Addison stood stern. She was not in the mood to be meddled with. And Dextian could tell. She walked around her island, leaning against the ledge, her arms crossed at her midsection, and a hard glare in her eyes while looking towards Dextian. And all she had to do was say one small sentence.
"Start talking." The tone of her voice was what gave Dextian the clue, she was being serious. He'd never seen this side of her. He never gave her a reason to let this side of her show, at least until now.
"I'll start simple. You are correct. I am one of them. I'm what history books and bibles call The Fallen. As are the others that you saw earlier at the ranch. Before I was condemned to that orb that you had found, I was their commanding general, that's why, Archibald, questioned me with the name commander. We all were once legendary warriors for the one lord all mighty. Me, the commanding general, the reason for all the tattoo markings. It's our symbol of ranks. Most of them aren't as high as me, but Arielis, she's a lieutenant. Or Jophiel, he's Arielis's older brother. He's a commanding chief. It was set by the great god himself." Dextian explains, standing slightly stiff a few feet in front of her living space area.
"That doesn't tell me why you suddenly appear in my bedroom of my apartment at 2:00 am in the morning, or why you explode from an orb hours later after I bought it. Why is all of this shit suddenly occurring now? And better yet, why didn't you tell me the truth sooner? I thought you trusted me. I thought we trusted each other." Addison's words gave Dextian a wave of guilt he'd never felt before. "I've drawn your kind before. Why didn't you trust me with the truth? Why when I trusted you with mine?"
"I didn't want to scare you off, Addison." She pauses for a second, hearing his reason, the seriousness in his voice, she hears it. "I've lived a long, long time. The reason I was in that orb to begin with, I made a decision that was against all my protocols set by God. I broke almost all the rules. I cared about someone so much back then, I showed her who I was, I risked everything for her, but when she sacrificed everything for me, including her lifetime and time again. I did everything in my power, all the abilities I had, to try and bring her back. And I did, but there was a price she had to pay with it. God didn't approve of what I had done. He trapped me in the orb, casted out my patriots as my punishment. And then suddenly I appear in your room, at 2:00 am in the morning. And when I locked eyes with you, I knew that it was real."
"You're changing the subject." Addison says brushing off the fact that the butterflies in her stomach are fluttering around.
"No, I'm not. I'm getting to the reason for your question about why I showed up in your room after you had bought the orb, I was trapped in." Dextian conveys and Addi sighs letting him continue while she hoists herself up onto the counter. "The reason I'm telling you about the woman, the reason behind why I was in the orb to start off, is because it's you, Addison." Addison's whole-body tenses. Not understanding what he's saying. "Addi, you've lived longer than you realize. We've known each other for over 1,000s of years."
"No, that's not possible. That can't be true. My family, my life. That's all real. I couldn't have lived for 1,000 years. How is that even possible?" Addison questions as her hands start shaking her breathing becomes shallow.
"It's called reincarnating, Addi. You are an example of a reincarnation that has been going about the world for 1,000 years. And somehow, every time you appear in a place, I end up finding you and falling in love over and over again as the story starts over once more." Dextian says, walking over slowly to where Addison is sitting on her countertop. "It's a never-ending occurrence. Us meeting is just an example of fate. But your reincarnation is a curse to you. Because of me."
"I don't understand. This can't be true. I was born from my parents, I have two brothers, this can't be true. I can't be what you're telling me." Addison says defensively, trying to make things seem easier to apprehend.
"Addison, you wanted me to tell you the truth. This is the truth." Dextian gets to where she's sitting, calmly standing in front and slightly between her legs, and he gently takes her hands in his, her shaking hands still trembling while they sit in his. "Don't you feel something when we touch, when our skin brushes against each other's. Even if we haven't known each other for long, don't you feel the slightest bit of familiarity, Addi?"
Her hand moved across his palm, her touch delicate, her hand slightly smaller than his. Their fingers suddenly and gracefully interlaced together, and she gasped lightly, feeling as though she's done it before. Just like the way she felt when she hugged him this morning. "How is this possible? I don't understand. How can I be a reincarnation? I don't know what to say about this..." Addi says breathlessly, staring at their hands that have never interacted like this before.
Dextian gently turns her hand, the back of it facing him and he delicately delivers a soft kiss to her skin. "Do you remember that? When I met you again, back in 1859..." As Dextian spoke that specific phrase Addison started to see flashes of memories through her eyes.
Addison walked down the gravel dirt road of the town she lived in; the year was 1859. Her white and blue low-class gown dragging against the dust. She had a small book in her hand, walking to the library towards the back of the town.
She walked soundlessly still reading and finishing up her book, until she ran into someone. She gasped a little as the person gently helped her balance, a hand on her waist, and the other hand holding hers.
She caught her breath before slowly glancing up, meeting the eyes of a beautiful, handsome sculptured man, dressed in classy items of clothing for their time.
"I'm terribly sorry, sir. Please forgive me, I wasn't aware of where I was going." Addison replied to the man, while being at a loss for words as she looks and studies his features.
"No need to apologize for this, madam. It's my fault." He assures her softly taking her hand and kissing the back of it gentlemanly. "I should apologize for my clumsiness." He spoke lightly and calm. "I'm sorry, I forget to introduce myself, I'm Dextian Narjondo. Who might you be, lovely madam?" Dextian asks her as she's at a loss for words still.
"My name is Addison, Addison Smith." Addi introduces herself while finally catching her voice and breath so to speak. "It's a pleasure to meet you. And it's not your fault for bumping into you. I wasn't paying attention. Too fixated on a book, my father always tells me." Addison explains while Dextian slowly and calmly takes his hands away.
"Where were you off to before I rudely stopped your adventure?" Dextian asks, folding his arm behind his back standing in an attendant position. Addison smiles delicately at how much he was paying attention to her and what she was originally doing.
"I was heading to the library actually because I was finishing this book, and I wanted to see if the librarian had any new stories for me." Addison conveys to Dextian as he too has a grin.
"Do you mind if I join you on your journey to the library? I to like to read a few books from time to time." Dextian remarks softly as she closes her book, finally being done.
"That would be lovely." She replied softly as Dextian moved to her side and offered her his arm and she hooked hers with his. "So, mister Narjondo? What books do you fancy to read?" Addison asks starting to make conversation as they walk together towards the library once again.
"I like the books that keep you on the edge of your seat. Ones that you never want to put down. What about you, Miss Smith? What books fancy you?" Dextian questions of her interest.
"Funny thing is, it's exactly what you described, mister Narjondo."
Her attention is pulled back to Dextian in the current time and she looks up to meet him. "I remember that. I was going to the library to return a book, and we bumped into each other. And that's why when you appeared you called me madam." Addison conveys what she just saw. "But I don't understand. I am just stuck at this age? Put into the next time, time and time again? And what do you mean I'm a reincarnation because of you?" Addison asks nervously to Dextian as she takes her hand back and gets off the counter moving around him.
"The first time we met and fell in love, we were inseparable from anything and everything. Expect one thing. Death." Addison stiffened at the word. "At the time, you were normal. Not immune to dying, just a human. But after I showed you my true self for the first time, you didn't hate me, you didn't even look at me differently." Dextian explains to her how it started. "But an enemy of our kind. Of our God. He came after us angels, and anyone corresponding with them. But my patriots didn't have any partners at the time, so the only one harmed fatally was you." Dextian reasons to Addison with a guilty expression, he felt the blame on him for what happened the first time to her. "That's the reason you have a scar going across your hip and part of your torso." Addison was downright befuddled, and her standing figure showed shock as she placed her hand over where the scar lay on her skin. "And you probably didn't think I knew about it, but I'm the one who healed it. However, God found out that I used my angelic healer on you and that you knew I was an angel and cursed you to be a constant reincarnation in endless time. And he kept me in heaven for a lot of the time, but I would sneak away to see you again each time you would occur. Didn't matter what time period you were in; I would be there. Because that's how much I loved you."
"You loved me? Over and over again, you never stopped? Not even when I couldn't remember you every single time?"
"Never. Not once." Dextian answers honestly. "I've loved you for over a thousand years, Addison. And every time, it never gets old. Never." Dextian says softly as Addison has a gentle sympathetic glance towards him. "Because every time I meet you, you add something so unique to your personality it's another puzzle to figure out."
"This is a lot to take in. I'm gonna change really quickly and get in the right head space." Addison says quickly and turns on her heels. Addison walked to her room, going behind her wall, where her closet rests and takes a few deep breaths before sliding her closet door open and grabbing a pair of black plain leggings and a knitted button up sweater with a big hood on the back. She grabbed a black cropped tank top and set the items on her bed. She let her hair hang down in its blonde layers and she started undressing her clothes and taking off her high heels. Replacing her nicer clothes with her comfy ones.
Addison then takes another deep breath before she rounds the corner again, seeing Dextian taking off his jacket that he borrowed and gently setting on the back of one of her chairs that sit around her island. She sees the tears in the white shirt from when his wings popped out of his back from earlier. The rips on the back were enough to show the open vertical lines that were five inches from his spine and about seven inches long along his back. Addison softly and quietly walked up behind him and gently lifted her hand up, running her fingers along the skin on his back his muscles flexing at the touch of her fingers.
"They don't hurt, if that's what you're wondering, Addi." Dextian says lightly to her. He turns his head a little to glance over his shoulder at her and she notices and looks up a little through her layered curls. "I don't feel the pain either."
"Do you mind if you take your shirt off? So, I can see the scars fully? Please?" Addison asks, her tone still slightly softer knowing that she was frightened before but also betrayed.
"And if I show you, Addi, then we finish our conversation from before?" He negotiates to her with a small smile on his lips.
"Very well. You have yourself a deal, Dextian Narjondo." Addison agrees and Dextian chuckles as he grabs the bottom of the white shirt and pulls it up and off his body. His body shimmers in the dimming sunlight but Addison looks at it like it was carved from stone itself and brought to life. His shoulders were broad, his muscles decently decadent, and his abs looked like were chiseled from steel and the toughest thing you could think, and his tattoos were so prominent and dark looking, the rank of a general even. Addison was just in total shock, just like how she was when he first appeared, expect this time at least he has some clothes on him.
"You don't have to be hesitant to touch them Addison. It wouldn't be your first time." He states as she sighed and took a few steps closer and in a slow motion, lifted her hand up to his scarred skin on his back. She traced the healed tissue as his muscles flex a little at her touch again. Remembering when he would feel those hands against his skin before.
"How do they work? Do they just sit inside? Are they difficult? Are they just like a bird's wings or like a totally different subject?" Dextian suddenly turns around to face Addison in a swift manner, clasping her hands intertwining with his; his beautiful upper body showing to her and all the tattoos on his figure. "Can I see them again? I promise to be calm this time." Addi says with a puppy eyed glance to Dextian.
"You're procrastinating, Miss Smith." Dextian suggests to her in a slightly joking matter. "But whatever makes you feel more comfortable." He shutters his shoulders a little. His wings gradually start to move out from his back and extend to their full length and beauty.
"Wow, they're breathtaking, Dextian. I didn't realize that before." Addison spoke as they fold lightly back at his sides, the feathers dragging across her wood flooring.
"When you knew my secret, the very first time we met, I used to do this," He starts, his wings beginning to move around Addison's figure in a secure safe position. Addi gasps lightly a little at the shock but soon settled down when the soft feathers of his wings settle on her lower body. "It was a sense that you said made you feel safe." Dextian says softly as his hands then rest on her waist, and hers move to his shoulders. Addison sees the memory of when he would do this, and it helped her reassure herself that she felt safe.
"I guess, if I think about it, and while you do it, it still does." Addi confesses as she takes a deep breath and slowly glances up from looking at his wings and moves to his eyes. "I still sense the feeling." Addison spoke lightly.
"Yeah? Well, I guess I should consider that a good thing then." He admitted to her, and she smiled delicately.
"Can I ask you something Dextian?" Addison questions to him. He looked at her longingly, studying how her blue eyes wondered his.
"Of course. Anything."
"Do you still love me now?"
That's when he froze.
Could he answer honestly?
Or would she be too scared of his answer?
That was his nightmare.
Her saying that she was scared of him.
Even if he loved her.