Laurel opened the book and there were big pictures of kingdoms and smiling sun and happy trees and there were five to six sentences in one page."It's a children's book",said Laurel to herself and she read the first chapter out loud.Once upon a time, there was a kingdom. The kingdom of Elysium. It was like heaven on Earth. All the creatures, from goblins, to werewolves to vampires to fairies and dragons and humans, and all other beings lived there. The most beautiful kingdom. The king of Elysium, had four daughters and four sons. The king was also in possession of an item 'The sword of Bane'. That sword was the only item keeping the kingdom together, because it was said to have the greatest power and anyone wielding it, was said to possess great power and every kingdom would follow the ruler in possession of the sword. Because only the worthy can find it. But the king soon lost the sword and there was chaos in his kingdom. The children of the king did not like each other and that was
Natalie followed Zane and she ultimately managed to stop him."Hey Zane! Look, they...they are just looking out for you! Okay? Ofcourse we will all help you look for your people""They are not just my people...they are yours too""Yes I know",said Natalie. "So, are you calm? Because, we need to come up with a plan to find Derek, now that we know about the kingdoms and the forest"Zane nodded and said,"Yes ofcourse.....I was just mad because everyone is blindly so convinced that all of my people are dead!""I know they are not",said Natalie smiling and hugging him. Suddenly there were footsteps behind Natalie. They both looked to find two guards standing. "Queen Kendra is asking for Natalie",said the first guard"Why?", demanded Zane"She wants to talk to her.",said the second guard"Well, I'll come along then",said Zane"The queen specifically requested for Natalie only""But, what does she want to talk to her about? She can say it infront of me",said Zane getting angryNatalie turn
Zane went to his room and pocketed his lead knife and his locket. He sat on his bed, looking out of the window, staring at the forest of deception, fighting the urge to go running inside the forest. There was a knock on the door and Zane opened the door to two other guards and looked at them and shrugged. "What?""Queen Kendra, wants us to take you near the forest of deception. She wants to show you something""Wait, is that where you all took Natalie?!",asked Zane in an alarming voice"No",they replied."But you need to come with us now"Zane nodded and followed them. Maybe they wanted to show Zane something that might help him find his people. The walk from the palace to the forest was long but Zane was very excited, so it didn't seem long to him. Finally they reached the forest and Zane asked,"So, what are we doing here? What did the queen want me to see?" The Soldiers didn't answer, they just kept on going forward inside the forest, Zane knew it wasn't safe but he kept going fo
Natalie was crying. She had tears running down her face."How did you know?",she asked the queen"It's an interesting story",said the queen. "Your brother is looking for other kingdoms to attack. To gain power. And for the past few years, there has been a whisper about the sightings of the Sword of Bane. Now, I like power but not that much. Sword of Bane is the most powerful object to have ever existed. And your brother is after it. And that is the only reason he attacked Byrandan. Imagine what would happen if I told poor Zane that the love of his life is a vampire in disguise, waiting to kill him""That's not true! I would never hurt Zane!", shouted Natalie"But that's what you came to do....isn't it?",asked the queen. "Your brother had assigned you to go and get the information about the sword of Bane and then kill the future king of Byrandan. But instead you chose to disobey him and you fell in love with Zane....Now how tragic is that?!"Natalie didn't reply. So the queen continued
From here, begins another journey of Zane. A very difficult one, but tough nonetheless.Zane and Derek had landed in Pamlivam, the land of vampires, it was extremely unsafe for them over there, but soon enough they found a safe haven and became friends with Daisy, a vampire. A lot of things happened with Zane in Pamlivam and he returned a changed man. A broken man. After many years, the sword of Bane, a very powerful magical artefact, had resurfaced. It could save all, or destroy all. Could Zane get the sword before someone else? Could he save them? Or could he give in and be the monster that ruins everything?To find out more, read further-To
*5 years back*Zane looked around and saw Derek standing there."Man it's so good to see you",said Derek with tears in his eyes. "Derek?! What are you doing here?!""Queen Kendra! She- she kidnapped me man! And she kept me in the dungeon. I escaped today with the help of Iris",said Derek"You know Iris?",asked Zane"Well, she was passing by and she saw me caged and she said that she didn't want anyone else to die for her and she broke the lock and let me go",said Derek"What did Kendra want you for, anyways?""I don't know",said Derek. "But......it was really hard....to be alone in the dark, all the time. I just want to go back home""Yes, okay, the group is waiting for us in the palace. We'll get out of here immediately now. We can't stay here anymore. Kendra will kill us all""That woman is evil, man""But first we need to get out of here. This is the forest of deception. And we will come back here with the group""Okay let's go",said Derek. "But what about the queen?""She won't h
*5 years back*Derek pulled Zane to the side and whispered,"What happened man?",asked Derek, "Why are you so depressed?""Derek, I'm not depressed, okay?",said Zane. "There are some things that....you don't know man""Then tell me",said Derek. "This is not a good time to be keeping secrets""Okay see..... I'm a werewolf.",said ZaneDerek gasped and Zane quietened him down,"Act natural man! Daisy can't know about this, please! They'll kill me if they knew that I was a werewolf, especially the very werewolf they're looking for, I'm the prince and they've been hunting for me ever since they slaughtered my whole planet. We had been at war for some time and they're looking for me. Please don't say anything." "But we need her help, we need her to trust us and-""No! They're all the same, all the vampires. She can't know what I am. Please Derek!""Okay fine. What do I tell her then?""Just......leave it to me and keep agreeing with everything I say", instructed Zane"Okay",said DerekZane t
*5 years back*Daisy and Zane sat there on a mat with two candles infront of them. There was an odd smell in the air that Zane didn't like but Daisy insisted that it be there because it was essential for the talquit bond. Daisy was holding a piece of wood and Zane was holding her hands which Derek didn't seem to be enjoying. "How long will it take?",asked DerekZane frowned and said,"I have never done it before, but it usually takes very less time..... visiting the memories won't take a lot of time but it is the process of bonding that takes the long...It depends on how well you are co-ordinated with the other person. It requires you to open your mind to each other and -""Silence....it requires silence",said Daisy, opening one eye. "You are not opening your mind Zane but I can't say the same about that mouth of yours."She looked over at Derek and said,"Just sit there and try not to make any sound"She turned back around to Zane and closed her eyes, Zane followed. They were all sil
*1 month later*Zane, the king of Elysium, had a very lonely life. Yes, he was a king, but he had no queen. He had cleared out his feelings with Natalie and now there were no hard feelings between them. Natalie had understood that Zane didn't like her like that anymore. Laurel was too in love with her husband, Liam. "Miracles happen",Zane had said to himself when he heard about Laurel and Liam. Daisy was still under the effects of the Forgetting potion. Zane had not talked to her since he had last left Pamlivam, but now that all the kingdoms were merged together, Zane saw her almost everyday. She went on with her life and Zane thought it was for the better.But one day, he crossed paths with Daisy and she bowed her head and said,"My king" and then started to walk away.It was weird, but Zane pulled Daisy in for a hug.Daisy was scared, but she went on with it."Are you okay, my king?",she asked, concerned. "Please remember me",said Zane, unable to control himself anymore. "Please"
*Present day*When Zane walked out of the cave with the sword in his hand, he was a better man. He was radiating power, he was more confident, more powerful than ever before. Scarlett nodded at him when she saw him and said,"Hand over the sword Zane""The sword has chosen me",said Zane"It doesn't work like that",said Scarlett. "I've been working hard to find this sword. You do not get to steal my glory from me""You are not after glory, Scarlett",said Zane, wisely. "You want to bring back your dead mother....you can't do that"Scarlett's face paled. "I can and I will. Now hand over the sword.""Take it from me",he said.Scarlett did not hesitate. She toon out her own sword and said,"May the sword belong to whoever wins"At that very moment, the forest rumbled. The ground shook. The trees were disappearing. "Run", shouted Mick, leading them all out of the forest. Zane gripped the sword tightly and ran out. The trees were falling down. Soon, they were out of the forest. All the trees
*Present day*It was beautiful. Probably one of the most beautiful things Zane had ever seen, apart from Daisy. The sword of Bane stood there, embedded in stone. It radiated light. Pure light. Zane could feel its power in his veins. He felt like the sword was calling out to him. Zane had tears in his eyes, they were not there because Zane was emotional, but because the light was too powerful for Zane to be directly staring at it.It looked like a regular sword, with a blue stone embedded at the hilt of the sword. The blade was blackish and looked very sharp.Zane reached his hand out to hold the sword when he heard a sound behind him. Zane turned around to see his father standing there."Dad?",gasped Zane. "You've come such a long way Zane",beamed his father. He looked pale and grey. Another figure formed beside him, it was his mother. "How are you, my son?",asked his mother. "I- I'm good mom",said Zane, this time, with tears of sadness. "I miss you both"Another figure solidifie
*Present day*There was small cave and a bulky figure was standing at the entrance. It was Mick. His face lit up when he saw them. "Hey guys!",he said, smiling at them. There were several fresh cuts on his face, but he didn't seem to mind. He then looked at Zane and froze. "Zane! Oh my God!"He went over and hugged Zane and Zane hugged him back. "It's good to see you""You too",said Zane."I'm going to need to hear everything, Zane",said Mick, then turning around and looking at Scarlett and bowing down, he breathed out, "My queen""Is this the cave?",asked Scarlett"It is",said Mick. "Yang and I have been searching for this cave for two years, and we found it. The sword of Bane lies inside. But we can't enter""Why not?",asked Scarlett. "There is a protective layer of something invisible here",said Mick, touching the entrance of the cave, it looked as if there was nothing there, but Mick's hand and touched something hard in the air. "Have you found out how to get inside, yet?",aske
*Present Day*Zane was looking at the different kind of weapons in the armory. Laurel and Natalie were packing their bags. Scarlett's bag was already packed.They were planning on heading towards the forest of deception. Mick had sent a message explaining something weird going on in the forest that could probably lead to the sword of Bane. "How do we know where Mick is, exactly?",asked Zane"He sent out a signal from his scroll. We just need to follow the signal with ours",said Laurel, handing Zane a weird square device. That showed a red dot in the forest and Zane supposed that's where Mick was. Soon all of them were done packing their bags. Zane, Laurel, Natalie followed Scarlett out of the doors. No guards accompanied them. It was supposed to be a secret mission. Natalie kept glancing at Zane. But she couldn't muster the courage to talk to him. As soon as they were about to enter the forest, Natalie held Zane's hand and said,"I'm sorry Zane.....I don't remember killing your m
*Present day*It was a tempting offer. A very tempting offer. Could the sword really have that much power? Could it really bring back the dead? Could it bring back his people? Derek? Could he see him again? His mother. His father. He looked at Scarlett, she did not look like she was lying. He did not smell any lies. "If I tell her everything, what's the worse that could happen?",Zane thought to himself. He could not think of any reason bad enough to not take a chance. "Okay",said Zane finally."I will tell you everything that happened to me....but I need your word that you will help me find the sword""Yes, you have my word. But I will be the one bringing back the dead, because I will be wielding the sword once you will help me find the sword.""Deal",said Zane. He took a deep breath and started with his story. He really told her everything. His entire journey. He told her how he met Derek, how he ended up in Pamlivam, how Daisy found out he was a vampire and how everything from th
*Present day*When specks of light fell through Zane's window inside his little cell, he made out that it was morning and that he should probably wake up. He looked around and there was nothing other than a roughly made, very uncomfortable bed, and a bottle of water. He got up and gurgled with the warm water for a while and drank the rest. He found a nice corner and started doing warm-ups there and then did a whole lot of hard-core exercises. "That's so unlike you Zane",came a voice from the shadows.Zane was startled but he tried to hide it. "What are you doing here Scarlett?" "This is my kingdom. I can go anywhere I want to""You sure can. Why didn't you return to your family?",asked Zane curiously"This kingdom, this palace, it just felt like home""No, Scarlett this is not your home. These are not your people, your folks will think you died. And the only reason you stayed is because you got addicted to power. Accept it""Yes....power, it is a very interesting thing, very hard
*Present day*Zane climbed down the stairs, whistling and entered the throne room. "Hey Scarlett",said Zane, acknowledging Scarlett's presence in the room. Scarlett said nothing. She simply tilted her head and looked at Zane with more curiousity. Zane had to take a long look at Scarlett's face to comprehend that she was infact not sleeping, it was dark where she was sitting. The light wasn't reaching her face. The throne was placed in an elevated platform and there weren't any torches there. Scarlett stood up and walked a few steps and the light fell on her face. Zane stifled a gasp. Her face had scratches all over. And she had put red paint on both her cheeks with two fingers."Uh....cool make-up",said Zane, staring at Scarlett. "How've you been?""Why are you here Zane?",asked Scarlett, ignoring Zane's question. "I..... I've returned, my friend. What do you mean 'why are you here'? I-I came back!",said Zane"I am not your friend. Once you leave Helmfirth....there is no return",
*Present day*When Zane woke up, there was a loud knocking sound on his door."Wait a minute! I'm coming",shouted back ZaneHe opened the door to Natalie."Hey",said Natalie. "Why did you lock the door?""Ever heard of privacy?",asked Zane sarcastically"No, I mean yes, but you never lock your door during the daytime",said Natalie"Then I guess there are things about me that you don't know",said Zane"The queen has demanded to see you",said Natalie."Yes, and I would like to see Scarlett too. It's been a minute since we last had a chat. Just let me come down in ten minutes",said Zane"Ten minutes?!", repeated NatalieZane didn't reply, instead, he tried to close the door, which Natalie blocked with her hand."No wait!", replied Natalie. "What are you going to do in there for ten minutes?""It's none of your business Natasha", replied Zane"It's Natalie",she said fiercely. "Oh yeah?",mocked Zane. "Because Daisy told me otherwise""D-Daisy?",said Natalie, smiling. "You met her?""Yes",