AU. This is my first, so be gentle.

Naill introduces himself to Sookie two weeks before Bill moves to Bon Temp. How will her life change? What does Naill really want and what will he do to get it? Rated M for later chapters.

This story begins two weeks before Sookie meets Bill.

Ch 1.

Sookie's PoV

I could smell apple pie as I opened the door to the hall. Gran is conspiring against me. I'll never fit into that dress at this rate. Ah. That dress. I had splurged on an absolutely adorable dress when I was at Dillard's last week. It was white with little red flowers on it. It went about midthigh and hugged me in all the right places without looking slutty. I had bought it in an eight knowing good and well that I should really get a ten. I told myself that I would lay off the bacon, and the sweet tea, and the homemade bread, and the pie… Oh, hell. I need to go to the mall today anyway. I'll trade it in for a ten. I thought to myself with a loud sigh. It wasn't really Gran's fault. I mean she didn't force me to eat the pie (and bacon and bread), but the woman cooked all the time and it is just the two of us. When Jason lived here it was different. He could take down some food and Hoyt and his other buddies were always over for dinner, so making three pies a week was completely reasonable. Now that Jason lived in Mom and Dad's house and it was just Gran and I, my hips had suffered the price. I mean you can't let good pie go to waste, right?

I walked into the kitchen as Gran was pulling the pie off the cooling rake. My mouth began to water. I noticed the paint on the door frame was peeling slightly. I loved this house, after all it was my family's ancestral home, but it was an awful lot of work. I idly pulled at the paint chips for a second before seating myself at the kitchen table. It wobbled slight. Damn uneven floor. Without a word, Gran cut a piece of pie, put it on plate, then walked over to the fridge and took out the vanilla ice cream.

"One scoop or two, dear?" She smiled, her white/grey hair fell slightly over her eyes.

I sighed. "Two." Yep, definitely need to exchange that dress.

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I had already found the dress in a ten and was standing in line at the customer service counter. I looked at my watch. 3:37. I was suddenly very glad I had changed into my summer work uniform before I left the house. I mean, I did look a little silly walking around the mall in a barmaid's uniform, but there was no way I was going to get home to change before I had the start the evening shift. Not that Sam would be too upset if I was late. As far as boss' go, I couldn't ask for a better one. He was laid back and friendly, if not somewhat aloof about himself. Not to mention the fact that he's gorgeous, with his red-blonde hair and muscled frame. Not overly built, but definitely not something to scoff at either. He was different with me than most people, sometimes when I talked to him, it felt like he wanted to tell me something. Like he had a secret that he wanted me to find out, but never wanted to say. It was almost like he wanted me to read his mind and out him. I could never do that to Sam. I tried to keep out of people's heads as much as possible. I knew enough gossip and deep dark secrets to last a life time. The last thing I wanted was to screw up my job and friendship with Sam. I mean I had had a lot of jobs, but my telepathy never seemed to bother Sam. In fact, sometimes when we were alone in his office, he would give me that look. The look like he wanted me to read him and then would just look at me expectantly waiting for me to say something .

I was having this line of thought when I absently stepped up to the service counter. I looked up to the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And when I say up, I mean up. She was at least six foot tall with long flowing dark brown hair. She was wearing a form fitting white blouse and simple black slacks, but she made it look like it belonged on a runway. Over her left breast was a nametag identifying her as Claudine . She was still looking down at her computer screen.

With a dazzling smile, she looked up and said "How may I help you today?" As soon as her eyes met mine her smile faltered and brow furrowed. "You…" Within a second, the smile was back on her face again, but it no longer reached her eyes. I immediately dropped my shield, but her thoughts were opaque (word of the day, June 5th). I had never encountered a mind like this. Weird. I gave her a wry look and I felt my nervous smile slip across my face.

"Sorry. How may I help you?" She was eyeing me speculatively.

"I need to exchange this dress for a different size." I said as I placed both dresses on the counter and handed her my receipt.

"Of course, Miss..?" She questioned as she took the receipt and began typing on her keyboard. She kept glancing at me through her lashes.

"Stackhouse. Sookie Stackhouse." She let out a little gasped. I felt my crazy smile widen.

She continued to type as she eyed me taking in my uniform. "So you work at Merlotte's? That's in Bon Temp, right?"

"Yeah. It's a nice little place." She didn't seem dangerous, just really surprised and excited (?).

"I'll have to stop by sometime. Here's your new receipt." She handed me the slip of paper, but as I began to pull my hand away she grasped it tightly. She looked into my eyes like she was searching for something. Apparently she found it, because the genuine smiled spread across her face again. It was beautiful. Tears began to well in her eyes and with no small amount of emotion she said "It's so nice to meet you."

"You, too." Though, I wasn't really sure why, deep down I knew I really meant it. I smiled back and turned to walk out to my car. That was weird.

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Claudine's PoV

As she walked away I couldn't hold back the tears of joy anymore. I excused myself from the counter and walked out the employee entrance to stand outside. I knew who she was as soon as I saw her. I knew she had the spark when I touched her hand. I had absolutely no doubt. It was her, my cousin, and she could help us. We had been searching for her for years and finally we had found her. We had a rough idea of where she had been hidden. Northern Louisiana, maybe Renard Parish, but the shielding magic had been so strong we couldn't penetrate it. That's when my grandfather decided Claude and I needed to move here. We could not seek her out, but if we stumbled upon her we would know. That's why we decided on such public jobs. Not that I minded working retail and Claude definitely did NOT mind all the attention striping gave him, but we knew if we were patient eventually we would make contact. Once we found her and could identify her essence the shields would no longer hide her. We would be able to find her anywhere. It had taken six years. Six years from when we discovered she didn't die in the flood with her parents and that her Grandmother had hidden her. Not that we had seen her before then. Our laws forbid us from contacting part fae until they reached the age of reason (in human years it was around 18). Out world could be overwhelming enough and if they had the spark it would become unbound as soon as a full fae touched them. I frowned. Shit. I touched her. She's unbound. I needed to do this quick. I pulled out my phone and dialed my great grandfather's number. The tears were flowing freely now.

"Hello." His rich voice spoke. He must be in this realm, I thought. He never answered when he was in the fairy realm.

I took a deep breath to steady my voice. "Naill, I found her." I heard a small gasp at the other end of the line.

"Does she have it? Does she have the spark?" He had more excitement in his voice at that moment than I had heard in over two hundred years. I smiled again as I leaned against the brick wall.

"Yes." I breathed.

"I'm on my way."

Before I even shut the phone, I heard a pop and my great grandfather was standing in front of me. He looked as lovely as always. His long hair hung around his face and he wore an immaculate cream and charcoal suit perfectly tailored to fit his form. He embraced me in a short hug and then pulled back still holding my shoulders in his hands. "Where can I find her?" His eyes were dancing with excitement.

"Bon Temp. Merlotte's. It's a bar off the highway just outside of town. " He leaned over and kissed my forehead.

"Thank you child. I must see her for myself. I must make sure she is pure enough. You know what this could mean. What it could mean for our line?" His face was excited, but distant. As I looked at him and thought of his words I became suddenly wary.

"Grandfather, she is our family. It's her choice to help. You would never…" I asked hesitantly. He released my arms and looked at me.

"Of course it will be her choice." He waved his hand in dismissal. "I must go. I must set things in motion. Once she has been unbound, we must…"

I sighed. "I touched her." I said tentatively and looked down at my shoes. His expression faltered for a second.

"That was…unwise, dear one. We do not know what power she may possess." He looked pensively at his hands for a few moments and then turned his face to me a smiled. "No matter. I will be with her soon. Good bye granddaughter." And with another pop he was gone. I stared at the spot where he had stood and thought about his words. The tears began to flow again. She may be able to help us, but at what cost to her?

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