Chapter 4

She awoke in the plush bed, disoriented at first but then as she looked up at the gilded ceiling, the sunlight sending streaks of color all over the walls of the suite, Sookie remembered their living arrangement for the week. That they were actually staying in a castle….not that she hadn't been in one but his old Viking castle back in Sweden it was….much more rustic than this one, she thought with amusement in her voice. And try as he might, she could tell that the trip was already doing something to him. Tonight, she knew would put him to the test and for amusement, she imagined him on the various rides and attractions that were offered. She nearly choked on the coffee from the tray that had been delivered to them. She had been shown a button that unlocked the two doors that led up to the suite, thus allowing room service to come and go.. Having just allowed the breakfast delivery to come and go, having also given the employee a generous tip, Sookie settled Aurora, dressed in a princess Snow White pajama set, at the small table in the sitting room where they munched on pancakes, bacon and bowls of freshly cut fruit.

"is it good?" Sookie asked her daughter as she finished up her last melon ball, believing it to be one of the best meals she had ever tasted. Looking up with the redness of s strawberry all over her face, Aurora grinned, a fanged grin that revealed a red stained mouth. Though stained with berry instead of blood. A nice change, Sookie thought to herself, having seen many a bloody mouth in her day. It was cute, in a sort of macabre looking way and a stern look from Sookie caused the youngster to retract her fangs. "You have got to be more direful about those, you know. I don't think we want to spend a ton of time making people forget what they may see…..we are trying to fit in here, remember?" Sookie said, trying not to laugh at how ridiculous a idea that was. Fitting in. sure. Easy. Right. "I mean, we can't really fit in, not really, not with people recognizing your father….bit we have to be as low key as possible, ok?" she added gently, noting now distraught Aurora's face had gotten. "Hey. How about we get you cleaned up in that bog tub and we get out there or another day of fun?"

Delighted at the idea of getting into the biggest bubble bath ever, Aurora bolted from her spot and raced to the bathroom, Sookie gathering clothes from the luggage that the staff had delivered from their previous lodgings late last night. As she filled the tub with water, bubbles and toys for her daughter and made certain she was happily playing in its warm confines, Sookie sat on a chair nearby and rifled through the maps and pamphlets she had kept in her luggage, going through the different areas of the park which was far larger than she realized. Perhaps today they could hit up Fantasyland. Or even Tomorrowland. They still had 6 days here and certainly she didn't want to do too much too fast. Not that that was really a concern with all the sections the park had to offer. A splash from the overexcited child left a glob of foamy bubbled atop Sookie's blonde head and with a slow, Cheshire cat grin, she dropped the maps and papers onto the nearby sink counter and went to the giggling child and placed a glob of rainbow hued bubbles atop the head of the squealing Aurora. And for ten minutes, they had the best bubble war in history, for ten minutes, the idea of Aurora waking up someday soon as a teenager was far in the back of her mind.

They had done up some of Frontierland until the storms came, forcing them back into the safety of the castle suite. Not that it was terrible being confined inside while the wind and rains came sweeping through. And they certainly could have tried roughing it like many others who were wandering the park, diving into the attractions and the like that were covered. But she just assumed they return to their suite, hoping that the storm would pass through fast. Which it did. And so a few hours later, there appeared in the slowly clearing sky a rainbow that arced over what seemed like the whole magic kingdom, a good sign, Sookie thought as she and Aurora once more set out for the park.

Things had dried out fast enough and it was unfortunate that the rain had lasted as long as it had. Then again, it was also a blessing in a way as well, for the rain was stopping just as night was starting to fall upon the magic kingdom. They headed for Frontierland once more, getting in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a line that seemed to wind around, a never-ending snake of people and it seemed they would be spending the better part of a hour or more merely standing in line, hearing the sounds of the ride in motion, the cried of the delighted people on board. Sighing, Sookie looked at her cell phone clock. Night was fallen and they had already been in line for over an hour. And still the line was….wait? She saw people starting to retreat from the line, each and every one seemingly dazed for a few moments before their attention was turned somewhere else. Before they knew it, the two were in the front of the line. Well, not exactly at the front of the line. For under the lights that they stood under was their nightly visitor.

"I thought it would be more fun to have a private trip on this….contraption. Well, the two of you would find it more fun, anyway…" Eric said as he eyes the cars to the ride with distrust.

"Come on, you are going on this too. what's the worst that could happen? If you don't like it you can just fly off it, right?"

"Unless the cars go flying off the track, then I don't have to do a thing." he replied dryly.

"You are going to stand there and tell me you are scared of carnival rides? After everything you've seen and done in your life? You can't handle a little rollercoaster? You've never gone on any ride in your life?" she rolled her eyes at the smirk on his face. "Not that kind of ride…I mean something mechanical like this thing." she noticed the ride operator seemed out of it, no doubt thanks to the same treatment he had given the now vanquished patrons who had been waiting in line.

"I am not scared of such a thing, it is simply I have never really had any interest in taking part in such….frivolity. Not my thing." he folded his arms over his chest. "All I want is to be with you and see the two of you enjoying yourselves and-"

"Daddy is a fraidy cat, isn't he?" Aurora said with a sing song voice, grinning up at her father who stared at her with a amused expression.

"Come on, we agreed this trip was to make memories and we wanted this to be a family affair. Considering you are only available at nighttime…..come on, you really may enjoy yourself on at least some of the rides. I am picturing you on the teacups and….." Sookie couldn't finish her sentence without breaking into laughter. Incensed by the taunting by the females of his family, the Viking boldly strode past them and ordered the ride operator to get things moving. Sitting down in the front car of the ride, he impatiently tapped his booted foot for the others to take their seats in the seats behind. Soon, they lurched to a start and the coaster started to speed up, rounding turns and traveling through dark caves before soaring upwards and downwards. It was all over in a matter of minutes and as they departed the ride and they were walking out on the path through the park, the adults held hands as Sookie held into Auroras hand. A family, linked together.

"So…..what did you think?" Sookie asked and as she looked up at Eric, who may have had a unreadable face but if possible, looked a slight bit paler than usual. If he had been a average human, she would say he looked a bit green around the gills.

"It was….interesting…and….that sensation….so strange."

"Such a sheltered life." Sookie said as she shook her head. "And think of the dozens of other rides that there are here for our amusement!" she laughed again as she took in the shell-shocked look on his face as they mingled deeper into the crowds of people too busy in their surroundings, too busy shelling out money to the house of mouse to notice the striking and stricken looking vampire walking amongst them, a woman and a little girl chuckling at his expense. And vacation was only just beginning…

To Be Continued

Author's Note-So, what do you think? Too boring? I just wanted to slow things down and have a story that kind of involved the family spending time together that didn't necessarily involve violence and the typical stuff you'd see on True Blood. I think I will do one more chapter after this and then get back to something a little more gritty. But I hope you enjoy this more humorous, slower paced little adventure. Thanks for reading!