Stargazer

Chapter 6

By some miracle, my arms reached out and caught onto the branch below I had just been on. I let out a scream as my legs dangled and my heart thrummed in my chest. After I pulled myself back up, I stopped for a few moments in an attempt to slow my heart.

"What was that? What just happened?" Jermain called from below.

"I'm fine!" I replied. "Just a...weak branch situation! Got it covered!" But did I? I could climb back up, but that'd put me right back in the same situation. How would I safely climb from here? "Jermain!" I called down to him, unable to see his face.

"Ya, girl, what now?"

"How much further do I have to go?" I looked up, still unable to see the top, "I mean I'm almost there, right?"

"Ya! Sure! Almost there!" He called back up to me, but I thought I heard him complete that statement sarcastically to himself.

Shit s**t s**t! I thought. Not knowing which branch to try jumping to next, I sat down and closed my eyes, attempting to calm my racing mind. I thought about that lovely night sky and couldn't wait to sit for a while later and look at her, speak with her. 

Chuzzle chuzzle, chuzzle chuzzle

A loud sound of grinding wood distracted me from my inspiration, and I tried to ignore it.

Chuzzle chuzzle, chuzzle chip, chip, chip

What was that? I finally couldn't take it any longer, I had to know! 

Finally I saw it. There had been movement on the branch above me. A large, white colored insect gnawed at the bark and carried away pieces as a procession of them began in a line. Termites! I realized. Nasty looking creatures they were, with bodies similar to a grub and a head that looked as if they were full of clear puss you could probably give a good pop. But worst of all was those pinchers peeling away at the massive tree like it had nothing on them. I shivered but then realized something about termites I'd heard. They only eat dead wood.

That was it! Termites only would go after rotting wood! In theory, I could assume the branches with termites were the ones not safe to hold my weight!

I looked to the left of me and to a branch a few feet over. It had taken time to stop and watch it, but after a few moments I was content that there were no termites. After a leap of faith through the sky, I cringed as my body fell to the large branch. It shook beneath my weight, and I held my breath, but let it out as soon as the shaking subsided.

Then I had gotten confident. I took my time making sure until I was one hundred percent certain there were no termites on the next branches and kept going, as quickly as possible from branch to branch. After what seemed like an eternity, I heard Jermain call from below, his voice now a deep drum in the distance.

"Ya still alive up there!?"

Asshole!

"Jermain, how much farther no-" but I stopped speaking mid-sentence because something caught my eye. A red bird? Feathers fluttering above? No, it wasn't an animal. But regardless, two tails flicked from a branch several above me. A ribbon! My ribbon from the trials!

I knew at that moment it was meant for me, no doubt about it. I hurried my way up to the branch with the ribbon as fast as I could without making a wrong move, and ceremoniously unknotted it from the branch.

It was crazy to think such a silly little thing could have made me work so hard both mentally and physically, but I rejoiced like the ribbon was a rare and beautiful gem. I took one of my tightly woven braids and wrapped the ribbon around, being extra careful to knot it tightly at the bottom.

"Jermain, I got it!" I excitedly called down to him. I was so high up now, I couldn't tell if he could even hear me. "I found the ribbon!"

"Ho ho ho! Miss big shot musta' used her brain for once!" He yelled back up in jest. I shook my head at him and called back, "Would've used it faster if you would've given me more hints on how to use it!" Asshole! I finished in my head.

"Now ya can come on down!"

Great, I thought, only a couple more hours of climbing. I was furiously griping to myself as I began the slow descent down when Jermain yelled at me, once again.

"Na that way, girl! Jump! I ain't gonna wait for ya all day! You've got a rope, now use it!"

I looked down and could barely make out Jermain but thought I could see the other end of the rope tied, taught, around his big chest and his body braced to the ground. But I couldn't do it.

Jump!? Just jump he says, like I wouldn't be committing suicide! 

"What!? Dontcha trust me?" Thoughts bubbled in my brain about 'the back stinger' yet again. But this time, I sought out the stars in my mind for direction, and could see the truth. They answered me, and I somehow knew Jermain was a trustworthy, unwavering friend.

I breathed out through pursed lips as I tightly wrapped the hem of my cloak around each hand to protect them from the rope burn.

"Okay," I said to myself, "Here goes nothing!" And dropped out of the tree like an acorn taking a dive for the earth. I fell fast! And my hands did little to slow my speed. Then the rope snapped in two, leaving my body to plummet to the earth.

This is where I die, I thought, squeezing my eyes closed so as not to see the approaching ground. I felt it, though. It was hard. It knocked the wind out of me….but I was alive!

I sat up, coughing, gagging, spitting for air, and found the big body of Jermain beneath me. He coughed and sputtered as well as he groaned and turned to his side saying something but unable to clearly speak.

There, laying on the ground were the frayed rope, ends split in two.

"Wow," I wheezed. "You should really pay more attention to the quality of your rope next time," I spit back at him after all the badgering he had done to me about “attentiveness”. He laughed as he stood up and pushed me back into the ground as punishment.

"Girl, ya lucky I caught ya! I'm reevaluating that decision now!"

Suddenly, the sounds of twigs breaking and footsteps approaching caused me to jump up, unsure what I was getting ready for. People began to emerge from the forest and I was instantaneously confused, until I recognized who they were. The Assassin's guild, of all types of members stood around me, applauding and cheering. For me!? I thought. 

Dracus, an Assassin Elder, who had saggy jowls and long, white hair, stepped forward with the assistance of his staff.

He spoke out as loudly and clearly as possible, but he had a weaker voice compared to Belefius' announcements, who seemed to be absent.

"It is decided by all members that today, Solé has proven herself worthy to become a sister of the Assassin’s Guild!" Another wave of clapping and cheering rang out and I looked out at all the members in disbelief that so many had been watching me.

"We shall have a ceremony this evening in honor of our newest member!"

The smile felt permanently stamped onto my face. Even when I tried to stop, I couldn't, and my cheeks began to hurt. Jermain turned to me. "They asked me ta take ya here knowin' I was already trainin' with ya and all. Hate to be deceitful type, but thought ya deserved your second chance." He lightly punched my arm and I nodded in understanding.

Guild members came up and shook my hand, and gave a few words of praise until, eventually, everyone packed up and began the ride back. Jerome and I rode back separately, and mostly in silence. I basked in the glory of finally feeling worthy enough, for once in my life, to be something. My thoughts turned to Jasmine and my heart sank.

"Jermain," I finally spoke. "You said fighting was a kind of art. What if fighting isn't a person's calling? Can they still find a way? An inspiration?"

He let out an odd rumble like a growl, "Solé, I know ya have it in ya if that's whatcha worried about, I could see it for myself when ya planted my backside in the dirt that first day."

"No, not me,"I said looking down at Vanilla's reins in my hands. "Hypothetically speaking. Just thinking, most of us kids come here, not by a choice of our own. So, if they don't have the makings to be an Assassin...what then?"

"Oh, that's horse rank if I've heard it! Everyone has the makins ta be a fighter! Sure, some might be more successful than others. But bein a fighter's about fightin' for somethin' ya believe in and standin' up for it! And that's what bein part of the Assassin's Guild is all about. Ya do what needs to be done to protect Sordova." I nodded but still felt questions unanswered.

"Now, as far as a person's heart not bein in it, well, they can still work at the academy, if they wish, or move on once they're 21 and fend for themselves out in the real world. But it ain't easy out there. Especially with no trade to make an honest earnins." I thought about that in silence.

What would happen to my best friend?