Eric had learned the hard way not to trust people - human and vampire alike. Way too often he had been betrayed by those who he thought were loyal to him. Longshadow had just been the latest to deceive him, he was one of many who had proven to be untrustworthy throughout the years. But no matter how long he lived, how many times he misplaced his trust, it never stopped hurting.
He had gotten a lot more careful in choosing whom to trust, but obviously not careful enough. Longshadow had stolen from him, lied to him, had used Eric's trust for his personal gain. Well, he wouldn't do that anymore, Eric had made sure of that.
With every broken promise, Eric closed the walls around himself a bit more, didn't allow anyone to get close enough to hurt him again. After over a thousand years there weren't many people left he had faith in. The only people he still trusted could be counted on one hand, and he would still have fingers left.
Pam, his childe, had always been at his side when he needed her. He never had to order her, force her into something, just a request was all it took and she would be there. He trusted her with his life and knew she trusted him with hers. The bond between childe and maker was unique, he knew that, but there had been vampires who had turned against their makers. Not Pam though, she had proven time and again that he could count on her, even when she didn't particularly like what he had asked of her. And no, he didn't trust her blindly, she had proven herself in the time they had spent together, had shown him time and again that she would do everything for him, to help him, to keep him safe.
Then there was Godric, his maker. Godric held so much power over him, but had never used it to force him into something. He might have been savage and wild when they first met, but he had always possessed something Eric didn't - patience. Eric would give everything to help Godric if he needed him and was sure that Godric would do the same. Eric just had to ask. Most of the time he was too proud to do so, but it was good to know that he could count on his maker if he had to. He was aware that his bond with Godric was something special. After such a long time not many vampires still had a maker, let alone such a close bond that went far deeper than the usual dependence of a childe on his maker. No, what they had was special, they had developed a deep friendship and yes, even love, that had lasted throughout the centuries.
He had good reasons to trust those two, but there was someone else and he didn't quite know why he trusted her. Sookie Stackhouse, barmaid, telepath, Bill Compton's girl. Eric couldn't control her, couldn't even glamour her into anything, she was brave enough to stand up to him. Something about her was special - and he didn't mean her ability to read minds. For some unknown reason Eric believed she would not betray him, would not turn on him. She might refuse to help him, might tell him her opinion in frank words. But she would never be false, betray him willingly, he was convinced of it. Why was he so sure of her? Eric didn't know, he just hoped that he was right this time, that she wouldn't be the next to turn on him.
Trust was a strange thing, some people had earned it, but sometimes he just met someone and knew he could trust them. Pam and Godric belonged in the former category and Eric was as sure as he could be that Sookie belonged in the latter.