Persephone sat on her porch a few minutes later, in deep thought. Despite what she told everyone – that she had missed travelling and meeting new people – the truth was something she couldn't bring herself to acknowledge.
Godric, whom she lived with back in Dallas, had become distant to everyone around him. Since she had been with him from the beginning, had loved him enough to accept his marriage proposal so many years ago (which in itself is unheard of between vampires), and knew him better than anyone – even Eric – she knew what his behavior meant. But she couldn't accept it.

Confused, she felt like she really could stay where she was until the sun rose. She had heard of many vampires who, once they had reached a very advanced age, developed suicidal thoughts; but she wasn't willing to burn just yet.

She sat up suddenly in her chair as she sensed a presence nearby; three, to be exact.

Liam, Malcolm and Diane approached the house with the intention of killing Persephone on this dark, cloudy night. She stood up and watched them cross the yard, travelling at a menacing gait. Her unusually large fangs appeared as she prepared herself for what was to come.

"Good, you're home. We wouldn't want to waste a trip," Malcolm grinned.

Persephone remained still, refusing to respond to their juvenile behavior. She'd dealt with young vampires before and a response was all they craved. The upside to this was that it showed they were naive to the fact that ancients were more powerful and more calculating. They would not be killing her tonight, or any other night. If was far more likely that they would not be leaving.

As Diane and Malcolm surrounded her, Liam made his way up the steps, excitement dancing in his eyes. All he'd wanted since their last encounter at Merlotte's was to get his revenge. When he'd raped her and drained her blood to sell, he would make that all that was left of her was a pile of bloody sludge on the ground.

"I hope you're feeling up to it," Liam told her. "I like my victims feisty. I more fear the better."

He brought his face towards her, his tongue itching to drag across her face. But just as it touched her skin, she had him by the throat, squeezing hard. Sensing the turn the situation had taken, Diane and Malcolm rushed forward, one grabbing her arm, breaking it, and the other sinking their teeth into her side.

Persephone cried out and released Liam, her disgruntled expression twisting into a terrifying snarl.

An enormous roar sounded suddenly from behind her and Diane and Malcolm moved back. She turned and saw Eric, obviously furious; crushing the neck of Liam, whose look of surprise would have been comical under any other circumstances. Eric tossed him aside and charged at the other two, who hissed and disappeared into the night, Liam close behind, clutching his bleeding throat. They fled once more.

Persephone sat down on the top step of the porch and looked down at her arm. A piece of bone was sticking out, preventing the injury from healing properly. With a growl, she tried to find the best way to put it back into place. Eric sat down beside her, took the arm in his hands and pushed. She winced and gave an odd sort of gasp, but the wound vanished almost instantly. Distressed from hearing her in pain, Eric examined her face for a sign of what she was thinking.

"I believe we need to talk," he told her.

"About what?"

"Something's not right. I've never seen you this way."

"You're mistaken," she replied, not very convincingly. "I'm just not particularly fond of underlings jumping me on my property."

She turned to him and smiled.

"I don't know what's going on in that mind of yours; I very rarely do. But I do know when you're lying."

She stared off into the surrounding darkness, silent. She couldn't tell him the truth – it would hit him the hardest of all. Besides, at that point in time, there was nothing really to tell.

Back in Fangtasia, Eric stood over her with a smile on his face. He'd developed a theory as to why she was acting so aloof, so Persephone had decided to humor him and play along. To his left was a boy of around seventeen; muscular, average height with dark wavy hair and eyes of baby blue.

"I got you a gift," Eric explained.

"I hope he's carrying a bottle of Tru Blood."

"Oh, he's carrying plenty," Eric replied, "You haven't had fresh, young blood in years. I'm giving you this boy to make you feel better."

"I'm willingly offering myself to you," the boy recited.

"Has he been fed on before?"

"Never. He's a virgin. In every sense of the word."

Eric was eyeing the boy as though he wouldn't have minded joining in on the feast, but he wanted her to have all the blood she needed. The boy pushed aside a lock of hair that was covering his neck and got down on his knees in front of her, waiting. She hadn't fed on a human for so long, but the temptation never really left. Her fangs slid out as she looked at the young man, and she leant towards him. He smelt exotic and pure, a scent she hadn't experienced for years. She glanced up at Eric, and then bit into the boy's soft flesh. He moaned as the blood oozed out. Persephone sat up for a moment, blood dripping from her mouth, and then dived back into the boy's jugular. Eric watched, pleased with his own actions and always happy to watch her feed. It reminded him of their first meeting...

1067 A.D.

Godric led his new creation towards a large cave mouth, wanting nothing more than to introduce him to the vampire who waited inside. The Viking, who he now knew as Eric, followed in a daze, unable to accept the idea that he was still alive, all his wounds now perfectly healed. As Godric entered the cave, he caught the scent of fresh blood. Evidently, Eric had caught the smell too, but was unable to understand why he felt so attracted to it. He followed the pale man into the cave and stopped as they reached the centre, which was brightly lit by a fire that sat in the middle of the circular area. Close to the fire, he saw something moving. It was feeding from the wrist of a person who was still alive, but barely moving. They dropped the arm and stood up, revealing themselves as young woman, her lower face covered in dark, dripping blood.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"His name is Eric," Godric replied, "I followed him from all the way up in the mountains. He's an exceptional soldier, but he became wounded. I thought it would be a waste to allow him to die in such an undignified way."

The new vampire, whose long blonde hair fell in front of his face, stared down at the body she had just been feeding on. She noticed his gaze and smiled.

"There is still some left. Please, drink."

Unsure of why he was obeying her, Eric approached the body, picked up the bleeding arm and looked back at the woman. She nodded encouragingly and he bit into the still-warm flesh, drinking the fresh liquid that flowed from it. Whilst he fed, Godric glanced lovingly at Persephone and she smiled, then they both turned to watch Eric experience his first taste of fresh, young blood.

When Persephone awoke the following evening, she found herself in an unfamiliar location, but she felt revitalized. She pushed the lid off the coffin she was currently occupying and found that the coffins around her were empty. She checked the time and saw that it was nearly half an hour after the sun had set. She rose from the makeshift sleeping space and realised she was in the cellar of Fangtasia. She found Eric in his office talking to Pam, both looking stressed about something. When she entered the room, both vampires looked at her.

"What's going on?" she asked them, picking up on some tension.

"Last night, we found out who was taking the money...The only problem is Bill decided to stake them."

Persephone stared at them, waiting for further information.

"It was Longshadow. He tried to attack Sookie and so Bill took it upon himself to kill Longshadow. Understand now?" Pam explained in a very contemptuous way.

"And I suppose he's to be tried by those idiots in the court?"

"Correct," Eric replied.

"Is there any way around it?"

"None that I'm aware of," Eric lied. Pam smirked. He hadn't actually bothered looking into it.

"Shouldn't you know better than us anyway? Pam asked her, "Being as old as yourself."

"Funny, I've never had to involve myself with the courts," Persephone retorted.

Pam raised her eyebrows and shrugged to show that this fact did not impress her.

"When is the hearing?" Persephone went on.

"Tomorrow evening. We were just about to visit Bill to inform him. I trust he will need to let his human know prior to leaving," Eric explained.

"How thoughtful of you," Persephone said, without emotion.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, thank-you," she told Eric, "I'll be returning to my own house for the evening. Call on me there if necessary."

Eric nodded, his eyes following her as she exited the room. Pam turned to him, arms folded.

"Why is she still here?"

"She is a very old friend, Pam. I care little for your dislike of her. Do not cross her. She's very powerful, and very protective."

Pam gave him a scornful look and left the room. He sat behind his desk and smiled, recalling once more the first time he had met Persephone.