Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood nor its characters but I do own Lilithe. I hope you enjoy, this is my first fiction in the longest time. So I decided that I would pay tribute to the novel 'Atonement', the story will mainly stay within the views of Godric, Lilith, Eric and possibly Sookie. However, every now and a then it will switch to views such as Sam, Tara and other characters. Some will be short and some may go on for chapters, who knows.
I Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1 - White Rabbit, I Will Follow…
All I've Wanted Just Sped Right passed me
While I was rooted fast to the earth
I Could be stuck here for a thousand years
Without your arms to drag me out
Signal Fire - Snow Patrol
Godric
To say that I was tired with my existence did not do the truth justice. Some of my kind would call this a fall from grace, and unfortunately I fear this might be true. Little has caught my attention, I scathe through the days as they begin to mold into weeks, and weeks become years and years become centuries. I lose recognition of faces and I lose the memory of dates and places, it all begins to mold together. My existence is not much of anything, what we are, what I am has lost all its lure and excitement. My fall from grace has been cold and callous.
I am proud to say however, that my progeny, my child Eric has not fallen. He had his pride and thus he esteemed his nature and lavished it. He is young after all, and has merely half the life I had and there is much more for him to endure ,still I hope he will accept it openly and without much regret. Perhaps I could become like my son, perhaps I could rise again? Perhaps, just perhaps, my existence could mean something once again.
But this was just a whisper of dream, I feared it would be like trying to catch smoke with your bear hands. It will just slip away and disintegrate into nothingness.
Merlotte's Bar and Grill
Lilithe
"Lil! I swear to god, if you are late one more time you will be out of a job!" Sam Merlotte stood aside the bar, his hands firmly planted on his hips.
"I know! I know! Sam I'm sorry! I promise it won't happen again!" I had stumbled into the bar, 37 minutes late, to be exact, with my affects jumbled in my hands. This had become a regular occurrence, not intentionally of course, but it was a lethal threat to my financial state. I had realized I was new, I realized that Sam had given me this job out of dire need for another waitress, and I realized that Sam Merlotte was not serious about his threat to fire me. His posture soon became relaxed and he cracked a subtle smile.
"You know kid, if you keep this up you'll be late more times than Sookie." He threw his towel over his shoulder and begun his prep work behind the bar. I winked at Sam and headed to the back room to start getting ready and prepare for my shift. Sam was right, however, I was racking up an impressive tally of lateness in my 2 months at Merlotte's. It wasn't the best job in the world, but it was money in my pocket, a roof over my head and food in my mouth, so I had to keep this job.
I put my affects in my designated cubby and sighed as I raised myself to look at myself in the mirror. My red curls were wild and had no desire to be contained in an form or even to be tamed, my skin was pale and dark circles began to form under my eyes from my lack of sleep. This job was draining the life from me, I liked my sleep and there wasn't much of it to be had. I couldn't help but smile as a bitching Tara stormed into the room and out again, her reflection almost a blur. Today was no different than any other day for her, I was impressed that she had managed to ever keep a job for more than a few days.
I fussed with my hair and applied a layer of lip gloss and turned to begin my duties. Dinner rush would be starting soon and I had to make it up to Sam for being late. I closed the door behind me and made my through the small passage that led to the bar. Locals started to pile in, so far it was just the older crowd but once 9:30 rolled around, it would be a hell of a lot more wild than this.
------
"Terry I need two Cheeseburger Deluxe and one Fish basket and I need it now!" I hurried past Arlene, my tray lifted on my shoulders filled to the max with burgers and fries. Four college kids were getting rowdy at table five and they had been demanding their food for about 20 minutes or so. My back had ached, my feet were burning, my head pounding and my ass had to have been black and blue by now.
They looked up anxiously when they saw me coming with their tray of food, I was impressed that it made it there, Merlotte's was filled passed maximum capacity and it was hard to breathe even. I faked a smile as I came to their table.
"Okay, so one Double Cheeseburger with Waffle Fries, on Bacon Burger, one Black Angus, and one Chicken Fried Steak." In order I set their food before them and pulled the tray to my chest. "Is there anything else I can get for ya'?" They barely heard me. "Another pitcher sweetheart, and make it fast." I only nodded and turned swiftly on my heals, dodging drunks and waitresses alike to reach the bar, I feared Tara's state of mind as she hustled even more feverously than the rest of us. I approached with caution with an empty pitcher in my hand, I looked to Tara for a brief moment. Her chocolate eyes flashed up at me then back down to the cocktail she was making.
"What do you need?" I could hear the tension in her voice, I almost hated to ask as she was throwing out drinks at phenomenal speed.
"I need a pitcher of beer, any beer it doesn't matter." I set the pitcher on the counter and dodged her gaze. "Take your time!" I dispersed back into the haze of people, Sookie Stackhouse was rushing as much as I and Terry and Lafayette were shucking out food like mad men, shouting 'Order Up!' as loud as they could. Country music blared, pool sticks struck colored balls, people laughed and cheered, drunken sounds and singing drowned out any sense of sanity I had left. I went to the kitchen, Terry was flustered, his cheeks red and his face dripping with sweat, he pulled ticket orders down left and right.
"ORDER UP!" His voice bellowed with frustration as he slammed his hands on the counter, spatula in hand.
"Don't have a fucking cow terry!" I shouted as I snatched the food from the counter. I stopped looking at my watch and waited for the insanity to end, the clock was your worst enemy as was Terry's frustration.
------
My feet were screaming at me to get off them as I dipped around tables picking up empty plates and glasses. There wasn't but six people left in Merlotte's. Closing time was rolling around and I couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. I could hear my soft bed calling to me from six miles away, I tossed the dirty dishes in the wash tub and approached the bar. I leaned over and rested my head briefly on the cold counter, I felt a deep pulsing behind my eye lids.
"Long day Lil?" The velvet southern voice was thick and classic.
"Sookie's in back Bill, she'll be out in a sec. Can I get ya' a True Blood?" I didn't bother raising my head.
"Two please." I could hear the gentle smile in his voice.
"Thirsty?" I stood up straight and turned around. I imagined Eric Northman standing next to him, but to my surprise it was someone far shorter and even more handsome. The vampire next to Bill barely stood 5'7, his hair was short a dark chestnut color, deep shades surrounded his bright eyes and tribal marking shown apart from his milky skin under his grey shirt. I was speechless, any sense of knowledge was drained from my head. I stared at him for what felt like minutes, he was alluring, dangerous, and irrevocably inviting. I could barely manage to escape the words behind my lips. "Umm, A neg, or is it something else? Or a combination, cause we're not busy and I could do that." I mentally was slapping myself.
His smile small, but warm and his voice sent chills through me like an earthquake. "A negative and B negative, if that is possible, Miss." His accent was something else, something I couldn't place, Western European possibly.
"Sure thing." I turned around and grabbed Bill's TruBlood first and then threw it in the microwave. My back was turned from Bill and his friend, I grabbed A and B negative and mixed the two in another glass. There was a soft ding and Bill's was done, I turned around and handed it to him then put Godric's in the microwave and waited.
"Bill! Godric!" I jumped at Sookie's voice. Sookie Stackhouse had appeared out of nowhere, bag over her shoulder and sweater in her arms. "Well Godric I didn't expect to see you here! Bill, you should of told me!" She was all smiles when bill showed u at Merlotte's at the end of her shifts, it was fascinating. I was captivated by their affection towards one another, after ever longing look, every harsh, unintentional word, their bond only grew deeper and deeper; I had not seen anything like it in a long time. I relished at the thought, secretly, that one day I might have something just as profound as Sookie and Bill's love but then I began to doubt it again.
"Lilith Petra don't doubt yourself!" I looked over my shoulder and saw Sookie smiling at me, I smiled back as I turned, TruBlood in hand. "Well I finished all my stuff, So me and Bill are going now. Can you finish all this by yourself Lil'?"
"No problem. I just got to take all the dishes back and I'm done for the night. Get outta here Sookie before Sam decides to keep you here all night." I grabbed a rag and began wiping down the counter. Sookie smiled and linked arms with Bill and was headed towards the door.
"Are you coming Godric?" Bill asked.
"If it is alright with Miss Petra, I would like to stay here and finish my TruBlood." He looked at me, I was dumb struck again.
"Its fine with me, you just have to leave when I'm done." He simply nodded, Sookie and Bill said their goodbyes and left. The room was quiet and still, I finished with my dishes quickly and began putting away whatever was done. I felt his eyes on my the whole time, my nerves were running wild, my heart skipping beats any time I caught his gaze. I felt like a school girl whenever her crush was in the same room with her. My stomach in ropes. I had never been in a room alone with a vampire before, I had no idea what to say or what to talk about.
"Lilithe is a very interesting name." His voice was cool, calm, powerful.
"Third generation Romanian." I smiled, last dish in hand. "My grandparents, then my parents then my brother and I."
"Do they also have, older names?"
"My mother's name is Astrid, my father William." I laughed at the plainness of his name, "Then there is my brother Lucien."
His eyes pierced through me, in a swift motion he was standing in front of me, little space between us. " Vorbesti limba romana?" (You speak Romanian?)
"Impecabil" (Fluently) I grinned, he stepped a little bit closer.
"Mai fac apel la dumneavoastra candva?" (May I call on you sometime?) His breathe was cool against my heated skin.
"Cel mai sigur" (Most Certainly)
"Lil' it's late, I think you should head out." Sam Merlotte leaned against the door frame, my bag and shirt in his hands. I barely looked away from Godric.
"Of course Sam." Godric held his palm out, I placed my hand in his. Instead oif shaking it he kissed the tops of my knuckles, his lips left my flesh in a state of panic, a bitter wildfire was sent through me.
"Until next time, Lilithe."
Sam
I watched that vampire kiss her hand and I watched her reaction, she was awestruck, it was just like Sookie. I waited for her to get into her car and drive off before I shut off the lights. She had her foot in a bear trap. After Tonight, he wouldn't let her go. I had to protect her, I couldn't let it happen again.