Broken Ties

You pace back and forth in the room for just about a minute before you convince yourself that you need to see who Karisi is talking with. She will be mad at you for not trusting her or listening to her words but at the moment you don't really care one bit. She needs to learn to trust you and let you in on any information she may have, especially if it involves you.

She did say you weren't in danger and your life wasn't at risk which was a start but it wasn't enough. With a few paces to the door you immediately pull it open and see Karisi and a male figure standing almost side by side who were both now just looking at you. It was also at that point from outside Karisi's chambers you could now hear the rain, wind and rumbles of the storm.

The male figure was dressed in a normal everyday outfit consisting of leather trousers with a leather shirt covering his torso. He was about your height, had a coating of silver hair and definitely looked to be much older but you could tell his body was still somewhat built and muscular for his age. You didn't even look at Karisi as your eyes were focused on this unknown man.

"Is this him?" his voice asks curiously. "Is this Darien? So what you said is true?" a smile begins to form on his face.

"Y-Yes, I was waiting for..." Karisi begins before you interrupt her rudely.

"Oh hell no!" you fold your arms across your chest and lean back slightly, showing that you're comfortable in your situation "Whoever the hell you are, whatever the hell you two are planning on doing..."

"Darien...wait," Karisi tries, her voice almost sounding desperate. "Please Ju-"

"Shut your mouth!!" you yell at Karisi as you unfold your right hand and point at Karisi before adverting your gaze back to the male who now looks a little stunned "Just so you're aware of the situation we're in." you snarl back at the unknown male "Yes, my name is Darien and not only am I the leader of Karisi's army and easily the most powerful person here in the Syndicate but occasionally I get to use her tight little body for my own pleasure before dumping a load into or all over her." you fold your arms back up over your chest giving the man a grin "I don't know what she's told you about me, but it's most likely a bunch of fucked up lies. So here's the deal, you have ten fucking seconds to tell me who the hell you are, what the two of you are talking about and what the hell you're planning on doing before I take matters into my own hands and dispose of you myself." you hold your attention to the still unknown male with your aggressive expression.

The three of you don't say anything as you count down the ten seconds in your head. The older male turns to Karisi who is turning red and has her face buried in one of her hands "So it's not true? What you told me?" and then he turns back to you with a more angry view. "You're not married to..." he begins to mumble the words out.

With Karisi still buried in her left hand she used her right hand and motions over to the man almost as if she's showcasing him to you "Darien..." she whimpers out "I'd like you to meet my father."

Your stance suddenly went from aggressive and powerful to the complete opposite as you felt a lump form in your throat. Your face went flush, eyes went wide and your mouth dropped open "F-F-F...fa...fah...fath...Uhh, U-Umm..." you tried to swallow but your mouth immediately went dry "F-fa-fa..." you couldn't even catch any words. "Uhh..."

The man just turns to Karisi once more and let's out a disappointing tone "I don't have time for this, Karisi. Such a waste of my time to travel north to see you, I don't know why I came here. If only your mother knew she would be disappointed!" he grumbles out before turning around and walking away from the two of you.

"Father, wait!" Karisi steps forward and tries to plead but has no luck as he continues his walk away. "Please, dad, let me explain!"

Just like that, this so-called father for Karisi steps through a door letting it close behind him leaving the two of you alone in the Throne Room. You still try to speak, try to say something but alas, nothing comes out. As you noticed the expression on Karisi's face though, the words her dad just told her cut her deep.

Karisi brings her back against the room to her chambers and her body starts to give out. She slides against the wooden door downward until her butt hits the surface of the floor. Then she once more buries her head in her hands and just sits there quietly.

You're still stunned, shocked and quite embarrassed by what just went down but you can only imagine what is going on through Karisi's head. "K-K-Karisi..." you whisper out as you move next to her and slide down on the floor next to her. You move to her side and throw your arm around your shoulders and pull her close "Why didn't, why didn't you just tell me?"

After a few sniffles and soft groans from her, she finally talks "He just got here today Darien and after last night I...I..." she tries.

You just rub your hand up and down the side of her arm "Karisi, I know what happened but come on..."

"He's never approved of any of my decisions, especially after my mother passed. He always wanted me to be your typical women, marry some rich nobleman, stay at home servicing any needs and bare tons of children to pass on his bloodline." her voice sounds weak "And that's not me. It's just...It's not me!"

You stay quiet but continue caressing Karisi's arm, comforting her as best as you can.

"He's dying, Darien!" Karisi sniffles "He's fucking dying... That's why he came to the Syndicate, he wanted to see me one last time and see what I've done with my life." she fights to hold back any tears "When he told me that, I just wanted to make him happy, just make him...proud of me. So, so...so" her voice cracks from sadness "I-I told him about the powerful man I married... I know I was lying to him and it could hurt him but god dammit Darien!" her hands leave her face and she punches the ground before shielding her eyes once more "he's never been happy with a single decision in my life and the instant I told him that. Well, you should have seen the damn smile on his face. It was like, he finally knew I was succeeding in life and for the first time ever he actually seemed to be proud of me."

It was at that point you realized Karisi told her father that you were the man she married. You were the powerful King of the Syndicate and Karisi was going to bare many children and pass the bloodline down for generations.

"He never cared to see me after my mother died. Never came to Rathkin once to see how his daughter was doing." she buries her face deeper into her hands "I sent him gold, sent people to check in on him, took care of him as best as I could, all to win his damn respect and still nothing!" Karisi lets out a grunt "And now, after all this time he shows up to the Syndicate of all places and tells me he's going to die. How could...how could I not just lie to him, let him think of how perfect of a woman, how perfect of a wife I became..."

You did feel a little bad but that was mainly because Karisi was actually telling you about her personal life for once. It's something she never really does but now she's actually opening up to you a little bit and it's a part of her you actually like. "You should have just told me, Karisi. I would have helped you out."

"Psh, yeah right. You hate me so much now and even when I ask you to trust me you don't. I figured I was just going to tell him you were not in the Syndicate until he either left to go back south or until he..." she stops to take a deep breath "Until he dies..."

"Well then..." you begin as you start to push yourself up to your feet as you look down at Karisi "Don't worry about your father. I'll go talk to him, set things straight, let him know about his amazing daughter."

Her head slowly raises up until she cocks her head and looks up at you. "Y-You'd do that for me?" the questioning look fills her eyes "After everything I've..."

"Of course..." you interrupt her as you reach your arms down to grab a hold of Karisi's hands and pull her up to you. Her eyes a slight shade of red and filled with a layer of tears. "Karisi..." you bring your left hand up to softly caress her cheek. Your thumb moves up and brushes away a lone tear that began dripping down the corner of her eye "I don't know your father but I know you Karisi. I know the woman you have become." your voice is peaceful "As much as you and I are fighting against one another, I do support you and I will fight for you" you chuckle "But if he can't be proud of you, be proud of what you've accomplished, then ya know what, fuck him." you bring your other hand up, caressing her face with both your hands now.

"Darien..." Karisi whimpers out as her eyes trail up to connect with yours.

"I don't like you very much right now and honestly I question almost every word you say..." you hold her face "But trust me when I say this." you pause, looking deep into her eyes "You are easily the most accomplished, powerful and intelligent woman I've ever known. You have the same drive I do, the will to fight, to better yourself, to be the best." your thumbs continue to rub her cheeks "So go get that potion and get back to Lexie and Zoe. I'm going to tell your father what a wonderful woman you are and if he still can't accept that, then fuck it, he doesn't deserve you."

"That..." she smiles as another tear rolls down her cheek "That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me..." she grins as her eyes coat with even more liquid.

"Now get outta here, let me go talk to good ol' dad and tell him the amazing stories of his daughter" you try to take a step back from Karisi but she holds her grip hard on your forearms.

She pulls her body up, rising on her tip toes and presses her lips across yours, giving you such a passionate and thankful kiss. This one felt different from all the other times you two have kissed, this one felt like it meant something.

As your lips broke free from each other the two of you just longed into each others eyes and you could only grin back at the peaceful nature of Karisi's form. "Darien, I..."

"Shhhh..." your voice is so soft as you bring your finger to her mouth "I'll see you soon." you lean forward and give her forehead a kiss before you turn your body and follow in the footsteps of Karisi's father.