A/N: What is up with the fanfiction website? I've been getting error messages lately when I try to go into the site. Hopefully they will fix the problems. But anyway here is the latest chapter. The next chapter will be Eric's POV. Oh yeah I 'borrowed' Marius' dialogue line after he kills the buck from the movie Last of the Mohicans (a good movie by the way)

Sookie's POV:

A month and a half had passed since the night Marius gave me his blood. That time I had made a promise to myself that I would enjoy life and so far I have kept it. I feel fitter and healthier than before. I had started running every day and lifting weights (mainly logs and large rocks) in order to build up my physical strength. I have even been smiling a lot more thanks to my new positive attitude. I no longer have bad dreams that used to haunt me at night.

But despite all these changes I still feel an emptiness in my heart. I miss my friends and family in Louisiana. I miss my nephew. I can only imagine all the ways that he has grown and it grieves me that I have missed out on those moments. I also still miss Eric. I miss the intimacy and the closeness that we shared. But I know I am not ready to go back to him, if ever.

With everything else, my life here to a certain extent has been filled with contentment and happiness. Almost every night Marius and I would go to our special spot. He would tell me another story that went along with a star from the night sky. I absolutely loved listening to those fascinating stories of his past. He would also take me to other gorgeous places in the Canadian Rockies. He would tell me about the different types of trees and which plants were edible and their medicinal uses. On the nights that it rained we usually just stayed in our cabin and played board games. He would also teach me words and phrases from his ancient dialect. Some nights we would just sit in our cabin and do our own individual tasks. I would read a book and he would sketch on his note pad. He never showed me what he was drawing but sometimes I would catch him looking at me and sketching. I hoped that one day he would show me.

He also went hunting one time. I was surprised one evening when he came in holding pieces of cut meat. The meat came from the indigenous wild animals around the area. He had cut the meat and stored the majority of it on high peaks before bringing back a few pieces to the cabin. I was so impressed that I asked him if he could take me the next time he went hunting and today was that day.

I wait in the cabin for him to come pick me up to go for our hunting excursion. It is already after dark but he hasn't come in yet. Usually he scans the surrounding area after he rises. He patrols to detect any new scents of humans or other supes and animals. I pass the time by doodling on my notepad.

As I sit on the couch and draw, Marius walks in. He is wearing his usual t-shirt and jeans.

"Hi" I say smiling.

"Hello," he says. "Are you ready?"

"You betcha. Where abouts are we goin' hunting?" I ask. I get up and put on my shoes and coat.

"Not far, I detected some scents and movement not far from here," he says as we make our way outside. I see a spear attached to his back. He lifts me up into his arms and flies slowly over the forest closely paying attention to the sounds and movement on the ground. Finally he sets us down near a small river stream in the forest.

"Wait here," he whispers in my ear. In a flash he is gone. I stand there in the darkness with just the moon providing illumination. The small stream glistens with the light of the moon shining upon it.

I stand there for a few minutes quietly listening for any sounds or movement. I start to wonder if I was supposed to help him with anything.

A little while later an animal runs across the stream and stops. I freeze and hold in my breath.

A few seconds later Marius shows up and stands by some rocks. I watch as he and the young buck exchange glances as though each were waiting for the other to make the first move. The young buck makes the first move by trying to run away but Marius runs towards him at human speed with the spear in his hands and he lunges it into the body of the animal. It collapses along the shoreline. The animal is still breathing so he snaps its neck, killing it instantly.

He motions to me to come closer.

He crouches down to the dead animal and runs his hand over the face and neck.

"I am sorry for killing you brother," he says. "But we do honour your courage, speed, and strength."

He bows his head and closes his eyes murmuring words from another language.

I bow my head as well.

"I will take you home now," he says.

He drops me off at the cabin and goes back to retrieve the carcass.

I light up a couple of oil lanterns and bring them outside to watch him skin the animal. A few minutes later he returns. He lays out the animal on the ground and pulls out a pocketknife from the back of his jeans.

"You should probably take your shirt off," I suddenly blurt out as he is about to cut. He looks up at me and I start to blush. "Ummm well, you know... you don't wanna get blood on your shirt and jeans. But you don't have to take off your jeans too, I mean you can take off anything you want of course. It's up to you," I stammer, my face turning bright red. I let out a groan and fight the strong urge to run inside and put my head under my blanket. Did you really just say that?

I cover my face with my hands. All of a sudden he laughs.

"There's no need to feel embarrassed Sookie," he says. "I think I will take your advice."

I remove my hands from my face at the same time he strips off his shirt. Oh. My. God. My jaw drops as I take in his upper body. I stare at his toned and muscular biceps, stomach and chest. He doesn't have any chest hair. It looks so smooth that it feels like my hands have a mind of its own and wants to caress his chest. My eyes wander to the lines on his stomach. Rather than a six-pack, this man has an eight-pack. He is not overly muscular but is rather similar to the body shape of Eric. Ever since our first meeting I have often at times wondered how his bare body looks like. And he does not disappoint. My face feels like it's burning at this point.

He catches me gawking at him.

"Sorry!" I yell out. I turn my head right away and stare at some dark trees.

He laughs lightly at me again. "It's fine Sookie. Like I said, there's no need to feel embarrassed. Would you like me to put my shirt on again?"

"No that's okay, it was just not very polite of me to stare," I tell him. "I'm an adult, you're an adult. We're both mature grown people." I let out a deep breath and turn back to face him.

He is crouching over the animal and begins cutting through the stomach area. I watch as he carefully cuts off the hide. He starts cutting the meat out from various parts. I go into the cabin to retrieve a large bowl where he could put the meat. Forty-five minutes later he is done.

"Wow that's a lot of meat. It's safe to say that I won't be starving anytime soon," I say lightly.

"Yes you will have enough to eat for awhile. I will leave some here and take the rest up to a mountain peak to freeze."

I watch as he puts the meat in a container. He gathers the hide and what's left of the carcass and launches himself up in the air.

I go back into the cabin and bring out the portable camping stove that he had bought me several weeks earlier. I put some fresh water into a pot so that I can boil some potatoes and carrots. I also bring out the colman stove in order to cook the meat.

I cut the meat in strips and start cooking it in the skillet, adding some onions.

About twenty-five minutes later Marius returns.

"Hey," I greet him. I look at his chest which a now a little dirty and bloody.

"I am going to go and wash off the dirt and blood," he says. "I will be back soon."

Nodding, I continue to cook my dinner.

As I finish cooking my food, he returns. He is wearing clean clothes and has wet hair. He must have washed up at the springs.

I put my food on my plate and he offers to carry it inside. I carry in the oil lanterns and he also brings in the stoves.

"Did you get a drink for yourself?" I ask him as I am about to take a bite. Marius usually stores his TrueBlood at the springs in order to keep it warm.

He pulls out a bottle from his back pocket and sets it on the table, taking the other chair.

I giggle. "You carry a lot of things in your back pockets. How do you make room for all of it?"

"It's a secret trick," he says amusingly. "After living for hundreds of years with nothing but the things on your back, you learn to adjust."

I smile back at him and continue eating. I devour every morsel from my plate and afterwards I sigh from consuming a delicious meal.

"Thank you for the food Marius," I say gratefully. "Not just for the meat, but for the other foods that you bring me."

"It is no problem. I have not hunted for a very long time because I had no reason to before. I missed it," he says smiling. "May we can go fishing some time. That is something else that I have not done in a very long time."

I smile and nod back. "That would be terrific. So what other skills do you have besides hunting and setting vampires on fire?" I ask humorously pushing aside my plate.

He laughs. "I can handle a sword sufficiently," he says. "I learned to fight with swords in Japan about 1600 hundred years ago."

I look at him amazed. "Really? You didn't learn it when you were human?" I ask.

"Yes. My role in my village was to only be a hunter and provide nourishment for the people. I learned how to fight with a sword from a great master. He knew what I was as his own father had been turned years prior. He offered to teach me as long as I avenged his father's death. Another vampire had killed his father. As my sword skills grew I felt that I was ready to face that vampire. Unfortunately I did not know that he was at the time the best sword fighter in the known world."

I flinch and he smiles at that. "What happened?" I ask curiously.

"Well I went to go find him and we fought. He was much too strong and skilled for me. He sliced my right hand off."

I gasp putting my hand over my mouth.

"Rather than finishing me off he let his pride take over. He watched and laughed at me as I laid on the ground in pain. It was that moment I had wished that lightning would strike him down. I concentrated on that thought and suddenly he burst into flames. That was how I discovered that power within me."

I stare at him feeling shocked and look at his hand. He holds it up in front of me.

"See? Good as new. You probably have heard that vampire's limbs grow back but it is very painful. Over the years I have enhanced my sword skills so that the next time I would defeat my foe in that way."

"Wow," I reply. I start thinking about all the times that I had been attacked in the past several years. I wonder if I could learn how to fight with a sword. "Do you think...," I begin to hesitate before I finish my sentence, "Do you think you could teach me? I mean just the basics, so I can learn how to defend myself?"

"Yes," he says with a bright smile. "I would enjoy teaching you how to fight. I have not taught anyone since my son."

"That's great!" I exclaim cheerfully.

"We can start the night after tomorrow. I have to go to one of the towns in order to feed and to bring you some more basic food and other supplies."

"Oh," I reply. My mood suddenly drops a little. A slight tinge of jealousy creeps up in me as I start to imagine him feeding from a woman or several women for that matter. I wonder if he will have sex with them. Not that I had any claim over him. It is likely that he probably will. Lord knows he wasn't getting any here in the middle of nowhere with just me. My jealousy rises up a little more as I think of him with another woman. Couldn't he just keep on sticking to TrueBlood? I start the internal debate of whether or not I should offer him my blood.

I am so lost in my thoughts that I don't notice him watching me.

"I am only going to feed and get you more things that you need," he says reassuringly. Oh crap, I think to myself. He must have felt my jealousy. I blush a little.

We finish our evening by going up to our special spot for a few hours. Afterwards he brings me back and I head into the cabin to sleep.

I wake up the next day and do my daily morning routine of a run and breakfast. I also do my household chores. I tidy up the cabin, wash the dishes and take the laundry to the lake to wash my clothes and Marius'. I offered to do his laundry for him since he did a lot of chores for me like bringing in fresh water and food. After washing our clothes, I take them back to the cabin and hang them on the clothesline that he made. Next I take a bath at the hot springs to wash away the sweat and dirt. I spend the rest of day sketching and reading.

Night finally comes and Marius walks into the cabin.

"Good evening," he greets me.

"Hi," I say warmly.

"I just wanted to let you know that I am leaving now and will be gone for several hours. I will probably be back after you have gone to sleep."

"Alright," I say getting up from my chair to stand before him. We say goodbye and I give him a hug and he kisses me on the forehead.

Suddenly I find myself truly alone. I try to spend the rest of the evening reading but am unable to concentrate. I try to do other things but my thoughts continue to drift back to him, missing his presence.

After a lonely night, I fall asleep several hours later in my bed with the fire still going.

As I dream I hear a slight creaking noise and the sound pulls me from my slumber. My eyes flutter open as I see Marius standing by the table putting some bags on it.

"Good Morning," I say with a yawn.

He looks towards me. "I'm sorry for waking you," he says, "Your hearing is still sensitive to sound."

"That's alright," I tell him as I sit up in the bed. "It's usually the sound of birds in the morning that wakes me up."

I pat the side of the bed to offer him a seat. He comes holding a small little black box.

"Here, I bought this for you," he says handing me the tiny box.

Smiling, I open it; it's a simple gold chained necklace with my birthstone on it.

"It's not a real gemstone," he says, "The store that I got your food and supplies from didn't have the most impressive collection of jewellery."

"That doesn't matter to me. It's beautiful. I never really was the type of girl who enjoyed getting or even wearing expensive jewellery," I tell him. "You remembered the month of my birthday."

He nods. "Would you like me to put it on you?"

I turn my head and lift up my hair. I close my eyes enjoying the sensation of his fingers on the back of my neck. After he is done, I let go of my hair and look down at the stone.

"Thank you," I say as I turn back to face him.

I lean up to hug him and to kiss him on the cheek. He hugs me back and we linger in our embrace for a few minutes.

"I missed you," I whisper to him.

"I missed you too," he says to me. He pulls away from me slightly to look into my eyes. We gaze at each other for several more minutes. He begins to trace his thumb over my cheek. This is it, the moment, I think to myself feeling anxious, uncertain, and excited. But instead he breaks away from our gaze and proceeds to walk towards the door.

"I should let you sleep," he tells me as he opens the door, "We have a long night tomorrow with our first training. Good night."

"Good night," I say as he leaves. I stare at the door feeling a whirl of emotions. I like him, I like him a lot. There is no doubt about that. But I am not ready to start a new relationship, assuming that is what he wants. But I can't deny that I was hoping he would kiss me and I can't help but feel disappointed that he didn't. Awhile later sleep takes a hold of me again.

I wake up the next morning still feeling confused. Are my feelings just one of the side effects from drinking his blood? Possibly. But then again I was attracted to him the first time that I met him long before I ever drank his blood. After realizing my love for Eric I never in a million years thought that I could ever feel something faintly similar for anyone else to what I felt for Eric. Dwelling upon those thoughts I continue with my daily routine.

Time goes by and the sky gets darker. I become even more nervous knowing that Marius will be rising anytime soon. I sit on the couch, my nerves clawing at me as I pretend to look at a map. Finally he walks in and my anxiety increases. I try to calm myself knowing that he can sense my emotions.

"Good evening, it looks like it is going to be a nice night outside. The sky is clear, the air is breezy. Do you wanna start our training outside? If so, I am ready. I did some stretching earlier and I think I am ready. But of course you are the judge of that of whether or not I am ready..." I continue to blabber on and on speaking rapidly.

He interrupts me. "Wait, I will be right back," he says. He goes outside and comes back in holding something large wrapped in suede. He places it on the table and unwraps the cloth. Inside there are six different coloured swords covered in their cases.

"These are Japanese blades," he says handing me the blue one. "This one was made in Kagawa about two hundred years ago."

I hold it with both my hands.

"Open it," he says.

Slowly I remove the blade from its case. I marvel at the light weight of the steel and the glow of the blade.

"It's beautiful," I whisper.

"It is. I received it as a gift from a forger in the province," he says.

"Do you have a lot?" I ask him.

"Yes, here I keep these six. I have another twenty-seven at my other outposts."

"I don't think I am ready to start practicing with these quite yet," I say nervously. "I thought that maybe we would start with sticks or something."

He laughs. "Yes we will begin your training by using sticks. I don't want you to injure yourself or me with these just yet."

I hand Marius back the sword and he puts it back in its case. He takes the swords back outside, probably to his underground chamber. I put on my black sweat jacket and running shoes and head outside, ready to begin my training. I set up a few lanterns for more light.

He comes back holding two sticks. He begins by showing me stances and how to hold a blade. Hours pass during which time he has showed me different variations on how to yield a sword and block attacks. By the end I am sweating and my hands are blistered from keeping my grip firmly on the stick.

He takes a hold of my hands and looks at them. "Would you like me to heal them?"

I smile and nod. His fangs instantly pop out. I stare at them in awe. This is the first time that I have seen them and he looks even more beautiful. He pricks his finger and slowly rubs his blood on my palms. A second later my blisters are gone.

"Thank you," I tell him rubbing my hands together.

"Would you like to go up to our spot?" he asks me.

"Yes that would be nice," I respond. We put out the oil lanterns and take them back inside. He grabs the blanket. Soon afterwards we head up to our secluded spot up in one of the mountains. After landing I keep my arms around his neck and he doesn't set me down. He carries me and sits down on the grass with me on his lap.

"Tell me more about your life." he asks.

I think about it for a second. "Ummm I think you probably know everything that there is to know. I haven't led a full life like you. Mostly all the exciting things resulted in me getting hurt one way or another," I laugh.

He laughs as well. "No I have not led a fulfilling life. Yes I have been to many places and have seen many things but my existence has been relatively empty for too many years."

I lean my head against his chest and he pretends to breathe in and out for me.

"Since the weather has been warm lately, would you like to go swimming tomorrow night?"

I look up and smile. "That would be lovely. I have been thinking about doing that for awhile but was unsure about the lake."

"It is safe to swim in," he responds.

"Alright," I tell him.

The next evening we walk to the lake. I don't have a bathing suit so I wear some cotton sleeping shorts and a light pink tank top and also take a towel. He is wearing a t-shirt and some shorts as well.

We reach the lake. There is plenty of light with the moon providing it for us. Without a word he takes off his shirt and shoes and literally jumps a long distance into the lake. I stand there surprised and he emerges from the water.

"Aren't you coming in?" he asks me.

I nod and take off my sandals. Just as I am about to test the water with my feet he says, "Just run in, it will be easier."

I get ready and run as fast I could towards him. The cold water hits my skin and I start screaming. "Fuck this water is cold!"

I hear him laughing, "What did you expect? This lake was made from a glacier."

"But I didn't think it would be this freezing," I whine. I start to make my way back to the shore but he comes up behind me and holds me.

"What if I get pneumonia or hypothermia?" I say whining again.

"That is not likely since you have had my blood. The effects of which will stay with you for a few years. Your body will adjust to the temperature." He turns me around to face him and I wrap my legs around his waist. My teeth are chattering now and he rubs my arms as though that will warm me up.

He takes us deeper into the lake.

"Did you want me to take you for a little ride?"

I get excited and smile, "Yeah."

He swings me onto his back and I hang on. He holds onto my legs and starts swimming faster and goes deeper towards the middle of lake.

He stops and turns me to face him again.

"Why did you stop?" I ask.

"To see how you were doing," he replies.

"Really, well I'm still cold and I'm losing the feeling in my legs, but other than that I'm ok."

He starts rubbing my thigh. The touch makes me shiver.

"Can you feel that?"

"Yes," I squeak.

With warning, Marius levitates upwards from the water and I screech in surprise. I cling on tighter to him.

"We'll go to the hot springs to warm up," he tells me. I bury my face against his neck still shivering.

Once we get there he lowers us into the springs and somewhat reluctantly I let go of him. The warm water is a welcome relief. I swim around to warm up my body. We usually keep lanterns in various places in the vicinity of our cabin so he goes and grabs one of them by the path and lights it up.

"Remind me to never go swimming in the lake again!" I laugh.

He laughs with me. "Did you want to resume your training tomorrow?"

"Yes for sure. I really want to upgrade from sticks to using the real thing," I say lightly.

He smiles back, "I think that time will come quickly. You are a fast learner and very strong."

"Thanks. The running and lifting have been a real help. I actually have muscles now; I am no longer just soft all over." He raises an eyebrow and smirks. My face starts to get red after realizing how that sounded. Noticing my embarrassment he chuckles.

"Your modesty is one of the qualities I like about you. Are you warm enough now?"

"Yes! Thank you for bringing me here."

We stay in the springs awhile longer and chat. I look at my hands which are starting to prune up. "Maybe we should head back now."

He agrees and I step out of the water. I look down at my chest and see that my breasts are visible through my now see-through pink tank top. Immediately I cover them. I look down even further and can see my white yellow flower print underwear through my cotton shorts. I start to blush again knowing that vampires have good eyesight.

"Uhhh.. we left our stuff at the lake," I state spinning around to face Marius.

I stare at his chest watching drops of water trickle down. I will never get bored of that sight.

"I will carry you back so that you don't have to walk with your bare feet and then get our belongings." He swings me up into his arms. He carries me a lot. I wonder if I will ever be able to go back to getting around in vehicles when I have him to get me to places.

At the cabin I take off my wet clothes and wrap another towel around me and wring out the excess water from my hair into the basin. I need to cut my hair. It is getting long and has been growing rapidly during the past month.

Just then he walks in holding my towel and sandals in his hand.

Marius' POV:

I look at her and the outline of her body. To say that Sookie was just beautiful would be an understatement. She is stunning and absolutely perfect. Everything about her is perfect, from the way she laughs to the way she carries herself in this world. When I first brought her here I was worried about her. Her vitality was leaving her body and the light that shined around her was dimming. But now all that was back and in an even greater amount.

"Oh you're back," Sookie says looking flustered. She stands there clutching the towel around here seeming unsure of herself. She has no idea of how desirable she is. It had taken all of my self-restraint to not take her into my arms the night I had left to get her food and supplies. I felt her anxiety and desire. She wanted me to kiss her but I could not. She wasn't ready. There were still many things that needed to be sorted out in her relationship with Northman. That was a reality that pained me. She had to go back and face him if she wanted to move on.

"I'll just put these on the table and let you get dressed."

I go outside and spin around quickly to dry my hair and skin. I put on my shirt afterwards. I listen as she rummages through her bag looking for something to wear. I think about how satisfied I have been since she came into my undead life. She continues to surprise me every day in many ways. I have not felt this fulfilled since I made and raised Marten so to speak.

"You can come in now," Sookie yells through the door.

I walk in and find her sitting on the sofa in her nightgown holding her notepad. I suspect that she wants me to teach her more of my language. I join her on the sofa and for the next couple of hours I teach her phrases and words. To my knowledge Marten and I are the only ones who speak this certain type of dialect of the Norse language. It pleases me to know that she will be the third.

It is getting late and I can tell that she is tiring.

"We should continue this tomorrow," I tell her. I get up, go to the door and she follows.

"Thank you for today," she tells me warmly.

"Sookie..." I say but she interrupts me.

"I know I know, I say thank you too often. But I really mean it."

She puts her hands on my shoulders and tiptoes, leaning up to reach my face. I bend down to her slightly and she kisses me on the cheek. Her lips linger there for what seems like an eternity and finally she looks into my eyes. She closes her eyes and puts her lips against mine. They are warmer and softer than I imagined. I can taste the water from the hot springs. She parts her lips slightly giving me more access. We deepen our kiss and I pull her body closer to mine. She wraps her arms around my neck and plays with my hair.

She breaks away from our kiss for air and is gasping for breath, "Wow."

"Wow indeed," is all I say. It is that moment that I realise that I loved her and would do anything to keep her happy and protected.