A/N: Another installment my lovelies. Hope this answers some questions. This was kind of a light chapter and the next one will be kind of serious but lemony and sweet. Theoretically. We'll see, mwuahaha. Sorry, I'm getting a lil slap happy because it's late and I think I'm getting the plague or whatever the deuce is going around work for the umpteenth time. A random thought that dawned on me the other day, and if I were smart, I would pretend I was so cool, I planned it this way, but I like to be real like that...This story is about Eric getting wrapped up in fairy politics! In contrast (obviously) to Bookie always getting wrapped up in vampire politics. Notice, Eric doesn't bitch about being involved, though. He's such a trooper. LOL-that occurred to me and I'm like, holy poopsticks, it's a role reversal *facepalm...awkward silence. So, thank you as always for all your love, input and reviews. I do occasionally use some of the wants and suggestions, if you haven't noticed already. Where applicable, anyway. Yep, so thanks again-you guys make me laugh, cry, smile and vomit sparkles and rainbows. No beta, I own nothing. Toodles.

Ch. 28

The ride to Fangtasia was quick since Eric and Pam decided there was a race. Of course he won, but he let her think she had a chance a time or two, when he would lag behind. It seemed a little ridiculous that she would think a mini van could even keep up with a Corvette's low speeds, but Pam was competitive, like me. We went in the back way and settled into Eric's office. Pam and Alberik arrived two minutes later.

"Oh, are you finally here? I thought I might have to send a search party out..."

"Stick it, Master." She drawled. "If I had my Audi, you would have been sucking my tail pipe."

"That's cute, Pam. I could beat you on a skateboard with one wheel. I will always win."

I rolled my eyes and looked at Alberik, who was totally unimpressed with their banter and was checking his cell phone. These guys didn't waste time in getting synced back in with day to day life.

"Okay, well you two can stand here and measure each other's dicks to see whose is bigger, I am going to look at the progress in the bar."

Alberik barked out a laugh and Eric replied, "Pam's will always be bigger, since she has the benefit of prosthetics on her side."

As we left the office, she smiled from ear to ear. "Don't you forget it. Who needs the beastly burden of a man, when there are so many better replications of their one redeeming quality, right Sookie?" She was still trying to embarrass me.

"Uhm, no. I will disagree with you all day long, on that one, Pam. Though I have no experience in prosthetics, I would wager there is no replicating Eric in any form or function." His chest puffed way out, he gave me a panty melting smile and a boastful look to Pam.

He opened his mouth, but she beat him to it, "Says the virgin. She has nothing to compare it to. Now, about this wager, Sookie..."

"Ack! Nope."

"Pamela, that is enough. Cease this talk now."

"But I can show her all the ways only another woman knows her body better than a man ever could-" Eww. Now I was blushing.

"Enough! Since you will not heed me, and insist on torturing Sookie, you will be punished in a manner as I see fit."

She started to retort, then thought better of it, but she didn't look like she believed him about the punishment. We stopped talking to peruse the new digs.

"This looks good."

That was an understatement, Pam. It looked amazing. The ceiling was completely done in stylized, silver-looking tin ceiling tiles over the entire club. Smoked mirrors were over the booths. It actually looked classy. The dance floor did have a slight teardrop shape and was now red. Not a bright, flat paint slopped over the surface, but the wood was actually stained and looked very nice actually. They had re-covered the fabric of the booths from red faux leather to a heavy grey and red patterned brocade. I looked at him to see his reaction, he looked pleased.

"Wow, all of this was your design, your choices?" He nodded, still taking it all in, looking for any flaw, no doubt. "It looks incredible. You have quite a flare for design."

He kissed my forehead. "Thank you. I enjoy it. It was your idea however."

"Yes, but I never could have fathomed it to look so insanely awesome. You took a hokey concept and made it understated and classic."

"I know what I like." He gave me a heated look, that made me feel a little warm. We made a list of the things I would bring up to the contractor tomorrow.

Pam disappeared and returned with Dr. Ludwig in tow. I hadn't seen her in at least a decade and she looked exactly the same-tiny and wrinkled. In fact, the last time I did see her, we were close to the same height. My grandfather had called her to evaluate my powers.

She ignored the others and came immediately to me, "Hello, little halfling girly. You've grown since I last saw you at your great-grandfather's knee, giving him many a gray hair." Alberik snorted. She walked around me examining me like a prize pig, occasionally poking or touching me. I looked over her at Eric, the top of her head barely reached the top of my breasts, who was regarding us curiously. "My, you have progressed nicely. I see your power has increased, though is still not fully utilized."

"Hello, Dr. Ludwig. It is nice to see you."

"Hmm?" She looked up at me, distracted and confused that the pig spoke. "Oh, yes." She looked at my hair and at my fingers. "I told Niall there would be great power in you. I like being proven right."

She had? No one told me that. I looked at Eric sharply and she took notice. "You've had this one's blood?" and gestured to him. I nodded, shocked that she knew after being near us for all of 45 seconds. "That's the source of your increased magic. Keep it up, it will only help. Why haven't you bonded yet?" My mouth fell open and three others around the room followed suit. Did she know what I ate today and what color my underwear were, too? "Hello?" she snapped her fingers at me as if I were slow.

I looked down at her, then up at Eric, then down at her again. "We were considering it, but there's been quite a bit going on lately that took precedence. It's not exactly something we were rushing into, after knowing each other for only a few days."

"Oh bull. You two are fated, why put it off? And as far as there being a lot going on, get used to that, it will be a constant."

Silence for a full minute.

"Did you just say we are fated, Doctor?"

She looked over at him, directly acknowledging him for the first time. "I did, Northman. I'm disappointed at you that you have not bonded her to you already. I expected you to know better. You have been foretold of this event, have you not?"

He paled, if that was possible, his eyes went round and to his credit he looked very shocked. Lucky for him, because if he hadn't, I was going to give him quite a talking to, if he knew something like that and didn't tell me. His voice was very quiet and far away, "That was so many centuries ago...I thought it was a dream and no one ever knew of it but me."

"It was a dream, Vampire. Have you not heard of prophetic dreams?" He looked down at her and nodded, still in a state of disbelief, then looked at me with a strange look I couldn't identify-was it awe?

She looked between the two of us, "You two need to hash some things out, it seems." She hiked herself up on a stool with surprising agility. "Who do I have to tip to get a scotch?" Pam went behind the bar, poured her a drink, also heating some bloods for her and Alberik.

"So, is this why, lately he can take substantial amounts of blood and it has no draining effects on me? In fact, the more he took today, the better I felt." Eric looked at me, half surprised, half pleased at that little tidbit.

"Most likely it is an effort to encourage the blood sharing, to get you two to bond. It wouldn't surprise me if you said you were drawn to have him drink from you, from the start. And if you wanted to drink from him, in return. The magic in you two is strong and heavily woven together-the physical part is all that is missing. Fate is pushing for it, but you are fighting it."

Again I couldn't hide my shock. I guess now I understood why I was always drawn to his fangs, and him, like a moth to a flame.

"Is this all something my grandfather knows, Dr. Ludwig?"

"I am not going to speak for him. But in his defense, he may have had specific instructions from The Council or The Ancient Pythoness, for all I know. If he sent you here, he had to at least be guaranteed your safety by someone. He would not have sent you in here unprepared and vulnerable. Tell me, was there any protection spell cast over you before you came?"

"I have been trained well in defense, all my life, and can handle my own safety, thank you." I didn't like the implication there was some omnipotent power or person guarding me. I could defend myself. "And yes, Grandfather masked my scent before I came. Though actually, I forgot about that until now...Is that still a factor? Am I still being masked, or..?"

"I have a feeling there was no spell needed. You were destined for him, Sookie. Fate would not allow harm to come to you by his hand. Or fangs." she snickered at her own joke. "Speak with Niall. He will tell you the truth, or most of it, now that you know to ask the right questions."

Pam snorted, "Fairies."

"Why is that one" she gestured to Pam "not chomping at the bit to drain you now?"

"I influenced her and her urge to eat me hasn't returned. Yet."

Ludwig's eyebrows shot up, "Nice. That is a handy trait to have around vampires. And why does that one" she jerked her head toward Alberik "also not attack you, yet smells of you?"

"That is one of the reasons we asked you to come." I explained the ritual and potion we used to find him while she resumed poking and prodding me with utensils from her bag. When I finished, asking her if she knew just how we were all tied together, she said, "You already know the answer to your question, dear. Whatever magic you used to extrude Alberik's blood from Northman's, clearly bonded all three of you in some way. Though, what way is to be determined by you all. Alberik has not directly had your blood so he may only be bonded by default because of his tie to Eric."

"Eric's brother, can you sense Sookie?"

"No." She nodded. "See? He is only tied to you indirectly, thankfully enough to be immune to your scent but nothing more. Which is good since we do not know how that might affect a permanent vampire bond."

"Sheriff, you are immune to her as well as her cousins?"

"Yes." How the hell did she know this shit?

"Eric's brother?"

"I am only immune to Sookie, as best we can tell. I had a strong reaction to her cousins' scents. But that was last night and I was starved at that moment."

She nodded again. "You should test that out once, if your cousins are willing." and knocked back her drink. Wow, for someone so small, she could hold her liquor.

"Do you know anything about Phaedra?" Dr. Ludwig's head rotated around so slowly and completely, she looked like an owl. "Why do you ask?" She was very tense now.

I sighed, and filled her in on the rest of the story I had omitted when telling her about Alberik, which meant she now knew everything that was going on with the fairies, at The Palace and with my vampires. I wasn't overly comfortable with outsiders having that information. But I knew she knew a lot of things about a lot of Supes and she seemed to be pretty straight forward, more so than my own Grandfather. Eric also told her about his run-in with her years ago.

"She is a dangerous and completely insane. This is not good news if she is involved in the fighting amongst your kind. She probably feels the need to cause more chaos and take an entire species down with her. Does Niall or The Council know of this?"

"No. Claude went to our realm, to make sure our grandfather was safe, once we learned of Preston's treachery, but he never mentioned Phaedra to him. He didn't know it was relevant. And Grandfather has forbid me to come there. Apparently there have been more direct attacks on The Palace and he wants me to stay here, under watch of my cousins."

"More likely, to stay under the protection of your vampire."

I really wanted some answers from dear old Grandad. If all this Fate stuff, me being destined for Eric business was true, why wouldn't he just tell me, instead of the ruse he concocted. Oops, I had tuned out for a minute.

"...And most of this would fit her style. Breandan's sudden madness, and sudden push to seize power over the Sky Fairy. If she had a thing for our Sheriff, here, she probably encouraged him to approach Eric, telling Breandan it was to get him on their side, but truthfully wanting him for herself, once she learned of Godric's passing. When Northman declined, she probably told him to kidnap either Pam or Alberik to blackmail him, knowing he would do anything to get them back. Also, the madness of the fairies torturing Alberik and reeking of his blood-fairies would never intentionally drink vampire blood. She had to have drugged them. Or Breandan, if he's that far gone."

I gave you Eric a "told you so" look.

"I'm surprised she didn't approach you directly, offering to rule all of Faery by her side, while you drained the entire population. She's that mad."

"Breandan offered something similar. He offered me an endless supply of fairies on tap. Or my own personal hybrid. That was one of the first red flags that went up."

Ugh, that made me want to throw up.

"I normally try to stay as far away from Supe politics as possible. But now knowing Phaedra is involved, this cannot be taken lightly and could have a ripple effect on all of us. I will go through the proper channels and contact The Council. I should get going now. Hopefully, I have answered some questions for you. Northman, you will get a bill. You may call on me again, if any other health related issues arise." As almost an after thought, "Alberik, you look much better than when I last saw you. Are you feeling well?"

"I am."

"Good, then I will leave. Nice to see you, little halfling fairy, stay out of trouble, though I doubt that will ever happen." She cackled. "You two have things to talk about and a bond to make, so stop delaying. When Fate is involved, there is a reason. No questioning it." She slid off the stool and gathered her bag.

On a whim, I asked, "Doctor, do you know if a vampire could function and move around normally in Fae, if he went during the night period and if he was hidden during the day?"

She looked back at me with a knowing glance and a cocked brow, "Its possible, if he had the right connections, he could do a lot of things that might just surprise us all." She winked at me. "Northman. Pam. Alberik." She nodded to them, then walked out the back door.

"Sookie, why did you ask that?" Eric asked softly.

"Well, we know now, that vampires can survive in Faery and don't explode upon arrival, or some such myth, as evidenced by Alberik. So, the next logical thought to me, are the terms for survival there, if one were to go willingly, I mean."

"I see. Did you have plans for 'one' to go there?"

"I was merely asking, Eric. Just educating myself on all the unknowns..."

Alberik and Pam laughed.

"What?"

"Fairies. You don't say 'yes' or 'no', but 'I was merely asking'", Alberik mimicked my voice, "when you were clearly asking her for a reason."

"You know what?" I was getting a little tired of hearing it, honestly. Or maybe I was just getting cranky. "I don't say 'Vampires' all shmarmy, every time the wind blows and you drop fang or flare your nostrils at me, which is all the time. You guys can all kiss my fairy ass."

The Trouble Twins, as I now called them in my mind, looked at each other, then at me, then pretended to advance on me, presumably to kiss my ass, but Eric swooped me up. "Lips off. And fangs and hands, Pamela. The only one kissing this delicious ass is me."

He made a big production of tickling and groping me, knowing I was irate and trying to lighten my mood. It worked, though I was getting a little aroused by it. I swear, I could get aroused watching him make a ham sandwich. Pam started to get a little fidgety and anxious. "Pam, are the effects starting to wear off?"

"I believe so." She looked guilty and paced.

Alberik offered a solution. "Apparently, some fun is in store for my brother and his woman. Let us be scarce. I am in need of some sustenance, Pamela, of both kinds. Do you have any friends we can show a good time?"

"I do. Blonde, brunette or red-head?"

"Do I have to choose, or can we have one of each?"

She giggled merrily and he leered at her. Good grief. They barely said goodbye, their arms slung around each others' waist, heads together, plotting, thick as thieves.

"Speaking of sustenance, lover, I need to feed you. You need your strength if we are to bond. Tonight." He eyed me meaningfully and I gulped in anticipation.