EPOV

Gods, if this wasn't such an important life-changing situation we are walking into, I'd vamp away and have my way with Sookie right now. Something about her taking charge, making demands, and acting like the princess she is drives me insane with need. I'm sure people would be able to see my hard-on right now if they bothered to look. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, my arousal fades fast as the first person we see as we enter the building is Freyda.

She's looking right at me with her seductive smile, and there's a twinkle in her eye that worries me, it's a twinkle that says she's already won. She walks up to me, and I have no choice but to bow to her. She is still a queen, and technically, until it is ruled otherwise, I am still her consort, "Eric, darling, how I've missed you. Won't you be glad when all this silliness is over and you can come home?"

"My queen," I greet, "I will be pleased when all this is said and done so I can go to my proper home without having to worry about leaving it again."

There's a flash of anger in her eyes; she knows well that I'm not talking about Oklahoma. "Yes, well, fear not, this shall all be over in a few mere minutes, then you and I can go home. I have many plans for you, and you have much to catch up on."

I simply nod. Sookie, standing as regal as I've ever seen her, takes a step forward, almost blocking me from Freyda, she nods her head so little, if she weren't royalty herself, she could be punished for the disrespect, "Freyda. It's good to see you again. I see you've enjoyed catching up with my husband."

She keeps surprising me more and more; I can't say I don't love every moment of it. It's good watching her become everything I know she can be. She has no reason to be scared or think she is lesser than any of these people here, and it's good she's finally realized that.

Freyda laughs loudly, fakely, "Ah yes, your husband. Let's not forget, my country-bred friend, I was there when you signed those divorce papers."

"As you know well by now, there is more than one way to marry someone."

"We shall see what the council has to say about that."

"Yes, we shall." Sookie readily agrees. She turns to me, "Come, husband, let's go greet the others."

I hold back the smirk that wants to come out, "Of course, wife."

Karin and Pam walk quietly behind us, I turn my head a little and see Sookie and Pam make eye contact, Pam throwing Sookie a thumbs up. It makes me happy that they get along so well. Niall had already left our side; he did as soon as we entered the building. He has to be sure not to show favoritism to us, or they might make him abstain from the vote.

"Eric, darling!" I hear yelled from across the room; I don't even have to turn to know who it is, I'd know that voice anywhere.

"Trish, it's been a long time, how are you? The kids?" I pretend as if we didn't talk only days ago; I don't want it known that I've already lobbied for her vote.

"They are doing great, as am I. It's so good to see you," She says as she finally makes it to us and pulls me into a hug.

I hug her back, and when I pull away, I pull my Sookie closer, "Trish, I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Sookie Stackhouse, Princess of the Sky Fae."

Patricia bows her head with a friendly smile on her face, "Oh, it's so nice to meet you, Eric has told me a lot about you. Plus, I know you must be special if you were able to get the Northman to commit himself to you so thoroughly."

They both laugh as Sookie shakes Patricia's hand. However, I feel something concerning in our bond. Sookie is worried. I attempt to use our telepathic connection to figure out what is wrong. 'Sookie, what is happening?'

"You have as much of a clue as I do," Sookie jokes. 'Something isn't right, Eric; I don't think we have her vote anymore.'

"Well, just being around you for a few moments, I see it. You have the most beautiful aura."

'What do you mean?' Wow, I'm starting to understand the headaches that Sookie used to get. I'm juggling one conversation in my head and one in person, and it's a lot. I couldn't imagine hearing everyone while still trying to pull a sentence together.

"Thank you, that's very kind, and it was so nice meeting you. But if you'll excuse me, I have to go freshen up."

"Of course, of course, I'll see you in there." Trish accepts easily.

I nod my head at Patricia once more before leading Sookie away. She's speaking before I have a chance to ask again, 'I'm not sure, I didn't hear any specifics. Everyone here knows I'm a telepath, so they're probably being very careful. What I do know is that something happened with her, and now, even though she wants to vote for us, she'd be putting herself in a terrible situation if she did.'

'Fuck. We must get to the others who have promised us their vote, if Freyda has gotten to her, who knows who else she's gotten to?'

Sookie looks at me, and I see her worry starting to turn into panic, I pull her a little closer, not too close, we can't let them know we have any idea anything is wrong or that we're communicating right now. I wait outside as she goes into the bathroom, and I send Pam in there with her, I don't want anyone to have the opportunity to go in there and corner her or frighten her more. Unfortunately, by the time she gets out, they're already calling the council meeting to order.

So, with little other choice, I hold my hand out for Sookie to take and start walking into the council meeting chambers. We walk in with our heads held high, looking as confident as possible, even if we're both shaken by the news.

At the front of the room, each of the council members is sitting on what looks like one large bench, the Ancient Pythoness in the middle, her seat and desk higher than the others. Niall is on her direct left, while Patricia is on her direct right. Next to Niall is Russell, who gives both me and Sookie a friendly smile, then Phoebe Golden, who is scowling at Sookie and winking at me. I can see by her look alone she's remembering our night together with Freyda.

Next to Trish is Resmend Uberlley, the representative that Sookie went to lunch with and secured his vote. Then, finally, Sherman Costaliate, who we've counted as a loss because his kind does not agree with cross-breeding. I do have a backup plan should worse come to worse with him, though. Pam was able to find some blackmail for him that I haven't felt the need to use yet. Should the vote start to turn away from us, I'll call for our break, each side gets one if they want it, and show him the information we have, I'm sure I'll be able to get his vote.

The AP is staring right at Sookie with her sightless eyes, and I can tell it unnerves Sookie, she's never actually met the AP before, even if the other Sookie has and she has the memories, meeting her in person is immensely different, the power radiating off of her alone is a lot to take in.

'Be calm, Sookie. There is no need to be worried; you should feel honored to have her attention on you.'

"Northman!" The AP says, frightening even me a little. "As you know, I see much, but I did not see this coming. My how you have grown since we've last met. You should be proud of the leaps and bounds you and your bonded have made."

She heard me speaking to Sookie? She must have because everyone else on the council looks just as confused as Sookie does as she turns her head to look at me with her eyes wide. I decide to simply bow down deeply, giving the Ancient Pythoness the respect she deserves, "Thank you, Wise One."

"Alright, enough of the sentimental. Let's get down to business. I have much more important things to do and see, as does the Northman and his mate."

Freyda perks up, thinking the AP is talking about her. Gods, I hope she's wrong. Confidently, Freyda speaks. "Yes, I agree, Honorable One, I'd like to present my argument first, it's so compelling, I doubt you'll even need their side of the story."

The AP bangs her gavel and growls, "Silence unless spoken to, lower being. I will speak about the important parts of this meeting; I don't need to hear either side of you spinning it to make yourself sound better. 1) Eric bonded and pledged with the fae princess unbeknownst to her. 2) The Northman's maker signed his life away to Freyda for 100 years, after all the contracts were signed, it was 200. 3)The Northman had no choice but to divorce his fairy because he was bound by his maker. However, his maker had no say over fairy laws, so they did not separate in the princess' kind's way. And 5) he lived with the queen Freyda until the fairy Sookie Stackhouse took her rightful place as a princess and learned her marriage supersedes the other one, taking her husband back for her own. Am I missing anything?"

Freyda opens her mouth but is cut off again by the AP, "I said silence unless spoken to, and I was not speaking to you!"

Freyda bends her head lowly, "Sorry."

"Hmm," The AP hums, looking over the crowd and then to her fellow council members. "Do you have any questions?"

"The maker had met the true death by the time the contracts were signed, yes?" Sherman asks, looking through his paperwork. He looks to me after a moment for an answer.

"Yes, he'd died a month after the deal was made and two months before the contracts were finalized."

"Why did you simply not sign if you wanted to stay with your fairy?" He asked, and others nodded their heads.

"Honor. It would have been dishonorable not to finish my maker's final order."

Russel Edgington scoffed, "You're a better progeny than I, Northman. We all know what a sadistic fucker your maker was." Sookie nonchalantly reaches over and grabs my hand when I tense up at the talk of my sire.

I smirk at Russel, "I think we all know well about your care of honor, Russell."

He laughs loudly and claps his hands, "Ahh, it's been far too long since we've seen each other, not many others can make me laugh like you, then again, not many others would have the audacity to speak to me as you do. I think the last time was when you and the delectable Stackhouse snuck into my state, with you wearing that ridiculous costume, no?"

My smirk widens, "Are you forgetting already who officiated your pledging?"

Russell's eye sheepishly move over to his husbands, who's looking at him with his arms crossed, tapping his foot. "Sorry, sweetheart, of course, I'd never forget such a momentous occasion."

"Enough!" The Ancient Pythoness yells, stopping all sounds in the room. We all look over at her, as I said, her aura and power are strong enough to demand attention, it is not often she feels the need to raise her voice. "Now, enough interruptions, Edgington. Questions only. Who has more questions?"

"Ms. Stackhouse, why did you sign the divorce papers if you did not want to?" Sherman Costaliate asks my bonded.

She looks him right in the eye, but I feel her nervousness, I hope that's simply because of the bond and that she's not broadcasting it to everyone. She clears her throat and squeezes my hand for comfort. "Well, Mr. Costaliate, there are actually two reasons for that, one, I'm pretty well known in the supernatural world, and because of that, so are some of my weaknesses, like my family and loved ones. Freyda over there promised me lots of loss and suffering if I did not back off. That scared me, but it wasn't enough for me to give up. The thing is, my husband knows me better than anyone, once he realized there wasn't a legal way out of his contracts and I had no intention to stop fighting, he knew that left me in danger and open to attack. Now, I won't get into detail about it, but Eric said exactly what he knew would work to get me angrier than a wet hen and tricked me into backing off so he could make sure I was safe. I'll tell you, I sure felt like an idiot when I realized all of this months later. Plus, I was really ticked off and needed to make sure Eric knew it. So I did the only thing I could, went and fought for him and his safety as much as he fought for me and mine."

"Hmm." It is the demon's only response.

I can see Trish has stars in her eyes at the story, she was always a sucker for a good love story. It makes me even more confused as to why she isn't planning on voting with us. Hopefully, Sookie misunderstood, but knowing my lover, that is not likely. I just have to try to figure out who else has switched their votes or promised their votes to both sides. Russell is a man who you can trust to do exactly what he wants to do. He's usually pretty good at keeping his word, but he's also been known to be fickle in the past, so it wouldn't be too hard for Freyda to offer him something good enough to sway his vote.

I feel fairly confident with Niall. Apparently, he believes some bullshit about Sookie and I being a part of a prophecy or something like that. If that's the case, there's no way he'd want us to be separated. The AP is going to vote according to what her sight shows her is the best option; we just have to pray to Oden that her sight is in our favor. I don't know the rest well enough to foresee how their vote will go. I would be nervous about this potential change of plans, but as always, I have backup plans and countermeasures should the worst happen.

"I have a question," Phoebe speaks up.

"What do you want, an engraved invitation? Speak up." I hold back my smirk the AP isn't known for her humor, but every once in a while, she says things that can get a chuckle out of me.

"Right. If Eric Northman was so unhappy in his marriage with Freyda, why did he happily fulfill his husbandly duties?"

"Are you telling me you've never fucked someone you hated, Phoebe?" Russel said dryly.

"Still, night after night, he was there."

"I followed my rules as stated in the contracts to a tee, no more, no less." I cut in.

"I'm sure nowhere in your marriage contract said anything about having threesomes with your queen and another," Phoebe said, not giving up the point. I feel as Sookie stiffens, but now isn't the time to deal with that.

"I followed my queen's decrees, just as your servants would do for you. That doesn't mean they'd enjoy it, it's just a better fate than meeting the true death."

Phoebe huffs and doesn't ask anything else, thank the Gods. The Were opens his mouth to speak, but the Ancient Pythoness cuts him off, "No more questions. You know all you need to do in order to make an informed decision. Choose wisely. We'll start with…"

"Wait, I don't get to say anything, not even make a closing statement or something? That's not fair; I had something prepared." Freyda seems pissed.

"You're not in court, young vampiress, the only rules here are the ones I wish to make. So no, if I say you don't get to say anything, then you do not."

Freyda bends her head, tilting her head to the side slightly in submission and apology, "I'm sorry, your eminence."

"As you should be. That being said, I think I'd like to hear the fairy princess' side of things, and so I suppose it's only fair to let you tell yours. Keep it short."

Freyda looks at me conspiratorially, then shoots a superior look at Sookie as if she's won some huge victory. She turns her attention back to the council; I can tell by the way she's standing she's putting on her seductive face. She thinks she can get whatever she wants as long as the people she wants it from think they have the chance of fucking her. Granted, it's worked out pretty well for her so far, obviously. These people are much older than her, though, more mature, and know there is more to life than fucking and feeding, well, most of them do, anyway. I just hope more than the majority will see past her bullshit.

"Eric is rightfully mine, he is mine and will be for the next two hundred years. Sure, they tied themselves together 'for love' or some other childish fantasy, but they've never signed anything legally binding to make it true. Not only that, but our marriage is much more important than just infatuation, it has meaning, it's meant to strengthen the state, strengthen the vampire hierarchy, and, in turn, strengthen supernaturals. Anything good for our kind is good for all. What will they do to help the rest of us should their marriage be solidified? Nothing. In the end, that's all that matters. For the next two hundred years, Eric Northman is legally obligated to do whatever I wish of him. We've had this as our way for thousands of years; don't let them convince you to change it now just because they make a cute couple and enjoy spending time together. I'm sure each and every one of you had signed contracts and had relationships with people you didn't like before. Unfortunately, this just so happens to be the case with Eric right now, we've all dealt with it before, it's his turn to deal with it now."

I see a few in the council take her words to heart, they see her point and are even considering voting for her, even the ones that we considered ours coming into this meeting. I decide to speak fast, not give them a lot of time to let her words sink in, and make sure my points are the ones that they're thinking about as they vote.

"Though the queen's…"

"No, Viking. You are not the one fighting here; you are the prize. You have no say in this argument. It's your fairy who must speak her truth."

Sookie looks at me, her eyes wide. She is clearly thinking I was going to be the one to speak to, so she hasn't prepared anything for herself. After looking at me for one more moment, she feels resolve flow through her, and she stands up a little straighter, clearing her throat before speaking. When she opens her mouth, it's no longer Sookie Stackhouse speaking, it's Sookie Bridgant, letting the royalty that's always been in her blood come forward and lead her.

"As my husband was starting to say, Though the queen's words sound logical, and maybe even enough to sway you to her side, they are filled with half-truths. Yes, we never signed any contracts for our marriages, but that's because it is not necessary in the giving of the light. As a fairy, all you have to do is look at Eric right here," He points to a spot near my unbeating heart, "and you can see my light inside of him. A part of myself, a part of what makes me a fairy literally living inside him. It connects us together forever, closer than any piece of paper can make you. The same goes for the blood bond. She might have been able to force us to give up our pledging, but she holds no weight in the fairy worlds, so she couldn't take that from us, nor could she break our blood bond. Therefore, we were married this whole time. Now, I know you vampires and other supes aren't one for monogamy, but as we all know, you can only pledge yourself and your loyalty to one, and that was and always will be me for Eric. So, he was never even married to Freyda, in your eyes, human's eyes, nor my kind's eyes. It's as simple as that. Sure, Freyda was right when she said her having a strong hold on her land could be good for everyone, but she doesn't need Eric to do that. From what I understand, there are plenty of vampires with enough strength and experience who can take Eric's place, people who actually would want to be her consort. The only reason that she's not looked elsewhere is that her ego is so big she can't accept he doesn't want her. Our relationship, on the other hand, is different; there are literal prophecies written about us, things that will really affect how our time on this earth ends up. Now, I don't know about ya'll, but I'm not willing to take the risk that will end our kinds just because a spoiled queen doesn't want to give up the guy she has a crush on."

There's a break out from the council and the others in the room, some surprised, some just plain disbelieving. I'm surprised myself; we had not talked about bringing that up at all, I'm not sure how to feel about it. I don't know if it helps or hurts our case, if we were able to prove this prophecy, it'd be one thing, but so far, all we know is from Niall, who promised AP that he'd tell no one on the council about it. So it's not as if he can confirm.

"What prophecy?" Resmond asked, and sounds of agreement followed.

"Question time is over; you've had your turn to say your piece, and now they've had the turn to say theirs. Now, it's my turn." Those on the council are surprised, it is not normal for AP to take such an interest in a council vote, in fact, most of the time, she has a proxy come in to listen for her, but her speaking about the vote is unheard of. Everyone here must be able to see that the outcome of this vote is very important to her. "They are both telling their own version of the truth, you must be able to open your eyes and mind enough to find the real truth. Don't be foolish about this, my fellow council members, take my word for it: this is the most important decision of your entire life. The fate of the world and life as we know it depends on it."

There's a new heaviness in the room after the Ancient Pythoness' proclamation. It makes me somewhat uneasy; I haven't put much thought into this prophecy, fuck, I didn't believe it was a real thing until just now. What the fuck is it about? What are our lives going to be? If the fate of the Gods damned world depends on it, you know it'll be dangerous for us. My Sookie does not need any more danger or violence in her life. I'm already not fond of what she's going to have to see and deal with just so I may keep her with me.

I look at Sookie, and for some reason, she doesn't seem upset or uneasy at all. I'm not sure if she truly feels calm or if she's managed to block me from her emotions. No, she's not blocking herself off from me, I know that because she starts to send me calm and confidence through our connections. It is a strange change, being the one receiving the help, but it works.

"My vote is for Freyda." Phoebe is the first to speak up, no surprise there.

Sherman Costaliate, the demon, is next, "I too vote for Freyda, you fangers deserve to stay together, you have no right taking other kind's women, let alone their royalty."

Fuck, that's two for her, none for us. Granted, we were expecting those two for her, but if she gets two more, we lose, while we still need four more to win.

Russell speaks, "I'm for the charming Ms Stackhouse. I'm a sucker for a good love story, plus those two together make life much more interesting."

"As am I, she is the princess of my people, she claimed a toy, and no one has the right to take it from her, it's hers until she puts it down," Niall says, and I work hard not to let my fangs drop. The AP's cackle takes my mind off of his words. Apparently, she finds the prince funny.

Patricia sits forward to speak, and I can already tell from the way she's looking at me in regret, she's going against her word. "I'm sorry, Eric. I know this isn't what you want, but I must put my vote to Freyda."

Fuck, fuck, fuck. One more vote for her, and we're fucked. I sneak a look up to the window on the ceiling without anyone else noticing and pull Sookie closer, ready to fly if need be. About two miles away, I have a car packed with all the money, clothes, and paperwork we'd need to leave the country, as well as a plane listed under one of my aliases ready to take us into Europe, where I have many houses and bank accounts to hold us over until we come up with a more permanent plan.

The Ancient Pythoness clears her throat, demanding attention. Normally, her vote is the last one, the deciding one, but it seems she's decided it's time for her to speak now. "I will place my vote with the Viking and the fairy." I feel a little relief, but she keeps speaking before it has a chance to sink in. "With one caveat, should Sookie live out her mostly human lifespan, no matter how long that may be, Northman must go back to Oklahoma and spend whatever time is left in his contract, filling whatever hole Freyda may need, as I do not doubt she will have another consort by then. So should she live five more years, you will have to go to Oklahoma for the remaining one hundred and ninety-five years left on your contract."

I'm not sure how to feel about that, in fact, I'm pretty sure it pisses me the fuck off, but I don't have time to worry about it right now, we have to focus on what's important now, we still have the swing vote to worry about. Whatever Resmend decides is it. So, all eyes turn to him.

"I have to be honest, hearing both sides and thoroughly reading through all the information, I was leaning towards forcing the vampires to spend their lives together, I don't think either of them would have been too happy about that. But, Ms. Stackhouse's arguments are compelling. Still, I wasn't sure that was enough to sway me." He turns his head a little so he's making eye contact with Sookie, this guy is starting to piss me off. "You have a light about you, and I want to say it's too bright to be extinguished by the darkness that vampires bring. But you're a grown woman, and if this thing is what you want, who am I to stop you? However, the queen does have her own claim to the Viking. So I will vote in favor of the princess, but only as long as your life lasts, humans don't last two hundred years, so the Northman will be forced to spend at least some of his sentence with the vampire queen."

Sookie and I both stand there for a moment, a little shocked. It's as if we won, but in the end, I'm still going to lose. It matters not, I decide, as long as I get to have Sookie for as long as she's living, I'll be happy. So I turn to her and smile, it seems she's come to the same conclusion as I have because she smiles widely, jumps up, and wraps her arms and legs around me tightly. I catch her, of course, I do, as if I could do anything else. She squeals happily and then pulls back just far enough to see my face so she can lean in and kiss me. I fall into the kiss, but my Sookie isn't one for public displays, so she pulls back a moment later, "We did it!"

"You did it, min kara."

Her smile widens, and she starts to lean in for another kiss. Unfortunately, just before our lips touch, I hear the tell-tale sound of fangs clicking down. I quickly let go of Sookie and turn around, keeping me between the threat and Sookie. Pam and Karin are at my side, ready to fight whoever is necessary. It's Freyda, she looks livid. "I'll kill her!"

I'm still unsure what I've done to make her want me so badly, I wish I knew so I could stop doing it because this is really getting on my nerves, we don't have time for this right now. I can't attack her because she's queen, and that'd give her the right to punish me by death if I tried. However, I can defend myself if she attacks me or my bonded. Thankfully, it seems unnecessary because Phoebe vamps over to Freyda.

"Come Freyda, this is boring. There are much more pleasurable ways to spend the rest of our night, and I've prepared a few for us in the dining room."

Freyda stares at Sookie for another few seconds with murder in her eyes before taking an unnecessary deep breath, by the time she exhales, her fangs are gone, and she's flattening the imaginary wrinkles in her dress. "Yes, that sounds like a marvelous idea. Come."

As she walks away from the room, she takes one more look at us, and I see in her eyes she's not planning on letting this go anytime soon. I realize she has even more reason to want to harm Sookie now, when she dies, it's ruled that I have to go back to Freyda. Fuck, now I'm definitely going to have to figure out the best way to take her down.

Not now, though, now it's time to focus on our next hurdle, I sense DeCastro right outside these doors, I'm certain he's holding a summons in his hand stating his claim on both Sookie and me to return as his underlings. I have to move on him before he's able to hand that paper to me, or else my attack will be considered treason. Even though people are waiting to congratulate, or in Trish's case, apologize and explain, I ignore them all. I make eye contact with both Pam and Karin, they know the plan tonight as well as I do, with a quick nod to them, I pick Sookie up bridal style and vamp us out of the back exit to the room, The fight still happens tonight, just not in front of the council, I have no urge to give them a reason to sentence me to the true death or a year in a silver coffin.

Now, on to part two of our plan for tonight, by the end of it, I'll either be king of three states or have met the true death. Perhaps if all goes well, at the end of the night we'll be able to take a moment to celebrate this most recent victory.