Standing in the middle of my closet I looked around at my options. What does one where to a vampire bar where there's going to be a vampire waiting that thinks he owns you, a crook who may or may not be found, and my sister and her vampire lover. Hmmmmm. I don't believe Cosmo or Glamour would have any suggestions for tonight. Although… since vampires have been out for a while, maybe this has been covered before in one of their advice columns. Damn, I need to read those magazines more.
"Hey Sookie, what do you think I should wear tonight?" I shouted from my closet to my sister who was probably in her own closet as well.
"Wear whatever you want to wear. The club will be shut down by the time we get there, so it'll just be us and whoever Eric has lined up." Sookie shouted from her room. She had already picked out a white sundress with cherries scattered all around, white patent leather shoes and a white clutch. Everyone knew that Sookie loved her sundresses, so the outfit was par to the course. Plus, she always liked to look her best when she was out with Bill, no matter the situation.
Okay, I thought. What do I want to wear? Huh. What I want to wear is my pajamas so I can go to bed. Well, I guess that's not happening. Then I saw my navy and white striped cotton maxi dress, the one with the spaghetti straps and slightly deep v-neck. It was one of the more comfy dresses I had in my closet, and truth be told, If I came home and just fell onto my bed to sleep, it wouldn't be a bad option to just leave on like pajamas. Okay, problem solved. I then located my chunky brown leather wedges and proceeded to change into the outfit along with a matching set of panties and strapless bra. Normally I didn't care about matching sets, but for some reason I felt like I should tonight.
Sookie finally came into my room to see if I was ready. I was just finishing up on refreshing my makeup and taking my hair out of the ponytail, which left it in waves flowing down my back when we heard the doorbell. It was Bill picking us up for the drive to Fangtasia. Sookie ran down the stairs immediately like a school girl rushing to greet her first gentleman caller. I followed, at a much slower pace, behind her.
"Bill." Sookie said excitedly as she opened the door and gave her love a huge hug and kiss. You'd think these two hadn't seen each other in months.
"Ahem." I said while clearing my throat to make sure their little mini reunion here didn't turn into something else. They finally broke apart upon hearing me.
"Ahh, yes, well, hello Sookie. You look a vision, as always, tonight." Bill said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face, and then added, "And Arabella, you look lovely as well." He meant it. He really did. He had hoped, however, that the girls wouldn't have dressed up so much for tonight. Eric didn't need any encouragement. The sisters standing before him were normally beautiful, but when done up, they were amazingly beautiful. He didn't know if they even realized it or not, but he knew Eric would notice. It was too late to get them to tone it down though. If they were not on time, he knew Eric would be pissed. Pissed off Eric was not a good thing.
"Well, why don't we get this show on the road then shall we?" Sookie said as we all proceeded to pile into Bill's car.
After driving for a bit in silence I finally said, "I can't believe I have to go to this."
Bill sighed and said, "Arabella, I understand your frustration, but Eric has claimed you. He is of high standing in the vampire community being the sheriff of area 5 and very old, which for our kind equates to very powerful. As long as his requests are reasonable, you should bow to his wishes. It would be unwise to anger him."
I didn't say anything back to Bill. What was there to say? I just turned my head to stare out the window and pray that Eric's 'requests' didn't get to unreasonable." Shit , I was screwed, wasn't I?
The drive was shorter than I had hoped so before long we were at Fangtasia's door. Pam was outside shooing the last of the patrons away. They were trying to get Pam to take them home with her so she could feed off of them. It was a pretty pathetic sight really. There they were on the ground hovelling at her feet, actually kissing them. She looked down at them with disgust and told them to never come back again. The way she was looking at them and speaking to them combined with their frozen stares at her made me think that they were probably being glamoured. I guess she thought they were pretty pathetic too. I felt sorry for those people. How do you get to that point in your life when you think that begging to be bitten by a vampire sounds like a good time? She probably saved their lives though. While she just sent them away forever, some other vampire may have killed them out of annoyance or for sport.
"Well, it's about time you all showed up. Eric's waiting inside." Pam said as she opened the door for us.
"We're here at the appropriate time Pam." Bill replied glaring at Pam.
"Yes, well, whatever." Pam retorted. It was obvious that she shared Eric's disgust for Bill.
Bill then proceeded to walk in with Sookie. Pam rolled her eyes at Bill as he placed his arm around Sookie's waist. She knew Sookie was his; it was no secret. What she couldn't understand or even begin to fathom was why any self-respecting vampire would ever show so much care and concern for their pet. It was plastered all over Bill's face and in his mannerisms with Sookie. His pet was human and therefore no equal to a vampire. It was pitiful to see really.
Pam then turned her attention to Arabella. Now, there was a gorgeous creature she thought.
"My, my, my, did you get all dressed up for Eric? Pity, I would have loved it if it was for me." Pam said to Arabella while checking out how the dress hugged her curves and amplified her generous cleavage.
"Ummmm, nooooo I just wanted to put on something comfy." I said while noticing exactly where Pam's eyes had strayed to. Well, I guess Pam likes the ladies. Maybe this dress was not the best thing to wear I thought but I was not about to cross my arms over my chest in some vain attempt to cover myself up. I'm sure in her long life Pam had seen many sets of chests. So, if she was trying to get a rattle out of me, it was not going to happen. In fact, I straightened myself a little further and proceeded in confidently. Pam was impressed, though she'd never admit it. This human was different, a good kind of different.
Eric, who was inside the club, was made aware of the trio's arrival from Pam. He looked at the doorway to see Bill ushering Sookie in. She looked radiant as ever in a well-cut sundress smelling like sunshine. A smirk spread across his face as images of fucking her in different positions while Bill was forced to watch chained in silver flashed in his mind. Ahhh, how lovely that would be Eric thought. Bill caught the look on Eric's face as Eric was staring at Sookie and quickly lead her toward a seat at the bar. Eric followed the two with his eyes but then noticed the other Stackhouse girl coming through the doorway. He had noted at Merlotte's that she was pleasing to the eye, very pleasing in fact, but tonight she looked incredible in that dress and her hair flowing in soft waves down her back. Her smell was amazing, not like sunshine, but like the day itself. Well, she's not horrid to look at and she smells wonderful. Having her as a pet should be fun for a while, at least until I get her sister, he thought to himself.
Arabella saw Eric the moment she walked through the door. He looked like a model dressed in a black wife beater and black jeans. His blonde hair was to his shoulders, which on someone else would've looked odd, but on him looked great. He was muscular, but still looked lithe. She had to make a concerted effort not to gasp at how beautiful he looked. Why did he have to look so damn good? Why did she have to have a non-existent sex life...
"Well, I'm glad to see that everyone could make it. Won't you all take a seat over here at this table. I will be back shortly. "Eric said motioning to the three of us to sit at a table in the middle of the room before he left. Bill, Sookie and I then proceeded to take seats at the table and waited for Eric's return.
While he was gone, I took a moment to look around. This place paid homage to every stereotype known involving vampires. The club had red walls, black leather chairs ,and lots of steel accessories abound… very goth. Pictures of Dracula, Selene from Underworld, and other famous 'vampires' covered the walls. Shoot, there were even pictures of Count Chocula and The Count from Sesame Street. I giggled to myself when I saw those. Pam saw my giggle and what caused it and smirked at me while leaning against the bar. Well, at least she didn't roll her eyes.
Eric then walked back into the room with another vampire and a balding overweight man wearing glasses who was dressed in a poorly fitting brown suit that stuck to him as he was sweating profusely. Eric sat the man across from Sookie and me at the table. The other vampire, who was pretty greasy looking with stringy black hair and an unbelievably ugly goatee, was wearing a sleeveless shirt exposing his numerous tattoos. He appeared to be native-American, I think. Can vampires get tattoos? I wondered. I'd have to ask Bill someday. The tattooed vampire walked behind the bar and started to play with his lighter. I thought vampires were supposed to be afraid of fire? Weird. Soon my attentions were drawn back to Eric.
"Pam, Longshadow and I are partners in this establishment. Recently it has come to our attention that $60,000 has gone missing from our books. We would like to know who the culprit is so we can retrieve what is rightfully ours." Eric began and then continued, "Bruce here is our accountant. We would like to begin with him to find out what he knows. Sookie and Arabella, this is where the two of you come in. We want you to listen to what Bruce has to say."
"Bruce isn't saying anything right now Eric." Sookie replied with slight venom in her voice. So much for not trying to anger the beast.
"Don't be coy Miss Stackhouse, I know what you and your sister can do." Eric replied.
"You know what I can do Eric, but my sister doesn't share my abilities." Sookie said, still trying to keep Arabella's ability on the down low.
"Come now Sookie, you know that's a lie. You're body language alone is screaming it. Why don't you all play nice and just admit it." Eric said with a smirk on his face.
Bill, realizing this was another battle they would not win joined in and said, "Sookie, he will find out, one way or another. You know this is true." He loved Sookie, but did she always have to be so damn argumentative with Eric. Eric may put up with it for a little while, but not forever. Bill never wanted to see the day where Eric had enough of Sookie's lip.
"Bill! Sookie screamed in anger. He was supposed to be on her side.
"Sookie, it's okay. I don't think we're fooling anyone here. Yes Eric, you're right, I can do what Sookie can. Let's just continue with this so I can get home and get some sleep." I replied because this was getting old and I was getting annoyed. It was obvious that Eric wasn't going to stop until he got his answer, one he seemed sure of knowing already anyway.
Eric smiled at Arabella. He always loved it when he won, this being no exception. "Thank you, my pet. And by the way, you look absolutely delicious tonight."
"My pet?" I repeated. What the hell? Wait, did he think I looked delicious? Is that good or bad?
Sookie still hot from before butted in and said, "Well, why don't you just glamour him into telling you what you need to know?" She was not interested in helping Eric in the least.
"Don't you think we've tried that? It's humbling enough to have to ask a human for help, don't make this worse. For you." Eric replied with a slight hiss. He often allowed Sookie to talk freely to him like no other human, it amused him, but there were limits, especially in front of other vampires.
Snapped back to reality I asked, "So what happens if we find out who did it?" I didn't know if I could handle the thought of being responsible for handing over someone to these vampires for 'justice'. Something told me their version of justice was not going to be just.
"We would hand them over to the proper authorities for punishment." Replied Longshadow from behind the bar with a smirk.
"Yeah, I don't know how old you are, but I do know that I wasn't born yesterday and that was about the worst lie-telling I've heard." I countered Longshadow and then turned toward Eric and said, "I'll make you a deal. If you agree to really hand over the crook, should we find them, to the police, then I'll agree to help you out again in the future if you need my assistance."
Eric pondered this for a moment. This bargain was clearly in his favor. He could use her anyway. She was his. But, this way she would think that it was her choice. How lucky could he be tonight? Before he answered though, Sookie butted in again saying, "Arabella, NO!"
Bill then chimed in and said, "Sookie, this is Arabella's choice." Too be honest, he had been hoping that Eric would find someone else to capture his interest. Eric's obsession with taking Sookie away from him at times took a toll on their relationship. It was unfortunate that it may turn out to be Arabella, for he really did like her, but at least he and Sookie would be able to help and guide her should she need it.
Sookie realized that it was probably too late to take back what Arabella had offered, but at least she might be able to sweeten the deal. "Arabella will not do it unless she gets paid. As far as we are concerned, this would be performing a service, one that could put her in harm's way, so she should at least get paid if she were to do this in the future."
Eric thought on this. He was vastly wealthy, so to pay Arabella a nominal fee for helping in the future didn't seem unreasonable. "Sure. Why not? Arabella, should I require your help in the future, you will be paid accordingly. So, would you ladies like to tell me what Bruce knows?" Eric asked smugly.
Sookie and I each took hold of one of Bruce's hands. The poor man was a mess. He clearly was nervous.
"Bruce, just try to relax." Sookie said.
'Shit, what the fuck are these girls going to do to me. I have a family. I never should have taken this job. I knew this was a bad idea. Fuck! I was the one to report to them the money was missing.'
"Bruce, take a deep breath, did you take their money?" I asked.
"No. No. I didn't take the money. You have to believe me. I didn't take it." Bruce replied out loud and then thought to himself, 'Man, I wish I knew who took the money. I'd turn that son-of-a-bitch in so fast. Who'd be stupid enough to steal from these vampires? When they find out who took it, that person won't last long, that's for sure. These vampires mean business. God, I would never be that stupid.'
"No, he didn't take the money and he doesn't know who did." I said to Eric.
"You're going to believe the skinny human that the fat one is telling the truth?" Longshadow asked Eric.
Eric knew that Longshadow had a point. Humans tended to try to help each other out, but looking at Arabella, sensing her body language and seeing her direct eye contact, he knew she wasn't lying. He appreciated that she was being truthful and helpful. Sookie wasn't always as forthright with him.
"Bring the next one in." Eric said as he motioned for Pam to remove Bruce and bring in the next human to be questioned. Pam led a slobbering Bruce out to a back room. He could barely walk and it looked like he had peed himself. Even if he was just cleared, he probably was not coming back to this job. If the vampires didn't outright kill him, the stress related heart attack that he would probably have down the road from working there would in all likelihood do him in.
Pam returned shortly with an anorexic, strung out looking blonde woman wearing a bikini top and a piece of cloth that others might call a skirt. Maybe.
"Thank you Pam. Now Ginger, sit down here. These ladies have some questions that they would like to ask you. Be a good girl and answer them." Eric said.
"Yes sir." Ginger replied with adoration as she looked up at Eric. He rolled his eyes at her and prompted us to continue.
I reached out to touch Ginger's hand, but she pulled it away and said, "Don't you fucking touch me."
"Hold her still." Eric said to Pam as Pam forcefully held Ginger's shoulder's sternly so she couldn't move.
I grabbed Ginger's hand to listen, but Sookie just sat back. She was done being Eric's puppet for the night. I telepathically asked Sookie why she wasn't doing anything to which she replied that I had it covered. Okaaaaaay. She was pissed, but it seemed like it was with me and not necessarily Eric. This was a conversation to have later, so I switched gears back to Ginger.
"Ginger, some money has gone missing here at the club. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" I asked the used looking woman in front of me.
"Really? No. I don't know anything about that." Ginger replied and then thought to herself, 'Goddam bitch. I didn't take shit. She better not say I took shit. I'll fucking kick her ass. Fucking bitch.'
"She didn't take the money, but she knows who did." I said.
'Shit. How does she know I know who took the money? I didn't say nothing to no one. Shit, he's going to kill me.' Ginger thought frantically while trying to escape Pam's grip.
"Ginger honey, who's going to kill you? She knows who took the money, but there's a blank, like her memory's been wiped clean of that person's face. Oh my God, she's been glamoured, hasn't she? It's a vampire." I said as shock overtook my face, as well as Ginger's.
As the words came out of my mouth, Longshadow jumped over the bar fangs a-blazing aiming for Sookie and myself. He was clearly the one who had done the crime and now was pissed off that these two humans had exposed him.
Before anyone else had moved Longshadow threw me across the room. I landed against the back wall, my head hitting it so hard that it rendered me unconscious.
Longshadow then quickly turned his attentions towards Sookie. He picked her up out of her seat, slammed her on the table and was about to sink his fangs into her when Bill broke a chair to get a splinter of wood and drove it deep into Longshadow's chest from his back, causing the vampire to explode into a bloody mess all over Sookie and her nice white sundress.
Ginger started screaming immediately, dropping to the floor while trying to pick up the pieces of Longshadow. Well, if all the kings' horses and all the kings' men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again, ain't no one going to put Longshadow back together again either.
Sookie sat up with a dazed look on her face. She was completely covered head to toe in vampire blood and guts. She had never seen anyone die in front of her before let alone in that fashion. It was then she thought of her sister.
"Arabella! Oh my God. Is she okay?" Sookie asked as she tried to get over to her sister without slipping on Longshadow's goo.
Bill stopped her from going to Arabella as she was likely to slip and hurt herself on all the goo on the floor. "She's just knocked out. She'll be up shortly." Eric replied as he walked over to Arabella to pick her up and place her on a bench seat. Her heartbeat was strong and breathes were constant, making her chest rise and fall in an alluring manner. Though she was knocked out, the blow wasn't that bad. It could have been worse. He knew she would recover quickly. Before turning away from her he remarked to himself how peaceful she looked lying there, like an angel. Such a shame he'd have to go deal with the mess before him now instead of being able to see her wake and…
"Ahhhhhhh!" Ginger continued to scream and sob. Her screaming brought Eric out of his thoughts and back to the present.
"Pam, please take care of Ginger and escort Sookie to the bathroom so she can clean herself up. Bill, come with me. I'll buy you a True Blood." Eric said as he motioned for Bill to follow him to his office.
….
Sookie stared at herself in the mirror. She couldn't believe the sight before her. Damn Eric. It's his fault I nearly got killed tonight and my sister in lying unconscious in this godforsaken club, she thought to herself. She then took a towel that was hanging next to the sink, got it wet and started to clean up the vampire that was all over her.
Pam came in after a bit to check on Sookie's progress and to give her something else to wear. There was no way she could leave the club looking like she just participated in some sort of pagan ritual.
"Here, let me help you. You seem to have vampire in your cleavage." Pam said to Sookie as she reached in and picked up a stringy piece of Longshadow from between Sookie's breasts.
Sookie watched as Pam did that, but didn't stop her. It was one less piece of guts she'd have to touch, even if Pam got to touch a little of her chest.
"Here's something for you to change into." Pam said as she placed the clothing on the toilet seat cover.
"Oh, no, I'll be fine. I'll just clean up and be on my way." Sookie said not really wanting to wear whatever latex garment Pam had just laid down. Lord knows who had worn it before and in what capacity.
"Honey, there is no way in hell that you are leaving here looking like that. Just change." Pam said annoyed with the blonde in front her. She then turned around to walk out of the room.
As Pam was walking out, Ginger walked in with a big grin on her face. "Oh, hello, I didn't know anyone else was here. I'm Ginger. Nice to meet you."
"Hi." Sookie replied, looking skeptically at the scantily clad bar worker.
"I just needed to get my purse from in here. You know, this is the best place to work, really. No one ever believes me when I tell them that they are just about the nicest people to work for." Ginger said, entirely too upbeat.
"Uhhhh, yeah, that must be nice." Sookie said, knowing for sure now that they had already glamoured this poor woman. Her mind probably looked like swiss cheese as Sookie ventured to guess that this was probably not the first time this woman had been glamoured.
"Well, bye!" Ginger said as she retrieved her purse and headed out.
Thankful that Pam and Ginger were now out of the bathroom, she then continued to try to get herself presentable again.
…
Meanwhile back in Eric's office…
"I don't know how you stomach this stuff Bill. It's rancid. Nothing like the real thing, at all." Eric said as he placed a True Blood in the microwave for Bill.
"It's just sustenance. I don't think about it. I just drink it." Bill replied.
"Well, if you're supposed to be the poster boy for mainstreaming, I think we're in trouble. And, as I recall, you were an avid lover of the real thing, if I'm not mistaken." Eric said, remembering how they used to cruise for bloodbags in Chicago. Hearing the bing of the microwave, he then opened it, got the drink out and handed it over to Bill.
Taking the bottle, Bill replied, "Thank you. Yes, I cannot deny that the real thing will always be preferred, but True Blood does the job." Bill replied.
"Yeah, True Blood. It'll keep you alive, but it will bore you to death." Eric said with an eye-roll. "Now, I know that you're not just living on this stuff though, right Bill? Tell me, does she taste as wonderful as she smells."
Bill clearly flustered finally asked, "Let's cut to the chase here Eric. How much trouble am I in?"
"You killed a vampire Bill, for your human. What am I supposed to do about this?" Eric noted.
"What do you have in mind?" Bill asked.
"I'll take Sookie." Eric replied, amazed at how the situation had unfolded.
"NO! " Bill said loudly. "You could have anyone you want, in fact, if I'm not mistaken, you have claimed Arabella. You can't have them both. Why do you want Sookie so badly, Eric?"
"Why do you want her?" Eric replied and then added, "Oh wait. No. You don't actually LOVE her, do you?
"Sookie needs to be protected." Bill said earnestly.
"Now, that sounds like a decree Bill. I would know if there was one, now wouldn't I Bill and as far as I know, there isn't. Admit it, you love her." Eric replied. This was going to be more fun than he anticipated. This revenge will be sweet.
"If I hadn't done what I did, were you going to let Longshadow's disloyalty go unpunished?" Bill asked, hoping to get the scope off of his relationship with Sookie.
"Oh, that's rich coming from you Billy-boy. Disloyalty, now you would know a thing or two about that, wouldn't you?" Eric spat out and then continued, "How and when I handled Longshadow's deceit would be up to me, since I am sheriff, but I'll tell you this much, it would not have been done in front of witnesses, especially vampire witnesses'. Not a wise move Bill. Not wise at all."
…
I woke up laying on a bench in one of the booths in the club. My head was pounding, but everything else seemed to be in working condition. So, I sat up and took a look around. No one was in the bar. Where did everyone go? I wasn't sure that I really wanted to go and look around to find anyone at the moment as my last memory was of Longshadow jumping at me with the most heinous look I've ever seen on anyone's face and then his arm knocking me into next Tuesday. Shit, I hope he isn't still lurking around here. Bill and Sookie wouldn't leave me lying here if he was, would they? No, they wouldn't. And I thought getting manhandled at Merlotte's tonight was bad enough, but now this.
Pam entered the room with a glass of water in her hand and what appeared to be two aspirins. "Here, take these. From what I understand they'll help your human ails." Pam said, looking bored already with playing nursemaid.
I took the glass and pills from her and responded. "Thank you Pam. Where did everyone go? "
"Well, let's see. Bill stabbed Longshadow sending him to the true death which covered your sister in vampire goo. She's in the bathroom attempting to clean up and Bill and Eric are in Eric's office discussing Bill's situation." Pam answered.
"Oh my goodness. Is Sookie okay?" I asked.
"Yes, she's fine other than needing a good shower." Pam replied.
"And Bill, is he in some sort of trouble?" I asked.
"Well, that's for the boys to decide." Pam said as the others began to enter the room.
"Sookie, I heard from Pam about Longshadow. Are you alright? And what are you wearing?" I asked as I saw my sister come in. She looked like she was ready to spank someone in the black latex bondage outfit she had on. All she was missing was a whip and handcuffs.
"I'm fine. Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah. Just a little headache. What's with the get-up?" I replied.
"Oh, this outfit? Well, I think this is Pam's way of having me live out one of her lesbian fantasies." Sookie said looking at the outfit with disgust.
"Yes, well, while the outfit looks good on you, the fantasy works better if it were on your sister." Pam said looking at me lustfully.
"Enough Pam." Eric said, slightly agitated at the manner Pam was speaking about Arabella. Not that he cared for her, but Arabella was his. Pam needed to keep her desires to herself.
"Thank you for your assistance tonight Sookie & Arabella. Bill may take you both home now." Eric said looking at the sisters.
"Can't wait to leave." Sookie said as Bill took her hand, said his goodbyes and led her to the door.
I got up to follow them, but Eric stopped me.
"Aren't you going to say goodbye?" Eric said as he gently lifted some of my hair off of my shoulder up to his face and inhaled its scent. She smelled even better up close like this.
The simple act of him breathing me in made my breath hitch. The proximity of him, being so close and, in a weird way, intimate, was stirring things inside of me. It scared me a little, no, make that a lot. I pulled away and looked up at him saying, "I really should be leaving. Goodbye Eric."
He said, "I will be calling on you again soon. Don't miss me too much. I know you can't get enough of looking at me." And with that cockiness, he blew the feelings he just stirred in me a moment ago and replaced them with annoyance.
"I won't be holding my breath for you to call, if that's what you mean. Goodbye Eric." I said and headed out the door, not looking back at him, even though every part of my being wanted another glance. Bastard.
Eric smirked as Arabella walked out the door. Oh yes, this should be fun.