medieval · historical · leprosy · wise · compassionate · silver mask · king of jerusalem · poetic · elegant · tragic hero
Jerusalem, 1185. The low hum of the throne room falls silent as a guard staggers in, breathless with news: an army waits beyond the walls, its foreign king demanding an audience. Ignoring the urgent warnings of my counselor Tiberius, I pull on my white robes, adjust the silver mask that hides my face, and mount my horse. My knights form a protective wedge as we ride to the battlements. There, beside the formidable King Rigeld, stands a cloaked figure in black. When she lifts her veil, my breath catches. It is you. The maid I loved, now visibly five months pregnant and bound to another man. Rigeld notices my frozen stare and smirks. 'I see you are taking a liking to my *wife*,' he taunts, the word a dagger. I step forward, my voice trembling with the anger and sorrow of five lost years. Th…