The Rightful Queen

He looked over his shoulder and saw that Raz held Maia"s water bottle. It had been attached to the apprentice healer"s knapsack thus, Maia had been forced to a sudden stop.

The sun hung above their heads nearly at its zenith. The scorching heat licked Tylen"s face and coiled around his limbs like a hot-blooded serpent. The pavement smoldered and radiated an almost disorienting haze. Even birds were nowhere to be found up in the sky.

These circ.u.mstances didn"t seem to bother his companions despite their outfits that covered most of their skin.

Cleon stood a few paces away, munching on an apple and gazing at a weaponry store"s display window. The shop owner stepped out to inform him about the pro"s and con"s of each weapon that caught Cleon"s eye.

Back on the two female pirates, Maia had turned around to gape at Raz who merely waited for her to answer.

Tylen sighed, remembering the events from this morning.

===

The group stood outside the entrance of the St.i.tz Inn, undergoing farewells and well wishes.

The Prince stood apart from the pirates, resisting the strong sense to flee that tempted his mind.

"Maia, please remember to drink your water," Sister Aina scolded the redhead, "Only meds and coffee for an entire day! Don"t make your Sister Aina worry!"

"Yes, Sister Aina," Maia answered meekly, her head bowed.

Earlier, shouts suddenly came from the kitchen after Tylen finished his breakfast.

He ran immediately to check the situation. It turned out that the only one shouting was Sister Aina who stood near the sink, her hands were on her hips, with Maia in front of her. The latter held up a wet plate over the lower half of her face.

Tylen swore he saw Maia tremble underneath Sister Aina"s glare. Later on, he came to know that Maia had a slip of the tongue. She had told the innkeeper about the time she stayed in bed for a day while the rest of the crew left to help a client. One of the missions had escalated and it needed additional manpower.

After interrogating Maia for the whole story, Sister Aina fussed over her. She had prepared all kinds of food for the group"s journey, specifically filling a water bottle to the brim and tying it around Maia"s upper body like a sling bag.

"And you, Cleon! How dare you not feed her when she was sick?!"

Cleon shivered at the mention of his name and stepped back. He and Raz jogged right away to the kitchen. When they learned what had happened, Cleon had told Sister Aina that Maia wasn"t alone in the ship as an attempt to coax her. He had been at the upper deck, keeping a lookout.

The innkeeper didn"t take the news lightly.

"How irresponsible," Sister Aina continued, her hand tightening around the frying pan she held. The unpleasant image behind her threat invaded Tylen"s mind as soon as he saw her walk out with it in one hand.

"Sister Aina, have mercy," Maia begged, "It was one time!"

"One too many times," Raz commented.

Maia glared at her smirk, "Not you too, Raz!"

"Aiya, Raz, dear. Make sure she drinks. She might collapse from heat stroke! It"s that time of year again!" Sister Aina huffed, her arms crossed over her chest and her frying pan tucked under her shoulder.

Raz merely laughed, "I will, Sister Aina."

While Maia drank a mouthful of water under Raz"s watch, Tylen turned back to the bustling market street ahead of him.

The crowd around him either wore hoods or held up umbrellas. The market vendors stayed under the shades of their stalls or the comfort of their stores. Some fanned themselves with their hands, wiping off the sweat on their foreheads.

Even he sweated underneath his garments.

A girl run past him. She held a red ball in her hands. At her heels was a boy who clearly could catch her since he had longer legs. The boy hid a smile as the girl giggled over her shoulder, triumph in her eyes.

The Prince sighed.

In this sea of people, he wondered, could Ariene be in it? Would she have fled to his kingdom? If so... why didn"t she visit him? Let him know she was alive?

"You okay there, bud?" Raz spoke, tapping him on the shoulder. She stepped up to his right, filling the empty s.p.a.ce.

Tylen merely nodded before he looked at the market street again. This time, the both of them gazed at the people and eyed their features.

Teralyn and Aurae didn"t have much distinguishable features that differ the people of each kingdom since they were near each other. People migrated between kingdoms often much to the lawmakers" dismay.

Thankfully, Princess Ariene inherited her Celian mother. Her hair was a unique shade. Something he hadn"t found a comparison to. She and Alkas shared the same eyes but hers burned brighter.

"Alright, time to know what your fiance looks like."

"Ari?" Tylen answered, still in a daze, "She had these beautiful topaz eyes. Whenever she smiled, they gleamed like the morning sun. Her wavy bronze hair was always a mess. It almost reached her bottom but she refused to have it tied. It would flow with the wind whenever she ran... sun spots would appear around her nose during hot days. She also had these cute dimples on both cheeks..."

Raz raised her hands and stopped him, "Okay, slow down, lover boy."

Tylen blinked and looked at Raz. Her raised eyebrows made him blush. The image of Ariene had felt real—as if she walked among the crowd towards him as he described her.

"Okay, so," Raz cleared her throat when Tylen didn"t say anything. She beckoned for Cleon and Maia, who were busy admiring a display of trinkets, to come over and instructed them, "Our target are young women with bronze hair and golden eyes."

"But she could have colored her hair," Maia pointed out.

"Golden eyes then."

Cleon yawned, "Are we really gonna look through every young woman here? If we keep this up, I don"t think we"ll find her anytime soon. There is too much ground to cover."

The Prince winced, realizing it could be true that Ariene colored her hair. How would she look like now then? Her hands… would they still be smooth and soft to the touch? Would she be scarred? From the burns? Or would she have had them treated until fully healed?

He had long admitted to himself that he didn"t have the slightest clue on where to start. She could be anywhere… she could be… she could be...

Tylen shook out his thoughts.

He needed to move forward.

The past twelve years had been a long time and his beloved could really be anywhere, near or far….

But it didn"t matter if it would take him years.

He needed to find her.

The memories of the last glimpse he had of her replayed in his mind. His short arms and legs... his incapable strength... his incompetency to help her had haunted him. All the things he could have done if he was only a little older and as skilled as Hayden weighed his heart down.

He needed to make it up to her.

He needed to be by her side.

"It"s what we have right now" the Prince heard Raz continue to say, "When you see anyone that fits the description, ask if the person was adopted at around 8 years old... or orphaned at the same age. If none, ask people if they know of one."

To cover more ground, the group dispersed and went their separate ways.

Cleon literally stared at each maiden he could see, looking for golden eyes. If the young woman had none, he moved on.

Maia, on the other hand, window-shopped to be more discreet. She talked casually with the vendors and stirred the topic to ask them questions about adopted children.

Raz kept a distance and used her sense of hearing to pick up any clue. Most of the time, she kept close to Maia in case someone around them also heard the redhead and had a reaction.

Tylen kept a slow pace. He walked around aimlessly, observing everyone around him. He didn"t speak but a lot of cart sellers pestered him to check our their goods while the foot traffic paid him no attention.

…

Twelve years of no answers…

Only a number of days to find her…

...was it stupid to still hope?

…

"Fortune, young man?"

The Prince stopped walking and turned his head towards his left.

A gypsy sat behind a table where a crystal ball was placed. The lower half of her face was covered in a dark violet veil. He could still see a faint image of the blood red lips behind it.

What startled Tylen was her eyes, they were golden.

A rare eye color.

Celian, he thought.

He saw a smile appear on her lips. She leaned forward and placed her elbows on the table, intertwining her hands so she could rest her chin on top of her fingers.

The Prince imagined it to be uncomfortable with the amount of rings she wore.

"Interesting" her sultry voice teased his ears, "You seek something."
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Tylen remained silent.

"Ah, would you like to know your future? Or better yet… would you like to know the future of the person you seek?"

The gypsy didn"t wait for him to answer. She hovered her hands over the crystal ball, staring at it hard. A puff of smoke appeared in it and she moved her  fingers as if parting them to reveal its hidden message.

"Ah…" she breathed out, eyes back on Tylen. His frozen figure fuelled her desire to provoke him, "Your beloved… you have been apart for a long time… does she know you"re here?"

Tylen"s knees began to shake. His heart hammered inside his chest and his lungs struggled for air. His eyelids remained open, hanging on her every word.

Was this real?

"Hm… what is this? Your meeting…"