Zane sighed as he sat on his bed, looking out the window as he watched the rain drizzle down the glass. Today was a day he dreaded, as it was the day of his grandfather's funeral. He had a great relationship with his grandfather, as they shared their passion for books and storytelling.
He had always admired his grandfather for his famous and unique stories, as he had told them to him every night before he went to sleep at a young age.
Zane let out a sigh, his memories with his grandpa causing him nothing but sorrow, he missed him, his stories and his grandpa in general.
A loud knock interrupted Zane's thoughts, looking at the door as his older brother entered the room. Leaning against the door frame as he stared at his brother, "you aren't even dressed yet?" He asked, his disapproval clear in his tone of voice. "Put that damn book down, and get ready. We're leaving in about thirty minutes, you shouldn't be late for grandpas funeral." Garroth mumbled, walking into the room and towards Zanes neatly folded black clothes.
Zane scoffed, rolling his eyes at his older brother, putting his book down on his bedside table before standing up and removing his shirt, putting one the collard button-down shirt. He had attempted to put on his black tie, which his attempt clearly ended in failure as Garroth walked over and helped.
"You're quiet." He stated, looking down at Zane as he fixed his tie. "I know grandpas death really took a toll on you baby-brother, but you cant mute yourself forever." He muttered, pulling the tie up to Zanes neck, finishing the simple gesture. His attempts to make conversation with Zane failed nonetheless, as he hummed in response and looked away from his older brother.
Zane knew his lack of communication had worried his family, but that was his way of simply dealing with loss. He didn't feel like talking, nor holding a decent conversation with anybody. He wanted to be alone, and listen to his grandfathers stories as he read his old books.
"Hurry up and finish getting dressed, we'll be waiting downstairs." Garroth lastly whispered, moving away from Zane and out the door, closing it behind him.
Zane did as he was told, putting on the rest of his black suit, followed by his black pants and shoes. Once he had finished getting dressed he walked downstairs, staying silent as he looked over his family, every individual wearing the same sad black color as him.
"Great, now that everyone is here we can go." His father spoke, his tone low as it carried his sadness for his father's loss with him. It only took a moment for everyone to be in the car, driving off to the graveyard his father was going to get berried in.
It was about a thirty-minute drive, as Zane and his family stepped out the car, grabbing their umbrellas as the rain poured down onto them. The rain only made this too stereotypical for Zane, as he refused his umbrella. He had stayed quiet through the whole ceremony, as they had skipped through it rather quickly. It was at the last part, where Zane and the other people attending the funeral stood in front of his grandpas grave.
Zane had tried his best to ignore his mother's sobbing, refusing an umbrella as he felt the rain soak into his clothing. He gently kneeled down on the wet ground, carefully placing the bouquet of roses on his father's grave.
He could feel his eyes water, as realization kicked in. Zane missed his grandpa dearly, knowing that his stories were now a thing of the past. "I miss you grandpa." He whispered, small tears falling off his cheeks and into his lap. He slowly stood up, his grandma wrapping her arms around Zane in a tight hug.
Not long after this the Ro'meave family walking back to their car, planning on returning home as they mourned the death of their lost family member. Zane was currently walked alongside his grandma, being stopped before he could enter the car. "Zane, I want you to have this." He mumbled, opening her black purse, handing Zane an old leathery book. "This was your Grandfathers, as this was his favourite. He told me to give this to you, if he ever passed." She whispered, her voice broken as she talked about her dear husband. "He was always lost in his books." She added, "just like you dear. I hope you like it." She muttered, waving goodbye to the family as she got into her car.
Zane nodded, waving goodbye to his grandma before entering the car, taking a moment to stare at the old looking book. It had small scratches along it, but was still fairly intact, beautiful golden writing covering the cover of the book. 'Once Upon A Time?' Zane thought, as he read the title.
He had stared at the book the whole way home, not daring to open it. He didn't understand why his grandpa would want him to have his favourite book.
Once they arrive home he walked upstairs into his room, removing his tie and switching his outfit into something more comfortable. He placed the book on his desk, not wanting to look at it at the moment. He laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling as he got lost in thought.
His thoughts wondered for a decent amount of time, only being broken out of thought by the lights suddenly turning off. "What the?" He whispered under his breath, sitting up as his younger brother Vylad entered the room. He had also switched into more comfortable clothing. He was holding two candles, one lit and one fairly new. "Black out." He spoke out, walking into the room and lighting the non-lit candle, placing it on Zanes beside table. He stood backup, walking over to his desk and grabbing the book. "You should read this, grandpa left it specifically for you Zane." He mumbled, walking back over to Zane, placing the book down beside him. "Give it a try, you might like it." He suggested, standing up and walking out the door.
Zane sighed, slowly sitting up. He stared at the book before slowly opening it. He flew through the pages, looking at the beautiful cursive handwriting filling the book. "Did you write this?" He whispered, looking at the pages as they looked handwritten.
He flipped to a random page, being met by a drawing. It looked like a fairly tall man, with black hair, ocean blue eyes, and a sly smirk. He appeared to also have horns, and large black wings tucked down behind him.
"Who the hell are you?" Zane once more question, never knowing that his grandpa had created such a book. He read through the page, finding out the creatures name was King Gene Hayes, king of the underworld in that world.
Zane continued reading, finding some odd words along the bottom of the page. He sighed, deciding to read them out loud. Which was a big mistake as his world suddenly become very bright, slowly fading into a black. He cried out, slowly feeling himself falling. He clutched the book in between his arms, not wanting to lose it.
Zane let out a startled cry as he hit the ground, not harshly but enough to knock the air out of him. He slowly opened his eyes, letting out a gasp as he took in the scenery in front of him. Zane was in a large thrown room, mostly decorated with darker and gloomy colours.
"Who are you?" A strong voice called out, catching Zanes attention as he stared at the figure who sat in the large thrown. It took a moment for Zane to realize that this man was the one from his book, matching the same midnight black hair, and large black wings. The only thing different was his eye colour, which was now a dark red. "Speak!" He demanded, making Zane takes in a deep breath. He slowly rose to his feet, staring at the King of the underworld in front of him.
"I'm Zane, Zane Ro'meave." He whispered, taking a step back as the king jumped out of his seat, stomping towards Zane.
"You dare enter my palace with out permission?" He whispered lowly, staring at Zane as he evaluated the smaller male. "What magic do you possess, you look weak and frail. What are you?" He questions, his suspicion of Zane growing.
Zane inhaled sharply, "I-I don't possess any magics, I'm just a human!" He cried out, hoping he wasn't going to get hurt.
"Human?" The king muttered, staring wide eyed at Zane. "How did a human enter my underworld?" He mumbled, as humans were very rare now, as the war had almost caused the mass extinction of their kind. His thought were intruded by the humans cries, pleading with him. He smirked, a new plan unfolding in his mind.
"Where am I?" Zane asked, demanding an answer, he was confused, and mostly just wanted to be back home.
"You are in the underworld Zane, you are in my kingdom now." Gene growled, not liking Zanes tone. "I don't know how you got here, but that doesn't matter now. I've decided to keep you Zane, as humans have become rather rare in this world." He stated, walking around Zane. In that simple moment Zanes world had been crashed, 'keep?' He thought to himself, his panick over taking his thoughts.
"No! I don't belong to you! You cant keep me here, I have to go back home." He argued, quickly shutting his mouth as he received a glare from the King. "I don't know how I got here, all I did was read some stupid lines out of my grandfathers book!" He cried out, desperate for any form of help. But he felt surprised as Genes eyes widened, walking hurriedly over to Zane. "Your grandfather, What was his name?!" He demanded, staring at Zane as he wait for a reply.
"Blair Ro'meave!" Zane answered, looking at the king. He felt confused as Gene's eyes widened, grabbing the book from Zane's grasp and quickly looking through the pages, he felt surprised as he noticed that towards the middle of the book, the pages hand been blank.
He looked at Gene puzzled, in desperate need of some answers. "I can't believe this, you are Blairs son." Gene whispered, staring at Zane with a shocked expression.
He walked closer to Zane, gently reaching out and tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear, looking at his icy blue blind eye. "Who knew I'd finally get to meet you." He whispered, his earlier dangerous demeanours slowly fading away.
"What is going on?" Zane asked, confused as ever. He felt tempted to push Gene away, but he couldn't at the moment, his beautiful black wings wrapping around him as it almost formed a cocoon like shape around the two.
"Zane, you're grandfather came to this world a long time ago. As he restored peace between the three dimensions. But he didn't do this alone, he had help from three kings, or rather the power sources form each dimension." He explained, still leaving many unanswered questions form Zane. "Zane, our worlds are once again at chaos, and the worlds need your help once more. That's why the last part of the book is empty, your story is being written down as we speak." He further explained, his eyes slowly fading of its red colour, and turning to dark blue.
"Zane, it is my job to help you." He whispered, staring at the male in front of him. He felt enchanted by the male, as he knew that there was much Zane had to learn. He himself couldn't believe what is happening, as every time he had touched Zane he felt a rare type of spark fly between their contact.
"As your grandfather came here, he fell in love with the young princess Kirena, the Princess of the Overworld. "In this world, people can have the ability to find someone that almost acts in a way of a soulmate, to guid and protect each other." He mumbled, looking away from the confused stare he received form Zane.
Zane scoffed, looking at Gene. He didn't know if he should believe Gene, as the name of the princess was the same name the women had his grandfather married. So aka his grandmother. He wasn't sure why he had suddenly become so nice, or why he had become so touchy. Zane felt an odd comfort from the males touch, an almost lustful desire for the other. But he didn't really like it, as he wasn't normally touched. "So, what does that have to do with anything?" He asked, feeling confused as he felt strange sparks around his body as Gene wrapped his arm around his waist. "Are you tell me that my grandmother turns out to be some god damn princess?" He asked, frustration building up within him.
"You can't live too long without your soulmate, as the connection from the first kiss seals your bond with each other, that's why your grandfather left with Kirena." He explained more, leaning down and landing a gentle kiss on Zane's s lips, closing his eyes as he held him tighter.
The kiss was nothing like Zane had ever experience, enjoyable sparks shooting through his while body. He looked confused at Gene as he pulled away, staring into the beautiful ocean blue eyes. He was puzzled, feeling an odd desire and love for the male.
"Don't you get it?" Gene mumbled, not being good at this. He was the King of the underworld, he wouldn't be the best at being loving or caring. "Kirena was your grandfathers soulmate!" He exclaimed, looking at Zane. "And you are mine."