Thank you so much for reading! I always appreciate hearing feedback so please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Sookie couldn't keep still while we waited for Bill and this mysterious Lorena to show up. She paced the length of the bar and fidgeted with anything she could get her hands on. The conversation between Evan, Godric, and I had tapered off as we all watched Sookie fidget. Eric looked absolutely menacing from his throne. He glared at the door in anticipation with his gaze occasionally flicking over to Sookie and the glare would turn concerned. I could understand why Sookie was so upset, if Bill's relationship with his maker was much like Godric and Eric's, then the two would be extremely close and yet he had never mentioned her to Sookie? It just seemed suspicious to me as I'm sure it did to Sookie. In addition to the fact that he had disappeared the previous night without a word to her about where he was going, the whole thing gave me an uncomfortable feeling.

I felt a pair of eyes on me and turned to see that not everyone was watching Sookie or Eric. Godric's eyes were on me, searching my face. I tilted my head curiously at him, wondering why he was looking at me like he was. Godric smiled in return but didn't drop his gaze as he had in the past. So we stared at each other for several minutes. I took the time to appreciate fully that the handsome vampire across from me was probably the oldest thing I had ever seen or ever would see. The stories he could probably tell.

Godric had seemed so open earlier, I could only hope that it hadn't been a temporary thing and that we would get some time to talk after the ordeal with Bill was finished.

At that thought, the door to the bar swung open and Bill marched through, a put out expression on his face. Behind him was a tall, thin woman that I assumed was Lorena.

She was fairly pretty, I could admit though I found I instantly disliked her. Her reddish brown hair was piled on the top of her head in an intricate updo. I wondered how long it had taken her to do it and if it had required help or not. She had cat like eyes that darted around the room suspiciously and a full pouted lips that were pulled into a grimace. The way she walked, like her eyes, reminded me of a cat slinking around the room.

"Eric, you have summoned us?" Bill questioned, glaring at the large vampire.

Eric narrowed his eyes at the pair "Yes. This vampire, your maker, has not notified me of her presence in my area, I would like to know why. Your human, Sookie, also asked this favor of me, since you didn't see fit to notify her of your whereabouts" he hissed.

Bill regard Sookie who looked royally pissed off. She was standing near Eric with her arms crossed and her hip cocked out to the side. Her usually smiling face was pulled into a ferocious look that I wouldn't have thought she would be capable of.

"Sookie, let me explain" Bill pleaded.

Lorena 'tsk-ed' behind him and looped her arm into his "You needn't explain anything, darling. Surely the human can see for herself what is going on" she drawled.

"Who the fuck are you? Get your hands off of him!" Sookie demanded, stepping off of the platform Eric's throne was mounted on.

"I am William's maker, you insolent girl. You are nothing more than a bag of blood to him! you cannot win this" Lorena sneered, meeting Sookie in the middle of the room.

Sookie's chin jutted out defiantly "I've already won this. Bill chose me."

Lorena arched an eyebrow at her, sultry eyes sliding back to look at Bill "Is that so? Then why did he leave you to spend his night with me? You know how it is, even old lovers rekindle their flame now and again. You are just a plaything to him" Lorena taunted.

Bill stepped in finally "that is not true Sookie, she is lying."

Lorena gaped at him for a moment before turning her expression into a smirk "am I, William? Why don't you tell your little human about the queen then, if she's so important to you?"

Bill glared at Lorena "How dare you? Sookie do not believe what she says!"

Sookie considered them angrily for a moment "if you weren't with her then where were you, Bill?" she demanded.

Bill opened his mouth but thought better of what he was going to say. He tried several times to come up with an excuse but failed "You son of a bitch, Bill! I can't believe you! I never want to see you again, do you understand me? I rescind your invitation in my home, never speak to me again!" Sookie screamed.

The expression on Bills face showed how utterly lost he was, I thought Bill probably wasn't used to Sookie standing up to him let alone not having a way to talk her down. Lorena cackled happily and wrapped herself around Bill.

"You do pick the feisty ones, William! Now, let's get back to our activities, I believe we have a maid who is waiting for our return" Lorena purred.

Eric rose from his throne and advanced on the group, he looked like a predator stalking his prey. Eric brushed Sookie behind him and flashed his fangs at the pair.

"What is your business with the queen?" Eric demanded.

Lorena rolled her eyes at him "I believe the queens business is none of yours, Northman."

Eric moved forward faster than I could follow and had Lorena by the throat. He lifted her easily off of the ground to be at eye level with him.

"You will only speak when spoken to or I will be tempted to relieve your body of your head, do you understand?" Eric growled.

Godric, I noticed, had stood up when Eric had moved and looked like he was unsure of whether he should stop his child or not.

Lorena nodded as much as she could and Eric set her down. She opened her mouth to speak but a warning glare from Eric had her thinking twice about it.

"Now William, answer my questions" Eric ordered.

Bill looked pained by the question and kept looking to Sookie apologetically "The queen has a human…who spoke about a relative with supernatural powers… specifically the ability to read minds. She sent me to investigate and determine if it were true or not. When I found Sookie, I knew the human had been telling the truth. Sophie-Ann wanted me to make Sookie fall for me in order to deliver her to the queen. But I haven't! Sookie I swear, after I got to know you I would have protected you from the queen. I do love you!" Bill pleaded.

Sookie gaped at him in shock "How could you, Bill! Our entire relationship has been fake?" She demanded.

Eric punched Bill in the face at vampire speed, sending him flying back several feet "Both of you will leave my area immediately. If I ever see your faces again I will wear tear out your fangs and use them to disembowel you. Do you understand?" Eric snarled.

Lorena hastily retreated to pull Bill up from the ground and nodded, not meeting the tall vampire's eyes. "Yes, Sheriff" she mumbled.

They made a quick exit, the door to the club slamming shut behind them. Sookie deflated as soon as they were out of sight. Tears streamed down her face and she began to crumple to the floor. Eric caught her before she had much of a chance and scooped her up into his arms. He carried Sookie over to the couch and sat her gently down. Eric looked to Evan and I, at a loss for what to do to console Sookie. He hesitantly rubbed her back in small circled. Evan rolled her eyes at him and pulled herself out of her seat. Evan kneeled down in front of the blond and placed a hand on her leg.

"Do you want something to drink, Sookie? Some water maybe? Or vodka?" Evan joked.

Sookie snorted in response and wiped her eyes. "Yeah, actually vodka sounds like a great idea."

Evan looked at Eric impatiently and the tall vampire got the hint. He had returned in the blink of an eye with a glass of vodka. I curled my nose at the thought of downing a whole glass of vodka straight.

Sookie seemed to think the same because she took the tall glass with a confused look but sipped at it nevertheless.

"I think I would just like to go home" Sookie sighed after a moment, brushing more tears off of her cheeks.
"I will take you" Eric offered immediately.

Sookie gave him a considering look and frowned "I don't know if I trust you to drive my car, Viking."

She had finished at least half the glass and I wondered if she was already feeling the effects of the vodka. Her words were slightly slurred and she had stopped crying.

"I could drive you home Sookie, if that's better. No offense Eric, but sometimes you need a girl to talk to." Evan offered.

Eric seemed disappointed at the thought of not being able to accompany Sookie home "why don't you follow them, or ride in the car as well so you can get Evan home as well" I suggested.

Eric agreed instantly, deciding on riding in the car with the two girls so that they could get back quicker. Evan shot me a look to make sure I was okay with being alone for a couple hours. I nodded easily and raised a hand to wave goodbye.

I was alone with Godric a moment later. We sat in awkward silence for several minutes before I spoke up. "Can I ask you a question, Godric?"

Godric smiled kindly at me and nodded "whatever you would like to know, little one. I owe you at least that much."

I was taken aback by his response, "what do you mean, you owe me that much? You don't owe me anything Godric."

Godric shook his head in disagreement "but I do, little one. You forced me to realize many things this past night. Not only have you shown me a better way in which to atone for my past, I have seen the effect it would have had on my child and Pamela. I feel I have a purpose again which I also owe to you, dear Alyssa" Godric explained gratefully.

I couldn't help but blush at him calling me 'dear' though I felt like a naïve school girl for it. "I didn't stop you because I wanted you to owe me anything Godric. If anything it makes us even, you saved me."

Godric considered what I had said "even still, little one, it is possible that I also wish for you to know me better. Perhaps I will come to know you better in turn."

I had to admit that I liked the thought of getting to know Godric better even though the thought of Godric learning things about me that most people didn't was frightening. It was only fair, I reminded myself; if I expected Godric to answer my questions then I would have to answer his as well.

"Alright. Well, my question is sort of about Eric. Sookie called him Viking, was he actually one?" I inquired.

Godric nodded to confirm and his tone turned reminiscent "Eric was a Viking warrior. Watching him in battle was mesmerizing. When he was fatally injured, his men built him a pyre and drank as they waited for him to die. It was then that I had come to Eric. I had known, you see, as soon as I had seen him injured that I would turn him. He was the first vampire I had made as I wasn't keen at the time on companionship. Eric showed me the worth in it." Godric explained, his eyes far away.

"Were you very old by then?" I wondered. Godric had said he was two thousand years old and I tried to date the Viking era in my mind but couldn't come up with a definite number.

"I was as old then as Eric is now, give or take a handful of years" he confirmed.

Godric waited for me to think of another question, content it seemed to tell me about his past "Do you have any other children?" it felt odd to be asking someone who looked as young as Godric did about his children. I had to keep reminding myself that Godric was so much older than he looked.

"Yes, I have another child called Nora. She was turned sometime after Eric and we parted ways shortly before Eric and I did. She has… radical views as of late and I found it hard to converse with her when we last spoke."

I hummed in response, wondering what else I wanted to ask Godric. He seemed exceedingly pale and I wondered if it was from a lack of feeding. I had realized before coming to Fangtasia that night that Godric was essentially depressed and decided to treat him as such. Even though I had talked him off the rooftop and he seemed more optimistic, it didn't mean we wouldn't find him up there again in a week.

I knew that people who were depressed had a tendency to eat their feelings or hardly eat at all. And if Godric had thought he was going to meet the sun shortly then he would most likely have refrained from shedding someone's blood any more than necessary.

I decided that being direct with him was the best option "when was the last time you fed, Godric?"

He cringed at my question and dropped his eyes "I do not need much blood to sustain me, little one" he mumbled.

I sighed "you're avoiding the question."

Godric looked away, feigning interest in Eric's throne "it has been several years since I last drank human blood. I have sustained myself with synthetic blood."

I shuddered, the synthetic blood, true blood it was called, smelled excessively tangy and metallic. It had a tendency to have hot and cold spots no matter how much you shook it after heating and I had to wonder how nutritional it truly was. "Has it been a while since you last had one?"

Godric sighed and fidgeted in his seat "a week, perhaps more."

"Godric!" I exclaimed "you can't just go a week without feeding, you're going to starve to death!"

The vampire across from me looked extremely uncomfortable with the conversation we were having. "I am fine, little one."

I stood up and put my hands on my hips, looking down at him reproachfully "I'm getting you a true blood right now and you're going to drink it" I demanded, using the best mom voice I could summon.

The look of distaste on Godric's face confirmed my suspicion that it must not taste very good. He had to be hungry, I thought, to have gone at least a week without having any blood. "I do not wish to have one, Alyssa. But I appreciate your concern" he replied, meeting my eyes finally.

I don't know what caused me to say it but it had slipped out before I realized "Would you drink my blood then?"

Godric blinked up at me in surprise "you would be willing to do that for me?"

I shrugged, realizing I would in fact be willing though it did make a ball of nerves settle into the pit of my stomach "yeah, I would. You need to eat Godric, and I know real blood is better than that fake stuff isn't it?"

Godric agreed but shook his head "even still, I could not do such a thing to you, little one."

I huffed at him "well you have to drink something. I'm not giving up on this until you do."

"Very well" Godric sighed "I will drink a true blood to appease you" Godric stood and flashed to the bar. The microwave whirred for a moment and then dinged. Godric sat in front of me a second later, a bottle of true blood in his hand. Godric raised the bottle in an exaggerated motion and took a drink trying to suppress a grimace at the taste.

"It must be a big difference from the taste of normal blood?" I inquired.

Godric nodded shallowly and took another drink "I could not explain the taste other than that it tastes fake, as it is."

I frowned, feeling bad for forcing him to drink something that clearly tasted awful. But his skin already looked better and his eyes were brighter as they watched me over the bottle.

My phone buzzed in my purse signaling I had a phone call. I pulled it out and answered quickly upon seeing that it was Evan. "What's up?" I asked into the phone.

"We're leaving Sookie's place now. Eric said we should be back in like, five minutes or so. I think I'm just going to get him to drop me at the apartment. I'm absolutely beat. Will you promise to get one of them to take you home?" Evan questioned.

"I will take you home whenever you wish, little one" Godric offered, clearly able to hear what Evan was saying.

I smiled at him in acknowledgement "Ok, yeah, just send me a text to say you got home alright? Godric said he would take me home so you don't have to worry" I assured her.

Evan yawned into the phone then laughed at herself "Alright, have a good night then Aly. Eric's bothering me to go so goodnight" She hummed.

I said goodnight in reply and we ended the call. Godric finished up his true blood and not long after I received a text from Evan saying she was home. Not a minute later Eric walked through the door.

He ranted for quite a while about Bill and how much of an idiot he was before Godric soothed him and reassured him it was just his chance at finding a way to make Sookie see him the way he wanted her to. I piped in with encouragement, telling him how I thought Sookie was probably well on her way to that already based on how she reacted to him. Eric seemed hopeful at the thought, his expression like an excited child on Christmas.

Something occurred to him some time later and his demeanor changed to that of a cat stalking his prey. It made me nervous to have that gaze focused on me.

"Tell me, Alyssa, how you managed to resist my glamor" Eric demanded.

I was confused to say the least. I had heard of vampires having the ability to bend the will of humans and even change their memories. A pharmaceutical company had been talking about producing contact lenses that would protect people from it. But I couldn't think of a time when Eric had tried to do it to me. "I don't know what you're talking about" I admitted.

"I believe she also resisted the glamor of the vampire that attacked her" Godric observed, his gaze curious.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded, looking between the two of them "I haven't done any such thing!"

Eric kneeled down in front of me, hands gripping the arms of the chair I was sitting in in order to effectively trap me "Let's put it to the test then, shall we?"

I gulped nervously but nodded. Eric caught my eye and I felt pinned down like I couldn't move under the intensity of his gaze "Tell me your deepest, darkest secret Alyssa."

"Eric" Godric's voice was a warning.

My eyebrows came together and I frowned at him "Don't be ridiculous" I chided.

Eric's eyes narrowed "Alyssa Bennett, you will tell me a secret that no one else knows" he ordered.

I shook my head, breaking eye contact with him "I said no Eric."

Eric huffed at me "so you see, my glamor has no effect on you."

I was surprised, I hadn't felt any different than when Eric normally asked me to do things that I didn't want to do. Sure his stare had been intense and I had felt trapped by it but I thought that had more to do with Eric himself than his vampire abilities.

"What's wrong with me then? Why doesn't it work?" I questioned them.

Eric shrugged, rocking back on his heels "whatever the reason, this information could be dangerous. You must not let another vampire find out about this."

"There is also the matter of your telekinesis, little one" Godric added.

I gaped at him "my what?"

"It is the supernatural ability in which one is able to move objects with their mind" Godric explained helpfully.

I pursed my lips at him "I know what it means Godric. But I can't do that."

"I think it must be somewhat linked to your emotions, or is since you have not developed your ability" Godric noted.

"This is ridiculous. I'm not telekinetic! You two are nuts" I exclaimed, looking away from them.

Eric rolled his eyes "the day you came in for me to test you, you were nervous correct?" at my nod he continued "and you dropped two bottles but the one behind you caught itself and was replaced on the shelf."

"And when you were convincing me against meeting the sun, when you cried the trees bent and threw themselves around us until you calmed down. Has that not happened before, little one?"

I began to shake my head to deny it, but I thought back to when I had cried to Evan and how the apartment had rattled. Having thought about it I could remember as far back as when I had hit puberty getting angry and having glasses break or similar situations. Slowly, I nodded.

"Did your parents have similar abilities?" Eric questioned.

I shook my head 'no'. My mother had died in childbirth so I had never known her. The only image I had of her was a picture that had sat on my father's bedside table until he had found a new girlfriend two years after her death. I had found the photo in the trash and kept it secret until Evan and I had been taken from our father's custody when he had been reported for child abuse.

I told the two vampires in front of me about my mother's death and how we had ended up living with an aunt until I had turned 18 with a matter-of-fact tone. Godric's curious expression softened into one of remorse "I am very sorry, little one. No one should have to suffer at the hands of their parents."

I brushed it off "It's not a big deal" I sighed "but it doesn't help explain anything. There's no way to tell if my mother had it or not."

Eric thought to himself for a moment "I will look into what could cause such a gift but this should be kept between us as well. I will notify Pam in case she has any insight as well."

"Where is Pam, anyway?" I questioned. She hadn't been present all night.

"She declared a need for a vacation after the trials of these past few nights and will return by tomorrow night with my credit cards" Eric replied dryly.

I couldn't help but laugh at the image of Eric handing over his cards to an eager Pam and the resulting damage she would do to his finances. Pam looked like the type who would have expensive tastes.

"If it is acceptable to you, Alyssa, while Eric looks into the possible origins of this gift I think it would be beneficial for you to try and master it. I offer my aid in doing this" Godric suggested.

I thought he was probably right, I needed to have control of it, now that I knew it existed and if it was as dangerous as Eric and Godric seemed to think it was then I might need it to defend myself one day. It was a plus, I decided, that the result would mean I wouldn't have to get up to do things half as much. I was lazy, deep down and it was an appealing idea.

"That sounds like it would be a good plan, Godric. But maybe we could start tomorrow? I'm pretty tired so I should probably be getting home" it was three in the morning, my phone told me. Not late by vampire standards but there were only a handful of hours left until sunrise and I didn't want to take up their whole night.

"Very well, Alyssa, I will see you to your home" Godric stood and offered me his hand.

Flushing, I placed my hand in his and rose. I had assumed Godric would let go as soon as I was on my feet but instead he laced his fingers through mine and lead me out the door. I couldn't help the small smile that appeared on my face.