AN: Thank you for wonderful reviews and for all the alerts. Big thanks for my beta, keiman and kei, for fixing my mistakes.

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN TRUE BLOOD OR SVM. MOST CHARACTERS WON'T BE MINE. THEY BELONG TO HBO AND CHARLAINE HARRIS

Chapter 7

There Is Trouble On the Way

EPOV

I touched a pendant that Sookie gave me, and not trying - for the first time in decades – to fight down an urge to smile broadly. Not only was my fae fine with Nora's presence in my life, not only had she traveled to obtain for me a magical object, she had also put the magical object into the gift. Sookie placed a small blue stone into the Thor's hammer pendant and honestly, I loved it.

Right now, protection from fairy magic was firmly dangling on my neck.

We didn't have a chance to celebrate our reunion further because Sookie insisted that she had important business to attend. The truth was that she was simply embarrassed by her bold behavior from earlier today.

I smiled again. My little Lover was staking her claim on me and I liked it a lot.

Did I almost forget to tell her that I love her? Almost, it was so close. Did I love her? Not really but I felt something strong for her, something I needed to analyze further and maybe discuss it with Godric. I needed his Zen-like advice.

It was a few minutes until sunrise and I found myself trying to fall under the pull of the Sun sooner. We agreed with Sookie that we will go for a dinner on this Friday and later, she was willing to meet with Nora. It was four days since then and I was already excited. Sookie gave me a gift and it was customary to pay back such a gesture. I had already started my research and I had a very nice thing in mind. Sookie will love it.

My musing was interrupted by the phone. I frowned, taking it and seeing it's an unknown number calling.

"Yes?" I answered sharply.

"Rasul speaking."

I sat up on the bed feeling my body tense at the sound of his voice. Rasul was a trusted man, the one that was informing me regularly about Sophie Ann's action. He has never called at this hour before and it made me worry.

"Talk to me."

"Something is wrong here…" he whispered. Rasul has never whispered, he was always sure that he's alone and can speak freely. "Andre brought two men with him tonight. One of them… he smelled a little like a shifter but I have never experienced something like that and the other- Eric… I have no fucking idea what he was, but he didn't smell at all."

I was on my feet and already reaching for the second cell phone to contact Niall. Fairy. Fucking Andre knew a fairy. And the fairy with quite the balls no less, if he was willing to walk into the Queen's palace.

"How did they look?"

"You see… that's strange. I'm sure the one without a smell was short and dark haired, but Margot is sure he was tall and red haired."

"Magic," I hissed. "It has to be some confusing spell. What does Sophie Ann think about this?"

"Well, she greeted them and they were speaking for hours. They left an hour ago. Since then Sophie Ann has been sitting in her sunroom and babbling about the wealth that's waiting for her."

"Thank you Rasul," I told him sincerely. "If I may suggest something, you should take a few days off."

"Really Eric? Is it something bad?"

"Yes," I said, absolutely sure. "If that man is about to work with Sophie, we will all be in trouble."

"Tell me, friend," he started hesitantly. "Do you know what he was? Because I'm sure as Hell, it wasn't a witch."

I sighed heavily. "Honestly? You would not believe me…"

NPOV

"I am surprised," I admitted and waved my oldest guard closer. He stopped next to me and leaned closer to the receiver.

"I am too. It has to be the fae that stands behind the lycans. And whoever he is, he is scheming with Sophie."

"I doubt this…" I murmured. "My interactions with vampires are thought to be very liberal. Our opponent is the old school. He would never work with vampires, it would be beneath him."

The vampire sighed on the other side. I haven't see it coming – our fae brother looking for the allies among vampires… Who was he? What Water Fae would be crazy enough to go against Mab and do so?

"Eric, I will send more guards for Sookie."

"I have nothing against that. If you have to, closet her somewhere. She needs to be safe."

I smirked, hearing a very vivid order in his tone. He really was crossing the line when the matter involved Sookie's wellbeing. I really liked the boy.

"I will. You can be sure that she is my number one priority."

"Good, mine too."

He hung up on me and I leaned back more comfortably in my chair.

"Your Majesty?" started my captain quietly. I nodded, allowing him to continue. "What do you think it's about? Who is the enemy?"

"I don't know Ube. Queen Mab has closed herself inside of her realm, Water Fairies have gone into hiding… But we are missing something…"

"Queen Mab would have never allowed it…" my guard agreed. "She knows that this time we won't stop until we kill every Water Fae."

"Yes…"

"It looks like someone is really crazy…" murmured Ube and I snorted at his resignation.

It was a fact. After the last Fairy War, Water Fairies had been almost destroyed. Mab had agreed to stay in her own-made prison and separated her clan from other worlds… She was a tough ruler and no one dared to fight her on that matter. She knew that there was no chance to purify the fairy blood, so she humbled and accepted her punishment, giving up her crown. Even if I called her Queen in my head, she was no longer a royal…

If I was a cartoon character, there would be a light bulb turning on above my head.

"Ube, if you were my son…"I started.

"I thought that your affair with my mother was fruitless…" he cut in, a little shocked. I punched his arm to stop this track of thought.

"It was. Focus! If you were my son, how would you have felt if I had cut your chances to be the king?"

He frowned, rubbing his chin. "Pissed, I guess…"

"And did Mab have a child?"

"There were stories…"

"Exactly!" I was so excited that I started to pace the room. "The brat boy… What was his problem again?"

"If the stories were real, he almost killed his father and Mab was forced to closet him somewhere."

"Yes!" I clasped my hands. "Call everyone, it's him!"

"Your Majesty… It's probably just a story, like the Man in the Iron Mask…"

"Oh, that was actually true," I murmured, dialing Preston. "It has to be him! A pissed off prince who is trying to gain some power."

"Your Majesty, then what happened with Mab?"

I turned to him and gave him a sarcastic glance. "And what would you do if you were him?"

Ube sighed shaking his head. "I think we both know what he did…"

SPOV

Everybody had been acting strange and it was getting on my nerves. Eric was very busy and our phone calls were very short and almost mechanical. My insecurity was kicking in no matter how much I was trying to fight it down. I trusted Eric, really. He assured me that there was nothing between Nora and him now. He assured me that the lust he used to feel towards her was long gone. He promised that he'd rather stab her with something silver than allow his damn vampire sister to hit on him. And I believed Eric, even though my self-consciousness was trying to cloud my judgment.

Then why he was trying to avoid me?

It was no doubt connected with some fairy-vampire business and both Eric and Niall decided to keep me away from it. Damn male chauvinists! I had in my palms a destructive light and still, they were treating me like a defenseless damsel. Tonight I will learn everything. If not from Eric, than from other sources.

"Preston?" I called from my room and he instantly appeared next to me. We were in the apartment I was sharing with Claude during our work related with 'Fairy Friendly Estates'. "Tell me like a man would." I raised a red dress and a black dress. "Which one is better?"

He sighed the same way my brother used to, every time he heard such a question – I guess males are the same, no matter what their kind.

"Take the red," interrupted Claude, offering me his advice. I knew he was spying even though the bored expression hadn't disappeared from his face for a second. "It covers your cleavage but brings attention to your legs. Your vampire boy would sweat… That is," he stopped for a dramatic pause "if he could." Claude left the room as unexpectedly as he had popped in.

"So?" I asked Preston again, taking great pleasure in his discomfort and ignoring Claude's remark.

"I would choose black, as every straight guy would," he murmured and I laughed quietly.

"Thank you for your advice. I think that Claude is right though. I would like to remind Eric about my assets but I have to keep in mind that I am meeting Nora Gainsborough before the dinner. Unfortunately, I have to impress her too. Or intimidate her a little and if she's half as snobby as Nawoja claimed, it would be safer not to wear too revealing clothing…"

He sighed with relief and I dismissed him. I waited for my guard to cross the threshold before I called him back. Preston turned to me with question in his gaze.

"I know that all of you are hiding something from me," I told him sharply and he visibly gulped. "If it's some stupid idea of protecting me by keeping me in the dark, you had better consider your options." We were standing in complete silence for a moment. "I trust you, Preston. You are my guard, not Niall's. Your loyalty shall be to me first. Understood?"

"Yes, my lady," he answered simply.

"Think about this. I expect to hear your decision on our drive to Fangtasia."

He nodded to me and walked away.

I was not stupid. I noticed that there were more guards around me than before. I even caught on to the presence of a few werewolves. I was perfectly capable of putting two and two together and the simple math was telling me that there is danger lurking around the corner.

I tried to clear my head at this moment though. I had planned the evening and I had won a battle with Eric about this. It had taken me only a moment to persuade him that tonight is my treat and that he is going to be my guest. I had made a reservation in the restaurant with the biggest selection of blood, I had kicked Claude out for the night and put the candles all over the bathroom and bedroom.

I took a deep breath, focusing on the closest candle standing on the nightstand. Evan's voice was loud and clear in my head.

The light is a medium of energy. The right amount of light can accelerate the process of accumulation of energy and cause the fire to light up.

Eric is gonna be so surprised when I light the candles with my magic! He will be so impressed by my skills that he will have no other option than to admit I am a badass.

The second I thought this, the candle and the whole nightstand started to burn. Literally. The flames were getting higher and higher and I panicked. My hands started to shine and before I shot the burning furniture with my destructive light, Claude and Preston ran in with the extinguisher and took control of the situation. Several popping noises could be heard and I was instantly surrounded by a small army of fairies and elves. One of the elves, Elmond, knocked me down to the floor, with a maneuver that would have made every football player green with envy.

Lying on the ground, crushed under the skinny elf – who, despite his slim body was as heavy as Hell – I groaned pathetically.

Clearly, I was not as badass as I had thought.

"Get off of her!" hissed Preston and the weight was taken from me. "The Princess is not in any danger. She just lost control of her light for a minute. Out!"

As fast as the fairies had appeared they had gone and I was alone with only Preston and Claude in the room. My guard was helping me out and my distant cousin, that little asshole, was curled up on the floor, crying from his uncontrolled laughter.

"It's the best!" he giggled. "You loser…"

I only closed my eyes, trying not to die from embarrassment. "Are you well, my lady?" Preston's voice was full of concern but when I looked him in the eyes, I noticed humorous sparkles there.

"This…" I pointed at the burned nightstand "… has to leave my room. But do not even think about letting this whole situation leave this room. Are we clear?" I used my firmest voice. Preston bowed ceremoniously and Claude nodded his head between giggles.

Getting ready after the whole embarrassing situation was quite an achievement but finally, I was ready, all dolled up and driving to the Fangtasia with the silent Preston in the front seat as my driver. Judging by his silence, he was not planning on sharing with me. We were a few blocks away from Fangtasia when he surprised me by saying:

"A fairy contacted Sophie-Anne Leclerq. We believe he is the one responsible for this whole… mess."

I inhaled sharply on hearing this confession. Sophie-Anne, the vampire bitch that wants me as her pet. Bill Compton had left Bon Temps a few days after my disappearance and my guts were telling me that there is gonna be some more trouble.

"Do we know his identity?"

"Not yet but King has some ideas."

That was a big thing… How could Eric hide it from me? Oh, he will hear something about this later!

I gasped when Preston stopped the car abruptly and I ended up bumping my head on the car seat.

"What the…?"

I froze when I raised my head and saw that we are standing not more than a hundred feet from Fangtasia. What I saw caused my heart to beat rapidly inside of my chest.

The whole perimeter was surrounded by the officers that looked like some kind of bomb squad but I knew better. All of them were vampires and two of them were currently escorting Eric to the van. My vampire was shackled in silver cuffs and there was Pam being dragged along right behind him. A short slim man holding a cane, stopped in front of my vampire and said something. For a fraction of a second Eric's eyes turned to me and he looked right into my eyes. He knew I was there! The vampire in front of him clearly didn't like the fact that my Viking broke the eyes contact because he smacked Eric across the face.

My body jumped forward and I was about to teleport right next to him when Preston turned and sat me back into place.

"Don't do this! Not only can we not beat all of them, we will blow our cover."

"But Eric…"

"He's fine." Preston turned the car and passed the Fangtasia like nothing had happened. I leaned out of the window and watched while Eric was escorted inside the van. I felt the hot tears running down my face. The car turned from the parking lot and disappeared around the corner.

"What if he isn't?"

AN: Sorry for ending in such a moment. Next time – Eric's POV, so everything will be clear.

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