Alright here is the continuation of chapter 9 that I did not finish. Chapter ten is included in this one. I'm already starting to write the next chapter since tomorrow is a work day for me, want to get it almost finished before then.
One Week Later: Vancouver Chapter 9 continued...
We sit in the waiting area and Madden chooses to open his mouth again. "So Northman I hear that your child is planning your coronation ceremony next week. Will your bonded and your soon to be wife both be playing roles in that occasion?"
I tense up. I knew that he would say something eventually that would anger me as he loves to create uncomfortable situations.
"Yes Eric, I have not been given an itinerary even though I have requested one from Pam," Rosamund says.
"My wife Sookie will be by my side during the ceremony. Since you and I are not yet married you will not be a part of my coronation ceremony, rather merely an observer," I say glaring at Rosamund.
"Would that be a wise decision Northman?" Madden says with a raised eyebrow. "I mean you are trying to show the world your power and the stability of that position. Not including your future queen in your celebration would make you look weak. And besides I don't think Felipe would be too keen on your idea."
I can't help but give him a fierce look, "Felipe is no longer my superior. We are equals now. If he is unsatisfied on how I conduct my affairs then he can tell me himself and I will consider his suggestions. As for looking weak, I thought that having you, Felipe, and Rosamund as my allies would make me stronger than ever before," I say in an almost mock tone.
Before Madden can respond, Wilcox returns. "The council is ready to see you now.
He walks up ahead of us, "The council members have read your written statements," he says. "You may ask them your requests. They may have answers and questions for you as well." We all nod in understanding.
He leads us to a large white circular room where fifteen of the most powerful vampires on the planet are sitting. The five elder vampires sit side by side in front of us, while the rest are sitting around the room.
"Your excellences, I present king Eric Northman of Louisiana, queen Rosamund Lefevre of France, and Victor Madden of Arkansas," he says as he respectfully bows.
We all bow before the Elder vampires as well.
"You request approval for a royal marriage, is that correct?" the ancient Greek vampire Castor asks.
I nod, but Rosamund speaks, "Yes your excellence. King Northman and I would like to marry in the traditional customs and unite our kingdoms."
"I see that you are still married to Ulrich," he says.
"Yes we are still married, but our marriage will no longer be valid in five days. I have our marriage documents and the signed document by Ulrich acknowledging this fact."
"You have stated in your written statement that you have bonded yourself to a human and have married her in our customs, is this correct?" One of the elder vampires, Lucius Antonius asks me. He was a Roman politician during his human time and now being a permanent member of the vampire council, he obviously didn't want to deviate from that career path.
"Yes your Eminence. We have been bonded and married for over three years now," I answer.
"It is unusual for a vampire especially one as old as yourself to attach themselves to a human. Do you plan to turn her?" he asks.
"Yes that is the plan. But for now she will remain human."
He continues with his questioning, "Who witnessed your union with her?"
I glance at Madden who is standing beside me. "Victor Madden."
Lucius Antonius looks at him, "I see. You also stated that fact in your statement as well Madden, but you also added some information that Northman failed to mention. Perhaps you would like to state this information orally."
Now I am wondering what he is getting at. I am startled but I keep my disposition neutral.
"Yes your eminence. I did witness Northman and his human's marriage union. I was at Northman's club in Louisiana when she came into the room. Northman asked her if she had anything to present him with and she took out a wrapped parcel from her handbag. Northman motioned her to present it to him, he opened it and it was the ceremonial dagger. He accepted her gift."
Antonius looks at me, "So that was your marriage ceremony with your human?"
"Yes your eminence. She presented me with the dagger and I openly accepted it in the presence of Victor Madden."
"How did you come upon this dagger?" he asks me.
"I kept it when I officiated the ceremony of Russell Edgington and Bartlett Crowe."
"You are aware that something as sacred as that dagger should have been returned to us immediately," he says sternly.
"Of course your majesty, I returned it the day after my wife presented it to me. Please accept my apology, but I wanted to wed her in our customs and to keep her from being taken by other vampires."
"We can punish you by not approving your marriage," he says. He thinks of it as a punishment but to me it is a gift. Before I can respond both Rosamund and Madden speak.
"Your honors, there was no harm done. The ceremonial dagger is safely in your esteemed hands. Please your eminences, it would be a punishment to me as well if I cannot be allowed to marry Northman," Rosamund says in a worrisome tone.
"Perhaps the council members may listen to the rest of my statement," Madden says.
"Very well," Castor says in a bored tone.
"When I witnessed their union it appeared to me that she did not know what was happening. She looked confused and fearful of Northman. What I wrote in my statement was should Northman's so-called marriage to the human Ms. Stackhouse be considered legal."
I form my hands into fists and try to calm myself internally to not kill Madden at this very moment.
"Is this true Northman? Did you mislead your human wife?" Antonius asks.
I take a moment to figure out my response. "I did what was necessary to protect her and to keep her with me. We completed our bond with the use of that ceremonial knife. She is aware of the fact that we are now married and accepts it."
"You didn't answer my question, yes or no," he says.
I glance around the room, "Yes."
I can see the heads of the members quickly glancing at one another.
"Madden what is your answer to the question that you have asked?" Castor says.
"I think that their marriage should be declared invalid because it appeared as though she didn't realize what was going on. I had the feeling that Ms. Stackhouse was being deceived into a situation that she wasn't prepared for or wanted. Northman obviously kept a sacred object that he did not have the authorization to use for that time."
The council members look quickly at each other as though they are deliberating silently between one another.
"We have already come to a conclusion before you came to face us after reading your written statements. Our decision has not changed since we have heard you speak," Castor says to us.
He continues on, "Your royal marriage is hereby approved by the council." I can see Rosamund's gleeful reaction from the corner of my eye.
"Northman, your marriage to your bonded human is now declared legally invalid due to the actions that you have undertaken."
"But your excellence..." I sputter out, but he cuts me off.
"Our decision is final Northman. If you choose to try to marry her again in our customs it will still be illegal. As punishment for taking a sacred article without our consent, you will not be able to marry your human for an unspecified amount of time. Since the dagger is back in our property we shall give you some leniency. You may come back to us in a year and we may alter our decision. Wilcox, escort them out."
I stare at the council member feeling dazed and unable to move. What am I going to tell Sookie?
CHAPTER 10:
Sookie's POV:
The move from Shreveport to New Orleans has been unreal. I feel like I am walking and living in a nightmare, hoping and praying that I will wake up. But I never do. The past few weeks have been the toughest of my life. It feels even worse than when I was first recovering from the fairy attack. I keep waiting for Eric to tell me that he has another plan, that it will just be me and him, that we will leave this place and my family will be safe. But of course that's not going to happen. He reassures me every day that everything will be alright and sends me his love through our bond. Though this is a devastating situation I still have faith and trust in him. He saved my life and has given me more than I needed. Now it is my turn to give back, and that means trusting him. But ever since he returned from Vancouver, he seems more distant. I am unsure of what to make of that, but I am trying to keep my mind from wandering to negative thoughts.
Ding Dong!
The doorbell interrupts my train of thoughts. I put aside my book that I wasn't even concentrating on to answer the door. I open the door to find Bobby Burnham. I guess he must have followed Eric here, I think wryly.
"How are you today Bobby on this fine afternoon?" I say with a sarcastic smile and tone.
He frowns at me. "Ms. Stackhouse, I have a parcel for you from Mr. Northman. He told me to tell you to not open it until he rises." He practically shoves the box in my arms and walks away.
"Jerk", I mutter under my breath.
I close the door and shake the box a little. I wonder what he is up to...
I put the box on the coffee table in the family room. I walk around the room trying to get used to our new temporary home, which in reality is a mansion, too large for just me and Eric. I was surprised that we found a home so quickly and even more surprised when Eric told that another house, a permanent home, was being built at this very moment. He was definitely planning on becoming king of Louisiana that's for sure. Moving here wasn't that difficult either. The only thing I had to do was pack some personal items and my clothes. We haven't sold our Shreveport house because we will still go there from time to time to visit.
We still haven't fully talked about his new marriage. Mostly because it is too painful for me to think about. But we will have to cross that bridge very soon, within the next few days, despite how hard it is going to be.
I decide to try and do some of my school work to keep myself busy until Eric rises. I read until Janet, our maid, comes into the room.
"Sookie, dinner is ready," she tells me.
"Thanks Janet," I say. Eric insisted that we get a house maid since he is now a king. I interviewed a few women who came highly recommended and when I probed Janet's mind, I saw how honest and kind she was. I hate having someone wait on me, but I let her do her job because she is afraid that my vampire will become angry with her if I am caught doing menial chores. But I insisted that she call me Sookie and not Ms. Stackhouse, though she does call me that whenever Eric is around.
I eat my dinner in silence in the dining room. Since Las Vegas I have pretty much lost my appetite so I have been forcing my food down my throat. I don't want Eric to start worrying about my health if I begin to lost weight.
The sun is still out but through our bond I can feel that he is awake now. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I check. It is a text message from him.
Lover come downstairs and bring the package that Bobby brought.
I finish eating my baked potato and go to the family room to pick up the box. I head downstairs through the hidden passageway and punch in the door code; as soon as it opens, Eric tosses the box aside and picks me up.
"Lover I missed you today," he tells me between kisses on my neck.
"How can you miss me, when you are dead during the day," I giggle.
"That's true, but if I were alive I would miss you dreadfully," he says.
He carries me to our bed and we make love just once. Normally it would be several times but he gets up and walks across the room to pick up the box. He hands me the box and sits up next to me.
"Open it," he says.
I get up as well and pull the sheet over my breasts. I smile at him and open it. Inside is a beautiful light blue beaded evening gown.
"What's this for?" I say smiling to him.
"You'll see. Pam helped me pick this out. She said that you would love this and it's more your style," he says kissing me on the cheek. "Now we should shower and get dressed. You'll be wearing this tonight because I have a special evening planned for us."
"You're not working tonight?" I ask.
"No lover, tonight it is just you and me," he says. He grabs my hand and leads me to the bathroom. We shower and get ready for what seems to be a date.
When the sun is down we head upstairs where he leads me outside to a waiting limo. He doesn't say anything and I don't really feel like speaking either until I notice that we are heading towards the airport.
"Are we going somewhere?" I ask.
"Just wait and see," is all he says.
We drive to the hangar where his newly bought jet is waiting for us. We take our seats and take off. The captain doesn't say over the intercom of where we are heading. I drink a glass of champagne and he drinks Royalty Blend.
"So you are not going to tell me where we are going?" I ask one more time.
"Wait and see," he says again.
I sigh, close my eyes and lay my head against the headrest. I feel his lips on mine a few seconds later and we make out for awhile. Eventually I sit on his lap and tell him about my school work while he listens to me attentively. I am careful not to talk to him about Rosamund, as I am not ready yet and don't want to ruin our evening.
When we are getting ready to descend, he pulls out a black scarf.
"What's that for?" I ask.
"To cover up your eyes," he says.
I smile, "No Eric, I don't want to put that on. I'm already dying to know where you're taking me and what's going on."
He whispers in my ear and nibbles on my earlobe, "Sookie, please put it on. I have a really big surprise for you."
He definitely knows what to do to make me change my mind. I nod and he ties the scarf around my head. By the flight time, I calculate that we are arriving in Shreveport, but I have no idea why he would put a scarf over my eyes if we're just in Shreveport. When we land and come to a complete stop, he picks me up and carries me outside. He puts me into a car and closes the door. He gets into the driver's seat and speeds off to our unknown destination. Half hour later we are still on the road and my patience is wearing thin.
"Honey, you so owe me for this," I huff in the seat beside him.
He grabs my hand, "I will spend an eternity making it up to you," he says laughing gently.
Ten minutes later the car is pulling up to our destination. I go to remove the blindfold, but he stops me.
"Just one more minute please," he says.
I groan and nod my head. He gets out and opens the door for me. He carefully helps me out of the car. I start to walk but he suddenly lifts me into his arms again. He carries me somewhere and sets me down.
"You can look now," he says as he removes the blindfold. My eyes flutter trying to get used to being able to see again and I am awed by our surrounding.
We are standing at my farmhouse only it has been transformed. There are outdoor lights flashing the house. We are in the backyard standing in a beautiful newly made gazebo. There is also a new garden of breathtaking flowers around us and a paved pathway to the front porch. Above us in the gazebo there are thousands of tiny little lights that look like stars.
"Oh my god, when did you do this?" I ask taking in our surroundings.
"The construction happened about a week ago. The gazebo was already built and a gardening company brought in the flower beds," he says. He goes to the side and presses a button. All of a sudden a cheesy 80s hair band love song starts to play.
I laugh and he looks at me confused.
"I thought you liked this type of music. You always play these kinds of songs at home," he says.
I go up to him and put my hands on his cheeks. "Oh honey, yes I do love this type of music." I grab his hand and lead him to the center to slow dance. I relax against him and decide that just for this night to forget about all our problems.
We dance a few more songs and finally pull away from each other. He goes back to the side of the gazebo and pulls out a basket full of ice and a bottle of expensive champagne. He pours a glass and hands it to me.
"Are you trying to get me drunk so you can have your way with me?" I tease.
"Yes, is my plan working so far?" he says.
"Mmmmm, maybe. But it's going to take a lot more than just this," I say back to him.
"I was hoping you would say something like that," he tells me. I take a sip on my champagne.
"There's something I wanted to ask you," he takes the glass from me and sets it aside.
I start to feel nervous because I now know what he is up to. He stands in front of me and gets down on one knee.
He pulls out a tiny black velvet box from his pocket and opens it, "Sookie I love you more than anyone I have known in my long life, I want to spend eternity with you, will you accept this ring and marry me?"
I look at the beautiful round cut white diamond platinum ring that has tiny clusters of smaller diamonds around the large one. I am speechless.
"But you said we were already married," I manage to whisper.
His face falls for a brief second but he covers it up and smiles, "Lover you have always said that our ceremony doesn't count as a wedding and you don't feel like we are married, so I am asking you now. I know that the only way to convince you is if we marry by human laws."
I continue to look back and forth at him and the ring. I never had the strong desire to marry. Before Eric and Bill, I was turned off by human men and pretty much written off the idea that I will ever marry. With Bill I thought that it was possible for me to get married but after he broke my heart I decided against the idea again. With Eric and the three years that we have been together, we have never talked about a human ceremony. He already felt that we were married and that was good enough for me as well. Then all my worries start creeping up on me again.
"I don't know Eric. I mean you're going through with another ceremony in a less than a week and you'll be so busy with your duties," I say with my voice faltering.
He stands up and places his hands on my arms. "Sookie, I love you, you know that." I can feel his love flowing through our bond and it's comforting. "I swear to you we will get through this." He says kissing me lightly on my lips. "Please say yes, I am willing to get down on my knees and beg."
A silent tear falls from my eye. I look into his eyes and can see the sincerity and the whole hearted adoration. I must trust him, I remind myself. I recall one time when I was 19, and I struck out with yet another guy. I was crying to Gran, feeling sorry for myself and telling her that I will never marry or find a guy to spend the rest of my life with. She held me as I cried and afterwards she told me that it would not be true. She said that one day soon a man would love me for who I am and he would do anything for me to make me happy always. She said that he would be as special as I was. Immediately I just thought she was just saying that to make me feel better, but when I looked into her mind, I was surprised to find that she was being truthful. She was right, a thousand year old Viking is as special as anyone can be. I now wonder if she had an intuitive moment.
"Please say yes," he says again, leaning his forehead against mine.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a few seconds. I look up at him. "Yes I will marry you," I say with a smile on my face.
He picks me up and gives me a passionate kiss. After awhile he finally sets me on my feet and puts the diamond ring on my finger.
I look at the ring, "It's beautiful."
"Pam helped me design this ring, I got it made in New York swiftly with the help of Marten," he says.
We kiss again and he sweeps me up into his arms.
"Now we consummate this monumental occasion," he says giving me a quick kiss.
I laugh happily as he carries me into the house.