A/N-Back to EPOV….I think that I am going to switch in between Sookie and Eric for the remaining chapters. If it doesn't work for you, please let me know.
Again…HUGE thanks to everyone that is enjoying this long ride! (I hope you aren't car sick yet)
We are going to have to have a very long, very serious, very firm discussion when I get home. Was I really surprised that I could feel her rushing to my supposed rescue? Who the hell am I kidding? The way this fucking situation was playing out I did need some rescuing. The ride to Felipe's compound was torturous. I fucking hate this asshole.
Why couldn't she just fucking listen for once? Did I really think that she was just going to sit back and do nothing? Was it not her courage and her stubbornness that made me love her more?
Despite the situation I was in, I felt myself growing hard thinking about her bravery. I pictured her rushing in through locked doors, killing vampires in her wake, wearing a little leather getup to boot. Fuck me, I was having a damsel in distress fantasy, only I was the fucking pussy damsel that needed rescuing.
I was suddenly likening her to that ridiculous character that I watched at her house while I was cursed, 'Blondie…Blushie… Buffy' Yes, I was picturing my wife as that little vampire slayer, Buffy. I was secretly hoping she would suddenly be able to wow me with some martial arts and sword play. My dick was rock hard and I forgot that I was supposed to be angry with her for not listening to me in the first place.
As quickly as my arousal came, it went. I was met by one of Felipe's fists crashing against my jaw. I heard the growl come from deep inside my body as I coldly looked at him. I certainly would need to be killed, because if I did survive this trial nothing was going to stop me from acting out my revenge on this little prick.
"Northman, stop pining over my future pet. It's written all over your face, not to mention escaping your pants. Do us a favor Viking, make it easier on everyone involved and bow out with some dignity. You are a very respected Sheriff, no one will question your decision. Lets avoid this dog and pony show shall we?" Bow out? Give in, hand him over my entire world without even blinking an eye? I think not.
I ran my tongue over the blood that had trickled down my lip from his blow. I smiled and pretended to consider his offer. Like I was actually weighing my options.
"Your Majesty, with all due respect," I hissed at him and put lethal venom behind each word. "My bonded will never be anyone's pet. Our bond is stronger than the silver that binds me. I will not ever bow out, I will not ever willingly let you take what is mine. She is my wife, she will never go to you. She will never be anyone's but mine. She belongs to me." I could feel my body trying to contort itself, trying to break free of its shackles.
Felipe took a step closer to me, knowing that I was at his mercy. He took a handful of my hair and made sure that I was looking directly at him. I made sure that my gaze showed him that I was not afraid of what he had planned.
"For now Viking. She may be yours, for now. But tell me this, what do you think will happen when she is forced to accept that fact that her Prince Charming is gone. Who do you think will be there to deliver the news to her? Compton? Pam? Perhaps that shifter friend of hers? No, I think that would be such a delicate matter that only the king would be able to deliver such an important message. I can just picture it. Her little face, full of tears and pain, her chest heaving with despair, her heart racing with fear." He paused to see if he was getting a reaction. I didn't move.
"I will offer her my comfort, my protection, my condolences. Did you hear me, my comfort. I will make her forget all about you. You will be nothing but a faint memory. I will see that she doesn't even remember your name." I think that this asshole was trying to tell me that he was going to try and Glamour her. Did he not get the memo that Glamour did not work on her?
"Ah, are you done King? You seem to be forgetting one very simple, but very important detail." He looked at me and motioned for me to continue. "You see, she knows that you are the one that is forcing this trial. She is well aware of the fact that it is you that has called this incredulous show. How do you expect her to react when you go to her, telling her that I have been killed? She will know that it was your hand that caused my final death. Do you not expect her to strike you dead where you stand? She may be human, but do not think too little of her. She will send you to your final death before you will even see the stake coming. Don't believe me? Go ask Compton about his maker. My Sookie certainly put an end to her sorry ass for betraying Bill." I spoke the words proudly, my Sookie.
"Yes, I did hear of her taking care of Lorena. All the more reason for me to take her as my own. She will be like my own personal wall of protection, like my secret weapon. Not only can she read the minds of those around me, but she is willing to kill for that special someone." Bastard. Fucking Bastard.
I weighed his words and tried to think. Did I want to continue this verbal sparring, or did I want to concede this time around? Was I digging myself deeper by allowing his words to eat away at my sanity. All I could see was him leading her around like a puppy. Punishing her, forcing himself on her, touching her, hiding behind her. I tried so hard to focus on getting back to her, but I could feel her getting closer to me.
I didn't want her anywhere near De Castro. The idea of the two of them in the same room together was enough to make me want to turn his bones to dust in my hands.
"That's right, remember that…she is willing to kill." That's that way I left it. If only I could wrap my hands around his fucking throat. I'd show him just how willing I was to kill for her. I would kill anyone, anything that threatened to harm her. He was at the top of my list.
We pulled into his gated residence and directly up to the front of the house. Sandy had been silent the entire time. Never once did she speak. Normally she was very opinionated, but tonight she was utterly speechless. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow, she immediately turned away.
I was being dragged out of the car and into the house. Under normal circumstances, we would be greeted by a number of servants, but tonight there was no one but us and the driver. Apparently the driver doubled as a body guard. He was pretty big, I'd hire him for protection. I was dragged through the impressive house and taken to the back. I had never seen Felipe's house before.
"Inferiority complex Your Majesty?" I chided as we walked through the house.
"What did you just say to me?" What is it Sookie always says, in for a penny in for a pound.
"I said, inferiority complex? You know, making up for you lack of a dick?" I motioned my head around his house, and then back to his crotch. I knew it was stupid, but fuck I hated that man.
"I am going to take such pleasure in fucking your wife. I think that will be more pleasurable than sending you to your final death." He growled his words at me, I had touched on a sore spot.
He reached for something on the table that was nearest to his side. I saw the gleam of the blade and knew that this was going to hurt. I felt the knife pierce the flesh at the top of my thigh. I would not scream, I would not let him know the pain that ripped through my body.
He withdrew the knife and plunged it in again, this time making sure he caught my balls. "Fuck, fucking bastard." My knees gave out as I felt the blood leak from my wound. He gave the knife a good twist that caused my insides to spasm.
"Just remember who's King." He laughed the words as he tore the knife from my body. My hands were bound in front of me and I was trying so hard to reach down and apply pressure to the wound. Felipe saw me struggling, and got a wicked look in his eye.
"Oh, I don't think you'll be needing this any longer." He came at me again, only this time he did something unexpected. He put my finger in his mouth and I actually thought he was going to bite it off. Instead he gripped my wedding ring between his teeth and removed it from my finger.
Never have I felt so naked as when that ring was gone. I watched him shove it in his pocket and I no longer cared about the hole in my balls and my thigh. The only thing I wanted was my ring. I involuntarily convulsed as I watched him take it from me.
I was kneeling on the floor, blood seeping out of my body. I had been stripped of something other than my clothes. I had been stripped of my hope in myself. Each time I would glance down and catch the shine of that ring I would be reminded that she had hope in us. She believed in me, in us, in our love. Never had anyone provided me with…hope. Hope that I would be happy. Hope that I would find someone that would see me for what I truly am. Hope for a future that was uncertain, but somehow welcoming.
I looked at his fucking face, bright with victory. He tapped his fingers against his pocket, letting the metal cling against his own jewelry.
"Felipe, you had better pray that you send me to my final death. If for some miracle I survive this little charade I promise you this. You will not see another night. I will fucking stop at nothing to see that you are killed. Mark my words, it's you or me." I hissed through the pain that was coursing through my body.
Felipe looked at me and suddenly looked frightened. Perhaps he realized that his plan had better work, or he really would end up dead. I watched him raise his arm above his head and swing it down. I felt the blow hit me, that was the last thing I remember.
SPOV
When I came to Claudine was leaning over me, fanning me with the airline magazine. I could still feel pain, but it was not near what I had felt moments ago. I was trying to catch my breath, hoping that no one had noticed my little episode.
The attendant, being more than astute was on top of me before I could sit up.
"Do you need a doctor? Are you alright? Can I get you something?" I was now more embarrassed than anything. Before I could open my mouth Claudine was answering for me.
"Oh honey, no worries. My little cousin here is expecting and sometimes she gets a little lightheaded. It's nothing, just queasy. Maybe some ice water would help her." My cheeks flushed when I heard her tell that stranger that I was pregnant.
"Claudine, why would you say that? You and I both know that I am not pregnant." I was furious.
"Well of course your not. But, no one here knows that. Besides, if they think you're pregnant they'll leave you alone. Pregnant women faint all the time. Trust me, it was the best excuse." She was graciously accepting my water and the attendant gave me a very excited, very warm smile. OK, maybe Claudine was right.
"Claudine, I need to get to Eric now. Something bad is happening and I can feel it. That's what caused me to faint, the pain. I need to get to him, I need to help him." I could feel myself getting all worked up again and needed to take a sip of my water to calm myself down.
"Relax, the last thing either one of you needs is to be sending each other pain and panic through this bond. We'll be on the ground in less than fifteen minutes. I can't just pop us on out of here, too many witnesses and too much commotion." She was right. I looked at my watch and wished the plane would fly faster.
When we landed I looked at my cousin and knew that she could only take me so far. I could not ask her to follow me into something that could mean her certain death. Yes, she could mask her scent, but everyone knew what she was. I was pretty hard to disguise the fact that you are a pure blood fairy from a room full of vampires.
I had no idea where Felipe's residence was, but I knew that I could feel Eric. I hated what I was feeling. At that moment, it was only a painful hum. He wasn't flipping through emotions like earlier, it was like he was sleeping, or unconscious. Yes, he was knocked out. That explained the pain, but only a hum.
"Claudine, can you help fix me up? Make me look irresistible?" Now or never. I couldn't run to Felipe's and then excuse my self to go to the powder room.
"Sure, I'm assuming this has to do with your big secret plan?" She giggled at little at my request.
"Yes, it has everything to do with it. Claudine, please do me a favor. If something happens to me, and I don't get back home, make sure that Jason is ok. Just keep an eye on him, you know, from a distance. And, let Niall know that I appreciate what he has done for me." I spoke softly, not wanting to think about not coming home.
"Does Niall know anything about me going after Eric?" Dumb question.
"Yes, but I convinced him to let me come. I know that your heritage is still not common knowledge, we would like to keep it that way as long as possible." It made sense, don't pull the Fairy Prince card until absolutely necessary.
Claudine pulled me into the airport bathroom and fixed my hair and makeup. She riffled through my bag and before I knew it, I was transformed into a very non-prostitute looking sex kitten. She had me in a short black skirt, and light blue, sleeveless button down blouse. She tied the blouse at my waist, making a tiny knot. Despite my recent weight loss, it still looked pretty good. To finish the look she pulled out my favorite pair of black, strappy heels.
As best as she could in an airport bathroom, she managed to make my hair look positively ravishing. It had that tousled, slightly messy look that I knew Eric loved. I had taken Eric's blood last night, so my hair was unusually shiny, soft, and super pale.
I gave myself a look and hugged her appreciatively. I felt ready to unload everything on to her. I needed her opinion, even though I knew she would not approve.
"Thank you, really, thank you. I need to get to him Claudine. He's everything to me, and I just can't be without him. If something were to ever happen to him I would be lost. I know that you are going to think I'm stupid, but I'm going to entrap Felipe." Claudine's eyes widened as she waited for me to continue.
"I have some fairy blood, pure fairy blood. I'm going to put some on my body, and in my body. But, I was smart enough to also get that masking stuff that you guys use to cover your scent up too. I'm going to entice Felipe into attacking me, in front of witnesses. If he goes after me, I'm well within my rights to fight back, and that's when I plan on killing him. All I have to do is figure out how to do all of this without getting caught." It felt good to hear my plan out loud. I was nervous and riddled with anxiety as I waited for some type of reaction from Claudine.
Time passes and I could here the seconds actually ticking on my watch, damn enhanced hearing. She blankly watched me, I was becoming uncomfortable.
"You are a stupid fool Sookie." I felt my body tense and ran from the bathroom, my husband needed me. I called Pam to see where she was. Luckily she answered and let me know that she too was in the airport, with Bill. Lovely, now everyone would get to see me either fail miserably, or rescue my love. I rushed to the Anubis gate and waited.
I spotted them and rushed to greet them. To my surprise, I was met with hugs, by both of them.
"Pam, something is wrong and I need to find him. The pain was awful, terrible…"She held her hand up to stop me.
"I know Sookie, I was able to feel it too. We will see him soon, don't worry, Felipe will keep him alive. He has survived much worse." How could she be so calm?
"She's right Sookie, Eric will be fine. Felipe doesn't have a leg to stand on. I'm sure that we can convince the jury that Eric was following orders at all times." Even though it was bad timing, I had to laugh.
"What, do y'all have like jury duty? Some vampire jury pool where you only have to serve your king every so many years?" I rolled my eyes and laughed.
"Something like that." Pam scoffed at my deliberate mocking of the system.
We made our way to the car and I decided that I would drive over with them, but they would let me out of the car before they arrived at Felipe's. Didn't want to make it look like I was riding in on their coat tails. I was a ball of nerves, completely a mess.
I could feel Eric, he was in so much pain. He was angry and he was fighting. I wanted to get to him, hold him, die with him if that was what was needed. I pushed as much love to him as I could, and I knew he felt it because I felt a momentary calmness fall over him. I also felt his fear for me, he was upset with me, scared for me. He knew I was close by and I'm pretty sure he knew that I planned on trying to save him.
I fidgeted in the backseat and mindlessly tapped my foot. I tried to think about getting the blood on to my body, but protecting myself from other vampires. There was only one vampire I wanted to attract, and right now it wasn't even my husband. I looked at my bag and knew that I couldn't take the vials out and open them in front of Pam and Bill. As much as I trusted them, they were still vampires.
We pulled down a very affluent street. This was my cue to hop out, making sure to get the address first. I took a deep breath and looked at my friends. I knew that this was going to be difficult, I knew that I may never get a chance to speak to them again. I really had no idea what to expect when I walked into that trial. For all I knew I could be killed instantly for even being there. I smiled at them, happy for everything they had done for me, done for Eric.
"Pam, Bill…Thank You, for everything." I didn't need to say anything else, the look on my face and the emotion behind my words was enough to let them know what I was saying.
"This is no time for goodbyes, Sookie." Bill spoke up.
Before I could let them see me cry I was out of the car and walking away. I needed to clear my head a little before I walked in this mess. I threw out a mental net and tried to pick up what was around me. Lot's of voids, lot's of vampires. My body shivered as I took the vial from my bag, along with a bottle of spring water. I took a big sip of the water and poured the masking scent in, swirled it around, and replaced the cap. Then, I opened the vial of blood that I had tested, closed my eyes, and drank it down.
No turning back, the fairy blood was working its way through my body. I paced back and forth, feeling the pain Eric was experiencing. Pain, physical, torturous pain. It was hard to breath, I felt the tears form in my eyes as I tried to fight off the emotions. I felt my hands ball into fists and I was ready to pummel anyone that came across my path.
I had been pacing for over a half an hour. I didn't want to make it look like I was arriving with Pam and Bill and get them in trouble. But, I knew that the longer I waited, the more pain Eric would be in. Finally, I walked towards the house. His mansion was enormous, impressive, obnoxious.
"Overcompensating?" I thought out loud.
I walked up to the gate and was stopped cold by armed guards. These were not polite looking fellows. I didn't think that I was smelling like fairy yet, but I was suddenly terrified. My mind flashed back to my captor, his body on top of mine. I needed to shake it off.
"H…H-ello, I'm here to see Felipe De Castro." My voice was noticeably shaky.
"Well aren't you sweet? Felipe is not expecting any, human guests this evening. I'm sure he would have mentioned such a delicious looking treat." My stomach lurched.
"Please, would you let him know that Sookie is here. I'm sure that he will see me." I steadied my voice and made it sound believable. I was met with a curious stare, almost quizzical.
The bigger of the two vamps picked up a walkie-talkie looking thing and chirped into it.
"Yeah, this is Bogie 1. Can you tell his highness that there is a Sookie looking to meet with him." He chirped a button again and there was minutes of silence.
"Bogie 1 this is Duke 8, orders are to escort her right into the grand hall." OK, Bogie 1 and Duke 8? Who are these guys? They are security guards…rent-a-cops. I felt a rush of relief, victory, and pure panic as he took my arm and led me towards my possible doom.
Eric, I could feel Eric's panic grow as he knew I was getting closer. Felipe must have told him I was there. He was losing control, he was fighting and I could feel him start to come undone. My body felt like it was going to be sick. I was suddenly rethinking my plan. Pain, panic, fear, love, sadness, courage, love, love…suddenly there was nothing but love coming off of Eric.
The guard leered down at me as he stopped at a set of huge, double doors. There was nothing but voids all around me, no Supes, no humans, only vampires. I bent down and whispered in my ear.
"If I had known the king was ordering such a sweet dessert, I would have waited to have my dinner." He licked his lips and gave my ass a squeeze. I stood frozen in place, paralyzed by fear. Before I had a chance to think any longer the doors were thrust open.
My eyes scanned the room, all eyes turned my way. Some of the faces I knew, most I didn't. I sought out Eric, my eyes darted to find him. At the right hand corner of the room, I saw him. His eyes were boring into me. He looked like he had been beaten, the sight of him made my own body ache. He was covered in blood, he was tied to a chair with silver chains, the smell of burning flesh filled my nose. To my horror, I saw what I believed to be swords protruding from his flesh. He was impaled on that chair, not just tied down to it.
His eyes were filled with fear, but not fear for himself, fear for me. I tried to let him know that I was going to be alright, but I couldn't even convince myself of that. His eyes were not their usual sparkling blue, they were storm gray, I could see that from across this huge room. I wanted to run to him and heal him. He shook his head at me in warning, telling me to stay away.
"Ah, Mrs. Northman, I was wondering if we were going to be graced with your appearance this evening. It is always a pleasure to see you." He bowed to me. I wanted to kick him in the teeth.
He had gone all out for this event, usual cape, beautiful silk shirt, tuxedo pants, sash going across his chest. He looked like the royalty he was. I looked him over and nodded in return.
"King, always a pleasure." My teeth hurt from clenching. "I was hoping that we could speak about this trial of yours. After all, it's not protecting me that you are charging my husband with." I tried to be hospitable.
"How I wish there was another way Dear One." I wanted to vomit when I heard him call me that. Eric and only Eric had that right. "Unfortunately, your husband has allowed you to be severely hurt on more than one occasion. It was his sworn duty to protect you, he failed." I could feel Eric flinch as he heard the words.
Now or never, now or never. I calmed myself and sent the biggest burst of love to Eric that I could. I leaned into Felipe and whispered in his ear. The crowd drew a collective and very unnecessary gasp. Felipe's face grew wide and he smiled at me, looked back at Eric and winked.
TBC………..