Willow King

Willow is a supporting character in A Performer's Life Beyond the Drapes. She eventually replaces Elena as the tritagonist after the latter's death.

Appearance
Willow is a relatively attractive young woman who is a little older than the other characters. She has a tall, slim height and pale skin. She has long black hair and hazel eyes with the sclera tattooed black. To hide her eyes, she usually wears round sunglasses.

Her style of dress is considered a mix of goth and grunge. She is usually dressed in dark monochromatic colors, only wearing dark shades of red or blue from time to time.

Personality
Initially, Willow is seen as a standoff-ish kind of person. She doesn't let anyone get close to her and pushes away anyone who tries. She also seems to hate people staring at her, seen when she snaps at Darius for doing so. Because of this, she is usually seen by herself.

However, this is actually a cover to avoid growing close to someone. In her past, she was being abused physically, mentally, and psychologically by her boyfriend Jackson. After enduring his abuse for a year, she finally gained the courage to leave after Jackson tattooed her sclera black (saying it'd be cool to "sleep with a demon", in his words) and raped her again.

Scared to trust other people, she uses this cover in order to keep from being hurt again.

It seems this abuse has caused her to develop a hatred for men, as she seems to snap at them more aggressively than with women. She also seems to have developed a liking for women as well, seen when she kisses Max in appreciation for the latter's help.

Similar to Max, she has a borderline obsessive love for gory horror movies, though her love could be a result of her abuse.

Jackson Danes
Willow is utterly terrified of Jackson. After a drunk hookup, the two decided to pursue a relationship, with Willow even moving in with him. However, not long after this, he began abusing her physically, mentally, and psychologically. He also forbade her from going out with friends or speaking to her family. He would even handcuff her to the bed at night to keep her from running away.

One night, he roofies her and has her sclera tattooed black on the terms of it being cool to "sleep with a demon". After waking the next morning and horrified by what he's done, he rapes her again before leaving to buy food and drinks for a gathering later that night, leaving her handcuffed to the bed. After managing to escape her restraints, she manages to locate her confiscated phone and call her mother to have her come pick her up.

After some time, she changes her last name and attends CMU in order to get her degree. However, Jackson eventually finds her and follows her to her dorm, where he manages to knock her out. She later awakens tied in a vulnerable position in her closet and Jackson standing over her. Before the latter can rape her, she is able to grab Max's attention, who manages to sneak into the room and incapacitate Jackson.

Darius Anderson
The two do not get along well at all. Due to her hatred of men, she snaps at him constantly, sometimes even threatening to strike him, while he tries his best to avoid her.

Once he becomes obsessed with Max, Willow immediately takes Greta's side when the latter informs her of her concerns. Once these fears are proven, her disgust toward him becomes more genuine.

She's also shown to become somewhat frightened when he threatens her, as it reminds her of Jackson. He even insults her by calling her "demon".

Elizabeth Durkins
The two have a rocky start in the first part of the book, with Willow refusing to socialize with Elizabeth. Despite this, Elizabeth takes an instant liking to her due to Willow being able to understand and communicate via sign language.

While Willow is held captive by Jackson in their dorm, Elizabeth unknowingly walks in on the scene. Knowing that she could contact the police, Jackson abducts her as well. As he is pulling her into the room, Elizabeth throws her room key in order for someone to be able to get inside to help.

Afterward, the two become good friends.

Mackenzie Fanheart
Due to Willow's standoff-ish nature, Max tends to avoid her in the beginning. However, after she manages to incapacitate Jackson, Willow begins to warm up to Max more. It's also shown that she feels some attraction toward Max, as she kisses Max in appreciation for saving her. However, Max states that she doesn't like Willow in that way; embarrassed at first, Willow agrees to be just friends.

The two eventually become close friends over their shared love for gory horror films.

Greta Watkins
Due to Willow's standoff-ish nature, Greta tends to avoid her in the beginning. Willow shows somewhat of a dislike toward Greta for her girly nature, often calling her "Pinky".

After Willow becomes friends with them, Greta informs her of her concerns with Darius' growing obsession toward Max. Due to Willow's hatred toward men, she immediately agrees with Greta's claims.

Elena Anderson
At first, the two do not get along well at all. Elena loses her patience easily with Willow and dislikes her treatment of Darius. Because of this, she (like others) tend to avoid Willow. However, after finding out about her abused past, she starts to warm up to Willow more, with the two eventually becoming close friends.

Performances

 * Into the Woods - The Witch
 * Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella - Female Citizen

Trivia

 * The name "Willow" is from the name of the tree, which is ultimately derived from Old English welig. The surname "King" is from Old English cyning, originally a nickname for someone who either acted in a kingly manner or who worked for or was otherwise associated to a king.
 * The surname "Faulkner" was an occupational name for a keeper of falcons, from Middle English and Scots faulcon, from Late Latin falco, of Germanic origin.
 * Willow's real last name "Faulkner" comes from the character Adam from the Saw franchise (the producers say his last name is Faulkner while an FBI file in the fifth movie gives his last name as Stanheight).
 * Willow is a heavy smoker, as she is usually seen smoking throughout the novel.
 * The idea for Willow to use sunglasses to hide her eyes comes from the character Mao from the anime Code Geass.