I do not own any of these characters. Charlaine Harris does. Please don't sue!

A/N: Sorry this took so long!

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"Sookie, you are not being reasonable."

"I'm not? You let him die Eric, you watched him die."

"What was I suppose to do, give him my blood?"

"You could have done something." My voice was strained from screaming and crying. Eric and I had just gotten back from Calvin Norris' funeral. He was helping Eric track the man who had been destroying my home and my car. He was shot by that very man, and Eric did nothing.

"What? What would you have me do? Bind myself to him too? Your enough to deal with." His words froze me in my tracks.

"I'm enough to deal with? Fine, then you don't have to deal with me anymore." I turned and stomped out of his front door, down his steps and towards the road. I didn't care if I had to walk back to Bon Temps. I was done with Eric.

"Sookie, Come back here, you know I didn't mean it. We have the coronation tomorrow. We can discuss it after that." Eric was yelling after me, but I couldn't stop. I had to keep walking. If he didn't want to deal with me, then I'd find a way to rip our bond out. I'd call Niall and see what he could do. But first I had to find a way home. I yanked out my cell phone and dialed Pam's number.

"Hello?"

"Pam, can you please come get me? I'm leaving from Eric's house, walking along the main road. Please don't convince me to go back to him, I want to go back home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes please."

"Stay where you are."

"No, I'll keep walking, you'll be here before I have to turn off the main road."

~*~

Within an hour I was back home in Bon Temps. Pam had picked me up minutes after my phone call, and drove like a bat out of hell back to Bon Temps. Now we were sitting in my living room, my head was against the back of the sofa, tears falling from my eyes.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it Sookie."

"He did, you should have saw him. He meant every word. I'm just a problem that he has to deal with, and if he has to deal with me, he might as well screw me too."

"You don't mean that." I held up my empty left hand. I had taken off my engagement ring and shoved it in my pocket. It was meaningless now. "After all you've both been through, this can't be it." She meant it as a statement, but her voice held the tone of a question.

"He let him die. Then told me that I was enough to deal with."

"What will you do tomorrow?"

"Nothing, he can be King without me. Let him find another Queen."

"You have to be there. Not just for him, but for everyone. You are part of his assets, you have to be there to witness it."

"I won't."

"You have to. Otherwise the other Kings will notice. And if they want your help, you can be sure they won't be as kind to you as Eric is. They will take what they want, forcefully."

"What Eric did was awful, I thought he loved me. I'd rather be beaten than have my heart broken again."

"He does love you. He didn't mean what he was saying."

"I want to be alone Pam." I pulled the engagement ring from my pocket. "Give this to Eric." I handed her the ring and headed upstairs to my bedroom. I heard the door shut behind her and I flung myself on the bed, finally letting all my tears out in a harsh sob.

~*~

I must have cried myself to sleep because late in the afternoon I was woken up by Amelia standing over my bed.

"You have to get ready."

"I'm not going."

"Sookie, you know we are friends, so when I say this, I mean it from the bottom of my heart. Stop being so damn stubborn. Eric loves you. Trust me, he regrets what happened. I talked to him late last night. He told me everything. Sookie, the man had silver bullets. If Eric had stopped to save Calvin, he would have been dead too."

"He told me that I was enough to deal with. Like our bond is nothing more than a nuisance to him."

"At least come get your hair and nails done, the lady is waiting downstairs."

I gave up and let Amelia drag me downstairs. I sat motionless while the lady did my hair up in beautiful curls and painted my nails and toes. When she was done I paid her even though she insisted Eric had already taken care of it. I didn't want his gifts. It was dark by the time she left and I knew I had to get dressed.

When I went back upstairs my dress was laying on my bed along with shoes and jewelry. I didn't even want to think about how it got there. I knew it was one of the vampires. I stared at the dress. I wasn't standing by Eric's side tonight as his Queen. So was it necessary? I decided to call Pam and ask. I grabbed my cell phone from my purse and dialed her number.

"Sookie, you've had a change of heart."

"I'm going, but not as Eric's Queen. I'm merely his asset. Should I still wear the dress?"

"Yes, it is very formal. Sookie, I beg you to reconsider, you haven't been with him. He doesn't look well."

"He'll get over it, just let him go feed on some fangbanger, I'm sure she'll be less trouble."

I hung up the phone before I could even hear the reply. I almost ripped my dress out of anger. Amelia came in and helped me into the dress. I stood looking into the mirror. I had imagined the day Eric saw me in it a million times. But I never saw this coming, not ever. I looked down at my empty finger, my chest ached at the empty space. I felt like I had thrown out a piece of myself. I looked at Amelia's reflection in the mirror. I could tell she wanted to say something.

"Speak Amelia."

"I just think, maybe you are being to hard on him. Would you rather have lost them both?"

"No. I just.." I didn't know what I felt anymore. I was hurt over Calvin's death. But was Amelia right? Did I really want to lose them both? I was shaken from my thoughts by knocking on me door. My heart jumped, maybe Eric had come to pick me up, so we could talk on the way there.

I ran to the living room in my dress, only to be disappointed when I got to the front door. It was just the limo driver. Amelia was right behind me, handing me my small red clutch and making sure I was in good shape to leave.

"Sookie, talk to him." She gave me a peck on the cheek and watched as I left.

~*~

The ride to the coronation was silent and lonely. I could feel Eric through the bond, he was worried and filled with regret. No doubt he was regretting his involvement with me. The thought of him regretting us almost undid me.

The coronation was held in a huge ballroom in downtown Shreveport. When I got there Pam was waiting outside for me. I stepped out of the limo and she immediately headed towards me.

"Will you walk with him, as his Queen?"

"I can't, he regrets me Pam. I can feel it through the bond. I'll be here to watch, but I can't be his Queen. Tonight I'm going to call Niall and see if he can remove this bond without killing both myself and Eric."

Pam's head fell. This was as close to crying as she'd ever gotten. I straightened myself up and headed inside, walking past Pam, I didn't want to drag her down with me.

The ballroom was beautiful. There were tons of chairs with an aisle down the center. It almost looked like a wedding. Instead of a priest at the front, there was a very old vampire. He oozed power from every ounce of his being. I looked around the room, looking for someone I knew.

I felt hands on my shoulder. I turned around to find Bill staring back at me. "You have to talk to him Sookie. He needs to see you before he does this."

"Why? What comfort would it bring him?"

"I don't know, please just come with me." I looked at Bill for a second then decided to follow him. I could at least speak to Eric one last time before I had our bond ripped from us. Bill lead me back out of the ballroom and down a long hallway that ended in a single door. He knocked softly. "Eric, it's Bill, I brought her."

The door flung open and Eric stood there staring at me. His eyes rimmed in red, he'd been crying. He stared me over from head to toe, taking in the sight of me in the dress. "You're beautiful."

"Thank you." I turned to Bill. "Can you excuse us?"

"As you wish. Eric, you have about ten minutes before everything starts."

I stepped into the room, Bill left, shutting the door behind him. Eric turned to me and reached out, placing a cool hand on my cheek. I found myself leaning into his touch. I fought the urge to throw myself at him, remembering the regret he felt.

"Eric, I can't." I pulled back, taking a few steps away from him. "You regret me, I felt it through the bond. How could you? How could you regret everything we had? I'm upset about Calvin, but I never regretted you." I felt tears stinging my eyes. I was choking back sobs. Now that I was face to face with him, it was hard to imagine us not together anymore.

"Sookie, listen. I wasn't-" I shushed him.

"I'm calling Niall tonight, I'm going to see if he can do away with this bond. That way you are free to continue on without regret. I hope you can find a Queen, I truly do."

Now I was sobbing, I couldn't imagine him touching anyone but me. My heart felt like someone was jumping on it.

"May I speak now?"

"Yes." Eric closed the distance between us and held onto my hands. I tried to yank them back but he wouldn't let go.

"I don't regret you. I regret this, I regret going in there without my Queen, without you."

"You have enough to deal with, without me."

"I never meant it when I said that Sookie. You just don't understand. Had I saved Calvin, I would be gone too. But if I knew that not saving him, would mean losing you, then I would have died with him." Tears dripped down my face. I wanted to reach out and hold him. "I swear to you, I love you. Please, stand with me. Be my Queen Sookie." He pulled my engagement ring out of his pocket. "This hasn't left my pocket since Pam brought it back to me. I doesn't belong anywhere but on your finger."

I stared up into his eyes. He reached his free hand up and brushed away my tears with his thumb. "Please, Sookie, Please. I've never begged anyone, ever. But I would drop to my knees and plead if it would make you see what I truly feel for you."

"Eric, stop." I placed a hand on his chest. "We have a lot to work out. This discussion is far from over. But I will walk with you. I will be your Queen." He held out the ring to me, holding my left hand.

"Will you be my wife too?"

"Yes." Eric slipped the ring back on my finger. I felt complete again, like the hole in my heart was filled again. I couldn't fight the urge this time. I threw my arms around Eric and buried my head against him. His arms flew around me to hold me tight against him. I ached at the thought of ever losing him. Just 24 hours had been enough to almost drive me crazy. I pushed against him and stepped back a second to admire him. He looked amazing. His tux was tailored perfectly. He wore something cape like over his shoulders. It was a dark crimson red and had an intricate gold design on it. I reached out to touch it, when my fingers ran over the gold I felt a small shock.

"What the...?"

"It's a very powerful cape, lover. Every King has worn this to his coronation." Eric turned to the sofa that was in the room and picked up a wooden box. He opened it and I saw a smaller cape exactly like his. "This is for you."

He slipped it over my shoulders, the cape itself was soft, but very heavy. "What's wrong?" Eric was looking at me with troubled eyes. "Nothing, it's just a bit heavy."

Before Eric could say anything I heard a sharp knock on the door. "Enter."

The door flung open and Pam was standing there staring at me. She took in the cape I was wearing and the smile that was probably plastered on my face.

"Sookie, are you...?" Pam's voice trailed off.

"Yes, Eric and I still have much to discuss. But I am his Queen, and his future wife. Nothing will change that." Pam was beaming a smile at me so large I thought it would never come off her face. She stepped forward to hug me, than thought better of herself and stopped to look at Eric. I didn't bother waiting for permission. I grabbed her and held her tight. Pam gently pulled herself from my arms and looked to Eric.

"Master, it is time." Eric reached out and took my hand. He squeezed it softly as we walked out together.

~*~

The coronation ceremony itself was a huge blur. Eric walked me down the aisle, everyone was looking at us. I thought I caught a look of pity on Bill's face. I knew my job as Eric's Queen would be difficult, but I didn't want pity, I chose this.

When we got up to the alter Eric had to repeat a lot of words in Latin that I didn't understand. I had to repeat a much shorter version of those words as well. I wish I knew what I was agreeing to, but I figured Eric would clue me in later. I knew he wouldn't make me do anything that I would totally despise later. We were required to drink each others blood. I figured as much, no vampire ceremony is complete without blood exchange. At some point Felipe stood and vouched for both Eric and I. When all was said and done, we were turned to the crowd and pronounced King and Queen of Louisiana.

After the ceremony there was a huge after party. Luckily we were able to remove the capes so I could at least dance a bit. Eric was twirling me around the floor, his hands hadn't left my waist the whole night. I didn't even want to talk later. Any doubt I had about what had happened with him and Calvin, and what happened between us was gone. Eric knew that Calvin was a friend of mine, he wouldn't have left him unless it was necessary to save himself. I couldn't fault him for that, I would have been destroyed if he hadn't come home to me.

I looked up at my viking King and then laid my head on his chest. His hand slid up my spine until he reached my neck, his fingers brushed over the back of my neck softly. I clung to him and lost myself in his love. I let the rest of the world slip away from me. I hadn't realized how much our fight hurt us both. We had swapped blood more times than I could count at this point, I guess our bond was a lot stronger. Our fight made me feel empty, but his love was filling me again. I was content to snuggle in his arms all night.

Eric leaned down and pressed his lips against the top of my ear. "You are stunning, I have never, in my long time on this earth, laid eyes on any creature as beautiful as you, my little telepathic fairy Queen."

I smiled and snuggled closer to his chest. "You know, your majesty, flattery will get you everywhere." I lifted my head up and winked at him. A huge grin worked its way across his lips. I loved to see him smile. It didn't happen very often around other people, but I made him smile, and that made me happy.

"May I borrow your lovely bonded for a dance?" I heard Felipe's voice asking Eric for a dance with me. I looked up to Eric, he nodded to Felipe and reluctantly let me go. I smiled to Felipe and offered him my hand. He placed on of his on my waist and held me at a respectable distance. He was as smooth of a dancer as Eric, I actually found myself smiling a bit.

"Ms. Stackhouse, thank you for the dance."

"Your welcome, your majesty."

"Please, you are a Queen now, you call me Felipe."

"Very well Felipe, as long as you call me Sookie."

"It's settled than. I do have a question for you."

"Okay."

"Now that you are Queen, you are under no obligation to assist me with my plans. It is my hope that you will continue to help, your assistance is priceless."

"I had actually thought of that. I would love to continue to help you, this cause is close to my heart."

"Splendid." Felipe and I twirled in silence until the song ended and he returned me to Eric's waiting arms. Eric and Felipe nodded to each other and I was wrapped in Eric's embrace again.

"You are magnificent to watch." He kissed my temple and pulled me close. "What did Felipe want?"

"For me to continue helping him, I agreed. I told him this cause is close to my heart."

"Lover, I've said it many times, and I will say it again, you are an amazing woman. You've come so far from the Sookie Stackhouse that first walked into my bar, and into my life."

"You've change too, at least to me. You've shown me your heart, your love." I laid my hand against his chest and tilted my head up for a kiss. His lips met mine and my world felt complete again. We danced and kissed until everyone had left and we were the only people left twirling around the floor. When we realized we were alone Eric swept me off my feet and carried me to the waiting limo.

~*~

We were barely out of the limo before Eric was pushing my dress up, struggling to free me from it as we stumbled into his house. We made it into his house after a brief struggle with the lock. Eric grabbed me off my feet and practically ran upstairs. When we got to his safe place he gently pushed me over the back of the sofa and started pulling the ties of the corset style top of the dress. He untied it in record time and yanked it off of me, tossing it onto the sofa. He grabbed me up and pulled me back to his bedroom. We landed on his bed, he was tearing my bra and panties off of me.

"Eric..Eric." I was practically singing his name when he plunged two fingers into me and latched on to my breast. I arched up into his hand, his thumb was brushing over my nub, making me squirm with pleasure. When he finished drinking from my breast he licked the little puncture marks and looked into my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I swear I'll be gentle next time, but 24 hours is too long without you." I couldn't even speak other than to keep crying his name. He kissed down my stomach and replaced his thumb with his tongue. I almost came off the bed, arching my back and crying for release.

Eric lifted his head from me and placed his hands on my sides before flipping me to my stomach and pulling me to my knees. Without any warning he thrust inside me. I screamed out and almost ripped the bed sheets in response. He held my hips close to him and thrust into me over and over again. I felt both my own climax and his building. When he reached forward and stroked my nub I screamed out and came. "Oh my god Eric, Eric." Me screaming his name was doing it for him because he came not two seconds after I did.

We both flopped to the bed, he pulled me to his side and kissed all over my face. "That was amazing."

"Yes it was."

"I don't ever want you to think that I regret us Sookie."

"I know, I'm sorry I doubted you."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Eric pulled me close and stroked my hair as I drifted off to sleep in his arms.

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TBC