Hello my lovely readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter and that it blows you away :)
Disclaimer: See Chapters 1-3
Eric held my hand tightly as we walked towards Sophie-Anne Leclerq's front door. It was a nice comforting gesture but I knew it was really his way of preventing me from attacking him after our little journey. We headed towards the pathway leading towards her house but then stopped once we saw Bill emerge from the house.
"What are you doing here? What business do you have with the Queen?" I was taken back at Bill's tone. I had never quite heard him speak to Eric like that. I knew they loathed each other but this was on a completely different level. Bill always showed some level of respect towards Eric due to his superiority but he wasn't showing that respect anymore. It was as if he was marking his territory over Eric.
"Watch your mouth Compton. You may be the Queen's favourite but I am still your superior and I do not have to justify my actions to you." Bill's fangs snapped out and he vamped in front of Eric. Eric kept his cool but I didn't; I was ready to snap Bill's neck if he made one more move towards Eric. "But you do have to justify your actions to the Queen. Tell me, what would she say if I told her that you were selling V in your own area? I'm sure that would earn you a one way ticket to the true death."
My mouth dropped; was Bill threatening Eric with the true death? Who the hell was he to say such a thing? Before either of us could respond, Bill was gone. I released my grip on my sai blades and moved in front of Eric.
"What do you mean about Bill being the Queen's favourite and what the hell is he talking about? Since when do you sell V? Don't tell me you've dragged Lafayette back into this?" Eric grabbed my hand and pulled my body flush towards his. He held my head in his hands and slammed his lips against mine. He forced his tongue between my lips and I moaned at the taste of him; I had missed this.
"I will explain everything later, there is more I must tell you. But for now, we're here for a purpose." I whimpered at the loss of contact between us but straightened myself up. I nodded at Eric and held his hand and we walked towards the front door.
There were several human guards standing around the perimeter of the house carrying guns; I had the assumption that they were wooden bullets since anything else would be a waste of time against vampires.
"Eric Northman, Sheriff of area 5 here to see the Queen," the guard nodded then looked down at me. Before I could say anything, Eric spoke for me, "this is my human pet. I get hungry." I crushed Eric's hand with my own and smirked when I felt a few of his bones break. That serves him right for calling me his pet. The guard nodded then stepped aside and allowed us to walk in. The house looked extremely modern but the white walls and ionic pillars made me feel like I was in Greece. I guess I knew what architectural area she preferred.
We walked into a room, which looked like a pool room. The walls were painted to look like they were windows and held the view of a sunny beach. I looked over and saw three people sitting on the floor around a small table. I instantly recognised Sophie-Anne but said nothing.
"Sheriff Northman, to what do I owe the pleasure? And a human pet? I thought that was beneath you." Sophie-Anne vamped towards us but then stopped when she saw me. I gritted my teeth as she reached out and held my chin. "You look strangely familiar human. Hmm, have I tasted you before?" She ran her finger up and down my face and traced my lips. There may have been a time when I would have enjoyed this but now I just felt sick.
"She is mine Sophie-Anne." "Quiet! I can do as I please and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it Northman. Now, where was I?" She turned my face to reveal my neck with the full intention of biting me. Eric was definitely going to hate me after this. I grabbed Sophie-Anne's neck and watched her eyes go wide.
"I didn't let you taste me 250 years ago and I won't let you taste me now." I pushed her away from me and smiled as she tried to regain her footing. She slowly walked back towards me and barred her fangs at me.
"How is this possible? A human being immortal?" "Well I'm not exactly human but that's now why we're here. Now, retract your fangs before I pull them out myself. You have no authority over me so it's best if we keeps things civil." She didn't say anything but I knew she understood my threat because she did as I said and strolled back over to her little table.
Eric and I followed her and he grinned as he whispered in my ear, "you just put a 500 year old vampire in her place. Would it be completely inappropriate if I told you that I was hard for you right now?" I looked down at Eric and licked my lips as I saw his growing erection. "Later Erastís Mou, we have a Maenad to kill first."
"Did you just say a Maenad? I'm intrigued." Sophie-Anne looked up from her game and beckoned us to join her. She obviously had gotten over our little ex-lovers spat. When we got closer, I saw that she was playing 'yahtzee' with two humans. One of them, the girl had a striking resemblance to Sookie with her blonde hair and sweetheart face but it could have just been a coincidence. Most Southern girls shared similar features.
"Yes. Apparently they still exist although I can't imagine why. There are better things to do than serve Dionysus; all he could do was show us a good time." She held out the cup of dice to me and I grabbed it. I pulled Eric down with me and ignored him when he tried to pull away. I flipped the cup over and smiled. "Full house."
"So I see. I don't know much of Maenad's, they're foul creatures who wait for the 'God that comes' to appear to them so he can devour them. Quite sad really when we all know that God's do not exist." "Your majesty, we need to know of a way to kill her."
She looked over at Eric and flicked her hair behind her back. She grinned at me and continued to play her round. "They're immortal like our little friend here. Although their immortality stems from their belief since no one actually granted it to them. They'll continue to create chaos until Dionysus presents himself to them and that isn't going to happen."
"Of course not. A God cannot present themselves to a human in their true form without that human dying. That's why Maenad's believe Dionysus is the horned God; the rare times he is on earth, he takes the form of a bull and that was how he managed to create Maenad's in the first place. He always spoke of how they came to existence but never of how to kill them."
"You seem to believe in such Gods. Is that why I found you in Greece?" "Oh I don't just believe in those God's, I am also the outcome of one of them and I dare say I share the temper of a God. Now, if that's all you know then I suggest we go to someone who knows more. Maryanne's already intrigued with Sookie so I have no doubt that she'll go after her again."
At the mention of Sookie's name, Sophie-Anne and her female companion looked at me. "You know Sookie?" I looked over at the girl sitting next to me but before I could say anything, Sophie-Anne interrupted. "I didn't realise you were close with Compton's human. Tell me, is there anything supernatural about her?" I thought of the strange ability I saw Sookie use a few hours before but said nothing. Sophie-Anne was a collector and there was no way I was going to allow her anywhere near Sookie.
"No, unlike me, she's just a regular mortal. Now, you can understand that Eric and I must leave if we are to reach Bon Temps before the sun comes up." "Of course. I hope you deal with your little Maenad problem. Oh and Eric? Make sure Compton stays out of our affairs. I wouldn't want him to know all of my secrets."
"Well that was a waste of time." Eric opened Bill's front door and I followed him inside. "I wouldn't say that. I didn't realise that Maenad's wanted Dionysus to present themselves to him. Maybe we could use that to our advantage." "But we still don't know how to kill her."
Eric was right; we didn't and had no idea where to begin. I walked into Bill's sitting room hoping to find Sookie there but instead, Sam stood there with Bill. "Where's Sookie?" They turned to look at me but neither one of them spoke.
"I do not know. I returned home to find Sam waiting for me. I have a feeling she's gone to find Tara which is incredibly stupid since we have no way of killing Maryanne. I assume you went to the Queen for the same reason as I did and were disappointed to discover that she did not know much."
"She didn't, but I know someone who will. It's a long shot but it's the only one we have. Bill, I need you to bring me five candles and clear a space on the floor." He nodded then vamped away. "Eric? I need you to sneak into my room at Sookie's and open the box I keep under the floorboards. In there, you'll find a shield with an owl imprinted on it; I need it. But be careful, it's made of silver and gold. Use some of my gloves if you have to." Eric kissed me softly on the lips then vamped out the house.
"Sam, I'm about to do something that is going to put me in a position I do not want to be in but it's the only way. And because of that, you can't be here. There's a reason why no human has ever seen a God in their true form; they can't. Head over to Sookie's and steak the place out. We have to know exactly what's going on there." Before Sam could say anything, Bill returned and handed me the candles. I set them down in the shape of a pentagon and sighed in relief as I heard Sam leave. Shapeshifter or not, he was still human.
I set to work on lighting them when Eric returned with my shield. "You're going to summon your mother aren't you?" Eric handed me my shield then I stepped away from the pentagon. "Yup, using the shield she gave me. She gave this to Perseus before I was born to kill Medusa then to me once he died. It's the only thing I have that once belong to hers which is why it will work. Now before I do this, I need you both to swear that you won't speak to her unless she speaks to you. Gods are very proud creatures and don't take likely to any form of disrespect. Also, to see a God in it's true form is something extraordinary and something very rare. Understood?"
They both nodded and watched as I began to summon my mother. I used one of my blades to draw blood from my hand and held it over the pentagon. My blood slowly poured out of my arm and onto the floor as I called my mother, "éla Athína, éla se ména mitéra." I watched as my blood suddenly turned to gold; it was working. I threw my shield into the pentagon and looked away as a flash of light erupted from the shield. I turned back a moment later and saw my mother standing in the middle of the pentagon.
"Alexandra, I must say I'm surprised you have called me and even more surprised of the company you keep. Tell me vampires, do you understand English?" I looked back at Bill and Eric who seemed to be frozen in their spot. However, Eric managed to recover quicker than Bill, "yes we do."
Athena smiled then turned to look at me. Her straight brown hair flowed down and around her shoulders and her golden sheer peplos clung to her like a second skin. "Your Theía mentioned your love bond to me and I must say that I am proud of the work my sister has accomplished. She has given you a companion to which you truly can be yourself with and I am pleased of that. Now, why have you summoned me? It must be of great importance since you know of the consequences."
"I know mother and I accept those. A few weeks ago, Apollo appeared himself to me to warn me of a threat that was in my future and one I would not be able to defeat alone. I believe that the threat is that of a Maenad. She has already attacked me once with a force I am unfamiliar with and I fear that if I don't stop her, she will cause a chaos unlike that we have ever seen before."
"A Maenad you say? Well, I suppose it is a pity that Dionysus is in his annual drunken state otherwise I would insist he comes down and sort of the mess he started thousands of years ago. Why Zeus allows him to drink himself into a drunken sleep every year I will never know. A Maenad is a mad creature and that is their weakness: they will not die if Dionysus reveals himself in his true form for they are not mortal but it will weaken them. I have no affect on you my daughter because you have the blood of a God and your companions are already dead but if a being such as a Maenad looks upon the true form of a God, they will weaken."
"So she will become vulnerable when she believes she is in the presence of Dionysus?" Athena nodded then stepped out of the pentagon. As she did, her appearance changed into that of a mortal; she decreased in size and fully clothed. She held my hands in hers and smiled.
"Yes. If you can convince her that Dionysus has presented himself to her, she will release the magic within her and temporarily become mortal. When they happens, you have only a matter of seconds to remove her heart from her chest; it's the only way. I hope you have the answers you were looking for."
I nodded at my mother and smiled when she kissed my cheek. "I am so proud of you Alexandra. You are more than I ever imagined you would be. But you know what must come next."
"I do mother and I accept it. Thank you for all your help, I knew I could rely on you." She smiled as she walked back towards the pentagon. Another flash of light erupted and she was gone. All that remained in the pentagon was my shield. I turned to face Bill and Eric and gave them a hopeful smile.
"Now all we need to do is convince Maryanne that Dionysus has come. It can't be that hard. Bill, go and get Sam and bring him back here. We're gonna need his help." Once Bill had left, Eric pulled me into his arms and kissed me softly.
"Are you gonna tell me of the consequences she spoke of?" "I will but not now. First, we've got a Maenad to kill."
And there you have it! Another twist on season 2 :)
Just to let you all know, éla Athína, éla se ména mitéra simply means "come Athena, come to me mother" and Theía means aunt :)
Please review and let me know what you think ;)
Jem x