"Lady, I'm back!" Linnie shouted as he jumped onto the bed.
The cat was sent flying a few inches into the air, and woke up with a screech.
"Meow!"
"You didn't miss anything, don't worry."
The boy had really grown quite affectionate towards the animal. He would've never believed it if you told his past self.
But it was his very own familiar, how could he not?
"We just met Alwyn's other two apprentices. It's the Lady of this city and, get this—an actual prince of the kingdom, if you can believe it. And they're both terrible! But Alwyn wants me to be nice to them, so I guess I've gotta."
As he spoke, he slipped out of his boots and robes, now dressed only in his simple non-wizard clothes.
"Also, Alwyn seems like he's back to his usual self. I think he was stressed out traveling with all of us or something. Or maybe he's just pretending to be all jolly so he can make a good first impression on those two."
"Meow."
"Food? Sorry, I didn't bring you any. You haven't ate in a while, have you? Maybe I can find something in the kitchen."
"Meow!"
"Okay, okay, wait here, though. I don't want you causing trouble."
"Meow..."
"What? 'I'm the one that causes trouble'? Since when?."
You might be wondering how exactly Linnie is having a conversation with a cat. Sure, Lady could speak. Once. But now she could only meow, just like any other.
Even the boy himself hadn't realized the change—but he was slowly starting to understand the meaning behind her meows. He wasn't quite hearing words, but he could almost feel their intention.
It was subconscious, and the boy didn't even notice that what he was doing was out of the ordinary.
It's not like he'd ever tried talking with a cat before.
"Okay, I'll be back soon," he said, taking his hat off and tossing it onto the bed.
After navigating the manor for a couple of minutes, he came across a door that was slightly cracked open.
'The kitchen... I'm pretty sure I saw it over this way. Aha!'
He peered inside. It appeared empty, and so he pushed the door open fully and continued his search for food.
Linnie opened cabinets and drawers, looking for anything suitable for a cat. Eventually, he found where the fish was kept. Small sardines sat on ice.
The boy had never actually used ice before—it being only for rich nobles—but could recognize it from when Alwyn had casted an ice spell during his fight with the southern spies.
He grabbed a few sardines, hoping that no one would notice if a few went missing. Then, he heard footsteps behind him.
"Excuse me!? Who are you, and what are you doing in my kitchen!?"
An angry old man wearing a funny hat stood behind him, holding a wooden rolling pin in his hands. It was the chef.
"Oh, uh, my—" he laughed nervously.
The chef noticed the sardines in his hands, and his eyes went wide.
"A thief! A thief has snuck into my kitchen! How did you manage to sneak into the estate, mousy boy!? Put those back before I alert the guards!"
"I'm a guest, not a thief, dammit!"
"You dare lie to me, boy?"
"He's not lying..." a voice said from the kitchen's entrance.
They both looked at the source, and saw The Prince standing there. He, too, was now in more casual clothes. Though, they were still very expensive-looking.
"Oh, the young prince! What are you doing here? You say you know this boy?"
"That's right, he's a guest..."
"A guest? Mhm, I see. But that doesn't mean he can steal from the kitchen, does it?"
"No, it's okay. He can take whatever he wants," The Prince said, softly.
'He's sticking up for me?'
"Well, I'm sorry, young prince, but I'm not sure you have the authority to say who can or cannot take from my kitchen. You, yourself, are only a guest here, are you not?"
'He's speaking like that to a prince!? Is he crazy?"
The Prince shrunk a little, as if scared to talk back.
"What the hell are you doing? You're a prince and you're letting a crusty old chef talk to you like that? Pfft, I'd have him executed!" Linnie scoffed.
"No, I—"
"I think you better leave, now, young prince. This isn't any of your business, is it?" the chef said, tilting his head and smiling.
His voice was... extremely condescending.
"Yes, you're right..."
'A pushover! The Prince is a total pushover!'
"Tch, as if!" Linnie shouted. "DIE!"
Linnie swung his arm full force into the chef's stomach and bolted for the door, grabbing The Prince's arm and dragging him out of the kitchen.
They ran all the way back to Linnie's room, and were breathing heavy by the time they stopped.
The two of them caught their breath, and looked back up at each other. The Prince wasn't sure what to do, and just stood there awkwardly.
"Thanks for trying to help back there," Linnie said, giving a thumbs up. "I don't get why you let him speak to you like that. He's just a dumb old chef."
"Yeah, right... um, you're welcome, I guess—even though I couldn't do much of anything. I'll, uh, be going now. You didn't have to drag me all this way, you know. My room's on the other end of the manor."
"...Oh. Sorry?"
'Awkward! This guy is so awkward!'
"Well... see you later," The Prince said, walking off.
Linnie watched for a few moments, then entered his room, locking the door behind him. If the chef found out where he was, he sure as hell wasn't getting in.
"Lady! I got you fishies! Lady?"
The cat was nowhere to be seen.
Frowning, Linnie looked everywhere—the closet, under the pillows, under the blanket, under the bed, in the drawers, in the cabinets. He even checked to see if the window was open.
It wasn't.
'Where'd she go? Didn't I tell her to wait for me!? Don't tell me she went off to find her own food—what if that ugly old chef cooks her!?'
Then, he heard a very faint and muffled sound. It almost sounded like... meowing.
"Meow. Meow. Meow."
Sure enough, it was meowing. But from where? He thought he heard it get louder when he was closer to the bed, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen.
And then he realized where it was coming from.
'Inside my hat? She crawled inside my hat?'
He put his mouth up to the hole and said:
"Lady? Are you in there? I found you food, come out! What are you even doing in there?"
"Meow! Meow!"