Hey Readers! This is a new fic of mine that has been roaming in my head for ages and I just had to get it out. I hope you all like it and will leave me reviews. Like all my fics this one too has an OC. Please do tell me if you like it or if you have any criticisms...Happy Reading, folks! Enjoy...

Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood...

Finding Her

Chapter One

Business was thriving as usual. How could it not when said business belonged to one Eric Northman? Eric believed himself to excel in everything and Fangtasia was just one of his many achievements over the thousand years of his undead life. That particular evening he came in before his bar had opened for business. After all most of the nights he had to sit on his throne and keep with the image of the bar, so there were certain evenings that he had to come in early to take care of work and of course make sure his area was in order. Oh the pains of being a vampire Sheriff!

That evening was nothing out of the ordinary. He came in impeccably dressed in black; he found one of his business partners the vampire Longshadow already organizing the bar and still no sign of his other business partner slash second-in-command slash progeny Pam. There was Ginger, dumb and blonde human worker of Fangtasia. Where Ginger lost in intellect she made up in looks, loyalty and hard work. Also the dumber a person was the less chance of him or her doing anything against their employer. So they kept her around. Eric had had her once when she was brand new, but the novelty wore off on the first time, Pam played around with her a few more times and then she too soon lost interest. Longshadow was never permitted to touch her though. After all she was one of the loyal employees of Fangtasia and good employees, especially day workers were so hard to come by these days.

Eric ran at vampire speed to the back room looking for Pam, but what he found was a surprise. A strange and unexpected surprise and one that he was sure would be amusing. There in the back room against the wall in a corner a little girl sat on the floor all curled up and reading a book apparently. Eric stood there and stared at her, he just couldn't look away; neither could he get rid of the tension he suddenly felt and that odd way his senses were fluttering. The girl was thin, with short unruly shiny black curls on top of her head; she was pale and had almost no emotions on her little face. She was entirely too comfortable in her place and lost in her own little world reading her book. Something about her just made Eric itch and it was getting on his nerves.

He remembered Pam mentioning this little mouse; this was Ginger's niece. How odd it was to find a little girl calmly reading a book in a vampire bar. Did she have no sense of danger or even the slightest hint of nerves? That little breather had to be the tastiest morsel in the entire bar, a five-star course for any vampire and what does she do? She sits on the floor all curled up and comfortable reading a book. He wanted to spook the tiny breather, but something made him decide otherwise.

He returned to his office and for the night forgot all about her. But that month, everyday Eric came in early and saw her, she was either in her usual place doing her homework, scribbling in notebooks or reading or following Ginger around, helping her with anything and everything. She helped her clean, move heavy things, keep inventory, everything. He even saw Pam talking with her one evening and that was a great shock. Pam usually avoided the little humans so that same evening he asked Pam about the little breather.

Apparently, the little breather was snarky and Pam liked her. Well, as much as Pam could like anyone. She only liked her because the little thing was actually smart and not as dumb as the girls they encountered these days. She entertained Pam greatly and that was why Pam had told both Ginger and Longshadow that she was under the protection of Fangtasia. Also Pam made sure the little girl left before the bar opened.

Pam did mention her to Eric once a few months ago, but Eric told Pam to not bite her because she was still a minor and then forgot all about her. Pam met the girl months ago one evening before opening time and was exceedingly surprised. The girl was extremely smart, had no fashion sense was not ditzy like the other giggling breathers and was just as sarcastic as Pam herself. Then there was that way she would both present her wicked sense of humor and be respectful to Pam. The girl was smart and knew her place, that was something that most humans forgot especially after the AVL was forcing vampires all over to be all human-friendly. There was no way this rather spunky breather was related to that dumb Ginger, Pam decided. Pam thought, even though the girl was rather skinny and average looking, she would have loved to taste her. It was a pity that she was just fourteen. Pam let her do her homework in the back room; the little breather was very amusing. She was just different.

The little breather's name was Mary-Jean Hollis and she was fourteen years old and she would be finished with her high school education by the time she was fifteen, which was why she had so much homework. She was also an orphan and Ginger's friend's daughter and was taken in by Ginger and she did all the housework at home. According to what Pam said the girl seemed to be raising Ginger and not the other way around. Eric decided that he agreed with Pam, the little breather was both different and amusing. Curiosity nagged at Eric, he wanted to know more about this little mouse that scurried around in his bar.

The next evening Eric decided to introduce himself to the quiet mouse in his bar. There she was again in her usual place, sitting all alone with her nose buried in a thick book. Again, Pam was right the girl had no fashion sense whatsoever. She wore the baggiest clothes and the rattiest shoes. But there was something endearing about how she curled up against that wall and on the floor. She sat there as comfortably as a lazy kitten. There was that tension in his body, that fluttering of his senses and that itchy irritation. Something about her didn't fit and it bugged him. So just to spook the little mouse he appeared right in front of her at vampire speed.

He expected her to feel the sudden and harsh whoosh of air because of his speed. Her curls bounced because of the said whoosh, but her pulse remained steady. Not even a startled gasp let alone a horrified shriek. The strangest thing was that the girl was neither spooked nor was she surprised, no fear even, her pulse remained steady as she lazily looked up from her book, blinked, stood up and gave him polite smile. Then she greeted him with a soft, "Good Evening, Sir!"

Her lack of fear and surprise could be chalked up to the fact that she had been in a vampire bar and around vampires for so long that she got used to the speed. But his appearance, abnormal height, his whole aura of intimidation should have unnerved her. It unnerved everyone, but not her. Even though she clearly knew of him, she shouldn't have been so comfortable as to offer a polite greeting. His reputation preceded him and it wasn't a good reputation. She should have been shaking like a leaf if she really knew him to be Mr. Northman. Something did not add up to the little mouse and her strange behavior.

Eric couldn't decide which annoyed him more, her strange yellow eyes; her soft voiced that played over and over in his head, or her irritating presence which was making his skin buzz. Eric studied her and yes her eyes were more yellow than hazel. They were definitely yellow and a shade of eyes Eric had never seen on humans, she wasn't a supernatural creature as far as he could tell, but there was something different about her that Eric couldn't put his finger on.

Eric gruffly asked, "What is your name, little girl?"

She should have been scared just then but she wasn't instead she replied politely, "Mary-Jean Hollis, Sir and thank you for letting me do my homework here!"

With a simple sentence she both flattered him, made sure he couldn't pick on her for staying at his bar because he apparently let her and she presented herself as the submissive between the two of them. He had to agree with Pam, she was a clever little mouse. Although, that only made things worse for her from Eric's point of view, now she irritated him more and he was definitely going to find out more about her.

If she thought she could flatter him, then she needed to learn that flattering vampires could get you in deeper with said vampire. So he leaned down, the little mouse was really tiny, came barely came up to his chest and then leaned into her to intimidate. No reaction from her except a curious look at his long blonde hair dangling in front of her face and then slow blink of those yellow eyes so just for a reaction he took her chin between his fingers and leaned his face closer to her face. He was literally bending over her and pushing her into the wall, she was that short. Her skin was warm and the buzzing in him increased. Her scent was another thing that was bugging him. She smelled like the ocean and cold wind. She didn't smell all sweet and delicious, but her scent still made him curious about her.

She was so young and definitely a virgin. That sweet alluring scent clung to the scent of ocean and cold winds. To up the intimidation factor, he demanded, danger seeping into his voice, "How old are you then, little girl?"

She shied away from his touch. Turning her face away and pulling her chin out of his fingers. Again it bugged him, she was neither intimidated nor shy; he had just made her feel a little uncomfortable. Her head was lowered as he stared at her ratty converse on her feet and replied in that soft voice again, "Fourteen, Sir."

Finally, he had an upper hand on her. So, he asked with a dark smirk, "Did the big bad vampire scare the little mouse?"

For barely a microsecond, there was spike in the energy around him and the buzzing in his skin got too much to bear. It went as quickly as it came. The mouse suddenly didn't look like a mouse anymore. She stood up straighter, the polite smile on her face wiped away and a cold mask slid in its place. Her yellow eyes looked golden as she asked him back monotonously, "Why would the big bad vampire want to scare the little mouse? Doesn't the big bad vampire have other bigger mammals to scare, Sir?"

Eric gave her a look that would have chilled other vampires to the bones, but she looked unperturbed and more interesting was the fact that despite her sudden insolence Eric liked this mouse. Pam was right she was snarky and amusing. He was still irritated by her, but he wanted to see how far he could push her, after all this was the real her. So, to make her aware of her slip and show her exactly who he was, Eric growled out, "You are either a very brave little girl or a stupid one to use that tone with me. I have done much worse to little girls like you for doing less than that."

She blinked, smiled a half smile that was somewhat charming with her shiny black curls, pale face and pink lips and replied, "Sir, I am neither brave nor stupid. I am just unaware of the mouse and the big bad vampire you were asking me about. If my tone offended you then I apologize."

Smart girl, she turned around the situation once again. He stared at her with a blank face hoping for some kind of reaction. There was nothing as the girl held his ice-blue eyes with her strange yellow ones and maintained that smile on her face. He was irritated but her odd charm made him tolerate her. Her charm and that infernal buzzing he felt in his body. But he couldn't let her know that. So he stared. He knew he couldn't get anything more from her as Ginger came running and asking after her and she soon left.

Later in the night Pam asked him what he thought of the little breather. He told her that he agreed with her and that she was amusing. He also told her to keep Longshadow away from the little breather. He intended to see more of the little breather. Pam agreed.

Also that night as Eric sat on his throne with the worshipping fangbangers at his feet, he had an odd smirk on his lips as he thought about the little mouse he harbored in his bar and he thought about oceans and cold winds.