Chapter 14
Sam made it a lot easier than Sookie thought it would be. He didn't try and talk her out of it. He was very understanding. "You know this isn't how I'd hoped things would work out, chere. But if he makes you happy, congratulations. Know you're welcome back any time.", he had said. He'd been sincere, but he'd taken no pleasure in his words.
The call to Amelia had been a lot harder. Sookie was leaving her in a much stranger position actually. Sookie had spent much of the conversation holding her phone away from her ear as Amelia cried and prattled on about how happy she was for her and how much she would miss her and was she sure it would be okay for her to stay on at the house. It was only a twenty minute call but it seemed like hours.
That was exhausting. No more phone calls for now. She'd call Jason after while, or tomorrow. She had assigned Mina the task of making a list of everything she could think of they needed. It would be mostly a list of groceries and cleaning supplies, things necessary for the normal day to day care and feeding of at least two humans. And a television for the living room. Even though she didn't watch much TV herself, there was just something odd about a house with no TV in the common area.
"Mina, you about ready?", she called out as she stowed her cell phone in her purse.
"I think so.", Mina said from the kitchen. "Nothing else I can think of right now."
"Okay, well lets get going then. I want to be back in time to take a bath before sunset. I think we'll go to the appliance store first. Then the grocery store."
First order of business was something to eat. They stopped at a café and ordered a pretty big lunch. They had both taken to doing the bulk of their eating during the day, so they could limit themselves to light snacking after sunset. Neither cared to waste their vampire time with eating.
"So I guess Oliver can help you move your things to the house.", Sookie said as she picked through her salad. "Do you have much furniture you'll need to move?"
"No.", Mina answered. "Mostly just stuff, and not even a whole lot of that. My apartment came furnished"
"Okay, then we'll need to get you a bed. Either you and Oliver can go tonight or you and I can go tomorrow. However you want to do it. I'm sure Eric could arrange for someone to pick it up from the store tonight so you wouldn't have to wait for it to be delivered. And of course you'll need other furniture too, but I think it would be best to start with a bed, don't you?"
Mina wasn't sure how to respond. She looked like she was about to cry. "I'm not used to having people talking about buying me things. I mean no one but Oliver."
Sookie reached across the table and put her hand over Mina's. "I understand, believe me. When Eric started buying me things, it freaked me out all the time." Sookie giggled thinking about it. "One of the first things he ever bought me was a driveway. How's that for romantic?"
Mina laughed too. "A driveway? How does someone buy you a driveway?"
"Well, we were driving up my gravel driveway and it was full of holes so it was very bouncy to drive over it. Eric complained about it and asked why I didn't get it fixed and I screamed that I couldn't afford it. And the next morning people showed up and started working without even talking to me. I was flabbergasted. At the time, it was the most expensive gift I had ever gotten from anyone.", Sookie said with a smile.
"Well, it really was kind of romantic then, wasn't it?". Mina asked. "I mean, it was thoughtful. You needed it and he did it behind your back so you couldn't refuse it."
"Ha! He did it behind my back because he's a high-handed bully!", Sookie laughed. "But yes, it was thoughtful. Even though I think he was thinking as much about himself as he was about me at the time. He didn't like driving down a bumpy driveway. But he can be sweet. He surprised me with a new coat when mine got ruined. And he got me a new cell phone. Of course he had broken the old one by throwing it against a wall, but the new one came pre-paid for six months. So I guess that makes it qualify as a gift."
"Sure it does!", Mina said. "You probably already know this, but vamps who have known the Master for a long time, and I mean like hundreds of years long, say they've never seen him take a mate. That the closest ever was Pam and even with her everyone knew she wasn't actually his mate."
"The vamps talk to you about Eric?", Sookie asked.
"Oh, no. But you know how it is being a waitress. People kind of ignore you unless they want something. So we overhear a lot of things. Even if we can't go into their heads to hear it. They're all real curious how you did it. How you made him fall in love with you. Especially all the females, cause they all tried."
"I didn't do a thing to try and get him.", Sookie said quietly. In fact, I tried to stay away from him, but every time I turned around, there he was. And he never told me no. It finally dawned on me that I could count on him for anything." She laughed remembering the pink spandex, but she wasn't going to share that story. "Anything at all.", she said.
After lunch they went to the biggest electronics store in Shreveport. Sookie didn't want to spend a lot of time shopping so she figured she'd go for someplace with a good variety.
After much debate, they decided on a fifty-two inch LCD flat screen for the living room and a smaller version for Oliver and Mina to put upstairs. They also got a blu-ray player and a stereo system for the living room. Delivery would be day after tomorrow, in the afternoon.
They filled two baskets at the grocery store. Since there was basically nothing at the house, they had to buy staples and condiments and such as well as actual food and drinks.
Sookie found that she really enjoyed Mina's company. For all the difficulty of her life, Mina was cheerful and pleasant. She smiled a lot and seemed to take pleasure in just about everything. She was chatty, but not so much that it was irritating. Yes, Sookie was convinced she liked Mina very much.
As they were walking through the grocery store, chatting merrily and filling their carts with everything that struck their fancy, they had an odd encounter. Though afterward Sookie realized that it was unlikely it would be the last time it would happen.
Two young men, both either fangbangers or wannabes, turned into the aisle they were in and one of them recognized Sookie. He stopped right in front of her and grabbed the end of her basket. It was startling, but he didn't seem threatening. He just wanted to make sure Sookie noticed him and didn't just keep going.
"You're her, aren't you? The Master's wife?", he asked excitedly.
Sookie considered not answering, but he was just curious. "Yes.", she said.
He didn't move. He looked at Mina. "Who are you?", he asked.
He was frightening her. She was running through her options in her head. Sookie reached to her, but before she reached her, Mina spoke. In a low but very clear voice. "Step aside!", she growled, "How dare you block the Mistress! She doesn't have time for the likes of you. I doubt the Master will be pleased when he hears of this."
"Hey!", the guy trembled. "We just wanted to say hi. We didn't mean any harm, honest." He looked wildly back and forth between Sookie and Mina.
"I'm sure everything's fine. No harm done.", Sookie said and smiled at the guy. "I'm sure we'll see you again at Fangtasia."
He smiled and said, "Yeah. Sure will." and he and his friend went on about their business.
"Sorry.", Mina said when they had gone. "I get spooked when people jump out at me. I didn't know what they might do."
"That's understandable.", Sookie reassured her. "But I think we're pretty safe from anyone who recognizes us. Anyone who knows who we are isn't gonna want to risk pissing Eric and Oliver off. Creeps who know us shouldn't be a problem. It's creeps who don't know us we'll need to look out for."
"That makes sense.", Mina agreed.
"Oh, and Mina. Do me a favor and please don't mention this to Oliver. He'd tell Eric and if Eric hears about it he'll have me surrounded by bodyguards from sunup to sundown every day and I don't think I could stand that."
With the exception of that one tiny incident, they had a perfectly normal afternoon together. Sookie liked the normal. It gave some balance to the rest of her new life.
They got their shopping done and went home. It seemed to take forever to get all their things inside and then put away, but they finally managed it. With that done, Sookie went into the master bathroom for tub soak she'd promised herself.
She poured several drops of jasmine bath oil into the tub and pushed the button for the jets. After a few seconds she stepped into the warm water. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet scent rising through the air with the steam. She bathed and washed her hair quickly, so she had as much of the time she'd allotted herself as possible to just soak.
As she dried herself, she was amazed, as always by how rejuvenating it was to soak in a warm, scented tub. She hurried to dry her hair. It was almost sunset. She scampered down the stairs, entered the entry code into the keypad and went in.
It reminded her of a display room in an art gallery now. Plainly decorated, so as to not distract from the art. She could actually hear the gallery guide in her head leading a group of art enthusiasts into the room … "And here we have the tragic lovers, always together, ever apart. The portrait of the woman in blue hangs alone on the wall, as her ardent lover sleeps at her feet, immortalized in a marble statue, unable to reach her." God, he's beautiful, she thought, before going to select a CD. She settled on k.d. Lang's, Ingénue, and she set it to play on a loop. She started it on track eight, Outside Myself.
She crawled under the covers to wait for her Viking lover.
She laid her face on his chest and ran her cheek along his body, intoxicated by the smell of him. When she reached his cock she couldn't help but stare. Even with the limited light and before any arousal at all, it was impressive. She ran her fingers along it's length. No response. She couldn't wait. She'd start without him if she had too.
She curled her hand around the end and gently pulled back toward the base, slowly exposing the head. Just in time, she remembered she was within his reach. She let go and shimmied down further, wedging herself in between his legs. Hmm, she thought. Apparently she hadn't thought everything through when she'd come up with this plan. Having a better idea of what you're doing is probably helpful to people in a situation like this. Well, too late to turn back now.
Again she pulled back his foreskin, revealing the smooth, tender flesh beneath. The timing was perfect. She felt him twitch slightly. Her hand moved downward and he swelled at her touch as his blood began to pulsate through him. Here we go. The CD clicked to track ten, Constant Craving. Perfect. No more waiting.
She enveloped his head in her mouth, coating it in her slick saliva as her lips locked around it hungrily. Eric's first sound of the evening was a long, low moan, and his legs opened allowing her full access to him. That problem resolved its self easily enough. As he grew and stiffened, her grasp tightened. She stroked more firmly and teased him with her teeth and tongue.
His moans developed a tempo of their own. Almost like he's breathing, she thought. She reached up and put her right hand on his stomach to feel the tightening and release of his abs as he began involuntarily rocking his hips, pushing his cock deeper into her mouth.
She moved her hand from his stomach to his balls and kneaded gently. At the same time, she swallowed hard causing her tongue to squeeze against him. She got more reaction than she bargained for. He cried out and grabbed her hair. She reveled in the feeling of power that pulsed through her with each of his increasingly fervent sounding moans. The mighty and feared Viking Sheriff of Area Five had surrendered to her completely. At this moment, he was entirely at her mercy. Any self doubts she had were gone. She was a bedroom goddess. She swallowed again and took in as much of him as she could.
"Sookie, I love you.", he murmured ardently as his fingers tightened around clumps of her hair. The rocking of his hips became more intense, but lost some of it's rhythm to the sporadic spasms now jolting him. She reached around his left leg and grabbed his butt cheek with her right hand and pulling up sharply. With her left, she squeezed firmly and evenly as she slowly tilted her head and pushed down on him.
His whole body tensed and he screamed something in Swedish as he exploded into her throat. She tightened her hold on his leg to brace against the rigorous thrusts to follow and swallowed to keep from choking. He was muttering wildly, words she didn't understand. But she didn't need to understand the words. She knew what they meant. He was having one hell of a good time.
As his body calmed, she lazily pulled herself off him, licking the last drops of his release off the tip of his cock as she gave it's tip a final kiss and let go. She then crawled and kissed her way all the way up his body. "Good evening, my darling", she cooed into his ear.
"Exceptionally good evening.", He said with a huge smile. "I can't tell you how pleased I am with your short learning curve."
Sookie snorted. "Oh, I'm pretty sure you told me how pleased you were. I just didn't understand the words."
"How very perceptive of you, my love.", he chuckled softly. "Allow me to translate."
He rolled over and kissed her lightly on the mouth, then quickly moved to her breast. Almost immediately he bit and sucked briefly as his tongue tickled her nipple. The surprise made Sookie gasp and grab at his back.
After only a few seconds, he lifted his head and grinned up at her. "For strength.", he said and then began crawling backward.
Sookie giggled and replied, "Yes, we wouldn't want you run out of steam halfway through."
"Fortunately, your femoral will be nearby, in case of just such an emergency." His fangs grazed her thigh and he gently nipped, but didn't draw blood.
He lifted her knee and kissed it. He kissed his way up her inner thigh as he slowly moved her leg up and to the side. His free hand occupied its self stroking her other leg. "Jasmine", he whispered as he reached the crook of her hip. He lingered, licking circles and enjoying the scent. "Beautiful"
His left hand gently pushed the leg it was stroking, opening her folds to his approaching tongue. Sookie's heavy breathing began mixing with soft moans as his kisses continued and his tongue explored her delicate and receptive inner flesh, tasting the nectar he found there.
"Oh, Eric", she breathed. He body writhing with pleasure beneath his expert caresses. She tried moving her hips to redirect his mouth, which made him laugh.
"I know where it is, my lover. I don't need a guide.", he scolded teasingly. Then to prove his point, he licked a circle around her swollen clit and kissed it noisily. Her body lurched as a thrilling rush of ecstasy surged through her. He never lost contact. He seemed to anticipate her movements. The teasing was over. His upper arms clamped down just below her hips, holding her thighs apart and still while leaving his hands free to cup her breasts.
Her labored breathing became more wildly erratic as his lips and tongue demonstrated their skills. She screamed things which may or may not have been actual words as her muscles began to spasm. His fingers brushed over her nipples again and again, covering her in waves of gooseflesh. The gentle sucking didn't stop. And his tongue, oh god, his tongue. The way he kept running the underside over her was driving her mad. When the peak of her orgasm came, he held her fast for several seconds that seemed to go on for torturously delicious hours. Then a final kiss and he was back at her side, cradling her tightly as her trembling receded and her breathing found a more natural pace.
"Would you care to join me in the shower, Lady Northman? Strictly in the interest of saving time, you understand.", he smirked
"Won't there be people waiting for you? I don't remember saving time when we showered together.", she giggled.
"If they're waiting, they can continue waiting. And perhaps we didn't save time, but we got clean.", he said with a grin.
"And what if I want to smell like you?", she asked from under her lashes.
He laughed softly. "I give you my word, I will kiss you and hold you close before we enter Fangtasia. I assume you were planning to accompany me there?"
"Well, yes, I did plan to go to Fangtasia, but I was going to go buy Mina and Oliver a bed. I figured that either you or him would be able to arrange a truck to pick it up tonight."
"Sookie, my love, I am not in the habit of arranging furniture deliveries. And I would prefer that you weren't either. Buy furniture from someplace that has delivery people. Take Mina with you and go tomorrow. She can sleep on the sofa tonight. Or on blankets on the floor. I don't know. Dearest, really, they managed to sleep before. They'll manage for one more night without you tucking them in. Come, let's have a shower." He stood up and extended his hand.
"I just thought she'd be more comfortable -", she began.
"Listen to me.", he said softly. "If you are concerned with her comfort, then don't rush out when you're pressed for time and buy something just to have it. Wait until tomorrow, when you are rested and have time to shop, so you get something she likes and you like and perhaps you'll find other things to go with it.", he leaned and picked up her hand. He kissed it and held it to his lips. "Trust me, Dearest. Mina is in desperate need of nothing. Come."
He gently pulled her up and to him. When he kissed her, all thoughts of Mina vanished. Sookie wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her up and carried her to the bathroom upstairs, still kissing her passionately. They saved no time showering together, but they did get clean.
"Can I ask you something?", Sookie asked on the drive to Fangtasia.
"You don't need consent, my love. What do you want to know?", he replied sincerely.
"What do you do exactly?"
He looked confused by the question and seemed to be waiting for something further. "About what?", he asked, when it was clear there was no more to the question.
Sookie laughed softly. It always surprised her when he didn't understand some common figure of speech. What an odd feeling it must be to live in a world that you're really not a part of. It was the little cracks like this that gave away the façade. He was a creature of another time and place, yet here he was driving to work at night, in a corvette, as if it were the most ordinary thing he'd ever done.
"Your job.", she explained. "What does a Sheriff do? I know you have meetings with people all the time. I was just curious about what they were about." She smiled sweetly at him and put her hand over the hand he had resting on the gear shift. She wasn't sure why he did this, since the car had an automatic transmission, but he always drove like this. Hand at the ready, as if he'd be shifting gears any second.
"Ah, how well do you know your European history?", he glanced at her and saw that he would need to provide her with at least a minimal description.
"Vampire society is structured as a feudal system. Each country or district, has a King or Queen. Next rank down is Baron, which is also called Lord, or Sheriff. The Sheriff is granted lands or territories by the King or Queen and in exchange provides taxes and support in times of conflict. The territory of the Sheriff, we call an Area. In Europe it is called a Manor. The Baron or Sheriff is the Lord or Master of the Manor. Which is how you gain your title, my love."
Sookie was fascinated. She hung on his every word.
"All vampire property within an Area, which is not directly owned and administered by the King, belongs to the Sheriff.
Next rank down is Knight or vassal. This would be most of the vampires who live within a given Area. All vampires who live within an area must pledge fealty to the Sheriff. That relationship is complicated. Those who pledge fealty to me are given homes and properties within my Area. They pay taxes to me or provide me services, depending on their skills or ability. They must answer a call to battle and comply with my orders. They manage the serfs or fiefs, who are the lowest in social status. For my part, I have pledged to do my best to protect them. I preside over mundane matters, such as personal disputes, marriage contracts and the like. Much like a judge."
Sookie suddenly broke out laughing.
"You find my lecture amusing, my love? Or am I boring you?"
"You should have told me.", she giggled.
"Told you what?"
"That I was demoting you by calling you my knight."
He lifted their hands from the gear shift to his lips and kissed her hand. "I am your serf, My Lady. You may call me by whatever name pleases you."
They parked behind Fangtasia Eric opened Sookie's door. When she got out, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately.
"As promised, one kiss and a tight squeeze. Consider yourself marked.", he smirked. "Shall we?" He took her hand and led her through the back door.
The hall was crowded with people there to see Eric. All men tonight. A couple gave Sookie dirty looks. Clearly, they blamed her for them having been left waiting in this cramped hallway since sunset. One of the men was Copley Carmichael. Sookie wondered how long Amelia's father had been waiting. She hoped he had been here longest. The thought of him being left cooling his heels because she wanted to have sex was just too entertaining. She almost burst out laughing, but somehow managed to keep from it.
Eric walked them to his office door, then swung around and faced the waiting men. He held up Sookie's hand. "I'm sure you've all seen my lovely wife."
There were murmurs of acknowledgement and Copley's outburst of "Sookie and I are old friends.".
Eric didn't respond directly to any of them. He addressed them all. "Which of you has an issue so pressing it should have warranted my attention over my Lady's company? Please, step forward so we may deal with your business first."
He wore his most charming smile as his eyes danced as they dared any of them to step forward. How effortlessly he imposed his will. It was amazing to watch. Like watching a magician. She may be Copley Carmichael's *old friend*, but she'd be willing to bet the farm that the next time he spoke to her, it wouldn't be nearly so casually.
Eric turned to Sookie and said, "There, you see, my love? Your concerns were unnecessary." He opened the door to his office and held it. "Mr. Carmichael."
"It was a pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Northman.", Copley said as he approached the door.
"Lady Northman.", Eric corrected with a smile.
"Lady Northman.", Copley agreed. He nodded and went into Eric's office.
"I'll join you soon, Dearest.", Eric said to her before disappearing behind the door of his office.
Sookie wandered out into Fangtasia and found Pam standing beside the bar, looking as if she would fall asleep any minute.
"Hi, Pam."
"Sookie, I hope you brought something amusing with you.", Pam said with a mischievous grin.
"Sorry.", Sookie scoffed. "Just me."
"Then I suppose we're left to our own devises to find some way of keeping from being bored to death."
"Maybe someone will start a fight.", Sookie offered.
Pam's eyes lit up. "Now wouldn't that be fun! Maybe I could glamour someone into starting one. Be on the lookout for someone big, who looks stupid."
"Pam, you're incorrigible.", Sookie snorted.
"It's part of my charm.", Pam said with a smirk.
"If you say so. But seriously, how do you keep from being bored? I guess what I'm saying is, I need a job. I need to have something to do to feel like I'm being useful."
Pam ran her eyes around the room. "Look around Sookie, and have a listen. You have a job, and you're doing it brilliantly."
Sookie slowly looked around the bar and did a quick sweep of people's thoughts. At least a third of them were either looking in her direction or more discreetly thinking about her. "I'm the new animal in the zoo.", she said.
"Exactly.", Pam responded. "Of course Eric is still the top draw, but enough people are interested in you to take some of the pressure off him. You free up enough of his time to let him get more work done. Of course the tourists are still just coming to see vampires, so the ones who live in the immediate area are on a schedule, so there's always a few here. But right now, you're the one making regulars out of the occasional visitors and keeping the regulars regular."
"So I just stand around? I can't do any actual work or anything?", Sookie asked.
"That's the funny thing about your job.", Pam snorted. "If the rabble saw you doing anything they thought of as an actual job, they'd lose their fascination. The illusion would be gone. They see you as the highly prized treasure of the Master. They want to come and stare at you as if you were an exhibit in a gallery. If you were working at anything manual, you'd lose your luster. You wouldn't look like their idiotic idea of a treasure anymore.
Much like us. They come to see us looking alluring or dark or dangerous. They want us to make them feel more alive by feeling they have come close to death by being near us. If they were to see us sweeping a floor, it would ruin it for them and they'd spend less money. You have to give them what they came for if you want them to pay."
"Well,", Sookie said with a giggle as she remembered Eric trying to sweep glass into a dustpan without holding it and only managing to push it around the floor. "You're right about the sweeping thing. I've seen Eric try to sweep a floor and he wouldn't have frightened anyone."
"Have you really?", Pam said, looking more than a little shocked. "I wish I'd seen that."
"So I guess that means I don't get a real job then, huh?"
"Welcome to our world, Sookie. You get to be a human vampire. Isn't it exciting!" and with that she let out a loud laugh, startling a table of tourists sitting behind her. She ignored them and pulled Sookie into a tight hug.
"Mmmm", Pam said as she released her. "No wonder you two were late getting here tonight." She gave Sookie a knowing glance. "I understand completely."
Sookie wasn't sure how she was expected to respond to that, so she said nothing and ordered a drink.
After a while, Pam's attention wandered to the dance floor. "What a dull group they are. Should we show them how it's done? I've not heard any Maroon 5 for a while. Come on!"
Sookie followed Pam to the dance floor. Quite a few people applauded as they saw Pam giving instructions to the DJ. All but one couple left the floor and when Pam's glare landed on the remaining couple, they left too. Harder To Breathe started pounding through the speakers.
Pam and Sookie set about doing their part to mesmerize the tourists. This Love played next and they performed a fully clothed bump and grind that would have outdone any stripper. Halfway through a guy who looked like he might be from a local college football team tried to join them on the dance floor, but was stopped by Oliver.
"I think we have a winner.", Pam leaned over and whispered in Sookie's ear.
"You're not really gonna do anything are you?"
"If he keeps trying to get on the dance floor, I won't have too.", Pam laughed. She shook her head slightly at Oliver, indicating for him to release the guy.
He lumbered straight up to Pam and stupidly grabbed her arm.
"Well, aren't you bold?", Pam sneered at him, without removing his hand. She continued dancing around him.
"How about we get outta here and go dance at my place? We could take blondie here with us.", he said, nodding his head in Sookie's direction.
"Enough!", Eric was at Sookie's side. He'd been watching. "He's had too much to drink. Pam, take him out."
"Hey, just a minute!", the guy said and tried to take a step. He was stunned when he realized it was Pam preventing him.
She simply smiled at him and said, "Come on big guy. Time for you to scoot on home now." And she walked toward the door bringing him along with her.
Eric led Sookie to their table and they sat. "I'm sorry, Dearest.", he said. "Pam's idea of entertainment is often only amusing for her." Then his voice softened and he smiled at her. "But I do take tremendous pleasure in watching you dance." He looked around. "I can completely understand their enthusiasm for you."
"Just doin' my part to keep the tourists emptying their pockets, sir", Sookie smirked at him.
"Doubtless, you will pauper them all.", he said with an adoring smile.
"Excuse me.", said a timid voice. Sookie and Eric both turned to look at the nervous young woman standing there with a camera in her hand. "Would it be alright if I took your picture?", she asked.
Eric looked at Sookie. "Dearest?"
"Sure.", Sookie agreed.
Eric looked back at the woman. She was standing on the dance floor side of the table. "You might want to come to the other side of the table, so you get the mural in the background.", he directed. He planted his elbow in the middle of the table and elegantly inclined his hand toward Sookie. She placed her hand in his and they looked toward the camera.
The woman took two pictures and thanked them several times. Eric didn't respond to her, so Sookie said, "You're very welcome." and smiled at the woman. When she walked away, Eric leaned across the table and said, "Don't speak to them once they have what they want, Dearest. It only makes them linger."
Several others, encouraged by the success of the first woman, lined up to take a picture. Eric and Sookie resumed their pose and allowed four or five people to take their picture. Then a man asked for he and his wife to be in the picture as well. "I think not.", Eric said and stood up. He kissed Sookie's hand and told her he'd be back out soon, and he headed back to his office.
Sookie sat for several more pictures and signed a few autographs. Then Oliver came over to her and bowed.
"Oliver, what are you doing here?", Sookie asked. "I meant to ask when I saw you earlier this evening."
"My place is near you, Mistress. However, since tonight you are in the company of friends and under the personal protection of the Sheriff, I wonder if I might have your consent to see to other matters.", he said solemnly.
"Of course, Oliver. Will you be helping Mina move her things?"
"Yes, Mistress. And if I may, I would like to again express my gratitude for the kindness you have shown me."
"You've been very good to me as well, Oliver. I'm proud to have you near me. Now go help Mina move in. And I need you two to discuss what kind of furniture you want so Mina and I can go shopping tomorrow."
"My Mistress is very generous."
"If she's going to be living in our house, Oliver, I can't have her telling people I make her sleep on the floor." Oops. She'd said the wrong thing. Oliver looked horrified. "Oh, Oliver!", she corrected quickly. "I didn't mean she would ever go around and speak badly of me. I know she wouldn't. She's the sweetest girl ever. I was just saying that I want her to be completely comfortable and well taken care of. I think she deserves it after the difficult life she's had. Don't you?"
"Yes, Mistress. And I assure you, she would never speak ill of you or the Master. She is very fond of you and she feels very fortunate to be in your service."
Sookie smiled as sweetly as she could. "Everything's fine then. You go now and get her moved in properly, so she feels at home in our house."
Oliver bowed low and left.
Sookie ordered a gin and tonic. After a few minutes, Pam joined her. Sookie couldn't remember ever seeing Pam seated at Fangtasia before.
"I wonder why it is that so many of the ones who think they have extraordinary sexual skill, end up having little or none at all?", Pam asked the air between them.
"Your dance partner?", Sookie asked.
"He lives a couple blocks from hear.", Pam said disappointedly. "Even so, it was too far to travel for so little."
Sookie giggled.
"Oh!, It's not funny, Sookie. It's tragic really. Even I didn't have the heart to tell him how truly awful he was. Imagine what it must be like when he has sex with some compassionate human? He thinks he's a Casanova and he barely even qualifies as a man."
"Oh my god, Pam!", Sookie nearly choked laughing. "You're terrible."
"Is it terrible to be truthful now? I wish you humans would make up your minds. The minute I think I know what you're talking about, you go and change all the definitions of the words." She smirked, but she was only half kidding. When you lived as long as vampires you lived through a lot of changes in common vocabulary and slang.
"So how is Mina working out for you?", Pam asked.
"She seems to be very sweet. I think she'll be nice to have around.", Sookie answered.
"She's very eager to please. That's a good trait for a pet. And she's been mistreated by others. That's bad for her, but it works to your advantage, because if you treat her well at all, she'll be very loyal. I thought about taking her myself, several months ago, but I decided against it. Nothing to do with her. It's just I have three females already. Any more and they'd be fighting all the time."
It was like they were discussing puppies or gerbils. Sookie felt like Alice. She had fallen into an entirely different world without even leaving her home state.
Eric came out with Copley Carmichael in tow. "Cope wished to speak to you before leaving and inquire after his daughter.", Eric said
"Yes, Lady Northman. Will Amelia be staying on in Bon Temps.?", Cope asked.
"I spoke to Amelia this morning actually and yes, I believe for the time being she will. She is welcome to stay as long as she likes, and of course she has a job there now and friends."
"Lovely, lovely.", he said. He didn't really think it was lovely, but he didn't want to risk insulting Eric. They had made some sort of deal.
"Dearest, Cope is going to be building our newest venture project.", Eric announced.
"Really?", Sookie asked. "What is that?"
"Shreveport's newest casino. The Asgard."