I knew that it was too early for me to be awake, but I felt a shaft of light enter my space and it woke me slightly. I detected movement nearby but couldn't quite make out what I was hearing. I groaned, exhausted and concerned that my space was being violated. It took me a full minute to realize that Sookie wouldn't allow anything to happen to me here, and her smell was suddenly stronger. When the door closed, I relaxed again. I heard her whispering to me.
"I'm sorry, baby. I don't mean to disturb you. I just wanted to be near you for a few minutes." I was very happy suddenly. She snuggled in close to me and kissed me on my cheek. She lay there quietly and I wondered what she was thinking. I wondered what it was like for her laying next to me as I appeared completely lifeless and dead, no respiration, no heartbeat, no rolling over. I only kept a blanket with me as a habit, but I never used it. I felt her shivering beside me and I hoped that she could see the blanket and would cover herself and stay with me a while longer. She lay there for nearly fifteen minutes, running her hand across my chest. I felt her kissing my mouth and I began to wake more fully. There wasn't room to make love here, but if she continued, I would have to invent something new.
"I love you so much, Eric. Sleep well, baby." She began to crawl away from me but I didn't want her to go. I rolled over and tried unsuccessfully to open my eyes.
"Thanks for coming to see me, Angel." I heard the door close behind her and I was out again.
I stirred slowly at first, unsure if it was time to rise or not, it seemed earlier than usual. I checked my clock and noticed that I was awake about half an hour earlier than I'd been the previous night. I climbed out of my sleeping space and heard Sookie in the bathroom. I could also smell blood and for a minute, I was afraid that something bad had happened to her.
As I entered the bath, I saw that she was finishing a glass of Royalty.
"Well….I don't know if I should be concerned or happy."
"I was curious."
She behaved as a small child does when it has been caught being naughty. I didn't want her to feel chastised, so I let it go.
"Are you keeping that all to yourself, or are you sharing/"
"I'm sharing, but you have to get in if you want some."
I slid my pajama pants off and stepped into the water. She handed me a glass and I drank it down. I kissed her and she leaned into my arms. "I love that you came to see me. That was brave of you."
"I needed to be near you for just a few more minutes." She leaned in and kissed me again. "I have something to show you tonight."
I pushed her hair back. Her hair was getting long and thick, but mostly, I enjoyed watching the artery in her neck pulsating.
"Really? I'm looking forward to it."
"And, I moved the last of my things out of the Bon Temps house. I'm all moved in. Hope you don't mind, we are officially cohabitating as man and wife."
"Yes, It's official then, we're a proper couple. All I have left is to introduce you to my family." I intentionally turned my back to her then. I hadn't ever mentioned my family to her before because it brought up so many issues. I saw her go through a range of emotions and settle on surprise.
"What do you mean, family?"
"I mean my family, the vampires that I consider my family, anyway. When I was about 7 years vampire, my maker, Appius' maker was destroyed. He entrusted my care to his nest mate Mahesh-Ra. In human terms, they had been lovers and were a couple off and on over the centuries. She taught me hunting skills beyond what he could teach me, because she was much older than he. We thought that he would return within a year or two, but he never did. She adopted me as her child so that I would not be lost. Did Bill ever tell you what happens to a vampire who is separated from his or her maker before he is old enough to fend for himself? They don't usually survive the first decade. Mahesh-Ra became my mother. She cared for me, created a home for me and I was, and am loyal to her. I consider her my maker now because Appius abandoned me. Her children became my brother and sister. We lived together as a family for about 500 years. Her son Marius and her daughter Fallon went to live in Rome, I went to London.
Meshra, which is what we call her, and I played a game of chance before I left. I won a vial of her blood to be used to help me recover if I was ever near death, and as I've told you, the one condition was that it had to be mixed with the blood of someone who loves me. She is a powerful, magical being Sookie. She was immortal before she was turned and she was the wife of an Egyptian god. She and I made a side bet about which century it would be that someone would love me, and I had to promise that I would bring the young lady to meet my mother. That young lady is you, Lover."
"I would be honored to meet your mother, Eric. I can't wait to get to Paris."
"We are leaving tonight."
"No way! I haven't had a chance to pack or anything."
"Sookie, I have people who can do that for you. Relax. Just enjoy being with me."
"Will you come see what Jason and I made for you?"
"Of course." I got out of the water and wrapped up in a towel. I handed one to Sookie and we sat in our sitting room. She fumbled with the controls as if she knew how to turn the TV on, but I powered the system on and motioned for her to sit down beside me. She laid her head on my shoulder as the video started. Jason appeared onscreen.
"Hi, Eric, it's me. Sookie had this wonderful idea to show you what Ravenwood looks like during the daytime since you've never seen it. So we put this together for you. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you two have fun in Paris. Surprise Sookie, you're leaving tonight, so I'll stop by and see you before you guys leave. I love you, Little Bit. Take care of her, Eric. She's all I got."
I heard music begin, a song I was unfamiliar with, but it was a cheerful enough tune. I watched as Sookie ran through the grass, laughing and twirling in the sunshine. There were images of my horses, my beautiful Avalon charging through the clover. There was sunlight dappled on my pear trees and there were images of her gazing up at the sky beneath them. I could almost smell the warm summer air as she lay on her back with the wind lifting a few errant strands of her hair. Suddenly, she was eating one of my pears and my heart filled. There was pear juice and pulp running down her chin and she wiped the bits onto her sleeve. It was just as the image in my dream. I stood and went to the screen and touched it as if she had lifted this scene right from my mind. I realized I was crying at the enormity of what she and Jason had done for me.
"Sookie, you have no idea what you've done for me. This is the most wonderful gift I have ever received." She waved and jumped into the pool. Suddenly, Jason was in the pool beside her and they looked like little children playing in the water.
She took my hand and I let her. I couldn't believe how she'd captured the imagery of my dreams so easily.
"I'm so much better than all right. I chose Ravenwood because the layout and the meadows reminded me of my village. My village is a bustling city now and I'll never have that back. Ravenwood is as close as I'll ever have. I've never seen it during the day of course, but no one has ever cared enough about me to do this. It never occurred to me to have someone film it for me. Thank you, Angel, thank you so very much."
She straddled my waist after we'd watched the video for a second time. She began kissing my cheeks and licking the blood that had run down them. I was struck by a desperate need to taste her. I looked at her in the way that she has come to understand that means I need her blood, and she nodded her acquiescence. I kissed her neck slowly, dragging my tongue up and down from her ear to her clavicle. She braced herself as I sank my teeth in quickly. I pulled a deep draught of her blood into my mouth and swirled the thick warm sweetness on my tongue. I could feel her heartbeat as it pulsed the warm fluids into my eager mouth. She was taking supplements, but I didn't mind. I took a long drink and tilted her chin down to press my lips to hers. I spilled her own blood into her mouth and she and I took turns licking at each other's mouths until we were cleaned of blood. I needed to turn her more than anything. She would love being a vampire.
I could hear Natalia and Bobby in the next room packing our things. Sookie laid her head on my shoulder and I leaned back against the couch, holding her and running my hand up and down her spine. These were the moments that I valued more than any other; holding her, feeling her blood inside me. She made cooing sounds as if she was very content and I knew that all that we'd suffered through had been worth it to be together like this.
After an hour or so, I picked her up and carried her to the dressing room where we dressed for our trip. I told her that it would be chilly on board, which had never bothered me, but I knew that it would bother her. She asked if we would be flying on Anubis, which was her only experience with a vampire-centric airline and I assured her that I would not be risking our lives with their second rate security teams. Meshra had sworn by a company that had been providing charter to celebrities for decades, but they were new to vampire charter. I booked a Challenger 604 and one flight attendant considering Sookie and Bobby were the only two who needed meals prepared.
Sookie dressed casually in jeans and a sweater set. I slid into my most comfortable blue jeans a t-shirt and a leather jacket. Sookie waggled her eyebrows approvingly as I did a runway spin for her. I stood in the full-length mirror and she wrapped her arms around my waist from behind. I was reminded of the night I escorted her to an orgy and she giggled when I told her I still had the spandex tights.
Jason came in and hugged Sookie goodbye. I promised him that I would take good care of her if he would take good care of Avalon, Satie, Arkady and Thor. He commented that most people had dogs, but I reminded him that I am far from most people. He nodded in agreement.
I watched Sookie check her bag for her passport for the third time. She seemed to be nervous, excited and fearful and I steadied myself to calm her nerves. I was fearful for reasons wholly unrelated to traveling. This homecoming would be a challenge for me given the circumstance under which I'd left Paris. I hoped that Marius would keep his distance, but I feared that Meshra would attempt to bring us together by forcing us to spend time together. One of her strategies for maintaining peace in our family was always to pretend as if nothing had ever happened. Fallon had always been the fulcrum to our disputes and I would try to avoid arguing with either of them. I had moved on, despite what Marius thought.
Oliver brought the limousine to the front doors, and Bobby assisted him with loading our things. I knew that Sookie and Bobby had smoothed things over, but she was concerned about him traveling with us on our honeymoon. I assured her that he would remain out of the way; I needed him to take care of things that I couldn't take care of in the daytime. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, someone had tried to kill me, and may have been after her as well. Bobby had special skills that allowed him to masquerade as an assistant, but he'd been personal security to a number of dignitaries in his time. Eventually, Sookie would come to understand his value.
"You are excited, Lover. That makes me happy."
"Are you kidding me? My face hurts from smiling all night, this is something I've always wanted but didn't know how I would ever achieve. Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome. If I'd known you'd be this happy, I would have used this as a lure to get you to be with me, instead of relying on my charm and good looks."
"I can't say I wouldn't have taken you up on it."
I watched as the airline's ground crew loaded my coffin. Two of the four young men stared at Sookie as she marveled at the size of the airplane. I gave them a withering glance and they immediately ceased ogling her. I heard one of the loaders ask if the vampire would be joining us later and I realized that he didn't realize that I am vampire. I showed him my fangs after Sookie boarded the plane and he nodded respectfully. I would send a comment card to help these humans improve their services. But based on Meshra's glowing praise, she had charmed them with her beauty and they'd fallen over themselves to attend to her. She'd taken their fawning as excellent customer service. I laughed at her naïveté.
Sookie sat next to me in a butter soft leather seat. The interior was new, and smelled of glues, paints and solvents. I could smell Jet A as they drove the fuel truck away from the plane. Bobby took his seat towards the front and did his best to become invisible, for which I paid him handsomely. I'd had him make arrangements to ensure that the catered meals on the flight were real French cuisine so that Sookie would be exposed to good food before we arrived instead of her seeking out McDonald's at the terminal as she awaited our transportation. I could always taste when her diet consisted of mostly fried foods, high fructose corn syrups and assorted petro-chemical leftovers from Styrofoam boxes and containers.
As we began our ascent, Sookie clutched my thigh. She laughed when I told her that worst case, I could always fly us to safety. We looked at Bobby, the flight attendant and the two pilots at the front of the plane and laughed that we would survive if something should happen, but they would not. She was struck by her conscience and decided to say a little prayer that nothing would happen to the plane.
The flight attendant approached, and I could tell that Sookie was trying to give the woman her mental privacy. I could tell by her expression that she was as frightened of me as she could be. I was probably her first. She introduced herself as Margie and she offered us baked brie en croûte and champagne. I deferred to Sookie to explain that I wouldn't be needing either.
"Margie, is this your first time being around a vampire?" Sookie seemed to be begging me to ease this poor woman's mind. I leaned forward a little to make eye contact with her.
"Is it that obvious? I'm sorry I'm such a nervous wreck. It's just that you hear so much on TV."
I laid my hand on her arm and held her gaze even as she jumped.
"Margie, darling. You have nothing to fear from me. This will be one of the most enjoyable flights you've ever had. You will relax and anticipate all of our needs just like any passengers you've handled. You will remember us as exceptionally polite, and you will tell all your co-workers that the Northmans were wonderful to you. Now, since my wife and I are newlyweds, we would enjoy a bit of privacy. So, you won't come back to check on us unless we call you. Okay?"
"Yes, Mr. Northman. Thank you. Enjoy your evening." I watched her walk straight to the cockpit and close the door behind her. Sookie was thoroughly impressed.
"You are the master of the glamour, Sir. I was relaxing for her and it doesn't even work on me."
"You get good at it. Humans are simple creatures, they want four things: shelter, food, warmth and love. Meet those needs to any degree and they'll do whatever you like."
"I wish we were a little more complicated so that it wouldn't feel so, I don't know. It just feels like you know what we're going to do before we do sometimes."
"I've just seen humanity stay exactly the same for so long, think about it Sookie. How are your needs any different than a woman a thousand years ago?"
"Well, I guess need wise, they aren't any different. But I would never want to live without things like tampons, shampoo and deodorant. It must have been awful for the women of your tribe."
"It wasn't, surprisingly. Everyone smelled bad, that's how you identified each other." She laughed, and when she did, her hair fell into her eyes. I pushed it back behind her ear, a move that was becoming a habit for me as I tried to enjoy as much of her in her brief life as I could. "I'm serious. Here comes Lagon, breath of fire, or his wife Petta that smelled of bear. I wish you could have been there with me. I wish you would be with me always." The moment I said it, I'd regretted what I'd said. I'd promised her that I would never pressure her to become immortal. I hoped that she didn't take it that way, as much as I might want her to stay with me. She didn't say anything. I wished I could take it back. But then, I didn't. She would understand that as someone who loved her very much, of course I would want to have her with me.
I thought about how my family would receive the news that I'd married a human girl, and one so young. There would be surprise that I was returning to France so soon after Marius and I had had our most recent disagreement.
"There are things that you need to know about my family. I don't want you to worry, they'll accept you because you are mine, but my brother, Marius, he's a bit of a rogue." She looked at me disbelievingly. ""He will attempt to taste you against your will, so do not be afraid to be assertive, you will not be hurting my feelings….or his. And then there's my sister Fallon. She is a handful of emotional trouble. She's high strung, kind of frail and in addition to that, she has an eating disorder, sort of."
"A what?"
"She thinks that she can only drink type A blood. One of her special skills is that she can detect a person's blood type by scent and she regularly complains that if she doesn't get type A blood, she gets sick. For centuries she's been eating cows, cats, dogs, ducks. One year, it was sheep. Next it was goats. She is trying to be shocking and outrageous. We try not to indulge her because it is a ploy for attention, but she is a bit of a baby about it." I didn't want to downplay my sister's so-called condition, if indeed she was ill, but so much was made of it, I had a hard time believing there was any merit to it.
"How old are Marius and Fallon both in vampire and human years?"
"Marius is about 225 years older than me but he was 25 when he was turned and Fallon is about 200 years older than me. She was 16 when she was turned, and she was a brat. As old as she is, she still behaves as a young child in many ways. Marius and I have often wondered if she's altogether right in the head." I thought about Marius. He hadn't always been mean to me. It seemed that right after his father died, things between us changed. Sometimes it seemed that he would be nice to me, as if he was trying to get past the distance between us. Other times, he couldn't stand to see the sight of me.
Part of me hoped that he would stay away and let me introduce Sookie to Meshra. Another part of me hoped that he would come, just so we could get past this.
"My brother and I don't always get along. Marius is very competitive with me so don't be surprised if he and I end up having a shouting match. I love my brother, but he is a gigantic asshole most of the time like he has a chip on his shoulder. Fallon is a sweet, sweet girl, but she'll throw a tantrum if Meshra is paying too much attention to you."
"How are you guys any different than any other family?"
"I'm just giving you a heads up."
"What does Marius look like, or Fallon? Do you have any pictures?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. I've been thinking a lot about them lately…." I took a photo from my wallet and handed it to her. I loved this picture of my siblings and me. It was taken in the early seventies but you'd never know it by the way we were dressed. Before vampires were out, Meshra had taught us to dress as plainly as possible to avoid scrutiny. We were happier then.
I saw Sookie looking at Marius. He and I really could pass for twins and often did. I wondered if my appearance had anything to do with Appius choosing to turn me when he did. I knew that he and Meshra had been nest mates and lovers for many, many years and I wondered if I had been meant as a gift to her.
She looked at Fallon. My sister and I were very close. She'd taught me to glamour humans without damaging their mental faculties. She was also responsible for my love of music. Fallon had picked up the cello when Marius, Meshra and she lived in Vienna for three years. She shared that love with me.
I handed Sookie the only picture of Meshra that I had. My mother was beautiful in the photograph, but even more so in person. It was not hard to see why she'd been worshipped when she'd become trapped in the body of a human female. She radiated loveliness. And it was not uncommon for her to be mistaken for Audrey Hepburn, especially during the peak of Hepburn's fame.
"Your family is a walking Gap ad."
"Yeah, we're kind of a good looking bunch." I called for Margie and had her pour me a glass of Royalty. I could tell from her expression that she found it somewhat disturbing, so I pushed the suggestion into her mind that she was pouring a glass of tomato juice for me. I'd gotten distracted by Sookie and pushed her a little too far, because she brought a stalk of celery in the glass. Sookie laughed and I handed the celery to her.
"Way to focus, Northman."
"You distract me, little girl." I kissed her cheek and sipped at the glass.
"Tell me what you're most excited to see." I watched as she rubbed lotion on her hands. I was glad that she'd switched to unscented lotion. I loved her warm cake smell and I hated when it was covered by the petroleum distillates in her lotion. To humans, lotion smelled perfectly pleasant. But to a vampire, lotion stinks like an oil well.
"I can't wait to walk beside the river Seine. My Gran told me that if you make a wish with your true love beside the river, it has to come true."
"Really? What sorts of things do you wish for?"
"Well, for one thing, I wish we could be like this forever. And…"
I could tell that she was thinking long and hard. She didn't know that the whole world was open to her. And even with those possibilities, she didn't mention things like cars, boats and jewelry. So I would give them to her because she would appreciate them and me.
"I would wish that…."
"What, Angel?"
"I would wish that my remaining family would be able to see me more often. I hate that my brother and I are alone."
"You're not alone, Lover. You have me, Meshra, Marius, Fallon and Pam. We could also adopt children if you're interested."
"I just feel so reliant on you for everything."
"You're supposed to rely on me. I'm your husband. If I'm doing my job, I should be providing for your every need. You are royalty now. If you chose, you'd never have to lift a finger again. Meshra is the equivalent of your queen of England. That elevates your status in the vampire world if I chose to declare my relationship with Meshra. We're kind of a big deal."
"There's no way in hell that I'm going to go around calling myself a princess. I don't know that I'd ever be comfortable with that."
"I'm just trying to prepare you for what you can expect from the European vampire community. They're not at all like the American vampires. In fact, there are certain protocols that you are expected to adhere to. Depending upon the situation, you may have vampires nod to you, or bow. Do not return the bow, only nod in acknowledgement. If you are unsure, nod deeply but never bow. There isn't a vampire family with higher positioning than ours, so they should be bowing to you, not the other way around. I know that you cannot tell the age of vampires by looking yet, so if you have a vampire make eye contact with you, assume that vampire is someone who knows me or my family. If they are breaching protocol, I will try to correct them before you even notice it."
"Hmmm. Well, I'm looking forward to meeting these new and different vamps."
"I know that I should have explained my life to you a little better. I can tell that you're a little overwhelmed."
"I just didn't know. Suddenly you're a prince, your mom is a queen. I'm a princess. It just feels….weird."
"I didn't say that. I said it's the equivalent of. There's just not a better way of explaining it. We have a hierarchy and my family just happens to be at the top of it. You'll get used to it."
"I'll try not to embarrass you." She poured water into a cup and sipped it slowly.
"I've never, ever worried that you would embarrass me. I love you as you are. I'm not asking you to change. I just don't want you to be uncomfortable by the treatment that you're going to receive. In America, we're practically nobodies. In Europe, we're royalty. It will just be different than what you've experienced before."
"Okay." She was quiet for a minute, and then she added, "You know, I knew life with you was going to be different, but…I didn't see it this way."
"I'm sorry if you're disappointed."
"No, no, I'm not disappointed. You're right, I'm overwhelmed. We have a lot of money, we have a lot of cars, a huge house and now vampires are going to be bowing to me. It's just scary to take it all in in just a few days."
"I'll be right there beside you. We can take things slowly if you'd like. We can rent a tiny room until you get bored with that, then we can get a two bedroom house, then when you realize that being rich is no different than what you were doing before, you'll begin to enjoy it." I smiled to let her know that I was kidding. "I know it's a huge transition for you. I didn't have this money right away so I had time to adjust, but I promise you, you'll be okay." She nodded and bit her lip. I hoped that I hadn't given her too much to think about.
"I have to get to bed soon."
" I would love to be able to stay with you. Is there room?"
"I'm afraid not, my sweet girl. But I appreciate that you'd like to stay with me. Look out over the horizon."
"It's so pink out there."
"I'll see you when we get there." I stood up and walked back to my coffin. I hoped that she would not be bothered by seeing me go to sleep.
"Can I wait with you until you fall asleep?"
"If you will not think that it's weird." I lifted the lid to my coffin and climbed in. "If this gets weird for you, I'll understand."
"Is it weird for you that I can hear people's thoughts?"
"Not weird. I wish I could hear the thoughts of others."
"No, you don't. I always know what people really think of me. People are incredibly dishonest most of the time."
"I offered to kill anyone who treated you badly." I closed my eyes and she leaned over me, kissing me while I relaxed. I kissed her back as long as I could, but I was so tired. I heard her say that she loved me as she closed the lid.
I could hear her rustling around in the cabin as I slipped more deeply into sleep. I heard her place her palm on top of my coffin.
"Goodnight, my love. See you in France."
I pressed my hand to where I thought hers might be, whispered that I loved her, and fell asleep.
