Prompt 63 – Behind the scenes
The cat was worse than a first-year page. Not only did it visit all the cat-ladies in the Palace (howling while doing so, too), but it also sneaked into the kitchen every now and then. He stole the head-cook's cleanest hat on the day of the great banquet, disappeared with it and caused the apprentices to have to hunt him through the long corridors. They didn't dare touching the cat with their bare hands. Every other cat, yes, but not this black-furred exemplar with violet eyes. So they used brooms to bat the curtains, searching for a bump hinting that there'd be a four-legged thief hiding behind.
"There! I seen'it!", exclaimed the youngest apprentice, a blond eight year-old boy – and hit the bump behind the curtain with all the might of his scrawny frame.
"Ouch!", the bump answered – and a big boy of 14 years emerged. His dark curls formed a huge contrast against the red-and-golden uniform he wore.
The head-cook arrived in time to break up the tussle between the boys. "Back to the kitchen!", he ordered his apprentices in a stern voice, indicating hours spent scrubbing pots. Then he turned to the older boy. "And you, Squire Raoul, you'll have the joy of offering refreshments to the young ladies of the Court. Don't try to change duties with Page Alan or any of the others again, or I will have to talk to his Highness. -They- know their positions – and none of them hides behind the scenes!"