I'm going to be writing like the authority isn't a bunch of crazy vampires, trying to take over the world, and focused on worshipping Lilith. In the public eye they act more as a political party, who wants to integrate vampires into the modern world, and keep improving vampire-human relations. But behind closed door they are the ones that oversee the kings and queens of different state, and make the overall decision to appoint new monarchs when necessary, as well as issue commands and punishments.
I took a deep breathe, and opened the box. Pam had ordered the dress over a month prior, and it had arrived just in time for my wedding. It was all done over with beautiful white lace. The veil ran all the way to the floor, and was dotted with crimson red flowers. We had argued for days over the shoes, until finally we settled on a simple two inch wedge. My fingers ran over the delicate stitching and designs, and I didn't even consider what the price tag must have been. Eric of course was paying for everything, but I hadn't wanted to go too overboard. Pam on the other hand refused to even look at flowers that were less than six hundred for each arrangement.
Jessica had been very helpful, and had made the guest bedroom upstairs into her own place. The light tight modifications to my house had gone off without a hitch, and the entire place was secure for any vampire to live. Of course the wedding would be at night, and the guest list was longer than I could have imagined. It seemed to me like all of Louisiana was coming out for the occasion. Eric being the official he was, had had to invite several vampires who had higher up positions in the government, and security was a big concern. We'd ended up contracting three different security companies to be in attendance during all of the events that would occur over the next few days.
I glanced over at my calendar, and glared at the current date. March 7th. Originally our wedding had been planned for the first of the month, but then of course, King Bill had gotten in the way. Thinking back, I replayed what had happened in my head, on April 20th.
Going out to the mailbox, I grabbed the stack of envelopes and brought it in to the table. One in particular stood out from the rest, in a black official looking design, with red writing.
I wondered at the fact that there was no return address, and opened it carefully. I nearly dropped the single sided invitation card. "Eric!" I called out, hoping it was close enough to dark for him to wake up. Tears streamed down my face as he burst in, and he immediately pulled me into his arms.
"What's the matter?" He asked gently, but through the bond I could tell he was furious. It made him angry whenever someone upset me, and I hoped he wouldn't do anything dangerous.
I handed him the card, and he read it with a scowl. His hands clenched as he read it, destroying one edge. "How dare that bastard try to put this on us." He muttered to himself, and held me tighter. "It's alright. Pam is a master event planner. She'll fix all new invitations for about a week later, and we'll send them out tomorrow. Is that alright?" I nodded into his chest, and my tears stopped, but I still wasn't happy.
The invitation we had received was more of a demand from Bill, telling us that we were required to attend a summit from April 29th through March 3rd. It was to be held in New Orleans, and since Eric didn't already know about it, we guessed that Bill had only just planned it. There was no doubt in our minds that he had done so to usurp our wedding in the hopes of stealing me away.
We had attended his summit, and gotten through it although we rarely caught a glimpse of the King, and rescheduled the wedding for March 9th. As the king of the state, we were obligated to send him an invitation to the wedding, and we had already sent out the new invitations. So by that time he had already known that we had changed the date. The guest list was gone over, and only one person wasn't able to attend because of the change, a vampire that Eric had invited from Texas who had overseen Godric's affairs after he met the sun. It didn't bother either of us too much, and we hoped that Bill also wouldn't attend even though he'd sent a confirmation that he'd be there.
Eric came into the room then, and I quickly pushed him back out the door. He obliged me by allowing himself to be moved. "What?" He looked confused, and moved his attention toward the bed.
"No!" I said, covering his eyes with my hand. "You're not supposed to see the dress before the wedding!" Beneath my hand, his chest shook, and I knew he was trying not to laugh.
"That tradition wasn't around when I was young, why should I follow it?" I huffed a breathe, and shook my head.
"Gran never let any of us girls near our husbands for the whole week before our weddings, so be lucky I don't follow that tradition as well." I chuckled at the look on his face; as though he were a child and I had threatened to take away his favorite toy. "I'll go stay at Arlene's if I have to." I added, and he pouted slightly more, before a mischievous glint entered his eyes, and suddenly I was slung over his shoulder.
"I would never allow my favorite wench to walk away." He said in a boisterous voice, and I rolled my eyes. We were suddenly in the cubby downstairs, and I smacked his arm lightly.
"No way are we doing that right now! I'm way too busy. Pam is waiting for me outside to pick out different colored chairs and tables." I hoped against reality that he'd let me get some work done, but I knew it wouldn't happen.
An hour later we emerged from the cubby, and I went upstairs to find Pam stowing my dress safely away. She'd slipped it into a hanging bag, and put it all alone on a hook at the back of my new closet.
After weeks of her taking me shopping, I had asked Eric about remodeling the bedroom, and he agreed. Pam had managed to convince me to take away part of my bedroom and bathroom space to allow for a large walk-in closet. Eric and I would sleep in the light tight bedroom on most nights, but we still ventured to the cubby when there was company around, since it was sound proofed.
My closet had enough room to handle all of my new clothes, but I had insisted that she didn't buy me anything else without my consent first.
We found Jessica in the kitchen, warming up a TrueBlood, and I wondered if Jason would be around. They had been dating strongly for several months, and I didn't want to know what they did when they weren't around the house.
Jason had been shocked when I'd told him about how my fairy powers were manifesting, and didn't even believe me until I had popped to stand behind him. He'd asked me countless times if he would start doing the same stuff by accident, and I had had to reassure him nonstop for almost a week afterward.
I'd been practicing with my skills at popping around, and it had become so easy that I barely had to focus to do it correctly. I could take people with me when I moved, but I always felt slightly tired when I tried with more than one other person. Eric had explained it to me by saying that it was like a muscle, and the more I worked with it, the easier it would become. I still walked normally to most places, but sometimes the popping was incredibly convenient.
Stepping out into the back yard, I could see Pam arguing with the florist. Or at least she was talking and he was listening like his life depended on it, and I realized just how right I probably was. "Anything I can help with?" I asked, walking up to the two.
"I've got it handled; Hank here just doesn't understand which types of flowers go with your dress. But it's all settled now. How about we pick our tables and chairs?" She led me away from the frightened man, and over to a set of almost identical seating sets. One was in a natural wood color with a short white tablecloth, while the other was all white, with the wood grain still visible, and a third one was in dark maroon which didn't fit in at all.
"Definitely the natural wood. The all-white table and white chairs would get too dirty with the grass and dirt." She agreed, and we picked out the silverware, then the place settings and the waiters outfits.
The security personnel were all dressed the same in sleek black suits that would blend in, and I hoped they wouldn't bother anyone. But even more so, I hoped that nothing went wrong. It had been months of planning on Pam and I's part, and if it all came crashing down, I wasn't sure what I would do. Large lights had been put up all over that made the place as bright as possible without hurting anyone's eyes. A gazebo had been put up that covered the entire place, and sat right up against the house so people could go inside without getting wet if it rained. A stage where we would stand to say our vows was set up just feet from the edge of the canopy, and was the perfect height, even for Eric's tall form.
We had convinced a preacher from Arizona, where vampire-human marriages were legal, to perform the ceremony at my house. But he would only do it as long as the paperwork was put through the Arizona legal system, which I had no problem with. Eric I was sure had paid him a lot to do it, but I didn't ask for my own piece of mind. He had also just happened to make a large donation to the Bon Temp police and sheriff offices during April, and I knew the officers wouldn't be anywhere close to my property on my special day.
But even with the legal situation handled, I still had to deal with public scrutiny. I'd only gone to Merlotte's once in the last week, and it hadn't started out well. I thought back over what had happened.
I walked in, and immediately stopped in my tracks.
There sat Mrs. Thortonberry, and several of the people from her church. "Sookie, dear, please hear us out." She started before I could speak. "That vampire is going to ruin you. Please don't do what you're planning to do." Her face looked pleading, and when I peeked into her head, all she had were vulgar and offensive thoughts.
"Maxine, do me a favor, and stay out of my life." I said, and stormed out.
Sam called to me from the door, and I stopped to turn around. He had called me down to give me my wedding present early, and I hadn't seen him inside.
"I'm so sorry Sook, I didn't know she was going to do that." He jogged out to meet me next to my car. "She must have heard me call you, here you go." In his hand was a small silver box, with a pretty sheer pink ribbon around it. "I hope you like it, even though it's not much."
I got the box open, and giggled as I seen what was inside. It was my first nametag from when I had first started at Merlotte's, with my name in faded letters and a butterfly sticker that Arlene had put on it.
"I can't believe you kept this." I said, and gave him a hug.
We'd talked for several minutes, and he gave me another hug before I got in my car and drove home.
Eric hadn't understood what significance the nametag had for me, but respected my wishes, and didn't argue when I insisted on keeping the name tag. I'd hid it away in the attic in my special hiding place. I still hadn't disclosed its location to my fiancé, and he hadn't been able to find it yet. Behind a loose board in the wall was a small jeweled box that I had had since I was a kid, and I kept all my favorite mementoes there.
I stood there, with a small black box in my hands, and wondered what Eric would think of the necklace I intended to wear with my dress. It was a gold chain, with a small glass ball on the end, and encased in the glass was the mangled remains of the first silver bullet I had sucked from Eric's chest in Dallas. For a long time I didn't understand why I had slipped it into my pocket that day. Not until months later did I realize that it made me feel closer to him. Even though he had tricked me into drinking his blood, thinking back, I wouldn't have changed a thing even if I could.
I felt Eric's sudden and extreme irritation, followed by anger. After returning my stuff to its hiding spots, I went to find him. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw at the bottom of the stairs. There was Bill's right hand man, named Walter, with an envelope in his hands. He finished what he was saying, and gave the envelope to Eric, before walking away. "What was that about?" I asked as I reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Bill is going to pay for this." He fumed, and handed me the envelope. I opened it and pulled out a thick stack of legal documentation, which I didn't understand. By the look on my face, Eric could tell I was confused, and he took a shaky breathe to explain. "Bill has gone to the authority, and petitioned them for legal ownership of you as his human. He claims I am keeping you against your will, and demands that I return you to him."
My mouth fell open as the anger rolled through me, "What's going to happen?" I asked, and the anger began to be replaced by fear.
He felt the change in the bond, and throwing the legal papers on a table, he took me in his arms. "It's going to be alright. He won't get away with this. I'll never let him take you." His arms locked around me protectively, and I held onto him as he took us to the dining room table. "Tomorrow night there will be a representative of the Authority here. He or she is going to interview you alone, and based on your answers, a decision will be made. I'm going to file a counter-claim of harassment, and hopefully we'll have more than enough evidence."
"What will the interview be like?" I asked, uncertain of what I should say to the person.
"They will ask questions about your relationship with Bill and I, and you just need to answer honestly. It'll probably be a vampire, so they'll likely try to glamour you. Just go with it as though you are glamoured, and answer any questions they ask as best as you can." I nodded, and he went on to explain about how the Authority operated.
The next day, I was in my room getting dressed after a shower, when someone knocked on my bedroom door. Reaching out, I probed the mind, and found that it was Nathan. "I'll be down in a minute!" I called, and he went back downstairs.
When I stepped into the foyer, I found myself being shielded by Nathan, from the man standing on the porch. "He says he's from the Vampire Authority, and that he has to ask you questions. Can he come in or should I get rid of him?" His voice was hard, and I smiled slightly at the caring tone.
Nathan had lost his only sister when he was only fourteen, and since then, he had never really cared for anyone but Nick. But when he started to work for Eric to watch me during the day, he had felt like I was meant to be her stand-in. I'd been nicer to him than anyone else but his brother, and he had made a vow to himself not to let anything happen to me. He didn't care if Eric ended up firing him, he'd still come around to watch after me. Him and Jason had had a long talk one day in the back yard, and got along like old high school friends.
"It's okay, but don't take off." I said, and he nodded.
The man walked in at Nathan's invitation, with a brief case in one hand, and extended the other hand to me. I shook it as he introduced himself. "Good day Miss Stackhouse, my name is Dan, and I'm here about a claim filed by the king of this state, Mr. Bill Compton. Are you aware of his accusations?"
"Yes, I am aware of Bill's attempt to take me back." I said with a hard edge, and he nodded. "Would you like to sit down for this?" I gestured to the table in the next room, and he took a seat. I sat opposite of him, and Nathan stood in the doorframe.
"I must ask that we do this alone." Dan glanced over at Nathan for a second, and tried to reassure me with a smile.
"No. He is here because of Bill Compton, and it's his job to protect me. I trust him completely and he's not going anywhere." I said, and from the corner of my eye, I could see Nathan's shocked expression.
"Alright…well why do you think you need protection from Mr. Compton?" He asked, while repeatedly glancing at a clipboard which he'd pulled from his brief case, and I knew the questioning had begun.
I recounted all the things that Bill had tried to do to get me back, and he wrote down notes as I talked. I opened up, being completely honest, and told him everything that I thought might be important. When I was finished, he continued to write for a minute, before looking at me.
"Do you think that there is any way you could have been glamoured?" He asked, and I shook my head.
"The vampire's glamour doesn't work on me, so that's not even a possibility." I stated, and he stared at me for a moment, confused.
"Would you care to elaborate on that?" He pushed, and I took a deep breath.
"One of my grandparents was part demon, and the controlling powers that different supes have don't work on me." His eyebrows rose slightly, and I couldn't believe what I had just done. I hadn't planned it ahead of time, but when he asked me to explain, I said the first thing I could think of. Now I just hoped he believed me, and that Eric wouldn't be angry.
After a pause, he wrote something down, and looked at me again. "Are there any other abilities that you possess?"
"None that I care to mention to you, since I don't intend to become a pawn in vampire politics." My voice was flat and definite, and he didn't know what to say for a moment. I looked into his head, and found him reeling at the thought that I couldn't be glamoured.
"Miss Stackhouse…if you and Mr. Northman are to be protected completely by the laws of the Authority, then we need to know everything there is to know." At the mention of protecting Eric, I nearly broke, but I managed to hold off on that for a moment.
"What are you talking about? I've never heard of anyone being protected by the Authority." Eric hadn't mentioned any vampire laws that could help us, and I wondered why.
"Well, when a vampire and human are pledged, or married as you would put it, and they share a bond, then its dangers for anyone to touch either of you. If someone were to, for instance, touch you without Eric's permission, then it would be his choice of how to punish them. He would be fully protected by the Authority if he killed someone who had hurt his bonded, and vice versa." Everything he said came out matter-of-factly, and I couldn't believe what kind of power the bond held.
I couldn't imagine myself given the opportunity to kill someone that had hurt Eric, and for a moment I was unsure if I would be able to. Then I remembered who I was thinking about, and realized that for him, I would do anything.
The interviewer stared at me, and I coughed nervously. "How do I know that the Authority won't try to stab us in the back?"
"Miss…to be honest, the Authority wants power. So if you have something that could help them, then they would like to know. They take care of the people who help them, and they don't turn on trusted allies. If you disclose your abilities to me, then I guarantee I will take them to the people in charge, and no one else will know. As Eric's bonded, if they decide to employ your services, then they will make the request with him instead of bothering you. Nobody who shouldn't know will know, and they will financially compensate you for all your expenses." Looking into his mind, I could read that he was thinking of all the possibilities for what my powers could be, and I almost laughed when he wondered if I could fly.
"Then, I think it will be best if I tell you, that I am a telepath. I can read the minds of humans and weres, as well as every other supe except for vampires. They are silent to me." I stated clearly, and he was instantly worried.
"Don't worry, I haven't gotten into your head yet." I lied smoothly.
He sighed with relief, and started to question me further. After another half an hour, he finished up and left, with only a promise that someone would be in touch with Eric soon.
When he woke for the night, I told him about my visitor, and he was furious. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed someone's number, and I could hear the receptionist on the other end. "This is-"
"I don't care!" He roared, and I thought I heard the woman squeak in shock. "This is Eric Northman, and I want someone in charge to talk to right now." His voice reminded me of when I'd first met him, and how cruel he'd seemed.
The line went dead for a minute, before being picked up by another woman, and Eric put it on speaker phone. "This is Nora, who am I speaking with?" She had a slight accent.
He didn't say anything for a moment, before asking, "Nora, as in Nora? This is Eric."
"Hello brother, how are you?" The woman asked, and I looked at Eric, shocked. He seemed just as surprised, but quickly pulled himself together.
"I'm not happy." His tone suggested he was more than just unhappy. "One of your agents showed up at the house of me and my bonded during the day, unannounced and unwelcome. He interviewed her without talking to me first, and if you send another person here without an invitation, then I promise he will return to you in pieces." The threat wasn't veiled, and I was surprised by how direct he was being.
She was quiet for a moment, and we could hear papers being shuffled around, as well as the clicking sound from a computer mouse. "Yes, here we are." She muttered quietly. "I'm sorry that you didn't know about the visit, but it was approved by someone, hang on a second and I'll tell you who signed the paperwork." More clicking ensued, and she typed something as well. "It says here…that Mr. Bill Compton approved the visit, and signed all the necessary paperwork to make it happen. As your king, he is completely allowed to do so, and…" Her voice stopped, and after a moment she muttered something unintelligible, before speaking up. "Well well, according to this, his request for ownership of your human has been denied, and your counter claim has been received. The agent filed everything away quickly, and the final report says, 'The human woman, named Sookie Stackhouse, is impervious to being glamoured and is already bonded to Eric Northman. As of this time it has been determined that she is with Mr. Northman of her own free will. Based on her own statements, as well as knowledge gained from the public, it is determined that an order needs to be dispatched to King Bill Compton, demanding that he leaves the girl alone. He has tried repeatedly, even after the bonding, to take the girl from Mr. Northman, and has become obsessed with her. If his actions continue in this manner, it is believed that it will be detrimental to his duties as the King of Louisiana.' It also says that Bill has not yet been notified of the outcome of the case, and your claim for harassment is being processed." I was elated. Knowing that Bill had been denied to have me, and that he would be ordered to stop coming after me, was an incredible relief. All that would make it better, was if Eric's counter claim got approved. I leaned over to kiss him, but he stopped me and looked back at the phone.
"What about Sookie's powers, have you made any decision on those yet?" Eric asked, after taking a second to think over everything she had said.
"Yes, and since I am already on the phone with you, I would like to see if she would agree to being tested on her abilities. Nothing difficult, she would just read a few minds and tell us her findings, and we would decide if what she claims to be able to do is true or not. Then we would consider her for employment." Nora sounded hopeful that I would accept, and I nodded to Eric.
"That would be agreeable, but when?" He was ready to be off of the phone, and I could tell. I started to run my hand up and down his leg, and a bulge was quickly noticeable in his jeans.
"We'll call you. Is there anything else that you request of the Authority today?"
"No. Goodbye, sister." He said, and Nora was quick to speak before he hung up.
"Keep in touch." The line went dead, and a hot kiss landed on my lips. I ran my hands through his short hair, and got my grip, pulling him closer.