Sookie's brothers sat down under the sun with her in silence. Lysander was humming to himself. Oliver was staring at the white sand. Sookie was lost. No one was saying anything, and often when that happened, it was because she had missed some cue. Had she? She didn't think so? Or perhaps the conversation from the suite was supposed to carry over? Caspian's advice was warring with her track record. She decided that engaging Lysander would be the best course.

"Why are you visiting the Island?" she asked.

"Bachelor party," he replied.

Informative and clear, this was good. Sookie could work with this. "Who is getting married?"

Lysander gestured with his feet to indicate Oliver.

"I do not understand," Sookie replied.

"Your father is arranging a marriage between Queen Genevieve of Boston and me," Oliver explained.

Of all the plausible reasons behind her brother's unrest, that was one thing that the Queen of Three hadn't considered. Oliver wasn't happy and she still wasn't very sure as to why, but congratulating him would be the proper thing.

"Congratulations," she told him with her best smile.

Oliver lost his temper again. At least this time it didn't seem to be directed at her. Sookie listened to his rant and took in all the information she could. It wasn't much because every other word out of his mouth was an expletive. She was able to decipher that Oliver did not wish to marry the Queen. At the end of it, her brother was looking at her for a reaction, of that she was certain. This was the opportunity to offer a solution.

"Given that congratulations are not in order, I will end her because you are clearly unhappy."

The plan was already formulating in Sookie's head. She didn't know much about Queen Genevieve, but it wouldn't take long to find out.

"No," Oliver snarled.

His level of aggression was more than she had witnessed in over fifty-five years of life. His head was down, eyes narrowed, nostrils flared, and his fists were balled at his sides. She needed to stop talking. This was going entirely awry.

"You will do no such thing, Shy'ra, not ever!"

Sookie nodded her head deeply. The show of submission was the fastest way to ease her brother's aggression. As she did so, she looked at Lysander from the corner of her eye. She knocked against his mind but he didn't let her in. He was looking at Oliver.

"She is his Mate."

"Mating is one-sided! She is not my mate, I am hers!" Oliver exploded. "Not that I hold stock in pre-determination or fate anyway!"

Every single creature in the immediate area, human or otherwise heard him. Sookie had already gone into damage control mode to wipe the events from their minds. She then addressed her brother's error in judgment. Vampires mated. In fact, the elevated levels of aggression that Oliver was displaying were proof that he was mated and was not meshing with his mated female. It was a fact, but how she would address it, Sookie had no idea.

"Then tell father no!" Lysander all but wailed. "If only for my sake, Oliver, I'm begging!"

It was clear that they had been having this argument for some time. How was it that Sookie hadn't been informed that one of her brother's was betrothed? It wouldn't affect her, but it was still pertinent information she thought her father would have shared. The fact that he hadn't meant he had a good reason and she just didn't know what that was.

"I can't!" Oliver bit back.

That confused Sookie. What she knew of her father and what she heard from her brother conflicted greatly. Felipe had five children. For a vampire his age that was many, but the King of Nevada maximized each child to their highest potential unless it would cause them harm. Then he did what any Maker and father of worth would do. He protected. That was his 'Modus Operandi'. Not once had he ever abused or neglected in all her memories of him.

"Why?" Sookie wondered aloud. "I know this is not an edict. Daddy seldom uses them. So why are you refusing to refuse him?"

Oliver growled long and hard at the sky, but he somehow managed to include all in his nonverbal display of aggression. "Because I just can't! Because none of us can, even you, Shy. You are a Queen, but I knew you did not want the party he had in your honor yet you still let him have it anyway. Felipe gives so much, but he seldom takes. When he asks something of you, as his child you can't refuse him! It feels too wrong for words!"

"I have never thought of it that way," Sookie admitted.

Perhaps it was because her words were so sincere that her brother looked up at her and he looked much like himself, if only for an instant. Then he went back to scowling at everything.

Lysander got to his feet. "Ollie, the way I see it, you have three options, marry the Queen and settle down, let Shy-shy kill her, or defy your Maker. Do whatever you want, but do it soon. You are depressing the ever-loving shit out of me, brother, and I am ready to leave you to your misery."

"You said you would help!" Oliver snarled.

"I tried! You didn't take my advice," Lysander retorted. "That's not my fucking fault! On top of sulking about it all the time, you are like Sai're on a bad day."

"I am not, and let it not go unsaid that your advice was bullshit!" Oliver insisted.

Sookie interjected. "Forgive me, but what was the advice?"

"Your dumbass brother insisted that crying and being miserable in the presence of the King would change things!" Oliver yelled as if Sookie had difficulty hearing. She did not. "He is failing to see that not all of us have his aptitude for bitching and moaning!"

"I crashed a yacht, caused an international incident, and got off with a slap, so, yes, it takes aptitude."

Yes, Zee most certainly had. It had been a public relations wreck for vampires the world over. They ultimately blamed Felipe as they should. Her father had been furious! After the cleanup, Felipe had taken every single cent Zee had, terminated all his recording contracts, remanded him to the house in Nevada, and sentenced him to house arrest for fifty years. At the end of six months, Zee had everything back that Felipe had taken, save the contracts. It allowed the King to save face, even though they all knew Zee was retiring anyway.

"Maybe if took my advice you might just find yourself not having to wed the first female you fucked, in what? Like seventy-five years! Shit, if you ask me, a steady supply of pussy might do wonders for you!"

If not for her speed, Sookie wouldn't have been able to stop Oliver from attacking Zee. Such as it was, she did stop him. She got in his way and when he showed his dominance, she bowed, but didn't move from his path.

"See what I mean?" Lysander said, shaking his head. "Your temper is shit, and your company is worse. Honestly, I never thought I would see the day when being around Nim and Sai was easier than being with you two!" He rose from the beach chair looking disgusted. "That means that Father is now the fun one in the family, Felipe De Castro. Un-freakin-believable!"

Lysander walked away, cursing as he went. He didn't return to the villa. Instead he tested the ocean to no doubt chase the faery who was frolicking in the waters. That left Sookie with Oliver, her suddenly temperamental sibling. She waited for him to speak, but he said nothing.

"May I propose a fourth option?"

Oliver gave a jerky shake of his head. Sookie had run her words through her mind several times and she was fairly confident they wouldn't wound or offend. She was also sure they could help.

"For all intents and purposes, you are a Prince. Any wedding documents drawn up will not be very complex."

"It is made even easier because Ginny is offering me half of everything, and is willing to name me King Regent of her state. She is asking nothing in return."

"That is quite generous, overly so, in fact," she observed. "May I ask why you are refusing?"

"I do not believe in the institution of marriage. I would have been happy to sit beside her forever, but she insists that by not marrying her I am not keeping her honor intact."

"She is a Queen, so perhaps—"

"I know her, and I know its bullshit! She wants an alliance to our line to fortify her rule, and this is a perfect way to get it! She doesn't care that it makes me unhappy!"

"You explained this to Daddy?" Sookie asked.

Another jerky nod, "He is choosing to side with her because this will be a good way to extend his reach into Moshup."

Sookie could easily see the logic in Felipe's decision. For one, it was a matter of what was best for Oliver. He would ascend to the title of King; something she knew would fill the King with pride. Then there was the monetary aspect. Queen Genevieve's state was profitable and her rule was stable, considering her young age. It proved she was strong. While that would ordinarily be concerning, Oliver was her Mate, so she would meet the veil before allowing harm to come to him.

The Queen was about to explain to her brother all the reasons and sub reasons, but she stuck to her script. The derailment of this conversation was something that she did not want.

"If I were to marry, I would have Daddy handle the specifics and that would take priority."

Oliver caught onto her train of thought because his scowl faded. "You chose someone already?"

No, she hadn't. Sookie had been so indifferent that she hadn't been able to look at her father's or Dorian's choice with any sort of partiality. Now that she was forced to, she chose neither. Her curiosity won out.

"I believe Grayson is a good choice," She lied smoothly.

After all, Grayson had something that he thought would be of interest to her. "Our wedding contracts will be complex and quite extensive. I will do minor sabotage to further complicate the matter."

"That gives me time," He murmured.

"You must use this time to force Genevieve to abandon her quest for marriage."

"I don't want to hurt her," He said.

"Yes. You have made that very clear."

He smiled, and it was sheepish, but he was smiling and it was because of her. Victory, Sookie had done what she had set out to do.

"I am very sorry, Shy'ra. Please forgive my behavior," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I am feeling a little out of my head."

"You are forgiven."

He pulled her off the ground and hugged her, then headed for the water. "Do you not wish to hear the rest?" She asked as he began to shed his shoes and shirt.

"I trust you, and I very much want to drown my useless little brother."

"Zee's advice is the goal," She stated. "He is not useless."

Oliver nodded with a smile. "Not sure why I didn't think of that. Make Ginny live with the misery she is causing me?"

"Precisely," Sookie said.

"I'm still going to drown him though..."

It wasn't fatal, Sookie thought, so there was no need for concern. Most importantly, Oliver was the vampire that her memories dictated. "Very well, then. What would you have me do?" she asked.

There was a sinister and playful expression on Oliver's face. "Help."

The swimming exercise with her brothers was much less rigorous than the one she had with Caspian who had left the water after the second vampire addition. Oliver made good on his plan to drown Lysander. Sookie helped though she didn't find nearly as much joy in watching him cough up salt water as Oliver did.

Sookie supposed Lysander didn't mind his drowning because he didn't retaliate. He was smiling and so was Oliver. Sookie spent as much time as she could, but then the mask began to slip and the robot started to show. Before she left she made sure both her brothers understood the plan and that Oliver was himself again.

It was almost dark when she and Caspian arrived back at her house. He left her alone knowing she needed it. Moments like when she had overused the mask leaving it vulnerable to cracking or breaking, she would consign herself to the panic room. In those instances the void was never more dreadful. She truly could not say what she was capable of during those times.

Sookie sat in the panic room filled with so many things from her past. Some of them belonged to her, but most of them were items that had belonged to her fallen husband. Before Pam had gone entirely off the grid, she had made sure Sookie received the keys to the house in Shreveport she had shared with Eric and her little farmhouse in Bon Temps. When both she and Eric had been gone Pam had taken care of both properties. After choosing things at random to take with her, Sookie had never set foot into either home again, though she kept them maintained.

There was so much in the room that served as a direct link to her past and to Eric. He was a face from her past, so all the Queen could do was to stare at her lifeless reflection in the mirror. She watched and she waited, testing until she could once again wear the mask. Sookie had accepted that there was nothing; not sex, a new husband, nor a baby would cure her. The mask and the hollowness it hid were her forever.