The Witch, The Wizard, and The Out-Worlder

A New Friend, A Big Door

 

The walk was far less unnerving without the sounds of the leaves shaking and twigs snapping, as the little creatures were no longer following us. Even with the creepy sounds gone, it was still a dark forest that I knew next to nothing about, so I couldn't get comfortable. Felix however, he seemed perfectly content walking through. He appeared entirely calm and focused, something I was envious of.

Lute was moving through the forest as fast as his little feet could take him. I could easily hear him panting as he seemingly struggled to keep up, but through it all, he didn't look tired. We only backtracked a small distance before Lute began pushing forward on a new path.

"Are you tired Lute? We could stop and rest for a little while." Lute made no sounds, only jumped up a few times and continued trotting forward as fast as his tiny feet could take him.

We followed Lute for quite some time, passing nearly no wildlife or anything dangerous along the way. Eventually, the forest started to thin out and I could feel that our journey through the forest was coming to its end.

"The forest is pretty barren." I whispered to Felix, all the while feeling like I may have jinxed it. I wasn't too superstitious, but my mother was. If she were here, she would have smacked me upside the back of my head and have me knock on wood.

"Consider us lucky." Was all he said, but he didn't have to tell me, I already did, well, in this particular instance. If I were truly lucky, I wouldn't be here to start with.

Seconds later, the forest opened up and we were staring at the front of an insanely large tower. I had never seen anything like this before so I had no basis for comparison, but this was huge. My head tilted all the way back as I stood in awe. Even with my head back, I couldn't make out the top of the tower. It's white stone walls were dotted with the periodic window. Aside from its magnitude. There was nothing remarkable in its architecture, which was a little disappointing. The double doors that led inside were large and red with a gold trim. Two circular golden knockers were the centerpiece to either door, as there were no handles to open it with.

"It's massive." I whimpered. I couldn't get myself to say much more while taking in the sheer magnitude of what was before me.

"Agreed. What I wouldn't do to take a nap on the top. To drift off listening to the breeze." I dismissed his whimsical desire as a cat thing.

Lute jumped up a couple times to get our attention, and then quickly moved behind us. He stopped only a couple feet from us and starred.

"Thank you Lute, you were very kind to take us here. Tell the others we really appreciated their help." I found myself kneeling and stretching my hand to pat the top of his head. His coat was as soft as a kittens.

Instead of running back, he just jumped and remained in place. I gave him a puzzled look and stood back up.

"I think he wants to come with us." I said, getting a rather enthusiastic response from Lute.

"No way, he will slow us down." Felix protested. Still unsure of the small furry companion.

"What if I carried him?" I answered. I found myself growing fond of Lute. He had shown us nothing but kindness..

"I still do not think we can trust him." Felix turned his back to Lute and refocused his attention to the castle. I couldn't tell if his feelings for Lute was a cat thing, or if it was just him.

"We could use the help, Lute has been nothing but helpful. Just give him a chance Felix." I pleaded on Lute's behalf.

"The decision is yours." He replied in solemn defeat.

"Then he stays as long as he would like to stay. If he gives us any reason to lose our trust, then we will go our separate ways. Sound good?" I tried to sound as rational as possible, but I knew Felix would agree, so it really didn't matter.

"So be it," He said as he walked closer to the door, "Should we knock?"

"That's a good question," I hadn't thought about it, but the door was massive, I wasn't sure how we would even be able to open the door, "I suppose we could knock. I don't see any other options other than hopping we could push the door in, but let's leave the breaking and entering out of the picture for the time being." I placed my hand on the door, finding that it was ice cold to the touch.

"Would you like me to knock, or would you rather?" He asked.

"Well, you haven't knocked on a door ever in your life, why don't you give it a try." I figured he could enjoy his body while he had it. I took a couple steps back and allowed Felix a little room.

Without thinking about it, Felix grabbed one of the knockers and let out three hard slams against the golden plate.. The loud thumps were deep, the doors seemed to be rather thick.

We gave it a few moments for response, but nothing came of it. I gave Felix a quick look and balled my fist in preparation of another knock. Just as I was about to pound on the door, a loud creaking sound emitted from the door.

Slowly, the door inched open. The door was nearly two feet thick and looked to be made of solid metal. We watched in stunned silence as the door finished opening. Just before the door would hit the inside wall, the thick chains up at the top pulled tight, stopping the door.

"Wow." It was all I could say. The inside of the tower was more massive than I thought we would see, as if made for a giant. Just beyond the threshold of the entrance was a long corridor lit by large sconces against the walls. The floor had large, ornate, rugs leading as far as I could see. The inside was adorned with various suits of armor, pictures and random pieces of accent furniture. There wasn't a cohesive style to the decorating, everything was a bit thrown together. The most off putting part, was that everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. There wasn't so much as a foot print, leaving what could have been a vibrant entrance, to looking abandoned and dingy.

"I cannot see the end." Felix said as he took a step inside.

"Neither can I. Do you suppose we just walk in?" I asked in hesitation.

"I would think so. Doesn't look like th-," He abruptly stopped and help a hand up. My heart instantly began to race, "Something is behind the door."

My stomach grew cold and I began to dig around for the machete in my bag. My bumbling hand finally found the hilt of the blade and I grasped it for dear life, ready to use it at a moment's notice.

We stood in silence for a few moments and I focused all my attention to listening, there was clearly something behind the door. As far as I could tell, it sounded like someone was throwing sticks around. It was nerve racking, not knowing what exactly was behind the door. I found myself drawing closer to Felix, even Lute was pressed up against my leg for protection, I could feel his little body shaking.

"Who's there?" I called out. Whether I liked it or not, I was getting an answer, as the sounds intensified, and I could see shadows bouncing against the wall just beyond the door. I held my breath in anticipation.