"Dad? Have you seen Misto?" Tugger asked frantically, already having a hunch as to what could've happened.

His father sighed. "His uncle took him to live with his family," he said.

"What? But he acted like he wasn't going to anymore for three days!"

"Well, maybe that was his plan. Though, to be more specific in my answer, his uncle took him to live with his family who live not too far from here actually-"

"Where?"

"Over at Buckingham."

"Buckingham! What? Is his family royal or something?"

Deuteronomy shrugged. "Shouldn't be too long, but if you decide to go, then I don't think I can stop you. Although I do warn you to be careful. It is Buckingham afterall."

"Of course!" Tugger called, running out of the den. He stopped and then walked back in and hugged his dad. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Now get going."

Tugger sprinted all the way to Buckingham, which was just a few blocks over from Scotland Yard where the Junkyard was at. He had walked by the huge building plenty of times, and he could always easily get inside, but he never had any reason to. He went through the gate and then wasn't sure where to go. He started to make his way around the palace and to the back, to see if he spotted any cats. He saw some sitting on a patio, drinking milk and eating an array of food. They looked like fat cats alright. He didn't see Misto, though, so he hid in the bushes, thinking on how to let this go about.

"Look what we have here," said a pollicle, approaching Tugger with another pollicle of the same brown coat. "It's a little kitty cat."

"I ain't ever seen this one around here before," said the other poll.

"Must be a stray."

"Looks like one. Look at him. Much trashier than those jerks over there."

Tugger had encountered dogs before. They always acted tough, but in the end, they ended up becoming friends. "You don't like those cats over there?" Tugger asked.

"No. They think they're better than us."

"We get treated better than them by the masters, and yet they still believe they're the favorites. It's not that we don't like them. It's that they don't like us."

"Do you want them to like you?"

The dogs looked at each other.

"Well - yeah," said one.

"We love cats, but they never wanna play with us," said the other.

Tugger knew what they meant. Dogs always wanted to play with cats, but cats never wanted to because dogs never realized they were much larger and stronger than cats. Dogs would get a little too rough when it came to cats. Tugger liked dogs, though. He was pretty canine himself.

"Well I like dogs," he told them. "And if you help me, then I can help you get the cats to like you."

The dogs nodded excitedly. Tugger smiled, finding them adorable. "Yeah, yeah, sure! Whatever you want."

"Okay, first off, I'm Tugger, but when we're in front of the cats, just call me...Tucker."

"Alright, so can we call you Tugger when the cats aren't around?"

"Of course. Now what're your names."

"I'm Chauncey," said one.

"And I'm Theo," said the other.

"Okay, now what I want from you might be hard to do, but there's a new cat here. His name is Mistoffelees and-"

"We know him!" bellowed Theo.

"He's a nice cat," said Chauncey.

"Great. Now, he knows me. We're best friends, but his uncle is making him live here for awhile, and I hate being away from Misto. So I'm going to be living here for awhile, but I need you to convince the other cats I'm allowed to stay here."

"Oh! We can tell them you're a new servant cat," Theo said.

"Yeah, their old cat got tossed out," mumbled Chauncey, because it was always sad when any animal got tossed out.

"Well then, I need you to tell them I'm their new servant, Tucker."

"Okay. Follow us."

They walked back around the palace, in through the front doors (which had Tugger's jaw dropped because he had never seen anything so...fancy and big), and then they walked through the back doors to the patio the cats were sitting on. Theo and Chauncey held their heads high.

"Your highness and her court, we present to you your new servant, the cat Tucker," said Theo.

Tugger realized he had no proper etiquette skills, and he knew he must never touch the queen.

"Psst, get down on one knee and bow," Chauncey said in the corner of his mouth.

Tugger got on one knee and bowed. "Your majes-"

"Royal highness."

"Your royal highness," Tugger said.

"Please rise," said a perfectly clean Persian cat with squinty green eyes and a diamond collar. "I'm assuming you've been trained to serve the royal family."

Tugger stood there, feeling dumb. "But of course," he said smoothly. "Your majesty. Theo and Chauncey have properly trained me. They know what you and your court like to perfection. They do adore the royal family."

"Very well. Go make sure the beds are made for our afternoon naps."

Tugger bowed and walked back into the palace. He didn't see Misto, and in this big place, it could take forever to find him. Chauncey and Theo showed Tugger all the proper ways to make beds, bow, stand, serve food and drinks, and everything else a servant needs to know. Tugger retained it all pretty well, but even if he didn't remember something the dogs would be there with him to help.

After his training and once the dogs were taken by the humans, Tugger was free to roam the palace until one when he had to serve the cats their lunch. He was walking when he heard some bumping coming from down the hall. He walked to the open door and he saw Misto there, dancing. He looked tired but he still kept moving gracefully. Tugger smiled, leaning against the doorway, admiring his friend.

"Don't you ever get tired?" Tugger asked finally.

Misto turned around, startled. He immediately smiled at seeing his friend. "Tugger!" he cheered and ran into the arms. "Oh Tugger, what on earth are you doing here?" He gasped. "Oh I hope you know I didn't want to come. My uncle got me one night and force me to go. I really-"

Tugger kissed him to make him stop. "I decided to be the new servant of the royal family."

Misto gasped again, smiling. "Really?"

"Yeah, that way I can stay here with you."

Misto laughed. "It'll be like a story. The royal family member falls in love with the help."

Tugger looked down at him. "In love, eh?"

Misto blushed, stepping away from Tugger. "No, I mean, I was just saying how, you know, in the stories they do and this is sort of like it but not exactly and - I gotta go." He started to walk by Tugger but he scooped him into his arms.

"Calm down, Misty."

Misto smiled. "Okay...Tummy."

Tugger smiled and kissed Misto once before setting him down. "Well then, your highness, I believe I must make your bed. Care to help?"

Misto smiled. "I'd love to."