And you wait...

Several minutes have passed and you are sitting on a very uncomfortable high back wooden chair, staring at the ancient clock across the hall. You hear footsteps, whisper quiet, and you look up to see the knight/lover. You smile at him, something in the back of your head starting to nag you. He smiles a gappy smile back and that's when you finally get it. This is Taylor Hanson. You note this out loud to him and he frowns and disappears back into darkness. You barely have time to worry about that though, because the Lady is once again in front of you. She tugs on a wispy strand of her long hair and apologizes for keeping you waiting. You smile and tell her it was no problem and follow her into the room for tea.

Over tea, she admits to your probing that indeed, her lover is the former teen idol. But it is apparently, a long and complicated story. She offers to allow you to read that story, directly from her manuscript, once it's finished. You agree, after all, what choice do you have? You're stranded in the thunder and lightening storm at this castle and the nearest town must be a hundred miles at least. You quietly finish your tea together and she clears the dishes. She smiles again and invites you to join her now in the tour. What can you say? She has a convincing smile. So of course you agree with her and offer to help her walk when you notice her ankle seems a little tender. She accepts your offer and confides that her feet are hurting because she's just begining to swell with child. You congratualte the happy mother and you're on your way.

You and the Lady are making your way down the narrow and winding corridor slowly, with her pointing out the sites. You pause at the first doorway you come to. The door is engraved. The door reads, The Room of Many Tales. The Lady stops to explain to you exactly what is contained in this chamber. It is, she explains, where you will soon find the story of herself and Taylor, as well as a few more of their adventures. Not to mention, the many fantasies she has written and the stories of Isaac and Zac as well. Her face turns very serious as she explains that this room is very important. Before you enter it, you must swear and oath that it's contents will not be exploited or reproduced as your own without permission. She will take you on your word, after all, could you lie to a face as sweet as hers? You continue on your journey, and soon, our grand lady has paused in front of a painting of a very beautiful home. She stares wistfully at the old painting and you wait in silence for her to explain. After several moments, she speaks softly to you, telling you that this home is the very manor you are standing in. You appear shocked. "What has happened to Castle Windreath?" You wonder aloud. She shakes her strawberry head at you chidingly. The story of Castle Windreath is also in The Room of Many Tales. You'll have to wait. You sigh and she takes one last longing glance at Castle Windreath of the olden days before you both continue on down the hallway. As you walk, you ask her where Taylor has run off to. Her lips tighten but she forces a smile nonetheless. She calmly explains that Taylor isn't too fond of visitors to the Castle anymore because they recieved so much criticism for being together. You nod and the walk continues. You stop in front of a second door. Like the first, it is engraved. The Room of Dreams. Our good Lady turns to you again. She explains that this room contains poetry she writes. That seems to be all she wants to say about that so the walk continues. You haven't gone more than a few steps when a young boy stumbles into your paths. "Mama," He sniffs and lifts his chubby hands toward the Lady. You look on in suprise as she picks him up. She softly coos to the baby as you watch Taylor creep in through the path the baby left. Our hostess turns to you and introduces you to "Taylor Jr." Little Taylor waves a chubby hand at you shyly before hiding his face in his mother's shoulder. You smile at him sweetly and wonder to yourself exactly how old this girl who at first glance appeared to be no more than 15 years old actually is. And Taylor, he's barely older than you. He'd be what 22, now? You think about this for a few minutes and are mildly embarrassed when you come out of your trance to Taylor snapping his fingers in front of you. "Glad to see you're still with us." He mutters dryly. You feel yourself flush and then the Lady steps in to rescue you. "Shall we continue onward then?" She asks you, shifting the teetering bundle of OshKoshB'Gosh that is young Taylor. You nod and the four of you start off. You take a small detour into the nursery to change the kid. You stare in disgust as her beautiful hands shift to change the waste. A girl like her was never meant to have children, you think to yourself. Your scrutinizing gaze shifts to Taylor, big Taylor that is. You shake your head slightly as you ponder all that these two could have made of themselves, instead of being stuck here in the decaying Castle Windreath, changing baby waste. Taylor glares at you. "Is there a problem?" You shake your head negatively and you're all on your way again. You all reach the end of the corridor and you can see only a door leading to a small, covered garden with veranda. Taylor opens the door and holds it for you all to pass through.

You stop to rest for a moment and the Lady insists that she must take Taylor Jr. inside for a nap. Taylor generously offers to continue your tour. You, of course, agree.

Taylor leads you around the Garden walls and soon you arrive on the far side of the house. He opens the locked wooden door for you and you both enter. He flicks the small light switch and the hall floods with light. You are momentarily stunned because the entire hallway, including the doors, is a mural. A mural, in the sense of mythical creatures. There's a painted on image of the former Castle Windreath, complete with drawbridge and dragon. Unicorns and fairies, pixies, butterflies and an odd assortment of graceful creatures line the entire hall.
You ask Taylor if he did this? He answers you that the Lady' parents did it all for her when she was a little girl. You walk the hall, staring at the pictures and soon Taylor stops at a door. The Room of Lists. Even you have to admit, this one has you puzzled. "This is where you go if you want us to tell you when things get done around here, particularly in The Room of Many Tales." You now comprehend so you allow yourself to be led farther into the hall of murals. Taylor stops at the door across the hall. "The Room of Speech." He says, gesturing emphatically. "It's where The Keeper writes down her personal thoughts on, well, pretty much anything." "The Keeper?" You ask. He rolls his eyes. "She runs this place." You nod and he leads you a few feet away to where there is a very narrow door. He throws it open and you step back as a bright light flows out. You peer inside once your eyes have adjusted, to see a glowing pale yellow book, illuminated by an almost heavenly light. “The Room of THE BOOK.” Taylor whispers, his voice awed. You can’t even bring yourself to ask, it’s just too beautiful. Abruptly he shuts the door and blinks at you. Once the two of you recover, you meander to another small door, a few feet down the hall. Its wood is cherry, looking very inviting. “And what’s this?” You ask, itching to open it. He smacks your hand playfully. “The Room of Invitations. So you can tell your friends how much you loved it here.” He smiled as he leads you away from the door. You pass a large door. "The Room of Gratitude." He says gruffly. "We have a lot to be grateful for." The next door is all the way at the end of the hallway. Taylor eyes you as you come to it. "Last door," He comments off handly. You nod. "Let's hope you never want to use it." He says somberly. You're now confused. But as you look at the engraving, you understand. The Room of Many Exits. You smile at Taylor and he smiles back. "Come on, he says, let's go find out where the Lady has gone."

Click here if you would (for some weird reason) actually like to go finish your little journey with the Lady and Taylor.

Click here if you just want to go check out all these 'rooms' for yourself.

Click here if you're totally confused.