/I don't own anything you recognize in this story. /
Chapter Eleven
"The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot." -Mark Twain
To Sibylla, the days seemed to crawl on by slowly. It was as if God had decided that now was the time that he would be in no hurry for no one, despite the person's predicaments of that moment. Soon she lost all track of time, doing nothing but sitting at the barred window, seeing nothing, wishing that someone would help her, wishing Balian were alive so that he would save her from all of this.
The door opened behind Sibylla, but she paid no head to it, it didn't matter now who came in and out of the room. After all, she was a prisoner and the captors did what they would to torment the person within to get what they wanted. Usually that's what happened, but for some unknown reason, these captors did nothing.
"I see you are awake and dressed, my lady," the voice said behind her.
Sibylla didn't turn away from the window. "One always must be awake and dressed for the day."
The man at the door crossed the room and sat down in the chair next to Sibylla. Barely glancing over, Sibylla was inwardly surprised and a little scared to see that it was Saladin, the Moslem king. She could tell from the servants that had walked in and out of this very room that they were a different people, but couldn't recognize them for who they were. Now, obviously, she knew.
"Yes, indeed," Saladin said, smiling. "One must always greet the day with all of their heart."
"I feel nothing of the sort," Sibylla retorted sourly, "why should I care about anything now?"
"Ah, mourning, I see. But for what, I wonder?" Saladin wondered out loud.
"You should know better, I thought you were good at that," Sibylla said.
"What, mourning about being in here day after day?" Saladin asked.
"No, being in here I can live with," Sibylla choked, "it's the fact that I won't be able to see Balian again. Balian, the only love that I've ever had—gone."
Tears fell down Sibylla's cheeks swiftly, and Saladin's heart immediately went out to the girl. He wished that there were another way, but a man must do his duty for the people as a whole, no matter what it brought for others. Fate stopped for no one.
"I am sorry about your loss, my lady, but mourning will not bring him back. Balian was a man without hope, a man living in the past who couldn't move foreword. He is in a better place now," Saladin exclaimed. At least part of what he said was true.
"It still does not ease the pain that I feel inside," Sibylla whispered.
Saladin started to reach out to touch Sibylla's shoulder, but quickly retracted when he realized what he was doing. The woman mustn't know of his own past that he quickly buried deep within him.
"There is a favor that I must ask of you, my lady," Saladin finally said. "One that I wish that you will think through thoroughly."
"You may ask, but it doesn't mean that I will receive," Sibylla said.
The woman is indeed bold, Saladin thought, she reminds me of my own wife I once had.
"Very well, my lady, but I'm sure you won't refuse in the coming weeks. You see, I am a man of powerful influence. And a man of influence must think of the people that he governs over. And I have come to the conclusion that my people, as well as myself are tired of the fighting over Israel," Saladin explained.
"You've got that one right," Sibylla muttered to herself, but Saladin didn't seem to hear her.
"I am sure that the Christian people are also tired of the fighting," Saladin continued, "and I've come to the conclusion that the only way to end all of this peacefully is to marry a woman of influence from the other side. One that would be a perfect match and unite the Moslems and Christians peacefully for many years to come."
"So you are saying for me to marry you and end all of this fighting?" Sibylla asked.
"Yes, my lady. You will therefore be able to rule the Christians in peace and I the Moslems. And thus we both rule Jerusalem side by side and everybody will be able to live in peace with no fighting and treat each other like brothers and sisters under the One," Saladin stated.
"This is too much," Sibylla said, feeling overcome by everything the man had said.
"As I said, think it over thoroughly, and I'll come back in the meantime to hear your answer," Saladin exclaimed, standing up. "I bid you good day, my lady Sibylla."
Sibylla watch Saladin leave silently. It would be a good match indeed, and God only knew her predicament and the mourning that she felt deep within her bones. Would Balian be angry if he knew about Saladin's proposal? Surely he would understand that this was the only way to bring peace to the land. And anyways, he would want her to move on with her life and not dwell on him.
But yet, it felt like she was doing something wrong if she accepted Saladin's proposal. It was like deserting everything that she built up with Balian; short of a time they had together, even the short separation that they allowed themselves to be under. The whole thing just felt like a deep betrayal that she couldn't explain.
Sibylla crossed the room to her narrow bed and stretched out onto it. Well, she had all the time in the world to debate her decision. Saladin would just have to wait for her answer.