[ WP ] A bouncy castle is set up at a party . However , it turns out to be far bigger on the inside .

Bouncing castle # 1 
 
 “ Are you kidding me? ” he yells at nobody in particular. 
 
 As a surprise on his 16th birthday he would have expected anything but this. Bouncing castles are for kids, not for men old enough to get their drivers license. The inflated towers of the entry gate sway in the wind as if a hundred children are bouncing in it at the same time. The painted colors on the castle are so bright they almost hurt his eyes. The constant noise coming from the fan that keeps the castle inflated drowns out all other sounds. It's a good thing they do n't have any neighbors, the next house is a couple of miles down the road, otherwise there would probably have been some complaints about the noise. Andy figures it probably is some kind of joke that mom and dad are playing on him. 
 
 They usually try to mislead him on his birthday. A couple of years ago, they told everybody to give him socks or underwear. He kept quiet and just took it all with a smile and a thank you. It was not until the next day when he woke up that his parents told him what his actual present would be. The whole family had pitched in to buy him the thing he had always wanted. When they brought him to the driveway, on the trailer behind dad's car had been sitting the jet ski he had always wanted to have. 
 
 While he's standing there, looking at the big inflatable castle in his backyard, painted in yellow and red and blue and green, he can not help but laugh. Good one, mom and dad, he thinks to himself, let's at least enjoy it while it's here. Walking to the castle he kicks of his shoes, they hit the castle with a thump, the entrance way sways a little bit more. With difficulty he crawls to the center of the castle, the walls start slanting inwards while he pushes the middle of the castle down. There's probably not enough air in it yet. He tries standing up in the middle of it but that is harder than it sounds. Jumping up and down Andy tests the bounciness of the castle, he is not disappointed. He jumps higher and higher, while the castle starts to feel more bouncy with every jump. When he feels he is getting enough height he starts doing some flips and other tricks. It actually turns out to be a lot of fun having a bouncing castle in your backyard. When he's jumped and done tricks for a couple of minutes he decides to try a double front flip. First he will have to get some altitude again. He starts jumping up and down before he makes his first attempt. When he gets the required hang time he tucks in his chin an grabs his shins so he starts rolling forward. One rotation happens without trouble but just when the second one is about to start something in the castle catches his eye. He lets go of his legs and looks up, his spin slows down and before he knows it Andy slams into the floor of the bouncing castle face first. Even though the castle is soft the impact on the surface hurts his nose. Whenever he gets hit in the nose, hard or soft it always brings tears to his eyes, not this time though. His eyes have become larger and his gaze is fixed on the back wall of the castle as he scrambles to get back up. 
 
 In that wall a door has appeared, Andy wonders if it was always there. Has he just missed it before? Slowly he makes his way to the door on is hands and knees, it is small and low to the ground but it unmistakably is a door. Actually it is a double door, as you would see in real castles, two inflated ornaments in the shape of a lions head decorate the door. Great brass colored rings are attached as doorhandles. Andy grasps at the handle while the castle still wobbles up and down, left and right. He manages to open the door, and look inside. Beyond the door is nothing but darkness. Carefully he tries to stick his hand through the opening. As soon as his hand is through he gets sucked into the doorway. A feeling like falling comes over him for a moment but it fades as quick as it came, he slams face first into the castle again. Again his nose hurts. He sits up and rubs it until the pain seems to go away. When he gets a chance to look around him he is startled. 
 His surroundings have changed, where just a moment ago the walls were yellow and red and blue and green, now grey walls surround him on all sides. They seem to be upright instead of slanting inwards like they did before. The floor still wobbles with every movement and makes it hard to walk. The wall now has a stone brick pattern, as does the floor. Around the room is furniture that wobbles when the floor does. On the walls hang tapestries of long forgotten fights between knights on horseback. Something seems odd about the people depicted there. Walking towards one of those wall decorations Andy bumps into a little table. The goblet which was on the table rolls to the ground without the sound he had expected it to make. When he picks it up the thing feels weird in it's hand. Even though it looks like a silver goblet it feels soft and light. The goblet appears to be made of the same material as the bouncing castle. Actually everything here seems to be made out of that material. He takes a couple of steps back, the goblet still in his hand. 
 
 Suddenly a firm tap on his wrist makes him drop it, the tap was swift and hard but it did not hurt. When he turns around a man stands in front of him. Something seems odd about him, it is the same thing that Andy saw in the panting, it is his stance. His legs and his arms, they seem stiff, locked in a straight position. The man waves a big sword around, it looks real enough but if it was it would have cut through his wrist. When the man waves his sword it seems like he has no elbow joints, his arms make circles in the air and go up and down but are unable to bend. He hits Andy with his sword multiple times, first on the head, then he thrusts into his chest and finally he tries to swipe his leg. 
 
 “ Why will you not die you wretched thief, ” the man snarls. 
 
 “ I'm not a thief, ” Andy shouts. 
 
 “ You lie, ” the man shouts back, “ you were trying to steal the Poisoned Goblet of King Ignoo. ” 
 
 Andy picks up the goblet that fell to the ground and puts it back upon the table. 
 
 “ Here, are you happy now, ” he says annoyed, “ I put it back. ” 
 
 Again he pokes his sword in between Andy's ribs and slashes at his throat. 
 
 “ Cut it out, ” he yells at the man grabbing the sword. 
 
 He pulls the inflatable sword from the hands of his attacker. The man immediately throws his hands into the air. 
 
 “ I yield, ” he shouts in a high pitched voice, “ please do n't kill me thief. ” 
 
 “ I told you, I'm not a thief. ” 
 
 “ I do apologize ser, let's just say it was all a terrible misunderstanding, might I please have my sword back? ” 
 
 “ Not yet, ” Andy says annoyed, “ I did n't care much for you poking and hitting me with it. Where am I, who are you? ” 
 
 The man looks at him in disbelief, like he has just asked the dumbest question anyone has ever asked. 
 
 “ Why you are in Fort Foppin off course, the seat of power for all the land. As for me, I am ser Roland Mackswoon ” 
 
 “ What land, ” Andy asks. 
 
 Again it seems like that was the dumbest question ever. 
 
 “ have you fallen on your head thie... ser? ” 
 
 “ I actually did, ” Andy answers, “ twice. ” 
 
 “ Ah, that explains it all, please follow me to the physician's chambers so he may reinflate you, you have obviously lost some air. ” 
 
 When the man starts walking Andy notices that he also has no knee joints, it makes him walk like a penguin. It looks very funny but he manages to keep in his laughter. 
 
 “ What do you mean by reinflating me, ” Andy asks while they walk towards a big brown door. 
 
 “ It is a medical procedure, ” he explains, “ one which replenishes you breath of life and makes you feel better. ” 
 
 Andy suddenly stops walking, he pokes his finger at the man's head. He looks like a normal man, except for his elbows and knees, but he feels the same as all of the other things around here, he feels like the inflatable castle. Andy jumps back in shock, how is that possible. 
 
 “ Eh... you mean... he l-l-literally pumps fresh air into you? ” 
 
 “ Yes that's it, ” the man says, “ for when you've sprung a leak or just lost some air Doctor Maidenhair is always there. ” 
 
 Suddenly the room starts spinning for Andy, his knees feel weak. Everything starts going dark as he tumbles to the bouncy floor. 
 

