Three months later….

Killian was stressed and exasperated. They had thought it would be an easy task to locate Lady Ingrid, collect the princess and bring her home. King Richard had a name of the friend of Lady Ingrid that was supposed to know her whereabouts but unfortunately when Killian and his friends went around the city of Remie to inquire about this person he found out she had passed away three years ago and her husband followed her shortly. No one in the city had heard of the Lady Ingrid or the baby. A week was spent making inquiries all over the city until they were able to locate a servant that lived in a small town twenty miles outside of the city.

The servant recalled the lady and the toddler but they had only stayed two days. The lady had contracted some illness on the journey to Raratonga.

"She started to hallucinate and one night woke up from some feverish dream. She feared that some evil Queen was following them and determined to kill Baby Emma so she packed up her stuff and left," the servant said. "My employer could not change her mind. She was determined to leave. She was found on the northwest corner of a crossroads a week later with a small marker for a grave and no sign of the baby. At least that is what the woman named Mrs. Swan said who reported the remains to the authorities."

At least Killian had another name to track. "Do you know where I may find this Swan woman?"

"She said she was from Rensellaer, a town ten miles north of here," the servant replied.

Killian and his friends thanked the servant for her help and they set out towards the crossroads where the body of Lady Ingrid was found. He hired some workmen to dig and search for any signs of a baby buried in the same vicinity. When he was satisfied with the extensive search that there were no remains to be found, Killian was slightly relieved. He figured since the Lady Ingrid was traveling with a fortune she would have been robbed and left for dead. Whoever took the fortune could have absconded with the baby as well. It is possible that the baby princess was still alive.

They ended up at the tavern where Killian was ready to pull his hair out in frustration. He worried if he wasn't able to find the Princess Emma then he would fail at his first duty as Crown Prince of his country. If he failed at his first mission then what would the rest of his reign look like? He would also loathe telling his father because his father would feel responsible for what happened to the baby princess even though he wasn't privy to all the details. The need for secrecy was important but to send the baby off with only one caretaker and to have that caretaker perish was unthinkable. She was supposed to be raised as a princess and rule a kingdom one day.

The tavern, according to the owner of the hotel they were staying at, had boasted of a woman that could dance and sing. Apparently it was a very popular (and very erotic) performance. Will was excited to see the performance. He had not been with a woman since they left Alleland and he had heard that for twenty gold coins the dancer, Delilah was her name, could warm your bed. He wanted to see if Delilah would be worth those gold coins.

Killian hadn't expected much in the way of entertainment considering he was in the backwoods area of a country. As the performance started, the dancer started to sing a song about inducing her lover to stay with her and to describe all the things she would do to him if he did. As she sang, she undulated and swayed in an erotic manner to the beat of the song and rolled her hips when the song described rather bawdy imagery. Her voice was beautiful, delicate and soft. Her makeup was extreme. It was shaded and painted to accentuate her features. To make her lips bigger, her eyes bigger and her cheekbones higher. She was wearing a huge wig with big curls. The effect was to make her look like a living doll. It was hard to tell what she actually looked like under all that. Regardless, she had a fantastic body. As she moved her hands over her body, you can see the finely sculpted muscles on her arms, the delicate roundness of her bosom and the perfectly pert curves of her ass. Killian was mesmerized as were all the other men in the room.

His eyes wandered all over her body and he was enthralled by the delicate movements as she swayed to her song. The material of her costume was rather gauzy but not see-through. It consisted of a top that was cut low and kept her arms bare and a skirt that consisted of many scarves bound together and hanging down from her waist to graze the ground. Each time she lifted her arms a portion of skin on her navel would be exposed to view and sometimes when she moved a portion of leg would be revealed. The effect was to tease and to entice, not to bare and expose. It was rather chaste considering she was whore that could be had for twenty gold coins. For Killian, that amount was a pittance. He needed a diversion for the moment to chase away the worries he had and he needed to relieve the ache in his pants. He saw that Will was ready to reach into his pocket to count out the gold coins to purchase the girl's time for himself.

Killian leaned towards Will and whispered, "You'll have to find another woman to spend the evening with. That woman is mine."

"Oh come on Killian. Three months on a bleeding ship. This is the best prospect I've had this whole trip," Will pleaded.

Fortunately, royalty had its privileges. "Sorry Will but I am your prince and I say the girl is mine."

Robin was entertained at the thought of his two friends getting into a minor row over a hooker.

As soon as the dance ended, Killian got up to speak to the performer but was met with a rather big, muscular brute guarding the entrance to the backstage area. Killian spent twenty minutes trying to charm and bribe his way past the brute. They finally came to an amount that was agreeable and Killian made his way to the back area. He knocked on the door to one of the rooms. The door flew open and was answered by a rather severe looking young lady wearing some drab attire.

Her blonde hair which was a rather lovely golden color was pulled back into a tight chignon. Her face was rather sallow and harsh looking. There were dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks looked haggard & work worn.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I came to see if I could speak with the dancer Delilah," Killian said while his eyes darted around the room behind the girl.

"Well, she is not here. What do you want with her?"

"I heard that she can be persuaded to spend her time with some of the patrons. I'm here to see if she wants to get something in exchange for it."

"So you want to purchase a whore for the evening," the severe woman stated plainly.

Killian was amused at her blatant manner. "To put it crudely, then yes."

"She should be at home now," which was true, the dancer Delilah would be at home.

Killian took a step back and observed the young lady in front of him. She was the right height of the dancer but considering the looseness and thickness of her clothes you couldn't tell if there was a slender, magnificent body hiding under there.

"What a shame. So what are you doing back here? Are you another performer?" Killian asked to buy some time to figure out if the girl he was speaking to was really the dancer he saw perform. He was strangely drawn to the woman he saw on stage and wasn't going to give up the chance for an evening with her.

The gaunt-looking girl rolled her eyes and said, "Listen, pal. Like I said Delilah isn't here so you'll just have to do without tonight. I need to start my shift as a barmaid right now so if you don't mind, I'll be going." She briskly stepped past him and went into the main room.

Killian smiled. The woman was rather cheeky and he was intrigued. Most women were fascinated by his good looks. They tried to get closer to him, not walk away. He followed her with his eyes until he heard someone come up behind him.

"Excuse me. Can I do something for you mister?" a man stepped out of the shadows to confront Killian ready to throw him out for being backstage.

"Are you the proprietor of this establishment?"

"Yes I am."

"I was wondering if you knew a Mrs. Swan that would have lived around these parts fifteen years ago."

"Why yes. She was my wife but she passed away five years ago. I am Mr. Swan. What could you possibly want with her?"

"I'm sorry to hear that. Fifteen years ago, did your wife come across a woman with a baby? The baby would have been almost three years old. The woman died and was buried at a crossroads but no one ever found the baby."

"What would you want to know about a baby? You are kind of young to be a father aren't you?"

Killian was getting sick and tired of everyone asking why he would want to know stuff.

"Just answer the question, sir. There was a woman who was buried in a shallow grave whose death was suspicious and a missing baby. Your wife happened to report the woman's death."

"There was a baby that my wife wanted to keep but the baby died."

"Died? How did the baby die?"

"My wife told me she found the woman gone with fever and tried to help her. The baby probably caught the fever too."

"When did the baby die?"

"A few days."

"How many is a few days?"

"Maybe two days. I don't remember. It was quite some time ago." Mr. Swan started getting flustered.

"Where did you bury the baby?"

"What does it matter where I buried her?"

"Her or he?"

"Her. But what does it matter now? She is dead."

"Because I require proof. You need to lead me to her grave."

"What makes you think I'll do anything for you?"

Killian finally reached his breaking point. He pushed Mr. Swan against a wall and spoke in a tight controlled whisper in his ear, "The woman traveled with a fortune and that fortune disappeared along with the baby. There is no statute of limitations for murder in your country. I can have the authorities here by tomorrow."

"Listen, there's no need to be rough. I buried the baby in a shallow grave in the back field with no marker. It's been fifteen years and I can't remember where the grave was."

"Can you at least point me in the general area while I hire some men to excavate the area?"

"Now look here. You can't just dig holes on my property."

"Why? What are you trying to hide Mr. Swan?"

"Nothing. Fine! You may search the property. Just don't make too much of a mess." With that, Mr. Swan turned to walk away.