Assistant to the Villain, #3
Accomplice to the Villain
by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Contents
Chapter 55
Overview
Back at the manor, Becky confides in Nura about her family and wrestles with a memory plant imbued with Nura’s starlight. A torn petal releases volatile magic that shatters a window. Becky impulsively kisses Blade and admits she loves him. Another flare of starlight strikes Blade, knocking him unconscious and hinting Rennedawn’s magic is destabilizing.
Summary
Becky sits outside the dungeon doors, struggling with a memory flower carrying Nura Sage’s starlight and with her feelings about her brother Roland’s loyalty to their mother. Nura joins her, offering gentle support as Becky admits the hurt of Roland continuing a life that harmed her. Becky’s plant empathy prevents her from destroying the flower despite her anger.
Blade arrives exhausted from tending the ailing guvre. When Blade tugs the flower, a petal tears free, the manor trembles, and a beam of starlight blasts down the hall, shattering a window. Blade shields Becky, and the near-disaster pushes Becky to act on her feelings.
Becky kisses Blade and blurts, “I think I love you,” then bolts in embarrassment before he can answer. She reflects that the starlight failed to return to Nura, suspecting Rennedawn’s waning magic. The magic’s volatility turns the memory plant into a hazard rather than a keepsake.
When Blade calls after Becky, she drops the plant again and another petal falls. A second surge of starlight explodes and strikes Blade in the head. Becky checks his pulse—slow and erratic—and begs him to wake. Blade briefly opens his eyes, smiles, echoes her confession, whispers “Okay, bye,” and slips back into unconsciousness, leaving Becky terrified as the kingdom’s magic appears increasingly unstable.
Who Appears
- Rebecka (Becky) ErringWrestles with family betrayal, protects a memory plant, impulsively kisses Blade and confesses love, then panics when magic injures him.
- Blade (Mr. Gushiken)Exhausted caretaker of the guvre; protects Becky from a starlight blast, hears her confession, is struck by magic, and collapses after reciprocating.
- Nura SageOffers sympathetic counsel; her starlight imbues the memory plant whose unstable magic erupts and escalates the crisis.