Taurus Jupiter's Arc

Chapter 1 of 4

Taurus Jupiter walked through the carved entrance and stopped before a scholar bent over scrolls in a room that smelled of ash and old ink. The man looked up with hollow eyes that had once held recognition, maybe even fame. Now he wore rough cloth and spoke in whispers about how deprivation had made him wise. She gestured toward the door. "Come with me." He followed her through the streets to a house with brown walls trimmed in teal and gold. Inside, a couch waited with cushions that matched the exterior, rich fabric catching the light from tall windows. She sat and pulled a leather journal from her coat. "I wrote my best work here," she said. "Not in a cold room like yours." The scholar touched the armrest, then lowered himself onto the cushions. His shoulders dropped. She watched his face change as his body remembered what ease felt like. Outside, through the window, a blue and gold swing moved gently in the garden breeze. "I convinced myself suffering made me smarter," he said quietly. "But I think I was just tired." She smiled and handed him the journal. The house had already done its work.