Author Note (added 31st October): No Updates till December now guys as I am crazy enough to do Nano once more. Have a good November all!

Chapter 9

"Wow – just wow," said the vampire who stood at the bottom of the stairs as he watched his wife and his progeny come down. He had known the two of them were going to be making the effort – but the truth was both Pam and Jess looked sublime.

"I take it you approve," Pam smiled as she let go of Jess's arm and took the hand which had been stretched out for her.

He nodded. "I am not worthy of such a queen."

"For once, we are in agreement."

As she came to his side, Pam was gratified to feel Bill kiss her forehead. Suddenly she had a bit of time for sentimental crap she realised. Was this why Eric had fallen for Sookie?

Because she made him feel as if he was special. Bill was the most human vampire she had ever met and there was a time not so very long ago when that would have been nothing but a very big turn off for her.

As it was... she had been feeling entirely too human herself of late. She felt so very vulnerable.

And he put her back together.

He gave her back her lacking confidence. He made her the queen she was that day.

"Has any one got here yet, pumpkin?" she asked.

"No, but it is not going to be long until the hordes arrive!" he said as he put a hand on her waist.

At that moment as he looked at her, he wondered if he should have given her a bit more training before he had let her lose on his subjects. He had not given her a lot of direction for that night.

But then many be she did not need it. As much as he would love to deny the fact, she was the progeny of Eric Northman. As much as she had been brought up no doubt on the blood of her sire's victims, she had also been breed to politics.

They had been part of her night life since she had been turned.

And so she would so fine.

Among the first of the sheriffs to arrive was Sheriff Roosevelt, closely followed by Sheriff Robinson. The two of them showed ample respect to their monarchs before moving on to talk to the human staff as well as Jess.

Having not yet made a century, Roosevelt seemed to be able to relate to the baby vamp well and the two of them were soon enjoying animated conversation.

"Are we going to have to watch the two of them?" asked Bill. As close as he was with his progeny, he had no doubt there were things Jess was never going to want to come to him with - things she would on the other hand go to her Auntie Pam with.

"No, she is far too into Jason stack house to even think about anyone else at the moment, unless she is worrying about Mr. Personality 3000."

"You shouldn't be unkind about Hoyt – he was good to her while the two of them lasted."

"I know that but in the end, he got boring."

"As all humans do for all vamps in the end?" he asked with a raised eye brow.

"I do not know what you mean." She said as her eyes turned to the door.

And there he stood with her... and behind them... him.

She did not think her heart had been so light since everything had begun – she knew he was going to take Eric's side over everything that had gone on between them, but it did not stop her feeling as if something at last, was very, very right.

"Godric," she said as she fell to her knee – something the queen would do for Godric only. He was her makers maker and that made him the most sacred thing in her life.

Despite his initial shock, Eric felt gratified and proud of Pam as she knelt before Godric. It gave him hope for the two of them. They were still bonded together.

Through him, they were bonded right then if by nothing else.

"Surely, dotter, now you are a queen it is I who should fall before you," said Godric as he noted Bill did not look overly pleased at her actions...

He had been given the chance to be a king and yet he had never taken it – and so perhaps it would be right for him to fall to his knee before his child's child. Protocol stated he should – he was in her realm, she was queen.

But it was quite clear she was not going to allow that as she shook her head.

"Never," she shook her head. "It has been so long since I have seen your face," she said as she tried to contain her joy.

When her own maker had been cursed she had longed for him to come to them but she had been far too proud to go to him for help.

He had never been big when she had been a baby on the idea other vamps needing to call others for aid. You should be able to hold your own... that was his belief.

She had been too proud, she knew that now.

"A queen," Godric said as he shook his head in disbelief. This was a vampire he had known ever since she had been made.

In all truthfulness, he did not know if she was ready for this or not. He had doubts over the idea of Queen Pam. It was not only the fact she had never been the most balanced of vampires as he believed a monarch should be. It was the way it came about that bothered him.

He knew her and no matter what she said, he knew the way Eric had treated her had hurt more than anything else in the world. As he looked into her eyes, he knew it hurt her still – and he felt it.

The bond he had with her was weak – it was not like the one he had with his own progeny or the one she had with Eric. But when he had changed the Viking, he had been filled Eric with his own blood and when Pam had been changed; Eric had passed that same blood on to her. It was only natural that the two of them felt some sort of bond to one another.

"Your majesty, would you object very much if your queen and I were to take a turn about the gardens? I have a feeling the two of us have much to say to one another," said Godric as he turned to Bill, who Eric knew was feeling uncomfortable.

He had seen Pam act in many ways over the years. He had seen her cool, calm and collected. He had seen her pissed. And over the past few months, he had seen her when she had been at her very lowest emotional ebb.

But Eric did not think Bill had ever seen her submit herself to someone the way she had with Godric.

She had never shown such respect to him, in the sight of (or out of it) the king of Louisiana.

"If it is alright with her majesty," said the former confederate soldier turned to his wife.

"Then I shall go with the sheriff of Texas. Please tell us to come in when it is time," said Pam as she gently took the hand of her husband. "Send Ginger when you are ready for the meeting," squeezing the hand that she held, Pam gave Bill a kiss on the cheek.

She knew he was not happy but there was no way she was going to deny Godric when he had come to Louisiana.

They had so much to say to one another.

XXX

"I am surprised at you, dotter. I know you have a stubborn streak but I did not think you were the sought of vamp to cut off your own nose to spite your face," said Godric as Pam walked on his arm.

The gardens of the palace were quite pretty he had to admit. There was a hedge row up to the fountain which sat in the middle of the garden and they were lit up. He wondered if Pam had had a hand in creating it and if it reminded her of home, of England.

"That is not what I am doing – not now. I admit when I married Bill it was not for love," she said as she looked at him. "I assumed Eric has got you up to speed on the way things are between the two of us."

Gravely, he nodded. "I was surprised. I did not think I would ever have to hear such a take about my dearly beloved children."

"Neither did I in truth," She shrugged. Her eyes searched the garden as if she was trying to find justification for what she had done. But there was none that he was going to accept.

"I was angry – and I was alone, and I was scared," she admitted. "I am not used to such emotions. I kept bleeding – all of the time, I bleed from sun up to sun down some days just after Eric left and Bill was concerned. Not only that but he wanted to get back at Eric as well for what he had done when he had taken – his whore, away."

"You should not speak ill of Sookie."

"Oh, I know you love her for the help she gave to you that morning on the roof. But to me she is never going to be any one but the woman who took Eric from me – and he is not sorry for that, not one bit. You see the way he parades her in front of me."

"May I reply to each of those points in turn?" he asked as they got to the fountain. "I am glad she was there to help Eric and I that night- if she had not been there then I do not know what would have happened, but I more respect Sookie than love her. And just so you know, he did not wish to bring her with him tonight. She insisted. Finally, and I waited till last with this one since I know it might hurt – but Eric is the sort of man who cannot be stolen. He has to consent. He makes his own choices. After the years you have spent together, you know this, Pamela."

She nodded. She had known that even as she had said the words. She just had not wanted to admit that he had left her of his own accord.

"Why did he not want to bring her though? I thought the two of them were joint at the hip as it were."

Godric shook his head. "It does seem, after all, he still considers you to be the most remarkable woman he has ever met even if he will not own to it at the moment. He misses his daughter, his sister, his friend."

"I think that you are wrong. I am sorry Godric, but truly I do. He doesn't care for me – not at all,"

"Stop it with the melodramatics, Pam; they don't work with me when we both know you are – in your own words – talking bull shit."

Pam s eyes opened in shock. She did not think she had ever heard Godric curse like that before so she knew he was serious.

Her eyes feel to the floor. "He holds you dearer than anyone else to his heart," Godric pressed on and raised a hand before she could reply to him. He had a feeling she had not had a lot of discipline since she had become the queen of Louisiana and queen or no queen, she had to hear it the way it was from somewhere.

It might as well be him.

"I will not and I cannot condone the way he has behaved towards you of late – in fact, I have made my disapproval of his treatment of you clear. But you are been far from faultless in this."

She did not look at him for she could not in that moment. She could take disapproval from a lot of people. But not Godric.

"First of all, as much as I agree with the decision you made, you did disobey Eric; whether or not that was the right thing to do, you still did it. Second, you married without the consent of your maker a man you knew he couldn't stand. Do not expect me to believe this was a love match from the start."

"It was not, I told you that – I did it to anger Eric. I –"turning from him, she sighed. "I just so wanted him to notice me once more." She shrugged and he could not say he was surprised to see a bloody tear streak down her cheek.

"I know – and now?"

"And now what Godric?"

"Is it a love match?"

She turned to him to vigorously deny it but she found when she opened her mouth she could not get the words out.

"There are aspects of my life I love now. I enjoy being queen, I love being near Jess. As for Bill... I got him all wrong. I care for him... more than any man, you and Eric aside. And I know he can make me happy... and I want to make him happy. If you define that as love..." she shrugged. "I can't say for sure it isn't a love match any more."

She didn't know. She just didn't know.

"I define what I feel for you as love, dotter. I define what I feel for Eric as love. And I want to see the two of you happy. But you both know until the two of you are talking and communicating, that won't happen. Let him say sorry – say sorry yourself," He urged her.

She did not know if she was able to set aside her pride; she did not know if Eric could; the only thing she did know was the advice Godric gave her was always solid, and when she had followed it, she had always reaped the benefits.

He wiped the tear off her face and she gave a sigh. As the two of them looked at one another, she shrugged.

"I feel so much better now that you are here. I know we are going to be able to fight Edgington if you're here."

"Only we all band together – it would not work, if for say, a sheriff was at war with his monarchs."

"We are not at war, I'll never fight against Eric... I couldn't."

And her eyes told Godric what her lips could not.

I miss him...

Getting up, she rubbed her eyes. She was not going to be seen as weak by the others that night.

She did not see Eric standing at the windows watching her wipe her eyes dry, nor did she see the adoring look on his face at the sight of his progeny and maker together.

He recalled London... 1910... 1911... 1912...

The happiest of days...

How he longed for them.

XXX

In a blue, kneel length cocktail dress; Ginger begun to make her way out to the gardens to get her mistress and the sheriff in from the garden.

She hoped that when the meeting begun she was going to be able to go in with Pam. She had to say even though she had been with her throughout everything; she was beginning to miss her.

She knew she was under pressure – and she had never been the most attentive of mistresses but of late, Pam seemed to be either be ignoring her or telling her to piss off. She had thought the two of them had got closer after all they had been through. But she was wrong.

She had been able out to go out to the garden when she felt a hand on her arm, and she smile. She knew that hand.

Raising her head to look in to his eyes, she kept a smile on her face.

"It is not going to be long until you are not home now, Ginger dear," Eric said to her. "See to it that you continue to be good to Pam," he said and she nodded.

"If that is what you want, Mr. Eric," she nodded nervously.

"It is. Ensure the queen is as happy as she can be – and if she speaks of me, fight my corner. For the first time in my life, I need you." He said to her tenderly.

XXX

Pam walked back in to the palace, flanked by Ginger and Godric; she went to the side of the king straight away.

"Sweetheart, there you are. We are just about to go in to the meeting. Are you sure you are going to be ok out here hosting?"

Pam felt her stomach flip. She had not thought – she had just assumed...

"Am I not going to be going through with you?"

"I am sorry if I have you that impression sweetheart, but I need you out here mingling with the human staff."

Small men with small ideas.

For the first time in many years she felt as if someone was trying to force her to put on a corset…

She remembered the way she had been in her human skin – the way her mother had been making her wait in drawing rooms, charming men.

"Let me come in with you. How long have you know me? Pumpkin, am I not a fire side general?"

"You are but we cannot leave the human staff and the consorts out here with no host when we have brought them into our home," he said as he cupped her cheek. "I shall tell you everything on our return."

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