Sookie's POV:
In that moment, I was frozen. It was almost like a dream. I had spent many nights dreaming of having my husband with me again after he died. For three years, my life had been overshadowed with the grief of losing him.
I open my mouth to answer him, but nothing comes out. I am at a loss for words.
He starts walking closer to me and is staring at me intently.
"You must be cold. Excuse me," Marius says. He zips away in vampire speed and is back in front of me in less than ten seconds. He is holding my borrowed minx coat in his hands.
He holds it out to me and I grab it from him slowly.
"Th-th- thanks," I stammer. I was shivering but I wasn't sure if it was from the cold air or his presence. It was probably from both. I put the coat on and my body starts warming up.
"I wanted to meet you," he says. "My son talks about nothing else except you."
"Oh, I don't think I'm that special," I say shyly.
"I also wanted to thank you," he says as he takes a step closer.
"For?"
"For being friendly towards him. He is a very… sociable person and vampires tend to be broody, unkind, and not very sociable. I think he has had a very difficult time trying to fit in despite being a king. In this world, it is difficult for our kind to find people who are trustworthy and I know it pains him greatly having to hide who he is," he says in a concerned tone. I knew how much Marten had meant to him and how much Marius loved him like a son.
"Marten is a kind young man. I mean he is young-looking. Younger looking than me, I'm old….older, but I know he must be an old vampire," I fluster. I could feel my face turning red. My word vomit usually spilt out during my most nervous moments.
He gives me a small smile. "I do not usually have conversations with humans, Faes' or any other person for that matter. I hope my English is to your satisfaction? I learned how to speak it from a program Marten ordered for me in the mail."
I smile back. "Your English is perfect." His accent was a bit heavier than when I knew him in the future.
I gulp as I look at him. He still looked amazing and so handsome. Marius' skin tone had always been close to that of a Scandinavian human man, but he still had the unique vampire glow around him. He was wearing a black pea coat and black trousers.
I could vaguely hear the beat of the music downstairs, but it was like the tune was on repeat. It felt like we were stuck in a moment in time. I knew it had to be him. He had a way of manipulating the atmosphere around him. He was able to glamour humans of course but he could also manipulate other vampires. I knew he was able to glamour me, to a certain extent, despite my inability to be glamoured by other vampires. He only used it on me a few times, when we had first met each other. I suspect he had used it now to get me up here.
"I overheard everything that vampire said last night. About you being from the future?" he asks.
"Yes," I say.
He looks at me intently. "What is it like in the future?"
"It's noisy and crowded. There are more humans than there are now. Technology wise, there are more gadgets, like computers," I answer.
"Computers? I think I may have seen a computer once or twice. They are huge," he answers with a twinkle in his eyes.
I smile. "Oh, our computers in the future are way smaller. You can carry them everywhere with you. And we also carry our phones with us too and we can make video phone calls to each other whenever we want."
"That sounds interesting, but also a bit gloomy," he answers tactfully.
"I guess it is," I answer. "A lot of people spend too much time on their phones and laptops."
"Do we know each other in your future?" he asks all of a sudden.
I feel a bit startled. "Uhhh…" I wasn't sure how to respond. Even though this version wasn't my husband, it felt wrong to lie to him.
"Pardon me," he says. "I do not mean to make you feel uncomfortable. It is just that you seem very… familiar to me."
"Yes, we do know each other," I answer truthfully.
"I am glad to hear that," he says. He doesn't ask me any more questions about us.
He steps closer to me until he is right in front of me. I look up into his eyes. Tears form in my eyes as happy memories of our life flash through my mind. A tear trickles down my cheek and he quickly pops it into his mouth with his finger and closes his eyes. He leans forward and smells my neck. I close my eyes too as he does this.
He slowly moves back from me.
"Sookie?" he says. My eyes were still closed.
"Yes?" I say dreamily as I open my eyes again.
"I must go," he replies.
He starts walking backwards away from me with his gorgeous smile on his face. "I am happy to have met you. I hope that the rest of your night will be enjoyable. I bid you farewell, until we meet again."
"Yes, until next time." I croak out.
He takes off into the air.
I start panting and gasping out for air. I think I had forgotten how to breathe. I let out the tears of happiness that I had been holding in and my legs feel wobbly. I needed to sit down.
A minute later, Eric is up on the roof with me.
"Sookie?" Eric asks in a worried tone. He puts his hand on my back. "Are you alright?"
I whip around, tears were still in my eyes and on my cheeks.
"I'm alright. I'm just happy," I answer through my tears.
"Why are you up here?"
I was still sniffling. I had to tell him. "Marius was here."
He stops and looks at me. His eyes were telling me he wasn't angry, but he also wasn't happy about it.
"What did he want?" he asks in a solemn tone.
"He wanted to thank me. He asked me a couple things about the future and then he said goodbye," I answered. "It was very emotional for me. I haven't seen him in a long time. Last time I saw him, he was…..dying."
I wipe away my tears. I loved my husband and I would cherish every moment we had together, but I had to let Marius go. This was a different time now and things probably weren't going to play out the same way it did in my past. Since I arrived here, my feelings had been a gigantic mess. But now I was certain about who I wanted for the rest of my life. I wanted Eric.
I wrap my arms around his waist and lean against his chest. I never wanted to be away from him again.
"Do you want to leave?" he asks me as he wraps his arms around me too.
"Yes take me home," I answer quietly.
But out of nowhere, I feel a soreness in my chest. It was similar to the one I felt last night at the warehouse. But this time, it felt very heavy.
"Sookie?" Eric asks concerned.
"Eric?" I say as I clutch my hand against my chest.
Suddenly, I remember what Alexander and Octavius had said before I came here, that the monoliths were cracking and slowly breaking. They weren't sure when they were going to crumble, but it was going to be soon. I think my body was telling me that I had to go back now, probably at this very moment.
"Eric it's time," I say somberly.
He looks at me with sadness in his eyes.
"No," he whispers in a hush tone.
"I have to," I whisper.
He puts his forehead against mine and we close our eyes for a few minutes.
"Where are these stones?" he finally asks me.
I give him the directions. He lifts me up and flies us over Stockholm and into the wilderness. We reach the mine and he hovers us down the elevator shaft. I was glad that there were a couple flashlights at the bottom in a safety box that was left there. We each grab one and walk down the cave, towards the monoliths. They seemed different.
The pang in my chest gets heavier.
I turn around to face Eric and he holds me in his arms.
"I love you," he whispers into my ear. That was the first time he said it and I give him a smile.
"I love you too. I will always love you. I will see you soon," I cry. I was going to miss this Eric. The Eric who didn't know I existed up until a couple days ago and he had fallen in love with me despite just knowing me for a short time. And he still loved me despite all the trouble I brought him.
If things were going to be different in the future, I may as well try to make it better for us. "Eric I want you to find me. I want you to find me first when you guys announce yourselves at the Great Revelation."
He holds onto my hands and kisses them. "I promise."
"I have to go now," I say.
We kiss for a few more minutes until I place my hands on the monoliths to take me back to the future. Right away I can feel the wind whirling and the surge going through my body. But as it ends, I don't awake up, I just stay in darkness.
Where am I? I ask myself.