper said.
"Do you have a favorite, Esme?" Carlisle asked his wife.
"Cinderella," she replied. "Because that was the first story Edward wrote for Renesmee. And because Cinderella's early life was not easy, first with her sisters and then with the vampire who changed her, but she always tried to make the best of her situation, and she finally found love."
"What about you, Jacob?" I asked my best friend.
"I'm guessing your favorite is Little Red Riding Hood," Rosalie said disdainfully.
"Don't think too hard. You might strain yourself," Jake cautioned her.
"Jake!" I scolded him.
"What?" he asked innocently. "I'm expressing concern."
"Let's step outside and you can express your concern to me," Emmett said, grinning.
"You're getting away from the topic," I admonished them. "Is that your favorite story?"
Jake still hesitated, and Edward chuckled. "Go ahead," he told Jacob. "You can say it."
"Well, it's not a bad story at all," Jacob began.
"Thanks!" Edward spoke with exaggerated enthusiasm.
"It's just, I think the pack might have saved Scarlett's grandmother. Why were they goofing off in the woods when a dangerous bloodsucker was on the loose?"
"Jacob, if the wolves had protected the grandmother, then there wouldn't be a story," Edward said patiently. "But you're welcome to write your own version of that or any other tale. You can make the wolves as heroic and the bloodsuckers as evil as you like."
"Oh, I'll leave that to you," Jacob said airily. "You need a little project like this to give you something to do at night." Emmett snorted, but Jacob kept speaking. "While normal people are sleeping. Besides, I wouldn't know how to begin to—" He stopped abruptly. His mouth hung open as he stared into space.
"Got an idea?" Edward asked cheerfully. He shook his head. "No, I thought about that one, but I didn't see how to work out the ending. Oh! That one has promise. You could probably manage to cobble something together based on that. But I've never heard of a vampire called Brittany. You might want to come up with a different name."
Scowling, Jacob rose to his feet. "I'm out of here," he announced. "I don't get how anyone in this family can do anything original or creative with the constant commentary from Mr. Critical here. He's worse than Simon Cowell!" He bounded out of the house, calling, "Bye, everyone! Catch you later, Nessie, OK?"
I sighed. "Edward, you could have been nicer."
"Worse than Simon Cowell!" Edward repeated mournfully. "That wounds me." Everyone laughed at his tragic act.
"Bella, you didn't say which is your favorite," Esme said, in a transparent bid to change the subject and keep the peace. "Sleeping Beauty? Because the vampire rescues and turns the human girl?"
I shook my head. Edward frowned. "I thought you liked that one, love," he said.
"I do," I assured him. "But my favorite is always the next one. The one you haven't written yet."
--------
Only a few days later, Jacob approached me with uncharacteristic diffidence. "Bella, I did make up a story for Nessie."
"You did? That's so great! Can you tell it tonight?"
"Oh, no, it doesn't have to be like that. I'll just tell it to her some afternoon."
"Stories and bedtime go together," I said firmly. "Renesmee will be thrilled to hear what you wrote for her." He didn't meet my gaze. "Edward and I can take off if you don't want an audience," I offered. "We can go hunting or hang out at the house."
He blew out a long breath. "You'll hear it sooner or later, right? You two should be there. She'd want that. I don't mind."
"Are you worried about Edward criticizing your story? He won't. He was just teasing you before. I'll tell him—"
"Bells," Jacob interrupted. "Don't worry about me. Really. You should worry that after hearing my story, Edward will be so awestruck that he'll never be able to write again."
"I'll take my chances," Edward said. We hadn't noticed his approach while we were talking. I rolled my eyes.
"You know what I worry about?" I asked them.
"What, love?"
"That one day I'll be so fed up with the way the two of you compete that I'll tear my hair out. And then what will I do? It won't grow back!"
"I'm sorry, love," Edward said contritely. "No hard feelings, right, Jacob?"
"Sure, sure," Jake replied. "We're good."
"Jacob's like a brother to me," Edward continued.
"I guess," Jacob said. "If I had a brother who was smaller, weaker and not nearly as cool."
I sighed and left them to it.
------
Glancing around at our eager expressions, Jacob launched into his story. "Once upon a time, there were three bad vampires. Their names were James, Laurent and Victoria."
Renesmee's mouth fell open. "Those were the vampires who hunted Mommy!"
"Yes, they were very bad," he said.
"But you saved her!" Renesmee continued.
"Well, the pack," Jacob began to correct her. But my daughter shook her head, sending her bronze curls bouncing.
"No," she said emphatically. "Daddy saved her from James, and you saved her from Laurent and then you worked together to save her from Victoria."
"That's right," I agreed. "Ever since I came to Forks, Daddy and Jacob always took care of me, and the rest of the family and the pack helped, and now we are all taking care of you."
Jake nodded solemnly. "No bad vampires will ever hurt you. Either of you."
"Absolutely not," Edward chimed in.
"I don't really need you two to protect me anymore," I reminded them.
"Of course not, love," Edward said smoothly. But I saw the look the two of them exchanged. Their expressions were as clear to me as Renesmee's heartbeat: That's what she thinks. But we're not dropping our guard. At least they weren't bickering.
"Did you have a story to tell us, Jacob?" I asked dryly.
Jacob grinned. "These three parasites roamed all over, hunting innocent men, women and even children everywhere they went. They were stronger and faster than any humans, and they thought because they were a gang of three, no other vampires could ever stop them from doing anything they wanted. One day they came to a big forest and decided to stay a while. James chose a nice tree for his home base. He would climb up and sit in the branches to watch the stars at night and the clouds going by during the day. Laurent wanted a nicer place where he could keep some books to read. He was able to build a little wooden house very quickly. He could store his library there and it would stay nice and dry, and he could sit inside and read when it was raining. Because it rained a lot."
Renesmee giggled, and Edward turned to Jake in shock.
"What?" My best friend and I questioned him in unison, as Renesmee cried, "I'm sorry! I wasn't s'posed to tell!"
"It's my fault," Jake said quickly. "If she's thinking what I think she's thinking, all my fault. But we had a blast, and there was no harm done."
"I'm waiting," I announced pleasantly.
Edward took a deep breath, but Jake spoke first. "Let me," he requested. Edward gestured for him to proceed. "Remember last week when it was pouring rain and I took Nessie to Claire's house for a tea party with Claire and Quil? Well, we did that. But then… we went outside and had a mud fight. We gave the girls old clothes to wear, and Claire's mom bathed them afterwards," he continued in a defensive tone. "And she has great memories, doesn't she?" he asked, looking to Edward.
Renesmee nodded energetically. "We had fun," she proclaimed, showing me a scene of gleeful screams and indescribable filth.
Edward chuckled. "I can't argue with success. But please, no secrets." He fixed our friend with a stern gaze until Jacob nodded.
"I'm sorry," he said. "We didn't plan it, but I should have told you afterwards. I want you to trust me."
"We do," Edward said seriously. "But right now, my little girl is waiting for her story."
"And so am I!" I added.
"And so am I," Edward echoed. Jacob grinned and picked up the tale.
"James had his tree. Laurent built a wooden house. But Victoria wanted something even fancier. She liked to take things from the humans she killed. She'd take their clothes and their jewelry. She built a sturdy stone house to protect these things, and she had a big mirror so she could try on different outfits and see how she looked.
"The three of them felt very satisfied with their new base. They each had a nice home that suited their needs, and being ruthless bloodsuckers, they roamed to nearby cities to hunt humans. But there was something they didn't know. The forest that seemed like such a nice place to stay for a while was close to Quileute land. Because vampires were in the area, a few of the young people in the tribe began to change into wolves. At first they were on the wild side, but soon they learned to work as a pack and to change their shape as needed. They could sense that their enemies were nearby. One evening they were ready to face the bad vampires and defeat them.
"They had no trouble following the reeking scent of bloodsucker towards the tree where James was relaxing and gazing at the moon. But although they tried to move quietly, James noticed something when they got close to him."
"Perhaps the foul stench?" Edward suggested.
"No comments, please," Jacob requested loftily. "James looked up and saw three huge, powerful animals snarling with menace. He was struck with fear and raced to Laurent's house at top speed."
"I think it was the revolting smell that drove him off," Edward remarked.
"Edward, stop!" I chided him.
He grinned. "I couldn't resist. I'll be good," he promised. Jacob ignored him.
"The pack surrounded the house and howled. James and Laurent had never seen anything like the giant wolves. But they were very smug and superior, and they thought the house would keep their adversaries out. Boy, were they wrong! The pack threw their bodies against the door and crashed into the walls, and the house quickly collapsed. But as soon as the structure began giving way, and the wolves were caught for a moment among the broken beams, James and Laurent ran away to Victoria's house.
"The wolves were just behind, nipping at their heels as they fled in terror. James and Laurent barely made it to Victoria's house. They slammed the door behind them and heaved sighs of relief, because they thought her strong stone house would definitely stand against their attackers.
"But the wolves were not just big and powerful. They were also very smart. One of them changed to a human shape to gather hunks of wood and set them on fire. They threw these burning brands in through the windows. Well, you know fire is one of the only things that can hurt vampires. James, Laurent and Victoria tried to put out the flames, but the pack just kept lobbing in more flaming logs.
"The three parasites couldn't avoid the fight any longer. They ran out of the house, expecting that they could quickly kill the wolves like they would an ordinary animal. But the wolves were much larger and stronger than anything they had ever encountered. The pack jumped on them and ripped them all to pieces. When they had destroyed the bad vampires, they burned every last bit, so that those bloodsuckers could never hurt anyone again. Then they carefully put out the fire. And after that they kept watch, so that all the humans would be safe."
"Yay!" Renesmee cheered the story's happy ending.
"You liked it?" Jacob asked her.
"I didn't like it," she told him solemnly. Then a huge grin broke over her face. "I loved it!"
"Me too, Jake," I said. We both turned towards Edward.
"Well done," he said, smiling. "I guess you've learned something from reading my stories so many times."
"Edward!" I protested.
"Oh, he knows I'm just teasing," my husband said unrepentantly. "It really was a good story."
"And I have read Edward's stories loads of times," Jacob said. "It would be worse to admit I hadn't learned anything."
"There's just one problem," Edward said. "Your story was too exciting. She won't be able to fall asleep after that."
Renesmee spoke up eagerly. "Yes, I will, Daddy! If you sing a song for me, please?"
"Of course, sweetheart."
"Thank you, Daddy. Thank you for the story, Jacob." They smiled fondly at her, each handsome face glowing with satisfaction. I took in the harmonious scene, hardly daring to breathe. For once they were together without vying for our love and attention. They were both content with her appreciation. My daughter was a genius.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! Please consider leaving a review. It means so much to me.