So I know the last chapter was brutal. I did PM a few of you to thank you for your reviews and to reassure you that I have a purpose. I love the idea of Eric and Sookie together, but I am trying to write what is best for Sookie. Though I would love to write how they lived happily ever after and had the most incredible sex ever, that is just not Sookie's reality. I will try to not make it so awful that you curse me into my grave and stop reading. But, keep in mind my purpose is to do what's best for Sookie, and not necessarily what we want. Though, we will see a lot of Eric and I promise to not disappoint in that department. Stay tuned.
Again, I do not own these character, but I like to borrow them from the Queen herself Charlaine Harris. With out further ado I give you chapter 3, Compromise.
"Sookie, are you alright," said the sweetest voice I've ever heard. It was so familiar, yet I had difficulty placing it.
"Claudine…is that really you," I said barely above a breathed whisper. I turned my head to the sound of her voice and sure enough it was Claudine. She was walking towards me in all her glory. A bright light shimmered around the outline of her body. I could barely tear my eyes away from the sight of her to observe my surroundings. Everything was white and I felt like I was floating somehow. When I looked down all I could see was a glistening glow of radiance. She looked like she was a God in all her glory and I suddenly had the impulse to kneel before her. I did not because I was in awe over the scene that was portrayed before my eyes. "Claudine, am I dead. Is this heaven?" I said each word slowly and pronounced every syllable. I looked down at my feet, I had a sudden urge to remove my shoes like Moses did when he was standing before the image of God. I realized that I was already barefoot.
Claudine just smiled at me as she floated towards me. Her movement was as fluid as a flowing river on a tranquil clear day. Her image and demeanor immediately settled me into a state of utter contentment. She bend down and gave me a tight hug. All I felt was the warmth and love emanating from her body. "I told you I would always be here to protect you. I love you Sookie, and I will do everything in my power so nothing will happen to you." I instantly felt comforted. I was so absorbed in her warmth, love and beauty it took me a minute to realize that something was wrong. Then, everything around me, including her, began to vibrate and shake.
"Claudine, do you feel that. What's happening?" As I tried to convey a message to her the vibrating became earth shattering. It sounded like a roar of thunder and felt like aftershocks of an earthquake. Claudine's image began to blur and move in and out of focus, but strangely I could still feel her warmth on my skin.
"Claudine!" Finally the noise became so overpowering her figure disappeared from my sight. "Claudine!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Please, don't leave me, I need you, I need you." Tears started to pour down my face. She was gone, she was gone. Would I ever see her again? Would I ever feel her loving arms wrapped around me again? I sobbed for the loss of my friend, my guardian, and finally, for her as one of my own flesh and blood. The weight that had been pressing down on my heart suddenly felt so heavy I had trouble breathing.
In a gentle whisper I heard, "Sookie, do not fear. I am always with you." And with that, I could sense her no more, but the distress my body was in subsided. The banging continued though, and my whole body was trembling from the deafening sound.
"Sookie, open up. Are you alright? Answer me, please." I opened my eyes and realized that I was laying on the floor in front of my front door. My face was drenched with tears and my body trembled. Where was Claudine? She was here a minute ago. I looked around to try and get my bearings. No, she wasn't here with me. But, I felt her here. I spoke to her. I felt like I just had an out of body experience. It was so real, I wanted it to be real. Before I had another moment to think about what happened with Claudine, I realized that the banging was indeed Eric. He was hammering on my front door.
"I'm fine. Just go away," I tried to say the words, but no sound came out from my mouth. I needed to tell me. Any second now he was going to shatter my front door into a million pieces. I tried to utter the words again, and this time they came out in a tone just above a whisper. He heard me though.
"Sookie, please let me in. We really need to talk about this. I want to make sure that you are alright." He actually sounded concerned or even pained. Eric showing true concern? Suddenly I wanted to open the door. I felt compelled too. My brain was telling me that I wanted him to get the hell away from me, but my body, wanted to open the door for him. Why? It's a good thing I didn't have the energy to move at the moment because I probably would have opened the door, but I didn't want too. Strange.
"Eric, say whatever you need to and go away. I don't want to see you again." I tried to say this with as much conviction as I could, but I just didn't have the strength.
"Sookie, Quinn knew the consequences of disobeying the order. He knew the penalty. He deliberately came to your door when he knew what would happen."
"So that makes it OK. No Eric, I will not accept that. If you won't do anything about this then I will." By this time the anger that I felt towards Eric had caused me to sit up. I was still very dizzy, but I didn't think I would black out again.
"What exactly do you plan to do, Sookie? Open this door so we can talk about it." Eric, sounded angry and I could feel his angst through the bond. His anger fueled mine.
"I plan to call De Castro or Victor and bargain for Quinn's life." I knew that the King wanted to use my talents. Maybe he wanted them just bad enough that he would let Quinn go.
"NO, you can't do that Sookie. Do you know what he will do to you and to me if you did that. If you willingly offered yourself to him, he will take you from me. I will not be able to protect you and he will enslave you to use for whatever purposes he pleases. I can only protect you when you are under my protection. If you choose to leave me, you open yourself, mind and body to him to do what he pleases. Please open this door, I have a few ideas and we can discuss them." The tone of his voice pleaded with me to comply. Again, I felt a strong pull to open the door, but it was not of my own free will.
"What are you doing to me Eric? Are you trying to force me to open this door to you? You said that you'd never enslave me and here you are trying to force me to comply to your will." Suddenly reality hit. Eric was trying to will me to open the door through the bond, and that just enraged me even more. He was trying to manipulate me once again to do his bidding.
His tone was much more subdued when he spoke, "Dearest Sookie, I am only trying to see if you are hurt. I want to help you. I want to talk about this situation, but I cannot through a closed door. I would like to talk about this rationally with you, but not like this. Not through a door. Please, open up for me, Sookie." His changed tone finally out weighed my anger. I did want to hear what he planned to do about this situation. I could not, no I would not, let anything happen to Quinn because of me. So much death has been caused because of me, and I would not allow anymore. Being unable to stand, I shifted my position so I could reach up to the door handle and turned it. I opened the door to see him standing a few feet from it on my front porch.
"I'm not going to invite you in, but we don't have to talk through the door. I want to hear how you are going to resolve this. If you won't, I will. I don't care about what it will cost me. I will not have another person die because of me." Seeing that this was the best offer he was going to get at the moment, Eric gracefully sat down on the outside porch. It was kind of humorous seeing Eric sit Indian style in front of me. His eyes were drawn out and full of trepidation. "Now that I have opened the door for you, what are your ideas?" I wanted to approach this conversation as businesslike as I could. This needed to be discussed so my personal feelings towards Eric needed to be pushed aside for the moment.
"Well, as you are well aware vampires would take an equivalent payment in kind for the offense committed." It seems that Eric is trying to be just as businesslike and cryptic as well.
"What kind of payment would be acceptable for this offense?" I thought, The offense that you tricked me into marrying you to keep the competition away from me, offense. So that you could try and control me, offense. I was trying to stay detached because if I thought about the fact that we were discussing Quinn's life, I would have screamed. I needed to keep my head on so I could consider all the options Quinn had. I stopped my thoughts in my tracks, what right did I have in the discussion of Quinn's impending demise or his life? I don't have any claim on him. The moral side of me was appalled by my thoughts and behavior. I abhored it when the vampires talked above my head like I wasn't even there and now I'm doing it to poor Quinn.
Eric began after drawing in a deep breath and a long pause, "Well, you are well aware of Quinn's past history in paying vampires. He is a very skilled fighter and…"
"Absolutely not. I will not subject Quinn to pit fighting for any period of time, not even one hour. Move along to the next option please." It enraged me to even think of subjecting Quinn to that kind of life again. My stomach twisted at just the thought of him in a cage fighting others for his life. I had a quick flash of the pack leader competition and how that caged fight ended. I didn't think Quinn was that lucky to tempt fate with round two.
Eric look annoyed, but I didn't care how he felt at the moment. I was not sentencing a friend to die. "Sookie, that is probably the best option, unless he agreed to a lifetime of servitude under the King. He survived the pit fighting for three years. He really is a tough fighter. He could easily survive another three. I cannot get him out of this unscathed. He knew the consequences. He could have called you and avoided this situation altogether. He had to show up at your door violated my claim on you which challenges the King's authority. If I appeal to the King for his freedom both of us will die because of it. Any challenge of the King's authority is punishable by death. I will not put us in that situation. You have to see that this is the best option." Even though I didn't understand vampire politics, I respected them. I knew De Castro would have no problems getting rid of Eric and I for interfering with the law. But, could I do this to Quinn? Could I subject him to this torture? Could he survive again? Why was I the one deciding for him how his life would end or be saved? The minutes ticked by as I fought an internal moral battle.
"Sookie, I can feel your pain, confusion, and the moral ethics you are fighting within yourself. Quinn's sentence is not to be carried out until next week. Let me make an appointment to speak with him. He is being held by the King in Las Vegas. I can presents these options to him and see what he says." I looked into Eric's eyes and through the bond I could feel that he meant what he said. Did I trust him? With my life yes, with my heart no. I knew Eric would always do what is best to suit his needs and do what would give him the best political advantage. I did not want to offer myself up to De Castro. Eric's right, I would be a human slave, pasted around until there was nothing left of me.
"Alright, but I want to go with you to that meeting. I want to go to Nevada with you. If what you plan does not workout I plan to offer my services to the King for Quinn's release." I tried to send my firm conviction through the bond so Eric could see how serious I was.
"Alright, I can see that you would somehow find your own way there if I did not take you with me. I will call De Castro myself when I get back to Fangtasia tonight and make a request to see the King over this matter. I will come by tomorrow night to let you know what happened. And, Sookie, we have many other things to discuss. Please, invite me in so I can help you into bed. You are very weak and I just want to make sure that you are safe before I leave." I really wanted to tell him to get the hell away from me and that I didn't want him touching me, but I couldn't. I did not think that I would make it to my bed on my own accord. I knew that I really did need his assistance ,though I really didn't want to accept it.
I swallowed my pride and said, "Eric, you may come in." I tentative smile curved up at the corners of his lips. His lips, they are so luscious and full, what I wouldn't give to… Stop it Sookie, right now! Focus. Too late, from Eric's expression on his face he felt my lust for him in the bond we shared. His smile widened and I just looked away not wanting to meet his eyes. He stood up in a fluent motion and steeped over the threshold bending down next to me. He gingerly slid one arm under me knees and the other right under my shoulder blades. As he held me he sent me waves of lust. I pushed it away with all my strength. I felt his body stiffen slightly. I looked up into his eyes to see confusion in them as he looked back at me.
Eric stopped walking and said, "What are you doing Sookie? How are you doing it?"
I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about. So I said, "Doing what?"
"Sending my feelings back to me through the bond. This is not the first time you have done that too me. Several times tonight in fact, you have closed off the bond and sent my feelings back through them." This was news to me. I didn't know I was doing anything at all.
"Eric, all I did was shove back to you the feels that I know were not mine. I didn't want feel your emotions tonight so I rid myself of them." That was the best way I was able to explain to him what I did.
"Sookie, do you realize that it is almost unheard of for a human to be able to do that. Do you remember what I told you about vampires using the bond to enslave those bonded to them?" How could I forget that conversation, Eric and I had just had sex and we were talking about the bond in my bed. I flashed on Eric naked in my bed stroking my body. Stop Sookie, focus. But, again he felt my wave of lust that passed through me to him, and he smiled the most triumphant smile he could. He knew he caught me fantasizing about him again.
"Yes, I believe I remember the conversation," I replied in a cold detached tone. He continued walking and entered my bedroom, lowering me onto the bed. His hands lingered on my body longer than necessary, but I was determined to not give him the satisfaction that I noticed. He soothingly pulled his arms out from underneath my body and took the covers and brought them up to my chest and tucked me in. He hands remained on the covers which he pulled up around my shoulders. He sat on the edge of the bed next to me. I raised my arms out from beneath the cover and laid them on top of the sheets. His left hand trailed down my arm in a loving touch that made me shiver internally. The gesture was really sweet and for a moment I almost forgot that I was mad at him.
"Well, as you know vampires can manipulate the bond to get the human to do what they want. I have never seen a human manipulate the bond in any way never mind closing it off altogether. You were able to close off my feelings and send them back to me. Almost like they were hitting a wall and bouncing back. It may have something to do with your telepathic ability, your strong will, or possibly the fae part of you, I do not know. I really do need to go. Like I told you earlier Victor is in town and I have stayed way too long. My presence will be missed. But, tomorrow night I will come to you and we will talk about the arrangements and a few other things we need to discuss." With that, he stood and bent down to leave a lingering kiss on my forehead. And just like that, he was gone.
I know that I raised even more questions and answered less with this chapter, but please stay tuned all will be answered in good time. Thank you in advance for reading and please leave me feedback. It gives me a general idea if my thoughts are being conveyed to all of you. If you have any questions that you would like me to answer you can PM me. Anything that I did not make clear I will gladly explain. TBC