Firstly, I own nothing to do with True Blood. I'm just a huge, huge fan of Sookie and Eric.

I want to thank you all so much, and this chapter is basically a filler one. Despite that, I hope you enjoy and I'll be updating in a day or so. This was inspired by a scene in Titanic haha, where Rose "Drinks like a man". Thank you all so much for your lovely support!

Chapter Six

"What did you just tell them?"

"I told my men that I never let my woman go cold."

"So I'm your woman now?" she asked incredulously. "Just a few minutes ago you were telling me how unattractively strange I am, because of my Fae heritage."

"And you called me not only a whore but a pig," he shot back with mirth. "I should hardly care what anyone thinks or does to you, because of that. But for some reason beyond me, I do."

Whether he wanted her to or not, she followed him around the blazing log-fire and sat beside him, tucking her gown between her knees carefully. Inquisitive eyes of his men seemed to follow her everywhere she went, but she tried not to pay attention to them. Their talking seemed to get louder when she sat by him on the ground near the fire, and although she couldn't understand what they were saying, she felt she had a fair idea what they were talking about among each other. She looked over at the young boy who was sitting by the opposite side of the fire and found him to be rather uncommunicative unlike the other men. He did not seem interested in engaging in the conversations the others were in; He seemed the type perfectly content with sitting quietly and looking around, observing those around him.

"Who is that?" she asked with interest. "He's my age and you let him travel with you and fight like a man regardless."

"Him?" Eric turned his eyes on the boy himself, and she saw his entire face light up with fondness. "He is Godric, a brother to me. He's a very good fighter, despite his age and disposition."

"He knows how to speak English as well. How did you both learn to speak it?"

"My father taught me when I was a boy. He thought it was wise that a few among us could speak the language, especially when dealing with your kind and others." Sookie realized belatedly that he was looking at her attentively as he spoke. She felt rather uncomfortable under his keen gaze. "It was much the same for Godric. His father was very strict. Occasionally, he lashed out on him for not completing his duties. By the time we set off, he was eager to join me and free himself of his father's wrath."

Sookie's sympathetic gaze on the boy Godric was briefly interrupted, when she noticed some of the men were passing around a round cup of something to drink. One of the men tilted his head back and gulped some of it down greedily, before passing it to the next man near him. Her mouth dried at the thought of water passing down her throat. She couldn't remember the last time she drank anything.

"You want to try it," Eric added with a wry smile, somehow sensing where her eyes had drifted off to. He lifted his voice, saying something in the tongue he spoke to his men in, and almost immediately the cup was pressed into his hands. He handed the cup to her and Sookie peered inside it carefully.

"What is this?" she asked nervously. "Water?"

The sight of the contents told her otherwise. It was a whitish, yellow liquid inside the cup and when she sniffed at it curiously, it stung and burnt her nostrils.

"See for yourself," he simply said evasively and Sookie discovered that all the men were watching her again.

Some were smiling, like some secret joke was being played on her, but she couldn't tell why. Turning her eyes deliberately to the bright, flickering embers of the fire and ignoring all the attention on her, she raised the cup to her mouth and took a careless sip.

She wanted to appear brave and dutiful, even if that meant adapting to all of their ways, even when it came to food and drink.

She didn't even have to swallow the liquid to taste the burn it left on her tongue, and it dawned on her a moment too late that it wasn't just any mere normal drink. She knew it was impolite to spit it out, especially with all those eyes on her, and wanting to seem ladylike, she forced herself to swallow the liquid down quickly.

The taste was even worse than the smell. It was lethal, and the alcohol seemed to leave a terrible aftertaste on her tongue.

"What was that?" she croaked out, trying not to make a face.

"Mead," Eric said amusedly. She could tell he found her reaction to the beverage very humourous, and it annoyed her.

"It is strong," she gasped out, and she accidentally made a retching noise.

She heard a chorus of laughter break out around the fire and her cheeks burned. They were all laughing at and insulting her, and she could tell. They all probably thought she was some hoity-toity Faery Princess who never drank, nor knew how to handle it. In truth, she hadn't been allowed to drink alcoholic beverages in her Kingdom. But she didn't particularly enjoy being made a mockery of. When she saw that Eric was holding in a laugh himself, it drove her over the edge.

How dare they laugh and make a fool out of her?

"You all think you are so much better than me, don't you?" She spoke over the horde of men chortling at her defensively. "You think because I'm a Faery Princess that I don't know how to fight and defend myself like a man, don't you? That I can't even drink like a man no less? Well, I'll show you all!"

Thinking farewell to her manners, she touched the cup to her lips again and, imitating one of the men she saw before when they drank, she tilted her head back as far as it would comfortably go and proceeded to gulp the entire contents of the cup down boldly. Halfway through, with satisfaction, she noticed all the men fell into a stunned silence around the fire and then the awed noises they quietly made at her. Once she was finally done and every last drop was drained, she let the cup fall from her hands to her lap and licked around her lips smugly. Her eyes felt moist and the earth she was sitting on seemed to sway as she turned her eyes on the men around her, one by one, giving each of them a challenging stony look, and when she finally met Eric's again, she savoured his expression; His mouth was hanging halfway open in sheer shock and his eyes were wide as saucers in amazement.

Happiness swelled inside her and she hadn't felt such self-satisfaction in a long time.

"There you go," she teased. "I may be a girl, but I still know how to handle a drink. I can be every bit the man each one of you are. Try to doubt my capabilities now!"

But the great feeling inside of her didn't seem to last very long. Her ears started ringing and shadows seemed to dance around her. She could hear herself breathing from a separate entity and warmth spread throughout her body, softening her bones into lead. Suddenly it felt too hot with the fur coat on, but her hands wouldn't seem to cooperate with her in unfastening the brooch from around her shoulders.

"Oh," she whimpered quietly, and a cold sweat broke out across her forehead.

Before she knew it, she lost total control of her body and fell sideways, bumping her head against someone's shoulder. She heard the alarmed voices of men in that odd language they spoke, and someone's arms went around her, guiding her head onto something padded and warm. The last thing she heard and was able to understand, was Eric's voice by her ear: "Courageous but unwise woman," before a gloomy blackness took over her eyelids.

Hope this wasn't lousy and terrible? I'm sorry. Next update will be longer/more eventful. I love you guys! *hugs*