Meanwhile

by ACB621993

Whatever happened to the True Blood's Sookie who was displaced when SVM's Sookie took her place? Well, she was sent into the SVM universe and after getting caught up on what's changed, she knows one thing, she has to save Eric! Sequel to "A Second Chance in a Different Dimension"

26. Chapter 26

EPOV

My blood runs cold, well, colder than it already is, at the sight of Sookie trapped in DeCastro's hold. His fangs at her neck, her eyes wide, the fright through the bond, along with the determination to get her light working again even though it just won't respond to her. Every muscle in my body is as tight as a spring, ready to pounce. I'm a masterful tactician and a warrior above most. I've learned over my many years of wars, battles, and schemes, I've learned how to quickly calculate the easiest and safest way to victory, to take out my enemies. But right now, no matter how many scenarios I run through, I can't find an instance where I'm able to get Sookie free before DeCastro has time to rip out her jugular with his teeth.

Negotiation it is, then. I look at Pam and Karin, they already know what needs to be done should they have the opportunity, and they're positive Sookie can be safe. "Let her go, Felipe."

"Such disrespect you show me, I'm your king, you know."

"Not as of now, you're not. I hold no allegiance to you whatsoever."

"Ahh, I see what this is about now. Eric, I didn't think you had it in you, had such high ambitions."

I shrug infinitesimally, "People change."

"Though that may be true, I don't think that is the case. No, I think there's only one reason you'd do such a thing, and that reason is in my arms right now."

"Let her go, DeCastro," I pause my words and turn to snarl at the vampire, whose muscles are tensing, showing me that he was preparing to jump at me to hopefully get a cheap shot off. I don't turn back to the king until he loses the tension, "Let go of her, and we can find an amicable solution to all this."

I know he sees my words as the bullshit they are, there's no way he could walk away from this encounter believing he's safe from me. He's smart enough to know he has no choice but to fight to the death, or else he'll always be looking over his shoulder. He chuckles, "Oh, Eric, I wish you would have tried going that route before attempting regicide, I'm sure we would have been able to work something out. Alas, it's too late for that now, and what a shame that is, you're a great vampire, you have the potential to be magnificent. Unfortunately, you let a sweet-smelling human cloud your head and cut yourself short. Oh well, you've had a good run, but it has to end now."

'Eric, keep him talking, I feel my power gathering again, I only need a little longer.'

My eyes flick to Sookie for a moment, but that's the only indication I give that I've heard her. I chuckle, "Well, Your Majesty, you sure have a lot of confidence for someone who is outnumbered and out strengthed, I was a part of your retinue long enough to know most of my vampires are older than yours."

"Isn't it obvious?" He asks, shaking Sookie roughly. I feel her pain; he must be pulling her hair almost hard enough to rip it all out. It makes me promise myself that his death will be slower and more painful. "The delightful Sookie Stackhouse. If you're willing to go to war with your rightful king in order to keep her safe and to yourself, I'm willing to wager that you'd sooner give your life up than let her be hurt… or perhaps, turned by someone other than yourself."

If my fangs were not already down, they'd have fallen at his words. As it is, I'm already vividly picturing the thousands of ways I'm going to hurt him before he meets his true death. I was going to keep it quick and tidy, but now I'm going to capture him and take him back with us, spending the next hundred years breaking him a little more every day until he begs for death, and still, I won't let him find peace.

'Cheese and Rice, Eric, I'm fine, there's no need for all that."

It seems I've accidentally sent my thoughts to her again, pictures and everything. I hope her light is ready soon because I don't know how much longer I can distract him, and he still hasn't left an opening for anyone else to attack, "What do you want, Felipe?"

"Did I not just make it clear? Her life for yours."

"If I surrender, you'll let her go?"

"No, if you get down on your knees and watch as one of my guards stabs a stake through your heart, I won't kill her. I'll bring her back to my estate and let her live a life of luxury. Perhaps I'll even make her a queen one day. Don't fear, she'll be treated well and will be happy." The evil glint in his eyes makes it clear he knows how much I hate even the thought.

Sookie scrunches her nose up in disgust, "Eww, as if I'd ever be that for you. You disgust me."

DeCastro growls and bends his head down, scrapping his fangs along her neck, not breaking the skin but leaving red lines in their wake. The sight makes me see red, but I manage to keep control, losing myself to the rage will only guarantee his victory. "Careful, Sookie, darling, don't forget who holds your life in their hands."

"I'd rather be dead than have to rely on you for anything."

"I suppose that can be arranged," DeCastro says.

He scoops his head down to bite her, and it causes me to panic for a moment, I can't move, I know logistically there's no way for me to get to her before she's dead. Sookie, my Sookie is going to die; I've failed her. I know one thing for certain: if that bastard thinks he's going to get away with such an egregious attack, he has another thing coming, he's already dead, even if he doesn't know it yet. Right before his fangs touch her skin, I feel her power quickly gain in strength before it disappears completely for a moment, and there's that telltale popping sound before her, and her power appears again, right next to me. For a moment, I'm just as shocked as everyone else, and Sookie is far more shocked than all of us combined. It takes less than a second for me to comprehend that she teleported for the first time and get past it, focusing on the current problem.

My progeny knows me well enough to know to get to Sookie's side, especially because I have a feeling she'll be feeling pretty weak until she has time to charge back up. I send Sookie love in the bond, but don't stop to hold her like I want to, there will be time for that after, right now, we have to win. DeCastro is still looking at his hands, trying to explain what happened logically. I use his confusion to my advantage and vamp to him, swinging my sword down at him as I reach him. His scream brings a dark smile to my face. He might have moved before I could take off his head, but his arm is now hanging off by nothing but a few muscles and veins.

It seems that's the signal for everyone else to join the fight again because it goes from being deathly silent to sounds of metal on metal as well as screams, grunts, and the occasional cry of victory. DeCastro isn't giving up yet, though. I swing my sword again, this time swinging it from left to right, aiming for his neck, but instead of the sound of my sword cutting through flesh, I hear the sound of the sword getting blocked by another one because, at the last moment, Felipe realizes what's happening and is able to block.

The fight continues at a vampire speed: a swig here, a pivot there, a block there. He's a better fighter than I expected, especially damaged as he is. I'm not worried, though; I'm toying with him, keeping him distracted as my people systematically take out his, I wasn't kidding about taking him back to my dungeon. There's a flash of light, and I don't have to look to know Sookie's powers have already regenerated enough to use her light again, hopefully taking another enemy out. It isn't long until DeCastro only has four other people on his side still standing, and I see in his eyes before he says anything that he's about to try to talk himself out of the situation.

"Eric, Eric, let's take a moment here, shall we?" He asks, now in a defensive position, speaking placatingly. "There are much better ways to handle this whole ugly situation."

I pretend I'm interested in what he has to say, "Is that so?"

"Of course, I'm the most powerful Monarch in the country; I have four states. I can give you anything you want."

I pretend to think it over, "Well, all we've only wanted was to be left alone to live our lives without being bothered with politics, plots, or schemes."

His eyes light up as if he sees victory in his eyes as if he thinks he can outsmart me. It's actually quite insulting, especially because he doesn't seem to be working particularly hard at it. "That doesn't seem to be an issue. Why didn't you just ask? I would have done this for you years ago."

I internally laugh, we both know that is not true. I feel the pain coming from my bond with Pam, nothing too substantial, but she's been hit. I decided it was time to end this. Yes, I still would love some time with him down in my dungeon, but it's not worth my people being injured. That doesn't mean I can't make his death painful, so I change my strategy, instead of trying to land big hits, I take a cut or a stab wherever I can at first, they don't affect him; he is vampire, but after all, our pain tolerance is immense. But soon enough, I see the pain getting to him, getting cut in the same places over and over again would get to anyone, especially when I hit the large cut on his arm that almost took it completely off.

He's getting a hit or two off on me as well, I'm able to block most of them, especially because he's transparent when he attacks; he keeps going for my neck, but I'm faster and taller than him, so it's not as easy as he hoped. With another swing, I cut the last vestiges and take his arm off completely, enjoying the scream of pain immensely, and my grim smile shows that.

I want to keep going, cutting him apart piece by piece, but I feel how tired my Sookie is after all the energy she used, and he's not even a good enough fighter to keep it interesting, so without another word, I bring my arm back and swing it down, hitting his neck at an angle and taking it off his body. I'm close enough so that when he meets the true death, his blood gets all over me. I look around, see who is left to kill, and see that there are only three, but they're already on their knees, bowing down, pledging their allegiance to me. It's moments like this that I wish Sookie could read vampires, I don't know if I can trust them; they're good fighters, great even, and would make a great addition to my retinue, but I don't know if I can trust them.

I walk over to them, trying to decide if it's worth the risk. They were with DeCastro and loyal to him for a long time, but I can already think of a few positions for them. Oh well, probably not worth the risk, I decide as I take the heads off of two of them without a second thought. I ignore Sookie's surprised, disapproving gasp. She might not have to see this part of me often, but she knows by now it exists. And she'll have to get more used to seeing it now that I am king, there will be a lot of cleaning house over the next few weeks, and I'll have to rule with a strong arm, there will be a few people that throw around the word treason because I was once his subject, and because of this, think me untrustworthy. I'll have a lot to prove.

The third vampire is still kneeling in front of me; I can sense the fear, wondering what I'll do with his life. I've known Santo for a long time. I've always liked him well enough, but I knew he was loyal to DeCastro, so I never let him get close. I think he'd be able to be just as loyal to me now that his old master is gone. Plus, I need at least one from the old regime to confirm that I am the only one who killed the king and am, therefore, the rightful ruler now.

I hear footsteps behind me, and a moment later, someone pats my back, "Nice work, Norseman, you've done well. Or should I say, Your Majesty?"

I chuckle, "As if you'd ever willingly call me that, Damon. And I don't blame you; I'm not too fond of the title either."

"Yes, my friend, but you earned it, and I'd be honored to have someone such as yourself as my monarch. You're a much better choice than most of the current kings or queens."

I've been staring at the man still cowering, but at my friend's words, I cut my eyes to him, "Are you saying you'd wish to stay here? I could use more people I trust."

"I'd be willing to consider it, so long as it's an interesting enough position. You know how I feel about boredom."

"I remember. I'm sure I'll be able to find something stimulating enough for you."

"Good then, it's settled. Truthfully, I don't think there's many that'd dare say no to you right now, you're quite the terrifying sight right now." Damon chuckles, I look down at myself and realize he's probably correct.

"Stand," I say, finally acknowledging the vampire kneeling at my feet, "I accept the role as king to your state and all others previously under DeCastro's care. You'll stay under my watch until we make our way back to the compound. Until then, you will call ahead and let them know what to expect."

"Yes, my king." Santo says.

"Good, go now, there is still about an hour until the sun sets in Louisiana, so you have time to make the appropriate calls."

"My king, the compound is in Las Vegas."

Fuck, how did I overlook that gigantic fucking detail? "For now."

He bows one more time before vamping over to the only car that isn't damaged and starts the calls. Decastro has children, though I am not sure of how many, I'll have to be on the lookout for a while, they might want revenge. Finally, I look over to Sookie and see she's leaning against a tree, obviously worn out. I vamp over to her, forgetting for a second how monstrous I must look right now, the blood of my enemies on my face, hands, and clothes, my fangs down, my hair died red. Still, after a moment of checking me over, she smiles to see I'm unharmed.

"You did well tonight, Lover," I say, picking her up because she looks like she's about to fall over.

It seems she's too tired to care about the blood because she rests her head on my chest, "Don't lie, I almost lost it all for us, I let DeCastro get me."

"Yes, but you got out of it by yourself. I was of no help to you there. And you learned how to teleport. It's a great achievement, one I'm sure will come in handy many times over the years."

"Still shouldn't have let him get me," She mumbles as she falls asleep.

She must go back to that fountain of theirs. I do not like seeing her this depleted, and Niall said she'd have more stamina with her powers the more she drank. I turn my attention to looking over my people. Samuel and his men are relatively unscathed, he nods his head at me and vamps away, we'll meet back at the hotel tomorrow to discuss everything, and Thalia goes off with them. Pam and Karin, the latter looking over Pam's chest wound.

"Stop bitching; it barely hit you."

"I told you, I'm not bitching about my chest, one good meal will fix that for me, I'm bitching about the outfit, it's one of a kind, you know."

"Sometimes I'm not sure how we're related, we're nothing alike. What on earth would make Eric choose both of us, who are so different?"

"You're not so different," I deny as I walk over.

"I beg to differ; we're nothing alike. Well, other than your obvious affinity for blondes," She says, eying her long hair, Pam's, then Sookie's."

I shrug, "Sure, but you're also both incredibly obstinant."

Pam shrugs, "I prefer strong-willed."

"So would I, alas, you two passed strong-willed centuries ago."

"Fuck you, who do you think we learned it from?" Pam argued.

No, it's part of the reason I chose them, eternity would be wildly boring if you never had anyone push back against you. I won't tell them I enjoy it, though, even if I'm sure they already know. "I'm going to take Sookie back to the hotel. We're done here; now we can head home with a pit stop in Vegas to see what state he left the monarchy in."

"Why do I have a feeling it'll be much longer than a quick pit stop?"

"Because you know our late, great king," I say, sarcasm clear. "I don't think the finances will be too bad; you have to be really fucking terrible with money if your broke while getting taxes from all vampires and their businesses in Nevada, Arkansas, and Louisiana."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Pam says, crossing her arms.

I quirk my lips at her, "You both did well tonight, not just the battle but helping Sookie before and at the council meeting and keeping her safe."

Both Karin and Pam look at the ground, Karin speaks, "We did not keep her safe, master."

I scoff, "You do not know Sookie well if you think you can make her do anything she doesn't want to. You did well. Plus, she is no normal human, she can take care of herself." …I just worry about her too much, even though I'd never admit it.

"That's true, you just worry about her too much because you love her," Pam says as if she's the mind reader somehow turning love into a ten-syllable word.

I hold back, rolling my eyes, "Go, feed, fuck, celebrate, we won tonight. Tomorrow, we're starting another battle, this time of a bureaucratic nature." My tone makes it clear how much I'm not looking forward to it."

"Oh stop, you're a fucking king now, Eric, not the court jester. Don't make it sound so terrible; you can do whatever the fuck you want. You can delegate all that work you're not looking forward to and just stay in for the next year or two. That's what being king means, You're the boss now, you've got no one to answer to, and when you talk about it, you make it sound like you're going for execution."

"You know this isn't my first foray into ruling, yes? I know well it's not as fun and easy as you're making it sound."

"Sure, you're going to have to deal with other monarchs and decide when we go to battle or things of that nature, but you like that shit anyway. You don't have to deal with all the boring day-to-day stuff anymore; you just have to find someone to give that job over to. Who, by the way, is not going to be me. I plan on being a spoiled princess who has her meals brought to her every day, who lazes around and does nothing. It's not a thousand years ago anymore; your people aren't relying on you to make sure they don't starve or freeze to death."

Huh, I suppose I never thought of it that way before, she might be right. I know she's naive when it comes to things of this nature, there will still be a lot of boring bullshit that'd give me a migraine if I were human, that I'll still have to deal with, but perhaps it won't be as bad as I expect it to. Especially now that I have my queen with me, I think as I look down at the sleeping Sookie in my arms. I look back at my progeny, "I guess we will see. Not about the lazy, spoiled princess part, I'm putting you to work."

She huffs and crosses her arms but doesn't argue. I know she doesn't mean it anyway, she'd go crazy after a few days with nothing to do. I nod at each of them before taking off into the sky. I'm going to have to vamp up to the room as quickly as possible. I did not think to bring a change of clothes, and if the humans see me like this, they will surely panic. Thankfully, the flight is quick, and I manage to get up to the room unnoticed. Well, up to my floor anyway, in the few seconds I'm digging around for a key, someone exits their room. They look at me for a few long moments; I can smell the fear pouring off them, they look down at Sookie, probably thinking she's dead or I'm kidnapping her, consider confronting me to get her to safety, and decide against it, walking away without a word, all in a few seconds.

I ignore them and make my way into the suite, vamping into our room and placing Sookie on the bed. She's dead to the world, so I take her out of her blood and dirt-stained clothes, leaving her undressed before stepping down myself. I'd love nothing more than to get into bed with her now, but I shower instead, the blood is dry and starting to itch. Plus, it seems I have a lot of work to do for my new position before I'm able to relax. I shower quickly, having to wash my hair a few times before the blood washes out and my natural hair color returns.

When I'm done, I sit at the desk and take out my laptop; I know as soon as I turn it on that the word has already gotten out. I used to get many emails a day before I went to Freyda's, but it slowed down a lot once I no longer had underlings that asked things of me, and I sold many of my businesses in the area, those I have left and my other associates around the world know better than to reach out to me unless it was an emergency since all my correspondence at the time was seen by the queen.

Now, though, the word is out about my freedom and my new position because I have over 150 emails, and I've been king for less than an hour. A lot of congratulations from associates, friends, and enemies who'd like to make nice. Greetings from people in my states, expressing their great fullness for the new king, other monarchs reaching out to form relationships, and better ones that are already there. Two stick out to me immediately, one from Freyda, subject to my king. Why do I have a feeling it's a marriage proposal, in her fucked up mind, the new reason I turned her down in the first place was because we weren't equals, and now that I'm also a monarch, we can be on the same playing field. I decide not to open that one right now, the other is from the council, thanking me for getting rid of DeCastro. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought he was a pompous ass with a cape.

In the time it took me to respond to the council representative, I received two more emails. I set up our travel plans for tomorrow, as well as accommodations. I doubt Sookie will be comfortable staying at the compound, and I have to make sure everyone who pleads their loyalty to me means it before resting there. Out of curiosity, I opened the email from Freyda, scoffing when I saw my guess was right. I must be too incredulous and lost in reading because I didn't hear the change in Sookie's heart rate and didn't realize she was awake until she was getting out of bed and padding her way over to me, resting her arm and chin on my shoulder.

"What does she want?"

"Shouldn't you be asleep? I still feel how tired you are, min kara."

"I missed you." She says as she lays her head side and exhales, sounding half asleep already. "When did we get back here anyway? And why was I naked?"

"Was?" I ask disappointedly, turning my head to see she's thrown on a robe. Oh well, it won't be a hardship to get it back off of her. "I flew us here after you almost fell asleep on your feet. I, being the caring man that I am, figured you wouldn't want to go to sleep in dirty clothes."

She scoffs, "Yeah, right, you can't pull one over on me, Mr. Northman, you just like getting me naked."

"Two things can be true at the same time."

She laughs, "Are you almost done with this, I need more sleep."

I get up, pick her up with me, and bring her over back to bed before vamping around the room, grabbing my laptop, and turning off all the lights then getting into bed with her. She moves closer, resting her head on my chest as I put my arm around her. I relax as she falls asleep, I'll finish my work after; there are still hours until the sun rises, and I have to lie to the rest of the world that I'm dead for the day.

She's still awake, barely, I enjoy listening to her speak when she's in this state, that's why it takes me a moment to comprehend her words, "We should pledge each other. Get pledged? Whatever the right terminology."

When I hear it, I freeze, shocked, it still throws me off sometimes when she's so open to a commitment with me, to getting deeper into the vampire world, our rituals. It's so different than how the other Sookie acted. Does she truly want to pledge to each other? We're already blood-bonded and bound in her kind's way. Both of those were out of necessity for the council meeting, but the danger is over now. So that means she must truly want to bind herself to me. She lifts her head and turns to me, nervous. "I mean, we don't have to, and I should have probably made it more romantic, but it wasn't really planned. I want to, though; I want to be tied to you in every way we can be. I know it's cheesy, but I love you, Eric, and I just want…"

I cut her off by leaning in and kissing her, rolling us so that I'm the one on top of her. I've loved Sookie for much longer than I was willing to admit, it seems I have a tendency to deny it when it comes to her because I did the same thing the first time around. But I put that behind me a while ago, and I know that I want Sookie to be mine in all ways, I'd go through a human marriage ceremony with her, too, have her take my name, all of it.

I break the kiss and trail my mouth down to her neck, enjoying the small sounds of pleasure it brings out of her. While using my hands to explore the rest of her, "Is…mhmm… is that a yes?"

I hear the nervousness in her tone and take a second to pay attention to the bond and realize she's anxious. I became so lost in my own thoughts I forgot to answer her. I regretfully take my mouth off of her and look her in the eyes, "Yes, Sookie. Though I thought in your human traditions, it was the man's place to ask."

She rolls her eyes, "I don't remember much asking from you the first time around."

I smirk, "It worked though, didn't it?"

Her hand that is resting on my shoulders pulls back and smacks it, I flinch and pretend that it hurts. "Don't be an ass. Plus, you can still ask me one day with a nice engagement ring."

"Who said anything about getting married?" I make myself sound as if the thought is preposterous and I wasn't just contemplating the same thing.

"Eric, you are the most territorial guy I've ever met. As if you'd pass up a chance to have me permanently wear a ring that signifies to all humans that I'm yours." Well, she's not wrong.

"Hmm, there does seem to be some benefits to the human tradition after all," I say as if I'm just realizing, "and as someone who loves tradition as much as you do, you'd have to take my name as well."

She looks sad for a moment before she tries to hide it away. "That's true."

"You know, I've had many surnames over the years."

"Like what?"

"Usually some variation of Northman, but it's not as if it's my family's name or anything. It doesn't hold any sentimental value to me like yours does to you."

Her eyes brighten, "What are you saying?"

I shrug, "I've had this last name for two centuries already, perhaps it's time for another change. However, we don't have to worry about that right now because I didn't ask you to marry me."

She smiles, "Oh, right. I might have gotten ahead of myself."

I chuckle and lean down to kiss her again. After a moment, I break it, "I enjoy seeing you passionate and excited about things, I find it wildly attractive, especially when you're passionate about the future with me," I lean down and kiss her again, and I can feel Sookie smiling into it.

"I love you, Eric."

"And I, you, lover."