Apprenticeship

“Your Highness?”

A familiar, soft voice calls out, accompanied by gentle knocking on Vallie’s door. He whips his head up from the meal he was lazily eating at his desk in the room. I, myself, look from where I was lazing about towards the sound as well. When the door creaks open, Yancy’s face becomes visible just beyond.

“You requested to see me?”

“Ah, yes! Yancy, come in.” He exclaims, using a napkin to tidy his face before getting up. He motions towards the chair. “Take a seat, let’s talk.”

Yancy skitters in, timidly taking the seat offered. She spares a glance in my direction, as if seeking comfort. If I were human, I’d laugh. Instead, I swish my tail and meow at her. A small smile takes over her face before she turns back to face Val, who is leaning against the wall next to the window.

“I am glad Princess is back where she belongs.” She says, tone even. It’s the most confident I’ve heard her all day.

“As am I.” Val says, staring not at her but at me. His expression is tired, bags visible under his eyes, but a genuine smile pushes up at his eyes and lips. “I was… not exactly calm when I heard she’d disappeared. I was told you’re the one who brought it to attention?”

Yancy straightens. “Y-yes. I’d seen Layla take her, and she was rather rough with the carrier. It didn’t sit right with me, so I asked Ms. Heather about it.”

“Thank you.” He smiles. “Without your sharp eye, Princess probably would still be lost.”

“I-I don’t know about that…” Yancy hesitated, shifting in her seat. “You had the help of the Duke’s son, after all… I’m sure she’d have been found…”

Val chuckled. “Regardless, you’re still the one to have brought her back to me. Thank you, Yancy.”

A faint blush dusts across Yancy’s face, unable to keep eye contact with Val. “I… am more than willing to help. Not only is she your cat, but…” She turns her head to look at me, a knowing smile crossing her face. “She’s one of the sweetest cats I’ve met. I wouldn’t want something happening to her, either.”

I tilt my head to the side. I’m not sure what she’s implying, is it just because she knows my secret now? I mean, I’m glad someone knows, but still…

Val’s laugh draws her attention back to the man.

“That’s right.” He says. “You said something before… about studying magic and animals? Was it like that?”

“Oh!” Her eyes widened, clearly surprised he even remembered. “Something like that. I was… studying ways to communicate with animals using magic. Well, started to, anyways…”

“Would you like to continue studying?”

Her mouth falls open a bit. Yancy sucks in some air, her hands gripping the skirt of her uniform.

“Y-Your Highness? What do you mean?”

“You’d said before you lost your scholarship and couldn’t continue to study, correct?” His smile softens, as does his voice. “Would you like to continue your studies? Consider it your reward for returning Princess to me. I’ll ensure your tuition is fully covered.”

“I…” She began fidgeting with her skirt, ducking her head to avoid looking anywhere. “I… appreciate it… but I don’t know if I’m cut out… for st-studying… I completely failed. I don’t want to waste your kindness.”

“Do you not want to become a mage?”

Her shoulders stiffen, shaking slightly. Yancy opens her mouth to reply, but no words come out, but a tear drops onto the inside of her glasses. Val can’t see it, but I do. I… I can’t let her talk herself out of it! Stretching as I move to stand, I trot over to where she sits, butting my head against her leg. Whatever spiral was going on inside of Yancy’s head, the sudden contact made her snap out of it. She looks down at me with wide eyes as I mew back up at her. She blinks a few times, the tears vanishing before they get the chance to fall. The trembling of her hands stops, and she reaches for her glasses to dry using the soft apron tied around her waist.

She takes a breath before she looks back at Val. He gives her a minute, a sympathetic smile on his face, before he takes a few steps to approach Yancy. Val crouches, meeting her at her level, hand instinctively falling to my head as I continue my kitty act of going between Yancy’s legs.

“...I’m not hearing a no, is that right?”

“I… I’m just… not sure, anymore. What I want.” She says quietly. Slowly, she lifts her head properly to meet his eyes.

“Then… what would you think of an apprenticeship instead of a scholarship?”

“I… What?”

A laugh escapes Val as he moves from crouching to sitting on the floor in front of Yancy, motioning for me to come to him. Of course, I do, deciding to loaf on his lap for the time being.

“You know we have a royal mage in the palace, don’t you?” The words come out teasingly. “Lucas has many, many years of experience. He would be more than qualified to teach you things here and there. He can get rather busy, so you might not start right away, and might not have a lot to do. But, if you still want to become a mage, it’s not a bad alternative. Don’t have to worry about taking classes unrelated to the magic you want to learn. Not every mage needs a degree as long as they have the right connections, you know.”

Silence fills the air as Val looks to Yancy, waiting for a response. It takes her second, blinking owlishly down at Val, before she leans forward.

“A-Are you serious!?” She nearly screams. Her hands slap over her mouth, embarrassed her words came out as loud as they did.

“Of course I am!” Val chuckles. “I’m not sure what part of your studies you ‘failed’ at, but if you have any talent or potential as a mage, Lucas will be able to tell right away. He’s blunt, but he’s not heartless. Even if he doesn’t take you on, he’d probably be willing to help find other resources to help you with your journey. What do you say? It’s worth giving a shot at least, is it not?”

She stared at Val, jaw falling open. I meow up at her, causing her gaze to jerk down at me. Blinking lazily, I tilt my head to the side. I hope she gets what I’m saying; if it’s something you want, why not try it?

“...Ok.” She says, voice gaining determination as she looks to meet Val’s eyes. “Alright. I’ll give it a shot.”

“Then, I’ll contact Lucas and set a meeting for you.” He smirks. “In the meantime, I’m down a caretaker for Princess. While you wait to hear back and begin, would you be interested in helping look after her?”

“Oh, of course!” Her eyes glimmer as she puts her glasses back on, flashing Val the sweetest smile. “It would be my honor.”

That settles that, I think as the two wrap up their conversation. Val gives her further instructions on what to do while they wait to hear back from the royal mage. Yancy bows before taking her leave, a bit more pep in her step than before. Val watches her leave before closing the door, his phone text notification going off. When he pulls it out, a smile etches across his face as he texts back and flops onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. I leap up onto the bed with him, pawing at his side for attention, causing him to chuckle.

“Ahh… Princess…” He rubs his face with his hands before throwing an arm across his eyes, smile not leaving his face. “Today… felt like a rollercoaster of emotions. It started so normal… Hahh…”

His other hand comes down to pet my head, gently stroking it with his thumb as he moves his arm to peek down at me as I climb to curl up on his chest and stare at him.

“I never once thought in a thousand years that Janice kidnapping you is what would make Marius decide to give me another chance… I keep having conflicting emotions, Princess.” A heavy sigh causes his chest to expand. He removes his arm from his face and places his hand on my back. “On one hand, the anxiety and fear don’t want to go away… but on the other… I’m just… really, really happy. It feels like I shouldn’t be. Maybe… I just need a good night's sleep, and my head will be clearer in the morning. What do you think, Princess?”

I get what he means. I can’t imagine what today must have been like for my poor Prince. To answer his question, I leap from his chest and over towards the pillows at the head of his bed. He laughs as I curl up in my usual spot.

“I’m glad you agree.” He says, stifling a yawn. “I’ll be back in a second.”

Val gets up, walking off towards the bathroom.

Poor guy. I feel guilty, even though I couldn’t really control anything that happened to me today. I rest my chin on my paws, staring intently at the bathroom door as my mind wanders.

In the end, I’m just glad I made it home safe. It came at the cost of that jerk entering Val’s life again, though. Hmph. Well… Val at least seems happy about it. Thrilled. Overjoyed, if you will. I don’t think I can blame him. He’s been trying his hardest to get Marius to give him a second chance, and somehow, Janice kidnapping me is what pushed Marius to do so. Apparently reaching out to him on his personal phone, too.

Marius… is strange. I understand now why he might have been hostile at first. Regardless of if Val regarded him as a friend or as a potential romantic partner, Marius definitely saw Val as the ladder. The expression he pulled when Val hugged him and couldn’t look him in the face… Well, it’s definitely not an expression you’d use when thinking of a friend or someone you saw as a brother. He definitely wouldn’t look at his sister with that kind of affection.

If that’s the case, I wonder if he has any intention of trying to win Val’s heart. Hazarding a guess here, but considering they were barely teenagers when they broke apart, maybe Val broke his heart somehow. It would at least explain his cold attitude.

Should I let this continue between them, though? … Hmph, it’s not like I can actively do anything about it. I’m a cat. Val’s turning twenty-one soon, he’s more than capable of making choices for himself. I worry for him, but… He’ll be ok.

No matter how this ends, Marius will regret ever looking at my beloved Prince if he breaks his heart! I’ll be sure of that!