Chapter 12

Jason followed me back to Ravenwood and we unloaded my things into the bedroom next to Eric's and mine. I would sort through which clothes I was keeping, and which I would be giving away. I had been losing weight since Eric and I separated and my older summer clothes looked as if I was playing dress up. Jason let Ollie park his truck while we drove out to Best Buy to pick up a camera.

I didn't know what I was looking for, so I did something terrible, I let Jason talk me into the most expensive camera that was tiny enough to fit in my purse. We decided that since Eric hadn't ever seen Ravenwood during the day, we would shoot a video to show off how beautiful everything was in the sunlight. I also bought a laptop to edit the video. I was excited, but also a little shocked that I'd spent almost 4,000 dollars so easily. Jason laughed and kept saying "Charge it, come on Sookie, Charge it." It was nice to have him there, because I would have gone with something cheap that didn't do everything that I needed.

Jason and I took turns handling the camera work, while I played in the fountain and ran through the grounds, pointing out the things that Eric never got to see: the sun streaming through the pear trees outside the library, the sun twinkling off the water in the pool, the horses chasing each other across the meadow. I asked Jason to shoot video of me sitting in the grass with the wind blowing my hair. I addressed the camera as if I were talking to Eric directly. I was glad that Jason didn't think it was hokey, I could relax and say what I wanted instead of sounding like a travel agent or a tour guide on one of those scripted travel shows. We went into the greenhouse to film the roses and Eric's other assorted flowers. The light in the greenhouse was jewel toned from stained glass that Eric hung in two of the windows.

I also wanted to capture the way our bedroom looked during the day, so we headed upstairs. In all, we shot two hours worth of video. Jason showed me how to transfer the video from my camera into iMovie and how to edit clips. When he added music and showed me the end result on DVD I thought to myself that my brother was wasting his talents at the housing commission.

I asked Jason if he would mind handling dinner tonight, and while he was downstairs cooking, I took a bottle of Royalty and two wine glasses out of the wine cabinet. I guess we could still call it a wine cabinet as long as there were a few bottles of wine in it. I drew a hot bath and turned on the whirlpool jets. I poured a glass of the thick blood and wondered about the taste. I shouldn't be drinking it, but I was really curious. I took a tiny sip and found that it wasn't much worse than eating a rare steak. I took another sip, then dared myself to take a mouthful. I swallowed slowly, feeling the blood coat my tongue, mouth and throat. I closed my eyes and tried to think of the vampire that had donated this blood. Eric told me that a seasoned vamp could detect things about the donor. He came in as I drained the glass.

"Well…. I don't know if I should be concerned or happy."

"I was curious." I began to blush but he didn't make any more of it.

"Are you keeping that all to yourself, or are you sharing?"

"I'm sharing, but you have to get in if you want some." He climbed into the bath and I handed him a glass. He drank deeply and kissed me.

" I love that you came to see me. That was brave of you."

"I needed to be near you for just a few more minutes." I kissed him again. "I have something to show you tonight." He smiled and pushed my hair back away from my face.

"Really? I'm looking forward to it."

"And, I moved the last of my things out of the Bon Temps house. I'm all moved in. Hope you don't mind, we are officially cohabitating as man and wife.

"Yes, It's official then, we're a proper couple. All I have left is to introduce you to my family." He poured another glass of blood, and sipped at it.

"What do you mean, family?" Eric had never mentioned that he had anyone that he considered family besides Pam.

"I mean my family, the vampires that I consider my family, anyway. When I was about 7 years vampire, my maker Appius' maker was destroyed. He entrusted my care to his nest mate Mahesh-Ra. In human terms, they had been lovers and were a couple off and on over the centuries. She taught me hunting skills beyond what he could teach me, because she was much older than he. We thought that he would return within a year or two, but he never did. She adopted me as her child so that I would not be lost. Did Bill ever tell you what happens to a vampire who is separated from his or her maker before he is old enough to fend for himself? They don't usually survive the first decade. Mahesh-Ra became my mother. She cared for me, created a home for me and I was, and am loyal to her. I consider her my maker now because Appius abandoned me. Her children became my brother and sister. We lived together as a family for about 500 years. Her son Marius and her daughter Fallon went to live in Rome, I went to London.

Meshra, which is what we call her, and I played a game of chance before I left. I won a vial of her blood to be used to help me recover if I was ever near death, and as I've told you, the one condition was that it had to be mixed with the blood of someone who loves me. She is a powerful, magical being Sookie. She was immortal before she was turned and she was the wife of an Egyptian god. She and I made a side bet about which century it would be that someone would love me, and I had to promise that I would bring the young lady to meet my mother. That young lady is you, Lover."

"I would be honored to meet your mother, Eric. I can't wait to get to Paris."

"We are leaving tonight."

"No way! I haven't had a chance to pack or anything."

"Sookie, I have people who can do that for you. Relax. Just enjoy being with me."

"Will you come see what Jason and I made for you?"

"Of course," Eric stepped out of the water and wrapped a towel around his waist. He handed me a towel and we went into our sitting room. I turned the TV on and put the DVD in. We sat on the couch and I laid my head down on his shoulder. Jason appeared on screen.

"Hi, Eric, it's me. Sookie had this wonderful idea to show you what Ravenwood looks like during the daytime since you've never seen it. So we put this together for you. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you two have fun in Paris. Surprise Sookie, you're leaving tonight, so I'll stop by and see you before you guys leave. I love you, Little Bit. Take care of her, Eric. She's all I got."

"Pure," by The Lightning Seeds, began and I saw Eric watching with interest. There were images of me running across the lawn laughing, the horses running in the meadow, Jason trying to hold on to Satie as he rode her across the field, the pear trees with sun streaming through the branches and me eating a pear in the sunshine, wiping juice off my chin with my sleeves. Suddenly, Eric stood and went to the screen. He dragged his finger along the image of me eating a pear and holding it out to the camera. I stood to go to his side. Two blood trails ran down his cheeks.

"Sookie, you have no idea what you've done for me. This is the most wonderful gift I have ever received." The images continued and the video ended with me waving from the edge of the pool. I dove in, and Jason set the camera on a patio table, jumping in beside me. The video ended with us splashing in the pool.

"Are you all right, Love?" I reached over and took his hand.

"I'm so much better than all right. I chose Ravenwood because the layout and the meadows reminded me of my village. My village is a bustling city now and I'll never have that back. Ravenwood is as close as I'll ever have. I've never seen it during the day of course, but no one has ever cared enough about me to do this. It never occurred to me to have someone film it for me. Thank you, Angel, thank you so very much."

We sat down on the couch while he watched the video again. When it was over, I straddled his waist and began kissing his cheeks. I kissed the bloody trails and held him. I had no idea that he would be so touched by our little afternoon project.

Eric had a sip from my neck and he shared it with me. We dressed for our trip, gathering bags that Natalia and Bobby packed for us. Jason came to our room and we said goodbye. He would be staying at Ravenwood while we were gone.

I checked my purse for my passport for the third time. I also patted my bag to make sure that my video camera and extra battery were there. I'd added a paperback for when Eric had to sleep, but most of the flight, he would be able to stay up with me since we were flying at night, and I was going to try to rest so I could see as much of Paris as I could.

Ollie brought the limousine around to the door, and I realized that I had first seen Ollie when he drove us home from the hospital. So make that eleven cars, I thought to myself. Bobby climbed in the front with Ollie, he would be going to act as our Concierge. I protested at first, because it was our honeymoon, but Eric assured me that Bobby excelled at being invisible unless he was needed. I couldn't deny that, so he ended up going to Paris with us. Eric let me slide in first and I made room for him. I grabbed a bottle of Tynant water and drank. I'd read that it was important to stay hydrated on long flights. I couldn't believe I was on my way to Paris. I had dreamt of this since I was a little girl, eating croissants at the Champs de Mars, drinking red wine in a sidewalk café, shopping on the Left Bank.

"You are excited, Lover. That makes me happy."

"Are you kidding me? My face hurts from smiling all night, this is something I've always wanted but didn't know how I would ever achieve. Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome. If I'd known you'd be this happy, I would have used this as a lure to get you to be with me, instead of relying on my charm and good looks."

"I can't say I wouldn't have taken you up on it."

We drove to the airport and Ollie pulled in to a hangar separate from the main buildings. Eric told me earlier that he would no longer fly on Anubis because of their lax security. I was glad to hear this, and we entrusted our travel to a private company that was new to Vampire transport. Meshra trusted them, he'd told me and therefore, he was willing to risk it. Eric's coffin was loaded first. I told him that I hated to use that term, but it truly was a coffin, so no nice euphemisms existed. I was glad that he'd planned the trip so that we would be leaving at night and he could stay with me. He would sleep as the sun rose over the Atlantic then it would be approaching late afternoon, early evening as we arrived in Paris. I would also sleep during the day so that I could stay up all night with him and his family.

We took off, and I clutched Eric's leg the whole time. I hated to fly, but I wouldn't let that stop me from traveling. The flight attendant, an older woman named Margie, offered us a light snack of baked brie en croûte and champagne. I touched Margie's sleeve and reminded her that Eric doesn't eat. I heard her beating herself up that this was the one detail that she was told to remember, the gentleman needed blood, not food.

"Margie, is this your first time being around a vampire?" I was trying to be reassuring, but I knew Eric would have much better luck than I. I looked at him, and he understood what I meant.

"Is it that obvious? I'm sorry I'm such a nervous wreck. It's just that you hear so much on TV." Eric made eye contact with her and laid his hand on her arm. She jumped three inches, but he held her gaze.

"Margie, darling. You have nothing to fear from me. This will be one of the most enjoyable flights you've ever had. You will relax and anticipate all of our needs just like any passengers you've handled. You will remember us as exceptionally polite, and you will tell all your co-workers that the Northmans were wonderful to you. Now, since my wife and I are newlyweds, we would enjoy a bit of privacy. So, you won't come back to check on us unless we call you. Okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Northman. Thank you. Enjoy your evening." She went to the front of the plane and sat in the pilot's jump seat, remembering to close the door behind her.

"You are the master of the glamour, Sir. I was relaxing for her and it doesn't even work on me."

"You get good at it. Humans are simple creatures, they want four things: shelter, food, warmth and love. Meet those needs to any degree and they'll do whatever you like."

"I wish we were a little more complicated so that it wouldn't feel so, I don't know. It just feels like you know what we're going to do before we do sometimes."

"I've just seen humanity stay exactly the same for so long, think about it Sookie. How are your needs any different than a woman a thousand years ago?"

"Well, I guess need wise, they aren't any different. But I would never want to live without things like tampons, shampoo and deodorant. It must have been awful for the women of your tribe."

"It wasn't, surprisingly. Everyone smelled bad, that's how you identified each other."

I laughed and he pushed my hair behind my ear.

"I'm serious. Here comes Lagon, breath of fire, or his wife Petta that smelled of bear. I wish you could have been there with me. I wish you would be with me always."

I didn't respond, and he dropped the subject. He wasn't trying to pressure me into letting him turn me. He was stating a fact. After a moment, he looked down at our hands, then up at me.

"There are things that you need to know about my family. I don't want you to worry, they'll accept you because you are mine, but my brother, Marius, he's a bit of a rogue." I raised my eyebrows at that because I thought this was the pot calling the kettle black.

"He will attempt to taste you against your will, so do not be afraid to be assertive, you will not be hurting my feelings….or his. And then there's my sister Fallon. She is a handful of emotional trouble. She's high strung, kind of frail and in addition to that, she has an eating disorder, sort of."

"A what?" Who'd ever heard of a vampire with an eating disorder? Didn't they just drink blood? Granted, that in and of itself was a bit of a disorder, but I wondered, did she vomit afterwards? Did she gorge herself on blood? I must have looked puzzled because he smiled.

"She thinks that she can only drink type A blood. One of her special skills is that she can detect a person's blood type by scent and she regularly complains that if she doesn't get type A blood, she gets sick. For centuries she's been eating cows, cats, dogs, ducks. One year, it was sheep. Next it was goats. She is trying to be shocking and outrageous. We try not to indulge her because it is a ploy for attention, but she is a bit of a baby about it."

"How old are Marius and Fallon both in vampire and human years?"

"Marius is about 225 years older than me but he was 25 when he was turned and Fallon is about 200 years older than me. She was 16 when she was turned, and she was a brat. As old as she is, she still behaves as a young child in many ways. Marius and I have often wondered if she's altogether right in the head."

I smiled thinking of Eric and his siblings. The Eric I knew was a solitary being, knowing that he had siblings and a mom made him seem so much more normal to me.

"My brother and I don't always get along. Marius is very competitive with me so don't be surprised if he and I end up having a shouting match. I love my brother, but he is a gigantic asshole most of the time like he has a chip on his shoulder. Fallon is a sweet, sweet girl, but she'll throw a tantrum if Meshra is paying too much attention to you."

"How are you guys any different than any other family?"

"I'm just giving you a heads up."

"What does Marius look like, or Fallon? Do you have any pictures?"

He smiled, "As a matter of fact, I do. I've been thinking a lot about them lately…." He took a wallet out of his breast pocket. I had never seen Eric with a wallet and I don't know why I was surprised. It was black leather, and it looked new as if he wasn't used to carrying money around. He opened it, and took out a photo of himself posed between a tall blonde vampire who was nearly his exact double, and a young looking red haired female vampire. I had expected that someone named Marius would have black hair, but I'd been wrong. Marius was the same height as Eric and had piercing green eyes. His nose was long and slender and his lips were thin. He had Eric's mischievous grin. His hair was longer and it was more of a honey color, but it was hard to tell that they were not related by blood, at least not in the traditional sense. In a word, he could stop traffic; much like Eric. I looked at Fallon; there was something lost about her expression. She had the silky orange-red hair that you'd expect on a box of hair color and she had silver gray eyes. There was a smattering of freckles across her nose and if she wasn't capable of tearing a person to pieces, she would be considered adorable by any measure.

Eric handed me a photo of a dark haired woman whose age I could not determine by appearance and I surmised that this must be Mahesh-Ra, Eric's mother. She was dressed in a white double-breasted suit that was tailored for a woman's shape. The material hung like silk, and she wasn't wearing a blouse underneath. Instead, she wore strands of pink pearls that hung down between her breasts. She had a white flower in her hair and bright red lipstick. She was glamorous with a capital G.

"Your family is a walking Gap ad."

"Yeah, we're kind of a good looking bunch."

After a couple of hours of chatting his head off, he told me to look out the window. I saw pink on the edge of the horizon where the ocean meets the sky. Eric would have to turn in, and I would get some rest too. I had never actually seen him go to sleep for the night, so I offered to stay with him. He had an odd little smile as he lifted the lid to his coffin and stepped inside.

"If this gets weird for you, I'll understand."

"Is it weird for you that I can hear people's thoughts?"

"Not weird. I wish I could hear the thoughts of others."

"No, you don't. I always know what people really think of me. People are incredibly dishonest most of the time."

"I offered to kill anyone who treated you badly."

I thought about Quinn's friend getting his head ripped off and thought from now on, I'd let Eric think everyone in the world loved Sookie Northman.

Eric closed his eyes and I briefly wondered if he crossed his arms like you saw in the movies. I smoothed his hair away from his face, leaned down and kissed him, softly first, then more passionately. He responded for a moment, and then I felt him exhale as if he'd been breathing and he was still. I whispered that I loved him, kissed him again and snapped the lid closed.

Not as dramatic or strange as I'd imagined. One minute he was alert, the next, sound asleep. I grabbed my carry-on case and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I banged both knees trying to pull the door closed. I decided Margie would have to see me in my altogether if she came back at this moment; these bathrooms were not made to change clothes in. Bobby realized that I was trying to get changed and politely buried his nose in his computer. I pulled a new pair of pajama pants on, then dripped spit and toothpaste down my pajama shirt. I dabbed at it with a paper towel, but quickly gave up.

I took the leather seat across from Eric's coffin so that I could sleep beside him. Margie had shown me how to recline my chair into a bed so that I could sleep comfortably. Eric warned me about the thin blankets provided by airlines, so I doubled up and used two. I reached across the narrow aisle and laid my palm on Eric's coffin.

"Goodnight, my love. See you in France."