A/N Hey there to all my awesome, lovely readers. Here we are with the tenth chapter to the story, to help alleviate your concerns regarding the fate of our favorite Viking. Hence, still an Eric chapter, but the next one will shed some light as to Sookie's reaction to her dear bonded being in danger. This chapter will also open your eyes to my view of the relationship between Pam and Eric, so let's get on with it!

Oh, and thanks by the way to the reviews for the last chapter, particularly to erin1705, for giving me some ideas on plot and the like. And don't worry, o awesome one! The late thanks was of no consequence. It's fine.

Encouragement-wise, a shoutout to Rossi's Lil Devil for words which made me supremely happy.

PS. Albert, I know you're reading this. I caught you the other day, sucker. Anyway, thanks for the help and for advising me on plot. You are so awesome. Oh, and such a shame we didn't get to see Alex Skarsgård in Stockholm, huh? We saw him four times before anyway. Advantages I guess, of being such good little Europeans. God, I miss Sweden.

Chapter 10

Pam had been sitting alone in her office at Fangtasia when the pain hit. It was a sharp sort of agony, punctuated by the strength of her maker's call. She hadn't felt such a pull in many decades, so she flashed out of her office and straight to her car, hurriedly informing Scott that he should follow with a team of vampires.

The agitated Sheriff didn't even wait for a reply before she got in and drove off like a maniac. All well and good, in the grand scheme of things, since she had arrived to a sight she hoped she would never have to see.

Her strong maker, the famed Eric Northman, was in a heap near the dining room table, metal sticking out from various points on his body.

'I knew you would come, child,' he said, his voice hoarse but weak nonetheless.

'Shut up. I'll kill you for this later,' Pam said in reply, hiding her concern and relief.

Afterwards, she quickly found a potholder, using it to wedge out the arrows in his flesh. The act itself caused Eric great pain, as the silver continued to grate on his tissues upon exit. What worried Pam though, was the fact that her maker didn't appear to be growing any stronger despite their removal.

Examining one of the arrows provided the answer to her dilemma, also causing her to curse in a mixture of distress and frustration. Before the Viking could ask his child about her outburst, it was the Royal Overseer's voice which broke through the silence.

'Sheriff?' he asked, somewhat timidly.

'In here, Scott,' Eric's progeny said, still agitated by the entire experience.

'What happened to you, Majesty? You were fine when I left.'

'Well,' the Viking said with difficulty, 'things can change in the space of a second.'

To Pam, the conversation was a horrendous waste of time. Still looking at the arrows nestled in a potholder, she was confused by the apparent fact that they seemed slightly dissolved, as if by acid. At least now she knew why he wasn't getting any better. Silver poisoning. The two words seemed to loom with inexorable vengeance.

'Scott, get Dr. Ludwig here right now. Thank fucking God she can pop around like the fairies.'

'Of course, Sheriff,' he said, before walking away to place the call. The king himself on the other hand, was perplexed.

'The arrows are out, aren't they? Why do I still feel so weak?'

It seemed that Pam couldn't give the reason without a tinge of fear in her voice. 'Silver poisoning.'

At that, Eric closed his eyes and let out an audible sigh. He could feel the burn in his body, though he had hoped it was only an effect of the sheer depth at which the arrows had penetrated. Thankfully though, Dr. Ludwig was standing in front of them after a few moments, owing to Scott's prompt and urgent call.

The ever-scowling doctor was flanked by the Royal Overseer and seven others, whom Eric recognized as constituents within Area Five.

'Well, let's see the damage Viking,' she said, kneeling down to his prone form and lifting his arm up for examination. After a few prods, a look at the slightly dissolved arrows and a shake of her head, Ludwig gave her diagnosis.

'Definitely silver poisoning. The arrows appear to be made of silver and some sort of additive, one that makes it dissolve on contact with vampire blood.'

'Can he get better?' Pam asked, not making any effort to hide how worried she was.

'He can,' the doctor said. 'Although, we will need to draw out the silver. Think of it like a dialysis. His blood needs cleaning and replacement, fast.'

'So we need to get donors?' Scott said suddenly.

Ludwig nodded in assent, but Eric was obviously having none of it.

'I will not allow my bond with Sookie to be sullied. Procure True Blood instead,' the Viking said, before he dissolved into a fit of coughing.

'But Your Majesty, surely human blood will be...'

'Silence! Do as I say!' Eric bellowed out, obviously using up a great deal of strength to fuel his one outburst.

'Of course. I apologize, Sire,' Scott said, before he was cut off by Pam.

'Fuck that. Sookie will understand, for crying out loud. She can handle it if you drink from others. Maybe a blood bag, I don't care. I will get you well, you understand me?' The agitated vampiress shot a dark look at her maker. The Viking returned it in equal measure.

Finally though, it was Dr. Ludwig who got the last word. 'He would benefit more,' she said, pointing at the Norse vampire, 'if it was his bonded's blood he consumed. Where is the sprightly little thing anyway?'

'She left,' Pam said in a deadpan voice.

'Well, get her back here. Time limit, two days. If she isn't here by then, the cleansing will deprive him of most of his blood and he'll die without replacement. So get her back,' the doctor said.

Soon enough, Ludwig opened up her nearby bag of medical equipment and proceeded to stick a syringe in the Norseman's arm. Pulling up the plunger, his tainted blood welled up into the clear plastic holder.

'Definitely some silver in here,' she said, examining the blood before she transferred it to a small vial. She quickly commanded Pam to carry Eric to bed after the drawing of his blood, a command which Pam obeyed without comment.

By the time the Viking's progeny was back downstairs, Scott was deep in conversation with the irritable Supe doctor.

'You make damn sure he drinks two of these tonight,' she said, handing him a number of vials with some dark blue liquid, nestled in a small case. 'It's a binding agent. The silver will attach itself to the molecules in that, so we can remove it more effectively. It will also help delay the spread and keep more of his blood pure.'

'What do we do about Sookie?' Pam asked, breaking into the conversation.

'I will write a letter to Her Majesty, informing her of the King's condition,' he said, handing the vials and their case to Pam.

'How will we get it to the Fae Realm? It's not exactly like you can send it to 123 Fae Realm or something like that,' Eric's progeny said.

'I observed the King writing something when he went to Fangtasia. I can assume that it is to Her Majesty, so perhaps he knows of how she can be contacted. I will ask him,' Scott said, before heading upstairs.

The Royal Overseer tuned in to the small groans he could hear, and soon enough, he was leaning towards his sovereign respectfully.

'Sire, do you know of how we may contact Her Majesty, such that we can inform her of your illness as well as to persuade her to come home?'

Eric coughed out some blood before he spoke, making Scott cringe. 'Nothing can be done for now. Prepare the letter,' he said in a strangled voice. 'Wait for the Prince's arrival tomorrow evening.'

'Yes Majesty,' the English vampire said, before heading back downstairs to do as he was instructed.

To replace him, Pam quickly flashed upstairs with the case of vials in hand. Kneeling beside her master, she removed the stopper on one vial and handed it to Eric.

'Dr. Ludwig says you have to drink this,' she said simply, full of distress at her maker's predicament. The blood spattered on his grey shirt did nothing to help matters at all.

Gingerly, Eric took the vial and drank the contents, cringing at the awful taste.

'One more, Master,' Pam said, handing him the remaining vial. When the Viking protested, she shoved the vial into his mouth and forced him to drink it.

'You'll pay for that,' he said, trying to make light of his present situation.

'I don't care,' she said. 'You had better get well. I've already told the Area vampires to bring me and Scott a coffin to sleep in, plus our laptops and work shit. We're not leaving you. I'm not leaving you.'

He wasn't able to say anything in reply, since he dissolved into another coughing fit. At the sorry sight, a tear involuntarily came from Pam's eye, one which she didn't bother to wipe away as she continued looking at her maker.

With much difficulty, he reached out for her hand and held it tightly. 'I will get through this, Pam. Don't worry about me.'

'Eric, you know I can't do that.'

'All will be well, child. All will be well,' he said soothingly, before he let go of Pam's hand. 'Now go down to Scott and check on what he wrote to Sookie. If there's a problem, bring it to me. Otherwise, I need some rest.'

'Yes, Master,' she said, taking one last look at him before she exited and went downstairs, where Scott was busy finishing up the letter to his King's bonded.

The 410-year old immortal had taken to using a pen and some paper, in the absence of other methods. Pam waited for him to get it done, before she held out her palm. He handed it to her without much comment.

Not saying another word, she began to read.

To Her Majesty, Queen Sookie of Louisiana and Mississippi

Care of His Royal Highness, Niall Brigant, Prince of the Fae

Your Majesty,

I am saddened to be the bearer of truly dire tidings. It is with the utmost regret and urgency that I inform you of the King's illness.

He was attacked by as-yet unidentified entities with silver arrows. His Majesty has sustained wounds on his arm and shoulder, as well as his ribs. Upon examination by Dr. Ludwig, he was diagnosed with silver poisoning. The honorable doctor also informed us that the silver had a dissolvent mixed with it, triggered by contact with vampire blood, hence his poisoning.

In addition, the doctor thought it best that he undergo a dialysis of sorts, to expunge the silver and for his blood to be replaced. The King is adamant that he should not drink from donors, and has insisted upon True Blood.

Contrary to this, Sheriff de Beaufort believes that human blood would be best. This was met with the King's refusal, which brings me to the point of this letter.

Dr. Ludwig believes that he would be best benefited by your presence, since it is your blood which will help him the most. Thus, we who are here, entreat you to return and aid in the care of His Majesty the King.

Most importantly, the doctor has predicted dire consequences (his death, Your Majesty,) should you not come home in the next two days. Hence, I myself plead for your urgent and favorable response to this correspondence.

Please reply back with your preferred arrangements for your return, and I shall endeavor to do everything you request.

Your humble servant,

Scott Wilhelm Anderson

Royal Overseer of Louisiana and Mississippi

'Good,' Pam said, once she finished. 'Go and send it.'

'Ah, Sheriff, the King says we must wait until tomorrow evening for the arrival of the Prince. I assume it is a scheduled visit, since His Majesty seems sure that the Prince would come.'

'Dear God, fuck this all to hell.'

'In the meantime, do you have orders? As the King's child, you are now regent within both his kingdoms, madam,' Scott said, trying to assuage Pam's anger.

'First of all, we wait for the Area vampires. When they get here, tell Gregory what's happened to Eric, and that we need his help to investigate this crap.'

'Of course, Sheriff. I will also send out an alert to the nearby monarchs to request assistance and free passage, should we ever need to go to their territories in the course of the investigation,' Scott said, watching Pam nod in approval.

It was not until half an hour later that the Area vampires had come, bringing the coffins and other security equipment to Bon Temps using a truck. After some time spent unloading and a few quick orders from Pam, the underling vampires had split up. Some had gone to carry out their Sheriff's edicts, while some had stayed behind to provide security.

Once their laptops were plugged in, Pam and Scott immediately got to work. To Eric' s progeny, the first order of business was getting daytime protection.

'Alcide Herveaux,' she said into the phone, after the Shreveport pack master had come through onto the other line.

'What do you want?'

'I will need you and your finest men to provide us with some protection. To be clear, this is not a request, dog,' she said. 'If you refuse, I am within my rights and my capacity to force your agreement, by any means necessary.'

She was satisfied by his long sigh on the other line. 'Alright, I'll go tomorrow with four of my boys. You all in Bon Temps or Shreveport?'

'Bon Temps. Be here at 4 am, then the vampires will inform you of everything. They need to get to shelter, which is why you need to relieve them early,' Pam said.

'Fine,' he said sharply, before hanging up.

'What now, Sheriff?' Scott said as she put down her phone.

'Well now, we get to e-mailing everyone of importance. No one fucks with my maker and survives. I won't allow this,' she said seriously.

The Royal Overseer nodded in assent and promptly turned back to the messages he was composing on his laptop.

In the relative silence, he quickly caught Pam's whisper as he typed. 'Whoever did this, they're going to face a slow, gruesome death.'

Though he had never been one for violence, the immortal Englishman had found himself agreeing with her. Having learned first hand about the Viking's great leadership and fair methods, he truly did wish for his sovereign's wellness. As for Pam, nearly two centuries of loyalty and love filled her with dread and concern, all for the maker she dearly loved.

As if to taunt their hopes, both of them could head the sound of Eric's violent coughs from upstairs.

A/N There we are guys, the tenth chapter. I know it was shorter than my average chapters, but I broke it off there, so as not to infringe on the plot plan for the eleventh, which is a Sookie chapter.

As for my surprise for the correct guess on who did this, no one got it right yet. I take this as a good sign. I can still keep you guys on your toes! Lastly, if you guys have any requests or ideas you may want to see manifested in the story, just tell me so in your reviews or you can shoot me a PM whenever you want.

In any case, please let me know what you think through a review! Good luck guessing who was stupid enough to attack Eric!