Spellbound

I want y'all to know that I've written several chapters ahead. Also some people have mentioned that Eric wouldn't have hit Pam. He and Pam were fighting in Sookie's kitchen in the next to the last book. She threw water on them in order to get them to stop fighting. It's not out of his character to hit Pam as some would like to believe.

Thank y'all so much for reading and reviewing. I appreciate each and every review; especially the encouraging ones.

Sookie was happy to see Stan Davis leave. He was the most arrogant and self-centered vampire she'd ever met. He had no depth to him and he had little offer when it came to carrying on a conversation. Everything was about him and what he wanted and what he's done. Everything is about power and money. She even felt sorry for his date. The poor girl looked absolutely miserable.

When he left, Sookie almost jumped for joy but instead, she bid him farewell and went about talking to the others in attendance. During her rounds, she just so happened upon a conversation being led by Alcide Herveaux.

"Sookie, Sam and I want to thank you and Eric for the work that you've done with the young shifters and Weres that had no one to help them during their times of shifting. The orphaned Weres had nowhere to turn until the programs that you two set up was put into place," Alcide said. "We can't thank you guys enough for what you've done for the pack members and shifters in our area. You and Eric will forever have our allegiance."

Sookie gave him a genuine smile. She looked to Eric before speaking. He didn't want to hog the limelight so he let her speak for them both.

"There is no need to thank us, Alcide, Sam. We couldn't have done it without either of you. You two were the driving forces behind it. Please don't slight yourselves on our account. You two gentlemen deserve most, if not all, of the praise. Your caring attitude for the Weres and shifters is the reason this has happened. If not for you and your determination, it never would have happened."

Alcide blushed. Sam puffed up his chest with pride. Even their dates were filled with pride. Sookie was not one to take credit for something that she didn't do; be it good or bad. She wanted them all to see that the fae are not as selfish as some believed them to be.

"Thank you," Sookie said to Sam and Alcide. She raised her glass to them and the others followed suit.

After Sookie gave the men their praise, they received pats on their backs and dozens of handshakes. They both looked at Sookie and thanked her again. She gave them a slight nod as she watched them enjoy their accolades.

When Eric and Sookie married, many vampires believed that the marriage would only benefit the fae. They didn't take too kindly to the marriage of a vampire and fae. Many of them talked of the powers of the fae; especially the powers of the fae princess. She is the most magical of her kin. They thought that she would be manipulative and underhanded. They'd encountered that with her kind before but Sookie, she was nothing like the rest of them. She was genuine and she was willing to help all supes. Whenever they had a chance to speak with her, they let her know how appreciative they are of her. They felt that it was their duty to let her know that they acknowledge her kindness and selflessness. When she put herself on the line for them with the human government that is when they fell in love with her.

The Supernatural Rights Council that Sookie and Eric have established with the human government gives every supe the same rights as humans. They had a fight on their hands but they were not going to give up. She and Eric fought day and night. The vampires were seen as nothing more than leeches. Eric and Sookie did their research and had more than enough proof of the contributions that the supes have made to the human world.

The human government tried to sidestep them but they wouldn't allow it. Sookie and Eric worked hard on their bill of equal rights for all supes and they didn't rest until it was finally passed. That equal rights bill is what put the most powerful supernatural couple on the map. When they were able to infiltrate the human government without the means of war or manipulation, they solidified their standing in the supe community. No one defied the wishes of Sookie and Eric Northman.

As the guests praised Sam and Alcide for the good that they've done, Sookie looked up to see Eric on the other side of the room; staring at her from the corner. He almost looked as if he was proud of her. She almost smiled at him but instead she looked away.

"Excuse me," she said politely. "I'm going to mingle with the other guests but please, enjoy the night's festivities."

Sookie mixed and mingled with some of the other guests; including Pam.

"You are looking quite festive," Pam said.

Sookie studied Pam before she spoke to her. They have never gotten a chance to get to know each other. Whenever Sookie would make an effort, Eric would come up with some menial job that Pam would have to suddenly take care of. Pam would invite Sookie to the bar but in the end, she and Sookie wouldn't have much time to get to talk. Eric would always be watching them as if he was waiting for something to happen. This was their chance. Sookie decided to have a meaningful and heartfelt conversation with Pam.

"Where's Freyda?"

Pam burst into a fit of giggles. "You don't beat around the bush, do you?"

Sookie shook her head no. "There's no need. I want to know who she is. I want to know what she is to Eric. I want to know why she's so important to him. Will you tell me?"

Pam shook her head no. "I can't tell you that. It's not my place."

Sookie walked over to the bar with Pam behind her. "I thought that he shared everything with you."

"He does," Pam responded.

"But you can't tell me?"

"I can't tell you and I won't tell you," she said. "It has nothing to do with whether or not you have the right to know. It's not my place to tell you who Freyda is."

Sookie liked her. She liked Pam's loyalty. She expected nothing less from her. He is her maker. She admired loyalty and honor more than anything when it comes to those around her. She expected no less from herself. She liked Pam and she'd decided that she was going to get to know her whether Eric wanted her to or not.

"Would you like to go shopping with me? My cousin Claudine has given me three tickets to the Paris fashion show. She's too pregnant to go and I see that you have great style. It would an honor if you would join me."

Because she knew that she was safe from bodily harm, Pam threw her arms around Sookie's neck as she jumped up and down. She even squealed. She was going to go to a fashion show in gay Pare'. She hadn't been to one in years. Eric always kept her so busy and now she was being invited. Nothing would make her happier.

Once she was able to compose herself, she looked Sookie in her eyes and said, "Do you mean it? I'd hate it if you didn't mean it. I would be absolutely devastated if I couldn't go to that fashion show. Donatella has the most amazing clothing line. It is to die for … and I mean that. I can only imagine what she's going to have on display. And that Stella McCartney; oh my, she is just as fabulous."

Sookie laughed. "I mean it," she said.

"If you are playing games with me, I'd hate for our friendship to end right here and now tonight before it evens gets started." Pam thought about that comment and said, "Well, after the fashion show." She winked at Sookie and smiled.

Sookie laughed. "I do mean it and I'm not playing games with you. I don't want anything from you other than the chance to get to know you; if that's okay with you?"

Pam pinched Sookie's cheek and said, "It's utterly wonderful." Suddenly, just like a child that had lost her favorite balloon to the wind, Pam's mood changed. "He may not let me go."

"We won't let him deny you this, now will we?"

When Sookie stood up to go and talk to Eric, Pam stopped her. "I'll do it. If he says no to me, it won't be that big of a deal. He's said no to me before."

Sookie looked over to where Eric was sitting before looking at Pam. "Are you sure? I can stand with you. I can give him hell where you can't. I love nothing more."

Pam laughed. "Yeah, I'll do it." Before she walked away, she said, "You know that I love your dress. If I hadn't set the dress code, that's the exact dress I would've worn tonight."

Sookie chuckled as she took a seat at the bar and asked the bartender to give her a glass of sweet absinthe. She looked around the room to see if she saw anyone that would closely resemble a vampire that Eric would be interested in. She saw no one. Her looking was in vain. It seemed that Freyda did not make an appearance tonight. She also figured if she had, she would have approached Sookie by now.

Sookie could feel Eric watching her from his throne. She could feel his want, his need. She wanted to look at him but she remained focused on her drink.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Godric asked as he approached her.

Sookie gave him a slight nod. "Very much so," she replied. "I hope that you are."

A jolt of fury hit her but she pushed it away and sent a jolt of annoyance of her own as glanced over her shoulder.

Godric took the seat next to hers. "I am. Tonight has been quite interesting. The highlight of my night was meeting you. You are quite the lady and quite stunning if you don't mind me saying so."

"Thank you."

Though she appreciated them, she didn't trust his kind words. He's already proven himself to be a phony with that innocent, wide-eyed look that he gave her when Eric hit him. He can hide his deviousness from the others but not from her. She continued nursing her drink.

"Do you have any plans after the party?"

"I plan on going on home." She shifted in her seat and looked at the vampire. "Did you think that because you walked in the bar with me that it meant that I was your friend? Did you think that it meant something more than it truly was?"

Eric burst out laughing. When Sookie turned to look at him, he was still laughing. She turned away so that he would not see her smile. She also blocked the bond so that he couldn't feel her amusement.

Godric, on the other hand, was surprised at her bluntness. "There was nothing hidden in my question. Curiosity got the better of me."

"Obviously," she said.

Godric laughed heartily. He liked her verve and her spunk. He tapped the bar and told the bartender to bring him a Royalty Blood. When he'd gotten his drink, he said, "Everyone here is talking about you and Eric. They think that you two are the greatest couple to have ever been coupled."

Sookie blushed. She used to think that same thing.

"I must admit; I am quite envious of your Viking. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you had chosen someone else?"

She didn't even have to think about her answer. "No," she said immediately. "For me, there had never been anyone else. The very thought has never once entered my mind. It was meant to be."

A sense of ease overcame her; ease and love. It wasn't because of her.

Godric sipped at his blood and nodded. "True love, huh?" he asked.

She only smiled.

Eric rested his ankle on his knee as he leaned back on his throne and smiled. Godric didn't stand a chance …or so he'd hoped. Maybe she was going to give him another chance to prove that he is worthy of her.

"You know, I was one of the ones that had been chosen for you. If the Viking hadn't spoken to your grandparents before I'd had an opportunity to meet you, you would be mine."

Eric bristled at his comment. That's not the way it happened at all.

Sookie's face remained emotionless. The AP told her that there were two other vampires that were her best option if she left Eric. She didn't say anything about them being the runner's up if she hadn't chosen Eric. She has always been his. She was promised to Eric. If Godric was ever a consideration, she didn't know it. This was something that she would definitely have to talk over with her grandmother.

"He did and I'm not."

Eric was no longer bristling.

Godric was mesmerized by her and he believed that she felt the same way. "I am enthralled with you. You are an incredible creature. If you don't mind my frankness, I can see in your eyes that you're not happy with the Viking. I would never overstep my boundaries by trying to pilfer you from him but if you ever need a friend, I am here for you."

Sookie looked him in his eyes and said, "I'm sorry to say but I have enough friends and, Godric?

"Yes," he answered; unaffected by her response.

"You couldn't pilfer me if you tried."

Eric's laughter, once again, filled the air.

Godric was no longer self assured. He'd offended her and overestimated himself. "Have I offended you?"

"You have."

"Forgive me," he whispered.

She looked at him as she went over her true reasons for being at the party. Sookie believed that she could get into another vampire marriage but she knows that it's not for her. She didn't want to be with Godric or Stan. She doesn't believe in loveless marriages. She doesn't believe in marriages of convenience. No. That type of marriage isn't for her. She wants more. She deserves more.

She believes in love and faery tales. She believes in the happily ever afters. She wanted to the laughter and the happy times. She wanted the kisses and the love making. She wanted it all. That's what she wanted for her life. So what if she's a faery? Can't she have the happily ever after in a supernatural marriage?

She understood that supes are supposed to overlook the cheating and understand that sex is just that … sex. She should know better than anyone. She's a fae. Her kin sleep and procreate with one another. And for so long, she went along with the supe world's idea of what a relationship is. She thought that she could handle it but now, she wanted what Eric led her to believe they had. She wanted what her grandparents have. Fintan married a human woman and brought her back to Fae and they've lived happily for many, many centuries; exclusively. Sookie wanted that. She deserved that. She knew that she couldn't get what she was looking for from the likes of Godric.

"Do you believe in fate, Godric?"

Eric sat tall in his seat and listened to intently for what his wife was about to say. He hoped that she was going to say what he wanted so desperately to hear.

Nodding, he said yes. "I do."

"For so long, I've believed that fate is the reason Eric and I are together. You are a charming vampire. You're extremely handsome and you are quite flattering but you are not what I want. Even if Eric hadn't talked to my grandparents, he would still be the one that I would have chosen. In my mind, if he hadn't been the one that my grandparents had chosen for me, I would've found him sooner or later. I believe that he is my fate." She gave a slight shrug and a half hearted smile.

Eric closed his eyes and basked in the most beautiful words he'd ever heard.

Godric's demeanor remained cool but he was boiling on the inside. She was so infuriating and captivating. He wanted to know what was going on with her and the Viking. She didn't appear to be happy with him. He didn't treat her as his equal as far as he could see. What is this hold that he has on her? What had the fucking Viking done to deserve her?

In a cool tone, he asked, "Forgive my frankness but he doesn't deserve you. I've seen you two together and you're the only one that ever looks starry eyed and in love. What has he done to deserve you?"

Sookie's eyes were cold and hard. Her lips pursed into thin lines as she struggled to take hold of her anger. Eric knew right then that Godric had overstepped his boundaries and that there would be no more interaction with his wife. Everyone else in the bar seemed to know that as well. Their eyes shifted in the direction to where they were sitting.

She stood elegantly from her seat and looked in his cool green eyes and said, "Did I somehow give you the impression that I would speak about my husband with you? Our relationship is none of your concern, Godric."

Eric did his best to hide his smirk.

Godric expected her to open up to him. He expected her to see that she had a friend in him and so much more if she ever wanted to be free of Eric.

"What goes on between me and my husband is between me and my husband. It is none of your concern."

Quickly Godric tried to recover from his costly mistake. "I was only trying to be a friend. I apologize to you and your husband."

Eric was thoroughly enjoying Godric's uncomfortable state and he didn't try to hide it either.

Sookie then looked at Godric for a long moment before speaking again. It was as if she was taking in everything that she'd learned about him. He came off as being more than what he actually was. She wasn't impressed with him.

"Goodnight, Godric. I must call it a night. It was a pleasure meeting you."

Before she could walk away, he spoke up. "Is there a chance that I will see you again?"

She answered him with a smile. She began walking to where Eric was sitting but she didn't have to walk far. He met her over halfway. "I think that I'll be going home now. Will you have Pam call me? I want to tell her that everything was absolutely lovely."

Eric looked down at Sookie and said, "You can tell her yourself while you two are in Paris. She left awhile ago to begin packing."

"She can go?"

"Yes."

Sookie was so surprised that she wrapped her arms around Eric's neck. "Thank you."

He was about to wrap his arms around her but she stepped away from him. She realized her mistake. "Forgive me," she said. "Thank you but we're not leaving for a few months. There's no need for her to pack so soon."

It made him feel good to see her so happy; both of them as a matter of fact. "She doesn't care. She's happy that she's going to get the chance to know you."

Sookie wanted to tell him that she and Pam could've gotten to know each other years ago if he hadn't been such a jerk but she didn't. She held her tongue. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow tonight."

It pained him to hear that. If he let her go home without him, he knew that he wouldn't see her until tomorrow night because they no longer shared a room. He didn't want to wait until tomorrow night to spend some time with her.

"I can go with you," he said. "I can go home with you if you're ready to leave."

Sookie frowned a little and shook her head. "No, thanks," she answered. "You stay here. My guards are with me. I'll be safe."

Before she could go, Eric reached out to her and rested his cool hand on the small of her back. Her heart began racing when he stroked his thumb over her skin. "I'll come with you."

"You don't have to."

"I know." Eric called Clancy over to him.

"Yes, master."

"Sookie is ready to go home so we are leaving."

"Yes, master."

"If anyone asks …"

Sookie looked at Eric and said, "You are not leaving without telling your guests goodnight."

So that's what they did. Standing together, with Eric holding her hand, they stood on the platform that housed Eric's throne and they thanked the partygoers for coming. They told them to continue on with their fun and wished them all a goodnight.

And when a fae wishes you a goodnight, it just might come true.

A/ N: Don't take this little hint of sentiment to mean that Sookie has forgiven Eric. He still has a lot of groveling to do …and the night isn't over just yet.