Disclaimer: Sookie Stackhouse - Southern Vampire Mysteries belong to Charlaine Harris. I DO NOT own this story!
Chapter 19
Sookie's Points of View
Sookie felt like the gears in her brain had just finished an overly long essay and now she was even more tired than she'd been once her body had recovered from puking. She'd just worked out one possible theory or actual partial truth of why she ended up here, in this time - Eric's time - as a human.
The fairy time-portal… Eric being human... This wasn't just her chance to get to know the REAL Eric, the human side of Eric and to learn how to understand him better. This was also her chance to have Eric's babies.
The one thing that held her from jumping on Eric when she first met him all that time ago in Fangtasia, with him sitting on his throne and the events that followed was because she knew she'd never be able to have children. She'd used Bill as a ploy, to test Eric.
For some reason, she always knew from the moment her eyes first met Eric's when she and Bill were seated at one of the booths and she asked Bill who he was… she'd had this feeling that they were supposed to be together, that they were somehow destined for each other.
She gave him a hard time because she didn't want to be used by the vamps due to her curse, disability, gift or whatever you want to call it. Another reason was that she'd always been labeled as 'Crazy Sookie' due to her telepathy and the fact humans could sense that there was something off about her, no matter how pretty or how well she blended in with the Bon Temps folks.
Sookie also realized that Eric was the one person who had never judged her or used her for her disability. He'd never pushed her to do anything she didn't want to do. She also realized that whether she liked what Eric said or not, she always knew he was honest and truthful with her. He may have been cryptic at times, but mostly truthful, whereas Bill had tried to keep her in the dark about things.
It really hit her that this was her chance to get to know both sides of her Viking. She never knew back home that Eric had been a king. He'd never said, or spoke of the roles he'd lived as a human. Then something else struck her hard, too. Maybe... maybe he DIDN'T know because just maybe his memory was altered during his change... or maybe he'd had a strong memory charm placed on him soon after, so he wouldn't remember her or anything about their time together.
But now she was thinking silly, she hadn't been in Eric's time until a few months ago... how could he have possibly known her, or had charms or whatever placed upon him to forget his human times? Their times? But surely he would have told her that he had been a King once upon a time.
Sookie suddenly felt the air shift around them and recognized the magic in the air around them signaling her great-grandfather's impending arrival. She gathered the sheets around her, covering her breasts, and felt Eric's hand still rubbing soothing circles over the place their baby was growing inside her.
"Eric..." Sookie tried warning him, but judging by the suddenly tension in his body, she guessed he had a feeling something was coming. She leaned back into him and he wrapped his other arm protectively around her. She could almost see his eyes darting around, suspicious and alert. His legs also tensed and wrapped around her legs.
Eric's Point of View
Just as I was about to respond to my Sookie, the air around us changed in such a way that it caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end. I could tell something wasn't right. Sookie had gone very quiet and I could feel she'd gone into a very deep thinking zone in her own mind.
I also knew something wasn't well when Sookie lifted the sheets up to cover her breasts; that caused me to go on high alert. My sword was by my bed - all I had to do was reach for it. Unbeknownst to Sookie, I'd hidden it just behind the headboard I was currently leaning against.
The pressure in the air around us seemed to intensify and all of a sudden there was a soft POP and the bane of my existence turned up unannounced and unwelcome as always. I growled low in annoyance, not bothering to hide how I felt.
"Grandfather!" Sookie said, chastising him for appearing in her bedchamber. To my surprise, she didn't sound shocked at his arrival.
"What do you want old man?" I snapped, glaring at the blond man before us, who had his back turned to us.
"Are you decent, granddaughter?" The annoying man said, ignoring me completely which pissed me off even more - I was the KING, not that man.
"Yes Niall." I saw the man's shoulders stiffen and heard the annoyance that was clear in Sookie's voice and I smirked, resuming rubbing gentle circles above where my child will be growing inside its beautiful mother's womb.
"Is there a reason for your unannounced visit?" I asked Niall rudely, not caring how I sounded.
"Yes. I couldn't allow my granddaughter to say what she was going to say, as it could disrupt the prophecy and how things are to pan out."
"What was I about to say?" Sookie asked snarkily. Eric knew she was having one of her emotional changes. I'd put up with them for the past three weeks, when they started to become more and more uncontrollable. Now they knew why, and I was happy to put up with a grumpy, snarky, whiny, weepy, happy, and whatever other emotions get thrown my way by Sookie. I was looking forward to being that lucky man who gets to watch MY child grow in her belly. But then something hit me: she would be returning in three months to her own time, and the annoying man seemed to follow where my thoughts had gone.
"Yes Viking, as happy as this occasion may be, this is why I had to stop my granddaughter from saying certain things, due to the path of the prophecy and your journeys through time together." Niall said.
Eric's hand stilled on her stomach.
"The baby..." Sookie said, her voice choked, her hands rested on Eric's.
"Will be just fine and safe. You should know by now, my dear, to never underestimate my magic - or that of my people. We've protected you since the day of your birth - before and after your grandfather, my son, was killed by my enemies."
"Why... you never did ex-"
Niall cut her off before she said anything major. "Would you have believed me if I told you the truth? The truth hurts, Sookie, and you'd already been through so much… more than I liked… due to a certain neighbor of yours and his infuriating, troublesome boss." Eric watched as Niall's face went cold and his eyes turned hard, wiping all emotions away.
"This chance, this gift the gods have given us, isn't just a chance for you or your Viking, but for others as well. In three months when you return, things will be different from what it was before you arrived here in the Viking's time. There will be a lot of second chances to open a blank book, and start a new chapter in life."
"You're making no sense, Prince," Eric said, feeling irritated. He understood some of what they were saying, but in general he was a little confused with all of their carefully worded discourse.
"To you, maybe, Viking, but I think my granddaughter will understand more. She's already worked out a large part of the prophecy, but she's forbidden to speak of it to you due to the chances that it may affect the prophecy's time line and how she got here. We cannot take any risks."
Sookie's Point of View
"How different will things be when I return?" Sookie asked him in a wary tone. She was starting to feel nervous. So far, she'd completely forgotten about certain things, like her monthly cycle and her friends and family back home. She'd just been so focused on Eric and everything here in this time.
"Not much, but there may be some added extras."
Sookie narrowed her eyes at her great-grandfather, feeling annoyed and fed up. "What added extras?"
Niall shot her a sharp look. "I cannot give you names or descriptions."
She huffed in annoyance and fell further into Eric's embrace, enjoying the movements his hands were making on her still-flat stomach.
"I wish I could give you more details, but I too am under strict instructions."
Eric's Point of View
This got my interest when he gave us this little piece of new information. He raised his eyebrows.
"You are under strict instructions? I thought you were supposed to be this powerful prince who ruled his own kingdom or whatever..." Niall glared actually glared at him.
"The gods, Viking, and there are others involved that are more powerful than you or I put together - in this time and in Sookie's!" he snapped at him.
"Oh!" Sookie said, in a kind of tone that one gets when they just had something fall into place they'd been working out.
"Not that one." Niall said calmly.
"You can't be serious? There's someone who's mor-"
"Yes," Niall cut her off.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to depart. Your brother and his lady friend are close." He came over and kissed Sookie on each cheek and whispered in her ear, ignoring Eric again.
"Enjoy your time here, and relax. Try not to worry too much and enjoy your gift in a journey through time."
Next chapter up soon. Review!