Thank you, Charlaine Harris. You own all of this.
Eric
I see Pam and Sookie walking towards us, and I brace myself for trouble. Sookie must have her shields up because she has that smile on her face that makes her look a bit psychotic. As they join our group, there are smiles and nods all around. Sookie bows her head to me and says, "Master." If I'd had True Blood in my mouth, I would have done a spit take. Master? We haven't spoken in weeks, gone all last night, blow job and all, without so much as a word, and now she says "Master?" Fortunately, I have had centuries to learn to school my features, so no one should notice my complete and utter shock. Good gods, what did Pam say to her in the ladies room?
Before I can react, De Castro swoops in and takes her hand (making me cringe). "Would you like to dance, my dear?"
"Why, yes, thank you." And they head for the dance floor. It's a slow song, so I have to suffer watching him put his oily hands all over her. If I weren't already dead, this night would be the death of me.
They're across the room, but of course, I can hear every word, and I listen in with heightened interest.
"Don't you look lovely tonight, Miss Stackhouse."
"Thank you, Your Highness." She still looks psychotic.
"I can see why Eric is so very attached to you."
"Yes, I am his." Haven't heard that in…well…never.
"I couldn't help but notice though, that he has not marked you. I must say, I am surprised."
"Actually, Your Highness, I am…um...marked all over the place, if you must know." She feigns a blush and a shy laugh escapes her lips. He creepily scans her body stopping at all the good parts, I suppose imagining the fang marks that I know are not there. "I don't know if you're aware, but I've had quite a few threats from those Fellowship of the Sun nutcakes, so Eric is always careful not to draw attention to the fact that I…um…belong to a vampire. He's all about protecting his assets, after all." That's it. I am officially baffled again, and couldn't be prouder. She is magnificent.
"Ah. Interesting. Yes, I, too, have had many threats from that Fellowship group. It would pain me to see them harm you. You're such a beauty."
"Thank you, Your Highness." What has seemed to me to be the slowest of slow songs is finally over shortly after that exchange, and they return to our tables.
Sookie
Pam and I head towards Eric and I am relieved to see that he doesn't seem to be paying attention to any of the Robert Palmer girls now. I put up my shields and plant my Crazy Sookie smile on my face, ready to face the music. I greet everyone in the group and amazingly, Eric doesn't even flinch when I call him master. I'd hate to play poker with him. Damn, he looks good. Focus, Sookie. Zorro…I mean, Felipe asks me to dance. (Seriously, isn't a cape like outerwear, anyway? Is there no coat check in here?)
I can feel Eric's stare, but I ignore it and pretend to enjoy the dance. Felipe has the nerve to ask me why I'm not covered in fang marks. King or not, that's just rude. I realize that it has been a very long time since I was bitten, and during our unexpected little romp last night, Eric didn't bite me. My mind snaps back to that image of him and the anonymous fangbanger in mid fangbang, and I realize that he must be feeding off of other women, and probably lots of them. And I'll bet lots of them look just like those Robert Palmer models. And I must have been crazy to think that I could have any sort of real relationship with Eric. With the real Eric, I mean.
Okay, now I'm really depressed again (this is starting to feel like a rollercoaster), but I manage to convince King Smarmy that I am simply covered with fang marks, but that Eric is such a sweetheart to make sure they're hidden from view. I'm not sure where all that came from, but it sounded good, and hopefully, it's enough to convince the king that I am Eric's and I am a good little bonded human.
After the song ends, we head back to the table and booth where the party seems to be in full swing. Just as I start to wonder where I will fit into the seating arrangements, Felipe announces that it's time for his little group to be moving on to their next soirée. What a lucky break for me to be rid of the Gorgeous Three and King Leer all at once! There are grand bows and nods all around, and before you know it, the whole group is out the door. Pam scurries off, leaving me and my Viking standing face to face. Finally, we are alone. Well, okay, in a room full of people whooping it up, but we can at least have a conversation. And it's a good thing too, because boy do I have a lot to say to him.
