A/N: You all, I am super nervous about this chapter and the remaining ones. I hope you like it. This may be the longest or second longest chapter of Sookie Ever After, but I didn't want to break it apart; lots of people, vampires, and other creatures are going to want to talk to - and dance with - our Sookie. Warning for discussion of rape.

Disclaimer: characters belong to Charlaine Harris, I'm just making them talk about some things.

The business meeting was officially over, and the vampires and guests stood and mingled throughout the ballroom. The E(E)E and hotel staff started pulling the rows of chairs into stacks and ferrying them away, setting them instead at round tables being placed along the sides of the room. The council's table and equipment were also whisked away, and a small jazz combo began setting up on stage. As I took in all the activity from a seat at one of the linen-covered tables, Mr. Cataliades appeared and sat beside me.

"Well done, child. I must say, you may have reduced demand for certain of my services somewhat, but I find I am quite glad for it. The vampires have needed to civilize for some time. I'm proud that you were able to make them see it."

I still didn't know if there were special rules about thanking demons, so I told him, "I was glad to have your advice. I hope it works out."

Mr. C. nodded. "Oh, I expect it will be quite beneficial. I've started drawing up a list of potential terms for your work with the council. I'll have Diantha send those over for your review within the next few days."

"How is Diantha? I was hoping to see her here." She was always interesting, and I thought she'd accompany Mr. C. to something like this.

"She has been quite occupied, but I understand we may see her tomorrow evening at the festivities. I must attend to some other business now, but I will see you tomorrow as well..."

I interrupted him before he could finish. "Mr. Cataliades? Before you go..." He turned back with a quizzical expression. "Why didn't the contract specify that only vampires under Freyda's control would break the contract by harming me?" I couldn't understand why they'd let something like that slip.

Mr. C. gave me a proud smile. "King Northman was quite insistent, and as you know committed an extra hundred years to ensure his provisions were met. However, I find that burying carefully crafted language in an uninteresting 'assets' section can often help ensure the desired results." He actually winked at me.

I grinned broadly at my sponsor. "Ah, I forgot, demon and lawyer. You're the best, Mr. C." I gave him a sincerely respectful nod, which he returned.

"Felicitations, Sookie."

With that, the semi-demon stood and disappeared into the crowd. I wasn't alone for long, though, because Karin plopped down next to me almost immediately. She must have been waiting nearby so Mr. C. and I could talk. Karin looked at me respectfully, and told me, "Very well done, Sookie. The changes you set in motion will be good for us all, especially my father. Thank you."

"Thank you, Karin. I've really appreciated your support and company these last few weeks. That reminds me, now that the contract is void, I suppose you're no longer my guard." I would miss having her around, now that she wasn't commanded to stick with me.

"This is true. If you approve, I would like to remain on duty until I am able to see you back to your home and collect my things. I do not wish to leave this job unfinished, and I find that I enjoy your company. Once this is done, I would like to return to my father and support him as the new King. If this suits you." I wondered why Karin was being so formal with me now, but then I realized - she was giving me the same deference she'd give a "real" council member.

"Karin, listen, I know you might feel the need to act a certain way in public now, but please, I want you to relax around me in private. I've enjoyed the time we've spent together, and I'd like to think of us as friends. Promise me?"

The killer vampire's shoulders relaxed a little, and she thanked me before I continued.

"I totally understand that you want to go help Eric, especially since Pam will be in Shreveport. I hate that we won't be able to continue our fighting lessons, but I'll cope." I smiled at her, trying to steer the conversation to less serious fare, but her next words puzzled me.

"We will still be able to fight. I look forward to seeing your progress. You're quite a warrior, Sookie."

I blushed a little. "But won't you come back to New Orleans to stay? I can't drive down here all the time, and it's a little far for you…"

I didn't finish my thought before Karin rose to her feet, responding mysteriously before she too disappeared into the mingling crowd: "We shall see, Sookie Stackhouse, we shall see."

I should have realized the events of the evening would make me a popular person to talk to. When I saw Barry headed my way, I stood and intercepted him. "Hey, Barry. Follow me over to the bar?" He nodded, and we made mental small talk along the way. Once I had my gin and tonic and Barry had his Abita, we hovered by a high round table that was perfectly sized for a couple of people to stand around drinking and talking. Of course, we did most of it telepathically.

"So, Barry, how have you been? Did you know this was coming?" I didn't want to give away that Barry's employer Stan had been involved, in case Stan hadn't told him.

"No, no idea. Stan just told me we had to get over here for the meeting, and that I'd probably see you. I didn't think you'd actually come, now that you're not with the new King over there. Makes sense now." Barry eyed Eric cautiously; he assumed we were getting back together.

"Stan seems to be doing much better now." The vampire King had been slow in recuperating from the serious injuries he'd sustained at Rhodes. His second, Joseph Velasquez, had been doing a lot of the heavy lifting until recent months.

"He is. It was a slow recovery at first, but once we rooted out the traitors, he could take it a little easier." My raised eyebrows showed my surprise; I hadn't heard anything about this. Barry continued, "I was seeing this gal Erica, who was a donor for a local vampire. I caught from her that her vamp was plotting to kill both Stan and Joseph, and was the cause of a lot of trouble we'd been having. We found out when they planned to attack, set a trap, and executed the whole lot of them."

Barry answered my unasked question: "Erica lived. She's one of Joseph's donors now. Anyway, that was a few months ago, and not having to fight insurrection around the clock helped Stan get better, I think." It was probably also why he'd been so receptive to my plan. I just nodded at Barry, who told me more about his work and girlfriend, and I let him know a little about what my new work would entail. He was surprised I was going to stay in Bon Temps, but I explained I could do a lot of work remotely, then just travel for events like this one.

By the time we finished our drinks, the jazz combo had started up with some lively New Orleans music, so I asked Barry if he wanted to dance. We'd had fun dancing at the previous summit, and I winked before reassuring him, "Don't worry, there are no territorial blondes this time." Barry thought back at me, "Yeah, right," but followed me out to the parquet dance floor.

For a little while, we discussed nothing, we thought about nothing, we just shook our booties and laughed. It was great. I felt weeks' worth of tension sliding out of my body, and gave Barry a big hug and a peck on the cheek after a few songs. "Thanks, Barry! See you tomorrow?"

"You know it, Sookie. Save me a dance." I felt glad that my intervention would probably help Barry stay safe, too.

I headed back up to the bar to grab another drink. I didn't want to have too much since I was sort of still working, but I figured I'd danced out most of the first one. When I turned away from the bar, I ran smack into Eric, flanked by Pam and Karin. I took a step back, and Pam gave me an appraising look, then actually hugged me. "Sookie! As always I enjoyed watching you dance. Congratulations on your new appointment."

With a big smile, I told her, "Thanks, Pam! Wanna dance with me next?" She arched an eyebrow suggestively and opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a stern-faced Eric. "Pam, Karin, leave us." Well, damn. So much for having fun.

I swished the cocktail straw around in my drink, took a large swallow, and steeled myself. "What's up, Eric, can I help you with something?"

With more sarcasm than playfulness, he responded, "Yes, Sookie, I would very much like for you to help me with something. It seems, however, that I will be too busy becoming the King of Louisiana to get much help with anything."

"Oh, c'mon, Eric. I know you'll make time to get help from somebody, probably lots of somebodies. Now what's up? Did you just come to tell me you're mad about being King? Because I'm actually having fun, and I don't particularly want to be yelled at by a big Viking vampire."

Eric just stared into my eyes inscrutably before answering quietly, "No, Sookie, I did not come to yell at you, and I am not angry about becoming King. I did not seek it out, but the circumstances are likely to be much better now thanks to your intervention." I froze. "Yes, I am aware that all of this was your idea. The Queen of Alabama just told me everything, and ordered me to thank you profusely for your role in freeing me from Freyda, making me King, and making it much less perilous to be so."

I grinned; Alabama was making sure Eric knew he owed me. "I like that one, Alabama, she gets me." I took another large swig of my drink, and noticed a slow song had started. "So, Eric, if we need to have some kind of talk, can we at least do it while dancing? I've been working my butt off for weeks for this. I deserve some fun."

"Of course." I left my glass behind and headed out to the dance floor once more. Eric slid one cool arm behind my back, and clasped my hand in his. He leaned into my neck and inhaled, then asked in a whisper, "So tell me Sookie, why did you do it?"

"Oh, you know, it seemed the thing to do…" I knew evasion wouldn't work, but I tried it anyway.

Eric responded simply: "Bullshit."

I sighed, and swallowed hard so I wouldn't tear up. "Eric, I know you never really wanted to be King. I promise, that was not really the point of the plan, although it sort of seems obvious now. I didn't do it to get back at you, or to get back with you, or anything like that. It was never really about you - or us together - at all. I just wanted to do something that would make it harder for vampires to try to take and use me constantly. I wanted to not worry so much about you, and Pam, and all the rest, after we were separated. I did want you to have a little bit of safety and freedom from Freyda, if you could get it. Mostly I wanted to take care of myself."

Eric studied me closely, then asked, "Why would you care about what happened to me, after everything? After Freyda?" This was the hard part to explain, and not for the reasons he would think. I started steering us to a less occupied part of the dance floor.

"Eric, listen. I never wanted to talk about this with you, any of it. As you told me once, 'I have loved you' and…" I paused and gathered my courage, then forced myself to speak. "You're not the only rape survivor here. I know you're from a time when arranged marriages were common, and you wouldn't call being contractually obligated to screw Freyda rape. She's beautiful and I'm sure you'd enjoy her, but you wouldn't really have a choice, because she had all the power over you - over whether you lived or died. I know vampires are different, and maybe I'm wrong to see it this way, but...you told me about your maker, and I...on top of everything else, how I felt about you...I couldn't let you go through that again. Not if I could help it. I just wanted you to have a real choice, without Freyda or Felipe or your maker hanging over you. I couldn't stand somebody else owning you like that."

With that, the threatened tear slid finally down my cheek, and Eric pulled me close to his chest, rubbing my back to soothe me. After a moment, he pulled back a little and asked very quietly, "But Sookie, you told me your uncle…"

I stared up at him, baffled. Did he really not know? Was that even possible? "Eric, not Uncle Bartlett. Bill."

Eric's face filled with rage. "When? I will kill him." He had dropped his arms completely, and his fangs, and looked around the ballroom trying to spot Bill. I stepped forward and made him wrap his arms back around me while I thought of how I wanted to respond. Honestly, I found it difficult to believe he didn't know already. Eric knew exactly what starving vampires were like. I thought it was more likely that he'd conveniently ignored it the same way he'd wanted to ignore his feelings for me at the time. Then again, I hadn't called that incident what it really was for a long time, either.

"In Jackson, Eric. When you found me and Bill in that trunk? When you asked me if I would always walk away from my relationships when things got 'rocky?' It's not like I was…" I lowered my voice. "It's not like I was fucking Bill in that trunk of my own free will. Things were 'rocky' because - on top of everything - he raped me, Eric. Sure he was hurt, and Debbie Pelt shoved me in there in the first place, but he raped and drained me, and once again I almost died because of you all."

I didn't tell him about that time, so long ago, when I'd had sex with Bill in the graveyard - when Bill was so angry I thought he'd kill me if I didn't. To be honest, Eric's situation reminded me as much or more of terrible night than it did the trunk - sex you only chose to avoid worse consequences, whether you'd end up enjoying it or not. I knew what he would do if I told him, though, on top of what he'd already heard.

Eric was speechless, but I needed to make one thing very clear. "Eric, promise me not to kill, harm, or otherwise seek revenge on Bill. Or to order or ask or glamor anyone else into doing it. If I can order you as honorary council member not to do anything, then I order you. I let a lot of things go while Lochlan and Neave were slicing strips off me, and in the aftermath. I get to decide who needs to be punished for what's been done to me, not you. I wasn't yours then and I'm not yours now. I'm still angry, but I've forgiven Bill, and that's that."

Eric hugged me close again, and I rested my head against his chest as we swayed to the music; he stroked my hair, and I felt soothed and content, if just for the moment. Softly, he finally told me, "I promise not to kill the asshole. You're a better woman than any of us deserve, Councilwoman Stackhouse."

"Don't I know it, King Northman." Then the song ended, breaking the magic, and we let go of each other's bodies and went our separate ways.

I realized that most of the eyes in the ballroom were on us. I needed to shake off the moment, so I decided the best plan was to grab one more drink, dance to some fast songs, then head up to bed. I tried to switch up who I danced with, and who I talked to, and I made a point of chatting with each of the council members before retiring for the evening. Now that I was "official," I'd have to pay close attention to making sure I socialized with them adequately. I finally made it back to my hotel room feeling like I'd done remarkably well tonight.

I activated the special blinds that all of Blood in the Quarter's rooms had to make them light-tight, stripped off my shoes, jewelry, and clothes, and climbed right into the soft bed without showering or setting an alarm clock. Tomorrow was another day, but tonight all I needed was sleep.

A/N: To be clear, I don't think all arranged marriages situations equal rape. I do think that, given her experiences, Sookie would very much value the choice aspect of consent and not feel that Eric really had one. We know how she feels about being forced into anything herself. Whether Eric really did have more of a choice about Freyda is not as important at the moment as how our Sookie perceived it - she's the one who called it a cushy form of slavery in DEA, after all. Sookie has also been raised in an area where she would not really have been exposed to arranged marriage, which is going to be a factor in her perceptions of it.

I think we can safely assume that's not where Eric expected the conversation to go. They're not done talking just yet, though. Five more chapters to go.

Eric's POV on this and the aftermath is on my list of possible side stories...