THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Love the reviews, favorites and followers. I'm happy that many of you were very interested in this type of story. In fact I'm actually thinking that if this story becomes very good, that I'll send it to be published. Except I'll change the names of course. Even though this is a supernatural story, but it's nowhere near True Blood. I'm just borrowing the characters to play with. Also I'm referencing the concept from the movie "The Witches and TV show The Witches of East End.

Characters belong to Charlene Harris and Alan Ball.

Enjoy!

Daybreak came through the windows waking Sookie from her lack of sleep from last night. From living in a different house, hearing the thunder and lightning controlling the sky, made the house look like a horror show. By the time the thunder and lightning were gone, then she heard noises in the dark. Hearing the wooden floors creak, and then her heart leapt out of her chest when she thought she heard the front door open. It did open, from the howling wind. Sookie had to run down downstairs to shut the door and double lock it. However it didn't stop the wind from making the tree branches scrape against the windows. She actually had to grab one of the swords that was hanging by her bed to have it close to her all night. She felt like she was living in a haunted house. She blamed herself for watching all of those horror haunted house movies.

With the sun shining through the room, it took away anything that was fearful. "What I should have done was unpack all night and sleep during the day." Sookie looked around the room and taken in all its beauty of the wood and Viking knot work all around. She loved this canopy bed she was in. Like the house it had wooden Viking knot work posts with a mixture of sculpted wooden vines wrapped around them. Then there was this luscious red satin curtains by the headboard, which can be moved to wrap around the whole bed. If it wasn't for all the troubles Sookie had last night, she would of had a great night sleep. The room was perfect, in fact the whole house was perfect. It just needed a woman's touch. She wasn't sure about the real bear skinned rug that's on the floor.

She looked at the sword that she took off the wall last night. 'At least she had some protection.' she thought. Again like the house there was little bit of the Viking knot work. "Either this guy is really into Vikings or they are his ancestors." she said to herself. There were more swords on the wall, all sharp, deadly, and beautiful at the same time. "I wonder how many more medieval weapons are around."

Her stomach growled "I know my stomach, it's time to eat. She walked down stairs and opened the curtains to let the sunlight in to glow the house. When she looked around on the inside and the outside, everything was beautiful. She felt so ridiculous from all that mind terror last night.

Then she went to her favorite piece of the house so far, which was the painting of Eric Northman. "Good morning, handsome. I don't know about you but I had a rough night. I couldn't sleep at..." she looked at the painting more closely. The painting was the same, except his face was little different. Instead of a thinking hard glance he gave last night, there was a sexy smirk on his face. 'Was that there last night?' she thought. Sookie gave a double take. Was she so tired last night that her eyes truly changed the look of the man's face?

She shrugged and left it at that. "By the way, thank you for letting me borrow your sword. I was terrified last night...the house was spooky. I wish you were there giving me a hug telling me that it's okay it's just thunder. Don't get me wrong, I love thunder storms! It's just when you're in a different house...everything is scary. Until this morning, now everything is right as rain. No pun intended. I love your bed by the way." She looked at him with a sigh "Too bad you weren't in it with me."

Sookie had no idea why she's still talking to the painting, but it made her feel better. There was an old expression, 'if these walls could talk'. She wondered if was the same with paintings. "Got to go. Got to eat breakfast." Sookie went to the kitchen. Before she went all the way, she looked back at the painting and saw his gorgeous blue eyes looking at her. She still found it amazing how the artist made his eyes follow everywhere she went. Just because it was painted on a certain angle. She went into the kitchen and went through her kitchen box that had her cereal. She wanted to eat as fast as she can, so she can get started unpacking and taking sheets off of the furniture.

As she went back to her new bedroom, she gotten dressed, she putted on the amber necklace. The necklace was not only beautiful, but it now had sentimental value. This was considered her Gran's last gift to her.

Sookie went back down the stairs to unpack the boxes and taking the sheets off the furniture. She looked at Eric's painting and even asked him "Where do think this vase should go?" Of course there was no response from the painting, just the sexy smirk she's seen last. "Mmmm, maybe over there?" She put the empty vase on the small table, that is right next the front door. "Perfect."

By sunset, Sookie finished the living room. She really wanted this room to finish so she can spend her time reading with the painting watching over her. So she doesn't feel completely alone. As a break from unpacking, she was reading one of her romance novels. She grabbed the one that has the cover of a Viking man ready to take this woman that's in his arms. It was so close to Eric's look that she just let him take over her imagination along with the story. She even started reading out loud. "He rubbed the tip of his manhood around the entrance to her folds, then slowly slid into her. She gasped and arched her back to take him deeper." she looked at Eric's portrait with a smile. "I bet you want to do that to me." she flirted.

The grandfather clock struck at 8 o'clock again. It was a quiet night this time and Sookie wanted to catch up on the lost sleep from last night. She lay the book down split open with its spine in the air. Sookie did that so she wouldn't lose her place in the story. She gotten out her sexiest Lingerie and wanted to show to Eric's portrait. Part of her was telling her to stop, she's flirting with an object, not a human being. She didn't want to stop, it took away the loneliness of her being alone in the house. It was what she did at the orphanage. Whenever she felt alone, she took out her Gran's picture and talked to it, as if she was listening.

She went to Eric's portrait showing off her body to him with her lingerie dress. "So Mr. Northman, do you like?" as Sookie posed in several positions. "I hope I give you pleasure just by watching me." Sookie then lower her strap giving him a slight view of one of her breasts. Sookie giggled at the fun she was having. Teasing a man that's not alive, so he couldn't do any harm.

Then she realized something that Mr. Cataliades had said. "You know they say that if you pronounce that Latin incantation below his name, it supposed to summon him or to bring his spirit about. That's the legend of this painting." Sookie looked at the painting in curiosity. She completely doubt this will work, but she was having fun so why not give it a go?

"Let's make some magic!" Sookie said as she looked down at her amber necklace. "Well it's real stone, that's something right?" Sookie went to the painting up close to read the Latin sentence. Sookie said the phrase out loud "Vinctus est, ut maledicat: Benedictio sit liber a nocte." Nothing. Maybe once more with more feeling? "Vinctus est, ut maledicat: Benedictio sit liber a nocte!" Still nothing. "Sorry Mr. Northman I tried to bring you back to life. Just goes to show me, there's no such thing as magic." Even though she did this just for fun. Sookie couldn't help but feel disappointed. She gave the painting one last look before she went upstairs "Goodnight." Sookie went to bed fighting her tears that came to her eyes. She really wanted someone to love. "I should get out tomorrow and meet the people."

Sookie woke up the next morning, somewhat more refreshed. The noises were still there from the night before. But she told herself that the house was so old, that of course it will talk at night with its creaks and snaps. At least she got more sleep this time. She went downstairs, pretty much half asleep. She collapsed on the couch in the living room where she left her book, except the book was closed. "That wasn't how I left it." she looked at it with a confused look.

Then she looked at Eric's portrait and she gasped in shock with her heart thumping away in her chest. She couldn't believe what she saw. There stood Eric still sitting in his chair with no shirt or jacket on. You see his beautiful sculpted chest and with him has a seductive smile on his face and his hands were resting on the arms of the chair. She thought out loud "Did someone come in and switch the paintings around?" Sookie looked at the frame...it was the same frame as the other and it was the same size. She looked to see that any other object had move below the painting. There wasn't. Her heart was beating so fast. She had to calm herself. "Sookie, there's a reasonable explanation for this! Don't panic!" she told herself.

She was about to run upstairs to get dressed and call the police. Until... she spotted the vase that she placed on the table yesterday that's by the door. There was nothing wrong with it except it was no longer empty. It was filled with red roses, and below it was a note. 'I did like, very much Ms. Stackhouse. It was a great pleasure seeing a piece of you. I hope you like what you see from me.' Sookie felt like she was going to have a heart attack. She had to call the police now!

Sookie got on the phone and called 911. "911 what's your emergency?"

"Please get someone here! There's been an intruder in my house!"

"Okay mam, where are you?"

"I live in the Northman Manor on the edge Shreveport touching Bon Temps! Please send a group of troops because my house is huge, and I'm afraid he going to escape!"

"Okay, Mam just stay calm...now it's going to take a little while before the police gets there. Do you have any protection on you?"

Sookie looked at the sword in her shaky hand. "A sword!"

"Okay, darling go outside of the house with the sword, until the police officers show up. Use the sword only if necessary. I'll stay on the line with you until they show."

"Thank You!" Sookie knew this is going to take a while. It took her at least 15 minutes just to go down the dirt path road to get to the mansion. The police officers have to do that and go through other streets as to where they are. This made her more fearful. The intruder can be anywhere, Sookie hasn't gotten through the whole house yet and there were many places to hide. Even if she was looking, it's very easy for the intruder just to slip pass her or even worse.

A half an hour later, several cop cars came. Sookie thanked the lady that was on the phone with her through this ordeal and told her that the cops were here. The chief officer approached her "Miss, you can put the sword down. Now, do you have any idea or where this intruder can be?"

"I honestly don't know, there are three floors and forty-five rooms. If I looked all over myself, he could have gotten easily passed me." She saw at least a seven cops go into the house fast and start looking around the place with their guns in their hands.

"What does he look like?"

Sookie was hesitant, for she didn't see him. "I don't know."

The cop looked at her with seriousness "You don't know? Was there anything stolen that you thought there was an intruder in the house?"

"No, nothing like that."

The police officer crossed his arms "Miss, you're going to have to explain yourself here. False alarms are not tolerated."

"It's not a false alarm...come in and I'll show you!" The police officer followed her into the house. "Last night I was unpacking some boxes, working only in the living room. I put a vase on that table." she pointed to the little table by the front door. "Officer, that vase was empty. When I woke up there were roses in it and a note." she gave the officer the note. The officer looked at the note suspiciously. "Also the painting has changed."

"What painting?"

"There." Sookie pointed to Eric's portrait exactly as she last seen it. Still sitting in a chair topless with a sexy smile.

"What's wrong with it?"

"That painting is Eric Northman and when I moved in, he was wearing a shirt and a jacket. Now he's topless!"

"Are saying someone came in and switched paintings, left you red roses and a note while you were sleeping?" The officer has heard of stalkers leaving roses and love notes, but never a painting switch.

"Yes! That's exactly what I'm saying! There's no other reasonable explanation!"

A lady officer, came by as she was done checking the house with the other cops. "Sir, we looked around every room, every corner, every fireplace...nothing. Not even a trace of evidence. All of the windows and most of the doors to the rooms were locked."

"Well we have one evidence, it's this note right here. See if you can get any finger prints off of it." as he gave her the note. "Also try to see you get any fingerprints from that painting above the fire place." she nodded and did what she was asked.

Sookie interrupted "I think you're not going to find any finger print except mine, because I did hold it the card."

He looked at her hands "We are well aware of that if there's any small fingerprints on it, that it's yours." The officer looked around and opened the locked glass door to the outside of the garden. There he spotted a several bushes full of red roses. He then looked at Sookie, "Was this door locked last night?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Look at the bushes." he pointed to them. Sookie looked the rose bushes carefully. There were some spots in the bushes, you can tell were cut off. These are the exact roses from the vase. "This means, he was standing here." the cop confirmed. Sookie heart began to speed up. Everything became more falling into place that someone was in her house last night. Even worse, he watched her! The officer tried to find a foot print where the roses were. Unfortunately he couldn't find one, because instead of standing on dirt he was standing on grass. They went back inside. Sookie sees the lady officer putting powder on the painting's frame looking for finger prints.

"How long have you been here?" the officer asked.

"Only two days." Sookie responded a little shaken.

"Did you have an ex-boyfriend from where you were?"

"No. I haven't been in a romantic relationship yet."

"Who knows you're here?"

"No one, except Mr. Cataliades my Gran's lawyer. He even told me about the legend of the painting on how it comes to life after saying that incantation." the officer was beginning to think that someone was playing a prank on the girl. A very good prank.

The lady officer went to him "Sir, not a single fingerprint on the painting frame." he nodded.

"Ms. Stackhouse, it's obvious someone is playing a harmless prank on you. We barely get any new people around and someone who knew the legend probably used it on you to freak you out."

"The timing was too perfect though. Someone was watching me! The point is where? Is there anyone that lives nearby?"

"No miss, not for at least twelve miles. Which I'll call up Mr. Cataliades and search his firm. Even though what this person did was illegal by entering your home, and switched the painting on you, but it's obvious that this was a prank. A very good prank."

Sookie nodded, "But how did this person get in?"

"That's the one thing I or my team can't figure out. I'm sure there was maybe an open window or something. In the mean time Ms. Stackhouse, make sure all doors and windows are locked and we'll look at the note for evidence. I'll call you if we know more."

Sookie nodded nervously. This still didn't give her a peace of mind. All it did was make her worry even more. For no one could figure out how he got inside the house. As if he never was there in the first place. Other than where the roses came from, nothing about this scene ever made sense as to how it happened.