Sookie

I awoke that morning at midday having slept the best I had in years. The bed was huge and comfortable with soft sheets and the quiet around me was pure joy. I woke feeling confused at first, not quite remembering or believing the events of the night before. Yet here I was in this plushly decorated room in a soft bed having being broken out of the mental institution by a fairy who claimed to be my great-grandfather and a vampire, who's house I was now staying in. A vampire who was incredibly good looking and who I had some rather steamy and vivid dreams about.

I went to get out of bed and instantly blushed as I remembered pleasuring myself to thoughts of the vampire the night before. I had no idea how he had the effect that he did on me - had he somehow hypnotised me? Niall had mentioned that Eric couldn't glamour me, whatever that was, but had he done something else to me? I had never really had leave to be attracted to any men other than a few boys at school before I was institutionalised, but everyone always considered me to be a freak at school and I was generally referred to as 'Crazy Sookie'. And the fact that I could hear precisely what was going through their head was certainly no turn on. Hence I was twenty-six years old and I'd never so much as kissed a man let alone had any kind of sexual relationship.

Yet Eric wasn't a man, he was a vampire and one thousand years old. But the best thing was that I couldn't hear him. The place where his thoughts should be was a complete void. When we were so close together last night I wanted him so badly, I was so attracted to him, I wanted and needed his attention. Yet I didn't know him or anything about vampires in general. From the fiction I had read they were dangerous and manipulative, something they must have been to have remained out of public knowledge for such a long time

I headed to the shower and got in, relishing the three shower heads massaging my body as the water pelted down on me at the perfect temperature. The whole place was a world away from the institution where I had been held. There, the beds were lumpy and narrow, the showers would constantly change temperature assuming you were lucky enough to get any hot water at all, and there was certainly never any privacy – certainly for a telepath. I was surprised at how thoughtful a host Eric was considering the bathroom was fully stocked with what looked like very expensive toiletries. I washed my hair and stood for about ten minutes just enjoying the shower on my body. Once out I dried and wrapped myself up in a robe before heading into the closet to find some clothes to wear. I really was amazed at quite how much was here, I only owned a fraction of the amount of clothes that was here and they were mostly second hand.

I'd generally always worn jeans and a t-shirt previously, but I'd always preferred dresses so I found a cute white summer dress that had small red flowers all over it. I found some plain white underwear and pulled the dress on. It was truly a beautifully flattering dress that fitted my curves in all the right places and I felt feminine for the first time in a long time. After drying and curling my hair with the state of the art hair dryer and straighteners, I put on a little mascara and headed out of my room to investigate the rest of the house.

The house seemed much bigger in the daylight than it had last night, and I wondered around the circular open plan corridor, the magnificent stairs the centrepiece of the large hallway down below. There seemed to be six bedrooms, each fairly large with its own bathroom. I was a little apprehensive that one of these rooms might have been my host's, but he was no where to be seen and I assumed he would be in a more secure position underground. Possibly in a coffin, though I really had no idea if that stereotype was true.

After viewing all of the upstairs rooms I headed down the ornate staircase to the foyer down below and headed into the direction I remembered the kitchen to be since my stomach was rumbling. It was nearly one in the afternoon so I decided that some lunch was in order. The kitchen was beautiful in the daylight with cool stone tiles underneath my feet, cherry wood cupboards and a dark marble work surface. The cooker, fridge and other appliances were in cool stainless steel and looked like they had never been used, though being in the home of a vampire I assumed they probably weren't. Did he have other visitors to stay or was I the only one? The list of things I had to ask Eric was getting longer and longer.

I made myself a dinner of some smoked salmon and poached eggs with a side salad and washed it down with a large glass of fresh orange juice. When I'd entered the kitchen I'd noticed an envelope with my name on it written in an ornate script that I assumed to be Eric's, but I decided to eat before reading it. Once I'd washed up the dishes I'd used I picked up the envelope and headed back into the entranceway before locating the living room on the opposite side to where Eric's office had been.

The room was beautifully and tastefully decorated with a pale wood floor and predominantly cream walls, but with the chimney breast painted in a dark red to accentuate the large fire place that was the centrepiece of the room. There were two large dark leather couches at ninety degree angles and I sank down into the corner of one of them to read Eric's letter.

Miss Stackhouse,

I would again like to welcome you to my home and further point out that you should treat this as your own home while you are here. You are free to wonder around the house or spend time in the gardens or swimming pool area. I have an extensive library of both books and films and you are welcome to read or watch whatever you like.

My only request is that you do not leave the grounds of the house unaccompanied, though I am more than willing to take you out once we have discussed the matter further with your great-grandfather. I do not want you to feel that you are yet again under house arrest. There are guards situated at the main gates and around the perimeter of the grounds, but you will have complete privacy if you wish to sunbathe or swim.

I will see you at first dark as I feel there is much we need to discuss, and much I need to tell you about the world you live in.

Yours,

E.

I was quite shocked at his hospitality and did feel strangely at home here despite the fact that I had been here for less than twenty four hours. I picked up Eric's letter and went to investigate the rest of the ground floor of the house. I found a large and light library with books as far as the eye could see, many of which looked to be very old. I picked up one at random, surprised that it wasn't dusty and opened it. I recognised the book to be an old copy of War and Peace though in French and I wondered whether Eric was able to speak French, and how many other languages for that matter.

I went into the next room to find a dark room with no windows. I flicked the glowing switch on the wall to find that the room was a mini movie theatre with a huge screen at one end and very comfortable looking chairs. I expected there to be many DVDs or videos, but found instead that there was a computer set up in the corner of the room which seemed to show a library of films. I'd not seen many new films in the years I'd been in the institution, but I recognised Heathers as one my favourite films and clicked on it, only for the film to start playing on the screen only a few seconds later. I was astonished at what he had, but decided I'd rather spend time soaking up the sun then inside.

After finding a small gym and a laundry room I went back into the kitchen and out into the gardens where I had 'landed' the night before. Just thinking about flying with Eric was incredible. Who'd have thought that I'd ever be flying over the skies of Shreveport with a gorgeous Viking vampire. It was just unreal. I walked around the well-manicured gardens for a while, taking in the beautiful flowers and greenery he had and felt a little sad that he was not able to enjoy the flowers in full bloom.

The pool was large and had comfortable sun loungers around the edge. I sat down to soak up the rays for an hour of so before feeling a little warm and sitting in the shade under one of the large umbrellas. I'd fully intending to go back into the house to find a bikini to have a swim, but I'd evidently fallen asleep as when I awoke the sun was sitting low on the horizon. I was surprised I'd slept more but gathered I'd probably be having a late night so it was for the best. I went back into the kitchen and found some fresh chicken and potatoes to fry up and some more side salad.

I sat on a stool at the centre island of the kitchen and ate my dinner in a world of my own when Eric suddenly appeared at my side. He was dressed in a pair of casual jeans and a dark black vest revealing his incredibly muscular arms. His hair was slightly damp from recently being washed and hanging around his broad, muscular shoulders. He looked like a model from GQ if not a supermodel. I looked up into his eyes to see a satisfied smirk on his face as he'd obviously noticed my ogling, but I could not help but be drawn in by the depth of his sapphire blue eyes.

"Good evening, Miss Stackhouse," he purred in his beautifully lilting accent, "I hope that you have had a pleasant day?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and smiled up at him. "Yes, thank you. You have a beautiful home."

"And I want you to see it as your home while you are here. I can smell that you have been out in the sun."

"You can smell that?"

"Yes, vampires have a very keen sense of smell and the sun on your skin is quite intoxicating." I swallowed again, not quite knowing how to respond to that. "I'm sorry, I'm keeping you from eating, please carry on."

He walked over to a different fridge that was underneath the counter and pulled out a red coloured bottle, shook it a few times and placed it in the microwave for around ten seconds. Once heated I watched him shake it again before downing the bottle in one go. When he caught me staring at him I immediately picked up my fork again and finished the remaining food on my plate fully aware that he was watching me the whole time.

"You don't mind me eating?" I asked when I had finished.

"No, it doesn't bother me like it would a younger vampire. The younger ones are closer linked to their human lives so do have difficulty with human food, but I find watching you eat quite enjoyable."

"Umm, thanks. What was that you drank?"

"Synthetic blood. The Japanese invented it for humans to have blood transfusions, but there is a much larger and more lucrative market for vampires. It would mean the we would not have to solely drink on human blood."

"Could a vampire survive on that stuff alone?"

"Theoretically they could, but I wouldn't imagine that any vampire would want to. It truly tastes disgusting."

"Then why are you drinking it?"

He was suddenly next to me again. "Because I don't think its a good idea for you to be around a hungry vampire." I jumped slightly and tried to back away from him slightly, but obviously noticing my movement he stepped back and took a seat at the table. "What the invention of synthetic blood does mean, however, is that vampires are now in a position to go public."

Wow, the world really was going to change. "What? When?"

"In around three weeks vampires will come out of the coffin in what will be known as the 'Great Revelation'."

"Is that why you have me staying here?"

"Partly," he said, cryptically. "You are the grand-daughter of Niall Brigant. As he told you last night, he is a Fairy Prince and well known within the supernatural world. If it was found out that you were of his kin there would be those who would seek to harm you to get to him. Niall has many enemies both within his own kind and others."

"What do you mean, 'others'? Are there other things I do not know of."

"Sookie, there are many other things in this world you do not know of. I mentioned in my letter that I have guards around the property. While at night I use vampires, during the day I have werewolves. There are also shifters who can change into other animals, some which can change into anything they like. This world also has witches, demons, pixies, dwarfs and elves to name but a few."

This was a lot to take in and I almost began to feel a little faint as I wobbled slightly on the stool. Eric was instantly at my side and held onto me to stop me falling, and once sure that I was not going to fall over or pass out he got me a glass of water in super fast speed.

"Thanks," I muttered after taking a large gulp of the drink.

Eric put out his large hand to me. "Come, lets find somewhere more comfortable to sit."

I took his hand with my free one and he led me to the living room where I had sat earlier on that day. I sat on one end of a couch putting my drink down on a coaster on a small table, and Eric sat on my end of the other couch.

Eric sat and watched me, his eyes never leaving me as I tried to think of something to break the silence. I looked around the room again which seemed so much different now it was night time. It somehow seemed more imposing, but maybe that was just because Eric was in the room.

"So, um, why do you need guards? I'd have thought a thousand year old vampire would be pretty strong."

"I am very strong, but I am also Sheriff of this area and therefore a vampire of power. I am one of the eldest vampires in this country and I have not lived this long by not being careful. So yes, I do have guards and my home is also magically hidden from those who have not been told about it."

"What is your position?"

"I am the Sheriff of Area Five, that being North-Western Louisiana. All other vampires in the area must report to me, and I report to the Queen of Louisiana."

He exuded power and confidence as he spoke, and I was quite certain he puffed his chest out slightly as he somehow seemed even larger than before.

"Queen? As in royalty?"

"Yes. Each state has its own king or queen, although some monarchs do have more than one state. It is the Queen of Louisiana who I am keeping you safe from."

"Why? I mean, if she's your boss then why wouldn't you tell her."

"As I explained, telepaths are much coveted in our world. If she knew I had you she would try to take you from me, and she would not give you the freedom that I will give you. Niall knows that and it is for that reason that he has asked me to look after you. He does not wish for you to be under her control."

I was beginning to get quite scared and almost wished I was back in the institution where I was safe.

"Why would you look after me?" I asked in a small voice. "I mean, aren't you going to get in trouble if she finds out you have me? That you've been keeping me from her?"

"That is quite likely, though I do not plan on letting her know any time soon. You may think that you were safer before, but I can assure you that you were not. You have a cousin, I believe?" I nodded. "Well it seems she is a lover of the Queen's and has told her about your telepathic abilities. Your so called psychiatrist Dr Cataliades was in fact a demon who worked for her and was sent to test your abilities. Luckily for you, Cataliades is actually a lawyer rather than psychiatrist, and he also works for both Niall and I. Niall has told him of the situation and that you are now with me, so he will report false information back to the queen. Though it may not be so good for your cousin." He smirked, but I couldn't help but feel bad for my cousin, she was yet another member of my family that I would never see again.

"Will I ever get to see my family again?" I asked, feeling a little lonely.

"Do you really want to? Isn't it your family that had you locked up there in the first place?"

"I guess, but they're still my family. Though I was only really close to my Gran and she died recently. I didn't even get to go to her funeral." I suddenly felt very sad and sorry for myself as I thought of quite what I had missed out on from all the years I spent locked up. I had learnt early on that thinking too much about the life I didn't have was no good for me at all.

We both sat in silence for a while, but Eric never took his eyes off me. I could feel his stare on me and the pure power that seemed to emanate from him. He was a beautiful man, but he scared the life out of me.

"You don't need to fear me. I will not harm you." I must have looked stunned that he had known my thoughts. "I can tell from your face that your emotions are in turmoil and I can smell the fear you have of me. You may be living here a while so it will be best if we get to know one another."

"How long is a while? What is going to happen now?"

"That, I do not know. Niall has said that he will come and see you to explain further, but for the time being my role is to keep you safe, which you will be as long as you keep yourself to the confines of my home."

"Don't you have to work, be the sheriff?"

"Yes, I will not be here all the time. I own a bar in Shreveport where I work from. Once the vampires come out in public I will reopen the bar as Fangtasia, it will be the only vampire bar in the state if not the country." He looked very smug as he said that.

"Who would go there? Surely most people will be scared of vampires, won't they?"

"Some will. We do not expect the news to go out without religious groups condemning us as devils, but there will be those who are fascinated by us and those who want to become like us."

"And your bar will be capitalising on that?" He certainly seemed to be quite the capitalist, and judging from his home he was not short of cash.

"Precisely. And it will have other benefits as well," he smirked.

"Meaning …"

He leaned forward and his gaze became predatory again. "As I explained to you last night, to a vampire, blood and sex are very closely linked. Right now to get both vampires use their glamour. Once we are out in the open there will be those who will queue up to be fed from and to have sex with a vampire."

"What does glamouring mean? Niall asked you last night if you could glamour me, what is it?" I was recoiling slightly into the back of the sofa as he inched ever closer to me.

"You are the only human in one thousand years who has resisted my glamour, though it will be because you are not entirely human. Our glamour is the reason that vampires have managed to stay unknown for thousands of years. In essence we can control a human, get them to do as we wish or to forget something. We use it when we feed from them." He was very matter of fact about his feeding habits.

I thought for a moment. "So what you're saying is that at the moment you find a girl in your bar, glamour her and then have sex and feed from her?"

"That is correct." He stated simply.

"But she doesn't remember anything about it, nor does she give you consent in the first place." I stated. I was getting a little angry and my voice had raised.

"Also correct."

Eric simply sat still in his seat and looked at me as I said my piece, his face showing no emotion or reaction to my words. I got up from the couch and started walking away from him and out of the room before I turned back to him as my anger levels rose further.

"Do you not consider that tantamount to rape? It's no different to some man giving a girl a date rape drug so she doesn't remember them having sex, and what's worse is that you're draining blood from her as well! That's despicable, how could …"

Eric was suddenly right in front of me and he looked mightily pissed off. I tried to escape from him but he was too quick and I was backed up against a wall with no way I was going to get past him. His eyes were dark with anger and I was fairly certain he was shaking slightly as he tried to contain his rage. I was certain in that instant that if he hadn't been charged with my protection then I would have been shredded to pieces by the very angry vampire in front of me.

"Sookie," he said with warning in his voice. "You do not understand the ways of the vampire. I will not apologise for the way that I am. I can assure you that there are vampires who are much, much worse than me. Would you rather I killed the humans I feed from?" I had thought it was a rhetorical question, but he was staring daggers at me so I shook my head meekly. "Would you rather I had pets? Humans who were permanently glamoured to serve me, addicted to me, addicted to my blood. Because that is what other vampires in my position do. It is certainly what the Queen would do to you if she had you. I do not expect you to understand, but you will not accuse me using your human morals. You think those girls don't enjoy themselves? That I don't have them orgasming multiple times when I am with them?"

His voice was thick with lust and anger as he pinned me against the wall, his fangs descended. I had not been able to withhold my tears as he spoke to me, and I truly felt sorry for the way I had spoken to him.

"Eric, I'm sorry, I …"

"Don't." He hissed at me, his face millimetres from my own. "Do not apologise when you don't mean it."

"I …"

"I SAID, DON'T!" He shouted, which only made me cry harder and I sank down the wall, my legs giving way beneath me. He stepped back to allow me some space to get up and walked over to the opposite side of the room.

I managed to pull myself up off the floor and wiped my eyes from the tears I had shed. I looked over to him, his back to me. I could see the muscles of his back and shoulder tensing as I started making tentative steps towards him. I wanted to touch him, I wanted to show that I truly was sorry for judging him in the way I did. I was still certain that from a human point of view glamouring a human for sex and blood was very close to rape, it seemed barbaric in fact, but I understood that this ancient being should not be judged by human standards.

When I reached him I hesitantly put my hand on his tense shoulder and he seemed to relax his muscles slightly. He turned to face me and I noticed his eyes seemed to be rimmed with red, almost as if it was blood. I stared into his eyes and saw pain, and it hurt me that my misguided assumptions had caused that, but I was determined to not lower my gaze.

He unnecessarily sighed. "You must realise that I have been this way for a thousand years. I did not ask to become vampire but I have done what I have had to to survive. I understand that you see me as a monster," I tried to object but he stopped me before I had started. "And the truth is I probably am. But I have only done what I have had to. Things will change when we make ourselves known, probably for the better for all parties, but there will be those who are unwilling to make the change."

He walked away from me again towards the doorway of the room. "I wished that we could have been friends, Sookie, but I want you to be comfortable here."

He didn't say any more than that and shot out of the room at inhuman speed. I tried to chase after him but by the time I had got to the door of the room he was no where to be found. I walked back over to the couch, sat down and put my head in my hands. What had I done? Couldn't I have kept my mouth shut, allowed him to explain before making accusations? I didn't understand the world he lived in, but it was also the world that he was protecting me from by letting me stay here.

I tested my telepathy to see if I could locate the void anywhere, completely lowering my shields and searching for him. When I found the void I was looking for I followed my own sixth sense towards the back of house, running through the kitchen and into the garden. I made out the figure of Eric in the distance at the back of the huge garden as he uprooted a fully grown tree and threw it overarm as if it weighed no more than a javelin, the tree coming to rest some distance away with an almighty crash. Eric then let out a heartbreaking roar and shot up high into the night sky and out of my line of vision.

I sank down on the lawn and allowed myself to cry further, though feeling slightly puzzled as to why Eric had been quite so upset at my comments. I truly wanted to apologise to him to show my sincerity, but I didn't want to do it in the form of a note. I went to bed that night and didn't sleep anywhere near as well as I had the night before, tossing and turning and not getting restful sleep.

The next day I pottered around the house, cleaning a bit, reading in the library and then making myself a meal for the evening, surprised that somehow his kitchen had been restocked of the things I had used the day before. I hadn't been able to sense him during the day, but maybe that was because he technically was dead during the day.

I'd made sure that I had finished my meal long before sunset, and I sat silently in the kitchen waiting for him to make an appearance. Through lowering my shields I'd known almost as soon as he woke up, but then he was gone. I hadn't heard a sound in the house, but I knew he was no longer in his resting place. I couldn't help but feel dejected and a little melancholy that he had left without speaking to me, but I was determined to wait up and see him. I found a recent Ian McEwan book I hadn't read in Eric's library and sat in the living room, my shields fully lowered, waiting for any sign that he had returned.

However at some point I must have fallen asleep as I awoke the following morning in my bedroom, the sunlight filling the room. I was still also wearing the dress I'd been wearing the night before, but my shoes had been removed and placed neatly at the end of my bed. I looked around the room for any sign that Eric had written me a note, but there was none.

Feeling more despondent then ever, I poured myself a bath and sank into the warm water as it relaxed my muscles. I spent the rest of the day by the swimming pool soaking up the sun's rays, but as night came there was no sign of him. I again tried to wait up for Eric that night, and yet again woke up the next morning in my own bed.

I didn't see him until five days later.


And I was planning on not having too much angst in this one - oops!

Thanks again for all your reviews - I hope to update again soon.