*All credit where credit is due*
Chapter 2
The Weekend
Eric rose for the night to the soft sound of music filling his home. He made his way up and out of his secured rooms and easily found Charlie in the living room, softly singing along to the music as she picked away at her food and read the newspaper. He was about to speak when the ping of the microwave went off.
"TruBlood's ready," Charlie shot at him without even looking up from her reading.
He retrieved it and came back to sit with her.
"Anything interesting?" he asked.
She started reading out the funniest bits of news and then the more important bits of information that she guessed would pertain to his business ventures. She made some comments and suggestions about the stocks as she read them out. Happy that she recognised the companies and they seemed to be doing the same as they had been during the same year in her reality. It was something real that was tangibly the same as what she was used to.
It just goes to show. Not in your reality? At least there is still your favourite online retail store.
"You have a mind for business then?"
"My father," she shook her head, "Not me."
"If I am not mistaken, you are the one giving me the information presently."
"Well I was taught by my father," she defended.
He merely shook his head at her and turned on the news. They ended up arguing for an hour about whether a man on the television had died in a clip that had been shown.
"One hundred percent dead! The two shoe rule. Both shoes off, you. are. dead." She argued.
"The weight of the impact was not enough to break the neck," he snapped.
"Two shoes!"
"This is not a valid argument!"
"And yet, the internet would take my side," she turned her nose up, "And everyone knows the thoughts of the many, outweigh the thoughts of the few."
"That is not the quote."
"Congratulations, you want a medal?" she jumped to her feet, picking up her plate and plucking his empty TruBlood from his hand, "Fine. Two shoes getting blown off can sometimes just mean the person is massively hurt. So I concede there might be a small chance that he is still alive."
She gave him a reconciliatory nod and sauntered towards the kitchen.
Eric was completely dumbfounded.
"You are lucky you are in that body," he grumbled.
"I know~" she called from the kitchen.
Charlie scrubbed away at her plate and cleaned out the TruBlood bottle, wondering what the hell she was doing. She had not woken up in her bed. She was still here, in a fictional world, completely cut off from everything. Her life, her family and everything. She was worried about her pets, and rent, and work. She would be facing a storm when she got home. But here she was, playing around with Eric Northman. So much like the Eric from the books. And she couldn't help it. He was fun to talk to and she felt comfortable around him. Something she did not feel around anyone - even in her own life and world.
"You are ready to leave, yes?" Eric's voice sounded from the doorway.
She didn't know how long he had been there, but she was pretty sure she had just been staring at the soap water and the TruBlood bottle that was clenched in her hands.
"Yes."
Pam sat with Charlie again that night, she was advancing at a rate that Eric was sure was not natural with the telepathy. She now just needed to have a vampire in her general vicinity, to make use of the bubble. Sometimes she gasped in pain and Pam's hand would wrap around her wrist quickly - staying there until the pain faded from her features.
He waited until they were in the car, driving back home for the evening, to ask what would cause those moments of pain.
"Some people think loudly," she pressed her teeth into her bottom lip, "It's like when someone yells at you suddenly, your eardrums feel like they've been hit. It's like that but inside my head. Like someone slapped my brain or something."
He didn't respond.
Would he think she was useless and not help her? She worried her lip some more.
It wasn't until they were almost back at the house that she felt his cool finger pull her lip from her mouth.
"If I am not allowed a little blood, you are not allowed to damage her body."
Charlie started at the thought. She hadn't considered that.
"I... Do you have any lip balm?"
His soft chuckle was warm and rich.
They spent the evening in Eric's study. She had offered to stay in his proximity when he was awake, so that he would know that she wasn't messing with anything in his house, and he had given her that odd look again. He didn't seem too bothered though, and worked quietly at his desk as she read on the small couch. He didn't comment when she retrieved all the pillows off of other surfaces, along with a blanket, and crafted a cocoon around herself.
She wondered at why Sookie was so against being kept by a vampire, she was pretty sure she could get used to a life like this.
The next evening, he took her out to dinner.
He had seemed angry most of the evening - and Fangtasia was closed that day so he couldn't take it out on anyone else - so he loaded her in the car like luggage and drove them off into the night.
"Want to talk about it?" Charlie asked.
"Perhaps after dinner."
"Am I eating, or are you?"
His face was blank for a moment.
"Just asking because I didn't grab a book or anything."
That got a raised brow.
"You would accompany me and wait while I fed?"
"I mean, I wouldn't have to be in the room or anything would I?"
He laughed, "No. But it does not bother you?"
"Why? It's what you eat. At least you can catch and release. That's better than humans. Though there are some tribes in Africa and Mongolia that drink blood from their cows at the beginning of the day. The coagulated top film of the blood is given to the one that is most honoured in the village, or the best fighters. Which, I won't lie, does not sound like the best time. I'd much rather just drink the blood."
"You are comparing yourself to a cow?"
"No," she laughed, "I'm comparing my blood to the blood of every other living breathing thing."
"I can assure you, the blood in that body is worth much more than that of a cow."
"Well my body's blood probably isn't, so the comparison still stands."
She nodded firmly, and he couldn't help but think it looked adorable with the blindfold over her face.
Adorable? Since when had he started using words like that? Perhaps this situation was getting out of hand. He eyed the girl for a moment. Sookie's blood still sang to him, the promise of the sweet treat making his gums itch, but Charlie wasn't a part of all that. She had no rich blood. She was no seductress. Her movement was nothing like the swaying of the southern belle, but more calculated and methodic. Her reactions in the face of flirtations and the gawking minds of the men in Fangtasia were always amusement and befuddlement. Like she did not understand the idea of someone being attracted to her.
All these mannerisms suggested that she was more plain, relying on quick wit and her sense of humour to attract others. Not the sort of woman that he would ever find himself in the company of. And yet... It was the thought of killing her mind that irked him.
Sookie was interesting and smelled delicious, but if it came to it, he would kill her. He could imagine it with no difficulty. Access to the blood would be a bonus.
But Charlie.
Perhaps because she had no body to associate to, he was having trouble accepting it. Ending Sookie's body would potentially kill Charlie - or maybe just send her back to her world. With the full knowledge that he was the one that had ended her. The thought did not sit well with him.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
He was startled back to the car by her voice.
"I can practically hear you thinking."
He smiled.
"I was thinking of killing you."
"Oh, don't let me bother you then."
She made a show of turning away and drumming her fingers on the window ledge. She then turned her covered face back to him.
"Verdict? I've never jumped out of a moving car. Maybe dying from the top speed impact would be better than getting mauled by a vampire. But I don't have much experience with either."
He drove them into the parking lot of his favourite restaurant.
"Uh-oh, there goes that option." she murmured, much to his amusement.
Her breath was warm and sweet as he leaned in to her to remove the blindfold. Her eyes locked onto his before the cover was even fully gone. It was moments like this that he felt he could see her, Charlie, another being trapped inside.
The soft scent of Sookie's flushed cheeks filled the vehicle and he could barely hold back the purr that clawed at the back of his throat. His pupils dilated.
"Are you trying to glamour me, or are you just happy to see me?" she whispered.
He smiled and blurred away and around to her side of the car. She spun to look at him as he opened her door and gave her a little bow.
"Such chivalry, maybe death's door is more luxurious than most people make it out to be."
"I am still undecided about your death date," he answered smoothly.
"Should I arm myself with a book of tales? I'm sure I have enough to buy myself quite a lot of time."
"Then please, after you Scheherazade," he motioned for her to move ahead and placed a hand on her lower back to guide her into the restaurant.
The food was delicious, the ambiance comfortable and rich, but above all else the stories were spun with an unparalleled fervour. Eric had not had such a pleasing time in many years. He thought back to his human days around the fire. His men would tell stories and they would share them with the warriors of the other villages. Aude would listen with awe as he shared some with her and she, in turn, would spin tales for the children. Every different telling would bring a different style.
There were few, however, who could match the story tellers who traveled to share tales. He remembered a few in Italy that had kept him and Godric entertained for months with their beautiful voices and wicked ways.
Charlie was in a league of her own. She crafted the mundane into the fantastical. She could span entire centuries in a few phrases and you would feel the length of them, and she could stretch out a minute for so long that even the vampire felt like he was breathless listening.
He had laughed so hard that she had had to dab away the red from his eyes. Which had surprised and delighted him when she casually tossed the bloodied napkin into the fireplace near them.
They had managed to gain a few listeners and she effortlessly conversed with the demons who couldn't help but ask questions about the tale. He knew she could sense that they were different, her gaze had locked on to every supernatural in the room the minute they stepped in. But it had remained only on him thereafter. She was cautious. But she trusted him. And not once had she treated the supernaturals differently.
The situation was definitely getting out of hand.
That thought continued on the drive home.
The sentence repeated over and over in his mind as he lifted the sleeping girl from his car.
It repeated as he carried her up to her bedroom and placed her under the soft covers.
It repeated when he pushed aside a strand of Sookie's golden hair, and wondered what colour Charlie's was.
It repeated when he moved to leave but her fingers stayed firmly wrapped around his shirt.
And it most certainly repeated, almost yelling in his ears, when he released her fingers and pressed a soft kiss against her fingertips.
The monarchy was nothing but a useless infrastructure created to squeeze money out of everyone and everything. Eric Northman sat at his desk and fumed. The anger of the previous evening had been forgotten for those few blissful moments out at dinner, but had returned tenfold with another round of ridiculous requests and fabricated violations that the queen had her lapdogs send him.
He seethed reading through the thinly veiled threats and scoffed at the very implication of some of the emails.
"If you scoff any louder maybe the god of disgust will appear and write the responding emails for you," Charlie said from her cocoon of comfort.
"I am in no mood for your jokes today," he snapped.
She scoffed loudly, to which he narrowed his eyes threateningly.
"You know that penny is still up for offer. Talking things out helps."
"So says she who wraps herself in pillows and blankets to escape from her worries."
She scoffed again and he smirked when she choked on the exaggerated sound.
"I'll have you know that my cocoons are for comfort only. The best way to spend your time is to be as comfortable and happy as possible. Isn't that why you like feeding with something sexy?"
He barked a laugh and she smiled in triumph at him.
"Alright then," he declared and shot from his chair and to her side.
The girl yelped in surprise as he shoved his way into the cocoon beside her.
"Get your own cocoon!"
"You are giving me a penny for my thoughts and we must be comfortable." he said simply.
She looked at him with a look he could only describe as affronted. It reminded him of the ladies that Pamela had grown up surrounded by.
She tugged the blanket securely back around herself where it had been pulled to expose her to the normal room temperature, and then with an eye roll, tucked him into the cocoon properly as well. He could feel every sinful curve of Sookie's delicious body, and her scent filled his nostrils. His fangs snapped down. To his relief, she just ignored the reaction.
"So talk."
Eric was watching her thoughtfully.
"You know of the vampire community and our rules," he said softly.
"I do~" Charlie lengthened the word a bit, wondering where he was going with this.
"You swear secrecy to me, do you not?"
"Eric Northman, you have my word that I would never betray your trust. On my honour. May evil blonde vampires murder me in my sleep if I do not keep your secrets."
She put a hand to her chest and looked at him. He would have laughed if he couldn't see how very serious she was being.
Surprisingly, she was a good sounding board, nestled together in her fort of blankets and cushions, Eric spoke of his annoyances about the club and his recent arguments with the Queen. He even spoke of ongoing troubles with Longshadow's maker and affairs that resolved in ways he did not like. Even when she could not offer any additions to his opinions or plans that she did not fully know all the details about, she would offer a few well placed 'Fuck Them's' that were somehow cathartic.
He had never spoken so openly to anyone other than his maker and, unlike his maker who would sometimes become bored about matters of politics, Charlie was hanging off of his every word.
When her stomach growled, Eric was the one who zoomed out of the fort and put together a sandwich the way he had seen her do the other evening, delivering it to her with a flourish. Charlie chuckled and slid out of the comfortable nook. Her smile only broadened when she saw his expression fall in response to her leaving their cocoon.
"Do you want to eat together?" she smiled at him, "Don't want to get crumbs in your library."
Eric perked up, and to Charlie's surprise did not go straight for a blood joke or a flirty comment, he led her to the kitchen with him and sat her at the kitchen bar while he heated up a TruBlood.
They continued to chat well into the early hours, until it was time for Eric to go to ground. He walked her to her bedroom, surprising her once again, and took her hand in his. He pressed a light kiss to her knuckles and offered her a real smile.
"Thank you for this evening," he murmured against her skin.
"Thank you for trusting me," she whispered back with a wink.
A light kiss was placed on his cheek and she slowly moved into her bedroom.
Eric was left standing stock still, a sweet aroma that he had not experienced in weeks filling his senses. The soft scent of Sookie's arousal.
Fangtasia was unusually full for the beginning of the week. The staff had to be reshuffled to manage everything properly and Pam was back on the door. Eric would have preferred to sit Chow with Charlie. The two had quite a few pleasant conversations and then many more deep conversations in his native Japanese when she had mentioned she spoke it. Chow was pleased to meet someone who understood his customs and language and Charlie was pleased to learn anything and everything historical he had to say.
Tonight however that wasn't a choice, and that left only one vampire to sit with Charlie.
Even though the girl had said she was perfectly fine sitting alone, he was in tune with every little twitch and every grit of her teeth as she looked around the room warily. There were too many people for her new shields to handle. So the only choice was Thalia - or she would be sent back to the office.
Thalia had aggressively fought the order to sit with the bubbly blonde, she had hated her haughty attitude and false modesty when she first visited Fangtasia. Only when Eric convinced her that Sookie was presently feeling like a different person, she agreed to speak to the girl and give her a single chance.
The tiny and ancient vampiress approached the human with disdain etched across her beautiful features but just before she could reach the booth - a human male approached the buxom girl.
Most of the vampires in the room watched as Charlie's spine went stiff as a board and she eyed the man without moving the forward direction of her face.
"You all alone tonight, girlie? How about you try something warm for a change," the man slurred as he snatched hold of her arm.
Charlie immediately shot out her palm and slammed it straight into the man's throat. He reeled back, coughing and choking for breath. She leaned down over him and whispered in a vicious tone that sent a thrill down Thalia's spine.
"If you ever lay a finger on me again, I will cut it off of your body."
Thalia had burst into laughter, making all the vampires in the club jump in fear. It was a sound that very few living souls had ever heard, Eric himself could count on one hand the number of occasions where she had laughed out of genuine amusement.
Needless to say the girls had hit it off immediately.
Thalia sat, as happily as was possible for Thalia, with her new friend.
Eric was stunned. Befriending the vampiress was impressive to be sure. But the sudden attack on the human man had been a surprise in and of itself. He would have never guessed her capable of such ferocity.
It solidified the idea in his mind that her temperament was more supernatural than human.
This was one of the reasons why he had said nothing to Pam. He knew his Childe had called her witch friend to come test Charlie out and he had not interrupted her plotting. Pamela took this as his agreement, as she usually did.
He decided in that moment, however, as he watched Thalia slide her arm next to Charlie's so that their skin would come in contact, that he would inform Charlie of the impending visit form the witch. She was not some human in a hybrid's body. She was something else and would be treated with the respect that deserved.
After a few hours of easy listening; Charlie supplying information and the vampires of the area reacting with ease, as though they had all worked together for years. A new vampire entered Fangtasia. One that Eric would have hoped they could avoid for a few more days.
"Sookie!" a voice called from across the club.
Charlie stiffened and reached out for Thalia's hand. The tiny vampire took it without complaint, looking over in the voice's direction with no perceivable expression on her face.
Standing immediately, Eric started making his way over to the girls on the heels of the angry man storming towards them.
All Charlie could focus on were the very outdated sideburns and the set jaw on the middle aged man's square face. Bill Compton, it must have been, unless Russell was just showing up to hang out with Sookie.
"Sookie, I have been worried sick looking for you," the man drawled in a deep southern accent.
Definitely Bill, one of Charlie's least favourite characters. Not that she didn't believe that he did indeed love Sookie, through all the treachery and horrible car trunk based nightmares. He was just not her cup of tea. Especially considering he had had a lot of Sookie's blood and did not need to look for her, Charlie wondered what it was that had actually taken him so long.
"Bill Compton," Eric said as he slid up to the booth.
Charlie was incredibly impressed with how the giant Viking was able to move so smoothly across the room and into Bill's space. Nothing seemed to take any effort, like his entire being was being choreographed by some off camera director. She wished she could yell for a script if that was the case.
"Eric, I will not stand for this," Bill started, "Sookie is mine!"
And there it was.
Charlie couldn't help the smirk that flashed momentarily across her face. At least the snort she felt coming on hadn't worked its way out of her body. Eric noticed, of course, and shot her a discreet smirk of his own.
"Sookie has agreed to help with a little project of mine," Eric said.
"Project? I wasn't informed about any project," Bill snarled.
"Because you need to be informed about any project I want to take on?" Charlie interjected.
"Sookie, darling, that is not what I meant. You know that I only want what is best for you. But you do not understand what..."
"No, I think I understand just fine Bill Compton." Charlie stood, releasing her hold on Thalia and putting up her shields as best she could, "I believe I am going to do this favour for your Sheriff and you will appreciate the good favour I am garnering on your behalf."
"We appreciate you accommodating us by allowing us to make use of your... pet," Thalia said the last word like it was a dirty secret, watching the human closely to see what kind of reaction she would have.
Nothing.
Bill paused for a moment. Finally noticing that something wasn't right.
Eric was the only one however, who saw the drop of sweat pearl on the back of Charlie's neck. He pressed his palm quickly against her back and she immediately leaned into him. Sookie's delicious scent wrapped around him.
"Sookie has been working hard today," Eric said, "She will be retiring for the night."
"I will accompany her home," Bill snapped, reaching for the girl he thought was his lover. A lover that was not acting at all like she usually would. He had never been able to glamour her - surely Eric hadn't found a way when he could not.
"Actually she will not be returning home for the duration of the project, she has homework," Eric couldn't resist messing with the younger vampire. He felt Charlie's withheld chuckle through his hand on her back.
Bill immediately started to complain but Charlie heard only the very beginnings of his sentence before she was whisked away to Eric's Corvette.
"You sure we should leave? The club is still really busy."
"You are tired. It was enough for tonight."
She looked ready to complain but he opened his door and just stared at her with that blank expression. She studied him quietly.
He was reminded of vampire's behaviour once again. Humans were so skittish about staring in silence but Charlie's eyes spoke for her and she never shied away from his hard gaze. She gave him a small nod and slid into the car.
The drive home was quiet as she fell into a comfortable slumber.
Eric slid the mask from her face when it caught against her seat belt.
He caught himself wondering why he made her put it on.
This was definitely getting out of hand.