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The sooner I hit this Mark, the sooner I’m back to working on 117! Help!
LATE Chapter 115
Hallowe’en
Freyja was on the shore when Sookie found Her, walking barefoot at the edge of the water as the gentle breeze blew Her billowing white gown around Her legs. She had yellow flowers in Her hair and it flowed down Her back and around Her bare arms in beautiful golden waves.
“Freyja?” Sookie said, not remembering how she came to be there just then.
“Good morning, My Angel! Come walk with Me,” Freyja smiled and reached out Her soft pale hand. Sookie reached back and Freyja pulled her close so They could lock arms. It just occurred to Sookie that she and Freyja were wearing identical white eyelet dresses with white on white embroidery on the front and thin straps that tied at the shoulder. “I like these dresses,” Sookie said with surprise and Freyja laughed almost musically.
“You are so funny, My Angel. Have you had a good rest in Avalon?”
“Yes, it’s been wonderful, but I still know what I did and what happened to Jubal Garner and his son.”
“Some day, you’ll understand how that experience was woven into the fabric of your life – it was fate, for all of you, and nothing that happened should be changed.”
“Changed? Why – is that possible? Could I go back–?” Sookie asked hopefully.
“Listen to me, Sookie. You are not to try to change the past. You need to think of your children.”
“Would the twins be harmed?”
“No, but the child within you affects your magick. As long as she is within you, you are not working magick alone.”
“But you’re saying it IS possible…”
“I’m warning you not to attempt it, Sookie. There could be repercussions…”
“If I go back and try to change it, will any of my children die or be harmed in any way?”
“No, Sookie, you should not bring Garner back to life.”
“Could I change his son seeing me with his heart in my bloody hand? Or could I make it so Amunet never touched this crystal?”
“Amunet loves you, Sookie, you wouldn’t want to harm her, now would you?”
“But she made me…”
“She pushed, but We knew that she would…”
“We?” The idea that there was a “WE” involved set Sookie’s teeth on edge. She felt like there was something going on that no one would tell her. She pulled her arm away from Freyja’s. “Who, exactly, is “WE?””
“The Council decided…”
“The COUNCIL___!”
*FLASH WHITE
CRASH
*FLASH RED
*FLASH ORANGE
Sookie couldn’t hear.
*FLASH YELLOW
Sookie was Swirling —
*FLASH GREEN
and Falling —
*FLASH BLUE
Sookie struggled for breath –
*FLASH INDIGO
She tried to shriek , but nothing came out
*FLASH VIOLET
VIOLET
VIOLET
Bump__!
VIOLET
“OUCH!” Sookie said as she landed on the mattress and hit her head on the big black headboard. Finally, she could breathe. She opened her eyes and stretched, happy to notice she was still wearing the white dress under the covers. She yawned and stretched and reached for the nightstand which was a LO-O-ONG way off to the side.
“This isn’t my bed!” She sat up and looked around, noticing the luxurious covers over her. This bed was enormous! Still a bit dizzy and very disoriented, she tried to remember what had just happened. She was at a picnic in Avalon watching Eric ride an enormous black horse with the boys.
OK, then she was walking on the beach with Freyja and …
“PWEEE-DOHHH!” The bedroom door flew open and a baby she barely recognized hopped on the bed, swinging a small sword and wearing a kilt.
“Alex – what are you doing?!”
“PWEEE-DOHHH!” Alex yelled again, barely missing Sookie’s head with the plastic sword. He cackled with a kind of wicked glee, his fuzzy white head shaking about, his glowing blue eyes lit up looking just like his Dadee’s, his sweet little face painted white and blue like a savage!
Aubie was hanging in the air just inside the door laughing and clapping.
“Aubie, come to Mommy. “ Sookie held out her arms and he flew to her.
“Alex… what happened to your hair!?” She suddenly noticed that Alex had a crew cut! But Aubie’s hair was still longish and Sookie hugged him to her in a little panic. Aubie was happy to let Mommy snuggle him, so he sucked his thumb, laid his little head so his eyes were against her neck. He didn’t stay that way long, though so he could watch all the action.
“Alex, what were you going to say to Mommy?” Bobbie came in laughing, shaking two bottles of blood in one hand and Alex cracked up.
“Twik oh twee!” He said, still standing on the bed, showing off how well he could say it.
“What?” Sookie asked, still confused.
“Twik oh twee!” Alex repeated, indignant that Mommy didn’t understand because he knew he was talking good!
“Trick or Treat, Sookie – did you forget?” Bobbie asked as she tickled Alex.
“Trick or Treat? What day is this?”
“Sookie – it’s Samhain! You’re hosting a costume ball tonight, remember?”
“Samhain – Hallowe’en? Then we’re in…”
“New Orleans,” Bobbie reminded her, realizing Sookie really didn’t know what day this was. “Sookie, are you feeling all right?”
“I hit my head,” she said as she rubbed it a bit, keeping a tight grip on Aubie because he was the only thing that seemed normal right now. “I was… I was in Avalon…”
“Oh, wait. I know what this is,” Bobbie said, giving one of the bottles to Sookie and the other to Alex, who dropped his sword and took it, popping it into his mouth like he meant it, sucking the sweet warm stuff with great gusto as he floated in the air above the bed.
Aubie squirmed on Sookie’s lap, which felt weird for some reason and as Bobbie brought her Book from the side table, Sookie felt a kick in the gut – “OW!”
“You woke her up, Sookie. Now you’ll be in for it,” Bobbie teased.
Sookie held Aubie to the side and pulled the covers down to discover her tummy was huge and round and someone in there was apparently doing aerobics. “What happened?”
“It’s in your book there – you warned us this might happen.”
“This – what is “this?””
“Asynchrony.”
“Asynchrony? That’s a word?”
“You described it as more of a symptom – it’s in your book.”
Sookie let Bobbie take Aubie so she could manage the book Nivian had gifted her. She paged through it and came to a passage that said August 19, 2009:
“I know now I shouldn’t have tried it, but I did and it’s done and I’m afraid to try undo it until I have the baby. She’s apparently as powerful as Alex or maybe even more so. Anyway, I believed Freyja enough that I didn’t try to bring Jubal Garner back to life. What I did try to do was glamour his son, who is now in a rehab in Atlanta. Long story short, he saw me in his room, the spell I tried didn’t work, and he had a psychotic break. Freyja assures me that it’s “all in accordance with Karma” but that there might be “side effects” which could include ASYNCHRONY – I made her spell it for me so I’d know it when it happens and basically I’m probably going to skip around in time a bit. I’m writing this here so if – I mean- when it happens, I’ll know what it is and try to roll with the punches. Dr. Ludwig said it will make life interesting for a bit and they think it will end when I have the baby. They’re still not sure when that might be. So, if I seem confused, Bobbie, Bjorn, Alicia or Eric will remind me to look here and I’ll know that what is happening is supposed to happen and I’ll know I shouldn’t panic.”
“PWEEE-DOHHH!” Alex had dropped his bottle and picked up his sword. “Ahm Bwayv-odd, Mamee!”
“What is he saying?” She asked Bobbie, who was cracking up at him. “Freedom – he’s Braveheart!”
“Braveheart?! He’s Scottish, not Viking!” Sookie suddenly realized Alex’s face was painted as Mel Gibson’s was in the movie and he was wearing a little kilt!
“You watched it one day and Alex saw him riding on a horse swinging his sword, so you’ve been letting him play this way to get ready for Halloween.”
“Mel Gibson had long hair in that movie – what’s with the crew cut?”
“Mah ayr ith wyg Bhordsth.” Alex pointed to his head.
“Like Bjorn’s” Bobbie translated.
“Oh – Ok, I guess. Eric is OK with it?”
“He was a little surprised, but he perked up when Aubie didn’t want his hair cut. I showed him the clippers and he watched Alex, then I asked him and he said “No, no, ma Dada.”
“Oh, he wanted to keep it long like daddy’s! That’s good. Eric must have been happy with that.”
“Yeah, he said that Aubie holds onto his hair when he rocks him.”
“Yeah, he does that to me sometimes, too. It’s like he holds on to get closer. OW.”
“You’ve been calling the bun in your oven Jane Fonda because she does aerobics.”
“No kidding. At least it’s not as hard as Alex used to kick me.”
“It’s more like a flutter is how you describe it.”
“OK, well, what’s the story for today…” There were loud footsteps coming up the stairs as Sookie started to speak, then Bjorn came in, “Good morning, your majesty.”
“Don’t you start that “Majesty” stuff, Bjorn I’ve got too much craziness going on already” Sookie quipped, only half joking.
“You’ll have to put up with it today. Jerry and I are afraid we’ll slip and forget if we don’t start early. We have to watch the Protocol tonight. Council members are supposed to be there.”
“Oh, well, yeah, we will have to be on our best behavior,” Sookie agreed.
“And you’re the hostess, so…” Bjorn continued and she nodded.
“What am I wearing tonight?”
“You’re going to look fabulous!” Bobbie told her, stepping into her closet and pulling out a sexy long pink gown and a blonde wig. “Marilyn!”
“Oh, goodie!” Sookie loved that idea, “Did I get that from that Marilyn impersonator’s seamstress?”
“Yeah, she hooked you and Amunet up so you’ll both look hot tonight. She’s doing a 20’s flapper Cleopatra thing..”
“Doesn’t she always…” Sookie started to say,
“She’ll have the crown and a golden asp tonight.”
“So we’re still friends?” Sookie wanted to confirm.
“Yeah, still thick as thieves, but no magic without me or Jerry supervising,” Bjorn stated firmly.
“Oh, by the way – she’s asynchronous today,” Bobbie told him.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen Amunet since…you know?”
“Do you want us to un-invite her? Jerry and I will be glad to do it.”
“No, if we’ve been doing OK, I’ll be fine. What time is it?
“2:30,” Bobbie turned the clock so Sookie could see it. “Margaret was going to start making your breakfast – you want it up here?”
“No, let’s go down and I’ll try to wake up.”
“You’ll need to shower and dress before The King gets up,” Bjorn told her. ”We have to be there by 7.”
“Why so early?” Sookie asked as she tried to get up off the huge bed.
“The parade is going to the Royal Senesta where the Ball is being held. Between 7 and 9 there’s a kid’s parade in garden and they’ll collect candy and prizes, then there will be a formal ball for the adults from 9 until 2 am.”
“Everybody who’s anybody in the Supe world will be there,“ Bobbie said, looking forward to night out of the New Orleans house.
“So we have to be there for the kids’ parade,” Sookie wanted to be sure.
“Yes,” Bjorn said, “a lot of people around here don’t do Halloween – it’s a Christian thing now – they don’t like it. So the kids that will attend are probably all Supes.”
“There are other Supe kids around here?” Sookie couldn’t remember ever seeing one.
“Yeah, Weres and Shifter kids, baby Witches and other Pagans. Plus the New Orleans social sets’ kids.”
“Humans around all those Pagan kids?” Sookie was afraid that might be asking for trouble.
“Don’t worry, Sookie,” Bobbie reassured her, “most of them go to conventional schools and preschools so they know how to act around the uninitiated. They’re going to have a room near the Ball Room where they can play and trade candy.”
“Mamee, Ahm donna Pway wif uddah boysth and guhsth!” Alex was very excited because the only other kid in his life was Aubie. He loved the one time they got to play with fairy kids in Avalon.
“Yeah, you’ll show off your costume and trade candy!”
“Twayd?”
“Um.. how do I explain trading?” Sookie looked at Bobbie and then Bjorn, and the just shrugged. “You’ll see, Alex, you’ll have fun.”
“Eeah -PWEEE-DOHHH!” Alex hollered as he called the toy sword into his hand.
“Alex, you only call things around Mommy and Daddy, OK. People don’t know we can do that,” Sookie told him, knowing that it would do no good because magic came so easily to both boys and even with the whole staff plus she and Eric, things were going to happen.
“Don’t worry, Sookie, we’ll all help you distract people if we have to,” Bobbie said affectionately.
“Exactly,” Bjorn said, “We’ll all be there.”
“Right,” Sookie nodded and started to get out of bed. “I need some breakfast, then it will probably be time to start getting dressed. Have the boys been fed?’
“Yep, they were earlier. These bottles will do for now, but they might want to eat again before we go. ” Bobbie laughed as Bjorn grabbed Alex, swung him around and brought him up on his shoulders.
“Woogie Mamee! Ahm biggah an biggah.”
“Yeah, you’re almost as big as Daddy up there, huh? Just be careful you don’t hit Bjorn with your sword!”
“Swordths por FIDEEN!”
“No fighting tonight, Alex,” Bjorn told him as they all headed down stairs, “You show people your sword but you don’t hit anybody with it, OK? That sword is just for play.”
“Oday, pway.” Alex said, swinging the plastic thing wildly but managed not to hit Bjorn’s arm too hard.
They all reached the living room and dining room, gathering around the long table where Octavia was already seated.
“Well, good mornin’” Octavia said with a smile, laughing at Alex playing Braveheart. “You doin’ any damage with that sword yet, boy?” She teased him.
“Nah – pwayeen nah fideen,” he said, sounding a little disappointed, but it didn’t last long.
Alicia came in from the kitchen, “good morning, sleepy heads!”
“Eesha, wond thywup!”
“You want syrup?” she teased him as Bjorn put him in his high chair, “What do you eat with syrup?”
“Pandatesth!”
“Ok, you finish that bottle while I make some pancakes. Sookie – is that ok for you or should I get you something else?”
“Pancakes are fine with me!” Sookie said as she settled in with Aubie on her lap.
“Me, too,” Bjorn laughed as Bobbie said the same thing at the same time.
“Ware di Chewwy do?” Alex, asked looking around.
“Here I am,” Jerry laughed as he came in from outside, handing a newspaper to Bjorn as he went around and sat facing Sookie.
“Chewwy wond pandatesth?!”
“Sure, Prince Alex, whatever you say,” he laughed, having no idea what Alex had said, but very happy to hear Alex call him by name.
“He’s saying pancakes, Jerry.” Sookie interpreted.
“I could eat pancakes,” he nodded toward Alicia with a smile.
“OK, give us about 20 minutes for Margaret and I to get some going,” Alicia said with a smile. She loved being in this house. Their other places were fine, but the way the downstairs was made here sort of threw everybody together and it was nice. She also liked the fancy stove here that had a flat top and used special pots and pans. It had great temperature control and she could turn out some pancakes in no time because it didn’t have to warm up and stayed at a perfectly constant temperature.
“Ware di Amee-ah do?”
“Good question, Alex – where’s Amelia this morning,” Sookie asked as Jerry poured her a glass of apple juice and passed it across the table to her.
“Shopping,” Jerry said.
“Oh, fun!” Sookie said as she tried to give Aubie the rest of his bottle but he shook his head and patted her breast . She shifted him so she could nurse him – this dress was not ideal for this, but it worked well enough that she didn’t need to change. Sookie felt so happy today, snuggling Aubie, Alex cracking everybody up, the whole – well, most – of the family gathered around the table chatting and laughing.
Alicia and Margaret came out with a platter of pancakes and a carafe of warm syrup to get everyone started.
Alex was bouncing up an down with anticipation. “Pandatesth! Pandatesth! Mo and mo thywup!” he chattered as Margaret put a little white kitchen towel with a red stripe around Alex’s chest and shoulders.
Bjorn pulled the high chair around so he could help Alex and maybe minimize the mess.
“Bhord peed me pandatesth?”
“Yes, I’m going to feed you pancakes, and then I’m going to throw you in the pool.” Bjorn teased Alex.
“I doween ina poo!” Alex cracked up, making every one else laugh, too.
Alicia came back with two cartons of organic milk and began pouring glasses for everyone. “Sookie, if you want to take a dip in the pool, you’d have time.”
“I would?”
“Yeah, I guess you’d have time for that, Soo – I mean, your majesty…” Bjorn laughed and Jerry nodded at him in sympathy. That was going to be hard for both of them – it felt as if they hadn’t used her title in months.
“You’ve got a suit in the bathroom down here, so when you’ve eaten go ahead and take a dip. There are towels out there,” Alicia said as she passed Sookie’s glass to her and started pouring one for Bjorn.
“Margaret – did you bring the sippy cup?”
“Yes, it’s right here,” she reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a little yellow cup embossed with an elephant and the lid for it.
Alicia poured it not quite half full of juice and let Margaret have the cup and secure the little top on it.
“Wadiz dat, Mahdwid?”
“That’s a little sippy cup for you to try, Master Alex!” She smiled at him and patted his cheek, then headed back to the kitchen for more pancakes.
Alex was excited that this new thing was for him, even though he didn’t know what it was for yet. He put his finger through the handle and started to let it swing, but Mamee caught it. “Careful, Sweetie, you’ll spill it!”
“Wadiz id?”
“Sippy cup. Can you say ‘sippy cup?’”
“Sthibbee gup.”
“Good! Now, hold it like this, put this part in your mouth and see if you can get a drink.”
“Dwing.” Alex was still unsure of it, but Sookie helped him tilt it and he sucked on the little mouth piece. “appo!”
“Yeah, that’s got apple juice in it!”
Alex held it out and looked at it with great interest, then took another deep drink.
Aubie piped up from Sookie’s breast and asked “Abuh?!”
“You want some apple juice, too, Aubie?”
Alex held the cup out to Aubie, but Alicia came back then with a small bottle of juice for him.
“That’s sweet, offering to share, Alex, but Aubie still needs a bottle, OK?” Sookie was hoping he’d understand.
“Oday. Ahm biggah?”
“Right, he’s not quite big enough to try it yet.”
“Oday, Dwing.” He said and took another sip. He liked this thing that showed he was a bigger boy than Aubie. Alex knew enough to like getting to do everything first.
Breakfast zoomed right along and in just about an hour, everybody moved out to the pool. Once Sookie slipped into the pretty white one piece, she joined Amelia and Bobbie, who already had both babies in the water. Erin, the little black kitten, was curled up under the shade of the table, and Puff was walking all around the pool, but didn’t get in, even when Sookie went in.
Knowing something was wrong, Sookie called Puff over to the side of the pool. “Here, Puffy!”
The dragon immediately went to the Goddess, but he could tell she couldn’t see what he was seeing. He realized this was why he was picked to protect the Lady and her pups, because he could see the tall man behind the tree. He would wait to see what happened, but he was sure the man was watching the Goddess too closely, and he wasn’t one of the usual group of men that were always around. Puffy let the Goddess pet him, scratching him under the chin, but then he continued stalking around the pool, making a low rumbling sound, never turning his back to the man behind the tree.
“What’s that noise he’s making,” Sookie asked as she took a pink mattress Bjorn threw her and used it under her sideways.
“I don’t know,” Bjorn said, “but he’s been doing it all morning. He was looking back toward the garage, but I had some of the men search the garage. Now he’s looking at the big trees behind the house.
“Something has him spooked,” Sookie said with absolute certainty. “We’ll stick close, just in case,” Bjorn assured her.
Sookie was quickly distracted by Aubie calling “Ohh hooo!” and making a motion that said “come here, Mommy” which told Sookie he wanted to be dunked. Sookie laughed and took him from Amelia, walking to the center of the pool with him.
“Ready, Aubie?”
Aubie nodded and giggled, taking a big breath, and Sookie said “Whoo!” and bent her knees so Aubie went in up to his chest and cracked up.
“Obee wyg dat, Mamee!” Alex called as Bobbie was swinging him around in the water.
“Yeah, I think he does!” Sookie laughed and continued to tickle him so Aubie giggled and got the hiccups. “Woops! Sookie said as he made the hiccup sound:
“hic” “oops!” “hic” “oops!” “hic” “oops!” “his” “oops!” and she finally hugged him and kissed him and rubbed his little tummy until he stopped.
Everybody was paying attention to Sookie and Aubie when Puff took a running jump over the pool and landed in the water with a huge splash as a man appeared screaming, his arm in Puff’s mouth, nearly sinking Amelia’s blue raft. Puff was twice his normal size as they struggled in the water and Puff made a crazed growl, shaking his head violently as he crushed the bones in the man’s arm in his powerful jaws, the man dropping something dark from his hand that sank straight to the bottom of the pool.
The women screamed and Jerry and three other guards ran around from the front of the house. Puff held onto the shrieking man’s arm and dragged him underwater as the twins and Sookie, then Bobbie and Amelia, were scooped out of the pool and taken into the house. More guards came running from the garage area as Bjorn jumped in the water and was trying to subdue the bleeding man with Puff’s help. Cody Lane jumped in with Bjorn and the intruder who had appeared from nowhere as Jerry tried to keep the women in the house, though Sookie was fighting him because she was worried about Bjorn.
“But we have to help him!” Sookie yelled and Jerry told her “You are not going back out there until the property is secured. All of you sit in here at this table and don’t give these guys” he motioned to two guards coming from the dining area, “a hard time.” He motioned to the kitchen table that no one ever used and Jerry gave Sookie a look that told her to stop and focus on the kids. Margaret brought towels for every one and Alicia handed out bottles of water just to have something to do. The commotion from the back yard was so loud Jerry was afraid the fight was going to spread into the house if there were other intruders.
Jerry motioned to the two guards to stay with the women and babies. He pulled an assault rifle from a hidden shelf in the pantry which surprised everyone. Jerry made it back out to the pool area, and could see that Bjorn and Cody had the formerly invisible man in irons. The man was bleeding profusely from his arm and Puff, still twice his normal size, was standing guard over him as the other men restrained him.
“Keep that damned dragon away from me!” The man cried out and Bjorn punched him in the head as hard as he could.
“Who are you?”
“I don’t have to answer your questions,” the man yelled, which made Bjorn look around because he thought he might be signaling someone else.
Bjorn hit him again and Puff let out a snarl that let the man know he was ready to tangle again. One of the guards, obviously a demon, suddenly swooped into the pool, retrieving the knife, then upward toward the roof. and out of sight.
“You’re obviously not human – are you Fae or demon?” Bjorn demanded. “Fuck you, Were” the man spat.
“Puff,” Bjorn said and backed up as Puff lunged forward and snapped onto the man’s crotch. He howled the most unearthly sound and then a dart from nowhere hit the intruder in the throat. He began to shake all over and foam came out of his mouth as his strangled cries subsided because the man literally collapsed into ash.
Puff backed up, still growling, blood all over his face, but he knew that the danger had passed – there was no more intruder, just a bad taste in his mouth.
“Good dragon, Puff,” Bjorn said, patting his head as the beast began to relax and shrunk down to his normal size.
Jerry came back out as things were slowing down, holding the gun, barrel straight up. “Assassin?” he asked Bjorn, who nodded, out of breath and soaking wet.
“Apparently. He must have been Fae,” Bjorn reasoned, getting a nod from the Demon who was back from the roof. “Status?” Bjorn asked him as he handed him the strange knife.
“This is made of iron. There were two of them. The other is dead – he killed this one so we couldn’t interrogate him,” he explained as he also passed a long tube to Bjorn, the weapon used to deliver the dart to the dead prisoner.
“Well, if he’s Fae, we know who sent him.” Bjorn looked around and everyone nodded in agreement. Puff slipped into the water to cool himself off and get the bitter taste of fairy blood out of his mouth. Cody and Bjorn were taking off their wet boots and clothing as a final check around the property satisfied Jerry that they were out of danger for the moment. He returned to the front of the house as Rafael arrived from the New Orleans office to assess the scene.
Bjorn and Cody came in the back door in black knit underwear, wet clothes and boots in arm and turned over to Alicia and Margaret so they could do whatever magic they did with the guys’ uniforms.
Sookie was nearly jumping out of her skin. “Bjorn, are you alright?”
“Yes, we think there were two of them. The one that attacked at the pool was shot with poison from a second one that was “dispatched” by the demons on the ground.”
“Were they demon intruders?”
“No, we’re pretty sure they were Fae.”
“So Niall tried to have me killed again?”
“Apparently. If it hadn’t been for Puff, he might have succeeded.”
“Right. OK, so what do we do now?”
“You take your shower and get dressed for the party. It’s after 5 already”
“Just like that?” She looked at him as if he were out of his mind.
“Just like that, your Majesty. We’ll make sure the security for tonight is adequate.”
“But…”
“You do your job,” Bjorn told her sympathetically but firmly, “and we’ll do ours. You need to be dressed when the King wakes up.”
“Plus, I need to put Alex’s war paint back on since he went swimming,” Bobbie said, helping to move Sookie along. “You want to take them in the shower with you?”
Sookie just took a deep breath and shrugged it off. “OK, yeah, let’s do that.” And with that, everyone resumed as if nothing had happened, trusting that Bjorn and Jerry had things under control.
Sookie was just getting her blonde wig in place when Eric awoke.
“Hey!” Sookie said as he moved to hug her.
“Hey. What’s wrong?” He could feel her tension, though she was trying to hide it.
“We had an intruder today – well, two actually and I’m in Asynchrony – is that the word?”
“OK, one crisis at a time,” he was making light of the situation but she could feel the terror within him. “The intruders?”
“Puff saved the day with that deal. 2 Fae, apparently sent by Niall. One of them came after me in the pool but Puff could see him and he dragged him into the water until Bjorn and Cody could get ahold of him.”
“What happened to them?”
“Both dead, but I don’t know exactly how. Bjorn will tell you, I guess.”
“None of you were harmed?”
“No, just scared.”
“Alright, and you are outside of time – what’s the last thing you remember?”
“Watching you and Alex ride that huge black horse at the picnic.”
“Yes, that was a few weeks ago.”
“Right. So, what are you wearing tonight?”
“I’m going to be the Highlander, and you will be my lovely consort, Marilyn.” He hugged her tightly and kissed her lips.”
“Mmmm – I was waiting for that before I put my lipstick on,” she joked.
“Alright. I will shower, Bjorn will brief me, and the boys are already downstairs I guess?”
“Yep – wait until you’re dressed to see them.”
“Alright. Send Bjorn up.”
“OK, see you in a few,” she stretched up for another kiss and left the room.
Eric was done in the shower by the time Bjorn got back upstairs, so they talked while Eric dressed.
“Alright, Intruders?”
“Yes, two of them, probably Fae. One tried to attack Sookie in the pool, but Puff grabbed him out of the air and took him underwater.”
“She was in the pool?”
“Yeah, she was playing with Aubie, everything was quiet. Then Puff took a running leap into the air and this man suddenly became visible as they hit the water.”
“Who got them out of the water?”
“The other guards had scooped up Sookie and the babies and they were all in the house as Cody Lane and I jumped in an got him under control. We brought him out and were trying to question him when his partner shot him with a poison dart.”
“Lucky they didn’t use the dart against Sookie or Aubie.”
“The attacker had an odd knife made of iron with him.”
“In case Sookie can’t be killed with anything but iron. Interesting.”
“If it hadn’t been for Puff – we wouldn’t have known they were here.”
“That’s why Puff is here,” Eric said with absolute confidence, “Freyja knows what Sookie needs to be protected.”
“We still got really lucky.”
“Yes, we did.”
“Have you considered going after him?”
“Niall?”
“Yes. While he’s alive…”
“… She’s at risk.”
“Aubie, too.”
“Not Alex?”
“No, I think he waited until Sookie had Aubie in her arms. I think the idea was to stab Sookie and take the baby. He needs Auberon to extend his reign.”
Eric nodded but didn’t say anything. He pulled his long hair into a pony tail and put on a long coat.
“You look like Vincent. What are you dressing as?” Bjorn asked as Eric concealed a long katana beneath his coat.
“The Highlander.”
“Like from the movies.”
“Yes – I wanted a costume that could include a sword. It was Vincent’s idea – his coat, too.”
“Yeah, he looks just like the guy in the movie. Can you get to the sword if you need to?”
Eric had the sword to Bjorn’s throat before he finished his sentence.
“OK, good to know,” he laughed and Eric did, too.
They got to the Parade a few minutes late, but it went off without a hitch except for a few flying beer bottles which is not unusual in the Quarter. By 7:30 Sookie had the boys in a twin stroller, Alex in his Braveheart costume and Aubie in a little black satin cape and a binky that looked like fangs, pushing them in the Parade around the Pool and through the lobby at the Royal Senestra.
The lobby held several stations of Fire fighters and Police officers all in uniform, handing out candy. The kids got to say “Trick or treat” and hold their bags open as if they were going up to houses, and the little ones were as thrilled as if it were an old fashioned Halloween. Sookie took Aubie around in the stroller but Alex insisted on Daddy taking him up to the men with the candy. Eric was beaming at Alex when he’d say “Twik oh twee!” and wave his little sword. His eyes would get big when the candy dropped into his little bag, and he said “dayoo!” with a big smile every time without being prompted. Eric would translate, “Thank you,” and more than one said “Thank you, Your Majesty,” knowing that they were being paid triple time out of Eric’s pocket to be there for the kids. They all knew Eric had been going to great efforts to help the city get back on its feet and a lot of them only had jobs because of support from Eric’s territory.
There were little groups of kids, about half of them Shifters and Weres, running around, who would come up to Sookie and ask “Is that the Vampire prince?” or “Is that Alexander or Auberon?”
One brave little girl dressed as an Indian princess walked up to Eric and asked “Are you the Vampire King?”
“Yes, I am,” Eric gave her a big smile.
“My mommy says you’re the hottest thing on two legs,” she said, perfectly serious.
Eric laughed “Your mommy has good taste. I like your costume!”
“Are you the one throwing this big party?” she continued.
“Yes, I am.”
“OK, then, I just wanted to say thank you. Is that Alex or Auberon?”
“This is Alex. What’s your name?”
“Julia.”
“Alexander, this is Julia. Say “hello.’” He held Alex down so he could see the girl face to face.
“Ewwo, Doo-ya, Ahm Aweks,” he said, waving at her and she reached for his hand.
“Hi! Wow, he can talk!” She said as she shook his hand gently and he giggled.
“Yes, he can,” Eric said proudly.
Alex gave a very exaggerated nod, saying “Ahm dokkeen dood!”
“Neat!” she said with a big smile, and then went skipping away toward the pool area where there was a Fireman she hadn’t asked for candy yet.
It was organized chaos for the two hours kids ran around and filled their bags and the crowd gradually moved upstairs to the Ball Room as 9:00 approached.
There was a special playroom set up just off the ballroom where kids could play or nap while parents were in the ball and it was staffed with both professional child care givers but policemen as well at the doors keeping a list of which child belonged to whom, putting a little numbered sticker on their costumes over their hearts, because it was a Vampire party and they had a history of trouble. You had to have your numbered tag that corresponded to the child’s number to enter the room or take a kid out. There was a lady in a Mother Goose costume in one corner reading a story out loud and about 10 of the kids were sitting there watching her.
“Ooh, Lookie, Alex!” Sookie got his attention as Eric held him and pointed out the lady telling the story. “What’s she doing?”
“Weedeen!” Alex laughed and that made Aubie giggle. “Dadee nah wee?”
“I have things I have to do as King, Alex. Would you like to stay here and listen to the story?”
“Nah.”
“You don’t, Alex?” Sookie was shocked because Alex loved books.
“Nah, wandoo wach Mamee and Dadee danstheen!”
“Dancing?” Now Eric was surprised, “How do you know we will be dancing?”
“Babbee chowed me an Obee boff picta!”
“Bobbie showed you a picture?’ Sookie asked as Eric motioned for Bobbie to come over.
“Eeah, picta! Dadee sween Mamee ina thirco!”
“Good job, Alex!” Bobbie was the only one who knew what Alex was saying. Eric and Sookie both looked at her with raised eyebrows as she translated “Daddy swings Mommy in a circle.”
Eric laughed with delight, “Very good, Alex. Alright, you and Auberon can watch us do the first dance, then we’ll hear a story, alright?”
“Eeah! Me and Obee boff dantheen an weedeen!”
“Well, my dear, shall we get this party started?” Eric laughed as he kissed Sookie’s hand in its elbow length pink satin glove.
Sookie laughed and they went to the door of the ball room. Bobbie and Alicia took the babies and stood to the side of the room surrounded by guards. The small orchestra began to play “That Old Black Magic” and the band leader said “And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, your hosts for this evening, King Eric Northman and his lovely Queen Sookie.”
People of all ages, most in costumes, stood around the perimeter of the dance Lloor, excited to see the King and Queen do their famous first dance.
Eric walked Sookie to the middle of the dance floor. He took her left hand and pulled her gently in a large circle all around him then brought her close, dancing her around again and then picking her up and swinging her in a circle. Everyone ooh-ed and ah-ed as they entered and clapped with delight when Eric swung Sookie around. Alex and Aubie were beside themselves watching their parents show off for the big crowd. When the song ended Eric stood back and bowed to Sookie who gave him a brilliant smile full of love and curtsied , and the audience went wild.
“Please, everyone – dance!” Eric motioned and other couples took to the floor as Eric and Sookie went to the side where the boys were watching.
Eric took Alex and Sookie took Aubie and they each spun their way back onto the floor. Alex and Aubie were cracking up as Eric and Sookie danced with them. “Alex!” Sookie said as she waved Aubie’s little hand at him, “what time is it?”
“DANTHEEN!” Alex said and cackled, making Aubie laugh, too.
“Auberon,” Eric got Aubie’s attention now as Sookie held him up to see Eric, “Are you dancing with your beautiful Mommy?”
“Yeh!” Aubie said in his high silly voice and made all of them laugh.
They gradually moved their party toward the tables reserved for them. Sookie was surprised to see high chairs for the boys and then noticed that there were high chairs and booster seats throughout the room. There were a lot of children there!
As Eric was putting Alex in his high chair, Sookie asked quietly. “Eric, did you know there would be this many children here?”
“Bill did mention something about families booking whole sections of the room,” I didn’t really pay attention. Is it a problem?” He fastened the tray in front of Alex then turned to help Sookie get Aubie situated.
“No, I’m just surprised. I hope it’s safe!”
“Do not worry, Sookie, you saw all the police and firefighters downstairs?”
“Aren’t they volunteers just for the party?”
“No, Sookie, I’m paying all of them triple their normal salary to see that this is the safest place in New Orleans. We are nearly as safe here as we are at home.”
“OK… “ she said more to herself “OK – we’re all safe here, we’re very very safe!” Eric could tell she needed more reassurance considering the events of the day. “Sookie, my angel, the boys can stay with us all night if you want.”
“I’m not being crazy protective?”
“No, Sookie if you are this concerned I know better than to dismiss it. What are you feeling? Is something wrong?”
Sookie thought for a minute as she sat down, her hand still on Aubie’s arm. “No, there’s nothing in particular. I don’t feel danger, I’m just a little anxious, I guess.”
“Well, relax and have a good time. Some old friends of ours just came in,” Eric wiggled his eyebrows and nodded to a table behind them where about 12 people were sitting down. Before Sookie could react, she was face to face with Angelina.
“Sookie, HI!” She said as she took a seat at their table that was right next to Sookie.. “Oh, Hi, how are you?” Sookie was still amazed this woman would speak to her, “You brought all your kids!”
“Yeah, I’m sure you know how it is, getting from point a to point b with security and nannies and all, but we’ve never attended anything like this where the kids could participate. It’s a wonderful idea!”
“Oh, thanks, I think it might have been Eric’s idea,” Sookie nodded to where Eric was standing speaking with a very enthusiastic Brad, who was dressed like a pirate.
“So you have both boys with you tonight?” Angelina nodded to the babies.
“Oh, yes – you haven’t met Aubie, have you?”
“Aubie? Is that what you call Eric Auberon?” She smiled at the kids, “They’re not quite identical are they? Aubie is smaller?”
“Yes, he is.”
Angie leaned in and whispered to Sookie, “I know he’s Fae. We’ll be at your Coronation Ceremony!”
“You will in …” Sookie nodded her head and Angie laughed.
“Yeah, there. Brad’s only been there once with me, but he loved it.”
“Are you…?”
“No one knows this, but my mother was raised in Avalon,” she whispered.
“Oh, was she…”
“Only an eighth – we’re probably third or fourth cousins from way back.”
“Oh..”
“Mamee! Mamee!” Alex was making his “come here” motion. “Wondoo sthay ewwo!”
It took Sookie a minute to catch on, “you want to say hello?”
“Ah wyg uh!” Alex pointed at Angelina, who was thrilled.
“Oh, OK,” Sookie said as she jumped up to get Alex. “I don’t know how, but he seems to remember you,” Sookie said as she let Angelina take Alex on her lap. Since she had Alex, Sookie turned to get Aubie, too.
“Mama” Angelina’s African daughter was standing to the side. ”Is that the baby vampire?”
“Yes, Sweetie, this is Alex and this is his brother “Aubie?” She looked at Sookie to make sure she had his name right and the little girl took Alex’s hand and held it for a minute. Zahara, this is Queen Sookie. This is our oldest daughter, and this, “she pointed to a little tomboy looking around “is Shiloh, the middle girl.” Shiloh waved shyly and leaned around her sister to see both babies, then got brave and walked over to get a better look at Aubie.
Sookie recognized the two older boys who were currently enthralled by a video game. “That’s Maddox and that is Pax. They’re in their own world,” she joked. “Umm – Brad, where are the twins?”
“They’re listening to Mother Goose, I think? reading a story… Nanny is with them and one of the guys.”
Sookie and Eric both knew they were talking about security, which was probably even more a problem for them than the Northmans. Brad gave her a dazzling smile and said “Hi, Sookie!”
“Hi! It’s nice to see you again.”
“Ah!” Alex waved at him and Aubie couldn’t tell what was going on but he was with Mama so everything was OK.
“Alex, you’ve gotten so big since the first time I saw you,” Angie bounced him a little and he giggled.
“Wadiz ur dame?” Alex asked her, delighted with the attention. “You call me Angie, alright?”
“Andthsee. Obee, Andthsee!” Alex patted her cheek gently to show Aubie who he meant.
“Anee!”
“Andthsee.”
“Anhee”
“That’s pretty good, Aubie!” Angelina gave him a big smile, stroking his cheek and making him giggle.
“Ahm Bwavod!” Alex told her.
“He’s Braveheart” Sookie interpreted.
“I see that! you’re all painted and ready for battle!”
“Ah aba shthords por fideen!”
“He has a sword for fighting” Sookie translated, then “Alex, you have a sword for PLAYING.”
“Dadee aba sthords por fideen!”
“Yes, Daddy has swords for fighting but you don’t. Alex has a sword for playing.”
“Mah Sthords!” Alex said forcefully, calling his toy sword into his hand.
“Alex! You know you’re not supposed to do that!” Sookie felt faint as everyone in their little circle gasped.
Eric reacted to Sookie’s panic, quickly discerning that most of the people around them except for the Jolie-Pitts family hadn’t seen anything. “Don’t panic, my angel, no one saw.”
Sookie’s vision blurred and she tried to respond to Eric, but could only manage “I know, I ju…just…”
Eric moved faster than the eye could see, catching Aubie and Sookie both as she passed out.
“Everyone be calm, we don’t want to cause a panic,” Eric said softly and calmly.
“We have a room on the top floor if you need some privacy,” Brad suggested.
“Good idea,” Eric nodded.
LATE Chapter 116
When Sookie opened her eyes, she was in a dark room with the door ajar so she could see light from what she assumed was a living room. She could see her blonde wig and pink gloves on a little desk toward the window and she felt her head finding that her own hair had been taken down and brushed. She could hear soft voices in the front room and recognized Eric’s laugh. She couldn’t get up and she couldn’t make sense of what was going on so she mustered the attention needed to call out to Eric in her mind.
‘Eric? Where am I?’ Eric was in the door before she finished projecting the last word.
She tried to raise up, but she couldn’t.
“Shhh, my angel, everything is all right.”
“Where are we?”
“We are in a suite on the top floor of the Royal Senesta. Brad and Angelina thought you might like a little privacy since you were indisposed.”
“What happened to me?”
“Your Majesty,” Bjorn was at the door.
“Come in, Bjorn.” Eric motioned to him and Bjorn unrolled a blood pressure cuff and began to put it on Sookie’s arm.
“My blood pressure is too high?” she guessed.
“Just the opposite,” Bjorn told her, “you bottomed out on us.”
“Did I look like a jerk or anything?”
“No, Sookie, we should have been checking you all day, but we had so much going on…”
“Yeah, yeah, Fae assassins and dragons and pancakes and kilts.”
“You sound a little loopy, your majesty,” Bjorn was checking her pupils with a pen light.
“I feel light headed. Did I mess up the party?”
“No, my Angel, we doubt anyone even knew you passed out” Eric reassured her. “ We slowly and quietly brought you to the elevator, then I carried you the rest of the way.”
“Who took my wig off?”
“Angelina suggested you might feel better without something pressing on your scalp, so she took your hair down and even brushed it for you.”
“Wow, that was really nice of her.”
“Yes, she’s a very nice woman. Alex and Auberon love her and they’re in the front room playing with her little ones.”
“They have twins? A boy and a girl, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. Knox and Vivienne – they’re very sweet children. You met Shiloh and Zahara earlier, I believe?”
“Knock, Knock!” Angie looked in at them. “How’s our patient doing?”
“Still a little dizzy but better,” Sookie answered with a weak smile, her eyes half closed.
“Ok, we’re having a little dinner brought up for all of us. Dr. Ludwig wants you to eat and take it easy for while. I have a little knit dress you could throw on instead of your gown if you want.”
“Oh, that would be nice if it’s not too much trouble,” Sookie looked apologetic but she knew her hostess wouldn’t mind lending her something simple to wear. Angie got the little black knit dress from her luggage and she and Eric helped Sookie out of her Marilyn gown and into the much more comfortable black t-shirt dress. Angie put the gown on a hanger and Eric lead Sookie out to the front room where Brad, Bobbie, Bjorn and the two sets of twins were waiting.
The children were playing with some wooden alphabet blocks and having fun. Aubie was able to sit up and to stack one block on top of another, which Bobbie later said she thought were new abilities for him. The Jolie-Pitt kids were a little older than the Northman boys, but they were pretty evenly matched with Aubie in terms of basic skills.
“Here’s our little sick girl!” Brad gave Sookie a big smile and a kiss on the cheek as she let the others lead her into the room. It did not escape Sookie’s attention that he was dressed like pirate with a sword, a goatee and black eyeliner. Yum.
“Sorry if I ruined the party…” Sookie began to apologize, but the others laughed gently. “What’s so funny?” Sookie wasn’t exactly hurt but she didn’t expect them to laugh.
“Don’t worry, Sweetie,” Angelina told her, “the party hasn’t even started yet!” She said with a wicked little wiggle of her perfect eyebrows.
Food was arriving so no explanation followed as every one was dishing out the delicacies and getting bibs on babies, passing out glasses of sparkling wine from Brad and Angelina’s own vineyard.
As soon as she got a few Asian style chicken wings, shrimp balls, and some grilled pineapple in her, plus a glass of orange juice followed by a little white wine spritzer, Sookie was nearly her old self. Bjorn was wandering in and out, looking fantastic in a tux Bobbie picked out for him, consulting with a couple of big guys who were obviously security and Bobbie was helping Aubie eat some pureed grilled pineapple and little bits of chicken with his brand new teeth. Their Nanny was helping Knox and Vivienne, but Alex didn’t need any help.
Before Sookie knew he moved he had grabbed two mini-legs from Sookie’s plate, one in each little fist, and sucked all the meat off of them with a happy growl.
“Alex, wait, you can’t eat all that, there’s cartilage and stuff!” Sookie intended to pull it out of his mouth before he choked, but he swallowed it all nearly whole and gave a little kittenish hiss followed by a big burp. Sookie’s mouth dropped open but everyone else laughed. “Eric, I’m afraid he’ll choke!”
“Alex, my son, slow down. Mommy needs to eat, too,” He spoke slowly and distinctly, to let Alex know he was serious, but he also winked at him so Alex understood that this was a “Mamee thing.”
“Wayd por beebee sthisthuh?” Alex asked, provoking a smile and a nod from Dadee.
Dadee prepared Alex for this telling him during story time that he was not to upset Mamee while they waited for baby sister so he waited politely for Sookie to shred some more meat from some wing pieces and he ate the pieces with his fingers, sticking his whole hand in a bowl of ketchup that came with a big platter of fries, which he also munched while waiting for Mamee to get on with the chicken pickin’.
As the kids finished their food and began wanting to sleep everyone focused on getting them into pajamas and gathering up dishes. Sookie was surprised that there were ‘jammies in a bag for Alex and Aubie, too, and that Alicia and Octavia as well as Amelia and Jerry had come to sit with them during the rest of the party.
“I didn’t know you all were here?!” She said, tickled to see Octavia and Alicia especially.
“There’s a lot you don’t know, Queenie – the fun is just starting.” Octavia teased her.
Eric knelt by Sookie’s chair and asked, “Feeling better, now, Sookie? Would you like to go home now or would you like to go to the VIP party that starts at 11:30?”
“VIP Party?!” Her eyes brightened and Eric beamed at her, “Oh yes, this was just the party before the real party,” he gave her a wicked grin and wiggled his eyebrows in that way she loved. “I want to stay on one condition!”
“What would that be?” He tried to look suspicious because she obviously knew he would deny her nothing.
“I want to put my Marilyn gown back on but not the wig…” she looked hopefully at him.
“Yes, I’ve never liked wearing wigs myself,” he laughed, “Your own beautiful hair is much more attractive – it’s so soft and glows like corn silk. Angelina remarked on the glorious color when she brushed it earlier.” He leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially into her ear “I think she was surprised that the color is natural – she expected dark roots, apparently.” Sookie had been taking a drink of wine and nearly spit it out. She gave a wicked little laugh that told him she was good to go another few hours. This was good news. He wouldn’t tell her until later that this night had been planned for months and he had been afraid he’d have to cut the night short. If she’d been too sick to go on, he’d never have told her what she missed.
It took Sookie, Bobbie and Angelina working together to get Sookie back into the pink satin gown and Alicia had to tape the top a little to make sure Sookie didn’t pop out of it since the pregnancy was making her a little top heavy.
“You’re so lucky – you can barely tell you’re pregnant,” Angelina marveled at her as she turned to change into her own costume – a very pretty lavender Faerie costume with ribbons all over, a thigh split and not a little cleavage. She let Sookie borrow some make up as she added some hot pink hair pieces to her own ebony locks, then sprayed it with a little glitter. Sookie was getting pretty good at doing her own cat’s eye liner and Alicia added some real gold in a special solution to her lids. She finished with a shocking pink velvety lipstick that matched her fuchsia gown.
“Bobbie, that dress is gorgeous,” Sookie told her about her lacy black gown, “you look like Stevie Nicks… she’s so beautiful, I always wanted to be her for Hallowe’en when I was a kid but I was afraid people would say I was a Witch. It’s too bad you didn’t wear a costume, though…” Sookie felt a little bad about that, but it didn’t last when Bobbie replied, “I did, Sookie, I’m dressed as a Witch!” and the three of them cracked up.
“Aren’t you a little young to be a Stevie fan, Sookie?” Angelina asked, her feigning innocence.
“Yeah, but I have all my dad’s old Fleetwood Mac albums and mom had most of her early solo stuff. I used to dance around my room with Gran’s crocheted table cloth and a hair brush singing along, though she’d yell at me for stretching it out,” she laughed.
“I never heard you mention that before, Sookie,” Bobbie said, honestly.
“I know. It makes me a little sad because I associate her with my mom. I only mentioned it to Eric once, but I don’t dwell. I guess I could have been her for this Hallowe’en but Eric and I like Marilyn and once Amunet hooked me up with the seamstress, I decided to wait for another year.”
Angie and Bobbie exchanged looks, but said nothing. Angelina had several pretty beaded and feathered masks that someone had contributed for the evening, so the three of them were ready to rock.
The funniest part of the evening was when they returned to the living room and Brad, who had been a pirate captain, had switched to Eric’s Black leather Highlander coat, while Eric was wearing the Pirate gear.
There were some hushed (so as not to wake the babies in the other rooms) squeals from the women, “Eric, you look like such a badass pirate!” Sookie bubbled.
“What about me?” Brad teased, “I’m a Vampire King!” He pronounced with a flourish of the cape-like coat and sword (which was not real as Eric’s was.)
“To match my Faerie Queen!” Angelina laughed and waved a beribboned wand with a silver sparkled star on the end.
“And a lovely one,” Eric nodded to her, then kissed her hand – “I’ve only ever seen one prettier…” He flirted, then winked at Sookie, who was pretty much jumping up and down, five inch heels be damned.
“Why did you guys decide to switch clothes?!” Sookie wondered later how they fit, but that was beyond the point.
Brad laughed, “It was Bjorn’s idea – he thought you’d like Eric to wear some eyeliner for some reason,” he teased.
“You owe me one, Your Majesty” Bjorn kidded Sookie.
“Yes, I do!” she laughed as she grabbed Eric’s belt buckle and pulled him toward her. She popped up on tip toes so he could kiss her but she nipped at his lip instead.
“Someone is back in the holiday spirit, I see!” Eric said, knowing Sookie would love the next part of the night.
“I don’t know, Eric, I think I’m starting to regret changing costumes,” Brad laughed with only a little jealousy.
“Don’t be jealous, Honey, you look pretty tasty, too,” Sookie vamped in her best breathy Marilyn voice cracking everyone up.
“It’s quarter after 11, Sire,” Bjorn reminded Eric, “You want to be seated by 11:30.”
Eric nodded and put his hand on Sookie’s back to gently guide her into the hall.
“Hey, isn’t the ballroom that way?” Sookie asked, wondering why they went this way. Was she all turned around?
“We’re going to the Hospitality Suite that overlooks Bourbon St., Sookie. Wait until you see it!” Bobbie was about to bust. They approached a suite with open french doors and saw Amelia standing outside talking to Jerry as others people moved in and out.
“Amelia what are you doing here?!” Sookie said incredulously, “I thought you were watching the babies?!”
“Don’t worry about that, Your Majesty,” Jerry said with a sly look, “this suite has four bedrooms, and the twins are tucked in safe as can be. We won’t leave them unguarded for a minute.”
“Wow, this is huge!” Sookie marveled as she tried to take it all in. “There’s a bar in here! And a white grand piano! Pretty red roses! That looks like there’s going to be music in here. I hope it’s not boring…”
“You’ll be happy, Sookie, promise!” Angelina laughed as she took Sookie’s hand and led her to a seat right beside the piano as Eric and Brad went to the bar for drinks and so Eric could schmooze some local dignitaries. There were musicians setting up with acoustic guitars that had “pick-ups” for amplification attached and some primitive looking drums of the type you play by hand. There was a big thing with lots of buttons that Sookie thought was a synthesizer. There was so much to see!
“Hello, Mr. Mayor!” A man said to the man sitting directly behind Sookie. She looked around and recognized his wife, so smiled and gave her some “sugar” as Gran would call it – that extra sweet manner that you use for ladies you know in “society.” “Hi, so nice to see you!”
“Oh, we wouldn’t have missed this for the world!” replied Mrs. Mayor, so pleased the Vampire Queen recognized her.
A tall thin man with very long curly hair walked in and picked up one of the guitars, tuning it and fussing with a stool. Sookie was about to say “He looks so familiar!” but fireworks were going off out in the streets and you could hear people cheering and whooping it up.
“Wow, the crowd outside is crazy!” Sookie laughed at the bacchanal which was obviously in full swing below the balcony that overlooked Bourbon St. Suddenly Sookie saw a familiar face across the room. “Angie, do you see that woman with the dark hair and the long sleeved black sequined gown over there?” Sookie whispered to her as other people quickly came in and found seats throughout the room.
“You mean Anne Rice?” Angie asked.
“Yes, I thought that was her! This is some swanky party if she’s here. OH – I forgot Brad was in that movie!”
“Mm-hmm,” Angie agreed as the woman waved to her and started toward them. “Time to be the Queen, Sookie,” reminding Sookie that this was her party and hoping she wouldn’t be too starstruck. Sookie caught on and took a deep breath and let it out.
“Angelina, how delighted I am to see you! And your children were here earlier, I saw.”
“Yes, they’re all nearby. Have you met Queen Sookie Northman?” She knew Sookie was about to bust.
Sookie put on her emergency smile and removed the pretty lace mask she was wearing. “I’m so pleased to meet you! I’ve read all your work over and over!”
“I’m so happy to know you enjoy it! I’m sure it doesn’t compare to real life?”
“Oh, well, I’m definitely glad I read your books before I met my husband.” The three women cackled a little as the lights in the room blinked twice.
Anne seemed delighted, “almost show time!” she laughed and headed back to her seat.
“Five minutes, Ladies and Gentlemen.” A maitre d’ or something announced as people became more orderly and the pace at the bar picked up so people could sit down.
“Wow, look at all the paintings displayed in here!” Sookie said, still trying to take it all in. “Eric, is all this beautiful art from your collection?” She asked as he sat beside her.
“No, Sweetheart these are painted by tonight’s guest performer.”
“He can paint and play piano, too? Some people are so talented” she said wistfully as the lights in the room were turned low and a spotlight pointed at the white piano.
“I’ll be right back, Sweetheart, here hold my handkerchief for me” Eric said as he kissed Sookie’s cheek and stepped to the front of the room .
“Avast ye mateys!” Eric joked, playing up the Pirate look, taking the big hat off, his long blonde hair in a pony tail tied with velvet ribbon, and he bowed to the room. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m Eric Northman. My beautiful wife, Queen Sookie, and I are honored to welcome you to our first Samhain in New Orleans. The Witching Hour approaches, so I won’t keep you waiting any longer, will you please welcome our honored guest, Ms. Stevie Nicks.”
And suddenly, there She was! The Goddess of Rock was sitting right next to Sookie who was so shocked she began to quietly cry and shake. Eric looked at her, putting his arm around her. He kissed her hair and gave her a gentle squeeze and whispered, “Happy Hallowe’en, My Angel.” She lay her head on his chest, his right arm around her shoulders, her left hand reaching across him to hold his left hand, fingers entwined, to let him know how she felt because there were no words. No wonder he handed her his handkerchief! She was hoping she didn’t have eyeliner running down her cheeks.
Stevie took a quick bow, then sat at the piano and began to sing a song that seemed to be about what was happening right now. She later found it it was called “New Orleans:”
In the city of dreams
Lies the city’s ghost
There’s a beginning
There’s a middle and an end in this city
We reach out for the middle ground
We throw a great party*
(*she emphasized this line with a flourish as the audience applauded softly)
So hearts will start to mend
We forgive… at least we try
In the midst of the sea of dreams
Lies a perfect storm
In the sea of tears
Lies a city ghost
In the spirit of the Mardi Gras
Well, the people hope
That their lives will get better
The people hope
That their lives will get better
I wanna get a room in New Orleans
I wanna sing in the streets of the French Quarter
I wanna dress up
I wanna wear beads
I wanna wear feathers and lace
I wanna brush by Anne Rice
(the audience laughed and applauded)
And go down Bourbon Street
I see a sea of smiles
I see a haunted city reachin’ out
I see hope in all their faces
Behind the mask of Mardi Gras
Where the good and the righteous walk
And the wicked as well
I wanna get a room in New Orleans
I wanna sing in the streets of the French Quarter
(the audience joined in the chorus this time through}
I wanna dress up
I wanna wear beads
I wanna wear feathers and lace
I wanna brush by the vampires
{Stevie really played this line up}
I wanna dress up, ooh yea
I wanna wear feathers and lace
I wanna brush by Anne Rice
And go down Bourbon Street
Mmmm, go on down Bourbon Street
Within these rooms
{she motioned to show the room they were in}
I go up to my balcony
{she nodded toward the street then spoke the next lines}
And I hang my paintings on the wall
And I open up my gallery
{she indicated her art}
And I open up my doors
I stare at the city
I stare at my city
I wanna get a room in New Orleans
I wanna sing in the streets of the French Quarter
I wanna dress up
I wanna wear beads
I wanna wear feathers and lace
I wanna brush by the vampires
I wanna get back to New Orleans
I wanna sing out in the streets of the French Quarter
I wanna dress up
I wanna wear beads
I wanna wear feathers and lace
I wanna brush by Anne Rice
Go down Bourbon Street
Go down Bourbon Street
Go on down Bourbon Street
Go on down Bourbon Street
Go on down
Go on down
Go on down
Go on down Bourbon Street
In the city of tears
Lies the city ghost
When the song ended, Sookie finally caught her breath. She felt like she was dreaming. It was almost like being hugged by Freyja and by her own mom at the same time. She never dared wish for such a gift. This was so far beyond anything she ever imagined – Eric had reached right inside Sookie and found what she wanted so much she didn’t even know to ask for it.
Suddenly the bass player laid down a minor chord thumping rhythmically in a way that spoke of darkness and Baelfires, spiral dances and fucking.
Stevie introduced the next song: “This is for all my Sisters here tonight on this beautiful Samhain evening, it’s called SISTERS OF THE MOON”
Intense silence
As she walked in the room
Her black robes trailing
Sister of the moon
And a black widow spider makes
More sound than she
And black moons in those eyes of hers
Made more sense to me
Heavy persuasion
It was hard to breathe
She was dark at the top of the stairs
And she called to me
And so I followed
As friends often do
I cared not for love, nor money
I think she knew
Well, the people they still love her
And still they are the most cruel
She asked me
Be my sister, sister, sister of the moon
Some call her sister of the moon
Some say illusions are her game
They like to wrap her in velvet
Does anyone, ooo…know her name!
Then Stevie began to play a slow but familiar melody which the audience instantly recognized… Singing very slowly and looking right at Sookie:
Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night
and wouldn’t you love to love her?
She rules her life like a bird in flight
and who will be her lover?
All your life you’ve never seen
a woman taken by the sky.
Well would you stay if she promised to you heaven?
Would you even try?
And he says, “Rhiannon, Don’t go.”
And he says, “Rhiannon, stay.”
And he says, “I still cry out for you.
Rhiannon
{then the bass line became harder, more intense, irresistibly primitive, mesmerizing}
She rings like a bell through the night.
And wouldn’t you love to love her?
She rules her life like a bird in flight.
And who will be her lover?
All your life you’ve never seen
a woman taken by the sky.
Well would you stay if she promised to you heaven?
Would you even try? Say, would you even try?
She is like a cat in the dark,
then baby, she is your darkness.
She rules her life like a fine skylark,
when the sky is starless.
Once in a million years a lady like her rises.
Oh no, Rhiannon, you cry, but she’s gone
Your life knows no answer, Your life knows no answer.
Dreams unwind
Love’s a state of mind
Your dreams unwind
Love’s a state of mind
Your dreams unwind
And love is hard to find, I know.
Your dreams unwind
And still it’s a state of mind, I know
Dreams unwind
And still it’s hard to find, I know
Dreams unwind
And still it’s a state of mind, I know
Take me like the wind, child
Take me with the sky
Take me now
Take me like the wind, baby
Take me with the sky
All the same
All the same
All the same, Rhiannon
All the same
Baby, all the same
All the same
(more slowly now…)
And he still cries out for her,
“Don’t leave me now.”
“Don’t leave me now.”
“Don’t leave me now.”
Sookie just let the beautiful music wash over her. In her mind she could see herself as a child of about three or four, sitting on her mother’s lap as they rocked in the old white rocking chair that still sat on Sookie’s porch in Bon Temps. Stevie’s Bella Donna album was playing softly in the background and Sookie could see a woman in a white dress standing in the corner watching them and suddenly realized that the woman she thought she imagined as a child was Freyja!
As if she stepped back in time, Sookie was the child in her mother’s arms and felt the very real sensations of being held and loved and tucked into her little bed. Mama turned the light out as she closed the door, apparently never noticing the glorious Lady in the corner. Sookie’s eyes blinked slowly watching the Lady float slowly over to her bedside as the scent of roses filled the room.
Little Sookie asked “are you a fairy?”
“No, my Angel, but you are,” Freyja said softly as Sookie fell asleep.
Sookie’s eyes popped open, her head still on Eric’s chest, still in this wonderful dream which she hoped would never end. Had she been asleep? She didn’t want to miss a minute of Stevie’s singing but she was bursting to tell Eric that the “Fairy Lady” from her childhood was Freyja!
Stevie adjusted her mic a little, saying “I wrote this next song with Edgar Allan Poe when I was 17.” People froze, then laughed. “I don’t look that old, do i?” she laughed as the audience laughed with her. “Actually, he wrote the lyrics in 1849, the last poem he finished before his death. I’d like to dedicate this song to King Eric and Queen Sookie because it’s about a love that transcends death. It’s called Annabel Lee.”
People applauded and Stevie sang:
Annabel Lee
It was many and many a year ago
In a kingdom by the sea
That a maiden lived
Whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee
This maiden, she lived
With no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me
She was a child and I was a child
In this kingdom by the sea
We loved with a love
That was more than a love
I and my Annabel Lee
With a love that the winged
Angels of heaven
They coveted her and me
And the moon never beams
Without bringing me dreams
And the sun never shines
But I see the bright eyes
I lie down by the side
The angels, not half
So happy in heaven
Went envying her and me
That was the reason as all men know
In this kingdom by the sea
That the wind came out
Of the cloud that night
Killing my, my Annabel Lee
And the moon never beams
Without bringing me dreams
And the sun never shines
But I see the bright eyes
I lie down by the side
But our love was stronger
By far than the love
Of those who were older than we
Many far wiser than we
Neither the angels in heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee
And the moon never beams
Without bringing me dreams
And the sun never shines
But I see the bright eyes
I lie down by the side
I lie down by the side of my darling
My life, my life and my bride
I lie down by the side
I lie down by the side, my darling
My life, my life and my bride
I lie down by the side
I lie down by the side
I lie down by the side
I lie down by the side of my darling
My life, my life and my bride
I lie down
I lie down by the side of my darling
My life, my life
I lie down by the side of my darling
My life, my life and my bride
I lie down
I lie down
I lie down by the side
At the end of the song, Stevie stood up and bowed as people continued to applaud, and she took a red rose from the arrangement on the white piano and handed it to Sookie, who was awestruck. People were moving forward to speak to Stevie, who whispered to Sookie “Don’t leave yet – I have a special present for you,” then she straightened up and spoke to some of the various VIPs in attendance, greeting Anne Rice with a big hug and kiss.
Eric and Sookie stood up and prepared to talked to the people who wanted to see them, too. Sookie was holding Eric’s hand and was not about to let go, even as Angelina asked her, “Were you surprised, Sookie?!”
“I’m blown away! Is my eyeliner smeared? Did you know about this?” She asked as Bobbie came up to them.
Bobbie and Angelina laughed and said “Yes!” together.
“I’ve been going crazy trying to keep it secret,” Bobbie told her, “The only one who didn’t know was you! Bill went all kinds of lengths trying to make sure you didn’t see anything at the offices.”
“Hey – where is Bill?” Sookie asked as she suddenly realized he was absent.
“Bill is at Fangtasia helping Pam with the party there,” Bobbie explained, “Eric was satisfied that there was enough help through the office and the hotel that he could be spared.”
“That seems strange…” Sookie started, but then she realized Eric was free for a minute, pulled him to her and gave him a huge, hot kiss, his face in her hands. “Thank you, Eric, this was amazing,”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it, my angel. There’s something else – Stevie has to explain it, though, it’s a Witch thing,” he winked at her with that glint in his eye that she loved.
“Ooh, goodie!” Sookie said nearly jumping up and down as she turned back to Angie and Bobbie. “Do you guys know what the surprise is?”
“I have no idea but Brad said it involves us, too.”
Bobbie wiggled her eyebrows and made them both laugh.
“Bobbie! I can hear you, you know!” Sookie could hear Bobbie’s dirty mind at work and was she getting an earful.
“I have an idea what it is,” Bobbie teased, “but I have no idea how it is.”
“Huh?!” Sookie and Angie looked at each other quizzically.
Servers were moving through the room with glasses of champagne and trays of amazing food as the evening became more of a cocktail party so the girls took the opportunity to eat some cajun shrimp, which was spicy huge shrimp wrapped in bacon, some cheese puffs that Angelina said were called “gougere”
and some little paper cups that had a watermelon and feta cheese salad in them.
“Watermelon and – what’s this cheese called, Bobbie?”
“Feta.”
“I never heard of eating watermelon with cheese before… Or wait, maybe at one of the openings…”
Angelina laughed and kicked one back as if it were a shot of liquor. Sookie did the same.
“Wow – that’s weird! Delicious, and weird,” Sookie laughed.
Brad came over to the girls as Eric spoke to the Mayor, “Ok, Ladies, Stevie requests that we meet in the fourth bedroom back that way.” He pointed to a corridor and the four of them moved in that direction. As they moved past the first door, Bjorn came out and spoke to Jerry, who nodded and took a post at the door.
Brad asked Bjorn. “Is the room ready?”
“Yes, it’s all set up. It’ll just be the 6 of us.”
They entered a bedroom where Stevie was setting a large blue velvet box on a wooden table in the center of three sets of two chairs arranged in a triangle. There were candles all around the room and a soft scent of incense.
“Come on in!” Stevie smiled.
“Are we going to do magick?” Sookie wondered aloud as Eric came through the door and Bjorn locked it behind him.
“Technically, I’m going to do magick,” Stevie laughed, “but you’ll be the ones enjoying it.”
“Not you?” Sookie was a little disappointed
“Oh, don’t worry about me, I’ll be around.” Stevie laughed. “grab your mate and take a seat everyone and we’ll get this show on the road.”
Stevie took the lid off the velvet box and the sides folded out and way from its contents. The thing inside was glowing as if lit from within, and was shaped like a 3-sided pyramid. Stevie left it on the table and stepped out of the circle to stand behind Eric and Sookie. She placed her hands on Sookie’s shoulders, kneading them just a bit. “Relax, Sookie, you’re going to love this. Everything is all right. Now everyone take hands, boy-girl-boy-girl.”
Sookie already had Eric’s left hand and now Bjorn took her other in his. Bobbie had his and Brad’s, Angelina had Brad’s and Eric’s.
Stevie continued, “Sit up straight and breathe slowly. If at any time you get scared or things start to go bad, all you have to do is release your hands and take off this mask,” she explained as she handed out feathered and sequined masks to them all, “you’ll jolt right back to safety but only do that in case of emergency – it’s a rough ride and not in a good way.”
Everyone laughed and put on their luxurious masks on. They were really nice satin and velvet – simple black ones for the guys and lovely black feathered, purple beaded ones for the girls.
“Do we have to keep these masks on all night?” Eric asked, very curious about the process.
“No, but don’t lose them, and don’t let go of your hands in the triangle if you do. These have to go back to the owner by noon tomorrow.”
Everyone had their masks in place and were all holding hands again. Stevie saw they were settled and began the Work:
“Numena, Numena, Mater Magna, Nuema, Numena, Mater Omnia…
This…” she pointed to the pyramid which was now throbbing and opening to show a crystalline flower that was pulsing with all the colors of the rainbow, turning and bathing them all with twinkling light, “… is called a Masquerade. It cloaks your true identity and allows you to move among crowds with anonymity. You’re all going to join the pleasures of Mardi Gras as if you’re regular people who are neither rich nor famous. People will see you and interact with you, but they won’t be able to see who you really are.”
Everyone was stunned.
Numena, Numena, Mater Magna
“Is this possible? No one will know us?” Sookie asked, very excited.
“Oh, yes – no Queen Sookie tonight,” Eric assured her, “you’re just a pretty girl running through the streets with everyone else.”
Nuema, Numena, Mater Omnia…
“All of us?” Angie couldn’t believe it, either.
“Yes,” Stevie continued as she walked around them and put strings of Mardi Gras beads in gold, purple and green around each of their necks, “You run with the parade, flash the tourists for beads, drink, dance, do whatever you want because no one will ever know you were there:
Numena, Numena, Magna Mater Nuema, Numena, Mater Omnia…
“How long will it last?” Brad asked
“Until sun light, so I’d head back here by no later than 5, Cinderella,” Stevie teased. Nuema, Numena, Mater Omnia…
“Bobbie and Bjorn, too?” not to be rude but Sookie couldn’t see why they needed it,
“We’re going to keep an eye on you, Sookie. You still need my protection even if you’re invisible.” ‘Bjorn teased her.
“Awesome!” Bobbie was ready party.
‘Invisible?” Sookie asked – that was something different, she hoped.
“Not invisible, anonymous.” Stevie laughed and reassured her, “Three pretty ladies and their beaux out for a night of bar-hopping, parading and raising the roof New Orleans style. Nuema, Numena, Mater Omnia… ”
“Oh, but I can’t drink! The baby…”
“Actually, Sookie, Doctor Ludwig said to drink what you want – it won’t affect her,” Bjorn told her.
“Doctor Ludwig knows about this?”
“Of course, Sookie, we couldn’t risk hurting you or the baby. She assures us this is safe for you both,” Eric put her mind at ease so now Sookie was raring to go. She’d worked in bars before, but she never had a friend to go “clubbing” with. This was going to be fun!
Stevie was continuing to chant, saying “Now watch the pretty lights from the lotus:
Numena, Numena, Magna Mater Nuema, Numena, Mater Omnia,
Numena, Numena, sub rosa omnia, Dea Secreta, sub rosa omnia,
Omnia, omnia sub rosa, Dea secreto, Dea Obscura memoria, Omnia sub rosa
Suddenly the room seemed to shift and Sookie held Eric’s hand as tight as she could. She was very glad Bjorn had hold of her, too! She could hear Stevie’s deep voice chanting but she was spinning in space and praying she didn’t throw up before she landed.
There were three big pulses of energy and light:
Womp,
Womp
Womp … and the world got REALLY LOUD with trumpet blasting out When the Saints Go Marching In.
The six of them were suddenly standing in a circle on Bourbon street with the parade in full force. They all opened their eyes and couldn’t believe where they were.
“Alright,” Eric took the lead, “Are we all here? Everyone make it through the whirlwind?’
“I’m still standing, right?” Sookie laughed, a little dizzy but excited that it seemed to work. She threw her arms around Eric and he kissed her until her knees buckled, then laughed as he held her up.
“Whew! Hey, Sookie, is that what it feels like when you pop in and out of places,” Bobbie asked, delighted with everything that was happening right now, including being on Bjorn’s muscular arm.
“Sometimes, yeah!”
Brad was cracking up and so was Angie as they sort of held each other up. They were surrounded by people throwing confetti, whooping it up, throwing beads and dancing along.
“What do we do first?!” Angie was excited because it had been a long time since she had gone bar-hopping. Brad answered her by lighting up a joint and taking a deep drag, then passing it around.
“Oh, goodie!” Sookie jumped up and down, “I always wanted to try that!”
Sookie took it from Bobbie enthusiastically and took a deep drag. She knew she had to try to hold it in but she coughed like crazy, but she was jumping again as Eric took a drag of it. “Yay!”
“Does that work for vampires?” Brad asked, fascinated.
“For most, no, but I can get a pleasant sensation from it. Probably connected to the fact that I can eat some food occasionally.”
“Hey, when did you figure that out?” Sookie asked, wondering if he’d be doing this without her.
“When we knew what we were doing tonight, I tried it at the offices last week. One of the girls had some in her purse and she …. hooked me up!” It took him just a minute to remember that phrase. Maybe he was a little buzzed?!
“OK, now that we’ve got a start, I suggest we all do some shots!” Angle proposed and everyone quickly agreed. They went into the first bar they found and ordered shots of Tequila, except for Eric who had something called a
“Fairy Squeeze” that was just for vamps.
“Not exactly the most PC name for that,” Sookie joked, “I’m their Queen, you know!’
“That’s right I can’t wait for your coronation!” Angie laughed, showing Sookie how to rub lime on her hand and sprinkle it with salt. “Ok, people, kick it back!” Angie laughed and they all downed their shots.
“Wow, that’s like swallowing sunshine,” Sookie laughed while Angie was ordering another round for the group and gathering up the used lime rinds.
The rest of the night was a blur for Sookie. They finished a third round of shots then hit the street and danced along with the parade.
It was a riot of color and noise. At one point Sookie couldn’t see what was happening so Eric hoisted her up on his shoulder so she had the best view on the street.
“Wow, lucky!” Angie said, a little jealous, but then Eric bent his knees and lifted her up onto his other shoulder. Sookie and Angie grabbed each other’s hands and shrieked and giggled like little girls. “He’s so srong!” Angie never dreamed Eric could do something like this!
“LOOK, There’s the King of the parade!” Sookie shouted, and the float passed them, beads flying from everywhere. There were fireworks going off in the sky, and Angie said, “Sookie, look!”
Sookie turned to her to ask what she was supposed to look at and Angie gave her a big kiss which elicited a bunch of reactions from the rest of the group.
“Hey, no fair!” Bobbie teased them.
Brad and Bjorn were stunned and Eric was happy to be in the middle of it.
“Look,” Angie said when they parted lips “there’s a disco down there. Let’s all go dance for a while!”
Eric let the girls down and Brad had another joint going so they all finished it off quickly and went into the dance club.
They bought another round of drinks and DJ started playing Lady Marmalade which had Sookie, Bobbie and Angie shrieking again.
“I love this song!” Sookie bubbled and the bar tender told her “Easy for you to say, they’re playing the damned song every half hour,” and they were all cracking up as they dragged all the guys onto the dance floor.
Another crazy dance mix came on and Bjorn yelled “Everybody switch partners!” and they did, so Sookie was dancing with Bjorn, Eric with Angelina and Bobbie with Brad. Bobbie thought to herself if they never paid her another dime this job with still the best deal EVER. Nobody was being shy, either, there was plenty of bumping and grinding going on.
That song was an extended dance mix so they spent quite a while with their new partners. When they started playing a Bee Gees mix, Eric said “switch again!” and they did. Bobbie was suddenly chest to chest with Eric, Sookie was with Brad and Bjorn finally got to wrap his arms about Angelina, who didn’t mind at all. Eric decided to give Bobbie a thrill so he twirled her around and then gave her a big “dip.” Sookie was giving Brad a little dirty dancing and whispered in his ear “I can hear your thoughts, you know?” and they both cracked up at that.
That song ended and they all went laughing and whooping it up to their own partner. This song turned out to be an extended version of “Stand Back” and the girls all yelled, “STEVIE!” and Sookie was sure she could hear Stevie laughing somewhere. In fact, she thought she saw her twirling with a white shawl in one of the mirrored walls of the club, but it was just a glimpse and she was gone.
The rest of the night was a glorious kaleidoscope of color and sensation for Sookie and she enjoyed all of it. Every now and then, though, the room would spin. She decided it must have been the alcohol so she didn’t mention it and just kept partying. They were all dancing down the street when Eric picked Sookie up and spun around with her and the world was suddenly bright white and spinning.
Sookie finally felt still for a minute and she knew she was on the ground. She was quiet for a while and remembered to put her palms out flat to ground her energy. She thought she was there a long time, and she was very comfortable so she just went to sleep.
“Mom?” A young girl’s voice said, “MOM!” and someone was shaking Sookie the way you do to wake someone. Sookie opened her eyes and was looking into the very pretty face of a girl about 14 years old with long blonde hair.
“Whew – you were sure out of it, Mom, I thought something was wrong!”
“Sunny?” Sookie recognized her this time and realized she was lying in warm sand by the shore. She smiled gently and placed her palm gently on the side of the girl’s face. “What’s going on?”
“Freyja said I should warn you not to freak out.”
“Freak out?” UH-OH!
“Yeah, I’m tired of waiting…”
Nothingness.
Sookie didn’t open her eyes yet, but she knew she was safe in her bed and she could hear rain and thunder outside. She stretched a bit, smiling and giggling to herself about all the fun last night. She was sure that she had just been to Freyja’s and had seen Sunny and she should tell someone but she was too comfortable right now. She let out a deep sigh and wrapped her arms around the baby in her belly but suddenly her hand was in something slimy and something on top of her was wiggling like crazy!
“Eric!” She shrieked as she threw back the covers. Eric came flying out of his box in the closet as Bjorn jumped up and Bobbie came running into the room, too. Alex and Aubie, who had been napping next to Sookie in their little wicker bed, were flying above the bed watching her with big eyes.
“Help me! What’s happening?!” Sookie was frantic – instead of a baby bump there was this squirming little thing enclosed in some kind of membrane on top of her and she couldn’t make sense of it at all. Sookie was covered with blood and trying to hold onto this tiny baby in all of this slime as everyone froze for a minute trying to decide what to do.
“Wookie, Dadee, bud!” Alex knew something exciting was happening but he didn’t know what. He and Aubie both popped their fangs and hissed at the sight of blood.
“Mama!” Aubie started toward Sookie but Alex grabbed his hand and said “Nah nah, Obee, Dadee!”
“The baby” Bobbie was first to find her voice. “I’ll get towels!”
“I’m calling Ludwig,” Bjorn said at the same time and immediately had his phone to his ear.
“Sunny!” Eric was thrilled once he was sure that Sookie was not hurt and fascinated that the baby was enclosed in a sac of some kind. “Sookie, the baby!” Eric picked the little thing up very gently and cradled her in his arms where she stopped wiggling so much and was calm.
‘Dadee, wadiz dat?!” Alex wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.
‘This is your baby sister, boys!” Eric held her so they could look at her and they came a little closer.
‘Beebee?” Aubie asked. “Mama beedeen?” Aubie was starting to cry but Alex held his hand and said, “Nah, nah, Obee, Mamee oday.”
Ludwig popped into the room, laughing with delight. “Well, now, our little girl wouldn’t wait any longer!” She laughed as Bobbie put down a towel and Eric gently laid the baby on it then held his hands open to Aubie who flew into his arms anxiously. Eric kissed him and said “Mommy’s alright, Auberon, Your little sister is here! See.” He nodded to where the baby was being fussed over and Aubie watched for a bit, chewing on his finger, trusting that Dada said it was all right.
Eric was fascinated as Ludwig pierced the sac, then cut and tied off the baby’s umbilical cord. “Doctor, what is this thing she was contained in?”
‘That’s called the amniotic sac. In most pregnancies, that opens when the birth process begins and that’s what they call breaking water. This little one decided to skip the discomfort of the birth canal all together. It’s good that you called me – handling this wrong could be fatal, but all is well now. She looks healthy and strong, though she’s a tiny little thing.”
Bobbie handed Ludwig a little rubber bulb thing that she used to clear the mouth and sinuses. The baby took a big breath and wailed like a banshee.
Eric was laughing with delight as Bobbie took Aubie from him and the doctor let him pick her up and he gave her a big kiss on the forehead.
Sookie was still trying to process what was happening but she knew enough to be concerned, “Is she alright? Isn’t it too early for her?”
“It’s early, but we couldn’t hold her back anymore.” Ludwig laughed. “The minute Freyja was sure neither of you would be harmed She let the little girl go.”
“We should give her a bath, yes?” Eric was beside himself as he held the tiny thing in his hands.
“Put her to Mama’s breast for a bit first,” Ludwig told him, as she turned to look Sookie over. She lifted the bloody white gown Sookie was wearing. “There’s no real bleeding here,” she explained as she felt Sookie’s abdomen, “this is all just from the baby. Does anything hurt, little girl?”
“No…” Sookie considered the question for a bit, “No, nothing hurts. I actually feel pretty good, all things considered.”
“Alright, let me just check your blood pressure, and we’ll let your helpers take over and clean you up.” She pumped up the cuff on Sookie’s arm and looked concerned but not alarmed. “Anderson, I want you to check her blood pressure every half hour and you call me if it spikes or drops more than ten points. It’s not bad at the moment, but it could be better. Bobbie, you can handle things from here?”
“Yep, we’re good!”
“Alright, feed her for a bit, Mama, then let them give her a very gentle bath. Congratulations on the birth of your little princess, your majesty,” Ludwig said with a big smile then POP she was gone.
“OK, so give me my baby and let me feed her a bit!” Sookie was teasing Eric because she knew he didn’t want to let go of her for a minute.
“Here, we go, Mommy” he said affectionately as he helped her settle at Sookie’s breast, where she latched on quite firmly and mewed like a kitten.
Alicia peeked in the door, “Excuse me…?”
“Oh, hi, Alicia! See the new baby?!” Sookie was now thrilled with the circumstances. She hadn’t been looking forward to giving birth again. Once was enough.
“I see that! She’s beautiful. When you’re ready, Margaret and I will change the sheets on the bed.”
“Oh, yeah – oh, I guess these are ruined, huh?”
“Not necessarily. Margaret is a magician when it comes to blood stains.”
“Yeah, I guess with us she’d have to be!” Sookie was feeling a little giddy right now, which didn’t escape Bjorn’s notice. He gave Eric a little look so he knew that they needed to keep an eye on her. She had had a lot of fun for her first Samhain in New Orleans, but there was a ridiculous amount of energy running through her, too.
When the baby stopped nursing, she let Bobbie show Eric how to give her a little bath. Alicia helped Sookie out of the bloody gown and Sookie went into the shower with Bobbie’s help.
“Wada, Mamee!” Alex called from the room outside the bathroom door.
“OK, baby, come take a shower!” Sookie called out while Bobbie grabbed a clean towel. Both boys came slowly into the room and Alex said “Obee fuhss!”
“OK, Aubie first!” She looked out and let Aubie come in. Sookie held him under the gentle shower and cracked up when he made his “Ooh-hoo!” noise. She washed his longish hair gently and soaped him all over, giving him a good rinse and a snuggle and a kiss, then passed him to Bobbie, who wrapped him and hugged him and set him in the empty tub for a minute. “OK, Alex, come to Mommy!” she called and Alex went next, getting his crew cut washed and his body soaped and he was happy as a clam when Sookie handed him off to Bobbie. Sookie was wrapped in a towel and combing out her hair while Bobbie put diapers on both boys. Eric and Bjorn were sitting in the chairs by the side table, Eric holding the little girl, wrapped in a little pink receiving blanket, in his hands.
“I tell you, Bjorn, there is no happiness greater than this,” Eric gushed over the baby who was looking at him with big eyes. “She’s so perfect!”
“She’s beautiful. She’s very small.”
“Yes, the doctor mentioned that, too. She didn’t seem to think it was a problem, did she?” Eric asked with concern.
“That’s true, she would have warned us if there were any kind of problem,” Bjorn agreed. “A human baby that small would be considered a premie, I think. We need to weigh her and measure her. Hopefully, she’s at least 5 pounds.”
“We’ll all watch for any problems that might arise, of course, but she appears to be perfect on the outside,” Eric said as the baby stretched and let our a wail, making both men laugh.
“Well, her lungs seem well developed, so I’m sure she’s fine,” Bjorn laughed.
In the bathroom, Bobbie had both boys diapered and Sookie was in a bra and panties, looking at herself in the big mirror over the sink. She was flexing her abdominal muscles in and out, facing forward, turning to the side, frowning as she did so.
“Sookie, you barely look like you were ever pregnant!” Bobbie told her, not needing to be a telepath to read Sookie’s thoughts.
“Yeah, I look OK, I guess, I just wonder…”
“Wonder what?”
“When I was in Elfyria, if I wanted to change the way I looked, I just looked in the mirror and made it happen.”
“Do you think that will work here?”
“I’m wondering.” She looked straight into the mirror, “I want my waist smaller, my abs flatter, I want my baby belly completely healed.” As she spoke, her body slowly changed its dimensions to fit her wishes.
‘Wow – unbelievable. How long will it last?”
“I think until I change it. I can do it with my skin, too – I can look pale like a vampire at one moment, then I can have a tan when I want it.”
“How long have you been able to do this?”
“Quite a while, I think, I just never thought to try it here.”
“That’s an amazing gift, Sookie. I never heard of anyone doing a glamour that extensive, or that long lasting.”
“Yeah,” she said, still checking herself out in the mirror. I have a lot of amazing gifts. I hope I deserve them.”
“Have you ever tried doing it to someone else?” Bobbie asked hopefully.
“No, I haven’t. You want to be my guinea pig?” She laughed but she knew Bobbie was serious, too. “What would you like me to try?
“Can you make my tummy a little flatter? And my backside rounder?”
Sookie concentrated for a minute and passed her hand over Bobbies abs which flattened visibly. There was still a little belly there, but it was more toned and a little bit muscular. “How’s that?”
Bobbie was amazed. “That’s just what I pictured!”
“Yeah, I could see it in your head. I can see what you want in back, too.” Sookie stepped behind her, placing her hand on the widest part of her hips then gently ran her fingers over Bobbie’s bottom, creating a nice round bubble.
“Bjorn will love this! I love it!”
“Cool – I’m so glad it worked. We’ll just have to watch and see if it changes back. It didn’t seem to take a lot of energy, either,” she said with a little surprise as Bobbie handed Aubie to her and she had Alex ready to go, the boys wearing similar blue onesies with teddy bears on them. “I’m starving!” Sookie laughed, “What time is it?” she asked as they went out to the bedroom and Eric answered her, “Almost 4, my angel.”
“I guess you’re up early because it’s rainy?”
“Yes, but I think even without the rain I’d be able to respond to you when you’re that scared. You were very upset.”
“Do you blame me?”
“Not a bit. Shall we all move downstairs so everyone can be fed? The only one who has eaten is Sunna,” Eric said, baby talking just a bit to the precious little bundle in his hand.
“Dadee, wadiz ur nambe?” Alex asked now that he could see her.
“Her name is Sunna, but I’m sure you and your brother will call her Sunny.”
“Sthundee- ah wyg dat nambe! Woogie, Obee, Sthundee!”
“Sudee?”
“Sthundee.”
“Sudee!”
“Very good, boys! Now let’s get everyone fed!” Eric laughed as he and Bjorn steered everyone out of the room and down the stairs.
Octavia was sitting at the long table in the dining room drinking a cup of tea and looking at a newspaper while Alicia and Margaret were getting some lunch and breakfast going for the house. “Well, I hear we have a new family member this mornin’!”
Eric held the baby so that Octavia could see her, “Octavia, I’d like to introduce you to my daughter, Princess Sunna Northman.”
“Hello there, little Princess. Welcome to the family. You’re going to love it here because you’ll be running this place by sundown.” Octavia laughed, “I see you’ve already got your big Vamp daddy wrapped around your little finger!”
Everyone took a seat at the table as Jerry came in carrying a little scale to weigh the baby. Eric happily unwrapped the tiny thing and they measured her to weigh 4.87 pounds.
“Wow – if you had her in a hospital they’d make you leave her there until she reached 5 pounds,” Bobbie explained as they measured the baby to 13 inches long.
Bjorn wrote down the information and called Dr. Ludwig with the information for the birth certificate.
“Babee, beebee doo nappee.”
“The baby needs a new nappy, doesn’t she,” Bobbie agreed with Alex as she put a diaper pad on the table, then she pinned a tiny diaper on the baby who was taking everything in with huge blue eyes. As soon as Bobbie finished, Eric wanted her back,
“Here, Bobbie, let me see her,” Eric took her and held her in a seated position looking at him. “How are you, my daughter?”
The baby got a big smile and wavered her little arms in response and Eric was holding her with one hand and tickling her with the other. You could tell the baby loved it because she was laughing and gurgling. After a minute, she got the hiccups, which was also adorable.
“Eric, what’s that on her back?” Sookie asked when Eric brought the baby up into his right arm. Hic!
Hic!
Giggle,
drool
“What do you mean?” He asked, still playing with the baby, so he turned her facing away from the two of them,
Hic!
Sookie said, “See, what is that? A birthmark?” She touched a little dark curved line next to the baby’s shoulder blade.
“I see what you mean,” he looked closely at the baby’s back. “There’s one here, too. It doesn’t seem like color, it looks like a line or a wrinkle.
Hic,
Giggle,
Flip,
Whoosh,
Hic!
“Eric!” Sookie shrieked but Eric was speechless. They both sat frozen, watching Sunny test her little pink and yellow wings for the first time.
HIC!
To be continued!
(Soon, I promise! This is just getting good!)
Sister, can you spare a dime?
gofundme.com/23yc4938
.
Entitlement Chapter 018
Part 18 Every Lusty Heart
Sookie woke up standing on the shore, hearing her name above the sound of the waves. She went toward the voice, up over the little hill behind the shore, and found Freyja in a beautiful garden relaxing in Her throne, drinking from a golden goblet and eating plums, grapes and blueberries from a big, low bowl on a pink marble table within reach.
Sookie ran to Her all excited, “Freyja! I got him! We found Eric Auberon and he’s in me now!”
“Wonderful! I knew you could do it!” Freyja motioned for Sookie to sit next to her and she did, letting Freyja wrap her arms around her. Freyja kissed Sookie’s cheek and stroked her long blonde hair as Sookie tried not to cry. Suddenly she was feeling the stress of the last few days and she flashed back on Freyja singing to her as a child. She started to break down but then a thought hit her:
“Hey, why couldn’t You do it?” she choked back a sob and wiped a tear from her cheek.
Freyja laughed with delight, “I did do it, Dearest! I sent you!” She popped a big purple grape into Sookie’s mouth and it was unbelievably sweet and perfect.
“Oh…” That confused Sookie for a minute as she chewed the big grape, then she went on, “but couldn’t You…”
“Sookie, there are things you don’t know – things I can’t tell you yet. We have to let it unfold organically, in good time.” Freyja picked up a plum, which fell into two perfect halves, and She ate one while Sookie ate the other. Freyja cast the pit to the side and in just the time it took Sookie to finish her half, a great plum tree sprang up where the pit had fallen.
“Do Goddesses and gods have rules?” Sookie asked as she watched the tree in amazement.
“In a manner of speaking. None of us is omnipotent except Magna Mater.”
“Who’s Magna Mater?”
“That’s Latin for the Great Mother – Magna Mater deorum Idaea is Her complete title, “the great Idaean Mother of the gods.””
“The Great Mother? She doesn’t have a name?”
Freyja laughed, “Only ten thousand or so. Cybele, Rhea, Gaia, Freyja… every place and time has a name for Her if you go back far enough. These days, most who know of Her call Her “Isis,” but I’ve never gotten used to that. I’ve been calling Her Magna Mater since… well, since the Beginning.”
“Can I ever see the Magna Mater like I see you here, now?”
“Not while you are in that body, Dearest – the sight of Her would cause every cell in your body to explode at the speed of light because you’re a part of Her. Most beings only see Her as She truly is when they die, but you won’t need to worry about that.”
“Why not?”
“You’re not going to die. Not for a very long time, anyway, if all goes well.”
“What if it doesn’t go well?”
“We’ll just have to see that it does, you and I. You’ve got to get back now and call Dr. Ludwig.”
“I do?”
“Oh, yes – she needs to know that you are bearing twins now!”
“Doesn’t she already…?”
“Niall never told her about Eric Auberon, so she might not expect you to have found him. He’ll pay for his deception in time, but that’s for another day.”
“Who named the baby Auberon?”
“I did, of course,” She laughed as She pulled Sookie to her feet and fed her three plump blueberries.
“Why?” Sookie asked as the berries gently burst on her tongue with the most amazing flavor she ever tasted.
“Auberon is the King of the Fairies, My Dear. Wake up now, Dearest! Sookie, wake up!”
“Sookie! Wake up, Sweetie, you need to eat!” Bobbie finally sat the tray down on the side table and shook her a little. “Sookie?”
Sookie’s eyes finally flew open like she was startled. “Hey! What’s going on?”
“Whew – you had me worried for a minute, kid. Were you dreaming?”
“I was with Freyja, eating purple fruit and talking, then She said I had to come back and call Dr. Ludwig.” Sookie tried to push herself up so Bobbie could put the tray across her lap.
“Good idea. I was going to suggest that, anyway. She doesn’t know you’ve got the twin yet, does she?”
“No, we didn’t call her last night.”
“I didn’t think so. I wonder how she feels about all this? I know she wouldn’t have let the baby stay in Elfyria like that if she had known about it. If anything happened to him, it could damage her reputation.”
“Yeah, he wasn’t in the most secure setting, either.”
“Where was he?”
“In a crystal bowl in the middle of a big gold circle with a star in it, with lamps and a thermometer on him to keep the temperature constant.”
“Niall couldn’t spring for an incubator?”
“He’s obviously got money, so I’d say he never heard of one.”
“Yeah, Fae probably don’t know much about medicine, do they?”
“I never really thought about it, but what we did see there was pretty old fashioned. It was like you stepped back in time there.”
“Was there any electricity?
“Yeah, there were electric lights on the egg in the bowl, but I don’t remember seeing any cords.”
“No cords?”
“No. Maybe they were magick?”
“That’s probably a safe bet…” Bobbie considered that for a minute.
“It’s so hard to know where reality stops and the magick starts,” Sookie said, mostly to herself, as she put together some salmon, cream cheese and a bagel.
“Technically, there is no separation. You’ve internalized human limitations that aren’t real, Sookie. Amelia and I talked about this last night after you went to bed.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I called her to let her know you were back and everything was alright. She thinks maybe you don’t really need to learn to do magick, you just need to unlearn not doing it.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, she thinks you ARE magick, and you’ve learned not to do it. All you need to do is stop stopping yourself from doing what comes naturally.”
Sookie considered that. “You know, I’ve been remembering some stuff from when I was little…”
“What’s that, Hon?”
“Times when my mom or Gran would tell me not to tell anyone else what I had been doing, or just to not do that any more.”
“What kind of things? Bobbie asked as she dug Sookie’s notepad out of her tote bag so they could write things down as Sookie remembered them.
“Well, I remember having tea parties at the back of the yard and there would be…” her voice trailed off as she was trying to remember.
“Yes?”
“Creatures. There were creatures there.”
“What kind of creatures?”
“Rabbits, squirrels, birds, little people… wait – I dreamed that, right? That there were little men at the tea party?”
“What did they look like, Sookie?”
“The seven dwarves.”
“The seven dwarves from Snow White?”
“Yeah, they were like from Snow White and the creatures were like from Cinderella, when they helped her make her dress.”
“Were they the actual figures from the cartoons, Sookie, or were they just like the cartoons?”
“The little people were like the cartoons, but much shorter and skinnier – about twice as big as a Barbie doll – and they liked purple Kool Aid, and M&Ms, but they said never bring lemonade to the party or they couldn’t play with me any more. There were some tiny boys and girls with colorful butterfly wings, too.”
“What happened to them?”
“Well, Gran saw us one day and she chased them into the woods with a broom. She said not to talk to them anymore and don’t tell Jason, and then she never let me take my tea set outside any more. If I wanted to have a tea party she said we’d have it at the dining room table and she’d bake me cookies. I was so excited about the cookies that I forgot about my little friends,” Sookie was staring off into the distance, a little sad. “I haven’t thought of that in years – I was sure it was a dream.”
“I don’t think so, Sookie, I think that was real.”
“She told me not to pet the rabbits and squirrels because they might have rabies,” she said sadly as the memory came back to her.
“You know, Sookie, rabbits and squirrels don’t let humans come near them.”
“They used to come right up to me and eat potato chips out of my hands. I know that was real because I remember how it felt when the rabbits nibbled things in my palm and the squirrels would touch me with their little hands. There was a baby one summer that would sit on my shoulder for hours while I sat under a tree and read my library books. He stopped coming around when Gran let me keep my kitten, Tina.”
“Cats and squirrels don’t get along, I guess?” Bobbie said.
“Right. They’re rodents, I think.”
“Can you remember anything else from your childhood?”
“Just the Fairy Lady. That’s what I used to call Freyja, but I remember thinking one time She’s not really a Fairy… but I am… or did She say that to me? How could I have forgotten that? I can even remember how She smelled like roses.”
“You’re remembering now, Sookie, and that’s the important thing. You’ve always had magick around you, but no one explained what was going on.”
“I wish I had known.”
“You might have been better off not knowing, Sookie. Try to trust that everything is happening the way it needs to happen.”
“Freyja said it all has to unfold organically in good time.”
“That sounds right to me. When are you going to call the doctor?”
“Let’s get that over with so we can enjoy the pool today. I need some color this week so I don’t look pale in my wedding dress on Saturday.”
“Here’s your phone.” Bobbie picked Sookie’s iPhone up from the floor next to the bed and handed it to her.
Sookie dialed and the doctor picked up on the first ring.
“Queen….er, I mean, Sookie, is that you?”
“Yes, doctor – who did you think it was?” Sookie laughed, assuming Dr. Ludwig had made a mistake.
“Never mind – my mistake. What news have you?”
“We got the baby and he’s in me now.”
“I’ll be right there.” The strange little doctor popped into the room, carrying the carpetbag that was nearly as big as she. “Alright, Little Girl, let’s see how we’re doing. Bobbie, will you watch the door and see we aren’t disturbed?”
“Yeah, sure,” Bobbie said, quickly going to close Sookie’s bedroom door and then leaning against it so no one could walk in on them since the maids didn’t know the doctor was there.
The doctor started with the pelvic exam to make sure everything was as it should be. As she gently pressed on Sookie’s lower abdomen, she smiled, and said, “there’s our little lost boy – tucked in snug with his brother, just as he should be!” She threw away her gloves, patted Sookie’s tummy, and then checked her eyes, ears, tongue and fingernails, ending with a listen to her heart and lungs and a check on her blood pressure. “Alright, Sookie, let’s test your instincts. What am I going to tell you?”
“The baby is safe for now, I need more rest and my blood pressure is too high.”
“Very good. Anything else?”
“I need real blood now that there are two of them.”
“Yes, you do. Is Northman serving RM at the wedding?”
“I don’t know what that is…”
“Alright, when he awakes, you have him call me and we’ll see what we have to do to supplement your diet. Carrying one extraordinary baby was going to be a strain. Two of them will be quite a challenge. Try not to over do it at the wedding, and you get lots of rest before and after,” she shook her finger at Sookie and disappeared.
“I wish she wouldn’t do that,” Sookie said with a laugh.
“Yeah, it’s a bit unsettling to have someone disappear in the middle of a conversation,” Bobbie agreed. “So – swim, massage, dinner, then I think you should spend a quiet night in bed.”
“But…”
“No “buts,” Sookie. We have to consider this a pregnancy with complications now – a multiple plus high blood pressure is nothing to screw around with. You’re having company the next two nights then we’re shopping Wednesday, and you know you’re not going to sleep well Friday night.”
“I’d better get some sleep Friday – I don’t want dark circles that day!”
“Get your rest now, Hon. Let’s go get some sun!” Bobbie took the tray away so Sookie could get up.
“Great idea!” Sookie jumped up, but she was a little wobbly. Bobbie took her arm and helped her steady herself.
“Are you sure you’re up to the pool today, Sookie?”
“Yeah, I just got up too fast.”
“Alright, I’ll take the blood pressure cuff with us and we’ll monitor every hour or so.”
“OK,” she yawned.
Bobbie had a feeling that getting Sookie to relax that night was going to be easy. As hard as Sookie was trying to act as if nothing was wrong, she was visibly tired. Bobbie only let her float in the pool for an hour before she suggested they do some gentle exercises followed by a very complete massage. Sookie fell asleep on the table, lying on her side, stirring only when Bobbie helped her shift to the other side. Bobbie didn’t want her on her stomach with two babies in there now. She had no idea how they’d “settle in” together as it was, so she was going to make sure Sookie was very careful from this point forward.
When Bobbie was done she talked Sookie into watching a little TV in the den until dinner was ready. They decided to watch Judge Judy, but Sookie was asleep before the first commercial break. Bobbie covered her with a small blue throw, then she, Margaret and Alicia agreed to let her sleep until Eric arose, since she was having grilled fish for dinner and it could be made quickly whenever she was ready to eat.
“Good evening, Ladies.” Eric smiled, coming into the room as the sun went down. “Sookie is asleep in the den?” He could feel her in the bond, and knew by this time how it felt when she was sleeping. It made him feel warm and secure when he could feel her relaxation and happiness, especially when she dreamed. He’d never felt anything quite like it, and he was very grateful to have it in his life now.
“We thought we’d let you wake her and see if she wants to eat,” Bobbie explained.
“What kind of day did she have?”
“Quiet,” Bobbie reported, “some time in the pool, gentle exercise, a long massage. Dr. Ludwig checked her out this morning and wants her to get a lot of rest. I told her I think she should take it easy tonight since she’ll be busy the rest of the week.”
“Her Grandmother and Amelia are still planning to visit?”
“Yes, and we’re supposed to go shopping Wednesday.”
“I’m not convinced that is a good idea, but we’ll see how she feels then. Is her dinner ready, Margaret?”
“I’ll finish it as soon as you let me know she’s ready.”
“Alright, I’ll go check on her now. Bobbie, I’ll call you if we need you.”
“OK, great. I’m pretty sure Dr. Ludwig wanted to talk to you. Something about RM, whatever that is.”
“Alright, I think I know what that’s about. I’ll call her later.”
Bobbie had Margaret finish her plate and took it up to her room, where she had some reading she wanted to do. She needed to brush up on the symptoms of preeclampsia so she could explain it to Sookie. She had a feeling the blood pressure issue would get worse as the pregnancy progressed.
“Sookie, my Angel, wake up,” Eric said softly as he knelt next to her on the couch, admiring how pretty she looked still wrapped in the sheets from her massage.
Sookie stirred a little, smiling and blinking at him sleepily. “I keep falling asleep!”
He laughed softly and brushed her hair away from her face. “Sleep is good in your condition. I want you to sleep whenever you can.”
“Don’t let me get boring.”
“You will never bore me, Sookie, I can promise you that.”
“You always say the right thing,” she sighed and yawned as he watched her, fascinated by the way the light danced on her hair, and how soft her skin felt as he stroked her cheek.
“Can you eat dinner now, Sweetheart?”
“Yeah, I think so – what am I having?”
“Some sort of fish, apparently.” He smiled and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her into the kitchen. “Margaret, Sookie is ready to eat her dinner, then she’s going to bed.”
“All by my self?” She pouted playfully at him as he sat her in her usual spot.
“Of course not. I’m going with you so we can keep each other company. It’s a treat for me to have a warm girl in my own bed, you know. I had no idea how much I needed that until I found you. Now that I know how it feels, I wonder how I ever lived without it,” he teased her and made her giggle. He was saying it in a silly, exaggerated way, but he was serious, too, and Sookie knew it. She let him feed her dinner, not because she was that tired, but because she could tell it gave him pleasure to do it, especially the big piece of chocolate cake Margaret left her with as she and Alicia left for the day. Eric was giving Sookie big bites of the cake that she was washing down with a wonderfully cold glass of whole organic milk, rolling it around her mouth to bring the flavor out of the creamy chocolate frosting. When she finished, Eric put her dish in the sink and carried her up the stairs.
“Hey, we could soak in the tub…” she suggested as they passed the second floor.
“I think it would be better for you to go straight to bed.”
“Are we going to fool around?” she asked hopefully.
“Probably not. I’m going to call Dr. Ludwig, then we’ll decide about that, alright?” he smiled at her as he sat her down gently on the bed.
“She’s going to tell you I need real blood since there are two babies,” Sookie told him as he helped her out of the white sheets, “but will I be able to drink it? It’s not safe, is it?”
“Bobbie said she mentioned RM – did she explain what that is?” He helped her turn down the bed and crawl in, then sat on his side next to her.
“No, but she thought you’d be ordering it for the wedding.”
“Yes, there will be about 10 cases for the vampires we’ve invited.”
“What about True Blood?”
“That’s synthetic blood. I can’t serve that to the Queen and her party. They’ll be expecting RM.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.
“What’s RM stand for?”
“The Real Meal. It’s a filtered blood product. It’s real human blood that has been pasteurized and screened for any diseases or impurities. They make it safe for humans who are in long term relationships with Vampires, or prostitutes who specialize in them, too.”
“How come I never heard of it?”
“You’re not a Vampire. Very few humans know of it. Some of it is labeled in such a way as to disguise what it is. We want people to think we can survive with synth blood.”
“You can’t?”
“An older vampire like myself could survive well enough on it, but younger vampires need real blood. Don’t tell anyone.”
“Who am I going to tell,” Sookie laughed. “I’m not going to tell Gran about it, Amelia might already know. Bobbie will probably ask, though…”
“Bobbie’s your caretaker so it won’t hurt to explain it to her, since she didn’t seem to know what it is.”
“Why don’t Vamps just tell people they need blood?”
“It would scare them. We needed to come out sooner or later, and when the synth blood was invented, it allowed us to claim we had no need to feed on humans. It makes us seem less threatening.”
“Is drinking bottled blood like that as good as taking it from a live donor?”
“Oh, no – nothing compares to feeding on a living source. It’s a little safer, though, because it has been screened. You never know where a human has been these days,” he laughed, teasing her again.
Sookie laughed, but said, “seriously, though, there is that disease, right? Sino-Aids?”
“Yes, there is. That’s the main reason the product was developed, but since they knew certain humans would need it as a supplement, they test it for all strains of HIV and hepatitis, et cetera,” he explained as he pulled Ludwig’s number up on his cell phone.
“Northman?”
“Yes, Doctor. I hear you wanted to speak to me?”
“Yes, I think you need to try giving your little fiancée RM instead of True Blood now that she’s carrying twins. She needs to gain a little weight as it is, and the babies will grow rapidly in the coming month. We need to give her every possible advantage so we have two healthy babies and a healthy mama at the end of the process. Your wedding is Saturday, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Does she have anything strenuous planned to get ready for it?”
“I believe they’re going to shop at one of the local malls Wednesday.”
“Alright, I’ll have a wheel chair with automatic controls delivered tomorrow. She’s to stay in it as much as possible and I don’t want to hear any sass about it. You be firm with her – the survival of your children and your wife have to come first, you understand me?”
“Yes, Doctor, I do.”
“Alright, let her try the RM at the wedding and let me know immediately if she’s unable to drink it. If she is able, start her on two a day and we’ll go from there.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“I’ll probably see you at the wedding, but I’m not sure of it. If not, I’ll certainly talk to you after,” she said as she hung up.
“She’s going to send a wheel chair for you to use on Wednesday,” Eric told her as he ended the call and laid his iPhone on his nightstand.
“Is that really necessary?” Sookie wrinkled her nose, not liking the idea at all.
“The doctor thinks it is, so you do as she says. She said she didn’t want to hear any sass about it – your life and the lives of the boys are at stake, so you stay in the chair as much as you can.”
“Well, if you put it that way…”
“That is the way it is, Sookie,” he said firmly, looking her right in the eye. “You need to appreciate the gravity of the situation.”
“Gravity? It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Your doctor, who knows more about this than either of us, says it is. I don’t want any argument about this, and I’ll tell Bobbie and Alicia to make sure you follow her orders, so don’t put them in a position of disobeying me to accommodate you.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t be fair to them…”
“No, indeed.”
“Hey, are we having a honeymoon?”
“That will be a surprise, my Angel,” he kissed her on the nose and made her giggle. He stood and undressed, smiling to himself that she was yawning as he hung up his shirt and jeans. He slipped back into bed next to her, wrapping her in his strong arms and kissing her hair as she snuggled into him. “Did I ever tell you about the time I explored a pyramid, Sookie?”
“No! You did, for real?”
“Oh, yes, I was with the Carter Expedition that opened King Tut’s tomb. I was in Egypt on business when I heard what they were doing and I offered my services to keep the expedtion working ’round the clock. Carter jumped at the chance, because they were rapidly running out of funds and time. I was able to do more at night than their entire crew in the daytime, and I had the advantage of needing neither air nor light as I worked in the tunnel. Both Carter and Lord Carnarvon suspected there was something strange about me and the speed with which I worked as they slept, but they were too grateful to question me openly. I lead them down the night before they were about to announce that the tomb had been opened, so they were the first to see inside the tomb for thousands of years…”
He stopped as Sookie let out a sigh and gave herself over to sleep. He had work to do, but he indulged himself by staying with her, his hand over her womb, sending love to his sons as they slept within her.
The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit – Sir Thomas Malory
Entitlement Chapter 017
Part 17 Such Pure and Immaculate Strength
[Corresponds to LATE Chapter 100]
“Sookie! Sookie!”
Sookie opened her eyes and was sitting in the big chair again, but it felt like afternoon this time because the sun was bright and warm.
“Sookie!”
She heard her name and stood to look back beyond the shore where she stood and she saw a beautiful blonde woman in a long white dress walking over a hill coming toward her and waving. As She drew near, Sookie noticed that She was wearing a rosary around her neck that was just like the one around Sookie’s neck. The Woman was tall and beautiful, with porcelain skin and flowing hair that ended below her hips. She was smiling brilliantly and walked right up Sookie and kissed her on the lips, wrapping Her arms around her.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Dearest!”
“Thanks – are you Freyja?”
“Of course, Sookie, you know Me!”
“Yeah, I do! I’ve seen you before!” Sookie suddenly flashed back on seeing this blonde woman who smelled like roses when she was a little girl.
“Yes, you were very small, then, but I used to visit you when you’d cry yourself to sleep and sing to you.”
“I thought those were dreams!”
“They were, and they weren’t, just like now.”
“I have so many things I want to ask you…”
“All in good time, Dear Girl. There isn’t time today – you have to do Me a favor!”
“What can I do for you?” Sookie couldn’t think of any way she might help a Goddess.
“You have to take this to Sookie!” She laughed as She pulled the rosary over Her head. “Tell her the other rosary needs to stay in Elfyria.”
“But I’m Sookie!” She blinked with surprise, but suddenly Sookie was near the water, the chair was gone, and she saw a woman dressed just like her holding a baby. Sookie gasped as she realized she was looking at herself!
The Other Sookie turned to look at her, looking as confused as she.
“Who are you?” The Other Sookie asked, not wanting to scare the apparition, or whatever she was seeing, away.
“I’m Sookie Stackhouse, but I think I’m you,” Sookie said, a little scared and a little cautious, but also fascinated.
“I’m Sookie Northman now,” The Other Sookie said with a soft smile, suddenly feeling the urge to protect the girl in front of her.
“What year is it?” Sookie suddenly became excited that she knew what was happening. “I live in 2006.”
“It’s 2009 where I am.”
“Is that my baby? Eric’s baby?” The girl touched her own stomach, which The Other Sookie noticed was just starting to form the familiar bubble.
“One of them. They’re twins, you know, don’t let anybody tell you different.”
“Twins! Eric will be thrilled!”
“Yes, he will,” The Other Sookie beamed at her, the way she held the baby reminding Sookie of “Madonna and Child” images she’d seen.
“Are we still happy and in love?” Sookie asked hopefully.
“More than ever,” The Other Sookie smiled, walking closer so Sookie could see the baby, “This is Eric Auberon. His brother is Eric Alexander.”
Sookie looked at the baby closely, but both Sookies were instinctively afraid to touch. Eric Auberon looked at Sookie with big blue eyes, giving her a big smile and saying, “Mama!” Sookie’s eyes welled up as she said, “he has Eric’s eyes! He’s so beautiful – is he vampire or Fae?”
“This one’s Fae, but there’s one of each, and Sookie, never trust Niall. He’ll try to keep the Fae child if you’re not careful. Ask Freyja to help you keep them together!”
“Freyja! She told me to give this to you,” Sookie held out the Goddess rosary beads she and Bobbie had made.
The Other Sookie reached for them, but there was a shimmer of light and the identical string Freyja had given her was now hanging from The Other Sookie’s hand. “Freyja said to tell you that the others need to stay in…what was that name?”
“Elfyria?”
“Yes, the other rosary beads have to stay there, but She said to give you these.”
“Where did they come from?” Sookie asked as she looked at the beads. Aubie was looking them over, too, and playing with them.
“Bobbie and I made them of materials that Freyja likes – rubies, garnets, copper, rose quartz,” she listed all she could remember.
“You know Bobbie? In 2006? And you’re already pregnant?”
“Yeah, Eric and I just clicked and before we knew what hit us, we were bonded and expecting Baby E in just a week or so!”
The Other Sookie’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Sookie, this is important – did you ever sleep with Bill Compton?”
“No, thank Goddess! Eric got me away from him before we got that close. He was just trying to recruit me for his Queen!”
The Other Sookie closed her eyes and said, “Thank you, Goddess!” and promptly disappeared.
Sookie was standing alone on the shore, stunned, her mind swirling from her conversation with her older self. Two babies? The chair was suddenly next to her so she sat down and put her hand over her tummy. She closed her eyes and concentrated, but as usual she only saw one tiny baby in there. “Where’s the other one?” She wondered aloud.
“Trapped in the Land of Faerie,” Freyja said from behind her.
Sookie jumped up and faced her, frantic, “how is that possible?”
“He’s in an egg. If nothing changes, Eric Auberon will be born there and Niall will raise him…”
“The one I just saw? NO! He’s my baby! Mine and Eric’s! He should be with us!”
“There’s not much time, but if you work quickly, he can join his brother within your womb.”
“What do I have to do? Just tell me, and I’ll do it!”
“If you want him, you’ll have to go get him.”
“You mean go to Elfyria?”
“Exactly.”
Sookie’s eyes flew open. “NO!” she said as she sat up in bed, startling Bobbie who’d been just about to wake her.
“What happened, Sweetie?”
“My baby! My baby is trapped!” Sookie was frantic, and Bobbie wasn’t sure whether she was still dreaming. She put the breakfast tray on the side table and sat on the bed next to Sookie, trying to calm her.
“Here, Sookie, breathe slowly. Did you have another dream?”
“It wasn’t a dream, I saw Freyja, and another Sookie and one of my babies and She said if I want him, I have to go get him!”
“Go where, Sookie?”
“Elfyria or the Land of Faerie or whatever you call it. Niall has my other baby in an egg and Freyja said there’s not much time if I want him inside me, I have to go get him!”
“You actually saw Freyja?”
“Yes, She kissed me and hugged me and she smells like roses, just like I remember! She had a rosary just like we made and She told me to “give it to Sookie,” but I said, “I’m Sookie,” but then there she was, but she was me three years from now and she had one of my babies, but Freyja said that one is trapped in Elfyria and if I want him I have to go get him!”
“How do you know there are two babies?”
“Sookie 2009 told me they’re twins and not to let anybody tell me different and never to trust Niall because he’d try to keep Eric Auberon if he could…”
“Eric Auberon? That’s the twin’s name?”
“Yes, the one inside me is Eric Alexander. He’s a vampire, but Eric Auberon is Fae. He was so beautiful, Bobbie, you should have seen him. He’s has beautiful blue eyes just like Eric’s and white blonde hair and he looked right at me and called me Mama!”
“OK, let’s look at this logically. You know that Freyja is real now, right?”
“Right, I saw Her and touched Her and smelled Her and spoke to Her.”
“And this other Sookie was definitely you?”
“Yes, but she was older.”
“But she still had the baby?”
“Yes.”
“Shouldn’t he have been, like, three years old?”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t and now that I think about it, he was too small to be able to talk but he did!”
“Have you had any kind of ultrasound to know that you aren’t carrying two babies?”
“No, but I can see him in my mind, and there’s only one. Eric will tell you the same thing.”
“And you said Niall has him?”
“Right,”
“So you can’t ask him for help. Who else do you know who would know about going to Elfyria?”
“I don’t think Amelia will. I don’t know if Eric would or not, but I think he might. Maybe Dr. Ludwig?”
“OK, we have three possible courses of action: 1) We call Amelia and see what she knows. 2) You call Dr. Ludwig and ask her how to get there, or 3) you wait for Eric and see what he suggests.”
“OK, I don’t know what Ludwig’s relationship to Niall is, so I think I should talk to Eric before I do that. The only thing I can do right now is to call Amelia, right?”
“Right, so let’s start there.”
“OK, let me call, her.” Bobbie went around the bed and got the phone from Eric’s nightstand and handed it to her, sitting on his side of the bed facing back so she and Sookie could talk.
Sookie’s hands were shaking a little as she dialed her old phone number.
“Hello?”
“Amelia? It’s Sookie.”
“Hey, Sweetie, what’s up?”
“Are you and Gran still busy today?”
“No, we finished most of the decorations yesterday.”
“OK, I have something really important to talk to you about. Can you come to my house, or maybe meet me and Bobbie somewhere? It’s Witch stuff – really important.”
“I guess, I could. Who’s Bobbie?”
“She’s my new masseuse and personal trainer. She’s a Goddess-worshiper, too.”
“Awesome! Your Grandma has some kind of chicken dinner at her church this afternoon…”
“Oh, yeah, they sell chicken dinners to raise money. Does she need you to help with that?”
“No, she gave me the day off,” Amelia laughed. “She’s already down there.”
“OK, can you come over then? We can all hang out in the pool and talk. Bring everything you have about the Fae.”
“Well, that’s not a lot. Anything I should specifically look for?”
“Yeah, how to get there. I need to go to Elfyria.”
“Yikes. I’m pretty sure I won’t have much, but I’ll call Octavia before I leave and see if she has any expertise in that area. I’ll make sure I bring my Tarot cards, too, in case we need them.”
“OK, we’ll be waiting for you. Wear your bathing suit.”
“Will do.”
“She’s coming over?” Bobbie asked
“Yes, so let’s have breakfast and we’ll swim and talk. I’m pretty sure this is beyond her experience but at least this will break the day up while I wait for Eric to wake up. I know I need to talk to him. You and Amelia can keep me from climbing the walls until sundown.”
“Well, that’s something at least,” Bobbie tried to be positive as she went back around the bed and put the tray over Sookie’s lap.
“Oh, cool – salmon!” Sookie said, feeling little more grounded now that she’d done something, even if it wasn’t much. “At least I know what I’ll look like in three years,” she tried to joke about it. Something in her knew she had to wait for Eric, and she also knew that come hell or high water, she was going to get her baby.
“Did you look the same?”
“No, a lot better. My hair was longer and blonder, I was in great shape and my skin was glowing and perfect. I guess living with Eric and having babies agrees with me.”
“Did you seem happy?”
“I seemed… what’s that word that they always use about the way Mary smiles at Jesus in almost every painting of them?” She asked as she piled up salmon on a bagel spread thickly with cream cheese and topped it with another to make a sandwich.
“Beatific?”
“Yeah, like that. There was a glow about her and the baby, and he was just the prettiest baby I’ve ever seen!” Sookie took a huge bite of the sandwich.
“So you’ll have two gorgeous babies? Nothing wrong with that!”
“Yeah. I wonder why one made it and the other didn’t?” She said with her mouth full. Suddenly, she was starving.
“What does your intuition tell you?”
“Somebody wanted it that way, but it’s not the way it’s supposed to be,” she said without even thinking, then she took a big swig of grape juice.
“Could that be Niall?”
“Yeah, but it’s not.” She looked up in the air for a second then said, “opportunistic… Niall is being opportunistic. Like, something went wrong, but the way it went wrong benefits him, so he did nothing to fix it.” She took another big bite of bagel.
“Interesting. Could he have fixed it?”
“Yeah, but he won’t – he’s better off this way.”
“Is the baby better off this way?”
“NO WAY! He’s being… cheated. Yeah, he’s being cheated out of something, like, not just being in me and having Eric for a daddy, but something more tangible. Niall is taking something away from him this way.”
“OK, I want you to write that down, and describe everything that happened in your dream.”
“I need a better word than “dream” for these spells,” she said between bites, “they’re way too real to be dreams.”
“Visions, maybe?”
“No, it’s more than seeing…”
“Visitations?”
“Visitations…?” Sookie considered. “Yeah, I like that. Visitations!” She finished her bagel and let Bobbie set the tray aside.
“OK, write everything you can remember about your visitation, then we’ll head for the pool.”
“Actually, let’s go on down and I’ll write by the pool. I need some air, or I’m going to flip out.”
“OK, put your suit on and I’ll meet you down there.”
“Good,” Sookie threw her steno pad on the bed and headed for the dresser, finding a brand new pink floral bikini that she really liked, and she grabbed one of Eric’s white shirts from the closet. Her tote bag was already packed except for her steno pad and her iPod, which she found in Eric’s office in a thing that turned out to be a charging station on the inside wall. She put her hair in a ponytail, grabbed the steno pad from the bed and bounced down the stairs, muttering to herself that he was her baby and she was bringing him home, no matter what.
“Hey, Margaret! Hey, Alicia!”
“Good morning, Miss Sookie!” Margaret said with surprise.
“Good Morning!” Alicia laughed, knowing Sookie was headed for the pool.
“My friend Amelia is on her way over in a bit. Will you show her out to the pool when she gets here, please?”
“Sure, we will. Have fun!” Alicia told her.
Sookie felt better the minute she stepped out of the house. She pulled her shirt off and sat in a chair by one of the tables under an umbrella and pulled out her steno pad and pen. She tried to remember everything that happened that morning, writing it all down as clearly as she could, knowing Eric would read it when he got up. She thought she covered it pretty thoroughly, but she must not have written long because Bobbie wasn’t even down there yet, but she closed the pad and headed for the rack full of pool toys. She grabbed her favorite pink mattress and jumped into the pool at the side, letting out a whoop as she hit the cold water. She managed to get up on the mattress and lean back, letting the sun warm her tummy. She was never really sure what happened next.
“Sookie? Can you hear me?” Sookie tried to reply to Freyja’s voice, but she couldn’t lift her head. “It’s almost time, dearest! Be ready!”
“Sookie? Sookie, wake up!” Amelia called as she waded into the pool and Bobbie pushed the mattress Sookie was lying on up to the shallow end, still trying to wake Sookie up. Bobbie checked her pulse, which felt normal, and Sookie was warm and her hair was dry, so she didn’t seem as if she’d been in the water.
“She’s warm, her pulse is normal, she’s breathing. Thank Goddess she didn’t roll into the water,” Bobbie said with relief. “She hasn’t been out here that long. I don’t know what could have happened.”
“Do you think we can lift her and get her over to a lounge chair without dropping her?”
“I could get Leroy to move her…”
“Go get him. I’ll stay here,” Amelia urged her.
Bobbie went up the steps and ran to the servant’s quarters where Leroy was working on a bug sprayer. “Leroy, Sookie is in the pool and we can’t wake her up. Could you come lift her out of the pool for us?”
“Sure, Ma’am.” Leroy jumped up and followed Bobbie back out to the pool. He saw the situation, so he kicked off his workboots and pulled his pant legs up, walking into the water and scooping Sookie up off the mattress. Bobbie and Amelia directed him to the closest lounge chair and he put her down gently. “You want me to call an ambulance, Miss Bobbie?”
“No, that’s OK, Leroy, we’ll take it from here. Thanks for your help.”
He shrugged and picked up his boots, heading back to continue fixing the sprayer. “Holler if you all need me again.”
“OK, there’s nothing physically wrong, and it’s Sookie, so let’s think magickal. What happened this morning?” Amelia asked, stroking her forehead and her cheek to test her temperature. She felt normal and her complexion looked rosy.
“She met Freyja, she met an older version of herself and one of the babies and Freyja told her that one of her babies is trapped in Elfyria and if she wants to have him “in her” she has to go get him.”
“Holy shit,” Amelia said softly.
“Yep. What did you find out about going to Faerie?”
“All I could find was some folklore that said it’s not hard to get there, but you have to know where to get there.”
“Your teacher didn’t know what to do?”
“She thinks Eric will know how to get there.”
“Sookie thought so, too. Do you know anything about Dr. Ludwig?” Bobbie asked
“Only her reputation. She’s supposed to be the best.”
“Should we call her?”
“That’s actually not a bad idea. Do you have her number?”
“It’s in Sookie’s phone. Hang on,” Bobbie rushed over to the table where Sookie’s tote was sitting and found her phone inside. “I’ve got it,” she said as she dialed the number. “Hi, Dr. Ludwig? This is Bobbie James. Yes, well, Sookie is unconscious, and we can’t find anything wrong with her, but we can’t wake her up. Yes, the maids and gardeners are around. OK. She’s coming to the front door – I’ll go get her!” Bobbie ran through the house, glad that Margaret and Alicia were nowhere to be seen. She opened the front door and a very plain, normal looking woman wearing a blues smock and pants, like you see in a hospital, was already there. She had a traditional leather doctor’s bag and there was a very normal blue Chevy Impala in the driveway.
“Nice to see you again, Bobbie.”
“Hi, Doctor. She was floating in the pool on an air mattress, but she’s not conscious,” Bobbie explained as they moved back through the house, “she wasn’t in the water, and her pulse and temperature seem normal.”
“Did you check her blood pressure?”
“No, we don’t have a cuff.”
“I’ll leave one with you when I go. Blood pressure might be a challenge with this pregnancy in particular,” Ludwig explained as they arrived at the pool and she opened her bag. She produced a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope, and she had Bobbie use them on her so she could be sure Bobbie knew how to use one correctly. Sookie’s blood pressure turned out to be a little low, so the doctor left instructions to check it at least twice a day from that point forward.
“Doctor, could this have anything to do with Sookie seeing Freyja this morning?” Amelia asked.
“Has she already seen Freyja?” Ludwig said with surprise, “I thought it would be a while before She made an appearance. Any idea what They talked about?”
Amelia and Bobbie looked at each other, not sure if they should tell or not, and Ludwig saw their concern.
“Listen, Ladies, I’m her doctor. Her care and the care of that child are my responsibility. I need to know what is going on with them.”
“Sookie met with an older version of herself and saw one of the babies…” Bobbie began.
“One of the babies?” The doctor didn’t know about this at all.
“The older Sookie told her there were twins, one vampire and one Fae, and that Niall would try to keep the Fae child. Freyja told her he’s in an egg and that if Sookie wants to have him inside her, she has to hurry and go get him.”
“Freyja actually told her to go to Elfyria?”
“Yes.”
“Did She tell her how to do it?”
“No.”
“Don’t let her try it alone. She doesn’t know enough about the Fae to go in there unarmed. If she goes at all, I’d say Northman should be with her.”
“She has no idea how to do it.”
“Northman does, though. He’s been there before.”
“Sookie doesn’t know that.”
“What don’t I know? Ouch!” Sookie opened her eyes as Ludwig was pumping the cuff up again.
“Nice to see you back.” The little doctor checked her pressure and then looked into her eyes. “What do you remember?”
“I remember floating in the pool, and I heard Freyja calling me, but I couldn’t raise my head. She said to be ready because it’s almost time.”
“That’s all?”
“Yeah, but I feel tingly.”
“Tingly? Where? All over?”
“My hands, my head, my chest and especially where the baby is.”
“Does it hurt?”
“No, it’s actually kind of pleasant, like my body is waking up and getting stronger.”
“Are you keeping notes on these things?”
“Yeah, in a steno pad… ” Sookie motioned toward the table but suddenly the steno pad was in her hand, and everyone except the doctor jumped.
Ludwig cackled, “well, now, that’s a step in the right direction! You practice that with small things, and before you know it, you’ll be able to teleport!”
“Teleport?”
“Yes, pop in and out of places the way I do. That’s the easiest way to get to Elfyria, though as I told your Witches here, Northman certainly knows how to get there.”
“He does?”
“Oh, yes, little girl, he’s been there before. I’m sure he’ll tell you about it when the time is right.”
“When the time is right?”
“He’s a thousand years old, my dear. There are things about him that will need some preparation before he’s ready to share and before you’re ready to hear. We’re at the beginning of a long process, so try to be patient and focus on one thing at a time. You’ve got that little one inside you to think about.”
“I’ve got another baby, too, though, and I’m going to bring him home, no matter what it takes.”
“You don’t want to start a war with Niall, Sookie. The ramifications…”
“I don’t care about ramifications. Freyja says he’s keeping one of my children from me. If there’s war over it, HE started it.”
“Alright, well, you’re awake now. You and Northman talk it over and give me a call if you have questions. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon, and practice that new skill.” The doctor was gone.
“Can you guys help me up?” Sookie asked, “I feel kind of wobbly.” Amelia and Bobbie each grabbed an arm and helped her stand. Sookie bent her knees and shook her legs out a little, then she stretched and walked around, shaking out her arms and her hands. “Sorry if I scared you all.”
“We’re just glad you’re OK. Are you still tingling?” Bobbie asked.
“Yeah, but I feel weirdly strong all of a sudden. I mean, my head is swimming but my body feels strong.”
“Maybe you should go in and lie down, Sweetie?” Amelia suggested
“No, I want to float in the pool. You guys will be with me. It’ll be fine – come on!” Before they knew what was happening, Sookie dove into the pool and came up at the other end where her mattress had floated, laying across it. They couldn’t leave her in there alone, so Bobbie grabbed two mattresses while Amelia took off the sundress that she had on over her green tank suit and they followed her into the water.
“So how long was I out?”
“We’re not sure,” Bobbie said, “I came down right after you and looked out, and you were sitting at the table writing in your steno pad. I got a phone call that lasted about 25 or 30 minutes, then Amelia was at the door so we came out together.”
“You were out here on a mattress, but you were completely unresponsive. You scared the crap out of us, Kid. We’re lucky you didn’t slip into the water.”
“Freyja wouldn’t let that happen,” Sookie said with absolute certainty.
“We’d hope not, Sookie, but let’s not test that theory, OK?” Amelia was dead serious, “you don’t get in the pool unless someone is watching you.”
“Bobbie’s with me most of the time. I didn’t get hurt.”
“Just be cautious, Sookie. Even if nothing happened to you, you have to think of the baby.”
“I’m thinking of nothing else, believe me. I’m aware of him all the time.”
“Literally?”
“Yeah, especially when he’s awake. He reacts to my thoughts, too.”
“Are you sure?” Amelia thought maybe it was Sookie’s imagination.
“Definitely. He reacts to Eric’s, too, if he touches my tummy.”
“Do you think he’ll be able to hear vampires?” Amelia asked.
“We probably won’t know that until he’s born,” Sookie mused, “but I know Eric had his hand on my tummy thinking “kick” and the baby responded. If he thought “kick, kick,” the baby kicked twice.”
“How do you know what he was thinking?”
“I can hear him, sometimes.”
“You can hear vampires now?”
“I don’t know- I can hear Eric, sometimes, but I think it’s through the bond.”
“Does a blood bond work that way?”
“I don’t know if they do normally or not, but ours works that way. Of course, I won’t know for sure until I’m around other vampires.”
“Excuse me, Miss Sookie?” Margaret came out the back door, “will Miss Amelia be staying for dinner?”
“Oh, no, thanks, Margaret –I’ll be leaving before then,” Amelia answered for her.
“Are you sure, Amelia? You just got here?” Sookie had assumed she’d stay.
“Your Grandma and I were planning to spend Tuesday and Wednesday nights here, so I’ll go home tonight and let you and Eric talk. You can call if you need me, but I have a feeling Eric is the one that’s going to have the answers you need. We’re all going shopping Wednesday, remember?”
“Oh, I forgot! You’ll come with us, right, Bobbie?”
“Sure, if you want me to.”
“Good, you can drive. We’re going to pick up some last minute things for the wedding and have lunch and all. Speaking of which, Friday, I’m spending the night at Gran’s so Eric doesn’t see me before the ceremony. You can come with me, if you want to and we’ll have a slumber party. Amelia is going to teach me to read cards!”
“Ooh – fun. What deck do you use, Amelia?”
“The Connolly Tarot – have you heard of it?”
“No, that’s one of the new ones, right? I’m looking for a new deck. I’ve been using The Mythical Goddess Tarot for myself, but it’s more for communing with the Goddess, not for predicting for other people.”
“My teacher insisted I use the Connolly – it’s the only one she’ll teach with. I was trying to use a Renaissance Tarot, but it was hard to get a positive reading with them. I’ll be ordering a deck for Sookie, you want me to get you one, too?”
“Please! I want to see what she likes about it.”
Amelia was on her way back to Bon Temps and Sookie and Bobbie had finished her massage, changed their clothing and they were enjoying some turkey cutlets in a parmesan crust and some green beans with almonds when Eric came up the stairs.
“Good evening, Ladies!”
“Eric!” Sookie jumped up and hugged him as she did every night. He looked amazing in a pair of faded jeans, a blue dress shirt that was half-way unbuttoned and his favorite motorcycle boots.
“Mmmm” he purred, “I like this blue dress – we match! Did you have a good day, dear one?”
“We have to talk, it’s really important.”
“Can it wait until you’ve finished your meal? You need your nourishment.”
“OK, but it’s the most important thing in the world!”
Eric almost laughed, but he could feel that she was completely serious. He sat with her while she finished and they said goodnight to Margaret and Alicia as they started the dishwasher and went home for the evening.
After they were out the door, Bobbie said, “I’m going to go to my room, Sookie, so you guys can talk. Call me if you need me. Good luck!” Bobbie said as she took a slice of pecan pie and glass of sweet tea and rode the elevator up to her room.
“Alright, Sookie, what is so important?” Eric asked with concern.
“I met Freyja this morning…”
“Wonderful!”
“But Eric, She said there are supposed to be two babies!”
“Sookie, you know there is only one…”
“Listen,” she said with such urgency it shocked him, “whatever Niall did, something went wrong. There’s a second baby, in an egg, and Niall is planning to keep him and raise him. Freyja said if I want to have him in my womb with Eric Alexander, I have to go get him soon!”
“Eric Alexander?” Eric loved that name, but hadn’t told Sookie about it yet. He wouldn’t realize that until later when he had a moment to think.
“Yes, the one inside me is Eric Alexander and the other one is Eric Auberon, but Eric Auberon is in Elfyria or the land of Faerie or whatever.”
“Sookie, how you know all of this?”
“Freyja and Sookie 2009 told me…”
“What? Sookie…” he was concerned that she sounded delusional now.
“Here, read my notes from today while I get a piece of pie.” Sookie opened her steno pad to the right page and handed to him, then got herself a piece of pecan pie and squirted several mounds of whipped cream on top of it, then brought it back to the table and ate quickly while he read.
“Sookie, the child in Faerie is Fae?”
“Yes, and the one I’m carrying, Eric Alexander, is vampire.”
Eric hesitated for a minute. How could he say this without upsetting her?
“Don’t you dare say it, Eric Northman, I mean it!” She had never been more serious in her life and he was shocked she spoke to him that way.
“Say what?” Was she reading his mind again?
“That we should leave him there. If those words come out of your mouth, I’ll never forgive you!”
“Sookie…”
“They’re both our babies, Eric!” She was adamant and wasn’t going to hear any argument. He wondered if she’d already thought of this, because she had all her arguments ready. “Freyja wants him with us or She wouldn’t have told me about him!”
“That is true…” he had to consider that seriously. He had expected Freyja to contact Sookie, and he knew She’d only tell Sookie the truth, but this idea was too strange to have prepared for. He was completely taken by surprise and that was a very rare feeling for him. It was disorienting.
“Eric, I saw him! He’s the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen! He has white blonde hair and your blue eyes, and even that little cleft in his chin!” She smiled and tapped his chin as she spoke and he could only think of how beautiful she was as she beamed at him.
He leaned forward, pressed his forehead to hers and smiled, closing his eyes and trying to picture his son for a second as she hugged him, then it flashed through his mind again that this child was Fae!
“He called me “Mama,” Eric!”
She could obviously hear his thoughts and there was nothing else to do so he kissed her – long, hard and deep – and wrapped his arms around her. The last thing in the world that Eric wanted to do was to take Sookie, pregnant with his son, to Elfyria, but he knew it would break her heart if he refused. It might also anger Freyja, and that was no small thing. He also knew full well that if she figured out how to do it, she’d go without him and that wouldn’t be good at all.
“Alright, Sookie, we will go together. It’s much too dangerous for you to try it alone. Eat your pie and let me think of how we want to go about this.”
“Any idea where we’d look for him?”
“I’m sure he’s in Niall’s palace, probably in the room where she did her rituals.”
“Who’s she?”
“Titania H’Eloise – Niall’s wife.”
“The one who was murdered?”
“Assassinated, yes.”
“Did you know her?”
“Yes, I knew her briefly before she died. I’m sure Niall would keep anything as important as this under his own roof while he can.”
“While he can?”
“If he was planning to hide the child, he probably plans to have someone raise him elsewhere but he’d wait until the child is born to be sure nothing goes wrong. You say he is in an egg?”
“Right, that’s what I was told.”
“Is Bobbie the only one who knows about this?”
“No, Amelia knows. She came over but she couldn’t come up with a way to get there. She said some source said it’s not a matter of how to get there but knowing where to get there.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Dr. Ludwig knows, too.”
That shocked Eric. “How would she know?”
Sookie explained how she heard Freyja’s voice and the girls couldn’t wake her.
“She did not discourage you?”
“Well, she said we should talk about it because it might start a war with Niall.”
“That is very true, Sookie. He’s not a person you want to anger.”
“He’s got no business trying to keep our child, Eric. He made this happen, but something went wrong and he could have fixed it but didn’t. I’m the one with the right to be angry.”
“She didn’t make any suggestions how to go about it?”
“She said we could call if we had questions.”
“Anything else?”
“I was supposed to practice this new thing I did, but I don’t know how I did it.”
“What new thing?”
“See that can of whipped cream?”
Eric looked at the island in front of them and saw a can of Reddi-Whip. “Yes?”
“Whipped cream!” Sookie stretched out her hand and the can instantly appeared in it.
“When did you learn this, Sookie?” Now this was good news!
“I was able to do it when they woke me up. I was tingling all over and felt wobbly but really strong, and she asked me if I wrote down my dream and I meant to point at the steno pad, but it appeared in my hand! She said if I practiced I’d be able to teleport like she does.”
“And you just now thought to mention it?”
“Well, yeah, I was more worried about our baby!”
“Sookie, your new skill might make getting him much easier.”
“It might?”
“Yes, we might not have to travel to cross over. If you can teleport, we’re half-way there.”
“How do you get there without it?”
“You need the blood of a fairy and a willow tree with a root that points exactly westward.”
“How much blood?”
“Just a small amount.”
“What do you do with it?”
“You wear it – you smear it on your chest, over your heart, and some on the tree, then follow the root westward.”
“Where do you get the blood?”
“That’s the hard part, usually, but you have fairy blood, so that’s not a problem.”
“I’m only part fairy, though – will it still work?”
“Your blood is distinctly Fae since you are pregnant, but there’s only one way to find out.”
“You’re half fairy – would your blood work?”
“I have no idea. When I went, I didn’t know I had any Fae in me, and I was given the blood to cross over.”
“Who gave you the blood?”
Eric didn’t know what to say, again. It was too early to tell her this part of his life. She’d never understand.
“Tell me you didn’t kill my grandmother!”
“I didn’t, Sookie! I couldn’t!” How did she figure that out?
“You couldn’t? Like, you tried and couldn’t do it?”
“I have always been a warrior, Sookie. I was a mercenary, and I was sent to Elfyria to do a job…”
“Killing my great grandmother?”
“Yes, but when I saw her, I…” His head was swimming – this was too much! It’s too early!
“When were you going to tell me?”
“Eventually, when we’d been together for a while and you understood more about magick and Supe politics.”
“Look, Eric, I met a version of me from 2009 and she obviously just had that baby, and she was shocked that I already knew Bobbie and was already pregnant, PLUS, she was really relieved when I told her I never slept with Bill. I’ve read enough mystery novels to put this together!”
“Then explain it to me, because I am lost.” He was being too honest, again, but what the hell?
“Don’t you get it, Eric? We got it right! That Sookie slept with Bill Compton and somehow that cost her three years of being with you and having our kids. She knows Niall is trying to keep our baby because he tried to keep hers! She didn’t get to give birth to that baby! That’s why Freyja let her come back to see me! So we could get him now, so he can be born from me instead of an egg!”
Eric nodded as he considered her theory. “Yes, that makes sense. It’s what you would do. If there were any way you could set that right, you’d find it and do it, and she did.”
“Alright, so we know we’re on the right track, and we’re getting there three years faster than she did. So even if it feels too soon to tell me about you and my grandmother, just suck it up and tell me like you did about Freyja.”
“Alright. Come into the den.” He stood and pulled her into the other room.
“Why here?”
“It’s just cozier than the kitchen. Sit here with me,” he pulled her onto the couch next to him and wrapped his arms around her. She put her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear, “I love you, Eric. Don’t be afraid. Just tell me the truth.”
“Alright, but stay here in my arms. It makes me feel more grounded.” It flashed through his mind that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d shown such vulnerability.
“OK, who hired you?”
“Niall.”
She looked at him shocked, but bit her tongue so she didn’t scream. “Why would he hire you?”
“Fae are incapable of harming the True Heir to the throne. Niall thought he could not kill her himself, so he hired me.”
“But you’re Fae, so when you tried to kill her, you couldn’t?”
“I didn’t know I was Fae. All I knew was that she was the most beautiful, magickal thing I had ever seen in my life.”
“More than me?”
“No, exactly like you.”
“Did you fall in love with me because I reminded you of her?”
“No, Sookie, I am in love with you in a completely new way. I never thought of her until Niall contacted me. I had apparently succeeded in blocking it all out of my mind. It was very … traumatic.”
“So, did you fall in love with her?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What happened?”
“I stayed to protect her, but I could not taste her food for her. Niall laced her mead with lemon. They were at a banquet, and he made a toast to her beauty, and she drank it before she realized what he’d done.”
“What did you do after she died?”
“I came back, I tried to forget. I never spoke of it until now.”
“Pam doesn’t even know?”
“How could I tell her? No vampire would understand. They’d think me a fool for falling in love with a Faerie Queen. The wars broke out shortly after and my duty was to my vampire territory. I focused on that.”
“Will they think you’re a fool for being in love with me?”
“No, they will envy me for many reasons. Most will only notice your scent and your beauty, and the fact that you are having my child will distract them from everything else. Most would kill to have what I have with you.”
“OK, so when do we go, and how?”
“I’ll have to take a sword. We’ll need to dress in something light because the hallways are white. I’m pretty sure that your blood and your gift will get us there if you anoint me with it and state where you want to go.”
“You mean, like cut myself and put it over your heart?”
“I think so. I wonder if we should call Ludwig first to make sure?”
“No. I don’t know why, but I’m sure she shouldn’t know until after.”
“Here, Sookie, stand over here.” He led her to the center of the room. “I need a katana from the fourth floor. Call it.”
“Katana!” She was holding a long, curved sword in her hands before she realized it, accidentally cutting her hand. As Eric took it from her, Sookie reached into his shirt and pressed her bleeding palm to his chest and said, “Eric Auberon!”
In an instant, they were in a large, cold bedroom of white stone with a fireplace and a table covered with red silk. There was a large canopy bed with dark velvet curtains, and people could be heard moving around in the hall. Eric put his hand over Sookie’s mouth and pulled her around the bed away from the door. “Shh, they might hear us!” he whispered and she clung to him until the sounds in the hall had ceased.
“Eric, where are we? I’ve been here before!”
“This is Titania’s bed chamber.”
“You’ve been here before, too!”
“Yes, I have, and I never expected to be back.”
“Are you angry with me?”
“No, Sookie, I am overwhelmed by you. I feel as if my past and my present are colliding and it is all I can do just to keep up with you. I would have liked more time to prepare.”
“OK, but we’re here. What do we do now?”
“Titania’s ritual room is the most likely place for Niall to keep the egg.”
“Do you know how to get there from here?”
“Yes, it’s in this wing. On the plus side, we won’t need to leave this section of the castle. On the other hand, Niall and Titania always used that room in the evenings. If he’s in the castle, the chances are very great that he’s there. Be warned, Sookie, I am obviously vampire to any Fae that we meet. They’ll try to kill me, so I must kill them. I’ll have no other choice.”
“What about me?”
“They might recognize you, but they might not, too. Stay behind me, and protect your belly, whatever you do. It would be tragic to lose the baby we have trying to get the other we don’t.”
“Yeah, that’s true. OK, I’ll stay behind you and I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Alright. Don’t speak as we move. Just stay behind me and make as little noise as possible.”
“I think I’m glad I’m barefoot.”
“Shhh.” Eric moved silently toward the door and Sookie followed closely behind, standing back so he could open the door to the hallway. They slipped silently into the hallway, and Sookie could tell Eric knew exactly where they were going. They went to the right down a long passageway that dead-ended in a hall that ran perpendicular to it. Sookie was trying to be as quiet as she could, though her stomach was churning. Eric looked back at her with concern.
“Alright?”
“Morning sickness. I never got sick today – until now.”
“If you think you’re going to throw up or faint, tug on my shirt tail.” He led her to the left in the new hallway and they approached a large set of double doors. Eric listened at the door, satisfied that no one was moving within, the scent of tallow burning from candles inside. He moved one door very, very slowly just enough that they could slip inside and he closed it very gently.
Sookie was amazed at the stinging familiarity of the room. It was huge, full of books and scrolls, leather chairs by the fireplace and a long wooden table with a large book on a wooden stand, and things that looked like globes, but with planets and stars, a big crystal ball, and an old fashioned inkwell and a box of quills. In the middle of the floor was a huge gold pentagram and there were huge burning candles stuck on the stone floor all around it. In the center was an oak dais about four foot high set with a huge clear crystal bowl. In the bowl was a blue velvet pillow and there were lights focused on it and a thermometer of all things, clipped to the side of the bowl. Sitting perched on the pillow was a translucent oval, about the size and shape of a lemon, which Sookie suddenly realized had a tiny fetus in it and she lost her dinner on one point of the pentgram.
“Eric, that’s it!” Sookie said a little too loudly, so he motioned for her to be quiet. Eric looked at the way the lights were arranged around the bowl and read the thermometer. “99 degrees, Sookie. It’s set up to keep it at a constant temperature, as if it were in the womb.”
“If we move it and let it cool off, he’ll die!” Sookie didn’t know how she knew that, but she was certain that was the case.
“It came from this direction,” they heard a voice in the hall. “Hide behind the couch, Sookie,” Eric picked her up and deposited her behind a leather sofa to the right side of the hearth, and moved faster than the eye could see to just inside the big doors. Sookie heard him think that he was going to ambush the guards if they came through the door and he was trying desperately to figure out how to maintain a constant temperature on the egg if they moved it. Sookie realized that she really should tell Eric that she could hear his thoughts. It could really come in handy right now. Footsteps were heard in the hallway and Sookie heard Eric think that there were at least four sets of footprints coming this way. Sookie was crouching on the floor, trying to decide how to best protect her belly, when she looked up and noticed five portraits on the great wall facing her. The painting in the center was Sookie! That shocked her and she rose up on her knees just as the guards came through the door.
“Who ar-gh!” The first man started to yell at her but his head was sliced off, then the backstroke cut the man behind him nearly in half. Blood sprayed everywhere as Eric fought the other two, moving almost too quickly to see. Eric tipped a bookshelf to hold off the guards, knowing more were coming to investigate the noise. Eric cut one guard badly and grabbed a curtain to use to parry their blows with his left hand. The long table was tipped as Eric moved behind it and one of the guards cut through the circle of candles to trap him behind. As he moved through the circle, the Fae guard slipped on the vomit and kicked a big candle out of his way, causing on of the lights over the bowl to fall.
“Now, Sookie! Go!” She heard Freyja’s voice and at once Sookie darted out from her hiding place and grabbed the egg just as Eric leapt into the air as both guards moved forward from each side. He somersaulted through the air and landed in front of Sookie, as the guard to the left lost his arm and the other rushed forward screaming
“INTRUDER! INTRUDER!” and the clatter in the hallway grew louder.
“Sookie, the closet behind you – get in!”
Eric wasn’t sure he could hold them all off, but he prayed that at least Sookie might escape injury. Sookie cradled the egg as he closed the door on her, crying, “Freyja, show me what to do!”
“Inside, Sookie! You have to keep it warm!” Sookie saw in her mind what to do and pulled down her panties, slipping the egg up inside her. She pulled her panties back up, feeling a weird cramp as Freyja said “home, Sookie, now!” Sookie burst out of the closet as Eric threw the couch onto the guards, who were slipping and sliding on blood and sick, the bowl and lights crashing to the floor. Sookie dived at Eric’s feet, landing on her knees and wrapping her arms around his legs yelling “HOME!”
There was an explosion of light in the room and Sookie and Eric left a mass of destruction in their wake as Eric’s sword sliced through the neck of the last guard who actually saw them. The explosion in the room destroyed most of the furniture, the large book on the long table the only thing left untouched. No one left alive knew what had happened, or who had been there and there were body parts strewn about the room.
The follow-through from Eric’s sword knocked the lamp off his nightstand, and he stumbled and fell on the bed half in shock, Sookie still ahold of his leg.
“OW!” Sookie doubled over and fell sideways and Eric threw the sword on the floor and knelt next to her.
“Sookie, are you hurt?”
“No, it’s alright. Put me in bed – AAH!”
“What’s happening?”
“He’s going where he belongs,” she said, panting.
“What?”
“Put me in bed, and go get Bobbie, Eric, now!”
He swept her up and put her on the bed, then zipped up the stairs to Bobbie’s room, pounding on the door, “Bobbie! Bobbie!” he opened the door as she was climbing out of bed. “Sookie needs you in our room, hurry!” and he zipped back down at vampire speed, Bobbie running right behind him as fast as she could.
Sookie was panting the way she’d see women do on TV, and Eric was scared to death. “What can I do?”
“Just hold my hand. Where’s Bobbie?”
“I’m here, Sweetie!” she ran into the room wearing nothing but a big t-shirt that said ‘Goddess’ on it, her big black bag on her shoulder, rushing around the bed to Sookie’s side. “What’s happening?”
“Freyja told me to put the egg inside me to keep it warmmmmmhgggh!” She grunted, “he’s going up where he belongs.”
“You think he’s moving up through your cervix into your womb?”
“Exactly – like birth in reverse!” she said as she squeezed Eric’s hand so hard it amazed him.
“Should I call Dr. Ludwig?” Eric offered
“NO! I’m sure of that. Don’t let anyone know until he’s completely in place. They can’t touch him there, but he’s not in there yet.”
“Eric, get me a wet washcloth,” Bobbie told him just to give him something to do, “Sookie, does this feel right? Is this the way it’s supposed to feel?”
“Yes, I’m sure of it. I feel it moving up. Ah! Ah! AhHHHHHH! Ungh!” there was one last push and a sudden slipping into place. Sookie collapsed backwards, breathing very hard.
“Sweetie, try to slow your breathing, in through your nose, out through your mouth,”
“I think it’s done!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, he’s in there,” Sookie said, exhausted, covered with sweat.
Eric handed her the washcloth and Bobbie put it on Sookie’s forehead.
“Sookie, one of us should make sure you’re not bleeding, or better, have the doctor do it…” Bobbie suggested. On one hand, she trusted Sookie’s intuition, but someone needed to be sure it was the second baby going in rather than the first baby coming out.
“You do it, Bobbie, I’m sure it’s alright now.”
“Alright, Sweetie, keep breathing.” Bobbie pulled a couple of plastic gloves out of a package in her bag and put them on as Eric helped Sookie out of her panties, leaning on the bed beside her. Sookie held her legs up and back and let Bobbie slip her fingers inside, pressing lightly on her uterus, which felt firm and fine. She felt something odd and pulled out an empty jelly-like shell that reminded Bobbie of a vitamin E capsule that had been pierced and squeezed empty. “What’s this?”
“That’s the outside of the egg. I need to keep that!”
“What do you want to do with it?” Bobbie was following Sookie’s lead right now because this was completely unknown territory.
“See if I’ve got a pair of silk panties in my drawer.”
Eric got up and looked in the top left dresser drawer. “These seem to be silk, I think?”
“No, those are nylon. Silk will probably be really bright colors.”
He found a tiny pair in a floral pattern of jewel tones and showed it to the girls.
“That looks right,” Bobbie said and reached for them, looking at the tag that said “100% silk.”
“Here, give me the panties and the shell.” Sookie asked, and Bobbie gave them to her.
Sookie blessed the empty shell, saying, “Thank you, Freyja!” kissing it, and wrapping it in the panties, then carefully tucking it into the bottom drawer of her nightstand.
“Eric, make me a promise!”
“What is that, my Angel?” He’d never called Sookie that before, and it made Sookie blush with love.
“Get me a really special box to keep that in – something I can keep forever?”
Tears welled in Eric’s eyes. “Of course, I will, Sookie, so we never forget that we fought for our child.” He kissed her hard and she rolled in his arms. Bobbie quietly dropped the rubber gloves in the trash, picked up her bag and quietly closed the door behind her, leaving the whole family to revel in their blood bond, feeling whole in an entirely new way.
The tie which links mother and child is of such pure and immaculate strength as to be never violated. ~Washington Irving
Entitlement Chapter 016
Part 16 A Rose in Bloom
“See – it’s not my imagination! He reacts to what we’re feeling.”
“You are right, Sookie, that is a distinct feeling separate from either of us.”
“What do you do when a baby is tapped into a blood bond?”
Eric spoke as he was kissing her neck and shoulders. “There may never have been a baby in a blood bond, Sookie.”
“He’s telepathic, too, at least where I’m concerned. He’s always going to know what we’re feeling or thinking. How do we have sex when he’s that aware?”
“What do you mean?” He looked at her with surprise.
“We can’t do it if he knows what we’re doing…”
He tried not to laugh. “Of course we can. Children know what their parents are doing at night. I told you, in my lifetime, people slept in one lodge…”
“Yeah, Bobbie said it won’t warp him, but I don’t know if I can do it if I know…”
“Don’t think about it, Sookie,” he nuzzled her neck again, trying to distract her, “just relax and do what comes naturally. It’s good for him to know his parents are in love.” He slipped his fingers between her legs and her eyes rolled back in her head a bit. “Look how happy he got when I tickled you. He obviously loves it when we enjoy each other.”
Sookie still tried to talk, though it wasn’t easy with his fingers probing her. “He must be really smart, right? To… to understand what’s going on?”
“I’m sure he’s very smart, but he only needs to feel what we are feeling to react. If we are happy, he is happy.” Eric began to suck her nipple, so she moaned as she spoke.
“Bobbie said he’ll never have the kind of hang-ups about sex and nudity that humans have,” she was determined to talk about this as he pulled one of her wrists above her head and pinned it down.
“Exactly. We are going to raise a healthy, happy, Goddess-worshiping vampire baby,” he said hoarsely as he pinned the other wrist above her and spread her legs with his knees, balancing himself effortlessly in a way no human man could.
“He might be more Fae than vampire…”
“He will be vampire, trust me.” Eric emphasized the last two words by sliding into her forcefully and she finally stopped talking, She was overcome by a wave of sensation then, and he released her wrists. She was frantic in the best way, wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling his forehead against hers as he took her aggressively. She loved this. It flashed through her mind that the baby would love it, too, and shocked herself a bit, but it didn’t last long. Almost as if Eric could read her mind, the minute that thought hit her, he bit her neck and she started to come instantly. She heard Eric think that she was beginning to be conditioned to climax from his bites and she knew he was very pleased with that development. She laughed as it occurred to her that she didn’t mind it one bit, either, and Eric laughed, but then redoubled his efforts to focus her attention between her legs.
A picture flashed through Sookie’s mind that she wished he’d do her doggie style and before she registered the thought she was flipped over on her stomach and pulled up on her knees. Was he reading her mind? She’d have to think about it later because right now all she could do was grab the edge of the mattress and hold on. Eric slammed her at vampire speed, something he’d only done a few times, and she began to come again. As she did, he pulled her upright, still on her knees, and bit her shoulder, but not hard enough to break the skin, and squeezed her breasts hard then yanked the nipples. It all happened so quickly that she had trouble remembering the whole thing later – all she could remember is that her orgasm was like an explosion in her body and brain. In the distance she heard Eric howl as he finished and she felt like a ragdoll as he let her back down on the mattress with her back to him.
He lay behind her laughing softly.
When Sookie could speak again, she asked “is he actually cheering?”
Eric laughed loudly then, “yes, he is. My son, the Viking warrior! There is nothing like a good fuck or a good fight!”
“Oh. My. Goddess!”
“Look at it this way, Sookie – at least you know he is not disturbed by it when we fuck. He knows we’re having fun and enjoys the energy.”
“Oh, man – if he’s like you when he hits puberty, they’ll have to lock up every girl in the state to keep him away from them,” Sookie laughed.
“Of course he will be like his father. That is a part of the magick. And you are his mother, so I think it’s safe to say that he will have an active sex drive.”
“There won’t be any other kids like him, though.”
“There will be a whole world of vampiresses, humans, Fairies, probably even Weres and Shifters who will offer themselves to him. He will be more famous than a rock star.”
“I hope he doesn’t grow up to be a geek who wants nothing to do with fighting or girls…”
“I told you, Sookie, I saw him. He’ll be magnificent.”
Sookie cracked up, “I know, I was just teasing you. He has to be pretty special if all these powerful people have gone to such lengths to get him here.”
Eric turned to face her and she rolled over. “So you believe me, now?”
“I always did. I’m kind of enjoying the idea that my baby is going to be a big, gorgeous badass like his daddy. It’s the next best thing to having you cloned, and there just aren’t enough hot vampire Sheriffs like you to go around,” she cracked up again.
“You’re getting silly,” he said with delight, stroking her cheek.
“I always feel a little giddy after we do it, you know, it’s such a high!”
He kissed her, then kissed her again and took her in his arms. “My Sookie. It doesn’t seem possible, but you get prettier every day. When I see you for the first time every night, it’s like I’m seeing you for the first time, and I’m shocked by your beauty.”
Sookie laughed. “I feel the same way about you. I mean, when we’re apart, I know you’re gorgeous, but then when I see you again, it’s like DAMN! He’s gorgeous!”
Eric laughed at that and hugged her. “You know, I have laughed more since I met you than I have in the century before. I can’t believe how much brighter my world is with you in it.”
“Aww – Sweetie!” she teased him and kissed him and hugged his neck tight. He held on a long time until she yawned.
“My Sookie needs to sleep,” he said firmly, pressing his forehead gently against hers and looking her in the eye.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m still a little hungry, though.”
“Is there food up here?”
“There should be at least one more meal, but I’ll need that for later. I could into some milk, crackers and peanut butter, though, and a True Blood.”
“Alright, wait right here,” he got up and went around to the little fridge, pulling out a pink plastic covered dish that had a section full of peanut butter, some crackers in another section and some celery in another. There was a note with it that told him to get her a knife and a straw from the basket and use the glass in the door for her milk. Her tray was on top of the little fridge so he set it all up then set it across her lap, opening the True Blood once the tray was in place.
“Wow – now that’s what I call service!”
“We can’t let my son go hungry, now can we?” he joked.
“No, we can’t because he’s a persistent little critter.”
“He is very demanding – he knows what he wants and he knows how to get it, as improbable as that seems,” Eric said proudly as he lay next to her. “I told you, Sookie, my son and I will be selfish. We want all of your attention.”
“Oh, man – wait ’til he’s on the outside and can scream and cry for what he wants.”
“That won’t be necessary – you’ll be right there to see to him. He won’t want for anything.”
“Babies still cry, Eric, even if you’re right with them.”
“Yes, they do, and he will have strong lungs,” Eric laughed, “it will be like a battle cry instead of an infant mewling.”
Sookie just laughed at him. It was so precious how proud he was of the baby already. She couldn’t wait to see them together. “Um – after this, don’t forget to feed me your blood. I think that really helps the baby.”
“It helps you, too, judging from the orgasm is always gives you,” Eric laughed smugly.
“It’s a good thing I love it when you brag about yourself and YOUR SON,” Sookie laughed, “or I wouldn’t be able to take you at times like this.”
“I cannot wait to hold him in my arms, Sookie. To dress him up and take him to Fangtasia with me, take him to see the Queen and present him at Court.”
“What if he’s Fae?”
“He is vampire. Trust me.”
“Alright, if you say so. I just don’t want you to be disappointed or ashamed of him.”
“Sookie, I will never be ashamed of my son,” he said in all seriousness. “He is a part of me and a part of you. No matter how he looks or acts, I will love him as fiercely as any father could.”
Sookie got a little misty at that as she spread peanut butter on another cracker. “You’re going to be a great Daddy. And, I’m going to try like hell to be a good Mommy!”
“You will be, Sookie, I know it. What a lucky boy he will be to wake up to your pretty face, and that big smile, and be held close and suckle at those wonderful breasts. No child could want for more. I can just picture you, sitting on the floor in the den, playing with him, showing him his little toys and teaching him to talk. That reminds me – I need to get a good video camera! I want you to tape him if he’s awake in the day time so I don’t miss a minute of it.”
“OK. You know, I never even thought of that. I just always assumed he’d be awake in the day time.”
“Has the doctor said anything about that?”
“No, not that I remember. Most babies sleep and eat around the clock. You think he might be out for the daylight hours like you are?” Sookie hated that idea.
“You sound disappointed, Sookie.”
“I want him with me in the day time! I don’t want to miss both of you all day!”
“If he keeps vampire hours, Sookie, you could always come over.”
“You mean, become a vampire?”
“Yes. Then he never has to lose his mother.”
“Yeah, I’m going to die like a normal human, right?”
“No, you’ll live pretty much as you are for another 60 years or so – my blood will keep you young and pretty for a very long time. You’ve got lots of time to think about it.”
“I never even considered that. If he’s immortal and I’m not…”
“You’ve got many years to think about it, Sweetheart. Focus on the joy.”
“Right. I’ve got ti-iiiiiIIIIIImMMme – wow! What a yawn!”
“Are you almost finished? You need sleep.”
“OK, let me brush my teeth and I’ll settle down.”
While Sookie did her thing in the bathroom, Eric cleared her tray away and set the dirty dishes on the dresser so Alicia could get them in the morning. He fluffed the pillows and slid into his side, holding the covers back for her when she came back to bed. He put his arm out so she could lay her head on it, and once she was settled, he turned off the light in the headboard. He lay in the dark, listening to her breathing, and when he was sure she was asleep, he put his hand over her womb and closed his eyes. He smiled to himself that it was as if he could “see” the baby floating there, too, just as Sookie said, and he was warm, happy and sucking his tiny thumb. He also got a distinct sense that the baby was aware of him somehow.
‘Kick’ Eric thought and he felt the vibration in Sookie’s stomach.
‘Kick kick.’
Two little bumps.
Eric projected a clear picture of the baby turning, and he could feel the shift in Sookie’s stomach. There was no question – the baby could read Eric’s mind. The question now was whether this telepathy only worked because the baby was tapped into the bond, or would it extend to other vampires? If it did, that was both an advantage and a great danger. As powerful as that could make an adult vampire, if it became known while he was a child and couldn’t control or conceal it, it could put him in danger.
FIGHT!
Eric’s eyes flew open. Eric knew that feeling well – the feeling that a warrior feels when he knows battle is immanent. The feeling that you can’t wait to kick ass on someone who richly deserves it. That feeling that says “come on, fuck with me, see what happens.”
‘My little warrior,’ Eric thought proudly, provoking a wave of happiness from the baby. Eric had to wipe the blood from his eyes as he lay there, communing with his son. At one point, Eric felt the baby’s awareness fade, and he knew his son was sleeping. He lay there a bit longer, stroking Sookie’s stomach with the backs of his fingers, thinking about what it meant to be a father.
He finally realized it was less than 2 hours before dawn and he had work to do, so he made himself get up and get to work. He berated himself for being so reluctant to get out of bed. Leaving them was gut-wrenching, and he was shocked at himself. He wondered if he was getting old, or soft, then had to admit to himself that he was simply in love with his family. For good or ill, he wanted to be with them more than anything – more than he had ever wanted anything in his long life. ‘Might as well get used to it, Erik,” he thought to himself, “this is what happens when you have a family – you care about more than yourself.’ Weakness or not, this was his new reality, and he wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Sookie was on the shore again, sitting on the throne in her black dress, wearing a crown of laurel leaves on her head. The morning sun was warming her as she sat there playing with the beads, chanting one stanza for each of six light pink beads:
Freyja, Frigga, Vanadis,
Wrap me in Your golden bliss
Lady, Lover, Warrior, Mother,
Bless Our love for one another
Wrap me in your Falcon cloak
Let Erik’s love in me invoke
My greatest good; I shall aspire
to manifest all You desire
Sun and Moon, Land and Sea
Let your power flow through me
Wise of mind and pure of heart
From Erik We shall never part
Lady Shining on the Sea,
Awaken magick born in me
With good for all and harming none
Through me now shall Your will be done
Freyja, golden boar and cats,
Let me remember my lives past
To finish work that came before
I’m ready to walk through the Door
Your power is Mine,
Now is the time,
East through North, three times three
You manifest Your dreams through Me.
Then when she got to a dark pink bead she said “Blessed is the Lady, Our Mother and Our World,” and then began the six stanzas over on the next set of six beads. Somehow, Sookie knew there were 13 sets of six beads, and she knew there was another way to use them, too. Sookie felt as if she was there for hours, saying the phrases over and over, until she reached the last bead and opened her eyes.
“Whew – I think I got it all!” Bobbie, who was writing furiously, said.
“Hey, Bobbie – what are you doing?”
“I’m writing down the lines you were chanting. I came in in the middle, but you went through them several times so I’m pretty sure I got it all.”
“You mean that was real?”
“What?”
“I was on the shore in the morning sun, sitting in that big throne or whatever, playing with those beads and saying that poem. It went on and on while I worked my way around the string or loop or whatever.”
“Were you saying the six sayings through, one stanza for each bead?”
“Yeah, but I knew I could do it differently, too.”
“Tell me about that.”
“I could take one stanza and say it 6 times, then do the next one on the next set of 6, and do that twice then do one for each of 6 for the thirteenth group.”
“Awesome! Anything else happen?”
“No, I was just sitting there, saying that poem and playing with the beads.”
“What were you wearing?”
“The black dress.”
“What time was it?”
“The morning sun was warm on me. OH – and I was wearing a crown of laurel leaves, whatever that is. I don’t know how I knew what they were, but I was wearing them.”
“This is so cool, Sookie. This tells us how to make your beads – 13 groups of six, and I guess there’s a bead in between where you say “Blessed is the Lady…”
Sookie joined in and they spoke together “Our Mother and Our World.”
“That’s a neat little way to end a prayer. Did you read it somewhere?”
“No, I never heard it before until I said it in the dream.”
“Those dreams of yours are no joke. I wonder what we’ve already missed. I’m going to come in here early every day like this just in case. This stuff is amazing.”
“Are we going to go to Gran’s today?”
“I’ve got a better idea. Let’s go tomorrow. The bead store is open today, but tomorrow is Sunday and they’ll be closed. While this is fresh in your mind, let’s get going on this rosary.”
“OK, I guess.”
“I’ll call them and see what their hours are.” Bobbie grabbed Sookie’s computer to look for the number and Sookie grabbed the phone off of Eric’s nightstand.
Bobbie was able to find out that the shop was open, but there was a kid’s party going on, though they could still come in if they wanted since it was only two of them working on one piece. Sookie went in to shower while Bobbie got directions and did some research on the computer. At one point, she called in to Sookie, who had just rinsed her hair, “Hey, Sookie, were the beads on a chain or string?”
“Some kind of string. You could see knots in between the beads.”
“What color?”
“Pink, maybe? I’m not sure.”
“Alright, Sweetie, and you said there were small gold beads?”
“No, I got a better look at them this time – the beads were definitely copper.”
“Interesting. Copper is for love Goddesses – that’s a good choice to go with Freyja and with the pink colors.”
Sookie finished and wrapped a towel around herself, continuing the conversation as she combed out her hair. “And I was really saying all that out loud?”
“Yep. It took me a minute to realize that you were asleep, and I just grabbed your steno pad and started writing. I’m so glad it repeated – it took three times through to get it all, then you said it once more so I was able to check it. You woke up right as you said the last “Blessed is Our Lady” phrase.
Sookie laughed a little, “I guess I was done, huh?”
“Apparently. This whole thing is so cool, Sookie. I can’t wait to see the finished product.”
“I never heard of anything like this – have you?”
“I’ve heard of dreams coming true, and people getting answers and ideas from dreams, but a complete design for something like this is pretty rare. I mean, it has happened, but it’s a huge deal when it does.”
“OK, that gives me a little perspective, I guess. It’s not the freakiest thing in the world, but it’s a big deal.”
“Right, and a great gift from the Goddess. People would do almost anything for such direct information.”
“You think I’ll ever get to talk to Her or see Her?”
“Eric thinks you will, so my money says ‘yes.'”
“Why’s he so sure about this stuff? Sometimes I think he knows a lot more than he’s telling me.”
“I’d bet money on that, too. He’s what? Hundreds of years old?”
“Don’t tell anybody, but he’s over a thousand years old.”
“WOW!”
“I know – I can’t even wrap my mind around it. He’s an actual Viking.”
“Yeah,” Bobbie nodded as she looked up in the air, then back at Sookie, “yeah, I can totally see that, his size and the way he carries himself. He’s used to being the biggest, baddest thing on the block.”
“Exactly,” Sookie said as she wiggled into a dark blue dress Alicia laid out for her.
“What a turn-on, huh?” Bobbie laughed
“Yeah, you have no idea. It makes me feel really safe, too. Did I tell you about that vampire party he took me to?” She pulled on a pink thong and slipped on her new navy sandals.
“No! When was this?”
“The same week I found out I was pregnant.” She said as she picked up her navy bag. “Alicia just started and helped me shop for it. Anyway, it was at the Queen of Louisiana’s house in New Orleans.”
“Fancy?” Bobbie asked as they headed downstairs.
“Like an Egyptian palace! Reflecting pools along the walk up to the house, then pale teal green marble with purple and black inlay inside.”
“How many people?”
“Maybe 200, mostly vampires. It was the first time I met Amelia, and my cousin Hadley was there, but there were only one or two other humans besides us.”
“How did they react to you?”
“Everybody looked at me like they were starving. I smell extra sweet to them and Eric said it was rolling off of me because of the baby. Then, when the Queen announced the baby and extended her protection to us, I swear every one of them thought about taking me from Eric, and that’s not conceit, you could see it in their faces.”
“Nobody tried, though, right?”
“No – they’re all afraid of Eric. I’m so glad I wasn’t with Bill. He couldn’t have protected me, I don’t think.”
They had to stop the vamp talk as they went into the kitchen. “‘Morning, ladies!” Sookie said to Alicia and Margaret.
“Miss Sookie! We didn’t know you were up yet!” Alicia was surprised she was already dressed.
“Yeah, instead of going to Gran’s today, we’re going to go to a bead shop in town. Do you have something quick I could get for breakfast before we go, and a True Blood?”
“Of course, Miss,” Margaret smiled at her. “Are you going to make jewelry for the wedding?”
“Why? Can you do that there?” Sookie didn’t know this.
“Oh, yes, bridal jewelry is one of their specialties. You can make it yourself or they’ll make it for you.”
“Oh – that’s nice. Maybe I’ll get a little something for the wedding. I need something to wear in my hair.”
“That would be nice. How would you like salmon and bagels?”
“Awesome. Bobbie you want some?”
“I could eat one, I guess, but only if you’ve got plenty.”
“Not a problem, we’ve got plenty,” Margaret assured her.
The four women all had a pleasant chat about wedding details so Sookie would have it all fresh in her mind when she looked at the bead shop. They never told Alicia and Margaret the real purpose of the trip, just because Sookie didn’t want to explain it all. When breakfast was done they headed out in Sookie’s new BMW.
“You can drive, right, Bobbie?”
“Yeah, you want me to?”
“Yeah, I don’t feel up to it right now.”
“Are you sick?” Bobbie asked as she took the keys and went to the driver’s side door.
“Just a little out of it still.” Sookie said as she slid into the passenger seat. “I feel like I’m not completely awake. I’m not real comfortable driving this thing, either.”
“Don’t you like this car?”
“It’s a little intimidating. I really liked my Camaro, but it didn’t have room for a car seat, plus this one is bullet-proof.”
“Try not to think about it, Hon. Eric is just being overly protective. This is a really nice car. He just wanted the very best for you and the baby.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
They chatted about music on the radio as they drove, and got to the store in about half an hour. The kid’s party was in full swing, a bunch of 12 year old girls squealing and jumping up and down as they picked out their beads and learned how to put them together. Bobbie had been to places like this before, so she grabbed a tray and started counting out the beads that she needed, showing Sookie the various sizes available and doing what Sookie thought was a very good job of recreating the rosary from her dream. Sookie learned that copper spacers and findings are relatively inexpensive, so they were able to use all they wanted without worrying about driving the price up. Bobbie thought it was funny that Sookie still worried about things like that, but they went with it. Ruby beads, on the other hand, were really expensive and the store only carried small ones and not quite enough to use them for the whole string, so they plugged in garnet for the main part of it and just used rubies on the part where the string joined and went down to the pendant. Sookie found a nice Goddess pendant in the “drawing down the moon” position that she found was used quite a bit these days and it had a gorgeous copper color, though Bobbie was less than thrilled that it had a pewter base.
“What’s wrong with pewter?”
“It can’t hold mana.”
“What’s “mana?””
“Life force, chi, a magical charge. Pewter is relatively dead that way, which is a shame because the market is being flooded these days with pewter pentacles and other magical seals. It’s hard to find a decent quality one these days because of all the crap out there.”
“What makes a good pentacle?”
“I’m really picky about mine. They have to be real silver for everyday wear, or gold would work for you since you’re with a vamp, but silver is traditionally worn for protection. They have to have a solid circle around them, and the points of the pentagram have to be inside the circle. Then, they need to be on a real silver chain. These black cords that are showing up everywhere don’t protect anything.”
“And that’s hard to find?”
“You have no idea. There’s so much trash being produced these days and people don’t know any better than to buy it, then they wonder why their magick doesn’t work.”
“I’ve got a lot to learn,” Sookie said absently as she watched Bobbie count out enough small copper spacers to go between every larger bead.”
“How long will it take to put it together?”
“Depends on how nimble my fingers are today, and whether they have equipment to help with tying the knots, but I’m sure they will. That’s the time consuming part – you have to get the knots up close to the beads, and it can take a while. The quality of the string makes a big difference, too. Hopefully they’ll have waxed string so it handles more easily.”
“Do you have to knot it between every bead?”
“Well, the more knots, the longer it will last and then the easier to fix if it were to break. The best quality necklaces, like strings of pearls, are knotted between every bead. I don’t think we should skimp on this.
When Bobbie was sure they had all the components, they sat at a work table and Bobbie showed Sookie how the flocked beading trays helped you lay it all out, though they had to use two because this was going to be a long string. Sookie mostly watched and helped Bobbie, and they had a special little needle thing that helps tie the knots that Bobbie was able to use pretty quickly.
Bobbie talked a little about the properties of the stones as they worked, about how rose quartz was for the heart chakra and good for love magick and love Goddesses, and that garnets created energy but you had to give it direction or they could make you bitchy. The rubies were definite love stones and they were rare, and expensive partially because people believed they had lots of power. She explained that the roundness of the stones would make them feel more sensual than the other shapes – faceted, briolette, oval, coin, tumbled irregular stones, chips, etc. – and she would be more likely to use them if they were smooth. Bobbie was also picky about having natural stones rather than heated ones that were formed from dust and manufactured.
“You should make one for you, Bobbie.”
“I have one, Sweetie, but it’s not divinely inspired the way yours is. I’m fond of it, though. It uses a lot of different stones and beads with real silver spacers between them. I’ll show it to you when we get home. You know, you can buy Goddess rosaries these days, too.”
“What are the purchased ones like?”
“There are several different styles, but the ones that I see most often are thirteen white stones, thirteen red stones and thirteen black stones for the three main kinds of magick.”
“Like, white magick, red magick and black magick?”
“Exactly.”
“Is black magick evil?”
“No, Sweetie, that’s Christian propaganda. The church doesn’t want people taking their spirituality into their own hands. They want you to go through their priests and say novenas instead of casting spells.”
“What is it, then?”
“Black magick just refers to actual ritual or spell work. White magick is art, poetry, writing, drama, anything creative. Red magick has to do with the body – healing, massage, menstruation, childbirth, sex.”
“Which one would cooking be – red or white?”
“Good question. It could be any one of the three, depending on what you were cooking and why.”
“Are there cooking spells?”
“Sure, sweetie, that’s why you always see Witches stirring cauldrons. Cauldrons are also a womb symbol, so that’s another reason they’re associated with the Goddess. The Goddess Cerridwen had a magick cauldron that gave wisdom and inspiration and in some stories it could reanimate slain warriors. It’s also associated with the Holy Grail.”
“I read that book a while back where they were saying that the Holy Grail was Mary Magdalene’s womb – like that?”
“Yeah, all those stories are connected. Bran the Blessed is King Arthur is Jesus is Dionysus is Mithras is Osiris. Those stories were told and retold all over Europe and the Middle East and it’s all somebody’s religion. Most of it got synthesized into what people call Christianity these days.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No, what passes as Christianity these days has little to do with the actual teachings of Jesus. It’s an amalgam of myths that may or may not have some historical basis.”
“Why has it been so successful?”
“Because, unlike most civilizations, it’s practitioners have been willing to commit genocide everywhere they went.”
“That’s like in When God Was a Woman, right?”
“Right.”
“I’ve been thinking about that book a lot lately. That’s why I’m hoping I get to actually see Freyja. If I can see Her and talk to Her, I’ll believe it.”
“Does seeing her in a dream count?”
“If it’s a dream like I’ve been having, yeah. They aren’t like normal dreams. I really feel the ocean and the breeze and the sun on my skin. It’s like actually being there until I open my eyes. It’s a little bit disorienting.”
“When you wake up, you mean?”
“Yeah, it’s like I’m there, then all at once I’m here and there’s no transition. It’s just “bam,” eyes open, I’m back! Ready or not, there I am.”
“Interesting.”
“Why?”
“Well, if there’s no transition, maybe you’re right there no matter where you are. Have you ever tried to go there consciously?”
“How would I do that?”
“Relax, close your eyes and picture it. Try it sometime when you’re alone.”
“OK, maybe. No reason not to, I guess. Are you getting hungry?”
“A little – you must be, right? Do you want to eat out or go home?”
“You have a lot more to do there?”
“Not really. I’m faster at this than I expected. The string is really cooperative today.”
“Would you mind if we went home for dinner?”
“No, not at all. We’re getting ready to tie this off and add the pendant. Would you ask the lady up there if they have a thread burner?”
“Thread burner? OK, sure.”
Sookie went to the counter while Bobbie added a ruby to each side and a copper connector engraved with a rose design, then she extended a string of rubies going down to the Goddess pendant. Sookie brought back a burner and they finished the end knots and sealed them with glue. They added up the pieces they had used and went up to the counter to pay with Sookie’s credit card and she was a little panicked at the price, but she realized that in other ways this was priceless. She also knew Eric would be thrilled that they made it and care not a bit about the cost. Bobbie bought a few things for herself, so while she was paying, Sookie called home to tell Margaret they’d be there for dinner.
“Hey, Bobbie, can I wear this?” Sookie asked as they settled into the car for the drive home.
“Sure, if you want. That’s a great way to get your energy into it – wear it, sleep with it under your pillow, and pray on it every day.”
“I don’t know if I’ll be disciplined enough to do it every day, but wearing it and putting it under the pillow are easy enough.”
“It’ll get to be like a friend and it will get charged with your energy. You could dedicate it in a ritual, too, of course, for optimum energy. That’s a great, simple ritual to start with.”
“Can you show me, or should I ask Amelia?”
“I think you should ask Amelia because I don’t want to step on any toes. If she suggests I show you, though, I’m happy to do that.”
“This is why I want you to meet her. I know I can learn stuff from both of you. Her teacher is coming to visit Fourth of July weekend and I’m really looking forward to that.”
“What’s she like?”
“An older black lady is all I know, but Amelia says she knows everything. I love people like that.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, talking to people about things that I don’t know much about is so much fun. It’s a little more fun than reading a book, though I like that, too. I like to learn new things.”
“That’s good. Magick is a good subject for you because there’s always more to learn.”
“I hope I can learn enough to do what I’m supposed to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Teach the baby magick.”
“Well, you’ve started, so by the time he’s old enough to understand, you’ll know at least enough to stay ahead of him.”
“That’s true – but Dr. Ludwig said to study now because once I have the baby there won’t be time to”
“She’s got a point there. Babies do demand a lot of time and attention. Plus, the more you know then, the more you can teach him as he grows.”
“Is that a good idea, though? Shouldn’t I wait until he’s old enough to know who to tell and who not?”
“Ask Amelia about that. I think starting him early and making it just another part of life is a good idea. It’s not something you pick up and put down. It’s a way of living. Even human babies are psychic, but they’re trained out of it by the time they go to school. Your baby can have just the opposite training – you can teach him to develop his gifts and respect them rather than fear them. Part of that will be teaching him when it’s appropriate to cast or read and when you should be discreet about it. Start early and he’ll never have to think about it – he’ll just automatically do what he’s always done.”
“Can a baby understand that we don’t talk about this around Gran, or Uncle Jason, but you do talk about it with Mommy or Aunt Bobbie, for example?”
“Sure they can. This is going to be a very smart baby.”
“Yeah, he already is. Eric thought I was asleep last night and he was thinking “kick” to the baby and he responded every time. If he said “kick, kick,” he’d kick twice.”
“Wow – why didn’t you tell him you were awake?”
“It was too sweet. He had his hand over my uterus and they were sort of communing with each other, so I just breathed really deep like I was sleeping and let them have time together.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Yeah, it is. You know what Eric brought up though, that never occurred to me – what if the baby sleeps all day like he does?”
“Won’t he?”
“I don’t know. I just always assumed he’d be with me all day. I don’t want to miss both of them.”
“Don’t get too excited about it either way, yet. We don’t know how much vamp and how much Fae you’ll have in him. If he’s more Fae, no problem.”
“Eric’s convinced he’ll be vampire.”
“He can be both – did you know that some Fae only drink blood?”
“No, I didn’t!”
“Yep, and some take milk or blood, or food and blood. There are all kinds of possibilities for your little darling.”
“Wow – that’s almost a bigger deal than knowing whether it’s a boy or a girl.”
“Bigger, if you ask me. With boy or girl, you’ve got a 50-50 chance. There are probably hundreds of combinations possible with this bambino. It’s going to be an adventure.”
“That’s kind of exciting, when you put it that way…”
“What else would it be?”
“Scary.”
“Don’t be scared, Sweetie, you’ve got Divine Influence here. Speaking of which – any idea why She chose you?”
“Yeah – for Eric. She promised Eric she’d be born as a human and make all his dreams come true and be with him forever.”
“Wow! And you’re the incarnation? Bless your heart, girl – that’s amazing. There’s no telling how strong your magick might be.”
“Amelia says it’s pretty strong. She says when I learn how to work my energy I could, and I quote, “light up all of New Orleans,” Sookie laughed.
“I don’t doubt that a bit, Hon. Your aura is no joke.”
“Can you see auras?”
“Yeah, very faintly. Yours is brighter than most, though, so it’s easy to see. You’re pink and yellow like a summer day or spring flowers.”
“That’s how Eric says he likes me to dress – feminine and pretty like a summer’s day.”
“You must wear a lot of dresses then, ”
“Yep, he doesn’t think shorts cover enough.”
“Yeah, that’s a vamp thing, from what I remember.”
“How many vamps have you known?”
“Lots of clients, but I dated a couple, too, even before the Great Revelation.”
“Wow – did you know?”
“Yeah. I was pretty wild in those days, so it was just one more bit of kink, you know? You never really knew for sure – you’re not going to expose your boyfriend to sunlight or stake him or anything like that, and there’s no way to know if they live forever. Plus, anybody can lie about their age. It can be hard to tell a vamp from an extreme Goth kid if you never see them in daylight and they have a taste for blood.”
“What about their fangs?”
“There are dental quality fangs you can get put in – even some that retract.”
“Wow – you can buy anything if you know where to shop!” Sookie laughed hard at that and Bobbie did, too.”
“Vampires can glamour people, though.”
“Nobody knew that then.”
“I’m so glad that doesn’t work on me,” Sookie said as they turned down the street to go home.
“I wonder what Margaret is making for dinner?”
“I don’t know, but it will be fantastic, whatever it is. I swear, Bobbie, she can make anything taste better than anybody. Even a roast beef or turkey sandwich just explodes with flavor.”
“That étouffé last night was amazing.”
“Yeah, and she uses shrimp the size of lobsters,” Sookie laughed.
“I didn’t even know they got that big in this part of the world,” Bobbie laughed. “Where’s the garage door opener, again?”
“This button here,” Sookie pressed a button in the ceiling console and the door went up. Leroy, who was polishing Eric’s car, waved at them with a big smile.
“He’s a cutie!” Bobbie said softly as she pulled into the garage.
“Yeah, he is. He’s really nice. He’s one of the gardeners.”
“How many are there?”
“The main gardener then the two boys. I think the boys work around their classes or something like that, but there’s almost always at least one of them here,” Sookie explained as they opened their doors.
Margaret had the kitchen smelling fantastic when they walked in.
“Mmm – Margaret! What are we having?” Sookie looked over into a skillet where something breaded was frying in a little oil and butter.
“Turkey cutlets with a parmesan crust. The boys went wild for it.”
“I think they’re going to have company!” Sookie laughed and Bobbie agreed. Sookie and Bobbie both went to the bathroom in the den to wash their hands as Alicia set the table for them and Margaret poured sweet tea. By the time everyone was seated and eating, Eric was up.
“Hello, Ladies!” Eric came into the room barefoot, wearing jeans and a black tank shirt, looking like dessert as far as Sookie – and the other women, too – was concerned.
“Hi, Sweetie!” Sookie stretched up to meet him in a kiss, he running his fingers under the rosary and giving her a big smile. “Did you make these, Sweetheart?”
“Yep, I had a dream today that gave me a whole thing to say for them, so Bobbie and I went and she put it together for me.”
“It’s very pretty. You did a good job, Bobbie.” Eric was thrilled that Sookie, with Bobbie’s help, had followed through on the dream. The sooner she cemented her relationship to Freyja, the better as far as Eric was concerned. He’d been waiting for this for hundreds of years and now that he found Her again, he wanted all of Her, now and forever. Sookie was the best thing that ever happened to him, and he knew in his heart she was only going to get stronger, wilder, sweeter in every way.
Morgaine Swann 
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