This site just can't get right! From now I am just going to advice that you all check the site every four days for an update some people do not receive alerts myself included. The pace I am setting for myself is four days. Okay enough of me ragging on the website…after all free stuff is good stuff.

It makes me laugh though it shouldn't that Gideon is getting under the skin of so many of you. It excites me it was how I envisioned his personality.

This Chapter goes out to Lyely. Hooray; Hazzah; Yippee and well just plain great. Thanks for all the little drops of encouragement.

Eric

Chapter Fifteen

A Bad Feeling

When it came time for us to part ways Sookie became apprehensive. I smiled and kissed her. As of late there has always been an air of caution around all that she did. I have tried but she could feel the traces of underlying anxiety that surrounded my emotions when she was not around. I suspected she was misinterpreting it. I did not want her to feel she was the cause of it because she wasn't. I was never fully at peace unless I was with her. The knowledge that she was with child amplified that feeling and it grew in force everyday. No matter how much I could rationalize or justify it I couldn't make her a prisoner in our home even if that was safest. I walked her inside and found that the damages I had done to the structure had been renovated. The fairy had been kind enough to send me a bill. I paid it with no questions asked.

"How mad do you think she'll be if I drain her uncle?" Gideon asked. He was being playful- mostly. There was still a wistful tenor to his voice that told me he very much wanted to do just that. Ordering him about all the time would not teach him to think on his own. I may as well sentence him to death. I answered his somewhat rhetorical question with outmost honesty that cautioned him.

"If you want a taste of fairy he is not the one to start with" The look calculating expression on his face vanished. I could see that he had been considering his chances of tasting fairy blood and not killing the fairy but also not being wounded in the encounter. Such a scenario held a promise of death for one or the other. With his ability he may stand a chance against Dermot but the victory would not be easy. In the event he won I would not be enough to save him from Pam's vengeance nor Sookie's wrath. He adhered to caution. He sighed longingly and moved into the shadows with me; across the cemetery and towards Compton's home. I had no doubt that he was able to survive in the worst of places on very little but Bill's accommodations would not agree with him. He was a person of modern conveniences. Gideon saw Compton's home. He looked at me as if we were lost. Then he let out a long whistle.

"S-H-I-T hooole" He finally whispered. It was my suspicion that he made that comment for Bill's benefit. I had found the one and only thing my children had in common. They both enjoyed getting a rise out of Bill. It was his own fault. He made it all too easy. Compton was visible on the side of his house. He did not respond to Gideon's quip but he did not succeed in appearing unaffected by it either. This was his family home and dated back many generations. Perhaps that explained why he was allowing it to resemble a mausoleum; it would serve as a time capsule to a place that was familiar and dear to him. It was just a guess. I had always had some difficulty understanding Compton not to say I had expended a great deal of mental aptitude trying.

"Your majesty" He bowed at me and included my child in the gesture. In terms of ranking Gideon surpassed him even though he was his elder. We returned his greeting. The only details that I provided Bill were that he was to provide a safe place for Gideon to rest. From the looks of Gideon he was going to use this as an opportunity to test his abilities to survive in the wild. He showed me an image of the cemetery and didn't think there was much of a difference between that and Bill's house. My lip twitched as I fought a smile. I believe Gideon is what humans referred to as an asshole. I gave him approval for his request. He was free to rest where he chose as long as he did not stray form here and chance upon other vampires. That would raise too many questions of my whereabouts.

I pointed across the night in the direction of the house. "Bill, Sookie is there" His annoyance with Gideon faded and he immediately came to attention. I informed him of her location because I knew he would wonder to that part of the woods anyway. I cannot recall the last time their paths crossed but I knew it would please him to have her close by even for one night; even from a distance.

"I am assigning you and Gideon to keep watch over her but keep your distance unless there is need" The last part of my order did not diminish the light in Bill's eye. I dismissed him and he wasted no time. He flitted shamelessly in the direction of Sookie's home; to glimpse at what he once had. He simply couldn't help himself. It should trouble me but it did not. It was reassuring. I knew as long as his feelings for her endured I could count on him to die for her eagerly.

"Here" Gideon handed me several knives in sheaths. He strapped one to each on my ankles. I took a tall dagger and hid it in the inside of my light jacket. He would have kept hiding weapons on my person but I needed to travel light and fast. He was doing this to ease his anxiety of Pam and I strolling into enemy territory. We tried to come up with a means for him to travel with me but nothing was feasible. The drive was too long for us to return in the same night and if we drove we ran a higher risk of being seen. Pam was older and tasks like this suited her. She had a good nose for trouble. She had always excelled at any tasks that required stealth. For something like this there was no one else I would bring.

Gideon knew all the proper steps and procedures to follow in the result of my final death. It was a possibility that I had prepared for. In that eventuality his orders were clear and simple: secure the queen; flee to France. "Do not leave the area until I return" His face hardened but he nodded. I handed him my phone and wallet then I took off into the night air.

"Show off" He muttered dejectedly. I laughed.

It has been a long time since Pam and I headed out like this. It felt familiar. I had lost some time in making the drive to Bon temps but Pam few slower than I did. I intercepted her fifteen minutes outside of our target location. She was wearing knee length trench coat. I had several guesses as to what she was hiding underneath. She saw me looking and grinned. We paired up and flew the rest of the way in silence. Our feet touched down on the roof top of a building at the same time in the same movement we crouched down to await our quarry.

Pam felt more like herself in this proximity especially with her focus on something that suited her particular assets. But I knew she had been hurting-she was still hurting. She had never allowed anything to counter her naturally mordant sense of humor. However during the past few weeks Tristan had worried for his maker. He made several calls to Louisiana imploring me to give her blood. He tried any and all things he could think of to lift her spirits but to no avail. I refused his requests and suggest he block her emotions as I was doing. Her misery was of her own making. If she did not want Dermot then she should free herself of him however she saw fit. If that was who she wanted then she should make him hers completely. The way she handled it disappointed me because I had trained her to be more decisive and precise in her actions whatever they may be.

Our rest point was fifty stories off the ground and our target was not set to arrive for an hour or so. I wanted to talk to her. "Did you get your mural replaced" I asked casually. Her lips mashed into a hard line and her eyes were jaded and sad. She did not answer me immediately. As I looked at her now she did not seem to have the same color about her as she did when she had been with the fairy or before she had known him. She was not my Pam.

"No. It is still in pieces" That answer was directed at more than my question.

"Have you tried to fix it?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure I want to. I do not even know where to begin if I did but mostly I am not sure that I should" Her hands were wrapped around her knees and her posture was one of resignation. I couldn't be sure but I was sure my child had just committed an act of cowardice-odd. This was very unlike her. Her entire statement had been a lie. She knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it.

My tone was cold. "I do not think he hit your head hard enough or perhaps he hit you too hard" She said nothing and the conversation died for a few minutes.

"What am I supposed to do?" The anger that I had felt brewing inside her leaked into her tone. "I had something good and I fucked it up! You were right. Tristan was right. Now can you please tell me what to do! Save your wisdom and your guidance. Master please, just please tell me what to do to make him come back" Her lip was trembling and knew she was fighting to keep her tears unshed.

I pulled her from her position and held her to me much like I did the first night she woke to this life. She clung to me and all her pain was suddenly pressed to the surface. It told me she had been making an effort to suppress it all in order to enjoy the time we had together. I found the bond we shared within me and flooded it with calm. I hushed her with a gentle rocking. Pam was no longer my only child or my second in command. While I had no sympathy in the matter I still regretted her suffering. Her happiness was of great importance to me it always been.

My hand was brushing her displaced hairs back towards the band that held them up from her face. "No one, not I even I can provide you with that answer" Her face was still in my chest but she nodded slowly. She already knew as much. Had I known what to do I would not offer her the solution. I did not know the exact reasons that surrounded the ending of her affair with Dermot. I knew it could have been prevented had she already learned the lesson she was asking me to explain to her now. She was young. Her error was made through inexperience and fear of things that she could not control. It caused her to lose sight of things that she indeed had control over. Pam was smart. Whether it was matters of the heart or politics I was confident she would prevail.

I held her and waited for her to regain her composure. It did not take long. She lingered because my contact brought relief that went deeper than what she had felt for months. I was thinking of a simpler time. When it just Pam and myself we hunted and enjoyed each other's bodies and worried nothing of the world around us. We have weathered many storms together, some I only survived because of her. Everything was different now. I was going to be a father in the biological sense and she had a kingdom to rule and a husband whose steps she had to monitor.

"Sookie is with child" I whispered. I could repeat that phrase a thousand times and it would still sound new. There was a smile on my face and it threw Pam. She was expecting my despair at her seemingly obvious infidelity. In the same manner I explained to Gideon I explained it to her. She had more of an idea what a gift it was she was still rendered speechless.

"How did she take it?" she finally asked. She had pulled from my hold and was sitting with her legs folded under her.

I let out a sigh. "Typical Sookie"

"She ran" Pam said those words with absolute certainty. I nodded even though it really wasn't question. She thought over it. A smile that lit her blue eyes suddenly painted her face.

"A baby shower" She said. I shook my head. She had a long standing obsession with human rituals and rites of passage especially those that pertained to femininity. We fell into a companionable silence.

Despite her emotions of prior Pam became the sentinel I trained her to be. As the task at hand drew closer there were no remnants of intimacy we shared. There was only single minded ferocity. We descended in the back lot of the building. Curtis was pulling in with his people. He was traveling light because he was deep within his comfort zone. On my mark Pam and I nosedived off the roof and crept into the shadows. She landed directly in front of them I was directly at their backs.

All at once they shifted into defensive positions. Snarls exploded through exposed fangs. We remained where we were. I folded my arms. This was for Pam to handle. I was here because I did not trust Isaiah to cover her back and Tristan was not strong enough in the event they tested her.

Pam looked bored and glanced furtively at her finger nails as if it would ease the tedium of their hostile display. "Had we wanted you dead it would already been so" she was looking directly at Curtis. He looked like he was contemplating making a run for it. "Curtis calm yourself" She chided. He glared at her but took her words to heart. He stood tall and squared his shoulders. "That's more like it" Pam encouraged. Her tone was mocking. We all knew if a fight broke out Pam and I would walk away from it. He waved his guards away. The promise of violence that surrounded the scene dissipated. "I have come to talk to you" He nodded for her to continue. "You have nothing to fear from myself or my husband or our sister state. We mean you no harm but I know very well what you did. I know you are not alone. Give us your accomplice and you will receive complete amnesty"

Curtis laughed completely unabashed at the accusation. He did not bother pretending not knowing what Pam was speaking of. It could all be forgotten. We were vampires his attempt on her life was nothing personal. She was a threat it was as far as it went. "I am not a fool Ravenscroft" That was still yet to seen. "I do not want amnesty I want in on the alliance" His eyes moved to me and he answered the question of his foolishness. "I will give you whatever you desire" His lips wrapped round the last word like a caress. Marrying him was beneath me on so many levels it was not worth labeling. Pam smiled.

Pam gave a carefree wave of her hand. "Keep your coconspirator" She took a step closer. Her distance wasn't threatening or even disrespectful. She stood eye to eye with a vampire four hundred years her senior. "I do not need to know that I have other more important knowledge. I know you fear the boundaries of Amun closing in about you. I know you fear being herded into a place where your age affords you nothing" Curtis's second was barely able to contain his aggression. Pam ignored him. "Fear is a disease and you my friend are rank with it. It is enough to make one foolish" My eyes were on Curtis and his second. I could see he was considering the probability of her words. I did not hear his response; I just saw his lips moving but my mind was far away. Something was beginning to feel off key.

Usually when those who are dead lurk in the night animals had the instinct to avoid them. It went without saying that as we congregated in the night it was quiet for miles around; no birds; no insects; nothing. It hadn't been this quiet when we arrived. The quiet that we were in was too profound. I could not hear the leaves rustle in the cool breeze of the night. It was time to go. I signaled Pam and she vanished as if she had never been.

"Think about it Curtis" I would guess he had many thoughts when I followed into the air after Pam. None of those thoughts were the offer he had been made. We narrowly avoided the ambush that was meant for him. Pam had not flown off as I thought. She was a great distance from the place we had been. Her form was hidden behind a tree and I found a similar hiding place close beside her. From this distance I could see they were buried in bodies. We remained still and quiet as Curtis and his people were wiped out. Curtis fought bravely but it wasn't enough. They stood no chance.

Pam and I watched without being seen. We wanted no parts of this. In fact it would cause many problems if anyone spotted us at the scene of his final death. The last thing either of us needed was to be accused of not following protocol. Our objective was now to leave as soon as possible without joining the conflict or being seen.

What troubled me was from where I was I should have been able to decipher who the assailant had been. They had to be vampires. That was just an assumption because it would have taken many more of another species to overwhelm Curtis. I eyed Pam. She appeared to be concentrating intently but she also appeared perplexed. I knew she was having the same trouble. We were attempting to catch a scent but we were not downwind as not to give our positions away. The smell of blood and ash was heavy in the night. Had they been vampires?

Pam moved slightly just a small shift from her place to allow herself a better chance to make a visual identification. It drew attention of the attackers that were now cleaning the scene. Luckily the back door of the building opened. Humans with no connotation of the dangers they were in stopped their advance in our direction. Pam and I waited a few minutes before we made our departure. The minute we took off we made for the quickest exit out of Alabama. We did not stop until we well passed Mississippi and Pam literally had one foot in Arkansas the other was in a desolate grey area between our two states. I had both of mine set firmly within the borders of my lands.

"That was a waste" She mused out loud.

I nodded in accent. "Someone saved us the trouble" The question was who. Eliza was the most likely suspect. It may have been her intent to end him once he had served his purpose. Either that he was deemed a threat to whoever else he had been working with I had no doubt he had an accomplice. My only lead was gone. More importantly he would solve the Eliza problem had he cooperated. I was inclined to suspect that someone was attempting to frame us but it was close to impossible. No one knew we would be there aside from her child and mine. The information I came across was public knowledge. Curtis frequented that place. He owned it in part. A set up was not very likely. If someone came to take Curtis out and knew two other royals would be present and unguarded. It was an impossible temptation. They either would have come with enough force to overwhelm us all or the proper means to frame us thoroughly for the crime but neither happened. All that was left to do now was to wait and watch; a frustrating an unappealing prospect.

The trek back home form the border of my state was slow. There were many hours before dawn and I wanted to think things through.

Half way between Shreveport and Monroe I caught an unmistakable aroma: fairy. It was not Dermot. He had become very familiar to my scenes. I stopped walking and took up a defensive position.

"I come in peace" a serene voice called from the shadows. I could pin point the direction of the voice but only a vague outline of the owner. I remained on my post and waited for him to show himself entirely. This Fae was not familiar but he held some resemblance that I could not place at the moment. He showed himself and I could see he was alone. His steps were slow and fluid and exuded the grace that was all but guaranteed for his species. He placed himself directly underneath me and waited for me to descend.

I had never been a believer in coincidences this encounter was as far from one as it could get. His mouthwatering scent pulled at the string of my concentration but I forced myself to focus. No fairy would seek out a vampire or remain in the vicinity where one was walking in the night. The only way to figure out what he wanted was to talk to him. His scent was blowing freely in the wind. I kept my distance. I did not want to risk draining him until I knew what he wanted. There was a terse moment where we regarded one another. I appeared bored but I was analyzing him.

He appeared to be struggling with his words, not only that I could tell he was uncomfortable in this plane. I knew the portals were still sealed. Those who chose to stay were the once with attachment to this world. It was obvious he did not frequent this world. That in itself was a warning; his presence here was ill begotten.

"I have come to ask an audience with your queen. It is a matter of great importance" That was the wrong fucking thing to say. My face did not betray any emotion but I was contemplating tearing his head from his shoulders. Even if she were not carrying my children I would not have allowed it. The last fairy who had requested the same thing of me was Niall. In doing as he asked I had opened the door for all the horrors that Sookie suffered during the war and the ensuing pain the separation caused her in the end of it all; never again. Whatever he wanted Sookie for he could either tell me or he could leave while I was still unresolved on ending his life.

"I will determine the importance of the matter" I was not interested in the least. I wanted to know what the repercussions would be when I killed him. There was no longer an "if" in the matter. Fairies had to learn to keep their shit in their own world. Most importantly they had to learn to leave my wife out of it.

Sensing where this was going he opened his palms out to me. It was not so much a gesture of submission as it was to reiterate his accretion that he had come in peace. It finally came to me. The fairy in front of me resembled the Prince. The shape of his face was the same. He had also aged to the point where his face was wrinkled but not worn.

Niall had not granted her the ability to bare my children without expecting something in return. This was the payment. "I come to ask for her help. My people; our people need her" My fangs descended in response.

"I would not be here if there was any other way" I flew towards him. He skittered back several feet and vanished.

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That sums up chapter Fifteen so it seems we are making a supernatural cocktail: One part vampire, two parts were or shifter, one quarter Fae equals recipe for DISASTER!