Sookie Takes Charge, Ch. 18

The morning of her third day in Fairy, Sookie woke feeling fully refreshed…and hungry. At least she was now only slightly fearful of whatever Claudy might come up with for breakfast. The previous morning’s offerings contained no odd brown…things, and everything else was easily identified, so maybe her cousin’s food experimentation phase was coming to a well-deserved end.

As she dressed, she wondered once again why Godric was taking so long to write Eric back. She didn’t mind waiting, of course, but the whole thing made her curious. What were they doing, discussing the State of the Universe or something? It had never taken him this long to write back.

Ah, well, it wasn’t as though she minded hanging out in Fairy…might even be able to catch up with Niall a bit later today if the old rogue had time…and if she managed to avoid most of her other erstwhile ‘relatives’.

Bunch of creepers.

Niall had supposedly been off “doing the Court rounds”, which she correctly translated to mean “indulging in politically-enhances sexcapades”, and she guessed, also correctly, that the cousins were off prancing around being courtly or whatever, too.

At least the creepers had left her alone the past two days so she’d been able, thus far, at least, to enjoy a nice visit with Claudia.

It wasn’t as though she had any pressing appointments in the Earthly realm, and even if she had, Mr. C knew how weird the time difference between the realms was and could cover for her. Eric knew where she was, of course, therefore she didn’t think he would be worried, so that was good.

It bugged her that she had no idea of precisely how time did pass on either side, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. At least her house would be fully ready to move into whenever she did return.

Sensing that she would be breaking her fast with Claudia in one of the small alcoves near the main dining halls, she headed out her door, and her thoughts once again took up residence in the small but growing portion of her brain labeled “all things Eric”.

She hoped he realized that whatever he’d written to Godric was making said Maker take forever to answer.

Then she decided that she was annoyed by how very often her thoughts returned to The Viking, and sped up. Coffee, bacon and eggs would most certainly help with that tendency.

•~•0•~•

Eric paced.

Once again Sookie still hadn’t returned by the time he had risen for the late afternoon, and although realistically he knew it was probably too soon to expect her back considering the length of his letter to his Maker, still, his impatience was an annoying little beast that he imagined was gnawing his ankles to bloody stumps.

While he was naturally looking forward to Sookie’s return…to spending time with her…to talking with her…to seeing with his own eyes that she was well…to inhaling her scent…he was also very much looking forward to receiving his Maker’s reply.

He chuffed. “Looking forward” didn’t nearly describe the eager impatience firing through his brain. The contents of his letter to Godric had been…significant.

It had been a very painful, emotionally exhausting process, but he had finally put to paper the enormity of the Edgington fiasco. It had been an hellacious undertaking.

Rehashing situations, especially the more important, complicated events, was just one of the many reasons he longed for his Maker. Now that he was all-but within his grasp, it seemed as though he missed him even more, and it ate at him just how much he had taken for granted for so many centuries.

However, instead of succumbing to beloved memories and fanciful wishes, a few nights after he had initially replied with such joyous, heartfelt speed to his Maker’s original missive, he had bravely taken pen in hand, and wrote.

And wrote.

It had taken several nights for him to ensure the inclusion of all facts and aspects whether they presented him in the best light or not. He had thought wryly at one point how even in a letter he was unable to knowingly, much less willingly, lie to his Maker…and he was fully aware that the facts, when listed in their entirety, did not always reflect so well on him.

The hardest part had been stating to Godric, and to himself, the many paths he could have chosen, and the times he definitely should have chosen better options…and they all began with Sookie.

In the end the act of writing that letter had felt like the purging of a sort of contamination from his soul. To his surprise, he hadn’t felt better, which hadn’t been the original intent in any case.

He had felt cleaner.

The process of sorting through everything had also made him reevaluate his regard for Pam. He finally came to realize that he had subconsciously held Pam responsible for the idea of using Sookie against Edgington since that night.

Eric with his enhanced memory naturally recalled the silent but rushed conversation he’d had with his Child before kissing…then kidnapping…Sookie. In the end it was his decision to finally accept or finally negate the suggestion, and he had approved it.

He had been the one to lure the blonde in with his kiss, and he had been the one to so carelessly toss her into his filthy dungeon and chain her up as though she were a common V dealer…or a fairy-hybrid held for what could so easily have been, and almost had been, slaughter.

The nominal guilt he had felt at using her so carelessly had quickly mutated into an emotional distance from his Child, and that wasn’t fair to Pam. She had only been doing as any good Child would do – desperately searching for a way to save her Maker.

While she’d never held a great love for Sookie, Pam’s only true fault had been her failure to follow his orders, her failure to tend properly to Sookie so that the telepath could recover fully and quickly and not by the dubious virtue of Compton’s blood.

Although he could understand how very badly seeing her Maker burning under the sun would have shaken his Child, the fact remained that she did allow Sookie’s suffering to continue far longer than necessary, and she did allow Compton to shove his bloody wrist in Sookie’s face once again.

Her punishment had been just, he concluded, late, but just, and it was his responsibility to be a better Maker.  He decided to spend some time in the near future reestablishing their connection.  The brat certainly had her faults, but his bad decisions were his own.

Eric slammed his head against the back of his office chair. He couldn’t believe he’d actually had the stupidity and the gall to order Sookie to babysit Edgington.  He would have literally banged his head on his desk if he hadn’t known from experience that the desk would break.

Stupid!

That he, himself, had been in a funk over losing Godric was no excuse for making such an appalling series of errors, misjudgments, and strange lapses in sound reasoning.

He closed his eyes and breathed slowly.  The past was in the past for a reason.  His task was to learn from it, then leave it where it belonged.  He was already making  progress, slowly but surely, with Sookie, and he had, in effect, confessed to his Maker.

Eric suddenly grinned – he had a child to annoy.

•~•0•~•

“You can touch me, you know. I won’t bite, well,” Godric paused, the light in his eyes dancing mischievously, “not unless you ask nicely.” Never before had such an innocent smile been cast upon a poor fairy lass…

Claudia kept herself a full three feet away – the amount of space she now considered safe – from the threat of the faepire sitting on the bench with her and refused to dignify his outrageous remark with a verbal reply. Fortunately for the ancient one, if not for the fairy, the changing of her hair color was answer enough. Godric had never been much of a fan of the color of a blushing rose before, but for some reason it was now his favorite color, and when that color deepened as would a natural flush, he appreciated it even more.

“Hush,” she instead ordered softly and with only a small roll of her sparkling eyes. She ignored the hand he had let innocently rest on the bench between them.  “We’re here to talk about your ill-begotten progeny and the likelihood of your being able to visit him and perhaps even teach him how to treat a lady.”

Ostensibly chastised, to Claudia’s extreme doubt, Godric simply inclined his head and counted his blessings. This was his first true chance to speak with the fairy since Sookie’s departure the day before, and he relished this chance to sit so near her fine form without fearing she would pop away.

He realized she was making good use of the quiet courage she possessed and he would not press his suit. It was enough, for now, to know that she returned his favor…well, of course it wasn’t enough, but it would have to do. Godric knew how to practice his patience, and practice he would.

“The contents of my Child’s letters tell me that he has now come to see your cousin in a clearer light. He explained how that situation came about, but he did so, as always, without excuses. He gave the facts as they were and as he had seen them at the time, and he listed other possible actions he could have taken, and the likelihood of each working, or not. He…he did in a letter what we once did with words.”

When his voice trailed off, Claudia risked a peek at the striking vampire, and found his gaze unfocused as his thoughts wandered back through time. The poignant sadness in his eyes and in the curve of his lips poked at an unknown soreness in her heart, and she suddenly wished to unfurl the fist he had now so tightly clenched.

“My Eric and I would often meet after a fight or a battle, or after an encounter where cunning and skill were necessary, and we would discuss all that occurred. We would look at each other’s actions and see what we could have done better, what we did well, what we didn’t…”

He flashed her a brief smile that didn’t reach his eyes, then looked away once again.

“As his Maker it was and will always be my responsibility and my joy to teach him all that I know so that he would thrive in that new life I cursed him with, and I took my right to do so very seriously. I am aware, too, that I am not omnipotent, and would value his ideas and perceptions. We would tell our stories and compare our notes, hash out details, other strategies that may or may not have worked. Sometimes we would discuss these things for several nights long after the excitement had waned.”

He glanced down at the ground between his feet.

“Doing so again was sweet. Doing so by letter was bitter.”

Her heart went out to the ancient vampire and, emboldened thusly, she tentatively rested her hand atop his fist. He whipped his face to the side and regarded her with shock, then appreciation, and she softly squeezed his hand.

“Our Elder searches for a way, my friend. Do not discount the force of her wisdom, knowledge, and belief. She has said that she believes in the possibility, therefore we must have faith as well. Faith requires courage, and you are brave and strong, therefore a way will be found.”

The intensity of her gaze bolstered him in a way he couldn’t fathom, but he sensed she had more to say, and so he listened.

“Our way, the way of the fairy, has no base in logic, you know. Logic is for mortals; it guides and soothes and challenges them. It can provide a tangible meaning to their lives. We,” she stressed as she gazed intently into the dark blue depths of his eyes, “we are emotion. We are founded on, supported by, and empowered by emotion, in belief. Faith in finding a way, faith in magic, faith that things just…will. So have faith. Faith is based on emotion, while you still search for logic. Logic says you should not be here, now, today, but you are. You are here and you are real, Godric. So, feel your courage, call upon that courage, and let it breathe life into your faith and your belief in that magic that can.”

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**A/N:  So, yeah, there’s that…  Hope y’all liked it, and remember as always:  reviews feed the muse…  So, what did you think?**

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