I didn't sleep that night.
Well truth be told I haven't had a good night's sleep in over sixty years but that's not why I didn't fall asleep that night.
And no, before you ask, I didn't stay up all night "soul searching". That would've pointless and a waste of my time for two reasons. For one thing, I don't have a soul. You see that's the big secret, that's what makes faeries so different from every other magical creature.
We don't have souls.
We exist solely on our magic. We have no electro synapses, no cells; our blood is pure magic (which incidentally makes us very attractive but very lethal to vampires). There is no afterlife for the fey. That's why my mother created the Mortalworld. It was her little experiment, to see if a world without magic could exist and thrive.
It could and did. But then that was part of the problem. To keep mortals "pure" my mother convinced my grandfather and father to create a Veil separating the two worlds. Many of my kind resented that and rose up against them, putting the events into motion that would shape my life.
After my sisters came to the throne they allowed small holes to be created in the youngest, least developed world, Earth. For most of my life Earth was simply a large, mostly unexplored forest inhabited by large creatures.
Then mankind rose from the primordial sludge and things became much more interesting.
Back in the early days fey and mortal couplings were not uncommon; unfortunately the results of those unions became unpredictable. Creatures such as unicorns, dragons, centaurs, Minotaurs, sirens, maenads, and yes even Werewolves and vampires cropped up and suddenly Earth became a bit more dangerous place to be. Magical creatures were alive and well in a non-magical world.
But they were still mortal. Over time it was discovered it had been discovered that something other than magic was the life force behind humanity. It does not sustain the body permantly, like magic, yet the thing itself lasts forever. It gives humans the one thing no faery (including myself) can truly do.
Having a soul gives humans, all mortals the ability to love, to truly love. When you live forever prolonged attachment is not only mostly impossible but dangerous as well. Because of their finality, their brief life mortals can love more truly than any faery could ever claim to.
These hybrids, magical mortals, still had souls. They lived longer than normal humans but not nearly as long as a faery can. The older they got, the more magic they absorbed, the colder they became. The more porous their souls became. They became greedy. They wanted more power, an even longer life.
Fools.
So inevitably the two magical factions went to war. Technically it could be more accurate to say I slaughtered thousands upon thousands of those creatures until they realized that beating a faery- especially me-in battle was an exceptionally hard thing to do. Needless to say some new ground rules were put in place. First and foremost no faery could couple with a mortal again under pain of death. There were a few other policy changes but mostly the Mortalworld decided to pretend we did not exist. It was hardly a solution and has since caused many annoying repercussion that as Queen I have to deal with (case-in-point Sophie Anne Leclerq).
The second reason I did brood over the events of last night was that I had accepted my pathetic, frustrating past long ago.
I never knew my other siblings or my father; my mother had died when I was very young. I was closest to my sisters but even then…our relationship was strained. I was a brat, tempestuous and impulsive while the Triad had been austere and logic incarnate. Regardless of our differences however I had-still-loved them fiercely. If I closed my eyes and let my memories rise to the surface I can still see them.
Ériu, the eldest with rippling black hair and piercing violet eyes, Banba, the golden haired beauty whose smile could warm any heart, and Fódla, she'd been the sister I'd been closest to with her deep auburn hair and kind words, even when I hadn't deserved them.
I'd come to terms with who I was. I refused to let some so called "prophecy" dictate how I lived my life or how I ruled.
To be perfectly honest the reason I didn't sleep last night is because I was making a phone call. Yes I'd been on the phone last night while Callum had been talking to Sookie, Eric, and Alcide Herveaux but that had been business. The other one had been personal.
She'd picked up at the third ring.
"Hello?" she had asked in an annoyed voice. I'd to suppress a smirk. Lile never bothered with Caller ID. She had an Irish accent as thick as mine but her voice was more melodic. Sweet romance as opposed to my raw sex appeal.
"'Ello luv."
"Annie it's four am here. What the hell do you want?"
"Don't call me Annie," I'd said but felt a distinct lack of ire. It was an old game; she hated her nickname and I hated mine.
Saoirse being Saoirse and knowing me better than any other creature had known something was off almost immediately. "Ana? Is everything alright in Jackson?"
I'd hesitated. Finally I'd said, "Eric knows. As does Niall's and Sibeal's kin and a werewolf. Callum told them."
She'd been silent for a moment. If anyone knew the impact of their deaths Saoirse would be the one. As much as I'd lost it had cost her even more.
"Annie," she'd said, her tone much softer, "I know you still love Eric. Why I'm not sure about since I think he's an arrogant ass, but that's neither here nor there. His knowing won't drag him under. It won't change you either. As for the half-blood it'll make your choices easier to understand. Besides the way I hear it you little Viking is quite fond of Miss Stackhouse."
I'd snorted. "Fond doesn't cover it. It's actually very amusing, the way they dance around their desire for each other. The only thing that concerns me is his determination to form a blood bond with her. I know he wants to be her Maker."
"Oooo, your little boy's in love," Saoirse'd cooed mockingly, "But it sounds as though you're going to have a very amusing, and very hectic couple of decades ahead of you luv. Though it makes me wonder how Sophie-Anne's minion will handle all of this, I hear he's in love with her."
"That's half the fun right there," I'd laughed, feeling much better, less…hollow.
"Bitch."
"You know it luv."
Gradually our conversation drifted to this and that. Everything yet nothing. I had very few regrets in my long life but turning Saoirse into a faery was one of them. She'd been a vibrant mortal and her near-death had been my fault. It'd taken her several centuries to adjust to not having a soul, to look down the abyss of forever.
Finally our conversation had come to a close.
"Now Annie," she'd said, "I know there was another reason you called. You don't really let family stuff bother you anymore so what's up?"
"Happy Birthday Saoirse."
Even though we were several hundred miles apart I could still see her surprised, touched smile. Celebrating her mortal birthday was one of her few comforts in life and I always made sure to acknowledge them.
"Thanks Anann. I love you, see you soon."
So now here I was, floating high above Jackson with the knowledge, the feeling that something momentous was about to come crashing down.
I checked my watch and saw that it was 11:55 am. Sighing, I gently floated down to earth and walked to Mr. Herveaux's apartment. Though I must say, I was looking forward to this little adventure.
I knocked on the door and waited for Sookie to come out. Today's goal was two-fold. First and foremost I was going to make this small town barmaid look the part of a princess, the next was in the same dress find something that would drive Eric to the edge of his sanity. I knew after what had happened last night that he wasn't going to let Miss Stackhouse out of his sight for a moment. So that made tonight the perfect night for me to pay Callum. Get them both riled up, juices flowing, emotions simmering just beneath the surface.
Was it cruel, pushing them to the limit and pushing the envelope of mortal ethics?
Yes.
Did I particularly care?
Not a damned bit. Besides, those two brought it upon themselves, the desire heavier for being denied.
I had to chuckle at the irony. Sookie was fighting like a hellcat against her attraction for Eric, thus letting it take up most of her concious (and unconscious) mind. Eric was trying to bed her in order to erase her from his mind, subsequently letting her take up most of his thoughts. Needless to say it was all pretty funny to watch.
"What's so funny?"
I looked down at the voluptuous blonde girl, inhaling her scent and sampling her emotions. Nothing out of the ordinary, however I could taste the undertones of sympathy and pity. It didn't particularly bother me so I let it slide.
"Nothing luv," I smirked. 'Nothing completely not obvious'. See therein lies the catch in the "Faeries cannot lie" rule. Opinions aren't technically lies, so long as there is a grain of truth in our intent then we can say whatever the bloody fuck we want. "Now c'mon. Antonio will be pissed if we're late."
We had walked a few minutes when Sookie spoke again. "Thank you…for rescuing me."
"No problem luv," I smiled. She was so sweet, so innocent…if she wasn't careful our world would eat her alive.
When we entered the high end store I tasted her anxiety rolling off her in waves.
"I can't afford anything here," she whispered, an embarrassed blush consuming her cheeks.
Before I could answer her, a flamboyant Hispanic wearing a bright yellow shirt and purple pants came rushing up to us.
"Ana my muse! My darling! You have returned to me!" cried Antonio peppering me with air kisses. His dark eyes lit up when he saw Sookie, "And you brought me a present! Oh I always knew you were my favorite client for a reason."
"Perhaps because I pay the best," I joked, smirking a little as Sookie shifted uncomfortably.
"Who do we have here?" he asked, practically salivating at the thought of dressing Sookie.
"Antonio this is my friend Sookie Stackhouse, Sookie this is Antonio, the most brilliant designer in Mississippi. Tony darling I'm bringing Sookie and a friend to Callum's club tonight. We'll be in the company some VIPs. I want her to look fabulous."
"Oh honey I have fabulous coming out the wazoo! Give me three shakes of a lamb's tail!" he exclaimed as he ran to the back, leaving Sookie and I alone.
She was shifting nervously, her emotions in a jumble. She'd dreamed of Eric again last night and was feeling guilty about it. She was worried about Bill and hated that she was (mentally at least) betraying him. She was also attracted to Alcide but thought his ex was even crazier than Lorena. Underneath all of this she pitied me, was afraid of me, and also was insanely jealous of my apparent intimacy with Eric.
"Sookie luv," I chuckled softly, "You need to relax or you'll explode."
The blonde girl shot me a panicked look, "You can read my mind?"
I shook my head. "No. I'm an empath dear. I can sense and taste your emotions." She still looked confused so I elaborated. "You can read people's minds and I can do the same thing with emotions…but they have distinct flavors I suppose would be the best way to describe it. It's quite a rare gift even for a faery. Callum can do the same thing but unlike me it is his main source of nutrients, that is why he lives in the Mortalworld even though it's technically illegal."
"Is that why Eric listens to you?"
"Partly. But I'd be able to read him like a book anyways. I've known Eric for a very long time, I remember him as a human."
I knew this was a shocking detail and frankly I wasn't surprised. Eric liked to build walls around himself; even Godric hadn't know everything about his Child. I had a feeling that soon I wouldn't be the only one privy to Eric's secrets, though. To distract her from her growing jealousy I told her more about my gift.
"I'm connected to every person on the planet," I said, "My empathy allows me to feel every living being's soul. I guess you could say I'm as close to omnipotent as any being could ever get."
She crinkled her nose, "Souls?"
I nodded, pleased she was curious. The more she knew the better protected she would be. "Yes. It's what separates mortals from faeries. When fey die we cease to exist. Our powers moves to our next of kin or into a more powerful faery. Mortal souls live on forever. Even though mortals live very finite lives the soul lives on, it moves on. I take them to the Mag Mell, or I guess if I were to put it in Christian terms Heaven."
"You take them?" Sookie gasped looking positively aghast. I smirked and chuckled. It had been so long since I'd told any mortal why I'd becomes so famed and feared in this world I couldn't resist taking a little pleasure from her reaction.
"Yes. When humanity first began my sisters' asked that I help shepherd mortal souls to their afterlife. Because of my empathy I could easily feel them and they found dying mortals were more receptive to me then they were to others who'd tried to take up the task."
"So when people die…you lead them to another life?" she asked, her growing big in wonder.
"The soul is not an extension of one's personality," I said carefully, "It's more like…their aura I suppose would be a good word…their energy. But yes a part of myself I've detached from the rest of my consciousness helps souls move on, always standing guard at the Golden Gates of Avalon."
I could tell she was about to ask me more when Antonio arrived with her dress in tow.
It was gorgeous. It looked like a sunrise, purples, pinks, oranges, blues, yellows, and reds all swirled and danced in the fabric. The dress itself came to about Sookie's mid-thigh with a cut out Mandarin collar and a large cutout in the back that showed off her shoulders quite nicely. She would look beautiful.
I sighed and looked at my watch. We'd been there for longer than I'd planned but it was well worth it.
I paid Antonio handsomely then took Sookie along with her new dress back to the Were's apartment.
"Thanks Ana," she said blushing, "For everything."
I merely nodded, "See you tonight luv."
AN: More of a filler than anything else, not too sure I'm happy with but please let me know you all think! Peace.
