A/N: Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood.


The cheering was the worst. It unfettered my fears and I was sure that every vampire could hear the rapid, hard hitting beat of my heart. It made my chest ache and my sobs all the more painful. The crying had started after I had fought my captors tooth and nail (literally). I only succeeded in getting hurt.

If I had known going to the drugstore after sunset was so dangerous I would've stayed home and gone without milk for my coffee the next morning. Or maybe I would've taken my car and not my bike, which had made it a breeze for whoever abducted me to shove me in the trunk of their car faster than I could blink.

The transition between bike and trunk had been so sudden it dazed me. It made my brain move like molasses and I am ashamed to say it took me a few minutes to realize I had been kidnapped along with my carton of milk, the bag handle still looped over my wrist.

But now my predicament was crystal clear as my eyes darted around, unable to focus on any one thing until they rested on the man on a makeshift throne. He looked utterly bored and it chilled me. My pain meant nothing to these vampires and he was a prime example. He wore an expensive looking pinstripe suit with an understated, ugly tie and in his left hand he held a pretentious cane. For some reason, the cane really pissed me off.

The only vampire that appeared unnerved was the one standing a few feet away from me. I was kneeling on my scraped knees so I had to crane my neck up to look up at him. He had wavy, dark brown hair and sad eyes.

The man with the ugly tie was saying something but I couldn't focus on his words. The jeers from the crowd filled my ears instead but my life was on the line so I forced my full attention onto the man.

"Luisa," the man on the throne said. I had no clue who Luisa was or what she was supposed to do but I quickly found out.

"No!" A girl yelled from behind me.

I turned around and saw a girl with red hair that couldn't be more than seventeen lying on the ground.

"No," the vampire next to me said after he saw the girl.

"Oh, precious Jesus, God, save me, save me. Make it all a dream," the girl begged and my heart went out to her. She was so young. I was terrified myself but she must be ten times more scared than me.

The vampire beside me looked horrified. Well, as horrified as a vampire could look. As far as I know they weren't ones to show strong emotion, at least in front of humans. "Put me in the coffin, Magister. I will go willingly." Yes please, send him to a coffin. If that'll mean our freedom. I don't want to pay for the sins of a stranger.

"Please, it's the first time I ever snuck out. I just wanted to go to Ashley's party. I only ever get to go to youth choir and prayer group," the girl said as she was dragged by Luisa and put to the left of me. "I won't say a word to Mama and Daddy or anybody. Please, please, just help me."

"There's no help for you here, child," the vampire with the cane said. The girl cried even harder and I reached out to grab her hand. She looked at me, startled, and I tried to give her a reassuring smile. I'm sure I spectacularly failed but the girl gripped my hand as if it was a life line.

"I'm feeling generous tonight William Compton. You get to choose one or the other," the Magister waved his hand towards us. What was this William Compton choosing us for? I knew it was nothing good.

"If you want to torture anyone, torture me," William Compton said. I didn't condone torture but I would willingly see him tortured if it meant I could walk away from this alive.

"Torture? This? I don't think so. I could show you torture, if you like." Under his light tone hid a strong threat. So strong it scared the vampire next to me and that's when I knew there was no hope for me. I could fight whatever this was all I wanted but I was only human and I had never felt so weak in my entire life.

"No, no. I was wrong to speak."

"You can quit stalling. What you see in these cows, Mr. Compton is merely a response to stimuli. Humans are quite...primitive. Incapable of feeling pain as we do. But you know that," the Magister said. What an ass.

"Please, please don't let them kill me. Please. I don't want to die," the girl said, looking up at William Compton.

"Help us," I said in a hoarse whisper even though I knew he couldn't. He didn't have the power here.

The Magister didn't acknowledge our pleas. "According to our records, you have never been a Maker," he said. "Is that right?"

Maker. I knew what that meant and the breath left my body, effectively ending my sobs. My eyes went wide and I shook my head furiously. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

"Yes," William Compton answered.

"But you know the procedure?" the Magister asked.

"Yes."

"Then proceed," the Magister said as if he hadn't made a life altering decision on my or the girl's behalf.

William Compton slowly crouched in front of us looking like he wanted to be anywhere else in the world than here. He turned his attention to the girl first.

"My name is Bill. What's yours?"

"Jessica."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

Bill's jaw clenched. He turned to look at the Magister. "What will happen to the girl I don't choose?"

"She will be glamoured to forget this whole ordeal and returned home."

My chest burned and my body forced me to take a breath. At least I could speak now and I knew what I had to do. "Choose me." I hate to say I didn't sound very confident.

Bill looked at me and our eyes met. I was determined to not look away. "You would trade your life for hers?" Bill asked.

"She's just a girl," I said.

"But you are young too," Bill countered.

"Just get it over with," I said. There was no point in prolonging this.

"Yes, do. You are boring me. Shut up and get on with it," the Magister said.

"What's your name?" Bill asked me.

"Tallula Riggs."

"Okay, Tallula. Look into my eyes. Everything will be fine," he said. I felt a momentary tug on my mind but then nothing. Whatever he was trying to do it wasn't working.

"I hate to interrupt but glamour is not permitted," the Magister said.

Bill looked me in the eyes one more time. "Forgive me."

The anguish in his voice didn't move me. I knew this was his punishment for some vampire transgression and I was paying for it too. "No."

He moved my head to the side to expose my neck and brushed away a few stray hairs before he lowered his head towards me. I heard the click of his fangs and a wail tried to escape me but I held it back with all I had in me. I was done crying.

He was gentle. I could barely feel his fangs pierce my skin and the first draw of blood felt strange. I closed my eyes trying to pretend I was somewhere else but I had never been good at daydreaming.

Bill growled, honest to God growled, and detached himself from my neck. He yelled and I peeked at him. His face was directed at the sky. I don't know what the hell was so painful for him. I was the one getting drained and he was the one being dramatic.

He looked down at me, his gaze on my bloody neck, and I saw his eyes. His pupils so dilated they were almost completely black. My blood dripping down his chin disturbed me as much as it disgusted me.

With vampire speed he bit down on my neck again and this time he was not gentle. I screamed as his fangs ripped into me. He drew me close against his body and held me with an iron grip. It could have been a lover's embrace under completely different circumstances.

Struggling was of no use so I stopped fighting and went limp. The only thing keeping me from collapsing onto the ground was Bill's arms.

My eyes fluttered and I closed them again. I could feel life slipping away and soon the pain became distant, only a mild sting and I welcomed the reprieve.

I thought about the rent due at the end of the week and then I took my last breath as a human.


The next thing I felt was a heavy weight pressing down on my entire body. I opened my mouth and dirt filled it, choking me. I couldn't breathe but then realized I didn't need to.

It had happened. I was vampire. And for some reason I had been buried alive... well undead.

I pushed my arms upwards and the dirt moved. I felt strong and knew if I had still been a human I wouldn't have been able to push the dirt upwards. Without wasting any time, I began to claw my way out.

I'd never had experience with digging myself out from the Earth so I had no idea if I took a long or short time breaking free. I felt humid air against my hand as I finally reached the top and my head soon followed. I immediately spit the dirt out of my mouth and coughed some up that had made it down my throat.

I could appreciate, but not fully because I was the one going through it, the symbolism of being reborn. It felt like a ritual and it must be a necessary one because I think vampires would think of something grander when turning a human into a vampire than the indignity of being buried. Or maybe Bill was a weirdo.

I concentrated on pulling myself the rest of the way out and when I was completely above ground I sat in the freshly churned dirt and stared at my hands. Dirt was caked under my fingernails and I longed for a shower. I brushed the loose dirt off of my face and finally looked around. Bill was sitting a few feet away staring at me. I resisted giving him the finger because I didn't feel like making my Maker mad so early in our relationship.

Our relationship. I shuddered. I knew enough about vampires, thanks to a former roommate who crafted their thesis around vampire sexuality, that the relationship between Maker and their progeny was usually sexual at some point. There was no way in hell I would let that happen.

I glared at Bill.

"You are taking this remarkably well," he said.

"Screw you." The contempt in my voice was lost as I coughed up a bit more dirt.

"Here, I have some TruBlood." He stood up with a bottle in his hand, walked towards me, and extended it out for me to take.

I was starving so I begrudgingly took the bottle and read the label.

"It's O-negative. It's what I prefer but I bought a variety pack in case you wanted something else."

"How the hell am I supposed to know what blood type I like?" I took the cap off the bottle and sniffed it. It didn't smell promising.

"My wording was wrong. It's in case you want to try something different."

"How thoughtful," I deadpanned. I took a sip and immediately spit it out. I looked at Bill like he was crazy. "Is this a joke? This tastes terrible."

"You will get used to it." He didn't sound very convincing but I decided to give it another try. I drank a mouthful and while I was trying to swallow it I gagged. Seconds after I lowered the bottle from my lips I threw up the synthetic blood, managing to turn my head in time so it hit the dirt instead of getting on me.

"This is vile. I need mouthwash."

"Here, try the A-positive." Bill handed me another bottle.

I learned my lesson the first two times and only let a few drops touch my tongue. "This one's even worse."

Bill sighed. "How about the B-negative?"

"No. I am a vampire and it's all your fault and I want some real blood because I'll be damned if I do this half-assed. Isn't there someone you hate around here?" I'd even take a filthy, racist redneck at this point.

"It doesn't matter if I hate someone or not. You are not feeding from a person," Bill said firmly. "I am mainstreaming and so will you."

"Is it normal that I feel like ripping your throat out?" My hand itched to lash out and sink my nails deep into his neck.

"Yes. Baby vampires have impulse control and a strong tendency towards violence but I will teach you to control yourself."

"How long is that going to take?" I asked while I stood up more gracefully than should have been possible.

"A few years, if we're lucky," Bill said.

"Years?" I gaped at him. "I have a life. An apartment. A job. I can't just disappear. People will look for me." The last part was a tiny lie. The only friends I had were from work and all I had left of my family was an aunt and uncle I never talked to. We didn't even exchange Christmas cards.

"You will quit your job and your apartment will be taken care of."

"Taken care of?"

"I will continue to pay rent and it will remain as it is or you can move your belongings into my house, where you will be staying regardless."

"Hold up." I shook my head and took a step back, my feet sinking a little into the loose dirt. "I'm moving in with you? I don't think so."

"You don't have a choice," Bill said in a voice that very much said I didn't have a choice and arguing would be useless. "You are my child and I am responsible for you."

"Child? That's creepy."

"Nevertheless, that's what you are."

I crossed my arms, a childish thing to do and I noted the irony but decided to continue my petulant behavior. "Don't expect a present for Father's Day."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he said with a faint smile. Was his southern charm showing? Because that is not going to work on me. "Come, I'll show you to your new home. It's not far from here."

I trailed behind him willingly only because a house meant a bathroom and a bathroom meant a hot shower.

We walked through the woods. I wasn't paying attention to where we were going because I was distracted by the thousands of colors around me. Nature had never looked so green, even in the dark. The moonlight glowed like it never had before and I ran into Bill's back, not realizing that he had stopped. It was like walking into a brick wall.

My face smarted for a few seconds, especially my nose and my ego, and I stepped out from behind him to get a look at our destination. I was sorely disappointed.

"This is your house? This place is a dump."

"I have not finished renovating but inside it is better." Bill began walking to the front door and I followed him.

"Does better mean working indoor plumbing?"

"Yes, and hot water."

"At least something's gone right," I said bitterly, standing on the front porch while Bill unlocked the door. Everything else had gone wrong. "Hey, what happened to Jessica?"

We stepped inside and Bill turned on the lights. The place was still a dump but it was better than the outside. "She was glamoured and taken home."

"How are you sure? Because it'd be a big 'Fuck You' from the universe if she's been harmed."

"I am sure. You can trust me." Bill motioned me to follow him up the stairs.

"I don't trust vampires."

Bill sighed, sounding world weary which I suppose he was. "If you like I can find out her address and we'll check on her later this week."

"That's a big, fat yes from me. I'll even say please." We were at the top of the stairs and Bill turned to look at me. "Yes, please."

"So you do have manners. Good."

"Fuck you," I said. I mean, I did curse a lot but this was a little much but I couldn't seem to help myself. I wanted to be rude to Bill. He totally deserved it.

"I have spoken too soon," he said dryly. "This way."

He made a right and he directed me to a door. "This is the bathroom. There are fresh towels and a robe I suggest you put on instead of your dirty clothes after you are clean. I'll be downstairs."

He left, with vampire speed might I add, and I opened the door, not expecting much but man was I wrong.

After taking a bath in the most expensive tub I had ever been in I went back downstairs wrapped up in a brown robe a little too big for me, leaving my dirt-encrusted clothes on the floor. Good riddance.

I found Bill in what I supposed was a study. He looked up from a newspaper he was reading and nodded at me. I scrunched up my nose. "Why are you wearing a robe too?" And a matching one, no less.

"Dawn is in less than an hour and we are going to ground. Usually I am in the nude."

"Ew."

"As a practicality." He folded up the newspaper. "It cuts down on laundry but as a courtesy I have put on this robe."

"So by ground?"

Bill stood up and strode towards me. "We are going underground."

"Seriously?"

"Any more questions?" He asked with a quirk of his brow.

"Only a million."

He led me to a door to underneath the stairs. He opened it and then opened a trap door.

"Clever," I said. The trap door wasn't detectable, even if you were looking for one.

"And it's light proof. We'll be safe in here." Bill grabbed a flashlight off of a nearby shelf and handed it to me. "It can be a little disorienting waking up in an unfamiliar place in the dark."

"No shit."

"Tallula," he said with stern voice.

"Fine." I cocked my head and smiled. "Wow, no kidding? I never would've guessed."

"Sarcasm does not suit you."

"Says the vampire with no sense of humor."

Bill stepped back and ignored what I said. "Here, take a look around."

I did as he said and stooped on the floor, shining the flashlight around in the large hole underneath the house. "What? No mattress?"

"I do not find one necessary."

"Do you like being uncomfortable? Is that some sort of complex you have? Because the guy that bought that bathtub does not mesh with the guy who doesn't put a freaking mattress in the hole he sleeps in."

"Get in. The sun is coming up and we'll discuss our sleeping arrangements later."

I hopped into the hole and settled down on the dirt ground against a dirt wall. Big sigh.

Bill followed me in and closed the trap door behind us. He laid down as far away from me as he could which was fine with me and told me a few vampire fun facts about sleeping. One of them being about the bleeds, which sounded gross.

I turned the light off and closed my eyes. An overwhelming exhaustion fell over me like never before. Not even during finals. In a few seconds, I was dead to the world.


My eyes popped open and of course it was still pitch black. I guess I'd have to get used to that. As I felt for the flashlight at my side I noticed I hadn't moved an inch since I went to sleep. Usually I was all over the place, waking up with my legs twisted up in my sheets or my head on the wrong end of the bed. Sometimes my blankets and pillows would be on the floor and the lamp on my nightstand was occasionally knocked over if I had a particularly active dream. But nope, I hadn't moved at all. I really had been dead for the day and that freaked me out a little. No wonder Bill had us in this secret hidey-hole. Anybody could come in and kill us and we'd never be the wiser.

I still wanted a mattress though. And a fluffy pillow.

I turned the flashlight on and amazed myself out how instantly my eyes adjusted to the change in light. I was also glad to realize that I had no aches or pains from lying on the hard ground. No chiropractor for me anymore. Hey, no more paying health insurance either. That brightened my mood a tiny bit until my hunger slammed me out of my thoughts back into my grim reality and made me groan.

I was literally bloodthirsty. Nothing metaphorical about it.

My fangs clicked and I ran a tongue experimentally over their sharp points. My tongue should've sliced open but I guess I was made of stronger stuff now.

I pointed the beam of light at Bill who was still dead to the world. Weird. He said he'd be the first one to wake up. Apparently, baby vampires were notorious for sleeping in.

I crawled over to Bill and sat a few feet away from him. I kept the light on his face and studied it. He could be considered handsome, in a kind of ragged and depressing sort of way. Definitely not my type. It looked like he'd had a hard life before he'd been turned and I wondered how old he was.

I scooted closer to him until my knees were almost touching his side. I leaned over him and poked his cheek. Nothing. I pushed his shoulder but he didn't stir.

As I was busy staring at his face, my fingers, completely against my will, traced his lips. They were cool and smooth. I pulled my hand away, expecting him to wake up and catch me doing something decidedly creepy. What was wrong with me?

Utterly horrified at myself, I bent over him and ghosted my lips over his. As soon as I did it I nearly shrieked and sat straight up. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, the one that hadn't betrayed me by touching Bill's lips.

This was fucking weird and royally screwed up. I loathed this man but something inside me was grateful to him. Looking back at last night I realized that I had been drawn towards him but I was too wrapped in my own shock and misery that I hadn't really noticed it. I did now and it sucked.

"What are you doing?"

I nearly shrieked again. I moved the light away from Bill and tried to save face. "Politely waiting for you to wake up while invading your personal space." Real smooth, Tallula. I moved away from him to give him back his personal space.

"I'm surprised you're up already," he said as he sat up and stretched. "The sun has only set a few minutes ago."

"How do you know?"

"We can feel it," he said. I looked at him skeptically. "You can feel it. Close your eyes and concentrate."

"On what?"

"Just concentrate."

I dutifully closed my eyes and waited a few seconds to feel something but all I felt was stupid. "I don't—"

"Keep trying."

I gritted my teeth to keep myself from talking and tried to concentrate. A minute must have passed and I almost gave up but then I felt the night. Honest to God, I felt the Sun moving away from us and I felt its impending return which I'm sure I could now pinpoint down to the exact second.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. "Holy shit." There was nothing else I could say. This was amazing.

Bill nodded, looking like a proud parent which in a messed-up vampire way, he was.

He showed me how to open the trap door and once we were above ground he didn't waste any more time on me. "I have some errands to run." He sped away leaving me dumbfounded and he appeared no more than twenty seconds later fully dressed. Okay, he had to show me how to do that.

"There are some clothes laid out in the bathroom. They are mine so they will be big but we will get you some clothes later tonight. Make yourself at home. I will be back shortly."

"What does 'shortly' mean to a vampire?"

Bill paused. "It depends on the vampire. For now, it means a few hours."

"Fine, whatever. I guess I can find something to do in this mausoleum," I said feeling like a moody teenager, which I hadn't been in years.

"If you are fond of reading there are plenty of books in the library."

"You have a library?" I asked, my interest piqued. What kind of books did a dusty old vampire have? Dusty books, probably.

Bill pointed me in the direction of the library and my enthusiasm seemed to satisfy in him that I wouldn't be getting into any trouble while he was gone.

Only some of the books were dusty and most of them were old. I ran my index finger along the spines and chose books at random. I ended up finding an overdue library book last checked out in 1939. It was about the War of Northern Aggression. What a load of shit. I chucked that one into the fireplace.

Satisfied with my pickings I settled onto a creaky, faded old sofa with the full intention of reading until Bill came back.

I spent two hours trying to read, a stack of discarded books at my side evidence of my efforts but I was starving and my hunger consumed most of my concentration. This was worse than craving Ben & Jerry's during my period.

I gave up and instead of tearing the pages out of the book in my hand like I really, really wanted to, I closed the book and set it with the others I had abandoned. The house had no air conditioning which didn't bother me temperature-wise but with no air conditioner and no open windows, the air inside was stuffy. I decided that I absolutely needed to be outside or I'd die.

After death, I realized I had become rather dramatic. Now I understood why Bill was acting like a drama queen while draining me. Maybe it was a vampire thing.

Stepping outside was wonderful. All the colors were still there for me to study at my leisure. It even momentarily made me forget that the last time I ate I had been alive.

I was aimlessly wondering around the woods when the wind shifted and I smelled a... human. How did I know what a human smells like? I shouldn't know but I did, so I took off after the scent. Whoever it was, they were going to have the honor of being my first blood donor.

I ran with vampire speed to the edge of another yard. There was a pretty, blonde woman getting out of a beat up yellow car. She was around my age and we were the same height but she was a few sizes smaller than I was.

She smelled like beer and burgers but under that was something divine. It's what I imagine sunshine smelled like and my fangs came out with a click. I still hadn't learned to completely control them. Being a vampire would take surprisingly more practice than I thought it would.

I couldn't have taken more than a few steps forward to my first proper meal before I was slammed onto the ground, my neck held in a vice grip and I looked up at a feral Bill. His face was more beast than human. This vampire was no joke and if my heart still worked I'm sure it would have stopped beating out of fear. But I'd be damned if I let on exactly how scared I was so I glared at him.

"She is mine," he growled.

"Sure, whatever the hell that means," I croaked, throwing in a shrug for good measure.

His hand tightened around my throat. "It means you will never touch her."

"Not even a handshake?" I was just barely able to whisper.

Bill snarled and I guess he didn't like my joke but I hadn't really intended him to. Maybe I had a death wish I wasn't aware of yet. He lifted my head off the ground and slammed it down. Okay, talk about parental abuse.

My arms were free so without remorse I clawed his chest and I did more damage than I thought I would. He grunted and let go of me. Once I was out of his grasp I rolled away from him, rubbing my sore neck. With my new vampire speed I stood up and faced him. The front of his shirt was bloody and in tatters. I looked at my hands and the ends of my fingers were red.

"I hope that hurt, asshole," I said.

Bill took a threatening step towards me and I hissed. Good lord. I didn't know I had that in me but it seemed to stop Bill. The tension in his shoulders went away a little and his fangs retracted.

"I apologize. You do not know any better and it is my fault for not teaching you," he said. That wasn't what I expected but I'd go along with it.

"No shit Sherlock." I crossed my arms feeling a little smug when I probably shouldn't. "You left a brand new, starving baby vamp to their own devices. That sounds plain stupid."

"There is TruBlood at the house," he said but I could tell even he knew that excuse was weak.

"And it is truly godawful."

Bill sighed. "Let's get you back to the house. What were you doing out here anyways?"

I shrugged. "You said I should make myself at home. So I assumed that included your land and I strayed a little."

His eyebrows raised. If I didn't know any better I would've said he was a little amused. "I will use more precise wording in the future."

We walked for a minute but I couldn't stand the silence and my curiosity was peaked. He hadn't explained who this delicious smelling blonde woman was to him.

"So who is she? Your girlfriend?"

"Yes," he said stiffly.

I snorted. "How'd that happen? She like your sunny personality?"

"It is none of your business."

"I think it's plenty my business if I'm stuck with you for the next few decades."

He stopped walking and grabbed my arm, jerking me to a standstill. "You will not interact with her unless I say so. As your Maker, I command it."

I stared at him with wide eyes for a few seconds but his face was so serious I couldn't hold back a laugh. "Uh, no. I don't do commands."

"As your Maker, I command it." He enunciated each word as if it should make a difference.

"Maybe if you say 'please'," I said.

I tried to pull away from him but he kept a strong hold on me so I huffed and looked back at him.

"Tallula. Do you not feel compelled to obey me?"

I shook my head. "Not even a tiny bit."

"This is serious," he said in a grave voice. What was he talking about?

"Everything is serious with you. I think your idea of fun is filing your taxes."

Abruptly, he started walking again with great purpose and began dragging me along with him.

"What are you doing?" I asked after several failed attempts to get my arm back.

It took him until the graveyard I had passed by earlier to answer me. "We are going to my car."

I was afraid again. "Where are you taking me?"

"To the Sheriff."


A/N: This is sort of an interest check chapter because apparently I hate myself and couldn't stop from starting a new fanfiction. A couple weeks ago I reread the SVM series and then I started rewatching True Blood. And then this happened. So if you're interested, let me know and I'll continue it. If not, well it'll sit here and look pretty, I guess.