I made her repeat herself just to make sure that I was not imagining her words, imagining her, as she stood right there in front of me. Her words did not change when she repeated them. She once more informed me that it was on a coffin we rode out the window and not a chair as I had told her in the story. She would have no way of knowing that; even at her current young age and her parents still alive in her world, she would have no reason to even know the word coffin. Still, she had said it.
That had left me wondering, once again, just what the fuck was going on.
I had to say something, those eyes were staring at me much like their adult counterpart did and would not have it any other way. What was there to say? I had to make a decision. Should I go along with her words, agree to them, and potentially frighten her? Perhaps I should just pretend I had no idea of what she was talking about, making her angry and doubtful of herself? I had been making so many poor decisions lately, especially when it came to Sookie. That was something I could no longer allow to happen.
"Are you trying to change my story?" I asked her while I tried to buy myself more time to think of a plausible explanation. Still, I had never lied to her and that was one trend I was determined to make certain would continue when it came to talking to my wife, regardless of whatever form she may have been manifesting.
"Not changing," she said as she climbed up on the couch to sit beside me. She made sure she was comfortable by my side, even moving my arm a few times as if she was fluffing a pillow. She then continued to tell me, "I'm just telling it right."
"Oh, I see," I told her as I tickled her side a bit. "You think the way I was telling it was wrong."
"Not wrong," she said through little giggles while she wrestled my fingers away from her side. "You just made a few mistakes."
"Oh, really. A few, you say?" I asked her as she lay back down against my side. It did not escape me that she had not let go of my fingers and I found it something that was just fine with me.
"Yep," she said and I felt her nod against my side. I looked down at her and saw that she was looking right back up at me.
"Anywhere else I made a mistake?"
"Prince Eric was like you. He had to sleep during the day but he woked up when Princess Sookie needed him."
"He woke up because he loved Princess Sookie so much. He could feel how afraid she was and he wanted to make it all better."
She nodded in agreement before pulling me down to her level. She moved up to her knees and her mouth was by my ear. I thought she would whisper something to me, like a secret. Well, it may have been a whisper to her as it was; indeed, a bit more quiet than her normal volume, but it was definitely no whisper. "They have magic between them. It happened when Prince Eric saved Princess Sookie from a very bad man."
I had not included that part in my story. I pulled back, looking at her, and all I saw was a smile on her little face. I had no idea if she was remembering something due to the story or if perhaps the spell was starting to wear off. I had no idea what was happening. The only thing I was sure of was that I needed to tread carefully. I remembered what it was like when your memories returned and hit you all at once. It was something that was very unpleasant, and I was hoping that Sookie would be able to avoid that feeling.
"Because Prince Eric loved Princess Sookie," I told her, feeling quite odd in the way I was speaking of our lives. It was true; I loved her in that moment and the many that came before.
"And Princess Sookie saved Prince Eric because she loved him!" she told me excitedly.
"That could be," I told her not wanting to influence her in any way, not knowing how it might affect her. The truth was I couldn't be certain what Sookie felt at that time. No, that was not exactly the truth. With the third blood exchange, I could feel what she was thinking though, truthfully, it did take a few days for me to sort through all I was feeling within the bond. Therefore, I did know what Sookie was feeling. At that point, it was all conflict. I would not pretend it was anything more, not when I did not know how it would affect her regaining her mind and body once we figured out how to right whatever the hell happened to her.
"She must have loved him. She went back for him," She told me, her eyes suddenly too old for the little face that was currently staring into mine. I felt as if she was trying to tell me something in that moment, but I just could not see exactly what it was at the time.
I was not about to argue with that look.
"Where did you come up with these new additions to my story?" I asked her, curiosity finally getting the better of me. I did not know what she would tell me or if she would even be able to explain.
She thought about it for maybe two seconds before she shrugged and told me that she dreamt it. I knew there had to be more to it than that. The singing of songs, facts remembered now left out of a story I had told her, there was more going on here than simple, child-like dreams.
I just had no idea what else could have been happening.
I was so engrossed in our conversation that I had lost track of how close to sunrise it was until I felt the sun's pull. I had only minutes to get to the safety of my room and I had a young Sookie I had to make sure returned to her bed. I knew how long it could take to put Sookie back to bed and, unfortunately, I just did not have the time. I was not about to frighten her by succumbing to my day rest in the middle of putting her to bed!
I called out to Amelia. I knew Pam would hear me and there was no doubt in my mind that the two were together. Just as I thought, the two of them came into the living room soon after I had called for the witch. When I saw them, I got up off the couch and knelt down so that I was at Sookie's level. "Sookie, you have to go and get back into bed and I have to get some sleep too," I told her.
"Will you tell me another story first?" she asked as she tried to hold in a yawn.
I almost told her that I would, but felt that I had only minutes left before the sun would rise. After that, barring any unforeseen circumstances such as buildings blowing up, it would be mere seconds before my rest took me.
I shook my head and told her as gently as possible that I could not, but I was sure Amelia would tell her a story. "A fictional story," I added, hoping that Amelia would understand. As much I was hoping we could get Sookie back, having her memories return while she was still virtually a child was not something I thought would be beneficial. Amelia gave me a nod and I hoped that meant she understood.
Sookie, on the other hand, was having none of it.
"Noooo, Eric!" Sookie whined as she clung to my leg. "I don't want Amelia to put me to bed! I want you!"
"Sookie, I put you to bed earlier. Amelia will do it now. I will put you to bed tonight, I promise."
"Please, Eric!" she cried, her arms wrapping tightly around my leg. The only thing that kept my from sweeping her up in my arms and tucking her into her bed was feeling the sun's pull. I did not want to be overcome by it, thus falling to my rest while I was holding Sookie. I would have to tell her the truth, and that would only be more apparent after our conversation of this evening. However, I did not have to do it in such a way that would frighten her.
Although as her cries only grew louder as we detached her from my leg and Amelia took her away upstairs, I rethought my plans. Not so much as to risk submitting to the pull of the sun in front of her, but enough to make her cries hurt that much more. That was the thought that had me starting to walk away as soon as Sookie could no longer see me. It was true that I needed to get to the safety of my room before the sun went up, but that was not the thought that made me retreat.
No, I was trying and failing to run away from her cries. Long after my door slid shut, a door that was soundproof, I could still hear them repeating over and over in my head. The worst part was there was nothing that I could do to make anything better. I could be there for Sookie every night, so that was something that I could change, something I would change. I only hoped that was enough because I could not be there once the sun had risen.
As much as I despised it at that moment, I planned to welcome the sun and the rest it would pull me into that morning. That would be my only reprieve and the only way for Sookie's cries to leave me was during my rest. I would have to deal with it tonight although I was not sure of her reaction, and though it would not allow me to be there for her during the day, I would tell Sookie as much of the truth as I could. I could not have her thinking that I was not choosing her company.
I was not alone in my bed but for a few seconds when my child entered silently and lay down beside me. She did nothing, but took me into her arms and offered herself as comfort. It was one that I clung to.
"I have never hated the sun," I told her. "Not once since I became a vampire have I ever actually hated the sun. I knew the hate would hold me back and I saw the creature that I could have become if I let it overpower me. I embraced the moon and the stars, but I have never once hated the sun." I paused before I finished by saying, "Until it kept me from her."
"You will be there for her, Eric. You will be there for her every single night. You have just been trying to ensure that you can be there, that she will be free to enjoy them with you. You will have your nights."
"If it is not enough?" I asked her.
She sighed, and that caused me to look at her. I could see the honesty in her face as she assured me it was. "Sookie made her choice," she told me. I opened my mouth to once more bring up the voicemail she left me, but Pam did not let me interrupt. "She knew what she was getting into in regard to the sun once she chose to be with not just one, but two vampires. That will not be what deters her."
We both were quiet after that, taking in the last few seconds before the sun rose. Pam's words were true, both her spoken and unspoken ones. It did not seem as if my inability to be there for Sookie would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I just hoped that I could solve the problem that would.
I awoke the same way that I went to my rest. I was in my bed held in my child's arms. Pam would rise in a few minutes. She enjoyed her beauty sleep as she called it. I felt for the bond I had with Sookie, and I was honestly surprised with what I had found, especially after what happened this morning. Sookie was happy. This was the happiest I had felt her since…well, it was longer since she appeared to be a child. That was something I had difficulty admitting.
Pam rose and she gave me one last squeeze before she got out of bed and started her night. I waited another minute and thought over all that what I would be doing that night. I had a long list of things that I hoped to accomplish and I was not sure if it was possible to accomplish all of it. There was one thing I knew that I would be doing though, or not doing as the case may be. I was not going to give Victor or Felipe a second of my time that evening. They would not be seeing or hearing from the Sheriff of Area Five on this night.
I made my way up the stairs to my living room to see that Pam had gone directly to Amelia and the two were already wishing each other a good night. I expected to see that. Something I had not expected was my arms being filled with Sookie as soon as she saw me. She moved so quickly it was almost as if she had vampire speed! I did not expect it, but that did not mean I did not welcome it. I wrapped my own arms around her, and then pulled her up higher than her jump onto me had allowed.
"Good evening, Sookie," I told her as I breathed her in.
"Good evening, Eric," she repeated, her voice much more serious than usual, even when she was upset. It took me a second to realize that she was trying to mimic me. We both had a little laugh when she noticed that I realized what she was doing before I put her back on the floor. She did not let go of me that easily though.
"I don't like that when the sun comes up you have to go away," she told me with a sniffle. "Amelia explained it to me though. You have to, have to. It's like a rule."
I looked to the witch who just smiled back at me. If she was able to explain to Sookie that I really did not have a choice that morning in a way that she could understand, then I just might have to start to like the little witch.
"I do not like it either," I said to her, hugging her tightly to me before letting her go.
"Would you stay with me if the sun didn't make you go away?"
"If I had the choice, I would never leave you."
"Then we could have fun forever!" Sookie yelled, not understanding that was the one thing I wished for most. I would love to have fun forever with her. I just hoped that in my trying to ensure we could have the possibility of forever I had not lost her.
Throughout our conversation, I had been leading Sookie outside for a demonstration of what I was about to tell her next. "Do you know how you said that Prince Eric and Princess Sookie had magic between them?" I asked her and she nodded. "Well, there are people, beings, in this world who have their own magic, their own powers," I hesitated before I added, "Like you and your ability to hear the inside voices." I had almost used the term telepathy, but I was not certain whether she had had heard it yet.
She looked amazed, and then asked me, "Do you have powers?"
I nodded and explained some of the powers I had as a vampire. I left out flying, saving that as the last for the display. "Still, these powers come at a cost," I explained to her. "The sun hurts me and makes me go to sleep." I watched her face as I told her. It was scrunched up as she thought about my words, in a much less subtle way than what I was used to seeing.
"Do I have a cost for my magic?" she asked me. I had been dreading this question ever since I had decided to go this route to explain things. Her telepathy did come with a cost, it had cost her things throughout her childhood, and it cost her things as an adult, especially after vampires entered her life. I knew that and it was something that adult Sookie knew as well.
Still, how to explain these things to a child? I would not lie to her though, so I struggled with a way to put it into words that she could understand, but not send her running to those proverbial hills.
"You do," I began. "It is not the same as mine, but you do have a cost." Then I decided to leave it up to her. "What do others think of your magic?" I asked her.
"I'm not supposed to tell anybody," she told me quietly. "They won't like it. They won't understand."
"That must be hard," I told her, and she nodded her head in agreement. "Unfortunately, that would be the cost of your magic."
"Will I ever have friends?" she asked in a voice so weak that it made my chest hurt.
"Of course!" I answered. She had more friends than she realized. "Pam is your friend. Amelia is your friend."
"You're my friend!" she yelled excitedly. I simply nodded in return. What I felt for her was certainly more than friendship, well, when she was taller and older at least. However, I was not going to say anything that took that excited look off her face.
"See? You have many friends. You will have more friends than you know what to do with, Sookie. Friends who will love you," I paused before I bent down to her level. "Even though the cost may be high, the magic will be worth it," I told her before I took her into my arms and levitated a foot off the ground. She did not even realize I had as she felt me pick her up. I brought my lips to her ear and, in a real whisper, I told her to look down.
She did, and then she gasped and clung tighter to me. I stayed still in the air, not wanting to frighten her. It took her about a minute before her grasp on me relaxed. It was a good thing that I did not have to worry about circulation.
"We're flying!" she yelled and kicked her little legs. She looked back to me and said, "You! You're the one who could fly!"
I laughed at her excitement and asked, "Are you ready to go even higher?" She nodded, but her grip got tighter again. I took it slowly, but soon we were about twenty-five feet off the ground. Once she seemed steady in my arms, I asked, "Are you ready?" one last time. She seemed to know what I was asking her, and on her nod, I took off. Granted it was much slower than I usually flew, but I may have added few loops to make up for it.
Although Sookie's grip on my neck was tighter than ever, she laughed while we traveled through the clouds. She squealed as I created a loop in the sky. She giggled as we moved up and down throughout the stars. She yelled again as I fell to the ground, only to launch straight back up into the sky before we could hit it. All the time I took her around the skies, her eyes were on our travels, on the stars. My eyes were on her face, never once missing a reaction. I recorded them to my memory, my mission to make sure her face looked like that more often, both before we returned her to her natural age and after.
I had just lowered us to the ground when Pam came out holding my phone. "Not tonight, Pam," I told her thinking the caller was Madden or de Castro.
"You're going to want to take this," she told me, holding the phone out in front of her.
"I refuse to deal with them tonight, Pam," I told her.
"You want to take this phone call, Eric," she repeated. "It's Cataliades," she explained when she saw that I made no move to take the phone. I had to admit that I was eager to speak with the attorney and excited over what he might possibly have to report.
The only problem was that I also feared what the half-demon might say.
Well, we can hope Cataliades has something good to tell Eric. And Eric managed to keep his promise and took her flying. I do hope that you enjoyed.
As always, much thanks to MsBuffy for her editing of this chapter.