I hope this chapter gets the ball rolling a little, and encourages a few of you to leave a review. Last update for the week, I hope you all enjoy it.

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Tyra's POV

"How long have you been up for?" Eric asks me at five in the afternoon on Wednesday, just after I heard him stir in bed. I enjoy the feeling of his arms around me and his lips kissing the side of my neck before I answer.

"Since two or thereabouts, I headed out and got all my files from Cobie, then told him and Esmeralda to take the rest of the day off. They've worked hard enough," I reply, picking up the tea in front of me on the table and taking a sip.

"I see you've no problems with sliding back into it with your usual gusto," he then comments, moving at speed and then returning to sit next to me fully dressed a minute later. His chosen attire consists of a deep grey suit with a white shirt.

"You know I love my work," I reply, finishing the last calculation on the current spread sheet and then closing the file titled 'Westfield Timber'. Guess what the fruit of their trade is?

"I had a message on my cell when I awoke. We'll be meeting the new king at 7pm upstairs, negotiations having all gone through just before daybreak this morning," Eric then tells me, thus explaining his smart attire. I can feel within myself how he feels about it. Mostly right now he just wants it all over with and to discover the identity of the new king, which I can feel through his feelings of impatience.

"Relax, have patience," I tell him, resting my hand on his thigh and giving it a squeeze.

"I'm trying darling, I truly am. You know how much it pisses me off though, to be kept waiting," he replies, his hand covering mine for a moment.

"I do, but you've only two hours to wait now," I remind him, turning to smile at him. He looks absolutely mouth-watering tonight, he really does. He might be the vampire, but I could sure sink my teeth into him right now.

"What are you thinking about?" he asks me keenly, obviously picking up on that little spark of lust that just ignited within me.

"Things that can wait until the visit from the king is over, are what I'm thinking about," I tell him, shutting my laptop and standing. I then bend the not too far distance (Eric is unfeasibly tall after all) to kiss him before heading to the bathroom.

"I didn't say you could escape that quickly, after speaking a sentence to me with such heavy connotations," Eric tells me, appearing behind me as I begin to reapply my makeup. Immediately, I'm swathed in two big arms once more.

"You just got dressed, and I need to go out and get something to eat, drop my dry cleaning off before the store closes and then get back here and change my clothes. I think an electric blue sun dress is a little too casual for the company of a king," I tell Eric as I fight him off, poking him in the chest with my nails before turning back to the mirror.

"I reluctantly agree to leave you alone, for now at least." He replies, kissing my shoulder and leaving me in peace. I decide to leave my eyes bare after powdering my face, undecided on what I'm wearing later and wanting the colours of my clothes and eyeshadow not to clash of course. After that I kiss Eric goodbye and head out into the club.

"Hey Tyra, you wanna come get something to eat?" Ginger shouts at me from the door she just walked through.

"You must've read my mind! I'm on my way to do just that. Do you mind if I swing by the dry cleaners too?" I reply as I walk to where she's paused by the door. Ginger is a sweet woman in her own way, but not the sharpest knife in the draw by any means. I knew that as soon as I began working here just over a year ago, but I also knew as I do know now that her heart is and always will be in the right place.

"Nah, I don't gotta start for like, a half hour anyways," Ginger replies with a wave of her hand before we exit the club and head to my car. Fangtasia barmaid Mai Ling beeps the horn of her little Jeep as she enters the small parking area and drives past us with a little wave of her hand.

"It looks nice, with no vamp protestors," Ginger comments, looking all around as we reach my car.

"Yeah, it's a shame it won't look like this when we get back." I reply as I open the doors and we climb in. The chanting mob usually shows up at about five thirty to harass the staff, hence why today they all came in half an hour early on Pam's say so.

Sure enough, after I've dropped my suit and jacket and a winter coat off at the dry cleaners, brought a pastrami sub roll and fries (the fries are ate en route) and driven Ginger to the fried chicken takeout we head back and sure enough, find the brainwashed waiting there about fifteen feet from the entrance, harassing people from the sidewalk. Since Eric owns the frontage where the cars park and people queue up to enter the club they cannot set foot onto the property itself. Not after Eric terrified them half to death. That doesn't stop them shouting though.

"Dirty fucking vampire whores!"

"Bitches!"

"You'll both burn in hell!" and so the shouts go as Ginger and I share eye rolls between each other. How predictable these idiots are in their taunts. Why do they even think words will work? Are they seriously that stupid that they honestly think they have an effect upon our choices? Ahh, you just answered your own question there, Tyra. Yep, the words I can handle. Having objects hurled at the back of my head on the other hand, tends to rouse my temper.

"Holy shit, how fast did you just turn around then?" Ginger exclaims at first when I whirl around a little unnaturally quickly.

"Eric blood," I say in explanation and she nods before looking down at the ground, working out the reason to my fury as she sees the stone that just hit me on the back of the head.

"Tyra no honey, no…," Ginger squeaks at me as I begin to stomp over, softly shrugging her hand off my shoulder when she tries to halt me from storming over to the one girl with her hand still extended. She looks like she regrets what she just did more and more with each step I take, but still lifts her chin to me in a defiant way.

"Throwing stones huh? How fucking infantile, and how fucking dare you. You self-righteous, opinionated, brainwashed little god bothering asshole," I tell her, practically through gritted teeth. Damn, not angry enough for my eyes to go orange. No one has jumped a foot back. Perhaps that's best though, on reflection. I could do this on command, concentrate my fury further but I won't. I don't want Eric alerted to the fact I'm angry, and it'll only make matters worse.

"You deserve it," she tells me coldly, taking a step backward. I close the gap again immediately, stepping forward as I speak.

"So I'm guilty by association hmm? How very 'Christian' of you," I snipe in reply.

"Yes you are, and I wish that stone would've knocked you out too, fucking vampire blowing slut!" she rages at me, all her cronies cheering her on. I love the way she just assumes every female walking into Fangtasia is having a sex with vampires. It's so narrow minded, but in this instance very true.

"Yes, I do blow a vampire. That's one, singular, so I'm not a slut. I'm in a relationship with a vampire, a serious one too. In fact, he happens to be the big, scary blonde guy who owns this club. Can you imagine how pissed he's going to be when he hears that his lady was quite literally a target to you? I can." I reply very coldly and very quietly, smiling evilly at her as I imagine how Eric would react. It's at this point, the mention of Eric that most of them back off, little miss stone hurler included. I smile, amused as ever and turn to walk back over to Ginger, who insists on making up a cold compress for my head as soon as we get inside.

"My sister's little ones are always bumping their heads. Cold cloths are second nature to me to prepare now." She says, patting the cold cloth that's just moist enough without dripping all over my head to the small bump forming. I nod and smile, letting her feel useful. It really doesn't hurt too much, and I decide not to bother telling Eric, making Ginger swear not to breathe a word either.

He doesn't need to worry about the morons outside with the king coming soon. He just needed Mai Ling and Ginger to come in to prep in case the king leaves early enough for the club to open later on, so I leave them to it and head back downstairs to get changed. I quickly take my hairdryer and blast the damp spot at the back of my head as well as the roots of my hair to give it a little more volume.

After that I head to Eric's huge walk in wardrobe, where I keep my nicest of clothes. He takes me to some very nice places, so I have the very beautiful clothes to go with. After looking through the row of dresses I haven't even worn yet (he spoils me) I chose the beautiful Hervé Léger bandage dress I brought online just before we went away. Its deep plum in colour, and short in length but with long sleeves to the wrists and doesn't reveal any cleavage, just legs.

Before putting it on I go and stand in the kitchen with my one of my current books (The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, being read for the fourth time) and eat my sandwich, watching Eric zoned out in his own little world on the couch. I'm used to it now, when he just stops. Vampires have the ability to switch off consciously whenever they want to. If I was to call him loudly he'd snap out of it, but I'll leave him to it. When he's doing this, he isn't being niggled at by his own impatience. After eating I go wash my hands and brush my teeth, and then apply the rest of my makeup.

I choose a deep purple shade eyeshadow that'll match my dress and apply that, mascara and eyeliner, a twist of blush and a little lip gloss. I then give my hair a little brush through with my hot brush, rolling a few loose curls through the ends of my hair. When I wear my hair a little curly, it reminds Eric of the unruly appearance my tresses take on when we're having sex. I do love to remind of these things in tease. I then go put my dress on.

"Eric," I call from the doorway into the wardrobe, rousing him from his switched off state. "Do you approve of my outfit?" I then ask when his eyes fall upon me. He's in front of me within a second.

"You make me a very proud vampire," he tells me, kissing my cheek after his eyes give me the once over.

"I'm glad of that," I reply with a bright smile, turning my head to kiss his lips softly.

"That fucking sticky rubbish," he exclaims afterwards, wiping his mouth and frowning at me as I laugh gently. He likes the way glossed lips look, but he doesn't much like ending up wearing it too.

"Sorry handsome, here let me get that for you." I apologise while wiping away a little smear he's missed above his top lip, watching the corner of his mouth upturn in a 'you're forgiven, I suppose' manner. Looking at my watch I notice it's six thirty, so we head upstairs and sit at a large table set out up there with Pam, Mai Ling and Ginger milling around by the bar looking a little nervous. Like us, they're probably wondering who and want to expect, even though it has no bearing upon them directly really.

We talk amongst ourselves in a relaxed way, until the thud on the front door alerts us to the arrival of the king. I watch Pam look at the door and then move herself at a regular pace to go and let the party in. Lead by Helen Carmine, the number of vampires entering is vast, and also catches the attention of Mai Ling behind the bar (before Pam gives her and Ginger a look that tells them 'out' and they leave) since every single man who walks into the club is Japanese. I look to Eric, seeking an indication over who the king is, but I do not receive any looks of recognition back.

However, when the throng of bodies move around the table to seat themselves, one last vampire is revealed. As soon as Eric sets eyes on him, I know he must be the king. But, I do not know why the sight of said king has made Eric grip my hand so hard all of a sudden that I feel like my fingers are about to break. It must be bad though, because I just felt a huge emotion swell within Eric, an emotion I've never, ever felt come from him. That emotional swell is one of massive, huge amounts of panic.

"Mr Northman, I present to you the king of New York and now Louisiana too. Aiko Matsukata, your Area 5 sheriff, Eric Northman." Helen Carmine says graciously in introduction. Still, Eric's grip on my hand remains vice like, fear flooding him in a way that makes me feel more than anxious, yet just like him I do not let my inner feelings spread to my face.

"Eric, it has been centuries. It is good to seeing you prosper so well, this club you have, I understand it is quite the draw," the king replies courteously. He doesn't sound Japanese at all. His accent sounds almost British with a slight American twang. Vampire's accents can change over time though, depending on how many hundreds or thousands of years they've been vampiric and where in the world they have lived in that time.

"Yes my king, it is," he replies, as normally and coolly as ever.

"May I be introduced to these fine ladies in your company?" the king then offers, gesturing to Pam and then me. When he looks at me, his eyes do not leave me in a way that makes me actually shift in my seat, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. I feel right now like a piece of steak on a plate being eyed by a hungry long distance truck driver who hasn't eaten for three days. On and on that stare right into my eyes continues, making me nervous and nauseous until Eric's words break his intense stare.

"Of course, this is Pamela, my progeny," he begins, Pam nodding and quietly acknowledging him as 'your majesty'. "And this is Tyra, my wife." Eric then continues as he looks over at me. At hearing him refer to me as his wife I shoot back a look at Eric, and he squeezes my hand even tighter to indicate that I should keep quiet. Looking back at the king and giving him a beaming smile while trying to hide the 'what the fuck?' confusion I'm feeling within is perhaps one of the hardest things I've had to do recently.

"Eric, you do surprise me to come here tonight and find you a happily married vampire. It is a great pleasure to meet you, Mrs Northman," he tells me, nodding his head to me in an approving manner, but not looking quite as interested in me as he did before. I have to admit, that is a relief.

"You too, your majesty," I reply, returning the nod.

"Please, you are a human woman and I am not your king. You may address me as Aiko, I would like you to," he replies friendlily as he finally takes a seat at the opposite end of the table. "Now, down to business." He then says, looking directly at Eric who finally lets go of my hand and engages himself in talking to the king. I flex my hand a few times under the table to get the feeling back, and then feel the cold hands of Pam take my hand between hers and gently rub it. Even though Eric has slid easily into conversation about the running of the state, the details of the protocol within Area 5 and many etcetera's I could list too, I can still feel the fear within him.

I know that if I sit here and try to digest it, the vampire Aiko will see that I'm deep in confused thought, and since Eric is trying with all his might (and succeeding too) at hiding his inner feelings from the king, and whatever the reason was for introducing me as his wife, I have to make my mind go blank and just do what the king probably guesses I'm here to do. Sit and look pretty. So that is exactly what I do, right up until the king leaves with Pam seeing him out again. When the chance to finally speak arises though, suddenly the chaos erupts like a tornado.

"Pam, get on the phone and find me a registrar, one willing to come out here tonight. Do it immediately," he instructs Pam, who is looking at him in the same 'wait, what the hell?' way that I presently am too. "Downstairs, right now." He then instructs me, taking my hand again and practically dragging me through the club. Pam follows us down the stairs, searching through her cell phone and shutting the apartment door behind her.

"Eric, what the fuck is going on? Why did you introduce me as your wife, and why are you in a total blind panic right now?" I ask him, having him answer immediately.

"Aiko Matsukata is one of the most powerful and influential vampires on this continent, and whatever he sees and likes the look of, he takes for himself. As soon as he laid eyes on you, he wanted you for himself. I knew that loud and clear and merely telling him you were my human would not have worked. He would have still taken you, and then...then," he begins, his eyes wide and looking so unlike him, so out of control and scared.

"And then...?" I ask him, rubbing my hands on his shoulders as I halt his pacing in front of me, trying to calm him down.

"And then of course he'd recognise that your energy was not normal, he'd then consult with his maker over said energy, and then he'd know exactly what you are because his maker would know instantly. Then, you'd find yourself packed onto a plane and delivered right into the hands of Li San Lu, vampire king of Tokyo and maker of Aiko Matsukata. This is why we have to be married and married tonight. If he finds out what you are somehow, and he could just by something as simple as touching your arm in the future, he'll take you from me and deliver you right into the hands of the worst nemesis to your kind. If you're legally my wife, by both human and vampire law he cannot do that." He tells me at speed, still looking terrified as I feel the fear begin to rise within. Except this isn't Eric's fear, it's mine.

"Pam, any luck with finding a registrar yet? Also, someone who can officiate a vampire wedding ceremony, I need that too," Eric asks Pam, not giving me chance to reply.

"I'm collecting numbers at the moment. I'll move onto vampires afterwards," she replies, looking at him and then at me with concern.

"Do it faster," he snaps at her, before pulling his cell from his pocket. "Fabien, get over here now. On your way I want you to call as many normal registrars, and also vampires able to officiate a marriage under our law too as you can and try and find someone who can come out to Shreveport tonight to conduct a wedding ceremony. Do not ask questions now, just do it and I will explain when you're here." He barks at Fabien before hanging up again.

"Tyra, as soon as we can get someone here to conduct the ceremony I want you to call your parents and get them over here as soon as possible. I know it will be important to you to have them here," he then tells me, before going back to his cell. I feel like I just stepped into the twilight zone, or a dream of some sort that I have no control over.

"What is important to me is to be asked, Eric! You're running around in a total blind panic, organising a wedding you've not even asked me if I want to partake in! Shit, I know we're not the most conventionally romantic couple in the world, but is it so much to ask that I be proposed to? Or even just to sit me down and discuss this with me in some kind of logical and orderly fashion?" I ask him incredulously and a little angrily too.

"I don't have time," is all he replies.

"You don't have time? What the fuck does that even mean, you don't time?" I shout at him, exasperated.

"Listen to me, you silly woman. I'm doing this to save you from a probable nasty fate and all you can do is argue with me? Please, just cooperate with me, Tyra." He snaps in reply. Now, I know as I just stated we're not the most romantic couple on earth, and up until very recently marriage was something I'd never really invested much thought in, this much is true. But this just feels so wrong. It feels like a marriage of convenience, one that Eric has decided is convenient without even so much as discussing it with me. He won't even listen to me! That's what feels so wrong and confusing. The fact he's decided without even asking me, without even discussing it with me and acting like I'm going to be snatched at the stroke of midnight or something. I feel like my feelings and what I might want or not want are melting into the background. Suddenly, life doesn't feel carefree and lovely like it has been. It feels scary and dangerous, and like it's all closing in on top of me.

From the fact I've suddenly been exposed to danger again because of the identity of the new king, to the measures Eric wishes to take to overcome that, I feel underneath a hell of a lot of strain once more. Am I even ready to be a married woman? I liked the sound of it, liked being called Mrs Northman, but that was when being married was very far away in my mind. It's all too much to take in, and I want to sit and have time, discuss this with Eric, but every time I try and speak to him he shoots me down. I need out, this is just too much to take in all at one time.