Looking at Sookie wrapping herself tightly around Bill and whispering love words in his ear made Eric's chest squeeze into a pulsating painful ball. A weird feeling of sexual desire had run through his blood, but he was sure it wasn't his. It was Sookie's feelings...It was the blood he gave her and he could sense her emotions. But somehow seeing whom the emotions were aimed at was hurting him... He glanced behind himself one more time to see Bill and Sookie leaving the bar hand in hand and then walked towards the counter.

"Pam, why are you staring at me like that?" Eric said.

"I wasn't staring at you. I was staring at someone else that surprisingly looks exactly the same as you, has exactly the same name, owns exactly the same bar called Fangtasia, but no, it definitely wasn't you." Pam replied rolling up her eyes and giving Eric an ironic smile.

"What are you on tonight, Pam? O Positive from a drug addict? Eric snapped at her and walked away without waiting for reply.

"You might want some of that as well, by the looks of it" Pam whispered back at him raising her eyebrows.

"Pass me a bottle Tom" Eric said to the bartender. "I think I need all my strength for whatever's left from the night"

"Are you sure you don't want a second one?" Tom winked and nodded towards the Queen who had seen Eric's return and separated from the group of admiring fans that had gathered around her.

"I think she might want to drink from another type of bottle, Tom" Eric grinned

"Lucky man, Eric, lucky man" Tom whispered gazing at the Queen's movements which emphasized the feminine shapes of her body.

"Pick up your jaw, Tom, before I do it and snap it back at your face myself", Eric hissed and waved at the bartender to leave them alone.

"Wow, take it easy boss. I never knew you were that interested in her?" the bartender replied sneaking a surprised look at Eric's reaction.

"I am not. Now get out of my sight" Eric growled back at him. He pulled himself up together and turned towards the approaching Queen with a seductive smile on his face. Queen or not, she wanted him badly and he was going to give it to her...

"You nearly got me worried Eric. You don't look yourself tonight" The Queen said while dragging her finger slowly on his upper leg in the direction of his intimate parts.

"I could not wait for the party to be over" Eric whispered licking her ear lobe. "There is very little time until dawn, Your Majesty. Should we finish what we had started earlier?"

"We have all the time in the world, Eric" The Queen replied in a hoarse voice. "I promise I will make you remember all the wonderful moments we have had together. Come with me", she murmured while dragging him towards the door and Eric followed...He let his body do its own thing...

Eric glanced at the Queen's naked body one more time and left for his own sleeping chamber. The sex they had was really great. The Queen discreetly hinted that she enjoyed being with him very much and hoped the relationship could develop into something bigger. She told him that she had noticed something was worrying him for the last two years, but she was glad he seemed his old self again finally. Eric listened without protesting. He admitted to himself she was maybe right. He had been a fool. The Queen's interest in him was good for building his position in the vampire society... But that weird feeling of emptiness inside him was not letting go. He felt the sun rising and his body dropping helpless on his bed. Then the dreams began...The intoxicating smell, then her laugh and her lips against his. They were in a castle with high stone walls surrounding an enormous green fields and forests. Her clothes were drowned from trying to sprinkle water from the lake at him. "I love you Eric" she whispered and unfolded the thin white dress pressing her breasts against his bare chest, causing his body explode with desire from the touch...

Sookie got up feeling fresher than ever. The events from last night surprisingly had positive effect on her, even though she got attacked and bitten, and nearly raped. Something really weird happened while she was lying on the ground helpless... She heard a thought, someone else was trying to communicate with her...She could hear it speaking but there was no sound. It told her that nothing bad was ever going to happen to her. It said to her this was her destiny and it was the first step towards a wonderful future. It told her that the vampire she loved would always be there for her that he loved her too, and she would be safe...And then she heard her attacker squeal and disappear into the dark...

Sookie looked around the bed and realized Bill was gone to his sleeping place. She thought about the sex they had the night before and a smile passed across her face. Her vampire loved her. Bill had told her that many times and it really made her feel so good. She had been so embarrassed by the sexual attraction she felt towards Eric the previous night which she had to pour all over Bill instead. But first time in a week she did not dream...Eric the vampire, and Eric the human were no more in her mind, gone without a trace. "Thanks god he was not the killer though, because my taste in men was really starting to worry me" Sookie laughed and jumped out her bed.

The days to the wedding were passing by quickly. She took some time off work to get e few things ready. She slept most of the days and spent the nights with Bill. He was usually busy up until ten in the evening working on the computer or going to meetings, so it gave her some time to spend with her brother Jason and meet Tara for a dinner from time to time. Jason was really interested in his new girlfriend Sarah. He was describing her as a very nice girl, unlike the previous sluts he was dating with. And Sookie could not wait to see her. She was trying to organize them all to meet up some evening, and when Bill told her he was not able to come, she felt quite disappointed.

"Jason" Sookie said to her brother on the phone. "I know I was looking forward to meeting your girlfriend and all, but we won't be able to come tonight. Bill has an important meeting tonight and he will not be back up until dawn. I am so sorry, maybe some other night, Jason" Sookie proceeded without hiding the regret in her voice.

"Come on, Sookie. You can surely go out on your own. Bill will be alive forever, and you only have one life to enjoy" Jason demanded.

"But Jason, I am going to feel awkward on my own you know. I don't want you to feel stuck to me for the night and not being able to enjoy the company of your girlfriend. I know you two don't spend too much time together because of your working shifts, and I surely don't want you to be babysitting me for the night."

"Listen, Sookie, if you are going to feel better if you had some company, I am going to invite a friend of mine I really like" She heard Jason grinning.

"No, Jason. You can't be setting me up with a date" Sookie replied shocked. "I am getting married in a week"

"Don't worry sister." Jason laughed. "He is not interested in having relationships with humans. But he is a great company. Come on, just be ready at 8. We'll meet you at the Night Museum on the Main Square. You need to wear something comfortable" Jason hung up the phone without letting her reject.

It was nearly 6 P.M, so Sookie decided to get ready before she changed her mind. She went for a quick shower and squeezed into pair of jeans and strapless top without bothering with a bra. She hated wearing them anyway. She rang Bill to tell him she was going out. He was busy and could not talk too much, but didn't mind her going out with Jason. She told him how much she loved him and he assured her back that he loved her too and could not wait to see her.

It was a nice warm summer evening and it looked quite crowded on the main street. The cafes were full of people and Sookie could hear nice music reaching her ears. The fountain colour lights were on and it looked beautiful. She sniffed the air and enjoyed the salty smell from the Atlantic Ocean nearby. She did not regret going out. It felt like a lifetime since she went out with her brother and she was looking forward to it. She crossed the street and headed towards the main entrance of the Night Museum. She could not remember ever going inside it. She used to avoid crowded buildings in the past, but she had learnt since how to block people's thoughts from entering her mind. She crossed the street and headed towards the main entrance of the Museum. It was passing 8 o'clock and she was hoping Jason and Sarah were already there. She stared at the standing people and she recognized her brother's black hair. He was a good looking chap, hard to miss, Sookie smiled and hurried in his direction. He was standing next to a slim brunette and a tall blonde fellow that looked strangely familiar to Sookie. She had probably seen him with her brother before...

"Hi guys" Sookie said and kissed her brother on the cheek.

"Hello beautiful" Her brother smiled at her. "I am so happy that you came. Please meet Sarah. Sarah, this is Sookie, my sister"

"It is so nice to meet you Sarah" Sookie replied and gave Sarah two friendly kisses. "I have heard so much about you" She grinned in a 32 karat smile.

"You are more beautiful than I ever imagined, Sookie. I am so glad Jason is your brother" Sarah laughed jokingly and hugged Sookie back.

Sookie turned towards Jason's male friend that had not said a word yet and she suddenly felt her knees weakening from invisible pressure, and her head spinning.

"Eric?"

"Sookie" Eric replied and lowered his face to kiss her cheeks the same way Sookie had just kissed Sarah.

She was too stunned to resist and it wasn't going to look polite in front of her brother and Sarah if she did. A strange sense of joy ran through her suddenly. But it wasn't hers. She looked around to see if there was some other human nearby broadcasting and straightened her mind barriers to shut out the feeling.

"You two seem to know each other?" Jason said slightly surprised. "Sookie, this is Eric, my new history teacher I was telling you about at your engagement. He is over a thousand years old. Can you believe it?" Jason said with a smile that made him look ten years younger.

"Yes, I think we've met before" Sookie replied trying to keep her voice as calm as she could.

Eric was wearing a tight t-shirt with the Fangtasia logo on it and pair jeans that were like tailored specifically for his body. A couple of females passing by turned their heads twice to look at him, and Sookie heard them whistling and giggling. Jason and Sarah laughed and Eric pretended he did not notice anything.

They decided to start the night with a walk around the museum first. Eric had told Jason that there were some real treasures from his own past he wanted to show him, and Jason was getting really excited. Sookie did not want to be left alone with Eric, so she hurried and started chatting to Sarah. Jason and Eric were walking behind them discussing some artefacts from the 10th century.

The artefacts displayed in the Night Museum were mostly with European origin, illegally imported and confiscated by the government from treasure-hunters over the centuries. Sookie was enjoying Sarah's company, but she was somehow desperate to hear what Eric and Jason were talking about. She did not know anything about his origin and overheard that his home land is now called Bulgaria. Eric told Jason it is a small country nowadays, but it used to be the cultural centre of the European continent for centuries before the invasion of the Ottoman Turks. Bulgarian Old Cyrillic translations of the bible spread all over the Slavic world at the time. Sookie noted that the jewellery exposed was the best she has ever seen and Sarah agreed. They reached the section with pictures and drawings found from the same period and her heart nearly stopped at the view. She saw the image of a man that incredibly resembled Eric. But his hair was longer and his face was darker. He was standing in a beautiful green field, near a lake. There was a castle in the background surrounded by high stone walls. Sookie was standing speechless with her face glued to the sky blue eyes staring at her from the picture. She had seen it in her dreams...Eric...

"Sookie, is everything ok with you darling?" Sarah saw Sookie's face go white and her hands trembling."You look like you've seen a ghost?"

"I, I...I just have never seen this... before" Sookie mumbled. She felt Eric's gaze from behind her and she did not want him to see her face at this moment. A hurricane of strange emotions was overwhelming her. She was trying to remember if she had ever seen that picture before her dreams started, but no...She was just a simple waitress...it was impossible. She heard Eric behind her telling Jason that it was indeed him on the picture from when he was the Emperor of Bulgaria, just before he was turned into a vampire. The room swung around her, her knees became like jelly, and she saw the ground approaching her at a stalling speed...

"Sookie!" was all she heard and a pair of strong hands grabbing her before she hit the ground. She felt so safe...

Sookie woke up and looked around. She was in a hospital bed with intravenous cannula tubes attached to her hands. "What happened to me? Nurse, nurse" she shouted seeing the lady in the white dress passing by the opened door. The nurse heard her and walked into the room.

"Why am I here? How long have I been here? I am going home" Sookie mumbled and tried to lift her body out of the bed and get rid of the tubes attached to her hands.

"Miss Sookie Stackhouse, stop" The nurse restrained her back in the bed." Just relax. Everything is going to be fine. You are just fine" She followed in a calm voice and Sookie laid her head back on the pillow with her eyes wide opened waiting for an answer.

"You have been in a coma for a week. We were not able to find out why this happened to you. The blood tests were inconclusive. The doctors have never seen anything like it before", the nurse explained. "Miss Stackhouse, I am not sure I should be telling you this now. Maybe I can call the doctor. I am not sure you are ready to hear this."

"Ready to hear what" Sookie nearly screamed. "I have the right to know what's happening to me", she pulled her voice back together realizing she had more chance of getting the information she wanted if she sounded calm.

"Your blood cells are not ageing, Sookie...We don't know yet for sure why, but you may have a long life ahead of you. And you are not one of those..." the nurse proceeded with hesitation in her voice "...vampires. You can see the sun light... A group of scientists are on the way to do more test..." The nurse's words echoed in Sookie's mind "Are you ok?" she saw the nurse staring at her with concern.

"Yes, I am ok. This should be good news, right?" Sookie replied with a soft smile. She was not going to show her how she felt. She started thinking rapidly. Thousands of thoughts stormed her mind. Scientists, long life...guinea pig. She was not letting them turn her into a guinea pig...

"Has anyone come to visit me?" Sookie whispered with a hesitant voice.

"Oh, yes, your brother stayed here every day and your boyfriend and another friend of yours came during the night. They don't know yet, you know what I mean...about your condition...The flowers are wonderful, aren't they?" and she nodded towards the vase next to Sookie's bed.

"Bill, my fiancé...?"

"Oh, sorry, I did not know you are engaged, but a very good looking guy and a real gentleman" The nurse looked at her with a conspiring smile. "He came every night at around 3 am after your friend left. He brought you different flowers every time. You are a lucky woman. Have a rest now and I will call your brother to tell him you are awake" The nurse fixed the covers on her bed and walked out.

Sookie watched the nurse leaving and looked at the flowers. There was a card...