PART TWO

Chapter 3

Several days had passed since the chaos of her abuse, her hospitalization and subsequent reunion with the Viking and over those few days, she felt herself healing. Not physically, that part came faster with her juiced up powers. But the pain of losing the child she never got to meet was still very much raw. She had take a leave of absence from the bar and had told only her closest friends what had happened, trusting them to keep things on the low down as Jason had promised to do on his end. She hated the phrase "time heals all wounds". it was not as simple as that and no amount of time could ever allow her to heal from the trauma inflicted upon her and her psyche. The loss was the worst one she had ever sustained and there had certainly been many a loss in her life. With the support of her friends and family, she knew she could make it through this and told Arlene that she would probably only take a month off from work. And to her credit, not only had Arlene been fine with that but she had gifted her a months worth of pay. That was nice and as much as she didn't want to be pitied or seen as a charity case, she had accepted it gratefully and now, she had three weeks before she had to get back to work. The past four days, she thought to herself, she was finally feeling somewhat like herself again. She supposed that with her power she possessed, that somehow it was helping. The morning sun felt good on her as she toiled in the new garden she had started, a garden that she intended to use as a tribute to the little one she hadn't been able to bring into the world, that had instead died thanks to the abuse of her own father. Having know it was going to be a girl, that was only compounding the tragedy of it all. She worked in the garden all day, planting flowers of every color, weeding out the ugly weeds that were not welcome, not wanted in this little escape, this oasis for her. For the baby.

Eyes were upon her as a car pulled into her driveway, a sleek, dark windowed Town car that looked out of place amongst her simple little house, her simple land around it. And stepping out of the vehicle, she immediately detected it was a faerie. The woman was thin and pretty and looked like she was out of the pages of some upper class magazine. There was a driver that had opened the backseat door for her and they both started towards her with friendly faces and a basket of flowers and fruits. As they got closer, Sookie saw that there was a card there as well.

"We are so sorry to impose on you but things being as they are, word travels fast among our kind and…well…." the woman gestured for her companion to hand the basket to Sookie, who remained rooted to where she stood. Something was fishy and yet, even with this woman being a faerie, she was unable to get a grasp on her thoughts. Which, she at least was able to figure out, were snarled and too jumbled to get a bead on. Almost as if they were being deliberately scrambled to keep her from picking up on anything. History had made her know that she couldn't trust anyone, no matter how charming, disarming or pleasant they appeared.

"I don't wanna be rude, but this is a little…..I mean I don't know you and I don't feel comfortable accepting any gifts from people I don't know. No offense."

"Oh, we get it, you can't trust anyone nowadays, can you? That's why we decided to leave Faery, too many dark faeries arising and your grandfather-"

"You know Niall?" Sookie interrupted, her interest slightly piqued.

"Well, not as well as you, but we know he is a good man and only wants the best for Faery. But as you likely know, he has started having little fires to put out, so to speak, in the realm. Dark faeries are quite dangerous…thought to have been wiped out with the demise of that hybrid mongrel Warlow-yes, he was certainly as dark as they came, as you certainly know- but Niall has been able to keep them under control. But they are looking for the right one to rise up and put him down. We…came here on his orders, to ensure you were alright. And I believe you know the sigil of your grandfather?" the woman revealed a letter, written in Niall's hand, that said that yes, he knew these two and had, in fact, asked these two to check in on her. As Sookie went to touch the letter, the moment her finger hit the parchment, she knew trouble was afoot. The paper was enchanted somehow, magicked to make her suddenly feel dizzy and drowsy. That she hadn't really known much about dark faeries had certainly helped bring about her predicament. That her mind wasn't as sharp as it usually was with all she had been through, certainly that had played a part in what was happening now. Unable to stand, she didn't have time to wonder the dark magic the had touched on that paper. Everything went black as she felt the hands of the man with the woman catch her before slumping to the lawn.

Chapter 4

She awoke in a place that strongly reminded her of the hidden faerie nightclub. But something told her that this was not the same place and she felt the shackles around her, her power being stifled. The two were sitting across the room and she realized that she was also behind a wall of thick bars. Iron, of course.

"By now you've probably put two and two together and figured out we don't really have anything to do with that decrepit grandfather of yours…..well, not yet. We do hope to give him a proper send off when our kind takes our place as the dominant force in Faery. You couldn't; see our thoughts because our magic prevents even those as powerful as you and your grandfather from taking a little peak. Our powers are different from ordinary faeries…better, even. Your grandfather has spend centuries trying to rid Faery of all dark faeries because he contends they are all bloodthirsty, greedy and savage. I prefer to see it as being merely evolved. You…..you are of the royal bloodline but you have had blood in you of one of the strongest and oldest of vampires…..we suspect that he is the oldest one walking the earth now, thanks to his killing of Russell Edgington. To say nothing of the demise of his own maker. Even though you've not had his blood in some time, it has left you with that right mix and that right amount of that little extra that makes you the right one to lead our kind. That you are going to destroy your own grandfather and take his position…in the name of the dark fae." the woman looked gleeful. "Oh, I get too far ahead, I haven't even introduced myself or my companion here…my name is Madisyn. And this here is Stefan. I am willing to bet you are wondering about dark faeries, I dare say it would seem your dear grandfather was trying to protect you by not telling you about us. Much, anyway." she was sounding friendly, pleasant. Nothing at all like a kidnapper or psychopath. And Sookie was certainly curious and wanted answers.

"What makes dark faeries? Where do they come from?" she demanded, her voice more fiery than she was feeling.

"Dark faeries are born from drinking from this." Stefan brought out something from behind him. It looked to be a simple silver goblet but it was etched with ancient runes. "One drink from the never-ending water of this cup and the light is…..changed, made stronger. People want to call the dark faeries wicked and evil but it is really only untapping our full potential. Granted, many get too powerful and lose their minds…..but she and I here are two of the few who have not lost our minds. Some of our fellow dark faeries have had to be killed because of their unpredictable behavior. For some time we have wanted to take the throne. But unfortunately, should the throne be empty and the line of succession destroyed….there goes all of Faery. It would shrivel up and die, our own powers destroyed, we becoming mere mortals. And your grandfather is too old and powerful. Too well guarded. So here we are, you are to drink from the cup and take the throne from your grandfather. Once sip and you will be all too willing to work with us….we all work together quite well for the singular goal of having the dark faeries conquer or at least subjugate the other faeries."

Glaring at the cup, she shook her head. "I won't let it control me, whatever magic is there-"

"No one has ever been able to fight the darkness of the waters power. All dark faeries, we are like a family. Willing to fight and die for one another. Save for those who go insane…."

"You claim not to be crazy but I see it a lot differently." Sookie said with a sneer, struggling against the bindings. She then had a sudden realization. Pam had healed her and as such, she could sense her. "My friends will find me….as soon as we are out of this place, they will be ready and willing to-"

"We are going to let them see the show." Stefan said with a grin. "We won't hurt them, they are too valuable to harm or kill. We want them to see you fall into an abyss that you will never free yourself from. We want to see them see their loved one become their worst nightmare. Its already set up. The energy field outside this place…..they can not pass through. They will be forced to see you drink and change into one of us. Stefan, lets off with our disguises, so she can see the face of a true dark faerie."

Nodding, he agreed and soon, their hair changed from sunny blonde to raven black. Their greenish hazel eyes turning into a eerie violet, their skin remaining the same and these changes certainly made them look dark. Malevolent. Gone were their modern clothes, replaced with black robes. "It's time."

Chapter 5

There came a flash of light and they were gone from the hidden place, their sanctuary and sure enough, Pam was there with the Viking, both seeing them appear and try as they might to move towards the trip, it was like walking into a wall, a sight painful tingle racing through their bodies as they tried breaching the invisible shield.

"At least its not like that witch Marnie's shield…." Pam muttered. She had been quick to alert her maker to the danger as it had been far too long since he had last tasted the waitress and as such their bond was no more. He had wasted no time coming and though it had been barely dusk at the time, they had ignored the slight burn they endured with the setting sun, wanting only to see what trouble the girl was in this time.

"Look at what we have here." Madisyn sneered as she circled the table that the waitress was chained to. Turning her head, Sookie was able to see her friends angrily pacing before the shield clearly enraged that they were helpless to do anything to help her. Her eyes met the Viking and seeing him as fired up as he was, she knew she had been right to want to start something up again, that she was foolish to have walked away before. And now, she wanted only to touch him and yet, they were so close yet so far. And it was then her mouth was forced open by Stefan as Madisyn put the goblet to her mouth, forcing the liquid down into her. Struggling to keep herself from swallowing it, it was a losing battle. The liquid, cool and almost sweet tasting went down, chilling her to the core. From outside the shield, the two vamps felt a cold wind arise and knew something bad was about to go down. And sure enough, the table that she was spread upon started to crumble and in her involuntary spasms, the waitress broke free of the chains and as the two dark faeries watched, her hair started turning darker, her body still shaking. And as she got to her feet slowly and surely, she turned her gaze to the two vamps watching in stunned shock. Her eyes were not brown any longer but a blend of brown and violet. And though they looked at her with pride at first, the two other faeries knew something had certainly gone wrong. And that was when the shield was destroyed with the wave of a hand by the new addition to their ranks. Or was she?

TO BE CONTINUED