Chapter 36

Eric woke up in the middle of his daytime slumber. He knew immediately the cause of such a disturbance. But, he still took a moment and checked his senses for her and found that she had vanished. His connection to Seren was severed and that usually meant one thing. That Seren was dead. He turned his head and saw that the side of his bed where she had gone to sleep with him was empty. He sent out his consciousness for her and once again found not a trace. Yet, for some reason, he did not believe that she was dead. The wily Seren was too careful to make such a mistake. So, that meant she had either found a way to break the bond between them or that she had traveled somewhere that his senses could not follow. The pull of sleep became too strong and he closed his eyes. There was not anything that he could do at this time. But, at sunset, he would find her.

Seren flashed through the portal into the land of the Fae. She used her own growing power to travel in the manner of her new-found kin. She stood a moment and tried to get used to the sensation that such travel caused. She felt sick at her stomach, but the nausea quickly passed. Seren was somewhat familiar with the notion that space and time were not exactly linear. Claude explained that they were more like the fabric of a cloth. Sometimes, a fold happened and where the two worlds touched each other, a wormhole developed. Only the Queen possessed the power to manipulate and control the portals. It was another reason that the confrontation between the fairies raged on. The control of these portals was vital to both sides. Seren raised her eyes and saw Claude and the other fairies were waiting for her. They were dressed in the charm-spelled dragon skin and wore basic type military fatigues. Compact and deadly mini UZI's were slung on the backs of all the fairies. They were hardly larger than a pistol, but could fire an astounding rate of over 600 rounds a minute. All were loaded with iron bullets. Claude stepped to the side and Claudine was revealed. She was on her knees and chained in iron. The handcuffs were created out of blend of iron and other metals, since Seren didn't want to gravely harm the fairies that the restraints were used on. They were only intended to hold them fast. Claudine's beautiful fairy dress was dirty and torn and her wide and frightened eyes bore evidence of crying. Seren walked to her and looked down.

"Hello, Claudine," she said.

Claudine struggled, but the iron held her fast.

"I'm sorry about this, but I don't want you to get hurt," said Seren. "I hope that when this is over and peace is restored among the Fae that you will take a place at my side."

Claudine seemed surprised at the offer that Seren had made to her. She had expected to be executed or at least imprisoned by Seren's new regime.

"I...I don't understand," said Claudine.

"I'm not your enemy," said Seren. "I'm not here to wage war, but to end it."

"I've never seen weapons like these," said Claudine looking at the machine guns.

"They are to be used only as a last resort," said Seren.

She nodded to Claude and the other fairies who showed Claudine the shotguns and grenades that composed their main assault weapons.

"These shotguns are rigged to fire rubber bullets and bean bags. The grenades are non-lethal stun ones. I also have smoke grenades and pepper spray to further disorientate Queen Mab's loyal fairies. I don't want any more fairies to die fighting against each other."

"But, why don't you just go to Queen Mab and tell her who you are?" said Claudine.

Seren smiled and said, "Queen Mab banished my ancestor and she had every intention of destroying any of her descendents if they demonstrated that they had inherited the Fae gifts. I highly doubt that she would welcome me with open arms."

Claudine was quiet since she knew that this was the truth. Had she not heard this from Mab's own lips? Seren's form began to change and Claudine watched in surprise as she looked upon an image of herself.

"Queen Mab will be able to see through such glamour," said Claudine.

"It's a good thing that I'm not using any, isn't it?" said Seren with a smile.

"I don't understand?" said Claudine.

"I'm a shifter, as well as Fae," said Seren. "I'm physically you and identical in every way. There is no glamour to see past."

Claudine studied Seren and said, "And the hybrids? What will happen to them?"

"Every case must be decided individually," said Seren. "Only those that pose a threat to our kind will be removed from the human plain. And, we shall again start to reclaim our right to live in the human world. It was once your home, was it not?"

"Yes," softly said Claudine. "That was before my time. All there is left of that time are the distant memories of our ancestors."

"Then, it's time to go home," said Seren.

Claudine studied this hybrid that she had ignited the change in. If she was capable of bringing about these changes, then she was the true heir that had always been promised to the Fae. It was a probably a reason that her brother had given this outcast his full support. He had seen the signs and believed that the time of their regeneration was at hand. At their darkest hour, it was said that a new leader would come. One born of their blood, yet one who was not of their kind. Poised on the edge of extinction, this new leader would infuse new blood and change forever the race of the Fae. They would become something different. Many feared this prophecy. That is why Mab sought to destroy her sister's offspring if they bore any signs of fulfilling this ages old legend. Yet, all other species evolved. It was time for the Fae to evolve as well, thought Claudine.

"My hopes go with you," said Claudine.

She turned her eyes to her brother and said, "And with my brother."

Seren turned to the other fairies and said, "Begin the assault using the smoke grenades and start firing blanks with the machine guns. Only use deadly force if you have no other choice in order to save your lives."

Seren with a small squad of hand-picked fairies began their assault of Queen Mab's fortress. She had also sent in a few other squads to create a diversion and incite mayhem. The resulting attack frightened most of the inhabitants. They ran in confusion and the smoke obscured just who was initiating the hostilities. Non-combatant hybrids and humans screamed and cowered in fear. Seren's squad lobbed a flurry of stun grenades along their path at those Fae who made up Mab's defenses, further adding to the confusion. Seren's squad quickly made their way to the seat of Mab's power. As they stood outside and further set off more smoke and stun grenades, Seren turned and grabbed Claude. At a nod to her squad, only Claude and Seren stepped into the throne room. Mab stood by a window and looked out upon the attack. She was wearing a green brocade silk dress and her red hair was elaborately styled upon her head. An intricate and beautiful necklace adorned her throat the resembled linked dragon flies. An empty and elaborate chair stood at the far end of the hall. Many Fae and humans had sought out this chamber in hopes of finding safety there. They stood hushed and huddled with each other. Seren marched Claude up to Mab and threw him at her feet.

When Mab realized that it was Claude, she smiled and said, "Well done, Claudine. The death of this traitor should cause the rebels to surrender. Your loyalty to the crown will be rewarded."

Claude lifted his head and said, "My sister would never betray her family."

Queen Mab looked at him in confusion and the figure of Claudine pulled him to his feet. At that moment, the rest of Seren's squad entered the room and brandished their weapons. They got the drop on the other fairies and fired their non-lethal bullets at Mab's guards who attempted to engage them with fairy light weapons. As the struck fairies fell in pain, Seren's squad quickly and efficiently captured them. The other fairies and humans moved closer together and held up their hands in surrender. Seren turned back to Mab and began to change back into her true form. Mab stared at Seren with a quizzical look.

"Sarette?" asked Mab.

"No," replied Seren. "Your sister took the human name of Sarah when you banished her from her own kind."

Mab gave a little smile and said, "So, you're here to claim your birthright?"

"Something like that," said Seren.

"The Fae will never follow a halfbreed who kills our kind in her quest for the crown," said Mab.

"But, no fairy has lost their life today," said Seren.

Mab stared in confusion and turned her head to the chaos that slowly quieting down.

"It is you who has shed untold and precious fairy blood trying to hold onto that crown," said Seren.

"You don't expect me to just give it to you, do you?" asked Mab, with her green eyes flashing.

"No," replied Seren. "I never thought you would make it that easy."

Mab began to move away from the crowd with her eyes on Seren. The other fairies in the room moved out of the way.

"So, come and take it," said Mab. "If you can."

Mab held her hands to the side and they became engulfed in white light. Seren did the same. She had practiced with Claude at every opportunity and on her own. She could feel the power channelling through her. Suddenly, at some unspoken trigger, Mab and Seren turned that light on each other. When the two streams collided a burst of light flashed out and momentarily stunned everyone in the room. A crackle of electricity seemed to spark from the intersection of the light beams and the noise and static filled the room. Seren and Mab each tried to force the light to move to their opponent. The line of intersection wavered and moved from one side to the other. Everyone watched with bated breath and neither side interfered. Queen Mab groaned from the effort and her precious glamour began to fade. She hissed through sharply pointed front teeth and her face became gaunt and pointed. Seren tried to morph herself into a stronger being and slowly the line of contention began to make it's way to Mab. With a cry, Mab was hit by the light and knocked several feet back. A collective gasp from the observers filled the room and Seren walked cautiously to where Mab lay. Her body appeared to flash from within with a flickering light. Her skin had turned an ashen gray and her vivid green eyes seemed drained of their color. Her chest weakly rose and fell.

Seren stood over her, yet she felt no triumph in this victory. After all, Mab was her relative. Mab passed her almost human looking eyes over her.

"So like my sister you are," she said.

Seren knelt beside her and said, "I can call a healer. There is not a reason for you to die."

"I have lived too long and seen too many terrible things," said Mab. "The Summerlands are calling me."

"I...I'm sorry," said Seren.

Mab looked on her and said, "Don't ever be sorry for taking what you want. A queen doesn't say she's sorry. Come closer, I have one last gift for you."

Before Seren could react, Mab grabbed her hand and pulled her down. She pressed her lips to Seren's and her light flowed into Seren. The two of them seemed to pulse with a radiant light for several moments and then Mab fell away.

"Maybe Sarette will be waiting there for me," said Mab. "I've missed her."

Mab closed her eyes and in a poof of sparks and dust, she vanished. Seren looked up and before her stood a glittering image of Mab's spirit. She gave Seren a weak smile and inside her head she could hear Mab's thoughts.

"You are my only living relative, little halfbreed," said Mab's spirit. "May you reign in better times than I did."

And then Mab turned as if she heard someone calling her name. Mab gave a smile as she looked at some image that Seren could not see. And with that smile still on her face, the image of Mab faded away. Seren slowly stood up and looked around the hall. The fairies and hybrids stared back at her and neither seemed to know what to do. Claudine stepped into the room, searching for her brother. She walked forward and took his hand in hers.

Then, together they bowed and said, "Long live the Queen."

One by one, the others in the room followed suit as the news of a new Queen was sent out, causing all the hostilities to cease.

II

At sunset, Eric arose and he again sought Seren with his senses. She was still gone. There was no use blindly looking for her. With as much of his blood as she had consumed, she could not hide her presence from him. Yet, he still felt that she was not dead and if she had not found a way to sever the bond between them that only meant one other thing. The big question in his mind was whether or not she was going to come back.

It was all a little confusing to him. She has spent the night with him in his room and they had once again strengthened the tie between them when she had consented to let him feed on her. She had been fearful and nervous, yet he believed that she had needed to feel the closeness of someone else, even if that meant shedding some of her blood. She had, of course, tasted as delicious as always. Even though it was possible to lose one's self in the pleasure of feeding on her, he had not taken any more than a small feeding. She then had fallen asleep in his bed and her body that was a few degrees warmer than a human's had laid close enough for him to feel it's warmth. For a cold as death vampire, the lure of a warm body was incredibly enticing, but Seren had not offered to share anything else with him except for her blood and warmth.

Suddenly, his front door burst open and a figure was thrown inside his foyer. This figure fell and skidded across the floor. Before he could regain his feet, two of Eric's security guards grabbed him and held him fast. The man raised his head and Eric saw that it was Bill Compton. He was pale from being silvered from a pair of silver handcuffs. Just as Eric was going to open his mouth and demand to know what was going on, Russell Edgington came inside. He was flanked by Talbot and Victor.

"Sorry to barge in like this, but we were in the neighborhood," said Russell.

Talbot looked around and a little frown formed on his face. He turned to Eric and said, "Let me guess, you let Seren decorate your home? Darling, you should have come to me."

"To each their own, Talbot," replied Russell.

"Whatever," said Talbot.

"Your Majesty, why are you here?" asked Eric.

"I'm having a little downtime from my plans to conquer the world," said Russell with a smile. "You can't imagine how stressful that is."

"Darling, you need to take better care of yourself," said Talbot, gently placing a hand on Russell's arm.

"Where would I be without you?" replied Russell.

"Words," replied Talbot. "Just words."

Russell cast a long look into Talbot's eyes and said, "You know that I mean them."

"Why is Bill Compton here?" asked Eric.

"I thought that Seren deserved a reward for handling that job for me so efficiently," said Russell. "I realize that Bill isn't every girl's dream, but I have a feeling that Seren will find a way to appreciate him."

Russell looked around and said, "Where is she?"

Eric paused. It would not do to tell Russell that he didn't have a clue where Seren was. He might find himself beside Bill in a hurry. Russell continued to stare at Eric as if he expected him to conjure Seren out of thin air. Eric's mind began rifling through all the possible excuses for Seren's disappearance, but none of them seemed like they would satisfy Russell.

"Did someone call my name?" came Seren's voice from the hallway.

Eric turned to see her. She was dressed in simple jeans and a brightly colored wrap top. She gave him a small and fleeting smile and then turned her attention to Russell.

"There you are," said Russell. "I brought you a gift."

Seren strode into the foyer and saw Bill. A look of hatred passed between them. Eric could feel a flicker of fear from Seren and then her growing anger overshadowed it.

"You always did know the way to a girl's heart, Your Majesty," said Seren.

"All of you are completely mad," hissed Bill.

"Bill, a word of advice, a person in your situation might try to flatter his captors," said Russell. "Or, at least, not insult them."

"You've destroyed all the work that the American Vampire League has done to make humans not fear us. Do you realize how long it will take to correct the damage that you've done?" said Bill.

Russell frowned and said, "No self-respecting vampire should care what a human's opinion is. This is the problem, right here. This desire to blend in and try to control our true nature. Humans are our food, Bill. We might play with them, but equal rights? They are not our equals."

"When The Authority gets ahold of you-" began Bill.

"There is no Authority, Bill," replied Russell.

"And there is no AVL, either," said Seren. "No precious Nan to come and save you."

"You've assassinated Nan Flanagan?" asked Bill.

"Well, I just gave the order," replied Russell. "That particular pleasure wasn't mine. But, was it just me or did she get on anyone else's nerves?"

A evil smile then formed on Russell's lips and he considered Bill Compton.

"Should I give the order to have your little human brought here?" he asked.

"Leave Sookie out of this," hissed Bill as he began to struggle.

"I'm afraid that you brought her into all this, when you decided to sink your fangs into something that didn't belong to you," replied Russell.

Russell brought up the Magister's cane and pressed the silver tip against Bill's cheek. His flesh burned and hissed. Bill groaned in pain and sagged in the guards arms. Russell smiled and moved the silver tip to the other cheek, again causing Bill's flesh to hiss from it's contact.

"I have to hand it to the now deceased Magister," said Russell, continuing to press the silver tip of the cane into Bill's face. "It's comes in handy to carry around such a multipurpose tool. It's like the Swiss Army knife of canes."

At a nod from Russell, the guards ripped open Bill's shirt. Russell trailed the silver tip down Bill's chest. By now Bill's fangs had dropped from the distress and he gasped and flinched.

"Stop, Your Majesty," cried Bill.

"Oh, I'm just getting started," replied Russell. "After about three thousand years, I know just about every form of torture there is. I've even schooled my pupil, Seren, in several very unique disciplines. But, maybe, I'll let her start in on your Sookie while you watch. Does that sound like fun to you, Bill?"

Bill cried out in pain and said, "If I had not of bitten her, then I wouldn't know what she is."

"I'm afraid you'll have to come up with something better than that if you want to me to stop," said Russell.

"She's not just a freak of nature," said Bill. "I know what she is. I've tasted her."

"So, have I, Majesty," said Eric. "And often, I might add. Wouldn't I know if there was something unusual about her?"

"I would have never thought that Eric Northman would care for anyone," said Bill. "But, he protects her instead of exposing her. Or using her."

Eric bared his fangs at Bill and took a step towards him.

"He's only trying to prolong his miserable life," said Eric. "Allow me to finish him off."

Bill smugly looked at Russell and said, "I know her secret. And trust me, it's worth my life."

A/N: We know that Seren is ruthless, but she doesn't needlessly kill. Her attempt to take over the Fae was a perfect example of her deciding to use her gift of strategy and knowledge of technology in order to save as many lives as possible. She could have stayed in the Fae lands, but she still has unfinished business.

That Bill...is he ever going to get his comeuppance in this story?

The Fae call their afterlife the Summerlands. When a Fae dies, his spirit goes to tell his oldest and closest relative of his death.

I believe that the Fae live in a different dimension of space and time. At certain points our two worlds touch and a wormhole is created which are what I believe the portals are. I don't believe that time is any different in the Fae lands, but those wormholes can transport the Fae to a different time in the human world. I would think that different portals are connected to different times and spaces in the human world. This of course is only supposition on my part.

*****Spoiler Alert*******

If you aren't watching season four, you might want to stop here.

If you are watching season 4, you know that Sookie was only gone for what seemed to her eight minutes in the Fae world, but when she came back a year had passed in the human world. Her grandfather Earl swore that it seemed that he had only been gone for a twenty minutes, yet twenty years had passed in our world. Likewise, Claudine pops back up in the human world a day or two after Sookie. She would have have to have left seconds after Sookie in order to show up like she did. I don't think that she did that. I think the Fae have portals that cause them to arrive at different times. Or, else they have the power to alter the flow of time itself.