In 1099, a mysterious child of noble origin was taken in by Jews who had fled the Crusaders' arrival in front of Jerusalem.
Years later, Ada, the descendant of this child, travels through Palestine with her father. He's a merchant and knows medicin...
With the end of the truce, the war quickly takes its course. The Mohammedans attacked Sidon, a stronghold whose defenses had been strengthened. Men, women, and children are mostly massacred and left to the carrion. In retaliation, the Christians conquered Banias, built near the source of the river Jordan in the Lebanese mountains. On difficult terrain, among rocks and precipices, our knights can neither fight on horseback nor line up in order of battle.
Reyn wrote to me that they were all lost without the crossbowmen commanded by the lord of Termes.
I try to remain brave, but I'm convinced we haven't learned much from our mistakes.
In these perilous times, the king received the terrible news of Blanche's death, his noble mother. Grief-stricken, he isolated himself from the world for two long days. Blanche did her best to care for the kingdom during her son's absence.
But she's no longer there.
On the other side of the sea, a war is about to rage between Flanders and Hainaut.
Margaret of Constantinople was heir to both. Her family married her to Bouchard of Avesnes, much older than her, and Margaret gave children to her husband.
After a few years, Margaret's elder sister, Jane, demanded the annulment of the marriage because she had found a new husband for Margaret, a man named Guillaume of Dampierre.
So hostilities broke out, and blood was shed.
Captured, Bouchard of Avesnes saved his head by agreeing to the annulment of the marriage.
Margaret was immediately remarried with Guillaume of Dampierre, and other children were born.
When Jane dies, Margaret becomes the new Countess of Flanders and Hainaut. She grew up amidst hatred and conflict and eventually went to war with her son, John of Avesnes, who considers the Dampierre to have an advantage in his mother's succession.
Before embarking for Egypt, King Louis had wisely arbitrated the feud, awarding Flanders to the Dampierre and Hainaut to the Avesnes.
But on the return of the ambitious Charles of Anjou, the dark countess trades Hainaut in exchange for military aid to wipe out John of Avesnes.
Her son!
And Charles accepts with enthusiasm. Especially since at the end of summer 1252, Louis and his mother demanded that he reject outright the throne of Sicily offered by Pope Innocent.
As a loyal Capetian, Charles obeyed.
Reluctantly, of course!
Thus, processions and prayers were organized in all Christian cities because the king would probably leave Palestine.
When the army's return to Acre is finally announced, my heart burns as bright as a huge bonfire. I imagine Reyn with his hauberk covered by the dust of the roads traveled in a country where it never rains in summer. I already see his beautiful face tanned by the sun, his wild eyes on me. I wonder if the passion will overwhelm us immediately or if he will be too exhausted and fall asleep in my arms very quickly.
Every night, I watch the sky full of stars.
Simon, my father, said that there were incredible creatures with strange and disturbing magical powers long before humanity.
But God feared the weakness of humans facing such powers.
Then, sprites, chimeras, djinns, dryads, will-o'-the-wisps, elves of the dark woods, fantastic unicorns, playful nymphs, then so many others were asked to disappear from this world.
God preferred humans, and by far.
My father explained that the creatures now survived in mysterious, inaccessible places. Most of them hated humanity and wanted the end of these pretentious and stupid animals.
The creatures had been heartbroken and bloody tears had been shed, trapped forever in the stones thrown on the dust of the earth or even in the blazing fire of the sun at its setting.
***
Under a clear, dazzling sky, our knights passed the double walls of Acre, harassed and happy. For most of them, the crusade is over.
Soon, ships will brave the sea again. And those who tragically died will live on in survivors' hearts and all wonderful tales.
That evening, I had several tables set up in front of our tiny house in the Venetian quarter, illuminated by large torches. My work as a physician at the St. John Knights' Hospital is ending, and I have planned a joyful supper for Reyn and his companions.
Of course, I invited Oliver of Termes, Johannes, and Gabriel of Edessa, who was kind enough to bring Syriac musicians with him. Their fabulous songs inflamed the souls of all the participants in this beautiful celebration in the Holy Land.
It went on tardy.
That famous evening, the walls of our tiny house in the Venetian quarter were home to passionate and luminous loves.
Hugh of Roquefort wants to show his Black Mountain to the pretty widow of Pilgrim Castle and propose marriage to her.
Reyn isn't so tired when he carries me to our bed. Then the scent of his black hair blends with the fragrance of the sea, the roses, and the smelling herbs of Palestine.
Words can't hold back the magic of the moment. Where lovers search for each other in the dark, meet with their mouths and hands.
Where we embrace each other, never to leave anymore.
And even if the day breaks eventually, even if we have to part reluctantly, my invisible ropes, woven with patience, will become stronger than the walls of a fortress.
In the next room, the one where our Aurel lived, you can hear the rustling of sheets, laughter, and whispers. Love has spread all over the tiny house in the Venetian quarter with the happiness of entangled bodies, of souls that have found each other.
The following day we exchanged a smile with the pretty widow. Because our soldiers came back in one piece from the war, and they filled us both with joy, in the dead of night.
Perhaps the promise of a sweet and quiet life.
***
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Margaret of Constantinople, known as the Black (born around 1202 and died in 1280.)
A hauberk is a piece of armor originally covering only the neck and shoulders but later consisting of a full-length coat of mail or military tunic.
