I woke up after the sun set to a much better emotional state coming off of Sookie. That, however, unfortunately, did not mean it was a necessarily good feeling. Though it was definitely not how Sookie felt yesterday when I rose from my rest, they were still not the feelings I would have liked to receive. When I walked into the living room to see her and Amelia staring at each other, I gave myself three guesses.

As it turned out, I only needed one.

Amelia had, indeed, found a way to block Sookie from her thoughts, from all of her thoughts. Apparently for Sookie, having three minds she could not read was her limit, and judging by the looks on the two female faces she had reached that limit. As the two seemed close to tears, I was left wondering at what time during the afternoon that limit had been reached.

It was yet another thing I should have seen coming. Sookie could be emotional even when she was trying to hide it. Her decisions were often based on her emotions. I could not expect her to be so different as a child, or in any more control.

That did not make me hurt any less when she reacted once she saw me.

"Now you! I can't hear you either!" she yelled before she ran up the stairs and slammed the door. I wanted to run right after her. I would run after her; I just needed to figure out what I should do first.

That left me glaring at Amelia, wondering what the fuck had happened this afternoon.

Her hands were up in front of her as if she was trying to protect herself. Yeah, those hands would not have helped her one bit if I had really wanted to go after her. Luckily for her, I wanted answers more than I wanted her head at that moment, at least.

"What happened?" I asked the witch just as Pam appeared. My voice was steady and calm, which had Pam inching closer to Amelia. She knew what it meant when my voice was so calm and that steady.

It was never anything good for the person on the receiving end of that voice.

"She didn't take a nap," Amelia said while she shrugged her shoulders as if that explained everything. For all I knew, it could have. I may not have understood what a nap had to do with Sookie's little tantrum, but Amelia seemed sure it would be enough of an explanation as to why Sookie was so upset.

It was not, not for me anyway.

Amelia must have seen that on my face because she quickly continued to explain that small humans get cranky when they have not had enough sleep. I did not find that much different than adult humans. Or vampires that have not found the answers that they were searching for.

"I doubt she would have reacted much differently if she had gotten in her afternoon sleep," I told Amelia. The whole situation, the confusion, and frustration would be bothersome to grown Sookie, most likely any adult person. I would imagine it would be multiplied in a child.

I did remember that my children used to throw tantrums, similar to what Sookie had done, both human and vampire, in fact, when you counted Pam. Ignoring them usually meant that more would happen. That was something that I would plan to do all I could to make certain it did not happen again. The thought of Sookie being so upset was what sealed the deal for me.

I then decided to take a risk and talk things over with Sookie. Although I was not exactly sure my skills in talking to tiny humans would be enough, I had to attempt it.

For Sookie.

I walked to the door of Sookie's room that was still closed after she slammed it shut. I could hear her sniffling as she tried to calm herself and anger filled me. I had no doubt that I would ever be able to take Sookie crying at any age, especially if, no matter how inadvertent, I was the sole cause.

I slowly opened the door and was not surprised to see her lying in bed with her back to me. Her little shoulders shook while she worked to get her breathing under control. I wanted to say something, say many somethings, but, I hesitated having no idea where to start so I started simply with her name.

I should not have been surprised when she ignored me. Fuck, I probably would have ignored me.

I usually had plenty of words for every situation because often my very life depended on it. Words were very important. This part-fairy though often stole all my words. I had found that it was no less true with her as a child.

"You must be very confused," I finally said after another minute or two of silence. I had avoided using the word scared as I was not quite sure how she might react to that particular word, but if her mind was truly that of the five-year-old she appeared to be, scared would most likely be an apt description of her emotional state.

I still had not received a verbal response, but she did tense before she seemingly became more relaxed after my words.

"I would be very confused," I continued. She needed to know that what she was feeling was okay. "New house, new people," I hesitated. I knew it needed saying, but I also was afraid of what it might bring up. Still, I was not afraid enough to not raise the topic. It was what Sookie, even in her current form, deserved. "New people whose minds you cannot hear. For you, it must seem very confusing."

She turned on her other side and looked at me when I said that. I stayed quiet and gave her the chance to think through what I told her. I had acknowledged the fact that I knew of her ability, an ability I was sure that at this point in her life she was told to hide. I had just made it clear to her that I knew her secret. It might have made her more likely to open up to me, to trust in someone.

Or it could terrify her even further.

I should have known it would have led to more questions. "Can you hear inside voices too?" she asked me in a small voice. No matter how small it was, I could still hear her hope in it. Sookie had liked it when the vampires came out; she had enjoyed learning about all the Supernaturals she had met, no matter how much they had complicated her life. Sookie did not want to be the only one who was different, not as an adult and apparently not as a child either.

Yet I had had to dash that hope. Again. It was something that I was becoming much too used to with Sookie. It was something that, no matter what my intent, I was not able to stop doing. If this was my only chance, I was going to make sure that I would do everything I could in order to ensure that it stopped.

Her way of wording her ability surprised me as well. I supposed that at her age level that may have been the best way to help her understand what she was hearing. Despite all that I had wished, her face still fell as I told her that no, I could not hear a person's 'inside voice' as she had worded it.

"I am the only person who can," she said with a sigh that turned into a bit of a cry. I could see that she was doing her best to hold them in, but her little body just could not, not all of them anyway.

"I did not say that I did not know anyone else who could not," I told her. That gave her a little more help with trying to hold in her tears. I did not miss that her hands were starting to run through her hair, wrapping it around her fingers and fists. Memories of my own children doing so with hair a similar color started to dance through my mind.

"Other people can?" she asked me as her little voice rose higher in pitch while it filled with hope.

I knelt down next to the bed so she did not have to look up. "I know others that can," I told her softly, trying to stay away from the term "people." The others I knew who had the ability would certainly not fall under the "people" category.

I know some who are really strong, and some who can do magic, and I know some who can fly," I told her, letting her know that in no way was she the only one who was different. She should know all this though, she did know all of it. I grew more confused when my thoughts went back to her singing. The songs were not ones that she would know when she was this age. Were her memories still in there somewhere? Did she just have to be presented with something that reminded her of something? If that was the case, why did she not remember me? I was just getting more and more questions with this scenario and zero answers. That had better start changing.

She appeared to do very well with all of the information as she excitedly yelled, "Fly?" in my face after the word left my mouth.

I smiled at her, and her pronunciation of the word. She was so excited as she said the word that her 'l' was pronounced the way one would pronounce a 'w.' I was happy that she did not appear to have any green stuff coming out of her nose after this last crying round.

"Yes. I know creatures that can fly," I told her. "One may even be in this room."

She quickly looked around before she looked back to me with a confused expression on her face when she saw that it was just the two of us in there. "Who?" she asked.

"You!" I told her before taking her into my arms, lifting her up, and carrying her around the room. She squirmed at first in my arms unsure of what I was doing, but soon she was giggling. I took her around the room a few times before she landed back on her bed.

The giggling subsided when I put her on the bed though. "What is wrong?" I asked when her smile slipped away.

"I thought someone could really fly," she told me, her pronunciation correct this time, all the excitement having disappeared in her tone.

"Well, maybe," I started off telling her before I made a quick decision I hoped I would not come to regret. "Maybe tomorrow after the sun sets, I will show you who can really fly," I just hoped she could handle it.

"Really, really fly?" she asked.

"Really, really, really fly," I told her, not believing that many 'reallys' came out of my mouth. "Though now I think it is important that you go to bed so you are wide awake to see it tomorrow," I added when I took notice of the time.

I expected a bit of a fight, but did not get one. Instead she worked on getting under the covers and I made sure she was all covered before sitting on the floor again. "Did you have fun with Amelia today?" I asked. I would ensure she would tomorrow if the answer was no.

It was not though, but Sookie did say she would have to apologize for her yelling. "We shouldn't yell," she told me.

Shit. If she thought yelling was bad, I did not want to think of what her thoughts would be on the other aspects of my life. She was probably correct with what she had been taught in the past regarding yelling though.

"You should not yell," I told her confirming her words. "It is all right to be angry, but you need to discuss the issue. That way it can be fixed." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized that this was something that I did not practice with Sookie, especially in the last months. I hoped I had a chance to heed my own advice.

"No more yelling," she said earnestly.

"More talking," I added before I told her goodnight, starting to rise to my feet.

I did not get very far. "Will you read me a story?" she asked, words not nearly discernible with her big yawn.

"I do not have any books to read to you," I told her, upset that even in this I disappointed her.

"Will you tell me a story?" she asked, sounding even more hopeful than when she had asked for me to read a book. A story was something I could do.

"I can," I told her and I delighted in the happy smile that decorated her face. "I will tell you when Princess Sookie rescued Prince Eric," I said. I have heard the expression of a human's face lighting up, but I did not recall ever having seen it before that particular moment.

"The princess rescues the prince?" she asked excitedly. The words were not exactly clear with her little nose clogged up after crying and with her little lisp, but she got her point across. She was used to the prince being the person who rescues the princess. I had had a feeling that would not be the case with the blond in front of me after the first time she walked into my bar, no matter how much I would have liked it to have been the usual stereotype.

"Yes, Princess Sookie rescues Prince Eric more than she even knows," I told her as I tried to change my voice to sound a little more mysterious. I do not know if I succeeded, but Sookie sat up a little higher on the bed. That did not seem conducive to making her fall asleep, but I was not about to dissuade her.

I did not want to see her face without that smile.

Story time would be serving two purposes, the most important of which was to keep that smile on her face. The second was to feel her out a bit, see how well young Sookie might respond to vampires. So I told her the story of how the brave Princess Sookie rescued Prince Eric from a burning building, and though I may have downplayed the bombs, explosive devices, and may have turned the coffin into a chair, all the other details were basically the same. Even Prince Eric's aversion to sunlight and his need to sleep during the day were included.

It was around the time when the chair landed on the sun-ridden street that I realized Sookie's breathing had evened out in sleep. It was also then that I realized at some point during the story, her hand had found its way into mine. I stood up, careful not to wake her or to dislodge my hand from hers, not wanting to lose that small connection.

Her hair had fallen across her face, not wanting it to tickle her and wake her up while she slept, I gently swept it off her face with the hand that was not currently grasped onto hers. Her face in sleep was relaxed, something I was thankful I had when my memories returned of the time I was cursed. Sookie had been able to sleep peacefully during that time and had a look similar to the one she was wearing at that moment.

Yet it was one she never wore in her sleep on any of the nights I stayed with her after the Faery War. It was one I doubt she wore on her face any of the nights ever since then either. That was something that I hoped to change.

I carefully took my hand out of hers and once again started to make my way out of the room when something began to creep into my mind. It seems I had not done it gently enough as Sookie's little voice called out, "Night, Eric," when I made it to the door.

I looked back expecting to see her little eyes open and her to ask for a glass of water, to go to the bathroom, or whatever the vermin said their children did to get out of going to sleep when they come to Fangtasia. Sookie's eyes remained closed. She must have mumbled it, not having been as deeply asleep as I thought. I stayed there, looking at her for a few more seconds to make sure that she did not awaken. When she made no other signs that she was awake, I softly said into the room, "Goodnight, Princess Sookie." Before I had the door closed all the way, I swear that I saw her smile in her sleep, probably from a good dream.

That did not keep me from pretending it was from my words though.

I walked back to the living room where Pam and Amelia were talking in hushed voices. Their quiet voices were no bother to me; I had heard them even in Sookie's room. I imagined they did not want their conversation to be overheard down the hall by the tiny ears attached to the girl who was asleep.

The conversation stopped once I entered the room. Pam would have heard me as I walked down the hall, so it was not her who saw the need to end the conversation so abruptly. The way that Amelia jumped as soon as I entered the room told me that the young witch was afraid of me, though it was more that, she was afraid of my reaction to Sookie's reaction.

If she had done anything to produce Sookie's reaction, she would have been correct to be afraid.

Still, I could not place blame on her. She had done something that she had thought would help Sookie by blocking her mind to her, and she had no idea that Sookie would not appreciate that. It was also something I would have to try to ensure that did not happen again.

"Did you find anything?" I asked her. After having spent the day with Sookie, I actually did not expect her to have much information; after all, she was there during the day to make sure that Sookie stayed safe and unharmed. I could not expect her to be able to do the potentially difficult research while she took care of a small, scared child.

I might not have expected her to, but that did not mean I had not wanted her to do that very thing.

"Yes and no," she told me, and judging by the look that happened upon her face and the increase of her heart rate, I did not look happy at her words. There was a simple explanation for that, I was not happy at her words. A simple no would have sufficed and been understandable. Mixing that with a, 'yes,' and color me confused. And angry. And impatient.

"It wasn't a spell," she blurted out when I took a step closer. Pam was intelligently staying quiet, but I did not miss how she herself took a step closer to Amelia. It was probably not for the same reason.

I just continued to stare at Amelia. This would usually be a sign to continue to speak or explain. It was not with Amelia. In fact, it seemed to be just the opposite with Amelia. I opened my mouth to ask her to continue her explanation, but Pam beat me to it.

Her words may have been a bit more nicely put than mine.

Amelia swallowed and gathered herself before starting to explain her words. Whatever happened to Sookie did not feel like a spell. Witches could pick up the signature of magic; they could determine when a spell had been used. There was no signature that she could find on Sookie.

"It has been a while since it happened," I told her. "Could the signature have worn off?"

She shook her head becoming more confident as the magic discussion continued. "There would always be one as long as the spell continued. Since Sookie is still the size of a child, whatever happened to her is ongoing. I should be able to sense the spell."

"Yet you are getting nothing?"

"No evidence of any spell cast on her."

My mind searched through all other Supernaturals I know that could have pulled off something like this. There were not many, but there were enough that would make it difficult for me when trying to narrow down the possibilities.

"Any other ideas?" I said. It was more of thinking out loud than actually asking a question, but that did not keep it from being answered.

"Are you familiar with any demons?" Amelia asked with hesitancy that had crept back into her voice.

I did. I knew several demons, in fact. I heard a vibrating noise, and Pam sighed before she tossed her phone to me. Okay, so it might have been more of a throw than a toss as if she could have somehow hurt the person who was on the other line with as hard as she had thrown the phone. When I saw the thirty-one phone calls and eleven voicemails all from the same number, I wished that she could have injured the person on the other end of the phone. Finally killed him would have been the better option.

As soon as I was off the phone with Victor, I was going to call a certain half-demon I knew.