Viveremilitare est? Is to live really to fight?
In the following story, you can have an inspection of the 12th century Holy Land in a parallel universe.
I have read many fanfictions of this kind, but haven't found the story in them, what I was really searching for, so decided to write it myself. I am not considering the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" as the base of my tale, I sprang it from the true historical facts, and will form it in a way that I haven't seen so far in fanfictions regarding this topic. I do hope you will enjoy reading it, and by the end understand why I put those questions in the first line of my story.
PS: I am not a native speaker of English, so please excuse my mistakes. Don't look how the story is written, but appreciate what is written is it.
September of 1179
The torrid sun-disk slowly disappeared over the endless horizon interspersed with evanescent mirages. The desert was quiet like a church during Eucharistic adoration, only the soft sound of hoofs stepping on the downy ground distracted the ultimate silence.
Ravenna de Neapolim yawned insouciantly, not even bothering herself with putting one hand before her widely opened mouth. She was exhausted just as everyone else in the bevy marching across the dunes, and she strongly believed, no one would have even cared, if she had taken off her veil and exhibited her shoulders either. The only thing the travelers cared for was reaching Jerusalem before their water backups totally run out. Ravenna sighed slightly, she was bucketing to the city she wanted to approach the less. Quite ironic. She had always had an aversion when it came to the „holy city", a huge chaos of durty mews, clay houses and brusque stone walls that had already demanded ten thousands of human lives.
Although she was deeply Catholic, she had never seen the point in fighting for religion. She knew „God's glory" was only a bare excuse to make soldiers fight for economic benefits of the higher classes. She huffed reprovingly. She really knew what living near a greedy, shameless aristocrat was like, as according to her point of view, her father was one of them. Ravenna's mother died 8 years ago, when she was just 9, and after her death, the sole father started a process. He plummeted into ruthlessness and iniquity like a rickety carriage running down from the sheer mountain to the valley. She was quite devoted to her father as a little girl, so she had desperately tried shepherding him to the proper way of life, first with sweet requests, then justified statements, even with fervid quarrels. None of these resulted a single sign of improvement, moreover, they aggravated the idillyc father-daughter relationship. The only way Ravenna had to avert his father's ferocity was to secretly sabotage his actions.
„I know you have a hand in it again!" clanged his father's furious voice in her head as she heard them the day before.
„I do not know what you are talking about, my dearest father." she replied hardly raising her sight from the book she was reading.
„At least look at me when I talk to you!" howled the man.
She slowly put her book down and led her dark brown eyes to look into his. For a moment they gazed at each other in nerve-racking silence
.
„Now, as you see, I am listening to you entirely, so you may continue." she said leisurely.
„I know what you did!" he said quietly but with stinging disdain.
„Would you be so gracious, my father, to tell me what I committed? she asked with a slight shade of a sarcastic smile.
„You told today's caravan to change its path to evite my knights!"
„What if they just were not dilettante enough to follow the route where you usually looted their predecessors?" she questioned in the former style.
„Then what is this?!"
The men handed a little piece of parchment steeped in fresh blood to her. Her pulse speeded up as she saw the red marks along the edge of the sheet, but outwardly she still looked the embodier of evenness. She looked at the writing as she had been reading it, however, she punctually knew every word that had been written on it with trimmed, but breezy handwriting.
„It is a letter in which someone informs the caravan of the lurking danger" she demanded detachedly.
„Which was given to the caravan leader by a girl with curly, ruddy hair and a sizable birthmark under her lips."
She still looked into her father's eyes unwinking.
„There is only one such woman in this region, you know." Continued the man. „ She is called Adelaide, and is your maid." he declared triumphantly.
Ravenna knew she couldn't continue the conversation this way, so rapidly changed her strategy.
„But you still collared them…" she murmured with disfavor.
„Of course I did!" he huffed harshly „This childish effort of yours to balk my intention didn't have any result. The only person you managed to abash with it, is yourself, my dear." A condescending smile glowed on his lips.
Suddenly she laughed out. She laughed so heartily that it left him obtuse and slightly frightened.
„What the blazes…?" he blasted.
„You really consider me to be this much of a moron?" she asked incredulously.
„I do not consider you to be one, I know you are one" he added.
„Then, as a matter of fact, you managed to fell into the trap of a moron." she whispered delightfully.
„What are you talking about?" he shouted. The lord's face was covered with drops of sweat, as ultimate confusion overcame him.
„Well.." she answered peacefully. „…my plan was as simple as a stick. I made you believe that the caravan was about to change its way…
„It definitely did" his father interrupted „We raided it"
„What a shame that it wasn't the real one" she pouted sarcastically.
„Real one?! What do you mean by that?!"
„The real caravan continued its way in the usual direction, which you did not control this time. The one you attacked was a troop of slaves with bogus treasures."
„But my spies told me that.."
„Your spies were taken prisoners by the caravan, and wrote you what commanded them to write."
The lord was destroyed.
„But the cargo..it was full of gold.."
„It actually was pyrite. You know, the fool's gold. I am ineffably delightful that it ended up in its legitimate owner's hands."
„You little shameless floozy" he howled. The last word made Ravenna's eyes widen, but she sat as leisurely as she did so far.
„You are not a woman.." he continued „…you are the pure, emobied devil."
„So, you assume that devil usually saves innocent people from death and financial bankruptcy?" she inquired sarky.
„I can not stand your presence here! Leave Nablus now!" the lord bawled.
„But Nablus is my home, I do not have any other place to go .."
„You do, my dear daughter!" his derisive voice sounded.
For the first time, signs of fright intermixed Ravenna's features.
„From now on, you will live with your uncle in Jerusalem!" the lord declared „He will teach you what good manners are."
She jumped to her feet. „You cannot exclude me from my home!" Her voice was desperate. „You cannot do it with your blood."
„I could" he added neutrally „but to show you how propitious I am, I will give you one more opportunity. You can stay here if you vow that you will behave as a young lady should. You will be polite, moderate and never again disobey me."
She stood unmoving for a moment as if she was thinking the offer over.
„And, of course, you marry Lord de Srevard." the father added.
„What?!" Ravenna gusted. „ You cannot want that narrow oaf to be your son-in-law!"
„I do not, but on the other hand, I want an opulent man to be my son-in-law, and Lord de Srevard is definitely one of them."
„Then please inform Adelaide to prepare my luggage, because I must leave you, my dearest father."
„Adelaide?" he asked back. „I suppose, she is not able to sneak up from below the ground to accomplish your request."
„You killed her?!" Ravenna's eyes were blazing with anger and disgust.
„A disloyal maid has nothing to do among the livings." he murmured derisively.
„But she acted to my command!" she blared.
„Yes, basically you bare the blame of her death." sounded his callous words.
„I wouldn't stay one more day in your company, even if the only way to carry it out was to ride alone into the desert!"
She flounced out of the room with tears blurring her vision.
„Lady de Neapolim!" the voice of a servant boy distracted Ravenna's attention from her memories. She glanced at him inquisitively.
„ If God is gracious with us, we reach our destination in half an hour. We have already sent a herald to inform your uncle of your arrival."
„Excellent. I cannot wait to make his acquaintance" she murmured sarcastically.
Not a whole hour passed when the hoffs of Ravenna's horse dashed in the court of the royal palace. Two men came to help her in mounting down of the animal, but before they reached her, she elegantly came down from it by shifting her right leg over the horse's neck.
„Thank you, my lords!" she said as the men led her horse away to the stables.
She took a few steps forward confidently, while constantly searching for his uncle with her eyes. „He knows that I was to arrive now… Why didn't he come out to welcome me..?" she deliberated in herself when finally she found him. She has never seen her uncle before, but from the intent glance he directed at her, Ravenna knew it was him within a half second. He was a grizzled man, assumingly in his late forties standing on the lowest step of a grand flight of stairs in glossy armor. As Ravena knew, his father's brother was lieutenant in the king's army and lived in the western annex building which was kept up for officers. She was about 8 steps far from Lord Neapolim when he suddenly set off towards her.
„So the ungrateful, savage daughter of my poor brother has arrived." he declared with scorn on his face.
„I could not be more grateful that my precious uncle, just as tactful and attentive as my beloved father, is ready to host me." she stated with a pure sarcastic and smashing smile on her beauteous lips.
With contemptuous expression mixed with some amount of anger, he called „Follow me." and he set forth up to the stairs
Not many things happened yet, but in my opinion, you must know the background to get a better inside view of the story. I do not want to spoiler many things, but it will contain a romantic storyline regarding King Baldwin the fourth of Jerusalem, but will not be restricted to romance, I would like to add some action lines to it as well.
Please tell me what you think, I am really eager to see your remarks!
See you soon in chapter 2! :)