Rose Tolan's Arc

Chapter 2 of 8

Rose pushed open the cabin's back door with the map under her arm. Morning air rushed in and stung her bare legs. She looked down at her thin rainbow shirt, her jean shorts, and her purple sandals. Beyond the pool deck, the ground dropped into rough dirt and gray stones. The trail toward the sugar hills was long, and it looked cold. She could see her breath. She took three steps onto the trail. A sharp rock bit through the sole of her sandal. She hissed and hopped back onto the warm wooden deck. Her toes had already gone red. "I can't walk to the hills like this," she said. The purple cat-dragon trotted out behind her. It sniffed the cold air, sneezed, and shook itself. Then it looked at her sandals, twitched its striped tail, and turned back toward the kitchen. It stopped at the doorway and stared at her, waiting. "You want me to follow?" Rose asked. She stepped inside and closed the door on the cold. The creature led her past the kitchen to the narrow room full of bookcases. Heavy chests lined the bottom shelves. The cat-dragon jumped onto one and patted the dusty lid with a paw. Rose knelt and worked the stiff latch. It gave with a snap. Inside lay folded clothes, packed tight and smelling of cedar. Rose lifted out a pair of tall leather boots, worn soft but strong. Beneath them sat a thick wool coat and two rolled socks. The boots looked her size. Someone in her family had stored these here long ago, ready for a cold road. Rose sat right there on the floor and pulled off her sandals. She tugged the wool socks on, then pushed her feet into the boots. They fit snug around her ankles. She stood and stamped once. No cold seeped through. She wrapped the coat over her rainbow shirt and buttoned it to her chin. She found a canvas bag in the chest too. She packed her sandals, the map, and a spare sock. The cat-dragon watched from the shelf, ears forward, tail curled. "Now I can make it," Rose said. She pressed her purple hat down tight over her red hair. She walked back to the door and opened it again. The cold hit her face, but her feet stayed warm inside the boots. She stepped onto the rough dirt, and the stones no longer stung. She crossed the deck, passed the pool, and reached the head of the trail. The cat-dragon slipped out beside her and padded ahead. It stopped where the dirt turned to loose gravel and looked back to make sure she followed. Rose gripped the strap of her bag and set off. Behind her, the warm cabin shrank. Ahead, the rough road climbed toward the hills, and she was finally dressed to walk it.