Chapter 29: Kitchen Guards
Back with another chapter, at last. Thank you all new and old reviewers for your reply, it's so fun to see what you all think.
You're right, mycove and AiLinhD, this is a dangerous game indeed, considering whom they're dealing with, Fred is taking a heck of a chance and it can go anywhere from this point. However, there's more to come, and I hope you'll stay and follow on.
NOTE: I've put an EASTER EGG in this one! Not sure if there's be many people noticing. I've never put out an easter egg like this before, so I'll just give it a try. A little detail, maybe you'll find it? I'll give a little hint; it's a detail I've borrowed from another series, NOT a modern one. Put it out if you'll manage to find it. Good luck!
While Violet was getting an explanation from Nigel and Varian was getting an explanation from the King, Caterpillar was watching the two odd humans in armor doing chores they had never done before. Especially the skinny one, were having trouble with the knife and would constantly loose small pieces of carrots on the floor. The other one were walking back and forth between the turkey and sauce.
He wasn't sure about the big one, but the skinny one, Pete, had always had a soft spot for him. He had smelled another cat on Pete, but he thought that was the reason why he always gave him a pat and a cuddle when he saw him, and even shared his lunch with him when occasion fitted. Pete was a weak human when it came to him, and right now, the orange cat were trying to figure out how he could lure him to give him a turkey slice.
"Darn, not again!" Pete complained and bent down to pick up the carrot piece he lost.
Caterpillar rose from his spot, stretched a bit and walked over and begun stroking his leg while he gave a soft, implying meow.
Pete immediately reacted, looked down and his freckled face broke up in a smile.
"Oh hi, Caterpillar!" He put the knife away and bent down while he took of his gloves and begun stroking his back. The cat begun purring loudly by the stroking. Then he jumped over to the oven while he looked at him and meowed again.
"Aw, I'm sorry, pal. The turkey's for the Majesties and the royal guests. And Violet will kill me if we do something with it."
The look Caterpillar sent him made the poor guard sink deep inside. "Don't look at me like that! I'm sorry, but I can't." To not be distracted, he forced himself to turn away from the cat and back to the carrots. Realizing there would be no turkey for him for a while, Caterpillar found it better to go back to his place and curl up again.
While Pete was struggling to get the up cut vegetables in same size and fighting his guilt towards the cat, Stan had another look at the turkey before he went back to the sauce. After stirring it again, he couldn't resist himself and found a spoon, and picked up a slight tip of the scream sauce and led it towards his mouth.
"Stan!" Pete watched with wide eyes. "You can't do that!"
"I just have to check that it's not burned." he said before putting the spoon in his mouth. "Mmm..." he said and arched an eyebrow. "I must say, Violet is rather choosey when it comes to spice. Now, where is... Ah!" He reached out to find the pots of salt and pepper.
"Don't play with that, Stan!" Pete stepped a little away with frightened eyes. "I've had more than enough pepper for a whole life!"
"I'm being careful, Pete. Don't you worry." he said and grabbed both containers in his left hand, stepped a little away, turned them upside down and carefully begun shaking them into the sauce. Then he shifted in looking at the sauce and the turkey from where he was standing.
"Stan, don't you think it's enough now?" Pete asked concerned.
"Mind your own task, Pete." Stan replied.
"Mind your own task, Pete." the slender guard mumbled insulted to himself. But he kept a small eye on his companion, worried that he would spill the pepper. Stan had one more look at the turkey from where he stood. "Now, I wonder if they're planning to let that bird cook without pouring butter over it. Mary says it has a tendency to become dry if you don't poor some grease over it regularly. And..."
"STAN!" Pete cried out.
"What?" Stan asked frustrated and looked at him.
"The sauce!"
"What about..." he stopped himself when he suddenly spotted the two containers in his hand; both missing their lids. Feeling color fade from his face, he stepped closer and saw all the salt and pepper disappear down in the boiling cream sausage. "Oops.."
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The Captain of the guards were a man everyone in the Kingdom knew as a man who took his job more serious than anything. No matter what came, he never left his post or disobeyed an order. This was also something he expected from each and every one of his guards as well. One had to have an extremely good explanation if one were missing on his post.
This is why the fact that two of his guards were currently acting as kitchen assistants after the command of a maid drove him to what would be called a breaking point. He was furious, not only because of his guards' lack of discipline, but because the situation were about to slip out of his hands. The problem with the sudden arrived guests along with Varian's escape attempt were about to turn the castle upside down.
But then all of a sudden he got another instant issue that made him currently forget his problems. He had to stop as a sudden wild sting went through his back. He hissed and panted through clenched teeth as he had to lean his arm on the wall to his left.
A wave of emotions ran through him for a moment. The pain that had struck him so suddenly wasn't just anything. It was something of a leftover from the assault of the Castle, caused by the very same reason they had been running like heck for quite a while now. Varian sending that beast to attack them at the Castle had injured many guards, himself among them, making him unable to follow when they went to bring back Queen Arianna and arrest him. And even though he had recovered, it was something in his back that had never been the same. He told himself that this was something that would most likely pass, but as time went on, he failed to believe his own words. Till now the pain had never struck whenever he was in company, but whenever he was alone, he were always on guard with himself, like it would threaten to happen anytime. He feared it was only a matter of time before he failed to keep this from his guards and the Majesties.
And just by that, it happened now of all times, when Varian was still missing and there seemed to appear trouble from every corner.
He leaned his back to the wall and relax and take a couple of deep breaths before he forced himself to stand up. He had no time for self-pity. He had to get to the kitchen, no matter what it took. Not only to got those morons quit fooling around with food, but to get to the bottom of what they had just learned about Varian. More determinant than ever, he stood up again and kept on to his task, running slowly this time.
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"Stan, you have just ruined the royal sauce!" Pete yelled as he pointed towards the casserole with a half cut carrot, the green tassel in the end of it dancing while he did so.
"Well, don't blame me! How was I supposed to know these lids were so loose?" Stan said and begun looking around in the kitchen. "Now, let's see... Here must be some way... " then he spotted something on the corner in the of the kitchen. "Ah! There..." he hurried past Pete and opened a sack of flour. Then he found the cup inside it and hurried over to the casserole again where he poured the flower into the sauce.
"Stan, what are you doing now?"
"Mary says to add flour on the sauce to sooth it out." he said as he stirred the flour into the beige liquid.
"But now you're just thickening it." Pete said frustrated.
"Don't worry. I'll add some more cream into it. Then it will be better. See if you find some."
Pete sighed and put the carrot back by the vegetable and had a look around. After looking in the shelves under the bench in the middle of the room he opened the storage room. After a quick round he came out with a bottle."I can't find cream, but I found some milk here. Do you think that's gonna make any difference?"
"Not as thick as this has become." Stan said, getting a bit worried himself when he saw that he might have added too much flour. "Bring it over."
So Pete brought the bottle, opened it and poured it into the sauce while Stan stirred it. After a while he nodded satisfying. "Now that should do it. Now, let's have a look at the turkey. I think we need to turn it before it burns."
"I'm not sure of that..."
"Violet told us to do so. Now come on. Find something to grab it with."
They both took a long fork from the hook beside the oven and with clumsy movements they managed somehow to give the turkey a turn around. Stan was quite satisfied with himself and smiled with his whole mustache. "Now then, that would..."
"Stan!" Pete cried out and dropped the huge fork on the floor. "Now the sauce is boiling over!"
"What?"
They watched as the white content of the casserole bubbled over and ran down on both all sides, causing a dreadful smell to occur from it.
"What're we gonna do what're we gonna do?" Pete waved with his arms in panic.
"We just have to... " Stan grabbed a cloth laying on the table and use it to lift the handles of the casserole off the plate, but as he were a little too quick in doing so, he managed to spill the sauce over his glove. He gave a loud cry, dropped the casserole so more sauce spilled over the plate, causing it to fizz loud and make smoke. Stand grabbed a hold on his hand and stepped away from the plate and failed to notice where he was stepping, and before he knew it, he heard a loud, complaining meow and felt something sharp grab around his leg.
"STAN! How could you?" Pete shouted angry.
"I didn't mean to spill the sauce, bit I burned my hand." he pulled his glove and placed the wounded spot in his mouth.
"Who cares about the sauce or your hand!" he cried and bent down to pick up the red striped cat. "You stepped on his tail! Poor thing, did that clumsy idiot hurt you?!"
Caterpillar was still upset about his tail, and wasn't quite certain of what to think of being lifted up like that.
Stan looked annoyed by the fact that his friend chose to pity the cat over him. "Hey, I couldn't help it. I burned my hand!"
"Well, it was your own fault! You shouldn't have starting to mess around with something you have no clue of!"
"Well, look who's talking. Wasn't it you who..."
He never managed to finish the sentence as the door to the kitchen suddenly got up with a loud bang. Both guards got so startled that they forgot the argument and quickly embraced eachother in fright, squeezing Caterpillar in between them, who gave a muffled meow.
They had indeed reason to be afraid, as it was no one else than the Captain himself standing in the door. The look on his face were everything it took them to tell that they were in serious trouble.
"Well well, if it isn't you two!" he said, frowning under his mustache. "I don't know if you're simple minded, or if you're simply dumb, but I know one thing for sure and that's..."The Captain stopped himself as something caught the corner of his eyesight to his left. As he turned around, he gasped when he spotted a slight fire near the casserole where the vegetables were boiling, at the bottom, where the tassel of a half cut carrot had made its way. The guards followed his look and if there had been any color left on their faces, it sure would have been gone now.
The Captain turned back to them. "Well, don't just stand there! Stan; get me a bucket of water and a woolen blanket! Pete; you go get Violet back here this instant!"
Both guards were a little disturbed that he didn't yell at them at once, and ended up just standing there confused.
"NOW!" the Captain barked.
The guards responded with no hesitation and ran out of the kitchen, somehow relieved to get away. Caterpillar managed to wriggle himself out of Pete's grip and jumped on the floor, fleeing the kitchen and run past Stan, causing him to stumble on his way. Pete's voice was heard in the corridor as he shouted at Stan to not step on him. The Captain himself were left in the room and widened his eyes as he saw how dreadful the situation really were when he spotted the boiling sauce and the mess with the cut carrots, flour on the floor and the oven with the turkey were wide open. For a moment he regretted sending the guards away as he realized that he himself had no clue of where to begin.
He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I never thought handling my own guards would be worse than handling Varian."
