Eric made his way inside slowly, almost lazily and Pam followed his cue. Again, Katherine's posture showed restraint and a level of forced submission. She was waiting to see if he would go back on his word and hurt her.

"So, what do you want with her?"

"Whatever businesses I have with your cousin, Miss Stackhouse, are related to her being a vampire and therefore above you."

"I-"

"Go back to bed, Sookie." There was no room in her voice for discussion and for once the telepath listened. She looked like she wanted to argue but held back and nodded, moving to hug her cousin, completely unaware of how tense she got at the contact.

"You'll be here when I wake up, right?"

"Vampire, Sookie…"

"Ah. Right… Sorry."

"Here, take Tina with you. I'll go to ground somewhere nearby. And I'll come back as soon as night falls." Sookie hugged her again and took the cat in her arms.

"You've never broken a promise. You can't start now." She warned and the answering smile was terse.

"I ordered Jason to sleep here and stay if he doesn't have work. We all need to talk. I know what he did. He won't hurt you, and you don't have to interact with him until I get here if you don't want to." She looked like she wanted to ask but remembered the other two vampires and nodded, bidding her cousin goodnight, and nodding to Eric and Pam. "I apologize for her behaviour."

"You've reigned her in admirably. It's more than I can say for Compton." She nodded, accepting the comment but still coiled like a tight spring. "Is there a place we can sit? I don't mind standing, but I prefer to have these conversations sitting." He offered. There was very little he could do about his height, but he hoped that sitting down she would feel less intimidated and would talk more freely with them. She had information he needed, and this was one of the few situations he knew force and power would not benefit him. She was used to that, she was changed and moulded and threatened by it.

"There's the kitchen if you don't mind. The living room is a bit of a mess at the moment." He nodded and she motioned them to it, her eyes never leaving him and never turning her back to them. Eric knew from Sookie's account that she was strong. She'd likely be able to hold her own against Pam if she handled Bill so easily, but she was still cautious. Again, her behaviour cementing Bill's deception in his mind.

"What's with the smell?" Pam asked, referring to the somewhat stale scent of blood in the air and the vampiress sighed.

"From what Sookie tells me, there's where she found our Gran." She pointed towards the space between the sink and the table, near the refrigerator, not looking at it. "She was murdered. Stabbed."

"Oh. Sorry." Pam deadpanned, uncomfortable with the situation. They were vampires, they didn't care for death. But still, the death of kin affected them. "Why would your grandmother be murdered? If you don't mind my asking." The last part was hastily added at Eric's warning look.

"There's someone going around killing women who had dealings with vampires. Most of the girls appeared to have had sex with one. Gran hosted a meeting at church with Mr Compton, so he could talk about their Glorious Dead." She bared her teeth at the idea of the meeting. "When Sookie came home later that evening, she found Gran dead." Eric nodded, taking the information in.

"So, that's why they came into the bar," Pam commented.

"It doesn't concern us."

"No, but it's not good publicity and it's in your Area. Besides, Sookie's clearly being targeted."

"You don't care for the idea of the meeting?" Eric chose to ask instead, noticing that she got more comfortable when she was talking about something that bothered her. It seemed that the more she hated something, the easier it was for her to open up.

"I don't care about what people around here do to pass their time but to put on a pedestal people who fought in favour of slavery, family or not, seems a little out of touch to me." She paused, looking him in the eye for the first time, for just a second. "It never sat right with me, but I guess you could say I have a vested interest in it now." Eric was surprised by how clear her eyes looked. He had been under the impression that they were dark green, much like Godric's but having a clear view of them now, he couldn't help but compare it with the luscious green the leaves of trees had at the height of springtime.

"How old are you?" This wasn't a very polite question. Vampires tended to be very cagey about their age, but he needed to understand her situation to see if he could assist her. She was not lost to despair or rage yet and he thought that she had potential.

"I'm…" She paused and closed her eyes, swallowing. "A little over six months."

"You're very controlled."

"I'm a lot of things." He hummed in agreement. She certainly was.

"And Castro just released you?" Pam questioned and she closed off again, her shoulders rounding in and her eyes becoming distant.

"You said you came to pay your respects to your family. Were you not planning to stay?" Eric thought it would be best to change the subject. He needed to understand what happened between her and her Maker, but they still had some time.

"Not initially."

"Where were you planning on going?" She hesitated but answered after a moment.

"Texas. I planned to see my family and see if they needed anything and then head to Dallas to ask for a place in the Sheriff's retinue." This surprised Eric in many ways. Godric's reputation was daunting to anyone outside of the bloodline. While he had changed his ways and mellowed out, his reputation as Death was something he was never able to shake off, much to his disappointment. That this particular vampire would willingly put herself in the hands of an Ancient with a ruthless reputation…

"You would put yourself on the mercy of the one known as Death? The one even the Vampire Authority hesitates to go against?"

"No one can kill me in any way that matters," she said, mostly to herself. Her face carefully shifted to a pleasant expression. "The King of Nevada didn't care for anyone, really. But if there were two people, he hated with a passion were the Gaul and his progeny. I don't know why, he rarely allowed anyone to mention them at all in court. But when he got going about them, he would work himself into a frenzy of fury." Her expression still bore a small smile, but she clenched her fists, her muscles rippling, and Eric had the disturbing thought that she was the one on the end of that fury. He felt something akin to guilt at the notion. "There was something disdainful about him when he talked about them. I figured anyone who inspire such hate on the king was probably doing something right. I thought to try my luck and offer myself to the Gaul."

"After what Castro did, you would-"

"I have nothing else to offer, Sheriff." Her voice rang out in the silent home and there was a moment of painful silence. And Eric understood the truth behind the sentence she had uttered to herself. As much as Castro had hurt her, as much as he had tortured and taken from her, there was a fundamental part of the woman in front of him he had never been able to touch, much less kill. He knew right then that he would introduce her to his maker. They were so similar in many aspects, but she had something that Godric was sorely lacking.

"Well, that car out there is something…" Pam chuckled. She sounded cold and detached but Eric could feel her discomfort. She felt for the woman in front of her. There was no pity there. Pam didn't do pity. There was a sense of kinship with the vampiress in front of them. But Pam was also well aware that she had been protected by him and Godric her entire vampire life.

She was painfully loyal to them because they were everything she had for a long time. Katherine Hale didn't have that. She had gone through hell and her connections in this world were fleeting and fragile. And yet she was still fighting for herself. She was willing to do anything to survive. And Pam understood that. Pam had chosen to die for the chance that she could live to the fullest. And as a vampire, she loved and respected herself too much to ever allow herself to become despondent and seek death. Just like the vampiress in front of them. But Katherine Hale had no security, no hopes, probably, and she still refused to give up on herself. Eric hoped her lust for life would ignite Godric's.

"Why not go to his progeny, instead?" She asked when the vampiress didn't react to her comment. "Wouldn't it be less daunting? He is younger…"

"I know that he resides in the South, but I don't know his name. I only know about the Gaul because a couple of vampires whispered about it after one of the king's rages about them. I knew he was in Texas and later Castro ranted about being unable to go through Dallas for a meeting with the Queen of Louisiana because the Gaul wouldn't let him. That and some more information here and there were enough for me to put two and two together. And… I believe there are things that the Gaul knows that his progeny doesn't. Things I need to know." She finished and Eric nodded, going through the options he had. He still needed to understand what happened between her and Castro that led her here, free of his influence. He still wanted to know what information she had on Sophie Anne and Compton.

"I'll make a deal with you. You seem to have sensitive information about Sophie Anne and Bill Compton that I need to know. If you answer my questions honestly and tell me everything you know about them, I will put you in touch with the Sheriff of Area 9. I'll make sure you have his protection and that he takes you under his wing without asking you to give up your autonomy." Eric knew he had caught her off guard with his offer and he could see the glimmer of hope she was trying to keep controlled in her eyes.

In all honesty, as soon as Godric knew about her, he would have her under his protection. Once he witnessed her control and her fire, he would likely be entranced by her. If there was a thing that all vampires were attracted to was beauty. And Katherine Hale had a beauty to her that was almost irresistible to vampires like Godric and Eric.

The Viking considered the possibility that his maker could very well fall in love with the woman in front of him. She had what he didn't but desperately wanted. And he had what she needed. It could be a disaster. Odin knew that the mental state they were both in wasn't conducive to a healthy relationship. But he also believed that they could heal each other and make this into something good. Something that would keep this woman safe – or as safe as a vampire could be – and his maker less suicidal. Eric mused that even he could fall in love with this woman. She had everything that called him to Sookie but there was a ruthlessness and an understanding that suited him better than her cousin. Still, his Maker had precedence and Eric would put himself second to Godric.

"And how would you manage that?"

"We haven't introduced ourselves, have we? This is Pam Swynford de Beaufort, my Childe. And I'm Eric Northman. I am the Gaul's first progeny."