Chapter 6
Author's notes:
- According to the "Kingdom of heaven" movie book (Newmarket Press), the character of "Imad" was created in homage to the Muslin chronicler Imad ad-Din of Isfahan who accompanied Saladin during the war and wrote about the battle of Hattin.
- In the movie, "Imad" is the knight who accompanies Balian on his way to Jerusalem after his shipwreck and the fight in the desert (while hiding his identity). Afterwards, they both meet again at the battle of Kerak and after Jerusalem's siege.
- Note to Trekkies: the "Imad" character is played by actor Alexander Siddig, who interpreted Dr. Julian Bashir in the TV series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".
Imad's POWI am the commander of my lord Salah al-Din's cavalry, but I can pride myself in being more than that. Over the years, I have won his trust and he became my mentor. He considers me as his confidant and that is no small honor: some people out there (Muslims, Jews or Christians) would pay royal fees to gain information about Salah al-Din's strategies or alliances. I have often being approached by spies dandling fortunes in front of my face, but I'd rather die on the spot than betray my Master.
Salah al-Din has won the kingdoms of Egypt and Syria after long years of struggles, and he is determined to win Jerusalem back from the Christians who settled there more than an hundred years ago. Yet, my Master shows an enormous respect towards their leper king, Baldwin IV, who had vanquished him once when he was barely seventeen years old and already ailing with this terrible disease. Salah al-Din has taught me to respect all men of honor and valor, regardless of their religion, even if it isn't always easy, especially in time of conflicts.
Today's a beautiful day and I am thinking of a hunt with Mizar, my favorite hawk. But suddenly, a cry is heard over the camp:
"Visitors!"
I am puzzled: my Master never told me about any guests coming. Ahmed, my servant, rushes to me while holding the reins of Antarès, my horse. Ahmed points toward the sand dune towering our camp and I can see a horse up there, a few of our sentinels surrounding it, and a silhouette with veils and robes. Could it be a woman, seeking for help?
I jump on Antarès' back and kick his flanks: whoever it is, it sure has stirred up some confusion among our people and I want to know what happened. Our sentinels are good men, but sometimes they are a little… rough, more eager to draw their swords than to ask questions. I can't blame them for their vigilance, though: our lord Salah al-Din has escaped from an attempted assassination once, and he has many enemies.
Antarès climbs the dune as if he has wings at his hooves, but the scene that greets me is enough to knock me down my horse. Our men kneels in front of a woman holding her ripened veil to her face, while a gray horse shaking in exhaustion is gently nuzzling the crumpled body of a man laying sprawled in the sand.
I am even more astonished when I recognized the woman: Princess Yasmina, one of my lord's sisters!
I jump down Antarès and bow as soon as my feet land on the sand, while questions rush into my mind. How could Lady Yasmina be here, without her escort? What happened to her caravan? She looks exhausted and her robes are covered in sand and dust.
"Your Highness, Princess Yasmina!" I say.
"Dear friend Imad, I give thanks to Allah's goodness for your presence." says she. "Is my brother present at his camp?"
I answer at once: "He is, milady, and he will be overjoyed to see you! But… if I may ask, where are your guards, your Highness? How come you've been travelling in the desert alone?"
Princess Yasmina's eyes turn as hard as obsidian stones, and I cannot stop a shiver of dread running down my spine: whatever happened, it mustn't be good.
"I must talk to my brother at once, Imad. But could you procure medical help to Mika'il here?"
Mika'il? I take a look at the body lying unmoving and, after an affirmative nod from Princess Yasmina, I turn the injured man slowly on his back, exposing his sand-incrusted face to the sun.
This time, I am flabbergasted: this is Balian, the new baron of Ibelin!
The shipwrecked man, who spared my life after his duel in the desert with my servant. The stranger who gave me back my freedom when we reached Jerusalem. The Christian knight who gallantly fought my cavalrymen at Kerak… By what kind of magic is he here, with Princess Yasmina?
But a quick inspection of his body informs me it's by recent foul deeds this Christian is here. Ibelin is wounded on the side, the blood has swept through a makeshift bandage and his face is ashen. He looks even worse than he did after the battle of Kerak, vanquished while fighting my men so innocent people could have enough time to reach the fortress.
The gray horse nudges his muzzle at me, as if it wanted me to do something for his master. I raise my head and I can see Princess Yasmina staring at me.
"Mika'il?" I ask.
"That's how I call him… I don't know his real name", answers my lady.
Now isn't the time to explain who this man is. I give out orders and, soon enough, Princess Yasmina rides to our camp on Antarès' back, escorted by the sentinels. One guard has been dispatched to get a liter and to warn my lord's physicians about a new and important patient. While waiting for him to come back, I take off my cloak and covers Ibelin's inert form with it.
I touch his throat and feel the Christian's pulse beating beneath my fingers: too rapid. Probably from shock, blood loss and exhaustion. With a sigh, I reach out and brush a lock of long, dark hair away from his sweated brow.
"What happened to you, my friend?" I ask.
But right now, only the whispering desert winds can answer me.
