Page 71 of Myths and Manuscripts
Chapter 30
Thorne
Our room at the inn had been crowded and noisy all week, which was exactly what I’d grown to dislike about the library. I leaned against the wall, picking at the bright purple robe the hero had insisted I wear to fit in with the rest of them. I hated to admit it, but the fabric was so soft that I’d almost asked the inn’s staff where they got them from more than once.
Willow’s robe was leaf green, matching her eyes perfectly. A ray of sunshine fell through the windows, casting her in a warm glow as she leaned over the table to write. She was working on the final chapter, and I couldn’t be happier for her. Through the chaos, we’d all managed to come together and get a surprising amount of work done.
Even the ridiculous holy sword and the pen were getting along now. Dawnbreaker was doing dramatic readings of the chapters while Inkheart edited them. Leo was sleeping like a rock through the whole thing, his tail wagging occasionally like he was having good dreams. It was all so...cozy and honestly kind of nice. Nothing like the cold empty castle I’d spent so much time in.
A knock at the door pulled my attention.
“I’ll get it.” Dain leapt forward with his spear in hand and his robe hanging down around his waist like he couldn’t be botheredto use the sleeves. He opened the sliding door, revealing the hostess who’d first shown us our rooms along with two other women carrying trays of food that smelled delicious.
“Once again, we are not invading,” the woman said with a laugh. “Please put the spear away.”
Willow sighed. “Put some clothes on too. You can’t keep answering the door half naked like that.”
Dain shrugged as he snagged a fresh bread roll off the serving trays and led the group inside like he was their guard. He’d sure come a long way from the soldier who wouldn’t even eat some roasted nuts while on duty. Every day he relaxed a little more, like we were finally getting to know the real him.
And what about me? Was this cozy chaos what I truly enjoyed? It felt so different from the buzz of fans at the library, always wanting answers about my book or demanding to take a picture with me. This was more like a group of friends spending time together.
Maybe a Demon Lord in soft purple robes was exactly who I was supposed to be.
I smiled as I moved closer to Willow. “You should eat something.”
“In a minute.” She gave me a quick smile, but didn’t stop writing. Her pen was practically flying across the page and excitement radiated off her. “I’m almost done.”
These intense writing sessions of hers either seemed to be full of anxiety, with more of a gloom and doom kind of vibe, or full of pure joy like today. Writing was a lot harder than I’d realized and seeing her experience so many different emotions throughout the process made me even more impressed that she’d stuck with it. She was making something magical here and putting her heart and soul into it.
She’d even let us read the chapters as she worked on them this time, incorporating our comments as she went. It was somuch more fun than when she wrote the first draft, like we were part of the story now instead of on the outside looking in.
“There.” She let out a breath, leaning back with a big smile on her face. “It’s done.”
Leo jerked up from his nap. “Did I miss it? Did we win?” His nose twitched. “Ohhh is that breakfast I smell?”
Willow leaned close, whispering to me. “He looked just like Cinder with his nose twitching like that, didn’t he?”
Her shoulders shook with silent laughter as we watched the demon bunny use her flames to add ambiance to the meal, her chubby cheeks chomping down on a plate of fruit just for her. I felt myself laughing along with Willow as the hero stuffed a roll in his mouth, cheeks just as chubby as the bunny’s.
“He really does.” I sat down next to Willow, handing her a plate of food. “Congratulations on finishing the book! You’re even in time for the competition too.”
She took the plate from me, her fingers lingering on mine. “You know I wasn’t working so hard just to win a competition, right? I was doing it for you.” She turned to the rest of the group. “For all of you. I might be the one writing it, but this is your story. I hope I did it justice this time.” She picked up the scattered pages on her desk, tapping them to make a neat pile before she handed them to me. “I want you to read it first. Let me know what you think.”
Those pages were the most precious thing anyone had ever given me. I wiped my hands off before taking them, leaning back to read while she finally took a break to eat and relax with everyone.
As I read over the last chapter, my eyes started getting misty at the perfect resolution to this whole crazy story. We beat the King without bloodshed, freed all the demons he’d been keeping locked away for their magic, and the hero even renounced his role, saying that it couldn’t be on one person to stop a war.Everyone had to join together to keep the peace going, and peace was exactly what this last chapter was full of. Demons and humans mingled in the streets, eating at the Destroyer’s Bakery and laughing as they swapped stories of better times.
It was exactly what I wished for our little demon town.
“It’s beautiful, Willow.” I wiped my eyes, handing the pages back to her. “Absolutely beautiful.”
Inkheart swooped over, jumping excitedly.Me next! Let me edit it to perfection!
“Wait, wait, wait,” Leo mumbled around a mouthful of eggs. “I’m curious too! Let Dawnbreaker read it out loud so we can all hear.”
The sword shimmered with brilliant light. “I, Dawnbreaker the Holy Sword, take on this task willingly. Let me bring your words to life, dear author.”
Willow blushed, smiling softly. “Well, if you want, that sounds good to me.”
