Thousand Years

CHAPTER 6 - Aidan and Dareanna

Present

Adrian woke up early next morning and recalled the happenings of last night. He thought of her at 'Exotic' and how he stormed out of there shocked. He had to find out more about her. He already decided he was going to Exotic today as well. But before that, he needed to find out everything there was to know about her.

He called his personal secretary Ms Kim. Ms Kim was a middle aged Asian woman. She was extremely neat and precise. She rarely questioned him. She had been working for him now for five years and yet she had never once inquired about his personal life. He respected the woman.

"Good Morning Ms. Kim. I have a favor to ask you. I need to find out about the escort bar Exotic. I need information about all the employees there." he went on.

"Sure thing sir. Anything else?" Ms. Kim asked. " That is it for now." Adrian said as he hung up.

Adrian sighed as he popped back into his enormous bed. He thought of the times he was in Silver City. He was happy with his family. He had two brothers and two sisters. Along with their mother and father, they were all members of the Heavenly host. It did not make sense that a member of the Heavenly host was now a fallen angel. But that is how it was. And he did not dare recall the memories of the incident that led to him being banished from the Silver City.

He was 950 years old and he has been on earth for 200 of them. What was left of his divine powers were fading. But he was still an immortal. He was an immortal stuck in the world of mortals. He was a permanent being in a world where everything was temporary.

Adrian felt depressed by the thought once again. His life on earth had not been easy. He had to build form the beginning, get accustomed to mortals and their ways. It was different every time he moved. He could never stay for long in one place. And with the evolution of technology, he had to make extra effort to stay hidden. He could change his name from time to time. But he could not change his face. He made sure not to appear in photographs by all means.

He was now completely fed up of living and nothing earthly excited him anymore. He knew he had to break the curse to end his misery. He had to find a way to break it. After 200 years of research he knew only so much. There was no way he could make contact with anyone from the Silver City, so he had to refer to the resources here on earth.

The punishments were always given with regards to the sin committed. As for Adrian, he was cursed to be immortal in a mortal world for an eternity. So he knew there was no chance he could ever return to the Silver city. His only hope was that he could break the curse ,become mortal and die peacefully once his time was over.

The old scriptures had read that he had to find his true love to break his curse. This was the only piece of information that he got before he was sent to earth. His older brother, Cael had told him this just after he was sentenced. But he did not know what to do next or what his true love had to do. And he suspected that just finding her will not be enough to break his curse.

Then he started thinking of Dareanna, all those years ago in Ireland.

Year 1920, Dublin, Ireland

Several days after the dinner at the Overlord's Manor, Aiden Roche was in his study referring to some of his property documents. The study had an ornate oak table and three walls that were covered with book shelves that reached the ceiling. The only remaining wall that was behind the table that Aiden was working on, was a set of glass windows that had a view of his garden. It was on the second floor of Roche Manor.

Aiden came across a document that was needed to be approved by the mayor. And that was when the idea hit him. He could go there and see her. He could not help but think about Dareanna during the past few days. He would think of her at random times, he was even a bit suspicious of how bewitching that woman had been. He never thought of the women he had left. He remembered all of them, but he never thought of them.

Sinking back into the memories of that night, he wondered how it would feel to run his hands on her milky white skin. He suddenly stood up from his seat and informed his butler that he was going to see the mayor. He could've easily sent his trusted butler to get the document signed but he wanted to see her so badly. He almost ran downstairs, grabbed his car keys and the coat and left.

Dareanna was sipping her favorite tea sitting on the widow seat of the second floor library. In this huge manor, that was the only place she actually liked to be. It was a beautiful afternoon. She was looking out of the window wondering what was happening in the city. The Mayor's house was a bit away from the city, it would give one the feeling that they were in the country side. She then saw a car headed toward the house along the gravel road that separated the large lawn in front of the house into two.

She thought it was the old man at first, but then he never drove so fast on this road. She wondered if he was in a hurry. The car stopped right in front of the house and she saw him getting out. It was him! She thought with excitement. It was the same Aiden Roche that she had been wanting to see again.

The mayor was not home. And she knew it would be at least three hours till he came back home. She also knew she wasn't supposed to feel excited like this but she straightened her dress, checked herself in the mirror, fixed her hair with her hands and went downstairs.

Aiden stepped out of his car at the mayor's house. A butler came running to greet him and inquired what his business here was. Aiden said that he was here to get a document signed. "Mr. Roche, the mayor will not be here for another two or three hours. I can hand him the document if you want, so that you can send someone to collect it tomorrow. If it is urgent, you can have a seat inside and wait for him, sir" the butler said. Aiden knew the document was not urgent. And the mayor would find it suspicious if he waited for him just to get this signed. He had just wanted to see her even if it was just for five minutes, but it seemed that was not going to happen today.

He was about to handover the document to the butler when a voice from the door called him. "Oh! Mr. Roche! What a pleasant surprise. Please come in". He turned to see that it was Dareanna. The butler quickly ushered him inside.

" It is nice to meet you again Mrs. O'Donovan" ,Aiden said while he shook hands with her. Distaste clear in his voice as he said 'Mrs.O'Donovan'. Dareanna couldn't help but notice that. She gave a wide smile and pointed to the couch in the living room. "Please call me Dareanna. And take a seat".

It was not often that the lady met with mayor's guests. The butler couldn't help but look surprised. Nevertheless, it was not his place to question so he left the room.

"A drink Mr. Roche? Or should I call you Aiden?" she asked with a small smile. "By all means and yes, I would like a drink." He sat back in the comfortable chair and looked at her.

Her deep brown hair came to her waist. She was in a pink, knee length dress and a lace overcoat that came to the same length as the dress. She was not wearing any makeup. But she still looked as gorgeous. "Bourbon?" she asked. And he nodded.

She poured two drinks. She usually doesn't serve drinks to people that she did not know well. And definitely not in broad daylight. But Aiden seems like the type who would enjoy a drink despite the time. And her guess had been proven right when he accepted the drink without hesitation.

She handed him the glass and took a seat opposite to him on the couch. She felt his eyes scan her. He took a sip of the drink. She noticed how sharp his jawline was, how his unshaven stubble somehow made him more handsome.

She then, came back to her senses when she saw that he was staring at her with a smirk.

"So Aiden, what brings you all the way here?"

He loved the way how his name just slipped through her mouth like silk. He wanted to hear that every day.

" I have this document to be signed by the mayor" he said motioning to the papers that were now on the coffee table.

"It must be very important that you came here yourself" she stated.

" No actually. It was just an excuse. I wanted to see you again".

She was taken aback by his blunt confession. Yet he looked as if he had said it was raining outside.

Aiden took another sip of his drink and observed her once again. She had a slight blush on her cheeks and she tried to look anywhere but at him. He wanted to know more about her. Not the facts he learnt from the background check he did.

"So Dareanna, its such a nice house you have. It might be boring to stay here all day by yourself" Aiden asked.

"Oh no, there is a huge library upstairs. I read most of the time. And also I handle accounts for the mayor" she replied.

" I see a reader. Hmm. Interesting."

She liked to hear him talk. His voice seemed as it if it directly reached her heart. It was husky and smooth all at the same time.

"Do you not prefer reading? " she asked.

"I read but not that much. I paint most of the time" said Aiden.

"Oh you paint! What do you paint?"

"Mostly landscapes and portraits occasionally" he said.

The conversation went on as they talked about so many different topics. About an hour and a half passed and Aiden realized she was enjoying her company as much as he did. But he thought it would be better to leave before the mayor came back.

Aiden looked at the watch and looked back at her apologetically " I think i should go now Dareanna."

She sensed his reluctance to leave but she too thought that it is better if he left before the old man came home.

"So when will I see you again" Aiden asked as he was getting ready to leave. She was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. 

"I'll  let you know Mr. Roche" she gave a sly smile. She was trying so hard to act cool but inside she was really nervous.

The conversation was pleasant but she couldn't help but notice the way he kept looking at her. It made her feel all warm inside.

"Maybe downtown after the Sunday mass, Dareanna?" he replied with a smirk.

She was surprised how he knew that she liked to take a walk downtown every Sunday but she did not reply.

She led him to the door with an amused smile. When she turned to say goodbye to him, he was standing dangerously close to her. His piercing blue eyes looking at her intently. She felt her knees weaken.

He then faced down, his face inches away from hers as he whispered in her ear, "I'll see you on Sunday, mavournin".