Sookie had no concept of time, but knew Josue wouldn't allow the six hour limit he'd set to lapse, so she didn't fuss much when the Steward gently knocked on the door, rousing her and her...companion. The Northman uncoiled from around her and stared at her in bemusement, his fangs still curved over pale pink lips, as she stood and turned away from him.

"Come in," she beckoned, ignoring the blonde vampire at her feet in favor of her Steward opening the door. Josue kept his eyes locked on hers as he gracefully crossed the short space between them, a dress across his outstretched forearms.

"Consort." Sookie kept her expression neutral as she accepted the clothing, ignoring the lack of undergarments. She quickly slipped into the black pleated dress and allowed Josue to zip her up before carefully soothing down any wrinkles. It helped calm her nerves and gave her time to draw her dignity around her.

"Eric, I hope this concludes our bargain?"

"Bargain?"

"King William has purchased the rest of your time from Nevada and wishes you to return to Shreveport."

"And if I refuse?"

A grim smile curved Sookie's lips as she shifted her attention from her hands to Eric's now lounging figure. He was ancient, a warrior, and gifted with vampiric speed and strength that neither she nor Josue could counteract if he chose to fight them.

"You may, but then you'll be known throughout the Kingdoms as an Oathbreaker."

Stillness settled over Eric at her words and he now looked as if carved from marble instead of a being who'd fucked and fed from her just moments earlier.

"I may speak with the mouth of a pet, but I am Consort to King William I of Louisiana-Arkansas Court, whom you blooded after having your contract bought by my king. By all accounts, our bargain was true, and something I believe even the Authority would agree with. "

Vampires were wild feral creatures at heart who only played at the rules of civilization as espoused by humanity, but among their own kind, they sorted themselves in hierarchical patterns based upon age, strength, and gifts. By his age alone, Eric shoud rank higher than Bill, but was lower due to Bill's status as a king by conquest. The Authority, a ruling body made up of the strongest of royals, were the ultimate policing power

in the vampiric world and were brutal in their control of outliers. Whatever crimes Eric committed that led him to the Sands would pale in comparison to being named an "oathbreaker," as that would allow the Authority to strip him of all power, childer, and even take his head if deemed necessary. There was no worse crime in their eyes. And the bargain might not have been signed in triplicate the way a human would, but blood was true currency in vampiric terms.

Incredibly, laughter suffused Eric a moment later, replacing the shock and fury that filled his blue eyes.

"What are you, Sookie Stackhouse?"

Not that again. "I am a woman who is tired and desires to return home with the vampire she was sent to retrieve."

Eric stood, still naked though she tried even harder to ignore that, and reached out to snag her bare wrist. He gently closed the clasp of the cuff bracelet with a quiet snick.

"These are no mere baubles to be wasted on someone with little power, Sookie. These indicate whoever gave these to you holds you in the highest esteem." Eric toyed with the bracelet he still held. "What did you trade for that?"

Rage, a feeling she'd stuffed and snuffed for years, rose from the depths of her soul and rushed through her until she was dizzy with the power of it. She'd been made to feel less than nearly her entire life; first by the humans of her hometown and then again by the vampires who filled her new world. There was no expectations of leaving the supernatural for the mundane - the deaths of her family had proven to be the leash Bill needed to hold onto Sookie - but she would not be spat upon by this vampire. Why it was important Eric not ridicule her when nearly every other vampire in her life did, wasn't a conscious thought.

She turned neatly in Eric's grasp and stepped closer until his body touched hers at various points. His nudity was no longer embarrassing or even noticed; he would listen to her and understand.

"You will address me as Consort or Miss Stackhouse as you were never given leave to address me by my Christian name. I may be human, therefore cattle bred for food in your eyes, but I am also the only way you are getting out of this den of iniquity. King Edgington does not seem to harbor any fondness for you, especially since you took his favorite toy away, and I'm told he's a very inventive torturer for those who displease him. Now, I know I will face punishment from King William if I return without you, but that's a risk I'm willing to run. Are you?"

Bill would probably flay her skin from her bones if she returned empty handed and without a good enough excuse, yet Sookie was fully prepared to go on without Eric. The mere thought of him disrespecting her, holding her in less esteem, was anathema to her. He would learn she wasn't someone to dismiss so easily.

"Bill does not deserve you," Eric quietly replied, his blue eyes wide with fascination, if Sookie were delusional enough to pretend he could feel that towards her. "Whatever he did to acquire you, I will return twofold. I promise you this: you will be mine alone someday."

The rage disappeared as suddenly as it came and Sookie nearly sagged in the release. It was tiresome how vampires needed to own someone as if there was no such thing as free will...which, thinking upon it, probably didn't exist since most vampires weren't exactly sired under the best circumstances. She nearly shook her head at her strange thoughts and merely rolled her eyes at Eric before stepping away, deliberately turning her back on him. It was a calculated move since Eric was much stronger and faster than her or Josue, so if he chose to attack, there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"Is everything prepared for our departure?"

"Yes, Consort." Beneath the deferential tones lay something almost...awed. Awe that the puny human had the audacity to stand up to Eric Northman and lived. Sookie din't take a breath at her own daring, just walked out the door as if she had any clue where she was going.

A/N: Whoops! I've had some issues posting as I was doing it on my phone so when I got two reviews telling me that I had posted the wrong chapter to this story, I had to actually log into the computer. This is the correct chapter now.