Roan's Point of View

Chapter 21

We'd asked four writers to sponsor the Misty Mountain Library, but they'd all turned us down. Seeing Nyssa's excitement slowly die made me want to do something, anything, to bring her smile back a bit. I stopped to grab hot cocoa for all of us, hoping the creamy chocolate would warm her up and brighten her mood.

"This isn't over yet," I said as I sat down beside her. "We'll find the perfect writer soon, I bet."

"Cocoa, huh?" Steam curled around her hands as she took one of the cups from me. "I expected you to get one of those magical drinks from earlier."

"Hot cocoa is magical," I said firmly, before taking a sip. Warmth spread through my body, sweet and delicious. I sighed with contentment. "Try drinking that and not being happy. I dare you."

She smiled softly behind the rim of her cup as she blew on it to cool it off. When she finally took a drink, her eyes closed for a moment, as if fully enjoying the rich chocolate flavor. I'd even asked for double marshmallows because those always added an extra special touch to a hot cocoa.

The knight hiding in her hair leaned forward, sniffing the air. He grinned, climbing down her arm so fast he almost fell.

"Yes, I got you some too," I said, pouring some into a bottle cap. "I hope this works for a cup. They didn't have anything in your size."

"That's kind, Sir Roan," the knight said, reaching up to grab the bottle cap. He drank deeply, apparently not caring that it was hot, and held the cap up for more. "It's delicious."

Nyssa's small smile turned into a grin. "Have I mentioned how grateful I am that you both came with me today?"

It was hard to be anything but happy when sitting next to somebody you cared about with a soothing hot chocolate. If only we were at the library so we could curl up under the book tree, then this would be perfect.

"It might take longer than you were hoping for," I said, "but we will find a great writer for the library."

She nodded, taking another sip of her drink and watching the people around us. Some chatted with friends while others looked like they were interacting with fans, signing autographs and handing out books. There were a few people off on their own too, just eating a meal and resting.

Overall, it was a pretty good vibe. Maybe we'd have to come back to this festival when we weren't on a mission to save the library.

"What's that?" a guy asked as he froze midstep, staring at the knight. "Is it a toy? Or some kind of magic?"

Instead of waiting for either of us to answer, the guy just grabbed the knight straight off our table. The knight's eyes widened as he dropped his drink, spilling it all over his armor. His eyes narrowed as he pulled out his sword, obviously ready for vengeance.

"Nobody spills a man's cocoa and gets away with it," the knight proclaimed. "I challenge you to a duel."

"Whoa, are duels really necessary?" Nyssa asked, holding her hand out for the knight. "You shouldn't just pick people up. It's rude."

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"Sorry, no offense intended," the guy said, still holding onto the knight. "I was just curious what it was."

Nyssa frowned. "He's a story spirit from the Misty Mountain Library."

"A story spirit?" the guy asked as he dropped the knight onto the table, as if Nyssa was far more interesting than whatever the knight was.

This guy was so rude. Sure, I didn't always appreciate the knight's enthusiasm, but I'd never treat them like that. I set my arm on the table, motioning for the knight to stand by me if he wanted to. He saluted me and ran over, armor clinking softly.

"Our library has a special kind of magic," Nyssa said, phrasing it just like we'd practiced with the other writers who'd turned us down. "It can bring characters from books to life as story spirits."

Wait, she couldn't really be considering asking him to sponsor the library, could she?

"Nyssa--"

"That's awesome!" the rude guy interrupted. "Does that work for any book or just certain ones? I'm a writer, so it would be cool to meet my characters, you know?"

He ran his hand through his hair, smiling awkwardly as Nyssa and him kept chatting, but something about the way he looked at her set my nerves on edge. He reminded me of wealthy clients who'd found a new toy to play with and wanted to experiment, no matter the cost. Those were the ones who usually caused huge magical disasters.

I should say he wasn't right for the library, but the words hung in my throat. Was it really my place to tell her what to do? Sure, I'd been helping out, but I didn't plan to stay there. I should probably let her take the lead...

But the knight was still standing behind my arm like a barricade as he fought the air, muttering curses. The newcomer hadn't noticed at all, barely deigning to look at the knight like a real person. Nyssa had though, glancing at us with a concerned crease in her forehead.

"This has been fun," she said to the writer, "but we've got a lot to do still. I hope you tell all your friends about how wonderful the Misty Mountain Library is though!"

My shoulders relaxed. Nyssa would always put the library and the story spirits first, so I had nothing to worry about. The knight climbed onto my shoulder as we got up to leave, but the writer grabbed Nyssa's arm.

"Don't you want a writer to sponsor your library?" he asked. "That's why you're here, right?"

"We don't need somebody as handsy as you," I said, glaring at the hand on Nyssa's arm.

Nyssa smiled, moving a bit closer to me. "Sorry, you're not quite the right fit for us."

At that he dropped his hand. "Fine, whatever. I bet the books don't even come to life and this was all a joke anyway."

"Oh, they come to life," I said, "but a guy like you doesn't deserve to meet them. Not after how you treated Sir Reginald the Third."

The knight gasped. "Sir Roan, you finally know my name?"

As the writer walked off, Nyssa leaned in close to whisper to the knight. "I caught him reading your book earlier."

"It was just sitting in front of me," I said, scratching the back of my head. "It doesn't mean anything."

"Oh, it definitely means something." Nyssa laughed, linking her arm through mine. "I think you secretly love the knights."

"Is it true, Sir Roan?" the knight asked. "Do you want to join our knightly ranks?"

"Whoa, nobody said anything about that," I said with a laugh. "Let's just head out for today. We can try again tomorrow."

Nyssa nodded. "Maybe bringing a story spirit was a bit too much."

The knight sighed so softly it wouldn't have been audible if he wasn't on my shoulder. Being small was probably already tough enough, but feeling useless had to be way worse. Nobody deserved to feel like that, especially when they tried as hard as the knight did.

"Sir Reginald the Third played his part admirably," I said. "If not for him, we wouldn't have known what a total creep that guy was."

The knight puffed up a bit.

"He really was kind of weird," Nyssa said, frowning. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"It's your library, figured you should decide," I said as we walked out of the festival courtyard.

Nyssa gripped my arm a bit tighter. "It's your library too, you know. I see how much you care about the story spirits, whether you want to admit it or not, so you can speak up if you feel like something's off."

The story spirits honestly had been growing on me. From playing fetch with Cerbie, to the knights secretly training beside me, to Mochi always ready with a heartfelt snack. They were all so kind and genuine. Heck, even the demon lord had his good points, defending the library whenever he thought somebody might harm it. I might not like the guy, but I could respect that.

"Okay," I said slowly. "I'll speak up the next time something feels off."

"Good." Her smile was like the sun peaking out on a rainy day, bright and full of hope. "Now, let's head home."

Home.

I liked the feel of that word far more than I should.