Set after S4 of True Blood, and S3 ep 9 Homecoming of The Vampire Diaries. Sort of anyway!
Chapter One: Trial & Error
Bill was angry; he always seemed to be angry these days. The fact that he was pretty bad company to be around didn't escape him.
Stefan Salvatore stood in front of him looking repentant. On another day Bill may have been more easily swayed by the boy's polite, soft spoken pleas. But today was not that day.
"Did you not get the memo? Was I not clear enough?" Bill raised his voice with exasperation, "There are to be no practicing witches in area five or area six. My areas five and six!"
"Yes, my liege. I understood the ruling, but there are extenuating circumstances-"
"There always are..." Bill interrupted under his breath.
Bill leaned back in his ergonomic leather chair and crossed his leg so his ankle rested on his knee. He pressed his fingers together and sighed. No amount of perfectly aligned leather seating was going to lift this weight from his shoulders.
He just wanted this whole damn thing to go away. Just thinking about it gave him a headache (metaphorically speaking of course). It was just the kind of case that set a precedent; and that left him with very few options other than to make an example of the Salvatore brothers. But his heart wasn't in it.
Truth was he liked the boy. Always had. But he'd heard the stories and frankly they concerned him. There was far too much negative vampire activity in Virginia. When he dug around to get to the bottom of it, the same two names kept coming up: Stefan and Damon Salvatore.
Damon was out of the country (or so he'd been told), and so his people had only been able to haul up Stefan Salvatore from Virginia to Louisiana for questioning.
Now Stefan was here in front of him, he was forced to look him in the eye and accuse him. The boy seemed so apologetic that sending him into the light seemed like, well, overkill (for want of a better word).
Bill knew that Stefan was the brother who existed in the shadow of Damon's light. He was less impulsive, quieter, steadier. In his own brief dealings with the boy he had found him nothing less than gracious and accommodating. He was exactly the kind of vampire that was badly needed in the post Russell Edgington world.
Except he wasn't.
Somewhere along the lines Stefan had slipped up and gone badly off the rails. And Bill didn't know what annoyed him more, Stefan's deeds, or the fact he would have to punish him for them.
Oh he knew all about the boy's 'Ripper' activities of the past; but frankly most vampires had something in their closets to be ashamed of. It came with the territory. But Bill had been genuinely saddened to hear of Stefan's latest transgressions. In his position as King he could have given the boy a serious slap on the wrist (albeit a firm one) for the killings, and ordered him to make costly reparation to the victims' families. Bill knew from experience that most humans were avaricious creatures, and money settled most 'accidental' deaths in his domain - so the fact Stefan had killed again was not what troubled him. What was causing him anxiety, was the fact that Stefan and Damon had directly contravened vampire law. His vampire law. They had consorted with witches.
"Bonnie Bennett saved the life of vampires my liege, many times." Stefan explained. "She would never betray us. I can assure you-"
"My decree was clear, Stefan. No witchcraft, no associating with witches, no dabbling in magic, no spellcraft, no Wicca, not even so much as a goddamn josstick!" Bill thumped the table in front of him, sending his pencils jumping into the air.
"Yes, my liege." The young vampire in front of him bowed his head briefly, then raised it again.
Bill sighed, the boy looked troubled - as well he might. Bill knew he was being hard on him, but what could he do? His position was untenable.
He ran a hand over his face and tried to shake the tiredness. He needed a drink; perhaps that would improve his mood.
Buzzing his intercom always filled him with a perverse sense of power. He did it now. It cheered him up a little...
"Two blood bags please, Marlon."
"Coming straight up, my liege."
Bill stood up and moved out from behind his desk. Stefan watched him warily from the corner of his eye. Bill noted that the boy stood with his head raised and his hands clasped behind his back, his feet shoulder width apart. It was a well chosen stance; it showed humility and respect, but also denoted strength.
"If I make an exception for you and your brother, then I'll be asked to make an exception for someone else - and then where will it end?" He complained. When Stefan didn't reply Bill huffed in protest at the decision he had to make.
Being King was not all he had imagined it would be. Keeping to the rule of law, making those laws in the first place, putting down rebellions, handling politics, watching out for all the backstabbing, devious, plotting, no-good vampires of Louisiana... Some days he missed just being plain old First Lieutenant William Compton of the 28th Louisiana regiment.
Bill picked up an objet d'art on his mantelpiece and shifted it a little to the left. He would have symmetry in his office, even if he couldn't have it in his life.
There was a knock, and one of his black-clad human security guards came in bearing a silver platter with two blood bags and crystal glasses.
"Where would you like these, my liege?"
"Over there."
The man bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. If Stefan was intimated by the number of armed guards outside the room, he didn't show it.
"Blood?" Bill asked him. "It's the real deal. Donation, obviously."
"No thank you."
"Oh that's right, you don't do the real stuff, do you? You know there is a family like you up in Washington. An interesting way to live. I can call you up some Tru Blood if you prefer?"
Stefan declined politely. Bill poured himself a glass of the carefully warmed blood. As it settled in his stomach, he felt his mood improve a little. He moved over to the couch.
"Sit down, Stefan." Stefan did so, joining the King but sitting awkwardly. "Listen, I've heard all about your hybrid problems and believe me, if Niklaus passes through Louisiana territory, he will have me to answer to. But you know I don't make the law in Virginia. I am merely overseeing your district until the leadership challenge has been taken care of and the monarchy is restored. But that puts me in a awkward position. I cannot lose the respect of the vampires in area five by being sloppy with maintaining the law in area six. Your escapades in Virginia have brought too much attention. Way too much for me to ignore."
"My liege, I-"
Bill closed his eyes for a brief second and held his palm out flat to the boy. "Please. 'Bill' will do just fine." If he heard 'my liege' again today he may just scream.
"Bill," Stefan said uncertainly, "Niklaus has been a threat to me, my brother and my loved ones. We only used the services of the witch in order to protect ourselves."
"Yes yes, I know all that." Bill drained his glass, got up and helped himself to the secondary blood bag intended for Stefan. He leaned against his imported Philippe Starck desk as he sipped. "Look, Stefan, I'll level with you. I know you and your brother are still young. And all of us make mistakes when we are young, but this is what you get when you bring witches and werewolves into your lives. What did you think was going to be the outcome? Rainbows and kittens?" He smiled without warmth. "Believe me, I know from bitter experience, nothing good comes of dealing with either."
Bill crossed his legs at the ankles and surveyed his opulent room. Finally he found the intelligent green eyes of the vampire sat in front of him. At least unlike some of the vampires he had dealt with, Stefan was smart enough to know when to speak and when to be spoken to. His problem was that he had been turned too young, before he'd had a chance to experience all aspects of human life. The boy lacked perspective. It was a common fault, Bill found, and one that made him sigh with regret.
"Look, I'm not going to make any decision tonight." He continued firmly, standing. "We'll resume this in the morning. I'll have Marlon escort you back to your room."
When the vampire had gone, Bill collapsed back into his chair and rolled his head.
He really only had one choice - albeit one which would leave him with an unpleasant taste in the mouth. It would be best if he got it over with quickly.
He'd have his men wait until Damon returned from his travels, then order the death of the brothers when they were both in custody. If he did anything different, Damon would come after him. And frankly he could live without another vendetta against him. He was already dealing with more than enough of those.
Stefan was lead back to his accommodations. His rooms may have been lavish and grandiose, but the two armed guards outside his door and the one patrolling his balcony reminded him that this was most definitely still a cell.
Still, his room was a suite, and he had a large and comfortable four poster bed, a flat screen, TiVO, and a bathroom with a beautiful roll-top bath. He knew that he could have ended up in the cells beneath the palace, but Bill must have been feeling unusually benevolent as he had ordered for him to be put in one of his guest rooms instead. Mind you, Stefan wasn't foolish enough to assume that this was any kind of indication of whether he was going to be found guilty or not. That would be a dangerous way to think.
The vampire sat back on his luxurious bed and wished he had a phone. Bill's little luxuries only went so far.
Beside his bed were a selection of synthetic bloods of different blood-types. He cracked open an A rhesus negative and sipped at it. He wasn't too keen on the taste, but then he wasn't used to it. Virginia was yet to catch on to value of living in the open with humans, and so existed without the use of the synthetic stuff.
He kicked off his shoes and swung his feet up.
Fuck Bill Compton and his rules, he thought sourly. The man was a prize asshole. And fuck the two-bit monarchy too. Always interfering with their lives.
He made a face at the lingering aftertaste. What he wouldn't give for one of Damon's decent bourbons right now. And what he wouldn't give for Damon to get him out of this mess either. Trust his brother's usual fantastic timing to pick now to take Elena out of the country, so he was left to face the wrath of King William Compton the first all on his own.
If he ever saw his brother again, he'd kill him himself.