Famous Author (3)

Edited by: Kuro and Lille

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The next day, Lucy arrived at Calvin's apartment. She knocked on the door and waited for a moment. She was a little confused. Did Calvin not want her anymore and that's why he's not letting her in for their planned lunch meeting? She was a little anxious as she picked at her fingers, a habit she could not get rid of. Should she ring the doorbell this time around? What would happen if she annoyed Calvin and then he wouldn't want to let her in?

A muffled "come in" came from inside the house and a click at the door resounded for her to hear. She was so startled by the click but realized that Calvin's door was voice-activated when he was inside.

She knew Calvin did live in a fancy apartment but it would probably still startle her every time.

Lucy quickly opened the door before the timer clicked the door locked. When she walked inside, she saw that Calvin was sitting in front of his computer in the living room. He was furiously typing away and didn't notice she had entered.

System 225 was the one who notified Calvin of her arrival. If he hadn't heard System 225, Lucy would have been standing out there until he was finished writing.

"Take a seat, I am going to finish this thought and then we can talk," Calvin said as he continued to look at the screen. It was rude manners but if he looked away and stopped typing, he would lose his inspiration.

"That's fine, take your time." Lucy didn't take any offense to it as she was used to authors getting into their muses and not being able to get out of it.

She looked over at Calvin typing and found that his desk was surrounded by books, but he was still able to have his legs in weird, but oddly comfortable positions. His left leg laid next to his customized PC, and his right leg was folded over the armrest of his chair. He leaned back in his seat and had his keyboard on top of his stomach. He also had his blue light glasses on so his eyes didn't get hurt from staring at the screen for too long.

He wrapped himself in a blanket and even had a pillow for his back, but it seemed a little useless with the position he was in.

Lucy was a bit amused to see the sophisticated man from yesterday looking like a typical author who had gotten inspiration. She knew not all authors sat in weird positions, but the ones she had been with thus far had their own way of sitting when writing. It was like that position was the best for their imagination and allowed the words to flow easily onto the screen.

An hour later, Calvin finally felt his creativity juice run out and he needed a break. He carefully got himself out of that position and stretched his limbs which were stiff from lack of movement. He looked over at Lucy who was sitting comfortably on the living room sofas with her eyes focused on her laptop screen.

"I apologize for having you wait, Lucy. Let me make us a late lunch." Calvin yawned as he made his way to the kitchen. He promised that they would eat as they discussed his newest novel.

Lucy's body straightened in her seat as though someone had caught her slouching. "That's fine, sir, I ate a late breakfast."

"No need for the formalities, just call me Calvin." He rummaged through his fridge and took out the ingredients for today's lunch.

He made something quick and easy and had it together with Lucy at the dining table. He moved all the books out of the way and grabbed a random chair he could sit on because he only had one chair at the table.

Lucy ate his cooking with relish. She seemed to be in her own world with every bite she took. "Your cooking is delicious!" She was eating a noodle dish that had thick noodles, different assortments of seafood, and a nice, clear but flavorful broth.

"I'm glad." Calvin took a sip of the soup and felt his stomach warm up. It was perfect for a nice, cold day.

After their meal, Calvin and Lucy were sitting in the living room with their laptops. Calvin had a PC and a laptop. The PC was for when he wasn't lazy, the laptop was for when he was lazy. It was perfect!

"Do you have any questions for me, Lucy?" Calvin asked to get their meeting started. They were so focused on the food, they forgot to talk, so Calvin decided to have all the questions and answers after their meal.

Lucy, pulled up a document on her laptop so that she could write down the answers. She seemed very professional and used to her job.

"I would like to ask you about your current project and your progress. If possible, I would like to see a sample and have it sent to the company so that they could review it."

"I can send you a sample of what I have right now. Also, let me tell you about the story I am working on, where I will be going with it, and how much I have done."

The novel series Calvin was writing was a part of his futuristic, 'world-traveling to find resources' type story. The story, I'd Do Anything for You, was written from Captain Ralph's point of view but he was considered a Villain to the people of the novel. Yes, the protagonist was a Villain but he had a purpose, a goal and he would not rest until his final breath.

The traveling doctor who had saved his life, Sterias, was Ralph's life-long companion. The two traveled the world together, for good and evil. They were inseparable as they fought together to save the world from the world's "hero" or the antagonist, Fernas, a young man from the ship. Fernas, who was saved by the Crown Prince of the Yorik Empire, tricked the people around him, making them want to protect him, but he had other plans.

The series would be four books long and at the end would be the plot twist. Luckily, he already had everything planned out. All he needed to do was fill in the details.

"This sounds like a different type of story from your previous series, Zeonia. It hasn't been popular for authors to write about 'villains' as their protagonists, so I wonder how this story will go."

"I have the first couple of chapters written out already. I will send it to you right… Now."

He didn't think it was strange but he was comfortable writing from the point of view of the "villains" because he was a "villain" for hundreds of thousands of years. He felt he would be able to write better stories through his experiences.

Every story that is written, particularly in the fantasy genre, is not separated from the author regardless of how hard they try. Even the most popular authors slowly creep their beliefs and values into their characters, even if it is subtle. Well, as the Host, he knew to keep it to the bare minimum.

Calvin sent Lucy a bit of his story and then went to work on it.

She excitedly read the new part.

*****

The shuttle shook violently through the wormhole. The metal slowly came off of the sides, trying to strip the shuttle of its layers. A red light flashed inside, alarming its passengers of the danger.

The passengers knew of the impending danger but did not know what to do as they awaited their fate. 

"Prepare for an emergency landing." The robotic voice repeated over and over again.

The longer the red lights flashed, the worse the panic was. There was only one man who didn't move or rustle around. He sat in his seat, eyes staring out the window, looking at the scenery. If one didn't know what was going on, they would think he was just gazing leisurely outside. It looked as if he was admiring the stars that glimmered as they passed by. He looked too calm to be in a place full of chaos.

"Captain Ralph, what should we do?!" A young man ran to the man relaxing on the chair. He was the only one who had the guts to come up to the Captain, even demanding an answer.

"Fernas, there's nothing we can do so why waste energy?" Captain Ralph already had all his stuff with him in a bag. It was secured to his side, so he had no worries. He couldn't prevent the ship from crashing, so why worry?

"Why didn't you say something earlier!?" Fernas complained loudly as he quickly went to go get his stuff. Many people followed, leaving Captain Ralph behind.

"This is only just the beginning. Wasting energy now will only bring you death."

Captain Ralph was right. When they crashed, it was only he and 2 others who survived the crash. The other 9 people died.

.

.

.

Captain Ralph woke up and found himself bandaged in a home. It was a far cry from the 'falling apart' homes he was used to. The houses that were around in his time were once buildings in the postmodern world. They turned to ruins after World War 3, leaving survivors with harsh conditions and very little food or water.

Now he was in a home filled with green plants and wooden walls. An odor from the medicinal plants filled the air, it was a bitter smell but he oddly felt at peace.

"Ah, you are awake."

He heard the sound of the door opening and footsteps coming towards him. He couldn't lift his body too much, so when he saw the man in front of him, he felt his breath almost taken away.

The man was beautiful. Long dark blue hair, and sky blue eyes. He had a gentle appearance, kind and warm. His lips looked soft and pink. He was a little short, but his body seemed strong. All in all, this man was the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his life.

It was different from Captain Ralph who had simple and short black hair. He had a sharp jawline. His eyes, that narrowed beautifully with his smirk, were a shade of brown that complimented well with his hair, looking almost black. He was very masculine in physique, with strong muscles and broad shoulders. He was tall, with long legs. One would feel protected in his arms. He was a captain, he had to be strong. 

"How are you feeling?" The man's voice was like soothing lullabies, making him want to sleep a little longer. "Oh yes, my name is Sterias and I am the owner of this humble apothecary." His apothecary was also used as a doctor's office.

"Ah, my name is Ralph, nice to meet you. Also, I am feeling okay." He didn't know if the man would be able to understand him, but he actually did.

"Nice to meet you too. I found you at the edge of the forest, being dragged by a lone wolf to his den. It was startling to see how horrible your wounds were so I am glad you are doing okay.."

Captain Ralph was forever grateful to this beautiful man for saving his life. He tried to get up so he could talk to the man face to face, but he was lightly pushed down, and blankets were put on top of him.

"Sleep, I will be here when you wake up..."

Captain Ralph, who tried to keep his consciousness, found himself falling asleep to the man's relaxing humming.

*****

It was just a snippet of Calvin's story but Lucy could already tell it was going to be interesting. She wanted to know more about the Captain and wanted to know where he landed. She wanted to know what happened to the two others that crashed with him. How did they get separated? Where did they go?

"I already want to know more about the world around Captain Ralph and the man who saved him. Oh, also, is there romance in this?" Lucy had already read Calvin's first series which didn't have any romance and it was a pure adventure and fantasy novel.

A lot of the fans loved the story but they also wished there was romance in Zeonia! How did the main character, Ethan, not like anyone in the book? A lot of the supporting characters fell in love by the end of the book but Ethan and a couple of others ended up not marrying or anything. It was really sad, but this gave way for the shippers to create their favorite pairings.

"There will be romance," Calvin automatically confirmed, "You mustn't tell anyone about that though. Captain Ralph will fall in love with his savior, Sterias."

"Eh? Isn't Sterias a man?" Lucy was a little surprised as gay marriage still hadn't been legalized in their country.

System 225 who was listening in on the two of them was also shocked. [Host, do you think it is wise to portray homosexuality within a heteronormative society?]

"Isn't it fine that he is a man?" Calvin answered them both. "Society needs to push for gay rights and marriage anyway. Plus, I won't let anyone tell me to change this story. Captain Ralph fell in love with Sterias, and that's how I will write it."

"I think it is fine to add some color to this white canvas. This country needs to keep up because times are changing and I will make sure that they do."

Lucy didn't say anything and she didn't mind, but she thought that Calvin was quite brave.

She wished she had the courage to fight for what she wanted and believed in.