Chapter 31 - Willow
Willow
A week after we’d finished the book and submitted it to the competition, tickets to a festival celebrating the series were delivered to the library.
No news on who won the competition, just four golden tickets with our names on them.
I clutched mine, trying not to let my nerves take over as we stood in line.
There hadn’t been any buildup for this festival, no news, no excited fans, no nothing.
It’s like they just came up with the idea a few days ago.
But even with only a few days, the place was crowded.
Thorne’s arm brushed against mine. “Everything okay?”
“I honestly don’t know.” I stared at Leo decked out in his most brilliant armor, at Dain who looked torn between curiosity and annoyance, and at all the other people in line behind us.
“It’s just so weird. Events like this are usually planned months, even a year in advance.
I’d understand if they wanted to do a big reveal to build hype, but why wouldn’t they wait for the book to be published? Something’s going on...”
“Then we’ll be ready for whatever comes.” His gaze swept over the crowd as if seeing it for the first time before coming back to me. “We can handle this.”
“Even if we don’t know what this is?”
He smiled. “Even then.”
“Okay, enough flirting,” Leo said, practically vibrating with excitement. “We’re almost there! Get your tickets out!”
His excitement bled over to me just enough for a smile.
Being in line with them reminded me of all the times Grandpa and I had waited for new releases together.
There was a bond formed in lines like this that only true fans would ever understand, and I should be focusing on that instead of my own insecurities.
It didn’t matter if our book won or lost, what mattered was that these wonderful people had supported me all the way.
I might even be brave enough to write another book of my own after this.
Maybe.
The ideas had been flowing, that’s for sure. I’d probably need a new notebook soon. Maybe I could get a custom one here.
We finally made it to the front of the line and handed our tickets to the ticket taker.
His eyebrows rose as he glanced from us back to the tickets.
“Welcome! Please give me just a moment.” He turned back to grab an envelope with my name on it.
“Here you go, Willow. Please head inside and find the authors’ corner. The others are waiting there too.”
“The author’s corner?” My heart raced. Did that mean they’d chosen me to write the last book?? No, he’d said there were others... “How many authors are here?”
“The top five contestants were invited for this special event. It’s all in the envelope.”
I moved off to the side to open it. The first page was a note from the author’s family apologizing for not being able to choose a winner.
Apparently a few of the books were so good that the choice was too hard to make so they wanted to let the fans decide instead.
This event was going to be a reveal of all the best story concepts.
Authors were free to meet and greet with fans to talk more about their ideas, but in the end, the fans would decide our fate by voting for the story they liked best.
My stomach sank. “The fans are going to decide who wins now.”
“What?” Thorne leaned over my shoulder to read along with me.
Leo wedged himself between us to do the same. “Ohhh, that could work in our favor! Once everyone sees how awesome we are, they’re sure to pick your book. Trust me.” He grinned, tapping his chest. “I’m the hero, we won’t fail.”
A passerby laughed. “If he’s the hero, I’m the King. Look at those horns! No way is he going to win that look-a-like competition.”
“You’re no King, sir!” Leo puffed up his chest, but his frown ruined the whole image. “What’s a look-a-like competition?”
I bit my lip as I sorted through the paperwork, handing him a pamphlet for the event. “It’s like a cosplay contest where everyone tries to be you.”
“But I’m me.”
Thorne clasped him on the shoulder. “Exactly. So go be the best you you can be and put that annoying cheerfulness to work, okay?”
“I can do that!” Leo beamed at him before wandering off holding the map up on the back of the pamphlet.
After three wrong turns, Thorne sighed. “Dain, could you go with him?”
“Of course, my lord.” He nodded and followed after Leo with more pep in his step than I’d expect.
Maybe he was excited for the contest too. The whole festival seemed to be brimming with anticipation as people whispered their theories about the final book. But nobody, not a single person, was guessing my ending for it.
I’d convinced myself that losing this competition would be fine since nobody would know about my story except for the author’s family, but now that all these other people were involved too?
I wished I was anywhere but here. Thorne and the others had worked so hard on the story with me though. I couldn’t abandon them now.
This story was about more than just my feelings. It was about them, and I had to fight for that. Even if it meant people hating my ideas and probably saying that straight to my face.
I cringed. Whoever thought of this festival was horrible. The whole concept was gut-wrenching and should have come with a huge warning label! I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the emotional rollercoaster that was sure to come.
“Let’s go,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “Time to face the music.”
Thorne’s lips pulled into a grin, and he took my hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss. “That’s my girl. Here I was thinking you might want to leave, but you really are done running, aren’t you?”
My breath caught in my chest and words completely failed me.
He continually flipped my world upside-down with things like that.
Kissing the back of my hand like I was some kind of princess.
I felt myself smiling as I tugged him along, so happy he was by my side.
I never would have been able to stand my ground without him.
He’d believed in me so much that somewhere along the way, I’d started believing in myself too.
I was a good writer and my story was exactly what fans of this series needed to read. They might not know it yet, but this ending was beautiful, and I wanted to share it with them.
The authors’ corner was more of a big open area than a corner, with five giant booths set up.
Most of them had dashing images of the hero and Demon Lord fighting their final battle.
It was all light versus dark everywhere I looked until my gaze landed on the one empty booth with something a little different.
The artwork on mine had them holding hands.
I agreed with the symbolism of that, but the artwork was so bright and tranquil compared to the other booths that it barely looked like they were from the same series.
Mine felt almost like a slice of life comedy instead of the epic fantasy it was supposed to be.
This was definitely going to confuse people. ..
One of the other authors walked away from their booth, smiling as she made her way over to me. “Hey, I’m Ava Knightly. Now that you’re here, I think they’re going to start letting fans in soon.”
“Thanks.”
I managed to squeak out a single word before my throat tightened and my mouth went dry.
Ava Knightly was famous! Her books lined my shelves and I wished I had one for her to sign right now.
How could I be standing here next to an author like her expecting anyone to choose my book?
? I glanced around the room, recognizing the other authors too.
It was like a who’s who of epic fantasy writers and then me, a no-name romance writer.
My palms started to sweat. Ava was still talking, chatting about something I hadn’t really caught. I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry, can you say that again?”
“I was just saying it’s brave of you to write a story so original for this competition.” She read through the synopsis on a nearby poster. “It isn’t like any of ours, and especially nothing like readers will expect.”
“I’m doomed, aren’t I?” I laughed a little, feeling the weight of my decisions fully on my shoulders.
“It’s a good story though, I swear. The artwork might not look like it, but the classic epic fantasy tropes are there.
Big battles, tough decisions, all of it.
It just questions who’s the real villain of the series because it’s definitely not the Demon Lord.
He’s way too much of a softie for that, I mean, he loves pie and hates upsetting people he doesn’t even know.
” I glanced over at Thorne who had a small smile on his face that made me want to hide under a table.
I was rambling in front of one of my personal heroes!
I turned back to her, my face hot. “Sorry. This is the Demon Lord right here, if you wanted to meet him.”
Her smile froze like her mind was racing with what polite thing she could respond with and had nothing.
That’s probably the reaction I should expect from everyone, either that or straight up laughing at me.
But I had to get them to see Thorne for who he really was somehow.
Before I could, Ava got pulled away by some fans and the crowd started piling in.
My shoulders drooped. “Well, that could have gone better.”
“Maybe, but it could have gone worse too.” Thorne’s shadows curled around me as if they were giving me an out if I wanted to disappear. “Tell me what you need and I’ll do it.”
His gaze held mine, as if telling me that offer covered more than just convincing fans my story was the best. I had a feeling he’d run away if I asked or douse the entire room in shadows.
Whatever would make this experience better for me.
My heartbeat slowed and I leaned against his side for a moment, drinking that dark intensity of his in.