Princess in Trouble (complete)

4 - The Baby's Father

Prince Sharzor, feeling both helpless and desperate, determined not to give up the search or to abandon hope, not until he himself had proof that his baby was, indeed, dead.

His companions in this quest held no hope; believing that at the end of this seemingly impossible task, there could only be a bad outcome with the worst kind of news.

The prince had learned his newborn had been out-sourced to a pair of problem solvers who were known for 'taking care of the cursed' in an appropriate, humane manner with no ties back to the perpetrator of the plot. The prince also learned that these orders had been issued by his father, King Sedon himself and sanctioned by his brother, Crown Prince Setzon.

The king had cursed and proclaimed the death-sentence, "No bastard child that has been fathered by one of my sons will live but the fact that the child was born in our homeland means that it must be disposed of elsewhere. We must not contaminate our earth in burial or pollute the air with this illegal, foul offspring."

That his son had married a common city girl was a death-warrant for her and the king 'thanked the gods' that this had been taken care of with the great loss of blood causing the young mother's demise.

Prince Sharzor would not give up before he found those responsible to pay for his justly perceived loss. Just because his father and those of the nobility had condemned his marriage to a commoner, he would not dishonor his undying love for Marcina, the young bride he had chosen, and their firstborn. He would gain closure in finding the baby's body and giving her the proper funeral he had bestowed on his one and only love.

The people of the city where he lived in his own castle had come out in hundreds, surrounding his castle to mourn the loss of Marcina with him, one of their own who had been lifted to the honor of being the prince's bride but had died in child-birth. The prince determined that his wife, whom he had been entitled with the honor of being called, 'Princess Marcina,' would not be forgotten.

He had kissed his daughter, spent a little time watching her fed by a young nurse with a bottle of milk, kissed her again and tucked her into the small crib in the nursery room he had assigned for her.

"Captain Kogan, James and I will pray for her," he said before clearing the room.

"James," he called to his close companion and man-at-arms, "hurry; fetch a bottle of ink and a quill."

Using the tip of the quill dipped in ink, he carefully punctured the heel of his baby's tiny right foot, causing his baby to whimper but he persisted until there were just three dots of black in the first layer of skin.

Pulling the long warm woolen socks back on the babe and lacing up the gown, he tucked her back into the small crib, rocking it until she stopped sobbing. Looking into his captain's face, he asked, "What?"

"What on earth was that for?" his captain asked, adding, "The ink?"

"Insurance, Kogan, and don't ask more questions. It might be nothing, just a gut feeling. Please, I know you pray. Let us pray here and then we must go; the procession will be ready to leave."

They knelt to pray and the prince felt peace about it.

While the prince was leading the funeral cortège, mourning, the plot of stealing the baby away was being enacted. Another newborn had been switched for his own and due to the wake held after the interment, it was not for two days that Sharzor discovered the difference. The main perpetrators vanished on the second night and it took the prince the time and effort to be alone with his baby to discover she was missing the ink dots beneath her right foot.

His companions were shocked and extremely upset because two of them had been assigned to guard the nursery door when the prince wasn't present. They had been on a roster. The switch had not been detected. A baby had been smuggled in and the tiny baby princess smuggled out in her place.

The fury and anger Prince Sharzor displayed was broadcast within the city was fueled by messages of approval from the capital. The prince's determination to rescue his daughter and bring those responsible to justice, was like a fire within him. That his father was at the back of it all had been his first thought but to prove this or do anything about it was not his first priority at all. He simply must find his baby girl!

Every lead he followed brought little relief with no viable information as to what had happened to his baby. At best, she could be adopted, or even sold to a child trafficker and at worst, his father's order had been fulfilled and the life of the child had been terminated.

In desperation, he hired the best tracker he could source, one who had trained three canines to work with and for him. The bloodhound could track any human being on earth, given the right lead— the others, a German dog, would apprehend and detain any person who resisted capture while the third, a Doberman, was trained to stay on guard. The trio worked as one. Daggurt, the trainer-owner had named the dogs, One, Two and Three.

The most effective 'prompt' for the bloodhound, One, to find the prince's baby was that of the linen cloth in which the newborn had been wrapped after birth as her mother's life-blood drained into the plush carpet on the floor of a room in this castle belonging to the prince himself. The babe had been born a week before time, arriving unexpectedly at the same time, his beloved wife had died.  

It was of great angst he was not there to save his baby from being abducted. Those of his personal staff had betrayed him with massive bribes and promises of safety. 

Daggurt, the trainer led the way, through one kingdom and into another, to the inn where a young woman, Gigi, worked and resided. Her uncle was the innkeeper-owner. The dogs had found other leads outside the inn and were eager to continue the search.

Together with Daggurt, the dog, One, and five of his men-at-arms, the prince planned to enter the inn and decide his actions from in there.

Yes, given enough gold, one could gain any knowledge, action any deed, anywhere, at anytime.