Spellbound

Surprise! Here is the 2nd part of the too long chapter. I'd planned on getting it posted today b/c I didn't want to end the story that way and it was NOT done on purpose or to piss any of you off; contrary to some guest reviewers beliefs. I didn't want it to seem that Sookie is so unreasonable that she wasn't willing to listen to him. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I hope that you all enjoy.

The characters belong to CH but the story idea belongs to me.

Sookie couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She hoped that she didn't hear what she thought she heard. "She is an important part of your life. You threw a party for her that you didn't invite me to because she is an important part of your life. Is that what I heard? Is that what you're saying to me?"

"It's not the way you're making it sound and I did not say is. I said that she was an important part of my life but no longer. Things changed with us many, many years ago. She has never been one of my favorite vampires but she has been a part of my existence," Eric stated.

Sookie shrugged her shoulders and had a sarcastic look on her face. No matter how she tried to hide it, her jealousy was getting the best of her. "I guess she would have to be an important part of your life for you to throw a party in her honor; a party that you wouldn't invite me to." A sarcastic laugh escaped her. "It was a party that I didn't even find out about until I went to Las Vegas. She was obviously more important to you than I am."

Las Vegas; Andromeda was the one that told her about the party. He should've figured that out when Sookie first mentioned the party to him but it no longer matters. She knows. What does matters is that she gives him a chance to explain himself.

"Don't do this," Eric said. "You said that you wanted to hear it all. You said that you wanted to make our marriage work. If that is so, then you need to listen to me. Let me explain before you make any decisions or jump to any conclusions, okay? That is only fair."

Sookie nodded as she looked straight ahead and replayed the words in her mind of how much Eric loves her. That is what matters. The importance of Freyda didn't matter. That's what she kept saying to herself but it wasn't working. The idea that Freyda was anything to him angered her beyond all reason but she was determined to keep her cool. She was going to listen to whatever he had to say. She was going to be cool and logical. She already knew that he hadn't slept with Freyda … at least not since they've been married.

'It's going to be okay,' she thought. 'It's going to be just fine. We're going to be fine.'

She closed her eyes and inhaled. The anger slowly dissipated. The electricity slowly died down. She exhaled and smiled the tightest smile that had ever been on her face. Sookie knew that she could do this. She was going to listen to him with an open mind and an open heart. Things aren't always as they seem. If anyone should know that, she should.

"Okay," Sookie said. "You may continue without anymore interruptions from me and forgive me for the way I've spoken to you. You didn't deserve that."

Eric nodded as he began telling her his deepest and darkest secrets. "As I've told you, I've never cheated on you. I've not known another woman since we've been together. I've never been with any of the fangbangers that I called into my office. When I would take them into the office, we were only placing orders for things that we needed for the club. I would glamor them before they left my office. They were just happy to have been allowed to share the same space with me."

Though she didn't want to, Sookie laughed and rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how conceited and arrogant Eric is.

Eric ignored her and continued on with his confession. "And I've never been with Freyda. She has never been my lover; not even when she was human. We've never had that type of relationship. She and I didn't have the same type of relationship as Pam and I had. Freyda is my child, Sookie, and nothing more. I made her vampire centuries ago; long before I made Pam."

Sookie had soon filled the dining room with laughter and shimmer. She laughed so much that her side began to hurt. When she was finally able to compose herself, she looked at Eric and wiped tears of happiness and laughter from her face.

"Is that all? She's your child and you're ashamed of her …is that it? You scared the dickens out of me. I thought that you were going to tell me that she was your wife or that your maker had promised you to her. If you ever scare me like this again, I'm going to beat the shit out of you. Don't ever scare me like that again."

It put him a little more at ease that Sookie was no longer on edge but now he had to think about what she'd asked him. Eric thought long and hard about whether or not he was ashamed of Freyda. She was once an excellent vampire; very obedient, smart beyond her years, and she was strong. She made him proud. That is until she'd done the most …

"What's wrong with her?"

"There was nothing wrong with her… in the beginning. At one time, I was proud to have been her maker but now, she has shamed me," Eric said. "So the answer to your question is yes, I am ashamed of her and what she's become. As her maker, some of the things that I've done for her, I was supposed to do. One thing in particular that I've done for her was done without my prior knowledge. Over the past couple of years, I've convinced myself that I owed her because she is of my blood. I was wrong. That's one of the major downfalls when it comes to being a maker."

His sudden sadness made her wonder what it means to become a maker. What makes a vampire feel so obligated to their makers and their children? Is it because of the blood bond? Is it because it's their blood and they are protecting that blood?

"How does that work? When you make someone your child, how does that work? What does it mean?" Sookie asked.

Eric looked surprised at her question. He was pleased to hear that Sookie wanted to know what went into choosing a human as your child. She'd never shown interest before.

"It means that we become one. When a vampire chooses a human to be their offspring, some of us are very particular. We will watch said human for a short period time to be sure that we're not making a mistake. We can't just turn anyone," he said. "They can't be serial killers or crazies. Their evilness and mental issues could carry over and in some instances there are makers that have to kill their children because of their extremely violent nature. We've seen that happen and it's not a pretty sight. We have to be careful in our choices."

Sookie had always heard that vampires would just take a human because they wanted them and that was that. They would turn them without as much as a second thought. Well, that's what Claudine always told her. She couldn't wait to tell Claudine that she was wrong.

"If I understand you correctly, you're saying that you stalk them. Is that the same as hunting them as a lion would their prey? What do you look for in the human?" She stabbed her fork into her salad as she waited for him to explain.

He chuckled when she dipped the tulip bloom into the dressing. "You can say that we stalk them but that's not really what we do. We watch them. You have to understand, Sookie that we have to watch. We have to see if they have what we're looking for."

"You stalk them," she repeated.

"Sookie," Eric said.

She shrugged her shoulders as she filled her mouth with red tulip salad. "What are you looking for?" she asked.

"We look for signs for life."

Sookie looked confused. "They're all alive when you choose them. You can't turn someone that's already dead, right? They have to have a heartbeat, brain activity." She stabbed and dipped once more.

"What I mean is that we look for humans that love life. They don't fear the day to day. They welcome the unknown. They're adventurous and their zest for life is contagious." Eric looked thoughtfully for a minute before he spoke again. "I think that's what most vampires look for; life. Don't get me wrong. We love who and what we are but we have this need for life. Isn't it ironic? We follow our potential child because we are drawn to their life force and then we drain them of that life force and we take it as our own. We turn them into the walking dead."

"Do all vampires look for that life force?"

Eric face suddenly turned to stone. "Not all of them. Some of them turn humans for their own pleasures; their own perversities."

Sookie placed her hand to her heart as his anger filled her. She could tell that he was speaking from experience. That's what happened to him. He wasn't given a choice. He was taken from his wife and children without a choice. Eric has never told her about his maker. She was always curious about him or her but she never asked. She'd always heard that was a private matter and that most vampires are protective of their makers; secretive even. She'd assumed that Eric felt the same way about his maker until the anger that he was feeling was soon replaced with hate and malice. No amount of closing off the bond kept those feelings out.

In a soft and hurt filled voice, Sookie asked, "My goodness, what did he do to you?"

She didn't want to see it but she had to. Something was pulling her into his head. Something was pulling her towards those memories but just as soon as the face of his maker appeared, Eric shut off the memories.

Sookie reached across the table to touch his hand but he jerked it away. "I'm sorry," she stammered. "I couldn't help it. The emotions were so overpowering. They were calling to me. I couldn't help it."

"It's not meant for you. These memories belong to me and only to me. I don't want you to see," he whispered.

Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, my dearest love, what did he do to you? Did he hurt you?" she whimpered.

He didn't answer her. He continued on as if he didn't hear either question. "Some of us look for life."

Though she never got to see who'd caused him so much pain, she wanted to let him know that she was sorry. "I hate that such pain was bestowed upon you. If you'd let me, I can take that pain away."

He gave one quick nod and said he no longer wanted to discuss his maker or the things that happened to him. Eric felt that she pitied him. He didn't need pity from anyone; especially not his wife. He didn't need it then and he definitely didn't need it now.

For the first time ever, she wished that she could touch herself to make the sadness go away. It pained her to know that Eric may have suffered at the hands of the vampire that was supposed to protect him, teach him. She wanted to hold him and tell him that everything is going to be alright but she could see in his eyes that he didn't want that. He despises pity so she let it go … for now.

"Are the humans supposed to be what they were before you turned them into a vampire? Is that how they're supposed to be?" she asked in her softest voice.

"No," he said simply. "We never expect them to remain the same but those that have a zest for life while they were a part of the living world, carry it with them. Just as when they were human, they see that nothing is out of their reach. There are no boundaries."

"I can only imagine what's going through a young vampire's mind once they realize what awaits them. The very idea of being free has to be awe-inspiring."

Eric gave Sookie a lopsided grin. "When I was free, I was that overwhelmed and awe-inspired vampire. There is so much more to do and to see. Once you've been given the chance to explore your surroundings, you can't settle for the norm as you would have as a human. You naturally crave more."

Sookie pushed her now empty salad plate and bowl to the side and started on her fruit and whipped cream. "Now that the vampires no longer have to hide, they can feed from or turn any human that they want to but only if they have the human's permission. Before vampires made their existence known, was it unheard of to ask a human if you could feed them or turn them?"

"It was. I've asked only once. I asked Pam."

"Why Pam?" she asked.

He chuckled as he thought of the first time he'd met Pam. "She was different. She was like no human I'd ever met. She was afraid of nothing. I found her sneaking out of her bedroom window. She was shimming down a pipe. I walked to the pipe and waited for her to jump to the ground. When she did, she turned around and looked at me. She didn't flinch. She didn't scream. She didn't bat an eye. She rolled her eyes and sighed."

Sookie filled the room with laughter. "I can see her doing that."

"The first words out of her mouth were, 'What the fuck do you want? Are you going to tell on me? If you are, my dad's in the parlor."

Sookie laughed even louder.

Eric followed suit as he continued with his story. "You should've heard her. That proper English accent of hers made it sound even funnier. It was her fearlessness; that is what drew me to her. She captivated me. She was nothing like the other proper Englishwomen in her village. She said what she thought and didn't care if anyone's feelings had been hurt in the process. She's always been like that.

"After she greeted me as formally as any Englishwoman would have, she looked me up and down and shrugged her shoulders. It was as if she'd come to some sort of conclusion about me. She told me that she was going to the local pub and that she was going to have a drink. She took my hand and led me down the narrow alleyway. The coldness, the hardness of my hand; it didn't trouble her. She squeezed my hand tighter when we reached the pub.

"Before we went in, she turned around and looked at me and she asked, 'What do you want to do? Do want to go inside or do you want to stay out here?' Sookie, I looked her in her eyes and said, 'I want you to be mine.'"

Sookie's eyes widened as she scooted to the edge of her seat. "What did she say?" She then rolled her eyes at her question and thought of how stupid it sounded. "I know what she said but did she realize what that meant? Did you tell her?"

"I didn't have to," he responded. "She smirked at me and said, 'I was yours when I turned around and saw you waiting on me. I took your hand, vampire.'"

She flopped back in her chair and whispered, "She knew. How did she know?"

Eric suddenly looked over his shoulder and said, "Don't come in here. We need nothing from you. Stay in the kitchen until you are called."

Obviously whoever had made the move to coming into the dining room thought better of it and stayed where they were. Eric continued with his story.

"During the Victorian era, quite a few people believed us to be real. Some believed us to be no more than sheer imagination. We were the bogeymen that hid underneath their beds. They didn't know whether we were real or not but they still feared us. The children were warned to never go outside after dark. Women were warned to not walk through the dark allies. Men were told that they needed to travel in groups and have weapons of garlic and wooden stakes. Needless to say, Pam didn't pay attention to the warnings. She didn't care. She told me that she'd been waiting on me. She took me behind the pub and leaned against the building. She removed her dress and stood before me; naked. She wanted me to turn her. She wanted to be a creature of the night."

"She wasn't frightened?" Sookie whispered.

Eric's blue eyes were glowing. They were cold and vampiric as he relived the memories of old. They were the eyes of a killer. "Of course not," he said. "She welcomed me with open arms. She welcomed death. She wanted it. She begged for it. I gave it to her. I made her mine."

"Wow," was all that Sookie could say. She'd never heard a more fascinating story in all of her life. After this, she was even more intrigued and fascinated by Eric. Even though the story was a story of death, she fell even more in love with him. She loved the cold killer and the loving father that he'd become in death. Pam is his child and he cherishes her, respects her. Above all, he loves her. He loves his child just as much as he loves himself. It was more than obvious.

Pam has lived for many years. It's apparent that he's protected her and made her the vampire that she is today; strong, honorable, and independent. At least with Pam, he's proud. And he was proud of Freyda at one time. What she'd done must have been after she'd gone out on her own. He can't blame himself for her misdeeds. He couldn't control her every move and he shouldn't have to. She's an adult and she is responsible for herself. She's no longer daddy's responsibility.

Sookie got up from her chair and walked over to where he was. She sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I think that you're a great dad," she said as she gave him a quick peck on his nose. "It's more than obvious that you've done a great job with her. Whatever happened with Freyda, it is not your fault. But I'm dying to know what it is that she did that was so terrible. When you told me about her, your face didn't light up as you did when you talked about Pam."

Eric possessively wrapped his arm around Sookie's waist. He didn't know how she was going to react to what she was about to hear. He didn't want to her to run away from him after she hears what he has to say.

Sookie noticed the change in his demeanor. She knew that the conversation was about to shift into more serious territory. "Eric, if she's a problem, we can try to make things better for her. Maybe as a couple, we can …"

"There's no helping her, lover. She's going to have to go it alone. Whatever happens with her now, it is no one's fault but her own. If she meets the true death, then so it is. That is her fate."

The word true death startled her. She couldn't bear the thought of Eric killing his own child. The look in his eyes was so bitter and cruel. She looked even deeper and she saw that there was no room for discussion. There was no room for Freyda. His eyes didn't only hold coldness and cruelty. They held finality. That scared her.

"She's your child. You can't do that."

"She committed a treasonous act." He sounded as if he was ordering another blood.

Sookie leaned back from Eric with her hands on his shoulders. "There's no way that what she did could possibly be that bad. Maybe we can help her. We can go to the council on her behalf. If we stand up …"

"No," Eric said firmly.

"What?" Sookie asked.

"No," he repeated. "I said no, Sookie. I've done enough to help her. I've been helping her out of messes for centuries and I'm done. I'm not helping her and you're not helping her."

"She's your child," she said softly.

Eric placed his hands on either side of Sookie's face. "You have a capacity for love that completely boggles the mind. Of course you would want to help her; save her but you have to realize that some people and some supes aren't meant to be saved. They can't be saved. You can't save everyone, my lover. I understand that it's the only way that you know how to be but we can't and we won't help her." He kissed her lightly before continuing. "Freyda's not what you think she is. She's not some wide-eyed innocent. She will meet the true death."

Sookie didn't understand how Eric could be so cold towards someone that he'd made. "Anyone can be saved. Maybe if you'd let me meet her. If I could just talk to her, you know. Get a feel on who she is; we could possibly change …"

"No!"

Sookie jumped a little in his lap. "Eric," she whispered.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice, Sookie but you need to listen to what I have to say. You don't want to save Freyda. I didn't want to save her. If I hadn't have owed a debt, I wouldn't have turned her. I would have let her die." Eric dropped his gaze to his wife's lap. He knew that what he was about to say was going to be the hardest.

"Look at me, my love," Sookie said.

When he looked at her, she saw fear in his eyes. She'd never seen such fear in his eyes before. It scared her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him to her as tightly as she could and she saw what he feared. He was scared that she was going to leave him. He was afraid of suffering the same fate as Fintan. He thought that what he was about to tell her was going to keep her from loving him and being with him. He couldn't have been more wrong.

"I love you, Eric. I do love you," she said in his ear. "I'm not going anywhere. I swear to you. The contract could burn today and I would still stand at your side." She looked him in his eyes and said, "You can tell me anything and I won't leave you. I'm yours. I'm going to always be yours."

The lovers leaned in and kissed one another. When the kiss was broken, Eric didn't hesitate in saying what he had to say. "She was the mastermind behind the assassination of Claudette."