Godric pov

I cannot describe the satisfaction that came over my being at rising next to my childe for the first time in a long while. He had such a peaceful countenance about him in his rest, something that was rarely seen elsewise. I spent a moment with him, knowing I would have moments more, and listened to the sounds of the house, hoping to find my angel among them. Her infectious laughter met my ears, traveling down from what I assumed was the kitchen. With a smile now firmly set upon my lips, I rose from the bed and quickly prepared myself for the night so that I might go out from the room to join my angel.

I wandered to the kitchen when I was ready, not fearing the pain of the sun, as the windows were tinted specially for vampire kind. I stood in the doorway for a moment, simply watching as she conversed with one of my staff, her hands moving in an animated motion.

"Good evening, min lilla sol (my little sun)." I spoke after a while, catching her attention away from my staff.

She looked to where I was standing with a smile. "Hello. How are you?"

"I am doing well, are you doing well?"

"Yep, especially since Jason called earlier to say he was at Gran at Julia's place."

I walked over to where she was sitting, resting my head on her shoulder. My housestaff gave me a nod before walking off, more than likely to finish their duties for the day, leaving us in the kitchen alone.

"Are you packed? Our flight is scheduled for eight. Maybe when we arrive back in Shreveport, we can look into what is occurring in your home town."

She leaned her head against mine, humming an affirmative. "That does leave us with a good amount of time to ourselves, what are we going to do in that time?"

"Well, there is a chess set in the library, if you would like to play?"

She turned to face me quickly, dislocating my chin from her shoulder. "You have a library?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Show me." She demanded, and I gave a small chuckle at her sternness.

A mischievous mood fell over me, and I leaned back against the counter with a small grin on my face. "And what would be the magic word?"

She tilted her head with an exasperated look. "Now."

I couldn't help but laugh. "It seems that Eric is rubbing off on you, lilla sol (little sun). But come, I will show you to it."

I held out my hand to her yet again, and she took it without hesitation. The pure joy on her face when she saw my collection of books was an image that I will never let leave my memory, it was exquisite. I took a place on the couch, picking up a book I had left on the end table, but not reading yet as I was watching my angel wander, her fingertips brushing along the spines of books.

"This is amazing." Her voice was light, still in awe of the size of my collection.

"You can read one if you would like." I offered, amusement slipping into my tone.

"There are too many to choose from in such a short time." She looked back to me, "What are you reading?"

"Funnily enough, a second edition of Dracula by Bram Stoker." I flipped the cover towards her so that she might be able to see the gold lettering.

"Would you read to me? You have a nice voice for it."

I looked at her for a moment, a light blush on her cheeks. "I don't see why not, why don't you come over here and sit with me?"

A relaxed smile took over her features as she sat close to me, her nearest leg hooking overtop my nearest, and her head falling against my shoulder, eyes closed as I began where I left off.

"Did she fall asleep?"

"No Eric, I am just has a nice voice." A light blush came across her features yet again as she lifted her head and eyelids to reply to Eric.

"Do we have anything to do before we need to leave for our flight?" Eric asked me, leaning against the doorway.

"No."

"Then perhaps I will join you. Vår älskare (our lover) is right, you do have a pleasant voice." Eric sat himself down on the floor in front of us, his head leaning against our tangled legs, and placing Ashlin's other leg over his shoulder.

Ashlin's head found my shoulder yet again as I began reading, her eyes closing and her hand moving to comb fingers through Eric's golden hair. And that is how we stayed until it was time for us to depart back home.

Ashlin pov

I stretched my body as I slowly came back into consciousness, feeling soft movements against my calf. I opened my eyes halfway, confirming that my legs were still resting on Eric's lap. I flexed my muscles and shifted my legs ever so slightly, catching Eric's attention from the light conversation he was having with Godric.

"Welcome back, älskare (lover)." His tone was still a quiet one. "We will be landing soon enough."

I nodded to Eric, leaning back a bit and closing my eyes again, intent on dozing off until we landed and I needed to move again.

In no time at all, it seemed, we were pulling up the drive at Julia's home in Monroe. I had only been there a few times before, so I was glad to be able to find it so easily. Gran came out of the house the moment we parked, and embraced me in a tight hug. She had worried about me from the moment I had left, she always does. When she pulled away, I could see that her line of sight rested on Eric and Godric for a moment before looking at me expectantly.

"Gran, this is Eric and Godric. " I gestured to each of them as I spoke their names.

"It is nice to meet you both, but I have a feeling you won't be staying too much longer for us to get acquainted beyond this." She looked at me for explanation, and I smiled, glad for her understanding.

"Yes, Gran. I will be staying with Eric for a bit, until the things with Bon Temps clear up. Did you happen to find anything out?"

She shook her head. "No, unfortunately. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"It's okay Gran, thank you for trying. It is getting late, we should be going. I will see you soon enough, okay?"

"Alright, dear." She pulled me in for another hug. "And one more thing before you go, Lafayette called to say he had Tara over at his house. I couldn't tell much of what he was saying, but you should go to him, he sounded a bit panicked."

"Okay, thanks Gran." She was worried, and while it did not display on her features, it leaked through to her voice.

I sat in the back of the car with Godric as we drove to Laff's house. I had called a few moments earlier to learn more information than what Gran was able to tell me. Tensions were running high, and Godric had placed a hand on my thigh to keep it from bouncing.

"What do you think this could be?" I asked him. "Black eyes and the way she has been acting. I know Tara can be brash sometimes and edge on cruel, but this is far from her usual self."

"I am not sure yet, I have a few suspicions, but I would much rather wait until I can see your friend for myself." Godric answered truthfully, but I couldn't help but let out a sigh of frustration.

"Have peace, min lilla sol (my little sun). We shall figure this out."

I placed my hand overtop his and gave it a squeeze as I took a calming breath.

"I hope you're right." I said as we pulled into the driveway.

Eric was not fast enough to stop me from opening my own door and marching up to the house, Laff opening the door and pulling me into a hug before I was able to knock. I used the contact to run through his thoughts further, gaining more information about the situation, but also preparing myself for what I was about to witness.

Laff pulled back from me to gaze at our strange group, my vampires now standing at my flanks. I knew he feared Eric from his stint selling V, but I hoped he could push it aside, at least for tonight.

"Come on in, all of y'all. Maybe you can set her brains right." I was glad that I could avoid the conversation we were bound to have about Eric and Godric, but all of our minds were occupied with different thoughts tonight.

I nodded and Laff motioned all of us inside. Tara was in the living room, her back facing us, though she turned her head, watching us enter from the corner of her eye. She was eerily quiet. I brought a chair over to sit in front of her, the inky black depths of her eyes watching me. Godric, Eric, and Lafayette all took up places around the room, but otherwise stayed back, letting me be. Tara finally turned her full attention to me when I sat down, a dark grin on her face, and letting out a sinister giggle.

"Ashlin, you whore." She spoke with a laugh in her voice.

Eric and Godric growled lightly, but stayed where they were. We all knew that she wasn't in her right mind, but that didn't stop the bristle of emotions from welling up.

"Leave town with one Vampire, come back with two! You knew something was wrong! And you left! You abandoned us! You abandoned me! For Vampires! You slut!" She grew angry, straining against her bonds, but unable to break free.

I leaned off of my chair, placing the heel of my hand on her forehead and letting the rest of it grip her thrashing head, amplifying the connection between my mind and hers. I stared into the dark eyes that met mine, pushing into the darkness that seemed to coat her mind. I battled against it, carefully as not to harm her, but fiercely as to defeat it. The moment I lost my sense of the outside world was the moment I was able to break the barrier, her memories coming through blurred. I pushed myself further, working on clearing what was in her mind to the crisp pictures that they should be, and after each one was clear, I allowed myself to rescind. Slowly, the world faded back to me, and slowly I was able to see her face once more. Where my friend's eyes were once black, they were glowing a pale yellow, dimming as I fully left her mind until her normal chocolate pupils were back.