Willow's Point of View

One minute the demon lord was there and then the next, he was gone. The golden light just pulled him up and completely ignored me.

Now I was alone.

I tried not to worry about what that might mean, but there wasn't really anything else to occupy my mind.

Was I stuck in here? Why and for how long?

I sank onto the demon lord's sorry excuse for a bed. It was cold and hard, nothing like a bed should be. Picturing him sleeping here every night, and apparently not knowing that beds could be better, made my chest hurt. Did he really think this was how things were supposed to be?

Honestly, maybe that's why he was a little grumpy. I would be too if I slept on a stone slab.

I slapped my cheeks. Even if he was grumpy, there was no way he'd leave me here all by myself for too long. So until he came back, I might as well explore a bit. I was inside a book! I'd dreamed of going inside my favorite stories so many times, but now I was really in one. I couldn't just sit here and not even take a peek outside.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and wandered into the hallway. Torches lit up as I walked by revealing half finished tapestries and mostly empty rooms. Some areas were just fuzzy holes in the wall, literally blank spaces, like the author had gotten bored thinking of what the rooms would be for. Which was fair since this castle was gigantic.

The more I walked, the more I thought about the demon lord and the last book in this series. With all those unfinished pieces, how much was left unknown? If I was really going to write the final book, then I needed to see more than this castle.

I had to fill in the blanks. I needed to go outside and meet people.

Excitement rushed through me as I grasped the large entryway doors. Once I stepped outside, I'd be talking to other characters from a story, just like the demon lord. Would they know they were inside a book like he did? Or would they think their world was the real world?

Depending on how much I could explore, maybe I could find all the answers I needed to write an ending worthy of the demon lord. An ending the fans would appreciate.

I flung the doors open, gazing out at a sky covered in a dense miasma cloud that turned the sunlight an eerie purple color. A forest of stark white trees surrounded the castle, fencing a medium-sized village in on all sides. A shout drew my attention to the right as I hid behind the doors, half expecting the village to be full of monsters.

But what I saw instead took my breath away.

People of all shapes and sizes, some with horns and others with fluffy ears and tails, were putting pies on their window sills to cool or playing with children. Stalls lined the main road like a marketplace full of everything from bakers to tailors, all with the same ashen skin as the demon lord.

This was a demon town!

I stepped forward, my curiosity bubbling up inside of me like the book well itself. I had to see this. I had to know what this town was like. From what I could remember, it was never mentioned in the books.

Voices hushed as the demons turned to stare at me one by one.

"Hello," I said, smiling warmly. "My name's Willow."

A short demon with a plump loaf of bread in his paws gulped, his tail twitching. "Hu-hu-human!"

He dropped the bread and fled, hiding behind one of the buildings.

"Wait, no." I shook my head. "I'm not here to hurt you. I came with the demon lord."

But instead of greeting me back, they either fled or drew weapons. Did nobody hear me? What was going on?

A group of stern-looking demons with swords marched forward, horns gleaming under the purple miasma. They looked like soldiers ready to slay the evil human who'd encroached on their territory.

"Humans are not allowed here," one of the muscled demons said, gripping a spear. "You kill us on sight, but think you can just waltz into the heart of our nation? You'll pay dearly for your overconfidence."

I swallowed hard, holding my hands in the air as I slowly stepped backward. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. I'll just leave and you'll never have to see me again..."

The tip of his spear sliced my cheek before I even noticed him moving. A small trickle of blood dripped down my face as pain pulsed through me. This was supposed to be a story, but I was bleeding for real!

I stumbled back, fleeing before things got worse. I had to get back inside the castle. Where was the demon lord???

Cheers rose up behind me as I ran away.

“You’re safe now everyone,” the demon called back to the market. “Do not fear the human; we’ll take care of it!”

Seriously, were demons really that terrified of humans? They had strength and magical abilities that the humans in this book could only dream of. So why did they seem so proud of scaring off one completely non-violent woman?

Something about this town didn't feel right, but I'd be damned if I was going to continue exploring without the demon lord. Not that I'd admit that to him, of course.

Except, instead of going back into the demon lord's castle, I'd sort of ended up in the forest. The shadows cast by the big trees seemed to move on their own, taunting me, leading me deeper inside. The trees were white, like ghosts in the night, and I wasn't actually sure where I'd come in at. I turned around, searching for the castle, but all I saw was trees. Trees and demonic red eyes in their branches.

My pulse pounded in my ears. I'd barely taken two steps into the forest, so how could I already be lost?

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

Vague memories of a forest that drew people inside only for them to get lost for eternity came to mind. It was supposedly the demon lord's best defense against intruders, but what was it called again? The Wandering Woods?

I bit my lip as I spun around. Well, I had wanted to get first-hand knowledge of the book, so I guess that's what I was getting. But why oh why did I have to get caught in that grumpy demon's trap? He better show up soon to get me out of it.

Dead leaves covered the ground, crunching with each step I took. I swore I saw movement too, like little creatures dashing through the leaves, leaping from tree to tree, laughing at me.

I clutched my bag, wishing I had magical defense potions in here instead of books, snacks, and healing herbs.

"Calm down," I muttered to myself, "just calm down. Everything's going to be okay. The demon lord will return and he'll get me out of here."

A soft keening sound pushed through my growing terror. It sounded like something was in pain.

I searched for the noise, spotting a small bunny-like creature beside a tree holding its paw strangely. The bunny had gorgeous long black fur and big floppy ears with horns curling back over its head. Its bright red eyes landed on me as black and red flames sprouted in the air around it, as if summoned by the demonic bunny to defend itself.

"Don't be scared," I said, kneeling slowly. "Are you hurt?"

The demon bunny grew bigger, as if trying to intimidate me into walking away, but there was no chance I'd leave an injured animal. Not even a demonic one in a storybook. I reached into my bag, pulling out a container of dried fruit and some herbs I'd seen wild bunnies eating on the mountain before.

"Here, have some."

The bunny's black nose twitched. It hopped closer, flames inching toward me as it cautiously nibbled some of the herbs. Heat licked at my fingertips, but I didn’t move. The bunny lunged forward to gobble them down, chubby cheeks bouncing as it chewed. My fears faded as the demon bunny happily chewed the dried fruit.

I exhaled in relief, finally regaining some control over my senses. Just because it was part demon, didn't mean it wasn't adorable.

"Okay, let's get that paw of yours fixed then." I pulled out a healing salve that I was supposed to drop off for a client on my way back from the library and a bandage, reaching for the bunny. It leapt back, snarling like no bunny ever should. "Okay, okay, no need to flame me. Why don't I try it on myself first?"

My cheek was throbbing at this point, so it would be good to clean it up anyway. I spread some of the bright green salve onto my face and secured a bandage over it.

"See?" I leaned down, letting the bunny examine it. "It's just a healing salve. It'll help your paw."

The bunny hopped one step toward me, then another, before it held out its paw to me, head turned away like it couldn't be bothered with this nonsense.

"Well aren't you the proud little thing," I said with a laugh as I spread the salve over the cut on its leg and wrapped it up. "There, you're all set! You should stay close so I can remove that bandage later though and reapply the salve."

Its deep red eyes blinked up at me. Could demon bunnies even understand humans?

We stared at each other for a bit, question unanswered, before the bunny scurried into my bag, nibbling on all the other treats I had in there.

"Hey now, those are mine too!" I laughed, daring to pet the adorable demon. It purred, settling into my bag like it was its new home.

I let out a breath. That had gone much better than I thought it would. If I could get on the good side of this demon bunny, then maybe I could show the townsfolk that they didn’t need to kill me on sight. I could at least stay safe until the demon lord returned and got me out of this book

I carefully stood up, trying not to jostle the demon, but noticed the dead leaves had blown away revealing a path. I frowned, hoping this wasn't some trick to lead me deeper inside forest.

"What do you think Bun, should I follow it?" I asked, opening the flap on my bag so its head and big floppy ears could poke out over the edge. It chittered at me, nibbling some herbs and motioning its head the other way. "You want me to go that way?"

When the bunny's head bobbed in what I took as a nod, I turned around. "Okay, let's hope this is the way out."

After what felt like hours, I stumbled out of the forest and back onto fresh grass. I grinned, taking a deep breath of the miasma filled air. I could see the castle! And the town! And the demons...

The demon with the spear whirled on me, like he’d been waiting the whole time.

"It'll be okay, little bunny." I clutched my bag tight in case we had to run.

"How did you get out?" he demanded. "Did you kidnap a demon bunny?"

My eyebrows raised. "I don't think so? It just hopped in my bag all on its own." The townsfolk stared in disbelief as I reached down to scratch behind the bunny's ears. “I promise I didn’t come here to hurt you all. I’m here to help. I think.”

Whispers surrounded me as the baker demon slowly approached. "You said you came here with the demon lord, right?"

"Yes, but he had to run an errand," I lied, "he'll be back soon."

The bunny hummed and chittered, making a bunch of bunny talking noises that reminded me of when Mochi spoke and I couldn't understand him. The rest of the demons just nodded.

"Cinder, the bunny, says you healed her?" When I nodded, the spear wielder continued. "Can you heal others too?"

"Of course!" I frowned, scrounging through my bag. "Well, I don't have many supplies with me, so I'd need to gather a few things. I'm not even sure what this world has actually. I'm an apothecary where I'm from."

I felt myself babbling as they all just stared at me. The bunny hopped out of my bag, as if my rummaging around had disturbed her peace, and sat between my feet, staring right back at all the demons. My little bunny defender.

"Your name's Cinder, huh?" I bent down to pet her. "It's nice to meet you. My name's Willow."

Cinder's nose twitched as I handed the bunny a few more herbs. She stuffed them in her mouth, chubby cheeks chewing fast. The demons around me seemed to relax as they smiled at the bunny.

The baker from earlier stepped forward. "Do you really know the demon lord? Like you've talked to him in person?"

"Well, yeah?" I frowned, glancing at their curious faces. "Haven't you?"

The soldier crossed his arms, muscles bulging. "Of course not. The demon lord is far too busy to be talking to random demons like us. I bet you've never even met him, you're just trying to infiltrate our town. You and your bunny are not welcome here."

Interesting. It made sense that nobody had talked to him before if he'd been stuck in his castle this whole time. It was like the books kept moving along without him, but he must have interacted with somebody. How else would his generals have been sent on missions in the previous books?

The delicious scent of spiced meat wafted through the air, making my stomach rumble. I'd intended to stop by Mochi for a snack before all this happened, but I'd just have to find something in the demon lord's castle while I waited for him. Would eating storybook food still be filling?

"I'll just leave you all be then," I said as I backed away toward the castle. "I'll wait inside for the demon lord."

"Inside?" The baker gasped. "She's been inside the castle! We can't turn her away. What if she truly is the demon lord's...?"

"Friend," I finished for him. "We're friends."

Or at least, I thought we were. It sounded better than acquaintances writing a book together.

The baker raised his eyebrows. "Come along, little human. Let me get you a plate of food and you can tell me all about this friendship you have with our lord."

Before I knew it, I'd been pulled into their circle, surrounded by tasty food and laughter. It was like a switch had flipped and their curiosity about the demon lord had taken over. I gladly sampled every food they gave me, marveling at how real it tasted. This world didn't feel like a story at all. It was all so homey and warm, I never would have guessed we were in the infamous demon village.

Suddenly, there was even more pressure to find a satisfactory ending for this story. One that left all these demons happy and safe. One that would make the demon lord as happy as he made these villagers.