A/N: I know this may seem like it's a little male on male slash, but bear with me. More notes at the end.

Chapter 1

Eric flew to Russell Edgington's mansion in Mississippi. He had business from his queen to complete with the king. Plus, he had never met Russell Edgington and he was always curious about those vampires closest to him who were his most likely threats. It was a huge home with well-groomed grounds. He could see guards with dogs patrolling the grounds and alighted well within their comfort zone. His arrival caused a flurry of activity with Russell's security and he was quickly surrounded by several vampire guards and manhandled to the mansion. None of the guards were really a threat to him, but he allowed himself to be taken and marched up to the entrance of the home. He saw an elaborate foyer with a beautiful staircase.

As he was brought inside, he protested, "This is completely unnecessary. I come in peace."

He saw a pretty boy with soft blonde curls and cornflower blue eyes looking at him intensely. He was slender and wore a pale blue cashmere sweater and trim trousers. He wore a thick necklace of white gold that seemed seamless and almost like a collar. The guards had stopped when their eyes fell upon the boy.

"Who are you?" asked the boy.

"Eric Northman, Sheriff Area 5 of Louisiana," said Eric.

"Let him go," said the boy.

Eric was surprised when the guards did as the boy commanded. They turned and departed and Eric found himself alone with the boy.

"My apologies, Sheriff. The guards are overzealous in their duties and you caught everyone off guard by dropping in like you did," said the boy.

"Thanks," said Eric. "I didn't get your name."

"I'm nobody to concern yourself with," said the boy.

The boy stared at him a moment and said, "Follow me, I'll take you in to see the King."

The boy turned and led the way. Eric could only detect that the boy was human and he was definitely a somebody to wield power in the kingdom of Russell Edgington. Eric wondered if Talbot had been replaced in the King's affections. As Eric followed the boy, he was struck by a subtle feminine swish of those hips. From what he had heard, Russell Edgington's mansion was like the playboy mansion with boys. He could see how this pretty boy would be popular in a place like this. The boy stopped before a double door and softly knocked. When a voice inside responded, the boy opened the door and allowed Eric to precede him into the room.

Russell Edgington was almost 3,000 years old and extremely powerful. His appearance somewhat belied that truth since he was a smallish man. Yet, Eric knew he would be very foolish indeed to forget how easy it would be for this vampire to dispatch just about any other adversary, including himself. He was seated at an elaborate and antique desk. Behind the desk, was a wall of enclosed glass shelves that displayed an eccentric and diverse collection of numerous pieces of art and artifacts. A small fire blazed in fireplace that was framed by a beautiful and detailed mantle. Russell stood up as they entered the room. He was wearing an old-fashioned suit that a country gentleman might have worn a century ago.

"Your Majesty, the Sheriff of Area 5 Louisiana," said the boy.

"Majesty," said Eric with a bow.

Russell came around the desk and gave Eric a friendly smile that didn't fool Eric for a moment.

"Sheriff Northman, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," he said.

"The pleasure is mine," said Eric, politely.

"I see that you've met Seren," said Russell.

So, that was the boy's name, thought Eric. He said, "Yes, he called off the guards."

"Oh, he must like you," said Russell. "He usually lets the guards roughhouse intruders."

Eric glanced at Seren and the boy immediately dropped his eyes.

"If you will excuse me, Majesty, I will leave you two alone," said Seren.

"I do not excuse you, Seren," said Russell. "You will stay and entertain us with your presence."

"As you wish, Majesty," said Seren.

Eric could tell the boy was less than thrilled at being ordered to stay. He stood awkwardly by the door. It was then that Talbot arrived into the room. Talbot was wearing a silk robe and slippers. Talbot's eyes fell on Seren and they widened. With a hiss, he rounded on the boy.

"That's my favorite sweater, you little thief," he said, angrily.

"Talbot, please, we have a guest," said Russell. "Besides, I told Seren to find something to wear in your closet."

Seren was now forgotten as Talbot's eyes passed over Eric.

"Hello, have we met?" he asked.

"Eric Northman, Sheriff Louisiana," said Eric.

"Talbot, Royal Consort," said Talbot, gazing at Eric dreamily.

"Well, it's late and whatever business you have to conduct with me can wait until next sunset," said Russell. "Please accept the hospitality of my home."

"How can I refuse?" said Eric.

Talbot smiled widely and said, "Have you eaten?"

"No, but I'm fine," said Eric.

"Nonsense, no guest in our home retires hungry," said Talbot. "Seren can accommodate your needs."

Seren's eyes widened with alarm and he glanced at the king. However, Russell was wise enough to know when to let his consort have his revenge over Seren's theft. Seren realized this and turned his eyes to the floor and as Eric watched he was sure he saw the boy slightly tremble.

Russell came over and touched one of Seren's soft curls, saying, "Don't be so upset, Seren. Sheriff Northman would never harm you. Would you, Sheriff?"

Suitably warned, Eric replied, "No, of course not."

"Seren you may leave now," said Russell.

"Just remember to present yourself to Sheriff Northman later," said Talbot.

Seren bowed and never raised his eyes from the floor and quickly departed.

Talbot smiled and took Eric's arm, saying, "I'll show you to your room. We just had all the guest rooms redone and I'm sure that you will find everything very comfortable."

Eric walked down a deserted hallway to Seren's room. He had gotten directions from one of the guards who had gazed at him strangely when he had asked where the boy's quarters were, but didn't comment. The boy was housed far away from Talbot's and Russell's room. He was curious about Seren and wanted to catch him off guard. There was something going on here, some inside joke or game that he was not privy to. When he knocked on the door, the boy answered it and stared at him without saying anything.

"Aren't you going to invite me inside," said Eric.

"I thought that I was supposed to come to your room," said Seren.

"My room, your room. It's all the same, isn't it?" said Eric.

"I would rather do it in your room," said Seren, who still refused to invite him in.

"Is that so you can leave my presence? If I didn't know better, I would say that you didn't like me very much," said Eric.

"It doesn't really matter what my feelings are, does it?" said Seren.

"You're right, it doesn't," said Eric.

Defeated, Seren said, "Come in."

Eric walked inside and began to look around the room. It was comfortable and slightly feminine. There was a dress draped over the back of a chair which caught Eric's attention. Did the King's little pet like girls? He turned and gazed at Seren and was again struck by how pretty the boy was. He had seen pretty boys over his years, but there was something different about this one. In the soft light of his room, Seren's eyes now had a greenish hue to them. He turned his eyes away and returned to his examination of Seren's room. He spied a stuffed animal on the bed and reached for it. Seren grabbed it before his hands reached it and placed it behind his back. Seren flung it into the closet and faced Eric again.

"Perhaps, we can just get this over with?" asked Seren.

"Since you don't seem interested in talking, then we will move onto to business," said Eric.

Eric sat down in one of the chairs and looked up at the boy.

"Kneel," said Eric, pointing to the floor in front of him and effectively showing the boy who held the power.

Seren slowly came forward and sank to his knees before Eric. His eyes were on the floor and carefully off Eric. Eric trailed a hand in the boy's soft hair and Seren flinched away. Eric grabbed him and held him in place. Up close, the boy even smelled like a girl and was wearing a soft floral fragrance. Curious, Eric ran his hand over the boy's chest and Seren again made a effort to escape his grasp.

"Please stop, feeding on me isn't groping me," said the boy.

"That was not groping," said Eric, holding onto his hair. "This is."

The boy just kept setting off alarms in his mind. Eric quickly brought his hand downward and felt for himself to see what Seren's sex really was. When his hand found obvious male plumbing, Seren gave a girlish sounding yelp and jumped out of his hand and escaped his grasp. Seren stood up and seemed disturbed by the violation that Eric had done to him.

"You can't tell me that in this mansion, I'm the first vampire who has touched you," said Eric.

"No, no one molests me here," said Seren.

"Why is that?" asked Eric. "You are pretty for a boy, I would think that there would be a revolving door on your bedroom."

"Well, there isn't," said Seren.

"Are you Russell's exclusively?" asked Eric.

"Why does it matter to you who is having their way with me?" asked Seren.

"Talbot is not your friend," said Eric.

"Tell me something that I don't know," said Seren.

Eric gazed at this girlish boy who had his own troubles and decided to have pity on him. He wasn't his type anyway. He was here because the boy had just made his curious. But, the boy was smart enough to be guarded in his responses and would not divulge any useful information to him. He saw a sharp mind underneath that pretty exterior.

Eric got up and went to the door.

"Wait, are you leaving?" asked Seren.

"Although feeding on the unwilling does have it's appeal, you aren't really my type," said Eric.

"I...I will be punished for not pleasing you," said Seren.

Eric rolled his eyes and returned to the chair and motioned for the boy to kneel again. Seren came forward and knelt before him. Without ceremony, Eric dropped his fangs and grabbed the boy and sank his fangs into his throat. The boy flinched and gasped, but otherwise remained still. But, when Eric tasted him, he decided that he liked the flavor of Seren very much. He vigorously fed on the boy and heard the boy softly moan. He could tell the boy was becoming aroused and normally that would not please him, but he only sucked harder on the boy's neck and grabbed the boy's head by his curls and held him fast. Eric resisted the urge to caress the boy and held him harshly by the hair because he was bothered by his own response to the boy. He took his fill, stopping just short of weakening the boy and turned and looked at Seren. Seren's eyes were still closed. Eric let go of him and that brought him out of his trance. The boy scrambled away from him and stared wide-eyed at him from several feet away.

Eric got up and said before leaving, "I will inform Talbot that you pleased me very much."

Eric then departed and Seren let out a breath. That had been close, thought Seren. Seren walked to the mirror and looked at the reflection. As Seren watched, the reflection shimmered and morphed into Seren's true form. Soft strawberry blonde curls framed a pretty face with green eyes. A light sprinkling of freckles covered the nose. Seren turned sideways and the soft swell of her breasts were once again evident. She had almost lost control and returned to her true form while that vampire was feeding on her. That would have required more explaining than she wanted to give. Damn that Talbot for making her the main course for that vampire, she thought. She retrieved the stuffed bear from the closet and sat on her bed. She stared at the bear and tried to remember her life before she had become another object in Russell Edgington's collection.

They had come for her in the middle of the night. Her mother had run into her room and woken her. Her mother was frightened and her hands trembled as she pulled her out of bed. Seren drowsily awoke, her hands still clutching her bear. Her mother dragged her to the window and opened it, but her father cried out from another room.

"They are already outside, Mary," he said.

Her mother turned to her and took her face in her hands and said, "Try hard, Seren, you can be anything that you can imagine. You possess a power greater than mine."

Seren's powers had manifested early as soon as her first period. Her mother had noticed that there was something different about her and had sought answers to her questions. Someone else outside of their circle of contacts must have found out about her.

"But, I only started to learn and I seem to do humans better," said Seren.

"Try to become something so tiny that you won't be detected," said her mother.

"But, you and dad," began Seren.

"Forget about us. Do you understand?" her mother said, tears falling.

Seren nodded and her mother quickly hugged her.

"Now, stay hidden no matter what happens," she said.

Her mother departed the room. Seren found that she was too scared to change and against her mother's wishes opened the door a crack and peeked out. She saw her father talking to someone just outside the front door who she could not see. Her mother took a position beside her father. Suddenly, she heard the person who was outside their house and threatening them.

"I have your wife dead to rights," said the voice. "If you don't invite me in, I swear she will be dead before she hits the floor."

"Don't do it, Paul," said her mother.

"Now, I don't know why there has to be all this fuss," said the voice. "I only want the girl. Think of it like a boarding school. I'll treat her like a queen."

Her father's shoulders slumped in defeat and he said, "I'm sorry Mary, but I can't let anything happen to you. Come in."

"No," cried her mother in anguish.

A small looking man with brown hair entered the house with a smile of triumph on his lips. Before Seren's startled eyes, her mother morphed into a huge brown bear. The bear moved to the man who stood his ground as if her mother wasn't a threat. Standing on her hind legs, her mother swiped at the man with a massive paw. The man fell against the wall and deep gashes laid bare his ribs and slashed his face open. Seren thought that he must be dead, for no man could live after being savaged like that. But, Seren stared in disbelief as he stood up and his wounds stitched themselves closed. Seren realized that he was not a man, but a vampire. Her mother roared and charged again, but another vampire walked inside and raised a gun and fired at her. Seren screamed and watched as the bear faltered and fell to the floor. She ran from the room and placed herself between the vampires and her fallen mother. The other vampire raised his gun again and the first vampire knocked his hand down.

"Fool, she's what we came here for," he said.

"Run, Seren," came her mother's weak voice.

Seren turned back and gazed upon her dying mother and fell to the floor beside her.

"I can save her," said the vampire. "All you have to do is say that you'll come and stay with me."

Seren gazed at the vampire with brown hair and cruel eyes and said, "Please, help her and I'll go with you."

"No, don't do it," whispered her mother.

Her father was already weeping on the other side of her mother, her hand held within his.

The vampire walked forward and knelt beside Seren. He bit his wrist and held it to her mother's lips. Her mother turned her head and the vampire grabbed her head and forced her to drink. Before Seren's stunned eyes, the bullet in her mother's chest began to push itself out and dropped onto the floor.

The vampire stood up and held out his hand, saying, "Come, your place is with me."

Seren stood up and took his hand and he pulled her away from her parents. She turned back and saw her father cradle her mother who cried into his shoulder. But, her mother was alive and that was all that mattered. The vampire stopped before leaving the house and picked up her dropped bear. He handed it to her and marched her to a waiting car. Once inside, he sat across from her and studied her. Seren didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry and stared back at him, her hands holding the bear.

"Have you ever been to Mississippi, Seren?" he asked.

Seren shook her head 'no' and the vampire smiled.

"I'm a king there, just like a fairy tale," he said.

"Don't fairy tales have happy endings?" asked Seren.

"The real ones don't," he replied. "The monster always won in the original versions. They had to change the endings to make the humans feel safe. But, there is no safety from real monsters, remember that Seren."

Seren had been twelve that night and she had never forgotten Russell's words in all the years that had passed.

A/N: Sam said he didn't shift into a different human form because it was too complicated, but what if there were very rare shifters who could and who could shift into anything that they could imagine. Seren's budding powers and potential caused Russell to covet her as a child. But, she's not a child anymore and just what limits are there on her power?