Hello, hello, hello! First of all, on your comments about the blood spilling in front of hungry vamps YES it is a slight Twilight clin d'oeil hahaha

Because as good as the books were, (I insist on the past tense here because the moment twelve years old started swooning over Robert Pathetic, I kind of got sick of it and turned to more mature and intelligent novels... CH, thank you so much!) the movies just suck and I would love to see the True Blood Series kick their butts :D hahahaha which they do anyways but wouldn't it be hilarious if they did a parody of some tacky scenes from the movies?

Second of all, QUINN IS IN THE HOUSE. He might be different than described in the books, cause most honestly I didn't feel like looking it up, and also, the way I remember Charlaine Harris describing him, he made me think of Mr Clean...The whole bald thing... shiny... weird? So, thank you very much but my Quinn IS supposed to look hot and detergent and dishwashing soap don't exactly do it for me hahahah

Oh and Quinn is just necessary if you want some trouble with Eric, isn't he... so yeah, there he is in all his feline glory (I actually hate the character personally, never liked him and probably never will with all his 'Babe' Quinnshit... Billshit, Quinnshit haha I am freaking hilarious today (read that as very tired and prone to make extremely stupid jokes :P!)

Also, one of you was actually nice enough to send me the actual definition of LEMONS and it goes like this on Wiki for those of you who were wondering like me :):

'Lemon and limeLemon features explicit sex stories, and they sometimes fall under the broader PWP distinction (see above). The name derives from a term which comes from a Japanese slang term for "sexy" that itself derives from an early pornographic anime series called Cream Lemon. The term lime denotes a story that has sexual themes but is not necessarily explicit. Authors may call their stories "citrusy", indicating that their story is a lemon or lime to varying degrees.' (WIKIPEDIA OWNS THAT LOL)

So yeah, now we're all a lot smarter :) next time you drink lemonade, think about it twice ;) WINK WINK... funny that Charlaine Harris' fairies die when in contact with lemon or lime... No Sex for Ben hahahahaha (btw that is a great song by The Rapture from the GTA Soundtrack :D) Hell fairies would all die if they read some of our fanfics hahhaa (shut up brain :)!)

Now on to serious things, this chapter is very long... I think it's my longest and I hope you enjoy it. I re-read and re-read and I really hope it comes out neatly. I hope you enjoy it! Title for this one if from the song Love Is All by Tallest Man On Earth. Give it a try, it's great :)

Please, pretty please with a huge freaking bow on top, review :) I love my reviews, I crave them :) they're almost as good as a can of Coke (hahahah nothing beats COKE :)!)

Love you all! Thanks for sticking with me so long! I'll try and not disappoint you :P

Before I knew it, I had at least half a dozen hungry vampires on me trying to snatch my arm out of its socket to drink from me. A few of them aimed for my neck so that everyone could have their turn at snacking. I cried in pain when a pair of fangs ripped the skin at my wrist.

'ERIC!' I yelled, curling into a little ball, trying desperately to yank them off me. But they all were a lot stronger than me and I felt as powerless as a mice fighting a lion. One of them bit my arm right below the elbow and I cried out in pain. The noise was ear-shattering and I suddenly heard a big 'pop' sound and the next thing I knew, there was a seven or eight foot tiger ripping and clawing at the vampires.

'Let me go you bastard!' I hissed at a black-haired vampire who was trying to drag me away from the commotion to snack on me all on his own. With my valid arm, I grabbed the stake in my décolleté and as he bent down to bite me, I plunged it into his chest, missing his heart by a mere inch. He growled in anger and tried to yank the stake out. I did it for him to try once more to kill that disgusting bastard and I managed to yank out my stake before he recovered enough to jump on me again. He was about to do so but a white hand wrapped around his throat and squeezed.

'Don't you even think about it, you little piece of shit! Unless you want to be tried like that redhead bitch!' the Viking's voice boomed. The vampire snarled and was about to do something utterly stupid since I had a stake and Eric kept him still but Eric simply threw him back a good thirty feet and he crashed disgracefully on a bench.

'Sookie, are you alright?' Eric's cool voice said in my ear. I felt myself being pulled off the ground and carried towards the front.

'You are all savages! Can't you all behave properly like civilized creatures? You look like a pack of werewolves for God's sake!' McAlister hissed loudly, causing all the vampires around the room to frown in displeasure. The weres who were catering all growled at the insult but the tiger roared and they relaxed. The tiger was following Eric and I and I realized the popping noise I'd heard was Quinn morphing. He was quite big and beautiful in his animal form and his eyes looked intelligent. The white fur on his chest was bloodied and I wondered if he'd killed any of the vampires that had jumped on me.

'Thank you, Eric.' I whispered to him, my head cuddled at the crook of his neck as he gently dropped me on a red sofa near McAlister. He then glanced at McAlister who nodded at him and continued scolding at the vampires. I felt suddenly very dizzy and realised I'd lost quite a lot of blood. Eric bit his wrist and put some of his blood on my biggest wounds to help them close faster. He then brought his bloodied wrist to my lips but I shrugged my head. I'd seen enough blood for now and I'd recover the old fashioned way. I already felt a lot better with his blood to close my wounds, I didn't exactly need to drink it too. Eric then stood back and remained right next to me. Quinn, still in tiger form curled at my feet and started purring.

If you can hear this, I'm sorry I didn't react faster. They're mighty quick those fucking vamps… He thought at me, his eyes closing lazily. I patted him on the head, unsure if that was something I could do but then again you don't get to pat tigers who are in fact men who are in fact weretigers everyday.

You're quite the hotty, you know that? I wish I had a babe like you…I could keep you warm at night…Quinn thought, purring loudly. I turned red and looked at Eric meaningfully. Eric might not have been able to read minds but I was sure he caught that loud purr and he threw a warning glance at Quinn who's whiskers twitched. His tail curled around my ankle and I giggled because it was quite tickly. McAlister was now done scolding at his vampires and he then proceeded with the trial.

'Now, as I said before this commotion, Miss Stackhouse here' He said, giving me a knowing look, 'has been witness to many of Queen Sophie-Anne's misbehaviour and was victim to her abuse. Now Miss Stackhouse are you willing to bring forth your testimony in front of the vampires of Louisiana today?' he asked me, quite formally.

'Hum… Yeah, I guess?' I replied, my voice unsure. Eric's hand squeezed my shoulder gently, approvingly.

'We will be needing you to swear a blood oath on this…' McAlister said, pulling out of his robe a very scary looking dagger. It's handle was crafted and detailed and I saw a beautiful diamond encrusted with tiny rubies all around it on the sheath. I must have paled because McAlister's ugly face contorted in a smirk.

'We'll only be needing a tiny drop, Miss Stackhouse. It's part of the ceremonial. Mr Compton and Mr Northman too will have to spare a drop…' He added, winking at me. I held out my hand and McAlister pulled my to my feet, grunting an order to a man dressed in a robe next to him. The man brought forth a big cup which looked somehow like the chalice at Church. It was made of silver and I noticed both vampires had on leather gloves to handle it. McAlister's loud voice echoed off the walls as he pronounced the ceremonial words in a language which I didn't understand but suspected was Latin before he pricked my index finger and pressed it over the cup. A tiny drop of my blood lazily rolled off the tip of my finger and fell into the cup. McAlister's eyes followed it all the way down and he held my hand, his nostrils twitching in delight.

'I now understand a bit better the tumult earlier. You do smell rather delicious. One eight fairy, if I remember correctly?' He whispered to me. He stared at my bloodied finger meaningfully and turned to Eric.

'Allow me?' He asked. Eric frowned but nodded and McAlister turned to me, waiting for my approval. I shot him a questioning look and then remembered just how much vampires loved to tend for bleeding wounds. As much as the gesture disgusted me profoundly, it was only polite and respectful of me to let such an important vampire as him handle my pricked index. He brought it to his lips and sucked on it, cooing in delight. I grimaced and I saw Quinn snarl. I frowned at him. He curled back down in a big furry ball and resumed pouting – at least that's what he looked like with his big golden eyes closing slightly and his head pressed on his front paws.

When McAlister finally released my finger, he growled in pleasure and turned his gaze to me.

'My dear, if you ever decide to leave Mr Northman and he releases you, I'd gladly take you under my wing. By Dracula, you are surely the most delicious blood I've had in centuries.' He whispered to me. I almost giggled at the Dracula reference and suddenly wondered if he too, existed.

'Now Mr Northman and Mr Compton, if you'd please?' McAlister said, holding the dagger up. Eric pricked his own finger and a dark crimson and rich blood oozed out of the tiny cut, falling slowly towards the cup. I was quite surprised when it seared and made a little smoke the moment it touched the silver. Bill did the same and the cup was then brought to Sophie-Anne's silvered hand.

'Now, yours.' McAlister said to her, any trace of empathy gone from his voice. He dragged the ceremonial knife on her palm and waited for a few drops to have mingled with Eric's, Bill's and mine before he turned back to his assistant. He then chanted a few words as the whole crowd stood utterly silent.

'Now that the ceremonial bullshit is over, we'll start.' Eric whispered to me, cradling me to his knees on the little couch where he'd just joined Bill. Bill grabbed my hand and squeezed it, earning himself a low growl from Eric. I slapped Eric's arm and glared at him.

'Please.' I whispered to him. Bill threw Eric an annoyed look and turned his attention back to McAlister.

'As we stated earlier, before you all behaved like a troop of uneducated newborns, Sophie-Anne Leclercq, Queen of Louisiana since 1921 and vampire since the year 1602, is tried here today for many grave offenses she has done. As the representative of the Authority here in the States of America…' McAlister started. His second nudged him in the ribs and whispered something to him. 'In the United States of America' McAlister corrected himself, 'I will today charge her for high treason against her people and her race. Mr Northman here has proof of Ms. Leclercq's massacre of humans on the premises of his bar in front of human and vampire witnesses. We shall watch later that evidence. Mr Northman also happens to be the vampire towards whom Ms Leclercq has committed a blood-offense by kidnapping and feeding from his pledged human, Ms Stackhouse. Mr Compton has gathered evidence against the Queen on behalf of the authority regarding the Queen's disgusting and depraved trading of her own sacred blood for monetary gains. And of course, both have endured the Queen's abuse in the exercise of her power. Do you have anything to say for your defence, my dear?' Arthur McAlister hissed at Sophie-Anne who was downright furious, her gaze drilling holes into Bill and Eric's heads.

'That bastard Northman sold the blood. Shouldn't he be tried for that? And that ridiculous Compton isn't really much better, if you ask me!' She spat, blood dripping from her nose. I'd never seen a vampire having the bleeds without being sleep-deprived but then I realized it probably was from the silver chains that bound her from neck to toes.

'Mr Northman, is that true?' Arthur asked, utterly bored by Sophie-Anne's attempts at dragging Eric down with her.

'I sold it, it is true, because she left me no choice. I was still loyal to her at that time, but she set me up with the previous Magister and caused my progeny, Pamela, to be tortured for days.' Eric said, his voice trembling with rage. 'And she took my blood-pledged and fed from her in retribution, I believe.' Eric added, clutching me to his chest possessively.

'Is it true, Miss Stackhouse that you are pledged to Mr Northman?' McAlister said, looking at me briefly.

'Yes.' I said, my voice loud and clear. I didn't exactly grasp what this meant, but I knew it as safer for both Eric and I if we agreed here. I'd get my chance to discuss this later with him.

'And is it also true the Queen fed from you?'

'Briefly, yesterday, yes.' I said, my fingers squeezing Eric's.

'As for the sealing of the blood, my dear' McAlister said, his gaze returning to Sophie-Anne, 'I believe Mr Northman was in no position to argue with you. His progeny endured torture for four days, I believe, at the hands of the previous Magister, who has surprisingly disappeared, because of your blood-dealing. I hereby demand you pay a compensation to said progeny, Pamela Swinfort de Belfort, in the form of her choice.' McAlister said, grinning slightly. Pam stood from the first row and walked towards us, kneeling in front of the Magister, a smirk on her face.

'Magister, I must say I'm not exactly interested in any of the Queen's humans or vampires, but I've always been a fan of her jewellery collection…' Pam said, causing a few female vampires to snicker in approval in the crowd.

'Ms Leclercq, you shall surrender all your jewellery to Miss Pamela here present.' McAlister said, sanctimonious.

'Is that even legal?' I whispered at Eric, a small grin on my lips. Eric rolled his eyes at Pam and brushed his lips to my temple.

'Pam will be Pam.' Eric whispered to me and I heard pride and amusement in his voice.

'I will not give that bitch anything at all.' Sophie-Anne hissed. The Magister's man pulled on her chains and she winced in pain.

'Now, for the graver offenses, the blood-offense and feeding off a pledged human, the usual punishment is a year in a coffin chained with silver. However, since the human has been returned in one piece to its rightfully pledged, this sentence may be removed due to others graver sentences which will be carried for the other crimes you have committed. Do you agree, Mr Northman?'

'Yes.' Eric said, serious.

'Now where was I…' McAlister thought. 'Ah, yes! The other offenses. The usual punishment for blood-dealing is the removal of the fangs of the offender and a couple of years in a coffin... I can't seem to remember how many so I'll just say ten? We shall proceed immediately with the removal of your fangs unless someone has anything to say in the defendant's favour?'

'I do!' Hadley's voice echoed in the silence. McAlister glared at her, his eyes questioning. Sophie-Anne tried to move in her chains and hissed in pain.

'Hadley, stay out of this.' Sophie-Anne ordered her, fear in her voice. I turned to look at the Queen and was genuinely surprise to see a lot of love for Hadley in her eyes.

'I can't, I'm sorry. I can't watch them hurt you like this…' Hadley said, walking towards the stage, bloody tears rolling down her cheeks.

'Who are you?' McAlister asked her. 'You look awfully young, my dear, to dare and speak in the name of a criminal such as Ms Leclercq…'

'I'm Hadley Stackhouse, Sookie's cousin and Sophie-Anne's progeny. She turned me a week ago.' Hadley said, taking a pristine white handkerchief a pretty blonde vampire was offering her. She dabbed her bloodied eyes and kneeled in front of the Magister.

'I beg of you to differ the punishment. Sophie-Anne never meant harm to anyone!' Hadley whispered, her face turned towards the Magister.

'Yet she caused grave offenses to her race, my dear. Please stay out of this, unless you have proof to bring forth to this court?' Arthur McAlister said, sombrely.

'I don't.' Hadley whispered, heavy blood tears rolling down her cheeks and onto her dress, splattering it with crimson blotches.

'Then bring forth the pincers.' Arthur said, turning to his second. Sophie-Anne yelped and closed her mouth forcefully, in vain. I closed my eyes and blocked my ears as two of the vampires proceeded to pluck her fangs out and then dropped them in the cup with the mingled blood as Sophie-Anne cried in anger and pain. Her lips were bloodied and she looked nothing like the elegant lady she'd been a mere hour before.

'This is barbaric.' I hissed in Eric's ear.

'This is what we are, Sookie. Violent and barbaric.' Eric replied. His lips then planted tiny kisses near my ear, his entire body language begging to differ with his words.

'Now we shall discuss the mass murder of humans on Mr Northman's premises. Have you brought the tapes, Mr Northman?' Arthur said, cocking an eyebrow at Eric. Eric nodded at Pam who retrieved two tapes from her purse and handed them to the Magister's second. McAlister and a few vampires exited the room briefly to watch the tapes and everyone in the crowd started whispering varied opinions. Many vampires glanced at Eric and I and at Bill. Quinn was looking quite bored so I bent down to speak to him.

'Why don't you morph back?' I whispered.

Unless you want to see me strutting my birthday suit, I think this will have to do for now…he thought at me, purring in contempt as I scratched him behind the ears.

'Ah right… your clothes…Your fur is so soft' I said.

'Are you okay, Sookie?' Eric asked me, kissing me below the ear, intent on taking my attention away from the tiger.

'Yes, now I am.' I said, turning my gaze to him.

'I am sorry she fed from you…' Eric said, kissing the wrist where Sophie-Anne had bitten me.

'It's not your fault, don't worry. We'll have a lot to discuss later…' I told him as the Magister re-entered the room with his followers.

The trial then resumed.

'Now, the massacre was totally uncalled for and might have endangered Miss Flanaghan attempts at getting the Congress to ratify the Vampire Rights Amendment. We cannot tolerate such acts of violence. As feeding from humans isn't illegal as long as the humans consent but is not permitted in public places, we must apply sever punishment in this case. With the Authority that has been conferred to me, I hereby declare Sophie-Anne Leclercq stripped of her titles of Queen and sentenced to five years in a coffin chained with silver. If we add those years to the ones that you already had accumulated, I think that brings us to twenty.' The Magister smirked.

Andre hissed at that the first noise I'd heard him utter since the beginning of the trial and McAlister turned to look at him, one of his scarred eyebrows cocked.

'Please do explain how five and ten make twenty.' Andre growled, enraged.

'I'm the Magister, you bloody nit. If I say five and ten make twenty, it does!' The Magister roared. 'Let's just say the five extra years are a little bonus.'

'A bonus?' Sophie-Anne spat, blood dripping down her lips from the gaping wounds her removed fangs had left in her mouth. 'A bonus?' She repeated, as enraged as Andre.

'Because you annoy me.' The Magister said, winking at me. Andre spat and cursed in another language, most probably French, I thought. The Magister glared at him and growled before he spoke.

'As for you, you little sack of shit, you shall follow your master. The apple never does fall far from the tree and you truly have always been a tremendous pain in the ass for the past two centuries, dear Andre.' McAlister said.

'I didn't do anything! Why should I follow in her footsteps?' Andre growled, infuriated, spitting at Sophie-Anne. Sophie-Anne didn't even budge as she was quite stunned. Her gaze caught Hadley's and I saw bloody tears roll down both their cheeks.

'Because I feel like it, you pest.' McAlister replied, chuckling. 'I represent the Authority. I get to decide.' He added, winking at me. I shuddered and pressed myself closer to Eric. 'I shall add that this punishment will not save you from the IRS, Miss Leclercq, as they will be allowed to take you in and imprison you for your debts when your coffin sentence comes to an end. That is if they even recognize you…' McAlister concluded.

'Magister, might I ask a question?' Eric suddenly said, standing up to address the Magister.

'Yes, Mr Northman?' McAlister said, turning to us.

'What of the inheritance of the states of Mississippi and Louisiana? If Andre cannot take Sophie-Anne's suite, who will?' Eric asked.

Surely he realizes we can't have Felipe taking over… With Nevada and Texas already in his hold he can't have his hand on more southern states…Eric thought. I stared at him, surprised yet again by the vampire politics. I hadn't met Felipe de Castro but I already disliked him. He sounded greedy and dangerous and if Eric disliked him, he surely had good reasons to.

'We shall see about that in Rhodes for the gathering, Mr Northman. You will be in Rhodes, won't you?' the Magister said, cocking a questioning eyebrow at Eric.

'Yes.' Eric replied, serious.

'Why don't you bring Compton and your human too. The more the merrier they say!' The magister said very low for Eric's ears only. I wouldn't have heard had I not been sitting so close.

Eric didn't answer and simply nodded, displeased. I would have to question him later about that. The Magister then turned to the crowd.

'You are all dismissed for now' He said to the vampires.

Jason and Sam and other humans suddenly yanked the doors open and as the vampires exited the room, McAlister's man carried Sophie-Anne and Andre out. Eric pulled me to my feet and he said a few words at Pam. She slid out of the now empty ballroom and came back with some men clothes she gave Quinn. Bill stood by Hadley's side, consoling her. I was a bit stunned and wondered what was going to happen now. I turned to Eric and hugged him tight, enjoying his proximity.

'What do we do now?' I asked, fondling with the bloodied material of my dress.

'Now we go home. I have some problems to solve there…' Eric replied, sombrely, planting a kiss on my head. He then picked me up bridal-style and we stormed out of the palace, Pam on our heels.

'What about Hadley? And my brother? And Sam?' I asked, suddenly remembering they'd been here in the first place.

'Bill will take care of Hadley…As for your brother and Sam…' Eric started and suddenly the air was wiped out of me as Jason literally ripped me out of Eric's arms to hug me.

'SOOK!' He yelped, excited and happy.

'Jesus, Jason, don't strangle me!' I said, kissing his cheek.

'This was so much fun! We totally kicked their asses out here!' Jason exclaimed. He had a shotgun on his back and he looked almost as thrilled as when he'd fired the paint gun at Steve Newlin back in Dallas. He held out his hand to Eric, oblivious to the fact vampires never shook hands but Eric still held his out and gave it a quick squeeze.

'You did a fine job, human.' Eric said, nodding at Jason and then at Sam who had approached us.

'Sam! What are you doing here?' I asked, glad to see both him and Jason were safe and sound.

'Eric asked our help. And Quinn was missing some humans for the catering so we thought we'd enlist…' Sam said, a smile on his face. 'I'm glad you're alright, Sookie.' Sam said, hugging me tightly.

'Thank you.' I said, planting a kiss on his cheek. Jason was already all over Pam whom he obviously found attractive (as he did any woman) and he was flirting with her. Eric watched him amused and then noticed I was quite tired and strained. My wrist still hurt from where I'd been bitten and I was quite hungry. He picked me back up and kissed my forehead once more.

'We'll be returning to Shreveport, now. You'll have all the time in the world to fill her in on everything later.' Eric said to Sam and Jason who looked extremely happy for some reason I was soon going to find out.

Eric and Pam headed towards a shining silver sports car and I cocked a questioning eyebrow at Eric.

'Where's your Corvette?' I wondered. I'd seen that car in his garage but he'd said it was too flashy for Louisiana and he rarely took it out.

'Gave it to your brother… In retribution for getting his truck destroyed…' Eric said, puzzling me even more.

'His truck? Wait a minute you gave your car to my brother?' I exclaimed, dumbfounded.

'He liked it. Now hush and relax. I'll explain everything later.' Eric

The moment Eric dropped me on the back seat, I curled into a little ball under the big afghan he'd draped over me and fell fast asleep, only to wake up when the car descended in Eric's underground garage. Pam was telling Eric about the last episode of Buffy she'd watched and how ridiculous that bottle blond vampire was. Eric was disagreeing and I couldn't help but giggle at how trivial their conversation was. Eric looked at me in the rear view mirror and winked at me. He carried me all the way upstairs, refusing to let me down even in the elevator and when we arrived at his penthouse door, he kicked the door opened and barged in towards his bathroom where he proceeded to remove our clothes.

'What about Pam?' I asked as he ripped the remains of my beautiful dress off.

'You want her to join us?' Eric asked, puzzled. I slapped his arm playfully and he slid me to the ground, leaving me only with my panties on. 'She'll get herself to her place, don't worry.' He said. He got the water running in his enormous bathtub where he cuddled me to his chest when it was filled.

'You have to tell me everything.' I said, relaxing against his chest as he played with my hair.

'I really, really want to make love to you so I'll try to make this short if you don't mind?' Eric whispered in my ear, causing a delightful warmth to spread under my skin. I turned my head and gazed at him, a slow smile spreading on my lips.

'Make it quick than.' I replied, nibbling on his bottom lip. He growled softly.

'Unless you want me to skip to the end already, you'll have to let me concentrate, love.' Eric said before kissing me again. 'Well first of all I'm sorry I didn't get to say goodbye to you after we made love in my office, which we will do again' he added, amused. 'But I was taken with Felipe de Castro and fucking Victor Madden as Pam and Bill told you. They're an entirely different problem and we'll discuss them later. I found out you'd been kidnapped when I got your text and I flew to your house. Your brother was already there snooping around doing God knows what and I was mighty pissed so I kind of destroyed his truck.'

'Oh my god, Eric!' I giggled. 'How? Why?'

'Oh I merely smashed it against a tree. Whilst he wasn't in it of course. I did him a favour if you want my opinion. That truck was fucking ugly. As to why, I think you know how infuriating your brother gets when he panics…' Eric replied. Yes, I knew all too well how dimwitted my brother sometimes was.

'I bet he doesn't really mind you smashing his truck with the Corvette you gave him. But I still think you're insane for giving him your car. I mean it was your car!'

'Yeah, well I was getting sick of the Corvettes anyways.'

'Eric I can't let you give a car to my brother!' I exclaimed, turning to look at him.

'Well I know you won't let me spoil you because you're a proud little hen, so I might as well help your family and friends if I can…' He said, his thumb on my bottom lip.

'You're right. I wouldn't want you to spoil me. I've always taken care of myself and you've already taken care of my house. Which I'm very grateful for, by the way.'

'I'm sure you can show me just how grateful you are later…' he said huskily, his hand sliding down my throat to cup my breasts.

'Hey, hey, hey, you're not done telling me!' I moaned.

'You're right, Miss Stackhouse. So Jason panicked cause he didn't know why I was looking for you, I smashed his ugly truck and then he panicked some more and yelled at me that I was completely insane and I then told him you'd been kidnapped by your cousin. I then called Pam and we arranged for the Magister to come. I contacted Quinn and asked who was handling the even at the Queen's place and arranged some stuff with him and both your brother and the shifter to go to and then you know the rest…'

'What did the Magister mean when he spoke about Rhodes? What's happening there?' I asked, curious. The warm water felt incredible on my skin and it sloshed lazily on my chest as Eric played with my hair. 'And why does he want me and Bill to got?'

Eric tensed.

'You heard… Of course.' He stated. Through the bond I could feel his frustration but I couldn't tell if it was directed at me.

'Are you pissed at me?' I asked, kneeling in the water in front of him.

'No, of course not. Why would I be?' He said, swiftly, his gaze still very thoughtful.

'You look worried, what is it?' I asked, growing more and more restless. I didn't like it one bit when Eric kept things from me because trouble always had a way of finding me.

'Rhodes, Victor, Felipe, the Magister, Andre and Sophie-Anne, if only you could understand Sookie, this is so messed up and complicated…Vampire politics are always the same. They've always been the same and I fear they will always be the same too: messed up, bloody, complicated and barbaric.' Eric said, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on the edge of the tub.

'If you'd just tell me maybe I could help?' I offered, caressing his chest softly.

'Shit. I wished this evening to be peaceful but you are curious aren't you…' He scolded, a slight frown on his face.

'I am. When it concerns you.'

'Seems fair for me to tell you since it concerns you too…' Eric said, suddenly sombre.

'How so?'

'Where to start… Felipe de Castro has been Kind of Nevada for a couple of decades now and he got Texas not so long ago through some twisted politics of his. I've known him ever since I first traveled to the Americas four centuries ago. We were on the same ship and he joined the Spanish conquerors. He got rich killing the natives and stealing their gold and then he stayed and caused trouble and riots and bloodshed for the next three centuries down in what is now Mexico, California, Texas, New Mexico and so on. He considers me a friend, but I know better. I don't trust him, never have and never will. Whilst he stayed here, I returned to Europe where I joined Godric. Since that time, Felipe turned his butt-boy, Victor Madden whom he met in the late 1700s I believe. Victor is ever more ruthless than Felipe. They both crave power and do all they can to obtain it. The reason they came to meet up with me is that they are intent on taking over Louisiana and Mississippi and then maybe the other southern states…' Eric said. I had remained quite throughout his entire explanation. I urged him on because I wanted to know where exactly did all this start concerning me.

'Now they would like me to remain sheriff of Area 5 and they wanted to make sure they had my support in their affairs. I don't approve of that but seeing as there isn't anyone yet who's laid claim on both the states and Andre who would have rightfully been the next in line is, thankfully, chained in silver for the next twenty years, we are in deep shit. Felipe is bad, however charming you might find him if you ever meet him, something I'm intent on not letting happen, never trust him. He's always got a hidden agenda and he cares only about himself and his profit. As for Victor, don't even look at him. He's a fucking snake and he hates me because he knows Felipe wanted me to be his second back in the days.'

'Felipe wanted you to be his associate?' I asked, surprised.

'Yes. As I told you, the man treats me as a friend. Now where you come in all this is that Felipe has a liking for special humans…' Eric said. He needn't say more, I knew all too well what this meant.

'You think he'd brave the Magister to take me? Just for my telepathy?' I asked, puzzled.

'For your blood mostly. Let's just say you tripping and cutting yourself in front of half the vampires of Louisiana wasn't the smartest thing to do. Very few people knew you were different apart from your telepathy, but my guess is now most of the American vampires courts have heard of it…And that is really, really not good at all.' Eric said, pissed. His jaw was clenched and I suddenly felt very stupid.

'I'm sorry…' I muttered, pulling away from him. I sat at the opposite end of the tub and turned my head to stare at a candle that burnt slowly.

'Sookie, it wasn't your fault but it still has caused some tumult… Pledged to me or not…' He started to say but I interrupted him.

'What does that mean exactly? We're not like married or anything right?' I said, increasingly nervous.

'Not exactly. We haven't gone through the usual ritual but I want people to keep on believing we have…' Eric replied.

'So this means?'

'We are blood-bonded, pledged by the blood, but not by vampire laws. Seeing as the previous Magister disappeared, I've made it known to the current Magister that the previous one supervised the ritual pledging between us and Bill supported me as witness, even though it pissed the hell out of him to do so. He knows it's for your own good anyways. He's not fit to protect you with no title and no power.' Eric said. I was increasingly puzzled and Eric must have sensed it because he tried to explain it differently.

'For vampires there are two ways to be bonded to someone, human or vampire. The blood-bond is the unofficial way, but seeing as that didn't suffice back in the days, the Authority instituted the legal pledging which is the equivalent of your human weddings, I believe. It's a ceremony and it's complicated and I don't have time to tell you what it consists of, but basically, I've lead Arthur McAlister to believe we have conducted such a ceremony, you and I…' Eric said.

'Oh.' was all I could mutter. 'Great…' I said, sarcastic.

'Now for Felipe and Victor, I will do my best for them not to ever meet you, but I rather doubt they'll be missing the gathering in Rhodes…'

'What's that? A convention for vamps?' I asked, curious.

'That's part two on the we-are-fucked list.' Eric replied, starring at the ceiling.

'Oh...' I muttered. 'Care to explain?' I asked, sliding over to him to rest on his chest. He looked down at me and pressed his lips to my forehead.

'I care a lot about you, Sookie.' He said. I caressed his cheek.

'And I about you. But I'd like it if you trusted me more. And gave me more credit. No wonder I'm clumsy and act wrong with vampires if I never know what is expected of me…'

'You're right…' Eric said, cupping my chin to pull me towards his lips. He gave me a very tender yet toe-curling French-kiss and I moaned softly when he let me go.

'I wish sometimes I could just kidnap you and bring you on some island where no one knows us and fuck you mindless all night long...' Eric said. I giggled at that.

'There's always the Caribbean?' I offered, smirking.

'I can't leave Area 5 without surveillance… Not with the trouble heading our way.' Eric replied, serious once more. 'And I have people depending on me…' he added.

'Rhodes part of those?'

'Yes, especially now that I've been personally asked to attend by the Magister, there is no way I can just skip it. Rhodes is going to be the first gathering of all the Kings and Queens of the Americas since the end of World War II, which did change a lot of things for us vampires, even though humans didn't know we existed at the time. Vampires from all the States will attend, as well as the Canadian vampire Kings and Queens.'

'Do they work by state like here? Or provinces or whatever?' I asked.

'Yes. But they have much more areas than we do… Canada is quite big after all. But there are fewer vampires there than in the States, even though I do believe they have good living conditions. Especially the ones that live up north, they get a lot less daylight than we do here.' Eric said.

'You ever been to Canada?'

'Yes. I can take you one day, it looks a lot like my home back in Sweden.' He said, smiling. 'So the gathering in Rhodes is going to be very big. And very dangerous. Vampires aren't all loyal or straightforward and many unions will be made there. Lots of us look forward to that event because it will be the time for them to get back at each other. There will be dozens and dozens of trials there and parties too. Vampires like to mingle sex and violence, as you might have noticed.' Eric said, biting my earlobe.

'Why would the Magister want me there?'

'Your telepathy, I think.' Eric said. 'And as for Bill, he wants him to sell his database…'

'If it's a vampire's gathering I highly doubt my telepathy will be any good…' I said, thinking about the fact I could actually hear Eric sometimes, when I tried very hard. I associated that to our blood-bond, but I'd shared blood many times with Bill and I'd never heard a single thought out of the relaxing hole his brain was for my telepathy.

'There won't just be vampires. They'll have their human companions. And they are most of the time the best informed of their masters intentions. If the Magister wants you there, I'm sure he has good reasons.' Eric said.

'And what about Andre and Sophie-Anne?' I reminded him.

'They won't be any trouble for a good many years for you. By the time they are free, you'll probably have gone elsewhere or they won't care with finding you…' Eric said, his hands trailing down my stomach to rest of my hips, his thumbs rubbing small circles on my skin.

'So when are we going to Rhodes?' I asked, my eyes closing in delight as his mouth busied itself on my ear.

'A couple weeks. You'll have time to settle your things in Bon Temps. Now if you don't mind, I'd very much like to make love to you…' Eric whispered in my ear, lustfully. I felt my knees go weak and I simply moaned my approval as his hands dipped in between my thighs.