Eric's POV:

"Who was that?" Sookie asks as she comes wobbling into the room.

I go and wrap my arms around her right away. I take in her scent and let it soothe me. "It was the king. He wants to give us an update about last night."

"Oh," her voice muffled as she leans her face against my chest. She winces in pain.

"You are not completely healed yet," I tell her while checking her body. "I want you to take more of my blood."

I had never thought in all my existence that I would be sharing my blood with any human. After she drank some of my blood last night, I could feel her emotions more immensely before she lost consciousness. She was feeling joy after she had seen Marten's maker. I did not like this emotion. I did not like that she was feeling any type of emotion for him. But she had said that she was married to him in her timeline and those emotions did not fade away easily.

She nods her head as she looks up to me. I sit on my large arm chair and put Sookie on my lap. I bite into my wrist and bring it near her mouth. She grabs my wrist and latches on, drinking in my blood. It had been a long time since I had given another my blood. Previous transactions were always erotic, but this one with Sookie, was something more. I could only guess that it had to do with the way we felt for each other. I grind myself against her bottom, which was bare. I didn't put underwear on her after I bathed her and I was also still nude. I could smell her arousal so I lift her up gently and slowly slide her onto my pulsating cock. The feeling is incredible as she continues to drink from me and I grind into her gently, though I wanted to fuck her into oblivion. I could feel my wound closing as I cum. I wanted more but now was not the time. We had to leave shortly to meet the king at his casino.

She is panting and I could tell she desired more as well.

"Lover, we have to get ready," I whisper into Sookie's ear. I was still inside her, enjoying the warmth of her inner walls.

"Yeah, I guess we should get going."

I help her up as she pulls away from me. We take a shower together and dry up. She didn't have any clothes here, so I take her to a spare bedroom that had some of Pam's clothing. She and Sookie were about the same height but bodywise, Sookie was more voluptuous and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. I loved all her curves. I had been with and known too many women who thought that protruding bones and flat chests were sexy.

"You can find something from here to wear tonight. These are Pam's clothes," I tell her. "I hope to see her in the next day or so."

"Oh, how I miss Pam!" she says happily. "I can't wait to see her again and tell her everything."

I was a bit surprised but also pleased. Usually Pam was adamant against 'friendships' or 'confiding' in other people, especially other females. She always had her guard up wisely.

She browses through the clothes and a frown creases her forehead. "I dunno Eric. Pam is definitely not the casual pants and sweater type. Or at least that's not what she wears here in Sweden. Most of the dresses are pretty revealing and the tops are, well, they would be too small for me."

I could feel my arousal rise at the thought of Sookie wearing a small, tight dress with her nipples showing. That fantasy is quickly squashed as I imagine the other vampires in Karlsson's casino getting a good look at her luscious breasts. I had never been the jealous type, but Sookie brought out a possessive, jealous feeling within me, something that I did not think I had.

"I found something," she says relieved. She holds up a silk, champagne coloured maxi dress.

She starts tunelessly humming a song and adding some lyrics as she combs her hair, putting it into a bun. I had never heard the song and so I ask what song she's singing as we get ready.

"Oh, it's 'Take on me'. They're from Norway I think," she says as she continues with her hair. She stops all of a sudden. "It's from the 80s. You will probably hear it when you go to the clubs or on the radio about 5 or 6 years from now."

She continues to smile but I start to feel forlorn. She was picturing me, in a future time period, solo. I had not really thought too much about it until now. Though I did believe her tale of being a time traveler, the thought of her going back to her time was not something that crossed my mind. Even if she chose not to let me turn her, I wanted her to remain with me indefinitely. I guess, I wanted her to not only be mine, but to be my 'partner' or 'spouse'. If I could marry her, I would. I also was not sure if the vampire council approved human/vampire marriages. But she was planning on returning to her own time. She just had not told me when. Maybe she would not because she knew I would not let her go easily.

"Eric? You look like you're deep in thought. Penny for your thoughts?" she asks quizzically. She was done getting ready for the night.

"When are you going back?", it was time that I started asking those questions that I dreaded to hear the answers to.

"Oh, uhhhhh, I hadn't really thought of it about it. I mean I haven't really had time. One thing after another keeps popping up," she answers sounding startled. "I still have to give Alexander his letter to him. Which is, by the way, still at Marten's house. I hope he delivers my bag tonight if he's still in the city or gives it to someone."

She sighs as she walks out to the main living area and I follow her.

"Last night was crazy," she says exasperatingly. "I mean things happened that will definitely alter my time! Octavius James won't be the head honcho of the Vampire Council now. I have no clue who will take his place. Freyda is dead! Again! So I don't know who will be queen of Oklahoma now. I mean that part was already being dealt with, but still!"

She shakes her head a bit. "God, I can't even wrap my head around all these new changes."

"Then don't go back," I reply to her calmly.

She looks at me deeply with her blue eyes. "Eric…. As much as I want to remain here with you, I don't belong here. I mean I'm going to be born in Bon Temps, less than a decade from now. We have no clue what would happen if there are two versions of me wandering around this world."

"I think Marten would enjoy that," I reply trying to lighten the mood.

She laughs lightly. "Yeah no doubt about that. Although, I don't know how I would feel watching a younger version of myself take up with him."

I walk up to her and hold her. Now that I was sure I loved her, I had no intentions of letting her go. Keeping her captive was not an option, I was going to have to convince her to stay.

Sookie's POV:

We walk into the casino on this cold night. I was glad that one of Pam's fur coats fit me. It felt so warm and luxurious to wear. I think it was made of minx. I hope it wasn't made from a were-minx, I thought to myself dryly.

Eric was dressed in a nice, shiny, gray suit and white shirt. I was glad that he dressed up too. I didn't want to be the only one overdressed tonight, but luckily, most of the vampire men were wearing nice suits and the human girls were wearing gorgeous cocktail gowns. I recognized some of the vampires from last nights battle and many other new faces. I was half hoping that Marius was here, but the other half of me was terrified. He now knew that I existed. I still had no idea what he thought about me. Probably pity, seeing that I was laying half dead on the ground of a warehouse last night.

"Northman," one of Alexander's sheriffs nods to Eric as he approaches. "The king is in his private office waiting to speak to the both of you."

An attendant takes my coat and leads us down the wide hall. We enter a large office. The walls had wooden panels and most of the chairs were chocolate coloured leather. There was a large oak desk near two doors that was on the left side of the room.

As we entered the room, Alexander was sitting on one of the chairs in deep conversation with Marten, who was sitting across from him. They both stop talking as we enter the room.

"Your majesties," Eric bows.

Marten comes up to greet us. "Eric you look well. Miss Stackhouse, I am so relieved that you have recovered well from your injuries."

"Thank you and please call me Sookie," I smile. I could only guess what kind of questions they had for me, or if they just thought I was some crazy woman. Granted, they did witness the power that I possessed, perhaps they were going to make me some sort of lackey and force me to use my fae powers for their benefits? Oh god, I should've just gone home instead of coming here.

"Sookie, I brought your possessions as well," Marten says, pointing to my bag that was sitting on the coffee table.

"Thank you," I say as I go to retrieve it.

"Oh and don't worry, I didn't look in it. I promise. I'm not that kind of guy," he adds.

I nod as I look and find the letter. I think now was the perfect time to give it to Alexander before anything else happened.

"Your majesty, I mean Alexander, well, I'm guessing you probably have a lot of questions for me," I say.

"Yes, I have a few. But first of all, I have to thank you for what you did last night. You possess such courage and strength. I had a feeling that there was more to you than meets the eye, but you greatly surprised me. I am guessing you are part Fae?" Alexander asks.

"Uh yes," I answer. "I'm mostly human but I inherited abilities from my Fae kin."

"That's intriguing," he answers. He looks hesitant. "And you are from the future?"

He was looking at me as though he was still deciding whether I was crazy or not. I think he was more like he was leaning towards that I was now some crazy Fae hybrid.

"I am from the United States. I do come from the future," I answered. Wow, saying it out loud made me think I was crazy as well! I give Eric a quick glance. His face looked like stone. I think he may have been contemplating how to get us out of here if things went south.

I quickly open my bag and hold out the letter. "This is for you. You helped me get here. We weren't sure if you would believe me, so you decided to write a letter to yourself."

He looks a bit hesitant at it and then to me.

"Don't worry," I say quickly, "It's just a letter."

He reaches out and grabs it. He examines the envelope and recognizes his seal. He raises his eyebrow at me as he opens it. He starts reading the letter as he walks towards his desk. He sits down and looks at the formula for the vaccination.

After a few minutes of silence, he finally speaks. "So, this is what really happens to vampires? Most of us die during a pandemic?"

I nod.

"And this is the formula that saves us?"

I nod again.

"We went through Octavius James' belongings. Apparently, he was living in England. The Vampire Council have already sent a team of investigators. We went through the belongings he possessed here. There were a few interesting items," he says sounding nonchalantly.

"This is a good letter. It does look like my handwriting, but of course I would need to have it analyzed just to be sure. And the contents of this letter contain things that no one knows about me and my life," he says in a serious tone.

I gulp. "I did not read the letter at any time. The king, I mean you wrote it in a private room, away from others. You sealed it yourself and I am only the deliverer."

He is silent again.

Silence from a vampire or anyone for that matter, usually wasn't a good indication.

He puts the letter in a drawer of his desk.

"Is this why you are here? To save vampires from meeting our final deaths? You know, most of us survived the Black Death, the Spanish Influenza, and any other disease that have easily killed humans. I have to be honest, I cannot quite believe that some sort of virus destroys us in the future, especially when viruses thrive in living things. And we, as you probably very well know, are not living."

Shit, he didn't believe me.

"I know that this is hard to believe, but it is the truth. I'm no scientist so I have no idea how this virus kills vampires, but it does. And it does a damn good job to kill the lot of you," I say emotionally.

"She is telling the truth. I know because I can feel it. I can feel her emotions. You saw me last night giving her my blood in order to keep her alive," Eric adds.

"I can vouch for Eric," Marten says. We all look at him. "Eric is one of the best men I know and he would never lie about something like this."

He is silent again, but this time for about a minute. "Very well. I will look into this formula."

That didn't sound very convincing. At this point, I had no idea what he was going to do with it. I still had my backup plan in place. At least I knew Eric believed me.

"Enough with this serious talk, let's celebrate our victory!" Alexander says as he throws a smile on his face as he gets up from his chair.

"I am throwing a small celebratory party in the ballroom of my casino. And you three along with your maker, Marten, are my honorees. Oh Eric, by the way, I offer my condolences in the death of your maker," he adds.

"It was unfortunate that Appius met his final death, but things like this happen when you get caught up with the wrong vampires. I did not know about Alexei, the new protégé," Eric says.

"Yes, apparently Alexei made a mess in every country Appius and he resided in. They were fast becoming the pariahs in every territory they went through," Alexander says. "But if you are up to it, come and enjoy my get together."

"Will your maker be joining us tonight, Marten?" Alexander asks. "I would so like to meet him. He left rather quickly after Eric and Sookie departed."

We all freeze in our spots. I wanted to know too. I could feel my heart galloping like a horse. Eric squeezes my waist a little tighter.

"Unfortunately no," Marten answers. "My master still values his privacy immensely. He did inquire after you, Sookie."

"Really?" I try to say as calmly as I can, but I could feel a huge lump forming inside my throat. "You can let him know that I am alright now."

I didn't know what else to say. I couldn't tell Marten to relay to Marius that I was happy he was alive and that I missed him and that I hope he survived the virus and to take the vaccination if it was produced before the pandemic. Ugh, again, with my complicated life!

We head to the ballroom where there are many people already enjoying themselves on the dance floor and at tables and the bar. The room is darkened and the disco ball is shining brightly over the dancing vampires and their partners.

I could feel my emotions running away from me. I needed to calm down. I ask the waiter to bring me a gin and tonic at our table. Marten is already on the dancefloor with three girls around him. The king is dancing as well.

A girl approaches us with the intention of asking Eric to dance. I peek into her mind and could see imaginary images of her and Eric having a really good time in her apartment downtown. I put my hand on his thigh possessively as the girl asks Eric to dance. He declines right away. She gives me a quick look as I scowl at her. Eric chuckles.

After a few songs, Marten comes up to our table with a huge smile. "Sookie may I have the honor of the next dance? If that is alright with Eric, of course."

I look at Eric, who gives a nod of approval, and I smile back at Marten.

He leads me to the floor and we begin dancing. I knew Marten was a good dancer so I try my best to keep up with him although I was still slightly sore from my injury. After the song is over, the DJ plays 'Celebration'.

"Come on Sookie!" Marten yells jubilantly. We started clapping and jumping to the song. I was really enjoying myself for the moment. A server approaches us and offers shots. What the hell, I think to myself as I take the shot and Marten takes one as well.

"It's a special concoction for vampires," Marten says as he downs it.

After the dance, I return to the table where Eric remained sitting. He seemed calm and in deep thought.

"Would you like to come to Monaco with me?" Eric asks as I take sips of my second gin and tonic.

"Uhhh, sure," I say to him happily. I wasn't sure of what my plans were going to be now that I had given the king his letter. I guess perhaps, I was going to prepare for my time travel trip. Maybe I could enjoy some rest and relaxation with Eric in Monaco first.

I also needed to pee.

"Eric, I need to use the restroom. I will be right back," I whisper into his ear and give him a quick kiss.

I ask someone by the ballroom door which way the ladies' room was and she points out the hallway. I do my business and as I wash my hands, I notice the room was empty, which was odd. Suddenly, I have a weird feeling, something compelling me to go to the elevators. It didn't feel threatening, so I follow it and make my way down the hall. I find the bank of elevators and press the button for the top floor. I had no idea how I knew which way to go, but I suddenly find myself up on the roof. It was chilly outside and the moon and stars were shining brightly. I could see my breath in the air and goosebumps were forming all over my body.

What was I doing up here?

"You are part Fae? Marten has told me much about you," a voice suddenly says.

I turn around quickly and gasp. It was him, it was Marius!