PART ONE

Chapter 1

It was Thursday and she had awoken not to the sound of silence she had always enjoyed, but to the sounds of metal against metal. And she felt something rather unpleasant against her skin, a fabric that was far from the silk night attire she loved to wear and as she sat up, she saw herself surrounded by trees, the smell of smoke in the air. The air was balmy and yet her surroundings were far from familiar. The last thing she remembered was going out back at work to take some trash out. Then there was a strange figure draped in earthen tones. And she had heard what sounded like a incantation of some sorts and now, here she was. No longer in her work clothes, they had been replaced by some kind of simple tan colored fabric which was a dress that fell to her ankles. There was a fur stole wrapped around her shoulders and she knew it was certainly not fake fur, judging by the faint smell of it. There came a slight laugh from behind her and as she got to her feet, she felt her hair was loose, no sign of her scrunchie in sight.

"Well, well, that look does certainly suit you, maybe I was wrong to think it wouldn't." a soft, non threatening voice called from behind her and as she spun around in shoes that were woolen lined and leather on the outside, she found them oddly comfy, if not the most stylish of footwear

"Who are you? Where am I?" asked a very confused looking Sookie as she looked from her clothes to the man before her, a stately looking brunette with a serene look upon his face. Green eyes lit up with amusement as he met her gaze.

"it is not where are you so much as when you are." replied the gentleman cryptically. His dark hair peeking out from under the hood on his head. "Others have tried to do what they could to separate you and have failed. So I came up with the perfect way to end you…..you will be finished off by someone who doesn't know you here in this time. You will be seen as nothing more than a freakish footnote and as a demon. And for that, you shall burn and things will be as they were always meant to be. I know what you are and that you are a rare being is not enough for me to want to spare you. Not that I have love for vampires either, I wish them all gone. But here, in the past, you will not only help destroy yourself but him as well. And that would be victory enough for me in my final moments of life. I have given up my life energy to bring you here and it is with my dying words here that I condemn you to your end. By the very one you care for most."

She stood gaping at his words as she watched the figure literally crumble apart before her eyes, his once almost friendly tine of voice turning icy, vengeful. And it was after releasing a cruel and taunting laugh that she realized that this scene had not played out unwatched. The sounds of swords and shouting encircled her, the shouting not in English and she shuddered to turn around, looking at the barbarians surrounding her, her attention focused on who was clearly the leader of the group of two dozen leather and fur clad warriors. The blood and dirt on his face wasn't enough to hide his identity, nor was the longer hair. She had, after all first encountered him when he had that length of hair. But as his eyes met hers, gone was that familiarity that they had back home. There was nothing but conquest and violence in the eyes of Eric as he and his men surrounded her, weapons drawn and raised..

Chapter 2

She had expected to be treated roughly and certainly she was not treated reverently. But she found herself bound with robe and led to a place that she had visited back in her time, where she was supposed to be. But instead of being only the castle she had known, there was a large village before her as they brought her back after several hours of walking. There were farm animals and cozy looking but simple houses dotting the sides of the road as they approached the stronghold that was the Viking castle. It was clear she had been brought back to a time before he had been turned. But she hadn't a clue how close to that time she was. What she did know was to him, she was a foreigner, a possible threat and she knew that they had seen the destruction of the one that had left her here and she feared, with good reason, that they saw her as the one that had done it and as such could do the same thing to them as well.

Flanked by two beefy men, she tried to get them to loosen their grips on her and felt red faced as she saw the villagers gaping at her as she was brought to the front gates of the castle. "Please, can you loosen these a little, I am losing circulation and-" she was stopped by a rag being shoved roughly into her mouth and though glad to be brought into the building, away from the prying eyes of the villagers, she saw she was certainly not in any better circumstances as she was brought into a room where yet more warriors were positioned, a room to the right a dining hall, lecherous eyes taking in the human plunder that was her. And she dared not try using her magic, not unless it was necessary, let she be executed on the spot.

Her eyes followed that of the leader of the group, watching as he strode up to a seat, one of two that were empty and it was then she realized that she had been brought back to a time after his family was wiped out but of course, before he had been turned. He now sat, albeit somewhat reluctant looking, on the throne that made her think back to modern times. Some things hadn't changed, that air of power he had conveyed….she had to remind himself that he had, in fact been royalty back in the day…this day, actually. But she noticed he hadn't elected to wear his fathers crown. He had told her once that his time as king hadn't been more than a few days before…..she stopped her train of thoughts. Perhaps this day, this night would be that fateful night that everything changed. she had never pressed him to spill his guts about his former life but she knew it had been difficult, painful. That he had never wanted to be king. But here he was, the crown she had become familiar with and rested in a revered room of artifacts back home, rested on a shelf up high over the thrones. As if his father were watching over him, guiding him.

Raking a hand through his dirty, bloody blonde hair, Eric finally spoke to her, in his native tongue which thankfully hadn't changed all that much and she thanked god she had learned the language herself. And that she had been a fast learner was a bonus.

"What business have you here in my land? I saw what you did to that figure…are you a witch?" he asked,, gesturing for the two men holding her to let her go. There was no way out other than the doors she had come through and it was three men deep, a dozen in all. All armed with knives, axes and swords. He had no fear of her trying to escape but she looked terrified and something nagged at him. Soon, the guards had cleared out, all posted on the outside. "Is that better?" he asked as she stood before him, cold, hungry and wondering just how to get out of this mess, how to undo what had happened. The goal of this, she knew was to see her dead, to see him lose the one thing he loved most. Not that he would remember her, should she die here in this time. It was a cruel fate, to be certain, regardless and she knew that she would somehow need to at least gain his trust. After that, well, she hadn't a clue just how she would get home. If it was even possible.

Chapter 3

"She vanished….I saw her leave the bar after seeing you and then there was this guy and there was a flash of light….they were both gone." the customer at Bellefleurs had said to Holly, Lafayette, Arlene and Jason after retreating into the place and telling them what he had seen. Jason had showed up almost instantly after a worried Arlene had called and in no time flat, there too was a aggravated, worried and angry looking Viking.

"Where did she go?" he had grabbed the innocent bystander by the throat and had hoisted him upward as Jason tried talking him down.

"This guy…he only saw what happened, he ain't got anything to do with this…take it easy, we always sort things out, though this time is a little weirder I think." Jason said as a still angry Eric slowly lowered the man who ran off as soon as his neck was free. "I know you're worried…we all are but…Holly, can you pick up on anything?"

The wiccan was standing at the spot where the girl had vanished from, a slightly burnt smell in the air, the ground singed slightly from the magic used. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and sighed, looking at the others with a very dark look. "Its powerful magic….a time travel magic that is nearly impossible to pull off…unless one is willing to lay everything on the line to work it. Meaning the one that took her is most likely dead, having accomplished what they wanted to do."

"And? Does that mean she is stuck back wherever she was taken? Because if so…she's got to be scared out of her wits." Jason said. "And who knows where…when she could be stuck."

Holly gave them all a smug smile. "I keep telling y'all I've upped my magic game, what with running the Emporium-which I have decided to rename Holly's Holistics, by the way-too many bad memories from the past in that place, what with the witches and Marnie and…" her face fell a bit at seeing the increasingly annoyed look on Eric's face. "But I digress…..I can use a spell to send through time to find her but the question remains if I can even get us…any of us back there to bring her back. All I know about time travel is that one shouldn't tamper with it….I suspect whoever sent her where she is wanted something bad to happen to her or someone else in the past to eliminate them in the present. Or if nothing else to at least lose her in time." Holly surmised. "No doubt another fan of yours and hers." she said this to Eric who didn't seem all too shocked.

"If its not something, its someone that screws with our lives…" he replied. "When can you get to work on this? How long do you think it will take to-"

"If I can get out of work early, I can head to the shop and bring back what I need. I know that to work the time travel magic, it needs to be rooted in a place where like magic was conjured. So I need to work out here, for things to work out for the best." five minutes later, Holly drive off for the shop, leaving the others to wait, to fret about what possible fates awaited their lost friend.

"Imagine the places she could be trapped in, she's got to be terrified." Arlene said as they stood outside the bar, the people inside clueless as to the dilemma of the missing waitress. "Maybe she's stuck in the dinosaur days!"

In other circumstances, they would have found this funny. But this was all too real. "Medieval times would be a poor place for her to show up in, considering her powers. Should she send out a display of them….they'd hang her….or worse. I have seen it with my own eyes. It was never a pretty or pleasant sight. Humans have always feared what is different, unusual." Eric said sagely as the others awaited the return of Holly. "You….Red…and you, twinkle toes" he addressed Arlene and Lafayette. "Get back inside…take care of the people inside and keep everyone inside for as long as it takes for us to do what we need to do. Fortunately we are in a area that there are trees blocking the view but I would prefer not to have to waste my time distracting, glamouring and whatever to have them leave us be."

Reluctantly, she agreed and returned inside, leaving him with only Jason for company. Ten minutes later, Holly had returned, a beach bag in tow. "Let's give this a shot and see first if we can tell how far back she has been sent." taking a few moments to prepare a sweet smelling powder, she opened a ratty looking book, sprinkling the powder on the singed ground, lighting a single candle in the middle of the ground. And for a few brief moments, nothing happened. But like a TV screen, images appeared, images that meant nothing to Jason but were all too familiar to the Viking. "She's back in my time….back in the Viking age. And knowing what I was like back then, knowing those who were at my side then, she is in deep trouble and I suspect that was something that was counted on."

Chapter 4

She spoke in shaky, nervous Swedish, which seemed to almost surprise her questioner. It was weird talking in another language but she was in a different time, a different place. And so she pled her case in the natives' tongue. "Please, I didn't harm anyone, it was that person you saw who brought me here. Likely to be killed. I could explain things to you….but you'd think me a enemy, a person what means you harm. But all I want is to go home. Alive." her brown eyes were filled with fear and pain as they met the cold gaze of eyes that were familiar and yet were unfamiliar at the same time that the one man flanking him whispered something she very well understood gave her chills.

"Hans here says you look good enough for a conquest….I have had redheads and brunettes but you…..there is something about you that intrigues me and therefore we will hold off your punishment for intruding into my land. For the time being." he mage a gesture and she was led away, struggling against the brutish hands grasping her. She knew she was not out of the woods and she feared what this Eric would do to her. She had to convince him somehow that they had a future together and yet, revealing what she knew would reveal her as being no mere mortal. She was led to a underground set of cells and locked in a dank and dark room with only a straw filled cot for comfort. Snuggling under the single fur blanket there, she tried to think the best way to move forward. Tears stung her eyes as she recalled how he had looked at her up and down that instead of love, there was only lust and greed. She knew enough of his past to know he saw women as conquests and feared she would love long enough only to be the latest one. Determined as ever, she knew she couldn't let that happen, that even in his current state, she had to make him see reason.. It was a few hours later that she was led out and forced to bathe in lukewarm water. Cleansed with what apparently passed for soap amongst the Vikings, she was dressed in a more appropriate and feminine dress, a turquoise dress that had long sleeves and fell to her ankles. She was led to a chamber she was familiar with as she and the other, the modern Eric had visited several times. And yet she was leery about returning to the room at this time. Knowing how things were so very different. Shoved through the heavy double doors, she had barely time to turn around to see the faces leering at her vanish behind the doors when she saw him in the room, very much ready to savor the prize brought to him.

"A marked improvement." he said slowly, having cleaned up himself and dressed in battle ready leathers and boots, a sword and knife at his hips. Normally, she would be turned on by seeing him look this brave, bold. But this Eric was a stranger to her. Even more than the amnesia stricken one she had dealt with what seemed like forever ago. He touched her long, still dampened hair and smelled it, breathing in deeply. "Very much improved."

She felt herself buckle as he grabbed at her not roughly but not as gentle as she was used to him treating her. Leading her to the bed, she pleaded for him to listen to her, desperate to get out of what she knew was about to happen. Even as a mere human, she knew his strength and knew she may well need to resort to her hidden powers. Flat on her back, the furs on the bed tickling the back of her neck she felt hands groping at her and familiar yet different lips touching her. "Please….stop…I need to show you something, tell you something and I don't want to alarm you." she said in his language, panic on her eyes. She knew there was decency in him, even back in his days here-days she never thought she would see for her own eyes. When his hand started groping under her cress, that was when instinct kicked in and with her hybrid strength, she shoved him off, sending him falling off the bed and onto the floor. At first, as he got up, he looked amused. But then he took note of the fangs that had popped up and the glow she had around her hands, she was ready to defend herself. Taking the sword up from where he dropped it on the floor, in his eagerness to score with this new woman, he gapes as she blasted the weapon from his hand with a light unlike anything he had seen or felt. Grazed slightly, he had felt it and it was like life itself had touched him. Though he had little doubt that it could also deal a devastating blow.

"What kind of demon are you? What sorcery have you…..perhaps you are the one that caused the drought in the summer…." he mused as he stared at her, entranced by her beauty and appalled by what he saw her as now.

She retracted her fangs and took to pleading her case, explaining what had befallen her. She knew that had he already been turned, she had a hunch that he could sense their connection. But she knew that as he was now, there was literally no connection whatsoever. Part of her hoped that maybe this night was the night he was to be turned. And then there came loud sounds, noises that led him to grab her by the arm and pull her along with him. There was a flurry of activity as dozens of leather and weapon clad Vikings headed out of the village, headed for a invading band of other raiders who dared trespass in the vicinity. They walked for a couple of miles before they found the rest of the trespassers. The few who had come into the village as a first wave had been eliminated quickly back in the village. For reasons she didn't know, she found herself being set up in the low branch of a tree and with a last look at her, she watched as he led the charge against the raiders invading and she watched, transfixed as he made short work of them. But she saw it came at a terrible cost. Most of the men were killed save for three or four. And it was then she knew…..this was the night.

TO BE CONTINUED