I want to thank you all so much for your kind response, I was so shocked by how fast everything was. Thank you, it's very appreciated, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I hope to update twice a week because real life is really slow at the moment. Please let me know your thoughts on this one. Thank you! :-) Sorry if it's crappy!
Chapter Two
Niall knew Adele was coming when a blast of heavy wind knocked his hat off his head from where he sat, admiring his lands in the distance.
The Vikings and his Granddaughter had only just exited the realm; He could tell so from the skies. The clouds were cleaning up, and bright early morning rays were beginning to seep into the Kingdom again, but a fierce strong wind came on abruptly, shaking and knocking the trees about. Only one woman was capable in Faedom of effecting the winds and weather whenever she pleased; His beloved wife, Adele. It was her talent, and only hers alone to possess.
"Gods, Adele," he laughed, scooping down to snatch his hat off the ground before it picked up with the wind and was lost forever. "Are you trying to blow down the entire Kingdom into rubble, my love?"
He plopped it back on his head and turned to look at her. There was a crazed, furious look in her eyes, and Niall knew she had finally understood her Granddaughter was missing from her bed.
"What have you done?" Adele hissed in outrage. "You've sent Sookie off, haven't you? She's not in her bed, like she usually is at this hour!"
"Calm down," he urged her desperately, when the winds picked up again. He clasped a hand tightly over the top of his hat to prevent it from flying off again. "You have known for years, what I had planned for Sookie."
"I did, but I never thought you would actually be fool enough to do it!"
Niall frowned, stung by her words. "My dear, even you can't say it was an act of a fool in sending her off along with the Vikings. You especially have always wanted peace in the lands, and that was exactly why I did it. You can't fault me for that."
"I do want peace," she admitted fiercely. "I have always wanted it, yes. But not at the cost of Sookie's life. How could you have sent her off with those brutes?"
"Adele, no harm will come to her," he assured her confidently. "The Vikings will treat her well, and Sookie understands what her role is."
"How can you possibly say that no harm will come to her, Niall? She's just a girl! She wasn't ready!"
"Don't undermine her powers and her strength," he argued over her grimly. "She may be a girl but the Vikings are men. Plain mortals. They may seem strong and crass, but Sookie is stronger than all of them combined, as they are simply men! Sookie is incredibly powerful for her age, and if any of them come as a threat to her, she will defend herself. She knows how to defend herself with her powers and use them to her advantage."
Adele couldn't be swayed by his words of reassurance; The angry look in her eyes didn't disappear.
"Still, the issue remains that she is a little girl. She's sixteen; she isn't ready!"
Niall cursed under his breath and sat down on the steps, removing his hat and turning it over and over in his hands. He always hated when Adele was like this; When she was stressed, she was unbearable, and it was always near to impossible to put any reason into her. Adele loved her Grandchildren fiercely and would defend them to hell and back, even if it meant risking her life in the process. Sending her young Granddaughter off to the Viking's was something Adele had always been adamantly against, even if it was the only solution to end all rifts and bloodshed between the Viking's and Faeries forever. It was why Niall got Sookie prepared and sent-off with the leader of the Vikings in secret; Had Adele been there, she would have started an argument that Niall didn't want to have to deal with.
When he lifted his head and peered up behind his shoulder, Adele was still standing there; Hands settled on her hips, and that fiery look about her.
"Sit, please," he said gently. His voice was soothing and placating. "I understand your concerns, but sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. Sending Sookie off was the best solution, and the only one we had. In giving them something precious, they will have no choice but to surrender and be on our side."
"I think you're wrong about that," Adele insisted. Still she sat near him on the steps, observing the lands herself. She could feel his eyes on her, but she resisted meeting them. "You had no right to send her off without me knowing first, Niall. She's just a little girl. She hasn't even stepped a foot outside of Faedom before, and now, here you are, sending her off with all these savages!"
"Adele, she did wonderful," Niall said earnestly. He reached over to touch her hand. "She didn't show a hint of fear when they came through here on their horses. She understands her purpose, and she accepted it without any protest. I know she is a daughter to you, but it had to happen sooner or later."
"She's too young," Adele repeated strongly. "No doubt she'll be terrified. She's probably crying for home already."
"Sookie is stronger than she seems. She will do us proud."
"Sookie has always done me proud, whether she's off with the Viking's to end bloodshed or otherwise," she reminded him stiffly. "You should have told me, and not hidden it from me."
"I should have told you I was sending Sookie off today?" Niall eyed her doubtfully. "Adele, you would have started trouble, and you know it."
"But what if they rape her?" Adele wondered aloud with dread. "What if they mistreat her and abuse her?"
Niall saw the pure dread on Adele's face and he almost shuddered at the thought himself.
"Darling, I think you are placing too much stock on the tales you have heard about them," he said slowly, but she could tell he wasn't so certain himself. "When they rode in, they didn't look half as bad as the rumours about them."
"Really?" She glanced at his face quickly and he could see the scepticism etched all over her aged face. "They weren't half as bad?"
He cracked underneath her look. "All right, all right; So they were every bit as terrible as the rumors," he admitted unwillingly. "They wore hardly any clothes but trousers and they hardly speak a single word of English. But I have full confidence that Sookie will be perfectly fine, and that we don't need to worry ourselves too much."
Adele laughed bitterly in disbelief. "You are telling me we don't need to worry, and yet, you also tell me that these men look every bit as savage and brutal as the rumors. Do they really not understand English?"
"They didn't seem to. They have a language of their own. Scandinavian, I believe."
"Sookie doesn't understand Scandinavian and these savages don't understand English," she said slowly, dread filling her to the brink. "The leader Northman did swear peace between our lands, didn't he? He did do that, didn't he?"
Niall didn't say anything in response, but Adele saw him grimace quickly. It threw her in a whirl.
"That was the point, Niall," she said loudly. "They were to swear peace to us! So what did you do; you sent my beloved Granddaughter off to them, without even so much as a declaration of peace?"
"They couldn't even begin to swear anything to us," he admitted in shame. "They don't even speak like us. I don't think they fully grasped what was going on." Adele made a loud noise of fury and disbelief, and he had to work extra hard at calming her. "But the leader responded quite well. He grunted- whatever that means- and accepted Sookie. He carried her over to his horse, set her on it, and off they went. That was all it was, Adele. I'm sure if they didn't intend to honour our bargain, then they wouldn't have taken her with them. They must know what it means, and what they must offer us in return. Surely they can't be complete idiots, right?"
"Niall, offer a pretty, young woman to any man and he'll take her regardless of what is meant to happen. Who knows what they will do to her now? They are probably raping her and hurting her as we speak!"
"Darling, we can't be certain of that," he said, as gently as he could manage. He took her hand and held it tightly in his own, despite her jerky movements to get it free. "I am sure Sookie is fine. If she can't find love with the leader, then she'll find love with his horse. You know how much she loves animals."
Adele wished she could share his confidence. But she still had her doubts, and plenty of them.
"If something happens to her... If she ends up..." Speaking the words out loud were unbearable to her; Her throat closed over, and the words refused to come out. She cleared her throat and continued, in a firm and dangerous voice, "Well, if anything unpleasant happens to Sookie, it'll be on your hands."
"When is anything that happens not ever on my hands?" He asked her, with a small laugh. "I'm King of the Fae; Every consequence, pleasant or unpleasant, is always on my hands. But I am telling you: Sookie will be fine."
"What did the leader look like?" Adele asked curiously. "Was he handsome? Does he seem like the type of man who would treat our Sookie well, and eventually come to love her?"
Niall hesitated for a moment, and then squeezed her hand tightly in his own. "I have no way of knowing any of that, my love," he answered uncertainly. "I don't mean to scare you by saying this, but... Eric Northman, he looked completely... beastly. A hulking, uncivilized man. Obviously these Viking's don't understand the concept of hygiene. Also," Niall hesitated, grimacing. He knew Adele was bound to get even more upset if she heard this. "He looked every bit the harsh and skilled warrior those rumors have depicted of the Viking leader. Let's just hope his outwards appearance proves us wrong for what is hidden on the inside."
Sookie knew they had left the portal that opened into her realm when a strange sensation of being sucked through the air hit her skin. This was the first time she had ever exited her realm before, and it was the oddest experience imaginable. Abruptly the lands didn't look as appealing to her as they usually did; The air suddenly shifted, hot and murky, and the grass no longer was how it had been in her realm; Fresh, thriving, lusciously green.
Somewhere back in her Faery realm, it had only just became sunrise, and the sun was gleaming and the sky was a clear, cloudless blue. Now it was growing darker, clouds had formed in foreboding shapes, and it appeared as if a thunderstorm was on its way. Sookie had often heard from her Grandfather, Niall, that other realms weren't as inviting or as lovely as the one he considered home, and now she finally thought she could understand why.
Everything was silent, apart from horse hooves on the earth and a few voices of the men, but it was impossible to understand what they were saying. A heavy weight settled on Sookie's heart, one she understood as depression. She would never step back into her homelands ever again, and it never fully effected her until then. She would miss how bright everything in her land was, how everything was sunny and almost never rainy or cloudy. Most of all, she would miss her family; Her Grandpa and Gran, and her older brother Jason, who was probably still unawares to her disappearance and was fooling around with the pretty servants that helped in the Fae Kingdom.
She felt uncomfortable in more ways than one, and it wasn't only just because she was surrounded by strange men who didn't speak in her native tongue. Sookie hadn't ridden on horseback before, and it hadn't taken long for her legs to feel stiff and sore. She turned and looked curiously at all the Viking men trotting along on their horses beside her, in front of her, and far ahead of her. None of them seemed uncomfortable by the long journey in the slightest, but Sookie guessed it was only because they were used to riding on horseback every single hour of the day.
It wasn't only horseback and the aching in her limbs that had her unsettled; It was the look of this new land, in general. It wasn't home. The path they were taking seemed to grow steeper and steeper up a hill, and the old trees that lined their path were wilted and broken. This new land, to her, felt like death and danger rolled into one.
She longed for a break so that she could stretch her legs, only she didn't know how to ask for it in their tongue. All she could do was sit quietly and wait patiently until the ride was over. She didn't realize she was crying for the comforts of home, until she felt wet, hot tears slide down her cheeks. She took one hand off the Viking leaders bare shoulder and wiped her eyes, before returning it, pinching tightly into his skin with her fingertips so she wouldn't lose her bearing off the horse.
A sudden chill swept over her and she leaned into the Viking leader's bare back for warmth. She didn't exactly want to be too close to the man who was to be her husband, but she didn't have any other choice; It was getting colder, darker, and she felt more frightened of her surroundings than any of the men in that moment of time.
Some hours later, Eric Northman called something out to his men and abruptly all the horses stopped in their tracks. Men started dismounting their horses and muttering foreign things under their breaths that she couldn't understand, and she waited obediently until the leader dismounted his horse first before she made the move herself. He swung his legs over the side of his white horse and his soles trudged loudly on the soil as he landed. Turning to her, he did the same as before in grasping her strongly by the waist and settling her down on the soft earth with ease.
"Thank you," she whispered graciously; Her voice low, shy; Her chin dipped towards the ground in a demonstration of subservience.
She stood, waiting for him to respond to her in some form she could understand. She was unsure about what was to happen now, so she waited for his directions.
Only he didn't say or do anything; She could be speaking in tongues for all he knew.
"Do you know my name?" she asked, and then she rolled her eyes. Of course he wouldn't- and couldn't- answer. If he didn't speak English, he obviously didn't understand it either. Sookie tried again, bringing a hand to her chest. She tapped her fingers against her collarbone lightly. "Sookie. My name is Sookie, and I'm Princess in the Fae Kingdom. My Grandfather Niall Brigant is King and ruler of the Faeries."
She waited to see if he would actually respond. All he did was stroke his horse briefly behind the ears with his grotty fingers before reaching for the reins and guiding the magnificent horse forward a few paces. She supposed he was handsome enough to be her husband, aside from all the facial hair and dirt.
Sookie felt her temper flare. It was like trying to converse with an overgrown child.
"Sookie," she said again, drumming her fingers along her collarbone as she struggled to keep up with his steps. "My name is Sookie. Can you say my name?"
The Viking moved his mouth, but words didn't form. He showed his frustrations in the way his eyebrows furrowed.
"Sookie," she repeated slowly. "Sookie, Princess of the Fae Kingdom." Tentatively she reached out, brushing her fingers under his chin, just below a scar that was marring the skin there. He felt entirely man; Sparse hairs, sweat, and all. He leaned his face closer to hers as if to listen; His golden blonde hair framing his face, but it was clear he understood little to nothing of what she was saying. "And you are Eric, leader of your Vikings."
Understanding finally flickered across his face. He didn't look so confused anymore.
"Eric," he muttered quietly in a raspy voice. "Eric."
Sookie instantly felt better. "Yes," she giggled in relief. "You are Eric, leader of your men. I'm Sookie."
He was studying her carefully with his eyes, and moved in closer enough that their bodies were almost touching as they resumed walking. Sookie could feel the heat radiating off him, even through the silken, luxurious material of the gown he had given her as a gift.
"Eric," he said again more confidently, and he lifted his hand and pressed his palm into the roundness of one of her breasts firmly, squeezing down. His eyes danced, as if he was finding something about the entire thing so very amusing.
No one had ever touched Sookie so straightforwardly like that before, and it startled her. In order to cover her nerves, she laughed quietly and reached for his hand, plucking it away from her breast with her fingers, and pulling it down towards the ground. Quickly she released his hand and clasped her hands together tightly in front of her.
"No," she said desperately. "No, please don't touch me like that. Not with everyone else around."
"No?" He repeated, his face strangely devoid of any expression.
"Do you speak any English?" Sookie asked hopefully. "Do you, or any of your men speak any English?"
He raised his eyebrows.
"English," she said firmly. "Can you speak English?"
"Eric," he said, thumping on his chest loudly with his hand.
Sookie gritted her teeth. "Yes, you are Eric, yes."
She had never felt so alone before in her entire life, although she was surrounded by a horde of men and beautiful horses.
No one seemed to know what she was saying, the man who was supposed to be her husband especially. She felt disappointed and panicky as that finally sunk in: Her Grandfather expected her to somehow bring the Vikings over to their side, turn them into allies.
How was she meant to do that if they couldn't so much as understand a word she was saying? How was she meant to be with this man, when he couldn't understand her at all, and when she couldn't understand him in return? What scared her the most was what she knew was bound to happen, once they found a place to rest. She was likely expected to have sex with this man, and yet, she didn't even know or fully understand how to do something even as natural as that.
She heard some of the men laughing and talking boisterously from behind them, and terror suddenly took grasp of her again.
Every single thing about these men were alien and unknown to her; From how they spoke, to how she was expected to live with them.
Unwanted tears trickled down her cheeks again as she forced herself into following Eric's lead.
She felt someone touch her shoulder and turned to look nervously. It was that boy, the one that looked roughly her age or so. He had come forward to stand next to her, while he lead his horse, as they walked. He looked more frightening up closer, she realized, despite him being only slightly taller than her. There was nothing terrifying about his face; He was as much a child as she was, and his face had a soft, gentle roundness about it, yet still to her, he was every bit as scary as the Viking leader she was expected to marry.
He smiled at her sympathetically in a way that seemed astonishingly gentle and benign and along with it her fears seemed to subside infinitesimally.
"You are frightened," he said, seeming to take in her silent tears. Sookie hadn't felt such pure relief before, until she heard him speak quietly in the tongue she used. It was obvious English was not his first language; He still had a certain lilt to his spoken words. Only to Sookie, it hardly seemed to matter, so long as at least one person could understand her. "It won't be long now 'till we find suitable ground for the night."
"Thank God you're here," she whispered in a hushed, unsteady voice. "I was scared I was the only one who could speak English. It means a lot to know I have you here along with me."
"I don't speak well, I admit," he said honestly, with an apologetic smile. "But I am glad it offers you comfort."
The young man's horse snorted and Sookie brought her hand up tentatively to run her fingers through the brown of its mane.
"All these horses are beautiful," Sookie murmured appreciatively.
"Yes, I suppose so."
"We don't have horses in my Kingdom," she explained eagerly. "Let alone are we allowed to own them or ride on them, because my Grandfather considers it cruel. But these are beautiful."
The harsh, gruff voice that belonged to Eric broke through their conversation, and Sookie fell abruptly silent, remembering her manners. Again, she couldn't understand what he was saying, but the young man answered back hastily, slipping into his spoken tongue with little effort.
The boy was going to be helpful, though. It meant he could act as translator.
"Eric was asking what you were saying to me," the boy explained readily once their talking had finished. "I told him what you said about the horses."
"Can you tell him who I am?" she asked hopefully. "Unfortunately I can't talk in your tongue."
"He already knows who you are," the boy assured her. "All of us are aware."
"Does he also know that I am a gift to him, as a peace-offering between the Faeries and Vikings?"
The boy looked uncertain and leaned forward slightly to see Eric's face as he repeated the words back to him in Viking. When Eric made a very primitive sounding grunt, Sookie was surprised to find a tight-lipped smile cross over the boy's mouth in amusement. "Yes, Eric is aware of that also."
"And does my kind have his word for peace?"
He answered without that pleasant smile escaping him. "Yes, you have honest word. No more bloodshed, but peace."
A loud eruption of crazed laughter and whoops broke out from the men behind them. Sookie leaned in and asked curiously, "What are they laughing about behind us? What are they talking about?"
"They are making bets," the boy explained, and he shook his head disapprovingly. "They make bets to see how long it will take for Eric to bed you. Some say by the time this night finishes; Others say a Princess won't give it easily."
Sookie felt herself flush with heat.
Eric, at her side, shouted something - something sounding very much like a taunt- and abruptly even more raucous laughter escaped from his men. Her stomach bunched into tight and tense little knots.
"What did he just tell them?"
"He tells them to give it no more than an hour and then you will be spreading your legs for him."
She turned to look at Eric, trying to assess his expression to see if that were honestly true. She caught him smiling broadly for the first time, and he no longer looked like a beastly animal or a fearsome, skilled warrior. His smile made him look younger and less grim, and his smile flashed unexpectedly white and straight teeth. He looked just exactly like a normal man; A normal man indulging in perverted thoughts, with his group of equally as perverted men.