A/N: Here it finally is, chapter 16! This was the hardest one for me to get out so far. I think I almost broke my delete button trying to get it done. A big thanks to GaijinVamp for all of her lovely betaing skills, but of course any mistakes left are all me.
So, I got that new Dragon voice recognition software for Christmas (hope everyone had a fantastic holiday!) I am still working the kinks out of it, but is so cool. I totally recommend it to anyone who hates typing as much as I do.
Again, thank you all so much for reading this and I hope you like this one too. I love all your reviews, and I will be the first one to admit I am terribly slack at replying to them. I have made a resolution to correct that, so please, please, please keep them coming! They make my day and make all the late night writing totally worth it.
Warning, this chapter contains a small bit of slash, nothing to graphic, but I wanted to give ya'll a heads up.
Chapter 16
EPOV
I look down at my beautiful Sookie and try to reassure her that she will have nothing to worry about tonight. Godric will find her enchanting, I am sure of it. With her doe eyed innocence and sweet southern charm she was able to tame even me, and I do not have nearly the control of my Master. Even though she is smiling at me, I can sense the apprehension she is trying to hide. I also feel something else from her, an emotion that I do not have much experience with, guilt. Why would Sookie feel guilty?
"Sookie what is wrong? I can feel your tension, is something else bothering you?" she looks away from me for a second, obviously not comfortable answering.
"Please Little one, tell me what concerns you." She sighs and looks up at me with such sad eyes.
"Oh, Eric…It's just that you and your maker share over 1000 years and I have known you all of two days. How am I supposed to compete with that?"
"There is no competition Sookie. Yes Godric is my maker, but you are my chosen." I realized I might not have explained my relationship with Godric properly. "Little one, My maker and I were not together as a couple when we were last together as lovers. He was leaving for India the next night and he would be gone for an unknown length of time. I guess you could say it was a kind of goodbye. The last time we were intimate before then was over ten years before, when I was crowned King of Minnesota." I could feel that some of her tension had eased.
"I just didn't want to come between the two of you"
"There is no need to worry about that." I smiled at her and led her to the door. I pulled out my cell phone and sent him a text telling him to meet us in the media room instead of my office. The walk there was short, just a few doors down, but Sookie and I walked slowly so that she could steel her nerves and try again to get over her embarrassment at our earlier interruption. I rapped lightly on the door and opened it before I was given a response. I am King after all. The four of them were just finishing their dinner and Godric was licking the neck of the donor he had fed from. The donors were ushered out of the room. As they left, one overly ambitious brunette that I had not tasted yet gave me a very obvious eye fuck as she was walking past me.
"May I interest you in a taste your Majesty?" She asked, stopping on her way out the door.
"He has already fed tonight." My Sookie answered, pure venom dripping for her voice. "And if he requires anything else, I have it covered." The wench had the nerve to look at her with contempt and then look up at me like she had not spoken.
"I believe you heard my lover, your presence is no longer required." I spoke quite harshly and the blood bag jumped in surprise. She made her way out the door with out another word. I kissed my Sookie on top of her head and whispered in her ear, "Really Little One, 'anything' I require?" she blushed a lovely scarlet and I could feel her lust rising again. Could I have found a woman more perfect for me? I chuckled and led Sookie into the room. Quinn followed quickly behind us, but hung back, staying slightly behind and to the left of Sookie.
We barely had a chance to get a few feet in the room before Godric was in front of us, a jovial smile lighting up his boyish face. I let go of Sookie for a moment to embrace my maker. I kissed him on the forehead as I let him go. It was a joke between us since I was so tall. "Really Eric, is that any way to greet your maker?" His were lips on mine before I could get a word out, kissing me deeply. He released me after a few seconds, and came to stand directly in front of Sookie. I could tell the kiss had embarrassed her from the radiance of her blush, but she wisely said nothing and kept her features calm.
"So, you are the little human girl who has bewitched my Viking. The stories of your beauty have not done you justice my dear." he smiled warmly at her and extended his hand in greeting. When she placed her hand in his, he lifted it to his mouth and placed the smallest of kisses on her knuckles. Before releasing her hand he flipped it over before she could react and inhaled deeply at her wrist. His eyes went wide and he quickly schooled his features back to his endearing smile. He placed another kiss on her wrist and let her hand go.
"My childe is very lucky indeed.' He gestured to one of the couches behind him and said, "Please sit, we will get to know each other for a bit, yes?" I led her to sit down with me on one couch, while Godric took a seat on the other across from us next to Pam. Stavi and Xi-Lao were starting up a game of chess in the far corner. They played almost nightly and were very competitive. Quinn took a seat in an over stuffed armchair on the other side of Sookie. There was an awkward silence as we regarded one another. Godric was staring at the two of us thoughtfully, almost as if we were a puzzle he needed to solve. I could take the quiet no more.
"Master, this is my companion Sookie Stackhouse and her personal guard John Quinn. Sookie, Quinn, my Master, Godric." My maker and the tiger exchanged polite nods, but Sookie was the first to speak.
"It is very nice to meet you sir." She was fighting her embarrassment and I could just see the light pink tinge in her cheeks.
"I am happy to meet you as well. Now Eric, I am dying to know how you met. There are rumors of course, but you know how reliable those catty bitches are." I let out a hearty laugh and glanced down at Sookie who seemed at first startled and then pleased by my outburst.
"Vampires are notorious gossips Little One. They rarely care if something is true, as long as it is juicy. I have been rumored to have been ended several times. I was usually the one who started the rumor. Your enemy doesn't expect your attack if they think you are finally dead!" I laughed again as remembered the last time that little trick worked for me. If Vampires could shit bricks…not that I gave him much time to figure out what was happening before I removed his head. But that is a story for another time.
I pulled my Sookie closer to me and launched into the tale of how we met. I told him of how Sookie had become a prisoner of the New York vampires and how she was offered to me as a gift of good faith. How she needed my help, as she would not have survived those two, and she wouldn't have wanted to. Of course I had to protect her, she was an innocent soul and inherently good. Just because I am Vampire does not mean I have no sense of right and wrong, and I could not in good conscious leave her there to that fate. So I made her mine. It all made perfect sense to me.
"Eric, I can't help but to ask why bond her to you? I can smell that she has had your blood, a good bit of it, you are well on your way to a bond already" I felt Sookie tense up next to me and I leveled my gaze at my Maker, and was about to starting defending my actions when he cut me off. "I mean your human no disrespect, and I am sure she is worthy of the honor if you deem her so, but you have never done this, taken a human. Your blood has always been sacred to you, giving it to no human except for Pam, and that was when you turned her. I am sure we can agree this is a tad 'out of character' for you. So I am sure you can understand my confusion as to why she smells like she has been bathing in your blood." Outwardly Godric was calm and charming, but I could feel his frustration starting to grow and his patience was wearing thin. Sookie on the other hand was embarrassed and curious as she sat, tucked into my side, blushing and staring down at her hands.
"I had no choice Master." The confused look on his face was almost funny because it looked so out of place
"Explain."
"As soon as I saw her, looked into her eyes, heard her speak, I had no choice. Every fiber of my being said that she was to be mine and no others. The urge to protect her and claim her was so strong that I could not ignore it, nor did I want to!" I paused for a moment, forcing my self to take a deep breath and calm down. I did not want to start an argument with my maker, our fights never went well. I leaned into my Sookie and let her scent envelope me.
The was a loud knock at the door and I have never been happier to be interrupted as I was at that moment.
"Good Evening, Your Majesty. I am so sorry to intrude. I have the documents and items you requested on behalf of Miss Stackhouse. I may return at a more convenient time if you would rather."
"No, now is just fine. " I stand and so does Sookie. "Little One, this is my lawyer, Mr. Paul. He will help you get all of your finances straightened out, and he has also brought your personal items from your old apartment." Her eyes light up as I mention the last part.
"Oh! Thank you, it's very nice to meet you."
"And you as well my dear. If you would please just follow me, we will proceed to his highness's office." I kissed my Sookie before I let her stand and then handed her off to Mr. Paul. "I will see you shortly little one. Please let me know if anything is missing from your apartment, and I will make sure it is retrieved."
"I look forward to us getting to know one another better, and I hope that we will have more time to talk soon." Sookie look toward Godric as she said this and gave him a very warm smile. He nodded and smiled in return. My lover and my lawyer departed for my office and I looked to Quinn. He nodded and followed them out the room.
SPOV
I follow the lawyer back to Eric's office, happy that I'll be able to take care of my money issues, but more excited to have my things from my apartment. I may not have much, but the things that I do have are very important to me. They are all I have left to remind me of my Gran, and it means so much to me that Eric had them brought here for me.
As we walked to the office. I thought back on my first meeting with Godric. The kiss that they shared while shocking was surprisingly exciting. I would be lying if I said that some part of me wasn't turned on by it, a part of me that I wasn't sure I was ready to explore. Another part of me was kind of mad about the whole thing, though I wasn't really sure who was to blame for my anger. I guess wasn't sure quite how I felt about the whole thing, so I filed that away to ponder later.
We arrived at the office before I had a chance to process everything that just happened. We sat down in the small sitting area across from the fireplace, Quinn and I on the couch, Mr. Paul seated in a chair across from us. Mr. Paul handed me a folder and a pen.
"These are the financial documents I was able to obtain with the information given to me by Mr. Northman. If you would please look them over and let me know if there is anything that I missed." The man was certainly thorough, I would give him that. He had even dug up a small account with only about $27 in it, that I had left back in Bon Temps.
"Wow, you're really good, I think this is everything."
"If you would just initial where indicated by each account, sign and date at the bottom, then I will have these accounts transferred to Mr. Northman's bank. In the folder you will find a debit card in your name to give you access to your account. You will also find a black American Express card in your name. This card is drawn from Mr. Northman's account and has no limit. I was told to inform you that you are to spend whatever you wish. If you would just sign here for the card, I do believe that is it. I should have all of your bank information taken care of within the next 24 hours, so do not worry about a thing." I signed, initialed, and dated where Mr. Paul indicated, but I really wasn't paying attention. A black American Express card? Are you serious? I had heard of those things but never actually seen one. It was the strangest credit card I had ever seen. It looked like a regular credit card only it was made of metal. And no credit limit? I could hardly even fathom that. How do you even get a credit card with no limit? I was really unsure about using the card, but I would discuss it with Eric later.
"Thank you very much Mr. Paul you have been very helpful."
"Of course, my dear. That is my job." He gave me a sincere smile and I took a second to open my mind to him. His thoughts were strange kind of… murky? I had heard thoughts like his before, not impossible to read, but it would take too much concentration to get them all. From what I was able to hear, I decided that Mr. Paul was a truthful and trustworthy man.
"Now that we have all of that out of the way, I will leave you to go through your belongings. I do hope you have a lovely rest of the night." Mr. Paul shook my hand politely, and Quinn's as well. Then he left the office. I could hardly contain my excitement as I practically ran across the room to the small cart that held the boxes of my things. Before I opened anything, I just sit there and stared. I was amazed and also saddened that my entire life was contained in four medium sized boxes.
I opened the first box, it contained knickknacks and whatnots from my living room, all neatly wrapped in paper and bubble wrap. Whoever packed up my apartment was certainly thorough. The next box contained books, it was the biggest box of the four. I had a serious passion for reading and was pleased to have my books back. Many of these were some of my all-time favorites. The third box was kitchen items, my recipe box, Gran's old porcelain tea service (again lovingly wrapped in bubble wrap), and various other odds and ends.
The fourth box was from my bedroom. There were pictures, figurines, even my alarm clock, but most important was Gran's jewelry box. The box was fairly simple, it stood about two feet high and had four large drawers in the middle. On either side of these drawers was a compartment. One side opened to reveal hooks for hanging necklaces and bracelets. On the other side were six more smaller drawers in three rows of two. These drawers were velvet lined for rings and earrings.
Inside this box were most my important possessions. The rest of my things forgotten, I focused solely on the jewelry box. It wasn't overly large, but it was much heavier than it looked. I asked Quinn if he could carry it over to the coffee table for me and I sat in front of it on the couch.
"Jeez Sookie, what is this thing made of? It weighs a ton!"
"I know, Gran said that my Grandfather had it made just for her, and that the wood was very rare and special. I don't remember if she ever told me what kind it was." I ran my hands over it lovingly, lost for a minute, savoring the sweet memories of spending time with my Gran when I was a child. She and I would spend lazy afternoons, playing dress up. She would let me try on her baubles for what she called "the finishing touches", and we would preen in front of the mirror and prance around the room, dancing to songs that only we could hear. To some the contents inside may not be worth much, but to me they were precious memories that I would never be able to replace. I notice that Quinn was staring at me rather strangely, well not really at me, but at the jewelry box.
"What's the matter Quinn?"
"Don't you smell that?"
"Smell what?"
"It's coming from that jewelry box. It smells like magic and something else I can't quite place, but it strong. I can't believe you can smell that."
"I don't know what you're talking about, if anything it smells like my Gran." Quinn stared at me for a second as if he didn't believe me and then shrugged his shoulders. He held his hand out to the jewelry box.
"May I look inside?"
"Sure." Quinn went to open the first drawer, but before he could he yanked his hand back and yelped in pain. The tips of his fingers were red and smoking as if he had been burned.
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
"Oh my goodness, Quinn! Are you okay? What happened?"
"I don't know, I just touched the knob and when I tried to open it, it shocked me or something. Son of a bitch really hurt too." What was going on? How could an antique wooden jewelry box "shock" someone?
"That's crazy! How could it do that? It certainly has never done that before." And to prove it, I reached for the same drawer and went to pull it open.
"Sookie wait! Maybe we should get someone to look at it first. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Nonsense! My Gran owned this thing for decades and it has never hurt anyone before, just watch." I grabbed the knob and pulled…and nothing happened. Well, the drawer opened, but no shock, no pain.
"Told you it was safe. Maybe it was static electricity or something." I knew by his look that he wasn't buying it, especially since he was still nursing his red finger tips. I didn't really believe me either, but I was too concerned with making sure the contents of the box were still safe and sound, so I decided to worry about it later.
"I guess I should keep this stuff away from Eric." The first drawer was mostly all silver. My Gran was very organized and it had rubbed off on me I suppose. I kept the box set up just like she did, only adding the few pieces I had of my own. I closed that drawer and opened the second one. This was were Gran kept her pearls and the little gold she owned. I sifted through the pieces, remembering Gran would only wear them to the occasional wedding or funeral. She didn't like to wear her expensive things all the time. She said it made them less special.
The third drawer held my favorites. There were only five pieces, but they were a matching set. A necklace, bracelet, ring and a pair of earrings. The stones were beautiful opals. I had never found any others like them. They shimmered and shone with the most amazing colors, flecks of blue, red, green, even purple. It was hard to describe how they would dance and flash inside the stones. The necklace was a very large oval pendant in a platinum setting that was surrounded by diamonds that always seemed to twinkle, even in the lowest light. It was well over ten carats and it suspended from a thick chain of intricately woven platinum. The clasp was fitted with more diamonds and another, much smaller opal.
The bracelet was many small opals, set again in platinum, and it had a larger stone in the center that was about half the size of the pendant. The ring was simply stunning. It had a spectacular stone in the center, an opal sphere as big as a marble surrounded by smaller opals and diamonds. The platinum band was also channel set in diamonds. The earrings were smaller versions of the pendant, ovals set in platinum and diamonds. I knew they were worth a lot of money, probably more than I could even imagine, but I could never sell them. They were already priceless purely for sentimental reasons, money be damned.
I was so lost to the thoughts of my Gran that I had not noticed that Quinn had gone still. He was staring at the jewels still sitting in a drawer with his mouth agape. He reached his hand out to touch them and then quickly withdrew it, remembering what happened last time.
"What?"
"Sookie, where did you get these? Do you know what these are?"
"My grandfather gave them to my Gran, he got them all when he was away in the war. I'm not sure exactly what they are, Gran always called them rainbow stones, so that's what I've always called them." I reached into the box and picked up the ring, I placed it on my finger. Then I picked up the pendant and bracelet and draped them across the back of my hand. I tilted my hand back and forth to the stones would be sure to catch the light. "See, rainbow stones."
"But Sookie, do you really not know what these are?"
"All right then smarty-pants, what are they?" Just then the door to the office flew open. Eric rushed into the room and halted several feet from me, staring at me as if I'd grown another head. He stared at me for several seconds before exchanging a look with Quinn that I didn't understand. He approached me cautiously, glancing between me and the jewels on my hand.
"Sookie, Little One, excuse me, but where in the great bloody fuck did you get fairy opals?"
EPOV
I watched as my lover and my lawyer left the room, the tiger slipped out quickly behind them. Strangely I already seemed to miss her and I hoped that this will not take too long. I had many, much more pleasurable plans for the rest of my night. The silence of the room was deafening as my maker and I stared each other down. Without taking his eyes from mine, Godric addressed the others in the room.
"I will speak to Eric alone now." His voice was very calm and left absolutely no room for argument. Stavi, Xi-Lao, and Pam all stood and quickly left the room. I could feel that Pam was concerned for me through our maker/childe bond, and I sent her calm and reassurance to ease her mind. It did little to ease mine. I learned from a very early age that my maker is very possessive, especially of me as I am his first childe. Being first also means I am his favorite and the closest to him. He can feel how happy Sookie makes me. He knows that even in the short time she has been mine, I have become attached to her in a profound way, that I did not fully understand myself. I did not think he would be willing to subject me to the pain that losing her would cause me, and I am completely unsure how this conversation will go.
"Are you going to turn her?" Okay, I was not expecting that one first.
"If she wishes me to turn her, I will."
"And if she never chooses to?"
"Then she will remain as she is. I will not force her."
"You would bond with her and not turn her? Do you realize what will happen to you when she dies? As strong as you are, even you may not survive. Of course you have to turn her eventually. There would be no point in bonding to a human and watching them die of old age. She has at best eighty years before she would wither to nothing. You would waste more than a millennia on the hope that you would get a measly eighty years?"
I could not answer him right away. Everything he said was true. I agreed with all of it too.
"I have not really discussed turning with Sookie. I have not had the time yet, and I did not want to scare her. She has already been through quite an ordeal and is still adjusting to her new situation. Everything has happened very quickly and the subject has not been fully broached yet."
"Exactly, that is not like you. You are not this reckless, and I am at a loss." He paused and drew in an unneeded and very uncharacteristic deep breath. "We will discuss this later, after you have had time to speak with your pet."
"She is not my pet, she is my companion." My maker's eyes seemed to darken a bit at this statement, but he did not argue the point. He started at me for a few more seconds before his gaze turned lustful. He patted the couch next to him and motioned for me to join him.
"Come here Eric, you have yet to greet me properly and I have missed you very much these last few months." I hesitated, remembering the promises I had made to my Sookie mere hours ago. I sat with reluctance.
"Master I…I have given myself to Sookie. I am hers as she is mine." He knew what I was saying, but he was going to make me say it out loud.
"So you would deny me for this girl you have known for days? Have you forgotten my Viking, who you really belong to…who made you?
"No Master, I have not." I knew that arguing now would not be a good idea. Godric was very reasonable most of the time, unless he felt threatened, as he most certainly did right now. I got up from my seat and came sit at my maker's feet. I laid my head in his lap and he began to run his fingers through my hair. He always did love to do that. After a few minutes of silence, he started to speak quietly.
"You are my golden warrior, it is hard to accept another's claim on something that has been mine alone for so long. What we have cannot be replaced. You will always be mine."
"You are my Maker, and I will always be your childe, but I love her…" The last part was barely even a whisper, but I knew he had heard me. It was the first time I had said these words out loud and I was still coming to terms with them. I think they may have truly shocked Godric as well, but he did not comment on them.
"As I said, we will discuss all of this later. Now come sit beside me." I rose from the floor and took a seat next to him on the couch. "Surely you will allow yourself to at least embrace me on my return. Have you not missed me?" I could hear the amusement in his voice as he teased me and I laughed softly as I placed my arms around him and pulled him to me. We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, enjoying the feel of each others arms, the closeness after our many months apart. As we sat I could feel a multitude of emotions coming from my maker, beginning with contentment, curiosity, and eventually settling on plain old jealousy. Finally, the green eyed beast reared its head as I was afraid it would. He felt threatened by my little Southern Bell, and was prepared to defend his territory. I knew what he was going to say before he spoke.
"I wish us to exchange blood. I feel you will need strength in the coming months and I think you need a reminder of who you belong to." We had not exchanged blood since the night I was crowned King, and it had been many decades before that. I felt as if he was trying to test every ounce of my self-control. He knew what taking his blood could do to me, how it would make me feel. I also knew that I had no choice, for if I did not agree he could always just command me to take it. I offered him my wrist hoping that he would accept it without pushing the issue.
"Really, so steadfast in your convictions, I truly am surprised by your willpower. But I guess I do understand, you have given your word that you will not take pleasure from another, and far be it form me to make you break your word." With that he offered me his wrist as well.
I fed from him first, for that was how Godric preferred our exchanges. For him it was all about dominance and submission, I submit to him and take his blood, he dominates me and takes mine. I cannot help the fact that just a taste of his blood makes me hard. He is my maker, it is ingrained in my very essence to crave his blood. I do not react though, and continue to feed until he tells me I have had enough. My maker on the other hand, is thoroughly enjoying himself, and has pulled his cock out of his pants, slowly stroking himself as he watches me feed. He nods and I pull away from his wrist, pressing my own to his mouth.
"Touch me, My warrior." He sees the confusion in my expression and answers, "You may have decided to deny yourself pleasure but I did not. And what I desire right now, is for you to pleasure me." It is an argument I will not win. He is my maker and his will is my own. I placed my hand on his cock just as his fangs slip into my wrist. I wrap my fingers around his length and slowly began to stroke him up and down. After 1000 years I know exactly how he likes it, just how fast a stroke, just how hard to squeeze. My own cock is aching to be released from its confines. Godric removes his fangs from my wrist and looks me directly in the eye.
"Take me in your mouth" He can tell I am hesitating, "If you force me to command you, I will have more than just your mouth." His voice is very calm, but I know it is not an empty threat. As a vampire, especially one as ancient as Godric, his need to assert his dominance over me, to prove that I am in fact his is raging in him. I do as I am told and finish him off with my mouth. Again, I know just what to do, just what he likes.
We sit again in silence as Godric comes down from his orgasm and I contemplate the guilt I now feel. I am conflicted, I do not know whether I should tell Sookie what has happened or keep it from her. I decide I will tell her of the blood exchange, and I will tell her that we did not have sex. But if she asks about anything else that happened. I will be honest with her. Hopefully she will not ask many questions. Because of my internal debate I did not notice that Godric was staring intently at me.
"I do not understand what is happening to you Eric. The girl really must be something if you are willing to suppress your urges the point of pain. I must think more on this, and perhaps spend more time getting to know your human, see what it is about her that has you so enthralled." I knew that he could feel my apprehension because my face gave absolutely nothing away. "Relax, my childe, I mean nothing more than innocent conversation. Now, go check on your little human. I'm sure she's anxiously waiting for you. We will speak again tomorrow night." I nodded. I was about to get up from the couch once again I found myself in Godric steel like embrace.
He kissed me again, this time slower, much more sensuously than before. His tongue probed deeply into my mouth, further staking his claim on me and all that I am. I pulled away and got up, this time he let me go with no further interference.
"Good night, Master."
"Until tomorrow, my warrior." I left quickly and practically flew down the hallway towards my office. As I drew closer, my keen sense of smell picked up on something strange, the smell of magic…old, powerful magic. The smell is coming from my office, and not knowing what was going on, I burst through the door. The sight before me actually rendered me speechless. There was my Sookie holding in her hands more fairy opals than I have ever seen. They are the rarest of rare gems, mined only in the furthest reaches of the faerie realm. They are prized not only for their beauty, but for their magical qualities as well. In 1000 years, I have never seen any of this size or quality before.
I glanced at Quinn and quickly realized that he knew exactly what we were looking at, and he was just as shocked as I was. I looked back at Sookie and then again at the jewels. They were absolutely mesmerizing, the colors swirling and dancing together as if they were alive. I walked towards her slowly, as if any sudden movement would make them disappear, I asked the only thing I could think to ask.
"Sookie, Little One, excuse me, but where in the great bloody fuck did you get fairy opals?"
A/N: Please don't be too mad at Eric, this all new to him and he is adjusting. And please don't freak on me. While I do like a couple E/S/G fics, this is not the direction I am taking this. That scene was all Godric, he would not let up until he got something. Please don't be too mad at him, remember he feels very threatened right now and he is worried about his childe. Thanks for reading and REVIEW please!