Chapter 9 House of Cards

EPOV

"The truth Pam. Did you tell Sookie?" I questioned my child, standing over her, imposing my will on her to get the truth.

She knew this was coming, she had sensed my anger. "I didn't tell her anything. You forbade me to talk with her about her 'husband's' marriage to someone else. Remember?" she said with her usual leer when we discussed this topic. She had been furious with me for keeping Sookie in the dark; she was blinded by her friendship and did not see the whole picture.

She thought I was being selfish, accused me of putting my claim on Sookie above her wellbeing. She angered me by saying our marriage was just a farce and that if I loved her, I should just let Sookie go.

What Pam didn't realize was that I couldn't let her go, our marriage was real even though Sookie fought against the concept, she simply couldn't move beyond her societies' expectation of human weddings to accept a vampire marriage, but it didn't matter. My love for her was real, as was her love for me. I would find a way to keep her safe and with me. She was mine, my lover, my wife, mine. No one would force us apart.

And now I was sure that my valid concerns, which had kept me from telling Sookie in the first place, were playing out. I had lost control of the situation somehow, but it had not occurred directly through Pam.

"Did you talk with anyone about it?" I felt her guilt, "Pam…the truth," but I knew already there was only one person she would talk to about personal information…Miriam. I growled as my child admitted her error.

"Eric, I'm sorry that I told Miriam, but I'm not sorry that Sookie knows. She needed to be informed about this. By not telling her Eric, you are leaving her out to dry, she must be on the alert so that she can at least try to protect herself."

I grabbed the front of my child's silk blouse, not caring as I heard it tear and pressed her firmly against the wall, "Do you not think that I would do everything in my power to protect her if I have to leave? Do you really think I would ever leave her unguarded and without a plan when I know the forces that are just waiting for me to step away?" I let her go and turned around in disgust with Pam, with myself and with the entire situation. "It's all I think about. And, you," I looked back around to glare at her, "questioning me all the time…it is not helpful Pamela," I growled through my teeth.

My willful child held her chin up high, just as I had taught her, "She should still know," she said stubbornly.

"And so she does," I snapped back at her as I crossed my office in Fangtasia.

I reviewed the events of last night at Sookie's home. To say that I was unsettled when I left her would be a massive understatement. From the moment I woke, I was bombarded by the most intense and desperate emotions from my bonded. I had not planned on seeing her that evening, expecting to spend the whole night talking with my lawyers to try and make the marriage contract void in light of my maker's demise, but she pulled me to her, I needed to know what was causing her so much grief.

I was furious when I found out that she had learned of the contract and then she had all but pushed me out the door, essentially giving up on me, on us. It was driving me crazy, I was even having trouble focusing my thoughts which was never a problem for me. Every instinct was nagging me to bring her to my side, forcibly if needed, to keep her safe, but I knew I would lose her forever if I did anything to her against her will and I knew she would not come to me willingly, not after learning this information. She needed to get away, to think and I would allow her the space and time she desired.

"Then help her run," Pam interrupted my reflections, "help her flee while there is still time. She could get away Eric, live a safe life somewhere away from all the dangers that plague her constantly. Her life here is crap anyway, what human wouldn't want to get away from it?"

I shook my head, she didn't understand Sookie the way I did, "She would never leave Bon Temps, no matter how bad it got, I can't even get her to quit her job. She is too stubborn to care for herself and she has survived too many close calls to take the danger seriously. She won't leave."

"She would Eric, if you explained the dangers to her, clearly and completely. How many proposals have you received since Rhodes offering to buy her from you, at the cost of extraordinary sums of money and favors? Twenty at least, and as soon as you sign the papers, she will cost someone nothing but maybe a scuffle with another to be the first to get to her. What if Orrick from the Dakotas wins her? You do remember how he treats humans, right? She wouldn't last a week there and you know it."

Pam was right in that Piers Orrick, an 800 year old English vampire was one of the worst possibilities for Sookie, but she was also wrong, Sookie would survive, she just wouldn't be Sookie anymore after that first week. Orrick had a habit of brutally over-taming his humans and his first desire would be to break her will and her spirit the moment he realized she could not be controlled through a bond or glamour. Orrick had sent repeated offers to me, he was eager to have a telepath of her power and notoriety to bring increased standing to his weak state and position. I had been plagued by worries of Orrick or someone just as despicable getting their hands on Sookie every moment since Appius showed me the marriage contract.

"I will not allow that to happen," I said forcefully.

"How will you stop it Eric? If you don't relent and sign the pages, you lose everything you own, including Sookie, and that leaves her in the same position she is in now…Fucked! You know I supported your efforts to find a way out because I feel how very much you love her, but there is no more time. You must let her go Eric, and now."

What Pam didn't say was that if I backed out of the contract without my King's support, I, and each of my children would lose everything, but I knew this was of no concern to Pam, with the exception of her Miriam. Pam was ready for this possibility; she had a plan already in motion to hide Miriam and her brother.

"I am not ready to take that step Pam, and so I will not. I do not accept what I find objectionable and this situation is completely unacceptable," I said through my teeth.

"There are still more cards to play, I just need to organize them in the right way so that I come out on top. There have been many times when it appeared that all my options were played out. But I have learned, and you have witnessed, that there is always another option, I just haven't found it yet…and, yes, I am acutely aware that my time is running out, I don't need you adding to my stress." What I didn't tell her was that I was sure that I had overlooked something…something small yet vital to all of us, but I would find it before my time ran out. I had to there was no other acceptable option.

I turned back to Pam, softening my glare a little. She knew she was not forgiven yet, but that she was no longer in danger of my wrath and she relaxed.

"The reason I decided not to tell Sookie the truth, and what has me most concerned at this moment is that I have now lost control of the variables regarding Sookie's actions. Before this, I could predict what she would do, and so I did not have to worry about her doing something foolish, but now I don't know how she will react to learning this information. I am concerned that she has already reacted. I feel that something significant is going on with her Pam, in fact, I am sure of it. What do you imagine her reaction to learning this information would have been?"

Pam smiled deviously, quickly shelving her frustration, "I'm sure she was furious with you, or did she refuse to speak with you at all? Either would be plausible reactions until you managed to calm her down from being livid."

I nodded and frowned, "Those were the reactions I expected as well."

Pam's smile faded, "She wasn't upset?"

"No, at least not by the time I got there, and that is what concerns me. At some point during the day, she rescinded my invitation, but when I found her, she was sad, very sad but also nervous and guilty. She let me in right away and informed me that she had come to terms with my marriage and departure…she told me not to worry about her…she was ready to say 'goodbye'," I added, irritated that I had to admit this, even to Pam.

Pam looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

"Then she definitely knows something that we don't; Sookie doesn't give up without a fight." She paused, debating her next words and then carefully continued, "Are you sure that she still loves you and did you make it clear that this is not your plan?" Pam asked. She was entering dangerous territory.

I growled at her, "Of course she still loves me and I made it abundantly clear that it is not my desire to leave her…but she is still hiding something. It can't be good and will probably get her hurt. I just don't know what it is. This is exactly why I wanted to keep it from her Pamela, Sookie over-reacts and always ends up putting herself in danger. I will have to keep a closer watch on her and get her permanent security lined up to take affect right after she returns from New Orleans."

Pam looked at me with a slight frown.

I shrugged, "She is going to spend a few days with Amelia. She's leaving tonight after she finishes work. I have hired a Were to follow her to New Orleans, to ensure that she gets there safely and I have already lined up security with Amelia in New Orleans and she has enhanced her wards. Sookie will be safe there, it's when she returns here that I am concerned for her safety."

Pam nodded. "Do you need my assistance?"

"Only if I leave," I clenched my fists at the thought. "I have an emergency plan that will be set into motion the minute I sign the papers if there is no other option, but you will not be needed to do anything for that. In the meantime, I've contacted Herveaux and tonight I'll call the witches in the area to set up additional security for her when she returns, but at this point, it is unknown how long she will be away."

I said this purely for Pam's comfort, to ease her worry for her friend because I couldn't fathom the idea that I might not be here whenever she returned. I wouldn't even contemplate it more than to set up a plan and leave it in the hands of my lawyers. I had things set to leap into action and whisk Sookie away to safety if need be. The best scenario would have been to involve Cataliades since Sookie already knew him a little, but he was too ensconced in local vampire politics to be sure that he could handle this silently and with Sookie's best interest as his primary concern.

Sookie had known the timeline was short for the marriage contract, and had apparently accepted the possibility that we might not see one another again, much better than I had. In the back of my mind I knew clearly that if I did not find a way out of this, that I would have to leave, if for no other reason than to keep Sookie safe.

I sent Pam on her way to deal with her ailing Miriam and I forced myself back to my desk to once again call my lawyer, try and contact Philippe and speak to old friends to see if any solution could be discovered. I found it impossible to focus fully, Sookie kept popping back up in my mind, tugging at me with her sad, deep eyes. The unwelcome vacuum that had begun to form in my chest last night when she whispered that she believed we were saying 'goodbye' returned to me. I would not lose her. She was mine and I would not give her up.

I thought about checking on her through the bond, to see exactly what she was doing. I could feel the familiar patterns of her emotions when she was at work, but the prevailing emotions I was barraged with were grief, fear, fatigue and guilt…why the guilt? And if she was sure that she could 'take care of herself', then why the fear? What was going on? What had she done?

I thought through the consequences of a number of potential knee-jerk reactions and each made me more worried for her than the next. I texted the Were who would be following her to New Orleans and reinforced the potential level of danger of the situation, requesting a second Were be present just in case.

This step did not decrease my concern, I needed to know exactly what she was thinking, why she was so upset. I had, on occasion, 'looked' more deeply into the bond, but tonight would not be as enjoyable to me as the experience usually was. I smiled to myself as I remembered the first night that I tested the bond in this way. I had been here at Fangtasia, sitting in my booth, when I felt Sookie becoming sexually aroused.

I was extremely irritated, this was before we had reinstated our physical relationship and after she had ended things with Quinn. She had been mine, would be mine again, and I despised the idea of someone else touching her. In my anger, I probed the bond forcefully and found that by pressing all my thoughts and focus into it, I could become significantly more aware of her body's actions, her emotions and her environment. That journey had been very satisfying indeed as I learned that she was pleasuring herself while thinking of me. Of course she was, she was made for me and I was the only one for her.

My satisfied smile melted as I returned to her current emotional state. No, I would not intrude on these feelings. I forced myself to lock thoughts of her into a small part of my mind, a skill that allows me to always keep the upper hand by decreasing distractions from unnecessary thoughts, and I focused on my immediate problem.

Three frustratingly unproductive hours later, my attention was again drawn back to Sookie as my phone rang, I was concerned when I saw that it was Sam; he never had good news for me. "Northman," I snapped into the phone.

"Eric, this is Sam Merlotte," he waited and when I didn't respond, he continued, "what the hell is going on with Sookie?"

Now he had my attention, "You will need to be more specific than that."

He huffed, and I could hear him pulling his hand through his hair as I knew he did when upset. "She called out sick last night, she is never sick and tonight, she was a total wreck. She was close to tears the whole night and she jumped every time the door opened as though she were expecting to be attacked. Is she in danger?"

As far as I knew, she hadn't been ill but she had been upset due to hearing about my maker's manipulations. When I asked her if she was in danger, she had deflected my question by stating that she was always in danger. I certainly wasn't about to tell Sam about what had upset Sookie, it was none of his business, and so I attributed her jumpiness to the attacks at his bar in the last week, which on reflection, could be the truth.

Merlotte did not accept my explanation.

"No, it's more. I've known Sookie for a long time Eric, something is going on. When she left tonight, I felt as though she were saying 'goodbye' to me. Not just see you later, but a permanent 'goodbye'. What the fuck is going on?" he said angrily.

I was disturbed to hear his report, I had felt that she was saying 'goodbye' to me as well, but had attributed it to her anticipating my leaving, not hers…not her leaving…however, if she was giving the same message to Merlotte, then either she was running or she knew that she was in serious danger. The mouse I had my hand on groaned and snapped into pieces.

Fuck! This is just what I had feared, she was overreacting…or was there some danger…something I wasn't aware of…the bar had been attacked twice in just a few days…and I had been so distracted that I hadn't looked into the details thoroughly…or had she somehow learned about the dangers surrounding her, ready to strike the second my time ran out? Was she readying herself to be snatched away, or perhaps she had made a different plan with someone…

"Eric, you there?" Sam asked.

"Yes, just thinking," I felt for her, she was where she should be, on her way south toward New Orleans and I told Sam this, although it did not appease him. I thought about calling the Were I had shadowing her to keep even closer tabs on her, but knew that this would cause Sookie to sense the pursuit and perhaps act out in fear, putting herself in more danger. No, my instructions to keep a distant eye on her would be sufficient to deflect even a direct attack.

"Do you think that the attacks on your bar were directed at her?" I questioned.

He paused as he thought this over, "The fire, who knows, but I do believe the Weres were after her, I haven't figured out why yet. Do you know?"

"No," I admitted ruefully, but I was confident that if she really were in danger, I would know…unless…she has all but admitted the other night that she kept things from me. The possibility of her being involved in dangerous plots behind my back made my fangs run out from anger and concern.

"Listen Eric," Sam said conciliatorily, we won't ever be buddies, but the least we could do is create a coalition to keep Sookie safe, can you agree to that?"

I couldn't find a reason to disagree, I knew I could trust him with my bonded even if he did covet her. I also liked his way of thinking and his words started to trickle into other problem areas I was dealing with right now…showing me new cards to play.

"I agree," I said with a smile, my ego feeling a rebirth of strength and independence, "I will be in touch when I hear from her."

"Thank you," Sam said and he ended the call.

My confidence grew and my strategy solidified as I returned home. I could see each step of the plan laid out before me now and I knew I would not fail. This was the small piece of the puzzle that I had been missing and that had plagued me for the past few weeks. Now the upper hand would be mine, as it usually was, as I always demanded it would be in the end.

The fact that I hadn't thought of this tactic myself irritated me, but my smile grew as I flipped through my contacts and pressed send, the time for passivity and avoiding politics had come to an end.

Freyda answered, "Northman, I hope you have good news for me."

"Your Majesty, I apologize for the late hour." I stated with the customary eloquence due to her rank.

"Hmmmmm, you know Eric, if you would just sign the papers, we could have these pre-dawn conversations in bed, and please call me Freyda, you know I hate all that 'Your Majesty' dribble from you, it is beneath you, it has always been beneath you."

I smiled; my maker had indeed made a good match. If it weren't for Sookie, I would have been content to marry Freyda. We had been allies for the last 500 years, had fought together in the fae war and at each other's sides many times as the need arose. I could not blame her for this situation since Appius had developed the contract with her maker, Elsobeth who was older by two hundred years than even Appius, no this was not Freyda's fault in the least.

"Freyda, I have a proposal for you," I said slyly, knowing her preferred type of humor well.

"Oh, goody, are you on your knee, holding a tiny diamond ring, ready to pledge your undying love for me?" she taunted good-naturedly.

I chuckled inwardly, "Not that kind of proposal, but a more advantageous one for both of us."

"Ooooo, now I am intrigued, please…propose away," she crooned.

Now to present my plan in a way that she couldn't refuse, "Marriage is used in our world mostly to bind together two untrusting individuals in a hundred year agreement to support and defend the other party when they would otherwise not have done so. Correct?" I posed.

"That is the general way of things, yes."

"We have a history of supporting one another, and unless I am wrong, we are actually partial to one another," I continued.

"Yes, and so more the reason for us to be wed," she argued.

"I see it differently. Why would we waste the opportunity to wed to another, less-willing state for the additional support they would otherwise not give, by marrying a willing supporter?" I queried.

"Go on…" she said.

"What I propose, is that we create a formal coalition together. We already have an informal agreement, but we could make it formal and exactly like a marriage contract. Then we would be able to add to our power and security by marrying another influential player, with each others approval of course."

"The contract is finalized, has been for some time, it cannot be broken or you will be punished and lose all that is yours."

"Yes, if I break the contract, not if we and Elsobeth mutually agree to modify one word. If we change the word 'marriage' to 'coalition', I will be free from any penalty and we will both be much stronger and more secure as a result. Elsobeth will have no reasonable option but to agree, given that her concern is your safety."

"It is, but you would still be a Sheriff, Eric. I wanted to make you King, as you should be," she argued. I smiled, If her primary concerns were helping me avoid punishment and wanting to make me King, then I was already King.

"That is part of my proposal. If we join in a formalized, hundred-year coalition, I would help you to overthrow Castro in Nevada. He is weak and has few who would support him. All I ask is to retain Louisiana as her King. We could then decide together what to do with Nevada and Arkansas."

"What is it that you really want Eric," she questioned.

"Autonomy. You know that I have never handled being overseen well. I want autonomy and Victor Madden's head. He owes me pain," I growled.

"Is she really that dear to you, Eric?" she saw right through to the core of things as usual.

"Amazingly enough, yes Freyda. A first for me," I admitted.

"Hmmm, I like this idea. I'll contact Cataliades first thing tomorrow evening and have him write up a 'proposal' for modifying our contract," she said with a smile in her voice.

"One more thing," I added, "my child would like to become a maker but is being blocked by Madden. Time is short for her, so I would like to move this along quickly."

"Do you see any reason why this coalition might not work out for us?" she asked casually.

"No, that is why I presented it to you," I said with confidence.

"Then tell Pam to go ahead with becoming a maker, I accept her and her new child as temporary citizens of Oklahoma."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will tell her right away," I was sure that both Pam and Sookie could feel my relief and satisfaction, not to mention the bloodlust at the thought of getting my hands on Victor.

"I look forward to talking with you tomorrow Eric, I am pleased with this turn of events…although I will miss pillow talk with you," she said with a smile in her voice.

I laughed as I hung up and called Pam to let her know that she could change Miriam. I tried to reach Sookie on her cell, but my call went straight to her messages.

"Lover," I said in the voice that I knew made her shiver, "I have solved our problem. I expect to have my wife in my arms within a few nights, so hurry home to me Sookie," I demanded seductively and hung up the phone with a satisfied grin crossing my face.

I would be King and Sookie would remain safely with me.

It was about time.

I already felt like a King and it fit well.

A/N: Thank you everyone for your continued support. I'm really enjoying sharing this with you.