Chapter 1 - Willow #2
“Who’s your friend?” Gran whispered. “He’s very handsome.”
“Did you miss the demon horns?” I asked with a laugh.
I knew she’d been having problems reading the tiny ledgers lately, but there was no way she missed those.
“He’s one of the story spirits from the library.
He’s the Demon Lord from the book series I Just Wanted a Peaceful Life, but Now I Have to Stop the Demon Lord and His Entire Army! ”
Gran’s eyebrows shot up. “A story spirit in our shop? I didn’t think they left the mountain.”
That was a good point. What had Nyssa been thinking sending him into town on his own? Sure, the town had changed their tune about the library, but the Demon Lord was still the scariest of them all. At least, to most people he was.
The barest hint of a smile touched his lips as he noticed the mossmew curled up in the lavender. He pet the tiny cat-like creature so quickly I would have missed it if I hadn’t been watching.
Did the Demon Lord... actually like cute animals? The way he acted at the library made me think they were all a bother to him, but maybe that was an act. Like the big grumpy type of character with the heart of a cinnamon roll?
No, that was what Gran would say was my imagination running away with me again. He was the villain of his story, not some romance hero about to woo anyone who crossed his path. Not that I’d want that anyway, not even if that little smile of his gave me butterflies.
“So he’s not your friend now,” Gran said slowly, “but you’d like him to be?”
I laughed, pouring the ground herbs into a pouch. “No, nothing like that. He just dropped some books off for me.”
“Riiight.” She got to her feet, wandering over to the Demon Lord before I could stop her. She was still pretty spry when she wanted to be. “Hello, can I help you with anything?”
The Demon Lord bowed his head. “No, wise one. I was just browsing.”
I would have been annoyed if he’d used his usual sass on my Gran, but him being polite was kind of shocking. I didn’t know he had it in him. Maybe there was more to him, a quiet puzzle to solve if I had the time.
“You seem at home here, dear.” Gran patted his hand. “Feel free to stay as long as you like.”
“Gran!” I hissed, clamping my lips closed when the Demon Lord glanced at me. “I mean, yes, stay as long as you like.”
That little smile tugged at his lips again, but this time, his eyes were on me. I rubbed my palms against my pants, suddenly feeling warmer than usual. Maybe too many mossmews had come inside, filling the air with their humidity.
“I think I will stay a while, thank you. It reminds me of....” His brow furrowed and he turned away, studying what we had on the shelves instead of finishing his thought. “The library is too noisy lately. It’s refreshing to be somewhere quiet.”
Gran gave me a look that said get over there and talk to him. I sighed, doing what she wanted just to stop the conversation I knew would come if I didn’t. She always wished I’d find a nice man to share my life with like her and Grandpa, but she didn’t realize how risky that was.
I couldn’t even handle sharing my book with anyone, let alone my heart.
One harsh note from the story gods and I was like a wounded animal in need of a life-saving tonic.
The pain just wouldn’t go away. The thought of going through that again, but multiplied by however much I cared about another human being, was unimaginable.
There was no way I wanted to let myself care for somebody, not for real anyway. Gran was the only person I needed in my life.
I still knew how to be pleasant to customers though, so I smiled at the Demon Lord and picked up my inventory logs to keep my hands busy. “So the library’s doing well then? That’s great.”
He scowled. “It’s terrible. The place is crawling with humans all wanting to talk to me.”
“Yeah, that sounds absolutely terrible.” I gave him a wry grin. “So you have fans, what’s wrong with that? You’re from an extremely popular book series. I’m just sad that we’ll never get to know how it ends.”
The author of his story had passed away after writing seven amazing book and leaving the final one unfinished.
“Not you too.” His scowl deepened as his shadows snapped in the air. “I don’t know how it ends any more than you do so everyone needs to stop asking.”
His voice was almost a shout by the end, and he looked ferocious with those shadows whipping around him, his eyes set in a glare.
“Are you really that mad about having fans?” I snapped, gripping my inventory book tight. “Having people actually enjoy your story is a great thing. Some of us will never get that chance.”
His glare softened, but he didn’t respond, and the silence stretched between us. It was thick and awkward this time too.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you.” I opened a container to count how many elderberries we had. “My book just didn’t get the praise I was hoping for, that’s all.”
“That’s unfortunate.” He watched closely as I counted our stock of herbs, writing them down for a bit before opening the next jar himself. He started counting the ginger roots, moving them around in the jar. “Three.”
I raised an eyebrow. Was he helping me do inventory?
We continued on like that for a few hours, spending the afternoon inventorying the entire shop in amiable silence, which seemed to be the thing he craved most right now. As the sun set, he turned to leave with just a nod and a bow to my Gran.
“See you again soon?” I hated how hopeful that question sounded. “I mean, if you need another escape from the library that is. We can always find work for you here.”
He smiled a real smile for the first time. “I might take you up on that. Farewell.”
Then he walked out the door, bell chiming as he vanished in the shadows.
“Well, follow him, quick,” Gran urged, nudging me towards the door. “Seize the moment! He’s not used to this world, so you should walk him to the mountain at least.”
I shook my head, laughing. “He’s a Demon Lord, Gran. He doesn’t need me to walk him home.”
“Doesn’t need it, no, but maybe he wants it.”
I rolled my eyes, forcing myself to move deeper into the shop before my feet betrayed me and ran outside to see if she was right. He’d probably be offended by the idea of me walking him home anyway.
My place was here. At the shop. With Gran.
That was the only thing I could focus on right now. The faster I learned everything I needed to know, the sooner she could retire and rest up. I wanted her to enjoy life after all these years working, not work herself sick.
I was an apothecary and that was all I needed to be happy.