Chapter 61: The Talk

"Let's sit down son, we have a lot to talk about." Liam told his son, as he pointed to two benches that were facing one another."

The boy sat opposite his father and waited, it seemed the man had a lot on his mind.

Liam took a long breath while looking at his son.

"You have grown quite a bit since you – no, since I last saw you." The usually eloquent man was stumbling on his words.

He closed his eyes and breath in again.

"Since I first held you in my arms, I dreaded this day would ever come. I never wanted to sit here and have to talk about these things with you. I always believed you would stay my sweet little boy."

"You were never good with making friends, but you always absorbed all the knowledge we could throw at you. I always believed we could avoid it, not because it was logical, but because I am a coward."

The man looked his son directly in the eyes. The boy could see the fear his father failed to hide painted on his face. The man was sweating, and his knee was shaky, a sign of his nervousness. He kept scratching his hands and taking deep breaths every few sentences.

"It's ok Dad, it's not a big deal." The boy tried to consult him.

The man's eyes shined, and his nostrils flared up, as he slapped both his legs, nailing them to the ground.

"Not a big deal? You are wrong kid, it is a big deal. I failed you as a father and as a man. I should have guided you so you don't get yourself entangled in a situation such as this. Your mother told me everything, and I could feel she was trying to hold back the tears. It is, in fact, a very big deal, and like it or not, we are talking through it."

His father leaned back.

'Not like this Liam, you need to be understanding, he is just a child.'

The man tried desperately to calm down.

"Ciaran, I understand the desire for you to grow, for you to explore, but you are too young for these things. And don't get me wrong, I would never stand in your way, no matter which way the wind blows you, no matter which side you choose to play on, I will always be your father, and I will always love you Ciaran."

"I am a flawed man. I have made mistakes. And I will keep making more, but I will be damned if I let you through your life away like this, are we clear? Never! I don't care how strong that woman is I will never allow you to – "

"And here is where you are wrong, Dad. I never asked for your permission. It was a risk, and it was stupid, but my heart wouldn't rest easy if I didn't at least try. And Verdania's strength has nothing to do with it. I was never planning to rely on her when it came to that. That was about me, about us as partners."

The boy avoided calling Verdania 'Big Sis' so as not to cause his father any more grief. He also kept Ariadne in his soul, as if the man turned hostile towards her, all bridges would be burned.

Seeing his son so determined filled Liam's heart with nothing but sadness. He took one last breath before calming himself, his voice stern and commanding.

"I heard that you have matured after coming back from an expedition Ciaran, and I am glad to know it was true. Your mother also told me about the bond you share, and how unique and unbreakable it is. She sounded so happy that you have found someone who you love outside of the family. But I will not stand for it, she is not right for you." In the end, he was almost shouting.

Ciaran's eyes sharpened and a bit of malice clawed its way into them.

"You have no right to say that. She kept me warm when I was cold. She fed me when I was hungry. She was there for me when no one else was. And fuck you, and my age. So what if I am young? So what if our bond is one of a kind? We forged it together, and no one, not you, not Gramps, not even Mom, could ever break it."

The man was furious when he heard that.

"She is too old for you brat. And a damn Archmage to boot. You don't know what you are getting yourself into." He shouted, and the boy deadpanned.

There was silence.

"Um, Dad, what are you talking about?"

Liam's vein was going to pop out of his forehead.

"I am talking about the "special" relationship you formed with your mentor. And don't you play dumb with me you brat, your mother told me about how close you have gotten with the 'new woman' in your life?"

The boy looked at him. He just stared and stayed silent.

" She asked you to give me "The talk" didn't she?" Ciaran asked as he was feeling a headache coming.

'So that's how it feels to get messed with.'

Then Ariadne materialized in all her glory.

"Meet my familiar, Ariadne. The woman mom told you about."

Liam's mind froze for a minute.

"Ok, as long as you're not taken advantage of I approve. Welcome to the family." Liam said, his brain just barely functioning at this point.

In another part of the Maze, Verdania was cursing out all the clades while her brother was on his knees. It had been a long time since someone had made him laugh like that. The fact that it was at Verdania made it just that much sweeter for him.

After Ciaran had told him what he had actually done for these two years, and he ones again stated that the relationship between him and the dryads was platonic, Liam calmed down.

"I was expecting your mom to punish me in some way, but that was just cruelty, my heart almost stopped there for a second. Also, congratulations on becoming a mage." His father said with the biggest smile on his face. Whether it was because his son had achieved what Liam couldn't for all his life, or because his son was still single would forever stay a mystery.

"You aren't going to lecture me on not taking so many risks?" Ciaran asked.

Liam looked at him weirdly.

"Kid, do you know how I proposed to your mom? She said she told you a little bit about her past, let me get back at h-. Let me fill in the gaps."

"She was sent by the Desert to assassinate me. Not everyone liked the two nations being so friendly to each other you know. And back then I was far less influential, especially down south. Do you know how that played out?"

"She failed, albeit barely, and ran away. So I chased her down, in the heart of an enemy nation. I broke into the headquarters of the biggest assassin guild on the continent. I then stood in the middle of the chaos and proposed to her. And that fool actually agreed, so next time she lectures you on taking risks here is something to bite back with. And remember, you heard this from your grandfather."

The two bantered some more before Eleftherios showed up.

"Aren't you going to talk about your family problems?" He asked them.

"Nah, we sorted that shit out a year ago. He apologized, quite sensibly actually. And no one would give me the detail anyway, what's even the point of kicking that horse, it's already dead." Ciaran said, and his dad nodded.

Eleftherios looked at them and didn't know what to say. The fact Ariadne was finding this normal, told him just how much influence the boy had exerted on her personality.

"You are all mad, aren't you? You came here to talk about sex when your son hasn't been home in two FUCKING YEARS? "Eleftherios couldn't keep his temper in cheek anymore.

"If you were me, and you thought Ciaran had fallen in love with your sister, and worse still she reciprocate those feelings, what would be your first priority?" Liam asked him in all seriousness.

The dryad was about to argue, but then he thought about it, and the human seemed less mad. The more he imagined, the more reasonable Liam's reaction seemed.

"Your wife is a very cruel woman, I see where Ciaran gets it from." Liam laughed, the implications of that sentence, he would ponder on his own later.

In her beach house, Verdania pouted and cursed everyone.

"What's so wrong with me? I am a very respected woman."

She was hugging Roxy and kept promising she would never talk with the overgrown weed she called a brother, or any Clades, ever. Ciaran on the other hand was getting something very special from her.

"You want to see a dangerous woman; I will show you a dangerous woman"