by D. N. Carter
2 – 45
“I demand to see the Marshal now!” Paul shouted and stood back a pace and looked up to the main windows above the entrance.
“That will not happen this hour…Paul, isn’t it?” the second knight said quietly.
“Gerard! I know it was you. Come out you gutless coward!” Paul shouted.
“Paul…whatever has passed this night, I would urge extreme caution and hold your tongue. Such insults Gerard will not let off lightly,” the second Templar whispered and grabbed Paul’s arm.
Paul flounced back and looked up at the windows.
“Gerard!” he shouted again. The main door to the headquarters creaked as it was slowly swung open.
Taqi shook his head as he sat upon Adrastos.
The local Marshal appeared, part dressed, rapidly pulling his belt tight around his surcoat. As he walked down the steps he looked at Paul, puzzled.
“Paul. What is the meaning of this…at this hour?” he asked quietly as he straightened the chain mail beneath his surcoat.
“Master…Gerard. He attacked us this very night less than but two hours ago…in the woods…like a coward as we slept!” Paul blurted out angrily.
The local Marshal looked at the two other Templars then Taqi and Paul again.
“Paul…those are serious allegations. How so do you know ’twas Gerard?” he asked quietly and grabbed Paul’s forearm.
“For I saw his arming dagger…and his height!”
“Hmm! Like one of these?” the local Marshal said and pulled back his surcoat to reveal an arming dagger with a round pommel and red cross set within it. Paul stood back. “We all have them…exactly the same.”
“But…his height. How many knights do you command that tall?” Paul shot back.
“What in the name of our Lord is my sleep disturbed for this night?” Gerard called out as he appeared and walked down the stairs, fully dressed.
The local Marshal looked at Paul and frowned. He raised his eyebrows.
“Think what you say next, Paul, very carefully,” he said quietly as Gerard approached smiling broadly.
“You smile at this hour?” Paul asked angered.
Gerard looked at him, puzzled, and shook his head.
“Truly, young Paul…you are indeed an enigma to me. A strange creature for sure. What pray tell is that I have done now?” Gerard smirked in reply.
“You know full well what you have done…and if it was not you, then it was most certainly of your making,” Paul stated loudly.
Gerard walked up to Paul slowly and stopped just inches from him. Paul had grown and was face to face with Gerard.
“Gentlemen!” the local Marshal said.
“First off…young Paul, I have absolutely no idea of what you speak…and secondly…’tis clear enough you possess the same temper you accuse your brother of having. ’Tis a pity for I have great need of men like you. Men of raw courage are few these days,” Gerard said in a low voice. Paul did not move as Gerard moved his face just inches from his and both stared at each other.
“Gentlemen…we shall investigate this matter thoroughly…that I assure you Paul. And if there proves to be any misconduct here by any one of our Brethren, severe measures will be administered,” the local Templar Marshal said as he nodded to the two guard Templars to move nearer to Gerard.
“I am not your enemy. It may surprise you to know that perhaps your enemies lay closer than you suspect,” Gerard whispered and looked at Taqi then back at Paul. “There will come a day when I am Grand Master of the entire Order…it would do you well to remember that for the future,” Gerard said as he began to back away. “And I am glad to see you have not resorted to kicking me again. That shows you have grown,” Gerard concluded and turned his back and immediately walked up the stairs.
Paul looked at the local Templar Marshal then over his shoulder at Taqi. Paul relaxed his shoulders and sighed as he shook his head, confused. Who would attack them like that if not Gerard? he asked himself.
Back at the Manor House, after sorting out Adrastos, Simon doing most of the sorting out, Paul and Taqi sat at the main kitchen table quietly discussing the night’s events. Their faces were covered in small scratches from the branches. Taqi laughed nervously as he recounted trying to hold on for dear life and with no saddle and Paul began to laugh too. As they drank some warm milk and Simon began to make an early breakfast for them, Alisha appeared at the door, the bump on her stomach appearing to be so much bigger as it showed through her nightgown.
“You are back early…and what has happened to your faces?” she asked, puzzled, and moved to stand near to Paul.
Paul looked at Taqi. He did not want to worry Alisha any more than she had already been recently.
“Adrastos ran a bit too fast through the woods…and we got hit by branches. That is all. Plus we were getting hungry as we only caught a rabbit,” Paul explained. Alisha laughed and sat beside him and kissed him gently on the cheek.
Taqi looked at Paul and winked. Simon placed some scrambled eggs in a large container in the middle of the table and some heated bread. As Paul leant to take some bread, the front door rapped loudly. All looked up quizzically as Simon hurriedly went to answer it. Gerard walked through the front door and came straight through to the kitchen carrying Paul’s saddle and placed it down hard upon the table with a heavy thud. Alisha looked at the saddle, then Gerard and then at Paul, puzzled.
“We sent a party to where you said you were attacked,” Gerard stated loudly. Alisha shot a look of shock at Paul. “We found no bolts nor axe so whoever they were, they clearly cleaned up after them. But I thought you would want this back,” Gerard said and folded his arms.
Paul stood up slowly and looked at the saddle then Gerard.
“Show me your arm…your right arm,” Paul demanded.
“What…?” Gerard asked bemused.
“Your right arm…let me see your arm,” Paul demanded again as Alisha put her hand up to him.
“I do not think we have quite established the boundaries in this relationship have we, young Paul?” Gerard replied.
“Well you do not seem to be able to stay away that is for sure.”
“I was as curious as you were to establish who attacked you. We cannot have bandits roaming our woods freely whoever they are,” Gerard replied and unfolded his arms.
“Then just show me your forearm,” Paul asked again.
“Why?” Gerard demanded.
“Because I sliced the attacker’s forearm as we left,” Paul answered. Alisha looked at Paul even more shocked. She instinctively held her stomach and sat down slowly. Both Paul and Gerard looked at Alisha as her face drained of colour and she took a deep breath. “This is why I did not say anything,” Paul said to her directly and sat down close to her rubbing her back.
Alisha took a few moments to get her breathing relaxed. She looked at Paul and shook her head disapprovingly.
“I hate to quote Master Gerard, but I too think we have not quite established the boundaries of this relationship either,” she said and frowned at Paul. Paul shook his head as Gerard smiled. “You are my husband… remember! And you must always tell me everything…do you understand? I am not a child, I do not need to have things hidden from me and I must know that I can always trust you on everything, for we are equals in this marriage are we not…always,” Alisha chastised Paul then slowly stood up. “Master Gerard, I thank you for returning the saddle and for bringing all of this matter to my attention.”
Gerard raised his eyebrows and smiled at Paul. Slowly he raised his forearm and rolled back the heavy chain mail as far as it would go up to his elbow, then pulled up his white undergarment shirt sleeve to reveal his bare arm. There was no cut. He frowned at Paul and showed his arm to Alisha and Taqi. He rolled his sleeve and chain mail back down and again folded his arms almost proud of what he had done.
“No injury…and if it had been another Templar that had attacked you… they too would have surely been wearing chain mai
l as I?” Gerard commented.
Taqi scowled at him as Paul stood up, confused. Alisha walked past Gerard, her hands placed across her tummy protectively. He moved aside so she could pass. He nodded at her and smiled broadly and gave a slight bow. He looked back at Paul again after she had left.
“I do not know whether to envy you or pity you, young Paul. Now I must be away,” Gerard stated as Firgany appeared behind him. Quickly he moved aside so he could enter the kitchen fully. “Fear not, there is no quarrel here. I think we have established what needed to be done and said,” Gerard said as he gave a slight nod and headed for the main front door to leave. Just as Gerard was leaving, a rap at the rear kitchen door drew their attention to it. Taqi stood and undid the latch.
As Simon closed the front door behind Gerard, the local Templar Marshal entered the rear door. Firgany shook his head, bemused.
“Will anyone kindly tell me what is going on?” he asked.
As the local Templar Marshal cleared his throat, he looked at Firgany then Paul and Taqi.
“As you now know, Gerard immediately went to where you were attacked. Your saddle has been recovered as you see,” the Marshal stated and pointed towards it on the table. “I can also tell you that I know who the culprits were….but…and this is a big but, trust me on this one when I say the matter has been dealt with and the individuals duly severely reprimanded,” he explained.
“What…so you know who attacked us yet you will not say who?” Taqi asked angrily.
Firgany looked at them all, still puzzled.
“You must trust me on this. If those responsible wished you harm, you would not now be standing here alive. I believe you will find their intention was to purely scare you. I must stress, they were not acting under our orders,” the Marshal explained as Firgany shook his head.
“I will speak with these two later. But this greatly concerns me,” Firgany said looking at the local Templar Marshal suspiciously.
“Firgany…you know me well by now. Know then that I would not hide the culprits’ identities without good reason. I am begging your indulgence and good patient understanding on this matter. I can swear it will not be repeated. Upon that, you have my word,” the local Templar Marshal said and outstretched his hand towards Firgany.
Firgany studied the Marshal’s eyes for several moments. He then grasped his forearm as the Marshal grabbed his and locked their arms. They shook then released their hands and quickly closed their fists into an angled cup shape and placed their knuckles together, their hands each forming a triangle shape, but placed together forming a square. Paul and Taqi looked at each other as Firgany and the Marshal nodded and bowed.
“Will you not tell us who then?” Paul demanded to know.
Firgany shot him a look he had not seen in a very long time.
“Paul…let this incident go…this once. For all our sakes I ask that of you for have I ever demanded anything of you so far?” Firgany asked. Paul shook his head no, looked at Taqi who shrugged his shoulders. “For now, I would advise you put this behind you and go and speak with Alisha for you have some explaining to do there!”
Paul looked at the Marshal then Taqi. Taqi grimaced with an exaggerated downward smile, shrugged his shoulders again and motioned with his head Paul should go.
Paul walked around the table, stopped near Firgany and looked at him, still puzzled.
“I shall respect your wishes on this matter. But it still troubles me greatly,” Paul said quietly.
“Make sure that Alisha has everything ready to leave as soon as possible for we shall indeed need to leave sooner than we planned. And Paul…thank you,” Firgany replied quietly with a slight nod.
Paul went upstairs to speak with Alisha but she asked him to leave her alone to rest. She was not happy with him for trying to hide the attack. She felt upset and more than a little hurt he had not been upfront and honest about the incident. She felt emotional and unsettled but she also knew, as Sister Lucy had explained, that she would get very upset and emotional over the slightest things; though this was most certainly not just a little thing. Paul felt hurt that she would not speak with him but understood she was angry with him. He sat on a small bench set within the main upper landing bay window. The sea was calm and flat and the morning sky clear. But as he sat, on the horizon, dark rolling clouds slowly loomed ever closer coming down from the north like a massive dark wall stretching from the horizon high into the sky. It looked almost unreal. Paul jumped as Taqi suddenly placed a hand upon his shoulder.
“It looks ominous doesn’t it? Like a portent of things to come,” Taqi said as he looked through the window to the horizon.
“That it does indeed, my friend,” Paul answered as Taqi sat beside him.
“Paul…whatever last night was about, one thing I do know.” Taqi paused his words.
“What…what do you know?”
“I know that if it had not been for that dream, I would not have awoken, and heaven knows what would have happened then, eh!” Taqi explained.
“Dreams…Taqi, my friend, I fear we now stand at the gates of a great divide between our respective religions, one that could pit us against each other. If what Gerard and the Marshal hint at, then a war unlike any before may destroy both our peoples.”
“Paul, I have sworn and pledged I shall not take up a sword against you ever. I think that was the main symbolism behind my dream. If such a day were to come…I would lay down my sword, even if it were to cost me my life. Dreaming of the angels Munkar and Nikar is nothing I have ever done before so I know it means something in the great scheme of Allah’s will.”
“Dreams!” Paul lowered his head. “Niccolas said I should listen to the wisdom of my dreams. Huh, you know he told me that when King Amelric dreamt that St Bernard had appeared to him calling him a coward, he immediately took up arms and joined in the Crusades. If a dream can influence one man like that, then we too must surely give some credence to what is revealed. That is why I know Alisha will give us a son,” Paul sighed.
“Then that is a good thing, yes?”
“I pray so. If anything was to happen to Ali and I lost her, I honestly do not think that I could live on.”
“My friend…all will be fine. And to prove it, I am going to make a shawl for the child with our family names upon it,” Taqi said with a large smile and then stared forwards.
Paul looked at Taqi as he just stared out the main window. Paul sat up and looked back out to the horizon as a million questions and emotions ran through him. Would Alisha be okay and survive this pregnancy, especially now as they would have to travel instead of rest as she should? Could he protect her and their child once it was here? What would they do once in Alexandria? And why and who would attack them just to scare them off, supposedly?…if indeed that was the real reason. He sighed heavily and rested his head in his hands. Taqi placed his hand upon Paul’s back.
“You did us proud last night for you got us out of that mess,” Taqi remarked quietly.
Port of La Rochelle, France, Melissae Inn, spring 1191
The old man looked at everyone around the table. He was impressed to see how awake and attentive they still were despite the late hour and so he continued.
“The remainder of that day a storm rained. Paul and Alisha spent it together packing just as Taqi and Firgany packed away most of their belongings, later going on to help load the caravan at Niccolas’s location along with Sisters Lucy’s very small amount of personal belongings. Paul was saddened that they were about to leave the only home he had known, but he was also filled with excitement at the prospect of new adventures and a new life ahead with Alisha and their baby. That evening after the storm had passed over, Paul and Alisha walked down to the point and stood together watching the sun sink slowly on the horizon. Paul had taken his drawing pastels and parchment to draw the scene as a memento to take with them. The evening air was cold and Alisha shivered as Paul started to sketch the scene of the bay, the harbour in the distance, the foreground w
ith part of the white stone circle where they had been married and Alisha stood holding her tummy. He then drew a closer picture of Alisha as she looked at him. He asked her to hold still. She was not very pleased when he was still asking her to hold the pose fifteen minutes later,” the old man laughed lightly.
“I think that is a lovely thing to do,” Sarah remarked.
“Yes…and if you look through that journal, I think you will find the very picture,” the old man pointed out, Gabirol immediately looking through the parchments.
“What a beautiful image,” he said as he removed a black charcoal drawing of Alisha looking over her shoulder.
Fig 14:
Sarah and Miriam leaned over to get a closer look as Simon’s jaw dropped.
“Holy Mother…,” Simon blurted out.
“How very true,” the old man said quietly, the Templar alone hearing him as the others all looked in turn at the picture. “When Paul had finished his drawing, he sealed it within the carrying tube and put his arms around Alisha as he stood behind her. They both stood quietly, their faces pressed together, each in their own thoughts as they watched the sun set both knowing it would be the last time they would see it set there… the place they had been married at and loved so dearly.
“Can you tell me who those angels were Taqi dreamt about as I am pretty sure I have never heard of them before,” Simon asked.
“Not surprising, Simon, as they are of Islam. And I have to confess that it was rather strange that Taqi dreamt of them in the fashion he did as Munkar and Nakir (Arabic: ) which literally translated means ‘The Denied’ and ‘The Denier’ in Islamic tradition, are angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves. Sometimes called al-Munkar and al-Nakeer, they are two angels who descend into the grave and interrogate the dead. Muslims believe that as they are about to leave this world and enter into the next, bright-faced angels come down from the heavens. Their faces as radiant as the sun. They carry a shroud with them from Paradise covered with a perfume. They sit down in front of the recently deceased and they are followed by the Angel of Death, who sits down at his head. He says, ‘O good soul, come out to Allah’s forgiveness and His Approval’. It flows out, as water flows out from the mouth of a water bag. He collects it and he has hardly collected it when the others take it away from him enwrapping him in the shroud and the perfume. It emits the best of fragrance. Then they ascend to the heavens along with it and do not pass by any group of angels, but they exclaim, ‘What good soul is this?’ They reply, ‘So and so, son of so and so’, naming him by the best of names that he was known by in the world, until they arrive at the heaven nearest to the earth. They seek the opening of its door. In every heaven those of its inhabitants that are the closest to Allah greet him and see him up to the next heaven until he reaches the seventh heaven. There, Allah says, ‘Place My slave’s book of deeds in the ‘Illiyyun, a place somewhere in the vast creation of his heavens, and return him to the earth, for, therewith I have created them, thereunto I shall return them and there from I shall resurrect them a second time.’ So his soul is returned to his body. This stage is called barzakh, where it exists in the grave, even if the person’s body was destroyed, the soul will still rest in the earth near their place of death. The questioning begins when the funeral is over and the last person of the funeral congregation has stepped forty steps away from the grave. Nakir and Munkar prop the deceased soul upright in the grave and ask three questions: ‘Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet? What is your religion?’ A righteous believer will respond correctly, saying that their Lord is Allah, that Muhammad is their prophet and that their religion is Islam. If the deceased answers correctly, the time spent awaiting the resurrection is pleasant. Those who do not answer as described above are chastised until the Day of Judgment. These angels are described as having solid black eyes, having a shoulder span measured in miles, and carrying hammers ‘so large, that if all of mankind tried at once to move them a single inch, they would fail’. When they speak, tongues of fire come from their mouths. If one answers their questions incorrectly, one is beaten every day, other than Friday, until Allah gives permission for the beating to stop. Muslims believe that a person will correctly answer the questions not by remembering the answers before death, which is identical to certain ancient Egyptian teachings dealing with the weighing of the heart, but by their imam and deeds such as salat and shahadah, as in the Islamic profession of faith. Munkar is sometimes transliterated as Monkir. Sometimes they are depicted as tall beings dressed completely in black with blue eyes and sometimes as two separate beings, one black and one blue,” the old man explained patiently as Simon and Gabirol listened intently, the others all still looking over the image of Alisha.[11]