The weather was hot in the dessert outside of the Jerusalem's walls. The dust was a disadvantage for the soldiers, especially crusaders, whose uniforms weren't made for this kind of weather.
Raymond halted his horse and lowered the cloth which was wrapped around his head like he was a Bedouin. He looked around him, the warm wind had raised the sand, creating a mist of dust. He was sure that Assassins would be skilled to use this weather as their advantages. He couldn't put his guard down, especially as the young king was with him.
Baldwin was on his white horse, leading it next to Raymond's brown one. His blue eyes were looking far away, trying to see among the mist, like a hawk who was trying to find his way.
"Not a very good weather for fight, right my king?" Raymond said, smiling.
"If we move back to the walls, probably it will be too late when we see the Muslim's army approaching"
He could feel his leprosy's wounds hurting as the dust was around him and on his white clothes. This climate was only making his condition worse. He was only a seventeen years old boy then. He wasn't ready to make his symptoms worse, not in front of his regent, who shouldn't suppose to know the truth about his disease.
He pulled his horse's handler, to make it move back "I will leave a battalion in the dessert. They will observe the battlefield. If something goes wrong, I have already a backup inside the walls"
Raymond bowed on his horse as Baldwin was passing next to him "Let me lead this battalion, your majesty. I will send signal of help if something doesn't feel right"
"I trust you, Raymond" He was ready to retreat, when his horse raised on his back feet. Baldwin, as the most skilled rider of Jerusalem army, was able to hold himself on his horse. He looked around him, trying to understand what made his horse so anxious.
"Assassins!" Raymond shouted to the army, holding his horse's handlers tight.
The soldiers didn't manage to react quickly, the skilled Nizari were attacking the horses. The soldiers were falling to the sand, giving to the Assassins the advantage to strike easily.
"My king!" Raymond shouted to Baldwin, who took off his sword, trying to fight them on his horse.
Assassins' clothes had the same creme colour as the sand, making them camouflage themselves like chameleons. Still, he was able to notice their moves, striking them down with his sword.
An Assassin took off a knife, shouting something in his Muslim language that the soldiers couldn't understand, but they could hear the name of Allah in his words. He attacked Baldwin from behind, the young king wouldn't be able to react quickly.
Raymond stubbed that assassin to his neck, making him fall next to Baldwin's horse in a lake of blood.
"Are you alright, your majesty?" Raymond asked.
"I am fine, he didn't manage to hurt me" he looked around him, noticing a weird movement from the depth of the desert.
"We have to move back. All of us"
"And what about the Order of Assassins?"
"They won't follow us to the walls, at least for now" he pulled his horse's handlers back "A sandstorm is coming. We have to return back to Jerusalem, now"
He hit the handlers and the remaining soldiers followed him back to the walls, running in a formation to protect their king. The sandstorm was approaching the city as they were entering Jerusalem. The soldiers closed the big gates, after they made sure that all the battalion returned.
"That was a close call" Raymond sighed.
"The sandstorm will keep the Assassins back, but this won't stop them to enter the walls at night" Baldwin said and got down from his horse, his left arm was hurting "Raymond, make sure that there soldiers all over the palace. I don't want any entrance to be unguarded"
"I will take care of it, my king" Raymond said and Baldwin moved to the royal stables, holding the handlers of his horse.
Baldwin sat the basin, holding a sponge, washing himself. He moved his right hand moved to his left arm and stopped, looking to the leprosy's wounds. He let the sponge fall to the side and put his back to the wall, his head laying back with his eyes closed. His blondie hair were falling to his shoulder like a golden waterfall. The wound on his right cheek was getting worse too. He took a deep breath and as he was exhaling, he opened his sky blue eyes and looked at the ceiling. Pure luck. The today's battle and the sandstorm were just pure luck. The Order of Assassins could kill his whole battalion if they wanted to. Their target was him and he knew that. There were soldiers and crusaders all over Jerusalem, skilled knights doing their night patrols.
"You succeeded to escape the Assassins today" he heard Sibylla's voice from the outside of the privacy bath, her back to the door. She had her arms crossed, her black long hair fell free on her emerald dress, that was barely touching the floor "Dad would be proud. He was always afraid of them"
"I would be dead today, Sibil"
"God knows that your holy mission isn't over yet, brother"
He put his head back and closed his eyes again "I guess that you are right" he couldn't hear Sibylla's voice anymore, only some footsteps which were vanishing in the dark corridor of the palace.
BẠN ĐANG ĐỌC
Golden Face
Tiểu Thuyết Lịch SửBaldwin was the son of Amarlic I, King of Jerusalem and Agni's of Courtenay, daughter of the Count of Edessa. He was the only son of the house of Anjou, while he had an older sister, Sibylla, who acted as his mother until the end of his reign. His m...
