Chapter 3: Zane, the Fiance

The guy had blond hair, down to his jaw. His eyes were dark green and he was taller than Dimitri, but not as muscular. He was toned though, and something in his stature made it seem like Dimitri could run and shove him as hard as he could, yet Zane would not move.

I stared at him. 'I'm engaged to this guy? Since when?' "I'm sorry, when did this happen exactly?"

"Eight years ago." He replied, evenly.

I did the math in my head. "But…I was ten eight years ago…" I trailed.

"No, you were thirteen. Whichever angel you got to wipe your mind easily could've given you a younger identity, throw us off your trail." Zane stated, as if it were the most simple thing in the world. "But-"

"Okay, see, here you go with this 'angel' bullshit. See, that's where our big problem is. Right next to the whole kidnapping thing. Angels and demons are not real." I said, crossing my arms. "End of story."

There was a moment of silence as Zane and I had a stare down. "See, I told you." Dimitri said, smug. "She doesn't remember, she thinks she's human."

"You said you showed her the picture."

"I did!"

Zane glared at Dimitri. "And did you point out the horns?" 'Horns?'

"…..nope. Actually didn't even think to…"

Zane held out his hand and Dimitri checked his pockets, coming up with nothing. Dimitri gave a small, awkward laugh. "Right…left it in the car…" He said, before getting off the bed. "I'll uh grab that for you." 'He's kinda adorable…well he would be if he wasn't so psycho…'

Zane let him pass out the door, before turning his attention to me. "I apologize for him. He's a good friend, but he's not the brightest. However, he is strong, and you never knew him, so I figured he'd be perfect to as you so kindly put it, 'kidnap' you."

My eyes narrowed. "How would you put it?"

"Convince you to do your duty and come back home." 'Duty?'

"Yeah? And if I am who you apparently believe I am, clearly duty wasn't on my mind as I left to begin with. And if you need to send some muscle-head to 'convince' me to go back, you were clearly planning a kidnapping!"

He was about to reply when Dimitri came barreling through the door. "I found it!" Dimitri exclaimed, proud of himself. Zane and I both looked at him, Zane seemed irritated but I was pretty amused.

"Thank you." Zane said, taking the picture out of his hand and walking towards me. He knelt down in front of me and handed it to me between to fingers. "Look closely at your head. It's not the best picture, our home can be a bit dark and the camera isn't as new as what humans have, but it's the one I've got."

I took the picture from him and looked at it again. It was weird seeing the boy in the picture again, knowing it was the man kneeling beside me. The boy in the picture was smiling, seeming carefree, and the man now is but a cold shell.

'Focus, Rose, focus. Look at your head…' I looked at the picture of 'me'. I looked pretty happy myself. My eyes were still bright green, my hair was blond though. And when I looked closer, there were two small bumps, slightly sticking out from my hair.

"Are those bumps suppose to be horns?" I asked, unimpressed. 'I could've just hit my head…'

"Yes."

"Then where are yours?" I handed him back his picture.

Zane took a seat across from me, pulled his wallet out of his pocket and put the picture in it. "Mine were cut off when I was a baby. As were Dimitri's. And every other demon outside of the royal family." He put his wallet in his pocket. "If you wish me to shave my head to show you the scars from when they were cut, I will. Though it will be preferred to have your memories returned to you."

Back up, the royal family don't have their horns cut off and I supposedly had them… "I still don't believe you guys. Now not only am I some runaway demon, I'm from the royal family of demons? Your story keeps changing."

"That's my bad really. I am terrible at explaining things-" Dimitri started.

"You've done enough, Dimitri." Zane cut him off, while staring at me. "Listen, girl. I understand this is crazy to you and you are probably wondering 'why me', 'what's happening' and all that jazz, but I have a lot riding on this. More than you know. More than the Leliana I once knew knows. So you are going to have to bear with me, alright?"

The way he stared put the fear from before back in me. It's irrational, I know, but I had forgotten that these men are dangerous. Attractive, yes, but as Dimitri showed earlier when I ran off and with how Zane looks like a predator right now, attractiveness means nothing. I was kidnapped, and while these men may be nice to me at times, that doesn't mean I'm not their victim.

I stared back, scared to look away or say another word.

"Great, you scared her." Dimitri said before plopping down next to me. "Hey, look at me." He said to me. I ignored him. "Hey, Rose."

I looked over at him. 'He didn't call me Leliana. That's the first time since the original night I met him he's called me by my name.'

Dimitri's eyes were filled with warmth. "It's a lot to take in but remember, I promised not to physically hurt you. And something you should also know, demons don't break promises. We're people of our word. So we're not your enemy. And we will help you remember all of this."

'He hasn't broken a promise yet. Not his promise to physically hurt me or his promise to Zane in untying me, though he seemed like he wanted to. Maybe he's telling the truth…'

"I'm not going to make that promise." Zane stated.

I looked back at him, that fear bubbling up inside me again. "W-Why?"

His dark green eyes swirled. "Because if you try to run, or if this 'I don't remember who I am' thing is a trick, I will fucking destroy you."

I gulped. 'I guess the bright side is Dimitri promised not to physically hurt me. One of two..yay.' "Seriously, Zane?" Dimitri asked. "What the hell, man?"

Zane's eyes flickered to Dimitri. "I am not complacent. If she was my Leliana I would still tell her the same thing, friend or not. And honestly, I believe she thinks she's human, because the Leliana I know is not scared of a damn thing."

"Well I'm glad you believe she's been brainwashed, but come on buddy, she's still well brainwashed. Scaring her to death isn't the objective here, bringing her home is." Dimitri argued.

"And now she won't run away again."

"You could've just had her promise not to."

"She thinks she's human, Dimitri! Humans have no honor! Her word would not stop her from running if given the opportunity if she truly believes she's a human!"

"Oh come on, not all human's are bad-"

"Enough." I said, quietly. They both stopped and looked at me, like they just remembered I was there. "Just tell me who I'm suppose to be…what I'm suppose to be. And show me that confirmed DNA test."

Zane pulled papers out of his pocket and handed me it. I didn't really know what I was looking for, I've never read a DNA test before, but I saw the confirmation at the bottom. 'So…either I have identical DNA as this girl…Leliana…or I am Leliana…'

I handed it back to him and nodded. "Thanks."

Dimitri went to pat my shoulder and thought better of it, putting his hand on the floor instead. "Where do you want him to start?"

"The whole demons and angels thing. Abridged, if possible." I suggested, unsure of how many details I could really take in.

Zane nodded. "Angels and demons are species, similar to humans in that they think intelligently. We've been around just as long as humans, even besides humans a long time ago. Long story short, the three species never got along, angels made an island for themselves and demons live underground. Demons can manipulate physical things, like elements or objects, where angels manipulate thought and feelings. Both species are stronger and faster than humans, naturally. Some humans that work hard may be stronger and faster than angels and demons who never train.

"Angels use to have wings and demons use to have horns and tails, but when war broke out between the two races, one that had to remain hidden from humans, it was a strategic move to cut such body parts off. This enabled each species to blend in with humans and hide themselves from one another, relying on the sense of sight and sound to catch anything unusual with strangers.

"Royal families, at least with demons, are the exception. Their horns and tail are a reminder of our ancestors and our faith that someday, we will no longer have to hide away from humans. While we're on it, as far as physical descriptions go, demons typically have dark features. It is rare for one to be born with blond or red hair, as it is a recessive gene, so when one is born, they are seen to be 'stronger' than the rest for overcoming such a trial in the womb. Silly superstition, but many believe in it. You should also know angels have lighter features typically, and yes, they're 'stronger' people have dark features."

I absorbed all of it in and was mulling it over when Dimitri asked, "That was the abridged version?"

Zane rolled his eyes. "Yes."

"What's the abridged description of me?"

"Stupid."

"Could've done better, my friend. Could've done better."

'I wonder…was my friendship with Zane like Dimitri's and his was? And which role was I?' "Okay…so what is Leliana like? Or…well I suppose me?" I asked.

Dimitri grinned. "See? She's getting it!"

Zane rolled his eyes again. "You were a young girl. A princess. The only child of two parents, who gave you anything you asked for, and then you ran away. Not too hard to get." He said, getting up. "We should rest. You've taken in a lot of information and before you take in more, you should sleep."

Dimitri got up too. "I get to sleep too right? I'm exhausted."

For a minute it almost looked like Zane was going to smile. "Of course. I'll take first watch."

"Before we go to bed, I have to say something." I said, for the first time in all this, not that scared. "I know you believe I'm Leliana, and honestly I'm starting to myself, but that doesn't mean there aren't people who care about me, as Rose. I don't even know how long it's been, but I do know that I am most definitely late meeting my sister."

Zane glared at Dimitri. "You said she lived alone. That no one would have to die, easy in, easy out."

'Die? Whether I'm really Rose or not, I care about Anne…blood or not, she's like a sister to me…she can't die…'

"-just one bed, and I mean she might have mentioned it but I thought it was just some crappy excuse to shut me down-" Dimitri rambled.

I interrupted. "I never said she lived with me, I said I was meeting her."

Zane thought for a moment and sighed. "I hate loose ends."

Panic coursed through me. "What if I called her? And came up with some story or something?"

Dimitri gave Zane puppy dog eyes. "She's finally working with us, man, let's not fuck it up."

Zane sighed. "Okay, we'll make the call from the lobby. Dimitti and I will be listening in on your conversation and can hear what she says too. So if she asks if you've been kidnapped, and you say yes, her life is forfeit. Same goes with anything similar to that. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." I replied.

"Is that a yes?" Dimitri asked, confused.

Zane nodded. "It's in reference to a saying, 'crystal clear', which means very clear. So she's saying not only was I clear, but I was very clear."

"Can we hurry? The less she worries the better." I spoke up. Both guys nodded and walked with me to the lobby. A greasy man with a beer belly was snoring at the table, beer bottle in hand.

'I don't have time to wake him up and play nice just to ask to use the phone. This has to happen.' I grabbed the phone and dialed my sister's number, which I had memorized.

"Hello?" A very tired sounding Anne answered.

"Hey Anne, it's Rose." I said gently.

"Rose?! Oh thank God, are you hurt? What happened? Where are you?"

"I'm fine, sis. I met up with a friend and decided to go on an adventure!" I said, trying to put excitement into my voice for show. 'Make her think it was some impulsive thing…'

It was silent on the other end for a moment. "Let me get this straight. After work, you closed up the show, dropped your phone on the ground for fun, ditched your car and left without a word with a friend? Which friend?"

'Shit, she doesn't believe me.' I didn't dare look at Zane, that's just make me scared and this whole situation worse. "Well my friend had a car so we just took his. I didn't realize I didn't have my phone on me until now, it must've fallen out of my pocket. I know it's really irresponsible. I am so sorry-"

"His? Is this 'friend' that guy you met yesterday?"

I closed my eyes. 'This can't be good. Think quick.' "Maybe. Like I told you, he's really hot. And as it turns out, a lot of fun."

She sighed. "Alright, I'll call the police and tell them to quit the search. Where did he take you?"

"Why, so you can come pick me up? No way! I'm having the time of my life, Anne!"

"Rose, what about college? And work?"

"I quit." I said, nonchalantly. Honestly, if all this is true, which I believe it is more and more every moment, I won't need college or that job.

Silence on the other end again. "You know I think you're a complete idiot, right?"

"Yeah, I figured."

"Okay, here's the deal. I'll call the police off but you need to call me every day."

I looked up at the guys, Zane stared into my eyes and shook his head. I swallowed hard. "I'll be gone for awhile, Anne, and I'm really bad at keeping track of time. I'll call you frequently though."

"How long are you going to be gone?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know when I know, kay?"

There was a big sigh on the other side. "For the record, I hate this entirely and I'm still very fucking worried about you. But you're not giving me too much of a choice, so okay."

"I love you, Annie."

"I love you too, brat. Hopefully I'll hear from you soon."

"Bye." I said, hanging up. Dimitri was smiling like a dork and Zane had his usual, unamused business face. "How'd I do?"

"Back to the room, we'll talk there."

I walked silently with them. I swear to god Dimitri had a skip in his step. "What're you so happy about?" I asked when we got in the room.

"I just think it's the best thing in the world that you spoke so highly of me and my sexiness that she believed you ran off with me." He replied, still smiling. 'Jerk.'

Zane rolled his eyes. I told Dimitri, "It's not me talking you up that made her believe it. It's her thinking I'm stupid and impulsive that did it."

Dimitri pouted. "Regardless, we don't have to kill her." Zane said, evenly. "I'm not happy about you having to call her, but relieved it's temporary and not frequent. When we get an angel to restore your memories, we'll also have them take away your human families memories."

The thought of my entire family forgetting about me made me sad. 'But they'll probably be safer that way…' "Can you tell me why I ran away?" I asked.

"Tomorrow." Zane answered, sitting in a chair by the door. "Go to bed."

Dimitri took off his shirt and jumped in one of the beds. I tried not to blush, I've never seen a guy remotely naked, and hopped into bed.

I fell into a deep sleep.