10.

~Eric~

Pam would say I handled that badly. I would never have told her that in first place. There is much I wouldn't and haven't told her because it would upset her too much. I detest when Sookie cries. Pam refers to it as "leaking." It has always been painful to see Sookie cry, more so if it is because of something I have said.

It has fallen to me more times than I am comfortable with to be the one to break Sookie's heart right down the middle.

I'm not going to lie to her though. I have never lied to her. I haven't always told her everything, but everything that has come out of my mouth has been truth.

Mostly.

So I wasn't going to die if she didn't suck that bullet out in Dallas. I never told her the bullet would kill me, just that it would heal inside me. She drew her own false conclusions on that.

Mostly.

She trusts me. Whether she has loved me or loathed me (and with her, there has always been a very fine line between the two), she has always trusted me, which is something I have always found fucked up. But she would look at me with those big endless blue eyes and I agreed to the most ridiculous things; anything to stay in her good graces; anything to show her I was the one she should be with.Getting her wasn't the easiest accomplishment and keeping her has proven to be harder.

She was tense and trembling as we walked into Felipe's mansion with Quinn following. She thinks I'm crazy for not bringing back up with me from Louisiana. I would like to storm the place with my entire retinue, but that would be poorly played. I don't think Felipe is behind this. I would like to think Quinn wouldn't have lead Sookie into a trap like this.

We stopped outside the closed doors of the king's audience chamber. I turned and looked over my shoulder at Sookie. "Stay behind me." She took my hand and squeezed it. To anyone else, it looked like a nervous gesture, but I was confident she was acknowledging that she heard me.

The grand double doors opened out towards us and we were lead across the massive and elegant room to the king, who thankfully was not dramatic enough to be sitting on a throne. He was before a large stone hearth with plush sofas and chairs in front of it.

"Miss Stackhouse!" Felipe greeted with a large smile. "I'm glad to see you are well. I've heard very distressing things these last few days."

"Your majesty." Sookie inclined her head. As much as she hated "vampire political shit," she was a hell of a diplomat…when she wanted to be.

"Eric, I trust the trip was uneventful."

"There was a vampire on the plane, your majesty." I tossed out there.

"She was not there at my orders." The king showed the proper amount of shock.

"That is reassuring, my lord." And complete bullshit.

"Quinn, why don't you bring Sookie to the dining room for something to eat."

First order of business, split us up.

Sookie squeezed my hand tighter and stepped closer to me. "Thank you, your majesty, I already ate."

"Refreshment?" the king followed up.

"I'm fine, thank you." I stifled a chuckle.

"Quinn, please take Sookie someplace comfortable while I speak to Eric alone." He was less pleasant in this command.

"Yes, your majesty." Quinn said with a bow of his head. There was a pause while Sookie looked from Quinn to Felipe, reading them for danger no doubt. She looked at me when Quinn took her upper arm. She could read minds clearer with direct contact. I didn't know if she got anything off of Felipe. She didn't give me any indication if she did.

Outwardly, I showed nothing but indifference, nothing that would indicate that this wasn't exactly what I expected, which it was. But inwardly, I sent her so much confidence and reassurance, she was almost peppy walking out of here. I could have done without Quinn's 'I'm walking out of here with your woman and I'm going to use every minute of my time with her to convince her to dump your sorry ass,' smirk.

"I am always fascinated by watching you two." Felipe opened when the door closed behind Sookie and Quinn.

"And why is that, your majesty?" I asked turning back to the king.

"Come now, Eric. I've known you for centuries and this is the first time I've gotten the impression that you've given a shit about anyone other than yourself. You've even seemed like you were indifferent towards your child."

"Well, you know how frustrating children can be." I shrugged. I did not get to where I am today by being stupid and flaunting my weaknesses. Both he and I knew that I was the most powerful sheriff in America; we both knew I could take Louisiana if I wanted it. When Felipe took over, we were weakened. And since I had no desire to be king, I did not bother with any sort of defensive plan. It was easy to pick off the other sheriffs and leave me for last. At the time, I figured anybody would be better than the incapacitated Sophie Anne.

I got Victor; and I was wrong.

"I've always admired you, Eric." Felipe began to pace in front of me. I watched him the entire time. "Our kind immigrates to your area. They want to serve you. If you wanted to, you could be a much more powerful king than I." And a big fat target.

"Ever since your telepath revealed herself -"

"She has not revealed herself." I growled. "She was hunted down by Sophie Anne."

"Details." Felipe waved his hand. "Everyone knows about her now. And since Sophie Anne started bragging about her, you have become much more defensive."

"The danger to her continues to increase. What good is she to anybody if she is dead?"

"And how long do you think you can keep what she is a secret?"

"She is a telepath; and it's not a very big secret anymore, as you have just pointed out."

"She is part fairy."

Fuck.

"Who told you that?"

"I don't reveal my sources, Eric." The King chided with a smile. I wonder if he got that from Quinn. That would be very disappointing. Bill and I have taken great pains to ensure there were very few people that knew that.

"It is a very minimal part." I stressed. "I didn't know myself until she told me."

"The genes are very dominant in her." He countered. Ironic that I just had this conversation with Sookie earlier. "Dr. Ludwig is here. I was hoping you would indulge me and allow her to perform some tests?"

"I will indulge no such thing." I hissed. The anger in me was building to a boil. I could not feel anything amiss with Sookie, so wherever she was, she was not being harmed. I also could not feel her influence, which likely meant she didn't know whether to restrain my anger or not. I imagine if she knew Felipe wanted to do scientific testing on her, she'd let it fly.

"A physical, blood tests; no electric shock therapy or anything that will make her at all uncomfortable." The King assured. "Aren't you curious, Eric? Fairies live for centuries. Don't you want to know if she'll be one of them? Does she have a fairy lifespan or a human lifespan?" Well, that confirms it. Our room is bugged. "If she is going to be around for centuries, why turn her?"

Yes, of course I wanted to know. I was prepared to endure a painful, fiery death when she died, the longer I could put that off, the better.

"Unfortunately," Felipe continued, "her father was murdered, so we don't know how long he might have gone, but her grandfather had quite a few years on him before he was murdered." My face went rock hard. Felipe knew everything. "I did my homework before I came for you, Eric. Why do you think I stripped away all your defenses first? How convenient that you went right to her. I suspect had you stayed at Fangtasia, Victor and his forces would have had to actually fight you. But he did not have orders to kill you; your people, yes, if he had to, but you were to be left unharmed. Well, you and Sookie.

"Sophie Anne liked to brag." He confessed. I should have known. "I am not the only sovereign who knows about your wife. And let me say, attaching yourself to her the way you have was sheer brilliance on your part. I see her just as you have: an asset to be protected. As long as you are under my dominion, I have you to see to the details of that. I know her value, just as you do. Victor does not know what she is, not from me. He is after the telepath. I do not know what turning one such as Sookie will create. She might not be something we can control and in the end might be something we have to destroy."

Over my flaking dead fucking body.

But then I thought of the disaster that became Alexi. No, Sookie would never be that. If I were her maker, I could control her. I was positive of it. But I would not turn her as long as she was against it. The very second she changed her mind however…

"So there you have it. All you need to do, after consenting to the tests Dr. Ludwig needs, is continue to do what you're doing. If my theory is correct, a decision on turning her wouldn't need to be made for centuries. You stay in my kingdom and she will continue to enjoy my official protection. Meet these few requirements and she will not be marked as something that needs to be destroyed. Not by me at any rate."

I felt cornered and scared. I was being left with no choice. When Sookie got wind of this, she was going to freak out, as Pam liked to call it. The idea of testing was going to terrify her. But I would be lying if I didn't admit that I was selfishly curious on what Dr. Ludwig's tests would find in terms of Sookie's lifespan. How could I not want to know that? Felipe knew exactly what buttons to push. He was hitting us both where lived at the same time.

"There is, of course, one little caveat to the plan." Of course there is. Would this never end? "Let's bring your wife back in, shall we?" Felipe pressed a button on a phone then turned back to me. "She should be here when she hears my orders. I understand couples like to discuss these things together."

"What orders, my lord?" I said through clenched teeth. I'd had about enough of the King of Nevada.

"I'd like you to go to New Orleans and take out Victor."