Zene Oneshots

The God of Love (Part 1)

Zane should have had a happy childhood.

His parents were the king and queen of O'khasis. He had an older brother, so the pressure was off about how well he did with his studies and who he would have to marry. He should've been able to kick back, enjoy being a single prince, and live however he wanted.

But that didn't happen.

Zane sat in the corner of his bedroom, curled into a small ball.

The curtains on his windows were shut, the only thing lighting the room being the candles. Dust was starting to form on more than a handful of objects scattered about the room, a feeling of desolation overtaking Zane's mind.

He hadn't gone out into the kingdom. He wouldn't dare to. Every one of the villagers in O'khasis had agreed that Zane was the cutest of all three of the Ro'Meave offspring. Because of that, he couldn't open up his window without nearly every female filling the streets below, complimenting and applauding.

Zane's parents kept waiting for marriage offers to roll in. None did. His brother had run away from O'khasis and his marriage s while back, so that added the pressure of finding a suitable woman to his life. His younger brother had died a while back, and they never even found the body or knew what had happened. Zane remained in the palace of O'khasis, all alone.

One day when he was making his way to the kitchen to grab some of his favorite white fudge animal cookies, he had passed by his father's study... only to stop.

Who was that other person?

Pressing his ear to the door, Zane strained his hearing to get more information.

"Who is Zane?" A voice, clearly a male, demanded, but it wasn't his father. Besides, his feather knew who he was.

"My second son," Garte answered. "Zane is also the High Priest of Lady Irene."

"Oh, so you're telling me, that Zane Ro'Meave, the High Priest of Lady Irene, is who every woman in this kingdom has fallen for?" The male hissed.

"Yes...?" Garte answered, only this time with uncertainty and hesitation.

Zane heard the sound of something glass breaking, before footsteps started storming towards the doors. Bolting upright, Zane sprinted down the hall, just turning the corner as the doors got thrown open.

Peeking around the corner, he saw a peasant. He wasn't wearing anything really special, but he did look slightly handsome. Zane wasn't going to fall so easily for this stranger, though. After all, he had been asking about him, and he didn't sound all too pleased when he found out.

Zane blinked once, only to find the strange peasant gone. This confused Zane... hadn't the peasant been there only a second ago? How could someone disappear that quickly?

Shivering a bit at the uneasy feeling eating away at his stomach, Zane turned to head back to the kitchen.

Maybe some white fudge animal cookies would make him feel better.

~~~~

A five-hundred foot spire of rock jutted into the sky at the edge if the kingdom. Narrow steps had been carved into it so it could serve as a watchtower during war, but Zane climbed these steps alone until he reached the top.

He dressed himself in silk black robes, covered his face with a black mask, and held a stone slate marked with his family emblem onto it in his hands. Wrapped around kine of his arms was a length of rope, rope that would be used to take Zane's life.

At the top of the rock spire had grown a large tree. It loomed over the edge of the spire, overlooking the rocky ground far below. Zane approached the tree with a strange eagerness, climbing up it the best he could. He tied one end of the rope to a branch, and then slid down the tree back to the ground. He tied the opposite end of the rope into a loop, and placed it around his neck. He stood at the edge of the rocky cliff, taking a deep breath as he took a glance at the sky.

He felt at peace, like this was the right thing to do. This was what happened when mortals challenged the gods. He hadn't meant to upset the God of Love, but the citizens of O'khasis had insisted that he be worshipped more.

The wind howled past him, yanking at his hair and robes. It was almost begging him not to go, but he had to.

Zane jumped.