The air conditioner was silently keeping the house at a reasonable temperature while the sun was hitting hot on the outside walls. Eric's room in the basement would have been a dark furnace if he hadn't had the brilliant idea for the air conditioner. But even without it, his body was so cold Brooke could just snuggle into his arms and be just fine.

It was a warm day in Louisiana, a day like any other day ever since Sookie had disappeared twelve and a half months ago. A day like any other ever since Bill had killed Sophie-Anne and become the new King of Louisiana. A day like any other ever since Eric moved in with Brooke and renovated the house. A day like any other ever since Jason had joined the police.

Every day was spent in the dark and Brooklynne ever so rarely saw the sun ever since she and Eric had started working for Bill. It was an adjustment to say the least, as all three of them hated each other. But Bill's relentless efforts to find Sookie had reconciled them and their shared grief had made them somewhat friendly, if not friends. Eric never got over it, however, he who was so used to being Bill's boss. But all three of them knew what really happened that night, the night Sophie-Anne died the True Death. The Authority used Bill as a mere weapon to unofficially kill the Queen of Louisiana for selling vampire blood, and Bill, of course, played the game, not only for the throne he got in return, but to keep both Sookie, wherever she was, and Brooklynne safe. He had sworn any vampire who knew about the two hybrid sisters would die, and Eric had joined him in that pledge. And even though Bill never hid the pleasure bossing Eric around procured him, it was a respectful relationship, and Eric knew better than to disobey or question orders anyway, not that any of Bill's orders were to be questioned, he had always been a reasonable vampire, and his new title hadn't changed that.

Days passed and stayed the same, between a newfound happiness and a never forgotten loss, as Brooklynne found herself looking out the window every day, hoping to see Sookie sunbathing on the lawn. But all she saw anymore was Jason, in his police uniform, park in the new driveway Sookie had always wanted, and walk across the lawn to enter through the back door, like he used to do when Adele was still alive.

Jason came by several times a week, for breakfast or lunch, rarely for dinner, as, even though he would never admit it, Eric intimidated him. Brooklynne often thought about that time Jason had insisted to have 'the talk' with the Viking, and despite Brooklynne's reluctance and warnings he had come to dine with them one night, looked Eric dead in the eyes and told him he'd kill him if he ever hurt his sister, just like he should kill Bill for what he did to Sookie. Eric humored him, simply nodded and hummed, as he finished his bottle of Tru Blood. A smile always appeared on Brooke's face whenever she thought about that night, a smile resembling the one Eric had while he was listening to her brother's threats.

No, Sookie was never sunbathing on the lawn whenever Brooke looked out the window. She could only see Sookie's yellow Honda which she had well taken care of for twelve and a half months. It was parked next to her new car which she had bought herself with the money she had earned working for Bill. She didn't know if Bill just wanted her to like him or if that was the usual paycheck he gave everyone else, but Bill had been more than generous with her. And she was too proud to refuse any of it. She was proud to have a driving license, she was proud to have a job, she was proud to have a boyfriend, and she was proud to be happy. All of it had seemed impossible not so long ago. Her life was nothing, she was a burden on others, she couldn't take care of herself but now, now she was strong and free. Now she could be proud, and she knew Adele would be proud too, so would Sookie.

It was almost 4PM and Brooklynne was half awake in Eric's arms. She enjoyed the quiet, she enjoyed the cool temperature of his naked body, and enjoyed the memories of their early morning activities. She was wet all over again just thinking about it. They were enjoying their time off as it seemed Bill hadn't needed them in a while, and they easily got used to their new routine, between spending half of their free time in bed, and the other half in Fangtasia, where Pam often reminded Eric that he still had a business to run. Bill might be King of Louisiana, but Eric was still king in Fangtasia, and every king needed a queen. Brooklynne never complained when he made her sit on his lap, like he had that first night they met. They sat there for hours just talking, laughing, playing, kissing… until kissing led to an activity that required privacy.

Brooklynne's life seemed perfect, and she would only complain about one thing, though she kept it to herself, it was something that could remain unspoken and never forgotten, something everyone around her knew, something they too would complain about. It didn't need to be talked about, it was always there, in the air, like an invisible presence, the weight of someone that should be there but just wasn't. The weight of the mystery. She often wondered if that was the worst part, the not knowing. The hope she had felt in the beginning slowly fading away, always trying to find new ways to revive it. A hope that died just as fast as it killed her inside, gradually eating at her, like a disease. Because when hope was gone all she was left with was guilt. The guilt that came when hope was lost like it was her fault if Sookie was gone, like it was her fault for not finding her. A guilt that attacked her guts when at the end of the day, she realized she hadn't given her sister a thought. The guilt that came when she remembered because it meant that she had forgotten. The guilt that came and made her beat herself up for being happy while her sister was missing and probably dead.

Eric awakened suddenly from his dead sleep. Early, too early. She felt his fingers tightened around the skin of her arm and she looked up, surprised to see his eyes were opened.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

He sat up and she imitated him as she brought the thin sheet up to conceal her bare chest. She could tell by the look on his face that something was wrong, and it was those moments that made her wish she could read his mind. But at that moment she could only try to read his face and was confused by what she saw. Hope. It looked like surprise, and hope.

He looked down at her with soft eyes, and she could tell he wanted to say something but didn't dare do it as if it would make it untrue, make him wrong, bring them bad luck. He hesitated for a short moment, perhaps looking for the right words, before he finally answered.

"Someone's here."


The hope Brooklynne had found in Eric's eyes was heavy in her heart as she climbed the ladder of the cubby and opened the door of the fake wardrobe. The orange light of the sunset lit the room poorly and Brooke brought a hand to her face to shield her eyes from it.

"Hello?" she called with a broken hope.

"Brooklynne?"

Her heart jumped inside of her chest as she heard the voice she had longed to hear for over a year now.

"Sookie?" she breathed out, more to herself as her sister couldn't have heard her from the other room.

Sookie was here. Sookie was home.

She hurried across the living room and found her sister standing in the kitchen with a confused look on her face… and the same clothes she had disappeared in.

"Oh my God."

"Brooklynne…" Sookie said as she turned around and looked everywhere with a confused look. "What the hell happened to the house?"


"I've been gone for a year?"

"Twelve and a half months, actually," Brooklynne corrected her. "And… you say you've been to… fairyland…?" she asked, as she put an open can of lemonade down on the table, in front of her sister before sitting down across from her.

"I swear it felt like ten, fifteen minutes at the most!"

"Sook…"

"The place where I went… time just works differently!"

"And Granddaddy was there?"

"Yeah," she nodded sadly as she put a watch on the table. It was an old pocket watch, gold plated, like the one Adele had given her husband decades ago. "He wanted me to give it to Jason…"

"I…" Brooklynne shook her head as she took the watch. Tears appeared in her eyes as she read the engravings inside it 'To Earl, With Love, Adele'. "Where is he?"

"He… he's gone… I'm sorry…"

"I don't understand… what happened?"

"Barry was there too, remember him from the hotel in Dallas?" she asked, and her sister nodded. "I think the fairies are kidnapping us, you know, hybrid fairy humans, and… they're making us eat this fruit, this… Lumiere Fruit… I didn't eat any of it but… Granddaddy had been there for so long… he ate a lot of it… he couldn't leave… he died when we got back here… he died near Gran…"

"Oh, okay," Brooklynne sniffed, "that's good at least… they're together now."

"He never abandoned us. They've been kidnapping us!"

"How did you get back?"

"This fairy… he helped me. I just… I wished he could've helped Granddaddy sooner…"

"I hope he didn't suffer."

Sookie hesitated, but Brooklynne didn't see it. "It was quick."

"Good."

"What happened to this place?" Sookie then asked as she got up, gesturing around the kitchen.

"Uh," Brooke cleared her throat as she wiped a tear off her cheek. "We renovated."

"We? Did Jason move in?"

"No… um…" Brooklynne paused. Sookie wasn't going to like this one bit. "Eric moved in."

"He what?" Sookie said loudly with not just surprise but irritation too.

"He moved in like ten months ago," Brooke shrugged. "We've been working together and… things just happened."

"You've been working for him? What does he make you do?" Sookie asked with suspicion in her voice.

"I don't work for Eric," she corrected her, "I work with Eric. For Bill."

"For Bill?" Sookie repeated with confusion.

"Yeah… there's… a lot that happened."

"Like what? Tell me," she demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Brooklynne took a deep breath. "Bill became King of Louisiana."

A laugh escaped Sookie's lips. "What?"

"The Authority wanted to kill Sophie-Anne, you know, for selling V. So they asked Bill. They said they'd make him King, and they did. But… you know… that's not why he did it."

"Sophie-Anne knew about us," she realized.

"He did it to protect us. To protect you."

"Even though I was gone…"

"We looked for you everywhere, Sookie. We never stopped looking for you we just… didn't know where to look anymore."

Sookie sighed as she sat back down at the kitchen table. After a moment of silence, after she tried to register all the new information, she finally asked: "What else did I miss?"


Jason arrived about fifteen minutes later. After a couple of long hugs and confused questions, they just started telling Sookie random events that had happened in the last few months. Arlene had her baby, a boy, his name was Mikey. Jessica and Hoyt moved in together. Tommy, Sam's little brother, had basically been adopted by Mrs. Fortenberry after she and Hoyt had completely abandoned each other. Tara, sadly, had left Bon Temps.

They were interrupted by the apparition of Eric in the kitchen. Jason straightened up as he realized the vampire was standing right behind his chair.

"Sookie," he merely greeted her with a nod. "Glad to see you are unharmed."

She shrugged. "Thanks…"

"Sookie… the sun went down…" Brooklynne reminded her.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

As Brooklynne saw her sister didn't move, she asked: "Do you want me to…"

"No," she cut her off. "I'll get it."

Her siblings watched her walk out of the kitchen with no intention whatsoever to get themselves in the middle of their sister's vampire business.

Brooklynne stood up and made her way towards Eric who welcomed her with opened arms. She slid her left hand behind his back and looked up at him with a small smile.

"How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it," he grinned.

She nodded. "I can't believe it…"

"I don't blame you… A fairy world? We couldn't have guessed it."

"I could've," she said. "I've been there."

"But not physically. Not where she was. You never told me about any queen…"

"I never knew about any queen," she scoffed. "I can't believe fairies are kidnapping us…"

"Well, they can try kidnapping you, it's the last thing they'll do."

"Mmh," she chuckled. "I'm not going anywhere with any fairy," she reassured him. "Not even if they have glowing fruits in their vans."

Eric's laugh was cut short as he was distracted by something happening outside.

"What the fuck?" Jason breathed out as he stood up from his chair.

They followed him outside where they found Bill standing on the porch, and Andy Bellefleur yelling at Sookie.

"We dragged the fucking lake for you! Where the hell did you go?"

"Hey!" Jason stopped him as he put himself between his sister and his boss.

"She was working for me," Bill replied to the question that wasn't aimed at him. "Vampire business."

"Wha- are you kidding me? What kind of vampire business? For a whole year you swore you had no idea where she was!"

"I deeply apologize for misleading you, sheriff," Bill started to say as he walked Andy back to his car, feeding him fake apologies and false excuses.

"Well, here's you alibi," Eric joked humorlessly.

"Could you… leave me alone with Bill for a second, please."

No one hesitated as Jason led Andy back to his car and Brooklynne took Eric by the hand and dragged him back inside the house.

"I can't believe she's back, just like that," Brooke said as she sat with him on the couch in the living room.

"All our efforts seem useless now," he nodded in agreement as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"It never felt like it was enough…"

"You did everything that you could, and more than that."

"Do you mind if we stay here tonight? I don't feel like going to Fangtasia…"

"Of course, I'll call Pam," he said before he got up.

"Thanks."

"Anything for you," he winked before he disappeared.

An unintentional smile appeared on Brooke's face as she could already hear Pam complain and fake her excitement about Sookie's return.

Finally, everything was perfect.


Thank you for reading!

I hope you liked it!

Next chapter will be posted next Monday!

Find me on my patre0n page: patre0n dot com / alonelydreamer ! I'll be updating quite a lot since I'm on holidays for two weeks and the first part of chapter 18 is already available there!

Have a great week!