They took us to a mansion that the king called one of his vacation houses. I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows when I saw it. It was a glorious white mansion with the most luscious lawn I'd ever seen. He said he had bought it when he visited the queen a while back and had stayed near this place. I watcher Eric's back stiffen at the mention of the queen, and I made a mental note to ask him about it later. I had no idea what it meant to be a king or a queen.

They took us inside, and two buff looking vampires locked the door behind us, and stayed there. I had to say that they were pretty creepy looking body guards. I felt the exact moment I was torn away from Nature and anything living. It hurt, actually.

They led us down a hallway with white and black marble floors. The walls were white, and covered in pictures of landscapes, faces, houses, anything, but they were all exceptionally beautiful. I found myself staring at them as we passed, going deeper into the house.

"Wonderful, aren't they?" the king said, suddenly next to me. I snapped my head around to look at him, finding him staring at the pictures along with me.

"Why do you have so many paintings?" I asked, my eyes traveling back to them. The farther we walked, the older they got, and the more beautiful they became with their age. The more natural the colored dyes were and the more primal and not exquisitely detailed the paintings got, the more surreal and interesting they became to me.

"Ah, well, through my life as a vampire I had collected many paintings. It gives you something to set your mind on, which comes in handy when you are immortal. And they add a nice touch to a vampire's home." He said, a light laugh following the end of his sentence. Suddenly we stopped, and a vampire opened a door for us. We were pushed down stone steps and into a large, dome room at the bottom of the steps.

"This is our wine cellar, actually. This was here when we moved in, but I kept it because I like the smell." He said, inhaling deeply to prove his point. There were rows and rows of racks, and the walls were covered. Every spot that I could see was filled with the incredibly old wines. Every one of them seemed to be covered with a light shade of dust. He was right, the smells were intoxicating. But when we passed some, I got the distinct smell of aging blood, but I didn't have the guts to ask.

We were pushed through the room, and I wasn't given enough time to look at any of the ages of the bottles, although I desperately wanted to. We went through another door into a hallway less extravagant than the one above us. The walls were stone, and the floors were wood, nothing decorated the walls though. It was considerably colder here, and we were led left, and down another stair case. I took in my surroundings, locking them into my mind. There were doors scattered down the hallway, and I counted them as we walked, making sure I knew that the door to the whine cellar was the fifth door on the right side. It was even colder and darker when we were led down the next staircase.

There were no lamps of lights at all, but it didn't seem to affect me. I could see everything clearly, as if there were light and lamps everywhere. It was interesting. Down another hallway, and through the third door on the left. It was a large room, with cages lining the walls. The image clicked in my mind suddenly, like I had seen one before.

"You have a dungeon?" I asked, incredulous. The king laughed, delighted.

"I know, exceptional, isn't it? I would have loved to see these rooms in their prime." He sighed, obviously disappointed that he had missed out on seeing actual humans locked and starved in the cages.

"Of course we've made some adjustments." He said. A vampire put on a pair of gloves and took large silver key, then opened one of the cells. Eric was shoved in, the silver still wound around his wrists. He turned around instantly when he was released from the grip of the four vampires, only to get the cage door slammed in his face. I wasn't really sure what he was planning to do anyways, with about eight or nine vampires surrounding us.

I was shoved into a cell next to Eric, my silver still wound around my wrists as well.

"I would be careful in there. The cells are made of silver, a large amount of silver. The key is silver as well." The king warned. "I hope you both get a wonderful days rest." He said with a wide smile before walking out, all of the vampires following. Lorena left last, giving me an evil smirk that sent shivers through my body.

"Why are you doing this, Lorena?" I asked. She was insane, bent on causing me incredible amounts of pain for reasons I couldn't understand. I didn't remember Bill; I only remembered the pain and heart break he caused me. It was an everlasting ache in my chest. Her smile faded, but the obvious hate stayed burning in her eyes.

"Because I need someone to take it out on besides Bill." She said, and with one last nightmare endusing smile, she left, closing and locking the door behind her.

My face held no emotion as I stared at the door where she just left, and a bloody tear fell down my face. When I turned to look at Eric, he was standing behind the silver bars that separated our cells, staring at me with no emotion on his face as well.

"What did I do to her?" I asked Eric, who smiled sadly in response.

"You did nothing, Sookie. She just seeks revenge because Bill wanted you, instead of her, and that is something she doesn't want to deal with." He explained, but I still felt like some of it was my fault. You just don't feel like torturing someone until they die because you're ex boyfriend didn't choose you.

I walked away to go lean against the wall, suddenly extremely exhausted. I felt a pressure in my chest, like something heavy was pressing down on me. My eyelids felt a thousand pounds each and I struggled to keep them open.

"Why did you make him promise to let me go, Sookie? Now there is no way I will be able to get you away from Lorena without getting you and myself killed." He scolded me.

"There was no way you would have been able to if you were still held captive, too. I was just making sure you would live." I mumbled, sliding down onto my butt.

"Sookie, we will talk about this once night comes. You must sleep now." I heard Eric say, his voice holding definite assurance that our conversation wasn't over yet.

"Why am I so tired?" I mumbled, my eyes already drooping closed. My eyes felt heavy and I tried blinking it away.

"Because you are an extremely young vampire, Sookie. Dawn is coming right now, and you need more than ever to rest. Your body is acknowledging that fact."

I lay down on my side slowly so I wasn't crushing my hands.

"Sleep now, my Sookie." I heard him whisper as he went into a corner and lay down as well. I was asleep, dead to the world (pun intended) in an instant.

It had never crossed my mind about dreaming, but I guess I assumed I wouldn't be able to, since I was technically dead. But it actually seemed that dreaming was incredible, even though my dreams were nothing but horrible visions.

The first was of Bill. I recognized him instantly, although I don't remember ever seeing him. He was sitting in a plush chair, reading a book. I watched as a young, blonde woman walked into the room. She looked about my age. Bill put a bookmark into his book, and put it onto a table next to him before standing. The woman tilted her head to the side, a slight smile on her lips as Bill walked forward, his fangs extending with a pop. He bit the girl and she moaned in pleasure. When she was ripped away from him, her throat tore open, and suddenly she was screaming, clutching her throat as she choked on her own blood. Lorena stood there, her eyes ablaze with anger. "I have told you over and over again to stop taking humans that look like her." She hissed, stepping forward menacingly as the girl died on the floor. Bills eyes flashed with a moment of fear as Lorena advanced on him, but I didn't get a chance to see what followed, because the scene changed.

It changed to Eric, running towards me with hunger in his eyes as I felt like I was dying. He knelt beside me, his fingers running along my neck. When he pulled back, they were coated in my blood. "What are you doing." I whispered, since I couldn't speak any louder. "Saving you life." He answered, and then with a hiss, he bit into me, draining the rest of my life away.

I woke up with a gasp, trying to sit up but thrown off without the aid of my hands. Eric was sitting with crossed legs behind the bars, staring at me with a look of amusement on his face.

"You think this is funny?" I shouted, trying to sit up with no luck. So instead I twisted my body so that I was able to slide my chained hands underneath my feet so that they were in front of me. It hurt like hell as the silver sliced deeper into my skin. Eric just sat there, watching me with a slight smile. He had already accomplished what I was doing, and his chained wrists sat lazily in his lap.

"How long have you been awake?" I demanded, finally sitting up.

"A little under an hour." I raised my eyebrows at him before returning my gaze back to the chains.

"How come you could get up and I couldn't?" I asked, testing the durability of the silver and finding that it couldn't break with strength. It only burnt more.

"Because I'm extremely older than you and I don't need the full day to sleep." He explained, watching me hiss in pain. He actually chuckled.

"I'm glad my pain amuses you." I snapped. I looked back down at the chains, finding that they had tucked the end of the chain into the binding. I bent down, careful to grasp it only with my teeth, and pulled it out. It burnt worse than anything else when it rubbed against my gums, but I only grunted in pain, and continued to release it.

"Ha!" I shouted triumphantly, and heard Eric snicker from his area over there. I let the end of the chain dangle down, and bent my leg so that I was stepping on it, my pant leg covering my exposed foot so that the silver didn't burn my foot off.

"Sookie, what are you doing?' Eric asked me, looking at me curiously.

I ignored him and started to unwind the chains from my wrists. Eric caught on quickly, and with a quiet laugh, he followed suit. Soon I was pulling the silver from my skin, something that made me cry out a few times as the flesh was torn away from it as well.

"Nice work, Sookie. What did you hope to do once you got those off?" Eric asked me when the silver dropped to the floor.

"Well, nothing really, they were just annoying me." I said, and then out of nowhere I was hit with such a strong surge of fatigue that I had to take a few steps back to regain my sense of balance.

"Sookie? Sookie, are you alright?" I hear Eric ask, concern etched into his voice.

"Nothing, it's fine. I just got really dizzy." I said.

"You need to eat, now." He said, but I didn't know why he bothered to say it. Hunger was throbbing in my mind, my entire body. I couldn't even look at Eric for too long without wanting to bite him. I shuddered at the thought, wondering how I could even think of doing that.

"Eric, am I going to die?" I asked him, sitting down since my legs had started to shake.

"Well, technically you're already dead." He said, with a smile, giving me my answer. I was going to die soon. Again. I had already gone through this… why couldn't I go too long without the threat of dying for real?

"Sookie is there anyone outside the door?" he asked. It took me a moment to figure out that he wanted me to search for minds, but there was no one outside.

"No, but I hear people walking up and down the hallway at the top of the staircase." I muttered, massaging my temples since my head started to throb. "I didn't know vampires could get headaches." I sighed.

"How many vampires are at the top of the staircase?" Eric asked. I was silent for a moment as I searched through them. I couldn't find the strength to really concentrate on anything, but I found three different voices. I told Eric this.

"Don't even think about escaping." I warned him. He was looking at the floor besides my feet intently.

"What makes you think I would be thinking about escaping?" he asked innocently with a slight smile on his face that made me woozy. I tried to make myself think it was from the hunger.

"Because I can hear your thought's, Eric." I snapped. I wasn't in the mood for his games. In the next instant, his thoughts were blocked from mine.

"Damn it Eric! Why do you keep doing that?" I shouted at him. For some reason I was getting really annoyed. Annoyed at Eric, my situation, my existence. Everything was ticking me off. "If you try and escape, then they will kill you." I told him, staring at him intently. He looked back at me with as much force.

"Sookie, do not tell me what I can and cannot do. As you maker, you will respect me and any decision that I decide to make. You are mad, I know. But do not take it out on me as I have done nothing to you." Eric warned me, his voice hard.

"You've done nothing to me?" I shouted, riding to my feet in a second. Eric rose just as fast. "I would have been just fine if I was dead!" I shouted, taking a step towards him. My stomach did flips, but I ignored them. His fangs extended then, and he started growling.

"You would not have, Sookie." He told me in a low and controlled voice, although his entire body gave him away. His muscles were tense, his eyes on fire, his fangs bared.

"Go to hell Eric." I said, turning my back on him.

"Sookie, calm down. You're hunger is affecting your mood." Eric told me, his anger bubbling to the surface. I wheeled around, my own fangs coming forward without my intent. It surprised me, but I didn't back down any more.

"Why can't I just be angry? Why does it have to be because I'm hungry? Why can't it be because I'm about to die?" I yelled at him. I felt waves of calmness washing through me through our bond. "Back off Eric! I don't want to calm down!" I yelled at him, walking to the far wall and sliding down it until I was sitting. "I'm pissed that I'm here. I pissed that I'm dying. I'm pissed at you for not just letting me die. I'm pissed at who ever that other vampire is that turned me for not giving me the choice. I'm just pissed at everything, Eric. So why don't you just let me stay pissed, and leave me the hell alone?" I asked him, hugging my knees to my chest and resting my head on my legs.

I wasn't sure if Eric was going to say something, but I didn't get the chance to find out because the door opened. Light flooded the room, and five vampires filed into the room. They came to my cell and unlocked the door. I stood up and waited for the silver chains, not having the strength to fight back, but instead they just grabbed me and started to walk away. Two vampire grabbed my arms, the other three stood behind and in front of me. No one got Eric.

I gave him a quick, nervous look before I was dragged out of the room. He stood, unable to come to my aid, behind the bars, his eyes still livid, either by me or the other vampires, I didn't know. I was brought back up the two flights of stairs, through the wine cellar, and then into the main hallway. They took me through a door and into a small room with a fire burning in the fire place and a desk. The king sat in his plush, red chair behind the desk and when we walked through the door, he smiled widely and stood up, motioning to the chair opposite him. I was pushed roughly down into it, and then let go only to have them stand behind me.

"You can leave us. I'm sure she won't do anything while we have her boyfriend downstairs, would she?" he asked with a kind smile. We were left alone the next instant, and he sat back down once more. He pushed the papers he had been looking at aside, and laced his finger together in front of him.

"So, Sookie. The other night you said that you would help me. I do hope that you still feel the same way?" he asked me, his eyebrows rose in what I couldn't help but interpret as a threat.

"Yes. And last night you said you would let Eric go. I hope that agreement still stands as well." I told him, struggling to not let my voice shake. I was just so hungry. And even though I could see no pulse on his body, I could feel the blood beneath his skin, and my mouth watered in turn.

"Of course, Mrs. Stackhouse. I am a man of my word."

"If I may ask something, your majesty—"I said, trying not to spit the word out, but I was cut off by him.

"Please, call me Russell." He said, and I said nothing in surprise. This guy continued to surprise me. "Everyone in my kingdom calls me 'your majesty' or 'my king', and it's very flattering, but no one has called me Russell in a couple centuries." He said, sitting back in his chair and placing his fingers over his stomach. He was wearing a hideously ugly suit with a green jacket and a white shirt. I wanted to say something so bad, but I held my tongue since I assumed that would be crossing the line.

"Okay, Russell," I said, and he smiled kindly before motioning for me to go on. "I need something to eat." I told him simply, letting the hunger into my eyes since I couldn't hold it back anymore. I kept my mouth closed so he wouldn't see my fangs, but I think he saw it anyways because he smiled.

"Yes, of course. I had ordered you one earlier tonight. I have no idea what your taste is, so I just got O negative. I hope that is alright?" he said, getting up and walking to the door. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I just nodded my head.

"You can bring her in." he said to one of the vampires standing out there, and in the next minute, and young brunette was walking in. She couldn't be more than nineteen. I understood then, and I felt no remorse for what I was about to do. All I could see was the pulse in her neck. I could hear her heart beating, the only sound in the room besides the crackling of the fire, but even that faded into the back ground as I watched her walk in. I stood up, letting my fangs show because I didn't even care anymore. The girl showed no fear though, and she walked right up to me, a coy smile on her lips. She tilted her neck to the side, and I could see the vein, so clear against her tanned skin.

I watched the blood flow through it, and my head bent down, closer to it. I could smell the blood, and I could see the other bite marks from other vampires. My hunger was so profound at the moment that it hurt.

"How will I stop?" I whispered, knowing he could hear me. He didn't answer me, and I looked up quickly to see him smiling, but I couldn't question it. My eyes traveled back to the vein, and I attacked. I didn't mean to make it painful, but I wasn't so preoccupied with making it not painful, either. The girl gasped at the initial contact, then started to moan in pleasure. I ignored her though as the taste filled my mouth.

I could literally feel her own strength pour into me. Unlike the bitter, stale taste of the bottled blood, this one had a stronger taste. It was sweet and salty in my mouth, washing over my tongue and down my throat like a delicate treasure. And the more I had, the more I wanted. It was addicting, and I felt my hands reach her head a turn it so that I was at a better angle. After thirty seconds, I had drunken a lot of her blood. I could feel the heart beat lessen slightly, but I only drank deeper, taking longer pulls and letting my tongue lapped any that slipped past my lips.

Soon the woman started to get frightened. Instead of moaning in pleasure, she was making sounds of discomfort, signaling me to stop, but I had no intention of stopping anytime soon. As the fear trickled into her blood stream, the taste became ten times more addicting and delicious, and I pulled on the blood quicker and longer. She started to struggle then, slapping my head away. I pulled away long enough to grab her hands and pin them to her side before I latched on again. I felt her blood coursing through me, literally. I felt the burning sensation it left in my own veins, and left a trail of energy. I couldn't stop drinking the blood, even though I knew I should. I couldn't find any good reason to stop draining her.

Only when she started to scream did I pull away. It shocked me to reality, the amount of fear and pain in that scream. And once I stopped drinking the blood, and saw her face, I stepped away in shock and watched her drop to the ground, unconscious.

"Oh my god." I whispered, covering my mouth with my hand. I wiped the blood off of my lips, but couldn't help swallowing the remainder that was in my mouth. Russell was leaning against the door, smiling at me calmly, his own fangs extended from the smell of blood.

"I almost killed her." I whispered, stepping farther back until I was standing flush against the wall. He turned to the guards who were outside. Their thoughts were clear, and I could tell they wanted this girl's blood.

"Take her to one of the rooms. Give her some True Blood, then glamour her and send her home." He ordered. I watched as a vampire came in and draped her over his shoulder, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. The king walked slowly back to his desk and sat back down. I continued to stay where I was.

"Relax, Sookie. She isn't dead yet. That's saying my own men don't drain her." He said with a shrug. He was thinking in a different language, so I couldn't make out his thoughts. He grabbed a piece of paper and looked at it. I slowly sat back down again.

"So, shall we begin?" he asked me, smiling kindly over the piece of paper. I nodded numbly.