Sookie wakes up in a dark room. As her eyes slowly adjust and the light of the moon filters through the open curtains, she begins to assess her situation. She's on a bed, and except for her shoes, still fully clothed in her original outfit. The room is ornate and filled with furniture that looks straight out of the 19th-Century. Where could she be? Is she still in Bon Temp? Sookie's mind is cloudy, and her mouth tastes like cotton. She licks her dry lips.

Besides her she notices a table lamp, and with a tiny switch, it flickers to light. Again, Sookie looks at herself, but she cannot find any bumps or bruises. At least they handled me gently, she thinks bitterly, as if that makes any of this okay. There are no handcuffs or ropes trapping her in confinement, so she slips out of bed and walks over to door. She holds her breath and turns the knob.

It opens.

It's too suspicious. Why would they bother to drug and kidnap her just to leave her bedroom door open? At this point, Sookie has two options. She can climb back into bed and wait for someone to come get her, or she can open the door and test her own fate. Deciding that action is better than idleness, she quickly retreats into her room to search for her black clutch. Miraculously, the small silver gun is still inside. Sookie slides the gun into the waistband of her shorts, thankful that her flowing blouse covers up the bump. She opens the door and cautiously steps out in the empty corridor.

The length of the hall begins to describe how enormous the house must be. Soft carpet embraces her bare feet. She looks to the left and the right. Both sides are empty, but there must be at least a dozen doors on the hallway. Where is everyone, she thinks. Why did they bring me here just to hole me up alone in a room? And what time is it? At least it's still nighttime. I couldn't have been out for too long.

Without reason, Sookie heads left and quickly pads down the length of the corridor. It ends in an elaborate set of stairs, wooden ones that spiral down to a level below. She sets off, and when she gets to the bottom, she realizes she's in the foyer of some large mansion. A man in a black suit stands at the front door, arms at his sides, sunglasses on his face, gun tucked in his jacket. He stares right at her.

Sookie is about to run right back up the stairs when she stops herself. What good will running do? Either the security guard will chase after her and inevitably catch up, or she'll just end up back in her room with not a single clue as to what's going on or where she is. Taking a deep breath, she approaches the guard and puts on her best southern comfort voice, "Excuse me sir, I hope you don't mind me asking, but could you please tell where I could find Mr. Eric Northman. I'd sure appreciate it."

The security guard takes off his glasses, and the first thing Sookie thinks is vampire! She's not sure why she just realized it- maybe the fact that his thoughts aren't rolling off of him or the way his eyes flicker towards her neck. This isn't good news. If the guard is a vampire, than that most likely means that vampires are the residents of the mansion. "Evening Miss Stackhouse. It's nice to see you awake." Does that mean you've seen me sleeping, Sookie wants to spit out angrily. "We were going to wake you momentarily. Mr. Northman is just finishing up his business with the Queen-"

"The Queen?" Sookie spurts out.

The vampire ignores her and continues his sentence, "but they will request your presence shortly. Please, wait in here." He gestures to the adjourning room that looks like a parlor, filled with stuffed armchairs and stacks of books. Even though it's the middle of summer, a fire hums gently in the ornate hearth.

"All right," Sookie says. She's testing the grounds. There's no chance she can just run out of here and escape without knowing what's going on first, especially not with that vampire guard standing at the door. He follows her into the parlor, but remains standing when she sits in one of the plush chairs. "If you don't mind me asking," she says, "could you tell me where I am exactly?"

The vampire narrows his eyes, but apparently the question can't lead to any danger because he finally responds, "New Orleans."

Sookie gasps. She can't believe Eric and Pam drugged her and dragged her half-way across the state. How long was that drive? It must have been..."Sir, what day is it?"

"May 11th."

Holy crap. She's been out cold for an entire day. By now Tara and Sam must be wondering where she is. And what about Jason? Did he ever turn up? Sookie instinctively feels her pockets for her cell phone, but it's nowhere to be found. Of course Eric probably took it. Her skin boils at the thought of him forcing his way through her pockets while she lay unconscious. Sookie crosses her arms against her chest and leans back in her chair. Stupid vampires, she thinks.

A few minutes later, Eric walks into the room. "Mr. Northman," the guard says, slightly inclining his head.

"Vincent," Eric responds. "Thank you for keeping this one preoccupied."

"She asks a lot of questions."

Eric smirks, "Too many questions."

Finally, Sookie shouts out, "Hey, I'm sitting right here you know." She stands up and walks right towards Eric, not wasting time on timidity or fear. "What the hell am I doing here Eric? People will be looking for me. Don't think I didn't tell someone where I was going. I'm not some dumb blonde trash like you think I am."

"I don't think you're dumb blonde trash, Sookie," Eric says.

He let's her continue her rant, but the amusement filling his blue eyes makes her feel like a little kid whining for ice cream. "I don't know what you think you're doing. You can't just drug me. You think there aren't going to be consequences? I bet the sheriff is on this trail right now, and when he gets here, I swear he'll..." Sookie finally tapers off.

She knows the sheriff isn't coming and so does Eric.

Eric rubs his hands together. "Well, now that you've gotten that out of your system, I'd like to introduce you to someone very important." He leans towards Sookie, and the vicinity lights that damn flame of lust that never seems to go out. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, she repeats over and over again, but her body refuses to listen. His mouth drops towards her ear and he softly commands, "I suggest you try to bite your tongue around her. She might not be as lenient with your rambling as I am."

"Really? You call yourself lenient?"

Instead of responding, Eric snaps his fingers. Sookie jumps. The last time he did that, she was drugged and kidnapped across city limits. When she jumps, Eric looks towards her, and something akin to concern passes across his face. But he says nothing to her. He simply says, "Vincent. Please bring us in now."

Eric grabs Sookie's arm and starts walking out of the room. She's forced to walk with him, Vincent leading the way. The direct contact sends desire and hate flowing through her veins. She can't decide whether to lean into him or pull away. They walk through a maze of corridors until they finally come upon a large set of double doors. Two more guards stand at the entrance.

"Eric Northman and Sookie Stackhouse to see the Queen," Vincent says.

The two new guards nod and each open one enormous door. The room opens up to show a large indoor pool. Everything in the room is luxurious and vibrant, from the chairs to the foliage to the single redheaded vampire lounging in a white bathing suit.

Eric and Sookie walk towards her, and she sits up. A wicked smile creeps onto her face, brilliant white teeth showing through red lipstick. "Miss Stackhouse," she says, holding out one pale hand, "The pleasure is all mine."

Her smile grows, and so do her fangs.

A/N – Thoughts on introducing Sophie this early? I've always loved her character, and I feel like MY Eric would tell the Queen about Sookie as soon as he discovered her.

Let me know what you think of the chapter.

Thanks for the R&R!