AN: Enjoy!

Chapter 17

Eric emerged from the backroom roughly ten minutes after Sookie disappeared into it with Pam. They argued, and Maria wasn't surprised. She did her best not to say anything because she agreed with Pam wholeheartedly. They should hand Sookie over and let her die. And yet, for some reason, Eric was unwilling. Although, if she was being honest with herself, Maria knew why. She knew what Pam didn't, and while it helped her understand, it angered her just as much as his progeny.

After Pam stormed away, Eric turned his attention to Maria.

"I need to speak with you." He said before he simply walked outside. Maria arched a brow. Evidently, he expected her to follow, and part of her was a little annoyed that she did.

When she made her way outside, she found him standing just beyond the awning, not quite in the parking lot, but not far from it. He stood in ¾ profile to her so she could see only a glimpse of his face. The metal, weighted door slammed shut behind her with a loud clack, but Eric didn't move. He didn't even speak for a minute or two, despite what he said. It drew on her patience to the point she said something.

"I agree with Pam."

She noticed his brows flinch just before he shifted to face her completely. He seemed surprised, though she didn't understand why. Perhaps it was because of who she said she agreed with.

Maria moved past it.

"You need to hand her over."

His expression hardened, but she wasn't afraid of it.

"I know how you feel about her, but-"

He suddenly lunged for her, standing so close that his chest nearly touched hers. His fangs were out.

"I feel nothing for her."

Maria took a step back because she was unwilling to crane her neck so completely just to speak with him, not because he'd frightened her.

"That'd be a more convincing lie with anyone else." She told him. "But I've been in your head." He flinched. "And I doubt anything's changed in the last couple days." He scoffed, turned his back to her, and took a few steps away.

"You know nothing." He said calmly.

"I know it's primal, how you feel about that thing." She said. Eric glowered at her description of Sookie, but that was how she felt about the waitress. "It's visceral, and I know that you don't even play into it. The vampire wants her."

"I'm not some base animal." He growled.

"Yes you are!" She snapped back. "Jesus Christ, you fucking vampires think you're so evolved, but you're not. You're animals just like the rest of us supes. You people think you're above everything else because you're immortal, but you're not! You're dead! You're a reanimated corpse! Basically, vampires are just sexy zombies. That's it. And the second you were infected and died, you became an animal, driven by instincts like the rest of us, and that's what's clouding your brain." Maria took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. She relaxed as much as she could as she stared back at the towering Viking. "It's her blood you want."

He flinched again, which she thought was odd, but ignored. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't," She said softly. "Don't try to make it sound like I'm making this up. I'm not, and you know it." Maria took a step toward him and tried to exude nothing but sincerity when she said, "You want to protect her because you want to feed on her. You want to keep her for yourself and not share, but that desire and need, it's going to kill you. There are two basic instincts that no animal can fight: self-preservation and food. Give. Her. To. Russell. And wash your hands of it all."

"I can't do that."

Maria's chest tightened. She wanted to continue being upset, but she couldn't be. Again, she'd been in his head and felt what he felt about Sookie. She knew how deep his desire was for her, she'd just hoped he would've been smart.

"Then use her as bait. Chain her to a stake in the middle of a field and lure the monster."

He stared at her curiously. Maria shrugged a shoulder.

"Worked in Jurassic Park."

Eric smiled an amused, disbelieving smile and shook his head at her. For some reason, she grinned internally. She was a little proud of that remark.

Silence came again, but it wasn't as tense as before. At least, not at first. When Eric faced her completely once more, Maria's stomach sank. The amusement was gone and seriousness had returned.

"I need you to go home." He told her bluntly.

"What?"

He approached her again, but slowly –calmly. She seemed to have taken the fight from him, or the situation did.

"I need you to go home. You'll be safe there."

"You're going to need help." She was surprised by her willingness to remain, but it was there regardless.

"I have Pam and you're a distraction."

Her brows furrowed and she narrowed her eyes at the odd statement.

"I'm not going anywhere." Maria's voice was firm. "Edgington needs to die."

He looked at her softly, almost sympathetically, and with something that looked suspiciously like admiration, though she doubted it.

"And I'm going to do what I can to make sure that happens, but you won't be here to see it." He said. Maria opened her mouth to speak, to interject again, but she wasn't given the chance. She was almost immediately silenced when she felt the pull of his glamor. It consumed her in an instant. "Go home. Sleep if you want, but go home and don't step foot outside until there's sunlight."

When the feeling left her, Maria reacted violently. She punched Eric in the face, hard. His head snapped to the side and he was forced to take a balancing step, but he said nothing about it. Instead, he simply looked at her.

"God damn it." She hissed angrily under her breath as his command took hold.

Whether she wanted to or not, Maria's feet began to carry her to the truck she'd once loaded everything into. He watched her get into the cab, slam her door, and start the engine.

"Cheer up, Miss Romanov." He said, drawing her attention. "By morning, you may very well be a free woman."

A shard of ice pierced her heart. It was an unexpected sensation that spread throughout her body quickly.

Silent and unsure of what she'd say anyway, Maria pulled out of the parking lot. She cast Eric Northman a parting glance in her rearview mirror that lasted only seconds before he sailed into the air and disappeared completely.

Maria spent the remainder of the night walking in circles, literally. She'd begun pacing, but around the entirety of her first floor –one large circle. But the instant the sky turned bright and the smell of dew hit her nostrils, she threw open her front door and ran for Fangtasia. Maria was fast, not vampire-fast, but she could make headway much quicker than most other supes, and she didn't trust herself to drive.

Miles flew beneath her feet as she headed back to the club. A pit –empty, hallow, and ravenous- had formed in her gut long ago, and the longer she went without knowing what happened at Fangtasia, the worse it became.

Her chest ached and the bitterly cold morning air burned her nose, but she pressed on. Northman couldn't die. There was no other way about it –Eric Northman couldn't die. He said he'd keep her safe, that he'd protect her from Grigori. He couldn't do that if he was a puddle of goo.

She wasn't willing to let him back out of their bargain.

When Maria rounded the corner and emerged in the Fangtasia parking lot, what she saw made her freeze. Two bodies laid on the concrete in full view of the morning sun. Sookie stood over them screaming at Edgington while Eric, told her to leave them alone to die. Maria's sudden appearance shocked the waitress who stared at her with wide eyes, but Maria barely noticed.

Suddenly running on instinct, Maria charged for the pair. She didn't hesitate to grip the handcuffs keeping them bound and snap the thin center chain.

"Leave me!" Eric shouted the words, but they were weak.

"Shut up," she hissed.

Maria grabbed his arm and used it to throw him over her shoulder. She headed for the door and was more than willing to kick it down when Sookie appeared in her path. The blonde opened it quickly, allowing the pair to enter. Maria didn't bother thanking her.

"Put him here." Pam said as she shoved a leather bench away from the wall and to the middle of the room.

Maria did as she was beckoned and laid Eric down as gently as she could with Pam's help. The Viking was trembling almost violently and gasping for breath.

"He isn't healing." Pam said in a panic. "He's too weak to drop fang."

"Bite me," Sookie told Bill when she presented him with her wrist.

"What?" He seemed shocked.

"Bite me."

A twinge of a foreign emotion swept through Maria and guided her actions. While Bill took Sookie's arm in hand, Maria bit the finger of her glove, tugged it off sharply, and dug her exposed thumbnail into her other wrist. It pierced through her flesh with ease. She put the open wound to Eric's mouth and simply waited.

"Here, Er-" Sookie's words were instantly cut short when she turned around and saw what was already happening. "Oh," She muttered.

Through her lashes, Maria stared at the blonde who shifted uncomfortably on her feet. Sookie kept her chin up and tried her best to act as though it didn't bother her, but it did. Maria could smell her disappointment and it brought a very real grin to her lips.

Perhaps a minute later, Eric's fangs finally pierced into Maria's wrist. She bit back a short hiss of pain, but ignored it in favor of watching the scorch marks and char leave his skin. Seconds later, he appeared to be back to normal and even opened his eyes. She felt instant relief.

"Thank you," he said when he let her go. Maria offered a nod and before he snapped his fangs back into place, Eric nicked a finger and smeared his blood over the wound to heal it. She gave him another silent thanks.

Her relief, however, was brief. Not milliseconds after he stood, Eric told the room Russell needed to be brought inside. He told Maria to fetch him, but she blatantly refused, and that seemed to be all the prompting Sookie needed. In fact, the waitress leapt at the chance a little too quickly considering the vampire she was meant to get. Maria wondered if she'd done it to be useful, or because she wanted to do something (anything) for Eric. It could have been both, really.

Whatever the real reason was, Sookie retrieved a pair of chains that were sitting nearby and proceeded to drag the ancient block of talking charcoal back into the shade of Fangtasia. Meanwhile, Eric had retrieved a pair of latex gloves and took the chain from her afterwards. He quickly lifted Edgington onto one of the stripper platforms and wrapped the chain around the pole.

"Eric, who the fuck are you right now?" Pam snapped. "He killed your family. Rip his fucking head off."

"She's right." Maria said.

"Not now." He told them both sternly.

"At least get a potato peeler and skin him. Something!" Maria shouted. "Cut off his limbs and throw them in the sun."

Surprised gazes drifted to her, but Maria stared only at Eric. Vampires could regrow a lot of things, but she was fairly certain arms and legs weren't amongst them. He needed to make Russell Edgington nothing but a torso and a head.

"Well, well, well," Eric practically cooed the words. "Look who's suddenly deliciously bloodthirsty?" Maria crossed her arms over her chest and leveled her stare at him. She meant what she said. "As fun as that would be, I do have my own plans for him." After securing the chains completely, Eric tugged off his latex gloves. "I need the two of you to stay here and watch him." He motioned to Sookie and Maria.

"No." They said in unison.

"He can't glamor you." He told Sookie before he looked at Maria. "And you're strong enough to control him if the need arises."

"I'm not watching this freak." Sookie hissed.

"And I'm not staying in a room with that." She blatantly pointed at the waitress. Everyone noticed, but only Bill and Sookie were offended by it.

"Hey!" Sookie snapped as she charged toward the dark-haired young woman. Maria glared at her. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you better back off." Sookie said as meanly as she could manage. "Look, I'm sorry I shot you, okay? But, I've been tryin' my best to be nice to you and you're nothing but a bitch back and I'm not gonna take it anymore."

"Back off before I eat you, fairy." Maria opened her mouth and let loose an angry, hateful, feral hiss that physically shook the little blonde. She looked back to Eric. "You know why I can't be around a fucking fairy. I showed you why."

But a flash of something in his eyes told her that no, he didn't. In spite of everything he'd already gleaned from her, Eric hadn't actually sorted through enough to know anything that personal. For some reason, regardless of the company, Maria flat-out told him. Perhaps she was simply desperate for him to know so he wouldn't make her stay in the same room as Sookie. Her scent alone was offensive, not to mention her overall personality. Maria didn't want to spend hours with her.

"We were their pets." She told him. "For thousands of years we were those monsters' guard dogs, shackled and chained and kept on leashes, and bred specifically for their benefit." She pointed and angry finger at Sookie to instill her point. "They made thropes, all thropes, because they wanted protection."

"From what?" He asked calmly.

Maria looked his up and down and motioned to the room. "Vampires."

She noticed the shock, but it was true. They couldn't honestly be that surprised given how much they all wanted to eat Sookie. Of course her ancestors would have done whatever they could to protect themselves, but just because she understood the reasoning didn't mean Maria cared.

Maria approached Eric and with a softer voice said, "Don't make he sit here all day and protect another one of those fairy fucks. Please."

Eric didn't immediately offer an answer, though he seemed to take a few things into account as he looked at her, Russell, and Sookie. A minute passed, maybe two, before he turned his attention back to the young woman practically begging for him to let her be anywhere else.

"I need you here." He told her finally. Maria's stomach sank. "Russell can't leave this building."

"Fine," Maria hardened herself, an easy task given how angry she was. "But if he tries to eat the fairy, I'm not going to stop him. I'll just make sure he doesn't set foot outside."

He didn't seem pleased, or surprised by what she'd said.

Eric returned his attention to the room and told Bill they had a spare coffin for him to sleep in. Compton tried to protest, but Sookie shot him down. She told all of the vampires in an exceedingly awkward way that she didn't want to look at any of them. To Maria, it sounded like the blonde was attempting to sound intimidating or strong. It came across as false and unnatural to Maria. She might as well have been a bad actress delivering her lines. That was how real they felt.

The vampires retired to the back. Maria turned her gaze on Sookie. The blonde crossed her arms over her chest, popped out her hip as she shifted her weight, and stared dead-set at Maria. The dark-haired young woman arched a disbelieving brow, scoffed, and took a seat on the bench Eric had once been lying on.

Her day was going to be a long one.

Sleep came in waves. The term "catnap" annoyed her for obvious reasons, but it was the only way to truly describe what she'd managed to accomplish. Maria had been awake for a long time, so her body naturally gave out periodically because it desperately needed the sleep, but every time it sensed Sookie moving, or the air shifted, the primal fear would rise again and she'd wake up.

Ginger had arrived about an hour ago and cleaned to ornate crystal vase that Talbot's guts had been stored in. Maria could appreciate what Sookie had done –shoving them down the disposal. It was a nice touch. Personally, Maria would have thrown them into the sun to watch them burn, but forcing Russell to watch as the love of his life was sucked down into the sewage system was a nice touch.

In the back corner, tucked behind the bar though still slightly visible were some booths and benches. Maria was lying on them with her back to the room, curled up and attempting to sleep again when the door opened and Ginger shrieked. Maria cringed.

"Stop screaming, Ginger!" She yelled back. "Jesus Christ, always with the screaming."

"Who's that?" Maria heard a deep, gruff male voice ask.

"Her name's Maria." Sookie said with a level of contempt Maria was sure was intentional. And then her voice turned much chipper than before. "How'd you know to come for me?"

Maria groaned and rolled her eyes despite them being closed. Sookie was flirting with the giant and somehow hurt by the fact that he wasn't there for her. Meanwhile, she openly swooned over both Eric and Bill whenever they were around. All Maria could think was, this blonde bitch needed to either make up her mind, or maybe not make it so obvious that she wanted to fuck every man she came into contact with. Maria wasn't against hooking up with men for fun and no-strings-attached, but Sookie just exuded desperation that physically turned Maria's stomach. Worse yet, her attitude and tactics seemed to genuinely work on the men around her.

To be fair, it wasn't a common thing to hear people speaking about a straight male's intelligence when it came to women. They were all rather stupid if sex was on the table.

An hour had passed since Alcide had arrived and Maria hadn't fallen asleep again. She didn't even drift. The room was filled with the scent of werewolf and fairy, and both stung her nose. The others, however, must have thought she was and decided to use that as a chance to talk about her.

"Hey," Sookie said in a whisper. Maria's hearing was too good for it to go unnoticed. "What's a thrope?"

"Why you askin' 'bout them?"

There was a pause and Maria knew that Sookie must have motioned in her direction in some way.

"Wait, you sayin' she's a thrope?" Alcide asked a little too excitedly. "What kind?"

"How many kinds are there?"

"Supposed to be lots." He said. "Lions, bears, jaguars, wolves- I mean, basically any four-legged predator has a thrope." Maria heard him shift in his seat, likely trying to look at her. "I ain't never met one before, though."

"Aren't they just like weres?"

"Nah," He said as he shifted once more. "They're bigger, stronger, and they ain't gotta worry 'bout the moon. Some people say they're our ancestors."

"Well, she doesn't like me very much."

"Why's that?"

"She said fairies made them and kept them as pets."

By then, Maria had enough. With a loud sigh, she rolled off the couch and glided to her feet. Running her fingers through her hair, she pulled it away from her face and saw both Sookie and Alcide looking at her.

"Maybe when you're talking about someone, make sure they don't have supernatural hearing, hm?"

Sookie instantly shied away, bringing her beer to her mouth and taking a sip as though it would somehow hide her. God, Maria wanted to tear into her.

As she neared the two, her eyes remained primarily on Alcide. He was a good-looking man, tall, large, and just plain attractive. He might have stunk like a dog, but that didn't bother her as much as it would other supes. Cats and dogs really wasn't a thing, at least not to her. Truth was, she could eviscerate a werewolf if she had to without much effort, so with that came the knowledge that there was no reason to fear him.

The fact that she was afraid of a five-foot-nothing semi-human and not the over-six-foot-tall werewolf wasn't lost on her.

"Hi," she said to him.

"Hey," Alcide replied as he looked her over, too. "Alcide Herveaux." When he offered his hand, she took it.

"Maria Romanova."

"Nice meetin' you."

"Well, my, my, my,"

Russell's cooing voice drew attention to him. He still looked like a charcoal briquette. It'd been hours and it didn't appear that he'd healed in the least. Apparently, sun damage was irrevocable without blood. Good to know.

He smiled as best he could with black teeth as he said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a real-life duchess in our midst." Maria clenched her jaw. "Although, with your mommy and daddy dead, s'pose that means you're the empress now. And what a lovely kingdom it is, I'm sure."

His derision was thick so there was no mistaking the intent behind his words. As a result, Maria grabbed Alcide's half-empty beer bottle and threw it at him. It smashed against Russell's head, breaking apart and spreading the remaining alcohol all over him.

"Stop talking." She told him plainly.

Russell snarled at her, bearing his single fang as he did. She wasn't threatened.

"You're an empress?" Sookie asked, drawing Maria's eye.

"No," she said bluntly.

Without another word on the matter, Maria stepped behind the bar. She reached into the cooler and retrieved a new beer for Alcide given she'd broken his last one, and he thanked her for it. Maria gave a nod of acknowledgement, but nothing else. As she searched for something for herself to drink, Russell apparently hadn't finished his taunting.

"I miss the old days." Russell said. "Few countries had such beautifully ruthless leaders. Russia was special like that. Ivan was particularly wonderful." Maria scowled at him through her lashes. Ivan the Terrible was a sadistic fuck, and ten shades of crazy. Of course Edgington knew him. "Nobody had quite the same skill with torture."

"You should shut up." Alcide growled, but Russell didn't listen. He leveled his darkened, bloodshot eyes on Maria who refused to look away.

"I heard 'bout you, ya know. You and your sisters." He told her. Maria's hand tensed around the glass she was holding. "But you were his favorite." he actually let out a low, sultry groan that made Maria's stomach twist and bile rise in her throat. "You and me have a mutual friend."

"I doubt that."

Russell didn't even pause at her denial and simply continued with his taunts.

"He was obsessed with you." He scowled. "Seein' you now, can't figure out why myself, but he was such a wonderfully twisted soul, I had to help him out." Maria began to tremble. "Made sure he had all the tools to win his little l'vitsa."

Two things happened in an instant. One, the glass Maria had been holding shattered in her hand sending shards flying. And two, she climbed over the bar and launched herself at Russell before Sookie or Alcide knew what happened.

With a ferocious scream, she began to beat the vampire. Each hit landed with a fierce thud, echoing in the room. She hit him so hard, in fact, that Maria wondered briefly if his head would simply pop off. She hoped it did.

She was so lost in her rage that she didn't feel the arms around her that pulled her away. She only saw that her reach became shorter and shorter, unable to fully connect with the vampire she'd been berating seconds ago.

"Enough," Eric said sternly.

Maria, with her heart still pounding and her body shaking, went limp in his arms. It was only then that she realized he not only held her against his chest, but did so to the point she couldn't even touch the floor. She was, more or less, dangling in his grip.

"If I let you go," He said, "You can't hit him."

Her mind raced with a thousand ideas until, finally, she decided on one and nodded.

Eric slowly set her down and when her feet touched the floor, she didn't move. He seemed to be pleased with her restraint, though in truth it was barely there.

As Eric began to untie Edgington, Maria approached. He eyed her sternly, a silent warning for her not to overreact again.

"One thing." She said. "I won't beat him again. I promise."

She saw Eric measure his thoughts and weigh his options before, to her gratitude, he nodded. Maria reached forward and took the end of the chain he held. Eric didn't let go because he didn't want her to run off with Edgington. He was probably right to worry.

Maria looped her index fingers into the wide link and pulled until its seam gave way. When it had, she unthreaded it from the chain itself and stood in front of Russell. Without giving him a chance to react, Maria pried open his mouth. Russell spat and fought, but he was so weak compared to her, and Eric, wonderful Eric, held Russell's head still. He seemed to sense what her plan was and quickly helped her.

With his jaw wedged open wide, Maria practically shoved her hand down his throat before she let go of the silver link. It wasn't dissimilar to giving a dog a pill. Russell's instinct took over no matter how badly it pained him and he swallowed the link just for the ability to scream. She couldn't imagine how painful it was for him to feel a chunk of silver gliding down his throat only to settle in his gut.

Maria quickly clamped her hand over his mouth, but he continued to try and scream around it, writhing in pain and anguish.

"For the rest of your life," her voice shook, but she kept it strong, "However long that is, that piece of silver will burn you from the inside, and while it does, I want you to think of me."

She released his mouth and he began to scream again, but Maria only smiled. In fact, Eric and Pam were smiling, too.

"Very nice." Eric grinned. "Now, go home. Get some sleep."

She nodded. Eric, Bill, Sookie, and Alcide left shortly after.

"Well," Pam cooed when they were alone. "Aren't you creative?"

"I have my moments." She replied. "I'm going home. I'll see you later."

Pam waved her hand dismissively, and Maria left. On her way back to her house, she wanted to be surprised Edgington knew Rasputin, but she wasn't. Not really, at least. It made a sick sort of sense that all fucked up bastards knew one another, and it would explain a few things.

When she was young, a child, her father banished him from the family. Sometime later, her mother convinced him to let Grigori return to tend to her little brother. But, when Rasputin came back, he was different –wrong. After listening to Edgington, Maria suspected that their paths might have crossed during that time.