The Apathetic Mage Loves Cats

Chapter 2: Cat

I crunched down on my apple and moved with the crowd to the sides of the street. Everyone was in awe at the situation since it was pretty rare for people to be traveling from outside the kingdom towards the castle unless it was something important. And judging by gossiping and large crowds of people, the person inside must be important. Were they the leader of another kingdom?

The carriage, led by four horses, was rapidly approaching as if they didn't wish to spend another second in this run-down town. As I watched the carriage speed towards me, I heard gasps and whispers once more from all around me. I turned just in time to see a white cat with bright red eyes standing in the middle of the street, not even caring about the commotion happening in front of it. And, for some reason, this cat seemed to be staring directly at me, its blood-red eyes urging me to do something, a hint of mischief twinkling them. Everyone around me was whispering as if this were some cliché movie and they were waiting for the hero to swoop in and save the day. Typically, I wouldn't have cared about what happened to the cat, but for some reason, it's stare was bothering me. So, in a trance, my body discarded the food in its hands, and found its way into the middle of the road, scooping down to pick up this cat.

Unfortunately, my seven-year-old body could not get out of there quickly enough, and a large shout sounded out behind me. At the time, I had no idea that my actions would be something worthy of death. Apparently, if you were to block the path of a royal carriage such as this one, it would be seen as an assassination attempt. What they thought a seven-year-old boy who weighed way less than the average of any child around and wearing the clothes of a peasant would do, I don't know. But the four guards viewed me as a threat, and in an instance were down off their horses and had their swords pointed to my throats. The horses neighed in discomfort, and a loud hush fell upon the crowd as the swords reflected the sunlight.

"State your reason for blocking Archmage Romand's path!" the guard directly in front of me shouted, his sword pointed at my Adam's apple. My mind was blank, not really nervous in this situation nor worried about how I would get out of it. Despite this being the most action I had gotten since coming to this world, I did not feel anything for the situation. If I was going to die here, then I would die.

"There... was a cat," I spoke, my voice husky from no use and slow as I tried to remember what it was like to speak. I saw the look on the knights' face, one that was filled with confusion then filled with anger as snickers trickled all around me. Why people were laughing, I did not know. I was just simply telling the truth. Furthermore, clearly, this knight saw me picking up this cat in the road, why did he ask what I was doing?

"On your knees!" he barked, the sword moving so that it actually touched my throat.

"Why?" I frowned, tilting my head slightly backward to avoid the blade. Once more, this man had a furious and incredulous look on his face, as if I, a seven-year-old, was not only the stupidest creature on the planet but also one who had done this knight wrong.

"I said on your knees! For threatening the Archmage and for conspiring with treason!" I furrowed my brows and looked down at the cat, its eyes looked back at me, seemingly filled with humor... but what did I know? It was just a cat.

"It's a cat, we can't talk about treason," I told the knight in a monotone voice. This seemed to tip him over the edge, as his eyes blazed with a fire that I had not seen before. He gritted his teeth, and his knuckles turned a bright white around the hilt of the sword. However, before he could make another move, the doors to the carriage swung open and a black boot found its way onto the first step of the carriage.

"What is this issue?" A surly and deep voice called out. I froze out the sound. This voice held power, its tone very commanding and sent shivers up and down your spine. It did not wait, it continued forward, getting what it wanted and when. It was unlike anything I had heard of since being here.

The man that stepped out of the carriage was in an all-white attire; white pants, a white long-sleeve turtleneck shirt, and white boots. The only accent color was a black belt around his waist and a black-belt choker over the top of his throat. He also wore a floor-length black cloak that shimmered and was lined with purple, fastened at the neck with two golden buttons. Once stepping out of the carriage, he took his hood off, revealing platinum blond hair accompanied by bright green cat eyes and fluffy blond cat ears, startling against his pale white skin.

The past two years of hiding away and stealing granted me access to a lot of information. One of these useful pieces of information was that high-ranking mages and magicians typically had features that separated them from humans. Whether that be animal characteristics such as cat ears, antlers, or rabbits' feet; to having completely different skin tones, having another body part, and more. This person, the archmage, seemed to be similar to a cat person, with blonde cat ears and green slit eyes. Most of the high-ranking mages could cover them up, as a way to blend in with the people around them. However, they mostly kept them out so people would remember who they were and to show their status.

Either way, this person chose to have their characteristics showing as they stepped out of the carriage and approached the scene. "Why are we being stopped by a mere child–" the archmage paused beside the knight and looked down at the cat in my arms with almost a shocked impression.

"We are sorry, your highness. This person stopped in front of the road. We will remove him right away and start our journey–"

"Did you pick up this cat?" The man asked, finally taking his eyes off the cat to look at me. He didn't seem to register me as a person at all just glancing over my figure and watching me handle the cat in my arms. I shifted my weight to my left leg and moved that cat so that it was dangling from my left hip.

"Well, it wasn't your knights," I murmured, shaking the cat, and watching its white paws dangle in the air. For such a small creature, it was quite heavy in my seven-year-old arms. The archmage seemed shocked at my answer, finally looking at me instead of the cat. The knight, however, was furious at my answer.

"Watch how you speak in the archmage's presence!" He screeched, his right hand coming up to smack me. However, the archmage rose his own hand and the man froze, right before hitting me, my own body unmoving despite the oncoming assault.

"Let's not be hasty. Come, child. I desire a word with you." The archmage spoke, turning around and walking towards the carriage before I even spoke. The knight seemed furious, and I, for one, did not have a wish to infuriate him more.

"No thank you. You want the cat, right? Take it." I spoke up, dragging the cat from my hip to in front of me. The cat didn't seem to like this answer and mewed in protest, its stomach shaking in a low growl. The archmage also didn't seem to like this answer, as he spun around quickly on his heel, a look of shock in his eyes.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, an underlying tone of fury in his voice. "It wasn't an option." I sighed and looked at the people around me, wondering when I would be able to get out of this situation. I had only wanted to live my life out here on these streets, waiting for the end to come. I didn't want to go with this troublesome man who would probably make my life harder.

"It sounds troublesome. I only saved the cat because you obviously weren't going to. If you want the cat, take it. I'll stay here–" before I knew it, the archmage was in front of me, his green eyes glowing brightly and his right hand coming up to poke me harshly in the forehead. The cat, as if sensing this man was going to harm me, scratched at the man's arm furiously. However, the man didn't waver as his finger touched my forehead and moved away, the cat coming along with him. The noise faded from all around me, the only thing I heard before the darkness surrounded me were the words:

"Bring him to the carriage."