Page 29 of Myths and Manuscripts
But the Demon Lord just 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 me. “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 the 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.
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 ones 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 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 didn’t seem like they’d even noticed me yet as they laid against the paper, rolling around once in a while. Maybe they weren’t my kind of pen either, not when I was on a tight deadline at least.
“Hmmm...I’m looking for a pen that will notice things I don’t,” I said. “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.”
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 withbrilliant 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 had 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 it 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?? A laugh bubbled up in my chest and soon I was cackling in the stationery 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 any pompous heroes.
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 heroes. 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 smiled, remembering all the fond memories I had of reading the books with Grandpa. “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 abit, but he’s really sweet.”
