The Beginning:
~Sookie~

Daughter of a sea Captain and still I can no more go my own way than others in my position. I have begged him repeatedly to allow me to stay on land with my brother, and settle down to start a family. He refuses every time, telling me the life I have been meant to have is the one at sea. I disagree of course, but however hard I wish for it to, it never works out. So here I am, stuck on this boat. Twenty-seven years old, and I have no one in the future for me. I have not had my first kiss, nor my first touch of a man. The men onboard my father’s ship, while all of them good, are not desirable enough for me to bed them. My father isn’t a traditional man at all, more like a pirate himself. Except his trade is smuggling goods to others for a high price. I guess that is one of the reasons I was never allowed to stay on land, he feared for my safety, seeing that he has many enemies.

We docked for the day in a quaint town, overrun by pirates. There was drinking, gluttony, and lust around every corner. While my father took his place in the local tavern, I stayed near the shore, watching the waves and enjoying the feel of the land beneath my feet. I loved being at sea, but there was something about the ground that I find comforting. I could hear the screams and laughter coming from the local buildings and I sighed, sitting down on the sand, running my fingers through it.

I closed my eyes, feeling a presence behind me. I knew who it was without turning around. He had been pursuing me the past three years; whether it is on board the ship or on land, he had never given up. He has proven to be a trusted friend, but I was not attracted to his diminutive build and brown eyes. I want more, but I don’t know where to look to find it.

“Sookie what are you doing out here alone?” he asked me, and I suppressed a sigh. Why he felt the need to follow me around, I would never know.

“What do you want Compton?” His name on my lips came out distastefully, and from the look on his face, he felt my displeasure with him being close to me.

“I only wish to see to it you are safe out here alone my lady. Please forgive my interruption,” he said and I shook my head.

“Leave, and go back to my father. I am sure he needs your assistance more than I do at the moment,” I told him, dismissing him from my side.

I felt him leave and continued looking out to the water. The moon was full, and now past the horizon. I could feel the wind change from east to west ever so often and smiled to myself. I knew as much as I complained about being on a ship for years on end, I couldn’t see it any other way. The waves and salty air were my calling, and I would forever be a pirate’s daughter. I closed my eyes and got the sensation I was being watched. '

Thinking it was Compton once again trying to get my attention I called out, “Stop lurking around behind me chap and show yourself.”

I was startled to see not brown boots beside me but black ones, and laced in a way I have never seen before. Before I could say anything the man sat next to me on the sand, close to my body. I couldn’t think of anything to say, or what to do, so I kept my eyes forward on the water, concentrating on the ripples issuing forth from the ships in the docks.

“I have not seen you around these parts. What is your name woman?” he said beside me. and I gawked at his manner of speaking to me.

“Woman?” I asked turning my face to him. I was preparing myself to point my finger in his face and tell him to take a hike, but as soon as the thought came through, it was gone.

Sitting beside me was a man I had read about from books; old mythology books my grandfather had passed on to me. His hair was a golden mane that flowed freely to his back, and his eyes were the color of the clearest blue waters I have ever seen. Those eyes were boring into mine with such intensity, I was shivering in delight. He was a Norse god, and he was beside me,, speaking to me. My eyes ventured lower and noticed his shirt had the first 4 buttons undone, showing his blond chest with hair I wanted to run my fingers through.

“Do you speak?” he asked, a smirk playing at his lips, and I quickly brought myself from my ogling.

Snapping my eyes back to his, I remarked, “I do speak, but what makes you think I want to speak to you?”
I turned my attention back to the water, trying to convey I was uninterested in his company, but I knew I was lying to myself.

“I believe you are speaking to me woman, now tell me your name,” he said, his voice sounding amused. What nerve this man had speaking to me this way. His voice was pure seduction and in the back of my mind, I could feel myself telling me to run and never look back; to not answer him and ignore his addresses. Of course I haven’t listened to myself before so why would I start now.

“Sookie,” I told him simply, looking back in his direction. His face had softened at hearing my name and he raised his hand to his chest, covering where his heart would be.

“I am Eric,” he said inclining his head to me. I looked back out to the water, watching another ship coming into the docks, and I could hear him scoot closer to my side.

“I believe you are close enough to me sir,” I remarked, looking at him out of the corner of my eye.

He ignored me of course, testing the waters with me it seemed, and moved an inch closer than he intended. This man was almost touching me, leaning against his hand that was placed behind me. His face was level with mine now from him leaning closer, and I could smell his scent of spice and cologne mixed with the sea air. He was intoxicating.

“Why are you out here alone my lady?” he asked, bringing me to my senses. I could feel his breath on my skin from his closeness, and I prayed silently that I had enough strength to keep my eyes on the water.

“I wished to have some peace and quiet. It is rare for me to be off the ship long enough to be alone.” I could feel him lean in closer to my neck and take a deep breath.

“You have been on a ship? Tell me, which ship you travel by?” he asked bringing his other hand and moving my hair over, past my shoulder.

“I travel on the vessel Palamay,” I answered, and felt him stiffen beside me.

“Palamay? Hmm...”

“Yes, it is my father’s ship. I have been on board for over ten years now,” I told him, turning my face to his. I could see hesitation in his eyes, and I wondered why that was. “What is it? Have you had business dealing with my father?”

A smile played at his lips. “No, I am…not exactly that kind of business man.” I was confused, and I could feel my brow furrow.

“Well we are in a town that is full of pirates, so it wouldn’t surprise me if you are one. All of them are the same anyways,” I commented, and noticed his eyebrow quirked up.

“What do you mean we are all the same?” he questioned, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his expression.

“You all want sex, you are all greedy, and won’t hesitate to kill anyone who is in your way. So before you even think of getting under my dress, you can forget about it. I don’t converse with pirates,” I stated to him.

“Yet you are on a ship with them at sea?”

“I have no choice in that. I wish to stay on land, but my father prefers me to stay close to him,” I said shrugging, not sure why I felt the need or desire to explain myself to the man beside me.

We sat in silence for a while, admiring the moon and the stars. Sitting on the beach at that moment felt right, not only because I was off that boat, but from having that man beside me. Something inside of me was telling me he was special, someone I needed to stay close to, and get to know. But of course that side of me was dominated by the other, more pragmatic side, which was telling me to tell him to get lost and don’t look back. He was a pirate, and I could do nothing to change it.

“It was nice meeting you Eric, but I am afraid I need to get back to my father for the night,” I said, standing before him. He stood as well, and in his own way blocked my view of the nearby tavern.

“I would like to take a walk with you, if that is agreeable with you,” he asked, and for once I pushed the side of me that was screaming no, and nodded at his request.

We started walking away from the docks, and he reached out and took my hand into his. I let out a gasp as I felt the tingles start in my finger tips and spread through my arm, engulfing my body. Never had I felt that way when someone touched me.

I stopped for a brief moment, and he did likewise, raising our hands and looking at them in amazement as I was. “Did you feel that?” he whispered, and before I could answer I heard a voice calling out my name.

“Sookie?” the voice called out, and then got louder. “Sookie??”

I looked back the way we came, and noticed my father walking over with three others on his crew. As he got closer, I quickly dropped Eric’s hand from my grasp and he looked at me, wondering why I let go. What could I say to him? My father is very protective of me and will skin you alive at the sight of you touching me? For some reason, saying that to him wouldn’t be enough.

“What are you doing out here alone Sookie?” my father said, coming closer in the darkness. His second mate, Victor, was holding an oil lamp so they could see.

My father froze the moment his eyes darted over to the figure beside me. Eric was still standing close to me, and I felt him stiffen at my father’s voice.

“What are you doing with my daughter, Northman?” he bellowed at Eric, and I didn’t understand what he was objecting to at the moment; me being alone with a man, or because the man was Eric. There must be something I don’t know about him, I conceded looking up at Eric.

“I was taking Sookie for a stroll on the beach. She agreed to it,” Eric answered smoothly, taking a step and placing himself half in front of me.

“You will walk away from my daughter Northman, she is none of your concern,” he said to Eric, and even though I couldn’t see his face, I could tell he raised his chin defiantly to my father, challenging him.

“And if I don’t Brigant?” Eric said, and I knew I didn’t want any blood spilled on my account.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, and I felt him release his tension from my touch. He turned around and looked me in the eyes, but still kept my father and the others in his sight.

“I will see you again. One day,” I said quietly, so only he could hear me. I knew my father, and after seeing Eric stick up for me in this way, he would take me away and keep me as far as he could from him. So seeing him again wasn’t a hope for me, but a way to perhaps keep him from losing his head, or another body part.

“You can stay now… you can be my woman,” Eric said softly, his eyes fierce.

“That sounds barbaric,” I blurted out, and narrowed my eyes at him. It always turns out the same with these men. One minute they could be sweet, the next turn into a caveman.

“You will be mine,” he stated grabbing my hand forcefully in his, causing me to take a step forward to him.

I felt my blood boil. No man touches me like that… I jerked my hand from his, and in a split second, pulled it back and slapped him as hard as I could. He didn’t flinch or blink from the contact, but I could hear my father and the others gasp from my actions.

“Don’t you dare touch me. I am not yours, nor will I ever be.” With that said, I turned and walked back towards the ship, feeling my father’s presence behind me. “Who does that man think he is, treating me in such a way?” I asked my father.

He didn’t reply until we were already on the boat and Compton was barking out orders to the crew. I stood there on the edge of the boat and could see Eric standing still in the spot I left him as the ship sailed away. I couldn’t see his face, on account of the darkness, but I knew he was watching me.

I stood there glaring out into the darkness, and sighed. A gorgeous man takes interest in you, and this is how you treat him. Way to go Sookie. You will never get a man this way, I scolded myself, placing my hand over my heart.

“He will not bother you again my child. I will make sure of it,” he said to me, but my eyes were still on the form of the man standing on the shore.

Deep down I wanted him to find me, but I never had the chance to tell him.