As soon as she heard the gravel crunch on the driveway, Sookie took a final glance at herself in the (cracked, thanks to the Maenad) bathroom mirror and flung herself down the stairs.
She paused for a little dramatic effect on the porch, giving Bill the benefit of her curves in the expensive lilac dress. Sookie turned a slow, runway model circle before giggling and skipping down the steps to the waiting car.
"I have been looking forward to this all day!" She declared as the dark haired vampire opened the passenger door for her.
"Perfect." He replied, which she took to mean he was pleased with both her and the dress he had purchased. Even though, as usual, his lips didn't really smile.
When the car began to pull away from her house, Sookie looked back over her shoulder briefly and tried not to shudder at the horrific state of her childhood home. Instead, she settled into the seat and willed the little bubbles of excitement she had felt at work to come back to the surface.
"Perfect for what, by the way?" Sookie said, breaking the silence in the car. She noticed suddenly that there were no strange tunes or gurgling sounds coming from the stereo tonight. "You going to tell me where we're going tonight Bill Comption?"
"It's a surprise, Sookie."
"Oh. Well is it a far away surprise?"
"A little."
It seemed vampire Bill was not in the mood for talking, so Sookie gave up trying to ask him and let her imagination roam free. Perhaps dancing was on the cards (although she didn't know if vampires danced), or a fancy restaurant that served both special Tru Bloods and nice French food, like at the hotel in Dallas.
As the silence wore on between them, Sookie began to fidget a little in her seat. The dress might be a lovely shape but it wasn't the most comfortable thing she had ever worn in a car. And for some reason she couldn't quite put her finger on, she felt rather tense with Bill. It was a strange moment when she realised they had hardly spent any 'normal' time alone together since they met – it always involved sex, being rescuing or screaming at each other.
It occurred to Sookie that she might be a little bit scared of Bill, alone and in the middle of a deserted road as they were. She wished she could read his mind, just once.
But she pushed these silly thoughts to the back of her own head and focused on the imagined pleasure ahead. Tonight, none of it mattered. Not the Maenad, not Jessica… She was the fairy princess, the belle of the ball, the damsel… Hold up a sec, Sookie thought. She was going to try just for one night, not to be the damsel in distress.
Watching the dark countryside speed past the window (like all vampires, Bill drove too fast) and listening to the rhythm of the wheels on the road, Sookie found the past few days' madness catching up with her – and she drifted off to sleep.
When the car eventually ground to a halt, Sookie jerked awake, realising to her embarrassment that there was drool on her chin and the top of the dress. She hoped she hadn't been snoring.
"We're here?" She asked, now feeling a few nerves as she didn't recognise anything outside. But she told herself it was just the shock of waking suddenly.
In answer, Bill climbed out of the car and came around to help her out too. He took her arm firmly, leading her towards the most beautiful mansion Sookie had ever seen.
"Oh my…" she gasped, her mouth falling wide open.
They walked across a marble bridge that hovered above two little pools sparkling in the moonlight. The door opened before them silently, as if by magic.
Instead of stepping into a lit room, it was like walking out into the bright sunlight. All around frescoes and priceless pieces of art glittered expensively. Diamond chandeliers dripped from the ceiling. Fake windows were imprinted with the views of rolling, sunny countryside. At the centre, a diving pool gave off waves of warm turquoise light. Sookie's mouth would have been even wider if her jaw stretched that far.
She had never seen anything so stunning, nor so decadent.
Bill suddenly spoke in her ear. "The room is not the surprise." She followed his arm, finally seeing what he was pointing towards.
At the edge of the pool, her head tipped back and legs paddling lazily in the water, sat a beautiful girl with blonde pigtails and a red and blue bathing suit. With the sweetheart neckline of the costume and the large red plastic sunglasses shading her eyes, she could have been the perfect 1930s pin-up girl.
But she was more than just a beauty – she was Sookie's cousin, Hadley. The second she recognised her, Sookie screamed out her cousin's name.
At least, she tried to. But in all the shock and excitement, it came out more like a muted squeak. Luckily the soft violin music in the background was quiet enough for Hadley to be able to hear the disturbance anyway, and she pushed back the foolish sunglasses to reward Sookie with a dreamy smile.
Sookie's first thoughts were of how great her cousin looked. When they had been growing up, Hadley had always been the strong, slim one of the pair and Sookie might have been jealous of her, had she not been privy to the demons that fought privately inside Hadley's head. But the last time they had seen each other – when Gran had so generously checked her into rehab on her own dime – 'slim' would have been the last thing word you thought of. She'd looked more like those famine relief ads you see on the telly.
Now, though, Hadley was plump, curvaceous and rosy cheeked, even if she was a little pale – an occupational hazard for those who live with vampires. The outfit was obviously expensive and it suited her perfectly.
But what on earth was she doing here? Thanks to all the surprise, Sookie – although still rooted to the spot – found her telepathy shields had dropped away. The first thing she heard was Hadley, but there weren't any thoughts inside. Instead Hadley was humming softly – was that The Wizard of Oz?
And now that Sookie looked again, she realised that the smile on Hadley's face was rather vacent. Not in the Jason Stackhouse goofy kind of way. She had the look of someone who had had too much glamour and pleasure at the hands of a very skilled vampire.
At that exact moment, Sookie heard two men's thoughts intruding on the scene. But before she could work out what was happening or where they were coming from, one of them cried "Now!"
Sookie wasn't sure if the shout had come from a mind or a mouth, but she did know that two comically large security men with bulging muscles, black suits, white shirts and little plastic radios in their ears were now lifting her off the ground.
They dragged her away, one on each side, whilst Sookie once again cried out for her cousin and wriggled and spit at them like an angry kitten.
She looked back at Bill, amazed that he had not already torn these men apart. But her lover was standing by the doorway, hands in pockets, shoulders hunched and making a great study of his polished shoes.
As if to accentuate just how terrible a situation she now found herself in, Sookie – who never cusses, especially not out loud – screamed just one more time.
"Jesus fucking Christ Bill Compton!"