An Endgame

Summary: Tiberias is a faithful servant of his king, Baldwin IV. He considers the protection and wellbeing of the king his highest responsibility and greatest honor. Baldwin/Tiberias. Slash.

A/N: I didn't really know if this would be physically possible, but the plot bunny was relentless. So. I've done a bit of research into leprosy and ironically, for an infectious disease that's been around for thousands of years, there's still a lot that's uncertain about it, including the chances of contracting it without being genetically related to someone who's suffered from it. I wondered whether someone might be genetically immune to it, but couldn't really find a definitive answer. Historically, this is a big fat ol' AU, so I have no problem labeling it as such because it could very well end up being scientifically impossible as well. But, I do strive for realism, so above all else I will attempt some believability here.

Warnings: Slash. Beyond the obvious male/male pairing here, I'm writing this with the historical Baldwin in mind, who was in his mid 20s before he died. Tiberias has about 30 or more years on Baldwin, based on Jeremy Iron's age at the time, which was about 57 or so. Just bear in mind, if it may be of some bother, that there is a significant age gap between these two. Beyond that, violence and medieval politics, of course. It was the 12th century preceding the crusades in Jerusalem, after all. And some gruesome medical descriptions when it comes to leprosy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing here. I merely borrow and briefly use to keep my writing skills sharp and limber. But more because I'm bored and getting over the flu for the first time in seven years.

"May God be with you. He is no longer with me." –Tiberias to Balian

CHAPTER ONE – Hand in Hand

It was a cool dusk.

Peaceful.

Even enjoyable.

It was the kind of evening for good company and even better wine by a fire pit. But on this night, Tiberias was on duty, heading to the palace to meet the needs of his king. His little birds stationed strategically in the palace informed him of the king's melancholy. Baldwin had not spoken a single word to anyone in a week's time, not even to his dearest sister. Tiberias had given Sibylla credit for sitting with Baldwin for hours in the mornings, but he lamented that their temperaments were so alike. She would leave close to midday shunning the attention of her ladies, though they followed her despite it on Tiberias' orders, and would choose to ride through the city instead of seeking another's advice.

While Baldwin was more logical about his emotions, Tiberias was surprised as the length of the silence. His king had certainly kept to himself for days at a time before, but never in complete silence and never for this long. At times he would summon his secretary. Other times he would summon a councilor or priest. And on some occasiona he might even summon Tiberias, but those meetings typically were short and business-oriented. Baldwin typically kept his personal thoughts to himself.

And it wasn't as if his king had no reason to. With his treacherous brother-in-law slithering and scheming his way into Baldwin's rule, and even more worrisome more firmly into the line for succession, it was a wonder the king was still able to make a jest now and again. If Tiberias had his way Guy's body would already have been rotting forgotten in the desert somewhere. Dealing with his web of spiders would have been an annoyance of an afterthought, but well worth the pains. Sadly, Baldwin was too good of a person to stoop to Guy's level of political-motivated murder. And though Baldwin loved his sister, he respected her above all else. And if Sibylla refused to say the word, Baldwin would respect her decision.

He had made a vow many years ago to their father, King Amalric, that if the law could not protect his children, then Tiberias would. Ever since that day Amalric had taken to making something of a politician of Tiberias. To this day, Tiberias would be eternally grateful for the tutelage, but most nights when he would make this similar journey he'd be looking for ways to delay his arrival. He even went as far as to start a small fight once, which of course did not turn out well, but at the very least gave Amalric a good laugh. Tiberias was a soldier, not an academic.

As he climbed the stairs to the King's corridor, he noticed a servant boy exiting the King's chambers with a full tray of untouched food. Upon seeing Tiberias the boy paused and waited for Tiberias to approach.

"Has he not supped," Tiberias asked.

"No, my lord," the boy replied. "My King's not eaten since morning last. I tried to leave it, but My King refused. I did not wish to anger him."

Tiberias sighed and took the plate of untouched food from the serving boy. "Open the door," he said to the guard. The knight did and softly closed it behind Tiberias as he entered the King's chambers.

A fire was burning low on the hearth, and in front of it sat Baldwin. Despite the late hour, the King had not removed his mask or even as much as changed out of his daily robes into more loose fitting night clothes. Tiberias knew that beneath those purple robes Baldwin wore a strong and thin shirt of mail. He'd worn it since his last convalescence when he suspected Guy of Lusignan of mounting an assassination attempt. It had made for a longer recovery process for the poor boy, but Baldwin had learned to take no chances where Guy's threats were concerned. It had angered the King deeply that someone he once trusted to fulfill his duties in his absence had so betrayed him in manner and regard. In truth it had only been a week since Baldwin banished his sister's husband from the palace, and if Tiberias were a betting man, he suspected something had occurred between the two men before Guy left, spitting fire and disrespect, as was his wont.

The King did not turn his head, but instead cocked it to the side, as if in annoyance, which was confirmed when Tiberias heard him speak. "I said I wished to be left alone," Baldwin said, testily. "And do not waste that food, for I will not touch it."

"I did not think you would trade one vow for another, sire," Tiberias replied, standing back by the door until he was invited in.

Baldwin turned his head in surprise at Tiberias' voice. "And what vows are those?"

"Silence for Hunger."

A short silence followed. Then Baldwin raised his hand and beckoned Tiberias to approach. He placed the tray of food on the small table between them and took a seat across from Baldwin. The King sighed and turned sharp eyes on Tiberias. Sometime between his last message from one of his little birds, the melancholy must have dissolved into spite. If Tiberias were honest, he would much rather deal with spite than melancholy, but it still pained him inside to see his King suffering in more than just body.

"I am a true Christian," Baldwin stated. "And a servant of God. Living by vows are my mortal duty while I am permitted here in this life."

"Does God demand his servants starve themselves?"

"God demands they fast on holy days."

"And which holy day warrants this?"

Baldwin scoffed and raised a hand to his forehead to rub at it. "It's Christianity. There's always a holy day."

"Thus my original point of whether God demands we starve ourselves for his sake."

Baldwin laughed, but to Tiberias it sounded empty. "Are you planning on eating that yourself?"

"I had hoped to share it with you, sire," Tiberias offered. "It's too much for me as I've already supped. And I agree with you that food should not be wasted. I would aide you in all things if you would allow it."

Baldwin turned away from him. "I will not inconvenience you."

"You would not inconvenience me, sire. In truth, you might relieve my… well… my thoughts if you ate."

Baldwin glanced back at him briefly before turning back to the fire. "I cannot force what my stomach rejects."

Tiberias sat forward, worried then that the King was hiding something worse. "Are you ill, sire?"

"Ill…It's a relative state of being, isn't it? You could say I've been ill since I was thirteen. My father forbade all talk of cures around me, you know. I can't decide if it was out of love for me or self-defense for his own spirit."

"I would imagine it was a little of both, sire."

"Even to this day people are afraid to speak of it in front of me. As if I would command heaven to rain down fire and brimstone upon them like Sodom and Gomorrah. Would if I could endure that rain if only to be rid of this hell."

Tiberias plucked an apple from the tray and pulled out one of his daggers to cut it. "Others would endure such pain for your sake, sire. You are not so alone in this world as it may feel." When he was done cutting, Tiberias offered the king a slice.

Baldwin looked at him with a combination of wariness and weariness. "You would brave that for me?"

"You are my king. I would go to the ends of Christendom and back. Even beyond if you so commanded."

Still Baldwin did not accept the apple. "What have I done to earn such trust?"

"You are kind and honorable. You are generous, thoughtful, gentle, fierce-"

The king laughed. "How can a king be both gentle and fierce?"

Tiberias sighed, the corner of his lip twisting as he thought and the apple slice's weight played by his measuring fingers. "The best of kings know when and how to be both. Without ferocity, a king cannot defend his realm. But without gentility, he would have nothing to defend."

"Because nothing would defend him. And what kind of king am I if I only inspire spite from my own house?"

"You speak of your sister, my lord?"

"Her husband."

Tiberias sat back with his suspicions confirmed. "Has he made any threats since his departure?"

"Of course not. Not with his tail still between his legs. But you know Guy. He is a succubus for power. I fear the day the throne will pass to my sister, because it will not be her throne as is hers by right."

"He will take it from her," Tiberias agreed. "But she will still have her defenders. Of that you should never fear."

"He said to me that he felt sorry for my father's fortunes, that the late king provided so few heirs to the throne. 'Such weak branches,' he said. 'Would that they be cut for stronger vines to grow in their place. For the sake of Christendom's fruits.'"

Tiberias shot to his feet and crossed to Baldwin's line of sight in front of the fire. "Sire, that is treason."

"It may well be, but without Guy and his men Jerusalem will fall to Saladin. Perhaps that may be an inevitability, but that remains to be seen. His words were also the truth."

"They are most certainly not the truth, sire-"

"Explain to me how it is not," Baldwin challenged. "For that has been my mystery these last several days. I have my father's logical mind. I cannot stray from the facts. I am my father's only son. I am a leper and therefore barren. Sibylla has married a powerhungry tyrant with men, money, and now stature. And Isabella is to marry Raynald of Chatillion's stepson within a fortnight. Weeds choke our branches, Tiberias. It would not take much for Saladin to stake his claim upon this city when its kingdom rots from the inside out. Because of mistakes I have made." Baldwin bowed his head in defeat, but his left hand fisted in fury.

Tiberias slowly approached the king and knelt by his side, putting dropping the apple and it's slice upon the tray of untouched food. "You forget, sire, that Sibylla has a son. Your namesake. The future of your father's house."

"And he is barely five," Baldwin hissed, turning agonized eyes to Tiberias' weathered but soft ones. "He's still a child. He knows nothing of the political games that are being played over his head and at his expense."

"But his mother does. You have your father's logic. So also does Sibylla. If there is one thing that she fears I am certain is it Guy's unpredictable nature. But what she trusts above all things, is your judgment, sire."

"Ha. Look what my judgment had wrought her. It pains me every time I see a bruise coloring her arm. The thought of possibly more unseen torments my conscience every night. She was so sad when her first husband died. She wanted a father for her son, desperately. She begged me to not leave her out of my affections and thoughts for so long that she grow old and undesirable. I should never have given her to that…" Baldwin clenched his eyes shut for a few moments, tears gathering at the corners and spilling beneath his silver mask.

Feeling his King's torment, Tiberias took Baldwin's hand in his own and held it for some moments. Without opening his eyes or even turning his face away to hide the evidence of his vulnerability, he latched onto Tiberias' hand with surprising strength for an afflicted man. Baldwin took a few shuddering breaths after a while to calm himself. Tiberias made to pull away after he felt his King begin to regain his composure, but Baldwin tightened his grip and Tiberias stayed. Though his knee pained him, he ignored it and covered their joined hands with his other, moving it aside for only a moment to kiss Baldwin's gloved hand. Tiberias was surprised to hear a quiet sob from the King, but then realized the last time he had been held with such affection for so long had not been since he was a child.

Baldwin was looking at him with such open affection that it stole Tiberias' breath away. Perhaps it was the dimness of the room, the light from the fire and the wetness of those sparkling eyes. Tiberias felt his heart open up to his King in that moment. It went beyond pity. At first it felt warm and open and strong, pulling him closer to the young man. But the longer Tiberias tried to understand it, the more his heart sped up, and the more afraid he became of what he might actually find to be the root of the cause.

"If there is one thing in this world I fear to lose, Tiberias, it is Sibylla's love."

"You have not lost her, sire," Tiberias replied, gently squeezing the young man's gloved hand.

"I fear I may yet still with the new measure of succession."

"Sibylla, above all others, will understand."

"I had hoped not to cause my nephew any more unwanted attention, but Guy's behavior at court has left me no other choice."

"He will be safe here after it is announced. I believe she will be grateful to you for it."

"If only she would allow me to do more for her."

"She may yet in time, sire. Once her son is safe by law she may begin to contemplate herself."

"I need to know what Guy is plotting, Tiberias. He will not let this go unanswered."

"I already have my web dispersed. We will know of Guy's plans before they come to fruition. And I will protect you with my life of need be."

"I believe you will. But that doesn't make me feel any better. Were I to lose you I would be one of the sorriest people left in this world."

"I may move slower in my old age, sire, but the best weapon is knowledge," Tiberias reminded Baldwin with a promising look. "Especially that of the physical knowledge the body has of movement. It never forgets. And this old frame is never without practice."

"I would not call it old. And I did not mean to doubt you."

"I was not offended sire," Tiberias promised, reaching for a small branch of grapes to offer. "But I may yet be if you insist on expiring before your nephew is even announced as your heir."

Baldwin closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them he rolled his eyes and snatched the grape branch from Tiberias. "Fine. You may have your assurances. The plate will be as clear as I can manage before I retire. You may go."

Tiberias gave Baldwin a half smile as he rose with no small amount of stiffness in his legs. He supposed the King thought he would then leave him to his privacy, but Tiberias turned and sat back down in his seat. Baldwin was looking intently at him, mildly baffled.

Tiberias smirked. "And when have you known me to accept terms less than what I originally set out for?"

Baldwin stared at him with a steady gaze. "You gamble dangerously."

"Because I fight battles worth fighting. I believe the dates have just come into season."

The King stared at him a moment longer before lifting and dropping his hood. He reached behind his head, to untie two straps hidden among dark curls, similar to that of Sibylla's color. When untied, he spared the briefest of glances at Tiberias before slowly separating his metal mask from his deformed face. He laid it in his lap and took a few moments to breathe before turning to the tray and plucking two dates from a small bowl. After a moment's hesitation, Baldwin grabbed the cut apple and tossed it to Tiberias who caught it one-handed.

"I don't much care for apples," his King said, as he began to eat his dates.

As they ate in companionable silence, Tiberias smiled and gave his sole attention to the burning logs on the hearth.

A/N: There will be four more chapters after this one. I had a lot of fun with this chapter establishing these characters. Going to try adding more in the next installment as things start to move along plot-wise. Thanks for reading!