[ WP ] Its your last day of servitude to a man who offered you eternal life , for a thousand years of service .

Cian straightened his cuffs slightly. To any passerby, it would have seemed like a casual, professional gesture, but his companion knew better. 
 
 `` Nervous, my boy?'' 
 
 Cian allowed the faintest smile to touch his lips, eyes still ahead as he walked behind his charge. `` I do n't know what I feel.'' A hint of an accent hid behind his crisp words, something vaguely Gaelic, though most would n't be able to place it. 
 
 Blackwood, Cian's `` patron'', chuckled gently. Cian watched him from the corner of his eye, trying to gauge his mood. His smile seemed genuine, his eyes bright. He was in a genial mood today. 
 
 They arrived in the upper room of Blackwood's penthouse, looking out over a glittering land of steel and glass. Cian had trouble keeping them straight. This was New York, he believed, though it might have been Chicago. 
 
 Blackwood lowered himself into a plush chair, swiveling to look at Cian. His beard was as elegantly trimmed as ever, his white hair brushed back and not a strand out of place. As long as Cian had known him ( one thousand years now ) the man had never changed. At the beginning, Cian had asked about Blackwood's origins, his history, his nature, but as answers were refused, Cian had resigned himself to quiet service. 
 
 `` One thousand years' service for eternal youth: that was our arrangement, was it not?'' 
 
 `` Yes sir, Mr. Blackwood.'' 
 
 `` How the time flies. The years slip by, do n't they?'' The man ( or whatever he might have been ) searched Cian with a piercing stare. `` Tell me, do you remember one thousand years ago?'' 
 
 Cian cast his mind back, further back than he ever liked to think. `` I remember parts, sir. Dark times, they were.'' 
 
 `` Tell me.'' 
 
 `` King Brian had just been killed. You remember that well as I do, I'm sure. A good king he was, too—taken too soon. The Norse would soon come, we knew, and the land began to riot. Chaos, it was.'' 
 
 As he spoke, Cian's eyes grew distant, looking out the window. His voice grew less cultured, the accent coming out more clearly. 
 
 `` My dear Aoife was taken as well. And our daughter—I had hoped for a son, but she always insisted it would be a daughter— both of them gone. I wandered, knowing not what I sought. Until I met you.'' 
 
 Blackwood nodded imperceptibly. An eyebrow rose. `` Why did you accept my offer? A man like unto you would sooner seek death than prolong his life.'' 
 
 Cian smiled, but it did n't reach his eyes. `` I do n't know. Cowardice, perhaps. The fear of the grave. Hope, hope for something else beyond the pain. Perhaps simply because to have a purpose.'' 
 
 `` Are you satisfied with our arrangement?'' 
 
 `` I do n't know that, either. Sir. It's been incredible; this world has changed so much. So quickly. To think that a whole new land would be found, then break from the Crown? I still wonder at the marvels they invent. So much they've discovered, so much they've learned. How to harness the thunder and soar with the birds. To speak with those a world away with nary a thought. But I do pine for the old land. The mists, the rains, the knowledge of the Aos Sí. Not belief, *knowledge*.'' 
 
 Cian turned to his patron, eyes weary. `` Whatever you are, sir, be you Sidhe or angel or Djinni or ghoul—well, I thank you. One thousand years and I've seen more than I thought possible.'' He checked his watch: noon exactly. His time was up. 
 
 Cian bowed slightly to Blackwood, heart curiously heavy. `` My service is finished, sir: will you be needing anything before I go?'' 
 
 Blackwood stood, straightening his jacket and smiling broadly. He shook Cian's hand with a firm grip. `` No, my boy. Your life—your long life—is yours.'' 
 
 Cian nodded, throat too tight to say anything. He strode to the door confidently, but stopped as he grasped the handle. 
 
 `` Say... Mr. Blackwood.... These past thousand years I've seen quite a lot. But I do n't understand the half of it.'' 
 
 `` You've had no end of questions!'' laughed Blackwood. 
 
 Cian looked back. `` You've not answered many.'' 
 
 Blackwood smiled broadly. `` Ca n't give away my secrets to a servant.'' 
 
 `` What about a partner?'' 
 
 Blackwood's smile broadened further. Impossibly wide. 
 
 `` I thought you'd never ask.''
