A man in black was walking in the night. He entered Madonna of the Latins, the Catholic church in Jerusalem. He entered the confession room without removing the black cloak that covered his features.
"If they see me walking into a Christian church, I'll be in trouble" his voice was hoarse
"The fact that you are still alive as a hidden Christian among Muslims means that you are doing your job well" came a sweet young voice from the other side of the screen, inside the confessional room.
"They think I'm one of them, in this religious war"
"Why did you want to see me? Surely it would be important to ask William to speak to me at such a time"
"Some general went against the terms not to attack the Muslim civilian population in Damascus"
"Who? Raymond?"
"No, it wasn't him. Raymond may hate Muslims but he would never hurt innocents. I know him. I didn't know this man"
"Fine. From now on I'll take over at the next council"
"Glad to be of use once again" he bowed even though the young man on the other side wouldn't see it.
He came out of the confessional, in the corridor of the church William was lighting the candles of the church. The black-robed man bowed to him as well, the archbishop nodded, accepting his respects, and the man left the church.
"You can go out now" he told him and the door to the confessional opened with Baldwin struggling to get out. Leprosy had left him unable to move his left arm with ease "Have you realized who may have betrayed your terms with Saladin?"
"No, but I have someone in mind. William, have you ever had your mind stop thinking of a person because you just doesn't want to believe it?"
"God always gives us trials. The point is how we deal with them"
"You are right" William lowered his head and bowed to his king who left the church into the black night.
A few days later, the Sibyl was walking down the palace corridor with the crusader. The heavy curtains and lit candles gave the feeling that it is not day outside, but night.The princess stopped in the middle of the corridor that led to a wooden door
"From now on you are on your own. My brother asked to see you alone. He probably saw something I saw in you."
"What did you see?" He asked her but only got a smile on her red lips for an answer before she turned and left.
He sighed and knocked on the door, hearing the man's voice calling him inside. Baldwin was sitting at the table in his room, writing the royal decree. He didn't know how many years he still had to live, his left arm was already starting to become paralyzed, so he didn't want to leave his responsibities to the last moment when he might not be able to raise his arms.
When she saw him enter the room he got up from his chair and walked over to him "Welcome, Balian. I've been waiting for you."
"Why me in particular?"
"Barizan was your father, right? He was a good man and a good general" he showed him a table with a chess board and two chairs "War is like chess. One wrong move and you lose the battle"
"Did you know my father?" he said after sitting across from him
"He was one of the first crusaders sent by the King of England. Very good teacher, he taught me many moves that were useful for the war"
"He was very good with words, but we never had a good relationship"
"Since Barizan and Sibylla saw something in you and singled you out among so many other crusaders, it means you are different"
"I would not say so. I am a murderer who came to Jerusalem, believing that through the crusades I would be redeemed and have a place in the Kingdom of Heaven"
"Eight years ago I won a great battle. I was only sixteen. At that moment I felt that I was really next to God, I felt the eternity that Jesus Christ promised us. I believed that I would live forever. After all, I don't know if I will last until I'm thirty . The Kingdom of Heaven is in your heart. If you want to believe it and fight for a place in Heaven, no one can stop you. Your beliefs are in your soul"
"I want to fight for these beliefs and I want to protect them from those who want to tear them down"
"Then I can trust you that we will win together, against Saladin's forces?"
"Of course, Your Highness"
"Then, I would love to have you by my side on the battlefield. If you prove your worth and loyalty to me, I will grant you the title of general"
"Thank you very much, Your Highness"
"The king can be controlled by a general" he said moving the pawn on the chessboard "But this general can move himself. When we stand before God in the Kingdom of Heaven and judges us for our sins, we cannot say 'He made me do it', 'I was following orders'. Every man is responsible for his own sins and can go against the will of others if he can support his own right beliefs. Remember this"Balian sat speechless, listening to the wise words of the king.
He was looking at the chessboard, moving his own pieces, following the strategy he thought was best. Even if it cost him to lose the battle to Baldwin's strategy."You will be informed of the next council by your generals. You may go" he said and both men stood up.
Balian came out of the room and saw a female servant standing outside with a disc in her hands."Don't think you're someone because the king gave you value" she approached him "I've served my king for six years, since I was fifteen. I can't trust a crusader who suddenly appeared in the palace, not talking about the past"
"Are you women of Jerusalem so...Powerful? Or just you and the Sibyl?" Rebecca smiled at his comment "No, it's just that Sibyl and I are very overprotective and we love our king very much" she walked past him and knocked on the door. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. Balian watched the door close and left to find his fellow warriors.
All the generals were gathered in the palace courtyard. Guy saw Balian in the distance coming out of the palace and called out to him.
"When I heard that Barizan has a son who is good with the sword, I really wanted to meet you and help me fight and win the throne" he looked around to make sure the other generals weren't paying attention.
"What makes you think you will have the throne?" Balian asked in a whisper
"I married the king's sister, I have a descendant for the throne, the king is sick and it is uncertain if he will wake up alive the next day. The throne is mine and they don't know it"
"I saw he's wearing a golden mask, but I didn't want to ask. You said he's sick, what's wrong with him?"
"That's the thing. Nobody knows, but maybe there is a person and I believe you can attract them to learn information"
"A man;"
"No a man, a woman. I bet you've met the king's handmaiden. Food usually goes to him at this time"
"A girl with brown, wavy hair and a strong personality?"
"Exactly. Her name is Rebecca and she's been very close to the king for the last few years. She's a witch, she knows a lot, more than she should know. I'm sure we'll be able to learn from her"
"Why don't you ask her yourself since you are so interested in this information?"
"She won't answer me. I accused her of being a witch nearly two years ago and had her burned, but she was saved by Baldwin denying the witchcraft charges. I don't think she's a servant worthy of her king's trust, I'm sure she'll tell you that we need to know"
Although he considered it a waste of time, he found Rebecca walking down the hall, having finished her daily routine "Rebecca, right?" He stopped her
"Can I help you? Are you lost?"
"No. You said you have been serving the king for six years. So you know about his illness"
"I know he's wearing the mask for a reason now excuse me" she went to pass but grabbed her by the wrist"And what is the reason?"
"Why do you want to learn so much?"
"I don't want it, Lord Guy wants it"
"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell him without the king's permission" he squeezed her wrist harder
"You hurt me"
"Am I interrupting something?" asked Baldwin who was standing in the corridor a few meters away from them.
Balian let go of her wrist when he saw him and she rubbed it."Nothing special your majesty" she turned to Balian "Please tell lord Guy that I do not know the answer to what you ask. Now if you will allow me" she bowed to Baldwin who nodded and Rebecca left.
"What did Guy want to learn from Rebecca?"
"It doesn't matter. If you'll excuse me" he bowed and turned to leave
"You know Balian, sometimes you have to pick a side on some issues. The promise of power isn't always the right choice. I'm sure you're not one to be easily swayed by others who are simply taking advantage of situations."
"You are right your majesty" he said with a smile before walking away "I will keep that in mind"
"Saladin is not going to attack now" said Raymond "The messenger told him that he respects the King of Jerusalem too much to do so"
"Maybe he said that on purpose to reassure our forces" Guy said "We won't let him to treak us like this"
"If my condition worsens, I want you, Guy, to be the regent" the king said
"Be sure that I won't let you down"
"I would like to inform you all that we have a traitor in our midst" said Baldwin"My spy informed me that someone attacked a civilian Muslim population.Something I had forbidden you to do. Someone in here"Deathly silence fell on the room. No one spoke, but Balian and Raymond looked at Guy. Within them, one began to suspect the other.
Baldwin was preparing for the next battle. Rebecca entered the room, leaving the Latin book he had lent her on his table.
"I'm glad you came before I left. I was afraid I wouldn't get to see you" he said
"I'm sure you'll turn around like any other campaign"
"I don't know. I can feel my body getting weaker and weaker and the Muslim forces are becoming stronger and stronger" he sighed and walked over to the table to grab the book "I'll turn this in its place"He felt his strength leave him but Rebecca caught him, putting her arms around him
"That's how we met seven years ago" she said with a laugh but stopped and said seriously "Maybe you better not go?"
"I cannot but lead my army to war"
"There are others who can do it. Raymond or Guy."
"It's not the same"
"I see" she said and as she held him in her arms she moved closer and placed her lips on the lips of the mask "I'm sorry I felt like I had to do this sometime before it was too late"
He was speechless trying to realize what had happened and lifted his face, his blue eyes, looking into hers, even if he started getting blind."I have to go" he put on his white cape and strapped the sword to his belt "I promise I'll come back to you" he said and rested the forehead of his mask on hers before leaving the room.