Reborn as the Villainess of the Mary Sue Novel I wrote when I was 16

Chapter 4: Gerald

We ditch Dyamance the first chance we get. In the middle of the night while Dyamance and Roanoke are sleeping I shake Valarie awake. She's happy to leave the camping site, and the lack of warm meals and ceilings.

"That didn't go very well," Valarie said once we'd put some distance between us and the savior of the world.

"No, but we'll get her next time. We've already got an inside agent."

I have to figure out some other way to at least slow Dyamance down. I try to remember if there were any lines in the book about the tomes being indestructible. At this point I'd feel better just burning them.

We trudge along a dusty road winding through the countryside. Every now and then we pass a farmer giving us a sideways look. We just wave and continue on our way.

After a long time walking our breathing becomes ragged. "Your Majesty, can we take a rest somewhere?" Valarie asks.

I had hoped that we'd have found an imperial outpost by now, but I guess we're too far out in the sticks.

"Sure, just let me think for a second." I scan the treeline and see a small indent. A small path winds through the woods up to a stately manor set far back from the road. "Let's try up there."

Valarie waits a step behind me while I knock on the door. She keeps staring down at her feet and glancing up at the higher windows.

"Are you nervous?" I ask her.

"A little. I went to school with the guy who lives here."

"What-?" I begin, but before I can finish I'm cut off by the door opening. A broad shouldered boy of around 17 is staring back at us. His eyes are light and easy, as though he could talk with anyone.

"Gary?" I say before I can stop myself.

"No, it's Gerald. May I help you two?"

His voice stirs up an old memory. I'm standing underneath the away team's bleachers watching uniforms move up and down the field. Even from my hiding spot I can make out the shock of blond hair trailing out from underneath the number seventeen helmet. Gary Morton was probably the most desirable guy at school for the two years he'd been captain of the football team.

Valarie saw that I wasn't going to answer and stepped in. "We've been out in the woods for a while, would it be okay if we rested here?"

"Of course, come into the parlor and I'll get you some water."

We were led into an expensive looking living room. The windows let in generous amounts of sunlight, but there are still candles on some of the walls and tables. It wasn't as nice as the imperial palace, but it also wasn't dark.

We all sit down around a little table with our drinks. "So where were you camping?"

"We were with a few friends but we ended up separated," I say.

Valarie winks at me from across the room. "How'd you know we were camping?" she asks.

"You have a few leaves in your hair," he says to me with a charming laugh. "I used to camp all the time, but Imperial patrols have made it somewhat difficult." He seems to realize how that sounds. "Not that I have anything against the empire of course."

I smile at him. "Don't worry. We're not involved with the empire."

Valarie nods. "They're a bunch of morons."

There's a knock on the front door and Gerald excuses himself to go answer it.

"You think he doesn't like the empire?" Valarie asks.

I sigh. "I don't think anyone in the world likes the empire."

Valarie smiles back at me. "I like the empire."

Before she could elaborate Gerald came back into the room. "Sorry about the interruption, but two more campers showed up."

Dyamance and Roanoke stare at us from across the room. Valarie's mouth was wide open and she wasn't offering any explanations. It fell on me to be the adult and come up with the excuse.

"Good to see you again," I say with a smile. "It turns out camping wasn't really for us so we decided to head out our own way."

"You could have told us that," Dyamance says. "I can't risk my secret getting out before we're ready to face the Empress."

"What secret?" Gerald asks. He moves to stand closer to Dyamance, but Roanoke has positioned himself between the two of them. The two men stare each other down while Dyamance glances between them. She's barely hiding her joy.

I gesture for Valarie to follow me. My plan is to leave while they're distracted and figure out another plan. We make it all the way to the front door and are ready to book it once we get outside. When we open the door there are four bucket helmets staring back at us.

All four imperial soldiers drop to their knees at the sight of me. "Your majesty, a scout spotted you in the area and we came to retrieve you."

I stare down at them, then turn to look at Dyamance, Gerald, and Roanoke. All three of them stare back at me, mouths agape.

"Roanoke, grab her," I command.

His gloomy face goes blank and he puts Dyamance in a headlock. Gerald began trying to pull them apart. With one hand I knock a candle off the table and onto the rug, with the other I grab Valarie and pull her after me into the front yard.

"Your majesty, what's wrong?" one of the soldiers asks me.

"Get the carriage!" I yell.

Through the window we watch the three heroes struggling in the parlor. Gerald breaks off and runs to the side of the room. He comes back holding a hand mirror which he raises above his head. The mirror arcs down toward Roanoke, but just before it would have shattered on his head it begins to glow. Roanoke's body stretches into the mirror, and at the end of Gerald's swing he's gone. Gerald looks proud of himself for an instant before he realizes the front hall is on fire.

The carriage was rolling along the driveway, but it wasn't the best option for a speedy escape. A door slams behind the house, so Gerald and Dyamance must have gone out the back. They round the corner of the house at a breakneck sprint. Gerald is waving the hand mirror, which no longer shows reflections; instead there's a tiny Roanoke looking out from within.

"Put Roanoke's brain back to normal!" Dyamance yells at us.

The carriage is nearly here, but we need time to get away. The fire is in every first floor window and seems to be making its way toward the second.

"Valarie, distract them," I command.

Valarie gives me a wild look and I nod at her. If I melt everyone's brains then Dyamance might kill me in a rage, so I want to hold off until I'm sure I'll win. Valarie is a good way to test the water.

Valarie steps between Dyamance and I. She raises her hands and smoky orbs form around her palms. She launches into a routine of kicks, jumps, and flips while all of us look on.

Dyamance and Gerald get a look on their face like they've eaten something rotten. It's the same look Roanoke wears all the time. The heroes sink to the ground like deflating balloons. Before long Gerald's burning house disappears in the trees. I can hear it collapse once we make it back to the main road.