(Zane x reader) The Divine Chronicles Book 1: Change

Chapter 3: Now

Now six years later here we are... Zane and I are eighteen and next year we'll be forced to marry. Not like it's a new development we've known since we were twelve. It's been on my mind no matter how hard I try to push it into the depths of my brain in the deepest darkest corner it always seams to find its way, front and center clawing for my attention and succeeding. I looked over at Zane, we had been in his study doing what we always did for fun, what we bonded over the first day we met, what made me not hate him, we were studying, studying about the divine warriors and their relics and what not. Like always, only something was different, it had been for a while. Zane was becoming more distant and wasn't talking to me as much as he used to. We had become best friends in our six years of knowing each other. We had gone from hating each other and being extremely uncomfortable around one another to sharing a bed on the nights were I would stay at his castle instead of going back to my own. We had become very close and we were happy he was my first friend, there were never any kids around the castle and I rarely went outside the castle walls. If I did leave the castle at all it was to go to the garden or to visit Zane. I looked at him now wondering what might be wrong with him. "Z-Zane?" I asked. He turned his head from the book he was reading to look at me "u-um are you ok?" I asked. Zane seamed to pause to think about what he was going to say "yes I'm fine why do you ask?" This time it was my turn to think. I didn't know what I was supposed to tell him "Well I don't know you're just acting weird" I said shrugging my shoulders trying to make it seam like I really didn't mean anything by what I said so he wouldn't grow suspicious of me. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at me. "What do you mean?" He asked "Well you just aren't talking to me as mush as you usually do you just seam different and I was worried that something was wrong." I said simply not know what else I could say, I wasn't going to lie to him, he was my best friend. He ran his fingers through his hair and scratched the back of his head. He let out a sigh and looked down at the carpet. "It's nothing I just...have been thinking..." he trailed off which frustrated me. What was he going to say you can't just do that to someone. "Ok now, you're not allowed to do that" I said frowning at him "what?" He said siting back up and looking at me. "You can't begin to say something and then never finish that's not fair" I said playfully nudging his arm and smiling he frowned down at his arm where I had nudged him causing my smile to fade. "Zane?" I asked him worried. He really was acting strange. He looked up at me again and sighed. "I've just been thinking about...next year and the...well" he didn't need to finish what he was going to say because I already knew I was thinking about the same thing earlier, before I started pestering him about what was wrong I frowned too "ya I've been thinking about it as well." I said looking at the floor neither of us wanted to say it. Garroth Zane's older brother was to marry Nicole of Scaleswind and neither of them were to happy about their engagement either. I fiddled with my dress. "I've been trying not to think about it" I said. Zane looked at me "you don't want to get married?" He said. I was surprised, what was he saying? Did he want me to marry him? We were just friends, best friends even though we were betrothed I never thought that he actually wanted to marry me. But maybe he didn't and I'm just over thinking his words. I tried to calm myself down and looked back up at him. So instead of asking something stupid that could bring our entire world down on top of us on top of me I just settled for a simple "what?" making me sound quite silly. He looked down again and back up to me "I mean I'm not to happy about it your my best friend. I don't particularly want to marry you because it would change a lot of things..."he paused leaving my mind to wander his words echoing in my head 'it would change a lot of things' and he was right it would change a lot actually for one we would be married and we- I stopped. Hearing Zane continue brought me out of my thoughts "But I don't know why I said that, I was thinking about something else not really realizing what I was saying..." he trailed of again "you asked if I wanted to get married" I offered "yes I know what I said" I was confused "then what did you mean?" I asked. He stopped and turned his eyes back to the book in his hands "Well you had said that you were trying not to think about it," he started not looking at me but I nodded "Well I was just thinking if it were someone else you were engaged to, in a relationship that wasn't forced, would you still want to get married?" He said still not meeting my gaze "Well I don't know I'm not in a relationship like that but- I don't think it's as bad as it could be,"I said thinking "what do you mean 'not as bad as it could be'?" He asked looking at me now "Well we could still hate each other" I tried he chuckled "ya that would be awful" he said agreeing with me. I smiled "imagine, remember how we were when we first met?" I asked laughing a little "yeah" Zane laughed too "you could barley kiss my hand without grimacing." I said nudging him "me! What about you?! You looked like you were going to vomit!" He yelled playfully and we both began laughing to the point of tears. When the laughter subsided I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes and cheeks. Zane sighed "ya you're right I guess it's not as bad as it could be" he said looking back to his book. "Oh why did you have to do that?" I wined. Zane looked at me confused "do what?"
"go and make everything all depressed again?" I said hitting his arm. "Sorry" he apologized pathetically. I narrowed my eyes at him "Oh what are you twelve?" I said "what?" Zane asked back "would you quit saying what? You said sorry like a twelve-year-old who was being forced to apologize for pushing me into the pond" I said glaring at him remembering the time when we were younger and were running around the castle grounds when Zane pushed me into the pond. He was scolded by his mother and forced to apologize, which he did very pathetically. At my mentioning the incident he laughed "Now that was funny!" Zane chuckled "No it wasn't!" I shouted after a while of Zane's laughing I sighed "you're so stupid." I said pouting like a child. Zane smiled at me. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest. There was a knock on Zane's study door and he called to the person behind it "who's there?"
"It's Hanna prince Zane I'm here with your lunch." The maid on the other side of the door replied although it was muffled "come in" Zane commanded and Hanna did as told opening the door and placing a tray with our lunch on a small table next to Zane's desk. "Thank you" he said and the maid nodded and left closing the door behind her. "Well it seams it is time for lunch." Zane said gesturing towards the table of sandwiches and tea the maid had brought us to eat. I nodded my head and picked up one of the sandwiches from its place on the silver tray and took a bite. Zane followed my lead picking up a sandwich and beginning to eat it as well. Then he reached over and took the tea pot and two tea cups. He filled the first one and then the second one only partially full, filling it the rest of the way with cream and adding four sugars. Zane handed me the second cup having prepared it just the way I like it. I smiled at him as I took the cup. "thank you" I said to him bringing it to my lips and taking a few large gulps before setting it back down on it's saucer. I had fixed my gaze on a certain page in the book the was lying open in front of me as I continued to eat my sandwich. My eyebrows began to knit together a I thought. Zane noticed my expression "what is it Y/n?" he asked. I looked at the book and slowly tore my eyes from the page to rest on his face. "It's strange," I began turning my attention back to the book. "what is? what's strange?" Zane asked concern hinting at the edge of his voice. "This symbol, I-I've seen it before, but it looks different." I said slowly trying to sort out what the symbol meant. Zane leaned over me trying to see the symbol in question. He was very close and I could feel my face heat up. Wait what? why am I blushing? It was only Zane. I shook my head to clear it and focused back on the symbol. "It looks a lot like Irene's but ," I started something was different about it there were other things around it. "Yes it is very similar to Irene's but what is all of this?" Zane said pointing to the other symbols and markings that were around and behind the original. "I'm not really sure but it looks like I'm not going home to night." I said siting back in my chair. Zane looked over at me "what? I figured we can work on this more tonight along what we were studying before." Zane just looked back to the book and nodded his head. "Zane? is there something wrong?" I asked trying not to pry. His head shot up and he looked at me "what? no." he said quickly. "oh-ok then are you sure?" I said trying not to sound like I was too suspicious. "ya I was just....thinking." Zane said returning his eyes back to the book. "ok" I said quietly following his lead an returning my gaze to the book.