Hi all! I bit shorter break this time. My family had a very eventful Christmas, unfortunately. I won't annoy you with those details, but let you get straight to it. I know I left you with a bit of a cliffy last chapter and I promise you'll get resolution for it in this chapter but there's also another time jump. The last chapter was mid Feb. and this chapter takes place mid August. So brace yourself! They're finally on their way to the Summit. See you below. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or anything else here. I'm writing purely for shits and giggle purposes. Please don't sue.
One last thing, big shout out too my totally awesome Beta, slcurwin, for putting up with me. She laughs and all the right places and makes me feel so smart. Thanks! I have recruited a reader to help me with the translations because Google translate is crap and I didn't want to sound stupid in two languages. So everybody Thank 94larkla for her awesome help! Between her and my Beta, I sound literate and comprehend-able, hopefully.
Chapter 19
Amelia was so excited she was literally bouncing with anticipation in her seat. She could barely believe she was on her way to Rhodes and in an official capacity as Octavia's apprentice. It felt good to be practicing once more. She didn't think she'd be allowed to ever do that again, not after Bob. It still made her cringe when she thought about how she handled that entire fiasco. Who knew one night's passionate (yet mostly lackluster) performance would result in her lover being turned into a cat and her hiding him with a stasis spell out of fear of reprisal. In the week she hid him she tried desperately to find a reversal spell while also dodging questions about his whereabouts from the other members of her coven. When Octavia had finally been summoned and discovered Amelia's actions, the initial spell that turned him into a cat had not been the reason for her severe punishment. The coven leader was incensed that Amelia had attempted to hide her actions and avoid the consequences. In doing so she'd unintentionally made what would have been a minor week long suspension and penance duty at the coven's magic shop for a few days, much longer and to a large extent worse than she ever imagined. She had just finished her first six months suspension of magic out of her year long sentence and had completed over a hundred hours of service (that is with no pay) to the shop, when Octavia reinstated her magical status early because of an unexpected but urgent need for trained, experienced, and creative witches to be in attendance during the vampire Summit.
It had already been postponed twice but the old lady vamp in charge had threatened the organizers and the city council of Rhodes that if their needs were not met immediately they would 'go elsewhere' and reschedule in another city. Nobody seemed to know why it kept being postponed. It was supposed to be held in early May, and then it got moved to the end of June, and now it was the middle of August. If it got postponed again it would be mid-September before they could meet. Octavia had said this was the most trouble the vampires had ever had setting up a conference. The people in charge were blaming the fact that this was the first Summit they'd held post-Revelation. Issues with security, donors (they had too many?!), and rumors the Fellowship of the Sun were planning a big 'demonstration' were apparently the wrenches in the monkey works. The Pythones' threat had lit a few fires especially with the humans on the city council because they stood to lose a lot of money. Especially if the influx of vampires coming into the city, their associates, and the humans tourists, had been moved to another city.
The plane touched down on the runway in Shreveport. They were scheduled to pick up the Sheriff and his entourage. That was another thing that had Amelia so excited, she was eager to see Sookie again. They had not spoken since Sookie's visit to New Orleans with Eric a few days after her cousin had disappeared. The queen was hoping Sookie would be able to find out what happened to her. Her majesty said she could not feel her, but it felt like she was at rest not finally dead. Hadley was the queen's favorite from the moment she first met her and the genuine affection she felt for her caused her to turn her. Hadley had only been a few months old when the plans for Sophie-Ann to marry Arkansas were finalized. It was known through her work with the coven, which on occasion did minor spells and wards for the court, that Amelia had an apartment to rent in the building she owned. The queen moved her youngest childe there to protect her by keeping her away from court and out of Peter Thredgill's grasp. Unfortunately, Hadley saw this as rejection. Her guard had disappeared as well around the same time.
Sookie's mind reading capabilities were put to good use when she got to the palace. Amelia had helped her discover a plot by one of Sophie-Ann's other progeny, Waldo. He was jealous to the point of rage with Hadley. He had been the queen's favorite up until Hadley arrived and did not enjoy being pushed aside. Through an ectoplasmic reconstruction spell Amelia preformed they discovered his plot to lure Hadley to the cemetery to end her. Just before she left to meet him however, she mysteriously collapsed and appeared to be at her day rest even though it had been hours before dawn at the time. Another odd thing they had discovered was that two cloaked figures came into the apartment shortly after at vampire speed, paused long enough to collect the unrisen vamp in the closet (the missing guard) and Hadley and then left. They had been completely unidentifiable, though Amelia noticed Sookie appeared to recognize something, she never said what.
As the Anubis plane was guided into a large hanger to allow for passengers and cargo to be loaded, Amelia was temporarily joined by Octavia and reminded to shield herself before the others boarded. Only Octavia and Amelia had been privileged enough to know (and allowed to remember) that Sarah was Sookie's niece by blood and shared her 'quarks'. Sookie had specifically asked if Octavia and Amelia would shield their minds to keep the young telepath from getting too bombarded by the thoughts of the few people on the aircraft. Sarah was a curious child and didn't always use her 'shields' as her Aunt instructed.
Sookie's other young child, a boy called Hunter, was a distant cousin from her mother's side. He was a quiet child and the last time Amelia had seen either of them (at the now infamous Halloween party) he'd been glued to Sarah's side as if they shared a hip. As the vehicle stopped and the doors were opened to let in the new passengers, Amelia was vibrating with joy at seeing everyone again. First to enter was Bull, as his hulking frame took up the entire entry way. He scanned each passenger (all six of them) thoroughly before stepping aside for Adele, Sookie, the children, and two others that Amelia didn't recognize. When Amelia saw Sookie she was so surprised her jaw fell open.
"Child, if you don't close your mouth you are liable to catch flies," Adele said as she helped a very pregnant, pale and cloaked Sookie to one of the seats across from Amelia's. Sookie's once golden hair was now pale blonde and fell almost to her waist when she took the wide brimmed hat off her head she had some of it tucked under. That, coupled with the over large sunglasses and ankle length white trench coat, she had on long sleeve gloves, and knee high boots with a small heel. She looked dressed for a crisp New England fall day, not a midsummer morning in the middle of the south. Even if they were headed north, it was still August.
"Umm, Sook, what's with the Eskimo look? We're going to Rhodes, not Alaska."
Sookie removed her coat, gloves and sunglasses to reveal a knee length summer maternity dress that looked a little odd until she removed her boots for a pair of flat sandals that Adele handed her from her carry on bag. As Sookie carefully lowered herself onto the seat, she said, "There have been some unexpected side affects to this pregnancy. I've developed an extreme allergy to sunlight, for one….," she stopped suddenly and gave Johan Glassport a steely glare. He'd been staring at her and Sarah with a look that made Amelia shiver. After a moment, Glassport slumped in his seat and began snoring deeply.
"What just happened?" Mr. Cataliades said as he came into the cabin after speaking to the pilot.
"I have a better question, why is that," she pointed at the unconscious man, "on the same plane as my children? "
"That is Johan Glassport and he is serving as the queen's attorney who will be defending her in the upcoming trial. He needs to be conscious Miss Stackhouse so that we can go over the testimony you will give at the trial."
"I refuse to expose Sarah to his disgusting thoughts." All eyes turned to Sarah, who was sitting quietly in her seat, next to an equally quiet Hunter, both with wide eyes. It was obvious whatever she'd 'heard', wasn't something a child should.
The Daemon lawyer sighed heavily, "I understand these are not the most ideal arrangements but he is the best at what he does and the queen insisted. Perhaps the witches could perform a privacy spell on him as they did themselves. I assume someone in your party can occupy the children while we go over the necessary information and then I'll make sure he has no further contact with you and none what-so-ever with them."
Octavia took that moment to speak up, "I don't feel comfortable spelling a person without their knowledge or consent. I'd like to speak to him first."
In answer Sookie just reached out her hand to Octavia. When she took it, Sookie 'pushed' what she'd seen and heard in his mind into Octavia's. This was a trick she'd learned by accident while visiting Lafayette in the hospital after the shooting. He'd been injured severely enough that it rendered him unable to communicate until Sookie stepped in. She'd unintentionally 'pushed' her own thoughts into his mind during the exchange, which caused a little bit of panic initially but ended well enough once Eric was able to contact Ludwig.
Johan had barely noticed the new passengers on the private jet the queen had chartered, when they boarded. He'd been preoccupied with case notes and testimony reviews from the queen and her one remaining childe, Sigebert. When he heard talking, he finally looked up to acknowledge the new party. His eyes immediately focused on the beautiful blonde who was most defiantly knocked up. He thought they were going to pick up the Sheriff of Area five's pet and staff. She couldn't be his pet, unless he was breeding his own stock. He'd heard this sheriff's human was unusual, perhaps the Viking was planning long term. It certainly looked that way when he saw the golden tresses and bright blue eyes of the young child next to the pet. She would definitely grow into any man's (let alone vampire's) wet dream. He wouldn't mind trying to find her again in ten years or so, just to see what kind of woman she became. Perhaps if she wasn't being used by the sheriff personally he could buy her services for a few nights. If the child grew up to resemble the pet at all, well he could only imagine the positions he could get her into. Fifteen was close enough to full maturity, Hell , a few of those sluts in Mexico had been about the same age when he…..
Octavia pulled her hand from Sookie's abruptly with a sickened expression on her face. "I'll spell him myself in a moment. Excuse me." She walked briskly to the lavatory in the back.
"Well, now that's settled, allow me to introduce the others on board," Cataliades said. Two females, both just barely five feet tall, and very slim they seemed to be teenagers. Yet, as Sookie knew from experience, appearance with supes was hardly an accurate way to detect age. "This is my niece Diantha," the first girl with spiky red hair, smiled and waved, "and this is my niece Gladiola." The second girl had jet black hair, cut short like a pixie on the sides but the middle was pulled up into a teased, spiny looking Mohawk. Both had on odd clothing choices and looked to Sookie like they were dressed for a Japanese anime convention. Diantha favored bright bold colors (like her hair) and had on orange calf-length leggings, blue Crocs, a white ruffled skirt, and a tie-dye tank top. Her sister had more of a subdued look as far as color went but the style was similar. She wore striped black and white knee-high stockings, yellow Crocs, pale pink 50's style short shorts, a green bikini top, and a light blue men's shirt that was tied in the middle (not buttoned) with the sleeves rolled up to mid bicep.
"Of course you already know Miss Broadway, Ms. Fant, and the unfortunate Mr. Glassport." He smiled broadly as Sookie, in turn, went on to introduce everyone in her own party. Amelia finally learned who the two men she didn't recognize were. The first, Lafayette, was the children's 'Manny' or male nanny and he immediately began a conversation about fashion with Mr. C's nieces that quickly enthralled all three as he pulled out some fashion mags from his bag. Sarah made herself comfortable on his lap and joined the discussion. The other man was identified as Tray Dawson, Gran's personal day guard. Amelia automatically licked her lips. God, he was a hell of a hunk of man meat. When Sookie giggled and slapped her arm, Ames thought she could hear her through the spell until she realized she was drooling. Adele chuckled and handed her a tissue as she and Tray both blushed to a high crimson color.
The Anibus plane had been designed for the comfort of the vampires more than the humans in their party so the back portion of the cabin housed all the coffin bays like giant luggage bins. Each one had a luggage tag tied to a handle to identify the inhabitant. There were minimal windows to begin with but the few that were there were tightly shaded by Bull and Tray before the plane left the hanger. When the 'helpful' stewardess attempted to raise one, everyone in Sookie's group threatened her in one way or the other if she tried to raise them again. Amelia's favorite's were the children's promise to set 'bootie –twaps' if she tried to hurt their Mamma again.
"Wow! I guess this allergy is pretty bad. You're almost as pale as a vamp Sook. And what happened with your hair? It's so long and nearly white. What gives?"
Sookie shrugged, "Got me. Ludwig says it's an effect of taking so much of Eric's blood over the years." She easily left out the part about the half Fae children she was carrying. She and Eric had learned recently there would be twins, which wasn't a surprise really. Multiple births were typical among full Fae. "When I spoke to Claudine, she said we are Sky Fae and usually thrive in the sun, but with Eric and I bonded there could be any number of side effects."
"Wait, you're talking to your Fae relatives again? I thought you gave them all 'the boot' when you learned Claudine was going to kidnap you to save you. What did I miss?"
"Geez, a lot!" It took the next hour to catch Ames up on all that had happened with the fairies. Sookie explained that shortly after Halloween last year, Claudine had contacted her (by phone this time) and asked to meet with her. Apparently her sister had been killed and her brother and she needed help figuring out who'd done it. After that they had struck up a friendship of sorts. She still didn't trust Claudine entirely but they had settled into a casual acquaintance with her. About four days after Christmas, Claudine had stopped by the farmhouse to drop off presents, while Sookie and the kids were visiting Gran, when she 'met' Preston for the first time. Sookie had noticed an immediate tension and had caught the two whispering heatedly in a language Sookie didn't recognize. When she confronted Claudine about it she told Sookie not to trust Preston or be alone with him and then left abruptly to attend to an errand before work. At the time, Sookie trusted Preston more than Claudine and foolishly ignored the advice.
A week after her attack by Preston, Claudine came by again. She was in tears and begged Sookie to forgive her for not finding out about Preston sooner. That's how Sookie found out he was a fairy and sent by Niall in some misguided attempt to mend broken bridges. Claudine had gone straight to Farey after their last meeting to beg Niall to recall Preston or at least allow Claudine to explain his intentions. He allowed her to explain but only after Preston had returned. He'd kept Claudine distracted in the Fae realm until then. He blamed her for messing up the relationship between Sookie and himself in the first place. Claudine was the one to deliver a note from Niall explaining that now that she was carrying a mostly fairy child she should get more sun, basically confirming what Preston had told her. At the time, Sookie was too traumatized to truly react but she didn't hold Claudine responsible.
About an hour into the trip, Sookie left her family and friends in their seats and walked to the back of the cabin for her 'interview' with Glassport. There was a small meeting area set up with four seats facing each other over a short table that appeared to be anchored to the wall. It looked very fancy to Sookie's untraveled eye. For Johan, it was a considerable step down but since Octavia had spelled him before take-off, Sookie was blissfully unaware. Sookie took a seat next to Mr. C (she liked Amelia's moniker for him) and across the paper laden table from Johan.
"My apologies for not getting this done sooner Miss….."
"Stackhouse," Sookie offered when he trailed off.
"Yes, yes, of course. So what did you see? And please be as detailed as possible, so I can get a complete picture to compare with the other accounts."
"Well then I guess I should start with the night the queen arrived on my door step."
As Sookie called Pam to have her keep Gran and the kids with her for now, Eric quickly threw on jeans and a T-shirt and opened the door. Sophie-Ann Leclerq stood beside a limousine that was parked in front of the house. She was flanked by the royal lawyer, Cataliades, on her left and her most loyal childe, Andre, on the right. Once Sookie was able to join the group outside, Eric had already been informed of the reason for the impromptu visit. Hadley had disappeared. Sophie, besides being distressed by this, was also very concerned about an item that had gone missing. It was a bracelet that had been given as a wedding gift from her soon-to-be husband, Peter Threadgill, the King of Arkansas. It would be seen as an act of betrayal if she were to attend the ball the following evening without it. (Sookie didn't mention to Johan that the queen suspected Hadley to have taken it in an act of jealousy. Instead she just mentioned it was mistakenly left at Hadley's during a recent visit.)
The queen had come all the way to Bon Temp, in an attempt to convince Eric and Sookie to come sooner and help her find the missing item. Deciding they had little choice and wanting to figure out what had happened to her cousin, Sookie and Eric agreed. After a quick phone call to Pam and Gran, Sookie and Eric packed two small bags and returned to New Orleans with the Queen. During the long ride the queen confided her history to Sookie in an attempt to gain if not her trust then at least her compassion. (Another point Sookie did not tell Johan.) She explained that because of her own sad beginnings, she had a greater understanding of what Hadley and Sookie, to an extent, had gone through with their uncle, which of course Hadley had informed her of. So it didn't come as much of a shock that Hadley had opened her big mouth about Sookie's unusual gift of reading minds. After it was assured vampire minds were silent to her, Sophie explained she was only interested in hiring Sookie for use of her talent, much to Sookie's relief. They reached New Orleans just before dawn and Eric and Sookie were left at Hadley's apartment to search for 'clues' before they were required at the queens palace that evening.
"Well, the afternoon of the Ball, I f…recovered the item of the queen's left at my cousin's apartment and returned it to her that night. I was dancing with Eric when all Hell broke loose and Wybert's head flew past my own. Eric flew me up and set me on one of the ceiling beams before he returned below to defend the queen." She left out the part about incapacitating any Vamp that got too close to her man. She dropped them and Eric beheaded them. At one point he'd exclaimed he was bowling for vampires, when he ripped the head off one of Arkansas vamps and chucked it at another. "It was chaos for almost twenty minutes. I saw Andre pair off against Jade Flower, Peter Threadgill's right hand vamp. They exchanged blows at a blurring speed until Andre beheaded her, seconds later though; he lost his own head to Peter." Sophie-Ann in revenge of Andre and defense of her own life and state, buried the heel of one of her own shoes deep into his heart. A wooden heel, with a silver core, she'd designed them herself, of course, and explained afterward that they came in handy in a pinch.
The queen had been desolate after Andre's murder, but somehow managed to pull herself together enough to attend the Summit. Eric had told Sookie in strict confidence that he feared for their safety if the queen was found guilty and Louisiana became 'up for grabs', so to speak. After Hadley's disappearance, Waldo's execution for it, Wybert's and then Andre's beheadings during the attack, Sophie-Ann admitted to Eric she just didn't have the concern left in her to care enough to rule let alone fight for her state. She would fight for her life but even if she won….well Sookie wasn't sure. The queen had been relying heavily on Eric the past few months, as well as the other Sheriffs, to help run the state. So far they'd managed to keep up appearances. Only time would tell now.
Sookie spent over an hour being 'de-briefed', after which she was sure he knew more about what had happened that night than she did, and she'd had a 'bird's eye view'. She was dismissed as soon as he got the information he wanted from her, while Mr. C stayed to help explain layouts of the grounds and offer more detailed explanations than what Sookie was able to, or willing to give.
On her way back to the front of the cabin she took a few minutes to stretch and browsed the coffins containing the Louisiana delegation. Eric, Pam, Bubba, and Bill had been picked up in Shreveport with Sookie and the Scooby gang. Sophie-Ann, Sigebert, Gervaise the Sheriff of Area Four, and Cleo Babbitt the Sheriff of Area Three occupied the other caskets according to the little luggage tags. Eight vampires made up the entire delegation and half of them couldn't truly be trusted not to sell out the queen or the state for their own ambitions, especially that Gervaise. He was shifty in Sookie's opinion. The Sheriff of Area Two, Arla Yvonne, had been left in charge of the state while everyone was gone. Nobody expected any trouble because all the political wrangling would be done at the Summit. Sookie wondered how big the other parties would be.
She knew from Eric, Louisiana was one of the most populated because of New Orleans being a Mecca for all things spooky, weird and well, supernatural. Eric's area was the second most populated in the state thanks to his leadership and the wealthiest thanks to the queen's opulence. Eric complained she'd nearly bankrupted the state's coffers with her mismanagement and lavish spending. He'd been able to fix a few things in the past six months but they were far from stable.
'Lover, are you safe? I can feel your concern.'
Damn. She woke Eric with her inner unease. She went to his box and placed a hand on the side. 'I'm fine, Sweetie. I just finished briefing the queen's lawyer. Why are you awake? It's barely past noon, you need to sleep.'
She could feel his affection and drowsiness as he thought, 'Ja min älskade, tills ikväll.' (Yes my love, until tonight.)
She chuckled. Since he'd begun teaching her and the children Swedish, the children were now almost fluent being the little sponges they were, but she felt like she still struggled with the simplest phrases. Eric teased her about how well 'total emersion' worked when they finally went on their family trip to his old homestead in Sweden for the three weeks prior to and including Christmas. Even Gran had managed to pick up more than she had but Gran spent a lot of time trying to learn to read it as well. Maybe it was helping.
As Sookie turned around to go back to the front, her necklace, a beautiful pewter locket that Eric had given her on Christmas, rose up about two inches off her neck and flipped itself over, twice.
'I love you too, you giant turd! Now will you please die already? You need to be rested!' She felt loving warmth from the bond but got no response. 'Playing possum, Eric?' Nothing. That was odd, but as the pilot announced their decent into Rhodes, Indiana, Sookie put it aside for later.
The trip from the airport to the Pyramid of Gizeh Hotel was a memorable one for Hunter and Sarah. The largest city either of them had ever seen before had been downtown Shreveport which didn't even begin to compare to what they were experiencing now. They past row after row of heavy red brick townhouses with only a hairs breadth between them and little to no yards to play in. High wood fences surrounded the few spaces there were, making both children wonder where kids played in 'the North' (as if they'd entered a foreign land like China, Zimbabwe, or Hawaii). The lake became visible from the car at one point and Hunter excitedly piped up, "Look Mamma! It de ocean!" The adults riding in the limo with the awe-struck children began to chuckle. The surly lawyer Glassport was sitting in the front with the driver and the partition was raised.
"That's not the ocean Hunt, its Lake Michigan," Sookie said gently as he bounced in the seat next to her and stared out the window.
"But iz sooooo big! Are you soor it not da ocean?" At just a few months shy of three, he was a typical boy. He loved big things, trucks, buildings, cars, and Eric. (Not necessarily in that order but close.)
"Yes, I'm sure it's just a lake. Du frågar snällt, så kanske Eric tar med dig på en båttur när vi kommer hit efter konferensen. (If you ask nicely, maybe Eric will take you out for a boat ride while we are here after the conference.)"
The last few weeks, once they were certain that the entire family would be coming to the Summit, Eric had made the rules to the children crystal clear. They were to stay with Adele and Trey or Lafayette and Bull at all times. They were not to speak to any vampires unless given permission by Eric. They were to use 'church' manners at all times while in the presence of vampires, which Eric would limit as much as possible. But most importantly, they were told to call him sir or Eric only for the entire trip. Sarah's tantrum after the shooting, although mild in comparison to other children her age, alerted Eric to the fact that the children were far too comfortable around other vampires. The fact that they could not 'hear' vampires made them dangerously at ease around them. This was fine around Eric, Pam and Bubba but it was such a worry, if Eric could 'sleep', it would have kept him up.
So they had taken to 'practicing their Swedish' whenever in mixed company. "Kan inte fyga, 'schtället? (Can we fly, instead?)" Hunter asked.
"Du får fråga." (You will need to ask.)
"Wow! What language is that, Sook? How in the world did you guys learn so fast?" Amelia began peppering Sookie with questions about their Christmas vacation once Sookie explained where they learned Swedish. The rest of the ride to the hotel went by without incident, until they pulled up to the front to unload.
When Adele stepped out of the car, Sookie noticed she turned white as a sheet. As they made their way to the front desk for Mr. C to begin checking them in, Sookie steered Gran toward a small sitting area in the lobby. "Gran, vad är fel? (what's wrong?)"
"Det här huset…Jag hade en dröm…en…m…m…mardröm…Jag trodde inte…nej det här måste vara fel." (This place…I had a dream….a…a…a nightmare…I didn't think…no this has to be wrong.) Gran was beginning to shake as she tried to calm herself so she wouldn't alarm the children.
"Gran you're worrying me," Sookie whispered.
"Vi kan inte bo här. Någonting hemskt kommer att hända." (We can't stay here. Something horrible is going to happen.)
A/N: So there it is. I'm sorry it's not as long as the few previous ones but these things stop when they stop. I'd like to take a moment and thank a particular reviewer. While I was writing the next chapter I got stuck...again. I began to wonder if I should just stop writing for now. I want to know what happens as much as the rest of you do and I have an end game in mind but getting from here to there is proving to be very time consuming and I may not have as much time for it until summer.
So while I was pondering and struggling to finish the chapter I received this amazing review from Honulvr. She made me feel like I was doing something truly appreciated. Thank you so much for the pick me up Honulvr, I needed it badly. So on that note, I'm back too it. I'm thinking of stopping this story at the end of the Summit but it will still leave a few things unresolved, soooooo tell me what you think. Should I end it and maybe do a short sequel later or finish it out in this one but it might be a longer wait for the end?
I'd like to thank all of you who do review and let me know what you think and also those of you that favorite and follow this story. It's become much more than I ever originally planned.
A big Happy New Year to everyone and may your new year be that much more than the last year!