The Dead Pan Contest
Title: A Weekend to Remember
Story/movie parodied: SVM characters, Clue: The Movie (featuring Tim Curry)
Pennames: kelly1981
Beta's penname: Northwoman
Characters: Eric, Sookie, Sophie-Anne, Amelia, Alcide and Jones (my own)
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, (except Jones) they belong to Charlaine Harris, our most beloved author and the writers, producers and Paramount Studios for the movie CLUE on which the board game of Clue by Hasbro was loosely based.
Summary: 5 of our SVM characters are invited to a creepy mansion for a weekend.
Teaser:
Sookie smiled and headed into her own room. She sat down at the dressing table and began brushing her hair. It had been a long and strange day, walking through the decaying gardens with Eric had been wonderful. She climbed into the large ornate four-poster bed and lay back; a light breeze fluttered the curtains drawing her attention to the garden. She could almost picture the scene, her and Eric doing up the house, raising a family. She felt a little silly; she had only known the man half a day and was already imagining spending her life with him. She giggled to herself as she prepared for sleep.
Five people had received invitations to the old mansion which stood on the Black River in the northern half of New York State. It was a huge old red brick mansion, with previously well manicured gardens that now stood decayed. They arrived one by one to the old rusted gates, and made their way to the front door. The door opened to reveal a tall well dressed man.
"My name is Jones; I am the butler to Mr. Hartley" he said, opening the door wider, "Please come in".
They made their way through the grand hallway to the main living room. It was a large room, ornately decorated with a large fireplace and paintings of the Hartley ancestors.
"Please be seated, I will be with you momentarily" the butler said, and then disappeared behind another door.
"Should we introduce ourselves to each other?" asked one of the visitors.
"That sounds like a good idea. My name is Sookie Stackhouse." said a petite blond.
"Nice to meet you Miss Stackhouse. I am Sophie-Anne." said another petite lady, with red hair.
"I'm Eric Northman." said a tall, well built man with long blond hair, "I do hope we find out why we have all been called here".
"Me too." said a slightly shorter but still well built brunette man, "I'm Alcide Herveaux."
"I'm Amelia Broadway, and I just hope Mr. Hartley has a damn good reason for dragging us out here, otherwise I'm leaving." Said a tall slim brunette, showing quite an attitude.
Moments later, the butler, Jones reappeared pushing a TV set on a stand.
"Please forgive the delay. Mr. Hartley did not leave me instruction as to when you were all arriving." He leaned over the TV and turned the power on. "Please watch this; Mr. Hartley said it would explain everything."
The TV flickered to life, and before them was Mr. Hartley, an old man with white hair and a wicked smile.
"I hope you all arrived safely, and that you have introduced yourselves to each other. I have brought you here as part of my last will and testament. I am here to make a proposition. My estate, including this house has been held in probate until this day. I plan to leave it to which ever of you remains in this house by the end of the weekend. Now I'm sure this sounds like the beginning of a horror movie to you, but I assure you I do not wish for any of you to meet a grisly end." Mr. Hartley laughed to himself; everyone else looked at each other nervously.
"Any of you are free to leave at any time, but if you do, you forfeit any and all parts of my legacy. You may find it difficult to believe, but my aim in life was always to bring people together, and this is my final chance. So all of you just enjoy my house and try to get along for a nice long weekend."
With that the tape ended. Jones unplugged the TV and stood patiently awaiting the inevitable questions.
"So we can leave at any time?" asked Sophie-Anne.
"Yes M'lady," replied Jones.
"Well then, the old man was a fool, I told him so when he was alive and I'll say it again, I'm not staying in this run-down shack to wait for a hand out of a few damn dollars." she said, standing and gathering her coat and bag.
"Miss Sophie-Anne, you may be interested to know Mr. Hartley's legacy ran to a little over 26 million dollars, but if you still wish to leave, then that is your choice," stated Jones calmly.
"Holy shit, 26 million?" Sophie-Anne exclaimed.
"Allow me to show you to your rooms, if you are still willing to stay," said Jones moving towards the staircase.
After everyone had moved to their room to freshen up, some of them began wandering around the house and grounds.
"This house is amazing." Sookie said, "Mr. Northman, how did you know Mr. Hartley?"
"Please, call me Eric. I met Mr. Hartley when I was at college; he was my philosophy professor."
"Really? He was my professor too; he helped me a lot when I had trouble at home." Sookie explained.
"Would you like to go look around the garden a little with me?" asked Eric.
"Sure that sounds nice," replied Sookie, looking up at Eric who was smiling sheepishly.
Meanwhile in the dining room Sophie-Anne, Amelia and Alcide weren't getting on quite as well.
"I worked for that old fool for 20 years, what makes you think you deserve any of his legacy?" Sophie-Anne shouted.
"I cared for his children, clearly Mr. Hartley thought I should be here, so I don't see it's any of your business" Amelia shouted back.
"Will you two stop bawling at each other? We're all here as a last laugh for Paul, clearly he thought enough of us to want each of us here." Alcide groaned from the corner, as he poured himself a large stiff drink.
"Oh shut up, you old drunk" shouted Sophie-Anne, she seemed to have a very short fuse.
"Moaning old hag!" Alcide snapped back. "If you hate it here so much, why don't you just leave?"
"Oh you'd like that wouldn't you? Talk us all into leaving so you can have all the money."
Amelia rolled her eyes, and walked over to Alcide.
"Would you show me around a little? If you don't mind?" she asked him nicely.
"Don't get too comfy" Sophie-Anne shouted, "This will be mine!"
Amelia and Alcide strolled out of the nearest door leaving Sophie-Anne to be angry by herself.
Jones rang the dinner gong when the evening meal was ready, Amelia and Alcide were first to arrive, seating themselves next to each other, talking quietly. Sookie arrived next, sitting across from Amelia, smiling kindly and making polite conversation. Shortly after Eric appeared, dressed in a very smart formal dinner suit.
"Wow, I feel really under-dressed" muttered Alcide. Eric seated himself next to Sookie, taking her hand and placing a kiss lightly upon it.
Jones arrived then, pushing a trolley with the various meals.
"Shouldn't we wait for Sophie-Anne?" asked Sookie.
"Miss Sophie-Anne was alerted to meal time, if she chooses not to join us, which is up to her." Jones replied.
Each guest had a covered plate delivered to them, and upon removing the lid, their favorite dishes were served.
"This is amazing!" exclaimed Amelia, "Such a wonderful weekend".
"Yeah, and it's so nice to meet the other people that meant so much to Mr. Hartley" said Sookie smiling widely.
After dinner, Jones served them all coffee, "If you no longer require my presence, I shall retire for the evening. Breakfast will be served at 8am".
"I think we can take care of ourselves, thanks" Alcide told Jones, and then turning to Amelia and waggling his eyebrows "Or I can deal with any … requests."
Amelia giggled like a small child.
"I know it's a little early, but I think I might go on up to bed" Sookie said, "I do hope Sophie-Anne is ok"
"Oh, to hell with her, she is a mean hearted bitch." said Amelia, "I bet she's on her way home to call her lawyer."
"Let me escort you upstairs." Eric whispered to Sookie.
So Eric and Sookie left the dining room, leaving Amelia and Alcide to get better acquainted.
When Sookie reached her door, she turned to Eric and looked up into his large blue eyes. For a moment she just remained there, drowning in emotions washing over her. Eric brought her back to reality with a gentle kiss on her cheek.
"If you need anything, I'm just across the hall." he said pointing to his door, and then he stepped away from her, and moved to his own door.
Sookie smiled and headed into her own room. She sat down at the dressing table and began brushing her hair. It had been a long and strange day, but walking through the decaying gardens with Eric had been wonderful. She climbed into the large ornate four-poster bed and lay back; a light breeze fluttered the curtains drawing her attention to the garden. She could almost picture the scene, doing up this house with Eric, raising a family. She felt a little silly; she had only known the man half a day and was already imagining spending her life with him. She giggled to herself as she prepared for sleep.
Meanwhile in Eric's room, he too had undressed for bed, but stood at the window. He looked out to where all the cars were arranged at the side of the house, he counted 5 cars. "I guess the butler must have one, or Sophie-Anne is being a child." he mumbled to himself. He walked over to the bed and sat down, thinking back to his afternoon spent with the delightful Sookie. He had greatly enjoyed leading her around the garden; they had so much in common. He laughed to himself as he thought of old Mr. Hartley, "Bet the old dog planned this down to the last detail." he chuckled.
He lay back on the bed, and briefly looked himself over. He had just about managed to control his throbbing erection, which was instantaneous when he'd caught the scent of Sookie; the scent was like apple blossom and roses. He'd had to have a cold shower before dinner, and dress in his smartest attire, just to tame the beast. He had practically strapped it down, "Now I see why Prince Albert piercings are so popular." he laughed. Rolling onto his side he prepared for sleep.
Just then, he was snapped from his reverie by a very loud argument, which seemed to be coming from further down the corridor. He dashed to his door and flung it open, just in time to see Sookie do the same. They both stared down the corridor, and gasped in tandem at the sight before them.
Alcide was like an octopus, his hands all over Amelia, forcing her against the wall.
"Get off me you pig!" she shouted, and raised her free leg to his groin.
"Oof, Shit bitch! You said I was hot." he moaned from his place on the floor.
"That wasn't an invitation into my pants, you slime ball!" she yelled.
Eric and Sookie arrived at that moment. Sookie held Amelia to comfort her, pulling her down the corridor away from the men.
Eric pulled Alcide to his feet and slammed him against the wall.
"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Eric yelled, slamming him against the wall again.
"She led me on." complained Alcide.
"Fucking idiot!" shouted Eric, pushing Alcide into his room. Eric sat Alcide on the edge of his bed.
"I don't know what came over me; it was like I was filled with uncontrollable lust. I couldn't stop it." Alcide began rambling, "Could you make sure Amelia is ok? And tell her I'm sorry." he mumbled.
"I think it'll take more than a simple apology, buddy." Eric said moving to the door, "I'm locking you in here for your own good. I'll come get you for breakfast." and he slammed the door shut, locking it and walking back down the corridor with the key.
He knocked gently on Sookie's door, "Is she ok?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, she's asleep on my bed, I hope you dealt with that moron." she whispered back.
"I've locked him in his room; he won't be bothering anyone tonight" he said, waving the key, "I wanted to pound him into the wall, but he seems to be beating himself up just fine".
"Thanks Eric, I'll take care of Amelia tonight." she smiled, looking up into the eyes of her shining knight. She closed her door and climbed into bed next to the totally unconscious Amelia.
Eric walked back to his room, placed Alcide's key on the table by the bed and climbed in. "This house is odd." he thought to himself, "It's almost like it's pushing our emotions to the breaking point." He thought back to when he put Alcide in his room, and the overwhelming rage he felt. He truly wanted to beat seven shades of hell out of the man. Eric sighed to himself, putting everything down to the stress of the situation, rolled over and went to sleep.
When morning came, Eric woke early feeling more refreshed than he had in a very long time. He got dressed in his jeans, shirt and boots, hoping to take Sookie for another walk around the grounds. As he reached for his watch he saw Alcide's room key and the previous night's antics came rushing back.
"I better let the moron out of his room, see how sheepish he is." he sighed to himself. He grabbed the key and made his way down the corridor, stopping in front of Alcide's room. He unlocked the door and went in.
"Alcide! You ready to apologize man?" he shouted, noticing the bed was empty and presuming Alcide was in the bathroom. He walked to the window, opening it and seeing all 5 cars still parked where they were the night before.
"Yo! Alcide, you in there?" he shouted, now walking toward the open bathroom door. Stepping inside he saw no sign anyone had been in there at all. Eric spun around and looked back at the bed; it hadn't been slept in. Panic crept across Eric's skin. He ran down the corridor and hammered on Sookie's door.
"What the hell …. Eric? What's on fire?" Sookie mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
"Is Amelia ok?" Eric said hurriedly, feeling confusion sweep over the panic.
"Yeah, she's fine" Sookie said, opening her door a little further to show Amelia sitting at the dressing table brushing her hair. "Seriously, what's got you so worked up?"
"It's Alcide-." Eric began. Amelia cut him off.
"That prick can go fuck himself before I'll speak to him." she snapped, turning on the stool to face Eric; upon noticing the panic on his face she quieted down.
"Oh god, what's he gone and done?" she asked.
"He's vanished." Eric said, not at all sure how else to put it.
"He's probably just wandered off to cool down his hot head." said Amelia, returning to her hair.
"No, I locked him in his room last night. I've just gone to unlock him and he isn't there." Eric said, "I'm going to go downstairs to check." He said turning from the door and stalking off towards the staircase.
"We'd better get dressed," Sookie said turning to Amelia, "But we should stay together too, in case he's still acting odd." she added.
Eric almost ran into Jones at the bottom of the stairs, "Sorry mate, hey have you seen Alcide?" Eric said, breathless from the long corridor and flight of stairs, not to mention the panic making his heart beat a lot faster.
"No sir, he hasn't been downstairs." Jones replied, with an almost knowing look. "Is he not in his room?"
"No, he's not." Eric replied, "Did you hear the altercation last night?"
"No sir, my quarters are separate from the house; was there a problem last night?"
"Alcide behaved like a jackass, so I locked him in his room; now he's gone" Eric explained, he was getting a weird feeling Jones knew more than he was telling.
"That's very odd sir, maybe he climbed out of the window?" Jones offered.
"He couldn't have, the window was shut this morning" Eric answered.
"Then I'm afraid I have no idea sir. Breakfast will be ready in half an hour." Jones said, and walked off towards the back of the house.
Just then Sookie and Amelia appeared at the top of the stairs, both looking a little flustered and made their way to where Eric stood looking off into the distance.
"Eric? You ok?" Sookie asked.
"Um, yeah. Just asked Jones, he has no idea, hasn't seen Alcide either." Eric said, sounding a little distant while he tried to process all the details.
"Well good riddance." said Amelia, she turned and stormed off towards the dining room.
"Have you heard anything from Sophie-Anne?" Sookie asked.
Eric's face went pale, unrepeatable thoughts flashed through his head.
"Maybe we should go check on her." he offered, and they both walked quickly back up the stairs.
They arrived at Sophie-Anne's door and Sookie knocked gently. The door was slightly ajar. They looked at each other and Sookie pushed it open a little further, frightened of what she might find.
"Sophie, are you in there?" she called loudly. There was no answer. She stepped inside, taking Eric's hand. The room was completely untouched aside from Sophie-Anne's bag sitting by the bed. They had a quick look around, confirming she wasn't present.
"What the hell's going on?" Sookie asked Eric, who could only shake his head gently in reply.
They walked back out of the door, and closed it. Making their way to the dining room, they found Amelia with a large glass of scotch, and from her demeanor it clearly wasn't her first.
"Amelia!" Sookie exclaimed, "It isn't even breakfast time, you shouldn't be drinking yet."
"No one tells me what to do!" Amelia slurred, taking another large slug.
"We have two missing guests, and you being drunk won't help matters." Sookie told her.
"Fuck 'em, they probably just went home, and it serves them right for being such assholes!" Amelia said, standing and swaying slightly. Eric grabbed her arm to stop her falling.
"Hey sweet cheeks, you're a fine specimen of a man." she said reaching up to Eric's face and sweeping some of his hair to one side.
"I'll have none of that. You're drunk and I don't deal with drunken women." he told her bluntly, sitting her back down in a chair.
Jones appeared at the back of the room with breakfast, spread it out on the table, and left without speaking.
"Heh heh, I bet the butler did it." joked Amelia, finishing off her glass and moving towards the food.
Eric and Sookie looked at each other and also moved to eat breakfast. They all ate in silence.
After they had all eaten, Jones appeared to clear the table. Amelia refilled her glass and moved towards the door again, pausing by Eric.
"If you change your mind honey, I'll be in my room" she winked and left.
Eric looked at Sookie, but she couldn't meet his eyes.
"Do you think she'll be ok?" he asked.
"I don't know", she sighed, "and to be honest, right now, I don't really care" she turned to look at Eric the resignation in her eyes. "But if you wanna go check don't let me stop you." She stood and walked to the door that lead to the garden, holding back a tear as she left. I'll be damned if I'm gonna let any of this affect me, she thought to herself.
Eric sat there a moment longer, contemplating the strange events. They hadn't been in the house 24 hours yet and still it felt like madness was creeping into their bones. He stood and walked out into the garden after Sookie. He caught up with her quickly.
"Don't you think something strange is going on?" he asked her.
"That depends." she replied. He looked at her, hoping she would expand on her thoughts.
"Well, I don't know any of these people, this might be what they are actually like." she continued, turning to him. "But it does seem a little odd".
"Would you like to walk around the garden again?" Eric asked.
Sookie looked up at him and smiled. Linking arms with him they began to wander around the expansive garden again, peacefully silent at first. . Sookie ventured a look back at the house, and saw Amelia looking out of the window of her room.
"Well, she hasn't vanished," she said, "or passed out yet."
"More's the pity." Eric added.
They continued their tour of the garden, pointing out interesting plants and how beautiful it must have looked when it was kept properly. By lunchtime they were both a little worn out, they headed back to the house to see what sort of wonderful spread Jones had prepared for lunch. Amelia hadn't appeared yet, which made them both a little concerned.
"Maybe you should check on her." Eric said, "I don't want to give her the wrong idea."
"Ok, I'll be back in a minute." Sookie said, and headed up the stairs. She returned a moment later, Amelia in tow. Jones had laid out a spectacular lunch, out-doing himself. There was salad, cold meats, cheese, crackers and several types of bread. They all tucked in, enjoying themselves and temporarily forgetting about the craziness surrounding them.
After they had finished, Jones reappeared to clear away the plates.
"Jones, this food is amazing. How do you manage to make such delicious spreads?" Sookie asked.
"Thank you ma'am, I'm glad you enjoy it. I have been in the service of Mr. Hartley since I was a young man. He enjoyed the finer things in life, as you can tell." he smiled, gathered the last of the plates and left the room again.
Amelia moved to the drinks cabinet again, and filled her glass with scotch, "This is damn fine scotch, tastes like 8 year old at least" she commented.
"Yuk, couldn't touch the stuff myself." said Sookie, "Think I'm going to go for a lie down, I'm worn out." she stood and made her way from the room.
"So, that leaves us all alone." Amelia said, walking round to where Eric sat.
"Seems that way." he commented, trying not to encourage her but feeling a strange pull inside his chest.
"I don't know why you're chasing her." Amelia said, nodding her head towards the door Sookie had left through. "She's clearly not going to give it up." She slowly slid to sit on Eric's lap.
"While on the other hand," she said wrapping her arm around Eric's neck, "I would love to show you a good time."
Eric felt the overwhelming urge to pick Amelia up, lay her across the dining room table, and fuck her brains out. He sat in his chair, rigid, fighting the strange urge. It felt as though some external influence was trying to break his spirit, but not only his spirit, his morals. Amelia moved herself to straddle his lap. Eric could feel the heat of her body pressing heavily on him. He was sure he heard a gentle whisper urging him to give her what she wanted.
He picked Amelia up, standing with her legs wrapped around his waist. He moved over to the window, where he could perch her. She moaned with pleasure, enjoying her little victory. She began unbuttoning his shirt. He looked down into her eyes, and heard that strange whisper again, but Amelia's lips never moved. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away roughly, taking a step back. She reached out to him, grabbing at his half undone shirt.
"What are you doing?" she asked, "Come back here".
"You're mad, this whole place is mad! I should never have come here!" he shouted at her, and then stormed out into the garden.
"Stupid fucking dickhead!" Amelia shouted after him.
Eric walked himself to the pond in the garden, and stood watching the sunlight shimmering on the algae ridden water. He took a deep breath and walked further into the garden, hoping to lose himself amongst the foliage. He stumbled across a bench under the shade of a large willow tree. He sat down and looked back at the house. It was surprisingly comfortable to sit under that tree, and before long he drifted off into a strange dream land.
Looking out across the manicured lawn he could see Sookie, she was clipping roses while three small blond children ran around chasing each other. The sun was hot and hazy, and he was sure he could see a figure that looked a lot like himself walking towards her. While Sookie was wearing a perfect yellow sundress, the figure approaching her was wearing some kind of dark cloak. When Eric looked closer, the figure wasn't him, and it had an old, almost evil face. The figure was now within arms reach of Sookie.
Eric found himself jumping up shouting Sookie's name, ripping himself from the daydream. He began sprinting back to the house. He had an awful feeling something inside the house was causing the disappearances. He reached the door he'd left by; thankfully Amelia was no longer in the dining room. He continued his mad dash up the stairs, only pausing briefly at Sookie's door to knock. When there was no answer he pushed it open and dashed in.
"Sookie, are you ok?" he half whispered. She lay sleeping on the bed; his entrance made her stir. "Sookie, please wake up." He gently shook her shoulder. She gradually opened her eyes.
"Eric? What's wrong?" she said sleepily, slowly sitting up. Eric sat on the edge of her bed and hugged her, overwhelmed that she was ok. His dream had been so vivid.
"I had the strangest dream Eric, and you were there." she said into his shoulder. He pulled back to look at her.
"I just had a dream, you were there, and you were in danger." he said, the words falling from his mouth.
"Yes, mine was like that." she said, awakening further "But you came to rescue me."
He put his hands at either side of her face, staring deeply into her eyes. She leisurely brought her lips to his, kissing him, gently.. When she leaned back slightly, they were both smiling. She pulled him down onto the bed.
"I will always be there to save you." he whispered breathlessly, moving to kiss her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair and dragged his mouth back to hers. As their kissing deepened, they began removing each others' clothes; carefully unbuttoning or unzipping, making sure the other was consenting. They slowly undressed each other, throwing pieces of clothing onto the floor when they were free, the moment bringing them close to frenzy.
Eric ran his hands up her sides and to her back unhooking her bra, caressing her as his fingers traced around to her front, gently teasing her erect nipples with his thumbs. Sookie hands massaged down his back and onto his rear, squeezing his buttocks firmly and pulling him closer to her, then wrapping her legs around him. She moved her hands to the front of his jeans, unbuttoning, and easing them back off his hips. Their hands touching and fondling every part of the other's anatomy.
Eric's hands teased the edge of her small lacy pants, before easing his fingers to feel her yearning dampness. Sookie released a breathy moan, running the fingernails of one hand down his back causing him to arch and groan too. She grasped his hard throbbing cock in one hand, working slowly to show him exactly what she wanted. He was going to make her wait though, relishing the taste as he licked and sucked her delectable nipples. This almost sent her over the edge, she ran both her hands into his hair, grabbing two solid handfuls, and she pulled him back up to look her in the eyes.
"I want you … " she panted, "so badly .… Please." she begged him, staring so deeply into his eyes she could see his soul. He smiled and reached into the back pocket of his jeans, which had been deposited on the floor near the bed. He kissed her passionately while he extracted a condom, and then rubbed her clit as he tore the packet open with his teeth. She took the packet from him, opened it fully and began rolling it down his burgeoning cock.
He heightened their pleasure by teasing her more, making her groan and writhe. He placed one hand behind her neck, the other on her hip and slowly moved his tip over her wet opening, before thrusting ever so slightly, entering her only an inch. Sookie braced her legs behind his hips, trying to push him deeper, but he resisted. This caused her to strain even more. He thrust a little further making her moan again.
"Do you want me?" he asked, almost a whisper.
"Yes." she gasped.
"Yes? Just for now?" he asked.
"No, I want you forever." she said, looking into his eyes. She didn't know where this knowledge had come from, but she knew he felt right, like he belonged.
He smiled, ran his tongue down her neck and thrust into her deeply. Sookie let out a guttural moan, holding him closer. He began moving to a slow rhythm, looking into her eyes, making sure she was with him at every moment. Sookie ran her fingernails down his back and gripped his ass again, his thrusting sped up slightly. She needed more, so she decided to take control. With a swift motion she rolled them over, keeping him firmly inside her, and then began setting her own pace. Eric's hands moved to her breasts, caressing them before teasing the nipples fully. Watching her rise and fall on top of him was the most wonderful sight he'd ever witnessed. He had to fight hard to resist climaxing early.
This was too good to be over quickly. Sookie looked down at him, his hair splayed across the bed, and the visions she'd had the night before returned to her. She could see herself with him, doing this, for the rest of her life. She knew she could never get bored of this amazing man. Eric could feel her orgasm building, and fighting his own, he reached down to stroke her clit increasing her pleasure and her moans. With a spare hand he reached up to her face, and catching her attention, whispered one word.
"Beautiful".
This sent her over the precipice into deep orgasmic pleasure; Eric let himself ride her orgasm, joining it with his own. They moved languidly, erratically quivering until Sookie collapsed on the bed next to him. Breathless and high on the chemicals of love, they laid there looking at each other, wanting the moment to never end.
It was then that they heard the dinner gong being rung by Jones. They both looked towards the door as if Jones was going to come into the room, then back at each other and giggled like naughty children.
They swiftly dressed, barely taking their eyes from each other, and walked down the stairs hand in hand. By the time they reached the dining room, the table was already laid out. It took them a little while to notice Amelia hadn't joined them.
"I think she might be in a mood with me." Eric said, feeling a little uneasy with the absence.
"Oh? What could you have possibly done to upset her? Call her a drunk?" Sookie asked.
"No, she err … she tried to seduce me earlier, but I turned her down." he said sheepishly.
"Stupid girl" Sookie mumbled, "She's probably passed out drunk in her room".
They ate quickly, hungry from their exertions.
When Jones returned, he began clearing the plates away again then turned to the pair, smiling. "This is your last night in the house; I do hope you stay until morning."
"Oh I think we'll be staying." Eric said, smiling over at Sookie.
"I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but you two make a very handsome couple." Jones said, moving towards the door.
"Thank you Jones, that's very nice of you to say." replied Sookie.
"If you have no further need of me, I shall retire to my quarters for the evening" he said quietly.
"Thank you Jones, you have been a wonderful host. Have a peaceful evening." Eric told him.
After Jones had left Sookie turned to Eric and stroked his cheek.
"I think we should go check on Amelia, make sure she is ok."
"You are so kind hearted. Yes, let's check, then maybe a night time stroll?" Eric offered. Sookie nodded in response.
They both made their way upstairs, walking slowly towards Amelia's room. Sookie knocked quietly, and when there was no answer, she knocked again, a little harder.
"Amelia, are you in there?" she called through the door. Again there was no answer.
"I'm growing more than a little concerned about all these strange disappearances." Eric whispered, reaching for the door knob.
They opened the door; the room was like the others, as though it had never been touched, only a small bag sat at the end of the bed.
"I'm scared." Sookie told Eric.
"It's ok, I'm here, nothing will happen to you." he reassured her, but who was going to reassure him?
"Can I stay in your room tonight?" Sookie asked, "I'd feel safer if we weren't alone."
"I was thinking the same thing." Eric replied, "Would you still like that walk?"
"Not really, I think I just want this weekend to end." she told him, "The only good thing to happen was meeting you." This made Eric smile and he held her, never wanting to let go.
They slowly made their way back to his room, undressed down to their underwear and climbed into bed. They fell asleep holding each other. Sookie resting her head on Eric's shoulder, while Eric wrapped his arm around her shoulders, almost afraid one of them would vanish if they let go.
When Sookie woke in the morning, her first thought was of the man still lying next to her. Eric woke moments later, and for a short while they simply lay there smiling and hugging.
"Well, we survived." Eric whispered.
"Yep, I wonder what happened to the others?" Sookie replied with a question.
"I have a feeling Jones might know." he offered.
They walked into the bathroom together and showered, making sure every inch of the other was clean, but too eager to leave the house to get too carried away.
"I forgot to ask." Sookie said, as she toweled Eric's hair, "Where do you live?"
"Pleasantville, Atlantic City" he replied, "you?"
Sookie laughed, "Actually I live in Marmora, not far from Pleasantville."
"That's handy" Eric smiled, "I won't have far to come to see you, as often as possible," he whispered, "If you still want me?"
"Of course I do, you silly man." she punched his shoulder gently, "Let's go get breakfast and then head home."
They dressed, packed and then headed downstairs. Jones was waiting for them in the dining room, breakfast already set out.
"When you have finished, if you could make your way to the drawing room, there is a final message from Mr. Hartley."
"Jones, do you have any idea what happened to the others?" Eric asked before Jones disappeared again.
"All will become clear sir." came the reply, and then Jones left . Eric and Sookie ate in peace.
After breakfast they walked slowly, hand in hand, to the drawing room. They seated themselves on a sofa, and Jones again wheeled in the TV.
"The final message from Mr. Hartley." Jones announced. The TV flickered to life once more, and again there sat the smug old man.
"My dearest Eric and Sookie." he began.
Both of them gasped.
"I knew before I wrote the invitations, that you two should somehow meet. You are both pure and good souls, honest and true, which are very rare qualities. The others were merely distractions, but do not despair; they are all well. They will awaken in their beds today, and will not recall anything. This house has a special way of showing people for who they really are, but since you two are pure to the core, I wish for you to have this house. Return in a year's time, the house will have been restored along with the garden. I hope you both live full and happy lives together. Good bye my dearest and most beloved friends." and with that the tape ended and Jones returned.
"Is there anything further I can do for either of you?" he asked.
"No, thank you, you have been so helpful, yet also very sneaky" said Eric, "But I hope we see you again, next year."
This made Jones smile. Just then Eric and Sookie were distracted by a commotion coming from the stairs. They dashed out to the hallway to see Sophie-Anne, Amelia and Alcide walking down the stairs with their bags, still arguing with each other. They seemed completely oblivious to Eric and Sookie standing in the hallway. The three 'returnees' made their way to their own cars, deposited their bags and drove away.
Jones turned to leave, pausing a moment.
"I hope to see you both next year also." he commented, and then he was gone. Sookie and Eric smiled at each other, grabbed their bags and walked out to their cars.
"Oh! Damn we each have a car, should I meet you somewhere back in Atlantic City?" Sookie asked.
"I know this lovely little restaurant." replied Eric, "It overlooks the ocean; it's called Merlottes."
"Yeah, I've been there." Sookie smiled.