/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /
The breeze blew gently against his face. Sitting on the brick wall at his home, Balian watched everyone wind everything up for the evening. This time of day had become something of a relaxation period for him and Balian looked foreword to it every day. Probably second only to being with Sibylla.
Thinking of the woman he loved, Balian smiled softly. No one knew how much he loved that woman. He loved her so much that he couldn't imagine being with anyone else for his previous wife, but she had died long ago. Of course he'd still love her, but Sibylla had taught him to move on.
Balian sighed and looked up to the skies. The sun was finally sinking, setting off a brilliance of colors through the sky. It was so beautiful to look at that Balian felt himself take in a breath of awe.
As he was looking at the sunset, Balian didn't notice that someone had walked up beside him. When he finally looked down, he was startled to see Sibylla standing in front of him, smiling serenely up at him. Smiling back at her, Balian slid off the wall and wrapped his arms around her.
"I didn't realize you were here, my love," Balian said.
"You looked so deeply inspired that I didn't want to want to disturb you," Sibylla exclaimed.
"My inspiration can wait for whatever you need to tell me," Balian stated, smiling.
"I know it can, but I want you to experience some inspiration in your life," Sibylla said, smiling back.
Balian shook his head and held her close. "You're all the inspiration I need, Sibylla."
Sibylla looked closely into Balian's eyes. Was this the same person that she had met so many months ago? Back then he was so quiet, steady, serious in everything that he did. He was still a quiet, serious man, but somehow he was more passionate, happier, talked more than he used to. What had changed in him?
"Balian, you seemed so changed from the first time that I met you. What happened to make you change?" Sibylla asked, pulling away from Balian slightly.
Balian fell silent, thinking about what she said. Sibylla immediately felt bad that she had said anything; it might have made him remember things that he didn't want to remember just yet or probably never for the rest of his life. Sometimes she hated being so bold around people. Balian finally looked up and gazed into Sibylla's eyes and Sibylla couldn't help but feel the love that resonated between them.
"I think I changed because I finally realized that I can't spend the rest of my life in the past. There were more good things waiting for me in the future," Balian finally said.
Sibylla smiled. "I'm glad that it happened, though, don't you think?"
"Yes, so do I, so do I," Balian said.
A comfortable silence fell in between them and both of them watched as the last rays of light faded from the sky. The heat from the day lingered on for a while, keeping the two of them warm for a while. But it wasn't until Sibylla started shivering that Balian wrapped an arm around her and said that it was time go inside.
Going inside, Balian and Sibylla sat in comfortable chairs by the fireplace that the servants had made while they were gone. Balian sighed in contentment, finally comfortable after a long, hard day's work. Watching the light from the fire dance on the hearth, Balian couldn't help but think that God had been good to him.
Glancing up, Balian noticed that Sibylla was gazing out the window up at the stars. She seemed to be deep in thought and Balian wondered what she was thinking about. Sibylla must have felt his gaze on her because she finally turned back around and smiled gently back up at him. Balian smiled back at her, happy to be with her right now.
"Do you ever look up at the stars at night and think that all of God's angels are up there looking down at us?" Sibylla asked.
Balian shook his head. "I've looked up at the stars many times, but I've never thought of it that way."
Sibylla nodded. "When we were younger, my brother told me that whenever I looked up at the skies to remember that our family's up there, watching over us with all the other angels. And when the stars wink at us, it's them letting us know that they're there and not to worry about anything."
Balian smiled. "Your brother was a wise man. Jerusalem was lucky to have a man like him."
Sibylla smiled back sadly. "I miss him so much. He always thought he had to take care of me, to watch over me no matter what. He didn't want anything bad to happen to me."
Standing up, Sibylla crossed the room to the window, resting her hands on the sill. At first Balian heard nothing, then suddenly he heard the stifling sobs coming from her. Crossing the room, Balian wrapped his arms around her shaking frame as she turned and sobbed into his shoulder. When she finally calmed down, Sibylla pulled away and wiped the tears away from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Balian. It's just so hard to accept that brother is gone. He could never do any wrong and he had to be taken away from me like this. He didn't deserve it," Sibylla exclaimed.
Balian traced Sibylla's face gently with his hand; wiping two small tears that were still linger on her face. "Don't be sorry, Sibylla. It's all right to mourn for your brother. When my wife died, I…thought the world was ending. I didn't have anything else to live for, my mother died long ago, my baby daughter stillborn, and now my wife, dead. I just continued on in my blacksmith, nothing but an empty shell."
Sibylla gasped. "Your wife died? And your baby was stillborn? I'm so, so sorry. It makes my problems seem miniscule compared to yours."
Balian gave a small smile. "I thought so, too, a long time ago. No one could understand the pain that I was going through because I loved my wife so. But Sibylla, I couldn't understand at the time that God had more in store for me. How could I have known that I would meet you and countless others that I would count as my own family? But when I came here and met you, I knew that God wasn't through with me yet, I saw His promise as soon as I saw you."
"But me? How did you know just by seeing me?" Sibylla asked, her eyes searching his.
Balian smiled and pulled Sibylla close. "Because I saw heaven in your eyes. I see it every day."
Sibylla smiled broadly and Balian bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. Sibylla kissed back, both hungry for each other's passion. Finally pulling away, the two of them gazed longingly at each other before they turned and looked up at the sky, the stars twinkling at them as they watched with their arms wrapped around each other in comfort.
It didn't matter whatever else was happening around them, this moment was made just for them. Heaven was where they were.
Author's Note: I had to take a break from all of my other stories and write this one because it had been running around in my head and demanding that I write it up. I always thought that the two of them were destined for each other though it never really said that at the end of the movie, but whatever. I just had to write this one and I hope you all enjoyed it. Happy reading and I hope you all continue to review.