Don't lose your way

With each passing day

You've come so far

Don't throw it away

Live believing

Dreams are for weaving

Wonders are waiting to start

Live your story

Faith, hope and glory

Hold to the truth in your heart

If we hold on together

I know our dreams will never die

Dreams see us through to forever

Where clouds roll by, for you and I – Diana Ross

Eric POV

"Well, I hear congratulations are in order." My blood runs cold as I take in the voice that has announced those words. I thank whatever deity has been bringing such good into my life, Sookie into my life, that I am facing away from my office door when I hear those words. Because I am sure my thousand years of perfecting a 'poker' face has failed me now.

Felipe de Castro should not be anywhere near Area Five tonight, yet the voice from behind me is undoubtedly his. And if I had any doubt in my mind, which I do not, Pam, Karin, and Thalia's face would have said it all, as they have a clear vision line to our visitor. Sookie initially looked confused but she has picked up on the anxiety coming off the other three vampires.

And probably is coming off of me as well.

It is only a split second before I turn to the King of Nevada, but with the amount of thoughts that cross my mind in that short time frame, it seems like a year.

We, Louisiana and Arkansas, could be under attack. Though it would be odd for de Castro to appear before the states officially fall, nothing about de Castro is routine. He could simply be scouting, trying to determine how loyal I am to the Queen or how my Area is defended. If he made it to my office without being announced, he is probably laughing at it.

"Your Majesty," I say with a polite bow once I am facing him, hopefully my face appearing poised. "My Queen had mentioned you may be visiting our fine state soon." She did tell me he would be visiting her; she failed to mention he would be visiting the rest of the states as well. Or maybe, he failed to mention it. "I apologize for not being prepared to greet you. Sophie-Anne did not mention you would be visiting Area Five on your visit to Louisiana," I add to see how he will respond. His response may answer my many unasked questions.

"She did not know ahead of time either. Victor is letting her know now," he says with a smile. That is definitely not a good thing as ideas for how we could fight back a potential takeover starts to move through my head. My phone rings, breaking the silence. Sookie jumps at its suddenness and the some of the vampires in the room look like they fought against doing the same.

All except de Castro, of course. "That's probably her now," he says, his grin getting impossibly bigger.

The ring of the phone alerts me that de Castor is right; it is the Queen that is calling. I do hope he assumes it is her because he knows she would contact us once she knew he was here. If he knows that ringtone signals her call because he has been spying on us, we are in a much more dangerous place than I thought we were in.

Because it is Sohpie-Anne, I need to take this call otherwise I simply would have silenced the phone and ignore it. This phone call needs to be taken for so many reasons but I want to be alert to the threat that is right in front of me. I throw my phone to Pam who catches it. I hope to hear the Queen's voice or at least the voice of someone that is on our side. Sophie-Anne knows that Karin is in Louisiana but as she does not know my oldest child, Pam is the best on she could talk to at the moment.

Hopefully, it will be Sophie-Anne that Pam is talking too.

If de Castro wasn't still staring at me with that insipid smile on his face, I would have closed my eyes in relief as Sophie-Anne's voice comes from the other end of the line. Even better, it does not sound like she is under attack. Her voice sounds a bit more tense than it usually does, but Victor's presence would do that to just about everyone.

I let Pam talk to Sophie-Anne as my focus stays on de Castro, who still has said nothing about why he is here. Thoughts move across my mind but I focus on one because I need to know and I am sure Sookie and waiting to know to.

"My men outside," I say simply knowing full well Felipe would understand what information I am looking for.

"They are fine. Still alive and enjoying the company of a few of my men," he responds. It is with these words that I realize he is gauging me as much as I am him. He needs to know how I will react to things. I simply nod, not wanting to give him more than that.

I hear Pam end the phone call. I do not feel any immediate distress from her, which suggests that Sophie-Anne has not been attacked in her compound. I do however sense distress coming from Sookie and that alone is killing me. I wish I could send her out of here, send them all out of here, but I have no idea what is going on outside my office, and I am not going to send them out into the unknown.

"Am I wrong to offer my congratulations? Certainly none of you look like there is any cause for congratulations," he says, his smile turning into a smirk that I despise even more.

"No," Sookie says before I can answer. "Thank you for your congratulations," she adds coming up to stand next to me, taking my hand. I may not like it, but that is the best thing she could have done at the moment. Her answering his question would have pleased de Castro, probably more than any response from me would have. It also shows that we are not trying to hide. As much as I would like nothing more than to hide her and shield her from my world, that would be perceived as weak and Sookie is anything but weak. Hiding would be safer in the short term but in my world, could be disastrous in the long term.

"Thank you," I also say adding, "Your Majesty," for good measure. Felipe nods acceptance at my words. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit," I say to him. De Castro will be fully aware that there is no pleasure in this visit but would understand my words for the protocol they are.

Felipe looks at me appraisingly, like he is deciding what to tell me, but we both know that has been long decided by him. "Sophie-Anne may be more inclined to agree to my marriage proposal if she has the support of those in her state," Felipe says appearing to give away the reason for his visit. But it is much more complicated than even the tricky situation given in his words.

"You want me to commit treason," I say slowly. I know he will deny this fact. He would never show his hand in a situation like this, where he has no idea if he is being recorded. His reason for denial will hopefully give me a little more information about what it is exactly that he wants.

"Of course I would never try to have you turn against your Queen," he says predictably. He pauses obviously seeming like he wants to take care with his next words but I know he knows exactly what he wants to say. "I am only encouraging you to discuss things such as a marriage alliance with Sophie-Anne, for the best interest of Louisiana and Arkansas. I know you want what is best for the states."

I have known this visit was a test of sorts the second I heard de Castro's voice; I had only not known what he had been trying to test until he said those words. He is testing my loyalty. He knows that he would have a much better chance of winning the states if I was not only not fighting for Sophie-Anne but if I was fighting for him. He wants to see if I would commit treason, if I would betray my state, my Queen and fight for him should he attack. If he thinks I will do that, he has not done enough research on me.

Or, as his gaze leaves mine and moves to Sookie for a split second, I see that he thinks he may be able to find other ways to motivate me.

Everything at the moment is telling me to shove Sookie behind my back and go after de Castro, to end this thing once and for all tonight. As tempting as that is, it cannot be done; the repercussions far out reach the short-term safety that would award me.

Hundreds of possible responses flutter through my head. I could be aloof; let him think there is a chance that I would fight for him. But then he would be more inclined to tip the scales in his favor, by any means necessary. I decide to dash his hopes, already plans of defense and safety running through my heads. "I think we may have different ideas of what is best for Louisiana and Arkansas," I tell him watching his face carefully for any clue of his response. I still have no idea how many he came with and if him coming in here to have a conversation is simply for show. The small flinch of his eye does not tell me much I already do not know. Felipe is not pleased with my response.

"It appears we do," he says his gaze again leaving mine and looking at the others in the room. "I do hope the states do not suffer because of it." His words vocalize the threat that this entire meeting was. Felipe wishes a soft congratulations yet again this time adding specifically, "To the lovely bride," at the end before taking his leave. Sookie is in my arms as soon as he closes the door to my office, the threat in his words clearly understood. She holds onto me, just as tightly as I hold onto her. Pam is immediately on the phone once Felipe can no longer be heard in the hallway. I know she wants to ensure Tray's safety and I am sorry that the calls she has to make at the moment will delay that. Karin, probably sensing her sister's turmoil, moves quickly from the office to go check on the wolves and ensure de Castro is off the property.

Thalia too picks up the phone and starts to call those that Pam has not yet reached. In a matter of minutes we should know if any other Areas in either state have had anything unusual happen tonight, at the same time warning them to expect something.

I will be helping them with arrangements momentarily. Right now I am humming into Sookie's ear as that has helped her in the past. She is shaking against me and is whispering, "They will be all right," her worry for Tray and Alcide pouring through the bond. Yet again, her concern for others weighs far more than concern for herself.

My concern for her is large enough to cover the both of us.

Karin comes back in and for a split second I worry over what she is going to say. If Felipe killed Tray and Alcide, that would mean that he is ready for battle, ready for war. And it would mean that I lost two friends.

Neither of those is something that I want right now but the idea of their loss is something that causes a lump to appear in my throat.

"They are fine," Karin says to me before moving over to Pam. As Sookie sags against me in relief I hear her offering Pam more details. It appears both are a little bloody as they struggled against their 'company,' as de Castro called them.

"Call Ludwig," I say, as Sookie seems to find her feet again. "Have her come over and make sure they are all right."

"She will charge an arm and a leg just to tell you they have a few bumps and bruises," Karin says. "Maybe a literal arm and a leg."

"No matter. Just get her here to be sure." Karin looks at me appraisingly, something she has not done since a week after I made her vampire. I almost worry that my caring for the Weres, something most vampires would never do, is something that she cannot understand. But Karin has never let me down and she does not now. Her look lasts but a second before she nods and a smile appears on her face. She encourages Pam to go sit with Tray. She takes her up on the offer.

Sookie steps back from me and I see fire in her eyes. I was worried that de Castro's visit would frighten her, and though it did, I should have known it is a fear that she would soon overcome, especially when her friends are at risk.

She takes one look at me and though there is still fire in her eyes, there is also trust in there, trust in me. And I will not let her down.

I just wish I had better answers for her when she asks, "What are we going to do?"

Sookie POV

I didn't recognize the vampire when he walked into Eric's office. I may have to start playing around on Bill's old computer program and get to know our enemies on sight. To be looking at them and not even know it, that could certainly be deadly.

The four vampires in the room obviously knew who the King was as soon as they saw him. Or judging the look on Eric's face when he heard the vampire's words, heard his voice. The tension in the room was obvious, though it did not tell me who we were actually dealing with.

No, that was Eric's words when he called him, 'Your Majesty.' That right then told me that we were dealing with the King of Nevada. I paid close attention to the rest of his visit; enough to know to accept his congratulations and I know nothing about his visit was good. I don't need anyone to interpret that for me.

The vampires in the room went into motion as soon as de Castro left Eric's office. Well, the female vampires did. Eric was too busy comforting me to do so. I know that Eric, Thalia, and Pam, especially Pam, were also concerned about the safety of Alcide and Tray. I also know that Karin cares enough for Eric and Pam to make their concern her own. Concern for their safety had been weighing me down throughout the entire conversation, so much so that I collapsed into Eric's arms when it was over. Shame started to build in me as Eric held and comforted me instead of going right to the work that I am sure needs to be completed but I am done being tired of my human emotions and reactions; my vampires have never held them against me and it's time that I'm done holding them against me too.

So as I gather myself and I hear that Alcide and Tray are thankfully fine, I feel a different sort of fire build in me. I may be a simple human to most of the vampires not inside this room but I am done with others coming and hurting my family. I am done with the threats that seem to be following Eric and I. So not really looking for any concrete answers, instead letting them have no doubts that I am all in this, I ask, "What are we going to do."

It's a good thing that I wasn't expecting any concrete answers because there were none to be given for the long term. In the short term Eric, Thalia, and Karin spend the majority of the rest of the evening on the phone, updating those in Louisiana and Arkansas and preparing for a battle in case de Castro decides to tonight is the night that he decides he can't wait any longer for Louisiana.

Pam spends the majority of the night with Tray but she does make a few phone calls when Eric needs her to. I don't know what to make of her, Tray, and Amelia but it really isn't my place to make anything out of it. Unless one of them hurts her however; then there will be a few of us who will make something out of it. All I want is for my family to be happy. Speaking of happy, I couldn't help but notice that one of the phone calls Thalia makes is to my brother. I tell her to tell him I say hello and she sticks her tongue out at me in return.

Maybe she has been hanging out with me too much.

I spend some of the night cleaning blood off my friends. Luckily, Karin was correct when she said they only had a few bruises and cuts. I don't know how she could tell with all the blood that was on them though. The cuts were little but with this amount of blood, they must have been deep. Luckily, Ludwig was able to rule out internal bleeding for both of them. One of Tray's cuts however, needed stitches. Given the fast healing of Weres he wasn't going to need them for long but the fact that he needed them at all was saying something for the company he kept. I had started cleaning him up, him being the worst of the two but Pam had quickly pushed me out of the way.

That alone tells me a lot about what my friend feels for Tray. At first I had thought that she just put up with him so she could keep Amelia around a little longer. Now, I am not so sure about that.

I spend the rest of the night doing anything I can, whether it be getting a pen or paper for someone or offering Eric any type of comfort I can give him. The vampires in Area Five have accepted Karin, but few in the others know of her. Once it is explained that she is Eric's child, and Pam gets on the phone with a few of them, her job becomes a lot easier.

During one pass in Eric's office I lay down on the couch, resting my eyes for only two minutes, but it must have been much longer than that. I wake up after far too few hours of sleep. I wish I could say that was due to a fun evening with my husband but I don't even remember getting home last night; I must have fallen asleep at Fangtasia. I try to stay in bed, snuggled against my vampire, hoping to get more sleep but after about an hour, I give up and get up out of bed. I'm not really hungry but I grab a granola bar to go with my coffee so at least I can tell Eric I ate something. He will still be upset I didn't eat more but I am not hungry.

Once my coffee is ready, I go out and sit on the deck in Eric's backyard. The weather is getting nicer and I am looking forward to be able to spend more time outside. I must spend hours like that, lost in my thoughts. I try to think about what we could possibly do in any of the situations, for any of the threats. I know I don't understand everything about how things are run in this world but maybe having an outsider's knowledge, maybe not knowing much would be a benefit.

Except, I am coming up empty. I doubt anyone would be willing to solve this over a game of chess or something like that. That would be too much to ask for.

I am so lost in my thoughts, I don't even realize that the sun has gone down until I feel arms wrap around me. I jerk a little in surprise before settling back against Eric's chest as he lifts me up before sitting back down in the chair with me on his lap. I cuddle into his chest, surprisingly warm from the heat trapped under the heated blanket he invested in for me. His hand starts moving down my arm and I feel him take a breath to say something but I say first, "Don't you dare apologize for anything Eric."

"You deserve better than this. You deserve better than preparing for a battle the night after your wedding."

I do notice his referring to the pledging as our wedding. It's a simple exchange of similar words but I do not want him to downplay the importance of the ceremony for him. I love the additions he made for me and I know he enjoyed them too; but it was a ceremony for him, for his people. It holds much importance for him.

"I chose this, Eric. I chose you knowing what would come along with it at the moment. Nothing would have kept me from being pledged to you."

We sit in silence for a few minutes staring as the stars appear in the darkening sky. "Favorite wish," I say to Eric quietly.

"To spend every last life time with you," he tells me leaning down a bit to kiss my hair. His hand leaves my arm and his fingers start to weave in an out of my hair. "Favorite past time," he asks.

I smile into his chest and tell him, "Well, being here like this is certainly high up on my list."

He laughs and says, "I am more than happy to hear that and hope that other activities are high on that list as well. But what is something you would like to do, did like to do in your spare time?"

Spare time. I don't have to tell Eric that is something that has not been in our nightly, or daily with my thoughts, routine. I even have to think about it for a few seconds before I tell him, "Sunbathing. I enjoy sunbathing. It's my guilty pleasure. Sunbathing and reading."

"You would smell glorious if you laid out in the sun."

"You saying I smell bad other times?"

His chest vibrates with his laughter as he says, "Absolutely not. You, my Lover, smell magnificent at all times," he tells me. I laugh at his words mentally putting it in my mind to sunbath sometime soon. Something tells me I would like his response to it.

"Biggest regret?" I ask him. This game started out as a way for us to get to know each other but as we both started healing we stayed away from the tougher questions. I hope to prove to us both just how far we've come by slowly adding them back in. I gauge Eric's response and am happy to see that he doesn't tense up at my question.

"That is a tough question," he tells me.

"You don't have to answer."

"No, I will. It is a tough question because my biggest regret is also one of the things I regret the least. My biggest regret is that I let the words and actions of my maker stay with me, impact me for as long as they did."

"And why do you also regret that the least?"

"Because if I did not, I may not be here right now with you. And that is something I simply could not live with."

I think over his words. As I do he says, "Same question."

I had a feeling it was coming and like Eric, mine also had to do with my past. "I regret not telling any one sooner about Bartlett. And I regret being in denial about how much it hurt me all those years."

"You were a child, Sookie. A scared child."

"I know, Eric. I know. But like you there is a positive also here. You were able to show me that I needed help. You loved me enough to get me the help I had needed for years. Even before I knew I needed help, you did."

Eric shifts me in his lap so that he could look into my eyes. There is so much he can say with a single glance. It can be good, bad, it could mean danger, but right now it's all showing good. He leans down to give me a kiss and this one doesn't even start chaste; instead it's a promise of good things to come.

Or would be a promise of good things to come if Eric's phone doesn't decide to go off at that moment. And goody! It's the Queen. Eric apologizes and I can see that he hates it, hates every part of it.

"It's okay, Eric really. The sooner this is all over with, the sooner we can get on with our lives," I tell him. I can't help but think hopefully, as it seems to be one thing after another with use lately.

He comes back with even more apology on his face, meaning we're done with our alone time for this evening. "Off to Fangtasia."

"Hopefully, it will be our only destination of the night." Oh joy. It was one of those phone calls. We quickly shower, much too quickly for both of our likings and are in the car heading off to the bar that hasn't opened to the public in weeks with everything going on. If they ever did open the doors again, we are going to get quite the turnout.

"I love you, Sookie," Eric says to me as he backs out of the driveway.

"I love you too," I tell him holding his hand in mine. We both like the speed of his convertible, but have been using this car more often than not for this reason. Off we head to Fangtasia in silence, both of us wondering what tonight, and the next nights, will bring.

Hello dear readers. I hope you all had a good week and enjoyed this chapter. I enjoyed reading all your ideas on who had come in and some of you were indeed correct. As always thanks for reading. I enjoy reading the input of those taking time to leave reviews.

A bit of a warning for the next few chapters – tissues may be needed.

Jackie69 – They are finally pledged and I am so glad you enjoyed it. I am working on the tissue warnings and the next few chapters – especially the next – may need them. I hope 2015 has started off well for you.

To my guest reviewers – Thanks so much much for taking the time to let me know your thoughts. I really appreciate it. As for the angst in this portion of the story, it is coming. It's very different than the angst of Amnesia and the first part of Love and Memories though.