Assistant to the Villain

Trystan is Evie’s love interest and the secondary protagonist; key scenes from the novel area also told from his point of view. As the notorious Villain who terrorizes the land, Trystan makes an effort to look the part by wearing all black and keeping his facial expressions to a minimum. His dark eyes, square jaw, and intense gaze make Evie compare him to “a death god come to claim her soul” (99), which she doesn’t mind because his confident capability in his villainy makes him extremely attractive. Trystan’s conflicted nature embodies the novel’s exploration of The True Definition of Evil. Years before the events of the book, the king imprisoned Trystan because his magic was deemed dangerous and a roadblock to the king’s plans. Upon escaping, Trystan vowed to fulfill the role of villain because he saw no point in trying to be anything else, and this identifies his major character flaw, for he relies too heavily upon the opinions of others to define his own identity. Trystan repeatedly claims not to care what people think of him or his villainous persona, but his actions say differently. He has built an entire life on how others view him and continues to do so by playing into the king’s games. Trystan’s capture at the end of the book symbolizes the fact that in stereotypical stories, villains typically lose in the end. This occurrence also subverts the fairy-tale ending by giving Evie the motivation to take his place and rescue him. Furthermore, Trystan’s actions throughout the novel have endeared him to Evie and the other members of his staff. As a result, this so-called villain actually has people who care enough to rescue him, raising the possibility that the villain of the piece resembles a hero more than he would care to admit.

Becky is the chief administrative assistant in Trystan’s office and a stickler for rules, especially the ones that she creates herself. Though she wears conservative clothing and pulls her hair into severe styles, she is still pretty, and Evie notes that “if her personality reflected even an ounce of her physical beauty, Becky might be the best person Evie knew” (21). This line is meant as a jest, for Becky is uptight and rude to most of the other employees, and she harbors a particular dislike for Evie. Becky is a stand-in for “that” person in the office—the one whom no one likes and who alienates everyone by writing them up for the most minor infractions. Her character imbues the overtly fairy-tale narrative with an implicit social commentary about modern-day office politics. For most of the book, Becky and Evie are at odds, symbolizing the professional rivalries that may be found in most work settings. With Trystan’s capture, the women realize that they have more in common than they thought, and by the end of the book, they develop a tentative friendship and truce. Trystan’s capture has potential negative consequences for both of them, and they realize the need to work together to get him back and keep the office running smoothly in his absence.

Blade is Trystan’s dragon trainer and a stand-in for the bumbling but loveable employee who can’t help but endear everyone to him. Blade is as muscular and attractive as Trystan, and “his amber eyes were warm, much like the rest of his personality” (43). In this way, he acts as a foil for the Villain, because despite Blade’s good looks, Evie does not feel attracted to him, implying that the Villain’s more ineffable qualities are what draw her in. In a typical fairy tale, Blade could be the handsome boy who gets the girl because he is kind and beautiful. In Assistant to the Villain, however, he is just a good friend to the female lead, and while he has feelings for Becky, he is scorned at every turn because Becky is too uptight to believe in an office romance and because Blade often smells of the dragon he works with. The lack of romance between Blade and Becky contrasts with the budding romance between Evie and Trystan, adding an implicit undertone of wry humor to the narrative. Although Trystan is a villain with the baggage that being a villain entails, Evie still prefers him to Blade, villainous baggage and all.

Tatianna is the office healer, and she has a voice “like clear water, crisp and smooth” (29), which matches her soothing personality and magic. Tatianna represents The Damaging Power of Expectations. Since shortly after her magic manifested, she has always worn some form of pink as her way of regaining control of what people notice and expect from her. When it first became clear that Tatianna would develop healing powers, the people around her largely stopped seeing her as a person and instead only focused on what her magic could do for them. The expectation that she would heal anyone who requested it left her feeling like an object, a dynamic that she refused to condone. By wearing pink, a bright color, she forces people to see that part of her first. People’s reactions also allow her to assess how they will treat her, which gives her an edge in deciding how to respond. Tatianna is one of the few good reminders of Trystan’s past, and her presence represents Trystan’s backstory and implies that he could have had a future other than becoming a villain if circumstances had been different.