I know, another chapter already! I must either really love you guys or really be obsessed... perhaps a bit of both ;) This is my longest chapter so far, and I hope you all enjoy! Thanks again for all the reviews and words of encouragement, I truly appreciate each and every one and hope you all continue sharing your thoughts with me!

I do not own the characters; they are the property of Charlaine Harris.

A Fairy Tale - Chapter 10

I wake up Thursday morning in an excellent mood. The meeting between Eric and Aiden last night didn't go nearly as bad as I had expected. But I guess when you expect the worst you really can't be disappointed. Of course there was the death threat, and a fair amount of territorial Sookie feuding… but really, all in all, it could have been worse.

I quickly shower and start getting ready for my day. Remembering my promise to myself to take baby-steps, I forego the black pants and pull on a pair of black capris instead. Once I've donned my Merlotte's t-shirt, pulled back my hair, and put on a touch of makeup, I decide I look pretty darn good and I smile at myself in approval.

I head to the kitchen for coffee and breakfast to find Amelia sitting at the kitchen table. She still looks pretty sullen, but I stay out of her head. I'm hoping that we both woke up feeling a little better this morning and maybe she's rethinking yesterday's concerns.

"Good morning, Amelia," I call as I fix myself a cup of coffee.

Morning, Sookie," she replies without much enthusiasm. "Do you think you could give this back to Aiden when you see him? I've read the parts I wanted to read," she asks handing me his fae-magic book.

I look at the book with a frown, but try to stay upbeat so she sees that I'm doing better. "Sure thing. I don't know when we're meeting up again, but I'll give it to him the next time I see him."

Amelia stands from her seat, clearing her dishes from the table and says, "He called this morning. He said to tell you he would stop by at the end of your shift this afternoon." Then without another word she turns to walk out of the room.

"Ok, thanks for delivering the message," I call as she walks out.

Well, so much for that. I guess she's still upset about the other night. It's clear she doesn't want to talk but I want to reassure her that she doesn't need to leave. I decide I will give her the day to herself but when I get back from my shift I'll try to sit her down for a talk.

I eat my breakfast and clean up the kitchen, and soon I'm on my way into work. Stashing my purse and Aiden's book in Sam's office, I greet him with a big smile.

"Hey, Sookie. You seem to be in a good mood today. Feeling better?" Sam asks taking in my upbeat attitude.

"I am, thanks for asking. So, how's it going?" I question, and Sam and I exchange pleasantries and town gossip for a few minutes.

Eventually, Sam says, "Sook, I know I told you we'd talk about your new schedule the other night, but I had to get it written and didn't want to bother you."

"That's ok, I'm sure whatever you came up with is fine," I reassure him. "So what am I scheduled for?"

Sam seems to hesitate for a minute, but then pushes the schedule across his desk for me to see. The last schedule ended with me working Friday night and Saturday lunch, and next week he has me on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, just for lunch shifts. Hmm, no dinner shifts. We make the best tips at dinner of course, but I don't really need the money now. I just want to keep myself busy and feel productive, and I think it will be pretty nice to have a days-only schedule.

"This looks great Sam. Thanks," I tell him enthusiastically.

He seems a little taken back by my reaction and says, "You're really ok with it?" I nod back with a smile and he explains, "The other girls didn't want to take on any extra lunch shifts, said it wasn't worth the pay to get sitters and all. But it's only for a week, we can change it later if you want."

"No its fine Sam, really. If I change my mind I'll let you know but I think I'll like having my nights off." I finally manage to convince him that I really am ok with it and leave his office to start working.

The afternoon goes quickly and before long, Aiden's walking in the door. I'm not quite done my shift yet, but I go over to talk to him for a minute.

Aiden greets me with a kiss on the cheek and says, "I know I'm early, but I wanted to stop in to see Sam and get the keys to the house he's renting me. I thought I'd get something to eat and just hang around till you're done." Aiden explains.

I smile and say, "Sure, that sounds great. Sam's in his office." I point him in the right direction, and Aiden takes off to talk to Sam while I make the rounds to check on my tables.

I'm just clearing off a table when Aiden walks up again. "Mind if I sit here?" he asks gesturing to the table.

"Of course, have a seat. What can I get you?" I pull out my pad and pen to take his order.

"Ice tea," he says and starts looking over the menu, "and… what do you recommend?" he asks looking up.

"Well, my favorite is the Burger Lafayette, its sort of our specialty," I suggest.

Aiden folds up the menu and hands it back to me saying, "I'll give it a try."

I jot down his order and flash him a smile saying, "Coming right up!"

As I'm putting in his order, I feel the brush of Aiden's thoughts and lower my block just on his mind's bubble of energy, keeping everyone else in the bar shut out.

I know you're working, but I thought maybe we could practice a bit while I'm here.

I think about that for a second before responding. It's pretty slow by now. I figure I could probably manage to practice a little while I finish up, so I send, Sure, what do you want me to do?

Just talk to me a while, but try to keep everyone else blocked.

Well, that sounds easy enough. The first thing I think of is Amelia, so I start in on that.

I brought that book you leant to Amelia, she said she's done reading it.

Oh, that was quick. She didn't keep it long.

I know, I think she just wants to get it back to you. She was thinking about moving back to New Orleans yesterday and I'm afraid she's just trying to tie up loose ends first.

Thinking about Amelia leaving makes me upset, and I realize I'm frowning at Andy Bellefleur while I refill his water. I quickly paste a smile on my face and he looks at me questioningly. "Can I get you anything else, Andy?" I ask politely. He barks out a gruff, "Just the check, Sookie," and I pull his bill out of my apron and put it on the table.

Trying to have a mental conversation while I work is a little tricky, but once I'm back to doing mindless thing like clearing tables and running chicken baskets, I let Aiden in again.

Sorry, got a little distracted. I send.

Your doing well, Aiden reassures. Now, you were saying Amelia might be moving out? I picked up a bit from her about that yesterday, too.

You were listening in on Amelia? I question a bit sharply. Granted, I did the same thing, but knowing someone else is eavesdropping on my friend irks me a little.

She just seemed pretty upset about something, and I wanted to make sure she was ok. My curiosity got the better of me. I only listened for a second though.

Aiden seems to feel a little bad so I assure him, Well, I pretty much did the same thing; so I can't get mad at you for it.

That appears to make him feel better and he sends, So, New Orleans? Have you been to her place there?

I spend the remainder of my shift describing Amelia's house in New Orleans, telling Aiden about my cousin Hadley living upstairs, and about how I met Amelia. I recap the crazy ectoplasmic reconstruction and Amelia's Bob accident that finally brought her to be living with me. I tell him about Octavia coming to live with us too and about some of the adventures my witch friends and I had. All the while I continue working, and I get pretty good at the multitasking. I run back to Sam's office to grab Aiden's book, and after handing off my tables to Maddie, I sit down with Aiden.

Continuing our conversation aloud, I say, "So, Amelia started dating a Were named Trey who ended up being my bodyguard during the whole fairy thing… well you know the rest of that story. Losing Trey was really hard on Amelia and now she wants to move back to New Orleans to get away from all the bad memories. My breakdown the other night definitely didn't help matters any."

Aiden absorbs all that for a while and finally says, "You can't put it on yourself, Sookie. It wasn't your fault what happened. If Amelia needs this to heal, maybe it's for the best." I try to smile and agree, but in my mind I really don't want my friend to leave.

Aiden seems to pick up on the fact that I'm done with that topic, and changes the subject saying, "So, how did your sword training go last night?"

"Pretty good I think. We only practiced for a little while before you got there, but Eric's coming over tonight to teach me more." Thinking back over the previous night, I feel a twinge of guilt about Eric's behavior so I say, "I'm really sorry that Eric was over the top last night. He sort of takes Vampire over-protectiveness to a whole new level."

Aiden waives a dismissive hand, "Nonsense, don't worry a bit about it. With all you've been through, I would have been disappointed if he wasn't wary of a new person in your life."

Well, I'm glad the whole thing didn't offend him at least. But remembering Eric's "limb from limb" comment, I feel the need to press on. "Yes, well, I caught the tail end of that threat he was making, and I think he could have done without all that."

Laughing, Aiden says, "Yes, I do hope he won't hold me to all of his demands." I raise a questioning eyebrow and he reaches to push a stray hair behind my ear. "For one, I have 'touched a hair on your head' already." He then runs the back of his hand down the side of my face and says, "and I have 'laid a finger on you' as well."

I melt a bit into his gentle contact and he lets out a sigh dropping his hand. "But I think I got his overall meaning, and I have no problem keeping to his general demand to not cause you any harm. He just wants to keep you safe, Sookie. I understand and quite agree to that." Chuckling again he adds, "I have to say though, he can be pretty terrifying. After seeing him with that sword, I do hope I don't get on his bad side."

I was too caught up in admiring Eric's sword display to imagine it from Aiden's perspective. I can't help but think the timing was a little too perfect. If I didn't know better, I'd think Eric was trying to look intimidating. Ha! Best behavior…

Before I get a chance to say anything more on the subject, Aiden says, "Sookie, what is your relationship with Eric? You were kind of cryptic before saying it was complicated, but it appears that Eric has a much more straight forward opinion on the matter."

I hesitate a bit. I'm so not ready to define anything with Eric. All I know right now is I'm trying very hard not to throw myself at either of these men. I try to be as honest as possible though and say, "Eric and I have had a really complicated relationship. I would take me the rest of the night to explain it all, and we've yet to even discuss what the bond really means, aside from my being untouchable to any other Vampires. Eric's made it pretty clear that he wants me to be "his" but I really don't even know what that means either, and honestly the whole vampire-mine thing just doesn't fly with me. I am my own person and that won't ever change." I sigh a bit in frustration, not knowing how to explain, and Aiden just stays quiet. "Honestly, there's been way to much going on, and I have plenty of other things I need to concentrate on, that I'm really just not ready to make any sort of relationship commitment in my life right now."

Aiden nods, and then breaks into that wonderful crinkle-eyed smile of his saying, "Well, so long as I still have a shot then, muirnín." He grabs my hand and brushes a gentle kiss on my knuckles.

I really don't know how to respond. I didn't want to have any sort of relationship conversation, not about Eric or Aiden, and it seems he's trying to get me to do both. Aiden breaks the tension by chuckling and giving my hand a squeeze saying, "Relax, I won't say another word about it."

I let out the breath I was holding, and he continues saying, "So did you talk to Sam about your new schedule? I'd really like to set up a date…" he leaves his statement hanging and I tense up. Is he kidding me?

Apparently so, since he breaks into a charge of laughter at my reaction. Finally, still laughing slightly, he says, "I'm sorry I couldn't resist. I'd like to set up a date for our next training session," he finishes.

He smiles ruefully as his laughter subsides and I just shake my head. "Yes, I did get my new schedule," I say huffily. "I'll be working Friday night and Saturday lunch, then my new schedule starts with lunch shifts on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays."

"Do you want to come to my new residence tomorrow before your shift, then?" he asks jingling his new keys with a smile. "We can plan to practice again on your off days during the week too if you want."

I can't help getting caught up in his excitement over his new place, so I heartily agree. We plan to meet at noon and I offer to help Aiden get his place set up while we practice.

"You won't even need movers, I'll just levitate your stuff right in the door," I say excitedly then ponder on the idea that I might actually be able to do that sort of thing at some point.

"Well, I don't have too much to move, and luckily the place is already furnished, but I'd appreciate the help getting situated."

I nod and say, "I should probably get going, I'd like to try to talk to Amelia about everything tonight." I stand from the booth saying, "I'll see you at noon tomorrow though."

"It's a date," he exclaims and I roll me eyes. He laughs and kisses me quickly on the cheek again before we part ways.

After gathering my purse from Sam's office, I head out to my car. I decide I want to make Amelia a nice home-cooked southern dinner for out talk, and I stop by the grocery store to pick up the ingredients. I plan to make Gran's cornbread, friend chicken, and sweet potato casserole. I contemplate a pecan pie, but realize I don't have enough time for that. Excited about my dinner plans, I rush home to start cooking.

I pull up out back and cart my groceries into the kitchen. As I open the fridge to put away the butter and eggs, I spot a note from Amelia telling me she'll be out for the night. I guess we won't be having our talk tonight then. I put away the groceries and decide to just make myself a can of soup for dinner; I don't have much of an appetite anymore.

While my soup is warming, I change into grey yoga pants, a pink t-shirt, and sneakers figuring I should be comfy for my sword fighting lessons with Eric. I don't think the mascara and lip-gloss are really essential to my training attire, but I don't want to look like a slob so I touch up my makeup and smooth my ponytail with my brush. Satisfied with my appearance, I head back to the kitchen to eat my solo meal.

As I'm cleaning up from dinner, my cell-phone rings. It's Fangtasia. I glance at the clock and let out a sigh, I thought Eric would already be on his way by now. I pick up expecting Eric, but am surprised to hear Pam instead. Skipping the pleasantries of normal phone etiquette, she jumps right in saying formally, "My master wishes me to inform his little Valkyrie that he is running late and will be at your home by 9:30." Before I can even respond, she drops the second-vamp-in-command routine, lets out an annoyed huff, and says, "I don't understand why he couldn't call and tell you this himself, I do not enjoy being a messenger."

"Well thanks for letting me know, Pam," I tell her, and then ask, "Do you know why he's running late? Is everything ok?"

She seems happy to divulge more, saying cryptically, "It seems he was… dissatisfied with my opinion of his attire this evening and he went home to change."

Huh, what could he possibly have been wearing? I ask, "What was wrong with his attire?"

Pam snorts and says, "Oh, absolutely nothing if this were 9th century Scandinavia."

I giggle and just have to ask, "What was he wearing?"

Obviously enjoying herself now, she tells me, "I asked him that very question when he walked in, and he said they were the type of garments he used to wear back when he learned to use a sword. While I'm sure you would have appreciated how the linen trousers accentuated that favorite asset of yours, I just couldn't manage to bite my tongue. He does seem to be taking your training quiet seriously, though."

I can't help the mental picture of Eric in classic Viking garb, it just pops in my mind and I have to shake myself a bit to respond. "Wait, linen? I always imagined him, er thought, rather, that Vikings wore leather?"

Pam laughs delightedly at my blunder, "Yes, well, apparently linens and wools were all the rage, so you'll have to revise your fantasies accordingly."

I blush furiously, glad she's on the phone and not in front of me, and say, "Now Pam, I can hardly believe that Eric told you to tell me all this," leaving the accusation hanging.

She's quick to defend herself, and says innocently, "He was not specific in his request. He simply told me to inform you of his delay and to – I quote – 'make some excuse.' He then left in a hurry, but I couldn't resist telling you the true reason. It is, after all, my fault you would be missing out on seeing it. I figured it was the least I could do. You will of course not mention this though, am I correct, my friend?"

I let out another laugh and have to concede. "I promise I won't mention it. What is the official excuse though?"

"I will offer our standard vague explanation, should he ask, that there was an area emergency he had to see to as Sheriff." She adds matter-of-factly.

"I'll be sure and stick to the story," I say and after giving Pam my most heartfelt thanks for calling, we hang up. I just don't know how I will keep a straight face when Eric gets here.

I decide to pass the time by practicing my magic since it's been a few days. I start with levitating objects, progressively increasing the weight, but I find that I can't lift anything heavier than the potholder. After a few minutes of frustration over trying to lift a small cutting board, I decide it must be because I'm not wearing the pendant, so I grab it from my bedroom and put it on. Once I'm wearing it I notice a definite improvement. I continue lifting various heavier objects around the room.

I've already brought my sword into the kitchen so I will be ready to start as soon as Eric arrives, and decide to try levitating it from the counter. I lift it with ease even though its quiet a bit heavier than the book I had lost control of the other day. I really concentrate and sort of call it to myself and it floats swiftly into my outstretched hand. Delighted by my progress, I float it back and forth between the counter and myself a few more times. I lose my focus though and it drops to the floor when Eric knocks on the back door. I pick up the sword by hand as I walk over to let him in.

I can't help the twinge of disappointment at seeing Eric in sweatpants and a t-shirt, but really, he looks amazing in just about anything, or nothing… Eric smirks at me, obviously picking up on my growing lust, so I quickly rein it in and offer him a true blood.

"Yes, thank you, lover." He says and takes a seat at the table while I get his blood ready. "I apologize for being late, area emergency. It could not be avoided."

I quickly turn to the microwave to hide my grin, and I cover my laugh with a cough. "It's fine," I tell him. "Pam called to let me now."

I hand Eric the bottle and sit down next to him and he asks, "What were you doing when I arrived? I could feel your joy as I was pulling up."

"Oh, I was just practicing my levitating. Want to see?" I ask and he nods his assent. I look over to my sword on the counter where I had placed it when I opened the door, and Eric follows my gaze. I again lift it and it quickly floats to my open hand.

Eric's eyes go wide and I grin from ear to ear. "Sookie that's remarkable. I had no idea you had such control. When you described your progress yesterday you made it sound like you could only float light objects around aimlessly."

Still beaming I say, "I know, I just figured out how to do it while I was sitting here waiting for you. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yes," Eric chuckles, "pretty cool."

He finishes off his blood quickly and I entertain him by levitating the empty bottle to the sink to rinse and throw away later. "So what am I learning tonight?" I ask.

Eric picks up my sword and looks over the blade with a scowl. "Apparently I am teaching you how to properly care for your sword. This blade is atrocious lover, did you not clean it off last night?"

I roll my eyes and say, "No, I didn't clean it, its iron for Pete's sake what could happen to it?"

Eric gives me a look like I just ran over his puppy; the Viking is none too pleased with my carelessness. With a huff he says, "I will bring over supplies next time and teach you to clean and oil the blade. For now we will just wipe it down with a soft cloth."

I hand him a dishtowel and he shakes his head, "I said a soft cloth, something that does not create lint. And something dry, water is not good for an iron blade, it will make it rust." He thinks about it for a second then asks, "What do you use to polish your grandmother's antique furniture?"

"Usually just Jason's old t-shirts," I tell him and dig under the sink to find a clean, dry rag. I hand it to him and he nods in approval.

"This will do," he says and meticulously wipes down the blade.

Once he seems satisfied that there's not a single dust particle left on the blade – which, by the way, seems completely ridiculous to me since we are about to go mess it up again – he replaces the sword in its sheath and lays it on the table.

"So aside from sword care, what am I learning tonight?" I ask again.

"Well, my little Valkyrie, I brought over a few practice swords so I could teach you some defense. I'll just grab them from my car and we can head out front."

I sulk a bit and say, "So I won't be using Nauda's sword then?" I'm a little disappointed at not using my magic sword.

Eric laughs at my expression and says, "No, you can still use it. It is important to get used to the weight and feel of your own sword."

Eric gathers his things from the car and meets me out front by the apple tree. He brought a few wooden swords as well as two metal ones that don't look too sharp. He drops all but a wooden one next to the tree trunk and comes over to stand in front of me.

"Take your stance," he tells me, then asks, "You remember how to grip it?" I nod and get my hands into position.

He mirror's my stance, except he's holding his sword in just one hand like last night. I ask, "Eric, how come you have me use two hands but you only use one?"

Eric smiles and explains, "Your sword really is meant to be held with one hand, but your delicate little hands are small enough to both fit on the hilt. Plus it will give you more power behind your strikes that way."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," I say and resume my posture.

"Are you ready to begin?" he asks and again I nod.

He starts very slowly, making exaggerated strikes and explaining how I should block them. We go on for about half an hour with our slow motion battle. He then moves on from blocking to showing me how to strike offensively, again in slow motion. After about another half hour, he decides we should pick up the pace.

"Now I will not tell you my actions ahead this time. Try to anticipate them and block accordingly. And if you see an in, do not be afraid to try to strike me," he tells me.

I'm a little uneasy about really trying to hit him. I know short of decapitating him he can recover from just about anything I could do, but what if I cut him badly or God forbid cut something off? He's told me in the past that re-growing body parts takes a long time and is quite painful. Full of concern, I suggest, "Maybe I should switch to a wooden sword too, Eric."

He gives me an are-you-an-idiot look and says, "Have you such little faith in my swordsmanship that you think you will overpower me on your second night of training? And besides, I think a wooden sword could be more lethal to me than an iron one."

Right, sword-shaped stake is probably not the best idea. But I'm still feeling apprehensive about the whole idea, which he seems to pick up on. He reassures me again, "Sookie, honestly, I'll be fine."

I finally concede and nod my head, lifting my sword again. At first he's not moving too quickly and I can block his shots pretty easily, but as he starts to pick up the pace I get flustered trying to keep up and he hits me, pretty hard I might add, in my right bicep.

"Ow! Shit that hurt!" I yell a few more choice obscenities that Gran would not approve of and hop around holding my arm. Eric rushes over to inspect it and looks really upset. I can feel his remorse and anger at himself as clearly as I can see it on his face.

"Sookie, I am so sorry. I truly did not mean to hurt you. Perhaps this is a bad idea. We should stop," he says and continues inspecting my arm. There's a pretty good welt starting to form, but the initial sting has subsided a bit.

I don't want to stop. I really want to get good at this, so I quickly reassure him, "No, Eric, really I'm fine. It just really stung at first, but its already feeling better. Let's keep going." I try to pull my arm away, but he frowns at me and presses on the wound a bit causing me to let out a yelp.

"Yes, I can see it does not hurt at all," he scowls. Then he punctures is index finger with his fang and gently rubs the blood over my wound. Instantly, the pain is gone and the welt seems to be fading already. "There, lets get you inside now. Maybe put some ice on it."

I dig in my heels as he tries to usher me into the house. "Eric I'm fine. Please, I want to keep training."

Eric shakes his head saying, "Sookie, no, it is not a good idea. I will teach you more of what I can another day without the sparing, but I will not risk hurting you again." He continues dragging me toward the house.

I really want him to keep training me, and I know if he refuses to spar with me that I will never learn enough for it to be of much use. I need to learn how to defend myself realistically and its not going to happen if he's telling me everything to expect. So I play the only card I have, even though it's a bit mean of me.

"Eric, please, just hear me out." I jump in front of him and put my hands on his chest to stop him from plowing ahead. "As you well know, I've had much, much worse than this," I say gesturing to the rapidly fading welt and he winces at the reminder of my past wounds. "And if I don't learn how to defend myself, I will have those sorts of injuries again. Would you really rather have me attempt to fight someone like Dermot without knowing what I'm doing? If I get into a fight with him and he's actually using a real sword against me, a mistake like this would cost me my whole arm or worse!"

Eric growls, but I can feel his self-directed anger changing instead to concern for me, so I forge on. "I know I can get good at this if you teach me. I just lost my focus, but I know I can do better. Please, will you keep teaching me?" I lay it on real thick, puppy-dog eyes and everything. I may have even gotten a little teary, unintentionally of course.

Eric turns away from me mumbling something in another language that does not sound very polite, and storms back toward the tree. I do a quick, victorious fist-pump while his back is turned, then bounce off after him.

"Thank you, Eric!" I exclaim when I catch up to him. He just scowls at me and picks up his wooden sword, mumbling a bit more. I reach out my hand and levitate my sword to me. I could really get used to that! Stepping in front of Eric, I return to position.

Eric seems to hesitate though, saying, "I just do not think this is a very good idea. It is getting late, you are probably getting tired and losing your focus."

I cut him off saying, "No, come on Eric. I'm fine, I'll really concentrate this time."

He still doesn't look happy, but with a resigned sigh he raises his sword and resumes his stance. I really don't want to get hurt again or I just know he will absolutely refuse to spar with me anymore, so I take a deep breath and close my eyes to really center my mind. I concentrate on the magic in my blood and let it wash over me, really soaking it in. When I open my eyes Eric asks, "Are you ready?" and I nod.

He comes at me slowly again at first, and I block his strikes really easily. He ups his speed, but I know he's holding back and not going as fast as before. I'm a little annoyed by his reluctance and try to bait him into fighting harder by going on the offensive. I block a few more of his strikes, and then see my opportunity. I deflect his swing hard, pushing his sword out of position above his head, and then I bring my blade swiftly toward his opposite side. He's quick to block it though, but it gets the desired reaction and he grins and starts fighting faster.

We battle on for a few more minutes, and as my heart beats faster I can really feel the magic pumping through me. It feels amazing! That sense of invincibility is back and I up my speed. Eric swings faster too though and I almost get hit again, but as if by its own accord, my sword manages to block his blade at the last second. I take the opportunity to strike and quickly whirl my blade around slicing into his forearm and making him drop his sword.

Eric's eyes go wide when he realizes what happened, and he just stares at me. The big gash on his arm is really bleeding. His thick blood is sluggishly dripping down his hand and pooling on the grass. I drop my sword and grab his arm.

"Oh my God, Eric! I'm so sorry! Come on, let's get inside so I can take care of it."

I take hold of his good arm and start pulling him toward the house, but of course I can't budge the big Viking if he doesn't want to move. He's just standing there, staring at me wide-eyed. I squeal, "Eric, come on, snap out of it! We need to treat your arm!"

He doesn't move, but seems to come out of his trance a bit and asks, "Sookie, how did you move so fast? I have never seen anyone but a Vampire move like that."

"I have no idea what your talking about, Eric, but would you please come inside so I can see to your arm?" I plead with him and thankfully he finally starts moving.

I lead him into the kitchen and grab a dishtowel to staunch the bleeding. "Hold this, I'll grab the first aid kit," I tell him, pressing the towel against his wound. He does as I ask and I quickly grab the kit from the bathroom and return.

I pull the towel away and grimace at the gaping wound. The bleeding seems to have stopped but the cut really looks nasty. I start digging in the first aid kit for antiseptic and bandages. Trying to remember my first aid training, I think for a second that he needs a tetanus shot but quickly dismiss the idea realizing he is of course a Vampire and probably can't get tetanus. I fill a bowl with warm water and begin cleaning the blood off his arm and hand with the towel, and gently making sure there's no dirt in the wound. I reach for the antiseptic cream and start carefully applying it to gash.

"Sookie, this is completely unnecessary. It will heal on its own," Eric says.

"Oh hush you, and let me tend to it. You took care of my battle wound, at least let me return the favor." I continue pointlessly treating his cut, but when I pick up the box of giant band aides he grabs them from my hand.

"You are not putting one of those things on me. If you want to help it heal faster, warm me a true blood," he says while tossing the offending band aides across the table.

"Fine," I huff and while I start fixing his true blood, I resume apologizing. "I really am sorry, Eric. I don't know what got into me. Is it healing ok?" I ask glancing back worriedly at his arm.

"It is fine, I have had much worse," he replies exasperatedly using my words from earlier. I flinch realizing it was my pleading that caused us to resume our training and the resulting gaping wound in Eric's arm. The microwave dings and I give the bottle a shake before handing it off to Eric.

I take a seat next to him and examine his arm. The skin is already knitting itself back together. Relieved, I glance up at Eric who's smiling at me. "See, its already healing, no big deal. Now, tell me my little Valkyrie, how were you able to move so fast?"

I think back to our exchange and try to pinpoint what he's talking about. "You mean when I blocked you?" I ask.

Eric nods and says, "I have never seen a human move so quickly. It was shocking."

"I honestly don't think that I did anything. I was so focused on not getting hit again, I didn't want you being so angry over it that you would refuse to train me, and I swear it was like the sword blocked you all on its own," I explain, then guilty add, "But then I saw the opportunity to strike, I took it. I'm so sorry Eric, I don't know what I was thinking."

Eric seems to absorb that and says, "You had such a look of determination, and I could tell you were very focused. As you picked up speed, you were just exuding power. I am afraid I got a bit caught up in it myself and came at you harder than I should have. I think your magic and focus are what protected you from the blow." Eric reaches across with his good hand to touch my pendant. I had forgotten that I was still wearing it. He examines it carefully then lets it go saying, "I think this pendant may be helpful after all."

I wrap my hand around the pendant, wondering if its magic protected me or the sword's? It obviously enhances my abilities, but could it actually protect me? I'm just not sure. I ask Eric, "Can you tell if the magic on it is protective? Aiden was pretty adamant about it not having any magic of its own, he said that it just enhanced my magic."

Eric shrugs saying, "I do not know. I have very little experience with magic, especially protective magic, but it does not seem to directly cause you harm. You should talk to Aiden more about it." He says the last part sullenly, and I assume he's annoyed that I have to go to Aiden for answers instead of him.

"You and Aiden seemed to get along pretty well last night. Well, after you stopped threatening to rip off his limbs anyway." I smile a little wryly at my over-protective Vampire.

Eric looks a little uneasy and says, "You were not meant to hear that. I did not expect you to come back in the room so quickly. I was simply warning him that his intent had better not be to cause you harm."

I wave Eric off, "I know, he told me. I don't think the threats were quite necessary, but I appreciate your looking out for me."

Eric grins and goes on, "Oh he told you, did he? What else did he have to say about me?"

Rolling my eyes I say, "Well, he does think you're pretty frightening, so you succeeded with you little sword display." He raises his eyebrows in mock innocence and I laugh saying, "Oh, yes, I figured out your scheme. I know you heard him coming up the road before you put on that little show with the sword. And you promised your best behavior." I shake my head, feigning disappointment.

Eric shrugs nonchalantly saying, "I was quite pleasant once I made sure I had gotten my point across."

I laugh and continue, "Yes, you ended up being incredibly well mannered, aside from calling me lover every chance you got and packing as many innuendos into the conversation as possible."

Eric scowls and says, "He kept calling you muirnín. Although that is at least not degrading like Quinn calling you babe incessantly."

"What does that mean, anyway? Muirnín?" I ask. I had yet to ask Aiden about it because I was frankly a little afraid of the answer. But at least Eric said it wasn't degrading, so it couldn't be that bad.

"It is Gaelic for darling or sweetheart," he says with distaste.

"Well that's not so bad." Actually, I think it's sort of sweet. I add, "Bill calls me sweetheart."

"Yes, and that annoys me just as much," Eric hisses.

I try to steer Eric back from his sudden annoyance and say, "Well, anyway, aside from thinking you're frightening, Aiden seems to think you're a good guy for looking out for me."

I don't know if it really helped to improve his mood or not, but Eric actually concedes saying, "The fairy does not seem so bad." Before I could get too excited that my two potential beaus would actually get all chummy though, he adds, "But that was not some idle threat I made. I promise you, I absolutely will rip him limb from limb if he does anything to contradict my assumption. And you should still be wary of him since you do not know him well."

There's the fierce Viking vampire I've come to expect. I just shake my head and start repacking the first aid kit. Turning back to Eric, I ask, "Can I do anything else for your cut? Are you sure you don't want me to wrap it up or anything?"

"No, lover, it is fine. It will be healed by the next time I see you," Eric insists.

I check it over once more, just for my own peace of mind, the skin has completely closed over and now it just looks like an angry red scar. "When will I see you next? I work tomorrow night but then I'm on all day shifts for a while."

"If you are off on Saturday night, I would like to interview the Weres Alcide is sending for your bodyguard job. Can you come to Fangtasia? We leave for the summit a week from tonight and I would like to get that squared away." Eric says.

Weres? I thought he was just sending one, but I agree asking, "Sure I can come, what time?"

"Be there by nine. Now, I told Pam I would come back to the bar tonight, so I should be going," Eric says rising from his chair.

"Can I warm you another blood for the road or anything?" I ask eyeing his arm again.

But Eric just brushes me off, "No, I am fine."

We gather up the swords and I help him carry them to his car. I am so close to keeping my vow today, and I am determined to be successful, so I stay very mindful of Eric's moves. I have learned with Eric, especially after tonight, that the best defense truly is a good offense, so once we stow the swords in his trunk I make my move.

As soon as he closes the trunk, I wrap Eric up in a tight hug saying, "Thank you so much for coming over to teach me tonight. And I'm really sorry about your arm.'" I've decided cheeks don't count, since even Sam does that sometimes, so I brush a kiss across his cheek and nuzzle against him a bit. He chuckles softly, as if he's on to my game plan and wraps me up in his big arms, murmuring, "Your welcome, my little Valkyrie." I sigh and melt in his embrace, but eventually pull myself away. And wouldn't you know, the wily Viking grabs my face and with Vampire speed, plants one of his toe-curling kisses on me. There goes my damn vow again!

Laughing heartily, Eric pulls away and hops in his car. Between loud guffaws he calls, "Do not forget to wipe down the sword," and disappears down my driveway. I swear I can still hear his laughter even as he turns down Hummingbird Road.