A/N: Last weekend, I was so eager to upload Chapter 13, while fanfiction wasn't accepting new chapters, that I replaced Chapter 1 with it, but neglected to repost Chapter 1. Here it is. For everone following Queen Sookie thank you for you interesting and supportive reviews. If you're not reviewing, just reading, I can understand, I did that for a long time also. But now that I'm writing, I see how important reviews are to authors. We may never make the NY Times best seller list, but we love writing, and we'd like to know that you love, or hate, about our stories.

Chapter 1

Queen Sookie's POV

I am Susannah "Sookie" Stackhouse, and I have a problem. Even though I am a 600 year old Vampire Queen, my CPA, William Compton, thinks he is smarter than me. How do I know that? He's been stealing from me for the past six months. I may not have a CPA or LLD, but you learn a lot in 600 years of reading and living, especially if you have a photographic memory, as most vamps do.

My second-in-command, Pam, wouldn't be in for another half hour. So I decided to start things in motion myself. Opening my iBook, I pulled up my e-mail and shot one off to Bill.

To: William Compton

Subject: Taxes

Bill,

Bring everything for this quarter's taxes tonight at midnight.

Queen Sookie

I'm always surprised when someone thinks he can cheat a being who is hundreds of years old. Since vampires came out of the coffin, everybody wants a piece of the action. Compton has been my accountant for the five years I have been out.

He was well paid and a good CPA, I wonder why he got greedy now? Now I have to find a new CPA, so I'm annoyed, I hate interviews. At least Pam can take the early ones, and I'll just do the final interviews.

Pam's POV

I got up and went to the office after I had a True Blood. I hated the stuff, but it was convenient, first thing at night. Real food always came later, along with pleasure. I dressed in a pastel blue cashmere sweater set and skirt. I always surprised idiots whose idea of vamp couture included black trailing sleeves and bustiers. You definitely won't see me coming after you, because you won't recognize me.

I admire Queen Sookie, and she's a good Monarch to work for. She shares with me, a sense of the absurd in the workings of the human mind; vampires are just not that interesting. All they think about is feeding and fucking, though the Queen is a bit more gentile in her speech. Neither of us suffers fools, human or vampire, and I always have her back. I would not like to work for any of the Kings I knew, sneaky, untrustworthy, hypocritical bastards, all of them.

"Good evening, my Queen," I said as I entered the office. "What is on the agenda for tonight?"

"Bill Compton. He's been stealing from us. Do you think anyone will miss him?"

"I doubt it, your Majesty. The research we did on him showed he's a loner with no ties. Must we kill him, your majesty? He's very pretty, in a moody kind of way. We could keep him as entertainment for a while. Or we could come up with something creative? We can have him donate all his funds to the Vampire Legal Defense Fund, join the Peace Corps and teach accounting in Mongolia. Or we can make him think he's an exterminator, and make him live in Bon Temps, or some other dump."

"All right, Pam. Enough. He'll be here at midnight, and we'll take it from there. Meanwhile, we'll have to find a new CPA."

By 2 AM, Bill Compton had signed over his accounts in the Cayman Islands to Susannah Stackhouse, of Shreveport, LA. He left the office accompanied by two vampires to pick up the Queen's records from his office. Once her records were returned, Bill will have forgotten that he ever worked for vampires, and will think that he is an honest businessman who would never cheat a client. I was a bit disappointed, I wanted to be more creative, but my Queen transferred $50,000.00 to my shoe account, which made me feel a little better.

I called the local branch of Accountants, Bookkeepers, Controllers & Prokurists Agency, ABCPA. I asked for interviews to start the following night. We hoped for an honest one this time, but since we couldn't read minds, only time will tell if we got it right.

The first CPA to show up was a shifter. His eyes kept darting around the room and never made contact with me, even for a minute. I hate shifters. You never know what will show up each month at the full moon.

The second applicant was a human male. Preston Powers had a predatory look in his eyes. I asked for his resume, and received one short sheet. It didn't seem to add up and I asked him about some gaps.

"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head about those gaps," he replied, "I took some long trips."

I smiled at him, quite innocently, 'Yeah, up the river,' I thought.

Number three was too young, just out of college, and not a CPA.

Number four had only been a CPA for six months. I don't have any shoes that old!

Number five showed up wearing a black 'wife-beater' and tight black jeans. It seemed that no one ever told him about "dressing for success." I didn't believe his five-star resume. Glamoured, he admitted that he was a con-artist who just wanted to get access to vamp money and blood. OK, we can't read minds, but we do have some resources.

When number six opened the door and introduced himself, I almost dropped dead! Oh, wait, I am dead. He could make me forget! 'BIG' was the operative word. I introduced myself, asked him to sit, then asked him for his CV. He handed me one page on heavy cream vellum. I looked at it, and then pressed the secret button under my desk. In a few minutes, Queen Sookie came out from her office, seemingly to bring me some papers. Sitting across from me was one of the most impressive men either of us had ever seen. He was well over six feet tall, with long blond hair and brilliant blue eyes. He stood when the Queen came over to me. Manners, too.

The Queen gave me her papers, and I handed her the CV. Sookie read it and looked at the CPA in front of her. She smiled, and a little fang dropped down. She stared at him. Their hair was almost an exact match, and though they both had blue eyes, they showed the range that blue could be.

"Mr. Northman, I am Queen Sookie," she said, "You have an impressive CV. Why do you want to work for vampires?"

'And why is a magnificent man like you not somebody's property?' she thought.

"Your Majesty, I'm bored with my current situation. I don't enjoy the constant selling of myself to get clients, and thought it would be interesting to work for your corporation instead," he replied earnestly.

The interview continued as the Queen asked him questions about law, taxes, investments and real estate. She knows as much as any CPA. When she finished asking her questions, she looked at me, "Pamela, have you anything that you wish to ask Mr. Northman?"

"No, your Highness. I believe you have covered everything pertinent."

"Thank you for coming in, Mr. Northman, we'll be in touch," she said regally.

He gave a slight bow of his head, picked up his briefcase and left. Queen Sookie looked at me, and I at her. Both of our mouths had dropped open and showed fangs.

"Your Majesty, is he for real? He's gorgeous! And if he is proportionate...," I couldn't stop smiling.

"Well, Pamela," the Queen replied with a smile, "I've never been so glad that you don't like men. Check out his references, jobs, schools, home, family history, everything. He looks too good to be true, let's make sure he isn't before we hire him.

******************************************

Eric's POV

I wanted the job at the vampire Queen's headquarters. My life had become an endless repetition of work, networking, gym and home with nothing of interest in between. I felt I needed something to excite and awaken my spirit again. Strange to be looking for help with my spirit from vampires, but I thought that they had seen so much over their long lives, that with their intensified senses, maybe they could teach me to feel again. Since my fiancée, Felicia, was killed in a car wreck two years ago, I hadn't felt much of anything at all.

I was in the reception area with several other candidates. We were all eyeing each other with thinly disguised hostility. After seeing them, I was convinced that my competition was pretty poor, and I had a good chance of getting the job.

My interviewer was a stunning blond vampire. She introduced herself as Ms. Ravenscroft. I thought I detected a slight English accent, and thought how sexy and aloof it sounded simultaneously. She held herself like a queen, and I wondered if she was the Queen, doing her own first interviews.

Ms. Ravenscroft sat down at her desk, my CV in her hand. She started asking me basic questions with the blank expression that vamps use all the time. I heard a door open and close behind me, and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen walked over to Ms. Ravenscroft and handed her some papers. In return, she was handed my CV. I realized that this must be the Queen. I quickly got to my feet, and gave a little head nod. She gestured that I could sit down again. She spoke, and her words flowed like warm honey into my soul. It took me a second to understand what she was asking, my reaction was so strong. Great, I thought, I must look like a hypnotized bull.

"Mr. Northman, I am Queen Sookie," she said regally. "You have an impressive CV. Why do you want to work for vampires?"

"Your Majesty, I'm bored with my current situation. I don't enjoy the constant selling of myself to get clients, and thought it would be interesting to work for your corporation instead," I earnestly replied.

I looked at her voluptuous body, long blond hair and direct blue eyes. Her eyes were the color of a cloudless sky at dusk. I could look into them forever, I thought.

The Queen continued questioning me about law, taxes, investments and real estate. She was very knowledgeable, and pushed for answers that revealed my ethics. The job was certainly more than a CPA position, more like a CFO; it embraced so much of the corporation's financial interests.

"Pamela, have you anything that you wish to ask Mr. Northman?" she asked.

"No, your Highness. I believe you have covered everything pertinent."

"Thank you for coming in, Mr. Northman, we'll be in touch," the Queen said regally.

I gave another slight bow of my head, picked up my briefcase, and left. Now I really wanted this job.

I was called back four days later. This time I was alone in the reception area, and Ms. Ravenscroft came for me within five minutes. We passed through her office into the Queen's.

Queen Sookie was sitting at a low table with several bottles and glasses in front of her. Though she didn't have to, she stood when I entered and extended her hand.

"Mr. Northman," she said, "I know we haven't discussed compensation yet, but I'd like you to work for me. If you agree, we can shake on it."

That was a big surprise. Vampires, normally, do not shake hands. But in the spirit of the kind of agreement I wanted with her, I reached out and took her small one in mine. Something akin to lightning shot through our clasped hands, and she stared at me. I caught my breath and almost hopped backwards. She dropped my hand and laughed a little, trying to cover the shock.

"Since you work for me now, may I call you "Eric"?" she asked, still smiling.

"Of course, your Majesty. May I continue to call you "your Majesty"?" I countered.

Both she and Ms. Ravenscroft laughed, "Yes, Eric, and this is Pam, my second-in-command. She will be your contact, if I am not available, otherwise, you'll answer directly to me. It would be best if you trusted no other employee, vampire or human, at any time."

I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. I didn't need to say anything; she knew what my question was. But she changed the subject.

"I've prepared a celebratory drink for us. Do you like champagne, Eric?" she asked.

"Yes, your Highness, I do," I smiled.

"I'm not sure we agreed upon that form of address, Eric, we'll have to negotiate it," the Queen giggled.

My six hundred year old vampire Queen giggled! I was thinking of other ways I could address her and her body, when Pam stood up. She was holding the bottle of champagne in one hand, and a short sword in the other. With one quick hit, she sliced the top off of the champagne bottle and the bubbling liquid spouted up and over her hand. I had visions of something else coming out in a fountain over a smaller hand, but fought to bring myself back into the present. Both women laughed with delight and I joined in.

"We don't have many chances to do that and it's such fun," Queen Sookie said, "Pam is so proud of that trick. She was taught by a French officer, a long time ago. Not the only thing he taught you, was it Pam?"

"No, your Majesty, he was very knowledgeable about many things," she reminisced.

Pam gave the Queen a champagne glass of Royalty Blended, and me a glass of champagne. Lifting her own glass of RB, Pam said, "Welcome to the firm, Eric. We hope you enjoy working for my Queen, and that it will be a long and satisfying partnership."

"Thank you for your welcome, Pam. Your Majesty, I look forward to working many nights under your instruction," I smiled innocently. Hey, I may be human, but I can play too. "When would you like me to start?"

"As soon as you can," the Queen answered, "We just had to fire our previous CPA. He was stealing from us. Your first assignment will be to go through all of the accounts for discrepancies. The accountant in charge of the office is Victor Madden. He is also human, but remember what I said about trust. Now, let's discuss your compensation package."

I sat back and listened to her talk. I was feeling things that I had not felt in two years, for my boss, a vampire. I didn't know what to do about this. What if we started an affair, would she kill me when it ended? And if it didn't end, would she want to turn me? Would I want to be turned? Should I start with Pam and work my up to the Queen. I knew that answer; it was "No!" I wanted my Queen. "My Queen?" Well, that's what Pam called her. I wondered if she and Pam...? No, that lightening bolt was heterosexual, I felt it, and she did too.

tbc