Dryads of the Stars

Chapter 2 : A clue

He stopped praying. He got up and headed to the dining room. Fasting seemed useless anyway, so he went to eat and gather his strength. A few days had passed, since he started doing what seemed as a naive and foolish act. He lost a lot of weight and his appearance became that of an exhausted old man. Mary was worried during those days, she kept passing by his room begging him to eat, to come to his senses and to stop exhausting himself. Thankfully he did.

"Useless gods, you will pay. This is pointless.
There is no other way, I should start from the beginning. I will search my father's archives again. There must have been something I missed. I did not give it much thought back then anyway. " 

After a week of recovery under Mary's care and nagging, he was back on his feet, ready to begin his search as if he was possessed. He entered his late father's study. It was dusty and a mess. Books and scrolls were all over the place. It was a big room that looked like a library. The walls were covered in shelves filled with books - about three thousand of them - all dusty and abandoned. The servants were not allowed to enter, not even for cleaning, so it was not in it's best condition. The big desk, that was in the middle of the room, was in the worst situation. You could barely make it out, from all the books and maps that were around it and on top of it. Behind it, was the only window in the room. It gave the view of the entire back yard as well as the stables and the servants quarters. The vast area that belonged to the palace, to the royal family, reached the hills and almost the mountain, that was at the end of the capital city. He sat on the dusty chair and spaced out for a moment. 

"It will be impossible to find something in here the way it is. First I need to clean this place up. I can not allow any maids in here, so I will do it myself I suppose. And then I'll have to organize. I can't believe I left such a mess in here. I definitely missed something..."

He cleaned for the first time in his life. He had never touched a broom or a duster. All of that was a new experience. He did pretty well, for a king that never lifts a finger. He then organized every file and every book. After he was finished, he sat on the chair and looked around for a few minutes. A thought crossed his mind. What If there were hidden compartments in the desk? It is a cliché but who cares? What if he had missed something there? His father had a month to search before losing his mind. He must have found a clue. Anything, anything at all, even the most trivial of clues would do. He searched the desk thoroughly. He took apart the drawers. In the back side where the last drawer was placed, he found something that brought a smile to his face.
He yelled in excitement. There was a keyhole. But he did not have a key...

"Hmm. That is not a problem at all. Father I am truly sorry for what I am about to do." He said while having an eerie expression on his face.

He went outside and called out for a servant. He ordered the servant to bring him something and quick. The servant was surprised for a moment, but followed the order nonetheless. A few moments later, an axe was at his highness' hands. Yes ... he was about to break the desk apart. I suppose it was indeed faster that way, than searching for a key...
He took apart the entire desk, or should I say he destroyed it completely? After a few chops he found a box like compartment, that was connected to the lock. He took it apart carefully, as to not damage the contents.
Inside was the clue he had been looking for all along. His father's diary and an old map. He opened it and started reading through it immediately.
He began from the day of the disappearance.

"Day xx month xx year xxxx
My son has been taken from me. We were making preparations for Miriam's birthday and my wife was with the maids, preparing the room for the second prince. Everyone was busy and carefree, so nobody was paying attention to Miriam at the time. He had one personal guard with him at all times. He must have been ambushed while strolling in the gardens. He was always there, almost every day, at the same time. Whoever did it must have known that. They had information about him, it was obviously thoroughly planned. I know who must be behind this. I will find them without fail and I will kill them. My boy, my precious prince. I will save you. My wife is unwell, I fear for the baby. What will happen to our children? I don't know what to do, but I will not fail.