PART FOUR

Chapter 8

She found herself at the edge of town, in a park she had loved since she was a child and it was a place that for some reason had always calmed her nerves. Something was clearly off and in this calm, she was seeing reason, and yet she felt like there were holes in her memories. The unnerving feeling that she didn't know something that was likely quite vital to her being…she cared not for it and the sensation she felt from a bond she didn't understand why she had was one of concern. Genuine and honest and yet she knew who, what it was from and how could that possibly be? She was putting the pieces together and yet there was a denial what she was starting to think was the truth. That she was what she was, how could there be any other explanation. Confused, scared and fearing for her life, she somehow was starting to see through that which had been done to her. She knew something had happened to her. And so it was with a touch of relief that she saw him appear in the park, landing gently on the soft grass. Eyes wide, she took a few timid steps back and yet was not in any stance that would signal a looming defensive attack. "You found me…..there really is something here….between us. And it isn't something terrible? I wasn't forced into doing anything, making choices that made me what I am now?"

"It was all your own decision….all you. And there has been much stolen from you that can and will be returned to you if you can just sue this….." he held out the glistening compact and she eyed it with a wondrous look on her face.

"I destroyed that…I know I did."

"Family you don't remember has helped bring it back so we can end this. Do you remember having a daughter, a son in law?"

She stared blankly at the vampire. "I do know Blaze….from Faery….." she was looking more and more confused and he could see the agitation on her face, the frustration of the fact she knew something was missing. Closing her eyes, she summoned her magic and it was as if she was trying to remember, to use her magic to unlock what was locked away from her. Wincing in pain, she started to fall over but was caught before she hit the hard ground.

"You saw something….the magic is already breaking a bit, you aren't as scared of me as you were, you let me catch you, you didn't off me when you had the chance…..I brought this back for you to use….to wish things back the way they were. What was done to you….it can all be undone right here and now."

She trembled as she approached, seeing him offering the object to her, willing to risk his very existence yet again to prove he was telling the truth. "I want to remember…..the more I think the more I realize something is definitely wrong. I remember everyone at work, save for that redheaded vamp and…I wonder what else that Jynx had planned if he ever realized I had realized I knew there were holes in my memories. Things I can't explain. Even though he only wanted me to forget vamps…..maybe I forgot everything I went through with them too…." she reached up slowly, her hand cupping the left cheek of the tall vampire and she looked into his eyes, seeing that there was a strength and a gentleness there and yet she knew how dangerous one such as he was. "I want to remember….." she said, tears in her eyes. She had taken the object from him and her next move was unintentional and unexpected. "I wish I could stop crying for five seconds." and the cluviel dor answered her wish and when she realized she had wasted the wish, seeing the restored object vanish permanently this time, she cupped her hands in terror, an expression matched by Eric's who stared at her hands, devoid of the one object they had known could set things right.

Chapter 9

The others had come upon the scene, having had the assistance of Aurora to track them down with her power. But they knew something hadn't gone to plan and there was a smell in the air Aurora recognized.

"Spent magic….destroyed magic. This means the cluviel dor was used but…something feels off."

"She accidentally used it, saying she wished she could stop crying for five seconds. Those five seconds have, of course passed and now here we are back at square one. Less than square one, actually with us having accomplished nothing."

"Not nothing." Aurora replied thoughtfully. "I think this may sound trite and perhaps contrived even, but I think if you spend time together, you may well break the spell on your own. I did some thinking after you had left and about what I heard about her hesitating. I think you have managed to get through to her and the cracks in the magic are there, but I think only you can break it completely. Which would prove that love really can conquer even the most insidious of magic." ever the optimist, she walked over to her father, who was clearly very much on edge and embraced him, seeing the way he seemed unconvinced her plan would work. "If you don't think love can me a powerful magic, remind yourself of where you were not terribly long ago, before she came into your life." Aurora looked past her father and nodded towards her cautious looking mother. "We won't stay but please, just get her to trust you again and once the walls start coming down, we can only hope that this works. I think it will but I think believing in it will only help."

Eric was touched by the words of his daughter and he had noticed that Willa and Pam had joined the party, their group watching the two of them like hawks. Knowing they needed privacy, to be away from prying eyes, he turned to face Sookie and offered her a hand. "If you would come with me, perhaps things can finally settle down and we can get you better again. But unless you come with me, that is not going to happen. If I am the only one who can help you, would you allow me to do so?"

Well aware of the eyes of her brother, Blaze, Aurora, Pam and Willa, Sookie thought that for a moment she recognized the two newcomers. "Get your little faerie butt out of here and get your memories back, would you? I have a hair appointment at three fifteen and I can't cancel on the account of your scrambled up brain." said the vampire that she learned was Pam, though there was teasing tone to her voice and a smile on her face. The vampire named Willa made a shooing motion with her hands and again, there came a spark of recognition. Though these sparks faded away again, upon gingerly accepting the hand of the tall, intimidating vampire, Sookie found herself scooped up in a surprisingly gentle motion and soon saw the faces shrink into the distance as they rose higher into the night sky. She hoped that he was indeed taking her to help her rather than draining her for a little faerie treat.

Chapter 10

They arrived at the closed up bar, a white building with a red awning over the entrance. It was a foreign place to her and yet there was a vibe about Fangtasia that gave her familiar chills. "I thought I would bring you here as it makes sense this is where the two of us met. I didn't know it but that night I met the woman who would change me forever. I admit I only saw you as a tool to be used. Your mind reading was useful to say the least. But then I…." he turned from her face as she took in the strange vampire club around her.

"What? " she asked, a tinge of sympathy in her voice, surprising herself by reaching up and touching him on the arm gently.

He turned and faced her, looking almost haunted. "I remember so much about you here and the times we have had here. We fought together here, we suffered here within these walls. Saw so much and experienced much and if someone were to tell me then that I would find myself married to someone I thought was beneath me at the time….I am smart enough to amid my failings and I was a fool to doubt your true worth. Now that you don't remember me and the others like me in our family it makes me realize how life can keep screwing you over and over."

Her heart started to ache for him, though she knew nothing of his past other than what he just revealed to her. That it was so clearly heartfelt and genuine was stunning to her, she was left with the impression that all of his kind were nothing but monsters. And remembering that she too had some vamp in her, it was pulling on her heartstrings all the more. "I wish I could remember, I really….I can't believe I screwed it up like that, I just…I wanted to stop crying and I was holding the thing and…..if I was in love with you, I wonder if I can do it all over again, I feel like….I feel like that's what has to happen for me to get back what was taken from me. Memories and family, from what I understand and if I don't fall for you…" she sighed. "I won't ever have the life that I probably loved back. It will be a different one and I don't think I want to be living a incomplete existence."

He had a idea. It was swift motion but he had brought her to the dais and had sat down on the throne. He offered her the seat beside her and with another swift motion, he had bit into his wrist, the sight and smell of blood triggering the inner vamp within her. Embarrassed, she covered her mouth and instead of feeling judged or teased, she instead was offered his bleeding wrist. "Perhaps a taste can help trigger things….it couldn't hurt anything…and perhaps I could…." she knew shat he was getting at and felt timid about the idea. Desperate to get what was lost back, she felt her stomach turn a little at the blood offered to her and felt her own fangs come out, much to her shock and embarrassment. But something about this experience was feeling oddly familiar and as she sat in the seat beside him, she soon was tasting his blood. Her eyes closed as she wanted to at first recoil. But slowly, she downed the blood, the most she had ever taken into her being. Flashes appeared in her mind, her body reacting in the form of slight tremors. Gone was her vision of the place around her and she felt like she was unable to breathe. Barely aware of her legs buckling and the fact she had all but slid off her seat-caught by the arms of the Viking.

It was overwhelming and she barely knew she was whimpering, wincing at the memories being brought back because of the holes in her memories being refilled by those removed from her mind by Jynx's magic. Gasping for air, the last thing she saw was the moments before she had lost the memories of her loved ones. That she had been meant to forget those she loved pained her and a last shudder coursed through her as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A half hour later, she had opened her eyes, finding herself laying down in one of the black leather booth seats of the bar. And looking down upon her with a expectant look

"Sookie?" Eric asked her slowly, as if expecting the worst as he slowly helped her sit up. She looked around the room with a befuddled expression and then back at him with a blank expression. It was then she shook her head and frowned. "I don't remember-" she started as she took in the look on his face before bursting into laughter. "Gotcha!" she said, hopping up and hugging him tight. Relieved as she was, he stroked her hair as only he was able to and they stood in silence for several moments.

"That certainly is something I would prefer not to happen again….is there any faerie magic that can put a stop to amnesia, stolen memories…..things like that?" he asked, looking down at her intently.

"That's just the thing, if a enemy wants to make noise, they go for the heart or the head, both can be victimized and this make their target quite vulnerable. But at least there is one less piece of dangerous magic out there that can do what just happened….." she stifled a yawn and before she knew it, the bar was locked up once more and he swept out the front door with her where they could partake in a different kind of healing. Both of their favorite way, actually.

THE END