A/n: A BIG thank you to all of my reviewers for Chapter 2: Erin1705, nordiclover, sydkiwi, VAlady, Sluggysmom, Bbet, Spygrrl, downbelowgirl, ericismine, ak269, writergirl89, tbloodlover1000, IkeaGoddess, Nania, Wings of Tears, evedarling84, topdog19, DawnLeon, BuffylovesEric, Yaya Relos, ArmyGirl2010, foxgodess07, SVMReaderCH, Devine Justice, Aishiterou Koinu, and footychick.

My favorite kind of cookies…well, I like all cookies! But I adore Chocolate – chocolate and coffee are my one true loves.

I'm sorry to say that Sookie is going to be a little bitchy for awhile – she's got a lot on her plate.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

On the with the show!

Chapter 3: Faery Thrall

Sookie shouldn't have been surprised to see a 2011 Audi Spyder sitting in her driveway, but she was. What happened to her car? It was a beater, sure, but it still ran! Sookie couldn't help but laugh at the irony. How many times had she been told to find a man to take care of her, that she deserved to be taken care of? Well, now she had one trying to take care of her and she couldn't stand it! Ok, well that wasn't entirely true, she supposed. She liked the lavish gifts – just not the motivation behind giving them.

Eric always had an agenda, and she was apparently at the top of it these days. She didn't know if she liked being a part of his agenda. With a sigh, Sookie slid into the driver's seat and could feel the leather mold to her skin like butter. Maybe she wouldn't be too harsh with him. Though the car was ostentatious and utterly ridiculous for a person living in Bon Temps, Louisiana to own, Sookie knew she was going to regret giving it up when the time came. She pulled into Merlotte's and felt a wave of nostalgia hit her before she got out of the car. She had missed this place – the people, the bar, the semi-normal life. She had thought that abandoning this world in favor of Faery would get her out of trouble; no more vampires trying to kill her or humans ridiculing her for something she couldn't control. She was wrong.

Faery had been worse, to a point. It had started out well enough, to be sure. She was accepted into their society with ease and grace, and quickly picked up on their social customs and mannerisms. By all accounts, it should have been paradise – until she got caught up in the politics (like she always seemed to do). Sookie shut the car door and put it out of her mind, pasting a smile onto her face. She was happy to see Sam, but knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant visit, and that she was going to have to put him in Thrall. The very thought of it made her internally miserable. She walked through the front door with her head held high, and was relieved to see that the place was empty. Sam had his back to her and was drying off some glasses, so lost in thought that he didn't turn around when the door opened.

She waited until he had set the glass down before approaching the bar. "Hey, Sam,"

He spun around, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Sookie? Is it really you?"

"Well I don't know who else I would be!" She laughed.

Once the reality set in, Sam rushed around from behind the bar and pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her off her feet. Sookie couldn't help but notice he was shaking.

"Where have you been?" So it begins.

"After what happened with Bill," She paused, letting it sink in. "I just couldn't be here anymore, Sam. I couldn't take it."

"So you think that gives you an excuse to just run off? Sookie, we had the entire goddamn town looking for you! They drained the lake! Oh, and that other fucking vampire of yours, Eric, went crazy! He damn near burned down my bar the first night you went missing!"

"He did what?"

"Yeah! He came in here the night you disappeared, looking for you. When I told him I didn't know where you were or what happened to you, he threw a fucking kerosene lamp against the wall, watched it light the place on fire, and then flew outta here like a bat outta hell!" Sam paused in his rant, realizing that Sookie didn't know any of this. "That was how we figured out something had happened to you. Me and Andy drove out to your place, but you weren't anywhere to be found. Bill disappeared too, so they thought it was him for awhile, but he turned up eventually in New Orleans. Eye witnesses had him there the night of your disappearance, before you disappeared. You were just…gone. Where were you, Sookie?"

This was it. She took a deep breath and focused herself, letting her mind tap into her blood. The part of her that was Faery caused her blood to stir; she could hear the wind whistle through the trees, the wind chimes tinkling in the wind. Her eyes opened slowly and she could see Sam take a step back.

"Sookie, what happened to you? What are you –" He trailed off, his eyes staring directly into hers. A golden hue clung to the iris of her eye, pulling him into her. Sam sunk to his knees before her, his breathing labored and erratic. Sookie pulled his mind into hers and did her best to soothe him.

"It's ok, Sam," Sookie's voice slid over him, smooth as glass. "Nothing happened to me while I was away."

"It didn't?"

"No," She let her fingers run through his hair and stroked his forehead with the pad of her thumb; he was a child before her, clinging to her, with his head resting on, and buried in, her stomach. "It doesn't matter where I went."

"It doesn't matter where you went," He repeated.

"I'm safe, and home, and that's all that matters now."

"You're safe, and home, and that's all that matters now." He parroted back, his voice rough and barely above a whisper.

"Good, Sam. That's good. Now, stand up." Sookie ordered him. He complied and looked at her with endless depths of swimming chocolate. She soothed his mind and began to gently pull back. Little by little, he returned to normal. Sookie hugged him and maneuvered around him to leave.

"You leaving so soon, Sook?"

She heard the edge in his voice. "I ain't disappearing again, Sam. I promise."

"Well, good. I'm just glad you're home, safe and sound."

Sookie felt a pit in the bottom of her stomach and nodded before walking towards the door.

"When can you start working again?"

She whirled around. "Really, Sam? You mean it? I didn't even ask – I thought…"

"You never had to ask, Sookie," Sam, kind hearted, loyal, warm man that he was, said. "I expect you'll need some time to get your bearings, and figure things out with Jason, and I'm going to need some time to come up with a new work schedule. How about a week?"

"A week sounds perfect, Sam." Sookie smiled, thanking God for blessing her with Sam Merlotte. "By the way, where is Jason? I tried calling his cell earlier, but it said it was out of service." Something she found extremely irritating.

"Oh, he's living up in Hot Shot now. Got himself married too."

And the hits just keep coming. "He did? Is she…who is she?"

"Her name's Crystal. She's a sweet girl, if a little wild," Sam paused for a moment in uncertainty.

"Sam, what aren't you telling me?"

He shook his head. "It's not my place to tell, darlin'. Jason'll tell you when he's ready."

Sookie didn't know what it could be, but she didn't like the sound of that. "Ok. I'll see later, Sam."

"Later, Sookie." A dreamy smile took over his face, a peaceful expression. Sookie felt her guilt grow.

By the time she reached her car, Sookie shoved aside all emotional turmoil and let it go in a deep breath. She had no choice but to put him in Thrall. His safety, and hers, depended on it. The sun was starting to set, now. She didn't have time to hunt Jason or Tara down; she needed to prepare for tonight. By her estimation, she had maybe an hour and a half before night fell completely, and Eric would be at her door. She returned home and was once again forced to admire the changes that he had made to it in her absence. Still, he had no right to buy it from her brother any more than Jason had the right to sell it; it should stay in the family.

Sookie bounded up the stairs and dug out her grand daddy's old army duffel, worn from use but usable, and began packing clothes. She carefully counted and packed what she would need to survive the week, though she doubted she'd be wearing any of it, before heading downstairs to pack food. The items she chose were basic and required little to no preparation or refrigeration; honey, bread, cereal, peanut butter. She also doubted she would spend much time eating, either. She didn't bother with a sleeping bag, but found a pillow to her liking and several blankets that would fit. Everything was now packed and ready, and so all that remained was to hide the duffel from Eric's prying eyes. Sookie wandered into the sitting room adjoined to the kitchen, and spotted a beautiful antique armoire in the corner. It looked to be very old, but very well taken care of.

"This I'll keep," Unlike the car.

She unlatched the doors and opened them, only to be put in a state of shock. The entire inside of the armoire was covered in a finely pounded sheet of what she assumed to be stainless steel. Attached to the back of were nothing less than ladder rungs, leading down. She leaned forward every so slightly and followed the line of rungs all the way down into a hole, through the bottom of the armoire and the floor.

"Motherfucker!" She hissed angrily. He built himself a cubby. He built himself a cubby, in her house. She slammed the doors shut and re-latched it, feeling more angry than she had when she found out he had bought her house. She tossed her duffel underneath the sewing table in the corner and draped a long table cloth over it to conceal it. She returned to the kitchen and started making herself dinner, hovering between disbelief and self-righteous fury. She didn't hear him open the door, or walk into the kitchen, but she could feel him through their bond. She stirred the spaghetti sauce in the pan with a tight grasp on the wooden spoon, her jaw clenched. She turned to face him as she turned off the stove, and folded her arms across her chest, glaring at him with a stony expression on her face.

"That's not a good face," He started with, a charming smile on his face.

Well, too bad. She was angry and no pretty eyelash batting was going to get him out of it this time. "You insufferable, egotistic, high-handed, prick!" His face was priceless. Whatever he was expecting, that wasn't it. "How dare you?"

"What have I done now?" He asked, his voice borderline irritated. He was not amused now.

"You built yourself a cubby, in my house!" She threw the wooden spoon at him, unable to stop herself.

He caught it in his hand and snarled, baring his fangs at her. "No, Sookie, I built myself a cubby in my house!" He all but roared the last part. "And you would do well to remember that it was for you!"

"For me? What exactly, was for me?"

"I bought this house so no one else would! So you would have something to come back to after your little disappearing act! I bought new appliances, had everything fixed and repainted and reupholstered so it would be nice for you to come back to after the Maenad destroyed everything!" He was furious now, she could tell.

"Liar! You can't even be honest with yourself, can you, Eric? You didn't do this for me! You did this for you! So that when, if, I ever came back, you would be the hero and I would trip over myself to thank you in whatever way you thought appropriate!" Sookie stormed past him into the living room, feeling tense and needing some breathing room. Before Sookie could walk three feet past him, she was forcefully pressed up against a wall, Eric having effectively pinned her there with his body.

"I am many things, Sookie Stackhouse. I am a murderer, a vampire, a Viking, a lover, a father, and a Sheriff. I am not a liar." He ground out, his voice rough and quivering with barely checked rage. "I hate, I mourn, I love – just as you do. But I do not lie. I do notlie! I am not him!" He and Sookie were nose to nose now, staring at each other with unchecked anger.

"Get out." Sookie was on the brink of tears. She cursed the timing of her lunar cycle, and how emotional it made her, and prayed that he would leave. She couldn't deal with him now. "Please, just leave."

He looked as though he was going to argue with her further, but merely let his forehead rest against hers, his eyes closing. She took a shallow, unsteady breath and felt a tear roll down her cheek. His eyes opened slowly, having returned to their normal ocean blue. Spotting the tear, he unconsciously winced and released her, backing away. He left out the backdoor and shut it softly behind him. Sookie waited until she heard his car engine start, and heard him pull out of the driveway before she slide down the wall and let her body be racked with sobs.

It was her fault, she knew. She started a fight over something completely stupid and irrational. She had figured out from the blood in the fridge earlier that he had obviously been living there – where else was he going to sleep? And it was his house, now. The only silver lining to their fight was the fact that she could now slip into the woods without arousing his suspicion. Her lunar cycle would end in a week, and by then he would have cooled off enough to talk properly. She settled in at the dinner table with her supper, silently wishing she could call him and apologize. But she wouldn't. It would take time she didn't have, and she would have to admit something she didn't want to: she was wrong.

Eric was speeding. He would have flown, if he had even an inkling of what was in store for him at her house. He had decided to take his time getting there because he didn't feel the need to rush, and he wanted to savor it. Their reunion had gone well enough the night before that Eric had decided to take things a step further. Evidently, Sookie was not in the same frame of mind. He noted that she seemed on edge when he entered, and that her behavior was…odd. Sookie was, inherently, easy for him to read. Her body language always expressed what her mouth did not, but tonight… Her movements had been jerky, less graceful than they usually were.

Something wasn't right with her, mentally or physically – he could feel that through their bond, now that he had calmed down enough to check. Their bond felt strange, less solid than it had in the past. Thread or not, it had always been firm. Now it felt like…dough. Pliable, soft. He didn't like it. Abruptly, he slammed on his brakes. Something was interfering with his bond with her. Someone was interfering with their bond. Someone had the audacity to fuck with what was his. Eric did a U-turn in the middle of the road and drove back to her home. Something was very, very wrong.

He was farther away than he thought, having driven for an hour doing 80. It took him longer than he would have liked to get back, having to slow down to accommodate traffic laws now that he was in his right mind. That was another thing. He shouldn't have lost his temper like that, shouldn't have screamed at her, and above all, shouldn't have brought up Bill Compton. Healed or not, one did not simply forget that their first love was only with them from the get-go because they were ordered to be. He had always been known for his control issues, as Pam had dubbed them. He controlled his emotions, his business, and fate, down to the very letter. There was nothing beyond his cool rationale and analysis. Except her. He found himself losing control around her, more than he was willing or happy to admit. It was unsettling.

He pulled into her driveway, now in a frame of mind ready for attack, but he could not hear her in the house. His ears strained to hear her heart beat, but with no result. He reached out to touch their bond again and felt it pulse, even more fuzzy than it had been before. She was alive, but not home, and her car was still in the driveway. He inhaled deeply and caught a whiff of her scent trailing from the house to the woods. Crazy, foolish girl! It was a full moon. What was she thinking, running off into the woods like that? It wasn't safe for her – vampires, werewolves, and shifters would be out on a night like tonight. At that moment, Eric wished he could just lock her up in a tower like in the days of old.

He proceeded to follow her trail quickly but cautiously, unaware of what could be causing their bond to behave so strangely. He kept an eye out for any other supernatural creatures, but was surprised to find no trace. Normally, these woods would be overrun by shifters and weres. But not tonight. Something had scared them off. Her scent was getting stronger now, collected; she had stopped, or camped for the night. His eyes could make out a bonfire in the distance, but it was strange, unearthly. He reached the encampment, expecting to see Sookie in the place where her scent covered even the trees, but she wasn't there. Disturbed, he sought out the bond again. She should be right here, right where he was standing, but she wasn't. Faintly, he could hear drums and strings in the background, a veritable orchestra playing an eastern waltz. In one fell swoop, while he was distracted by the sounds of Nature's orchestra, he felt something hit him hard across the head.

His eyes opened and he blinked, trying to making the world stop spinning. As his eyes focused, he could see Sookie, and feel her. She was sitting astride him, her fingers trailing down his face and chest and back up. Her eyes were completely golden, not even a sliver of the blue they had once been. He tried to sit up, but was slammed back into the ground; Sookie knew he was awake.

"Hello, lover," Sookie whispered, leaning forward to brush his lips with a chaste kiss. "Welcome to the party."

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I got super excited about Harry Potter and...yeah...lol. Review please! 3