Chapter 3:

I gulped and plastered on a smile. "Yes, thank you for inviting me."

Freyda sat at the end of the table with Eric sitting beside her on the right. The waiter led me to the seat opposite of Eric.

I was so nervous. I could feel the heat in my cheeks. My hands were trembling.

"You must be thirsty. Have something to drink. The server will tell you what's on the menu tonight," she said.

Her voice was so elegant. As the server was telling me the specials, I glanced over at Eric. He was looking down at his goblet of blood, never moving his eyes away from it. He was still so handsome, dressed in a crisp black suit and white shirt. He was wearing a thin, gold necklace around his neck. His blonde hair was tied back.

As the server finished, I let him know that I wanted the fish.

"So, you must be wondering why we invited you here tonight," Freyda stated.

"Ummm yes. I mean I was surprised. I just got into town this morning," I said with a smile.

"Eric, aren't you glad to see your former bonded wife?" she said as she looked at him.

I looked at him and for the first time since I got here, he looked up from his goblet and stared at me. There was something different about him. I could see it in his eyes.

"I am glad to see that you are doing well Sookie. It is good to see you again," he said so formally. His voice matched his eyes; lifeless and lost.

"I'm glad to see you too Eric," I said earnestly.

He looked down to his glass again.

"When I heard that you were in town, I knew that Eric would want to see you again," she said. "What is your business in New Orleans anyway?"

"Pam asked me to come and visit her," I stated honestly. "I couldn't refuse. I still consider her my family and my friend."

I stared at Eric, who didn't even flinch.

"Oh our dear Pamela," she said as she looked at Eric. "You know she did not approve of me as a match for my dear Eric. I guess she did not think I was worthy to be his bride. But oh well. As you very well know, love always conquers in the end."

She reached her hand out to Eric and he quickly held it. He looked at her with the same dull expression as he did towards his glass.

"I was genuinely sad to hear about your husband dying," she said as she continued to hold Eric's hand. "I never had the chance to meet him but I heard he was one of the most powerful vampires of all time. It's a pity that one tiny little virus; that something so miniscule was able to take him out."

I looked down at my hands and held back a tear. "Yes, it was a terrible moment for me to lose my husband. But I am happy for the time that I had with him."

"I'm going to just get straight to the point," she said as she let Eric's hand go. "We are both women. We both know what we want. I know that you loved and perhaps still love Eric. I wouldn't blame you if you still did. He is not someone that you can easily forget. But now that your husband is dead, are you here to try and win back my husband?"

She looked at me with a stern expression.

"No, I am not here for Eric," I stated. While it was true that I wasn't here hoping that we would start a romantic relationship again, I was hoping to rescue him from her. Keep telling yourself that Sookie, I thought.

"I'm here for Pam. She seems to need someone to talk to right now. She needs an old, familiar friend," I said as I looked at Eric. Again, he didn't move. His eyes were like stone as he stared at the floral arrangement on the table.

"Perhaps that is true," Freyda said. "But I'm still the Queen here in this state. I have the final authority of who comes in and who leaves."

"Wait, are you kicking me out of Louisiana?" I asked.

"I am expecting you to return to New York promptly. If you want to spend time with Pamela then you can spend time together over there or any other place except here. I am ordering you to leave by tonight. Do I make myself clear?" she said.

She no longer had a smile on her face.

"I'm not a vampire, your majesty. You can't order me to stay away from my home state. I still own property here. I am a human. I am free to travel to any place that I want." I said, trying to match the power that came from her voice.

"That is true. But you are under the protection of the Queen of New York. Therefore, you belong to her. I think she would be very upset if her property returned to her damaged," she said in an icy tone.

I knew I needed to choose my words wisely.

"Her majesty, Queen Sonya, is my protector. I humbly serve her when she requires my skills. But I was also a Queen Consort when my husband was King. Even though it was not widely known, the vampires in New York knew and respected my role in Marius' court. I am under Queen Sonya's protection, but I am not her property. Louisiana is my home. It will always be my home. I will decide when I will return to it and when to leave, respectfully."

"We do not want you here," Eric spoke. This time he had a flicker of emotion in his eyes. It was hard to read but it didn't seem positive towards me, that's for sure.

"I'm sorry Eric, but Pam said…"

"I do not give a shit about what Pam said," Eric said in a menacing tone. He looked like he had more to say but then he went back to that same dull look and stared at the door this time.

"I think that settles it Ms. Stackhouse, we want you to go…" Freyda said, but all of a sudden, a big, burly vampire came charging through the door.

"Your highness, we have to ask you to come with us at once! You are needed at court!"

She stood up right away and walked briskly to the door. "Eric! Come now!" She reached her hand back to him as he stood up from his chair.

All of a sudden, I started to feel a strange sensation in my gut. It felt like someone was tickling my stomach. I looked at the scene before me and it was like everything just stopped. Eric was on his way to join Freyda. All of a sudden, I heard a voice in my head, Hold onto him. I got up from my chair and ran towards Eric, grabbed him from behind and I held him tight. The first image that came into my head was my farmhouse in Bon Temps. The strange, tingling sensation became overwhelming and all I could hear was a loud POP.