Kingdom of Tales

Chapter 8 (Second Thoughts)

"To Deika: I hope this letter finds you well; mostly considering you never exactly told me your surname. However, that does not stop me from writing to you. Getting straight to the point, your grandson is doing well. Shiro has been quite helpful these past few days. He has helped set up camp and also found us a place to stay in Solarus City. I have brought up the rebellion to him. He said he would join me. I understand that it pains you to hear that your grandson will be joining something so dangerous, however, this is all for a good cause. I promise you. With that in mind, I dearly hope that this letter gets to you. -Noire D."

Shiro had made Alpine and I agree to go shopping for food and explore the city with him the next day. It seemed even more busy in the square than from when we arrived previously. So busy, in fact, that I had gotten lost in the middle of a crowd. Oh. Oh dear. Oh no. A sense of panic crept up on me as my eyes darted in all directions.

After a minute of panic, I spotted a pale shade of green and white hair stick out from the crowd of people. I started to trail behind them in hopes of being able to get their attention. As I got closer, I realized that the two men were actually following a woman who looked similar to my appearance. I raised a brow in curiosity.

The two men and woman reached a back alleyway, leading towards a smaller district from the square. I hid behind a small pillar beside a building. Just as Alpine was about to reach his hand out to her, the woman shyly spoke. "Excuse me..." She turned around slowly. I noticed Shiro's entire body flinching at the sound of her voice and Alpine's right hand wincing back as well. "Why are you two following me?" She asked, seemingly scared for her life.

"Ah, we apologize, ma'am," Alpine pardoned. "We assumed you were someone else..." He turned his head away in embarrassment as Shiro looked down apologetically. I quietly walked out of the alley and waited for them to come out as well. A pair of footsteps soon became louder a moment later. I was casually waiting outside, arms crossed.

I coughed, loudly. The two men jumped at the sound of my voice. "N-Noire! There you are! We've been looking all over for you!" I sighed heavily. "Yes, I'm aware of that." I began to walk away, expecting both to follow afterwards. "Noire, did you witness that whole thing?" Alpine asked, nervously. I only turned my head in his general direction. "Yes, everything."

I should probably stick around those two in crowds like these... The usual chatter of the city and the two men behind me blurred out as I became more invested in my own thoughts. "...Noire." I felt a hand on my left shoulder. I snapped back to reality as my voice made what only could be described as confused squeaks. "Are you okay? I just said I was going to go around today and get some intel." Alpine held a concerned look on his face. I looked to my right and saw Shiro looking around town hastily.

"Ah, yes. I am fine. Shall we accompany you?" Alpine shook his head. "No, I want you to stay with Mister Shiro for today. The things I'm going to involve myself in are," He trailed off, smile fading slowly. "...Quite daunting." He then gave a quick grin. "Just take care of him like you normally do. I will see you tonight at the inn." The celadon-haired man speedily gave his regards before rushing off. I raised a brow in suspicion. He always did like to hide his businesses from others.

I made my way back to Shiro, who was distracted by a dandelion seed in the wind. He was desperately trying to catch it. I snickered quietly. A loud clap could be heard from his hands. "I caught it." My snicker grew slightly louder into a moderate chuckle. "Sometimes I wonder if you truly are an adult, Shiro." He turned back to me, with a surprised look in his eyes. "Really...?" The mood suddenly dropped.