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“Grandfather,” Sookie said when she found him inside her grandmother’s house.

She was sure she looked a mess after the way she’d spent the last few hours.

Fintan turned to look at her, and said, “Granddaughter.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, although she was sure she already knew. He wanted her to come home with him.

“I am here to take you home, and from the look of you, to stop you from disgracing your family any further.”

“You’re the one that taught me not to be ashamed of my body and what it can do,” Sookie reminded him. “And I’m not ready to go back.”

“You should not be ashamed of your body, and I do not care that you have had sex,” he said sternly. “But I do care that you reek of vampire.”

Sookie folded her arms over her chest defiantly.

“So what? I’m here and alive. He’s been good to me,” Sookie said.

“You are a fairy,” he said. “A royal fairy. You do not breed with vampires. They cannot give you children, they hate your kind, and they killed your grandmother! She gave you up to protect you, and you pay her back by sneaking to Earth and having sex with the first vampire who is nice to you? What if it’s the vampire that killed her?”

Sookie sighed. She was insulted and also a little worried her grandfather was right.

“Do you know Eric Northman?” she asked, hoping he had at least heard of Eric.

“The name sounds familiar,” he said.

“He’s the vampire I have bred with,” Sookie told him. “He has given me his word not to harm me and has even offered me a job so that I can support myself.”

“To keep you on tap as his own personal blood fountain?”

“No!” Sookie glared at him. “He thinks I’m intelligent and have greater use than that of a breeding mare.”

“Do you intend to tell me that you think a breeding mare is all you are in Fairy?”

“It’s what I’ve been groomed to think,” Sookie argued. “I’ve never been given any other options.”

“You would be a mother, Sookie. A wonderful mother. You have more humanity in you than your cousins. And you have such light in you,” he said. “Don’t give that up to work for a vampire you cannot have children with who only wants your blood and sex.”

“You don’t know the first thing about what he wants, anymore than I know how to be a mother. You just said I have more humanity in me. It stands to reason I would want to be around my own kind.”

“You will not stay here,” he said, and walked around her to go to the door. “That is final.”

“You can’t force me to go back,” Sookie said.

“Do not pull this adolescent behavior now. You have always been so good.”

“Yes, as long as I follow your rules and do everything you ask, you adore me. The minute I think for myself you’re disgusted with me. Don’t deny it. I can feel it rolling off of you in tidal waves. I don’t feel like I belong in Fairy, Grandfather. I don’t know if I belong here either, but I would like to figure it out,” Sookie said.

“You have it all wrong, Sookie,” he said, and stepped closer to her. “I’m not disgusted with you. I’m disappointed. The disgust is for me.”

“Disappointment isn’t any better,” she said as a tear slipped from her eye. “I’m not happy in Fairy anymore. I’m scared for my brother and I think I can do some real good if I stay here. I can’t go back, Grandfather. I won’t.”

Fintan frowned for a moment, and then he lifted a glowing finger to touch his granddaughter’s temple. Sookie began to cry steadily. Fintan was the only father she really remembered, and leaving him behind didn’t suit her very well, but she had to do it. She hugged him tightly while she cried.

Her grandfather hugged her back, and kissed the top of her head.

“I love you so deeply, my Sookie,” he whispered. “I made your grandmother a promise, and I need you to understand how seriously I take that promise. If you choose to stay, you must take care of yourself. You are wanted here by people that will only harm you. If you feel that you can do something good here, then do it, but do not close yourself off to Fairy and me forever. I would be devastated.”

“I’m not closing myself off. I just need some time here to figure out where I belong. You obviously enjoyed it enough to father two children and leave them here knowing vampires exist,” Sookie pointed out.

Fintan was only half fairy himself. Maybe it was enough for him to identify with the fairies, but Sookie didn’t feel that way. The more time she spent on earth, the less she felt like a fairy.

“I fell in love, my darling,” he said. “You and your brother were safe as long as the vampires stayed hidden. I had nothing here but your grandmother, and she had her husband. There was no room for me.”

“And who is to say I can’t fall in love with someone here too? Right now I think aligning myself with Eric is smart. He’s an older vampire who is capable of protecting me from the younger ones. He hasn’t made a single demand for my blood. I gave it to him willingly and as you can see, he didn’t drain me. Please trust me to be able to take care of myself and do the right thing. If I stay and I can help the vampires, earth will become safer for our kind to visit. It’s to everyone’s benefit that this realm finds harmony again and I believe that I can help make that happen,” Sookie told Fintan.

Fintan smiled at his granddaughter.

“You have your grandmother’s heart,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you that.”

“Only every chance you get,” Sookie smiled, and wiped away her tears. “Please, Grandfather, let me stay.”

“I will give you one month,” he said. “You must come back then. I’m not saying you have to make a final decision then, but you must come back.”

“I accept that,” Sookie nodded and then hugged him again. “Thank you, Grandfather. I know I can make you proud of me.”

“You already have, my darling girl,” he said.

Sookie pressed her glowing fingertip to his forehead and kissed his cheek.

“I love you, Sookie,” he said, and pressed his finger to her head as well. “Be safe.”

“If there’s trouble I will call for help,” she promised. “Do you want me to escort you to the portal?”

“Yes, please.”

Sookie took his hand and the two of them popped out to the woods together. After one last hug, Sookie let go of her grandfather and he stepped through portal. Sookie started walk back toward the house and a black void closing in fast forced her to pop back into the house. It may have just been Eric coming to check on her, but since she wasn’t sure, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Sookie walked into her grandmother’s old bedroom and stopped when she saw a beautiful box sitting on the center of the bed. There was a knock on the window and Sookie looked up to see Eric there. She picked up the box and then popped outside again. He was holding the robe and slippers she’d left behind in her rush to leave.

“I’m sorry I left like that. Fintan came looking for me,” she explained.

“It’s alright. Is everything okay?”

“He’s giving me a month before I have to go back to give a progress report,” Sookie told him. “And he knew by my smell that I had sex with a vampire. Don’t be surprised if Niall pays you a visit.”

“I won’t,” he said with a silly little smile.

“You’re alarmingly happy about a visit from Niall.”

“I’m happy you’re staying for a month.”

“Oh.” The box Sookie was holding was heavy so she set it on the ground while she opened it. The first thing she saw was the money. By her count, there was fifty thousand dollars in the box. “Whoa…”

There were glowing vials of Illumia inside and then a few enchanted items that were tagged with their magical purposes. Sookie pulled a bottle of Illumia out and drank it down quickly. Immediately she felt better.

“What was that?” Eric asked.

“Illumia,” Sookie told him.

“What does it do? It’s like your skin is glowing.”

To Sookie, she looked the same.

“It keeps my strength up and provides nourishment that food does not,” she explained. “When I’m at full power it’s more like a boost of adrenaline.”

“You smell more like a fairy too,” he smiled. “And you look… lighter.”

She smiled back at him and pulled out a gold chain with a purple medallion on it. The tag said it would allow her to fly. It was written in the fairy language so if the items were stolen no one would know what they did. Sookie slipped the necklace on and immediately began to levitate.

“I can fly,” she breathed.

Eric’s eyes went wide, and he instinctively stepped closer to catch her in case she fell.

“How is that possible?”

“Magic,” she whispered and went higher.

He lifted off the ground himself, and took her hand. “Want to see how well it works?”

“No, I don’t want to waste the magic. I don’t know if it will run out,” Sookie said as she started to descend. Just knowing she could do it if need be was good enough for her.

“What else is in there?”

“More Illumia, some other trinkets and some money. Well, a lot of money.”

Sookie had a brief thought… a curiosity, really.

“I wonder what would happen if I gave you some of the Illumia,” she said.

“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. It seems like sunlight in a bottle,” he said.

“It could be, but I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask if it’s toxic to vampires. If it is I could use it as a weapon.”

It would be easy to tell a vampire that it would allow them to walk safely in the sunlight, only for it to burn them from the inside.

“That would be an interesting weapon to have,” Eric said.

“Yes, it would.” Sookie looked through the remaining trinkets and came across a piece of plastic with a shiny front and buttons on the side of it. There was a circular cutout on one side. “I wonder what this is,” she said, and held it up to show Eric. There wasn’t a tag on that one.

He smiled and said, “It’s a phone.”

“Oh. I don’t even know how it works,” she admitted. “Do you know how this works?”

“Touch one of the buttons,” he said.

“On the side or the screen?” Sookie had seen both before, but didn’t know which was which.

“The side.”

She pushed a side button and nothing happened.

“I’ll figure it out later. I’ve survived this long without a phone,” Sookie shrugged.

“Let me see it,” Eric said, and held his hand out for it.

Sookie handed it over to him and let Eric figure it out. He pushed a couple of buttons and the phone lit up. He tapped the buttons and screen a bunch of times, and then handed it back over.

“My number is in it now. If you want to talk to me, hit the number one, then press this button,” he said, and pointed to it.

“If I want to talk to you I’ll just pop over. Naked.”

“I like it very much when you do that,” he smiled. “But you can’t if I’m in New Orleans.”

“True,” Sookie agreed. “Thank you for putting your number in there for me. I’ll have to see if my number is in there somewhere so I can give it to Jason.”

“He will show you how to find it,” he said. “I sent myself a text from your phone so I have your number.”

“Alright,” Sookie nodded. “I suppose I should take this home and sort out what it is I have here.”

“Would you like me to escort you?”

“If you’d like, but you don’t have to. I’m sure I’ll be fine on my own,” she said.

“I have many vampires out tonight.”

“Am I still glowing? I can’t see it if I am.”

“It has faded.”

Sookie nodded and put on her robe before she picked up her box of goodies.

“Walk or fly?” she asked.

“You choose.”

“Walking is fine with me, but is there enough time for it? The sun should be coming up soon.”

“You are right, we should fly. I need to get back home in time to speak with Pam.”

“Then flying it is.”

Eric scooped Sookie up and in less than two minutes he was setting her down outside of Jason’s house.

“Thank you, Eric.” Sookie kissed his chin.

“You’re welcome,” he smiled. “Have a good day, Miss Stackhouse.”

“Likewise, Mr. Northman.” Sookie turned and went inside.

◊ ◊ ◊

Eric flew home as quickly as he could, and as he got closer he could feel that his progeny was already there. She was waiting in the living room for him, and there was a huge pile of anti-vampire weapons on the floor in front of her that she was sorting through with gloved hands.

“I see that it went well,” Eric smiled proudly at her.

“We need to purchase a van for future excursions like this,” Pam said as she tossed aside a length of silver chain.

“I’ll take it under advisement,” he said. “How was Bill?”

“He was his usual sour puss self. He grumbled more than once about his sheriff being a scared little bitch,” she told Eric. “I reminded him it’s in his best interest to keep his commentary to himself if he doesn’t want to lose his fangs.”

“Good girl. And the glamouring?”

“It was successful. We not only glamoured the people on the list, but those they were with. There was no bloodshed on our route,” Pam told him. “And Bill asked about the fairy.”

“What did you tell him?”

“He’s not vampire enough to handle a fairy,” she snickered.

Eric pushed his pride at her and began to help her sort through the weapons. The ones in perfect condition would be resold at the store, and the rest would be destroyed.

“If you smell fairy in your bathroom it is because Sookie was in there.”

“I would prefer the fairy doesn’t go popping into my room,” Pam said.

“I will tell her,” Eric said. “She just really seems to enjoy popping away in the middle of… activities and making me chase after her.”

“Smart fairy,” Pam snickered and actually felt amused over the notion. “It’s time a woman made you work for it.”

“She does, very much at times. And then others it’s almost like she wants to attack me. It has been a while since I sexually awakened someone. Perhaps not since you.”

“Then she’s in for a treat,” Pam said, and tossed aside a silver net.

“Or maybe she will fuck me in every way imaginable for a year and then decide she likes women more,” he smiled at her.

“A girl can hope.”

“Not likely since she is afraid of you,” he said, his expression turning sterner.

“Good. She should be.”

“Pam, you have no reason to harm her.”

“I have no intention of harming her. But there’s also no harm in her thinking I could if I wanted to. She needs to be cautious. You can’t always be around to protect her and you’ve taken down full blooded fairies that are older and have more power than she does,” Pam pointed out.

“She is aware that she needs to be cautious. There’s a reason she hit you with a little light.”

“That stings like a motherfucker, by the way,” Pam told him.

“I’m sure it does. I want for Sookie to be able to feel safe with you, and only you. I told her you cannot harm her, but knowing that you would if you could doesn’t exactly help her warm up to you.”

“I don’t care if she warms up to me. You gave me an order and I will obey it.”

“She will be around for the next month, and she will be helping us soon.”

“You enlisted a fairy to aid vampires?”

“She will only be with you and I when we do this. My plan is to go into movie theaters and glamour a mass group in one fell swoop,” he explained. “Sookie has the ability to immobilize large groups of people. She can do that, we glamour, and then leave.”

Pam arched an eyebrow. “When did you come up with this idea?”

“This evening during the meeting. I had to ask Sookie if she would be willing to help first because we cannot do it without her.”

“We could but it’ll be easier with her abilities,” Pam agreed. “Why would a fairy want to help us?”

“Because she knows that helping us will help humans as well and her brother is a human. It is peaceful, and she is in agreement that this is the best way to try to turn the tide.”

Pam didn’t look it but her blood told Eric that she was impressed.

“When do we go?”

“Probably in two nights’ time. We will all go to New Orleans, and if this is successful I will request a meeting with the Queen.”

“Do you think it’s wise to confirm that there is a fairy in our area? Fucking Andre will probably come looking for her.”

“We won’t be telling the Queen about Sookie or her help. We probably won’t inform her of the mass glamouring. Though I think it would be wise to test this at a theater here first.”

“That’s a good idea in case one of her retinue is in the crowd in New Orleans,” Pam said. “But at least we’re doing something instead of sitting around with our thumbs up our asses.”

“I have seen the error in my behavior,” he said. “We’re going to win this fight, Pam, or die trying.”

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