Excerpt from 'Moonbeam Rose'

Chapter Five: An Addition

Rosie and Gran fell into an easy routine of getting up early, having a quick wash, striking camp and eating breakfast on the road. After the first few days of sore muscles, their bodies adapted to riding long hours and sleeping on the simple bed rolls. Occasionally, they would pass through a town or village, replenish supplies and perhaps stay the night at an Inn. Within two weeks, the mountains had become much more than a smudge on the horizon and were now looming large, a constant presence, soon to be reckoned with. 

According to Gran’s map, there was a pass that could be traveled via switchbacks and trails over the course of four days. Gran had chosen this way because the map said it could accommodate horses, whereas some of the passes were only manageable on foot. As a result, this particular pass was used by traders between the two countries. Apparently, there were public shelters along the way that could be used, if needed. 

That evening, Rosie and Gran stayed at a little bed and breakfast run by a husband and wife team along with their rather large brood of children, who scampered around under foot asking questions and getting in the way as much as they were helpful. The travelers had a bath each, knowing it could be awhile before they were able to get properly clean again. Dinner was a shared meal at the local pub. After good night's sleep and a delicious breakfast with their host family there was nothing left to delay them from embarking on the pass and they waved goodbye to the children at the gate, setting out on the trail at the edge of the village.  

Gran had been quiet the evening  before and was even brooding a bit during breakfast. Rosie was also feeling some nerves at the prospect of crossing the mountains. Up until this morning, the trip had been fun, almost like a holiday, but now, with the actuality of passing into the Southern countries, the reality of what they were attempting was at the forefront of her attention. In some ways, the challenge of getting across the mountains was nothing compared to finding an unknown person in an entire country with only one initial to give them any direction. Nagging doubts about the enormity of the task had Rosie wondering if this journey was already doomed to fail. Even the trees seemed to carry a serious mood, with deep shadows and muffled sounds as if they were leaving the regular world behind.

Huge mossy boulders made the path winding and soon the way became steep. With the thick canopy of trees it was almost impossible to tell if the sun was even shining. It was so green as to be almost painful and there were tendrils of hanging vines and creepers that would latch onto their clothing. Gran and Rosie had taken to carrying their knives tucked into their boots to deal with stray foliage. At last, they came to a small creek bubbling across the path and stopped to let the horses drink and nibble the tufts of grass at the water’s edge. 

“We should fill our water skins too” said Gran, her voice sounding loud over the soft music of the water. 

Rosie laughed nervously, “What an odd place this is. It feels like ours are the first words spoken in a hundred years. As if some enchantment were at work”.

Gran lifted an eyebrow at Rosie’s comment and glanced around. Rosie had the impression of her gaze being keen enough to pierce the shadows. 

“Yes, an unusual forest. I don’t much like the idea of sleeping here,” remarked Gran

“Oh, that gave me a shiver” wiggled Rosie, hunching her shoulders. “Maybe we will find one of the traveller’s shelters before dark?”

“Trouble is,” said Gran “that we may be hard pressed to figure out when the sun is setting in this odd twilight. If we have to set up the tent, it would be good to do it in the daylight.” 

The thought of trying to set up camp in the dark made Rosie’s skin crawl again. It felt like all the camping they had done so far had been practically in the back yard of the cottage. No, this forest felt very far from home and suddenly Rosie felt like some small, possible edible, creature that was out of her burrow in plain sight of all predators. 

“Gran, are we in danger here? She exclaimed. ” I’m spooked! If I had a cozy hole somewhere I would dash into it right now! How will we keep from being eaten!?” 

Rosie’s wide open eyes and tense shoulders made Gran’s face soften and she reached out to gently give Rosie a little shake.  

“It’s alright, I didn’t mean to frighten you. We should be fine if we keep moving during the day and light a fire in the evenings. Most wild things steer clear of human beings anyway, but we will pay attention and also make some noise. I should have thought of that earlier but the quiet of this place has distracted me. It is a bit like a spell but I don’t think there is any actual magic at work. Now let’s press on and this time we will sing!”

As they swung back up into the saddle Gran started up a simple song that could be sung in round or in harmony and they had fun playing with variations of the music for the next stretch of the road. The music lightened Rosie’s mood and she shook off the feeling of unease that had seized her earlier.

The road continued to be steep with frequent switchbacks and, as the day wore on, they began to search for a place to make camp. The side of the mountain was steep and mossy with abundant plant life. They realized that the real question was going to be whether or not they could find a spot flat enough to pitch the tent. The light was definitely failing and the horses were weary with the constant ascent. At the corner of one switchback, Gran called a halt. The path had briefly leveled off just before the corner and there was a small area that was just large enough for Rosie, Gran and the two horses to stand with some space between them. 

Gran looked around with her hands on her hips. “I think this might have to do,” she speculated

“You mean to set up camp?” questioned Rosie “in the middle of the road?”

“I do,” stated Gran “It is not as though we have seen a lot of traffic today.”

In fact they had seen no other people at all. 

“I don’t think we are in danger of being trampled," Gran continued with a chuckle

"If anything, we will just have to be careful of going to the bathroom in the night for fear of walking off the side of the path.”  

As it was, they were able to set up a passably comfortable camp. Rosie discovered that they could clear the vines from the rock face that ran parallel to the road and use the natural nooks and crannies as shelving, preventing their precious walking area and very limited space for feet from being cluttered with gear. By positioning the horses on the downhill side of their little camp the animals could be safely tethered to a tree and be furthest from the small campfire. 

Rosie hung the saddles in some handy branches and gave the horses a good rub down while Gran prepared a simple dinner. By the time they had eaten it was fully dark with a damp chill in the air and Rosie was grateful for the fire’s light and heat. 

“We will have to find a creek in the morning” commented Gran “the horses drank so much water at this stop that I barely have enough to clean my teeth properly.” 

This made Rosie laugh as she was always teasing Gran for having a toothpick eternally handy. Gran had explained that being “long in the tooth” may give a person wisdom but was a royal pain in terms of keeping food out from between the teeth where her gums used to be! 

On another note” said Rosie as she prepared for bed “we didn’t see any shelters for travellers so far.”

“I noticed that too” said Gran banking the fire for the night and handing Rosie the little beeswax  lantern and matches to take to the tent. “They must be further on.” 

Rosie was in the tent getting into her blankets when she started shrieking. Gran quickly grabbed the knife out of her boot and put the stick she had been using as a poker into the coals lighting the end up like a torch. 

“What’s happening?” Gran demanded shining her torch at the tent. She could see Rosie’s silhouette bouncing around inside and then suddenly she was out the door, lantern still in hand, panting and shaking. 

“Something is in there!” gasped Rosie “It’s in my blanket!”

Gran stood undecided. At last she said, handing Rosie the makeshift torch, “Rosie, go build up the fire a bit so we can see better and I will see what’s what. Give me the lantern. Good job you didn’t drop it in the tent! That would have been a bit of a disaster!”

“But what could it be?” exclaimed Rosie as she followed Gran’s instructions, adding the make shift torch and a few more pieces to the coals and blowing on them to kindle the flames. 

“Did you see it at all?” asked Gran slowly lifting the tent flap aside as she waited for a bit more light. 

“Ugh! I’m still shaking! No it just brushed my leg as I went to wrap up in my blanket”

Gran was down all fours with her head in the tent and she wrinkled her nose, “it smells just a bit like skunk in here, did you notice that?”

“Skunk!? There’s a skunk in the tent!?” 

“Oh!” came Gran’s startled voice from inside the tent

“What? What?” Rosie’s curiosity quickly overcame her nerves and she couldn’t help but try to peer into the tent over Gran’s shoulders.

Gran rocked back on her heels, cradling something in the crook of one arm. 

“Here take this” she said, handing Rosie the lamp. 

Gran pivoted towards the firelight revealing a lively little face. Its fur was brown but the dot of a nose was framed in white fur that matched the expressive eyebrow tufts topping two sharp black eyes. Two small ears, also tipped with white, and two brown paws were visible also. 

Rosie was speechless and gaped in amazement at Gran while she gently shifted the animal to be cradled in both of her hands. As she touched its front paw, it let out a squeak of pain. 

Finding her voice, Rosie said with concern, “It’s hurt!” 

“I think you are right. Do you think you can find my little bag of medicines, not the big one in the saddle bag but the one I keep with the matches?” 

“Yes, if I take the lantern.”

“Yes, take it, I will stay by the fire,” said Gran crouching near the small flames. 

Rosie was back quickly and she was able to help Gran examine the small creature. They discovered that it had somehow injured its front left paw and could not put weight on it. The whole front leg was only about an inch long in total so Gran gently spread a bit of ointment for bruising and pain on the paw and bound it with cord from her sewing kit, creating a kind of miniature tensor bandage. 

As Gran worked on the paw, Rosie dipped a bit of cloth into some honey and let the animal suck contentedly on the sweet treat while it’s injury was tended to. Then it promptly fell asleep in her lap.

Rosie looked up at Gran “What are we going to do with it?” 

“Hmm,” said Gran thoughtfully “It looks to me like you have been adopted.”