A/N: Hey guys, I know an apology is in order for the long wait but a lot has been going on and I simply haven't found the time to update however hard I tried to. From going away, my laptop breaking, and work it's just been manic. This chapter is slightly longer, admittedly I got a little carried away, but I doubt you'll mind *wink,* and as for the next few chapters they have already been drafted so it's just a case of proof reading and adding some more details before they can be posted.

Thanks: Reviews have been great, so a big thanks to everyone who took the time to write one or add me to their alerts or favourites. Trust me, it helps a writer realise their stories are being enjoyed.

Next Chapter: I am not a 100% sure when the next chapter will be posted, but I am hoping for tomorrow if I'm lucky, but if not I am aiming for Sunday. I never know what will happen in the meantime so I can't make any promises but I am going to try my best.

Now that long winded Authors Note is over, get reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own True blood; I just borrowed the characters for a bit of fun!

Chapter Thirty-Nine
(Declarations of War)

Despite having woken up two hours ago Sookie still felt slightly flustered as she recalled waking up sandwiched between two very attractive, yet half naked vampires. It was a relief they hadn't risen any earlier or they would have witnessed her freaking out for a few minutes before smiling shyly as she recalled the night before. Despite her religious upbringing, Sookie couldn't bring herself to believe that Gran would have been disappointed in her actions.

It felt too right, too natural despite the rarity of two vampires wishing to share a companion.

Her Gran had always been very accepting of vampires, her treating Bill like a gentleman was evidence enough. Despite Bill having turned out to be a traitor, not having a loving or loyal bone in his body, Sookie recalled how her Gran couldn't have cared less about his dead status, or rather lack of human qualities.

So no, Sookie had no regrets when she thought back to her actions. Godric's fingers had brought her to a very satisfying climax while Eric's lips on her breast and fangs in her neck had only helped to push her over the edge. Two lovers may not be conventional in a human society, but considering Sookie had had very little success fitting in, maybe she really did belong in the vampire world more. She had heard from Eric that while it was less common for a vampire to share a human companion, they were far more open and accepting when it came to sex than humans.

It made her wonder whether Eric realised just how much he had reassured her with that comment.

Sookie also highly doubted any human woman would turn down Eric and Godric if they offered. They were very sexy, very intelligent and experienced vampires who held respectable positions in the vampire hierarchy. They would be considered catches for both vampires and humans alike.

So no, she held no regrets.

The queen's interest in her also had Sookie relieved that Eric and Godric were well versed when it came to vampire politics. Eric may not have any desire to advance his position, but the fact he was willing to go so far to protect her was just…it really showed how serious he was about taking care that she was safe.

"Northman, I have decided it is time for you to come for a visit."

Sookie watched as Eric visibly paused, obviously not having had expected this turn of events. Despite her nerves Sookie found herself remaining somewhat relaxed, reassured in the fact that Eric and Godric far exceeded any political and military tactical skill hat Sophie-Ann possessed. Even without having met the woman Sookie felt secure in her safety as long as Eric and Godric remained confident in their abilities.

"Is there any reasoning behind your decision?"

Eric watched as Sookie continued to attempt to grasp the concept of chess from his Maker as he addressed Sophie-Ann. Technically he should have addressed her as your majesty but he had never managed to get the words out in order to give her the proper respect. His pride wouldn't allow him to stoop so low. Sophie-Ann may demand the respect of her subjects, but as far as he was concerned she didn't genuinely have it. They respected her because they had to, not out of loyalty.

"Should there be?"

She was fishing.

"I am simply enquiring, if there is a problem in my area that needs to be addressed than I am perfectly capable of putting a stop to it. I am purely thinking about efficiency."

"Is there a reason why you don't want me coming down, Northman?" she sounded amused.

He rolled his eyes. "I never intended to make you feel unwelcome, Sophie-Ann, if you wish to visit than by all means, come down." He had several vampires who he already had the loyalty of making their way down. He had many more under his control, yet he had not decided whether it would be best to kill her on his territory or hers.

"I shall. I will also be bringing Bill Compton with me. I am very displeased with how you have treated him within your area, Northman. I told you to aid him in any manner you can, and yet you send him away."

Eric fought back a snort at that. Clearly Compton had lied to his precious queen about the reasoning behind him not returning, wanting to save face rather than admitting that his fault lay with him spreading the legs of his maker and then being foolish enough to have Sookie find out and toss him aside.

No, if Sophie-Ann had sent him to seduce his telepath than she would not be best pleased to hear that Compton had been the one to fuck up all on his own.

"I accepted his approval to reside in my area as you requested."

"I ordered you to aid him-"

"He did not ask for my help. He has visited Fangtasia only a handful of times. I have an area to run, I do not chase around every vampire residing in my area asking if they require any assistance."

"Don't get smart with me! I told you he was working on a database."

No, actually she hadn't.

"A database?"

He was aware of course; his spies and the tapping of Compton's phone had quickly revealed Sophie-Ann's desire to catalogue every vampire within her area. It would be impossible of course; vampires were more distrustful than humans and no matter how loyal a vampire was to another some things would not be spoken unless forced by said vampires maker.

Her 'database' would upset a vast number of his kind if it came to light. Every vampire present on the database would be under threat from whoever owned it. It was incredibly foolish on Sophie-Ann's part.

There was a long pause before her next response. "Be careful you don't overstep your authority, Northman! Remember, I own you."

His grip tightened on the phone.

"I will arrive next evening, make sure you are present, we have much to discuss."

Eric fought against the urge to tell her exactly that he thought of her leadership, instead crushing the handset between his fingers, unfortunately unsettling Sookie in the process. "You ok, Eric?"

Even though Godric had been listening to the entire conversation Eric repeated it for Sookies sake, watching as his lover frowned before turning to face him fully. "So she is coming tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"My best guess would be to see if you are present, or attempt a scare tactic. She is clever enough to recognise the fact that I intend to manipulate her, and no doubt Compton had informed her of my attachment to you."

Sookies frown deepened, "But aren't you older than her, and more skilled?"

Eric smirked, "very much so, lover. The only reason I am her sheriff and not her king was for no other reason than the fact that I did not want the positon. If I had wanted to be king I would have secured the position before she had sunk her fangs into the crown."

"Oh,"

Despite the seriousness of the situation Sookie sensed Eric would rather assess the situation on his own than be bothered by her numerous questions, and considering he was doing this to make sure she remained safe, Sookie found it hard not to let him be left alone with his own thoughts. So with that she returned her full attention back to Godric and chess, and despite thoughts of Sophie-Ann being on her mind, Sookie kept them to herself for the time being.

It wasn't until there was a knock at the door less than half an hour later that Elijah entered the office upon Eric's permission. His dark eyes immediately sort her out.

"Good evening, Elijah."

Elijah nodded respectfully, "Sookie. Would it be possible for me to take your up on your offer yesterday, Naomi will be arriving here in a few minutes?"

"Your girlfriend?" At Elijah's half shrug she smiled brightly. They may not be at the girlfriend/boyfriend stage yet but she thought it was sweet that he was giving being with a human in a relationship a go. Hopefully this Naomi would turn out to be genuine and kind. Elijah deserved as much. "Sure!"

"Sookie?"

Turning to face Godric she smiled. "Elijah asked for me to meet his new lady friend."

A look of understanding appeared on his face before it melted into a charmed smiled, relieved that their little telepath would be distracted from the previous unpleasantness of the night. "I will come sit out with you. Eric?"

"I'm waiting for a call, I will join you in a few minutes." Flashing over to brush his lips against her mouth Sookie giggled, arms wrapping around his neck to deepen the kiss briefly before pulling away when she remembered that they weren't alone. She blushed brightly when she took note of the enraptured look on Elijah's face before he managed to hide it. "Later?"

Eric smirked. "I will take you up on that offer later, Lover. Make sure you order something to eat, Pam will give you some take-out menus."

Sookie didn't argue. Admittedly she was a little on the hungry side.

Heading towards the bar she met Chow with a grin before ordering her usual drink, making sure to add that she didn't want it alcoholic. She needed a clear head with this whole Sophie-Ann situation; she didn't want to risk being caught off guard.

Grabbing her mango and cranberry virgin cocktail she followed Godric towards the booth, Elijah following along behind them. Once she had sat down Elijah smiled for a split second before telling her that he would bring over Naomi when she arrived.

"Does he know?" Godric leaned over to whisper quietly in her ear.

Sookie shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't think so. He said I was a good judge of character and wanted my approval? I don't know why though, why would he want my approval of all people?"

"Because you are special, Sookie. You mean a great deal to his sheriff, someone who he views very highly, it isn't a surprise that he wishes for you to accept her if he plans on bringing her in here often."

"Oh."

Sookie figured that made sense, kind of.

"Have you called Isobel lately?" She remembered that he had promised Isobel that she could call whenever she had any troubles, it made her hope that nothing had gone wrong in Dallas. Sookie knew that despite Godric's heart having softened over the years that he was still a great sheriff, turning that position over to his second in command must have been hard.

She hoped he didn't have any regrets about not fighting to keep it.

"She called me the other evening enquiring on how to deal with a matter. I asked her what she felt was the right decision and then supported her choice," he explained.

"Would it be too rude if I asked what the problem was?"

Godric shook his head, smiling softly at how polite she was despite being in a club full of fang-bangers and sex crazed humans. "A vampire had been caught feeding on unwilling humans."

Sookie didn't ask him to expand. If she was being honest she didn't want to know what the punishment was for feeding on the unwilling. She knew that it was a common occurrence, what with vampires having the ability to glamour and such, but she also knew that Godric was probably referring to something more painful than being bit and simply left by a vampire.

Yep, some things Godric could keep to himself.

"So she's doing well then?"

Godric nodded. "I am pleased with her progress. She needs to be more confident in herself and her actions; she is doing a much more efficient job than she believes herself to be. I am confident that in a few years she will no longer need me to be her support system, and will trust in her own judgement. I will, however, help her as long as she requires it from me."

He really was a spectacular vampire; Sookie couldn't help but think as she listened to him.

"What about Stan?"

Godric chuckled. "Isobel has him under control."

Again, Sookie didn't ask him to elaborate.

It was when she caught sight of Elijah and a tall blonde woman who looked to be in her early to mid-twenties that Sookie straightened up, smiling brightly when she took note of how nervous the girl looked, eying Godric as if he was about to jump across the table to bite her.

She giggled at the ridiculousness of that outcome happening. Eric maybe, but Godric unless provoked wouldn't hurt a fly.

"Sookie, this is Naomi. Naomi, this is Sookie."

Understanding the young woman's nerves, Elijah having no doubt expressed the necessity of gaining her approval, Sookie was quick to hold out her hand, Godric's hand moving from where it had previously rested against her knee towards her lower back as she stood up briefly. Elijah may not need her approval, but if he wanted it then she would be as pleased as a punch to tell him whether this girl was a threat or not. He had asked for her help; she wasn't going to say no.

"Hi Naomi, I love your necklace!"

It would have been amusing if Sookie didn't understand the woman's nerves when Naomi looked surprised at the compliment, "t-thank y-you. Urm…yours is nice."

Sookie smiled at that, her own hand going to the wooden beads she had purchased from the little shop Pam had taken her to. They may not have cost more than a few dollars but she had grown fond of them and the story behind them.

"Thank you. I brought them from a little shop in Shreveport when Pam took me shopping. Pam was the shop assistants first vampire!" Sookie laughed fondly at the memory. "So, have you dated a vampire before or is Elijah your first?"

Naomi blushed at that. "He's my first. I haven't really had much success dating men."

"Really?"

"I've been cheated on by every boyfriend I've had so I when Elijah approached me I figured that it may not be me that's the problem but human men in general."

Sookie nodded her agreement at that, Naomi's thoughts so far showing that she was saying nothing dishonest. Sookie liked her already. "I know exactly what you mean!" Sookie chose not to mention that Bill was a vampire and yet he had cheated on her. Vampires were far from perfect, but humans weren't either.

"Elijah told me that you're dating his sheriff?"

Sookies eyes glanced towards Elijah at that, the sandy haired vampire watching her carefully, no doubt wondering whether he had overstepped his place at some point. She didn't mind. Elijah sharing information meant he clearly intended to keep his new girlfriend around. It was good news! "Eric's in his office so he's a little busy at the moment, but this is Godric, his Maker" Sookie introduced them.

"H-Hi…G-Godric…

Godric simply nodded in greeting, "it is nice to meet you, Naomi."

"Great! Now we've all been introduced, how did you too meet?"

Naomi was quick to answer, explaining that they had spent a night of passion together before she had been surprised when Elijah had wanted to meet up again before he had left for the day. Sookie understood when Naomi mentioned hearing from some of her friends who preferred a vampire lover to a human one that all she could hope to get was one quick fuck and nothing more.

"So you don't have a problem that he's not human then?" Sookie asked just to be sure. She didn't want any harm to come to a vampire who had been both kind and respectful to her.

Only known him for a few days and he's treated me better than any previous relationship I've had.

"No," Naomi spoke out-loud. "It's a little hard to get used to the new sleeping patterns, but my job is pretty flexible about what time of day I get it finished so it works out ok."

"And what about organisations like the Fellowship of the Sun, what is your impression of those?"

If there was one question that would trip up any negative thoughts about her wanting to trick, manipulate or hurt Elijah it was that one. Her thoughts would confirm whether or not she meant what she said about seeing Elijah as an equal and not a monster.

They're sick. I hear they beat children whenever they question a vampires morality…Who does that?...I thought God was all about love and forgiveness…if they hurt Elijah….Steve Newlin is such a prick…

Sookie bite back a laugh at her last thought. She couldn't deny the fact that Steve Newlin was indeed a complete prick.

"I don't really understand it," Naomi shrugged, having finally relaxed when it became clear that Sookie wasn't anything other than nice. "If vampires are so evil then why haven't they killed us all when they came out of the coffin, or went to war with us, no doubt they'd win?"

Smiling brightly Sookie turned to face a strangely nervous looking Elijah. His brief yet visible smile when she blurted out "I like her!" was enough to have him pulling Naomi closer against him, his tense posture relaxing significantly.

Hopefully it wouldn't come back to bite her in the arse.

So, worth the wait?
Admittedly I loved writing this chapter, so fingers crossed it came across well.