A/N: Wow, I have to say a huge thanks for the response I got for the prologue of this story! I'm glad you guys are enjoying it and hope you enjoy this chapter too. :) This story has manifested from a dream onto fanfiction which is kind of great seeing as I haven't written anything in a while. Enjoy! Oh and this story will be in the POV of Eric Northman although there will be third person snippets from Pam's perspective every now and again.

~Chapter One~

Eight Years Gone

Eight years later...

Seattle, Washington, June 13th 1908

"The business is not making enough money any more, Pammy" William Ravenscroft sighed with a quick shrug of his broad shoulders "We're barely scraping by with what we've got." Taking a long draw of the cigar he held in his calloused hand the balding middle aged clock maker squinted his ice blue eyes at his teenage daughter as she sat in one of the two fabric chairs inside their decently sized living room.

Burn marks covered the once cream carpet along with ash and the stains of alcohol, the smell was even worse; a stench of smoke, wine and mould polluted the once lavish family home.

"Do you understand what I am implying?" he asked while rubbing his nose, his cold stare never leaving her pale confused face as she twisted the material of her powder blue dress in his petite hands.

"You want me to help with the errands?" she frowned innocently

"No." He stated icily taking a few steps towards her; Mr. Ravenscroft was always well dressed in a smart navy suit that was tailored perfectly to his large frame. "You are nineteen; it's time for you to become a woman now. Stand on your own two feet for once."

Pam arched her eyebrow in confusion as he took a step behind the chair and rested his palm on her shoulder, William had never been close to his daughter; ever since his wife left him the bond he shared with his only child had diminished. Perhaps it had something to do with the striking resemblance Pamela had with the woman who had left their lives all those years ago, Susanna was her name and that is all the teenager knew apart from the black and white photograph her father still carried around in his wallet but that was not much use as it had worn away.

"You want me to meet a husband?" she pressed her pink lips together firmly feeling her palms sweat with nervousness

"I've found you a husband Pamela, it is my duty as a father to pick out your partner and I have done so with careful consideration. His name is James Bain, he has a substantial amount of money and I've heard he works in the wine industry."Patting her shoulder William explained the situation without any emotion; he was cold and bitter just as he always had been.

Shrugging his hand from her Pam blinked away the angry hot tears from her eyes

"You sold me, didn't you?" she said through clenched teeth, her hands digging into the material of her dress as she stood to her feet. "How much did he offer you?"

William clasped his hands together behind his back while raising his nose in the air ignoring her visible tears

"I am set for life, and you should thank me. If I had not found this young lad for you then the next option would be for you to sell yourself down by the ships." He stated bluntly

Shaking her head in disbelief the teenager balled her hands into fists before storming towards the hallway

"Good, I suppose you can throw all of the money into the bar!" she yelled "Go on father, drink and gamble yourself into debt a second time. You may have sold me like some farm animal, but believe me I will run and you will never hear or see from me again!"

Making her way upstairs she slid to the floor as furious tears streamed down her cheeks, she would not give this man the privilege of seeing her defeated and broken beneath him.

"Like mother like daughter!" he snapped with a growl from the bottom of the staircase "If you dare run from this deal then you are as good as dead to me."

"I already am dead to you" she whispered closing her eyes.

San Francisco, California, July 10th 1908

"Did you hear that Lorena was in town recently?" Godric smiled

"No I did not but I really could care less, that woman will be staked one day and what a celebration that day will be." I sighed as a young waiter offered me a glass of blood.

Grabbing it with a frown I smelled the o negative human cocktail before placing it back down with distaste

"Not your favourite, sir?" the young boy asked

"I'm afraid I don't drink the blood of smokers, it pollutes the taste." I smirked at him emphasising the last word enjoying watching him nervously squirm in my presence.

I did not understand why Godric had humans serving human blood; it was like cows serving humans steak; odd yet strangely appealing.

"So fussy" my maker huffed "Do not mind my ignorant child, Gregory. If he doesn't drink what is offered to him then do not make any attempts to serve him."

Sighing I rolled my eyes towards Godric

"Really?" I frowned "Did you really just take the side of a human over me, the blood is putrid. Maybe if you weren't so cheap then I would be satisfied, a host should always cater to his guests' needs." I smirked, feeling the irritation rise in our bond.

"Once a greedy Viking always a greedy Viking, any ordinary vampire would be grateful for receiving blood on a platter." He looked up at me with his sea blue eyes, his attempts at being angry with me were tainted by the mischief in his expression.

"Ah, but I am no ordinary vampire" I retaliated "And no other vampire would speak up against you, father. They are all intimidated by you, you are extremely lucky to have a voice of reason sitting on your shoulder" I smiled.

Chuckling lightly my maker reached out to stroke his hand against my arm

"Always arrogant and yet still manage to impress me with that sarcastic charm" he grinned "And if smokers blood isn't good enough then what would you prefer, the purity of a child's?" he questioned me with curiosity.

Sighing I shook my head, the mere mention of the word child brought me back to that night where I met the young and innocent face of Pamela Ravenscroft. Even now as a memory in the back of my mind she still had the ability to bring a smile to my face, how rare it was for a human to interest me for reasons other than feeding.

"I don't feed on children any more" I shrugged while looking around the vast ballroom of vampires and human waiters, there were few faces that I recognised which was strange.

"Oh, yet another addition to the fussy list, and what sparked that decision?" he questioned

"A little girl who reminded me of myself as a child" I admitted with a smile looking down on my maker who raised his dark eyebrows in surprise.

"So a little girl managed to make the notoriously blood thirsty Eric Northman change his ways?" he said with genuine amazement "Maybe I should meet this little girl and ask her tips on how to make Eric Northman less of an irritation to my human employees." He winked.

Reaching out to push him playfully I grinned as he laughed

"Anyways I think it's about time I tell you about the job I want you to take care of, there is a human by the name of James Bain that you have to kill. He is a Seattle based vampire blood dealer; he makes his profits in the wine business and adds a drop to each bottle deliberately getting them addicted. It's getting to the point where he is expanding to other states; I want him taken out along with his family members. We cannot risk our kind being exploited by humans, it's embarrassing." He whispered into my ear.

I nodded

"I will take care of it."

"Please clean up the mess after you finish them?" he smiled

I smirked with a nod, leaning forward he embraced me loosely before leaving in the direction of his guests. Smiling after him I realised that Seattle was where my little human girl resided with her father.

Perhaps I would meet with the innocent Pamela Ravenscroft once again although she probably wasn't all that innocent any more if I remembered correctly she was ten going on eleven at the time which would mean she was nineteen now. I wondered if she had any more fascinating stories for me to hear, if she was still alive of course.

Turning to leave the ballroom I pulled the top hat that had been tucked under my arm and placed it on my head with a smile as I welcomed the night air. I guess I would know by next week if Pamela still existed, I really hoped she did. Flying out into the shadows I danced silently across the rooftops of many buildings as I headed for the full moon that would lead me back to Seattle.