Disclaimer: I do not own the Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse Novels/True Blood Novels, neither in part nor full. All characters and content are the legal property of Charlaine Harris, whom I truly thank for supplying our world with such wonderful entertainment. This work of fan-fiction serves no purpose of monetary gain; only one of furthering the enjoyment I have gained from Ms. Harris's work.

Author's Note: While I am sure the concept of this fanfic is not original, as it is merely a retelling of the novel's events from a different point of view, I maintain hope that it is at least well-written and enjoyable. As this is mostly written as a sort of "character study", many of the scenes will appear in a similar fashion as they do in the novel, and all dialogue within these scenes will be identical to that found in the book. I feel this is important, as although I am trying to further the exploration of the inner workings of Eric Northman, it is these scenes that Harris provides us with which create the depth I wish to delve. However, I hope that by adding new scenes - and new views to existing scenes - to the story, I can breathe new life into it at the same time. I hope you enjoy it!

To Ends Eternal

Chapter One:

"Scent of Silence"


It was her skin, Eric decided, that had attracted his attention first. Her arms, face, chest, were nicely bronzed, colored with health and life. She knew well the feel of sunlight, and perhaps took pleasure in it. This was a welcome change in scenery at Fangtasia, where most Caucasian patrons prized and guarded their paleness, which could range from the rare porcelain of a naturally fair human – who would only turn ruddy at the touch of sunbeams - to the sickly, weak fish-belly white of one who purposefully avoided stepping outside. These humans seemed to think that the vampires whose attentions they so eagerly vied for would appreciate the pale complexions. Eric did not usually have much thought or preference one way or the other regarding human skin tone, though he was known to avoid those who purposefully stayed inside in an attempt to render themselves more attractive to vampires. This was the first time he had found himself appreciating the lively glow of a tan.

And she had dressed to call attention to this asset, he noticed as she took in her surroundings. She was wearing a tight, white dress. It contrasted nicely with her bronzed shoulders and bust line, and was decorated with small red flowers which pleasantly reminded him of blood-spatter. Her blond hair was loose and tickled her shoulders, and she wore a pair of bright red heels that were just begging to be left on after all other clothing was removed. Perhaps he would oblige.

But she had attached herself to a vampire whose paleness was very much so accentuated by the darkness of his hair. Bill Compton. As Eric continued to survey the girl, Bill leaned over, nearly burying his face in her long, thick, hair, and he must have whispered something to her, for she laughed. Though he could not hear it, Eric was sure the laugh was a bright and lively sound.

The couple made their way to the bar, where Bill caught the tender's, Long Shadow's, attention. The girl was smiling politely, and pulled three photographs out of a small, red straw purse that hung by her side. She passed the photos to Long Shadow, and a tiny wave of suspicion passed through Eric's frame. Bill Compton had brought a human woman into Fangtasia, and bypassed his sheriff in allowing the blood-bag to interrogate the staff. Later, Long Shadow would reveal the questions he had been asked, and Bill would regret his decision not to ask Eric's permission before conducting the investigation.

After a quick, but thorough, scan of the rest of the bar, Eric once again turned his attention to Bill and his companion, who were now seated at a table. The girl was quiet as a string of fangbangers offered themselves to the dark-haired vampire, and Eric watched the expression on her face as it slipped from mild annoyance to disappointment to the pain of being ignored and rejected. She was quite attractive when she was sullen and distressed.

A middle-aged man skulked away from their table, crying pathetically, and Eric's brows drew together in confusion. The girl's smooth, slender neck was not marred by the pin-prick wounds left by fangs, and yet Bill was sending meal after meal away, and now the stiffness of his frame and the determined set of the human's eyes suggested that the two were arguing. Perhaps Bill was mainstreaming a little too well, if he was not even willing to use a simple glamoring to stomp out the rebellious little spark in this girl of his.

Her eyes flicked from Bill's face to Eric's, and Eric stifled a pleased smirk as her clear blue eyes widened with a mixture of fear and appreciation. But he had given the girl enough attention for now, and so he resumed an air of boredom and began scanning his patrons once more, never lingering on a single customer for long.

Still, there was the matter of discovering just what the deliciously sunkissed girl was doing here, and just who Bill thought he was allowing her to ask questions without Eric's approval. Brushing a stray strand of his long blond hair behind his ear, Eric turned to look at Long Shadow, who at the moment seemed to have remained unfazed by the girl's questions. Surely if she had touched upon a worrisome subject, the bartender would have let his employer know.

And yet...

Another vampire, also blond-haired and blue-eyed, had spent the evening sitting beside him, rather forcefully shooing away the humans that had crawled towards her and Eric, and now Eric turned to her, prepared to order her to bring Long Shadow to him. During this act, however, he was stopped by the presence of two beings who had made their way to his table, and he scowled, hoping the primal sound would frighten his unwanted guests and send them scattering back to the dance floor or whichever booth they had ventured forth from. But his callers were not fangbangers come to beg for a bite as he had assumed, rather they were Bill Compton and his companion.

"Bill," Eric recognized the other vampire with a small nod. Bill nodded back, though more deeply, and waited at a respectable distance.

"Who's your friend?" the female vampire, Pam, almost purred, grinning to make sure the girl noticed that her fangs had slid out.

After a moment spent considering Pam, the girl spoke, a broad smile plastered to her face. "Hi, I'm Sookie Stackhouse."

"Aren't you sweet," Eric observed.

"Not especially."

The two blond vampires stared at Sookie for a moment. She was not as timid as they'd assumed. She had some bite to her. Eric and Pam laughed, though Eric was not sure if he was laughing because Sookie had been clever, or because she had been foolish in not fearing him and his child as much as she should. Still, he found it refreshing that she was neither paralyzed with fear, nor recklessly seeking the danger of consorting with vampires. This girl was certainly intriguing.

"Sookie," he tried, finding the name peculiar on his tongue, "this is Pam, and I am Eric."

Bill and Pam nodded at each other, and Sookie looked as if she were about to speak, but a firm grip at her arm, from Bill, stopped her.

"My friend Sookie," he said, almost warily, "would like to ask a couple of questions."

Pam turned to share a bored glance with Eric, who returned it despite already knowing the girl was in the habit of asking questions tonight.

"Like how long are our fangs, and what kind of coffin do we sleep in?" Pam drawled, voice dripping with contempt.

"No ma'am," Sookie replied politely, ever the picture of Southern charm. Eric nearly laughed again, but Pam was clearly surprised. "I'd like to know if you've seen either of these women in this bar," the human continued, pulling two photographs from her purse and passing them to Eric.

He wondered briefly where the third was before casting a disinterested glance at the two in hand. One was of a woman with black hair and a heavy jaw, the other of a woman Eric did indeed recognize. Considering his options, he decided to answer Sookie. Perhaps this would lead to more questions, and he would like to know just what Compton and his pet were up to.

"I have been with this one," he said, voice cool and calm. "She liked pain." At the time he had probably appreciated that, but now the woman was just another girl in a heap of countless memories . Sookie certainly looked worthy of joining their ranks.

Pam nearly scoffed in surprise at her master's answer, but obediently followed his example. "I have seen them both. I have never been with them. This one," she indicated the woman with the heavy jaw, "was a pathetic creature." She might as well have spat on the ground she was so obviously disgusted.

Sookie was clearly nervous, and hastily said, "Thank you very much, that's all of your time I need to take." She attempted to turn to walk away, but Bill's grip on her was firm and held her in place. He knew what was coming, and Eric had his suspicions about what the other vampire's reply would be.

"Bill," he asked, his eyes sliding over Sookie's neck hungrily, "are you quite attached to your friend?"

"She is mine," Bill said, a little too firmly. Eric had expected that, but it was glaringly obvious that Bill had not yet fed on Sookie, and therefore the claim was barely official. So, the blond vampire allowed his eyes to sweep over her slowly, taking in her sweet face, the alluring slope of neck into shoulder, the soft, scrumptious swell of her breasts over the neckline of her dress; her waspish waist-line, the hearty curve of her hips, and her long, toned legs. Yes, Bill may have declared Sookie his, but Eric would not be in too much trouble if he acted before the claim was sealed in blood.

Slowly, he lifted his head in a gesture indicating that Bill and Sookie were now allowed to take their leave. Bill bowed, took two steps backwards. The human still regarded Eric and Pam anxiously for a second, but her date steered her away gently, and she followed most willingly.

When they returned to their table, it was once again clear that they were arguing. Bill spoke first, and if the bar had not been filled with the buzz of other conversations, Eric would have easily been able to hear theirs. As it was, however, he could recognize the shape of his name on Bill's mouth, and the set of the other vampire's shoulders was envious, and so Eric was pleased. Bill was insecure, his claim to Sookie was tenuous at best, and so far there was no indication that their relationship was proceeding smoothly.

"She is...different," Pam said, her lip curling slightly, though he could not tell if it was in disdain or amusement.

"Yes," he agreed tersely. "And Bill is up to something."

"He has not fed on her," she offered, and her maker knew that the response not only implied that she concurred with his previous statement, but that her thoughts also mirrored his own concerning Bill's claim to Sookie. "Nor has he tried to glamor her, though she is clearly willful."

"They spoke to Long Shadow before coming to me with their questions. See if you can't make sure he knows not to let that happen again."

As Pam stood to obey him, Bill stood from his own table and headed to refresh his and Sookie's drinks. Without hesitation, Eric's thoughts sought the boundaries of Sookie's mind, smiling inwardly as her gaze flicked up to him, then demurely to her hands. There was a spark of interest within her – too deep for her to notice herself, most likely – and he pulled at it gently, willing it to rise to the surface of her thoughts. But his grip on her mind faltered, and her eyes remained on her hands, though her breathing had quickened and her lips had screwed into an annoyed pout. He tried again, then again, pulling at her with increasing strength, but always failing to hold on long enough to effect her will.

He snorted, frustrated, but curious. Eric knew now, why Bill had not simply glamored away Miss Stackhouse's stubborn disposition. He also banished any and all doubt that Bill was attempting to slip something past his sheriff's notice.

Bill returned, and again their conversation was tense. Eric watched as the other vampire placed his hand forcefully at the back of Sookie's head and turned her face towards his. She was clearly irked by this gesture, and Eric's brows quirked at it. If Bill could not win her with mind-tricks, surely he would want to avoid violent undertones. His interest in this girl went beyond lust and gluttony, Eric suspected.

Instead of reacting as he was used to seeing human women react to such shows of force, Sookie merely adopted a bored look, and her bright blue eyes lazily scanned the crowd in the bar. It happened in a flash, but Eric caught it; she had left herself, and her date. Her attention wandered elsewhere, her own mind was vacant, and he had trouble pinpointing just what it was that had drawn her out of herself.

Then, as quickly as she had left, she returned. Life, and worry, came back to her eyes, and when she continued her conversation with Bill, it was pithy and hurried. The pair stood and the vampire swept his human towards the door. As they passed Eric's table, Bill waved as if motioning for the blond to follow, and the gesture was flung through the air with determination. This was no jealous call to fight in the alley, no flippant suggestion that there were issues to be discussed outside. Something else was at work here.

Eric rose to his full, impressive height, his long, strong stride carrying him past Bill and Sookie as they all sailed smoothly out of the club. Without stopping, or even slowing, Eric made sure to take the arm of the bouncer and sweep her along with the rest of the group. The two of them maneuvered their way to stand by his car, where he signaled her to wait silently for the others to catch up.

"There's going to be a raid," Bill said as he approached.

"How do you know?" Eric's voice was dry, and quick.

But Bill paused, and somehow Eric knew it would be the girl who would speak up.

"Me." Aha. There it was. Whatever she said next was the answer; to why she had been immune to his powers of persuasion, to what Bill expected to gain from consorting with her...to what Eric himself might gain by doing so as well. "I read a policeman's mind," she muttered, very softly. If he were human, he would not have been able to make it out. Sookie glanced up at him quickly, and he felt a deep hunger rise in him. Pam had been more right than she knew; Sookie was different. And useful.

"That's interesting," he murmured, wondering how many times he had said that to a human without lying. At least once, now. "I had a psychic once. It was incredible." He wouldn't bother clarifying whether "had" meant ate, fucked, or both. It was more fun letting Sookie come to her own conclusion.

"Did the psychic think so?" she snapped tartly.

Eric laughed, pleasantly surprised by the response, though she had already proven herself handy with witticism tonight. "For a while," he answered, pleased by the continued ambiguity of the statement.

Sirens leaped up in the background, and though he would have preferred to continue this game with the human, to squeeze some more information about her ability out of her, it was time to go. Along with the bouncer, he slid into his car, and drove away.

Bill may be up to something, and it very well may have to do with Sookie's mind-reading. But for now this issue could take the back seat. First, Eric would discover just how useful the ability could be to him, then he could concern himself with what Bill intended to do with it.

***

When he'd found out someone had embezzled nearly $60,000 from the bar, Eric had been outraged. But, quick on that anger's heels came an idea which he found quite appealing. Perhaps, he'd thought, Sookie could lend a hand. Bill had agreed to bring her to Fangtasia so she could read the minds of its human employees and report her findings. He'd been reluctant, but he'd also had no choice.

Sure, Eric could find out who the thief was himself; death threats and torture were very effective motivators, after all. However, that option did not allow for the chance to observe Sookie's unique skill. And Eric was definitely quite interested in that. Bill had refused to answer questions regarding its nature and origins. It had been obvious that he did not actually know most of the details concerning her ability, and Eric was mildly surprised when he was pleased by that fact. It had occurred to him rather belatedly to ask whether or not she could read vampire minds, and that was the one query Bill had been able to answer, with a firm, relieved, 'No'.

"I'll make a deal, Eric," Sookie said, very straightforward, as she stood in front of him now. They were in his office at the back of the bar with Pam, Long Shadow, and Bill, and Eric had just assured her that if provided with enough evidence, he would turn his embezzler over to the police rather than deal with the thief in the traditional vampiric way. It would be an easy promise to keep. Of course, it would also be easy to make sure there was not enough evidence.

"What would that be, Sookie?" he asked, smiling indulgently, like a mother might when her child offers her a deal to avoid grounding. He would make no deals with humans.

"If you really do turn the guilty person over to the police, I'll do this for you again, whenever you want."

Eric's eyebrow rose, slowly, as he regarded her, bemused. She was wearing blue jeans, a pale blue scoop-necked tee, and a silver necklace, which he had thought amusing at first sight. Also adorning her neck were fang marks. So Bill had finally tasted his meal. And judging by her hair, which was now several shades lighter than it had been the other night, and the fluid grace with which she now conducted herself, she had drunk from him as well. That was an interesting, and unexpected, turn of events.

"Yeah, I know I'd probably have to anyway. But isn't it better if I come willingly, if we have good faith with each other?"

Humans were awfully fond of that word; faith. Anyway, it might be that she had a point. Sure, he could make her do whatever he wanted simply by threatening Bill or some human she loved. But he and the rest of the Fangtasia operators were trying to mainstream, and keep as legal as possible. Most of their patrons were fangbangers or human tourists, and it would be best to keep his relations with humans above-board. Or at least as above board as human-vampire dealings could be.

For a split second, there was a strange sensation at the corner of his mind. A swift flash of contact, a small, dry brush of foreign thought against his own. It was gone perhaps even more quickly than it had come, but it had most certainly been there.

"Besides," Sookie prattled on, hurriedly. She was nervous, surprised. Bill had said she could not read vampire minds, and yet Eric was sure she had just read his. But she was surprised, which furthered his interest in her. Even she did not know her own limits... "how sure are you that the thief is a human?"

Pam and Long Shadow, his co-owners, started towards the human at her words, but he silently compelled them to stay still.

"That's an interesting thought," an interesting though, yes. But not one that hadn't already occurred to him. He feigned surprise, though, for the benefit of the other three vampires in the room. "Pam and Long Shadow are my partners in this bar, and if none of the humans is guilty, I guess we'll have to look at them."

"Just a thought."

"Start now," he said coldly, "with this man." He indicated Bruce, the middle-aged, thin-haired man who sat cowering across from Sookie. Bruce was the accountant who had noticed that some numbers did not add up, and dutifully reported to his employer. That did not put him beyond suspicion, though.

Sookie moved next to Bruce, where she knelt before tentatively taking his hands. After a second, she released them, and instead gently held his wrists. That same distant, almost vacant, look Eric had witnessed the night she first came to Fangtasia passed over her face. It lasted a moment or two, before she came back to herself and asked:

"Did you take the money?"

"No," Bruce groaned. He was sweating profusely.

"Do you know who did?"

"I wish." It didn't take a mind-reader to realize he was telling the truth.

Sookie stood, and turned to Eric, shaking her head and sending her blond ponytail bouncing. The vampire allowed himself to briefly imagine her hair coming undone, falling onto her bare shoulders, while Pam escorted Bruce from the room and came back with another human employee. Her name was Ginger, and she was an over-confident strawberry-blond, wearing a trailing black dress and proudly displaying quite a bit of cleavage. She practically sauntered into the room, grinning at Eric and taking a seat in the chair previously occupied by Bruce.

"Hey, sweetie," she crooned at her boss, earning an eye-roll from Sookie (and Pam), and a flat command to answer Sookie's questions from Eric. She sobered instantly, crossing her legs at the ankle in what she no doubt hoped was a very business-like yet appealing manner and waving a hand flippantly in Sookie's face. "Begin, fellow vampire server. Don't touch me!"

The other woman had taken hold of Ginger's wrist, and Ginger tried to fling her hands away, but Sookie did not yield.

"Pam," Eric ordered, "hold Ginger still." Pam obliged.

"Did you take the money?" There was a pause, and then Sookie got that far-away look again, but this time when she came back it was only halfway, and her face twisted into an expression of confusion. "She knows who did. She can't say the name...he has bitten her. It's some kind of compulsion. She can't even picture him."

"Hypnosis," Pam stated, her fangs exposed. "A strong vampire."

"Bring her closest friend," Sookie suggested.

"Should she stay, or go?"

"She should go. It'll only scare someone else."

The woman vampire left, taking Ginger with her, and when she returned it was with a bespectacled brunette, a little older than her friend, and clearly more sensible. She sat and accepted Sookie's touch without question.

"Belinda," Eric asked as he eyed Sookie curiously. She was not nervous anymore. It almost seemed as if she were enjoying exercising her ability. "What vampire has Ginger been seeing?"

"Anyone that would see her," she answered simply.

"Which one from here?" Sookie's outburst was sudden, and her eyes widened and moved only slightly -

And then Long Shadow was leaping from his corner, sailing easily over Belinda. He landed on top of Sookie, who fell backwards and slammed into Eric's desk. His eyes were wild, and she flung her arms up over her neck, so that his fangs sank viciously into her forearm instead of tearing relentlessly into her throat. If not for the vampire blood she'd most likely ingested, she probably would not have been able to react quickly enough.

Sookie had just proved herself too useful to be lost now, and Long Shadow was clearly traitorous, so Eric acted after only fleeting consideration. He kept a stake in his desk, in case of situations similar to the one at hand, and almost before he realized it, the wood was crunching through Long Shadow's flesh and bone. The vampire's body slumped forward and blood poured out of his mouth, running over Sookie's arm and into her open mouth. She gagged, choked and sputtered as Long Shadow collapsed into clumps of black gore.

Eric stood over the body as Bill pulled Sookie out from under it and Pam clutched the stricken Belinda by her arm. They were all frozen, and what was once Long Shadow began to smoke. No one moved or spoke until the wisps of blue-grey rising from the dissolving heaps of carnage disappeared. In the case of the two human women, it was fear, revulsion, terror, that had stuck them as they were. But Eric knew that for the vampires, the crippling force was not the final death of their false colleague, but the smell.

It came from Sookie. As soon as Long Shadow bit her arm, and her blood hit the air, a sweet smell had wafted from her wound. Eric had thought, at first, that it was perhaps a scent he recognized, but as it filled his nostrils he found it almost entirely unfamiliar. He gazed at Sookie, his head swimming and his fangs running out. The world was in a haze, and all he could concentrate on was her; her scent, the deep rise and fall of her bosom as she breathed heavily, the blood that clung to her arm, chest...lips.

"You'll have to get you an area rug," Sookie murmured. Through the haze he could not register the meaning of her words, but he could appreciate that they were surely not an appropriate response to the events that had just unfolded.

His eyes returned to her lips. They were soft, full, quivering with fear. And covered, slick with blood. "Your mouth is bloody," he said dazedly, before the implications of this wormed their way through the fog enough to bring him half back to his senses.

"He bled onto me," she offered lamely.

"Did any go down your throat?"

"Probably. What does that mean?"

"That remains to be seen," Pam said, her voice catching in her throat and pregnant with lust and hunger as she ran her eyes over Belinda's pouty lips. "Usually we drink from humans, not the other way around."

"How do things look to you now, Sookie?" When once her name had tasted strange and foreign, now it slid smoothly off of his tongue, leaving a trail of promise in its wake. Gods, her scent was still there. Faint, so faint, but there and far too tantalizing. He was slipping away from reality again and he knew that his blue eyes were burning like cold fires and drinking in the curve of Sookie's neck. She was staring at him, too, her eyes wide and struggling to stray towards Bill. Eric could feel the other vampire's gaze boring into him angrily.

"I think Bill and me'll go now," the girl said, voice cracking and wavering. "I did that for you, Eric, and now we get to go. No retaliation for Ginger, and Belinda, and Bruce, okay? We agreed." She started determinedly towards the door. "I'll just bet you need to go see how the bar is doing, huh? Who's mixing the drinks tonight?"

"We got a substitute. You smell different, Sookie." He took a step closer to her, not thinking for a second about the tension in Bill's frame or how that tension might be released if Eric so much as touched Sookie. He just had to know how she tasted...

He heard speaking, but did not register who had spoken or what was said, and then Ginger was back in the room, running her hands up his chest, pressing her body against him, and overwhelming that faint, sweet scent with her own, very human, one. He looked down at her, pulled away from his spell, disappointed. Sookie was leaving, and as she looked over her shoulder, he bent down towards Ginger's neck, pausing to smirk at the blond.

"I'll see you again," he drawled. As the door shut, he sank his fangs into Ginger and she did a poor job of disguising her cry of pain as one of pleasure. He was probably more ruthless about the feeding than he would have been otherwise, but he was desperately hungry, and furious because she did not taste nearly as delicious as Sookie had smelled. He had never fed on Ginger before – despite her earnest efforts to entice him into doing so – and he doubted he would again. It was also the first time in a long while that his feeding had not been laced with at least some strange, sexual pleasure, and it was an unpleasant experience all the more for that. Maybe Ginger's blood was truly sweet, but right now his desires and the actuality of what was presented to him were too incongruous for him to properly evaluate her taste.

He sucked down one last, long draw of blood, not bothering to savor it as he normally would. Ginger had at least stopped rubbing against him, and he thought that he had either taken a little too much blood from her, or perhaps she was shaking with bottled sobs. When he lifted his head from the crook of her neck, the girl mumbled a 'thank you' and skittered through the door, nearly crashing into Pam, who was returning, lips stained with blood – Belinda's, Eric assumed.

"That was most unsatisfying," she spat, reaching back to twist her hand into her ponytail as her nose crinkled and she licked the crimson stain from her lips, shuddering as she did so.

"Yes," Eric agreed.

"She smelled different. She is different," Pam's voice was small, and dreamy, and Eric barely heard her. "What is she?"

He snickered. He had asked Bill the same question when calling to request – rather, demand – Sookie's services. Bill had replied almost immediately, clearly quoting, and as he answered Pam, Eric adopted the same mocking, frustrated tone.

"She's a waitress."