Darklord's Cat : S1 | EP2

Naomi stayed by Lucien’s side, her feline instincts urging her to curl up and nap. But the human side of her was still struggling to process her new reality. She needed to find a way to communicate—fast. Being a cat wasn't ideal, but she had a feeling this Dark Lord had some sort of magic that could fix things, if only she could figure out how to get through to him.

She glanced at the book Lucien was so absorbed in: Potion Brewing for Beginners. “Really? This is what he’s reading? Shouldn’t he be, I don’t know, commanding armies or casting some terrifying curse?”

Her tail swished in irritation as she circled the armchair, planning her next move. If she was going to make any sense of this situation, she'd need to get a closer look at Lucien’s life. She hopped up onto the arm of the chair, startling him just enough to make him spill a bit of his tea.

Lucien sighed, wiping it up with his sleeves. “I’m not sure why I was expecting a more... refined familiar,” he muttered.

Naomi narrowed her eyes at him. “Well, excuse me for not being your average house pet,” she thought. But again, all that came out was a disgruntled “meow.”

Lucien’s lips twitched, almost smiling at her reaction. “You’ve got attitude; I’ll give you that.”

Naomi blinked. “Does this guy even know what he’s doing?” She examined his setup—a cluttered desk full of notes, potion bottles, and half-burnt candles. It was a more chaotic college dorm than a dark fortress. She’d been expecting something... more organized. Or at least a bit more terrifying.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the hallway outside. Naomi’s ears perked up, and Lucien barely flinched, as if this sort of commotion was completely normal.

"Ignore that. Probably just another one of the minions trying to move the furniture." Lucien waved it off casually, flipping to the next page of his book. "They keep breaking things."

Naomi stared at him, eyes wide. "Wait, what? That didn’t sound like furniture moving. Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, check on that?"

Lucien gave a half-hearted shrug, too absorbed in his potion instructions to care. "If it’s important, they’ll knock."

Another crash, this one louder than the last. Naomi stood up on all fours, tense. She didn’t have all the details yet, but she was starting to get the idea that Lucien wasn’t exactly the most attentive Dark Lord in history.

She jumped off the chair and trotted toward the doorway, her paws soft against the cold stone floor. Peeking out into the corridor, she saw several goblin-like creatures scurrying about, frantically trying to clean up what appeared to be an overturned cauldron. The smell of burnt potion ingredients filled the air.

Naomi watched as one particularly panicked goblin waved his arms wildly at the others, barking orders. “Get it cleaned up before Lord Lucien sees! Last time he tried to help, the whole east wing smelled like swamp gas for a week!”

Naomi blinked. “I’m in a madhouse.”

Slinking back into Lucien’s study, she hopped onto the desk in front of him, forcing him to finally look up from his book. He raised an eyebrow as she sat directly in front of his open pages, staring at him.

“What?” Lucien asked, clearly confused by her stare.

Naomi tilted her head toward the door. “Hello? Your minions are wrecking the place, and you’re here reading about beginner-level potions?”

Lucien glanced briefly toward the door, then back at her. “It’s fine. They’ll handle it. Besides, I’m in the middle of perfecting a sleep potion. Priorities.”

Naomi’s tail twitched. "Okay, this guy needs help."

Realizing that direct communication wasn’t going to work, she hopped off the desk and padded back toward the door. If Lucien wasn’t going to take charge, she’d do it herself. After all, if she was going to be stuck as his familiar, she might as well make sure the place didn’t collapse on them.

Stepping into the hallway again, Naomi weaved through the chaos, her small frame allowing her to move unnoticed. She paused by the goblins, who were still in panic mode. Taking a deep breath, she focused her thoughts—let’s see if I can get this telepathy thing to work.

“Hey, calm down,” Naomi thought, projecting her voice to the frantic goblin nearest her. “Just clean it up before he notices, and no one will get in trouble.”

The goblin froze, his beady eyes wide with shock. He looked around, clearly unnerved by the sudden voice in his head. But to Naomi’s surprise, it worked. The goblin immediately stopped flailing and barked orders in a more controlled manner. Within minutes, the goblins had cleaned up the mess.

Naomi grinned, or at least as much as a cat could. “Well, that was easier than I thought.”

As she returned to Lucien’s study, she realized she had just used magic—real magic. Her mind raced. Maybe being a cat wasn’t so bad after all, especially if she could pull off things like that.

Now she just needed to figure out how to help Lucien be an actual Dark Lord... without him messing it all up.

TO BE CONTINUED...