Kingdom of Tales

Chapter 6 (Devotion)

I couldn't shake the feeling of Alpine's slight bitterness for Shiro off my shoulders. I started to grow suspicious of his motives. Shiro sighed as he took one more glance at the map. "We're not gonna make it through this forest in a day... Solarus City is still ways ahead."

I patted him on the back. "Shiro, I'm impressed, honestly. I didn't know you could map things so easily." He chuckled. "Well, what can I say? I take after my parents, I guess." I chuckled nervously, remembering what happened to his parents in the back of my mind. I looked back to Alpine, who was minding his own business.

"Alpine...? Your opinion on this?" His eyes had a distant feeling to them. I raised a brow and walked up to him. "Alpine!" I shouted to his face. "Ah-" He cut off his yell, stepping back and catching his breath out of shock to avoid embarrassment. "Were you... listening at all?" I asked in a concerning tone.

"I... uh..." He sighed. "I apologize, Your Majesty. I was... distracted. It does seem however that we should camp for the night." I looked up to the sky.

"Nightfall does seem to arrive more quickly than usual..." I looked towards Shiro's direction. "We'll need to gather firewood and prepare food." I then made eye contact with Alpine. "Are you prepared to help out?" He seemed clueless to the situation.

"Um, well, alright. Do we have any food packed?" Shiro looked through his pouches. "Just some loafs of wrapped bread. I didn't have the heart to ask more from the villagers..." He looked away, sheepishly. I could hear Alpine's groan-like sigh behind me. "That isn't enough for Her Majesty's diet." I flushed in embarrassment.

"Yes, yes, we understand that we need some protein here. So..." I scratched my chin for a brief moment. "...Why don't we split up jobs?" Shiro suggested quietly. We both turned to him, surprised. "I heard a river little ways south from here... You can go hunt..." He glanced at Alpine. "I'll go looking for firewood." I raised a brow, noticing I was the only one without a role.

"I'll go with you, Shiro," I stated calmly.

Alpine perked up, slightly intimidating. "Your Majesty! You should stay here instead!" I shook my head, trying to reach an agreement with him. "Gathering firewood is the easiest and safest job. It'll be better for Shiro to be with someone as well. Someone he trusts. Isn't that right, Shiro?" We both gazed at Shiro, waiting for an answer.

"...Uh..." He began to sweat, revealing the pressure we both put him under. It was noticeable that he didn't want to get involved any further. I patted him on the back like before, giving a reassuring smile. "We'll be fine, Alpine. Trust me." I waved back to Alpine, then headed little ways north of the clearing with Shiro.

There were several frail twigs and firm branches found on our search. I glanced towards Shiro and noticed his worried expression. "Shiro...? Are you alright?" I asked in a quiet, gentle tone. He shook his head awake, seeming to snap out of his daze. "O-Oh... Ha... I'm fine... It's just..." He looked away as he trailed off most of his sentences.

"Is it... Alpine that's giving you trouble?" He seemed astonished at my presumption. "Oh, no! No, no, no! Sir-" He stopped himself. "...Alpine couldn't be the problem! He's a nice man!" I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "Are you... sure? You can always tell me when something's bothering you, Shiro. I'm here with you for a reason." He paused his train of thought.