Eric thought about the sun, what it felt like, looked like. It'd been so long, over a thousand years since he'd seen it last. Memories of the past came back, he couldn't get them out of his head while he greedily drank Sookie's blood. His thoughts drifted back to his human days.
In winter there wasn't much daylight where he'd lived, but Eric had always enjoyed those hours when he could feel sunshine on his skin, could see blue skies, even if it was still freezing cold. The colours were so much brighter when the sun was out.
Then one night Godric found him, turned him, made him a creature of the night. He'd never get a chance to see the sun again now.
It took some time to get used to, but every day at sunrise Eric had to go to sleep. He'd tried to resist the urge a few times, had ignored Godric's advice, had stayed awake during the day - and paid for it. Godric had let him find out for himself, hadn't commanded him to go to sleep, so he didn't. But when his ears started to bleed and his whole body hurt, every second he stayed awake felt like an eternity. It was too much, he gave in and joined Godric in their hiding place.There just was no way around it, he wouldn't see daylight any more, no matter how much he missed it.
But spending the day hiding and sleeping wasn't all bad, most of the time they went to sleep close to each other. Eric felt less lonely when he knew that he just had to reach out his arm, and Godric would be there.
Yes, he was lonely now even if Godric almost never left his side. Before, when he was still human, he'd had family, a clan, friends - now he just had Godric who couldn't really replace all that he had lost. Eric tried not to show it, but he was sure his maker knew anyway.
They went on like this for a long time, years, decades, centuries - they might spend the night separated from each other, but a short while before sunrise, they met again and found a hiding place for the day, together.
Later, when they spent longer periods of time apart from each other, Eric still sometimes missed Godric when he went to rest for the day. He wasn't lonely any more; he had gathered some kind of a clan of his own around himself. He was Sheriff now, had people - humans and vampires alike - he worked with and trusted. Still there was something missing, especially after Godric was gone forever.
Today he would see the light of the sun again, with the help of Sookie's blood he'd stay alive for long enough to take it in. It would hurt, but he could handle that. He just had to convince Russell that Sookie's blood would make them invulnerable to the power of the sun, just had to hide his pain for a short while. Then it wouldn't matter any more. Yes, he would die, but he would take Russell with him. He had waited for this revenge for so long. It didn't even matter that he would die too, the murder of his family would finally be avenged.
He stopped drinking, hoped for Sookie's sake that Russell would stop too while she was still alive, but even that didn't matter any more. With a smile, he stepped out into the sunlight, well aware that Russell would follow his every move on CCTV.
It was a great feeling to be out in the sun again, to see daylight and all the vibrant colours it brought out - at least for a few moments. Then his skin started to burn and he saw the first tendrils of smoke rise from it. Would Russell notice? No, there he was, stepping out of the door. Eric grinned, then handcuffed himself to Russell.
Revenge might be a dish best served cold, but Eric's revenge would be hot, blazing hot.