A/N: Hi all! FINALLY a new SE chapter! I know. I've been a little YNB obsessed lately. Aaaaand, because of that obsession, you'll get chapter 26 tomorrow. :P

Thanks to ilovemysteries for doing a one-two beta punch today. :D

Chapter 8

Eric called William on the way to the Palace, and he would back up his story and glamour the girl. William had sounded surprised that Eric had agreed to not only foster Pam's newborn, but claim her as his own. Wisely, he only offered his condolences for Pam's final death.

Sookie was glad when Eric grabbed her hand after they got out of the Corvette in front of the palace. That's what Eric called it, anyway. It didn't look much like a palace to her; it just looked like a big office building with purple, green, and gold iridescent shutters over a lot of the windows. A valet took the keys. Eric nodded at the vampires standing on either side of the entrance.

"Eric. The Queen is holding court tonight."

"Thank you, Rasul."

"Your… companion is also Vampire. But I don't recognize her."

"This is my new child, Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie, this is Rasul and Melanie, two of the Queen's guards."

Sookie nodded at each of them in turn. "Pleased to meet you."

Rasul nodded back to her. "Congratulations to you both. Enjoy your visit to the Palace."

They walked through the hallways and corridors until they were in front of a set of ornate double doors. She was so nervous. This visit seemed like it could go wrong in a million different ways. Eric had given her the basics of what to say and do around the Queen, but what if she fucked it up? She squeezed Eric's hand tighter and then apologized.

He pushed calm through the bond. "You will be alright, Sookie. Everyone will know that you are very young, and they will make allowances. And if there are any problems, I will protect you. It will be fine."

She took a deep breath, stood up a little straighter, and then nodded. It made her seem even more human, and he found it oddly endearing. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, and they entered the throne room.

There were maybe a dozen vampires and just as many people inside. Everyone turned to look at them as they walked in. Sookie realized that she could still hear the people's thoughts - the human ones, anyway - but it just wasn't that big a deal. It was like she could just think about so many different things at once now, the thoughts just weren't overwhelming her brain. She tried her shields, and they were easy to open and close, even in degrees. What a relief!

"Sookie?!" Hadley ran and threw herself into Sookie's arms. Sookie let go of Eric's hand in surprise and hugged Hadley back.

Hadley smelled so good. So much better than her wolves, even. Sookie had drunk from Eric, but only after he had drained her nearly dry. She was almost as hungry as she had been the night before. Her fangs snicked down, and everyone froze.

"Holy shit, Sookie! You're a vampire? You're Eric's?" Hadley took several steps back.

Sookie put her hand over her mouth, terrified that she was going to get into trouble for running her fangs out over the Queen's pet, even if it was her cousin and she couldn't help it yet. "Oh, Had, I'm so sorry!"

"Eric? You have a new child? Since when?" Sophie-Anne was sitting on her throne, and her child Andre was beside her in a lower chair. Two more, Wybert and Sigebert, stood behind her, one on each side.

"She rose last night, your Highness. I met her on Sunday and felt a pull. She agreed to be mine."

Sophie-Anne looked at Andre and then back at Eric. "Just like that?"

He shrugged. "Just like that."

"Are you going to introduce us?"

"Certainly." He took Sookie's hand and led her to stand in front of the Queen. "Sookie, this is Her Royal Highness Sophie-Anne Leclerq, Queen of the Territory of Louisiana. Sophie-Anne, this is my new progeny, Sookie Stackhouse."

Sookie curtsied. She felt really awkward. "Pleased to meet you, Your Majesty." Eric pushed more calm through the bond.

"Sookie Stackhouse the telepath?"

There were audible gasps throughout the room.

Eric replied, "The very one." That was one question answered. Hadley had run her big mouth.

"Hadley has told me much about you, Sookie."

Sookie didn't know what to say, so she sort of curtsied again.

Eric said, "Your Highness, after I turned Sookie on Sunday, I felt Pam's final death."

More gasps. Sophie-Anne and Andre shared another meaningful look.

"Oh, Eric. I am so sorry to hear that. Do you know what happened?"

"She was staked, but I don't know by whom. The computer in the security office of L'Hotel Acadien crashed and I wasn't able to view the footage. "

Another long, meaningful look. Andre said, "That certainly sounds… convenient."

Eric nodded. "I agree. They wouldn't have wanted to get caught."

Sookie was listening in to Hadley's brain, thinking that surely she would be thinking about staking Pam, or being at the hotel, or her being a vampire, or something. But she wasn't. She was thinking about having very graphic sex with the Queen. Yuck. It was like the conversation wasn't going on at all.

"Eric, bring your child. Let's go somewhere a little more private."

Eric could feel how hungry Sookie was. And nervous. And hunger would make her emotions harder to control.

"Your Highness, Sookie needs to feed. Would you permit us to visit with the donors first?"

"Of course. Help yourselves. When you're through, we will meet in the salon."

Eric bowed and Sookie curtsied, and they left the throne room through a side door.

He whispered into her ear, "Anything?" She barely shook her head once. Good girl.

He led her into the donor common room. There were twenty or so people sitting and chatting or watching TV. When they saw Eric, most stopped what they were doing and started primping. Sookie was getting a brain full of memories or wishful thinking or both, and she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Sunshine!"

Sookie saw a few kids she kinda knew hanging out together on a sectional in the corner. Ones who had been around for weeks or months on the streets and had then moved on. She smiled and waved. "Hey! I was wondering what happened to you guys. It's great to see y'all!"

They were thinking about how lucky she was to be Eric's pet. None of them seemed to be able to tell that she was a vampire. She wondered if they were going to feel sad for her, like her wolves had, or if they would be jealous. She really didn't want to drink from them, though. She wanted either someone she knew really well, like Alcide or Jake or Maria-Star, or someone she didn't know at all.

Eric leaned down and said quietly, "See anything you'd like to try?"

She shrugged. She was just really hungry. And it was weird walking into a room and choosing what people she wanted to eat. It reminded her of the people at The Crawdad Diner back in Bon Temps picking which lobster they wanted out of the big tank. She'd only gone there for supper twice, but both times she stood in front of that tank and watched the lobsters crawl all over each other for as long as her mama would let her.

"Would you like to fuck and feed or just feed?"

Sookie looked at him like he was crazy. "Here?"

He shrugged. "There are private rooms we are free to use, if you like."

The thing is, she kind of did want to fuck. And the idea of spending some quality time fucking and feeding from her guys made her horny as hell (and more than a little lonely for them). But fucking a stranger with Eric nearby just sounded awkward and uncomfortable.

But she wanted to feed in private anyway if she could. She asked Eric if they could just go somewhere else after she'd picked someone and see what happened. He thought that was probably for the best, regardless. He let go of her hand and leaned against a wall to watch.

Most people were still focused on Eric. The only ones thinking about her were just wondering who and what she was in relation to him. Including the kids she knew.

There was a cute Were standing by one of the couches talking to a couple of girls. He was wearing a black polo shirt and had curly brown hair and dimples. He looked to be in his early 20s, and Sookie thought that he was really attractive. He was also big and strong, like her guys, in case she got carried away. She caught his eye.

At first he seemed to bristle that she was paying him any attention at all, and she looked away quickly. But he kept glancing back over to her, despite himself, and they caught each other's eyes again. He left the girls and walked over to her.

He smiled at her, "Hey. You're new around here, aren't you? I'm Teddy. Security."

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I guess you aren't on the menu." She gave him a shy smile. He laughed out loud.

"Well, no. Can't say that I am. Or that anyone's ever wanted me to be. But…" He ran his fingers through his curls and blushed. But he really wanted to be. Which was fucking insane. "Look, I'm on duty tonight and my break is over in a minute or two. I'd like to see you again, though. Maybe not a fuck and feed, but if you'd like to go out for coffee later this week, we could get to know each other a little better. Well, I could have coffee..." She read in his head that he really did want to get to know her. And, after he had coffee, she could probably have all the blood and sex and whatever the hell else she wanted. And it would have been her turn to blush if it were possible.

She was about to answer him when she felt a quick hard tug in her chest that pulled her up short. When she felt it again, she looked around and Eric was glaring at her.

What in the hell was his problem?

She said to the Were, "I think we're going to Shreveport soon. But thanks for the offer!"

He shrugged, told her it was nice to meet her anyhow, and walked out with a really confused look on his face. Sookie was confused, too. She didn't know what she had done wrong. Yeah, he wasn't an official donor, but he seemed nice, and he was certainly interested. And Eric had made it sound like she was free to fuck whomever.

She walked over to him.

"That was not a donor."

She shrugged. "I know. He told me."

"It is not appropriate to fuck and feed from Weres. Or any shifters, for that matter."

She crossed her arms and frowned at him.

"Why not?"

"It just isn't done. They are beneath us."

He could feel anger sizzle across the bond. "You told me that you wouldn't make me do anything that I felt was morally wrong. Being a great big nasty bigot is wrong. So fuck that. And fuck you."

She walked over and sat with the kids she knew from the streets, and they welcomed her into the conversation like she was still one of them. Even after her fangs ran down when one sat down a little too close to her.

"Whoa! Sunshine's a vamp? Holy shit! And Eric's? Damn, Sunshine. You, like, won the lottery!"

She sure as hell didn't feel like she won the lottery just then. And he was still glaring at her, too.

Sitting this close to so many people was making her really on edge, though. She was so hungry. She looked around and found the two biggest guys there. She caught their eyes, in turn, from across the room. They got up and stood quietly next to Eric.

"I gotta go get a bite to eat, guys. But it was great seeing y'all! Maybe I'll be back again sometime."

They all said goodbye and she walked over to the two donors. She didn't want to go anywhere with Eric, but she didn't really want to do it right there, either. Eric led them into a private room where she fed from them both. And, no matter how horny she was, she wasn't going to have sex with these guys with Eric glaring at her.