Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! It truly makes me feel so happy that you like the story. Thank you also to the new favorites/followers. I hope you all like what comes next and continue to read.
Oh, before I forget, please vote on my profile page if you would like Nora to appear in this story or not. Thanks!
To Chibichibi98: Yeah, she's really on quite the roller coaster ride right now. But, with each situation, she gets a little bit stronger. She'll need to… (wink, wink).
To Loki: I wish I could crank these out quicker, but there's so much going on now…
To Taren: Thanks! Arabella could use someone in her corner, right?
To Monica: Well, you'll see how Pam reacts in this chapter, and it's typical Pam… React first, ask questions later.
To Jen: Well, we'll see what happens to Eric in this chapter…
To Mica: Arabella will not be a happy camper when she eventually finds out, that's for sure.
To Chere: Arabella and Jason continue to bond in this chapter. As for Eric, he is sincere in his regret and guilt. It's not a game anymore to him and he wants to fix his mistake, desperately.
To Cassia: Thank you! I can't tell you how much words like that help me to continue.
To Clary: Thanks! I would love more reviews too ;) They rock my world!
To Writemorenow: Well, here it is Hope you like it!
To Pelawen Night: Thanks! Hope you like this next chapter!
To The Wolf Girl: Thank you! I'm honored that you feel that way!
To gema13: Thanks! Hope you continue to like it!
…
I got to Fangtasia in record time, but as I drove closer towards it, I saw the parking lot was packed. I couldn't bring Eric past a club full of fang-bangers and vampires, not in the condition he was in. As much as the thought of embarrassing Eric and making him look weak in front of his patrons and underlings the way he did to me in Dallas was sooooooo tempting, I couldn't do it. Why? Well, one… because he's still a deadly vampire and knows lots of other deadly vampires. Two…. because that's not the kind of person I am. And three, because even though he broke my heart and I'm pissed as hell at him, getting back at him in that way wouldn't change any of those feelings and would only make me feel worse about myself for stooping to that level. Did I mention he's a deadly vampire? So I pulled over and parked at the gas station just up the street from the club, used the internet function on my phone and looked up the number to Fangtasia.
"Fangtasia… the bar with bite. Make this good." I heard Pam say in a monotone bored voice after I dialed the number.
"Pam, you have to empty out the club, now. I need your help. I have Eric with me and he's not doing so good." I said quickly, not knowing exactly how Eric's child was going to deal with this.
"Arabella? Where are you? What's wrong with Eric? What did you do? Put Eric on the phone." Pam yelled into the phone threateningly.
"I would if he could speak. Pam, please, just clear the club out." I pleaded with the angry vampire.
"Fine. But trust me when I say this, if he's hurt because of something you've done I will make it my personal mission to see that you die a slow agonizingly painful and humiliating death…" She responded and hung up. 'Awesome.' I thought sarcastically to myself. 'Could this night get any better?'
I took this brief moment of waiting as an opportunity to text Sookie and let her know I was fine, but not to come home, at least not to our house. I didn't want to call her, because explaining all of this right now would have taken up too much precious time, especially because she always asked so many dang questions. I opened up the windows as well, sticking my head out, because whatever Eric was retching up, it smelled horrible and was starting to make me gag. I would have exited the car while waiting, but I didn't want him to think I was leaving him there alone in that condition. I knew I wouldn't want to be alone if this were happening to me.
Finally, about five minutes later, I saw that the club had been completely cleared. It was almost comical how everyone had been running out of there, tripping over each other, looking over their backs making sure no one was behind them. I was pretty impressed that she was able to do it that quickly, but then again, it appeared that she struck the fear of God, or at least meeting Him sooner than later, in them. I was glad that she took me seriously though because I didn't know how much time Eric had in the state he was in.
Once I saw the only car in the parking lot belonged to Pam, I drove over, got out of his car and banged on the red door.
Pam answered immediately, dressed in some skin tight black leather contraption that I'm sure I would've needed a set of instructions and an assistant to get into, dark makeup that made her look deadly serious and her hair crimped so big that she looked like she had a golden afro around her head. She ignored me altogether, racing to get to Eric. I followed as fast as I could behind her.
Pam was taken aback when she saw her maker. He was foaming at the mouth and convulsing. She'd never seen any vampire, let alone her master, in such a state and she was scared. "Fuck Arabella! What did you do to him? She yelled at me. And, when I finally reached them, she grabbed me with her fangs blazing, slamming me against the car. "What did you do?"
I screamed out in pain first, because it hurt something fierce, but as it subsided a little I breathily got out, "Pam, listen... please. I didn't do this. The Maenad clawed Eric after he attacked her trying to protect me. Besides, do you really think if I did this to him, I'd drive him back here to get him help? Do I look 50 shades of stupid?"
"Shit! Follow me." Pam said as she picked up Eric and carried him back into the club at vampire speed. Now that I had the wind knocked out of me, I hobbled back towards the club, opened the door and went inside.
Even though I was slower, I wasn't moving at a snail's pace. But in that time, Pam was able to get Eric into the club, lay him on a couple tables and get a call started with someone named Dr. Ludvig.
"Dr. Lugvig, I need you to come right now to Fangtasia. It's an emergency." Pam said with authority into the phone.
I could obviously only hear Pam's side of the conversation, but it didn't sound like this Dr. Ludwig took shit from vampires. 'My kind of doctor.' I thought to myself.
"No, I'm not exaggerating. It's a real fucking emergency!" Pam screamed. "I don't care about your fucking fee; I'll pay you whatever! Just get your ass here! What do you mean you're car's in the shop? Where the fuck are you? Fine. I'll get you right now. You better be ready when I get there." Pam then hung up the phone and turned to me.
"I have to get the doctor. Stay here with him. I'll be back soon." Pam said to me, in a slightly better tone than before, before flying out the door.
After she left, I grabbed a chair and sat next to Eric. He finally stopped convulsing, but he still was heaving that white foamy stuff out of his mouth, which still smelled something fierce. As I looked over him now, he looked paler than usual, which meant that now he was practically translucent. I swear his skin looked like a road map because you could see all his veins underneath. When my eyes went back to his face, I could see that he was not only in pain; he was scared; it was in his eyes. I sighed and grabbed his hand, lifting it and holding it close to my heart to let him know that he wasn't alone. I couldn't believe the position I was in now, giving comfort to the guy who just kicked my heart to the curb. But, what was I supposed to do? He was in tremendous pain and it was clear that neither one of us knew what to do to fix him. He was scared, and quite honestly, so was I. Sure I was mad at him, but I didn't want him to die. And, even though I wanted to shut off all my emotions towards him, I couldn't deny that there was a part of me that still cared. I hate that my life has become some two-bit soap opera.
"You know, most girls in my position would be looking for a nice stake right about now." I said with a soft smirk, as he eyes became wider in fear. "You're lucky though that I'm not like most girls. Evidently I'm missing a few brain cells tonight; must be due to lack of sleep. But in all honesty Eric, as mad as I am at you, I never would have wished this on you. I know that you attacked the Maenad to protect me, and I'm grateful for that. I'm sure once Pam brings that doctor back here; they'll make you better again. You've lived for so long, I can't believe that this would be how your story ended, trying to protect some lowly human." I tried to say the words with slight humor, but I'm sure there was still a twinge of hurt and anger in them. Call me human, but I was still reeling from how he had been using me, I was sore from falling on my ass and having Pam throw me into the car, and I was beyond exhausted. Nurse Nightingale I might not be at the moment, but I was there and I think that's all that mattered.
I didn't say anything more after that and we stayed there like that, in a weirdly soothing silence, for about five minutes. Eric still looking like hell, unable to speak and me still trying to give him comfort by holding his hand when Pam finally came back with Dr. Ludvig.
"Alright, alright, where's the big fucking emergency?" Dr. Ludvig said as she pushed aside Pam to get to Eric, which amazed me given the fact that the doctor was about 4"5', about 70 pounds dripping wet and looked to be older than dirt.
Both the doctor and Pam noticed me put Eric's hand down gently when the doctor approached.
"Who are you cupcake?" Dr. Ludvig asked me brusquely as she grabbed a chair, eyed me over carefully, and sat on the opposite side of Eric.
"I'm Arabella." I responded, a little shocked at her bedside manner.
"That's nice sunshine, now do you know what the fuck happened to Mr. Northman here?" The doctor said as she ripped open his shirt to look at the claw marks.
"I believe a Maenad clawed him." I said simply. This doctor didn't look like she wanted a long drawn out story.
"Ahhhhh. Yes; that makes a lot of sense. Can't believe I didn't fucking think of that before, but then again, Maenads are tricky bitches. Looks like you really pissed off this Maenad Viking." Dr. Ludvig said as she dug her finger into Eric's chest, pulling out a claw covered in pink goo that smelled like something died.
"Oh my God!" I yelled and jumped back as I started to dry heave. I didn't care that Pam rolled her eyes at my reaction. Who wouldn't be flipped out by seeing this?
"You gonna be okay there cupcake? You need your blankie and a pacifier? Or maybe a diaper? 'Cause you look like you're about to shit your pants." Dr. Ludvig said to me sarcastically.
"No! I'm fine!" I barked back at her. I didn't need to be made fun of now.
"Good; because I don't tolerate weakness girlie. Now, I'm going to need your help here. Go to my bag and pull out one of the lavender colored glass vials." Dr. Ludvig commanded while she continued to stick her fingers in Eric's chest and pull out more gunk. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He looked like hell while he was trying to keep the pain at bay.
I quickly went to her bag; got the vial she requested and handed it to her.
"Good." She said as she unscrewed the vial and poured the contents over the scratch marks causing Eric to writhe wildly, almost falling off of the tables he was lying on and scream out in pain. "You! Goth Barbie, hold him down!" Dr. Ludvig screamed at Pam, who amazingly did so without complaint.
The wound bubbled at first, with some of that nasty pink goo oozing out. 'There's a reason why I don't watch horror movies.' I thought to myself as I tried to keep my shit together.
Finally the bubbling and oozing stopped, but Eric was still foaming at the mouth with blood tears forming in his eyes. I remembered that he wasn't just scratched on his chest and said, "He was clawed on his chest and his back."
"Why didn't you say so before cupcake? Honestly, blondes…" Dr. Ludvig said before she commanded Pam, "Goth Barbie, flip him over."
Pam narrowed her eyes this time at the doctor, but again complied without words. Sure enough, there were the gashes on his back.
"Okay cupcake; get me another lavender vial like before." Dr. Ludvig said while she again repeated digging into Eric, managing to pull out another claw.
After the claws were taken out of his chest and back and most of the poison had worked its way through him, he seemed to be getting better. Well, at least he wasn't foaming at the mouth anymore.
"Doctor, what was happening to him?" Pam finally asked while wiping the blood tears off of Eric's face as the doctor was cleaning up her own stuff preparing to leave.
"Maenads can poison people with their claws. Now I suspect that was what your blonde human friend had been attacked by before. In humans, the poison renders the person paralyzed, eventually killing them by stopping their ability to breathe and their heart from pumping. In vampires, it works a little differently because vampires don't need to breathe or have a beating heart to stay… well, I don't know that we can call it alive, but whatever. Anyway, the poison will slowly eat away the vampire internally, causing a great deal of pain as well as the white foamy stuff that Mr. Northman was so graciously hurling up. That is, unless we are able to get the claws out and get the antidote in him in time, which it appears we have." Dr. Ludvig said before adding. "However, since there was some time between the clawing and me getting to him, I would highly suggest that he drink some fresh blood stat. There was a lot of damage done to him. Now where's my fucking money Goth Barbie?" Dr. Ludvig spat out as she closed up her bag.
"Always a pleasure Doctor. I'll get my checkbook." Pam said sarcastically but relieved as she quickly left to retrieve her purse.
"I'll get something to help clean him up." I said as I got up and walked over to behind the bar to get some clean wet rags.
"You'd do better to give him some of your blood. In fact, if you ever would like to sell some of it, I'd pay a pretty penny for it." Dr. Ludvig said as she texted. I hate to admit it, but it was weird to see someone who looked as ancient as her, texting and swearing like a sailor.
"Why do you want my blood?" I asked her curiously.
"Oh cupcake, you don't know, do you?" Dr. Ludvig said as Pam reentered the room.
"Here's your payment…." Pam said in an even bored tone as she held out a check to the doctor.
"What, no tip! Next time see if I come running to save your sorry asses." She said looking over the payment as an equally short in stature older woman walked into the club and sat in a chair close to the door. "Don't mind her, she's with me." The doctor said so that Pam wouldn't go medieval on her ass.
"I believe that I did the running this time, but fine! Here…" Pam said flustered as she quickly wrote out another check to the Doctor.
"Now that's more like it!" She said to Pam before she turned her attention to her friend sitting at the door. "Birdie! Good timing. Let's go hit the casinos bitch! Mama got paid!" Dr. Ludvig said as she jumped up and clicked her heals together in the air. If I didn't see it, I would have never believed it.
"Wait! Why do you want my blood?" I yelled over to the doctor just as she was about to go out the door.
"Look cupcake … just coordinate through the Viking if you want to sell some blood." Dr. Ludvig said, obviously not willing to give me any more information about myself.
"Fuck you!" I yelled over to her. After all the shit that had happened, it would've been nice to find out what I was. Now the doctor may know and won't tell me. I was beyond pissed.
"I like your spunk cupcake. You're going to need it. Now stop wasting my time and his and let the Viking drink your damn blood already." She said before shutting the door behind her.
"What a bitch!" I said to no one in particular.
"Yes, she is, but she can be a bitch because she is very good at what she does. She's saved quite a few associates of ours over the years. Never thought she'd have to do her work on Eric though…" Pam said sadly as she walked over to Eric and placed her hand gently on his shoulder. She then said sincerely, "Eric told me some of what happened. Whether you believe it or not, he is really sorry… about everything Arabella. I know he's not your favorite person right now, but he needs your blood…"
"Yes, he needs blood, but not necessarily mine. Don't you have some service like Dial-A-Donor or Tasty Takeout or something? I mean the vampire hotel in Dallas had room service. Don't ya'll have something like that here?" I asked desperately.
"No, although you've given me an idea for a business venture. Look, I know you are really angry at him…" She began before I cut her off.
"Yes, I am, but that's not the only reason why I'm hesitant here Pam. The only time a vampire has ever bitten me was in Dallas. Godric had been tortured and needed blood to get my brother out of the Fellowship of the Sun. He nearly drained me Pam. I almost died. And now I'm in another situation with a hurt vampire… Eric. What if he drains me?" I said, hoping she'd understand why I didn't want to.
"I will make sure he doesn't. Arabella, he needs your blood. He got clawed trying to keep you safe." Pam said, hoping she'd change her mind.
I looked at Eric. He was healing, but very slowly and still seemed unable to talk. I knew she was right, that he needed blood quickly, and hated it. "You'll make sure he stops, right Pam?" I said, regretting it already.
"Yes. Now hurry." She said, desperate to get Eric better.
I walked over and sat down again next to Eric. He turned his head towards me. From the look on his face, I could tell he wanted to say something, but couldn't because of the pain. I took a deep breath in to brace myself as I offered my wrist to his mouth. I was astonished when he shakily raised one of his arms to grab onto my wrist. The hold he had on my wrist was so weak, and so unlike his normal virile self. I knew then that I made the right decision. I could only hope that he wouldn't kill me.
What he did next took me by surprise. He kissed my wrist, softly, while he looked into my eyes. Even with how hurt I was by him, I couldn't stop my body from reacting to that simple, but erogenous gesture. Who knew that a kiss to the pulse point on your wrist could get your heart all aflutter? My breath hitched as I heard the click of his fangs, knowing what was coming next and yet not.
Surprisingly, he bit into my wrist gently, but so quickly that I barely felt the intrusion. Soon he was sucking at my life force, but not as hastily and forcefully as Godric did. No, he sucked slowly, carefully and still all the while, looking into my eyes. I hated to admit it, but the feeling growing within me was pure unadulterated ecstasy. I closed my eyes, moaning and breathing heavily despite myself. My free hand dropped the rags that were still being clutched by it. And soon, that hand was running over my body, at its own volition, my senses overloaded, ready to culminate in an orgasm that I didn't even know was possible this way. I was so lost in my state of arousal that I didn't care that Pam was standing over us. Lord I wouldn't have cared if I was front and center on stage at the Super Bowl right now, full audience; it felt so damn good. However, I also didn't notice that as his body was stitching itself back together, a faint blue light, barely visible, working its way between the torn pieces of skin, bringing them perfectly back together.
Pam wanted to look away, knowing that this wasn't a usual feeding by Eric. This was something personal and private, something real and something that should have happened a long time ago. She had never seen Eric so gentle, so loving with a human before, even under the best of circumstances, and because of this knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was in love with Arabella. Unfortunately for the two before her, this feeding was deadly serious, for Eric needed the blood to heal and Arabella needed Pam to make sure he didn't take too much. She couldn't risk turning away. But not only that, once she noticed the beautiful blue light that emanated from the healing wounds she couldn't look away. She didn't know what Arabella was, but she was sure that she was a rare treasure.
As Pam started to sense Arabella's heart rate was slowing, she knew she would have to dislodge Eric soon. But, amazingly enough before she needed to act, Eric let Arabella's wrist go on his own and slowly placed her hand on his now healed chest, placing his hand on top of hers, still gazing up at her.
Once Eric placed my hand down on his chest, my body began to come down from the high it just had. My breathing returned to normal and my senses started coming back to focus. Slowly I opened my eyes, looking up from our hands on his chest, slowly, up to Eric's eyes again.
"Thank you." He said, with no hesitation, but rather with an intense honesty. I knew that he didn't say those words lightly or often, if at all, and especially not to non-vampires.
I opened my mouth, wanting to respond with something, but I didn't quite know what. Thankfully Jason came in at that moment.
"Arabella! What happened?" Jason said as he rushed towards me while I pulled my hand back to my lap, turning my wrist so he wouldn't see the bite mark.
I tried to stand up to give him a hug, but felt woozy from the recent blood donation and sheer exhaustion my body felt, and began to fall towards the floor from lack of strength. Before I hit the floor though, I was stopped by two strong hands. They weren't Jason's though, they were Eric's.
"Pam, get Arabella a tall glass of orange juice." Eric commanded, evidently feeling much better than before, as he carefully put me back on the chair, looking me over to make sure I was okay.
"What happened?" Jason asked again, more forcefully after seeing me nearly faint and Eric covered in some sort of pink and white smelly goo.
"Jason, Maryann's a Maenad. She attacked Eric tonight and almost attacked me. She's making the town go crazy. It's just a mess." I started to say somewhat slowly because of how tired I was before asking him, "What took you so long to get here?"
"You're okay though. Right?" Jason asked first.
"Yeah." I answered, but thought, 'just barely'. Pam then handed me a very welcome glass of orange juice. With shaky hands, I brought the glass to my mouth, needing nourishment.
"Okay then, what's a Maenad again?" Jason asked confused as he tried to remember if he'd ever heard of one of those before.
Since I started drinking the juice that Pam just brought over to me, Eric answered Jason. "Maenads are creatures who worship the Greek god Dionysus. They create a lot of havoc when they don't get what they want. And, it seems the one in Bon Temps has not gotten what she wanted."
"No, I suppose not. The reason why it took me so long to get here is that the town's gone bananas. People were running through the streets butt nekked, tearing down signs and throwing garbage all around. I had to drive over lawns and nearly hit a few people just trying to get out. It was nuts." Jason replied.
I was starting to feel a little better after drinking the orange juice, at least well enough to get out of Fangtasia, away from Eric, and get some sleep which I desperately wanted and needed at the moment. "This obviously isn't going to get resolved by any of us tonight. Jason, let's go." I started to say before Eric cut me off.
"No! You're not in any condition to go anywhere. And besides, it's too dangerous." Eric said forcefully. He couldn't stand the thought of Arabella being put in another situation where her life could be on the line. She'd been through too much already, mostly at his fault at that.
"Eric, I'm not staying here… I can't." I said the last of those words in barely a whisper. We may have shared something… a moment… here tonight, but that was it. I hadn't forgotten how he hurt me, that he was using me before, that I was just a toy. I was already mad at myself for letting the situation tonight go as far as it did anyway. I needed to get out of there. In my current state I didn't trust myself and it scared me.
Eric understood where she was coming from and was painfully conflicted. He wanted to keep her safe, keep her by him, but doing so would take back any advances he made tonight towards having her forgive him. He knew he'd have to let her go to get her back; not force her to do anything she didn't want. He had to show her that he had faith in her and trusted her judgment. "Okay, but where are you going? You know you can't go home." He finally said, relenting.
"The Hilton." I said. "I'm supposed to get free stays there for life because of the whole Rene/Drew almost killing me there thing. I guess no time like the present to see that they hold their end of the bargain. Oh, before I forget, here." I said as I took out the piece of paper from my back pocket, the one with the chant, and handed it to Eric. "Maryann kept saying this in her mind while thinking about a white bull. I don't know what it means, but maybe you can figure it out. Let's go Jason." I said to my brother as I stood up, taking the hand he offered.
"Alright, but don't leave there. We'll try to get more information on how to defeat the Maenad and meet up with you tomorrow night at the hotel. You won't be dealing with this alone." Eric said to both of them, but looking only at Arabella as he emphasized that he would not abandon her to her fate.
I nodded, but said nothing as Jason and I walked out the door.
…
When we got to the hotel, I had to admit that I looked like I had just been through all nine levels of Dante's Inferno and smelled even worse. I had grass stains on my uniform from when Eric and I dropped to the ground, blood stains from my wrist, my hair was falling out of the ponytail it had been in, I smelled from the white foamy stuff that Eric puked up that got on me and the only bags we had with us were the ones under my eyes. In truth, I wouldn't have let me have a room if I was behind the counter, but I was done. There was no way in hell I was leaving the lobby without a room.
"Ummmm, ma'am, are you okay?" The hotel clerk asked as Jason and I approached the front desk.
"Yes, why do you ask?" I replied looking him straight in the eye, placing my forearms on the counter and folding my hands together, trying to act like there was absolutely nothing wrong with the way I looked or smelled as well as trying to gain some stability because I was still feeling a little weak.
"Ummmm." The clerk started to say as he turned his head and narrowed his eyes, trying to come up with words that wouldn't offend.
"Look, I know I look a mess, and there's a real good reason for it, but not one that I'm going to share with you. We need a room with double beds like yesterday. My name is Arabella Stackhouse and before you ask for my identification, I don't have my purse, again a long story that I'm not going to get into here. But, what I can tell you is that I'm supposed to get free rooms for life here at your hotel because I was almost killed here. So, can I have my room now please?" Jason just gave the clerk an unsure smile.
The clerk now looked at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Let me just talk to my manager here for a moment ma'am. I'll be right back." He said and then quickly went into the room behind him. He was gone for only a minute or two before I saw him and another man come back to the doorway, with the desk clerk finally trying to point in my direction discretely. I waved a big ole 'hello' their way, letting them know that I knew they were trying to figure out what to do.
The manager's eyes went wide, as it appeared that he recognized me, maybe they had a picture of me somewhere or maybe he was there that night, quite honestly I didn't know or care, but thankfully he hurried over to the front desk. "I am soooo sorry ma'am. Christopher here is new and didn't know about your… ummm… history here. We'll get you up to a room in just a minute. And, if you would like, since you don't appear to have any luggage with you, I could send up some clothes to change into, that is if you would like that."
"Yes, that would be nice. Thank you." I replied with a smile. 'Finally, something going my way…' I thought to myself.
…
The room that we were given was spacious, with two double beds and a decent view of downtown, not that I cared at the moment. The only thing I wanted right now was a shower because I was beginning to offend myself with the odor.
"Jason, I'm going to shower. Can you make sure they bring up those clothes for when I'm done?" I asked of him.
"Sure sis. No problem." He said as he laid on one of the beds and began channel surfing.
"Oh, and Jason, can you try to call Sam, or Andy, or just anyone we can get a hold of? We need to find out who hasn't gone cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs in Bon Temps." I said, trying to think ahead for tomorrow.
"Yeah, that's a good idea sis. I'll get right on that." He replied as he pulled out his cell phone.
"Thanks." I said and then went to wash the day away.
….
When I got out of the shower, I saw the new clothes lying on my bed; a tee shirt, a pair of shorts and a pair of pajamas as well as a bag full of trial sized toiletries. 'New underwear and a new bra would've been nice, but I'll take what I can get.' I thought to myself and figured I would just wash my underwear and bra in the sink and hang them to dry while I slept.
So I changed into the pajamas, brushed my teeth and washed my undergarments quickly in the bathroom before I returned to the room, lying down on the other bed.
"Hey sis; here's what I got. Sam is alright. He's at Lafayette's. He said they're with Jesus. Is Lafayette religious now?"
I shrugged my shoulders because I had no idea.
"Okay, anyway, I told them not to go out tonight. Andy's okay too. He's at the police station. He said like half the town is locked up right now because of all the vandalism and public nudity and such. He's not planning on leaving there anytime soon. Hoyt's locked up at his momma's house. She's gone crazy and he's got her tied up in a chair to keep her from running outside like everyone else. Those are the only people I could get in contact with though Arabella. It ain't a lot."
"No, it isn't, but I hope it's enough." I said thinking, 'it's gonna have to be.'
"So what happened tonight between you and Eric?" Jason asked concerned. He knew Eric had hurt his sister, but what he didn't know was why she was with him tonight.
I really didn't want to get into this now, but I knew Jason probably wasn't going to drop it, so I relented and told him. "Eric showed up at the house after I got home from work. He wanted to ask me questions about the bombing. While we were talking, the Maenad had somehow gotten into the house and was about to attack me. Eric yanked me out and tried to fly us away, but she did some sort of vibrating thing that made us fall. Then he tried to attack her, but she attacked him instead, really hurting him. I got us to Fangtasia where Eric had to be healed by a strange little doctor. He also needed some of my blood to heal as well. And then you showed up. End of story." I said quickly, glossing over the things that I didn't want to tell him about.
"No Arabella, what happened between you and Eric?" He asked again, surprising me by his assessment of the night.
"I just told you Jason." I answered, trying to get out of talking about this now.
"No, you told me what happened, but not what happened between you and Eric." Jason said, worried for his sister.
And then I just lost it… "Oh Jason, I feel like such a fool. But… he tried to protect me and got really hurt in the process. He could have died, trying to save me. And even though I'm still so pissed at him, I just couldn't picture a world that he wasn't in. I gave him my blood to help him heal... and it was… well… let's just say it was a little more stimulating than I expected it would be. I haven't forgiven him and I certainly don't know that I can trust him as far as I can throw him, but…" I started to say, feeling tears well up. 'Oh well, there goes my no more tears vow.' I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes.
Jason moved over to the bed I was on and took me into his arms, cradling me like Gran would have. "It's just like you said to me before Bella… you can't help that you cared, still care for him just like I can't help that I cared for Amy. We're human and unfortunately we can't flip our feelings on and off like a light switch, although that'd be handy, right?"
I chuckled a little in spite of myself. "Yeah, that would be awesome if we could."
"But, we can't." He said sadly before adding contemplatively, "You know, a lot of girls in Bon Temps probably think I'm the biggest asshole that ever walked God's green earth."
"Jason…" I started to say, but he cut me off.
"No, you know it's true sis. I've been horrible to lots of women, sleeping with them and then not calling them again. But with Amy, I felt like I didn't need to do that. It was really weird for me at first though because I'd never been like that with anyone. Now, I'm not trying to make excuses for Eric and I certainly don't know what's going on in his mind, but maybe he went through something like that with you. You know, he could've done a lot worse to me with the Eddie situation, but he didn't and it wasn't because he thought I was an okay guy, it was because of you."
"Jason, I don't want to hear this right now." I said truthfully. I knew what I heard Eric say in Dallas. I was a toy to be used at his disposal and that he would throw me away when he was done. Why would he say those things if he didn't mean them?
"Look, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to upset ya or nothin'; it's just I saw the way he looked at you tonight, the way he swooped to catch you before you fell, before I could even move, the way he placed you in that chair to make sure you were alright. That wasn't the way someone acts who doesn't care sis. Take it from someone that knows." Jason said.
After Jason said that, I just started crying. I couldn't help myself. He was trying to give me hope for something that I had already considered a lost dream. I couldn't open myself up to that possibility, not now. It was too soon and I just couldn't trust Eric or anything he did now. I didn't want to have someone in my life whose every move I'd be second guessing, doubting. It would be too exhausting and unfair to me and in the end unfair to him as well if he were worth the second chance.
"Jason, I just can't… I can't." I said in between sobs.
"It's okay Bella, just let it out." He said, stroking my hair and holding me tight while I let out tears I didn't know I still had in me until I finally fell asleep, my body just giving out for the night.
…
"Did she get a room okay?" Eric asked Pam as he used a towel to dry his hair after the shower he took to wash off all the nastiness from the night. He had sent her to follow Arabella and Jason after they left to make sure they did what she said they were going to and make sure they didn't run into any snags. He wanted to make sure she was safe.
"Yes, they're fine Eric." Pam replied and then asked as she walked up to him to hug him, "Are you okay Eric?"
"I'm fine, her blood was…" Eric started to say, but Pam finished the sentence, "Miraculous?"
"Yes, that would be the word." He replied and then, after reflecting on the night said, "She saved my life tonight and she had every reason not to."
"You'll find your way back to her. She still has feelings for you, you know. All's not lost." Pam said looking up at Eric, glad that he was okay. He nodded at her, hopeful, but knowing there was still that big secret that Arabella didn't know about; the one thing that would probably keep her from ever wanting to talk to him again.
And so they stood there for a moment, in the middle of the Fangtasia dance floor, lost in the comfort and safety they felt in each other's arms, immensely glad that the night hadn't ended in a worse way. They were family after all and gathered strength from one another.
Their private moment was intruded upon abruptly as the door to the club opened, revealing Queen Sophie-Anne and a mini entourage.
"Eric! I thought this club was supposed to be a money-maker. Where's the people? Where's the money?" The Queen asked as she looked around and then asked further, "What's that horrible stench?"
"I had a run in with a Maenad tonight." Eric answered simply, wondering what brought his Queen to his doorstep, especially tonight.
"Oh Eric, every vampire of your stature knows you pay the crazy bitch a tribute and watch as she goes on her merry way to her next victims. It's Maenad 101. Honestly Eric, I thought you were better than that." She said flippantly while looking at a chair in disgust, trying to decide if she should sit on it with her custom-made cream-colored silk Vivienne Westwood jumpsuit on.
Eric noticed her hesitation at sitting, as well as all the diamonds that were dripping down her neck, ears, and wrists and rolled his eyes. 'This bitch is wearing the club's money.' He thought bitterly to himself while his face betrayed nothing.
"Yes, I know that my Queen, unfortunately the Maenad didn't come to me for tribute. She's set up shop in a town close to here, Bon Temps, and the people there have pissed her off." Eric replied evenly, trying to sound like he didn't care what happened to the town, but was just obligated as sheriff to investigate and deal with it. He didn't want her to know he felt more than the normal obligation towards the town and especially not one to any particular person.
"So, take care of her." The Queen said as if it were that simple but then turned to a beautiful blonde female vampire in her retinue and asked, "Hadley, aren't you from Bon Temps?"
"I was, but that was a long time ago my Queen." Hadley answered, clearly not used to hiding her feelings as Eric and Pam were.
"But you still have family there, don't you?" The Queen asked, as if fishing for information.
"I did. I just heard recently though that my Gran was killed by a serial killer. So, it's just me now." Hadley said as she noticed Eric staring straight at her. She wondered if he knew about her family and prayed if he did, he wouldn't say a word now.
Eric knew that this Hadley had to be some relation to Arabella and her family. He also knew that he needed to keep the Queen away from them. The Queen was known for her collection of special supes. High ranking vampires from around the world would come to visit her, just for her special blood collection. So, he tried to steer the Queen back to the Maenad issue.
"Even though I am older than you, my Queen, I don't have the same knowledge about unusual creatures as you do. How do I kill it?" Eric asked. He hated to admit that he didn't know how, but vampires usually just paid the tribute to get out of actually dealing with Maenads. This was new territory for him. And, he knew that one of Sophie-Anne's past-times was researching unusual creatures. Even though he didn't know yet why she was here, he had to admit it was fortuitous that she was.
"Yes, I do love my rare creatures. But anyway, to answer your question; you can't kill it. She's convinced herself that she's immortal, and so… now she is." She answered as she finally decided she was going to sit down, after placing a napkin on from the bar on top of the chair first.
Eric looked at her puzzled for a moment.
"Come on now Eric, you know that everything that exists does so because it imagined itself into existence." She said as if she knew this for a fact.
"You need an example, okay. So, you're fucking everything in the dirt, like the followers of Dionysus did, why not kill something and eat it raw? Hey, you're super extra devout, there's nothing you can't do. And so each outrageous action brings you that much closer to the divine." She explained.
"That's delusional, isn't it?" Eric asked.
"Never underestimate the power of blind faith. It can manifest itself in ways that bend the laws of physics, or break them entirely. You can fly can't you? And yet, there's no logical reason behind it other than you can." She countered.
Eric took in what she said, but then switched gears, "She tore at me with her claws and poisoned me tonight."
"Of course she did. It's her method of protecting herself and her claim of superiority." The Queen said as she looked at her nails, making sure she didn't need a manicure.
"But she started out human…" Eric stated.
"Helloooo, evolution? We started out as humans too, or did you forget?" She said, now rolling her eyes.
There was a brief silence before she spoke again, "Maenads are really sad creatures when you think about it. The world has changed so much since they came into being. But unlike us, who change with the times, acclimate to our surroundings and evolve, they just do the same thing over and over again; the only difference is they change the venue, waiting for the god who comes."
"Does he come?" Eric asked.
"Of course not. Gods never actually show up, well, not for Maenads or regular everyday supes. They only exist for the rest of us in our minds, kind of like money and morality." She replied.
"If I can't kill her and she won't take a tribute, how do I get her to leave?" Eric asked, wanting to get the show on the road.
"She has to believe that she has successfully summoned Dionysus. Only then will she let down her guards and protections in hopes that he will ravage her; literally devour her." The Queen
"Let me get this straight, she seeks the true death?" Eric asked astounded.
"Ironic, isn't it? She seeks the one thing that she's evolved past. You know, Maenads aren't very smart when you think about it." The Queen said as she motioned for one of her entourage to massage her feet. Even though vampires healed quickly and had super human abilities, their feet could still be uncomfortable in a pair of six inch stilettos.
"So how does she summon this non-existent god of hers?" Eric asked, wondering what his next move would be.
"Oh, I never said he didn't exist, just that he never comes. She believes that if she finds the perfect vessel, sacrifices and devours part of him, or her, while surrounded by the magic of her familiars, then her god will finally come and take her away. It is at that point that she will surrender herself to him…"
"And that's when she can be killed." Eric stated in understanding.
"Exactly." The Queen replied with a smile. She loved discussing these types of creatures.
"But who's the perfect vessel?" Eric asked, suddenly worried about the reply.
"They prefer supernatural beings." The Queen answered but added. "The two natured more precisely."
"So shifters, weres… what about us?" Eric asked.
"Fortunately for us, they show little interest in using us, something about our hearts not beating or whatnot." She said, waving her hand.
"So, any live supernatural?" Eric said now, feeling dread in him as he thought, 'Arabella.'
"Yep. You have to keep in mind; she's been up to this sort of thing for centuries, trying to come up with the perfect recipe to get her god to appear. She'll try just about anything at this point I believe. Idiot." The Queen said as she motioned her minion to stop the foot massage.
Eric then remembered the piece of paper that Arabella gave to him before she left. "It would seem that the Maenad has been chanting this and has a fascination with white bulls." Eric said as he handed the piece of paper to the Queen.
"Ah, Latin; what an ugly language. So glad it's dead. The most basic translation is she's trying to summon her god, who I'm guessing she thinks will come to her as a white bull. Who wants to get seriously fucked up by a bull? Crazy right?" The Queen answered.
Figuring that this was all the information the Queen would have on the subject, Eric said, "Thank you my Queen for the information. I will have the problem resolved as soon as possible, but I have to ask, why have you come tonight, and unannounced? Had I known you were coming, I would have prepared a proper reception." Eric said, hating that he sounded like such a sycophant, but knew it was a necessity, especially with this queen. She liked her subjects taking care of her. He had had worse queens in the past though, so he didn't necessarily want to rock the boat with this one, nor did he want to be king.
"Well, you know the tax man cometh, that rat bastard. I need to make sure that all my sheriffs are doing their part. Now, I know you are Eric, that's why I didn't let you know I was stopping by, because really that's all this is, just a stop by to pick up this week's funds. I actually am more worried about Blackburn. Area 4 hasn't produced half the revenue that you have. I know he's holding out on me, silly boy." The Queen said while standing up. "So, where's my money Eric?"
"I'll be right back. Pam, please stay here and make sure the Queen is attended to." Eric said, knowing that Pam would know that actually meant, 'make sure the bitch doesn't do anything funny while I'm gone.'
"Of course Eric." Pam said while she smiled at the Queen.
Eric hadn't received the funds from Lafayette yet, so he padded the Queen's take with his own personal funds from his safe. This was getting out of hand with her and he wondered if it was really the tax man that cometh or someone else shaking her down.
"Here's your money, my Queen." Eric said as he handed her a suitcase full of cash.
"Oh goody. Let's see." The Queen said excitedly as she opened the case. "Yes, yes… this will do nicely. Thank you Eric. We'll be off now. Everyone, let's go."
And with that, everyone started to walk out the door after the Queen. Only Hadley turned around and mouthed a 'Thank you' before exiting.
As soon as he knew they were all gone, he said to Pam, "Destroy all the supply, everything and not here, do it somewhere in the woods, where no one would find it. Put ash on it to mask the scent."
"Eric?" She started to say, confused by his request.
"Something's not right here. Call Lafayette and tell him to take his entire supply and plant it at Liam, Diane and Malcolm's nest an hour after sunrise. Tell him to come to Fangtasia immediately after sunset."
"Why?" Why are we setting up those three?" She asked, startled by this turn of events.
"They've attacked too many humans recently. They've gone savage and nothing I've said or done has culled their blood lust. If their activities go public I'll have the AVL breathing down my neck. So, by setting them up, we kill two birds with one stone." He replied.
"What do you think Sophie-Anne is up to?" Pam asked further.
"I don't know, and that worries me… greatly." Eric answered before saying, "Go now Pam, destroy our entire supply! And get moving on Lafayette as well."
Pam immediately mobilized and within a minute had anything that remotely smelled of vampire blood in garbage bags and flew out the door to dispose of them elsewhere.
In the meantime, Eric called Blackburn to let him know the Queen was coming. He had a feeling that she was going to show up unannounced there as well.
"Blackburn." Eric said as his call was received.
"Eric, what's up my friend?" Blackburn replied. They had known and respected each other for a long while as they both had been sheriffs in Louisiana for ages.
"Be on the lookout for a special visitor; one who likes to be paid well." Eric said, knowing that his friend would know what he was talking about.
"Ugggghhhh. When is this shit going to end? What is up with her?" Blackburn replied, clearly feeling as put out as Eric was.
"I don't know, but be careful my friend. I don't know what's going on, but I fear for the outcome." Eric said, hoping that his friend would take heed, especially if he was being made to sell V like he was.
"Duly noted my friend." Blackburn said and added, "Thank you Eric."
"No problem. I know you'd do the same." Eric replied.
"Indeed I would. Oh, and wouldn't you know it, there's my doorbell. I will keep in touch." Blackburn said and hung up.
Eric then went back to his office to check his other messages, hoping that whatever was going on with the Queen would blow over and he could concentrate on the other issues in his life.
…
He scrolled through his e-mail messages quickly. Nothing looked like it needed immediate attention, so he closed out of his account and started going through his phone messages. There were over fifty from Godric. He knew he'd have to call him and tell him what happened.
"Eric! What happened? I felt so much pain from you, and then… ecstasy." Godric said as he answered Eric's call.
"I was poisoned by a Maenad." Eric replied first with the simple explanation.
"That's not nearly the whole story Eric. What happened?" Godric demanded a more thorough response.
"I went to Arabella's house to try and talk to her." Eric began.
"And was she receptive to that?" Godric asked, curious.
"No. But she was willing to talk about the bombing, at least until the Maenad showed up in her house." Eric replied.
"What was a Maenad doing in her house Eric? Those creatures are dangerous. Is she okay?" Godric asked worried.
"She's fine Godric. But as to why the Maenad was there, I don't know. I suspect that it may have to do with her wanting to summon her god Dionysus." Eric said worriedly.
"This is not good Eric. You have to keep her away from that creature. Do you need me to come and help you? I'm almost finished wrapping things up here anyway…" Godric said.
"No, finish what you need to there. I'll figure something out." Eric said, hoping he could do just that.
"Eric, I know you want to look like a hero to her, but her life may be on the line and it appears that yours was tonight. Let me help you." Godric said, fearing that his child was not thinking clearly as he was desperate to win back Arabella.
"No, Godric, I think we'll be okay. She actually saved me tonight." Eric told his maker.
"What? How?" Godric asked astonished.
"After the Maenad attacked me with her claws which poisoned me, Arabella was able to immobilize her by hitting her with some sort of blue light. It pushed the creature back quite a ways and gave us time to get out of there. However, since I was unable to move, Arabella used her telekinesis to lift me and place me in my car. She got us to Fangtasia. She was amazing Godric." Eric said, awed that she was so unassumingly powerful.
"It appears so. Why did I sense a feeling of ecstasy though, did you two reconcile?" Godric asked, hopeful.
"No. Godric, she gave me her blood to heal though. It was like nothing I had ever had before. It was pure unadulterated ambrosia. You were not lying when you said she tasted divine, but I had no idea…" Eric said, still savoring the memory of her taste.
"There are no words…" Godric added, remembering the taste as well.
"No." Eric said but then continued, "She's not weak and we will find a way to destroy the Maenad. I have no doubt of that."
"Well, since I know you are okay and she is too, I will let you go to plan. Good luck my child and remember, I will come if you need me. Otherwise, I will be in your area in a few more days." Godric said, hoping his child would reconsider his offer, but prepared to let him make his own choice.
"Thank you Godric. I will keep that in mind. But, for now, I think we'll be fine." Eric said before saying goodbye.
…
Pam returned shortly after to let Eric know that she completed the tasks he set for her and to see if he needed anything else. She could have called, but she wanted to make sure he was still okay. Tonight was the closest she'd ever been to losing him and it shook her to her core. To her, he always seemed to be invincible, a Viking god who could conquer anything that came his way. Finding out that there were creatures out there even stronger than them made her scared; and that was a feeling that she hadn't had since her turning almost two centuries ago. She didn't quite know what to do with it.
"Pam, thank you for getting that done, but I'm fine. Go home. We'll regroup tomorrow." Eric finally said, hoping she'd leave him to his thoughts.
"Are you sure? I could stay a little longer." Pam said, not quite ready to leave.
"Pam, I'm FINE. Now GO HOME." He said with authority, leaving her no room to argue.
"Okay, I'm leaving, but if something happens to you…" She said, crossing her arms over her chest, trying to hold back tears.
Eric got up out of his chair from behind his desk and gave Pam a hug and quick peck on her forehead, "Nothing's going to happen. Go home my child. Oh, and Pam, you will make it up to Arabella, the slamming her against the car thing."
She nodded regretfully and walked out the door. Truthfully, she had had hoped that Eric didn't notice that little incident in his state, but she had planned on apologizing to Arabella anyway. Arabella didn't deserve Pam's reaction and Pam knew it.
After Pam left him, he walked back to sit down behind his desk with nothing but his thoughts, which soon drifted to Arabella.
…
He needed to see her tonight. He knew it probably wasn't going to be pretty, but he needed to see her, make sure she was okay. Hearing that she was fine wasn't going to be enough for him. He needed to see it for himself. He never imagined that the night would've taken the turn that it did however. But, as strange and scary as the night was for him, it brought to light a couple things. One, that she still cared for him. She wouldn't have saved him or given him her blood if she didn't care for him still on some level. This gave him further hope he needed to push forward and try to win back her trust and eventually her love. But, he also realized something else with this; that Godric was right, that he would need to tell her what happened with Sookie. He didn't want to and knew it would make the task of winning her back almost insurmountable, but in the end, if it came out some other way, she'd never forgive him at all and he couldn't risk that. He had to own up to his mistake. But, he decided he wouldn't tell her until after they dealt with the Maenad. She didn't need more drama before dealing with that creature.
His thoughts then drifted to finally being able to taste her amazing blood. He knew it would be good, but it wasn't just good, it was beyond words. It took everything within to hold back, to not drain her dry. His body was in agony; his insides had almost been turned into jelly by the poison that ran through it. He needed refueling and if it were any other human in her position, he was sure he would have drained them dry, not caring to have restraint. But, knowing this was her, that he couldn't harm her, he said the same thing over and over in his mind to keep his focus, to keep from hurting her, 'You love her. You love her. You love her. You love her.' And in the end, it was his love that saved her, although she didn't know it.
Then he thought of her words; that he was trying to save 'some lowly human'. She was so far from that. But, it didn't matter to him that she wasn't entirely human, that she had powers unlike anyone he knew. He loved her. He would've moved heaven and earth to try to save her, not her powers, not her blood, but her. If she lost her powers tomorrow and was just a regular human being, he would still want her, and only her. How was he going to get her to see that now? He didn't know, but knew he'd have to figure it out and soon.