Epilogue

Eric

I'd had the foresight to call Pam and Thalia to the clearing and shared the serum. It was a good call because Sai was healing and couldn't be moved. Once he was fully corporeal, he awoke with a vengeance.

"Let's just fucking stake him," Thalia urged. "We can tell her he fell."

For the first time ever, Pam didn't look as if she disagreed. Then she ducked at full speed to avoid having his head rammed into her face. Had the blow connected, it would have broken her neck and perhaps all the bones in her face.

"Fuck you, peasant whore!" He roared.

Thalia thought about punching him in the face but that area had been deemed too hazardous. Sai pulled loose one of his fangs loose and spat it at Pam, it landed, blinding her right eye for about three hours.

"We have to do something, bleed him out at least!" That could be effective because around Hour Eight we had tried knocking him out. Ten minutes of repeated blows to the head later and all we had gained for our effort was a two minute reprieve. It hadn't been worth it. So we were back to this, using over two thousand years of physical strength to counter his natural power.

We were all struggling. Pam used the jumper cables from the trunk of her car to tie his ankles to a nearby tree. Said tree was now leaning over threatening to collapse. I was straddling him, trying to keep his hands crossed behind his back. It was taking all my physical strength to subdue just that part.

Keeping a telekinetic hold on him took too much strength and effort. It didn't last long. His reputation for brute strength had been understated by a wide margin and wonder if it wasn't intentional. The three of us had now been wrestling with the mammoth vampire for nearly a full day. He fought more ferociously with every passing hour.

From our destroyed clothes to our thirst, we were all showing signs of the struggle. After one-thousand years, that was the way I spent my first day in the sun. To tell the truth, I didn't care that I was awake, out in the light of day. I wanted to give Sookie every minute possible to do what she needed. Eighteen painstaking hours passed until we reached a point where we had to release Sai before someone ended up fatally injured.

I caught the eyes of both vampires and when I nodded, we released him simultaneously, and then we circled him. I knew he was preparing to attack but then his head tilted left and, with a furious snarl, he took off into the air. I would have killed to know where he had gone and what he was doing. I wondered if it had to do with Sookie.

Pam had to be carried to her car and Thalia had to drive. I thought about taking Pam to her home but, in the end, we went to the base of Area Five. There was a chance that Victor already knew what had transpired and was hoping I would hide. The base of Area Five was a separate abode from Fangtasia and my personal residence.

Visitors had a safe place to rest as they passed through or a room to call their own as they settled. When I ran it, it had been a place teeming with activity. Since the takeover, they infested the State, and the air had become one of inactivity and unease. In the past months the base had been used as a place of punishment for those whom it once was used to protect. When Sandy wasn't scrutinizing my affairs at Fangtasia she was here, trying to rattle the residents of the old regime. Victor was worse; he took offense as often as he could and his punishments were always disproportionate to the poorly presumed slights.

Clancy was one of his favorite targets. Victor hadn't broken his loyalty but he had taken offense to the easy manner in which Clancy offered his smile. He now looked and acted his age. For the first time I realized how sad a change as that happened. Tonight, there were only a handful of vampires here and none of them belonged to Victor or Sandy.

I wasn't sure if that meant Sookie was successful or if she was in danger. Knowing now why I couldn't form a blood bond with her didn't make the lack of it any easier. Worry was like heated stones in my chest. She was certain she would be fine. I had to trust that even though it hurt.

Clancy was the first we saw upon entry. He had bloods heated and served before I had Pam settled in one of the rooms. There were many questions in his eyes but he didn't voice any. The three most powerful fighters in the Area looked battle worn and none of our enemies were in our midst.

"It was the same yesterday?" I asked.

He nodded, confused, "You were also gone so I assumed you had some kind of meeting." where you killed them all.

"No," I replied.

Yesterday I had said my goodbye to this life and to Pam. Yesterday I had been ready to go somewhere else, anywhere else, so Sookie and I could be together. Yesterday I'd expected to be a million miles away from here, mentally and emotionally, but here I was. I would stay here and weather whatever storm to come until Sookie returned. I just wished I could believe it would be soon.

I was out of the shower and dressed for Fangtasia when I saw one of the scribes of the Ancient Pythoness. Relief and sheer admiration hit me because the presence of a scribe meant that Sookie had succeeded in emancipating the state.

"I carry with me an official decree," She held out her hand.

The guard at her back unveiled a frame that was at least two feet tall and just as wide. Within the golden frame and glass lay a long piece of parchment bearing the seal of the Pythoness.

"By this Edict from the Highest Authority of Vampire in the New World:

"Let It Be Known to All that By This Edict, We of The One True Vampire Authority Declare The State of Louisiana and Her Sister State of Arkansas True Republics, Autonomous from All Established Monarchies in All Territories of Amun, Zeus, Narayana and Moshup, Now and Forever More."

"What does that mean?" Paloma asked, looking at me.

Pam replied, "It means he is no longer your Sheriff and we have no King or Queen."

"Why would Peter do that?" Indira asked.

Simultaneously Chow said, "Who is going to enforce it? We have been abandoned."

"We are free." Clancy said.

There was a great deal of confusion, much conversation, and many, many questions. By midnight the news had spread like an epidemic[LFC1] , not only through the States that held the title of Republic but throughout the entire country. Nearly all the vampires here had spent their human days under a monarch. None of us really knew what to do with a Republic.

Despite no longer being a sheriff, the vampires in my Area still looked to me. I helped them navigate life out from under a hierarchal structure to living in a Democracy along with all the voting apparently involved. None of this was enough to take my mind off of Sookie.

The news of both states independence spread like a wild fire eating through the normal routine structure of undead life. Regents from other territories were unhappy that such a thing was even possible. There were also financial ramifications. Now that two states had simply been dropped from the Amun roster what did that mean for the territory as a whole? No one knew. The only thing the residents of Arkansas and Louisiana could be sure of was that they were free from such things.

One week[LFC2] turned to two and I was contemplating going into Nevada my self but I knew I shouldn't. Sookie's confrontation with her family would be difficult and my presence would only make it worse. Yet sitting by with no news was beyond maddening. Many of my favors had been used up in the weeks following Sophie-Anne's end. I had traded and borrowed to keep Andre safe. Now that I needed information there was only one person to see. I hoped like hell that he was feeling amiable.

I didn't bother calling or formally requesting an audience. I flew to Mississippi and landed in the main court of Russell Edgington. I was surrounded before my feet touched ground. I didn't resist as I was bound and taken in.

"Here I thought you were weak to a pretty face," I greeted when I finally saw Russell. As indicated by his scowl, Bartlett didn't appreciate my comment. He was sticking tighter to his husband's side than normal… Interesting.

"She isn't here," Russell said, placing a restraining hand on his spouse.

"What was she doing here?" I asked. "When did she leave?"

The Kings shared a look as if considering how much to reveal. "I know what she is. I know that Peter was nothing but a place holder for her thrones."

Waving an errant hand, Russell signaled for Betty Jo to open my silvered cell. "Two weeks ago Peter sent out an emergency summons to the Regents of Amun," Bartlett explained. "He was accompanied here with your wife. Before us, he signed his states over to her and just walked out whistling fucking Dixie."

His tone held traces of anger, but disbelief was also to be heard, even after the events. I could only imagine their shock. The last mortal crowned a vampire Regent was Joan[LFC3] of Arcadia. Vampires saw her burned at the stake for such presumption. Sookie was a vampire hybrid, and entirely formidable. I knew that had witnessed it firsthand.

"She requested we give consent that would allow her to petition the Pythoness for her states' independence."

"You gave it, obviously," I surmised.

Russell sniffed as if the truth ruffled his feathers, "She didn't give us much choice."

"Isaiah got froggy and she beat the ever loving shit of him and his best," Bartlett replied. His voice was full of admiration as he explained. "They were fighting to kill and she didn't even use a weapon."

"She moves like a ghost. As if that isn't enough, she flashed fang and brought Isaiah to his knees with a glance. I would call her a monster if I didn't envy her," Russell admitted. "A wholly terrifying bitch though and if I never see her again it will be too soon."

I smiled. Sookie tended to have that effect on people who crossed her. "She did not want to make enemies of us so she made us an offer,"

Smart of her I commended mentally, as powerful as she was she didn't want to be looking over her shoulder for over.

Bartlett continued. "It was very generous. For our cooperation, our silence, and to be left in peace for the rest of her days, she paid each regent ten million in cash or stocks."

That was more than a great deal of money. I have never heard of a State being severed from a Territory and being granted independence. I didn't know she needed permission or that it would be this expensive. That would explain why no Regent had ever done such a thing. It would be like paying someone to take your money and your power, no vampire would willingly to do such a thing. But Sookie was no ordinary vampire.

I knew as the child of a King she was well off and I hoped for her sake the money she paid out was not Felipe's. The thought had me inching west but I fought it. I had to trust her. She had gotten this far.

"Thank you," I said nodding my head deeply. They had given me information for freely and they certainly didn't have to.

"If you are looking for work…" Russell began.

I smiled and kissed the back of his hand just to annoy his husband. "I know where to find a good friend and even greater King."

I took off with his sigh and Bartlett's growl behind me.

Week five found me in Bon Temps watching the sunrise. Ordinarily the act would be synonymous with suicide but the serum was keeping me awake and impervious to the sun. It was still surreal but it didn't mean as much as it could. The one woman I wanted to bask in the sun with wasn't here.

Sookie was my mate. She held my forever in her hands and carried my heart in hers. It was the same as fighting what I had felt a year before. I felt as though I was only half alive and that half-life wasn't worth living. I was falling apart. That void her absence caused was threatening to swallow me whole. The ache of it was too much to bear.

It was no longer a matter of if I would go to Nevada to find her; it was a matter of when. I wouldn't be able to help my self. It might make things worse but few things were worse than this. It was beyond a vampire mating, I missed her and I was sick with worry. She could be hurt or worse…I felt the moisture trailing down my face and wiped away the bloody tears.

I caught the scent in the soft breeze before I saw her. Sookie was strolling down the driveway with the light of the rising sun at her back. I've never seen a more beautiful sight. She moved with her usual grace but I saw the edge to it that set her aside as a predator. It was new but fit her like her smile or the shape of her nose.

I had been there as we both got to know her the second time. I wanted to be there now. We had had too many lapses in our life together. The first had been me trying to prevent the inevitable. Then she had returned to her family, and she had gone to set her own path. It brought her back to me. She was here as she promised and I was never going to let her go.

I flew the distance to meet her, leaving just two steps between us. "It seems I can't ever let you out of my sight," I said. "I never know where you'll end up."

"Right back here," She promised. "Always."

She threw herself at me, wrapping her arms and legs around me. My arms were open and waiting to receive her as she slammed into me. I didn't know how I had done it, these past weeks or ever. Just touching her made everything right. To go without her was a torture so profound that it was my personal hell.

Having Sookie's scent so close blotted out any others, and it made me feel as though I was actually living and breathing. It took away all my uncertainties, all my fears, and bathed them in her love. Forever didn't matter. Tomorrow had never meant so little. It was her. Whether I wanted it or not, whether I accepted it or not, it had always been her, me…us.

Sookie and I spent the next week in various stages of undress, relearning and reaffirming our love. Sometimes Sookie and I stayed up all night, and then slept the day away. Other nights we slept early and rose with the sun. Tonight we were somewhere in the middle. We had gone for a walk and gotten caught in the rain. Somewhere between getting out of our wet clothes and getting into the shower, we got into each other.

I was no longer a sheriff, no; I was free to be with her. We were all free. I didn't have to worry about maneuvering and scheming to keep her safe. She was mine and anyone that wanted to harm her would have to face me head on.

I went back to Fangtasia and my wife returned to the shifter's bar. It was like nothing had changed but, of course, it had. In fact, nothing would ever be the same. Louisiana was an autonomous state. The vampires in it were the mainstreaming faces of vampires in America.

I rolled over one night a few months later and found that Sookie was not in bed.

My wife didn't know it but I always knew when she was gone. After being without her for weeks, my body knew the difference the minute hers was away. It wasn't just the scent, warmth, or subtle shifting in our bed. It was on a deeper level. I could be in the deepest of slumbers and having the sweetest of dreams, but the absence of her reached into the depth of my soul.

The one thing that hung over our paradise to cloud it was her family. After meeting with the regents of Amun, she had gone to the Pythoness who didn't appear surprised to see her. The papers were signed and Sookie returned home to Nevada. She told me she'd spent a month in a cell because her father didn't trust himself to not kill her and get a handle on the situation as to salvage it. They had it out and by the way she glossed over the details I knew it was bad. In the end she she was stripped of her title, disowned and exiled.

Unlike every other time I didn't wait for her to return, I went after her. I found her seated on the steps of the house, wrapped in a cape. It was large enough to wrap around her almost like a blanket.

"Am I going to have to ask?" I wondered, pointing at the unusual accessory.

She shot me a winning smile over her shoulder but she couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes. I sat down above her so she was nestled between my legs; it provided additional refuge from the chill of an autumn night. I knew where her head was, knew that there was only one who still weighed on her mind. I sat with her, offering silent comfort.

"I miss him," She whispered. "I don't regret the choice I made. I would do it again. It wasn't only about you. It was about me doing what I wanted for the first time and not what was expected, or what would make him happy I'm in the right so I shouldn't care, but he's my Dad…"

Her anger faded entirely and she looked like someone who had gained the world but not had the power to share it with those she loved. I supposed that was exactly the case. If it was possible, I wanted Sookie to have it all, her family, and her life with me. Half wasn't enough, not for her. She deserved it all.

"What hurt more than anything was the way he looked at me, as if he didn't even know me. I was the perfect child. He told me so all the time. All my brothers knew I was his baby, his favorite but I didn't trust him enough to just come clean…I lied to him, Eric. I hurt him and he'll never forgive me."

She cried and held her. Her admission was better than her pretense of ease.

"Time is perceived differently by vampires, you know this," I said, turning her to face me. "Give him more time."

"Do you believe that?" She asked.

I nodded without hesitation. I wouldn't lie to her especially about something like this. "I think in time he will realize that you not taking a throne was for the best, that you had the skill but not the heart, or he will remember that I have something that belongs to him that he did not give; he will come back into your life if only to harass me."

She chuckled, "You don't sound too worried."

I smiled and kissed her head, "I'm not because either way he'll come back to you."

She kissed me and for a while we just watched the colors of the world around us change from deep dark shades of night to day. The beginning red and orange of dawn was coloring the scene when I finally spoke.

"Do you want to talk about them?" I asked. "When you were away I made Pam listen to stories about us."

Sookie chuckled. "How'd she take it?" She asked. "Not well I'm assuming."

I shrugged. "No. Not at all, but the point of the exercise was to make my self feel better and to punish her, not entertain her."

I listened to her talk about her life as a human-Fae-vampire hybrid child of a vampire King. I knew I was the only person outside the circle that was getting the full story. I found myself asking questions because it was an amusing and interesting tale. Then again, where Sookie was involved I shouldn't expect anything less.

Sookie told me of her life and the more she talked the more I realized that while it was obvious that Felipe had adopted her because of her abilities, two decades was more than enough time to forge bonds. He loved her and, in time, he would forgive her of her presumed trespasses. On the heel of that thought came another that corrected a common misconception.

Love and hate weren't polar opposites of each other. Such strong emotions could never contend within the same vessel. No, the opposite of love and hate was indifference. Had Felipe been indifferent, he would have either killed her or let her stay only to ignore her. So while I was sure he was angry, disappointed, and maybe even hurt, he still loved her. I wanted her to have it all. For now we had each other and it would be more than enough to see us through the rest.

"I love you," I murmured pulling her tight against me.

She was just this side of wakefulness but at my words she relaxed further and sighed in utterly contentment. "Love you more."

I nipped at her ear making her laugh. "I might believe in Human-Fae –vampire hybrids but I know for certain that that is impossible."

*The End*

Final A/N: There you have it folks! It took me longer to get it done than I wanted but I always waver in the end trying to get things perfect. Thank you to all my readers for the continued love and support. It means the world. More than anything I appreciate your patience with me, my ever wandering imagination and big clumsy fingers. Most of all I would like to thank my editor Ms. Buffi for making so I don't make people's eye bleed (as much) and for being a great sounding board.

Well until next time ladies and gents!