Hi everybody! First of all, thank you for your feedback. I know that this is a silly crossover (and sooooo different from my other story…), and I sure appreciate that you guys are reading and reviewing it. Charhamblin was kind enough to beta this for me. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter and I hope to hear from you. Hugs, Célia

Eric Northman

I had just told Maxwell Lee to drive Jason Stackhouse in his own car, back home, when Indira and Pam approached me, and the former said, "Master?"

I was completely out of my mind, when I angrily answered a crude, "What?"

And while my rash reply did shut up Indira, Pam continued, "Since the girl is going to be with us for quite some time, I was thinking that you might want to offer her a more comfortable room." But then, after a few seconds, when my only answer was an angry growl at her, Pam immediately added, "Then again, maybe not."

Nevertheless, Pam was right. And I knew that she was right. However, I didn't know how to be with the girl, how to talk to her; and so she'd be staying downstairs, in her cell, for quite some time until I'd be able to deal with her presence.

But, as soon as I got there again, I saw that she was still crying and it pained me. "You didn't even let me say goodbye. I'll never see him again and I didn't get to say goodbye," she said between her tears.

And you know what? It made me feel real bad that I had done that, so I found myself calming down, changing my mind about her future quarters, and whispering, "I'll show you to your room."

And then, surprised, the girl asked, "My room?", and then, indicating her cell, she added, "But I thought…"

And hell! There I was, making an effort, while she wasn't even trying. And feeling my anger rising again, I said, "You wanna… you wanna stay in the cell?"

"No," she whispered.

"Then follow me," I told her while I opened her cell, before I started leading her upstairs. And then, both Pam and the girl tagged along with me, and we left the bar through the employees' door, and we drove my car towards my house. And once inside, I led her to the upstairs floor. We were half way towards her room, when I heard her sobbing and trying to not cry. Or, I guess, trying to cry quietly, would be a more adequate description.

"Say something to her," Pam whispered to me.

"Hmm… I… umm… hope you like it here," I said to the girl and I saw Pam motioning me to continue, "The whole house is your home now, so you can go anywhere you wish. Except the West Wing's room," I said. I'd never let her in my room at the house. There was where I kept the magic rose, and I sure didn't want to have to explain it to her.

"What's in there?" she quietly whispered.

"It's forbidden!" I replied screaming so loud that it echoed in the stairway. And then we walked the whole way towards her new room in silence. When we arrived, I told her, as tenderly as I could, "Now, if there's anything you need, my servants will attend you."

"Dinner," Pam whispered, "Invite her to dinner."

"You…" I started to say, but then I stopped. How the hell would I invite her to dinner? And I didn't eat, so why would I invite her to have dinner? Furthermore, why would she accept to have dinner with me? The answer was clear: she wouldn't. And I'd be laughed at by Pam and all the others. And I just… I could not, I would not, allow the girl to mock me. And so, quite angry at myself for in just a few moments falling for the girl so hard, I then growled, "You… will join me for dinner," and then I added, "That's not a request!" before I left, slamming the door behind me.

I then went to the living room of the house and I stayed there, for a little more than an hour, just thinking about Marnie's spell, the old magic rose, and the new girl who was at my house.

Pam had left to help the girl, Sookie as her driving card said, dress more than half an hour before. And I was already losing my patience, so I left my bedroom and went to the living room, to wait for the girl. Or rather, to impatiently wait for the girl. In fact, since that fateful night when I had been turned, my patience was something really thin, and very breakable. And so, there I was, pacing back and forth in front of the fire, in the dining room, with Clancy and Thalia looking at me as if they had never seen me before. And, well… I guess that they had never seen me that way before. In my nervousness, I then asked, "What's taking so long? I told her to come down. Why isn't she here yet?"

"Oh, try to be patient, sir," Thalia said. Yeah, right. Of the seven of us, Thalia was the one with least amount of patience, right after me. I almost felt like laughing at her remark. Almost. And then, she added, "The girl has lost her brother and her freedom all in one day."

"Uh… Master," Clancy said, "Have you thought that, perhaps, this girl could be the one to break the spell?"

Clancy had always been stupid. He was stupid before he had become what he was now, and he kept being stupid after that. And so, angrily, I answered him, "Of course I have. I'm not a fool."

"Good," he said, as if he hadn't even noticed my previous tone, "You fall in love with her, she falls in love with you, and… Poof! The spell is broken! We'll be human by midnight!"

"It's not that easy, Clancy," Thalia answered him, "These things take time."

"But the rose has already begun to wilt," Clancy stupidly insisted.

I then took a very unnecessary deep breathe because, although stupid, Clancy was right. The rose had indeed started to wilt, and we didn't have much time. But how would I ever make such a girl love me? She was so young, and so beautiful, and… Whereas I… I was a monster. Damn it. It was a lost cause right from the start. "It's no use…" I said, "She's so beautiful, and I'm so… well, look at me!" I said through my long, disheveled hair, and my fangs. My always-there fangs.

"Oh, you must help her to see past all that," Thalia said.

"I don't know how," I recognized unhopefully.

"Well, you can start by making yourself more presentable," Thalia answered me, "Straighten up, try to act like a gentleman." And despite the fact that her "try" bothered me, I did, indeed, tried to straighten up and look as gentlemanly as I could.

"Ah, yes…." Clancy said, looking at me. And then, he too, added in to my "transformation" by saying that when the girl showed up, that I should give her a "dashing, debonair smile". "Come, come… Show me the smile."

And then I did. I smiled. But, as I could see from my reflection in the mirror, I was only bearing my ragged fangs in a scary grin.

"But don't frighten the poor girl," Thalia said immediately, to which Clancy quickly added, "Impress her with your rapier wit."

"But be gentle."

"Shower her with compliments."

"But be sincere."

And so they continued adding piece after piece of advice, one after the other, after the other. And I was already completely losing my mind, when they both said, at the same time that I must control my temper. And it was fitting because, then, I was really about to lose that control. And so, I took another very unnecessary breath and I tried to gather enough courage for me to talk to the girl.

And that was when the door creaked open, and I wiped my anger-face off, and started looking to the door expectantly.

"Here she is," Clancy whispered.

However, it was only Long Shadow, and not the girl who entered the room, saying, or rather, whispering a very shy "good evening". And then I immediately went from expectant to mad, and I growled, "Well, where is she?"

And then Long Shadow, immediately started to buy time, "Who? Oh! The girl. Yes, the, ah, girl. Well, actually, she's in the process of, ah, um, circumstances being what they are, ah... she's not coming," he said.

And after my screamed "What?" I ran to the girl's room and banged at her door, with Long Shadow, Thalia and Clancy running after me.

-x-

Sookie Stackhouse

In just a few minutes I had last seen my brother, I had been told that I'd never go back to my home, and I had been made a prisoner of a monster. An actual beast. So, I did the only thing that I could: I cried. And I cried like a little child, sobbing nonstop until I heard someone knocking on "my" bedroom's door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

And then I heard from outside the door, "It's me, Pam." And when I went to open the door, I saw the blond girl that had walked here with me and that beast, enter the room. She was lovely, and had such a round face and sweet features that she would have done credit to a milkmaid. I immediately wondered what would she be doing next to that beast of a man?

"Wow, you do smell amazingly," she said right before her fangs ran out, kind of ruining the image, from her teeth or her gums or… whatever. Oh my God! The girl was a monster too! Would she kill me? Or bite me or hurt me? What was she? Had she been made like that because of the tall, blond monster? Was he her mate?

And that was when I realized that, even without wanting to, I was pointing at her teeth, while I said, "But you… ah… but…"

And then, she said, with her perfect (and still fangy) smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. It was just that… well, you do smell wonderfully. Eric had said so, but his senses are much keener that ours, and I only realized just now how sweet you were." She paused, smiled again and went to sit on the bed, before she touched the bed at her side, as if telling me to sit with her. But when she realized that I hadn't moved, she added, "Come, sit with me. Look, I'll put the fangs away." And then, almost instantly, the girl put her teeth up (or in?) and she looked like everyone else.

And so, while I was sitting on the bed, I mumbled, "This is impossible…" Who were those people? Were they humans? Or something else? Well, the tall man, Eric she had called him, was definitely something else. He was a beast, a monster. But this small girl… She looked like a regular person. But was she?

"I know it is, but here we are!" she answered still smiling (but now it was a non-fangy smile). "Listen," she started saying, "I was talking to the others, and we all think that it was a very brave thing what you did. Not many people would be that brave."

"Or stupid," I replied.

"Now…. Why would you say that?"

"Because I've just lost my brother, my dreams, everything," I answered, and I was almost crying again.

"Would you… would you mind if I tried something?"

"What?"

"Just this… Look… Look at me. Look at my eyes," she said, and I immediately did it. She then stepped in front of me, with her hands resting lightly on my shoulders, and looked down at me. I could see a faint shine of her skin and eyes, and I peered up at her, wondering what the hell she was trying to do to me. And then… nothing happened. I felt only a nearly drug-like relaxation, but nothing else. "Can you feel my influence?" she asked. She sounded a little breathless.

"Not really. What do you mean? Your influence?"

"Humm… your brother couldn't either."

"He couldn't what?"

"We… we can make you humans do things, think that events happened this way or that way, or make them forget. It's how we've kept ourselves in secret for all these years. It's sort of a… hypnosis or something. But neither you nor your brother seems to be glamourable. It's strange…"

You humans. So that meant that they weren't humans. Or, at least, they didn't consider themselves humans. I wondered what they called themselves and how (and why) were they that way. And what more differences, between the keener senses that she had talked about and the "glamouring" thing (and the fangs, obviously), was there between us humans and… well, whatever they were.

"Oh…" I answered because I couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"Anyway, cheer up! It'll turn out all right in the end. You'll see," she said. And I appreciated her words. Without the fangs out, Pam looked like someone who could be a friend, if not for the fact that she lived with that Eric-character, who was… well, my jail-guard. And then, still in her new good-mood, Pam stood and walked towards the wardrobe. And right before she opened it, she started saying, almost to herself, "Well now, what shall we dress you in for dinner? Let's see what I've got here…" And then she pulled out a pink dress, showed it to me, and added, "Ah! There, you'll look ravishing in this one!"

"That's very kind of you," I answered her while she started choosing a fitting pair of shoes, "but I'm not going to dinner."

Pam's eyes opened immensely, as well as her mouth. It was as if not going to dinner was a mortal sin or something. "Oh, but you must!" she said.

And that was when we heard someone else knocking on the door, and opening it. He was an American Indian, with long coal black straight hair and a craggy nose, a straight line of a mouth, and a whippy build. I wondered if he, too, had hidden fangs. "Hello, beautiful woman," he said smiling, "My name is Long Shadow. And I've come here to tell you that dinner is served."

What? Had that… beast really meant what he had said before? Did he really expect me to have dinner with him? I could be his prisoner, but I would never be a willing prisoner. Stockholm Syndrome be damned, I would never spend time with that monster unless he locked me in some place close to him. I told them both that I would not have dinner with him.

"I won't go," I answered.

And that was when I noticed both Pam's and Long Shadow's faces. They were scared of my words. Or rather, they were scared of the monster's reaction to my words. And even though I pitied them, and I didn't want to cause them any problems, I didn't change my mind, and I kept answering that I would not eat with him. And when, ten minutes later, Long Shadow realized that I had spoken my mind, he left to tell my answer to "Master". Master. Who did he think he was? This might be his house, and they might be his employees, but he was no "Master". Damn him.

And then, less than a minute later, I heard him, knocking at my door, and yelling at it, "I thought I told you to come down to dinner!"

Well, he thought correctly. He had told me that, but he hadn't asked me to dinner. And I sure wouldn't do was he wanted just because he wanted it. He might be called "Master" by Pam, Long Shadow, and all the others. But he was not my master, and he would never be.

"I'm not hungry," I answered from behind the door, looking at Pam, who was almost begging me to say yes with her eyes.

"You'll come out or I'll…. I'll… I'll break down the door!"

And despite the fact that the door was closed, I could hear a man's voice saying "Master, I could be wrong, but that may not be the best way to win the girl's affections." What? Why? Why would that monster want to win my "affections"? He would never win me. Never. And then a woman's voice from behind the door said, "Please, attempt to be a gentleman."

As if… As if that beast would ever be a gentleman. No way. And the proof was in his next angry growl, "But… she is being so… difficult," the monster said. Me? I was difficult? Well, if I wasn't in such a desperate situation, being a prisoner and all, I'd sure laugh at the irony of his words. And then, the same woman's voice from before, replied, "Gently, gently…"

"Will you come down to dinner?" the beast, Eric, said. But I could still hear the dejected tone in his voice. And so, I simply replied, "No!"

And after a couple of silent seconds, he added, "It would give me great pleasure if you would join me for dinner…" And after another two seconds of silence, "Please."

But I had already made up my mind, and I would answer him no, obviously. I would not make things easier for him. But I could be polite to him. I was, after all, a southern woman, and I had been raised to believe that I should always have manners, and so he earned, a respectful, "No, thank you."

But despite my good manners, he was still furious at my answer, "You can't stay in there forever!" he screamed.

And, quite provokingly, I answered, "Yes, I can!"

"Then go ahead and starve," he yelled back at me, "If you don't eat with me, then you won't eat at all," he kept screaming, and then he obviously left because I heard a door slamming down the hall.

"That didn't go very well at all, did it?" Pam whispered at me. But I couldn't even face her, so I went to the bed, and I lay there, with my face crushed on the pillow. And then Pam moved from my bed, to a close-by couch, and she left me to cry for what was probably almost an hour. And later, when I sat up again on my bed, she whispered, "The master's not so bad once you get to know him. Why don't you give him a chance?"

"I don't want to know him," I answered truthfully; "I don't want to have anything to do with him!"

"I sure wish you'd give him the chance to change your mind," she said. And I was about to answer her that I wouldn't, when she added, "Anyway, come with me downstairs and I'll fix you something to eat."

"But… He said…"

"Oh, pish posh. I'm not going to let you go hungry. Come with me."

And then, after I washed my face, so my recent tears wouldn't be so evident, we left the room, towards the kitchen, where I saw Long Shadow and where I was introduced to Clancy, Maxwell Lee and Indira. And you want to know something strange? Even though the kitchen was brand new, and it had all the proper equipment of a modern kitchen, it was obvious that no one ever ate there. In fact, all the food and ingredients had obviously been opened just then, for my dinner (I could even see the supermarket bags on the counter). I wondered why they didn't eat there. That monster wouldn't obviously be able to leave and eat with other people… However, I was indeed hungry, so I left my thoughts for later, and I ate a lovely dinner in the company of those strange, yet nice, people.

And soon, after my dinner was eaten (strangely none of them had wanted to eat or drink), Maxwell Lee and Clancy both offered to show me the rest of the house. And you know what? It was a beautiful place, with high ceilings and huge rooms. The house tour was going on perfectly until I saw a beautiful stairway. And because Clancy and Maxwell had been so kind in showing me everything else, I obviously wondered why they didn't talk about where that stairway would lead to.

"What's up there?" I asked, unable to contain my own curiosity.

"Where? Up there? Nothing. Absolutely nothing of interest at all in the West Wing. Dusty, dull, very boring," Clancy immediately answered. "West Wing" That made me remember the beast's words earlier that night.

"Oh, so that's the West Wing… I wonder what he's hiding up there," I answered.

"Hiding? The Master is hiding nothing," Maxwell added.

"Then it wouldn't be forbidden," I answered.

"Well… it… it's dirty and there's a door to which we lost the key. And it's closed. And because we lost the key… it's dirty and… there's no key. So… there's no need for us to go there. Because it's dirty. And… well, closed. You know… no key," Clancy answered nervously.

"Perhaps you'd like to see our library?" Maxwell suggested.

"There's a library?" I asked, unable to hide my excitement over the possibility of access to books.

"Yes, it's lovely and it has tons of books," Clancy answered, before he added, "Come. Let's leave the dusty, closed, without-key West Wing and see the library".

And that only made me even more curious about what would be up there, on the elusive West Wing. But it was obvious that none of them would let me go there. And so, I said that I was tired and that I was going to my bedroom to sleep for the night.

And I did go to the bedroom.

But I didn't sleep.

Instead, I waited there until the house was silent, before I left the room towards the West Wing, my curiosity overtaking me. I walked to the stairway, and I kept going. But my excitement over what would be there began to dwindle, though, when I entered the hallway leading to the end of the West Wing. And, as I walked down the hall, I stopped to look in a mirror that had been shattered into several pieces, each one reflecting my concerned look. The whole house was impeccably treated. Why wouldn't they change the mirror?

But discarding that detail, I kept walking and I reached the end of the hall, only to find a closed door with gargoyle handles. And again, I was left wondering why would that part of the house would be so different from the rest? There were no such monster handles anywhere else. Monster. Maybe this would be the beast's room? I was extremely scared of that possibility. But, at the same time, I knew that I wouldn't be able to resist to my curiosity and I tried to open the door, expecting to find it closed. And so, I took a deep breath and reached out. And, to my awe, the door actually opened, and I began to explore what looked like an old lair of a Marvel's Comics' anti-hero. There were almost no lights there, and everything was dusty and old. And cold. It was almost freezing in here, and I couldn't not be completely shocked by everything that I was seeing. And I was wandering around, looking, when I accidently knocked over an aged, covered in dust, table. However, I got to it before it crashed to the floor. And that was when I turned my head and I saw the picture. Or rather, that was when I saw the shredded picture on the wall. And it was… it looked like part of a portrait. And I reached out and lift the shreds of the picture. And wow! It was the painting of a beautiful man, with a perfect, warm smile. And he kind of looked like… well, like that Eric-character, if he hadn't been such a monster.

And again, I wondered about this whole strange place. The West Wing, was, indeed unclean like Clancy had said. But there didn't seem to be any reason for it to be prohibited… Well, until I saw something incredible: it was a rose, a deep red rose, and it was under a bell jar. I walked towards it, and I knew that my eyes were transfixed because of it. It was as if the rose glowed, as if there was a light inside of the flower. And it was flowing in the air. Completely unable to resist the rose's attraction, I reached out, and then I lifted off the jar, leaving the rose unprotected. I was about to touch it when I saw… no, I felt a shadow falling over me. Eric, the man, the beast, had been on the balcony that whole time, and he had just seen me. He jumped back into the room, with an uncanny speed, and he immediately slammed the jar back on the rose, before turning his attention to me.

"Why did you come here?" he asked, growing angrily.

And while trying to back away, I scarily said, "I'm sorry."

"I warned you never to come here!" he screamed.

"I didn't mean any harm."

But my answer made him even angrier, it seemed, and he kept yelling, while beginning to trash at the furniture, "Do you realize what you could have done?"

"Please, stop! No!" I pleaded him, even more scared than before.

"Get out! GET OUT!"

And I did. I turned and I fled the room. But then, when I was about to go back to my room, I noticed that the door was opened, and despite having previously given my word, I decided to just leave that house and never come back. And that was what I did. I left.

As soon as I left the house, I saw my car at the front, and I ran to it. However, it was locked. And that was when I remembered that I had put my car keys in my purse, which had been left on the ground of the bar's basement. Apparently, someone had found my purse and then driven my car here. But that same person (if it was, indeed, a person – which after that night, I wasn't so sure about it), hadn't left the keys in the car's ignition. Thus, there was no other option, but to run.

Again, I was faced with an option: run towards the street, where I would most likely find someone (another human who'd save me, or those fang-monsters who were after me); or instead, try the woods, in the back of the house, where I could better try to hide.

I chose the forest. And I started running nonstop through it, with only the moon's light shining to show me the way.

I had been running for at least 15 or 20 minutes when I first heard them, and I was scared to my core. I then looked around me to try and picture where and what they might be, so I'd run the opposite direction, when I saw them for the first time. In the moon light, I could see that there were at least five or six of them. Wolves. I immediately started running into a clearing, but I was soon surrounded by those animals again. And that was when I grabbed a stick and tried to defend myself. However, one wolf took hold of the stick in its mouth and broke half of it off, leaving me, again, completely defenseless. And almost at the same time, another animal leaped at me, grabbing the corner of my cloak and dragging me to the ground. And then, in just a blink of an eye, I realize that there was a third wolf about to jump on top of me. But as soon as it leaped, it was caught mid-air by… Eric. And suddenly they lunged at each other, while another wolf ripped a hole in Eric's shoulder, and the other focused their attack on his leg.

The scariest moment of my life so far? It was that exact moment! And I suddenly realized that I was worried about Eric. Call it some sort of Stockholm Syndrome, or just a thankful feeling because he had put himself in the middle of those animals for me, or… Hell, I don't know. I just know that I was really scared that the wolves would hurt Eric, because, you know… Fangs or no fangs, white, cold skin or not, and despite his height, Eric still looked like a human. Well, sort of. But he was, at least, of a human's size (though he was definitely tall and broad-shouldered). And those were… well, at least five or six wolves. And they were all attacking Eric at the same time and… well, I was really worried for him.

And then, suddenly, Eric threw a wolf against a tree, knocking it out. And then he did the exact same thing to another wolf. And maybe one of those wolves was the pack-leader, or maybe the wolves were smarter creatures than I had thought... No matter the reason, the other wolves immediately ran away in fear. And that was when Eric turned back to me, looked at me despairingly and then he just… collapsed. And that was my best opportunity. That was my best shot to escape. I'd be free again if I just kept running away from that place. But I couldn't because my conscience took over, and so, I just walked over to the fallen mixture of man and beast that had just saved me. I helped him get up, and then we slowly walked back towards his mansion, with him laying on me.

And as soon as we got there, I called for Pam, Clancy and the others. But none of them showed up. Where were they? Didn't they care about Eric? But anyway, when I realized that I'd have to take care of Eric just by myself, I then told him to sit on the living room's couch, and then I went to the kitchen to boil some water. Just a few minutes later, I was sitting by Eric and soaking a rag in the water. When I turned back to him, I found quite a disturbing image, because Eric was licking one of the bleeding wounds that the wolves had given him, just like an animal would do.

"Here now…" I said, barely more than whispering, "Oh, don't do that." And then I tried to clean his wound with the rag, but Eric growled at me. "Just… hold still," I told him right before I touched the rag to his arm wound and he roared in pain.

I was already expecting an outburst from him, like before, but instead, Eric just told me in a loud, but not quite screaming voice, "That hurts!"

Never one to be outdone, I counterpointed, "If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much."

But apparently, Eric was just like me, and he didn't allow me a last word, so he answered, "Well, if you hadn't run, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Well, if you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away!"

And then Eric opened his mouth to respond, but he then stopped before he said anything. He was probably trying to come up with a good line. I was putting the rag inside the hot water again, when he finally answered, "Well, you shouldn't have been in the West Wing!"

"Well, you should learn to control your temper," I immediately answered.

And again Eric had the same face from before, when he had been trying to bring out another point. And apparently, he found he had none, so he just bowed his head down, and I felt better with myself because apparently, I had just conquered the ferocious temper of Eric. Trying to not smile at that conquest, I moved the rag closer to his wound, and I said, "Now, hold still. This may sting a little." Eric then gave a surprised grunt, and then gritted his teeth and fangs as the rag was applied. And that was when, in a tender tone that surprised even me, I added, "By the way, thank you, for saving my life."

Eric then looked at me, with his amazing blue eyes. He looked surprised when he answered me, also with a tenderly voice that surprised me as much as my previous tender tone had before, "You're welcome."

And then he smiled. And despite his fangs, there was almost a goodness in his smile, and I found myself wondering if Eric wasn't a good guy behind all those layers of anger and resentment, and wondering why was I changing my mind regarding him. But even more than that, I found myself wondering why the hell did I want to just hug him, hold him in my arms and… well… kiss him.

-x-

Eric Northman

Pam had dealt with everything regarding Sookie's absence. She had brought her car over to my house, she had written to her boss, talking about taking a long leave, and she had dealt with Sookie's bills, as well. And so, there hadn't been a single thing that would force Sookie to leave my side – other than her will to do it, that is. But that desire to go back to her town of Bon Temps had apparently disappeared during her first night with us, after she had tried to run.

Not that I had asked her if she still wanted to be here (I didn't dare to risk a negative answer), but she just… she looked happy there with us. With me. And so, for the last week, Sookie had been staying at the mansion.

And you know what? During that time, something… strange (to say the least) had happened around me. It was as if the air smelled better. It was as if the atmosphere around my house was lighter. It was as if there were colors in the wind.

And, to tell you the truth, that same strange thing had also happened to me, and not only around me. Why? Because I had started having… feelings for her. And yes, I can't deny that I thought that she might be the girl who'd break the spell, but it was more than that. I loved her company; I loved to talk to her, to be with her in the same room, to know that she was close by, in safety within my reach… And it had nothing to do with the spell. It had to do with how she made me feel with myself… I felt… better when she was around, and I wished the same for her. I wanted her to be better because of me. And that was exactly what I was saying to Pam, late one night, "I… I've never felt this way about anyone…"

"I'm glad for you."

"It's… it's strange Pam. I… I want to do something for her. But what?" I added, feeling discouraged already with the whole situation. Why would such a beautiful and lovely girl as Sookie ever want such a Beast as me?

"Well, there are the usual things like flowers or candy… But…"

"But what, Pam?"

"But she deserves something special."

"She does. She deserves everything."

"Yes, it has to be something that sparks her interest and… wait a minute! I've just figured out what you should do. Clancy and Maxwell Lee told me that she had looked interested in seeing your library… You could show it to her," Pam told me smiling.

And that was what I did.

And in less than half an hour after that conversation, I was walking through a hallway towards the big room that we used as a library. But then, right before I opened the big doors, I told Sookie, or rather, I whispered to her, "Sookie, there's something I want to show you. But first, you have to close your eyes."

She then looked at me questioningly, making me wondering how I would ever be able to tell her about my feelings, if she even questioned a simple thing as that. But then, as soon as I told her that it was a surprise, she surprised me by smiling at me before she closed her eyes. I then waved my hand in front of her, making sure that she had indeed closed her eyes. And then I opened the doors, and I lead her in.

And just as she entered the room, she asked, "Can I open them?"

"No, no. Not yet. Wait here," I told her before I walked away to draw back the curtains. And as soon as I did it, the moonlight spilled into the room. It was as if the full moon was right next to the huge windows, and after turning a small lamp on as well, it was more than enough light to show Sookie the room.

"Now, can I open them?" she asked again, obviously feeling the light despite her closed eyes.

"All right. Now…" I whispered.

She then opened her eyes and found herself in a gigantic library filled with books.

"I can't believe it. I've never seen so many books in all my life!" she said. And the way she smiled just meant the world to me. I'd do everything in the world for her to smile like that because of me, and not my books. Nevertheless, it warmed me inside, and I almost felt my heart beating again inside my heart.

"You… you like it?" I asked, suddenly unsure of myself.

"It's wonderful," she answered, still looking around her and not at me.

"Then… it's yours."

"Oh no… I can't accept it. It's too much and I…" she said, still looking around her.

"I insist," I interrupted.

"Oh, thank you so much," she said, finally looking at me, and not at the books. And smiling at me too.

"You're welcome. I… I want you to feel free to come here and pick whichever book you'd like. And if there's something that you want and it's not here, just tell me and I'll get it for you." And I would. I would give her whatever she wanted.

"Thank you," she whispered, still smiling.

And that marked the beginning of a different relationship between us. From then on, we were… well… almost friends. And… Okay, so I admit it: I knew that I was mean, and coarse and unrefined, but from then on, I really tried to show Sookie that there was also something good in me, despite my doubts of how to do it. And you know what? There was this one time, when I thought I saw her glancing in a… special way towards me. And she had never looked at me that way before. But the best part was when we touched and she didn't shudder at my cold skin.

And so, little step by little step, we started getting more and more close and, like I said, we started becoming friends. But I wanted more. I wanted to be more than Sookie's friend. I wanted her to love me, and not just like me, because I sure loved her. And, with Pam's cheering for me, I had finally decided that I'd tell Sookie the truth of what I felt for her.

And that was how I found myself in my room, with Pam and Clancy there with me.

"Tonight is the night!" Clancy was saying.

"I'm not sure I can do this," I answered him, hesitantly.

"You don't have time to be timid. You must be bold, daring," Pam replied.

"Bold. Daring," I repeated after her.

"We have everything ready. The dinner, the candle light, the soft music… Everything will be perfect, sir," Clancy added a second later, before he left the room, leaving me only with Pam.

"He's right, you know. The living room is perfect. You'll have plenty of opportunities to confess your love."

I then took a very unnecessary deep breath. Pam was right. I had to do it. I looked at myself in the mirror, "Yes, I, I conf… No, I can't."

"You care for the girl, don't you?"

"More than anything," I confessed to her.

"Well, then you must tell her," she said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. "And now come, your lady waits."

I then left my room, and I went to the living room, where the moonlight and the candle light allowed me to see Sookie. She was dressed in a summer dress, it was cut square and low in the neck and it was sleeveless. It was sort of tight and white, but the fabric was thinly scattered with bright red flowers with long green stems. Her tan glowed in contrast with the white fabric. And she had never looked more beautiful to me as in that moment, when she saw me arriving and she smiled at me.

We then sat at the dinner table, and I watched her eat while I sat beside her. And you know what? It was a perfect moment. Just the two of us, having dinner and talking like old friends. And that was when I remembered that we hadn't known each other that long. In fact, we had been barely friends, when we both bended unexpectedly towards each other. And it had taken us both only a couple of little changes, to get closer and, eventually, friends, like I hope we were. Or maybe, even more. But the night was still a child. And it got even better, when I asked her to dance with me. To grab her hand, and to hold her waist… That was a completely blissful moment in my life. And I had never felt happier before. I could only hope that Sookie would feel happy as well.

"Sookie? Are you happy here with me?" I asked her after we had moved to the balcony, under a starry night.

And then, looking off into the distance, she hesitantly said, "Yes."

"What is it?"

Sookie then looked at me, again. But this time she had an almost desperate air about her. "If only I could see my brother again, just for a moment. I miss him so much," she whispered.

I felt disappointed, to say the least. There I was, on the happiest night of my existence, while Sookie was sad. But then, suddenly, I remembered. "There's a way," I told her before I ran to my room. Just a couple of seconds later, I was back next to Sookie.

"What is that?"

"This mirror will show you anything, anything you wish to see," I answered her.

And then, still hesitantly, she whispered, "I'd like to see my brother, please."

The magic mirror immediately shone to life and Sookie had even to turn her head away as it flashed. I was feeling pretty good with myself. Sookie had said that she only wished to see her brother. And I was giving her what she wanted. But then, all of a sudden, I heard her gasp. And that was when I looked at the mirror myself, and I saw her brother fallen in some room, coughing before he lost his consciousness.

"Jason," she said towards the mirror, "oh, no. He's sick. It's his kidneys. And he's all alone."

I closed my eyes, and I thought of the rose.

"Then…" I whispered, before adding, "Then you must go to him."

"What did you say?"

"I release you. You are no longer my prisoner."

"You mean… I'm free?" she asked in amazement.

And even though it pained me, especially her happiness because she was being let go, I answered a whispered, "Yes."

"Can I… can I really go?"

Even without needing to do it, I took a very deep breathe. I had decided to free her. So she should leave immediately; because if she didn't leave at that moment, I might not have the strength to actually let her leave. "Your purse and car keys are on my study room's table. Just… go," I told her.

"Thank you," she whispered, before she looked at the mirror. And then, still looking at it, she moved so she'd give the object to me.

She was so beautiful. And I cared for her so much… "Take it with you," I said to her, "So you'll always have a way to look back, and remember me."

"Thank you for understanding how much he needs me," she answered while I lightly touched her cheek before she rushed out. Minutes later, I watched from the balcony as Sookie ran towards her car and left the mansion.

Less than half an hour later, as I walked towards my room, Pam asked if it had been a good night. And, in what was a little more than just a whisper, I told her that I had let Sookie go.

"You what? How could you do that?" she asked.

"I had to."

"Yes, but why?"

"Because I love her," I admitted before I closed the bedroom's door so I could be alone.

Do you think that this is too much "Beauty and the Beast"? Or is it too much "Southern Vampire Novels"? Or do you think that it was a nice "mixture" between the two? Thank you for reading.

"Colors of the Wind" by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, was the 1995 Oscar-winner for Best Original Song from the Disney animated feature film, Pocahontas. It also won the Golden Globe in the same category as well as the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Movie. The song poetically presents the Native American viewpoint that the earth is a living entity where humankind is connected to everything in nature.