SOOKIE AND HADLEY: BLOOD SISTERS
Chapter Twenty Five, A Royal Trip Down Memory Lane.
A/N: Okay, so here's the WARNING, this chapter discuses child abuse, as with my usual style I don't give details of the actual abuse. In this chapter we will get a real insight to what, shaped these two women. How these events shaped their future. Also we get to see where Sookie know's Bill from...
I am nervous about this chapter, I hope I have done it justice...
Enjoy JoxX
"Do I know you?" William asked.
"No. Yes." I replied.
"No or Yes, which is it?" He questioned curtly.
My eyes filled, the tears glistened like diamonds in the corners of my eyes, my lip's swelled with unshed emotion. "I didn't know you were real... I thought you might have been an angel," I mumbled, my eye's fell down ward, spilling the tears.
"Sookie, Explain yourself," it was Eric, his tone angry. I looked around it was as if real life had started up again, I looked at the man in front of me.
"I am sorry," I said to him. "The last time you saw me you licked blood out of my forehead, you saved my life," I gulped.
"Scarlet?" William asked softly. I fumbled with my holster, in shaking hands I held out Betsy, the tears breached their banks yet again and rolled down my face. I heard Hadley gasp from behind me, I felt her come stand beside me. William looked at the gun in my hands, then up at me, shocked.
"Her name is Sookie, she thought you were an angel, Gran had sent to help us. Because you looked so much like Rhett Butler, she said her name was Scarlet because she was scared to give her real one. Gone with the wind was our Gran's favourite. We'd both be dead if wasn't for you, your kindness saved us both," Hadley stated, tears rolling down her face, I reached for her hand.
"You were that little girl I found abu...by the side of the road, how long ago was it?" asked William, clearly uncomfortable with two crying women.
"Nearly twelve years ago," I looked into my savours eye's. "You are a vampire," I started to laugh. Both Godric and Eric stood beside us at full alert.
"Yes, I am." He answered with a smile, "I believe, I have you as well as Mr Northman to thank for my freedom from my maker. My maker was most upset with you in particular," he smirked, the weird tension lifting more and more by the second.
"Oh I get that a lot, you either love me or hate me," I deadpanned, drying my eyes.
William laughed, "Bill explain what miss Stackhouse is talking about," the Queen asked sounding curious and irritated all at the same time.
We all took our seats again. "Yes, please explain," Eric commanded.
"It is not all my story to tell, however I will tell you what I know," Bill began. He had a beautiful southern voice.
"I was driving home to my nest it was a few hours before dawn the roads were mainly deserted. A car a bit in front of me tossed a bundle out of the window, I would have ignored it, had it not smelt of the most delicious scent of blood, I have ever smelt.
I pulled over, to investigate I found a tiny girl in rags wrapped in a blanket, I first I thought it might have been an animal so broken she lay. I lifted her up and placed her in my car, despite her injures her heart beat was stronger you would have expected. She fought to hold on to her little life.
I took her to a motel, she was unconscious by then. I..." he look kinda embarrassed, "I healed her and cleaned most of her injury's dawn was approaching so I left her a gun, I had come by and money so she could get something to eat if she woke up. The next night I sensed she had left the area, I've never sensed her again. Not even now can I feel her."
"That is quite the story Bill, most admirable many of our kind would have just left her to die or hurried the process. But I don't understand how you came to save Hadley's life also," The Queen asked.
"That I do not know your Majesty," He answered. I could feel all eye's on me.
"How old were you?"
"Eleven," I whispered.
"What happened to you?" she asked gently her tone soft. I wanted to scream at her, we didn't talk about the past. It would not look good for Eric. I felt his body stiffen next to me.
So instead I took a deep breath and steadied my nerves, I looked the queen square in the eye, "Hadley and I had no home. All our family were dead and we had been living on the streets for three years by then, sleeping rough. One night men came and took us we had been sleeping under a bridge, it was the last night I seen Hadley for nearly a year. I was sold to the highest bidder, untouched so I was extra special," My voice was cold empty.
"The man who bought me was generous, as in he share me amongst all of his friend, when I was too broken to be played with any more they threw me out of a moving car, like yesterdays rubbish," my voice, I still was able to keep detached, cold, bully for me. Talking about it as if it had happened to someone else and not me always made it easier.
"Then a being came, who I thought was an angel his skin glowed, and he told me everything was going to be okay. I remember bit's and pieces like it was a dream, like him licking blood out of my forehead. Thinking how peaceful he felt... ah, I've just realised it was because I couldn't read his thoughts, so quiet. Being asked my name, thinking he looked like Rhett so I answered Scarlett. I was too scared to give my real name in case God thought I was a bad person and would stop helping me. The next morning I felt strong, healed. On the bedside table was five thousand dollars and Betsy..."
"Betsy?" Bill interrupted.
"The gun, Betsy. I was eleven, you name things when you're eleven, since I didn't have a doll, a gun it was," I smiled but it never reached my eyes, I continued my story. "I showered and I made a make shift dress out of the bed sheets, when I left the room on the door mat was a white feather. I thought God forgotten about me until that point, in that moment I believed he had sent me an angel and now a sign. I knew what I had to do. I bought some food and some clothes. I remember I ate ice cream for breakfast, that day. I hunted down the men that had bought me, all of them, I kept shooting till there was no one left. The police though it was a mob hit.
Next I tracked down the men that had sold me, I did the same thing only this time I left gods calling card; a white feather. With the information I picked out of their minds I began the task of finding Hadley. I hustled people in card games as I could read their minds it was easy, with the money I won; I bought bullets, food and cheap hotel rooms to stay. One day I found her, I had become a very good shot by then. I killed everyone in my way. I dragged Hadley out of there. Then I began the long task of nursing Hadley back to health, I moved us to St Louis. They had forced Hadley to take drugs while they had pimped her out, she was in real bad shape. We had good neighbours who helped me get Hadley clear of the drugs. It took a good year before she was well enough again." I paused a single red tear ran down the Queens face. She made a motion for me to continue, drying it with a tissue.
"Well by that time we both made the decision we were going to be nobodies victims, I took every self defence class going as did Hadley, I learnt everything there was about weapons. We decided to use our god given talents for ourselves. Surely god was on our side after all he's sent us an angel and a big ass gun," I smiled. "I gotten a little cocky by then I hadn't died yet, surly he must be saving me for the greater good or so I thought at the time. I had come up against major fire power and walked out every time. We moved around a lot we perfected the con, we extorted and blackmailed our way across America and got rich doing it, the American dream-Right?"
"And here we are," said Hadley brightly, "hip deep in Vampires ,who people say are evil, but they have been nothing but good to us when our own kind cannot say the same. Now we find that if it wasn't for Vampire Bill here, well who knows what would have happen but nothing good I am sure of it." Hadley finished with a smile. She always looked on the bright side, glass was always half full with Hadley I loved that about her, I relied on that, from her. Despite, the sheer horror of what happened to her after she recovered she was nearly always cheerful, positive.
The Queen clapped her hands, "Andre and I have much in common with you two perhaps one day I will share it with you, as you have with me," she smiled. "How many have you killed Sookie? you don't seem to carry the burden of remorse that most human's would have."
"Remorse is a useless emotion; if I had any it would only be if I missed one of them. As to how much garbage I've taken out, I don't really know."
"Spoken like a true Vampire, how exciting. Come now you are amongst friends don't be bashful less than fifty?" she asked with the gleeful excitement you would expect on a teenager.
"I suppose it would be more, I've met a lot of bad people in my life," I answered honestly.
"More than a hundred?" she smirked.
"Around there," I said.
"What about the hotel?" asked Hadley.
"Hotel?" said the Queen.
"Technically that was you, I don't know if they count wasn't like I put a bullet in their heads," I answered thoughtfully.
"Huh ahhh... that was sooo you, you had the mobile," argued Hadley.
"That was soooo your fault, all I did was push a button, Which you told me to," I replied in my defence.
"What happened, we will decide," the Queen suddenly said pulling both myself and Hadley out of our staring match.
"Well, oh dear lord. I hope you've not got buddies in Las Vegas," I took a deep breath as I noticed the Vamps stiffen, "We used to play top level poker, you know high stakes games-illegal games. The money was big, I played and Hadley was my good luck charm, most human men easily fall for her charms. I would pick their brains and win or at least find something we could later use to extort money from them. We heard of this high, high, roller game in Las Vegas the buy in was one million dollars, winner takes all.
We bought in but when we got there they were all mob bosses on our table. Into human trafficking, sex slavery, real scum of the earth-you get the idea? The hotel had six games going, the winner from each game would play the end game winner takes all. So anyway, it was making me sick everyone in the room was so dirty, selling little kids stuff like that, drugs, it was real bad. So Hadley figured we would be doing the human race a favour if we took out, our room and I agreed.
Oh God this is so embarrassing, Hadley was going through her spy faze. Put it this way she had a big boner for James Bond," I sighed.
"I did not," Hadley huffed.
"Did too, you fancied yourself as Q with all the gadgets, don't start," I said to her, all the Vampires watched with amused expressions on their face. Suddenly Hadley started to giggle, I winked at her.
"So where was I, spy faze; Hadley had gotten hold of some C4 explosives, I swear we only meant to take out our room. Anyhow long story, short; Hadley and I are standing at the Bellagio, in one of the bars drinking martini's shaken not stirred, her idea not mine. She hands me this mobile and say's 'why don't you hit send and tell them we are not coming back.' So I hit send and a few seconds later the whole hotel shook. Hadley had planted the C4 at the Hotel where the poker games where being held, she thought the tiny little amount that was recommended wouldn't do much so she planted six pounds of it, instead of the of the recommended amount.
Well we ended up blowing the whole hotel to smithereens, lucky for us the hotel was still under construction so only the people that were involved in the poker games died, but the papers reported nearly every mob boss in Las Vegas was there so we didn't feel bad about it, there was no staff to speak of or that we'd ever seen. I mean if they were anything like the guys in our room, I figured we killed five and got thirty for free," I surmised.
The Queen roared with laughter and most of the Vamp's joined her. "Oh Sookie you are too much, what was the name of the Hotel the poker games where held at, not that I can't guess," She gave Eric a funny look.
"It was gonna be called the Crimson Tide," I replied.
"Needless to say, the Mob think we are dead, we don't go to Las Vegas any more-ever," Hadley answered, her eyes widen at 'ever' as if to drive the point home.
The Queen was sitting shaking her head she look thoroughly amused and delighted."What happened to the money?" she asked.
"Oh we took it, we figured they didn't need it any more, I mean it's not like seven circles of hell has a gift shop-right? Sookie got the accesses codes to their Cayman accounts from their heads, we wired transferred it into our Swiss account all very James Bond," Hadley's eye's glittered. "Then we took back our mill and donated the other thirty five million to women's and drug rehabilitation charities, also children's charities who deal with victims of abuse. Then we made a number of anonymous tip off's to where some of these people in need might be to the authorities," Hadley finished up the story.
"Well, well, well, I seem to owe you both my Nevada crown. Felipe De Castro was the Vampire king of Nevada he was so weakened by the explosion as it was his main nest, we made short work of securing the state for ourselves," she laughed, "Three years later we know the truth; Hadley's spy faze."
"Opps," I said realising I must have killed vamps too.
"Northman, I must congratulate you on your exceptional young ladies, I would enjoy very much to have them serve me at court. Stan from Dallas spoke of them highly, Nan who likes no one is said to simply adore Sookie, now I can see why- just delightful, I am very envious."
"It would be an honour your Majesty to escort them while they are in your service," Eric replied.
She laughed, "Do you not trust me with them? That you must accompany them," she asked but there was humour to her voice.
"I trust no one, it is how I have become a thousand years old and Godric over two thousand. I guard what is mine jealously," smirked Eric.
"That is why you are my favourite sheriff," she grinned and it was fangy.
"The hour is getting late," The Queen suddenly said getting up to her feet. "Bill is working on a special project for me, he will be staying the area. Please ensure he is settled in, and has everything he needs for his project," the Queen ordered. I shot Hadley an excited look at the news, I wasn't looking for a new boyfriend, hell no. I simply wanted to know the man, who went against his nature to save me.
"Of course your Majesty, as always your visit was too short," Eric said, bull shitter.
"Is that an offer of your bed Viking?" She quirked an eyebrow at him then she laughed, "No, I didn't think so. I am not a lover of men I prefer the fairer sex, so you are quite safe," she chortled. Funny, Eric had looked worried for a split second.
Eric just smiled, so did I but it was fake. I just wanted this night to be over already, tiredness was setting in. And we had pretty much spilled our provable guts, something we vowed we would never do. I chanced a glance at Godric, there was an odd look in his eyes, but it was a good look-I think. Pride mixed with something else.
"William, your act kindness is an inspiration to us all, perhaps I was wrong about you. Sookie, Hadley, it was a delightful pleasure, such fun. I look forward to seeing a demonstration of your talents next time," with that parting comment the Queen swept out of Fangtasia her entourage trailing behind her. You could see the Vampires of area 5 visibly relax.
As soon as she was gone Eric, grab hold of my face cupping it in his huge hands, "Thank you," he whispered.
"Do I get a doggy biscuit now? woof," I replied.
He laughed, "I do not know where to start, with tonight..."
"So don't," I cut him off, not wanting to get into it, "let's leave the head trip for another night, we've had enough," I said searching his eyes.
"It's has been a long night my little warriors, Hadley..." he beckoned Hadley, she came over and put her arms around me and Eric, he held us for a moment.
"Bill, I feel you and I will have a great understanding, I expect honesty, loyalty and you will make an appearance here five times a month instead of giving me tribute," Wow did Eric just say he though he and Bill would be good friends.
"Yes, sheriff," he turned to go.
"Bill," I called after him, "Thank you, Betsy is my most treasured possession, she has been the means to defend myself and has served as a constant reminder there is still goodness in the world, I feel like I am in your debt."
"No you are not in my debt, there was a saying from my human days, one good turn deserves another, it is today that have fully been able to appreciate the meaning, thank you." He looked up at Godric briefly, "My maker, is a very creative woman, especially in the area of torture," he said carefully as not to be disrespectful.
"I met her, crazy bitch on wheels more like, creative my ass... you want me to kill her?" I smiled, joking of course, well maybe. Ah you got me, I'd do it if he asked.
He laughed, "Sookie Stackhouse," he said like he was trying the name out, it sounded like Suk-key with his accent, he shook his head, "You are a lucky Vampire Sheriff, she is what the woman of my time referred to as southern steel, as strong as she is beautiful," Bill commented, he turned to leave.
"Good nite Bill," I looked up at Eric, "take us home?"
"It would be my pleasure," he whispered into my ear, which elicited a shiver from me- how did he always effect me like that?
A/N: Loved all you review's and your guesses from the last chapter... how Sookie knew Bill... so what did you think? did you see it coming, Bill gave Betsy to Sookie... hope it wasn't too full on (thier past) and fitted the story... please Review... let me know your thoughts...