Final Chapter

I woke up in pain; every single muscle in my body screaming for relief. I was groggy, if only it was because of an awesome night of partying but of course, it wasn't the reason. Or was it? I couldn't be sure, everything was still foggy in my head. I moved one leg to the side and closed my eyes at the tremendous pain I felt.

As hard as the stiffness was to ignore, I still managed to get up, get dressed and head for the kitchen. I was still half a sleep and was on auto-pilot when I realised where I was and why I felt like shit. It was very strange, it was as if it hit me, out of a sudden, like a ton of bricks.

I steadied myself on the counter and tried to focus on anything but all the thoughts that were now playing in my head. As I replayed the scene repeatedly, I was unable to shake the wary feeling that came with the memories.

My Gran, Jason, Kim, Nathalie, Lexi, all these people that had been hurt or had given their lives for what exactly? A bunch of lies from a charismatic Fae leader and a bunch of witches that had nothing better to do than to worry about vampires?

If that synthetic blood Fintan had mentioned truly worked, then why were they so damn scared of it?

"They are scared that Trueblood is a lie and that we will multiply and kill everything." I heard from the bathroom's door.

I blinked a couple times before what my eyes saw connected with my brain. Through the steam, coming out of the bathroom, I could see the edges of a shorter frame but bulky shoulders. The voice wasn't familiar to me and it took me a few minutes to realized that Eric's maker was standing, towels wrapped around his waist, elbow leaning to the side.

By instincts, I immediately looked down to make sure I was wearing something appropriate. I was half naked but to my defense, I had not really had a chance to take a shower and dress appropriately. I looked back at the bed where Eric was peacefully sleeping. I then looked at the clock to confirm it was 3 p.m. in the afternoon and there was no reason for his maker to be awake.

"When you live as long as I have, sleep and blood become somewhat of an after thought" he said as if he read my mind.

"Is it?" I asked him. "Trueblood, I mean. Is it a lie?" I corrected myself. His expression had not changed, he was a very peaceful looking vampire, which was somewhat comforting.

"Would you believe me if I said that it does work?"

I nodded which made him smile. He took a few steps in my direction and I instinctively took one back. I couldn't go any further as my back was against the counter.

"I am sorry, I do not mean to scare you." he said before changing his course to walk over to the closet near the bed. "Will you excuse me as I look for clothing for myself?"

I shook my head quickly and scooted off the bathroom after I grabbed some clothing myself. I needed sometime alone, without the presence of a stranger. Eric had never really talked about his maker and all I knew was that he had left him at some point in their relationship without leaving a return address. It had seemed as if it had bothered Eric to talk about it, so I had always assumed they were not on good terms. What was I going to talk about? I could barely process what had happened, let alone talk about it with a complete stranger.

I couldn't be sure how long I had spent in the shower but eventually I decided it was enough. I took my time with drying my body and even more with the make up and the hair. It wasn't because I felt like shit on the inside that I had to look that way too.

Eric's maker was sitting on a chair in the living room and was obviously waiting for me to come out. He smiled politely and gestured to take a seat on the couch.

"It is nice to finally meet the object of my child's affection" he began, smiling at me with warmth. It did nothing to help with the surge of emotion that were coming to me.

"I am not an object" I replied defensively, apparently, I was annoyed by the expression. What was wrong with me?

"Apologies, it was just a figure of speech," he quickly responded.

Why the hell was I so on edge? There was an uncomfortable silence between us and I wasn't sure what to say. Who am I kidding? I knew exactly why I was feeling like this. As if it was my anger to feel. I wanted to ask Godric why he had left Eric. Sure, we had never talked about it but I knew it was something that had hurt him. Of course, this was none of my business, so I bit my lip and opted for a personal question instead.

"If Eric is a 1000 year old, how old are you?" I blurted out trying to avoid eye contact.

"2000"

He was staring at me with no emotions on his face, but I didn't feel him aggressive or dismissive. He seemed interested in responding to my questions, so I decided to push my luck.

"So Egyptian and Roman era?"

"Yes indeed."

"So how familiar are you with the fairies?"

"More than I care to admit. For instance, it is not the first time I have met Fintan." He said looking away as if I had hit some kind of nerve.

"You were there during the war?"

"Of course, and even before. I have met Fintan long before Eric was even born."

"Who is he?" I asked curious.

"The son of Niall Bringant, he is a prince in their world."

"Am I related to him?" I asked and caught a glimpse of an emotion on his face. Panic? "What aren't you telling me? You know I have Fae blood. So I am related to him like all Fae are related, right?"

He shook his head and looked at me straight in the eyes.

"I don't think now is the time to have this discussion." He replied but I didn't let go so easily.

"And why is that?"

"You have been through a lot." He simply replied and then changed the subject. "I heard your Gran is doing much better."

"Really? She will survive this?" I said hopeful.

"Well I don't know about surviving but yes she is alive. You will be able to see her in a day or 2."

My stomach growled very loudly as soon as I opened my mouth to ask more questions.

"Why don't you get something to eat?" he asked and I shrugged.

"There isn't much down here," I answered after getting up and making my way to the kitchen. It was true, as much as Eric had meant to keep this place well stocked for me, unfortunately, most of the food had spoiled and we had been too busy to notice.

"I am sure the kitchen upstairs is better stocked," Godric said and I nodded.

I didn't want to leave but at the same time, eating now was better than when Eric would get up. I wanted to be ready to give him more blood if he needed it. That weird wound was barely healed up. At the same time, it was obvious Godric was trying to avoid the conversation on Fintan, so I was giving him his space.

"I will go upstairs for a little bit but when I come back I am fully planning on discussing Fintan with you. I want to know how he is related to me. He said he could feel me. I don't know what that means."

He smirked and it was clear by the expression on his face he was not used to people telling him what to do. To be fair, I don't know why I would even risk talking to him like this. He was older than Eric which and was his maker. Didn't mean I was safe.

"Very well. Please stay safe." is all he said before I took my leave.

We were right, the kitchen up here was better stocked. As a bartender, I only cared about the bar and never paid much attention to the pantry but at this very minute, I was very happy Salon Rouge had an actual kitchen that served real food.

"Want me to make you something?" Colin said. He was a were and was in charge of the kitchen prep. I had not seen him many times since he was always gone by the time I came in.

"Oh!" I hesitated a few seconds before agreeing. He knew the kitchen better than I did.

He disappeared for a few minutes into the walk-in fridge and came out with a tray full of different veggies, chicken and rice. I sat at the counter and watched him do his magic while I looked around the kitchen.

As he prepared the meal, he asked me a few questions about Eric and about what had happened last night and I found it useful to go over some of the events with him. I was still shocked about it but it was easier to discuss and I was thankful I had an ear to talk to.

He handed me a plate of stir fry which I immediately ate. We had a little bit more small talk and then when I was finished, I thanked him for his time and offered to help him with the prep which he declined.

I exit the kitchen and decided to head to the main part of Salon Rouge. I wasn't sure if I was ready to face the debris but I wouldn't know until I tried. The stage is the first thing I saw when I came out of the hallway. I blinked a couple times unable to believe my eyes. I then took a few steps and looked back at the bar, at the floors, at the walls to eventually stare at the stage again. The destruction had leftt a mark on pretty much everything I laid an eye on. The stage had a gigantic whole in it, the speakers where blown, and the drum set was everywhere. Many tables were broken, the bar was soiled with broken glass and blood so was the floor.

It took my breath away.

After a few minutes of blinking in disbelief, I finally came back to my senses and frown. Why would Colin be prepping the kitchen if the bar looks like this? Where were the weres? I quickly scanned the bar to find no fuzzy minds. I then ran back to the kitchen to find it empty.

Odd.

I headed to the basement but this time, using the other staircase that gave to the main part of the basement where I had seen the Queen to what felt like many moons ago. I scanned the area quickly to find a human mind. Jason!

I ran to the room where I knew he was located. I opened the door to find him behind a set of bars. He wasn't alone.

"Good afternoon Miss Stackhouse"

It was Fintan. Why was he left alone in this cell? Where were the guards?

"Don't worry about them. Please come closer so I can see you." He said to me but I didn't listen.

"What do you want?"

"Well to get out."

I huffed. Yeah right, like I would just do that for him.

"You shouldn't trust vampires you know."

"I don't want to hear it"

"Of course you don't, you are under his influence."

Jason stirred from the ground. He was coming into conscienceness.

"I am not. It doesn't work on me." I answered annoyed with his allegations.

"Overtime, their influence always wins even though we have a natural immunity to it."

"No, I never works on me and I have been here for months." I responded defensively.

He chuckled as if he had all the answers in the word and it just pissed me off even more.

"Sook?" Jason said "Is Gran dead?"

"No, she isn't."

Fintan chuckled again but didn't say anything else.

I approached the cell carefully.

"Jason, are you alright?"

As soon as I placed my hands on the bars I instantly regretted it. Fintan quickly step towards me and grabbed one of my arms. He squeezed so tight I could barely move. He smiled, his eyes focused on me like a hunter on its prey. Without a word, he reached behind him with his free hand. He was now holding a knife. Where the hell did he get the knife? Where were the guards? He used the knife to cut my forearm while he stared at me with a smirk painting his face.

"Miss Stackhouse, its been a pleasure, thank you so much for the help!"

He let go of my arm and grabbed Jason instead. Somehow, the wind start to swirl in front of them and a bright light appear. I pushed the hair off my face trying to make sense of what was happening. Just like that, Fintan and Jason disappeared through what I guessed is some kind of portal.

I held my forarm tight, trying to stop the bleeding. As the portal shut, I saw a flash of something at the corner of my eyes. Next thing I knew, I was in Eric's maker's arms. He was growling and looking in the direction of where the portal had been.

Once the wind vanished and everything went back to quiet, I looked in his direction.

"What happened?" I asked still confused.

"When two Faes combine their blood, they can create a portal."

I nodded understanding the meaning behind the words.

"I had no idea"

"This isn't your fault. There were supposed to be guards to stop anyone from approaching it. I suspect Fintan has a role in this as well. Let us go back to Eric's chamber, it is safer there."

I didnt argue with him as I didn't feel very safe in this part of the basement.

Eric had been up for a few minutes. It was late afternoon, the sun wouldn't be down for another few hours. As soon as we had been back into Eric's chamber, he had greeted us at the bottom of the stairs wide awake. They exchanged a few sentences in a language I did not understand and then, Eric's maker left in a blur. I assumed he was going to look into the disappeareance of the guards and perhaps the portal but I did not ask. Right now I was focusing on keeping the stir fry down.

Eric hugged me tightly for a very long time as if we both needed to found our grounds. We didnt exchange any words and eventally we broke our embrace and he asked me to sit on the couch with him. I was happy to obliged.

'' I am sorry lover I was not more forth coming with my suspicions about your heritage. My negligence resulted in Fintan escaping with your brother.''

I waited a few minutes before he continued.

"I had suspected for a while now that you were related to the Fae but it is not until a few days ago that I had realized that..." he hesitated and just squeezed me tightly ''Fintan is your grand father"

I almost choke on a breath I had just taken. My grand father? How was that even possible? Like on my mom side?

"He is one of Niall Bringant twin son and he had an affair with Adele Stackhouse." He said with a business tone. I couldn't blame him, how else would you deliver the news that I shared the same blood of that psychopath.

I am not sure what was harder for me to figure out. The fact that Fintan didn't really look that much older than me or the fact that my Gran would not mention that the leader of the hunters was her lover? Was he still her lover? Why would she not tell me about him? I guess it did explain why she had so easily followed him without any questions asked.

"I am sorry Sookie, I know it must be a shock but Fintan was in their world for a long time. Time is different over there. 1 year here is only minutes to them. That is why he has not aged very much. "

"Right, and why my Gran is now much older? He left her and then came back? I thought the portal was closed."

"I thought so too, we all did, but clearly we are missing something. I don't think any body understands how the portals work if I am honest. For instance, I had no idea that your blood could be used with his to open one. I spoke to Godric about it and he said he vaguely remembered mentions about it in the old books."

'' I guess we have a lot to learn still. Do you know where my Gran is?''

He nodded and then sighed heavily.

''She has been burried and will wake up as a vampire in a few days.''

The news should have shocked me but deep down I already knew this. I nodded and ignored the conflicted feelings that was surging within me. Would she want to be a vampire, the very thing she despise? Or would she be thankful she is alive and that we can still see each other?

''I am afraid I will have to leave for a few days Sookie. Trublood is about to hit the market which means vampires will finally be able to come out of the coffin. The world will be unstable for a little bit but we are confident that humans will be able to adapt. It will start in New York city and I have to be there along with other vampires to make the announcement. In the meantime, do you think you will be able to take care of overseeing the bar's remodeling? Pam will be here too"

I nodded blink a few times. The next few days were going to be very interesting and I wondered how Bon Temps would adapt to the news of vampires.