Chapter 1:

Eric:

As I watch her in slumber, she is the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on. The love I feel for her is stronger than any feeling I have ever experienced in my long life. My happiness comes from the fact that she is finally mine and I will never allow us to part again.

I think back to the time I first met my beloved and the circumstances surrounding our relationship. It was over a thousand years ago, but it is the memory that keeps me sane and helps me keep my humanity.

I was with my father, brother and a few of the men in our village. We lived in what is now considered Sweden and the winters were very harsh. We had been working all morning to split wood and get it piled and rationed for the cold winter. I was just a boy of ten years, but then we were expected to work very hard. Our lifespan was short in those days and we learned at a young age how to take care of ourselves and our family. Suddenly a young boy close to my age, ran to us from the forest and looked very distressed. He kept yelling that we must come with him and to make sure that we bring "Erik" with us. My father looked at me and then to the boy. He said, "The only Erik we have here is my young son." The boy told my father that the old woman had asked that Erik come for her granddaughter. I looked at my father and shrugged my shoulders. I really was tired of splitting and piling wood, so to go to another village suited me just fine. The boy had also made me very curious and I wondered why he had asked for me to come. How did he know my name and why was I to come for the old woman's granddaughter?

The boy explained to my father that their village had been attacked and slaughtered by creatures during the night. The only ones that survived were the old woman, her granddaughter and he. My father then said that we should secure our weapons and asked the boy how far away his village was. He said that he had been running about two hours and had only been here once before with his father. There were markers along the road, so that we would be able to follow his path and not get lost. The boy said the old woman needed us to come before dark so that the creatures did not get us. I was kind of excited because I had trained to be a warrior and now maybe I would able to use my skills. Even though my years only numbered ten, I was almost six feet tall and because of my hard work, my muscles were very strong.

We arrived at the village almost two hours later and there were mangled bodies strewn everywhere. The boy led us to the old woman's house and told her that Erik was here. The old woman motioned for us to come in and proceeded to tell us what had happened to her village. She said that the creatures that attacked the village were called vampires and they used to be human. They only come in the night and are unable to go out in the sun. They survive on human blood and can make people do whatever they want them to do. She survived because she has the ability to see the future and was able to not be "glamoured" by the creatures. The boy happened to be visiting her granddaughter, so that is why he was able to survive the slaughter.

She looked straight into my eyes and said, "Not all vampires are as evil as the ones that attacked this village. Some are respectable and do not kill for sport." I now understand why the old woman told me this, because she could indeed see the future and she knew that I would eventually become one myself. That didn't seem to bother her and she still wanted her grand-daughter to be with me.

The old woman asked me to go fetch her granddaughter who had been sent out to gather berries and should be close to the rear of the house. I did as I was told and when I found her I couldn't believe my eyes. This child of only eight years was the most beautiful person, male or female, I had ever seen. I had travelled to many places with my father the past summer and nothing could compare to the vision that stood before me.

I asked, "Are you the old woman's granddaughter?" She nodded and asked if I was her Erik. There it was again, the statement that I was hers. I told her that I was indeed Erik, but I did not know what she meant about me belonging to her. I stared into her beautiful blue eyes and was mesmerized. Her blond hair hung down to her waist and her face was as close to a goddess as I would imagine. She looked sad and said she was ready to go with me. She went on to say her "Amma" told her that she was going far away and would not be able to care for her. She told her that Erik was coming to be her protector and they would be together forever. That got my attention so I asked the girl to take my hand and led her back in the house to speak with the old woman.

When we walked back in the house the old woman smiled and said, "As it was foretold and as it should be…..together forever." She motioned for and her grand-daughter and I to sit next to her on her bed and that she had some very important things to share with us. She began by telling us that her husband is a very powerful supernatural being and is unable to stay in this world for long periods of time. She had two sons that were fathered by this being and her grand-daughter was the child of her son Fintan. He was not able to survive in this world very long, but does come back to visit her and Anna. The old woman looked into my eyes and said, "Erik, I would like you to meet your soul mate and life partner, Anna."

Of course I did not understand a word the old woman told us about life partner, soul mate… what was that? All I knew was that I wanted to be with this beautiful child called Anna and was glad the woman trusted me with her care.

The old woman said that the future she saw for us was very long and rocky. There will be very happy times and also very sad ones. In the end we will be together forever and no one will keep us apart. Time will mean nothing to us and when I am "Sheriff" and Anna is "Sookie" the time will be right and we will finally have our forever. Also the children will come back to us. Once again these words meant nothing to me; I was just hypnotized by Anna's eyes. We had not stopped staring at each other. The last thing the old woman wanted us to do was become blood bonded and she asked me to retrieve a knife from under a floor board. The knife was intricately carved and made out of material I had never seen in the making of our swords and knives. She asked me to cut the tip of my thumb and quickly cut the tip of Anna's. We did so and then she wanted us to press our two thumbs together so that our two blood drops would meld and become one.

We did as she asked and then she said that when we come to the point in our life that we are to be married and join as a married couple, we must once again use the knife. But this time we must drink each others blood at the same time while we were making love. Anna and I both blushed at the old woman's words. This was all new to us, but I took the knife and placed it in my tunic along with my sword. I already felt closer to Anna after the brief blood exchange. The knife must stay in my possession for as long as I live because it was important to our future. She told me to care for Anna and to teach her how to be a warrior. This was new to me because our women were not warriors. Anna needed to learn to defend herself when I was not around and she in turn could protect me and my family. That kind of bothered me, because I did not want a woman to protect me. Then the old woman said our blood was the same and that made the magic work between us. She asked us to kiss her goodbye and she closed her eyes and left this world.

We ended up gathering any of Anna's possessions that she felt she needed and we burned down the village. I grabbed her hand and we started the walk to my home. My stepmother could not have children and I felt she would enjoy having a daughter in the house. My brother, Leif and I had lost our mother when I was born and Svenna married my father accepting the job of being the mother to an infant and a three year old boy. She had been good to Leif and I and seemed to love my father very much. I explained everything about my home to Anna and she seemed a little frightened as she squeezed my hand a little tighter. I felt her apprehension and said I would always be with her. I told her that this was the beginning of forever and she smiled that angelic smile.