"Hmm." Mountie paused thoughtfully. "Well, I am certainly not in charge here, so Lady A would probably have a better answer to that question than I do. But in the meantime, while we wait for her answer, have you been to the cappuccino bar yet? I'll take you there if you'd like."

Lu steps hesitantly over to the others.

"I...I feel like the enemy. How can I change the way you look at me?"

Sighing, she sits down- close to the others, but a little ways off.

"Can I make you some coffee? I dearly love good coffee. If it has plenty of sugar, of course."

A cappecino bar sounded very good to Kat. "Okay, ill be sure to seek out Lady A later in the day. And i think I will accompany you. Thank you.....shall I call you Mountie?"

Sipping a campfire mocha, The Silv'ry Wanderer trailed just behind Lady A, looking about the castle with a mixture of awe and excitement on her face. This castle looked even more wondrous from the inside, and the prospect of staying here had her insides tingling with glee.

She felt the warmness of her sweet, caffeinated beverage slipping down her throat. Swallowing, she addressed the Lady, managing a slight bow as she did so. "I am grateful for allowing me to stay with thee," she said. "And I hope my skills might be of some service. Should it really come to war, I shall fight to defend such a beautiful places as this." She paused. "But might I ask a favor, M'Lady? I'm afraid I left my horse in your courtyard. Perhaps thou couldst send someone to bring her to the stables?"

"Don't let yourself be troubled, Lu. I'm sure you shall gain the trust of us all, in time." The Hoodie smiled in her direction. "In the meantime, coffee sounds lovely. I'm actually on the way to the cappuccino bar at the moment, but one can never have too much coffee."

"I'll take you there at once, Kat!" Mountie said cheerfully, her spirits greatly improved. "Yes, you may call me Mountie. But not around strangers. I've also been called the Hoodie. Whichever you prefer is fine. And your name is Kat, I presume?" she asked, slightly embarrassed that she hadn't asked that question until now. "Have you ever had a cappuccino?"

(OOC: Sorry, I seem to have missed your post to me, Lucy of Narnia, until just now.)

"Hello," Lady G said to Lucy of Narnia. "Am I here to help fight a war? I suppose if it comes to that then I will. I do not care much for sitting about useless, and there's just something about dark overlords that I do not like."

She looked curiously at the tic-tac Lucy offered, and then hesitantly took it. "Thank you. I've never seen one of these before."

EDIT*********************************

Noting that everyone seemed to be talking rather nonstop about the castle cappuccinos, she decided to try one herself.

"I love it!" she exclaimed to no one in particular.

Lady A slipped an arm around Lu's shoulder and gave her a little hug.

"Don't worry, we will all learn," she said, smiling down. "Now, for a little game that will help you with your training--you have two hours until suppertime. I have hidden components of the dinner around the castle, as well as some non-lethal weapons. Find as many as you can in the next two hours, and everyone will get brownie points in proportion to how many items they find. Let's see...."

The Queen handed out an instruction sheet (copied below) to each person.

"Ready?" She asked. "On your mark...get set....go!!!"

((OOC: This is how the game will go: Each minion can ask Rose (who is helping me with this game) 20 questions, and each can ask me 20 questions. The game is also somewhat like Clue--there are 25 rooms, and there is an item in each room. The rooms correspond to this map, which, btw, is NOT the official map for the castle. I'm working on making a real map for the castle, but it will come later. Anyway....

The rooms:
The Keep
Outer Tower
Gate Towers
Left Guard House
Right Guard House
Stables
Blacksmith
Carpenter/Mason
Storage
Armory
Knights Quarters
Royalty
Main Hall
Chapel
Dining
Kitchen
Granary/Food Service
Servant's Quarters
Commoner's Quarters
Soldier's Hall/Quarters
Prison/Dungeon
Archery Range
Courtyard
Garden
Well

Items Rose Has: (12)
Milk
Mushrooms
Potatoes
Rice
Hamburgers
Hamburger Buns
Onions
Peas
Cheesecake
Chocolate Mousse
Almond Rocha
String Cheese

Items I have:
Silly Putty
Crayons
Paint Buckets
Tar
Sandpaper with a Nail in it
Ice
Micromachines
Feather Pillows
Glue on Saran wrap
Tarantula
BB Gun
Iron
Poptarts

You may PM Rose a total of 20 guesses and myself a total of 20 guesses. Once we let you know you have found an item, feel free to post about your discovering it. We'll also let you know if someone else found the item before you did, and you can post about their beating you to it, if you so wish.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. ))

EDIT: To clarify, this lasts two hours in the world of the thread, NOT two hours in Real Life. It can last a week in real life, and I wouldn't care.

Kat reminisced blissyfully: "yes Mountie I have had a cappucino before, I held a previous residence at The Monastery, I presume you have heard of it? Anyway they had the most delightful cappecino's I have ever tasted."
Kat suddenly awakened from her cappucino memory induced trance by the sound of a snapping twig under her foot. "And I go by many names, not to be rude but if your looking for my proper one you must seek elsewhere. All my friends here and new friends I hope to make here know me as Kat, K, Tessa and Katana when formality must be used."
Kat spots a long counter. "Oh! is that the coffee bar?"

A raven flew to the castle with a piece of paper in its beak. The paper held a message scrawled in an uneven, messy handwriting. It read --

The Silver-Tongued Speaker would like to speak to the Villain-to-Be, if she is not too busy chugging caffeine or roller skating into walls. Thank you.

~Riella

Mountie took pleasure in Lady G's enthusiasm, although it was hard to show it from beneath her hood. "Yes, isn't it wonderful? I just had a cappuccino for the first time myself, a little while ago. It's the most delicious thing I've ever tasted."

The Hoodie took the paper from Lady A and studied it with interest. "Ah, this looks like it shall be entertaining. It'll be a good way to spend our time, and good training too, although for what, I'm not sure."

Then she addressed Kat once more. "Oh, yes, I have heard of the Monastery, and in the days that I visited there, I was known as the Conversational Minion. I believe I remember you. And no, Mountie isn't my true identity either. I have other names though, such as Mountie, Fireflower, Fie, and Miff." She smiled slightly. "Yes, that is the cappuccino bar. Let me know how you like the coffee."

Then the Hooded Castle Mountie sat down on one of the nearby sofas to plot her next course of action regarding Lady A's latest game. With careful thought, perhaps she'd guess right.

Kat was very happy to notice that several of the people around her were also former monks and other friends she had met on her travels. She brewed herself some coffee and making sure to top it heartily with whip cream, sat down on a stool by the (coffee)bar. Stirring her coffee thoughtfully she contemplated the map and items listed by Lady A and planned out her questions, writing down her strategy in her trusty notebook.

While the rest of the people were playing the game, Mountie entered the Square, a piece of parchment in her hands. She nailed it to the announcements board in the center of the Courtyard, where everyone could read it.

Official Notice
From: The Castle Mountie
Mountie would like to make it known that she is making namebadges for all of the residents of the Castle who are interested. A sample of her work can be seen below, in her signature. If you would like a badge to show that you are a resident in the Castle of Ivory and Gold, she would be happy to make one for you. The size would be 300x100 pixels, simply perfect for displaying in your signature! (Credit to Mountie would be quite appreciated as well.)

The badge shall look very similar to the one below, except that the text will change to identify you by your title (Example: "The Overlady.") If you don't have a title, Mountie wouldn't mind giving suggestions, or Lady A is a very good person to ask. (She came up with Mountie's title.)

For all those interested, please speak to Mountie. She's not too hard to miss - just look for a mysterious, hooded character. She'd be happy to speak with you.

(OOC:

((OOC: no, you can't have a character in both.

I meant can we post there-yet still be loyal to here, So if I suspected someone was spying or if someone said something untrue about the castle could I post there, as my character here, in response. Or are all characters suppossed to stay in one thread?)

Ze wolf 'twas overjoyed to hath seed ze good dryad, it made her feel much more comfortable about staying here, rather zan ze Tower. At long last she approached ze Queen and bowed.
"Hello my Lady,
I have come to your castle seeking both refuge of ze horrific destruction outside, and any service zat I might give you that would be of use. Also, may I ask, what must we do to earn a title. I am ze former Pilgrim Wolf, called Wolf, Wolfy, and Noble Wolf by my non-friends. My wolf name 'tis only revealed to my own kind and the very rare creatures who can prove zat zey are a wolf at heart. And I pray ye have good health, and zat we may defeat ze evil Wyrm."

A vibrant copper-red chestnut horse streaked down a soft dirt road, kicking up a cloud of dust. Her rider had considered the fact that this cloud announced her coming loudly and rather dramatically, but she was never one to let an opportunity for dramatic entrances escape her. Not that she cared whether anyone saw it or not, it was mostly for her own amusement. This was something Lady Courage did rather often; little odd things for her own amusement. Not enough to make her truly eccentric (she hoped), but enough to bring secret smiles to her usually smiling face. Not that you could necessarily tell whether she was smiling at something secret or not, unless she told you what was amusing her at the moment.
Ahem, anyway, back on track (I should start a club. A club for ramblers! It's slogan would be "Ramblers Unite! After we finish talking..."- Oops! Focus, focus there girl...).

Lady C's horse was loping in the general direction of a glittering castle and from somewhere at about 4 to 5 o'clock (it was so diffused and faint it was hard to tell) the strains of "The Imperial March" was wafting to her. Lady C knows "The Imperial March" extremely well; it's one of her favorite tracks on her iPod (even though she is not evil). However, knowing where it was coming from put an extremely odd picture in her head (this is also something that happens fairly frequently to Lady C): Darth Vader- no, not Darth Vader, a guy in a Darth Vader suit- no, not just any guy. Evil Overlord BOOKY in a Darth Vader suit! And Evil Overlord Booky was saying- "No, Lady C, I am your father."
This mental image was so violently disturbing that she felt her adrenaline start to pump and she closed her eyes and shook her head with a mental moan. But when she felt her horse's pace start to falter and her sudden uneasiness, Lady C's eyes popped open and she quickly began to reassure the horse (who was picking up on her adrenaline).
"There there, Lana, it's nothing." She stroked the smooth, pulsing neck of the powerful animal, "Just a goofy thought that came into my head. I mean, really. The idea of Evil Booky's in Darth Vader costumes telling Lady Courage's that he is her father is so stupid-!" And this description of the random vision made Lady C laugh heartily (she often laughs at her own jokes- probably more often than other people laugh at her jokes, actually. But then, she doesn't always share the jokes she makes: Usually, but not always).
Satisfied, the filly's questioning ears flipped forward again and her pace smoothed.

Lady C took a detour through the trees as the beautiful castle came closer and let her athletic filly dodge the trees like the barrel horse she was gifted as. Lana's dainty ears pricked and her gentle eyes were warm with pleasure as her muscles flexed and pulsed to the rhythm of the trees.
"Ugh!" came a rather high pitched voice from behind Lady Courage, "All this jolting! It's making my bones rattle!" The last sentence came out as a rather annoying whine.
"We're almost there, Pippin," sighed Lady C, "don't be such a wimp."

The author stopped typing with a start and glanced at the sleeping dog lying beside her. Pippin? Since when could he talk? But at the same time, since when could Button talk either? Actually, that's not exactly true that Pippin can't talk, she reflected. She always knew almost exactly what he was saying anyway and so could everyone who met him within minutes of being with him. So, if Ditto Town is just a slightly exaggerated world, then isn't it logical that Pippin would be able to voice his numerous opinions in English? But then, can Lana talk? The author considered for a moment, then shook her head. No, Lana is very much a horse. Intelligent, yes, but not anywhere near as human as Pippin. So, it makes sense that Pippin could talk and Lana couldn't.
Satisfied, the author went back to typing and let the characters speak (or not speak) as they pleased.

"I'm not a wimp," grumbled Pippin, settling down into his padded seat that was situated on the back of the saddle, "I'm an Italian Greyhound."
"Yes, yes, I know," said Lady C impatiently. "A wimpy Italian Greyhound with seriously bratty tendencies."
Pippin giggled at this description of himself, not at all disturbed by being accused of brattiness. In fact, he was rather proud of being a Brat with a capitol B. He knew that his Person loved him dearly, in spite of how often he defied and irritated her. In return, he loved no other human in the world as much as he loved her and there was only one other person in the world that he respected as much as her. That was Alpha-Dad and Alpha-Dad wasn't in Ditto Town and likely never would be.

As they galloped, Lady C wondered if Lady A even remembered inviting her to become a minion, but she sorta hoped not. I mean, she didn't really hope that Lady A had memory problems, she just thought it would be fun to surprise her. But she'd find out whether it would a surprise or not pretty soon anyway, because the open gates had suddenly come into view from between the trees.
When they reached them, Lana raced through, swishing her tail in a pleased sort of way. The dead end meant they were at the end of their journey and she knew it. But she was too obedient a filly to stop before Lady C told her to, which Lady C did presently, slowing her to a canter, then a trot, then a walk, stopping completely just in front of the water fountain. She dismounted, took off Pippin's harness that held him in the seat, replaced it with a green and blue striped collar, set him on the ground, then turned to the one person in the courtyard. She stopped dead, eyes wide, jaw gaping, then faintly mouthed something. She whispered it, then shouted jubilantly- "MIFF!!"

Author's Note: What was that I said about dramatic entrances? Hehe, not what was I was going for here, but I'm afraid the length is rather attention grabbing... Fear not, EVUL Overladies and Sorta-maybe-half-evil Minions! I shall probably never post something this long in here ever again!
Oh, that reminds me... Are we evil Minions? Or EVUL Minions? Or is EVUL reserved only for her EVULness? Or would she give it to her Minions if it were lowercase? Like, evul Minions? Or are none of us evil at all? Or does it matter? And is this too many questions? Oh look, I'll answer one: No, I don't suppose it is too many questions.

((OOC: Haha, Lady C!! I thought you'd never come! But here you are, safe and sound. Umm...let's see: Are we evil? Mmm, not really? I don't know, we just are kinder at heart than Booky's hordes are! Actually, let's put it this way. We're sweet and nice and all that stuff, until you appear to NOT be sweet and nice. And then we follow the guidelines laid out in Peter's Evil Overlord list. No idea of EVUL is reserved just for me. I don't think it matters. ))

The speakers, hidden around the castle, crackled.

"Attention!! For everyone's information, an update on your progress in this game: Lady G has two points, and has found the BB Gun and the Sandpaper with the Nail. The Castle Mountie has five points, and has found the Feather Pillows, the tarantula, the silly putty, the glue on saran-wrap, and the paint buckets. Congratulations, and keep hunting!!! Feel free to team up with others to share information. "