Chapter 4 : A Sorta Fairytale

The Watcher – Chapter 4

Smile, though your heart is aching
Smile, even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky
You’ll get by…

If you smile
With your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just…

– Smile by Micheal Jackson

A SORTA FAIRYTALE

EPOV

My eyes glazed over as I listened to the Vampire in front of me plead for clemency for his child. The rogue newborn was scheduled to be defanged and silvered later tonight as punishment for feeding on another’s Vampire pet. As I saw it, he was lucky to keep his undead life. Two months in silver was a light sentence for breaking one of our kind’s cardinal rules. In time, his fangs would re-grow and, hopefully, the lesson would be learned.

I looked with slight disgust at the rogue’s Maker, still whining and making demands from his seat across my desk, and spoke:

“Martin, I’m afraid there is nothing I can do. The punishment for feeding on another Vampire’s human was established by the Magister himself. Your child’s sentence was fair and I would even say lenient. You only have yourself to blame for his misbehaviour: you should have either chosen a more compliant human to turn or you should have been a stricter Master and better taught your child our rules.”

Martin snarled his displeasure but was quickly cowed when I bared my fangs.

What a pathetic creature. His case was just an example of the sharp decline in the quality of newborn Vampires. Whereas Vampires used to select their children based on criteria such as intelligence, cunning, strength and aptitude for survival, nowadays human were turned left and right because a bored Vampire had found them attractive-looking or wanted a new toy to play with. This sad situation was just a symptom of a larger disease: we, as a race, had become complacent.

Vampires had been increasingly living in plain sight among humans, and with the loss of secrecy came the loss of discipline. There was even talk of revealing ourselves to the world, although I did not believe such a development was wise or even likely.

I myself had only fathered one child, Pamela. I had selected her for her beauty, of course, but also because I had seen in her a ferocity and thirst for life that was only bettered by my own. I knew she would embrace Vampirism with gusto and would not foolishly throw away the gift of immortality through reckless behaviour, and she had not disappointed me.

Thinking of my child made me momentarily morose. Pam had become increasingly restless over the last three years and I knew it was only a matter of time before she would depart to make her own way through the world. She had expressed her desire to explore the Northern States and had even discreetly begun to form plans. When the time inevitably came I would release her in the hope that, eventually, she would willingly return to me.

Thoughts of Pam led me to think of another female whose spirit had impressed me.

It had been four days since my chance meeting with Sookie; I had been caught up in my duties and been unable to visit her again as I had wished. Tonight, however, after Martin had been dismissed, I would be free to escape Dragon House for a couple of hours or so and I was looking forward to interacting once more with the feisty little telepath.

The question of how to protect her properly posed something of a conundrum. I wanted her safe and yet hidden, so I had to think very carefully about whom I would allow to know of her existence. I was considering assigning Amy to the full-time protection of the child; the Were was not a fighter but she would still be able to deal with human dangers and alert me to any Supes sniffing around the girl. Yes, this would be an agreeable solution.

Bored with Martin’s histrionics, I put an end to the audience and, after informing Pam that for the next two hours she should only call me for emergencies, I flew to Adele Stackhouse’s home.

On arrival, I was dismayed to find the child gone. Adele herself was seated in the drawing room, quietly reading a book, but the bedroom Sookie had shared with her brother was empty and I could not detect her scent in the shed or anywhere else on the property. I knew for a fact that her uncle Bartlett could not be responsible for her sudden disappearance, as I had dispatched the bastard myself only the night before.

I had taken my sweet time with him, torturing him lengthily by drilling holes in his flesh (I had refused to use my fangs on such a base creature), optimising the pain while meticulously avoiding any vital organs in order to draw out the ordeal as much as possible. I had also been careful to inject him with adrenaline at the start of our session to prevent him from passing out. When his supplications and screams of terror had ceased to amuse me, I had opened up his abdomen and rolled out his intestines until he had finally died. Afterwards, I had replaced his body in his car and totalled then torched the vehicle so thoroughly that the coroner’s office would need his dental records to identify him.

After a minute of reflection, I remembered from the background information file that Adele’s children lived nearby. Of course! I should have expected Sookie’s main residence would be her parents’ house. I flew to the Corbett Stackhouse home and was pleased when her now-familiar scent reached me through an open window in the dining room.

I approached carefully to see Sookie seated at a large table with her brother and mother on either side. She appeared sullen and was not joining in the table talk. When her father made his entrance in the room, carrying a tray of human food, I stood transfixed.

His smell was even more seductive than that of his daughter; it was similar to Sookie’s perfume, yet more complex, and had a different base note. The scent was both exotic and familiar. I knew that smell and its name was tugging at the edge of my mind. It was…

Fairy!

Oh, yes! Now that the veil had been lifted, it was unmistakable: the luscious, enthralling essence of Fairy woven with the scent of human male… there could be no doubt: Sookie’s father was a Fae/human hybrid.

This was Adele’s link to Fintan! She had borne his children! How could my investigators have missed this?

I also understood why I had missed Sookie’s own Fairy essence: before meeting her, I had never been in presence of a Fae child and hence could not have recognised her olfactory signature for what it was.

This revelation changed everything; it was now imperative to keep all Supes (including Amy) away from the child as Fairies were extremely sought-after: they were beautiful, highly magical creatures and, to vampires, their blood was intoxicating. I was resolved more than ever to protect the girl, yet another thought began creeping into my mind… When she came of age, I decided, she would be mine.

Sookie suddenly brightened and turned her head towards me. I suspected she had sensed me thanks to her special talent. I winked when she caught my eyes and put a finger to my lips and, with a nod of understanding and a small smile, she returned to her meal.

Fourteen months later, I was seated in my office, scrolling through my e-mails. I paused at one entitled ‘HAHAHAHA!’ and opened it with a click.

Three Vampires walk into a bar.

The first two order warm bottles of True Blood but the third one surprises the waiter by asking for a glass of hot water…

I rolled my eyes as I trashed my child’s latest asinine e-mail. Pam had left my side six months go and ever since my inbox had been ‘blessed’ with similar drivel on an average of twice a week. While I outwardly made a show of exasperation at her puerile antics, I had secretly come to relish her silly messages. The simple truth was that I missed my child.

Her departure had created a power vacuum in my hierarchy and I had selected Soledad as her replacement. The Argentinean Vampire had been the acting manager of Dragon House for the past four years and I was pleased with her service: she was loyal, efficient and hard working. Of course, I was not unaware that her eagerness to please me was due in part to the fact that she deeply lusted after me. Regardless, I had no intention of taking her to my bed: Vampire sexual or romantic entanglements were highly dramatic affairs that usually ended in bloody tears or worse. The last Vampire I had been intimate with had been Pam, and that had been a long time ago. After a few decades of fun she had discovered her preference for the fairer sex and we began to fight over conquests (I am pleased to say that I usually won but, being a generous Master, I would often happily share).

While Soledad made an adequate and dependable second-in-command, I did not reward her with the same levels of trust and independence that Pam had enjoyed; she only knew what she must in order to do her job well, and not a thing more. It was a proven fact that the only being a Vampire could trust implicitly was his own child and, even then, only if said child had been chosen well. Soledad would never be trusted with any secret of importance, especially the very secret I had been jealously keeping under wraps for more than a year now.

Ah! Thinking of my delightful telepath always brought a smile to my lips. After dealing with paperwork and accepting the pledges of a few Vampires who had requested the right to settle in my Area, I decided that a fresh visit to my young friend was in order.

En route to Sookie’s house, I reflected on the events of the past year.

I had been surprised by how much I had become attached to the child; she was entertaining, unusually perceptive and utterly frank. Her honesty, in particular, was a most charming attribute. Due to my position I was forced to deal with disingenuous and calculating people on a nightly basis and I could never take a single word that came out of their mouths at face value. Sookie’s absence of any conniving tendencies and indifference to my wealth or the power I wielded was a welcome breath of fresh air.

I had only initially planned to visit her once a week (the minimum needed to confirm that she was safe and well-cared for) but I ended up making the short flight from Shreveport to Bon Temps three times more frequently as Sookie proved to be the perfect antidote to boredom and stifling bureaucratic bullshit.

I was always careful to make my travels as discreet as possible, only absenting myself for two or three hours at a time, at the most. I was also careful to always fly to my destination as it made me much harder to track. Only Pam knew of Sookie’s existence and I was confident the child was safe from prying eyes.

In the 14 months we had known each other, Sookie’s trust and affection for me had grown steadily. Some nights I would find her morose and tired. She did not speak of it, even when prompted, but I knew that her telepathy weighed on her. These nights, I would do my best to distract her by reciting the Great Norse Sagas to her, as I had heard them as a boy and a young man; other nights, I would speak of my expeditions and adventures. It was somewhat painful to recall my human life in such details but her fascination with the subject made it worth bearing the strain. Little by little, I was drawing her closer to my heart.

When I arrived at my destination, I found the house in disarray. A police car was parked in the driveway I could see a police officer searching around the property with a flashlight. Adele Stackhouse was also roaming around, loudly calling Sookie’s name.

I felt a chill down my spine. Months earlier, I had decided that the best form of protection was to shroud Sookie’s existence from the Supernatural world, which essentially meant not taking any step to involve anybody but myself (and Pam while she was there) in her protection. In truth, with her Uncle gone, the likelihood of Sookie running into any kind of trouble was slim. I had been worried for a time about her Fairy relatives, but it soon became apparent that Fintan was making no move to remove his Granddaughter from the care of her parents. I had only detected a Fairy presence around Sookie once, and it had been on Adele’s property the night after I had hunted Fintan. But now, confronted with a crisis situation, I began to wonder whether I had not been too casual about her safety.

Hovering discreetly over the property, I sniffed the air in search of Sookie’s scent and located her behind a bush. I swiftly joined her and was immensely relieved to find her unharmed. She was seated on the dirt floor, wearing pyjamas and cuddling the glow-worm doll I remembered from our encounter in Adele’s shed. When she did not react to my sudden appearance by her side, I became concerned. She was too pale and distressed for this to be merely a case of her telepathy putting a strain on her.

“What are you doing outside, little one?” I inquired.

Sookie lifted her eyes to look at me. Her gaze was infinitely sad and remote as she said in a thin voice:

“Daddy and Mama are dead.”

“What happened to them, Sookie?” I asked with urgency.

“Gran says they drowned in the river.”

I was at loss as to what to say. I knew Sookie would be expecting words of compassion and commiseration, but in truth I was unmoved by the news of her parent’s death. Humans died; that was what they did. There was little point in getting aggravated by this fact of life.

One of the first things all newborn Vampires learned was to become detached about the idea of death. We were allowed to grieve once, for our lost human lives, for our families; and then, never again. The Vampires who did not learn that lesson soon met the sun. Allowing one’s self to be weighed down by decades of loss was suicidal.

Instead of pronouncing platitudes without conviction, I delicately took hold of one her thin ankles, lightly rubbing her skin in a slow circular motion. I had hoped to convey comfort through the gesture. A single tear escaped from Sookie’s eye and I wiped it with my thumb before licking off the moisture.

Sookie shot upright and launched herself into my arms. Over the months I had come to relish physical contact with the child, so I readily returned her embrace. When she was settled against my chest, she began to weep in earnest.

“It pains me to see you hurting, little one,” I said while caressing her back.

After a few minutes, she calmed down and I broke off our embrace.

“Your Grandmother is very worried Sookie; you must return to her now.”

Sookie nodded.

“Won’t you stay a bit longer?” she asked, while wiping her face with the back of her hands.

“I will be near, little one. If you are still awake later tonight I will come to you.”

One hour later, Adele had settled Sookie in her bed. The boy had elected to sleep with his Grandmother, which left me free to come to the girl. I knocked on her window and she immediately shot out of her bed to open it for me; she had obviously been waiting for my return. Her eyes were bloodshot and it was plain that she was not feeling any better. Deciding that, as when dealing with her telepathy, distraction was the best cure, I offered:

“Do you want to see the world from above, little one?”

She looked at me curiously.

“Do you mean fly?”

“Indeed, little one,” I answered, extending a hand.

Sookie briefly hesitated before taking it. I lifted her into my arms and allowed her to settle in a comfortable position. Her eyes widened and she gasped when I rose through the air, safely cradling her against my chest. She shrieked when she looked down to see that we were dozens of feet above the ground. I waited for her heartbeat to even out before increasing my speed, gliding gracefully above the trees and circling around Bon Temps. Sookie was gazing at the panorama with wonderment in her eyes. I did a few somersaults and loops in the air, reveling in the child’s open delight and shrieks of happiness. Finally, I landed us on the sturdy branch of an old tree near her home. I let her sit next to me, one of my arms wrapped across her body.

A comfortable silence stretched between us while we listened to the sounds of the night. Sookie was the one to break the quiet.

“What are you?” She inquired.

Her question took me by surprise; in all the time we had known each other, she had never asked. I turned to look at her and said in a calm voice:

“I am Vampire.”

Slowly, as to not alarm her, I parted my lips and dropped my fangs. After a few moments I clicked them back and waited for her reaction.

Her reception was far more muted than I had anticipated. Her heartbeat became elevated and I could smell her adrenaline but she displayed no outward signs of fear and, when she spoke, her voice was steady:

“Are you Dracula?”

“I have never had the honour of meeting this great man. He is quite a legend among my kind… But no, I am not he. I am merely like him.”

“You drink blood?”

“Yes, little one. I must in order to survive.”

“Are you gonna drink my blood?”

“No, Sookie; I will not hurt you.”

She was silent for a while before resuming her interrogation:

“Are you gonna live forever?”

“If I’m careful enough, and clever enough, I might see the End of Time.”

Sookie frowned.

“Won’t you get bored?”

“Boredom is a fact of my undead life. One cannot contemplate immortality without first accepting monotony. Years pass, centuries pass, kingdoms fall, empires rise… everything changes yet I stay the same.”

I was afraid I was losing her with my ramblings so I tried to find a more suitable analogy:

“It is comparable to spending one’s lifetime in front of a TV set. Sometimes an interesting program will come up but it usually gets tedious pretty fast. Do you understand?”

“Oh, yeah! I don’t really like TV. I prefer books, they’re more fun.”

I smiled appreciatively.

“The invention of the printing press has been the greatest human innovation of all time. Well, that and modern plumbing. My books have kept me company during the centuries and have alleviated some of my loneliness. In fact, my most prized possessions are my first editions of classic European literature… and my sword.”

“You have a sword?” Sookie looked deeply impressed by that fact.

“Yes, little one. I was a great warrior as a human, and I dare say not much has changed since I became Vampire. I am famous on both sides of the ocean for my fighting skills.”

Sookie was awed.

“Will you show me one day?”

“I will teach you how to fight if you wish.”

“Really?” Sookie squealed excitedly. “Even though I’m a girl?”

I scoffed at her remark.

“A woman of the right temperament makes as formidable a combatant as any man. When I was human, I would go raiding and warring with female warriors, some of whom earned positions of command through their skills and cunning. They were lethal and much celebrated within my people. I would not have dared cross any of these fearsome Valkyries.”

“I like the Valkyries,” she observed. She was now very familiar with Norse mythology and folklore thanks to my reciting of the Sagas.

“Eric, do you think my parents are in Valhalla?”

“I think that, wherever they are, they are at peace.”

Sookie nodded and huddled closer to me.

“Do you have a family, Eric?”

“I have a child, Pamela.”

“You’re a dad?” she exclaimed.

“Not exactly,” I chuckled. “Vampires cannot have babies. But I have made another Vampire.”

“How?”

“I will tell you another day,” I answered evasively.

“Will I meet her?” she enquired.

“Not for a while, little one. My child has gone away and I do not know when she will return.”

“Then tell me again about how Odin discovered the Runes.”

I set out to recite an abridged version of the Rúnatal, a rather gory Saga that had become one of her favourites.

It was somewhat odd to have such a deep conversation with a mere 7-year-old but I knew Sookie was faking neither her interest nor her understanding. She was wise beyond her years and, in a way, already world-weary due to the quirk of her mind. The very fact that she had so recently experienced true loss for the first time made her better disposed than ever to appreciate the gravity of the poem.

As I was finishing the last lines, light rain had started to pour and I knew it was time to return Sookie to her bed.

“Do you want to go flying again?” I asked.

“Oh, yes! Please!”

I treated Sookie to a few more aerial acrobatics before heading back to her home.

I settled her on the floor of her room then hovered outside the window. When she extended her arms, for what I assumed would be yet another hug, I lowered myself so we were at eye level. Instead of the expected embrace, she lightly cupped the sides of my face with her small hands and pressed a kiss on my lips.

Her lips were still chilled from the flight and moist from the rain, and while enjoying the sensation of her skin against mine, I registered an odd feeling humming in my chest. I paused to examine the new impression and was stunned to identify… tenderness?

As I came to this realisation, Sookie let go of my face and said soberly:

“Thank you, Eric.”

And with that, she closed the window and turned to her bed, leaving me feeling more human than I had in many centuries.

Two nights later, I was lazily browsing through the police reports covering the activities in all the precincts in my Area. I made it my business to keep abreast of the criminal activities the humans dealt with; it was another way to detect potential crimes committed by rogue Supes before the situation spiralled out of my control. My attention was drawn by a report from the Bon Temps sheriff’s department.

This particular report was about the disappearance in broad daylight of a young girl, which had been reported the previous day by her guardian.

The girl’s name was Sookie Stackhouse.