"Ello?!" Called a distraught Allen, standing in front of the castle's gate, that had been closed for the night. A few hours have passed since the cliff incident. Thankfully, there were no guards stationed on the outside of the gate, which was good, you know, considering he was a fugitive.

"Look, I know it's late, but come on! What's a guy gotta do to get a little attention 'round here?!"

"Yell and scream I presume."

Allen turned around with a startled expression. In front of him was one of the castle's maids. She was holding a basket, most likely just now coming back from running errands in town. Allen stared at her, unable to think at the mere sight of this lovely girl, who also had a British accent.

She raised a brow at him. "Sir? What did you need? Maybe I could help." She didn't seem to know who he was, good. He straightened up and cleared his throat. "Actually, it's about Captain Mai..."

Her eyes filled with worry. "Mai? Is she alright?" He scratched the back of his head, avoiding eye contact. "Well, she needs help. I'll tell you but take me somewhere that has people she trusts."

She nodded and grabbed his wrist, dragging him to the nearest entrance. "Come with me! I know who can help!" He followed without question, finding no reason not to trust her. Then she looked back to him with a smile. "Oh! I'm Macy by the way." He smiled in return. "I'm Allen."

Once inside of the castle, Macy took Allen into one of the many rooms down the Great Hall. Though it was a few hours past sundown, the castle was still quite lively. Other maids ran down the hall about their own business. One of them came to a halt at the sight of them. "Macy? Who's this?"

Macy stopped abruptly, almost making Allen run into her back. "Oh Riley!" She dragged Allen over to the girl. "This is Allen, he said Mai needs help. I'm going to take him to Matt and Kevin, do you know where they might be?" Riley gasped at the news but nodded. "I know Matt is in the library. I'll go get Kevin and meet you there!" With that the girl was off.

Allen was again dragged by the maid with a basket, this time towards the library where this 'Matt' fellow was located. It didn't take very long to reach the library doors. Macy pushed one open and let him in first before going in herself.

The room was of course, covered with books from the floor to the ceiling, separating them by shelves and stairways. Allen was so in awe of the place that Macy's suddenly loud voice startled him a wee bit.

"MARCO!" She called, her voice echoing throughout the large room.

"POLO!" Came a muffled reply from behind many bookshelves.

She led Allen to the back of the library where a smart looking young man was introduced. Matt quickly finished his book to look up at them. "What's up Macy?" He then raised a brow towards Allen. "Why do you have one of the thugs with you?"

Allen gasped. "I am not a thug!" Macy ignored him as she spoke. "He said that Mai needs some help."

Matt narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "Mai? As in our Mai? Needs help? From us?"

Macy nodded and a familiar shaggy haired goof came running into the library, poor Riley chasing after him. "Mai needs our help?!" He halted in front of the small group.

Riley panted as she came to a stop next to them. "I've brought...Kevin..."

Macy turned to her as Kevin started freaking out, saying something along the lines of 'Mai must be in a battle with a dragon if she needs our help'. But he was easily ignored. "Thank you, now we can get to the point..." Her gaze switched to Allen. "Now could you tell us what you mean by 'help'?"

Allen had explained the incident but was surprised to hear the responses.

"Only a cliff? I'm sure she's fine." Said Matt, reopening his book to read.

"Phew, I thought something was seriously wrong." Macy wiped her forehead as Riley sighed in relief.

Kevin started laughing so hard that he was literally rolling on the floor with his hands on his stomach.

Allen blinked, confused by their reactions to such news. "You did hear me correctly, didn't you?"

Macy turned to him. "Of course we did. If it was just a cliff, I'm sure she's fine. She has been through much worse than that." Allen only stared. "Why is everyone around me crazy?"

They all just laughed, assuring him that they would be back before the Lantern Ceremony tomorrow night.

So Allen was invited to stay at the castle with these strange people, but only under the condition that he was watched by Matt and Kevin. The two boys didn't seem to mind though, Allen had come to warn them about Mai after all. He wasn't such a bad guy in their eyes.

Macy looked over to Riley. "Should we have told Tyler? Think she'll be mad?"

Riley placed her hand on her chin in thought. "Hmm, I'm sure that she's nothing to worry about."

~ On The Other End Of The Castle ~

Tyler sneezed in the middle of running a midnight delivery. "Huh? Why do I suddenly feel so left out?"