|SIX|
THE MURDER OF ONE

Eira left Eric shortly before dawn. She had a bright smile on her face as she went to leave but Pam shook her head at Eric, "No. You aren't letting her leave like that. Her mother might just skin you alive. Honestly, Eric, couldn't you have had some tact?"

Eric smirked as he stared her neck proudly, "No."

But Eira was confused, "What?"

Pam pointed her eyes at her neck, "Sweetheart, when you spend that long with a man doing what you have. There's evidence. You need to cover it up."

"Ginger," Pam called. "Be a dear and bring me whatever makeup you have."

"Of course," Ginger smiled.

"Evidence?" Eira stared at Pam in confusion. "What evidence?"

Pam rolled her eyes before bringing her to a mirror in the now empty bar. Eira gasped once she saw the bruises, hickeys, on her neck before she chastised, "Eric!"

"What? You liked it," Eric stated simply as he put his hands in his pockets. "And I plan on doing it again."

She blushed scarlet as Ginger came back. Pam started to cover up the hickeys as Ginger stared at them longingly, "Man are you so lucky or what?"

Eric smirked, "She thinks your lucky, Eira. Do you agree?"

She elbowed him and he chuckled before she gave him a slight glare, "Do you think you're lucky, Eric?"

"Immensely," Eric smirked as he looked at the half-covered hickeys and her swollen lips.

Eira blushed as she looked at him softly before Pam rolled her eyes, "The two of you are making me nauseous."

Eric chuckled as Pam finished covering the hickeys, "There. All done."

"Thanks, Pam," Eira replied with a sweet smile.

"Of course," Pam said as she looked at Eric who had his eyes glued to her smile. Although, she was happy for Eric (and she quite liked Eira), it was dangerous for him to feel this way.

Eira beamed at Eric as she gave him a short kiss goodbye. Eric watched her leave with a small smile of adoration as Pam shook her head, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Eric gave her a look, "Don't start, Pam."

          _____

         Eira went home and she got dressed for the funeral of Adele Stackhouse. She felt bad for thinking it but she didn't really want to go as she didn't want to be involved in something so sad. It made her heart ache.

          She attended the funeral with her mother. As she stared at the casket, it made her so sad to think of a body in there; a body whose life had been cut short. Eira couldn't help the few tears that left her eyes and the short sniffles. She gripped the hand of her mother tightly; she didn't want to ever lose her.

          As the funeral continued, Sookie got up to speak. Eira stared at the girl sadly as she thought. It's okay to be sad because that means you still have a lot of love.

           "That's a wonderful way of thinking of it, Eira," Sookie blurted out causing Eira to stare in surprise. Sookie couldn't help but focus on the girl's thoughts as she always had the brightest ones. "And I suppose I'll always be a bit sad because I'll always love my Gran..."

           Sookie started to cry as she stood behind the podium, "I'm sorry. I can't..."

             And Sookie ran off.

        The funeral ended shortly after and everyone was giving their condolences to Jason on the way out. She gave him another hug. Eira felt bad because she felt like it was her fault Sookie ran off.

"Sorry," she muttered nervously. "If Sookie ran off because of me."

"It ain't your fault," Jason gave her a short reassuring smile.

She stared at him, "If you need anything, I'll be here."

"It's probably not a good idea to be around me," Jason said sorrowfully. "Everyone that is these days seems to die."

She wrapped him in a hug again as she promised, "I won't."

_____

That night, she and her mother had dinner together. They talked about pointless things like how much they loved Daenerys in Game of Thrones. But they were both ramblers and they were each other's greatest listeners.

After dinner, they both retired for the night. She went to her room but then she felt a presence as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. She smiled as she leaned back against him, "Eric."

"Hello, beautiful," he whispered in her ear with that smooth voice of his and she blushed.

She turned in his arms before she kissed him. They kissed for a long moment before Eric lifted her up, making her wrap her legs around his waist. His hands snaked up her shirt and she pulled away as she shook her head, "Eric, don't. I'm not ready for...that."

She leaned her forehead against his as she studied him softly, "But my lips are yours forever."

"Forever?" he hummed and brought them to the bed as he hovered over her before smirked playfully. "Then I most certainly shall have to claim them...forever."

She giggled before he brought his lips to hers...claiming them. He claimed them for most of the night and he claimed her blood as well once he bit her.

He went to heal her but she stopped him, "No. I want this one."

        He looked at her curiously as she beamed at him, "Now I'll have a reminder of you forever."

"You don't need a reminder," Eric pointed out. He never intended to leave her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"But I want to think of you always," she pouted cutely and he couldn't help but smile before he kissed the one on her lips.

            ______

       The next evening, she had to work. But she didn't want to cover up any of the marks on her neck. So she listened to the advice of her mother given to her that morning. 

         "We're together; why do I have to hide any of it?" Eira asked. "Because...I want everyone to know that I'm his."

            "Then don't hide it, baby," her mother smiled softly. "There's nothing wrong with falling in love and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

             "Falling in love?"

            Her mother gave her a look, "You know that you are."

            Eira smiled before looking up at her mother with a frown, "Would you be mad at me if I did love him one day?"

             "Never."

        So Eira went to work with small hickeys and a fresh bite mark on her neck. She wore them proudly with the biggest smile on her face even though people gave her disapproving looks. But she would not apologize for being in a relationship with a vampire as there was nothing to apologize for.

      "Not you, too," Sam commented in disbelief. "Is everyone in love with a goddamn vampire?"

      She gave him a little glare, "And there is nothing wrong with it."

           She stomped away as she went to wait on tables. She waited on René and Hoyt.

           "So you gave it out to a vampire?" René asked curiously.

             "So?"

          "I just didn't think you were that type of girl is all," René said quietly.

           "And is there something wrong with that?" she gave him a slight glare.

           "No, no. Of course not," René said. "Just wouldn't want a girl like you to get hurt is all."

             "Oh," she said as she felt kind of bad now for giving him a little glare. So she threw a smile at him. "Thanks."

            "Of course."

         She took their order. But then three foreign vampires walked in that all seemed interested in Sookie before they smelt the scent of her.

          The vampire, Diane, was suddenly next to her. She had a fist full of her hair as she tilted her head to the side to stare at her neck hungrily, "She smells very sweet."

         "Too sweet," Malcolm said as he bared his fangs but noticed the bite mark. "Do you belong to Bill as well?"

               "I belong to Eric," she glared and Diane immediately let go of her as all three vampires stepped away from her.

               "We can't just take a little taste?" Liam, the bald one, went to grab her but Malcolm smacked his hand down.

          "Do you want to kill us all?" Malcolm warned before he looked at her warily. "You tell Eric that we didn't go near you."

           She crossed her arms, "And I'll also tell Eric that you left this establishment without hurting anyone. Got it?"

            Malcolm shared looks with the other two vampires before they disappeared. She sighed in relief before Sookie came over to her in worry, "Eira, are you okay?"

             "I'm fine," she smiled.

             "I can't believe you name-dropped Eric and they just left."

         "He's Eric," Eira smiled giddily at thought of her Viking warrior vampire. "Of course they did."

           _____

         After her shift ended, she went to Fangtasia. She told Eric about the three vampires as she sat on his lap on the throne.

          "Did they hurt you?"

      "No," she answered. "I told them I was yours and they got scared."

          Eric smirked, "Good."

         She adored the grin he wore and she kissed him. They kissed shortly before she pulled away, "I need to go."

        "No," he demanded.

         "Eric, I've been losing sleep over you," she revealed which made him smirk a bit. "And I'm tired."

           He pouted, "Fine."

              She smiled before she kissed him once more. Then she pulled away as she got up. And he watched her go reluctantly.

         When Eira got home, she walked through the halls tiredly as she yawned. Although, once she stepped foot in the kitchen, she knew she wouldn't be getting any sleep as she stared at the scene before her.

            There was blood everywhere and her mother was at the center of it all. Her mother laid in a pool of her own blood, dead.