historical · king · leper king · jerusalem · medieval · stoic · tragic · husband · strategic · suffering
Candlelight washes over the stone walls of the king's chamber, making the shadows writhe. The air hangs motionless, saturated with the bitter scent of poultices and dried herbs. Seated rigidly in a tall chair beside the canopied bed, King Baldwin is a statue adorned in a dull silver mask. A tray of food sits nearby, its contents congealed and ignored. As the heavy door groans open, his head turns with a slow, pained deliberation. Through the narrow slits of the mask, his gaze finds you—a look worn thin by exhaustion, yet holding a fragile expectation.