A/N To the readers of my previous story, you all remember that I said I had a chapter written for the sequel already. Anyway, I took a lot of time to read over the reviews you guys sent in for the last chapter, and used them to revise this one.
That said, let's talk storyline for a minute. Personally, I'm a writer who likes plot and character-driven stories. Not to say that I don't like gratuitous smut, but as a writer, I'd like to deliver a good story with good characters first, then add in the citrus.
Story-wise, this one will focus more on their relationship and the issues they have to work through. The first story barely scratched the surface of who Eric and Sookie are individually, and as a couple. This one is my foray into more character-driven territory.
Of course, the plot also thickens. Where we left off, Eric has just become king of Louisiana and Mississippi. This presents a lot of material to work with, as well as a larger scope of problems they will have to deal with. Anyway that's pretty much it, so on to the story and don't forget to let me know what you guys think through a review!
Chapter 1
The day after the battle, Sookie woke at two in the afternoon with an aching back and tired shoulders. Eric had been extremely passionate during their bout of lovemaking, and Sookie was feeling the effects of his attentions.
Giving her Viking a kiss on the cheek, the telepath ambled out of bed, took care of her human needs and chose to wear a pale pink sundress for the day. She was immediately greeted by her two fairy guards as she headed out of her bedroom.
'Good afternoon, Lady Sookie,' the two said in unison, their melodic voices blending together.
'Good afternoon, you two. Where's Grandpa?' Sookie asked.
'Downstairs, my lady. The Prince insisted that he would see to your food,' Alvar answered.
'Okay. Calixto, would you mind guarding Eric? Alvar, you can go with me downstairs,' the telepath said. Calixto nodded his assent, and Sookie headed down with her black-haired guard trailing behind her.
Once she walked through the archway into her dining room, Niall immediately stood and put down his glass of juice. The Prince was dressed in an elegant, dark robe.
'Hello, my dear child. Did you rest well?' he inquired.
'Well, yeah I did,' she said, giving him a smile.
I actually didn't rest until dawn because Eric went crazy in bed last night, but you don't need to know that, her mind whispered internally.
'Good, good. Sit down, little one. I have conjured some pie, as well as some chicken. There is also apple juice, but if you prefer a different type, it can always be done,' the Prince said.
Sookie shook her head and sat down as she was told, Alvar standing behind her as always. Putting a slice of pie and a cut of chicken onto her plate, she began to eat in silence as Niall wordlessly sipped his juice. Eventually, the Prince decided to bring up their small fight from the previous evening.
'I am sorry for what I said to you, my child. I was angry, and it was hurtful to press my authority like I did. I ask your forgiveness,' he said contritely, looking at his great granddaughter.
'I won't lie to you. What you said was out of line, and it wasn't necessary. But, I do understand. You and Eric were both angry with each other, and needed to let it out. I forgive you, Grandpa,' she said, nodding gently. As soon as she had said so, Niall stood and gave her a grateful kiss on the forehead.
'Thank you for being understanding. I don't deserve it, but I am grateful nonetheless,' the Prince said with a small smile as he sat down again.
The previous silence was now replaced with their companionable banter. Topics such as the laws of the Fae, other types of power and the like were all brought up. Niall was happy that Sookie had taken an interest in Fae affairs, while Sookie was happy to learn things about her heritage.
Before long, Sookie stood and was about to walk to the sink, when she was stopped by the voice of her handsome Nordic vampire.
He was completely shirtless, only sporting dark jeans. The sight made Niall avert his eyes.
'You will not do the dishes, my love. That is a task beneath you!' he said sternly, walking towards her with a disdainful glance at the plates.
Oh right, he wakes up way earlier now. Shit, here comes the 'you are above that' lecture! And why in the world is he shirtless? Crap, I forgot that he doesn't have too many clothes here.
'Eric please, don't bring that up,' she pleaded, her mind steeling itself for his answer.
'Nonsense. You are the bonded to the vampire king of two states, and therefore the queen. You will absolutely not do the dishes,' he enthused, holding her face in between his hands.
'Lady Sookie, I can do that for you,' Calixto said, quickly using his powers to send all the plates and utensils to the sink before Sookie could interject.
In no time at all, they were pristine and situated in their respective racks, making Sookie shake her head and sigh in defeat. The Prince gave Calixto a subtle nod of approval, before he turned to address Sookie in a serious tone.
'The Viking is right, my dear. Your station is high, and you must begin to accept all that it entails. No queen, and no princess of the Fae will wash dishes. That is your station, and you must accept it!' Niall said.
'Fine, fine. You win. No more washing dishes for old Sookie Stackhouse,' she said dejectedly.
'And while we are on the subject of you being a queen and a princess of the Fae, I will call the shifter and inform him that you are quitting,' Eric added.
'What? You don't have any right to do that!'
'Lover, please be reasonable. You are the Queen of Louisiana and Mississippi, as well as Fae Royalty. Being a waitress is far behind you now,' the Viking explained.
'I concur. I will not have my great granddaughter working as a waitress in some bar filled with stinking, idiotic rednecks,' Niall said.
'Why are you both ganging up on me like this? I can't just leave Sam all of a sudden!'
'My dear granddaughter, think practically. I am sure you will spend almost no time here in Bon Temps. Most of your duties will be in Shreveport, New Orleans or somewhere in Mississippi. Even if we were to let you keep your job,' the Prince said, before he was cut off by Eric.
Fucking shifter. I am done seeing my bonded in his filthy establishment. She will be with me, cared for and lavished like the Queen she is. He doesn't deserve her presence at his bar anyway.
'Which we are definitely not going to do, you wouldn't have any time left to work as a waitress in that stupid shifter's bar. So, I will call him and before this day ends you will no longer be on his payroll,' Eric said with finality.
'Alright, alright. I concede, but I want to tell him in person. Don't you dare argue with me,' Sookie said, putting her hands on her hips.
'That is acceptable. We will go as soon as the sun sets. There is still a good hour and a half of sunlight left, and while I can walk freely as we have already found out, the general impression is that vampires burn in the sun. Let us keep it that way,' the Viking said, before giving his bonded a lingering kiss which sent a shiver up her spine.
'That was some kiss,' she said as she pulled away.
'Of course it was. I'm Eric Northman, am I not?' he answered playfully.
'For decency's sake, put on a shirt, Viking,' Niall said suddenly, breaking into the couple's banter and shaking his head at Eric's state of undress.
'Don't tell me what to do, Prince. You are addressing a monarch in his territory, so I suggest you keep your mouth firmly shut,' Eric bit back in reply. As if to prove his point, the Viking walked all the way to the living room couch and sat down beside Sookie with a smug look.
Once they were all seated, Sookie immediately launched into a conversation.
'So what do we do now? I mean, with you being the king and all, I'm sure a lot of new challenges are about to come. Things are gonna change, right?'
'I am afraid they will, my love. I will have many things to straighten out in the two territories, and we will both be undertaking many new duties as King and Queen. There is also the matter of the formal Coronation to be officiated by the Ancient Pythoness,' Eric answered.
'You should both pledge,' Niall interjected.
'Excuse me, we should what?' Sookie asked.
'Explain it to her, Norseman,' the Prince said, making his customary go on gesture.
'A pledge is the most sacred ceremony to our kind, lover. It signals a commitment even more profound than a bond. There is no equivalent to it, not even the human concept of marriage. I suppose that technically it is a marriage, but it is infinitely more than that. A pledge is unbreakable, and even by concept alone is very inviolable. It is a different sort of connection, but it carries the same weight as the right of makers to their children,' the Viking said.
'Wow. So it really is way deeper than a bond,' Sookie said, in awe of Eric's explanation.
'That is true. Bonds can be overcome, either by superiority or other measures. A King for example, can impose his authority upon a bonded pair, by virtue of his position. An older vampire can also choose to disregard bonds made by younger vampires, since the elder can always kill the younger vampire, and make the remaining part of the bonded pair submit. On the other hand, a pledge is above being overcome, truly a commitment to forever. The right of a pledged vampire to his mate is above any king or other authority. The same way, your right to me would be indisputable as well,' Eric said, stroking her hand, which was resting on his knee.
'This is why I suggest you pledge to each other. Of course, no one in their right mind would take you away from the Viking, but there are always insane ones to worry about,' Niall added, looking gravely at his great granddaughter.
Sookie took a moment to ponder everything that had been said to her, before her face took on a sad look and she spoke in a tone filled with fear.
'But what if one day you tire of me, Eric?' she said simply.
'If that happens, I will kill you, Viking,' Niall threatened.
'Grandpa, lay off on the threats before Eric bites you again. Let him answer, would you please?' Sookie said, shaking her head disapprovingly. She fixed her gaze on her vampire, filling the bond with tinges of anxiety and fear of rejection.
'I would never tire of you, my dearest. I have waited one thousand years for one such as you to come along. I will never tire of you, I will never stop loving you, and I will never ever let you go,' Eric answered, pulling Sookie into a warm embrace and flooding the bond with love.
Thank you God, for the gift of Eric Northman, Sookie mused as she pressed herself against him.
'I love you Eric,' Sookie whispered, her cheek pressed to Eric's chest, their arms wrapped around each other on the couch.
'I love you too,' he said in a whisper, before he disengaged and gave her a loving kiss.
'We still have about 45 minutes before sundown, my dear. Would you like to practice your teleportation, or maybe some conjuring?' Niall interjected, looking at Sookie.
'Actually I'd prefer to take a shower, Grandpa. Is that okay?'
'Of course it is, darling Sookie. Go on, I will try to rest a bit as well. I was checking up on affairs in the Fae Realm earlier today. I came back right in time for you to wake, and now I am slightly worn out. Old age and all,' the Prince said jokingly.
'Old age indeed,' Eric said, before he looked at Sookie with lust in his eyes.
'Shall we shower, my lover?' he said huskily, making Sookie's heart race.
The telepath dispensed with a reply and instead chose to nod, before she walked up the stairs and into her bedroom. The Viking walked after her in pursuit, and closed the door behind them. He flashed into the shower and ripped off both their clothing at the same vampiric speed.
'Eric, we don't have time for this! We'll just shower, and that's it, you hear me?' she said, looking sternly at him as she turned on the water and stood under its spray. In reply, Eric hurriedly pushed her against the cold tile wall and leaned into her ear to whisper.
'We will be quick, my lover,' he promised, pressing his hard length against her already wet center. The fact made him smile, even as he tried to keep from burying himself to the hilt.
'Eric! We don't have time!' she said, frantically trying not to think about the wonderful sensation of his body pressed against hers, the water flowing over both of them.
'You know you want this, Sookie. Look how wet you already are for me. Practically dripping,' Eric purred against her ear, before his lips traveled down to her neck and shoulders.
The amorous vampire lifted his fairy bonded upwards, wrapping her legs around his waist before he began to suckle on one of her breasts with needy abandon.
'Eric…' she whispered, having given up the struggle to resist. Her hands were now gripping his hair, arching her back to present more of himself to him. The Viking pulled away from her breast and now paid homage to the other one, making Sookie moan as she surrendered herself to him.
'I need you now, Sookie. Are you ready for me, my lover?' he said against her skin, before he looked up into her eyes, his own glazed over with lust. Sookie nodded wordlessly, already aching for the feeling of fullness only he could give her.
Satisfied with her response, Eric began to lower her onto his shaft, groaning in pleasure as she took him into her inch by inch. It was a glorious feeling.
He stopped for a moment, purely to appreciate the sensation of being inside his lover. Not a second later, Sookie let out a strangled command.
'Move,' was all she said, but it spurred him to action. He began to move slowly at first, speeding up in response to her moans. Sookie held on for dear life as Eric began to pound mercilessly into her, growling often as he did so.
'Oh God, Eric…' she bit out, holding onto his shoulders as he continued to thrust powerfully, hitting that spot inside of her which made her cry out.
'Fuck! Lover…' he said hoarsely, before he captured her lips in a searing kiss. He was pulling out nearly all the way and slamming back into her tight heat with each stroke, panting out unnecessary breaths while the water continued to cascade around them.
With each thrust, Eric grew more uncontrolled and more erratic. To him, the pleasure was nearly unbelievable in its magnitude. To Sookie, the pleasure was simply indescribable as her Viking lost himself in his passion and need. He was growling, adding to the chorus of her moans as they claimed each other under the spray of the warm water.
Eventually, Sookie could feel her release nearing while Eric continued to slam into her relentlessly. Feeling her impending climax, Eric sped up even more, pacing himself and wanting to join her as she fell over the edge.
'I'm so close Eric,' she panted out, her hands tangled in his hair as their bodies continued the pursuit of pleasure.
'That's it, my love. Come with me,' he commanded, adding even more force to his thrusts, spurred on by the slight pain of her hands in his hair and the gloriously lusty symphony of her incessant moans.
A few more thrusts and Sookie climaxed, screaming loudly as she held on to her vampire. The delicious clenching of her walls brought on Eric's own release, making him throw his head back and roar as his seed shot out of him so violently that he nearly buckled under the pleasure. Both of them held on to each other as they rode out the aftershocks, either panting or sucking in huge breaths of air.
The heated encounter seemed to have lasted for hours, but in reality only lasted a hasty 20 minutes. Coming down from the high of their activities, Eric and Sookie both took to the task of cleaning themselves, stealing kisses and playful nips as they did so.
After some time, they were both clean and dressed. Sookie had decided to pull a Dermot move, conjuring a black dress shirt and matching dark jeans for Eric, accented with leather boots. For herself, Sookie picked out a red dress and heels. The sight made Eric leer.
'I want to rip that dress off of you already,' he said in a low voice.
'Oh shut up. We need to get to the bar, remember?' she said with a huff.
'Sadly yes. But the fact remains. You look fucking hot in that dress,' he said enthusiastically, giving her a wink.
'Whatever, you big lusty Viking. Let's go!' Sookie said, tugging on his arm. Eric acquiesced to her pulling, and followed his bonded down the stairs.
Niall had obviously traded his robes via some quick conjuring, and was now dressed in a black suit and slacks, dispensing with a tie. The Prince was waiting by the doorway, flanked by Calixto and Alvar who had also done away with their swords. Ostensibly, it was an effort to keep a rather low profile considering where they were headed.
'Come now. We will be teleporting,' the Prince said, taking Eric and Sookie's hand in each of his while Alvar and Calixto laid one hand each on Niall's shoulders. The telepath could sense the rise of her great grandfather's power, and a moment later they were standing some distance away from the Merlotte's parking lot.
Sookie took a second to get back her bearings, while Eric shook his head, still not used to traveling via teleportation. Alvar and Calixto immediately took up position behind Sookie, while she stood in between the Viking and the Fairy Prince. The group walked to the entrance, and was met with stares as they went into the bar. The crowd's thoughts suddenly bombarded Sookie.
Bloody fucking shit, those are hot men!
How in the hell does Sookie always get the goddamn hot ones?
Oh shit, that's the hot vamp from Fangtasia! What is he doing with her?
Having had enough, Sookie firmly put up her shields and linked her arm around Eric for good measure. As soon as her skin made contact with his, her head was filled with welcome silence. Sam immediately took notice, and wisely herded the group into his office.
Once inside, Eric did away with greetings and immediately stated his purpose, while Calixto waved his hand near the door, effectively soundproofing the room with magic as to prevent the people outside from hearing. Done with his task, Calixto took up position next to Alvar, standing guard near the door with his fairy twin brother.
'My bonded has something to say to you, shifter,' Eric said, sitting down immediately after. He copied Niall and made his own go on gesture, looking at Sookie.
'What is it, Sook?' Sam asked.
'I'm quitting my job, Sam,' she said, her tone apologetic.
'What? Why? It's these vampires isn't it? You bastards just leave her alone!' he yelled, his eyes now boring into Eric.
'You will watch your tone, or I will see to it that you will never speak again,' Niall said, his threat evident despite the utter calm of his voice.
'And who the hell are you?' Sam asked pointedly.
Niall stood up rather lethargically, showing how much he really didn't care about the entire situation, or the person he was talking to.
'I am Prince Niall, ruler of the Fae and Sookie's great grandfather. Now that we are introduced, I believe you should follow what I said. You will watch your tone, or your next words will be the last you speak on this Earth,' he answered, sitting back down on the chair situated next to Eric.
'So, like I said Sam, I'm quitting. Things have changed, and I really can't be doing this job anymore. I hope you understand,' Sookie said.
'Northman's making you quit, isn't he?' Sam said in reply, fighting to keep his tone down.
Apparently Eric decided that he had heard enough. The Viking vampire stood up, walked over to the shifter and stopped directly in front of him. As it was, Sam looked pitiful next to Eric's towering frame.
'Good deduction, Sam Merlotte. I am making her quit. Firstly because this establishment is not fit for one like her and that is the truth of the matter. Also because the idiotic, worthless cattle who populate this bar do not deserve her presence and attention. The cattle label includes you, in case you were wondering,' Eric said, his voice dripping with venom and distaste at having to address someone he considered inferior.
'Eric please calm down, you don't need to speak to him that way,' Sookie pleaded.
'My lover, please sit next to the Prince. I will resolve this matter myself,' he said, giving Sookie a kiss and pointing to the chair he'd vacated.
'How dare you talk to me like this in my own bar? You're out of line Eric,' Sam said, his tone already raised.
'You have no right to address me by my first name. You may, however, call me by my title. King Eric would be eminently suitable. Your Majesty will also work well,' Eric said smugly.
The shock on Sam's face was priceless.
'But I thought Bill was the king?'
'No longer. Compton is most definitely dead, and I am the king. Now, back to our earlier matter. Sookie is quitting and that is not a problem, is it, shifter? If it is, I would be glad to resolve it for you both,' Eric said, his tone laced with cloying friendliness. Underneath, the Viking was aching to snap Sam's neck in half.
Sam took a moment to think on his next words.
Surely she doesn't really wanna quit? These fucking vamps are just making her do it. Oh shit, Eric is the king now? God, this is not good. I just need to get to Sookie. If I can get her to see reason, it will be fine.
'I'm not allowing it. I'm sure she doesn't want to, since she has friends that she cares about and who care the same about her. It's not your business to make decisions for her, Northman. No offense to you Prince Niall, but I believe your granddaughter is perfectly happy working here. Ain't that right, Sook?' he said, looking at Sookie with the gentle, pleading eyes of a friend.
'Yeah I don't really want to,' Sookie began to say. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Eric roared in frustration and looked at her.
'I thought we were over this, Sookie? You are a Queen and a Princess of the Fae! This place and its redneck occupants, furthermore this position, should be beneath your notice!' the Viking said, pausing to compose himself.
'This bar has been a part of almost all my life, Eric! How can you tell me that these people are beneath me? Some of the people here are my friends! You're unbelievable!' she yelled.
'Don't go off tangent with me. This is about your work. We have agreed that this job is unnecessary, impractical and quite frankly, truly beneath you. Why can you not see this? Do you think the Queen of Louisiana and Mississippi should mill around, serving beer to drunkards? Do you love them so much that you are willing to endure their filthy thoughts, their clearly rude ways? They don't even deserve you, Sookie! All I ask is that you let go of this job. You cannot work in such a menial position. You will not even be in this motherfucking town, for fucking crying out loud!'
'I'm the one going off tangent now? I was just replying to your elitist comments! I get it, okay? You hate these people and you think they're so inferior to you. Sam, Terry, Lafayette, Arlene and everyone else in this bar is inferior, because you're just great old King Eric and I'm your bonded, so I need to think they're beneath me too. You hate this job because it's menial to you. I get it! I know I can't change your opinion, but that doesn't give you the right to dictate what should be mine!' Sookie said with a huff.
'Fine! Stay in your job then! Be a waitress, continue to serve these cattle that you call people. Continue to take orders and bring trays to the very humans who have thought ill of you, who have probably fucking groped you or something equally disgusting. I am done trying to make you see what you're worth!' Eric said, shaking his head and walking out of the bar at vampire speed. Sookie was stunned at Eric's exit and stood motionless.
'See, Sookie? Look at how he thinks! How can you stand him? He wants to control you, to change you into someone like him!' Sam threw in.
'You will be silent, or I will sever your tongue with my hands, Merlotte! Alvar, Calixto, restrain him!' Niall commanded, before he turned to Sookie and cradled her face.
'My dear child, go after your Viking,' the Prince said gently.
'Why should I? He's the one who's been making all those goddamn comments!'
'Why must you make things so hard? We came from your house with the express understanding that you would quit. Why must you reinforce to your Viking that you really don't wish to leave? Is this job so great that it is irreplaceable, my child?'
'No, of course it's not that this job is perfect!'
'So why must you keep holding onto it? You have effectively shown your bonded that you value the misguided opinions of the shifter above his own reasonable request of you!'
'What? How so, Grandpa?' Sookie asked.
'You have told the shifter that you really don't wish to leave this menial position of work, which thus means that Eric's request to do otherwise is insignificant to you. Merlotte asked you whether Eric is making you quit, correct? The Viking answered truthfully in assent. And then you chose to say that you don't really want to quit, which paints your bonded as a manipulative, controlling mate to you because he wishes for you to do so. How is this fair to him? Have you ever stopped for a second to evaluate how your statement made him look?' Niall scolded.
Oh my God, Grandpa Niall's right. Shit, I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't even have reacted when Eric got frustrated. Fuck, I am so screwed. Sookie Stackhouse, why do you always say the wrong things at the wrong moment? Shit!
While Sookie's thoughts continued to fill her with self-deprecation and shame, Niall broke through her musings.
'As I said, go after him. Can you sense him still?'
'Yeah, he's really near here,' she said, tuning into the bond. She neglected to mention that Eric's barely-controlled rage was present as well, a constant undercurrent to every other emotion they shared through their connection.
'Well then go, child. I will be talking with Mr. Merlotte over some things. Principally, we will talk about how he is too interfering for his own good,' he said.
Sookie wasted no time and instead chose to exercise her teleportation. It was remarkably easy, since her thoughts were occupied by no one else except her destination. Before long, she stood in the shadow of one of the trees far from the bar. She was looking straight at Eric, who had his back turned to her.
The Viking continued to look up at the sky, aware of her presence but not acknowledging it at all. Sookie chose to walk up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. His reaction was frightening as he turned to face her.
'Don't take liberties with me, Sookie Stackhouse! Don't you have a shift to cover, maybe some beer to serve? Far be it from me to cause the shifter to fucking disapprove of your work. Am I not merely your bonded who wants to control you by making you quit, and who wants to train you in my way of thinking?' he said coldly, turning around again with a scoff.
'Eric please…' she pleaded, wrapping her arms around his back as she stood behind him.
The Viking fought to keep control and not to react to her gesture. Still not facing her, Eric spoke.
'What is it about this town that makes you cling to it? What is it about this bar that makes it so hard for you to leave it? Is there something here I have not provided or cannot provide? Or is it just the way I think which makes you recoil from the things I say?' he asked simply, exerting his iron willpower over his emotions. His tone was flat, inflectionless and devoid of feeling.
'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you look manipulative or anything, I promise. I'm also sorry for telling you off earlier, you know me, I can't back down from a fight! I regret what I said and what I did,' Sookie said, her tears beginning to run down her face. Eric felt the sadness in the bond, but as before, paid it no mind.
'Perhaps it is the shifter. I suppose I cannot compete with him, can I? He has known you for so much longer than I have. I would like to believe that this will never happen again, but it seems that even with your apology, I still find it hard to do so,' Eric replied.
'He's known me longer than you have, Eric. That's true and it can't be helped. And I know how you are, so I understand why you find it hard to believe that this won't happen anymore. Believe me, I don't blame you. But I will say this Eric Northman, and I will face you as I say it.'
Sookie unwrapped her arms from his back, and walked over to stand in front of him.
'Sam may have known me longer, but he doesn't know me better. And while he is a good friend, he isn't the man I love. I've told you before that I belong to you. That is completely true. I've also told you before that I love you, and that's the most truthful thing I've ever said in my life,' she ended tearfully.
Sookie began to walk away, but was stopped in her tracks by the sudden sensation of her vampire wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, a carbon copy of her gesture.
'Don't walk away from your old Viking, lover. He loves you very much,' he said, whispering against her silken hair before he turned her around to face him. She was powerless to do anything but cry against his chest as she hugged him.
'I'm so sorry, Eric,' she said in between her small sobs.
'Shh, sweetling. Don't cry, I despise it when you cry. All is well between us,' he said, kissing her forehead then her eyelids, in a gentle gesture of forgiveness. He moved to kiss her lips, but Sookie recoiled slightly.
'How can you be so good to me? I don't deserve you,' she said sadly.
'Isn't that my line?' he said jokingly, earning a giggle from Sookie, coupled with a playful swat on the arm. Things were rapidly normalizing again.
'Quiet now, my lover. Kiss your Viking, he craves your lips,' he said afterwards, leaning down to capture her lips with his own.
Sookie acquiesced willingly and poured all of her love for him in that one kiss, accentuating it with the love she filled the bond with. Eric returned the emotion in equal gesture as his lips melded with hers passionately. Her hands wound themselves into his hair while his own were wrapped around her hips and back, keeping her pressed flush against him.
Eventually, Sookie broke away for air. Eric used his finger to gently wipe away the tear tracks on her face, before he gave her another brief kiss.
'You look fine, my love. Come now, we will finish this conversation with the shifter and then we will go to your house and wait for Pam and Gregory,' he said gently, before he scooped her up and flashed back to Sam's office, stopping only to open the door.
Once inside, Sookie immediately noticed the bleeding gash on Sam's cheek.
'Grandpa, what did you do to him?' she asked accusingly.
'Taught him not to speak where he is not warranted, and not to interfere in the matters of his superiors. Don't worry though, he will heal quite quickly,' Niall said, shrugging carelessly.
'Very good, Prince,' Eric said, before turning to Sam.
'As for you, the decision is final. Sookie is quitting and that's the end of it. You will not prevent it, you will make no comment on it. Don't even bother with severance pay, it's not necessary. Whatever you call severance pay is just pocket change to me. You will need it more than she does, believe me,' Eric said confidently.
Sam nodded, dabbing on his injury with a small cloth.
'I'm sorry it had to be so complicated and all, but that is my decision, Sam. Goodbye,' she said.
'I apologize too, Sookie. And if ever you need anything, you give me a call, you hear me?' he said, moving towards her for a hug. The moment he came within a foot of her, Eric's hand sent him stumbling backwards, but thankfully not enough to make him fall down.
'You have no right to touch my Queen, and you would do well to remember that,' he said venomously, fangs down.
'Eric, let's just go, okay?' Sookie said, placing a restraining hand on his arm.
'Very well. Come now, Prince. We have some matters to attend to back at the house,' Eric said imperiously, his hand already entwined with Sookie's.
Niall didn't even say goodbye to Sam, instead turning fluidly around to stand on the other side of Sookie like before. Alvar and Calixto took up their usual places behind their telepathic fairy mistress, and the group walked out of Merlotte's and into the dark night.
A/N There we are people, the end of our first chapter. The next chapter will contain Pam and Gregory, since it's time to decide on what to do with the spoils of war, namely, the two kingdoms which Eric has just conquered.
Leave a review! Tell me what you think, comments on the content, maybe even something you'd like to see in the next chapter. Remember you guys, you help write this story more than you'll ever know. See you in Chapter 2!