Aiden's Return

[Aiden Byrd]

Aiden had kept a low profile for more than a year now. He had not wanted himself linked in anyway to the Hannah Winter abduction. She had no memory of it. Kevin Brennan was clueless and had lot interest in Hannah and her child. Kevin was often travelling down roads that were dead ends or paths which he would randomly abandon. He had yet another plan brewing but, thankfully, he had brought Tara in for this one and left Aiden to his own devices.

This gave Aiden some time to think about his own currentl situation and his current werewolf dealings. Certainly, Kevin wanted to recruit them into his service and the potions that Hannah and Aiden brewed could be the lure that is needed. Aiden would never share that with Hannah but he also didn't share with Kevin that Hannah was helping him keep up with the potion supply needed. There were that many werewolves. There is no way Aiden could produce the potion in that volume alone. The trouble was that the potion was completely illegal and Hannah had to be very careful not be caught.

Aiden had rekindled his friendship with Hannah upon his abscence from Cat's Claw, though she seemed to be keeping it from her husband. Aiden knew he was not well-liked by Jarek Ivanov, but it was based on nothing really.

As Aiden pushed into Rory Fallon's, another face entered his mind; the blond waitress Amelia, his other captor whose mind he had not wiped clean. He had let her go by blackmailing her, using her wand to put a bind spell on Hannah so that should her wand be checked, she would incriminate herself. He had also offered threats of what would happen should she breathe a word of it to anyone, ever. After all, Amelia had, in the end, become and accomplice. She had even bought Hannah's brown shoes for the ball and helped Hannah arrange her hair. Aiden had wiped those memories from Hannah's mind but Amelia did not know this.

Still, he wondered about this woman and what had become of her as he took his seat in the pub. She had been a waitress here when he had first met her. She had been friendly and attentive and she had...respected him.

He scanned the pub for some reason, looking for her, but she could not be counted among the waitresses he could see on the floors.

[Amelia Kons]

Getting back into the swing of things had proven tough.  After such a long absence from the pub Amelia felt as though the entire atmosphere of the place had changed for her.  There had been no question of her leaving, even if it meant losing her job, but Mr. Fallon had graciously promised to hold her place until she could return from her emergency situation out of town.  Still, though her job had remained intact her clout among the staff had not.  Before, she had been one of the better waitresses - respected for her skills if not for her ties to the town.

After leaving, however, her ties had been questioned once again and she was back to square one.  Rory had accepted her back with few questions, as was his nature, but the other staff had not been so quiet.  She could hear whispers about her whereabouts for the past few months and the way she evaded questions wasn't helping her situation much. 

Figuring she would just have to work her way back into things, Amelia was on her second week of being back at the pub.  Her apron was tied neatly over her skirt and maroon jumper, keeping any spills away from her cleanly pressed clothing.  That was another thing that had changed - her fellow waitress, Rose, had somehow learned a bit of balance in her absence and now spilled considerably less than Amelia remembered. 

Pushing open the door to the kichens, Amelia swept through the opening to the space behind the bar.  After filling three steins with ale, she took to the floor and slid between the chatting crowds to the ordering table.  Three sweaty-browed men grinned up at her as she placed the alcohol in front of them with a smile.  As she turned to head back to the kitchens the bartender nodded his head in the direction of the back corner of the pub to let her know she had a new customer.

Without thought, Amelia pulled her pad and quill from the apron pocket and turned toward the table, but she nearly dropped her writing utinsel when she saw who sat there.  The chin-length black hair could not be mistaken, nor could the searching black eyes she had been so captivated by the first time she had met him.  Her captivation was not romantic or lustful in any way, but interested in a rather different way.  His ability to capture her attention and hold clear, concise conversation was what had drawn her to him so easily, and she could see he still held that same stiff elegance he had so many months ago.

The memories of the time she had known this man flooded her mind and for a moment she considered trying to find a different waitress to take the table.  After a moment's hesitation, though, she knew running from the situation would help nothing.  He was a customer, she was a waitress.  There needn't be any more in this scene.  He would order food and drink, she would bring it.  Nothing more, nothing less.

As she approached the table, Amelia realized she had been holding her breath and she let it out descreetly as she offered Aiden a tight smile.

"Can I get you something, sir?" she asked, still feeling the waves of confidence flowing off of him in a way that was oddly intriguing.

[Aiden Byrd]

And there she was, right in front of his table. It seemed like one of those strange moments where he worked to figure out a complicated math problem for hours when suddenly a few quick calcuations made it balance on both sides. He simply lifted his dark eyes and took her in as he said, "I think I would like brandy this evening. The night has grown cold."

This was near the same time of year that Aiden had kept Hannah hidden in his house, away from Brennan's reach, and healed her physical wounds. It was her mind he could repair, nor fully penetrate to the degree he would have wanted. There was nothing about Hannah that he could fully possess. It had always been that way and yet somehow it clawed at him.

He remembered this pretty waitress on another night, long ago, bringing him fine whiskey and talking in charming and subtly flirtatious ways. It was like a scene from another life and one that perhaps could have turned and twisted into something much different than it had.

Kevin had grown cold on that path and he knew nothing of what happened to Hannah. This young woman before him was the last memory, the last witness of that event. He had treated her harshly, locked her in a closet and forced her to attend to Hannah. He could have disposed of her, perhaps should have disposed of her had he been as smart as Kevin Brennan believed him to be. The thought suddenly darkened his mood and made him sit a little taller in his seat.

"You're looking well," he said in a smooth and quiet voice. No one would think twice had they overheard it, which was unlikely in the din of the pub. This pub was all about being familar, feeling like one belonged.

[Amelia Kons]

Amelia felt her walls rising up around her as the man's dark eyes swept easily over her features, making her feel as though he had taken in much more than her steam-mussed hair and wrinkled attire.  Even after nearly a year without contact, Aiden still had the power to send chills down her spine at the thought of what had happened.  Images of small quarters, bloodstained shirts, and a comatose Hannah flooded her mind and she closed her eyes against them, praying they would disappear and allow her to professionally and discretely move on from the table after taking the man's order.

His voice was oily and smooth, just as she had remembered it, and his composure seemed unmoved by her presence. Without bothering to respond to his comment on the weather, Amelia made a note of his order on her pad and slid both paper and quill back into her apron pockets.  Her hands now empty, she felt at a loss for what to do with them that would not reveal her discomfort at the search from his ever-observant eyes.

After a moment's hesitation, Amelia made a motion to turn back to the bar to fetch his drink, but another uttering from his lips stopped her cold.  Her fear of him, the horrible memories they shared, even the escape instinct that flooded her body was not enough to keep her rooted in place.  It was as if his words held unnatural power over her and she remained to hear him comment on - what?  Her appearance, her demeanor?

Shaking off the self-consciousness that had encompassed her since she first saw Aiden, Amelia tried to find balance for both her body and mind as her eyes connected with his once more, trying in some meager way to prove she was not afraid of him, though in truth, she didn't know that was entirely true.

“As are you,” she said, her voice respectful, but void of any true emotion.

“I’ll go tend to your drink,” she said as she turned to make her way back to the bar, giving herself at least the amount of time it would take to bring his brandy to gather her composure and protect herself against the flood of fear and uncertainty that threatened encompass her.

[Aiden Byrd]

She was still afraid of him. It brought on odd sense to him of his own personal power. He had seen the power Kevin Brennan exuded over people and he could not say it was not enviable to some degree. And yet, this woman, who was near his own age, had a certain strength that had appealed to him. She had not buckled under his commands. She had washed Hannah's blood from his shirt with her own hands without fighting him. And as far as he knew, she had kept the secret without his needing to wipe her mind.

He could not even tell himself why he had not wiped her memory clean. In part, it was because it was a dangerous magic with erratic results. He had used it on Hannah because he saw no other way. She was not in her right thinking and he had to let her go back where someone might help her. At the same time, he could not let her spill the secrets of who had helped her. It would mean Kevin Brennan would be coming after Aiden and Aiden was not powerful enough to take him on.

So why did he leave this lose thread hanging about?

He watched the waitress' back as she moved to the pub to get his drink. A shiver ran up his spine that he stiffened to contain. She knew things that could send him to prison or get him killed and he had let her walk free. He tapped his fingers on the smooth pub table and began to think about that. It brought him a sense of dread and also set his mind to find a solution.

[Amelia Kons]

The amount of time it took Amelia to retrieve the man's drink was unnecessary prolonged, but because the pub had not yet reached it's full capacity the bartender did little more than raise an eyebrow at her slowed pace.  She made certain to place the napkin just so beneath the glass of brandy, allowing the amber liquid to calm as she tried to allow her mind to do the same.

Though this was the place she had initially met Aiden, seeing him here was the ultimate unsettling experience.  So long it had been since she had seen the dark-haired man with whom she shared so many memories, that she had all but blocked him from her mind.  The thought of the time she spent, captive in the cottage to do his bidding while Hannah lay only a few rooms away suffering... it was enough to make her cringe inwardly even at the thought.  For so long she had silenced herself - a task that would seem simple to someone so accustomed to holding her tongue, but keeping your own secrets was one thing; keeping something like this was entirely different.

She hadn't told anyone.  Of that Aiden could be certain.  His threats to her safety were unneccessary, but he needn't know that.  Amelia wouldn't have had anyone to tell a year ago, so distanced was she from everyone else in her life.  Very few would have believed her, a redcap and recluse as she was, and the risk it would have meant to put herself out there and speak the truth was more frightening than any physical harm he might be able to inflict.

And Hannah.  She didn't seem to remember a thing.  Each time Amelia had seen her lately, whether strolling with her child or behind the windows of her apothecary, Hannah had waved and smiled politely, but never aknowledged any recollection of the months the two had spent in such close and terrifying confines.  Amelia knew Aiden must have taken every precaution to keep Hannah quiet, but... then why had simple threats been enough in her case?

Already having dallied far too long, Amelia hadn't much time to dwell on that concerning question, and she once again twisted her way through the crowd, now carrying the try that bore Aiden's liquor.  Upon reaching his table Amelia met his eyes as she placed the glass on the table, trying to search and see beyond the calm, confident exterior to what may be going on inside the man's mind.  It was frustrating, her inability to read this man as she did so many others.  Perhaps that was why she was drawn to him in a twisted, unhealthy way: he was enigmatic.  She simply couldn't figure him out.

"There you are," Amelia said, averting her eyes after failing to garner anything from her search.

"Is there anything else you needed?" she asked, already hovering on the edge of her toes for a quick escape.

[Aiden Byrd]

Aiden's mind was working things out as he kept his gaze on Amelia and on the others who sat around him. No one was watching him or even this corner of the room. The table was tucked in the shadow of the large hearth and at this busy hour, everyone was getting off jobs with hungry stomachs and chatter filling the tables.

When Amelia asked if their was anything else he needed, his hand shot forward, catching hold of hers that were still in the drink. "You. I need to speak to you," he spoke in a soft, commanding voice, his dark eyes finding hers for a moment before sweeping around him for a moment. Still now one seem to care and he kept his hand over hers for a moment longer. "I am here. Room 7B. I will be waiting. Don't disappoint me."

He let her hand go and brough the drink to his lips. In truth, he didn't know why he needed to see her, but he did. He needed to push inside her mind and see if she had kept the secret. He had been stupid to let her go so easily, but her wand still held secrets she would not one others to know. Wands could be tracked down. They were registerd with the An Taoisigh. On the rare occassions when people broke a wand, that broken wand was required to be turned over to the authorities. No one was allowed more than one wand in their possession unless they were an auror.

If anyone examined Amelia's wand, it could mean jail time for this young woman.  It was her wand that had excuted a stun and bind spell on Hannah. Hannah remembered noneo of it, he had seen to that. Of course, it was Aiden's hand that committed the act, but that would be incredibly difficult to prove. He had to count on that. 

Amelia Kons was the only loose end that remained from that fateful time last year. Her betrayal would mean Aiden's death at the hands of Brennan or it would mean jail. Aiden intended to stay clear of both.

[Amelia Kons]

The question Amelia had posed was made to maintain the businesslike atmosphere that she had hoped would dominate their conversation, but Aiden's reaction left no doubt that he thought of this as a different kind of business interaction.  His eyes locked on hers as his fingers closed around her wrist, startling her as she involuntarily flinched away from his touch.  Though her body recoiled, his grasp held firm and Amelia's eyes looked around, half expecting someone to see the exchange and come to her rescue.

The din in the pub was much too loud, though, and Amelia was frightened to find Aiden was right to assume he would go unnoticed in the crowded room.  His harsh, whispered words did not go unheard, though, and Amelia's eyes widened as he commanded her attention and her compliance.  His invitation was not a request - it was a demand.  His eyes and words left no question in her mind, but though she wanted to flee his grip kept her there.

Even after his grip slackened, though, the ferocity of his eyes on her did not weaken and she was held in place by a mixture of fear and shock.  Her heart raced in her chest as she tried to force words past her lips; something, anything to reason her way out of this, avoid the situation she knew would bring nothing but harm.  The prospect of being alone with Aiden brought fear bubbling into her throat, but the idea of ignoring his request was just as horrible.  She knew he would not take her rejection lightly, and any deviation from his plan for the evening would certainly bring no hope to her situation.  The double edged sword she faced seemed to already be stabbing at her gut and she stood for a moment longer in suspended silence, unable to break away.

"I...I..." Amelia stammered, her words betraying her fear despite her attempts to stifle it, "I will consider your request," she managed, turning quickly away from the table before Aiden could catch her arm again and force the decision immediately.  She knew not which side of Aiden's wrath she would choose to endure, but she wanted the choice to be hers.  Quickly, she wove her way through the tables away from him, avoiding eye contact with all she passed. 

This night, which had begun with the reflection on how much things had changed, had taken a turn that Amelia had not anticipated and the sweat that beaded on her brow was proof of her inability to grasp reality.  True, much had changed, but some things... some things were much too eerily the same.