They had expected Sophie-Anne's trial to be canceled after the shocking death of her only accuser, Jennifer Cater, but Eric woke the following night to be told that Louisiana's contingent must report directly to the convention hall. Before the anticipated ball planned for the evening, there would be the repugnant matter of the trial. He and Pam were the first ones to join the queen near the stage where the trial would be carried out. She seemed somewhat anxious, but she held her head up with her usual poise, looking especially regal in her purple ball gown. On the stage sat the Ancient Pythoness, her blind eyes focused straight ahead.

The room filled in a matter of minutes, including the council of kings and queens who would be judging their peer. Just when he was beginning to wonder at the absence of Andre from such an event, the doors opened to reveal Andre striding in with Sookie on his arm.

Sookie was stunning in a shiny dress of pale blue that drew all attention to her eyes… no mean feat when she had the breasts of a goddess. With every step that brought her closer, comfort and happiness welled inside him. Andre and Sookie sat down on the front row, followed by Cleo, who looked annoyed at the inconvenience of a trial.

Bill came up beside Pam, and Sophie-Anne nodded at him serenely. She said in the quietest of whispers, "I want you three to remain separate from the audience. Stand apart from me as you must, but stay close. I will depend on you for protection should anything go amiss."

"Consider it done," Eric said, kneeling before her. Bill and Pam followed suit. A split-second later, Andre had left his seat and joined them, never to be outdone in a demonstration of love for his queen… plotting to claim Sookie behind Sophie-Anne's back notwithstanding.

After both lawyers had taken their places on stage, Quinn came forward and handed over the master-at-arms' staff to the king of Kentucky, who used it to call the session to order. Each lawyer – Maimonides for Arkansas and Glassport for Louisiana – introduced himself and the faction he represented, then the Pythoness gave her solemn assent for the trial to begin. Andre returned to his place beside Sookie while Eric led Bill and Pam to stand against the wall, as near to Sophie-Anne as possible.

The trial began with the testimony of Henrik Feith, who used his moment in the spotlight to full advantage. He was long-winded, boring, and obviously insincere. Eric occupied himself with counting the number of times Pam heaved an impatient sigh.

8... 9…

"She doesn't want to kill you!" Everyone turned to look at Sookie, who was standing now as she called to Henrik. "Tell us who told you that, and we'll know who killed Jennifer Cater, because--"

"Woman, be silent," the Pythoness demanded. Eric was on guard, but Pam laid a hand on his arm. "Who are you, and what right do you have to intrude on these solemn proceedings?"

Sookie bowed her head humbly, though the old woman couldn't see her. "I don't have any right in the world, your majesty, but I know the truth."

A small laugh escaped Pam when Sookie addressed the old judge as royalty, but Eric turned and gave her a stern look. "Sorry," she mouthed.

"Then I have no role in these proceedings, do I?" the Pythoness asked with venom. "Why should I have come forth from my cave to give judgment?"

Wisely, Sookie maintained her submissive tone. "I may hear the truth, but I don't have the juice to get justice done."

Eric smiled at Sookie's terminology, and Pam gave another laugh. He didn't bother with a reproving glare this time. Instead he moved slowly, deliberately towards Sookie. The closer he got, the stronger he felt her fear. He had never known a human so bold and so brave. Time for you to discover another aspect of our bond, my dear. He mustered every shred of courage he possessed and directed it at her, glowing when she set her shoulders and straightened her back. It had worked.

The Pythoness still glared eerily in Sookie's direction, staring just past her, not seeing her. "Then come tell me what I must do."

Sookie made her way past the vampires beside her, and Eric followed her up to the chairs of the council members and moved to her side. Only then did he realize that he had chosen to protect Sookie instead of Sophie-Anne.

"Henrik thinks that the queen decided to have him killed," Sookie explained. "He was told that so he would testify against her in self-defense."

"The queen didn't decide to have me killed?" Henrik asked.

Sookie met Henrik's eyes as she took a few steps in his direction. "No, she didn't. She was sincere in offering you a place."

Oblivious to Sookie's sincerity, Henrik sneered. "You're probably lying, too. You're in her pay, after all."

The Pythoness chose that moment to intervene. "Perhaps I might have a word?" She focused her vacant stare in Sookie's direction. "Are you a seer?"

"No, ma'am, I'm a telepath," Sookie answered with the same Southern belle politeness she had shown on her first night at Fangtasia.

"You can read minds? Vampire minds?" the Pythoness asked. There was an uncomfortable shuffling in the large room as the vampires absorbed this possibility.

"No, ma'am," Sookie said quickly. "Those are the only ones I can't read. I pieced all this together from the lawyer's thoughts." She indicated Maimonides, who did not look pleased.

"All this was known to you?" the Pythoness asked him.

"Y-yes, I did know that Mr. Feith felt he was threatened with death," said Maimonides evasively.

"And you knew the queen had offered to accept him into her service?"

"Yes, he told me she said so."

Lawyers. Eric grimaced.

"And you did not believe the word of a vampire queen?" The Pythoness had adopted a dangerous tone.

"I felt it my duty to protect my client, Ancient Pythoness," he said.

She did not look impressed. "Hmm. Sophie-Anne Leclerq, it is your turn to present your side of the story. Will you proceed?"

Sophie-Anne gave a brief account of that night's events as the Pythoness nodded along, seemingly appreciative of the lack of embellishment. "In the time since that night, you have suffered many other losses," she said when Sophie-Anne had finished.

"As you say, I've had many losses, both in terms of my people and in terms of my income. This is why I need my inheritance from my husband, to which I'm entitled as part of our marriage covenant." Sophie-Anne smiled ruefully. "He thought he would inherit the rich kingdom of Louisiana. Now I will be glad if I can get the poor one of Arkansas."

The Pythoness sat back in her chair, deep in thought.

"Shall I call our witness?" Glassport asked. "She's already right here, and she was witness to Peter's death."

Eric watched as Glassport guided Sookie up onto the stage. The Pythoness still hadn't said anything, and everyone waited in expectant silence. Sookie had pulled the corner of her lower lip between her teeth.

Finally, the ancient vampire looked up at Sophie-Anne and spoke slowly. "Arkansas is yours by law, and now yours by right. I declare you innocent of conspiring to murder your husband. Now, Henrik," she continued, turning in his direction, "your safety is assured. Who has told you lies?"

The trembling Arkansas vampire walked up and stood next to Sookie. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words never came out. A stake had impaled him, spearlike. Eric and every other vampire in the room hit the floor. Had the stake been meant for Sophie-Anne? Was another one on its way? Flat on his stomach and forearms, Eric began making his way towards her. Andre had already thrown himself in her direction.

"What is happening?" the Pythoness screamed, looking around herself helplessly. "Why is everyone so tense? Where is the danger?"

From the corner of his eye, Eric saw Quinn throw himself in front of Sookie as a second wooden missile slammed into his shoulder. Sookie fell to the floor unharmed.

There was the sickening sound of torn flesh followed by a heavy thud, and Eric sat up and whirled around to see a decapitated vampire fall to his knees before flopping over to one side. Batanya the Britlingen had killed him. Now that it was safe, Eric scrabbled quickly over the few remaining feet to Sophie-Anne.

"Your majesty," he said, touching her shoulder. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No, no," she said. "Just rumpled."

Beside Eric, there were sounds of relief from Andre, Bill, and Pam. At that same moment, a loud shout of pain echoed through the room from the direction of Sookie and Quinn. Eric left Sophie-Anne in Andre's capable hands, since he doubted there was anything he could do about the queen being "rumpled."

As Eric had expected to be the case, the tiger had cried out when the arrow was removed from his shoulder. Cleo and Sookie were pressing items of clothing against his wound to stop the bleeding.

He sent calm to Sookie through the bond as he knelt down beside her. "He's going to heal," he told her in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. As much as he hated the shifter, Quinn had spared Sookie a nasty injury.

She nodded and swiped a tear from her cheek. "Yes."

She didn't say anything else, and he wondered if the silence was her way of reproving him for not saving her himself. "I know," he admitted. "I didn't see it coming."

Tucking a bit of hair behind her ear, she looked over at him. "Oh, would you have flung yourself in front of me?" she asked, skepticism written all over her face.

"No, because it might have hit me in the heart, and I would die. But I would have dived in and tackled you to take you out of the arrow's path if there had been time." She seemed to forget that Quinn was not a vampire; taking a wooden arrow would not mean instant death for him. She wasn't saying anything; was she angry? He touched her arm. "I know you may come to hate me because I spared you the bite of Andre, but I really am the lesser of two evils."

She gave him another glance, and her face softened. "I know that. I wouldn't have rather died than get bit by Andre, but it was a close thing."

Eric smiled at her, then laughed. He could accept being a fate better than… almost death. "The weretiger is regaining consciousness," he said. Sookie smiled and touched Quinn's cheek with real affection. He ran his eyes briefly over her face. "Do you love him?"

"Don't know yet," she said casually, brushing him off.

He was silent for a few seconds. "Did you love me?"

She didn't answer him, and she looked relieved when the paramedics showed up on cue to take Quinn. The tiger woke to full consciousness as they began flitting around him, checking his vitals.

"We'll make sure he gets healed in record time, lady," one of the paramedics, a shifter, assured Sookie.

"I'll check on him later," she said.

The paramedic smiled at her. "We'll take care of him. Among us, he'll do better. It's a privilege to take care of Quinn."

"I'm ready to be moved," Quinn said in a strained voice, and Sookie reached for his hand.

"See you later," she said gently. "You're the bravest of the brave, Quinn."

Eric gritted his teeth and swallowed the unnecessary comments he wanted to make.

"Babe, be careful," the tiger told her as he released her hand.

One of the paramedics, another shifter who had been studying Eric, said in a gruff voice, "Don't you be worrying about her. She's got guardians." Was the man an empath, able to read the feelings of others? Eric got the distinct impression that he was.

Damned right she has a guardian. Eric rose from his knees and offered his hand to Sookie to help her up. She held her hands over her chest as Quinn was loaded onto the stretcher. When he passed out again from the pain, she took a step towards him, only to be stopped by the empathic shifter.

"Sister, you just stay here," he told her kindly. "We're on the job now." He glanced one more time at Eric, then followed the rest of his crew with the stretcher.

Now that they were alone, Sookie could answer his question. He wanted – needed – to know the answer.

She looked up at him. "Did I love you?" She glanced away again and looked thoughtful. "Maybe, sort of. But I knew all along that whoever was with me, it wasn't the real you. And I knew sooner or later you'd remember who you were and what you were."

The words would have stung if she had said them in a cruel way, but she didn't. She didn't imply that who he was, what he was, was something bad. Just different. In any case, it pleased him that she hadn't fallen in love with the false version of himself. He preferred to think that if she came to love him – when she came to love him – it would be himself that she loved.

"You don't seem to have yes or no answers about men," he observed.

"You don't exactly seem to know how you feel about me, either."

This was hardly the time to tell her that he did, in fact, know how he felt about her. "You're a mystery," he said with a smile. "Who was your mother, and who was your father? Oh, I know, you'll say they raised you from a child and died when you were a little girl. I remember you telling me the story." He paused, trying to read her expression. "But I don't know if it's exactly true. If it is, when did the fairy blood enter your family tree? Did it come in with one of your grandparents? That's what I'm supposing."

She turned her nose up at him in that way he found both frustrating and endearing. "And what business is it of yours?" she asked haughtily.

"You know it is my business." He reached out and swiped his thumb lightly over her bottom lip. "Now we are tied."

Sookie frowned. "Is this going to fade? It will, right?" She crossed her arms. "We won't always be like this?"

Yes, the bond would fade over the years. But by that time, she would want to be bonded to him. She would learn to love the comfort of his presence, their ability to strengthen each other, their ability to weaken each other's pain by sharing it, the heightened pleasure when they made love, the protection he could offer her. They would be happy to renew their bond when it was needed. As much as he hated Andre, he was grateful for this unwanted thing that he was learning to appreciate.

He didn't answer her question. "I like being like this," he said, admitting it to himself as much as to her. "You'll like it, too."

Sookie blinked and looked as if she were casting about for something to say. When she did speak, it was to turn the conversation sharply in another direction. "Who was the vampire who tried to kill us?"

"Let's go find out."

He reached out and clasped her hand, threading his fingers through hers. She didn't flinch; she curled her fingers over his. His campaign to win her would be so much easier if he could please her with as much ease as she could please him. They moved through the crowd until they found Batanya. The Britlingen warrior was still standing over her kill, cleaning her weapon – a throwing star – on her pants. Eric nodded at her in greeting, and she returned the acknowledgment.

"Good throw. Who was he?" Eric asked her.

"I don't know. The guy with the arrows, was all I know." She held the throwing star to the light and examined it, then looked past it to flash Eric a lethal smile. "All I care."

"He was the only one?"

Batanya tucked the weapon into her clothing. "Yes," she said with finality.

The vampire's head had already disintegrated, and his body was following suit at a rapid pace. His clothes gave no hint as to who he was. "Can you tell me what he looked like?" he asked.

"I was sitting next to him," came a voice from behind Batanya. She turned and moved aside to reveal a short vampire whom Eric recognized from Bart Crowe's entourage. "He was a rough one, and not dressed for the evening. Khakis and a striped dress shirt…" He trailed off and motioned to the corpse. "Well, you can see."

Sookie, who had been standing quietly at Eric's side, took a step forward. She still hadn't released his hand. "Maybe he had a driver's license," she said.

A good suggestion, and one only a human would think to make. For all their frailty, humans were practical. With regret, Eric unlaced his fingers from Sookie's and crouched down beside the body. He searched both front pockets of the dress shirt with no luck, then rolled the body over. As was customary with human men, a black leather wallet had been stuffed in the vampire's back pocket. Eric removed it and unfolded it to reveal an Illinois driver's license bearing the name Kyle Perkins. His address was in Rhodes, and he was newly made: only three years old. The young ones were easily manipulated by their makers and elders alike.

Sookie reached for the plastic card, and Eric handed it up to her. "He must have been an archer before he died, because that's not a skill you'd pick up right away," she pointed out. "Especially that young." She returned the card to Eric, who rose to his feet.

"I agree," he said, "and in the daytime, I want you to check all the local places you can practice archery. Throwing arrows is not a skill you can improvise. He trained. The arrow was specially made." He set his jaw grimly. "We need to find out what happened to Kyle Perkins and why this rogue accepted the job to attend this meeting and kill whomever necessary." Eric had his doubts that the newborn would freely accept what was essentially a suicide mission.

"So he was a…" Sookie frowned. "A vampire hit man?"

"Yes, I think so." Eric glanced at Batanya, who nodded her agreement. "Someone is maneuvering us very carefully. Of course, this Perkins was simply backup in case the trial went wrong." He cupped her shoulder with his hand. "And if it hadn't been for you, the trial might well have gone wrong. Someone went to a lot of trouble to play on Henrik Feith's fears, and stupid Henrik was about to give that someone up. This Kyle…" Eric nudged the now-shapeless pile of clothes with the toe of his dress shoe. "He was planted to prevent just that."

He, Sookie, and Batanya stood in thoughtful silence as a crew of vampire janitors swept in to take the hit man's remains.

"My work here is done," Batanya said when the last traces of ash had been cleared. Moments after she strode away, Sookie giggled.

"What's funny?" he asked.

"I guess nothing about this is funny," she said, staring down at the spot where Kyle Perkins had been. "But…" She looked up at him and smiled. "That line could've been straight out of a movie."

They stood together in comfortable silence and watched as the room was transformed from a courtroom to a ballroom. Only a few of the vampires from the trial had needed to go back to their rooms to change, and those were the unlucky few who had been in the flight path of Kyle Perkins' head. Across the room, Sophie-Anne was chatting with a semi-circle of friends and subjects.

"You had better check in with the queen," Eric reminded Sookie.

"Oh. Yeah, she might have a few words to say to me." She gave a resigned sigh as she looked over at Sophie-Anne. "Eric, where'd the old gal go?"

He was momentarily confused. Why would she ask that when she was looking right at the queen? Then he realized the person she meant. Ah, Sookie, and her always entertaining way with words.

"The Ancient Pythoness is the original oracle that Alexander consulted," he told her. "She was considered so revered that even in her old age, she was converted by the very primitive vampires of her time, and now she has outlasted all of them." He wondered what the Pythoness would think of a young human barmaid referring to her as "the old gal," and the corner of his mouth twitched. "To answer your question," he continued, "I would guess her handmaidens have removed her to her suite. She is brought out for special occasions."

"Like the good silver." She started laughing, her high spirits racing through his blood in a joyful gallop.

He smiled back at her, and it was a smile more of affection than amusement. For the few decades that Sookie had left, his existence would never be dull. And after… "After" was something he chose not to think about.

He reached for her hand again; again she accepted it, and they walked together to stand with the queen.