A few hours after they had split, Boris and Rickard had reach Solace. They hurried all the way to the main halls of the castle, to meet the king. They wanted to inform him of the situation and get what information they could about the prince’s disappearance.

They entered the royal chambers with haste and knelt before the king and queen.

“King Sol, My Queen, we received the messenger hawk and came as soon as we could.” Rickard said, out of breath.

“Why Is Svetlana not with you?” Was the first thing the king demanded.

“By now, hopefully, she should be in the forest, looking for clues on the prince’s whereabouts,” Boris responded, “We came across the princess of Lunesse while we were riding at our prince’s behest, she is convinced something sinister is at play.”

“What is the daughter of our enemy doing our Kingdom?” The Queen inquired.

Boris and Rickard explained everything they knew at this point, trying their best not to mention neither the chapel nor the pendant, trying to contain the inevitable panic of their rulers; at such a time of distress as the possible kidnap of their son.

They did however go into details of the nightmares the princess was having and subsequently had shared with them. They then told them that the princess herself was intending on coming here to meet prince Fried unannounced, only for the prince to be abducted shortly after. They also told their rulers that Svetlana had ordered them to look for clues in the prince’s chambers, but also requested access for them to also seek for clues in the ancient wing of the royal library.

“No one has access to that wing, by decree of old!” Exclaimed the King in a well recited manner.

“Sire,” They both begged in unison, “We implore you.”

“Our captain is convinced something premeditated is going on,” Rickard continued, “The books in the wing may hold the key to finding prince Fried.”

“I understand,” The king began, “Whatever the circumstances, I cannot overturn that deci…”

He was interrupted by his wife’s hand on his own. She didn’t have to say a single word, he understood and could not help but give in. He let out a sigh.

“May the elements have mercy on my should.” He whispered to his wife.

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He stood up and walked past Rickard and Boris.

“Follow me!” He announced several steps past them.

The three men walked down many sets of stairs, descending to the deepest parts of the castle, where the library was. They walked for what seemed like a small eternity, first the many spiral staircases, then the winding corridors, and now that they were in the library they were walking past rows and rows of shelves filled with books. As they walked towards the centre of the library, reaching some of the oldest books, they came unto a stone archway over what seemed like a single solid block of stone three times the size of any other door. It was imposing and difficult to miss at the centre of the library and all three men could see it clearly from afar as they made their way towards it.

The king broke the tense silence with a deliberate cough.

“This wing has not been visited since the time of my father. He sealed it, along with all its contents a long time ago.”

As the three men approached the humongous way into the most ancient library, it was starting to become less clear where the archway ended and the ceiling began.

“No one knows what my father locked away in that wing, even I was too young to remember the day he sealed it,” The king continued, “I cannot give you any warning that may hold value for you once you are inside, so proceed with caution.”

The king reached into his inner robe into a pocked out of which he pulled a sceptre. The sceptre was made of silver, was decorated with intricate details, with at its sip a golden bulb holding a darkened blue gem.

With a swift but large arc the king waved the sceptre at the door so that the gem was pointing directly at the centre of the large stone door. He held it perfectly in place and walked forward until it gave resistance. The sceptre could not actually make contact with the stone but seemingly hover just above it. The king proceeded to turn the sceptre like one would turn a key. A loud clicking sound could be heard from within the stone yet nothing had happened, yet.

The king let go of the sceptre and took a few steps back, the sceptre remained in place. From where the gem almost touched the stone a crack began to form. It reached from floor to ceiling. Once the split was complete the now two doors slid away from one another with such smoothness all three observers would have sworn they were watching feathers floating on a gentle breeze. As soon as a space large enough for both Rickard and Boris to fit through has been created the doors stopped and thumped down.

In that instance a chill wind blew from deep within the opening. All they could see was darkness, like a smooth gaseous bubble held on the curb of the door, between both stones.

“I have not broken the seal,” The king began, “I have made sure the door will remain open for about an hour. I don’t know when I’ll be able to open it again so please don’t stay in there too long.”

The king nonchalantly grabbed the sceptre out of the air before returning it to its place in his robe as he walked back to the royal chambers where his wife awaited.

Rickard and Boris watched as the king left them around the corning. They now stared into the darkness, letting the strict time frame sink in. They turned to look at each other simultaneously, sensing each other’s uncertainty. They nodded and drew their courage the only way they knew how, left hand on their sword handle, right fist on their chest.

“For the prince!”

They both charged through the door and vanished into the darkness; an unnaturally deadly silence fell upon the library once more.