Spellbound
Can you see it?! Can you see the blinding smile that is on my face? YOU did that! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this story.
After the mess known as Ginger was cleaned up from his office floor, Eric sat at his desk pondering the words of his wife.
'I'm leaving you. I don't love you anymore I only want my freedom. I don't want your name. I don't want the memories of you. I want out'.
He hated to say it but she has knocked him off balance. Not because she wants to leave him but because she said that she doesn't love him anymore. Her love was real and he'd lost it. For the first time in a long time, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to fix what was wrong. He was at a total loss.
"What's wrong, Eric?"
Eric looked up to see his child, Pam, standing at his office door. She stood there staring in his eyes; not trying to mask the concern that was on her face. The last thing that he needed from her or anyone else was pity. He didn't need it. He sure as hell didn't want it. He wasn't in the mood for her sarcastic remarks. The only thing that he wanted was to be left alone.
So, he did what vampires do best. He hid his feelings. Eric began to pretend to be going through a stack of invoices that were on his desk. "I'm busy, Pam. Leave me to my work."
He knew that when he said the words that she was going to defy him. If she hadn't, it would have been completely out of her character. She sniggered as she sauntered into his office. She stood in front of his desk with her arms crossed and stared down at him. The sounds of her tapping her foot filled the room.
"Busy doing what?" she asked. "Daydreaming? You haven't been out in the bar all night. You've killed one our best waitresses. Your moodiness is bringing me down. Now, come on. Tell me what's going on with you."
Eric rested his arms on the desk; propping himself up on his elbows. There was no point in bullshitting her. She was going to find out sooner or later. Everyone was going to find out. How is it even possible to keep secret that the fae princess, the wife of Eric Northman has left him?
"Sookie's leaving me."
Pam's smirk was gone. She knew how Eric felt about Sookie but she knew better than to say anything about it. He was too proud to even admit it to himself. So, she said the next best thing. "She can't leave you. She has to be with you for an entire century." She chuckled and tried to make light of the situation. "Don't worry about it. She doesn't have the authority to end your marriage. She will have to go before the council and they will have to approve it. Plus, she's fae. She can't go before them without you."
Eric did a very human thing and snorted. "Do you remember her trip to Las Vegas?"
"I do. I wanted to go shopping at the Bellagio but you wouldn't let me go. They had a once in a lifetime sale on Jimmy Choos, Prada, and Alexander McQueen. I begged and begged for your permission to go. Do you happen to recall what you said to me? You told me that …"
Eric interrupted her. He wasn't in the mood to hear about her shoe fetish. "She went to see the Pythoness."
Pam fell silent.
"She and Andromeda spent three fun filled days in Las Vegas discussing my marriage to Sookie."
The only word Pam heard in that sentence was Andromeda. Pam's mouth fell open. "She called the Pythoness by her given name … to her face? She really called her Andromeda? No one has called her that for centuries. If she even heard anyone whisper her name, they were dead before the next word left their mouth."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The AP didn't like being reminded of her former self. It took years for her to get over it. She stayed locked away for centuries. She couldn't bear to be seen. She was no longer the beautiful goddess that had been worshiped by men and women. She was a monster.
When the goddess came down to earth in human form, she took a human man to her bed. He was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. As far as she was concerned, he was made for her pleasure only. No human was worthy of him. He was a gift from the gods. Since she considered herself to be the most beautiful of all goddesses, they were made for each other. When she'd finally had him, she was determined that he was going to belong to her forever. She didn't realize that he had the same intentions.
"Will you belong only to me?" the man asked her as he thrust inside of her.
She couldn't say no to him. When she said yes, she'd sealed her fate.
Her man wasn't a man at all. He was a vampire and drained her of everything that she used to be. He turned her into a creature of the night. He made her his child and his lifelong lover. She prayed to Zeus to return her to her former self but he refused her request. She wasn't supposed to come to Earth and take the human as her lover. The gods were ordered to stay in the heavens and to no longer mate with the mortals. He said that she was to remain vampire for all eternity. It was her punishment for disobeying him.
For centuries, she stayed hidden away; ashamed of what she was; yearning to be her former self. Each vampire knew the story and they knew the risks of calling the AP by her given name. It meant instant death for all; for all except Sookie.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"You're fucked," Pam said.
"I know."
"What has happened to change her? She seemed so … cheerful when I last saw her. She was smiling and talking to anyone that approached her." A flash of something ran across Pam's face. "That is until you went into your office."
Eric eyed her as he ignored her statement. "She is no longer happy with me. She is no longer the cheerful fae of not too long ago. She wants out of this arrangement."
Pam cocked her head to the side and stared at Eric. "Is it the fangbangers? I told you to stop playing those macho games. You're married to a fae princess for goodness sakes. I told you that she wasn't going to put up with this from you for too much longer. I told you."
Eric sighed. "I've never fucked them, Pam."
"How is she supposed to know that?" Pam placed her palms on Eric's desk and looked him square in the eyes.
Eric sighed. Since he's told her almost everything, he may as well tell her everything. "She knows about Freyda."
Pam dropped her head and shook it. "What?"
"She knows about Freyda."
Pam looked up at her maker with disappoint in her eyes. "Eric."
"I know."
"What does she know about her?"
"Nothing," he replied.
"Are you sure?"
Eric paused before answering. He knew that if Sookie knew anything about Freyda, she would have said something about it. Tonight, she didn't hold anything back. So if she knew anything, she would've said something about it.
"I'm pretty sure."
"Well?" Pam asked with her arms thrown out at her sides. "Did you tell her about her?"
"There's nothing to tell."
"Does she know about the party for tomorrow night?"
"Yes."
"Who told her?"
Eric looked at Pam with sullen eyes. "I haven't a clue."
"Well?" Pam asked again but this time with a little more frustration.
"Well, what?"
Pam looked at Eric as if he were Bubba, the dimwitted vampire. "Did you at least tell her that you had planned on telling her about the party but it slipped your mind?"
Eric looked as if the idea had never crossed his mind. "No."
It was getting harder and harder for Pam to hide her irritation with Eric. "Did you at least invite her?"
Again he said, "No."
"Are you fucking kidding me, Eric? What did you say to her?"
Eric said nothing.
"I hope that you didn't look like that when she mentioned the party." When he didn't say anything, Pam shook her head. "I guess you did. Is she coming?"
"I don't know. I doubt it."
"I told you to tell her. I told you …"
With his head bowed, Eric said, "I don't need to hear 'I told you so' from you. What I need from you is a way to fix this."
"You could've fixed this long ago."
Eric dropped fang on Pam. "I don't need your sarcasm or your smart ass remarks. What I need from you is your help."
"Eric, what am I supposed to do? Sookie and I aren't girlfriends. She invited me to go shopping with her but what did you say? No. You never gave me a chance to get to know her. You didn't want her around any of us unless you were there. And anyway," she added. "Why do you want to stay in this marriage? You act as if you hate her."
"I don't hate her."
Pam sat on the edge of Eric's desk. "Your actions say something entirely different."
What could he say other than that she was right?
"It's not entirely my fault. Her grandfather ..."
"Hates vampires," she finished. "He didn't want her with you anyway. If the decision hadn't been up to Adele, you wouldn't have her now. She'd probably be holed up in that Faery fucking palace eating glitter and fucking some faery shit that flits around the faery lands with a wand stuck up his ass." She looked accusingly at Eric and said, "If what he said was true, how can you blame her? You weren't exactly the Prince Charming that she thought you would be."
"Pam." His voice had gone deeper. Pam didn't care. She kept saying what she wanted to say.
"You could've made up your own mind but you let Fintan decide for you."
Eric glowered at Pam before backhanding her. "I'm not in the mood, Pam and help me figure this out."
Pam's head turned harshly to the left but the hit didn't faze her. She continued on as if he'd never touched her. "There's nothing to figure out. It's all up to you. There is only one question that you have to answer. Do you love her?"
"No."
Pam snickered. "You do."
He dropped fang on Pam. "I don't love her. It's not in our nature to love."
"It's not in our nature to marry outside of our race but you did it."
"For political reasons only," Eric argued.
"You are the worst liar. You let your machismo get in the way."
"Do you know how it would be if the others of our race knew ... if they thought that I was in love with her?"
"Fuck them!" Pam yelled. "Do they answer to you or do you answer to them? Men! Be it human or vampire, you're all the same. You're too concerned with what the other guys think. The other guys don't make you happy. The other guys don't love you, Eric. Fuck them! You're a man of power. Use it!"
"If you speak out of turn again, you will regret it."
"Yes, master." Pam never took his threats seriously but after that backhand to her face, she knew that it was time to tone it down a notch or two so she took the conversation to another level; an even level.
"What will happen to our pact with the fae if she does leave you? We've worked too hard for everything to be tossed to the side. Our races have lived in peace since you and Sookie have married. Your marriage to her has ended the war. If she leaves you, it could be the end of us; vampire and fae alike."
"I know."
"Quit being so stubborn, Eric, and tell her the truth. Tell her that you love her."
"I. Don't. Love. Her."
"If you say so," she said as he voice softened. Pam stared at him without saying another word.
"Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?" Pam asked.
"Like that."
Pam shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about but here's what I'll do. I'll close my eyes while I talk to you. Will that make you more comfortable? Will that work for you? You won't have to face me or the truth. See, here ya go," she said as she closed her eyes.
"Get out, Pam."
"What?" she asked with a smirk on her pink painted lips. Her eyes were still closed.
"Get out. While you're getting out, call Alcide for me. Get him on the phone tonight. He was supposed to be following Sookie during the day while she was in Vegas. I want to know how she came to meet with the AP without the knowledge of a vampire and Were that were supposed to be following her. I want to know how he didn't know what she was up to."
"Will do," Pam said.
"Send in Clancy."
"Will do," she repeated. This time, Pam saluted before closing the door behind her; this time with her eyes opened.
Soon, Clancy was knocking on the door.
"Come in."
Clancy sat in the chair that faced Eric's desk and waited. He knew that Eric was angry; especially for him to have killed Ginger. Ginger was the best waitress that they had. Well, for fucking and feeding from, anyway. He could also see that there was something in Eric's eyes. His eyes weren't the same. The normal life that was in them was gone. They were deadlier than he's ever known them to be. Clancy had never been afraid of Eric before; that is, until tonight.
"Tell me about Vegas."
Clancy stiffened. Something must've happened that he missed. He began to believe that he would probably leave the room in the same condition as Ginger only he wouldn't be in a garbage bag. He'd be a bucket of goo.
"I want to know what Sookie did while she was there."
"She didn't do anything," Clancy answered simply. "Every night, she stayed in the hotel. She ate dinner in the hotel; mostly in her room. She had no visitors. She shopped at the hotel. She went to one show but she didn't leave the hotel. She stayed at the Bellagio. She never left the building. I swear to you, Eric. I never let her out of my sights. I've never let you down."
And he hadn't. Eric knew that to be true. Clancy has always been loyal.
"Have you asked any of her fae guards if they know of anything?" Clancy asked.
Eric shook his head no. "They'll never betray, Sookie. They are loyal to no vampire. Even if she'd gone out every night, I'd never get anything out of them."
"I apologize, master," Clancy said.
"Did you ever see anyone with her?"
Clancy shook his head no. "She was always alone."
That doesn't mean anything. Sookie is extremely gifted. It's possible that she'd hidden all from them. Allowed them to see only what she wanted them to see.
"Do you still have the video?" Clancy asked. "If you need another copy, I can leave for Vegas tonight and get it for you."
"There is no need. I just needed to be sure that you were aware of her comings and goings. Did the Weres report to you as they were told?"
"Without fail," he replied.
"They never saw anything out of the ordinary?"
"No sir."
"Did it appear to you that they were hiding things?"
"No sir. We've always used Alcide and Bassir. They've always been truthful, master. If you don't mind me asking, has something happened to her? If she needs to be guarded while you work, I'll watch the compound for you."
Eric told him no. "Thank you, Clancy but that's not going to be necessary. She is fine. I just want to be sure of her safety."
"We kept her safe, master. I swear to you on the blood."
"You may go," Eric replied.
Clancy bowed to Eric and left the room.
There were a million questions that Eric needed the answers to. How did Sookie meet with the AP without anyone knowing? What did the women talk about? Did Sookie mean it when she said that she may go back to Faery and never return?
More importantly, how was he going to fix this?