It was just like the great cheese race to the cove to determine who was the shortest. Elaine must’ve secretly started another race and forgotten to tell them. She must not like being labelled the shortest and wanted to disrupt the hierarchy—the height-archy if you will.

  As much as Colby wanted that to be the real reason, he knew it wasn’t. Far from it.

  Colby and Porter made a safe descent down from the rooftops, one that didn’t involve jumping into a bunch of [Cheese Pillows], and took the stairs that led to the beach, running towards the cove.

  “Do you think Elaine’s okay?” Porter asked, moving at a laughably slow pace for the Supply Runner, but took everything Colby had just to keep up.

  “I don’t think so, Port. I’m not even sure if she’s Elaine,” he said, forcing out the words using the limited amount of air in his oxygen-deprived lungs.

  “What should we do, Colby? I don’t know what to do.”

  “Neither do I,” Colby sighed. “If only you knew, so we wouldn’t have to scramble and come up with an answer.

  “I can hear you two,” a voice said from the cove.

  It was Elaine.

  She sat on the sand, back against the wall of the cove, under the circle where they carved out their dreams. In her finger was the Shining Pearl. She rolled it around, turning it back and forth. Her eyes were locked on it, but her mind was somewhere else.

  Then she clenched her fist. She jerked her arm forward like she was about to fling it, only to stop short, the Shining Pearl still in her hand.

  A long, heavy sigh escaped her lips as she threw her head back. It thunked against the wall, loud enough for echoes to bounce around. Colby winced. But that pain was nothing compared to what Elaine was truly hurting from.

  “Hey, Laine,” Colby said. “You okay?”

  “What do you think?” she said, as she stared up at the ceiling.

  “You’re not okay. It’s kinda obvious. It’s just that, you know, I didn’t really know what to say.”

  “Then don’t say anything. Just leave me alone.”

  “You know we can’t do that.”

  “Why? Because it’s not cheese? Is that why you can’t do that?” she snapped, before softly muttering out. “Sorry.”

  “Not your fault,” Colby said. “Right, Port?”

  “Yeah, Elaine. It’s not your fault.”

  “Oh yeah, then whose fault is it?”

  “It’s…” Porter trailed off.

  “Yeah, I thought so,” Elaine said, grabbing her knees and tucking her head between them.

  “Can we sit?” Colby asked.

  “You’re going to anyway.”

  “True,” Colby said, plopping down on the floor next to her, while Porter sat on the other side. “Just like how we’re going to be with you no matter what. Whenever you want to talk, if you want to talk, we’ll be here waiting. And even if you don't, we'll still be here with you.”

  Elaine didn’t say anything.

  Porter leaned over and gave Colby a look that said, “Now what?”

  Even Colby didn’t know. He just shrugged.

  At this point, all they could do was wait. They couldn’t force themselves onto Elaine—well, not any more than what they were doing now. She had to come to them. If she ever came to them.

  Colby rested his head, gently, against the rocky wall as he stared at the wall opposite. It was stony. Some might even call it rocky. Large dents from the Lobster Mobster’s shelled bullets decorated the surface, the ones that Helena and Noelle were forced to dislodge under Ms. M’s command.

  Outside, the waves crashed into the shore. Contrary to popular belief, they were the opposite of calming. It was grating.

  You know what could be grated?

  Cheese.

  And you know what he was trying not to think about, but failing miserably?

  Cheese.

  His mind couldn’t drift off into cheesy bliss. He had to be here for Elaine, not lost in cheeseland.

  The wait was agonising. It was torturous. But it was worth it.

  Sobs. Soft ones escaped Elaine’s lips. She tried to swallow them down, only for a hiccup to burst through.

  Then the waterworks started pouring.

  She looked up from her knees and stared at the ceiling, blinking hard as tears flowed down her cheeks like waterfalls, as she kept hiccupping.

  “Do they hate the Knights that much? Do they not love me?”

  Porter and Colby stayed silent.

  “You know, I thought they’d show up. I actually thought they’d show up. Can you believe it? I thought they’d finally be proud of me. But they didn’t. It’s not every day your daughter gets awarded the Shining Pearl. But they still didn’t even show up.”

  Tears continued to pour, soaking her clothes and the sand beneath.

  “It hurt when they kicked me out when I told them about my dreams. It sucked that instead of being happy for me, they were scared when I told them I managed to become a Knight-in-training. But now…I don’t know what to feel anymore. Maybe I should have listened to them. Maybe I shouldn’t have become a Knight-in-training.”

  For a while, Elaine stayed quiet; only the sounds of her sucking up mucus and coughing filled the air. She wiped her face with the back of her hand before finally turning to Colby.

  “Aren’t you going to say something?” Elaine said, snot and tears coating her face. “Or do you not care anymore? You don’t have to pretend to care, Colby. Same goes for you, too, Porter. Because I just don’t care anymore.”

  “Elaine,” Porter said. “Don’t say that. We care about you. That’s why we’re here. I just... I just worried I’ll say something that’ll make things worse. I don’t… I’m sorry, Elaine. Just know that I’m always here for you, no matter what.”

  “Whatever,” she scoffed. “So what’s your excuse, Tyro? Or you can’t even be bothered to do that much anymore.”

  “My excuse? Do I even have a right to an excuse?” Colby said, looking at his red-haired ex-best friend with eyes that now matched her hair. “Elaine. I’m sorry that we ever met.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Yeah, I thought so. Just leave me alone. Like how they left me alone. You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

  “I’m serious, Laine. If we never met. If we never became friends. If I never fed you silly fantasies, then none of this would've happened. I’m sorry, Elaine. If I knew things would turn out like this, I would have refused to deliver cheese to your parents that day. This is all my fault, Elaine. I’m really sorry.”

  Elaine dropped her head into her knees once more. Silence surrounded again, only broken by waves washing against the shore and Elaine’s muffled crying.

  “I’m sorry,” she muttered softly.

  “I forgive you,” Colby said, leaning in for a hug.

  Porter stretched his hands, embracing Elaine as well.

  “Feeling better?” Colby asked, still hugging her.

  “No.”

  “I figured. But don’t worry, we’ll be here until you feel better. We’ll always be here for you.”

  “Yeah, Elaine. Always,” Porter echoed.

  The red-haired Knight-in-training started to chuckle, wiping away the tears from her eyes.

  “You guys suck at this,” she sniffed.

  “Sorry,” Porter muttered.

  “It’s okay, Port. I’m actually glad you guys stuck around. And I’m sorry for lashing out at you.”

  “Do you really want me to repeat that we’ll be here for you?” Colby asked.

  “Please don’t.”

  “Thought so.”

  She laughed again, sniffing and wiping her nose with the back of her hand before sighing.

  “I just don’t know what to do. What do I even do? Do you think they even care about me anymore?”

  “They’re your parents,” Porter said. “I’m sure they care for you.”

  “Honestly? I don’t know. It’s your life, Laine. I might have made it sucked by telling you to be a Knight, so I’ll just keep quiet.”

  “Don’t, Colby Tyro. It was my choice. You didn’t force me. It’s just…I don’t know if it was the right one. Was it the right one?”

  “And how should I know? Why are you asking me?” Colby asked. “The only thing I know is cheese. But I do know that the only one who can determine whether you made the right choice or not is you.”

  Elaine sighed again, “You really suck at cheering a girl up.”

  “What did you expect?”

  “Honestly? You did better than I expected. I can’t believe you haven’t whipped out any cheese yet.”

  “It wasn’t easy,” Colby said as cheese materialised in his palm.

  “It’s a bit delayed, but congratulations on being a Knight-in-training,” he said. What was in his hand was a super fluffy piece of anari mixed with candied ginger. Every aspect of it had been finely tuned for the ultimate sweet and cheesy experience.

  “Yeah, you really suck at this,” Elaine said, taking the cheese from him.

  She bit into it. Her eyes lit up for a moment before dulling once more.

  “But you’re really good at this,” she said, munching on the cheese until it was all gone.

  “Did you expect anything less?”

  “Honestly, Colbs. I don’t. Just like how I don’t expect you or Port to have an answer to such a loaded question. At least I know what I’ll continue doing from here on out.”

  “You do?”

  Elaine stood up and placed her hand on the crudely drawn circle with the initials E.C.P on it. “I’m going to continue my dreams to be a shining beacon of hope. I’ll be the strongest Knight that ever lived. And whether my parents will finally show that they still love me or not doesn’t matter. I know two people who’ll always be by my side.”

  Colby and Porter shot up as well. He slammed his hand over Elaine’s. “And I’m going to make the ultimate cheese.”

  They waited for Porter. The Supply Runner looked at his hand, hesitating before he slowly placed it over theirs.

  “I still want to be the best Supply Runner so that no one will ever go hungry or thirsty again. But…I also want to be a better friend.”

  “You are a good friend, Port,” Elaine said.

  “Not good enough. I didn’t even help. I just sat here while Colby did all the work. Just like what happened when the town was under attack. I don’t deserve the Shining Pearl.”

  “Deserve or not, you already got it.” Colby shrugged. “And in my opinion, I think you really do deserve it.”

  “Thank you, Colby. And you too, Elaine. I promise that I’ll be a better friend to both of you.”

  “Sure thing, Port,” Colby said as he hugged the little Supply Runner and the way-too-big Knight-in-training. “You know what you can do?”

  “What?”

  “Stay here with Elaine. I know I said I’ll always be with you, but I kind of need to go home or else my mom might kill me.”

  “Do you want me to bring you back?” Porter asked.

  “Nope, Elaine needs you more than me. Elaine also needs me more than my parents need me. But I need them if I ever want to make the ultimate cheese. Sorry for being a bad friend, Laine.”

  She chuckled before hugging him tighter. “You’re the worst. Now go. I expect a bunch of apology cheese from you in return.”

  “And a congratulatory one for the Shining Pearl today. I promise it won’t take as long,” Colby said.

  “Just go already,” Elaine said.

  “Sorry!” he yelled as he ran as fast as he could through the sand and up the steps.

  It had been a while since he had done this, but it was an emergency. [Cheese Boots] made out of cream cheese materialised over his shoes as he slipped and slid his way back home. Hopefully, his mother wouldn’t kill him too hard.

  Except, maybe someone else would.

  There was a huge mob of people outside the shop, squeezing and pushing their way in.

  Were they that upset that a cheesemaker received the Shining Pearl? Maybe they thought it was no coincidence that he found out the location of the Myconet. Did they think he was a spy for Endruma? Something worse?

  A loud thorny bark interrupted his thoughts.

  The crowd parted as a certain Thornwolf bolted out of the door and towards him. Thornelius grabbed his shirt and yanked him along. A low growl rumbled out of his throat at the crowd. They instantly peeled back, making way for Colby.

  Inside was even more crowded, now with an extra layer of chaos. His parents were at the counter, popping out cheese after cheese after cheese as fast as they could. Brie was with them, wrapping the cheese in a transparent plastic film to the best of her abilities, which wasn’t a lot—but amazing given her young age.

  “Broby!” she yelled, having spotted him squeeze through the crowd. “Make the cheesy cheese. Quick!”

  “What’s going on?” Colby asked once he finally managed to squeeze his way behind the counter. It was cramped as three average-sized humans for their age, one above-average-sized man, and a below-average-sized Thornwolf occupied the area. Still, it was infinitely more spacious than the throng of people within the shop.

  “The town wants cheese, Colby,” his mother said. “I’m not sure if it’s because you’re a new local celebrity or it was Ms. M’s word at the end, but everyone wants to try some cheese.”

  “Yes, Colby,” his father said. “They specifically want to try the cheese you made for Ms. M. We’ve managed to hold the fort down with some other cheeses, but I don’t know how much longer they can wait.”

  “They want it that badly?” Colby asked.

  “Yes,” his mother said. “Is there cheese in your ear? Also, where have you been?”

  Colby ignored that statement. “Do you think things are going back to normal?”

  “I’m not sure,” his father said. “But if sales keep up, then at least our little shop will be back to normal. More than normal.”

  “Does that mean?” Colby.

  “Yes, you can make as much cheese as you want. No restrictions.”

  “Yes!” Colby yelled. “You should’ve just led with that.”

  “We’re a bit swamped here,” his mother yelled.

  “My bad,” Colby said. “How about this? Let’s give them even more special Colby cheese.”

  He turned to the crowd, cupping his hands over his mouth as he shouted.

  “I have a brand new Hero of Brinebrook cheese, that not even my parents can make. It’s anari mixed with candied ginger. It’s like eating a super sweet cloud.”

  The crowd inside the shop and even those gathered outside erupted into cheers at the announcement.

  “And as a special treat, I’ll show you the cheese that helped put a stop to Endruma’s forces.”

  Ginger-cheese men of [The Ricotta Army] appeared on his shoulders, saluting the crowd.

  The crowd erupted into more cheers at [The Ricotta Army].

  “If you want more stuff like this, remember to keep coming to Tyro’s Cheeseshop!” Colby yelled. “With your help, we’ll make the ultimate cheese in the whole wide world. A cheese so delicious that Endruma will surrender. So remember to keep patronising Tyro’s Cheeseshop, the shop where Lady Morgan, a fellow Hero of Brinebrook, visits regularly.”

  More cheers erupted, causing Brie to cover her ears and Thornelius to howl in pain.

  It hurt, but Colby didn’t care. He got to work, producing cheese. Not just any cheese, but his very own special recipe.

  As he served cheese after cheese after cheese, he began to reflect on this turbulent period. The war with Endruma was still ongoing, but circumstances led to it becoming more of a blessing than a curse. Without it, he would never have had his cheese skills pushed to the limit. And honestly, that was all he cared about. Not about being recognised as someone who saved Brinebrook.

  All Colby cared about was making cheese.

  Originally, I wanted to take a break before posting book 2 but seeing that we've surpassed 500 followers, I've decided that the first chapter of book 2 will be released tomorrow. So basically, no changes to the upload schedule. Yippee.