The Heat of the Moment

"Are you okay?"

The question went over Tylen's head. All of his attention was on the gypsy who paused and scowled on her crystal ball. The wrinkles on her forehead deepened and the mischief in her eyes disappeared.

They were replaced with something he couldn't read.

"Yo, Nyt!" He heard again.

This time someone grabbed his arm.

On reflex, he faced the person, blinking the daze off his eyes. The droopy amber eyes somehow made him feel embarrassed. He looked at the ground, unable to think of an answer.

"What's wrong?" Maia asked him.

"Nothing." He replied, pulling back his arm.

Maia let it go but her feet stayed in place. A crease appeared between her eyebrows. For some reason, Tylen still didn't meet her gaze.

What was he supposed to say exactly? Even a fortune teller couldn't give him answers.

"Yo, lady. What did you tell him?"

He watched as Maia walk past him, kicking the table of the gypsy who finally woke up from her daze.

"What rudeness!" She exclaimed and stood up. Hands on her hips, she glared at the redhead, "Mind your own business, dearie!"

Maia sneered, "Ohohoho, that's rich coming from you. Your livelihood is about butting into people's business. Baseless fortune only misguide others into tragic paths."

"Excuse me? Baseless? I'll have you know that my fortunes are true."

"Oh? And how so? Are you a rogue? Did you sneak into this kingdom? But then…" Maia crossed her arms and smirked, "None of your rings have a red jade. That tells me you haven't even reach second-level magic for the Sight."

The gypsy paled, "I—I..."

"That's what I thought."

The redhead snorted and turned her back on the gypsy. She placed a hand on Tylen's shoulder.

"Whatever she told you, we'll do our best, Nyt. We made a commitment to you and you can count on us to see it through."

Silence.

Tylen's head was filled with silence. The noise of the outside world didn't reach his ears. Only the sound of his raging heart and of Maia's voice prevailed.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

Barely a day had past and already, the dark thoughts in his head grew bigger. Was it all a mistake? Was he under false hope?

Out of the abyss of his mind, the words of the Pirates swirled together.

…

'… The woods? A child alone in the woods. Sure, she's still alive.'

'… You want a body. You do know not everyone leaves a body after he or she dies?'

'… I'm sorry, Your Highness, but we could be on a wild goose chase. If she was alive, no one has seen her for 12 years.'

…

Then, Tylen felt the warmth of a human body against him. Opening his eyes, he realized Maia had hugged him.

"It'll be okay, Nyt. It'll be okay. Right now, you have to be strong. It's not going to get any easier from here. Many doubts will continue to come… more challenges will come our way too… but believe in us. Rely on us. Rest assured, we'll find a way."

A cat caught the Prince's tongue. He hadn't even said anything but the redhead nailed the holes in his heart.

"Thank you."

The two words held all he wanted to say

Maia let him go, a relieved smile on her face. He couldn't help but return it.

"Okay! The day is still young! We can do this!" She cheered, fist pumping the air.

Tylen chuckled at her energy.

She led him through the crowd, stopping when Maia noticed a young woman that could be Princess Ariene. She'd ask him about her and the Prince was more than willing to supply her with answers.

For one, it seemed like their target was a foodie so they decided to move to the square and scout out the restaurants.

"This really isn't the Main Market for nothing. The number of people never waver and this is just one street! There's still the other three. Not to mention, the square in the middle that connects them all. Then, there are the buildings for upper class shopping."

Maia shook her head and continued, her eyes on the road ahead of them, "I get why you'd feel like this place is suffocating the hope out of you but remember why you hired us. Jewels are expensive but among the rich, they are abundant. They are in different sizes. Some of them have been turned into jewelry. That diamond could be any of them. We got lucky that it was untouched. Maybe we will be lucky in this journey too."

The Prince could only sigh and tuck away the fear and doubts. As optimistic as people see him to be, those dark thoughts had always been there but for his Ariene he wasn't about to let them bring him down.

He tilted his head to the sky. A hazy image of her looking over her shoulder with a smile appeared. It was his favorite one. When she hit him with that look, he knew on the spot that he wanted to keep that smile in his life and to see it everyday.

To this memory that changed his life, he whispered, "I… I am never gonna give you up, Ari. Wait for me."

When he came back to earth, the street still bustled with activity. The crowd still moved with hastened steps. The heat still bathed the people with sweat.

All was the same—except a certain redhead was nowhere to be found.

Tylen jogged up the street. The umbrellas people held made it harder to see but his good height gave him a good view point.

He reached the opening to the square but there was no Maia.

People passed him, unconcerned by his sudden stop. He spun around and looked in all directions. Person after person, woman after woman, he searched.

No apple red hair anywhere.

The Prince went back to the street he left. He tried to call out to her but his throat was clogged. He began to hyperventilate as things became a blur.

"Ma…" he croaked, blinking out the haze in his eyes.

"Ma…"

The combination of the heat and the lack of air disoriented him. A familiar memory of a situation seeped into his head…

No… no…, he chanted.

"Ma…"

He bent over, hands on his knees. Closing his eyes, he focused on deep breaths. He was at the market. He was surrounded by people. He was with companions. There was no immediate danger. There was no high beams falling down.

He was at the market. He was surrounded by people. He was with companions.

"Nyt? Nyt! Where are you?"

The voice was sweet honey to his ears.

"Nyt! There you are!"

Tylen immediately straightened up.

In front of him, safe and sound, was a red headed pirate. She stood a few meters away from him, feet apart. Her chest rose and fell quickly.

At the sight of his face, she smiled and jogged up to him, "Nyt!"

Maia never made it.

The Prince watched as her eyes rolled back into her head. Her legs became liquid and her knees gave away. Then, she fell into someone's arms.

"Maia!" He screamed and took a step forward.

Suddenly, a sharp object appeared on the side of his stomach, the tip threatening to break the skin.

"It's alright." The person who held Maia told the expectators. Then, he directed to Tylen his next words, "She only fainted from the heat. Carry on."

"Don't even think about screaming, Crown Prince," someone whispered in his ear. Tylen sucked in a breath.

The kidnapper took advantage of his startled form and smirked, "I'll be taking her with me."

Then, the Prince's vision became black.