Rieka stood at the base of the giant wooden gate, looking up for any sign of another living being. They had made it to Ostrythe's kingdom, but how were they supposed to get in? There were no handles or mechanisms to open the gate anywhere she could see along the path and leaving it would surely mean death. Was someone supposed to meet them in some grand form of entrance?
"It couldn't be so simple," Rieka mumbled, raising her fist to the wood and firmly knocking three times. The knock echoed in the woods around them as they stood and waited for something to happen. For what felt like eons but could have only been a moment or two, there was silence. Then a deep voice from somewhere above them called out, "What business do you have in coming here?"
Elaine and Ivy stared at Rieka, waving their hands for her to respond. Rieka took a deep breath then looked up where she had heard the voice and shouted, "We are the brides of Ostrythe sent to by our village to marry the great wolf god."
"Ah, so the new Faemne have finally arrived," the voice chimed with piqued curiosity. "Its a shame there are so few of you, but it will mean a great deal more sport at the festivities this year! I do so love a good bloodbath! Please standby, dear Faemne, and I will lead the way."
"Bloodbath?" Elaine whispered, still clutching Ivy who had begun to weep again. "Did he just say bloodbath?!"
Rieka remained silent, her own heart beating rapidly in her chest. Something wasn't right. The voice had called them Faemne. Why did he call them Faemne instead of brides? And what festivities had he been talking about? She had never before tried to imagine Ostrythe's kingdom, but the idea of a festival and bloody ritual didn't quite seem like the kind of things a wolf God would do. At least, she were never taught to believe that. But then again, no one who had entered His kingdom ever returned, so how would she know?
The gate split open slowly, opening just enough so they could quietly slip through. Though Ivy and Elaine hesitated at first, they quickly followed Rieka into the gate.
"This way, Faemne," the voice said somewhere in the darkness. They had entered some kind of building that was completely enveloped in darkness. Rieka felt around until she found a pole moving along the wall. "Come on," the voice said impatiently. "Just hold on to that railing and follow it up. I'll be right behind you the whole way." Unable to see which direction she was going, Rieka led the girls forward, or what she believed was forward, until she almost tripped on the first step of a flight of stairs. "Careful now," said the voice, "Wouldn't want your pretty faces getting messed up before the big event."
'Big event?' Rieka thought to herself as she climbed the stairs. 'What big event could he be talking about? The wedding? Or...something else?'
The top of the stairs led out onto the wall they all had been looking up at not a few minutes ago, though Rieka had no idea just how high the wall was at the time. Now she could see most of the treetops of the forest and the night sky racing endlessly on before them. When she turned around to view their new home, she gasped.
Ostrythe's kingdom was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. It was a vast array of land filled with buildings of all shapes and sizes made from the same pearly white stone. It gleamed in the moonlight like pearls. She had never seen a place with so many buildings. They stretched so far that she couldn't even see the end of it all. In the distance she could make out two buildings larger and grander than any other. One was lined with numerous towers and domed rooftops, torches gleaming in the night like fireflies. The other, though smaller, was large and round with lights pouring out from ever arch and window it held. She couldn't believe that someone took the time to light and extinguish them all every morning and evening.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" The voice asked. Rieka turned around to meet the owner of the voice. He was a dark man with dark, curly hair and golden eyes. He wasn't handsome but neither was he ugly. If Rieka had a to describe him, it would definitely be fierce. He was a fierce man with big bulging muscles that were exposed under the sleeves of his gossamer white muslin shirt. His chest muscles were left exposed as his buttons were all mostly undone. Perhaps the fiercest thing about him besides his size, which was nearly double the size of Rieka, were three large scars that trailed down from just below his right ear, diagonally across his throat, and stopped just above his left peck. It almost looked like he had been clawed by an angry animal.
'Or an angry wolf god,' Rieka thought with a shudder.
"Who are you?" She asked, forcing her eyes away from his scars.
"Well now," the deep tenor voice of the man said with a smile. "I can't remember the last time a Faemne asked me that! My name is Gunnolf. I'm the gatekeeper of our Kingdom."
"You mean Ostrythe's kingdom!" Elaine piped in with a frown.
Gunnolf let out a hearty laugh. "Sometimes I forget how naive you Faemne are when you first get here!"
"Please, Gunnolf," Rieka said with a forced smile. "We are not quite sure what is going on. Could you please explain it for us? Where are we, exactly, and why do you keep calling us Faemne?"
Gunnolf sighed. "What's your name, little Faemne?"
"My name is Rieka."
"Rieka. I like that," He smiled down at her, trying to give her some sense of comfort. "Listen, Rieka. I'm not allowed to tell you anything. My only job is to guard the entrance to our kingdom and escort the Faemne when they come to our gate."
"Escort us where?" Elaine chimed in, eager for any form of attention.
"Why," Gunnolf said with a forced smile, "to meet your new husbands."