RISE A KNIGHT

By Rose de Sharon

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the 'Kingdom of Heaven' movie characters. I write for fun, not for money!

Author's notes:

- In the movie, there is a short scene after the battle of Kerak where Guy de Lusignan casts a dirty look at Balian who is watching him from Jerusalem's ramparts. This story starts from this point.

- Some details come from the "Kingdom of heaven" movie book edited by Newmarket Press, others from Wikipedia the free on-line encyclopedia.

- English isn't my native language, all mistakes are mine.

- "Vulgum pecus" means "The ignorant crowd" in Latin.

Feedback: flames will be ignored.

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Chapter 1: The would-be king

(Nearby Jerusalem's Golden Gate)

Guy de Lusignan was usually happy to act like a conqueror when he comes back to Jerusalem after a military assignment… but not this time.

He has made a hero's arrival each and every time he'd entered Jerusalem through its Golden Gate, known as "Sha'ar Harachamim",the Gate of Mercy by the Jews, while the Muslims called it the Gate of Eternal Life. A display of glory and military power was very appropriate for a king-in-making! He was parading ahead of Templar knights, riding his horse with pride, his nose held high in the air. Ordained troops were following him while rising dust and sand in their wake, Templar banners floating in the wind.

For Guy de Lusignan, the Templar Order – the rich beyond words, resourceful Order – mattered greatly: all its members and their Grand Master, Gérard de Ridefort, had sworn allegiance to him. Through the years, the Templar knights have obeyed the future king unquestioningly, turning him into the leader of the most-feared armed men known in the Holy Land.

What could be more impressive for the common people than the sight of a potential sovereign commanding the best trained and disciplined fighting units of the city?

Behold! The future King of Jerusalem is back!

But this time… it was different. His latest assignment has been a barely disguised punishment and everybody knew this.

The plebeians' bows were rather short and Guy de Lusignan could see the glimmer in their eyes, the sarcastic smiles on their lips. The flea-bitten vulgum pecus met on the road wasn't impressed by his high-and-mighty attitude, in fact it even dared mocking him! His eyes darkened in anger, the very image of barely suppressed fury.

He could almost read their minds: "Incapable…" "Vainglorious"… "Coward"… "Bloodthirsty"… and above everything else: "Cuckold!"

Damn you all to Hell!

King Baldwin IV had sent him to an uninhabited northern region to "make sure the frontiers were secure". That mission has been nothing but a wild goose's chase, a polite way for the king to get rid of his brother-in-law momentarily. As the king's vassal, de Lusignan didn't have any choice but accepting this task, especially since he was very close to fall into disfavor.

Until a few months ago, no one could stand in Guy de Lusignan's way. Wed to a royal heiress, he had no rival for the throne except an 8-year-old boy who could be swatted as easily as a mosquito; Patriarch Heraclius was under his thumb; and his accomplice Renaud de Châtillon was obligingly taking all the blame for their attacks on Saracens. His lifelong dream would become true: he'll be crowned King of Jerusalem.

But his golden future has crashed down.

During his absence, Renaud de Châtillon has been executed by order of Baldwin IV. Details were still sketchy for Guy de Lusignan – so far, he has only heard something vague about a Saracen lady – but he had no doubts this beheading had a direct link with their raids against caravans. Now, the Templar Order was cowering out of fear of royal retributions and its Grand Master Gérard de Ridefort was keeping a safe distance from the would-be king.

How could things have gone downhill in such a little time?

Because of Godfrey's bastard, that's how!

The pretender to the throne has detested Godfrey of Ibelin from the very first time he'd met him. That tall, self-righteous, better-than-the-others baron! Always dutiful, obedient to the king, chivalrous towards his enemies! The only chink in Godfrey's armor was his being childless – and for years, Guy de Lusignan has laughed out loud about Godfrey's inability to procreate. But his slandering has backfired when the old knight tricked everyone just before dying: he named as his heir a long-lost illegitimate son left in France, Balian.

Ibelin's people were entirely devoted to their new lord after Balian had managed to turn his patch of desert dust into an Eden. Jerusalem had an unexpected perfect knight whose heroic fight at Kerak has earned him an immense popularity among the army's ranks. King Baldwin IV had gained a formidable ally to maintain the peace signed with Saladin. And then, Balian had the nerve to become Sybilla's lover!

She betrayed me with a peasant… With that sweating blacksmith!

Guy De Lusignan was clenching his jaw so hard his teeth were in danger of being shattered into a million pieces. Never would he have imagined his wife would openly betray him! Even if dozens of barons have courted Sybilla over the years, he had always though for sure she had too much sense of duty to compromise herself in an adulterous relationship. But Godfrey's bastard son has caught her eye as soon as he arrived in the city!

The would-be king has never felt so insulted in all his life, not even when the poet Ambroise has called him "His simpleton Guy de Lusignan", or when King Baldwin IV took away his title of Count de Jaffa because of his "mediocrity".

I'll show you mediocrity you disgusting, foul-smelling leper!

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize he would pass under the Golden Gate in a short time.

I hate you, Balian the bastard.

A movement caught Guy de Lusignan's attention. Rising his eyes towards the parapet walks, he saw the subject of his wrath looking down at him.

Balian of Ibelin, clad in dark clothes and crowned with a black turban, had all the appearance of a charismatic Saracen prince. Apparently, he has been put in charge of strengthening Jerusalem's defensive walls, towers and postern-gates. The people seemed very eager to obey their hero, judging by the noise of hard-working tools hitting stones that could be heard from downstairs.

De Lusignan glared venomously at his rival, who was impassively watching him from the top of the Golden Gate. As usual, Balian's right-handed man Almaric was standing one step behind him. There were also a few men wearing Ibelin colors nearby. The would-be king couldn't help but notice that some of the craftsmen had stopped their work to stand closer to Balian, like they also wanted to protect him from harm. Their faces were hostile, their hands holding their tools as if it were weapons.

All of a sudden, his friend de Châtillon's words came back to his memory, the last time they've talked about Balian during Renaud's incarceration: "You must beware a popular man."

The blacksmith is standing high, while I am in the dust!

He had to face it: his parade has turned into a fiasco. Only force and fear could make Sybilla's husband a sovereign. Guy de Lusignan has not earned respect and fealty even after spending years in the Holy Land, wrongly thinking his sword and his ties to the royal family would be enough to impose his authority.

He wasn't a popular man, and it could cost him his access to the throne: he'll have to rely on his pride and his conspirator skills to regain his rank and straightening out his situation.

Guy de Lusignan cast a last sidelong glance at Balian and then, with a disdainful grimace, he entered Jerusalem.