Chapter 29
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With thoughts of Thalia filling her mind, Sookie made her way to Mina's room with Oliver and Ferdinand following behind. Oliver would stay with Mina until the last possible moment, then either hurry back to Valhalla or go to ground someplace near. Ferdinand would stay with her and be responsible for getting her back to Valhalla before dawn.
Having gotten over the shock of somehow seeing Thalia as a child, Sookie was able to think more clearly. The woman being led around by the hand had been Anna. Thalia had likely been showing her around the floor, so she would know where things were.
It was late, but she would have to trim back her visit with Mina yet again. She couldn't leave the hospital without seeing Anna.
Mina smiled and reached out when Sookie came around to the side of her bed. "Mistress! I'm so glad you've come," Mina said.
It was obvious she had been waiting and Sookie felt a pang of guilt at the tired tone in her voice. "Mina, dear, you need to stop missing your sleep. You know I'd be here every minute if I could. We'll have you home in a few days and we'll sit together for hours. Maybe we'll have Oliver learn to play piano so he can play for us."
Mina and Sookie both laughed at the mortified expression on Oliver's face.
"You both do worlds for me just by being near. You don't need to actually do anything," Mina said with a loving smile. "Want to see me walk? I'm getting pretty good at not banging the frame on my other leg," she giggled.
"Aren't you too tired to be up running around?" Sookie asked, reaching down to keep Mina in the bed. "I don't want you straining yourself. I want to bring you home soon."
Mina smiled and put her hand on Sookie's arm. "Don't worry. I promise, I won't run anywhere. And like my therapist says, no one ever got bedsores from walking."
"Bedsores?" Sookie eyes were as big as saucers and she looked horrified. "My god, my poor Mina. What have I done to you?"
"Oh, no!" Mina cried, stifling a laugh. "I don't actually have any bedsores. I'm able to move around enough to prevent that, thank goodness. That's just something the therapist says to bully me out of bed."
Sookie was flooded with relief. The thought of Mina with bedsores was unbearable. "I don't think I like your therapist."
It took her a few minutes, and she had to refuse help from both Oliver and Sookie, but Mina maneuvered herself around so she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her toes touching the cool tile floor.
Sookie gasped when Mina stood without so much as a cane for assistance and walked to the wall and back to the bed again. When she was seated on the side of the bed again, Mina looked up cheerfully and said, "Easy as pie. Even a child could do it."
"Mina that was amazing! It's only been a few days." Sookie stared at the metal framework surrounding Mina's thigh. "It doesn't hurt when you walk?"
"I wouldn't say that," Mina said with a rueful chuckle. "I get doped up pretty regular and it still aches, and sometimes if I move wrong, it hurts like hell. But most of the time, it's alright."
~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~
The room had been transformed to appear as much as possible like a normal bedroom as opposed to a hospital room. There was a cherry-stained sleigh bed centered on one wall. A dressing table with a round gilded mirror, lace runners and all the appointments necessary for a lady to groom herself and heavy mauve drapes with a thick black lining to conceal the light tight covering on the window glass.
"I hope the room is comfortable for you," Sookie said. She didn't want to say anything identifying until she could judge Lady Anna's mood and level of realization. She was both confused and more than a little disappointed to see Lady Anna's mind was open to her, yet she could see no wide open doors
"I remember you," Anna said clearly. "You're his queen. Thank you for the wine. It was lovely."
"I'm so happy you liked it."
"Our escort brought it to me. We were in a very strange place. This place is strange as well, but we are in your kingdom, yes?"
"Yes, we're very close to where we were the last time we met." Sookie peered around the room. She saw Ausra, but no one else. "Is your escort with you here?"
Anna glanced around for a moment as if she was confused by the question. "No, she isn't. Quite odd, our escort, her smile is almost frightening. Unusual for one so small."
"Yes," Sookie scoffed; somehow relieved Thalia wasn't there. "She can be frightening, but Eric trusts her completely. I don't think you need to fear her."
"Oh, I wasn't a bit afraid," Anna responded with a radiant smile. "But I could see how some might be."
"I'm glad to hear it." Sookie moved toward a round table with two cushioned chairs. "Shall we sit?" Turning to Ausra, she asked, "Is there more wine?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Ausra replied before stepping quickly to the closet.
"Give the bottle and two glasses to Ferdinand. He can serve us."
Anna looked a little unnerved by the sudden bustle in her room. Sookie reached out and took her hand. "Please, won't you sit with me?"
Anna gazed at Sookie with a faltering smile. "You said we could be friends. You were wearing a red dress. We danced and danced. I danced with Nicholas and you danced with … with someone else."
"Yes," Sookie said softly, encouraging Anna to sit. "We danced a lot the night of the Gala. You were very beautiful."
The combination of flattery and Sookie's touch seemed to calm Anna's jitters. She sat in the other chair, near motionless.
Still holding Anna's hand in the center of the table, Sookie felt the invitation from Anna's subconscious mind. She followed and found herself at the beginning of a very long hallway; so long she couldn't see the end. The hall was lined on either side by a seemingly endless series of doors, all of which appeared to be closed.
"You seem so kind," Anna said in a small but steady voice. "No one has ever come here before. I've cried many times, sometimes for days and days, pleading for someone to come."
"I'm here, Anna," Sookie replied gently. "I've come." She looked as far down the hall as she could but she didn't see any open doors. What she did see was every kind of door she'd ever seen and some she hadn't, in every color and combination of colors imaginable. "If you don't mind, would you show me around? You have so many interesting doorways here."
"Sometimes I change them when I get bored. I used to think it would be very difficult to change the doors. I thought I would need a strong man to come and help me, but after a while I discovered I could do it myself. All I had to do was think about it."
"That must have been a relief, realizing you didn't need help."
"Yes, it was. Though there was one thing I've never been able to do alone. I wish someone would help me with it."
"I'd like to help you, Anna. What do you need help with?"
"It's the strangest thing. I can move so many of these doors all around and put them anywhere I like," Anna lowered her head and her voice, as if she might be overheard by someone or something sinister. "But I can't close the ones which are open."
"Some are open?" Sookie asked. "More than one? I don't see any open doors."
"There are several open ones, but most are difficult to tell unless you're very close. Only one stands completely open. It's far, far at the end of the hall. I can see into that room."
Sookie watched as a shiver ran through Anna's body and her eyes became rimmed in red. "Can you tell me what you see when you look into that far away room?"
"Of course, I can. I see him. I see Nicholas."
"Is Nicholas in any of these other rooms? The rooms where the doors are only partly open?"
"No!" Anna snapped at once. Then she seemed to pause and reconsider. When she looked back at Sookie her expression was confused and a bit concerned. "Why would Nicholas hide from me behind doors which were barely open at all? Those doors frighten me. I don't know what is behind them."
"Perhaps we could look inside one of the closed doors? Those don't frighten you, do they?"
Anna's face brightened. This was the smile Eric had once described to her as a smile which had brought men to their knees. Never him, of course, he'd said immediately. Her beauty had never tempted him. That had to be a lie he told for her sake. She couldn't imagine any man not falling in love with that smile.
"Here, I'll show you my favorite." Anna grabbed Sookie's arm and pulled her to one of the nearest doors. It was a tall arched door made of some kind of rough, thick wood. It was painted bright red with yellow diagonal stripes. Anna grabbed the large metal ring which stood in place of a door knob and she gave a tug. The huge door swung open wide.
Inside the room there were three young girls sitting on a bump of a hill in the middle of a field. The smallest had to be very young. She was a stunning child with coal black hair and enormous eyes.
"It's you when you were a child," Sookie said. She started to take a step forward but Anna blocked her with an outstretched arm.
"We mustn't disturb them. They were so happy then. I was only four years old. My oldest sister Aanor was eleven and Adal was eight. We were making chains from wild flowers, weaving them together to braid into our hair. See how we laughed?"
The sound of happy girly giggles floated in high-pitched peals all around them as the girls sat in the grass and tussled over which of them would have which flowers in her chain. "What a lovely game," Sookie said.
"Mama always said if we were not careful we would pick all the flowers in the village and no other girls would ever have flowers."
Sookie was vaguely aware of Ferdinand placing two glasses on the table between her and Anna then stepping quickly away. "I see why this is your favorite. You look so happy. Obviously y'all loved each other very much."
"Yes. I stand here and watch them a lot. It's peaceful here." Anna grabbed the big ring again and without taking her eyes off the girls she slowly pushed it closed. Anna looked around at the surrounding doors. "Where shall we look next?"
"I'd like to see one of the open doors, if that would be alright?" Sookie said.
"I told you, I can't close those doors."
"Can you open them?"
"I don't know. They scare me. I told you that as well."
Sookie closed the small space between them and slipped an arm around Anna's waist. "Would you mind if I tried? I'd like to try. Where is the closest one?"
Anna snaked her arm under Sookie's arm and around Sookie's waist, pulling her even closer. Slowly she raised her arm and pointed across the hall to an arched door much smaller than this one. It wasn't painted at all and the wood was worn and splintered. As they neared the door, Sookie could see it was barely cracked open. Only a dim glimmer of light escaped from the edges of the door. Anna stiffened beside her as Sookie reached for the handle. It opened as easily as the swinging doors leading into the Merlotte's kitchen.
The hallway was engulfed in the sounds of men yelling for reinforcements and more weapons. Women and children were screaming somewhere, but not here. Here, the three girls sat on the floor with their mother. They were older now. Anna was at least as old as the middle girl had been before. It was the middle child who was crying in her mother's arms. The oldest was facing Anna and holding her hands. Anna was trying to pull away.
"The king was killed and now they're coming and they're taking everything! They will burn the village. They've done it in other villages. Papa said they would come." Anna took a step back from Sookie and put her hands over her ears.
"She's going to start screaming," Sookie heard Ausra whisper. She must be talking to Ferdinand. Anna must be doing the same thing in the hospital room she's doing here. Sookie can't look now. "Focus," she hisses to herself.
"Anna, what's happening here?"
"They're coming!" Anna cried, tightening the grip over her ears. "They have a machine. It throws giant stones over the walls. They crash into our house. We're all going to die!"
"No, Anna," Sookie said calmly as she placed a hand on Anna's. "This happened a long time ago. Nothing here can hurt us now."
"They're so afraid. So afraid," Anna cried. "All but Aanor. She was always so brave. She held my hands and we clapped."
Ausra was completely engrossed. She stared at Anna's hands as they slowly began to move. She held them in front of her and one closed as if she was clasping hands with someone else. The other began to clap against the hand of someone who wasn't there.
"I wish Saule was here," Ausra said, the amazement clear in her voice.
"Why?" Ferdinand asked.
"It's her game. Saule discovered when Lady Anna got unruly or started screaming, if you would make a loud crashing sound it would get her attention, but only for a moment. To keep her quite you could begin clapping your hands and Lady Anna would come and join you. This is why. It was how her sister comforted her."
"Anna, how old were you when this happened?" Sookie asked.
"I was ten when the world crumbled."
"How did you get out?"
"I don't remember."
"Okay. We're going to close this door now. We'll close it and you don't ever have to open it again."
Anna jerked away. "How many times do I have to tell you? I can't close it! I've tried and tried! It won't close."
"We'll close it together. I'll help you." Sookie extended her hand. Anna was visibly trembling all over. "I'll hold your hand while we do it."
The moment Anna moved her hand, Sookie grabbed it firmly, "I've got you. It's alright. Come on, let's push it closed."
With her fingers splayed wide apart and shaking, Anna reached toward the door. She froze as soon as she touched it. "I can't."
"Let me help you," Sookie whispered and she gave the door a little shove. It swept over halfway to the frame. The mother inside the room continued rocking her crying middle child and the oldest remained involved in an intense game of clapping hands. Inch by inch, they pushed the door, stopping after each movement to allow Anna to stare as if she expected it to slam back against her. When she saw it didn't, she would allow Sookie to guide their hands in for another little push.
"This is as far as it will go," Anna whispered when the door had barely made contact with the frame.
""No," Sookie said, offering Anna a bright smile. "Watch this." Sookie raised both her hands; one open palmed, the other still holding Anna's. She leaned in and gave the door a final shove. It offered no resistance. Both women pulled their hands back quickly as a cross beam Sookie hadn't noticed before, fell into place across the door and into it's holding brackets.
Both of Anna's hands went to her ears, but she wasn't holding tight. Her fingertips grazed the outlines of her ears as an expression of awe swept across her face. "The screaming, it stopped." She brought her hands up in front of her face. "And the trembling. It stopped too. I'm not afraid any more. The soldiers have gone. How did you do that?"
"I didn't do it, Anna. The soldiers left a long, long time ago. But I guess you were so afraid you kept remembering them."
Someone's cell phone rang. Ferdinand's. "She is visiting with Lady Anna, my lord. – Yes, my lord, I am aware of the time. – Of course, Your Majesty, I shall bring her right away. – As you wish, no limo, I will fly her there. – Yes, my lord, immediately."
"No! Not yet," Sookie cried, but as soon as she did, she was aware of the room again, the connection with Anna broken for the time being. "Damn."
"Your Majesty, we must leave at once. The King is concerned for your safety. It is less than an hour before sunrise," Ferdinand said quickly.
"I need more time. We can stay here. This room is light tight."
"My lady, I beg you. The King has ordered me to fly you to Valhalla immediately. Even now he waits for you on the roof. If I fail to do so, he will not likely forgive me."
"Guh!" She complained to no avail. "I doubt there's enough time anyway. I have no idea how many doors she has, but there's definitely more than one more. Fine, let's go." She looked up at Ausra. "Don't leave her side until she's asleep."
Ausra bowed her head low. "Not for a moment, Your Majesty."
"Anna," Sookie said with all the kindness in her tone she could muster. Anna was smiling up at her, confused by what just happened, but clearly pleased at the same time. "I promise I'll help you. You have my word. I'll come back and we'll close all the doors. You won't have to be scared or confused any more, at least not by things from your past. We'll make them all go away so you can be happy again."
Anna reached out and grabbed Sookie's hand, holding it tight against her cheek. "You truly are my friend. You are like Vincentas. He loves me, you know. He will be so happy to hear I have a friend."
"I'll be back tomorrow. I promise." And with that, Sookie allowed herself to be rushed to the elevators and up to the roof of the Orthopedic building.
~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~
When Ferdinand landed on the roof of Valhalla he released Sookie at once and lowered his head. He made no advance, either toward Eric or the door leading into the building. He didn't need to look up. He could feel the weight of Eric's icy glare boring through him.
He had been too fascinated by what Sookie was doing and had not kept proper track of the time. There was less than half an hour now before dawn. If Eric had not called when he did there is a good chance the Queen would have had no choice but to sleep in Anna's room. The room was heavily guarded but Ferdinand doubted that argument would have mattered to the Norseman.
Eric extended his arm and Sookie ran to him. Because his face was downcast, Ferdinand didn't see it, but Eric's expression softened immediately at Sookie's touch. His arms closed around her and he leaned to kiss her hair. "Come inside, my love."
Sookie told Eric about her encounter with Anna as they made their way through the service corridors and down the flight of stairs leading to their floor.
"She experienced a siege as a child. How interesting. Perhaps her mental problems pre-date Nicholas. This is encouraging news, Dearest."
"I've got to get back to her. I'll have to go tomorrow, as soon as possible. You should have seen her, my darling, her face. She was so grateful and so confused and so happy. She's so full of fear she doesn't understand."
"You'll help her, my love," he said leaning to kiss her. "Have you fed? Or have you been so wrapped in your concern for others Ferdinand has allowed you to neglect yourself."
"Please don't be angry with him. It was my fault we were late."
"Mr. Rodriguez is charged with your care when you are away from me. If there is fault to be assigned, it will be assigned to him. My anger is irrelevant."
Sookie looked up at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Your anger is a lot of things, but I doubt anyone would call it irrelevant."
He grinned and gave her a charming smile. "Then things are as they should be. Come."
They made a brief stop at the donor suite before going home and saying good night to their household. With only a few minutes to spare until the shutters closed for the day and morning broke Eric guided her into their room.
The moment the door clicked closed behind them, Eric spun her round and scooped her into his arms. Her passions enflamed with the urgency of his mouth on hers and the feeling of his strong arms cradling her against his cool hard body.
"Hurry," he whispered as he stood her on their bed and began to strip away his clothes.
"The sun is near." She glanced at the windows just as the light tight shutters began to slide closed for the day. She tossed her dress aside.
"And you have tempted me mercilessly all night," he said hungrily, standing naked before her.
"That's ridiculous," she scoffed as her bra joined the dress. "I haven't been anywhere near you all night. The closest I ever got was walking by your office while I was showing Anna Maria around earlier."
"Exactly," he growled, reaching out, ripping her panties from her and dropping the tattered lace behind him. He grabbed her hips, yanking her forward as he lowered his face to her thigh as if to bite, but he merely kissed her as he drew in a long breath, filling himself with her scent before pushing her back onto her back on the bed. He moved with all the grace and stealth of the predator he was as he advanced on her, his body slowly overshadowing hers. "All night I was without you and tempted to call you to my side."
"I'm here, lover," she purred, resting her feet on either side of his perfect ass as she raised her knees high and wide, pulling him closer as she did. "Come to me."
He needed no such encouragement. Her words were barely free of her lips before his mouth was on her breast, his tongue savoring the salty sweetness of her skin. When his lips surrounded the tender flesh around her nipple and began to suck greedily, she gasped his name and arched into him.
He was consumed by his need for her. He clutched her and rolled until he was on his back with her straddling his hips. "Quickly, my love. The light approaches."
She could feel it, the gentle pull urging her to sleep. She positioned herself over his impatiently waiting erection, it's blood filled head twitching briefly against her clit before finding its mark. As she plunged herself onto him, taking in the full length of his swollen and aching cock in a single thrust, his rumbling groan filled the room like low rolling thunder before a violent storm.
The desperate impetuousness of their desire drove them, unbridled toward orgasm … but the weight of the dawn was too great. Before either could reach release Sookie fell limp on his chest. There, together, they lay united to await the night.
~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~
They woke from death's perfect sleep yet bound together as one flesh.
Never in a thousand years had Eric felt anything to compare with the sensation of coming to life inside her, his lover, his love, his Sookie. His blood rushed to engorge his cock causing her to shiver as she tightened around him and slowly rocked her hips as a soft moan escaped her.
"What a beautiful sound," he murmured, running his hands along each side of her back.
"Mmmmm," she hummed in response, reaching for his face and stretching her body over his before bringing her head to rest on his chest. She held his face in her hands, trailing circles around his ears with the tips of her fingers. "My god, you feel amazing," she whispered as she grazed his nipple with her teeth before taking it in her mouth.
Eric was lost in the ecstasy of her touch. An army could have breached the security of their room and he wouldn't have known or cared. Nothing existed in his world but Sookie, her embrace; her lips on his skin; his cock nestled snugly in her hot wet flesh.
As her hips began to gently rise and fall, his eagerly synced up until they moved in rapturous harmony. When her moans grew louder and melted into cries of pleasure he eased her up from his chest, smiling as their eyes met for the first time since waking. The passion and love he saw there reflected his own.
"Lean back, my lover." With a hand on her stomach, he tenderly pivoted her backward until she had to put her hands down on the bed to support her upper body. As he undulated beneath her, it was she who now fell into his smooth yet more rapid pace.
Once they were in unison, the hand on her stomach slid down until his thumb rested firmly over her clit causing flutters to ricochet through her with their every movement. Every touch served to further enflame their consuming need for release. Flutters became violent spasms and mewling cries blossomed into euphoric screams as they reached their orgasms.
It was all Sookie could manage to pull herself back to her original position, sprawled across Eric's chest.
"Good evening, my love," Eric said with a chuckle as he turned them onto their sides and pulled her up for a kiss.
She smiled and lovingly returned his kiss. "Very good evening."
They laid serenely wrapped in one another's arms for quite some time before Eric kissed the top of her head and said, "I fear we cannot stave off reality indefinitely, my lover. The demands of the evening are upon us"
"Just a little while longer," she pleaded, snuggling tighter into his body. "I don't want to have to think about Leonas and chess games and Anna and courtesans and Thalia."
Her eyes flew open at the memory.
"Courtesans?" Eric questioned with a chuckle.
"Thalia!" Sookie almost shouted as she sprang up onto her knees, looking wide-eyed at Eric.
"Absurd. Thalia has never been a courtesan," he said.
"What? Oh, no, of course she hasn't. Anna Maria is, but I suspect you knew that. We'll get to her in a minute. First I was to talk about Thalia. What is she?"
Eric propped himself up on his elbows. "What do you mean, Dearest?"
"We're not negotiating a business deal, Eric. I don't want to play word games with you."
"Go on."
"When I went to see Mina last night, I saw Thalia. Only she wasn't Thalia. At least she wasn't the Thalia I've always seen before. I mean, I've never seen much of her before, but I've seen her hands and I've seen her face. Well, maybe not all at once, but I've seen enough of it to see how old she must have been when she was turned."
"Have you indeed?" he asked with a smirk. He couldn't help it. It simply wasn't in his nature to be completely forthcoming. Too many centuries of parsing information would not be overcome.
"When I saw her last night, she was a little girl. She didn't look more than eight or nine years old, but it was her. I know it was."
"I'm sure it was. She was escorting Lady Anna to the Hospital last night. I believe tonight is an excellent night for you to announce an intention to spend a good deal of your evening with your injured pet."
"Eric, why did Thalia look like a child?"
"Because she was a child at her turning. She has shown you her true self, something few other vampires have ever seen or are even aware of. Being so new yourself, you can't understand the trust she has placed in you by doing so."
Sookie sat back on her heels and stared into Eric's face as if she would find some further explanation there to help her comprehend his meaning. "You're right. I don't understand. Clear it up for me."
"Thalia's maker wanted a child, not a progeny, an actual child, so she made Thalia and kept her secretly for over twenty years. It is against our laws to make a child vampire. They are very unpredictable and often impossible to control.
When it was discovered what had happened, her maker was arrested and put to death for her crimes, Thalia managed to escape being arrested along with her. She was alone. She learned to care for herself and to avoid other vampires for fear of being killed.
During her years spent hunting and hiding on her own she learned she was able to manipulate the way she appeared to others. She could make herself appear old. If you were to touch her, you would realize her skin is not actually lined and wrinkled. It merely appears so."
"That's why she doesn't like to be touched," Sookie whispered.
"Precisely. But maintaining the illusion requires a tremendous amount of focus and effort on her part. Thus she keeps herself shrouded in hooded robes so she is only required to cast the image in small bits."
"How awful for her. She's a beautiful little girl."
"Do not be confused by her appearance, my love. Thalia hasn't been a little girl for over three hundred years, despite her beauty and deceptive look of innocence. She is an effective and lethal assassin who will kill a fellow vampire as quickly and with no more thought than she would have killing a human or a mosquito for that matter."
"Why would she kill vampires?"
"She killed one to protect you." When Sookie didn't respond right away, he continued. "She is an abomination, Sookie. Most vampires would kill her on sight if she exposed her true self to them. Assuming they were able to overtake her. And they would be breaking no law."
Sookie reached out, placed her hand on his cheek and smiled. She had never adored him more than she did at this moment. "You took her in, knowing what she was. You gave her a home."
"She has earned her keep."
"That's why she loves you. She doesn't have to pretend around you. You're so strong and so confident, you have no idea what it means to have to work so hard at pretending to be something you're not."
Eric's laughter filled the room. "I was a vampire for over a thousand years before The Great Revelation, my love. I know a thing or two about having to conceal ones true identity."
"Well, that's different," was the only thing she could think to say and she realized how silly it sounded the moment she said it.
"Is it? How so?"
"It just is," she countered and before he could shred her argument, she added, "Now about those courtesans?"
"Ah, yes." He smiled and stood up. "The Ambassador often travels with courtesans at times when he has no formal mistress. He enjoys their company. As do many. Anna Maria has long been a favorite at the Lithuanian court, but in this case she was chosen because she was the closest physical match to Lady Anna who could be found on such short notice."
Sookie listened intently, taking in all he was saying. "Whose favorite has she long been?"
Eric's smile broadened. "Alas, I do not have a list of her suitors to provide for you. Perhaps if you asked the lady, she would accommodate you."
Sookie's brows furrowed and her mouth began to purse into a most unpleasant position. "I'm asking you."
"If you are asking if she was ever my favorite, the answer is no. However I suspect you have something rather more specific in mind."
She crossed her arms. "Clever boy."
"Yes, I have known the comforts of her bed. It was long ago and I have no interest in revisiting there. She has nothing to compare with even the simple joy of standing here watching the jealousy flash in your eyes. Surely you cannot expect me to have been faithful to you centuries before we had even met?"
Her face slowly cracked into a smile. "I hate it when you're reasonable."
"Almost as much as I adore you when you're unreasonable." He laughed again and grabbed her off the bed. "Come. The evening awaits."
