Assistant to the Villain, #2
Apprentice to the Villain
by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Contents
Chapter 71
Overview
Gideon’s uneasy integration into The Villain’s household is interrupted by signs that something is wrong: Lyssa hides a mysterious key, and the manor’s protective barrier continues failing. The danger escalates abruptly when Marv arrives wounded and reveals the Valiant Guards have discovered the manor.
With Trystan absent and his power unavailable, the fortress’s residents face a potentially devastating attack, shifting the chapter from domestic tension to immediate crisis.
Summary
At the manor, Gideon adjusts uneasily to life among The Villain’s allies after abandoning the heroes. In the kitchens, Gideon shares pastries with Keeley, Lyssa, Edwin, and visiting pixies while Keeley casually treats severed body parts as normal, reminding Gideon how dangerous and strange his new companions are.
Lyssa grows impatient for Evie to return with their mother, while Gideon notices a stained-glass window depicting a book under sunlight. The image resembles Rennedawn’s Story, making Gideon curious, though Edwin only notes that Lyssa talks to the window as if it were alive.
When Lyssa bumps into Gideon and drops a plate of tiny cookies, a silver key falls from Lyssa’s apron pocket. Lyssa claims it belongs to their bedchamber, but her alarm and strange assurance that everything “will be” all right unsettle Gideon, suggesting Lyssa is hiding a plan.
Before Gideon can question Lyssa further, Marv bursts into the kitchens, exhausted and wounded. Keeley assumes the manor’s failing barrier is only partially compromised, but alarm bells suddenly ring through the room as Marv reveals the truth: the manor is completely exposed, and the Valiant Guards have found them.
Marv collapses with a bloody wound, proving the Guards have come violently. Gideon realizes that without The Villain and his power present, the exposed manor may not survive the attack, turning the threat from a battle into a likely massacre.
Who Appears
- GideonEvie’s brother; adjusts to the manor, notices Lyssa’s secretive key, and fears the coming attack.
- LyssaGideon and Evie’s younger sister; bakes for pixies and hides a mysterious silver key.
- MarvManor resident who arrives wounded and warns that the Valiant Guards have found them.
- KeeleyOgre leader who shares the kitchen scene and reacts to Marv’s warning about the barrier.
- EdwinPresent in the kitchen; helps watch Lyssa and comments on her habit of talking to the window.
- Valiant GuardsAttackers who have discovered the exposed manor and wounded Marv.