I limped back to the caravan, stumbling about and somehow not shattering the little ball. The next day, I crawled out of bed as soon as I woke up, and brought the star to Foster. I was still a little dizzy, and so gratefully accepted the tea Foster made. I drank in silence as he looked at the glittering star.

“If you want...” He said once I started showing signs of life, “You can come with me...”

“Where?”

“...Tomorrow's the anniversary of Cara's... Demise. I always bring something to her grave... She's lucky to have one you know! It's not a luxury often afforded people like us.”

“...Why would I, of all people in the kingdom and wider world, wish to go see her grave?”

“Well, because... She more or less raised you! She and Almond. You were close, and-”

“And I killed her. I'm sure she would be happy to know I visited her grave after I put her there.”

“...Stiri.” He sighed. “Stiri, look.” he paused a moment, collecting his thoughts. I wanted to just get up and go, but I was terrified my head would collapse if I did. “Stiri, I trained you. I taught you how to kill, how to be an assassin. And I do think I did a rather good job at it. I never saw someone such as yourself, who could so easily put aside his own... His own self for a job. Cara understood that as well, and Almond did too, but he's... Anyway, You had your job on your mind, and-”

“And if I had the chance, I would do it again. I was hired to kill, and I did.” I stood up, grateful that my head didn't break. “I have no need, no reason to see her grave.”

“It's close. Just up over the hill towards the mountains, and -”

“I have better things to do.” I said. “I bought one of the horses yesterday. I think I might see what it can do with Dawn and the caravan.”

Foster nodded his head. “Whatever you wish... I'll be going there tomorrow, on my way out of the city. You will stay here and guard my collection?” he waved at his books. I nodded, and left.

***

I brought the horses, dragging my caravan off the crowded bridges and to the grassy, clear plains around the lake. I still had to take it slow, so I let them simply trot around a little. Dawn was slower than normal, but she was alive.

And of course, I did decide to go look at the grave,

I think it was curiosity. It's true that assassins don't generally get laid in graves, and they never have people bring things to their graves. I wondered what it said on her grave, or if it was just a symbolic marker. I wondered If I could even find it. I wondered if Almond had also been there. I wondered what Cara would actually think if I did visit her grave.

I found the hill that Foster had mentioned. This seemed to be a graveyard of types. There were several graves there, each one marked off by a long slab of rock embedded into the ground. The sun was setting, and the glare off the stones half blinded me.

I tied Dawn and Night up near a tree, and wandered about the graves with a lanturn. There were no more than fifty, each one had their name, written in their native tongue, the date they died, and then, under that, their names rewritten in several different human languages from the mainland and the islands.

Cara's grave was located under an oak tree so large, it must have fed upon her body. She was in the tree which shivered and whispered in the wind, alive. Upon the branches were many hanging orbs. Some were stars, others were simply balls, but they were all different, bright, and colorful. There were orbs for each year she had been dead hanging from the branches of the trees.

I stood silently by her grave for a while. I was unable to tell that anyone other than Foster had been there. He would be coming tomorrow to remember her anniversary again.

“I would do it again.” I said. Somewhere in my mind, something twitched. A voice in the back of my head said: “Are you sure? Do you not regret it?”

“I would do it again.” I said once more. For a moment, I felt sick and dizzy. I sat down, and leaned again the tree, my face in my hands.