Willow's Point of View

I'd managed to get a very good night's rest in the comfort of the castle's library, lulled to sleep by the crackling fireplace and the deep, even breathing of the Demon Lord. But now all I could hear was him rummaging through the books. I opened my eyes, peeking over at him.

"Find anything?" I asked, but he just shook his head. "Okay, well we can still investigate the town and go get supplies. If I'm going to write this book, I need a pen. And lots of paper."

"Of course. Let's get going then." He ran a hand through his silky black hair, brushing it over his shoulders in one smooth movement that made me wonder what kind of rat's nest mine looked like.

I patted my hair, finding more than a few frizzy tangles. Great. Just great. "I'm going to freshen up quick first. Give me like ten minutes."

He nodded, absently paging through another book. Thankfully, this library had an attached bathroom with all the necessary amenities. I'd need to find an extra set of clothes so I could wash mine soon though, so I added it to my mental list of things to look for in town as I hurried to get ready before heading to the entrance hall.

The big double doors that led outside had to be tall enough for giants to walk through and they looked heavy to open. The Demon Lord grasped the handles tight, but didn't pull. Or push. He just stood there, flexing his hands. He sighed, dropping them back to his side. Then he grabbed the handles again, looking more determined than last time.

But after a few more attempts, he still hadn't opened the doors. It would have been funny if we hadn't had that conversation last night, but now his words echoed in my mind. He'd only left his castle once and that was probably just because I'd gone out on my own and he was worried. Picturing him staring out over the town from those big windows made my stomach ache.

He deserved to step outside every day. To experience what this life of his really was.

"Okay, well, if you're not going to open that door, then I am." I pushed off the wall. "It's time to put yourself out there."

He stared at me for a moment and I didn't have the heart to actually open the door if he didn't want me to. Wanting to stay inside was a vibe and taking that away from him by force didn't feel like the right move here. He had to want to leave, not be forced to. After a few more moments, he sighed, pulling the door open on his own.

"Let's go," he grumbled. "You need paper, right?"

"Oh, so this is all for me, huh?" I grinned, resisting the urge to pat him on the head and call him a good boy as a joke. "Maybe we should get something nice for you too while we're out. Maybe a new bed?"

"Why would I need a new bed?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Because yours is literally a stone slab. Every side of it is the wrong side to wake up on. Believe me, your life will completely change after sleeping in a cozy bed for the first time."

The purple in his eyes shimmered. "How so?"

My grin widened, but before I could respond, I noticed a burly soldier with a familiar-looking spear slumped against the wall of the castle. His frumpled uniform made me think he'd been here all night, waiting for us. I touched the scrape on my cheek, which was healing slowly and still throbbed a bit. If he was trying to make up for that, I respected it, but he didn't need to. Sleeping outside against a cold castle wall was just as bad as a stone slab.

"Don't any of you demons know how to get a good night's sleep around here?" I sighed, nudging my supposed bodyguard awake. "Good morning. Have you been here all night?"

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, mumbling something about being the Demon Lord's right hand, then jerked awake. His eyes widened as he took us in, leaping to his feet.

"I'm so sorry, My Lord!" The demon brushed off his clothes, trying to tug the wrinkles out before bowing deeply. "I'm at your command. What would you like me to do today?" The Demon Lord glanced back at me as if I should know, but the soldier seemed to take that as his cue. "Guard your consort. Of course!"

I snorted, trying to cover my laughter with a cough. That consort joke wasn't going anywhere I guess. Shadows swirled around the Demon Lord as he took off towards the village in silence. Grumpy, grumpy. It had to be the bed.

"So, what's your name, Soldier?" I glanced back to where he'd taken guard a few steps behind us. "If you're going to be following me around, I'd like to at least know that much."

"Dain, ma'am."

His eyes roved the surroundings, as if waiting for an enemy to jump out at us. It reminded me of the Demon Lord yesterday. Was this land really so rough? The villagers had been nothing but kind yesterday, minus the incident with Dain of course. But everywhere I looked, there was such beauty and wonder that I couldn't imagine it being dangerous here.

Purple veins of light glowed from the stone pathways, as if the earth itself was steeped in magic. Lanterns were strung between the buildings, creating a beautiful sight in the early morning sun. I hoped I'd get to see them at night sometime. Demons were bustling around, opening their shops and bowing to the Demon Lord. The shock on every face was understandable. He really did make for an imposing figure, with his long black hair, perfect horns, and shadows curling around him like a cloak.

Unfortunately, he was walking kind of fast and I kept missing all the good-looking places to visit. The scent of roasted nuts filled the air and my stomach rumbled, wishing we'd grabbed breakfast. I didn't have any coins that worked in this realm, so I'd need to rely on the Demon Lord for now. But those nuts smelled so good...

"Here, try some," a kind woman said, scooping nuts into a bag. "They're on me."

"Oh no, I couldn't do that." I shook my head, but my hands had a mind of their own and were already reaching out. The woman laughed and handed me the bag. They tasted like pecans, rich and buttery from some kind of coating they were roasted in. I closed my eyes, savoring the flavor. "These are amazing."

"I'm glad you think so." She smiled, leaning in closer to whisper. "Take a few more, as thanks for bringing our Lord outside."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, so I just smiled and took the nuts gratefully, hurrying to catch up with the Demon Lord. I casually handed him a bag. He frowned at them, but after tasting the first one, he devoured the bag as we walked. I ate mine slowly, enjoying not only the flavor, but what they represented. These people loved the Demon Lord. They respected him and wanted to help him however they could. They were kind and so different from what I'd imagined when reading the series.

How could the books have gotten these people so wrong? It had to be intentional, like how history was only told by the victors. Had the author really planned some big plot twist where the demons weren't the bad guys? If so, what would that even look like? And how was I going to write it?

The Demon Lord stopped walking abruptly, and I almost crashed into him. He reached an arm out to steady me, a concerned frown creasing his forehead. "We're here."

"Where's here?" I asked, but if I'd been paying any attention at all, I'd have known. A sign with a quill and parchment hung outside the door. "Oh, the stationary shop!"

He nodded, holding the door open for me. Parchment flew through the air, dipping and spinning like some kind of dance, while shelves of beautiful ink welcomed me in like jewels. There were rows and rows of paper in varying colors and styles, along with notebooks and binding equipment. Then there were the pens. They were scribbling on notepads without anyone touching them! Like they could take their own notes!

"What are those?" I gasped, rushing over to the aisle of moving pens. "How do they work?"

The Demon Lord shrugged, awkwardly looking around the warm shop like he was completely at a loss. Maybe it was the first time he'd seen floating pens too. Thankfully an elderly racoon demon joined us, adjusting his round glasses carefully.

"Welcome to The Quillery. What can I help you with today?" His voice was soft and calming as he smiled at the pens. "Oh, I see the pens have caught your eye. They're our specialty. They not only take notes on their own, but they're the best brainstorming partners. Ask them a question and they'll offer opinions." He scowled at one of the pens scribbling something about harsh realities of life. "Some opinions you might like better than others. Choose your pen wisely."

"Do they have different personalities?" I asked, leaning down to study all the pens.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Some were shiny black while others were made of warm wood or bright colors. They were all fountain pens, which I preferred myself. The brightly colored pens seemed to be the most hyper, dashing across the pages as fast as possible with excited comments about how weird I looked. Hmmm...that felt a bit rude, but it seemed like they hadn't seen a human before, so I'd let it go. I moved on to the sleek black pens which wrote at a languid pace, their writing formal and a bit too high-brow for me.

The wooden pens seemed pretty chill, writing notes when they felt like it, dozing off when they didn't. It honestly didn't seem like they'd even noticed me yet as they laid back against the paper, rolling around once in a while. Maybe they weren't my kind of pen either.

"Hmmm...I'm looking for a pen that will notice things I don't," I said softly. "Maybe one who has a sense of humor and can write casually. The kind of pen who finds this world fascinating and wants to explore it more. I'd really love the brainstorming help too since my books are going to be kind of out there."

The racoon demon stroked the fur on his chin. "Maybe you'd prefer the crystal pens. They're a bit sarcastic sometimes, but they're also the best brainstormers. They bring a sense of magic and whimsy to the process."

He led me further down the aisle past a group of quills with brilliant feathers to a section of pens with crystals on the top, shimmering like gems. Most of them were pretty fancy, but one in the back drew my eye. It was a mixture of crystal and feather, with a charcoal base with swirls of silver running through it and a beautiful deep purple feather on top. I glanced sideways at the Demon Lord. That feather was the color of his eyes...

The scritch scratch of a pen scribbling on paper pulled my attention back to the pen. It had written something on the paper, but before I could read it, the proprietor shook his head.

"Oh, this one must have been shelved wrong." He picked the pen up, holding it in a way that I couldn't see the paper. "It's meant to be with the other feathered pens."

I raised an eyebrow. "Did it write something bad?"

"No, not exactly..." He glanced between me and the Demon Lord. "I just don't think our Lord would want a pen like this commenting on his life, that's all."

Okay, well now I was beyond curious what that pen had written down.

"You'd be fine with whatever pen I choose, right?" I asked, nudging the Demon Lord. "No matter what it says about you?"

He sighed. "Just show her the pen. There's no way she's letting this go until she sees its personality now."

"You know me so well." I grinned, holding my hand out for the pen and notepad. "Now, let's see what you had to say that got you snatched away so fast."

That guy behind you is sexy as hell. You should get on that. Or under that. Whatever your preference is.

I dropped the notepad, but it floated in the air next to me, its words staring me right in the face. The pen thought the Demon Lord was sexy?? Seriously? A laugh bubbled up in my chest and soon I was cackling in the stationary store as the Demon Lord leaned over to read it too. His shadows snapped around him, engulfing the pen and its paper.

"What kind of store are you running?" he asked the racoon demon. "Is that normal?"

The demon wrung his hands. "Well, it was used by a romance writer for many years before it was returned to us and it picked up a few...interesting habits."

More scratching followed that and I reached into the shadows to rescue the little pen.

You know I'm right, so what's the problem here?

"Well, I'm not really writing a romance," I said. "It's actually more like an epic fantasy. The last book in a big series about the hero fighting off the demons."

Oh, so you're one of those humans. As if the demons would lose to such a pompous hero.

The purple feather stood tall, as if proclaiming its allegiance with the demons. Interesting. Maybe it already knew more about the world than I did. That could be really useful, but maybe I should pick a pen who didn't have such strong opinions about the hero. It was his book after all.

I glanced at the other pens who were eagerly scribbling, obviously trying to get my attention too. I started moving toward them, but the charcoal feather pen swooped in front of me, angling its notebook so I could easily read it.

Fine, fine. If heroes are your thing, I'll help you write the best hero ever. Manly and full of...what are heroes full of? Justice? Ego? What are we going for here?

"Honestly, he's kind of the clueless type," I said with a smile, remembering all the fond memories I had of me reading the books. "He's kind and eager to help, but doesn't always go about it the right way. He sometimes takes things at face value and is a bit naive, but he's got such heart. Loveable and honorable to a fault."

Oh, so he's a himbo. Got it. I can help with that.

"A himbo??" I burst out laughing again. "Okay, maybe he is a bit, but he's really sweet."

Sweet only gets you so far. Somebody's probably going to take advantage of that some day. Maybe lead him down a bad path in the name of justice.

I froze, staring at the pen's words. What if that was actually the plot twist? That the hero fully believed he was doing the right thing, when in reality, it was completely wrong? Oh, that gave me so many other ideas and I had to write them down.

"Okay Penny, now we're getting somewhere," I said, frowning. "Inky? Penpen? Scribbles?"

The name's Inkheart.

"Inkheart, hello!" I turned to the shopkeeper. "We'll take this pen, please."

He readjusted his glasses, looking pointedly at the Demon Lord before nodding. "Okay, I think you've chosen a fine pen. Let's pick out a flying book worthy of following you around all day."

The pen was already standing tall on a floating notepad, but maybe those were just for show. The idea of a flying notebook and pen that could take its own notes trailing behind me at all times was enough to make anyone smile. This world was the absolute coolest. As we browsed through leather bound books, wood-covered books, and every other kind of journal I could ever imagine, I paused.

"How is it that this village has so many cool things?" I asked the Demon Lord softly so the shopkeep wouldn't overhear us. "I mean, the human villages had magical devices too, but nothing on this scale. They didn't have personalities and well, life, not like this. They were more like tools than true magic. So what's with this place?"

"Demons have innate magic," he responded, leaning in closer. "And that purple glow outside feels like it's connected too."

The shopkeep rubbed his hands together. "Exactly! Us demons are wonderful craftsmen, unlike those thieves you call humans." He blinked at me, staring at my obvious lack of horns. "Sorry, I didn't mean you, of course. But the other humans are just jealous of us. We have so much magic that the very land around us is gifted with it, imbuing the minerals in the ground with magic even lowly humans can use. That's why they keep attacking us. For our resources."

I gripped the notebook I was holding so tight my knuckles whitened. "That can't be right. I've never heard anything like that before."

"Well, humans are awful." The Demon Lord shrugged. "It doesn't really surprise me that they'd bend the truth."

I rolled my eyes. "As a human, I resent that."

"You're...okay so far." His words might have sounded harsh, but his lips were tugged up in a little half smile that made my stomach flutter. "If you stick around, maybe my opinion of humans will change."

"Guess I'll have to stick around to save the human race's reputation then, huh?" I grinned, leaning my shoulder into him to add to the teasing. "Keep bringing me to awesome places like this and I might just be tempted to."

His deep purple eyes met mine, holding my gaze. "I'd come here every day if you wished it."

I swallowed hard. I'd been teasing him, light and joking, but suddenly this felt serious. He meant that. Not that going to a stationary shop was anything intimate, but his tone made it feel like it was. I busied myself with the notebooks again, searching through every single one on display while the Demon Lord kept his distance, his gaze following me like I was more interesting than every pen and notebook here. It made my hands kind of clammy, if I was honest. It had to be nerves from a powerful man like him studying me so intently.

Eventually, I settled on a black and silver book that felt more like a witch's grimoire than anything else, but it suited the pen the best.

"What do you think?" I moved Inkheart from the temporary notepad to the beautiful new notebook. "Keep looking? Or do you like this one?"

Its feather swayed as the pen danced across the pages, swirling and dipping hypnotically.

This is perfect.

Excellent, now I just had to grab some ink and we'd be out of here. Which was good because it felt like the heat was turned up way too high in this store. I stepped up to the register, feeling intensely awkward as I realized none of my human money worked here. The poor shopkeeper just wrung his hands, apologizing over and over for no currency exchanges.

"It's fine. I can purchase anything you need," the Demon Lord said. "It'll be payment for writing my book."

The shopkeeper's eyes widened. "She's writing a book about you, My Lord? Oh, then she can have this all on the house." He leaned closer, whispering behind his hand. "Just let me be the first to read it, okay?"

"No, I can't possibly take this all for free." I shook my head, pleading silently with the Demon Lord. "I'd prefer the payment for writing deal, if you would."

"Of course." His shadows curled around me for a moment, reaching out for something I wasn't sure of, before he paid the shopkeep for me. "Please deliver more ink and paper to the castle in a few days. We'll probably need it."

A warm fuzzy feeling swept over me as he predicted exactly what I'd need and moved to handle it before I even asked.

"How are you so good at taking care of other people," I asked, "but so terrible at taking care of yourself?"

He shrugged. "I get by just fine on my own. You can stop worrying and focus on the book."

"I'd worry less if we went and looked for that bed we talked about."

A sigh that felt like it was being pulled from the depths of his soul escaped his lips. "Okay. If my sleeping habits would make you feel better, then let's go look for a new mattress."

I grinned, linking my arm through his as he picked up my bags from the shop. Inkheart flew through the air behind us as the raccoon demon waved goodbye. This had been such an interesting store and I couldn't wait to see what else this demon village had in store for us.

To think that the demons were more like magical artisans than beasts spawned by dark magic like the books had led me to believe. There was so much to learn and so little time to figure it all out in. Getting stuck in this book might be the best thing that could have happened if I really did want to finish this series. There was no way I'd find all these secrets out otherwise.

As we strolled through the town, a sense of hope washed over me. Maybe I could actually pull this off.