Button giggled.

"We all talk. It just takes a special brand of person to hear us. That sort of person will always find their way to this castle, I've noticed. Part of what makes you people special."

"Thank you Mountie, a bed would be amazing right about now." Replied Jedine, she smiled at Button "Thanks for clearing that up, I probably would freak out if any animal just walked up to me and started talking to me!" She turned back to Mountie. "So where is that bed exactly?"

Lady G couldn't help but laugh a bit, although she was still quite puzzled at what she thought was somewhat different behavior from Lady A. "Well, I'm not you either!"

"You'll get used to talking animals eventually," Mountie smiled knowingly. "You'll have to meet my talking gryphon, Philip, tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll show you to your room." Mountie took off down one of the halls of the Ivory and Gold castle, hoping that Jedine would follow.

Chapter 2: Up Is Down

((OOC: Any leftover conversations from the pervious chapter can continue, such as Lady G's and my own, however, please be sure to label them as "Chapter 1". Thanks!))

Weeks have passed since the last skirmish with the Tower of the Wyrm, and things are strangely quiet. Castle regulars are a little on edge, unsure why exactly nothing has happened. The Wyrm being quiet and inactive did happen at certain times, but the Castle being equally quiet meant SOMETHING was up. The recent disappearance of Lady A hasn't helped any, although A1 has continued to make her presence known. Now, even the cats are seen less and less, until they seem to be missing all together. An eerie silence has covered the castle grounds...until today.

A1 walked out into the early morning light and sat down next to the Fountain, letting her fingers rest in the water. A fish came and nibbled on the tips, but A1 failed to react. She just stared. And stared.

"Its so cold..." she muttered.

Chapter 1

Jedine was slightly scarred to follow Mountie when she heard the word 'gryphon' but, she decided to do so as the talking cat was staring at her, with Talia on her wrist she followed Mountie quickly "They must not find
out! if they do, I shall surely be sent away, and that can't happen Alitha needs me!" she mumbled under breath unaware that Mountie was closer than she appeared. Soon she had caught up to Mountie, "so if all the animals can talk why couldn't I understand Talia before I came here?"

Chapter 2: Up is Down

Lia, after a long sleep, looked around the Castle of Ivory and Gold for her leader, Lady A. She wandered the halls aimlessly, ever searching for her Lady. Puzzling over her Lady's recent disappearance, Lia has returned to her favorite room in the Castle. The library...

Lia sat curled up in a large arm chair. Her feet, which used to be sore from searching, were now well rested. Upon her lap, opened to a drawing of a rabbit hole, was a well worn copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Standing up and putting away the book, Lia decided to look for Lady A one last time before going to bed. Perhaps she's by the fountain, thought Lia. That seems to be her favorite place.

Wandering slowly through the Castle, Lia waved to some of the minions, grabbed a coffee, and headed outside. She found Lady A chatting to herself and staring blankly at the wall.

"Lady A?" said Lia, waving a hand in front of Lady A's eyes. "Have you been drinking Frazzle's caffeine loaded coffee drinks again?"

Lady A mumbled something about "up being down and falling" then seized Lia's wrist. She pulled her into the Castle, down passage ways that Lia had never seen before, and into a round room. Lia stared at the wall, for on the wall...

There was a door.

Lady A mumbled under her breath again about "up and falling" and looked at Lia expectantly. Lia stared at the wall even more, rubbed her eyes, drank the rest of her coffee rather quickly, and pulled out a megaphone.

"Assemble the minions!"

Chapter 1

"Who musn't find you?" Mountie frowned. "I can assure you, you'll be safe within these walls. And we rarely turn anyone away, unless they're minions of the Other Tower. The Evil One." She kept walking, expertly leading Jedine through the twists and turns of the castle. "This castle is a daunting place at first. I remember getting lost when I first came here, but you'll get used to it."

"As for your question about Talia... well, I'm not really sure. It could be that she didn't feel safe to talk to you until we were here. You may just have to ask her," Mountie's eyes sparkled.

They kept walking for a few more minutes, until Mountie stopped in front of a door. "Ah, here we are. Your room." She motioned to the door. "Go ahead and get settled, and let me know if you need anything. My room is right next door."

Chapter 2: Up is Down

Mountie was at the cappuccino bar, getting her morning cup of coffee, when she heard a familiar voice yelling, "Assemble the minions!" Mountie frowned, in curiosity more than anything. She then took her cup of coffee on the go, and set off to investigate.

Chapter 1

Jedine hesitated then sighed "I think I can trust you, I am looking for my sister Alitha, she disappeared a year ago and I have looked everywhere I could think of, but she's gone, I have nearly given up on it, I hope to find something out about why she disappeared soon, I do want to be a minion though, please believe me. Thank you so much for being so welcoming." she looked up, they were outside a door, Mountie had just said that the room was hers "Thank you very much Mountie." she said with a smile and opened the door and walked inside, "WHOA! this room is amazing!" the bed was king sized and covered in pillows "awesome! Thanks again Mountie!" In the corner closest to the window was a falcon perch, Talia swooped over and landed on it "Now, that is more like it!" Talia exclaimed happily. Jedine smiled and dropped on the bed still dressed in two minutes she was asleep.

Chapter 2

The next morning Jedine woke up to the sound of Talia screeching "WAKE UP SLEEPY HEAD!! WAKE UP!" Jedine stretched and yawned "you know what Talia? I liked you better when you didn't do that." Then she heard the voice saying "ASSEMBLE THE MINIONS!" "hmm, I better go find out what is wanted, I hope I run into Mountie on the way, I don't want to be lost!" She quickly got up and brushed through her hair which always looked like a rats nest in the morning grabbed the coffee she found sitting on her dresser along with a note that read "welcome new minion!" and ran out the door and down the hallway, Talia flying alongside her.

Chapter 2: Up is Down

Lia, after waiting for the Minions to assemble, knocked on the door. There was no answer, so, cautiously, she opened it. It appeared to lead to a tunnel - and a barely lit one at that. She lifted her megaphone and spoke into it. "Follow me... I sort of know the way." How hard could it be anyway? Follow the tunnel, see where it led, come back, and drink coffee. Simple, right?

Stepping into the tunnel, Lia paused a moment, waiting for her eyes to adjust. The tunnel had a dirt floor and the walls were smooth wood boards. She began to walk down the tunnel, carefully watching to make sure she didn't step on any worms or creepy crawlies.

The tunnel seemed to go on for miles. Lia looked at her watch. They had been walking for several hours. Finally, after not too much longer, they came to a fork in the road. Great, thought Lia. I hate decisions. Especially ones that are made while leading other people down dark tunnels.

Lia turned to the other Minions. "Which way shall we go? That way?" She pointed to the left tunnel. "Or thataway?" She pointed to the right.

Quite a few Minions began to speak at once, arguing amongst themselves. Soon the tunnel was filled with the sound of bickering and complaining, when....

All of the sudden, Lia felt the ground underneath her give way and she was falling through thin air. A grand piano passed by, narrowly missing colliding with the Minions. Bookcases emptied their shelves as the minions grabbed onto them, trying to bring themselves to a stop. Lia squeezed her eyes shut tightly, but then the falling sensation was even greater and she wrenched them open again.

Then suddenly, as abruptly as they had began their fall, they stopped, landing heavily in heaps on the dirt floor. Lia looked up, but could only see the light from above faintly. "Oh no," she wailed. "We're trapped!"

Chapter 2

Jedine raced through the halls managing not to get lost. Glad she had remembered most of these hallways from when Mountie had taken her to her room the night before, She soon saw many other people she assumed were minions running in a single direction so she followed them, She walked through the door that the minion who seemed to be in charge had walked through and followed her carefull not to step on anymice and grateful Talia was there as well suddenly the floor gave way, she had realized that they had all stopped walking, that was when the floor gave way and they all fell screaming to what Jedine was certain was her death. When they reached the bottom she stared at the tiny pinprick of light then she heard a hollow sounding voice say "we're trapped!"

Chapter 2: Up is Down

Mountie's curiosity was aroused when she saw a line of Minions traipsing through one of the corridors, and she quickly fell into line behind them, following in casual pursuit. She wondered where all the Minions were going, but had learned to keep her thoughts to herself and see what happened before making any assumptions. She kept a steady pace, walking slowly since she was not in a big hurry, unlike the rest of the Minions.

Suddenly, the floor gave way beneath her, and Mountie found herself tumbling... tumbling... falling... screaming... in one giant tangle of darkness in confusion, until she finally hit the bottom of...wherever they were. Her coffee mug flew up in the air, and Mountie was soundly doused with a full cup of hot coffee. She was slumped against a wall of some sort, and her appearance was thoroughly disheveled. The coffee mug, after a wonderful trip into the air, landed neatly on top of her head, which she would have found comical at any other time except now. She whooshed out a breath in order to blow the bangs out of her eyes. "Rats."

A large rodent skittered over her foot, and Mountie barely resisted the urge to scream as it disappeared into the shadows. She covered her coffee-covered face with her equally soppy hands. "I didn't mean literally!"

Chapter 2: Up is Down

A1's screams turned into a case of the giggles once she landed.

"Owwww..." she rambled, then slowly got up and began to inspect the walls as her eyes adjusted to the low light. "Look! That wall seems to have weird knobs and things on it. Maybe there is another do-or."

A1 subsided into a state of hiccups.

Chapter 2: Up is Down

"Look! That wall seems to have weird knobs and things on it. Maybe there is another do-or," said A1, as Lia sat up groggily.

Door! Lia stood up and ran to the door in question. She turned the handle and yanked. The door didn't budge. Lia pulled again, this time on a different knob. "No, no," she groaned, trying all the other knobs in a frenzy. "This can't be happening."

She gave up on opening the door and turned to face the Minions again. "We're stuck!"

Chapter 2: Up is Down

"Stuck?" Mountie jumped to her feet, still trying to shake off the coffee. "What are you talking about? We can't be stuck!" She walked over to the door and pounded on it as hard as she could with her fists. "Get me out of here!"