Kingdom of Tales

Chapter 7 (Little Red)

The morning was a blur. All there was was just silence and food. That was what we got for not eating last night. Shiro's eyes were so red that his sclerae virtually matched his pupils, Alpine's former smooth, celadon hair was reduced to looking like a bird's nest, and dark circles practically overtook the underneath of both of my eyes, making them much duller as if they weren't before.

I glanced at the two men, realizing that both of them haven't spoken to each other since the night before. I looked down awkwardly as the silence continued to loom over us. "Mister Shiro." I perked up in Alpine's direction as he broke the silence. Shiro slowly moved his pupils towards him, not moving a muscle.

Alpine took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." Shiro was taken aback, his jaw dropping slightly and his eyes widening with uncertainty. "I know you may never forgive me; I understand your reasons. And I will admit..." Alpine glanced in the other direction and bit his lip. "...I don't like you that much. But for the sake of Her-" He cleared his throat suddenly. "...For the sake of Noire, I will keep my feelings behind me."

Shiro set down his food and took a deep breath. "I'll... I'll think about it. Thank you, Alpine." He fidgeted nervously with his thumbs. The air filled with silence once more as we all looked down at our feet. I grabbed the map that had been sitting in one of the bags that Shiro packed up beforehand.

"We can make it to Solarus City by late afternoon if we start traveling now. Let's finish up here and head up north." I stated calmly, not letting any hesitation slide through my voice. I began to clean around ourselves while the both of them ate quietly. I sighed sorrowfully.

What seemed to be an hour later, the three of us were prepared for the remaining journey ahead of us. Shiro noticed a small piece of paper in my hand and a pen in the other as we strolled along the forest trees. "Noire? What are you doing with those?" I turned my head back and chuckled. "Just making notes on the scenery. I've never been out in the wild for a long period of time before..." I smiled to myself, lost in my thoughts. "I'm planning on writing a letter to your grandmother once we get to the city."

Shiro seemed reassured with a small smile developing on his face. I gazed over to Alpine, who was only looking through his grimoire, unfazed by any of our surroundings. As we traversed further into the forest, a trail of faded stone bricks could be seen beneath our feet.

"We're close." I inspected the area around us. "We're only a few ways away now." Before I could continue forward, Alpine stopped me. "Noire... your feet..." I looked down and noticed many dark bruises on my legs and feet. I collapsed to my knees as the sudden realization occurred to me. "What the...?!"

Alpine supported my back as I sat down carefully. "Noire, you didn't notice...?" Shiro asked, concerned. "They felt fine before-" Alpine shot a glare at Shiro. "Did these bruises appear before our travels?" He questioned in a menacing tone. "U-Um..." The white-haired man stuttered quietly, not sure what to say. "Answer me, Shiro," Alpine demanded in a calmer voice, noticing his panic.

"They were there when I met her... She didn't seem to be bothered by them so I didn't pay attention to them!" I was shocked at my own pain tolerance. I examined my bruises carefully, realizing that I felt no pain when I poked at them. "What in the world...?" Alpine immediately took my hands away from them. "You shouldn't do that, Noire! It will only make the scars worse." He then proceeded to get up, only to kneel down once more with his back to me.