Chp 26
Eric seriously needed help because he kept seeing her. Elsa looked at him and smiled – a smile that melted his heart when he first laid eyes on her.
"I'm sorry", she softly whispered.
"Well, I tried", he said.
"He hurt my son, Eric…, and you're just gonna sit here?", she asked.
"When opportunity present itself, I will find him and my love, I will avenge you", he said.
"Avenging me won't bring me back, Eric. There are more important things that is right in front of you…, like our son", she said.
"Pam's right about him, he'll turn up to be like me", he said.
"You two have the eternity to bond", said Elsa.
"But when the time comes, we'll be together again, my love", said Eric.
"Don't say that, Eric. You have so much to do than being with me here", said Elsa.
"I don't know, Elsa. Our son seems adamant to rid me in his life", said Eric. Elsa chuckled and shake her head.
"If you only know, Eric", said Elsa as she disappeared. Eric was snapped back to reality when the AVL coffin opened and Pam turned her head to her maker.
"Did you sleep at all?", asked Pam when she saw his nose and ears bleed. Eric wiped the blood off his nose and tossed the towel aside.
"I'm fine", he mumbled.
"The guards still outside?", Pam asked again and Eric could only nod. Pam walked towards Eric as he beckoned her to come. She saw in his hand, twiddling the sapphire ring that once adorned on Elsa's hand.
"Whatever the Authority decides, I will not allow you to take any responsibility", he said.
"You didn't kill the Magister", she said.
"But politically, I'm a much cleaner scape goat, who it is easier to pin on – a sheriff in your custody or a king that might be anywhere", he said, "If they search Russell's palace, they'll find the remain of his lover".
"What did he do to you?", she asked.
"Nothing…, but he was the nearest thing to Russell Edgington's heart. He had to die", he said. It hit Pam there and then. She grabbed one of the frames on Eric's desk – the one where Elsa was looking over her shoulder and smile as her hand rested on her swelling belly.
"Is this…, are they the ones who did it?", Pam asked, "A hundred years with you…, why haven't you say anything? About Russell, your family and Elsa…".
"You didn't need to know. What good is it if I share my pain with you?", said Eric.
"So, you don't have to carry it by yourself", said Pam.
"I am not weak. I was the sole survivor. The burden is mine alone", Eric said.
"We lived through so much and for so long. It can't end this quickly. She was my family too, Eric", said Pam. Elsa was nothing, but kind to Pam even though Pam never like her at first.
"Everything ends…, even the immortals", Eric said, putting the ring back to the chain that was around his neck, "If I can't go on, you must make a new vampire. It's time for you to be a maker.
Pam broke down in Eric's arms and Eric held on to her, resting his chin on the crown of her head. "No, Eric. I won't let you bear this alone. I made a promise too. You can't leave me and Emrys alone. He's still young! He needs guidance!", Pam sobbed.
"He's grown up, Pam. He hardly needs me", said Eric. On cue, his phone silently vibrated and his son's name popped up.
"Answer it", said Pam.
(Dallas, Texas)
Emrys tapped his fingers on the desk as the line beeped on and off. Where is he? Emrys was worried all right.
"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in", well, Eric still sounded the same. "Have you given up yet?", Eric asked and he grunted as Emrys could hear Pam slapping him at the back of his head.
"No, I…, just wanna check up on you. Thought I say hi", said Emrys and Eric knew something was wrong.
"What happened?", asked Eric.
"Nothing much…", said Emrys.
"I know you and something is wrong", said Eric.
"I saw mum the other day", said Emrys and still contemplating whether he should tell Eric about his encounter with Russell.
The line went silent for a few seconds until Eric asked, "What did she say?".
"That I need to look after you, said you're in danger", Eric could hear faint sobbing from the other line.
"I'm fine. I keep telling her that", said Eric.
"You saw her?", Emrys asked.
"Every now and then. Maybe I am going crazy", said Eric.
"No, you're not. If anything that's crazy, it should've been me. I don't even know what am I, dad", said Emrys.
"You are my son. I don't care if you're just a slobbering baby on a high chair with that toothless smile or you're the Sheriff of Area 9, you're still and will always be my son", said Eric.
Emrys chuckled. "I know and I'll never forget that. I just wanna say hi", he said, "I gotta go, dad".
"Stay safe", said Eric.
"You too…, love you", Emrys's voice crack a bit.
Eric gulped a bit. He didn't know why it's hard to say it. "You too", said Eric before hanging up.
"He loves you, Eric. Don't push him away", said Pam. Eric looked at the photos on his desk. From Emrys swaddled in a blanket, Emrys running with his tiny legs away from Godric at the back to the not so recent one – his high school graduation photo.
Emrys looked a little like his mother, but his hair and attitude, that's Eric. He loves that boy even when he can't describe it in words. Emrys was everything to Eric and he will protect the young Northman at all cost…, even when no one can see it.