Greeting the Dawn

Chapter 8

A/N Thank you everyone for reviewing! I can't tell ya'll how much each review means to me! I enjoy getting the chance to talk with ya'll!

Yes, I know that Anna Paquin's eyes are brown. However, I prefer Sookie's eyes to be blue like in the books. Sorry if this throws any of ya'll!

As always, thank you so much to my beta, KJmom. I don't know what I'd do without her. She definitely keeps me in line!

I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think!

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Godric's Point of View

Her lips beneath mine are a different kind of bliss, like acceptance and love, although it is far to early to use this word. Eager for more of her taste my tongue darts between the part of her lips. Her mouth tastes better than her tears because tasting it is an act of joy, rather than sadness.

Her tongue brushes against mine, and I am almost overcome. I have already pushed her farther than I intended, and I reluctantly draw away, the skin of our lips sticking together as if it too were reluctant to part.

I feel as breathless and lightheaded as she obviously is. I did not know that vampires could feel this way until this moment. I want to remember her face exactly as it is right now. Her cheeks are flushed, her lips wet, mouth open and panting, her beautiful blue eyes fluttering open filled with so much life.

"Godric," she stutters. "I can't. I can't . . ."

I cut her off, placing a finger over her plush lips. "I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rush you like this, Little One. Let us not speak of it until you feel ready, yes?"

She nods, and I move settling back against the headboard and pat the empty space next to me. Almost in the opposite of the position we were in earlier. Skittishly, she crawls up the bed and smooths her skirt under her, sitting close to me, but not touching.

"Where did we leave off?" I pretend to forget, before resuming. "I lay outside of my family's hall all night long, and for most of the next day until my grandfather came for me." I deliberately omit what happened to Intarabus. I can spare her that knowledge. I can tell that the death of my horse had touched her deeply.

"My grandfather nursed me back to health, and I was able to devote myself to becoming a Druid. Typically, it would take a man ten years to complete the study and memorize the entirety of the oral tradition, and I was already behind due to the four years I could only study half-days. However, I was able to catch up and surpass my grandfather's expectations.

"Like the Romans, druids were polytheistic. We worshipped different nature gods, and performed rituals near the Moselle River and in a tree grove near our town. My grandfather also taught me astronomy, although it is much different and less advanced than what we know about the universe now.

"I earned this tattoo," I point to my upper left bicep. "My grandfather gave it to me after I performed a water ritual in my fourteenth year. It was our symbol for water."

Sookie reaches and wraps one hand around part of my upper arm, covering my tattoo. I suppress a shiver. I want her to feel comfortable touching me, and after our kiss earlier, I don't want to do anything more to frighten her from me. It was all I could do to keep my fangs retracted and enjoy the kiss for the simple offering that it was.

"The tattoo on my other arm is a series of runes in Elder Futhark, which was the limited writing of the time. My grandfather performed a divination for me, and those runes were tattooed on my arm. Roughly, it reads T M D Z I O L H. But each rune has a deeper meaning. 'T' is tiewaz, a god of single combat, victory, and glory. I was told that in my case it represented some kind of competitive success I would achieve.

"'M' is mannaz, or man in the sense of humankind." Sookie heroically attempts to suppress a laugh, which comes out as an unladylike snort. "Go ahead and laugh," I say. "It is rather ironic that I've gone through the past 2,000 as a vampire with the equivalent of 'mankind' tattooed on my body."

She lets go, and laughs like a madwoman. I have to smile along with her. I know that she is not laughing at me, and her laughter is releasing the tension from earlier. While I'm waiting for her to calm down, I move so she can see the runes I am telling her about.

"The 'D' is daeg, which means," I caution with a semi-serious face so she can tell I'm playing, "now do not laugh: day." She bursts into a fit of giggles, clutching at her stomach.

"I can't," she pants once she calms a bit. "I can't believe that you're a vampire who is stuck going through life with mankind and day tattooed on your arm! What must all the other vampires think of you?" She starts laughing again, and she kicks her little feet.

I smile indulgently. I cannot remember a time when I was this carefree, when I was not on guard from some danger or intrigue. I know we are safe because Eric is sitting in the main room, listening not only to us, but for Bill or Lorena. Right now, I am safe to just be myself.

"Before you get carried away, daeg can also indicate growth," I say.

"Oh," she teases. "So you're a vampire who stands for personal growth?"

I roll my eyes. I have not had so much fun in ages. I clear my throat purposefully. "'Z' is actually a kind of E, and stands for good fortune." I continue before she can interpret something funny from that. "'I' is "is" [pronounced ice], which literally means ice, and represents something frozen or put on hold."

"Oh wow," she breathes. "This is actually beginning to make sense!"

I smile at her and say, "What? You did not think that there was any truth to divination?"

She gently slaps my arm and says, "What do you expect? I've been raised in a back-water town where skipping service on a Sunday leads to gossip, and I'm considered crazier than a loon."

I frown at her, my eyebrows coming together in concern. "Sookie, you must know you are worth more than you can comprehend. I am truly sorry that you were raised to believe that your telepathy is anything but a gift. Besides, you are a woman who can read minds and is living in a world with vampires and werewolves. Why is it so surprising to you that it is possible to look into the future?"

She bites her lower lip before letting it slip out of her teeth, and I quickly suppress the urge to lean in and soothe the redness of her lip with my tongue. She nods slowly and says, "You're right. Who am I to doubt the supernatural? You're just going to have to give me some time to adjust is all."

I respect her for accepting my gentle criticism and opening her mind to other possibilities than her reality. I point to the next symbol. "'O' is opilia, which has different meanings: estate, possession, or heritage. I was never told which my arm actually means, but in a general sense it represents acquisition or possessions, inheritance, or wealth."

She eyes the rune and asks, "But why tattoo that on your arm? What does it have to do with the rest of the divination?"

"To be completely honest, Little One, I am not sure. It may have foretold everything I would amass during my long lifetime, or maybe it foreshadowed the vast amount of knowledge I have learned." I point to the next rune, seeing that she is having difficulty telling one from another.

"'L' is laguz or water. Often, this stands for lake, but I believe that it represents imagination or intuition. Laguz is a very feminine rune, like tiewaz is masculine."

She snorts, and I look at her expectantly. "What?" She asks rhetorically, blushing. "I was just thinking that those are a lot better than having naked people tattooed on your body."

I shake my head at her thoughts. Sookie Stackhouse is most unpredictable. Although I have only known her for a day, I can no longer imagine my life without her. "The last rune is 'H,' hagal for hail, and it stands for forces outside of human control."

She traces each rune with her fingertip. "It seems as though the druids really did see your future," she muses. "Did it hurt? Getting those, I mean?"

I nod, "Yes, very much. We did not have modern aniseptic or modern machines. We had to earn our tattoos; you couldn't just go to the store and sit in a chair. First, you had to make the ink. You would mix acacia bark with smaller parts of gall and vitriol. Then, you would grind corroded bronze with vinegar before adding the other parts. This would make a powder. You then would soak the powder in water and leek juice."

I can see her eyes glazing over a bit, and I can tell she is growing weary. "Then, you wash the area to be tattooed with leek juice and then prick in the design until blood is drawn. Finally, the ink is rubbed into the wound. Getting the tattoo was the easy part though. You then had to be careful to keep the area from getting infected.

"If a man developed an infection, we believed that the gods were angry that the man had not earned the tattoo. One of the older druid students died of an infection shortly before I received my runes."

She takes her hand back and rests it in her lap. She is silent, and her breathing slows. I suppose that she is falling asleep. I move to lift her and place her under the covers, but before I touch her, she speaks, "And the dragon on your back, what does that mean?"

I move so she can see my back more easily. She traces its scales down my back, and my muscles jump involuntarily. "It is a serpent, both dragon and snake. I received it at age sixteen. My serpent represented many things, and I embraced them all. The snake stands for secret knowledge, cunning, and transformation. The dragon represents sovereignty, a chief. I was honored and blessed when the elder druids chose this for me. I was excited that they foresaw such a bright future for me," I say, almost bitterly.

Sookie reaches and wraps her arms around me, hugging me from behind. She lays her face on my back, and I can feel each puff of warm air as she exhales. We sit like this in silence, before I feel something wet on my back. Drool! She is drooling on me!

I suppress a laugh before I lean back, letting gravity take her to the bed. I am glad that she did not ask about my last tattoo. I am not ready to share that with her yet. After this morning, its meaning seems to have changed.

I lift her body, careful not to disturb her, and peel the covers back before gently laying her down and tucking her in. I stand by the bed and admire her. Her lush curls spread around her face, mouth slightly open, one hand sticking out from under the covers, as though she is reaching for me.

I force myself to leave, before I stand there all night. I shut the door behind me and enter the main room. "Well," my Child drawls, "you're missing some clothing and have exchanged some fluids, just not the kind I would expect."

I raise my eyebrows, looking at Eric with disapproval, before sitting in the chair facing him. "You know Sookie Stackhouse is no laughing matter."

Eric crosses his legs, placing an ankle over his knee and blows a short spurt of air out his nose, as if amused. "I am well aware of that, Godric. I've been after that woman for far too long."

"I'm surprised, Eric," I arch my eyebrow, teasing him. "I thought no woman could resist your seductions for long."

"We both know she is no ordinary woman." He looks intently at me. "It is true that I want her, but Master, I sense that you are drawn to her, and she is now yours. I will cease my pursuit

"Could you? Could you really give her up?" I ask him, willing him to explain his attraction to her.

"Yes, I would. I would do for you, Godric, what I would do for no other. I want her for more than to satisfy my base appetites. She is attractive, smart, and vivacious, but underneath it all, there is a light, a brightness, as though her soul is singing and I can hear it. But for you I would give her up."

I sit back in my chair. I could force Eric to relinquish Sookie Stackhouse to me, but losing her would kill something inside him. And I fear that he would become as I was this past morning on the roof. No, I would never hurt my child like that. But can I give her up? Can I let her go? A deep roar bursts out of the darkness, turning into a scream. No! I cannot.

"Eiríkr, Jag skulle inte mer tvinga dig att ge henne än jag skulle tvinga dig att möta solen. Men jag kommer inte att lämna henne om hon inte frågar." Eric, I would no more force you to give her up than I would force you to meet the sun. But I will not leave her unless she asks.

He smiles, showing a hint of fang, "Hon kommer att vara vår." Then she will be ours.