Dolly Bell's Arc

Chapter 2 of 8

Dolly walked out of the village with her head down. The woman's words followed her. Keep that monster away from us. She had come to lift people's spirits, and instead she had frightened a child. The wolf padded beside her, its wings folded low, as if it knew. Dolly found a small park past the last house and sank onto its bench. Magical lights hung in the flower beds. She had no song left in her. She pulled the enchanted microphone from her saddlebag and turned it in her hands. The crystals along its handle stayed dark. A microphone only works if someone can bear to sing. Dolly pressed her forehead against it and let her shoulders shake. "I can't cheer anyone," she whispered. "I can't even cheer myself." Something rustled in the flowers. Dolly looked up. A creature stepped onto the bricks, cat-shaped, with folded scaly wings and a striped tail. Its green eyes fixed on the dark microphone. It tipped its head, curious, then batted the crystals with one paw. A single note rang out, soft and clear. Dolly laughed despite herself. "You like that?" The cat-dragon chirped and pressed its head against her knee, the same way the wolf had done in her yard. It did not fear the beast beside her. It did not fear her sadness. It only wanted the sound. So she gave it one. Dolly hummed a low tune, the first that came. The crystals along the handle woke and glowed pink. The cat-dragon began to sway. Its tail curled and uncurled in time. The wolf lifted its head and huffed, and the little creature climbed onto the bench between them without a flinch. Dolly sang louder. She sang the song she used to sing on her own porch, before roads and bandits and frightened mothers. The park lights brightened with each verse. The cat-dragon danced on its hind legs, wings half open. Watching it try to keep her rhythm, Dolly felt the weight in her chest crack and lift. She was not singing to save a village. She was singing because a strange small thing had asked her to. When the song ended, she wiped her face and grinned. Her voice had come back. Her hands were steady on the microphone. "You brought me back up," she told the cat-dragon. It flicked its tail and settled against her leg like it planned to stay. Dolly stood and slung the saddlebag onto her shoulder. The wolf rose. The cat-dragon trotted after her, wings tucked, matching her stride. Now she traveled with two beasts, not one. One flashed lightning and made villagers slam their doors. The other danced and might make them open again. She had found her own hope. The next problem was clear: she needed a way to walk into a village without the fear walking in first.