Disclaimer: The True Blood Characters in this belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Another Disclaimer: I've created fictional backgrounds to characters where the appropriate background is either lacking or currently unknown. Original setting of this fanfic was during/after Season 2 of the TV Series.

Reviews: Are always desired and appreciated. Thanks again to all reviewers, old and new for such wonderful encouragement.

Note: I am always very keen to receive any form of critique. :)


Chapter 19

"Dawn"


Would Godric even take the bait? Eric wondered. He had left the underground room in a flight like no other. Completely unaware that Godric had overtaken him on the stairs and now awaited him in the ground level hall.

Here, Godric met him mid-air. Catching Eric with a single hand around the throat, before grand-slamming him straight into the marble floor. The whole house violently shook and the marble smashed and splintered into hundreds of shards and fragments. And, in that moment, knowing that his skull was cracked and every single other bone in his body was also likely broken; Eric was also aware, that Godric had pulled back on his strength. He had still not lost control.

Godric kept Eric pinned to the ground with a choking grip as he half knelt beside him and Eric's blood blurred vision met his maker's glacial glare.

With his fangs fully bared, the ancient Vampire spoke in a surprisingly calm tone as he looked down at his childe. His language had slipped into an old, lost Germanic tongue. A dialect so obscure, that neither had ever heard it spoken by any another. It had become their own 'secret' language, only spoken between them in the most sensitive of moments.

"Eric," Godric began solemnly. "Why do you persist in this way? You know that she is mine, and she will never belong to any other."

Eric, barely able to speak still managed to reply in an insolent manner. "You claim this, but yet you have failed to make her yours."

Godric was confounded. Eric had just been delivered a blow that left him fully incapacitated. He was at Godric's complete mercy and yet he still goaded him. Godric hissed softly and lowered his head threateningly.

"I can call you back to my side in an instant," he uttered.

Eric focussed with difficulty, his gaze vulnerable as it met that of his maker. "Then why don't you," he croaked out softly, his voice splintered with anguish. "We can be again like brothers. Fight once more - side by side."

Godric felt the ache within Eric - but misunderstood it.

"You are jealous of her?"

"No," Eric replied weakly. Although he had been a little jealous in the beginning, Eric no longer felt that way. "If you do not make her yours, I shall take her from you."

Eric felt the grip around his throat tighten and Godric flashed him a dangerous look.

Godric felt strangely wounded and yet very perplexed. Never had he seen Eric this way. Perhaps it was not a complete surprise. There was something not quite tangible about Elliane that left one spellbound. Could he even blame Eric? ….when he was himself, completely captivated by her strange paradox of fragility and strength. And as much as Eric might have wanted her, he simply couldn't have her. Godric however, also sensed there was something else beneath the surface of this, and it disturbed him greatly. He knew what had to be done.

"Eric," he began firmly and his voice grew a little harsher through out his statement. "As your maker, I command that you treat Elliane with a respect even higher than you hold of any other. You will never again attempt to glamour her. You will always protect her. You will never place her in any danger. You will never taste or partake of her in any form, unless she offers it of her own free will. You will never allow her to feel obliged to you…"

Godric would have continued in this way until he noticed that instead of feeling stricken by his words, Eric was filled with a sense of relief. Happy almost.

Eric was trembling in the effort to control his emotions while tears of blood flowed down the side of his eyes. Godric had been tempted to issue harsher commands, to forbid him all contact with her, but he knew that he had to leave something in all of this to chance. Too often, did Godric manipulate the outcome of his entire world and so easily, the world of others.

"Eric, what is wrong?" he asked. His harsher tone had softened slightly and he loosened his grip so that Eric could speak.

It was a while however before Eric replied. While Godric had spoken, Eric had become aware of a distinct change within the emotional matrix of his maker. For years he had been distant and unreachable, tottering dangerously close to the edge of oblivion. And while Eric had sensed a better change since the discovery of Elliane, it was not until this moment, that he felt that deeper spark. That lust again for life that he had always known of his maker.

"When a child has lost his father, what child would not rejoice at his return," said Eric, somewhat poignantly and as he raised his eyes at Godric, it was clear that he was obliterated by grief.

Godric drew a sharp breath and released the grip about his throat entirely, as waves of anguish and pain, flooded back to him through the bond he held with Eric.

"You knew," said Godric softly.

"Of course I knew," Eric replied in a hoarse whisper. The Viking was almost completely overwhelmed with emotion. "Did you think you had hidden it from me?" The despair in Eric's voice seemed to crack the air.

"I had hoped I had," said the soft reply. Godric then bit into his wrist and let the blood trickle down freely into Eric's throat, feeling Eric's torment with an enormous twist of guilt. When he was certain that Eric had taken enough of his blood to heal rapidly, he let his own wound heal over.

Eric," he said solemnly as the pulled Eric's up to his feet. "Do you remember the night I released you?"

"Yes," Eric replied softly. Eric could remember the night as clear as yesterday. The event had occurred within a decade of their association withFontevrault Abbey and its Abbess, Petronilla. "I did not want to go, and you insisted that it needed to be done."

"Eric, why have you never let me go as you were meant to? You are not meant to suffer my torments. You are free…" Godric looked at the haunted expression on Eric's face and sighed. "Admittedly, I released you reluctantly, but did so because I knew one day I might have to depart for good."

Eric instantly flared. "No! Now is not that time…!" His face almost crumpled with emotion.

Godric smiled a little then. A sympathetic smile and he cast his eyes to the second story floor, where he knew quite regretfully, that Elliane currently existed in a state of high anxiety.

"I couldn't agree more," he said with a clear gaze. "However, when the time does come, it will mean nothing that I have released you, if you have not allowed yourself to be released."

"I never will!" he answered harshly.

Not knowing what else to say, Godric could only shake his head and look away from Eric to hide his frustration. "You must go now… and speak with Elliane before the sun arises. I shall be there soon," and then Godric sped away.

Eric was half way up the stairs when a profound realisation hit him. Godric had not dismissed his emotions, as he had thought he would. Instead, Eric was aware that he had identified with them. And for first time in the many years, Eric finally understood why Godric was often so emotionally closed.

Godric's own maker had never released him! Godric spoke so rarely of his maker, and while Eric had thought perhaps he was long departed, there were times when Godric had implied that he was still around. For all these years he had been left in a state of limbo. Perhaps this was why Godric's own emotional self mastery was supreme; his despair at the disappearance of his maker had been deceptively well hidden. Eric suspected now, that this was a major catalyst towards Godric's recent decline and he felt a wave of anger towards this mysterious tormentor.

.

.

.

Meanwhile…

Elliane had left the 'dungeon', as she would now, always refer to it, and had headed straight to her room. Here she sat cross legged in the centre of her beautiful four-posted bed and fiddled with the ring, feeling numb, confused and conflicted. And she pondered.

What exactly was the bargain she had settled with Godric? That night, only so recent really, now seemed - so very vague.

It was a mutual exchange. She, was to give him her blood, (occasionally) while he offered her protection. At least, that was how she remembered it. There was not meant to be anything more intimate to the relationship and she was completely happy about that. Somehow it seemed that all the fuss made over her this night had gone to her head. And she remembered that it was all meant to be for show. A 'pretence' of sorts to establish her safely within this society.

And why do I want to be established within this society? She wondered. Surely it was only a temporary fix. A quick solution while she worked through something more feasible. Elliane would have to quickly evaluate what exactly was her situation.

Had Godric succeeded in securing her safety? Was she now actually free? These were questions which she knew she would raise with him soon. But she would do so subtly. It was not her nature (or in her training) to ask such a critical thing outright. When you ask questions, you raise suspicions, and Elliane wanted to make sure that when she left... she could do so easily with not a single trace of where she had gone.

She had not pondered these things for long when it seemed like a huge crack was heard and the whole house shuddered. Elliane, seeing a small bit of plaster fall from her roof, immediately flung herself under the bed.

After a moment of two, when she hoped it was safe, she got out and rushed to the hall. There was a fog of dust in the direction of the stairs and she quickly slipped to the corner of the staircase, crouching down as she peered around the edge of the wall into the foyer.

What she saw shocked her extremely. Lying broken, in a broken mess of marble was Eric and beside him was Godric, who was pinning him to the ground by his throat. The glimpse she caught of Godric's expression was almost diabolical, and Eric was clearly critically injured. He was pale and lifeless. She could see by the sickening angle of his leg that it was most likely broken. It turned her stomach and amidst the harsh language that Godric spoke, she heard her name. She stood quickly, stepping away from sight before she fled back down the hall in growing horror.

When she reached her doorway she almost ran into Isabel who quickly caught her. "Elliane," said the soothing voice almost instantly. "Come now my dear, and return to your room."

"Isabel!" she whispered urgently. Elliane's eyes were wide with fear. "Godric is going to kill Eric."

Isabel blinked in surprise at the comment, however quickly ushered Elliane through her doorway. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if he did," she said with a casual shrug.

Elliane gasped, speechless as Isabel raised a haughty brow. "He would deserve it too."

"Oh no," she uttered faintly and Isabel could see that she was trembling.

"But he won't, mi dulce, I assure you. It is just a bit of rough play." Isabel, rubbed the top of Elli's arms comfortingly and then turned back to the doorway. "Eric will speak with you soon. He has some news." Isabel nodded at her gently and then left the room, closing the door behind her. Elliane just stood there stunned.

Isabel waited outside the door for a moment, for the nature of the exchange in the foyer was quite intense. Although she couldn't understand the language, the tone of voices gave her a general gist of the happenings. When the event turned, she travelled the hall until she met a dishevelled looking Eric at the top of the stairs. She glared at him darkly.

"I hope you plan to leave soon. Godric has enough concerns, and does not need you interfering."

Eric smiled at her smugly. "Well, I will be certainly resting here for today." He examined his nails. "And, I would like to stick around for a day or two, but I have my own affairs to sort out."

"This is madness," she uttered venomously, but Eric just shrugged.

"I think the old man thrives on a bit of competition," he said slyly.

Old Man? Isabel was outraged. Knowing there was little time left till dawn, and not being in the mood for any sort of discussion; Isabel just huffed and left.

When Eric entered Elli's room, he saw her pacing to and fro in her bedroom, her worried face staring at the ground. When she saw him however, the anxiety seemed to vanish, and she flashed out to him that brilliant smile, that seemed to cast a strange spell upon everyone who encountered it.

"Eric!" she said with relief, and she immediately moved to meet him where he was standing in the entryway. She was almost inclined to hug the tall Vampire but quickly suppressed the idea as she saw his face.

Clearly, he had something of a rough night and Elliane was suddenly conscious that she was very likely the cause of it. She looked at him warily. Eric seemed to sense her caution and quickly stepped in to close the gap, drawing her into a brief embrace, and stroking the back of her hair softly before stepping back.

"Are you okay?" she asked him quietly, her voice a little shocked. "Your eyes are bleeding."

Eric wiped at his eyes and looked at his hands, momentarily distracted. "Yes, I am fine. And you?"

Elli widened her eyes. "Oh I am fine," she answered, bemused that he even was asking the question, in his state.

Eric nodded. "I will be staying here today, but I need to return to Shreveport upon dusk which is why I am here now."

"Isabel said you needed to speak with me?"

"Yes, I have some good and bad news," he said.

Elliane raised her eyes expectantly.

"The bad news is, Gorran escaped…" he said solemnly. "However, the good news is, I caught him fairly quickly. He has met the final death."

Elliane stepped back, surprised. "Oh! really?" she wasn't expecting him to say that at all.

He quirked his brow at her. "Yes… really."

Elliane gave him a cautious smile, unsure of how to react. "Well… that is good news, I think. I hope this hasn't caused more trouble for you though?"

"Not at all." He responded casually. Inwardly, Eric was almost turning inside out. In any other circumstance, he would have used this sort of situation to gain a measure of leverage, a favour, or some sort of promise. Godric's very recent demands of him were clear. He could not allow Elliane to feel obliged to him.

"Thank you, Eric," she said softly. "I am sure you were well aware of how I felt earlier."

"Oh, don't thank me," he grinned and then threading his fingers together, he stretched his arms before him as he pointedly cracked his knuckles, "I needed the exercise."

Elli laughed softly but the sound faded rather quickly when she saw Godric enter the room. Eric gave a sidelong glance at Godric and then glanced back at her.

"Farewell, Elliane," he said, in a formal manner, bowing forward slightly and then with a quick mischievous wink, he left.

Elliane's manner became very subdued when Godric entered. She dropped her gaze and remained where she stood quietly. She noticed that he had put on a shirt, covering the tattoo's she had seen earlier.

"Is everything alright?" Godric asked as he tilted his head to gaze at her expression.

"Yes," she replied, she gave him an earnest look, which had him puzzled. Her tone was giving him no clue to her current emotions.

Godric wasn't too sure what to expect, but he hadn't prepared for this. She seemed suddenly distant, detached and yet vibrantly aware. He tried to sense her emotions through the bond and found her strangely unreadable. As he walked further into her room, he saw her watching him cautiously, as she remained calm. She had become a mask of self control. Godric, knowing he had lost much of her trust this night, also knew he couldn't leave her without some sense of security. He leant against a nearby wall, watching as she kept her head lowered, her gaze cautiously trailing his movements out of the corner of her eye.

He spoke softly. "Do you remember just earlier this evening? You apologised to me for loosing control of your emotions." He smiled lightly "You said that it was a unique event."

She responded with a cautious nod, her eyes briefly meeting his.

"I am also in the midst of a unique event," he said. And although he initially moved towards her, the sudden tension in her body halted him, and he instead moved towards her bed and sat at the edge of the bottom corner, leaning against one of the bedposts. "Please sit Elli," he said, patting the bed. "I promise not to alarm you."

There was a brief pause before she complied, taking a seat nearby but careful to keep some distance between them. Godric could hear the quickening of her heartbeat, before she sighed, looking to him with clear vulnerable eyes.

"Elliane, as you have probably guessed - you are in some considerable danger," he then continued. "Your length of your life has been cut short. It is the unfortunate result of a five thousand year old curse."

Elli's eyes widened in shock and he could feel her heartbeat begin to hammer in her chest. Quickly, he shifted to kneel right before her, reaching for her right hand and taking it into both of his own.

"Please do not be frightened, Elli," he urged her. "I plan to help you break the curse." And, he could see her rapidly thinking. Her eyes everywhere as she tried to process the idea. She then looked at him suspiciously, pulling away her hand.

"How do you know this?" she asked bluntly.

"Because the one who made me… told me of the curse." He answered. "I have already traced part of your family tree, taking it back two hundred years. Each time a child is born, the parent who carries the ancestry of my creator, usually dies within five years. In your case, it was your father."

Elliane fold her arms across her chest. She looked completely un-convinced. He continued to look at her sincerely.

"If I had the time right now, I would tell you another story, to explain this curse but unfortunately it will soon be dawn." Godric continued to kneel before her, and she found the gesture quite disarming, his eyes appeared guileless. "I can tell you however, that I have searched for you, through the longest of ages… I thought the bloodline was lost with Petronilla and had given up. But when I found you, I could hardly believe you existed. It changed my world in an instant."

He sighed and lowered his head then, no longer looking at her as his gaze dropped to the ground, he seemed to slump and his voice continued in a ragged tone.

"I may be the only one who can protect you," he said simply.

"You don't think I can protect myself," she queried, sounding a little offended.

"How can I possibly ever think that," he whispered in an odd tone, "when the first time I saw you, you were but a heartbeat away from death?"

Elliane trembled at his words. And she quickly reasoned within herself.

Although Godric may have some advantage in knowing much about her, she also, had some insight into his character. These were things she had discovered while reading the ring, from events that she had seen clearly while the ring was worn by Petronilla and she did not think he would lie about this.

"And, after I had given you my blood - to heal you," he said distantly. "I thought it would be easy to keep a watch over you - through the bond it would create. I planned to protect you from a distance… then I might not have had to interfere so obviously with your life. But, you proved surprisingly difficult to keep a track of."

She glanced at him warily, his head still bowed and it occurred to her that something was wrong with him. She could see blood! Coming from his ears; it was now trickling down the side of his neck. Dawn had broken, and the day had begun.

"Godric?" she said with growing alarm - suddenly reaching out to touch his shoulder. He captured the hand gently, holding it once more within his own, before he looked up to her. He looked terrible, far worse than Pam had. His face was so pale it appeared as an alabaster grey and there was darkness around his eyes making them seem almost soulless.

"Please don't leave…" he said, with a voice so quiet it could barely be heard. And she knew then, that he wondered if she planned to leave that day.

"I won't," she said instantly, her voice solemn and she hope he would leave her now to get the rest he needed. "I shall still be here when you awaken, I promise."

He gave her a ghost of a smile and raised her hand to his lips before rapidly vanishing.