A/N: I am so very tired of loss. I am lost. But at least I was able to exorcize some demons, all at poor Sookie's (and Eric's) expense.
In case you hadn't already guessed, content warning for what's ahead.
Chapter 15
When Eric rose the next evening, he was surprised to see Pam resting in her coffin beside his bed. He checked the door and the security latch was in place. He was glad to have her with him but the implied threat hadn't gone unnoticed. He would be reinforcing the door going forward.
He swept the room and showered while he waited for his child to rise. He was anxious about his meeting with the King and that pissed him off. He did not enjoy being afraid. Of Felipe, or anything else.
He was dressed and braiding his hair when Pam opened her coffin and rose for the night. She was already made up and dressed for meeting the King.
He met her eyes in the mirror and he gave her a hint of a smile. She smiled back.
"That expression doesn't quite say I'm headed to my final death."
He laughed. "No. I was able to find her and bring her back." As much as he hadn't wanted to. "But I must see Felipe at first dark. I'm sure I won't get a pat on the back."
"Well, I guess we'll see. He should be grateful to you for finding her."
He sighed. "Unfortunately, Felipe doesn't seem to share your opinion."
Except, he did, or at least he claimed to. Eric told the King everything that had happened, from Sookie trying to free him from the silver and fighting off the vampire, to how she'd unknowingly taken his blood, to what he'd found inside the dungeon, to the vampire's gift and how integral Sookie had been to his final death. Felipe had clapped him on the back again, which was as good as a pat, and thanked Eric for bringing Sookie back, and all in one piece.
It didn't make him feel better. Sookie had had a much better read on the situation than he had. He was foolish not to have listened. He remembered the bruise on her cheek after he'd bitten her and failed to heal the bite before Victor had seen. He had stuck his head in the sand and it had made him blind to the situation. Willfully so.
He wasn't allowed to see Sookie after his meeting with the King. The club had been off limits. He was thankful he had Pam. He told her everything back up at the room and then they drank TrueBlood and pretended to watch television in silence until it was time to leave. He was glad she didn't have any pithy advice for him tonight. Or, more likely, that she was holding her tongue. She must have sensed he didn't need the lashing.
He was sure Sookie would get enough of that for both of them.
It occurred to him that this was meant to be his punishment. He had seen the gleam in Felipe's eyes and he didn't think it had all been for Sookie. Eric was, of course, expected to be back at the VIV Club at nine to watch whatever hell the King had in store. They should have tried harder to keep their feelings under wraps. He should have. But the King had surprised him the night before, and Eric hadn't been able to hide his feelings after so much had happened. And, of course, Felipe had eyes — and cameras — all over the casino, and they had been all over each other before she'd been taken.
He had no idea how that was less than twenty-four hours before.
At quarter to nine, he and Pam headed downstairs and across the casino to the VIV Club. His stomach was knotted with dread. Just outside the door, Pam put her hand on his arm.
"You need to listen to her and do what she said, Eric. She knows the politics of this place a hell of a lot better than you do. If you don't do what you're told, she will be punished for it. And you, too but, strangely enough, I don't even think you care much about that."
He nodded. "Yes. I will do whatever Felipe tells me to do. And then I will try to forgive myself."
They went inside just before nine. It looked like every vampire in Nevada was there. They had organised themselves into two groups, with two very different atmospheres. There was an almost celebratory air to the right of the stage. The vampires there were all excited about the upcoming festivities and were chatting and laughing and having a good time while they waited for the show to start.
There was a lot of unrest on the left. They were mostly mainstreamers, both the ones who bought into the idea and the ones who did it for show. Their feelings ranged from distaste to disgust, along with the anger and anxiety and fear that came with the risk Felipe was putting them all under. If pictures or videos of this got out, they would all be hunted in droves. And there were many vampires who were becoming more compassionate towards humans and saw them as almost — but not quite — on an even footing. Especially the younger generation. And Eric realized that, even after only a few days, his thoughts on the matter had shifted considerably.
There were few who were apathetic, but it was hard to be apathetic when faced with the circumstances; a beautiful human woman who smelled like candy and sunshine would shortly be naked in front of them, spilling her delicious blood, with the promise of violence and raunchy sex and the potential to even taste some of the goods, all while the heinous rape and torture of a beautiful, young, white, blonde, All-American-Girl was being committed by a sadistic vampire King, while a mob of vampires watched and cheered and the security cameras rolled. Most fell strongly into one camp or another.
Eric and Pam joined the group on the left.
The King climbed onto the stage a couple of minutes later, precisely at nine o'clock. Sookie's door was opened and she stepped out on her own. She was naked and she held her head up high as she split the two groups and walked onto the stage. Without being asked, she knelt before the king.
"Sookie Stackhouse, there have been serious allegations made against you. I have some questions and I demand your answers to be truthful. Do you understand?"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"Miss Stackhouse, did you allow other vampires to drink your blood, which belongs only to me?"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"Did you knowingly leave the state of Nevada, involving another Kingdom in my affairs and threatening the ownership and safety of my property?"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"Have you tied yourself to another by ingesting his blood and allowing him to ingest yours?"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"And were you, in whole or in part, responsible for a vampire's final death?"
"Yes, your Majesty."
"It saddens me that you made so many regretful mistakes, Sookie. I am afraid you must be punished, most severely."
"Yes, your Majesty."
Felipe could always be counted on to be very careful with his choice of words. Arguing semantics with the King would not be in her best interest, anyway. This was already going to be painful enough.
Felipe looked angry that her skin was marred by a long, wide scrape that covered most of her back from when the crazy monster in California had held her high against the old rough wooden barn wall when he'd bitten her and then dropped her when Eric had walked through the door.
"You have come before me, damaged. This is unacceptable."
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
"Yes. You should be."
She didn't need to be tied down or held back. She did not fight or try to run. She took it all, with as little reaction as she could manage.
Felipe took his time. He drew it out and made it last: the anticipation and the pageantry and the pain. Eric didn't understand why she was being punished, for nothing she'd been responsible for, when Felipe claimed to like her and had somewhat protected her from the worst of her torture and pain, otherwise. Seemingly, it was just an excuse for Felipe to act out his sadistic fantasies on a beautiful human woman, while flaunting his assets and issuing a warning to all what he was capable of. And Eric figured someone needed to pay for the trouble caused. She was flayed and then beaten and then the King licked the wounds clean so they would start to heal so he could do it again.
The Club was full of the heady scent of her blood. She was swaying a little on her knees and Felipe untied his cape and a young vampire appeared beside him to take it. The King disrobed and handed him the rest of his clothes and the vampire left as quickly as he'd arrived. Her cheek and jaw were badly bruised and she had a split lip, but Felipe did what he liked best — a quick, hard fuck in the mouth.
It hurt like hell, but it was over quickly. Victor was disappointed to only get to fuck her one time, and her eyes looked almost dead, staring out into nothing as he took her her hard from behind. He covered the whip marks crossing her back with his cum. Felipe let a few more of his officers take a turn.
Eric stood stoic through the whole thing. For hours. He knew she saw him and he felt in his blood she was glad he was there, but she never made eye contact. She was forced to cry out more than once, but she made almost no noise otherwise. She tried to hide her pain but he felt it through the blood tie. Her face was streaked with tears but he was able to hold his back. He willed away the bloodlust and kept his fangs retracted, too. He knew he had to watch every second of it, for Felipe, for Sookie, and for himself. To appease, to support, and to punish, just like Felipe had intended. He hated himself almost as much as he hated Felipe with every lash and punch and bite.
When it was close to dawn, Felipe walked over to Eric in the audience. He had been surprised but relieved when the King had done all of the work himself and Eric hadn't been forced to hurt her. It was the thing he had most been dreading. He was foolish to have gotten his hopes up.
"Eric Northman, Miss Stackhouse has committed a great offense against you by taking your blood without your permission, or mine. She has allowed you to take hers and has imposed a blood tie upon you. It is time for you to exact the punishment for her transgressions."
The King's eyes danced in cold glee. He clapped Eric on the back.
"Go up there and take her mouth. Hard. It doesn't count if it doesn't hurt."
His second night in Las Vegas, Eric had been on the verge of going up on the stage and having her suck his cock, but Sandy Sechrest had beaten him to it. He'd wanted to be in this very position, both of them naked with her on her knees in front of him and a room full of vampires watching. Now… Now he had no idea how he could possibly go through with it. To hurt and degrade her in front of dozens of bloodthirsty monsters. He wasn't hard, and had no idea if he could even get an erection under these circumstances. He hesitated, not wanting to hurt her even more than she'd already been hurt.
She looked up at him, bloody and bruised and spattered with cum. One of her eyes was swollen shut. She nodded a little and mouthed, remember what I said.
He reached out and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. He knew they would all take note, but he didn't care. It was all out in the open now. That ship had sailed. He nodded back.
Somehow, she smiled a little before she ran her hands up the insides of his thighs and sucked his cock into her mouth. It was hot and wet and perfect and he found he had no problem getting hard after all. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sensation and tried not to think of the circumstances. He felt like he was abandoning her in a way, but he wanted to finish quickly, for her sake.
Felipe was smiling but he sounded angry.
"Open your eyes, Northman. Look at her and fuck her like you mean it. Hard."
His eyes said he was sorry. He didn't dare say it out loud, or even mouth it. He was sure it would make Felipe hurt her even more.
Her eyes said she knew, and that he needed to do what he was told.
He did. She managed to hide a lot of her pain, but he knew she was badly hurt. He felt it. Her split lip opened up again and blood ran down her chin and onto her throat. He wanted to gently lick it away, and then the rest of her cuts and abrasions, before giving her even more of his blood, to heal her.
She couldn't breathe through her broken nose, so she was coughing and gagging and sputtering. He wanted to finish but it was so hard to let himself go under the circumstances.
Sookie lowered her gaze and concentrated on his mouth instead of his eyes. It was an instant relief. He shifted focus so he was looking through her instead of at her. He remembered fucking her face the other night and replayed that in his mind. She had looked into his eyes while he had thrust hard into her throat. It had felt incredible. It still did.
He remembered how hard she'd made him cum and when the memory of himself came, so did he, just as he realized that that had been the night he'd raped her.
She pulled away quickly and sat back on her heels. She knew Victor would punish her at the soonest opportunity if she swallowed Eric's seed instead of getting it on her face or breasts or throat. It had been more than twenty-four hours since he'd had her last and she was striped with it when he was done.
His cock twitched at the sight and he hated himself a little more. For that, and because he'd had to hurt her and that it had still felt so fucking good.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb again and, somehow, she smiled back at him. A fresh rivulet of blood ran down her chin and it broke his heart.
It was nearly sunrise when he finished and was led off the stage. Most of the vampires quickly dispersed. Sookie was forgotten about and ignored, suffering silently in pain on her knees on the stage. Eric was contemplating walking past the King and the few stragglers and taking her back to her room on his own when Felipe approached him again.
"It is good you were able to locate her. A very worthwhile insurance policy. I have decided you two will be bonded."
Part of him — the spontaneous, passionate, impulsive vampire who was as full of life as a dead man could be — was thrilled. She would be his after all.
The logical part of him sunk even deeper into dread and despair. She would be his, but she was also Felipe's, and Felipe was the one who called the shots. Tied that closely to Nevada's slave, he would be Felipe's too. But, once again, he had to shut up and do what he was told.
"Yes, your Majesty."
Felipe's grin was hard and mean.
"You can do your next exchange after I see you both tomorrow night."
In other words, he had better not heal her tonight.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Felipe left without even looking at Sookie again. As soon as the door closed behind him, Eric gently picked her up and carried her to her bed. She was badly hurt, but there was nothing to do about it except lick her wounds clean and apply blood to any lacerations. It wouldn't do nearly enough.
Pam followed him inside a couple of minutes later with another small black bag. She didn't say where she'd gotten it and he didn't ask. She rummaged through the contents and quickly cooked some heroin with a few drops of water on the spoon with the lighter. She filled the syringe through a pinch of cotton ball dropped into the liquid. She tied the tourniquet around Sookie's bicep, found a vein and injected her after making sure to get rid of any air bubbles.
After a few seconds, Sookie's body relaxed and she slipped into unconsciousness. Eric was somewhat flabbergasted, and worried after seeing Sookie barely alive a couple of nights before.
"She will be alright?"
Sookie's heart rate had slowed down from a gallop, but it was only a little slower than usual.
"Yes. Just out of pain. I didn't give her too much. There are some oral opiates in here as well, and I will leave a couple to help get her through the day if she wakes up, and I'm sure she will."
"How in the world did you learn to do that?"
She shrugged. "The Venn Diagram between Fangbangers and junkies is nearly a circle. I pay attention."
Eric swept Sookie's hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. She opened her eyes and smiled up at him. They were glassy and unfocused.
"I love you."
She was out again before he could reply. He and Pam walked silently back up to his room. He wedged Pam's coffin between the door and the closet wall and they both climbed into his bed. He let himself go with the sun as soon as it would take him away.