Pre Edit Count – 1,738 Words

Song I listened to for this chapter: The World You Want by Switchfoot

Previous:

This all culminates in the two of them passing out, but around them swirls of light blue, matching their eyes, pass in and out of them as it ties the two parts of their souls together, making the Third Bond a necessity for them.

Now:

While the rest of the castle inhabitants are moving around the following evening, both of the residents of the center suite, the most guarded rooms in the Kingdom, are still out from the Bonding experience the previous night. They are tangled together, the only difference between their limbs being that Sookie’s skin is only slightly darker than Eric’s, whose own skin now looks more like it did when he was still human.

Haldor, Frey, and Brandon are leaning against the wall across from that center suite as they wait for the doors to open, their relaxed manner belying the power that rests just below the surface in case of a threat to their Family. Aisling is already in the suite’s outer rooms, having stayed there overnight to guard her Mistress. Brandon had needed to sleep, so she had taken the first watch. At the time of the switch, she had commented that she was thrilled that there were no noises coming out of the rooms, and Brandon had just laughed as he left.

Last night, when the entire Clan had felt the Bond tighten between their Fader and soon-to-be Mother, they had seen odd blue swirls coming out of themselves and everyone else, and had wondered about it. Using the in-house communications system developed by Gainor, with the most up-to-date wiring and technology located in the Royal Suite, Aisling had informed everyone of the swirls coming out from behind their room’s closed door. The Clan had relaxed with this information as they had already guessed that was where the blue swirls had started.

“She is going to change everything, isn’t she?”

Haldor glances up from cleaning under his fingernails with the knife in his hand to look at Frey who had just spoken. “Of course she is. Why do you bother saying that?”

Running his hand through the hair that had been the length of Eric’s until he had cut it off years earlier, he replied, “I felt it would be prudent to say it, to have the words out there for it to be acknowledged. This is a good thing, in my thoughts. Fader has gone through much, and now having her will help relieve the stress on his shoulders.” He nods to himself, sure about what he has said, and that everything will be better for it.

He then gives Brandon a look. “We all felt his pain when Godric left us. It brought us to our knees and there was a great outcry from the Clan at the loss. But then came the time when she was gone. I blacked out from the pain alone. Then to wake to his need, his pain from her being ripped from him… That is not something I ever want to experience again.” He stares at his brother, thinking that there was more to it all. This had happened during the time when Fader had been keeping the Bonds shut, but her leaving had been enough to blast them wide open when he lost her. The pure pain of that loss was not one that any of them want to experience again.

Brandon sighs, closing his eyes. “It was not a picnic there, either.” He shudders as he remembers that time, and how worn out they had been…only to then find out that Sookie had left. Eric never blamed him since he himself had given permission for his Grandson to rest, to get the sleep he so desperately needed because of the endless days spent trying to find out a way for them to come through all that with their lives.

Frey frowns, then asks them both, “What was the reason for not telling Fader of the Puppet King’s actions which almost cost him his Queen, our Mother?” Arathorn had kept him abreast of things after that pain, and had told him of how the two had never told Fader of the almost-death of his Mate.

Glancing at each other, Haldor and Brandon sigh. “It was in the middle of finding out about Russell being the murderer, the one who killed our Tribe and almost drove us out of this realm. Fader was focused on getting him back, and when we tried to tell him, he had brushed us off,” Brandon tells him. He had not been happy about it, but they had tried to tell him. None of them had any idea of what she truly meant to Eric, though Brandon had. However, none of them had expected them to be soul mates.

Haldor takes up the tale. “By the time we could tell him, he was already suffering from her being gone. What good would it have done then? He didn’t need that kingdom; he needed to be free to look for her. If we had told him, he would have killed Compton. And though I wanted to kill him myself, I would never take that right away from Fader,” he growls out, his anger from that time still holding strong. But he had been unable to do anything else, and he refuses to bring any of their brethren into it. If Fader wants to end him, he doesn’t want that anger directed towards any of them.

Frey shakes his head. “This is not going to end well for the two of you. You are aware of his rage and that he will need to kill something when he finds out all this information.” He knows Father will not kill any of his Children, but with this being Sookie and considering how much he loves her, and especially with the fact that she is his true Mate, well, that shakes things up…

Brandon nods, his head resting on the wall behind him. “I know. And I will tell him. But first we need to bring Godric back. If Fader goes nuts, he can hold him back. Plus, Godric is needed here anyway.” He is adamant, and will do anything to fix this. The ancient vampire is needed back and his knower is going nuts telling him that he is needed soon.

The two look at him, knowing his ability, and Frey asks, “Is everything ready? If need to be, I will bring him back.” He says what is on his mind for bringing the Patriarch of the Family back. Eric leads the Family, but Godric has always been one to give wise advice when the Family needed it, and he was often the necessary voice of reason.

Brandon shakes his head, his temples pounding with the effort of trying to understand more. “It needs to be Eric. I don’t know why, but he needs to do it with Sookie there beside him. Otherwise, it won’t take.” He opens his eyes to stare at the ceiling as he wishes once again that this talent of his was stronger.

The group perks up as they feel their Fader wake, and then shortly afterward their Mother. Arathorn walks around the corner, rolling his sleeves up just in time for Aisling to open the door to allow them to enter.

Following after him are a few servants who quickly enter the room to prepare it for their Queen’s breakfast. Aisling and Brandon will eat what Sookie dosen’t like since they’ve brought such a large selection.

Aisling is wide awake and smiling at them. “I could hear and feel them wake in the Bonds. Hopefully they should be out soon, though it sounds like Fader is being his normal self,” she says, her eyes twinkling. Though she has not been alive as long nor has she had as much vampire blood as Brandon, she is from a line that has had the Mäninorr blood enhancing them for centuries.

Frey and the rest of the males smirk when the servants sniff as they leave the area. Soon the doors open on the other side of the room, and the group turns to bow their heads to their Majesties. Amusement ripples from the duo, and they wait to see what is making Fader ready to laugh.

Sookie rolls her eyes. “Enough! We have enough to get done tonight without you guys being idiots.” She knows that Eric is amused and knows that his Sons feel the same thing, too, and she is having to work hard to not laugh. Sometimes Eric reminds her of a frat boy.

Eric just chuckles, his arm wrapped around his little Mate. He appears more human now, looking as though he has some actual color to him beyond the normal pink…as though his skin color as a human is returning to him.

Then there is Sookie. She has always been beautiful, but now it is as though she is more…refined. She may not be stunning in the eyes of the Americans, but to their eyes, she is magnificent. They prefer their woman with meat on their bones.

Eric is grinning at them, and then that grin fades. “You know, as well built as this place is you would think you couldn’t hear through the walls… the doors… to a conversation going on outside the rooms.” He looks at the ones who had been talking to let them know he had heard what they said, and that he will want to know more.

Brandon and Haldor just stare at him in shock. They know that they couldn’t have heard through the walls or even through the doors, not in this place. Just how much more powerful is Eric getting?

Closing his eyes and getting a handle on himself, Eric takes a deep breath. “I will work tonight on getting Godric back, then the Family will sit down and discuss this. I hope you realize why.” He opens his blue eyes to match the ones in each of his Sons. While Frey and the others think that they are not a part of this, it is obvious that they knew something. What one knows, the rest all know, and he will make sure that they will not mistake the fact that he needs to be part of the ‘all’.

Haldor nods. “It would have affected all of us.” He swallows, but he is ready for it. It was a decision he had made, and Brandon had argued against it. But now, Brandon is standing beside him as though he made that decision. He will save their little brother.

With a nod Eric dismisses the subject for the moment, knowing that he will need time to calm down. This must be something big if it would rile him up enough for them to worry that he would kill Compton. It’s not as though killing the idiot veteran isn’t an on-going fantasy of his, but the way they were talking tells him that this will be a very serious conversation for them all.

He guides his Mate to the chair near the food the servants have brought for her. He watches what Sookie puts on her plate, then takes it from her before pulling her onto his lap. He then selects a slice of bacon and feeds it to her, satisfying the primal man inside of him by taking care of his Mate.

The rest settle in as the other two humans fill their own plates from the large amount of food remaining. There is a knock on the door and when Eric calls for them to enter, Carter and three new individuals come into the room.

Haldor watches them and is unsettled about having the entire Family gathered in one place. He recognizes the need to have everyone together to discuss many of the issues facing them, however, it makes the guardian aspect of his personality uneasy. As Sookie pointed out, though, there are weapons that can take out the entire fortress. He will need to ensure that everything is upgraded even if Gainor would already be on top of it as he normally is.

Taking a bite from what Eric is offering her and reveling in their stronger Bond as well as the feelings any well-loved woman would have the ‘morning’ after, Sookie looks over the new people.

The first one to catch her attention is one who almost immediately reminds her of Carter. They both have the same air of playfulness about them, the same affable self-confidence that tells her that they are not ashamed of themselves and that they often have a lot of fun. His short hair is unruly, but he has the same blue eyes as the rest of Eric’s Children.

The individual grins at Sookie and bows to her as he speaks in a Scottish accent, “Gainor at your service, Mother!”

She smiles at him, but then the man standing next to him elbows him out of the way and says with the same light accent as Arathorn, “Griffon, my lady.” He then gives her a proper bow. His dark hair and slightly more massive build are enough to make her think he is either a ladies’ man, or a shy one.

The man behind them is as dark as Griffon, but then she is shocked – she can read him; he is still human. When her eyes land on him, she cocks her head to the side thinking he somehow looks familiar to her. Knowing why she is doing that, he grins. “Jack Mäninorr at your service, my Queen.” He is English, but at the same time he really reminds her of someone else, someone she has seen somewhere else.

Feeling her curiosity, Eric chuckles. “This is the last of the immediate family. To make it clear, if we talk about Family, we mean the ones in this room. The Clan means the rest of them. Griffon is the one who will teach you languages as well as being our computer genius, and Gainor is our other practical joker, and our financial wizard. Jack is our liaison with the world. And to answer your question, he is known as an actor, and you have probably seen him on that English show.” He grins at his Family; he is proud of them all, including the humans.

Sookie chuckles with the rest of the room. “Which show, Eric? The English have quite a few of them,” she teases him, loving the carefree banter they can have now without all the previous drama.

He rolls his eyes and, after dipping the strawberry in his hand into some sort of dip that she really enjoys, he holds it up for her to eat. His eyes watch her lips as she bites into it, and there is no doubt in his many Bonds how feeding her is affecting him.

Everyone in the room chuckles as they sense their Fader and his preoccupation with feeding their Mother. Arathorn is grinning at Frey as the two of them exchange a look. They had talked about the changes to come, and here is another sign that they will need the whole Family.

When Sookie finishes eating, he pushes the tray away from them and she curls up on his lap. He wraps his arm around her, tucks her under his chin, and then looks out to the rest of the people in the room. “What do we need to do first?” It is plain that he is in his role as their Fader and wants to make sure that everything runs smoothly so that not only will they be safe, but so that he can spend more time with his Mate too.

Brandon tells him, “Godric.”

Sookie looks up and asks, “What about him?” She had heard something about him before, but she is not sure what they could be talking about since Godric died in front of her. One of the few things she fully regrets is not being able to save him for Eric.

Eric looks down at her and explains, “I can call back one member of the Family every 500 years. Frey has also gained this ability, and we think Arathorn may soon, as well. Brandon is insisting that Godric needs to be brought back and I have given into his request.” There is slight hope that his Maker will be back with him, but to be assured of a success, it can only be done in the throne room; the castle was built here for a reason.

Looking up at him, she frowns. “How do you know he wants to come back, Eric?” She remembers clearly the pleading they both did with him to stay, and how much he wanted to leave. She is not sure he would want to come back.

Brandon moves forward and tells Sookie, “Read my mind.” He opens everything up to her, and hopes that maybe between the two of them they can get the information. If nothing else, she will be able to see that he needs to bring Godric back for a reason.

She blinks, shocked that someone would ask her directly to read their thoughts, but she does it. Soon she is lost in his brain, and she can see all the reasons behind his request. When she comes out, she is blinking, but nods. “We need to do this now.” Her mind is all-abuzz with the information she has received, but first they need to bring Godric back.

The Family looks at each other in shock, but Eric looks down to ask his lover, “Later this evening?”

She shakes her head. Still staring at Brandon, she tells them all, “Only if you want to see Eric not have a chance of surviving. Now.” She is working to keep from being overwhelmed with the information Brandon holds in his brain.

The room just stares at her in shock.

Final count:  3,014words.

Fairfarren~