Chapter 35

Sookie POV

First Longshadow, now Andre. I should really, really stop walking out to my car alone at night.

Panic grips me as the memory of Rhodes comes rushing back.

It's okay, it's okay. Calm down Sookie. He's not going to try to bond with you… you're not that valuable yet.. I hope. Oh god. Why did I come here again? What could have possibly possessed me to come alone?

Andre speaks: "Her majesty the Queen of Louisiana requests an audience with you at her estate at once."

An audience. Is that just a meeting, or is it secret vampire-code for "The Queen wants to torture and bind you"? I take a deep breath, trying to think of a way out of this. It's only been a few seconds, but to a vampire, that's like waiting five minutes, and I can tell Andre is growing impatient for a reply.

I might as well try to talk my way out of this; no sense submitting like a lamb to the slaughter. "Oh. Well, have her contact Mr. Cataliades, my representative, and we can work something out." I start to move toward my car and suddenly Andre is right in front of me.

"'Requests' is perhaps not the best word. The Queen requires your presence now. I will take you to her."

Crap, I bet he can hear my heart beating faster. Just keep him talking.

Right, great plan.

"Listen, you must understand why I can't come with you. I have no proof of who you are. If you were a human, would you just get into a strange car with a strange vampire just because he said the Queen sent him? This is why I have representatives. I will not be bullied. I would be happy to meet with the Queen in the coming week. If there is an urgent matter she needs to discuss with me, I can give you my cell phone number."

Andre looks at me as if all I've done for the past minute is bray like a donkey. He takes another step toward me, and I take a step back.

"If you insist on proof of my association with the Queen, we can go up and get confirmation from Hadley." He takes another step, and I mirror him to keep an arms-length between us. I edge back a bit more and feel the rough scrape of the brick of Hadley's building behind me. Great, my back is literally up against the wall.

Double crap. Can I get away with threatening to never work for the Queen if he tries to force me to go with him? Probably not. "You will come with me now." He's close now, almost touching, and there's no more backing away to do. Maybe I can buy more time up in Hadley's apartment.

My acquiescence to go to Hadley is on the tip of my tongue when out of nowhere Eric drops down out of the sky, landing lightly next to me. Before I can say peep he's grabbed my wrist and stands slightly in front of me.

He turns to me and says: "Sorry I'm late. Have you been waiting long?" His tone is casual. His arm goes around me and he somehow manages to pivot me so my back is no longer up against the wall. "Ah Andre. Are you here to visit Hadley as well?"

"I am here to retrieve the telepath." He turns to me. "The sheriff can attest to my allegiance to the Queen. Let us depart; we have already wasted too much time."

Eric turns to Andre with a mildly befuddled expression; which is contrasted by how tightly he is holding me. "Sookie is scheduled to work for me at Fangtasia tonight. Does Sookie have another appointment in the city I was not aware of?"

"The Queen requires her."

He nods. "Then we should not keep her waiting. Where are you parked?" Andre looks affronted that Eric has invited himself along, but can't seem to come up with a reason to forbid it. He hustles us into the back seat of a nearby BMW. I almost let out a small yell when I see who the driver is: Waldo.

What is the Queen playing at? Is she trying to scare me? Is she testing my loyalty; seeing if I'll warn Waldo? Maybe Waldo is the only vampire in her entourage who can drive stick shift? Eric holds my hand during the fifteen minute drive. I would be comforted, but the fact that he squeezes really hard every few minutes makes me think it's actually a form of silent punishment.

I deserve it I guess. My cheeks color at my actions over the past few days. I've increasingly trusted Eric with everything: my pain, my guilt, my body… but for some reason I couldn't tell him about tonight. I wrote it off to being busy (I went back to work the same day I set things up with Bill), or tired, or absent minded; but really, I didn't want to tell him. I didn't want to him to come with me. I didn't want his help.

Stubborn Sookie, that's me.

So far I have been able to be so much more independent in my dealings with vampires; I wanted to keep it that way. No, I didn't really consciously think 'time to start hiding things from Eric,' but the truth is: I was afraid. Afraid to stir the Eric-and-Sookie pot. I wanted to do this alone; I needed to do this alone (however half-cocked and stupid that was), and I knew Eric wouldn't 'let' me. I knew it would be the end of our honeymoon phase; a shock back to the 'I'm a vampire and you'll do what I command' mentality.

Although, I suppose Eric never really did that that too much… I always just assumed it would go that way if we entered into an actual relationship. I hate that I'm so relieved he's here. I hate that I hate it. Our power dynamic is so messed up. I would never let a man tell me what I can and can't do, but the vampire aspect of things muddles everything. I feel like I want Eric to protect me, but I'm pissed that I need protection. That was Timeline A.

I realize that here in Timeline B, I want to earn a place not only with Eric, but with all vampires. I don't want to feel like Hadley does: like a toy; like something that is allowed, but not accepted.

For the first time I think about what I'm wearing: a close-fitting grey and black striped knit shirt and dark grey editor pants. I'm relieved that I swung toward the professional end when deciding what to wear to Hadley's. I'd considered clothes that were more "me," a light cotton dress, or capri's and a tank top. I figured she'd be more apt to take me seriously in this. I'd rather be dressed to the nines like I was in Dallas, but at least I don't look like I'm supposed to be taking out the trash. If things get messy I can at least hold on to some modicum of professionalism.

As we pull up to a large gate, Waldo pulls off to the side and punches in a long code, and then presses his thumb up to a little pad. Wow, fingerprint clearance; I've only ever seen that in movies. I wonder how long a vampire thumb could be preserved after it's been cut off the body? Eww.

We drive for several minutes up a winding road. Eric's finally stopped the hand-squeezing and his fingers intertwine with mine. I feel nervous. Will Eric have to intervene on my behalf as he did in Rhodes? The Queen can't want to force me to bond, can she? I always liked the Queen well enough, and put Andre's actions only on him… but maybe the Queen sent him after me. She is Queen for a reason after all. It would make sense to be nice to me, and then have Andre do all the dirty work for her.

I shutter as we pull to a stop in front of the Queen's mansion. It's huge and white, and looks to be about twenty-times the size of my house. I steel myself and let go of Eric's hand as we get out of the car. I want the comfort of his hand in mine, but if there is any way to maintain my independence in front of the Queen, I want to. I appreciate that being in a relationship with Eric may ease the Queen's mind about my allegiances, but that isn't the impression I want to make this time. I don't want the Queen to think Eric has any power over me.

I raise my head high. I am a professional telepath.

We walk down several long entryways and pass through several security doors. After the first one I lose track of all the turns we make; I hope Eric knows his way around this place. We take an elevator down to what I assume is the basement; Andre hit the lowest button, but the only symbol on it is a square. Getting off the elevator, my breath stalls as I take everything in. We are in a huge hall, almost as big as a ballroom. There are dozens of doors lining the distant walls. There must be even more of the Queen's estate underground than there is above. My eyes feel overloaded. Everything in sight is draped in gold, or deep red or pearl or something equally as beautiful. Contrasting the vivid walls, the floor is pure white marble, buffed to perfection. A huge golden chandelier hangs above our heads.

Suddenly I feel very small, and very insignificant. I guess that's the point.

I raise my head higher as we are led toward the end of the hall. After a short time I see that we are headed toward a large structure on the far wall. Amidst the intricate gold, silver and red mural, I don't see her at first, but as we get closer I can make out the Queen's small form up on a raised platform. She is sitting, waiting with perfect stillness.

I choke back a laugh as I realize that she is on a literal throne. A throne! I will say one thing for the Queen, she has some major dramatic flare about her. Eric is becoming more tense beside me, and I shake myself. This is serious.

Once we are about five paces away Andre and Eric stop and bow deeply. I hesitate for a second. Curtsey? Bow? I settle for a wobbly curtsey-bow-head-nod.

Heck, the Queen knows I'm an American from the South. Maybe I should take some bowing lessons though; the Queen is looking at me quite oddly, like she can't make any sense of what I've done. Andre moves up to stand beside her, and stairs straight ahead. We stand there in silence for several minutes.

I'm not really sure what the protocol is here. I glance at Eric, but he's not giving anything away. If I had to guess, I'd say the Queen is trying to smoke me out. Get me to ask why I'm here. Well, she's got another thing coming. After years of too many people in my head, I could stand quietly in a room full of vampires all day and not blink an eye.

The Queen's eye's rake over me, and I continue to calmly wait. By the time we hit what seems like the five minute mark, the Queen has a small smile on her face, and finally she speaks:

"You are willful."

I almost smile myself. Stubborn Sookie, that's me. It seems rude to say nothing… "I suppose I am; though I'd like to think of it as a positive. I wouldn't have gotten out of a lot of the tight scrapes I've been in if I wasn't."

The Queen looks at Andre, and they have some kind of silent exchange I can't read. Finally she speaks: "Willful servants are the very worst kind; though I do enjoy breaking them." She's grinning now. I have no idea what is going on. Did she just bring me here to try to intimidate me? Well, I don't think so. I am a professional, and I have no qualms about reminding her of that, Queen or no.

I take a deep breath and carefully keep my eyes on her face. "I'll count myself lucky that I'm a contracted employee then, and not a servant."

The corners of her mouth turn up a bit more at this. She turns to Eric. "Ah yes, and how have you found having a willful employee?"

Eric nods his head out of respect and says: "Sookie is competent and works well independent of supervision and direction. She has helped the bar run more efficiently, and dissuaded a maenad from targeting the bar.

The Queen's eyes shift back to me, but she continues to speak with Eric. "You hired her as a negotiator in dealing with a maenad?"

"No, she did that on her own. As I said, she works well independently."

"And what was her fee for this negotiation?"

"She did not ask for… she was not compensated." Eric is looking more and more troubled.

The Queen turns to me and asks me her first direct question. "Why did you not request payment?"

"It was not planned. I make contracts for specific jobs. Pam and I encountered the maenad, and I just did what I thought was best at the time. There is a clause about unforeseeable circumstances in my contract, but I didn't see the need to seek payment." Where is she going with this?

"So you will not be seeking compensation for the information you provided in Hadley's apartment?"

I can see Eric looking at me out of the corner of my eye. "No, as far as I'm concerned that was not a business matter. I was warning my cousin, that's all."

She nods. "Very well. I have heard all I need to hear. I would like to formally offer you a position as my personal telepath. You will stay here; you will have all worldly luxuries available to you. I have already contacted Mr. Cataliades to draw up formal paperwork."

Huh. A job offer? Not exactly the doom and gloom I was expecting. I glance at Andre, and see a hungry gleam in his eye. Right, so, probably the job offer is just the first stop on the way to bondville. No thanks.

I bite down hard on the inside of my mouth. How exactly do you turn down the Queen of Louisiana?

Somehow I don't think 'no thanks' is going to cut it.

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Thanks for waiting on this one! I tried to post yesterday and the day before, but the site wouldn't let me log on :$

I went ahead and added some of what was going to be the next chapter into this one. It may be a couple days til the next...