The wolf king replied slowly, taking deep breaths as it ran."I, too, thought I was the last, but when I howled in joy for life returning to me, I was answered by many of my kind. And they are here."
The silence was broken only by the sound of animals running in the dark. Then, suddenly the tree line ended and all was clear sky and mountain peaks. The pack stopped and all the wolves reclined for a moment on the flat plain before all. In the distance, Tete could see the white castle, darkened with no lights, but a faint reflection of the full moon revealed its features.
The wolves remained silent, but suddenly got up and began running down the other side of the small plain, into a mountain valley, then after an hour, the pack was in a different forest.
Beech trees crowded around them all, laden with yellow leaves. Already some of the leaven lay on the ground, as winter was coming. Tete could barely see them, but she could hear the crunching sounds ever so lightly under the paws of the wolf pack. Then, the pack stopped again. The wolf king sat on its haunches and Tete slid off. There, in front of them was a stream of will water. The wolves drank and Tete did, too, using her hands. The water had ice in it, and was as cold as death, but clear.
"We shall travel all night, crossing this stream into the kingdom, and not resting until we reach caverns near the palace. There, we shall rest, and wait until it is dark again, as we shall only travel in the night. There are ferocious dogs surrounding the palace, but we have a secret way through the caverns. Do not be afraid."
Tete whispered, "I am not afraid" and the wolves plunged into the stream and swam to the other side. Tete was hardly wet, as the wolf king was so large. They raced through the other side of the beech wood, just as the pre-dawn light was coming into the woods, when suddenly, the land dropped steeply and Tete could see nothing but rock. The pack moved into a long tunnel and finally, all the animals, led by the wolf king, went underground. Tete noticed that the air was warm and a bit stuffy. She held on, as the path wound down. Surrounded by rock walls, Tete could not tell in what direction the pack moved, when in an instant, the entire pack was on a sandy plain stretching out to a small river, in a huge cavern miles under the woods.
The wolf king spoke, "We are safe here, as no men have ever found this place. We shall eat some of the strange, pale fish in this river and then rest. One wolf remains at the hole to the path as guard. Then, when most of the day has passed, we shall travel underground until we enter the castle from beneath.
This is an old secret way carved out by men by forgotten except by beasts. When we come out, we shall be underneath the dungeons under the throne room. But, enough, let us eat and sleep."
Some wolves were catching fish out of the stream by pouncing and flipping the fish out, as if the wolves were bears. All ate and the fish, although strange to Tete, were good and wholesome. She did not know when she fell asleep, but she did, leaning against the warm side of the wolf king.
Hours passed, when all the wolves woke up at exactly the same time. The wolf which had been at the entrance now joined the pack and they resumed their strange journey through paths under the earth. Slowly the paths became inclined, narrow ways, some with steps, until, as the wolf king had said, Tete noticed foundations and the signs of large tunnels no longer natural but made by humans.
The wolves squeezed themselves through a pathway and came out under a room with a gate at one end. Tete knew they were in a prison.
For the first time, she felt fear.
"We know a way out, but it is not time yet. The night is almost over again and it will be morning in the world above. But, this dungeon is ancient and lead directly to the room where the king of this country holds court.
Again, we shall wait for a sign,"and the entire pack laid down and fell asleep instantly.
To be continued....
