by D. N. Carter
“Alisha. I was present when you were born did you know that?”
“No…no I did not know that.”
“I have always seen you as like a little sister I never had. That is perhaps part of the reason I have tried to protect you…but as is the case, I am not always able to be near to you. Like when your father was sadly killed.”
“Abi…I like what you just said and it does give me great comfort. I am sad that you cannot come with us, but I understand why. And I would be proud to call you my big sister…literally my big sister,” Alisha replied and laughed and tried to reattach the baby that was struggling to latch on and feed properly.
“Less of the big. Tall will do. Big makes me sound fat,” Abi joked and they both laughed. “Ali…listen to me. I may be away from you physically, but know this is truth when I say that we are connected. When you need me the most…that is when I shall come. That I swear to you. Do you understand?” Abi said solemnly and placed her hand upon Alisha’s knee. “And believe me when I say that the gentleness that Paul has within his heart is the very same force that makes him amongst the strongest there is…trust me on that if nothing else,” Abi explained, her deep blue eyes exuding a confidence and authority Alisha knew she could trust. “Now, it has passed the seven days a good Muslim woman should wait to name a child. So perhaps we should agree upon that before I go. And did you whisper the adhan (call to prayer) and shahada statement? (There is no god but God: Muhammad is the messenger of God.) You will need to cut some of his hair and confirm his father if you wish to follow the ways of your birth religion,” Abi explained further.
Alisha looked at the baby as he fed still. She moved him awkwardly as he suckled hard. She winced in pain briefly then laughed as he wriggled to get a better hold. She then looked back at Abi and just stared at her for several moments. Abi sat still resting her broad chin upon her hand as her elbow rested upon her own knee.
“Abi…I must confess I truly do not know what religion I am or supposed to be in any more. I really do not,” she sighed, confused.
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“Then simply follow the best religion there is,” Abi responded and went to stand up as Alisha grasped her hand with hers.
“What is that I pray you tell me?”
“The only one. The religion of love and peace. Follow that and everything else just falls into place,” she answered and stood up fully. She leaned forwards and placed her large hands on either side of Alisha’s head and kissed her on the forehead. She then moved to look at her closely directly in the eyes. “But do not shy away from unleashing total hell and carnage upon anyone who would do you harm!” She smiled broadly and patted her sword.
After Abi left the room, Alisha sat quietly feeding the baby, winded him and changed his swaddling as she had been shown. As she wiped him clean, the noise of seagulls outside squawked loudly for a few moments as a sailor threw overboard some scraps left from the cook galley. She rocked the baby gently until he fell asleep in her arms. She felt tired and her eyes heavy but she could not help herself from just staring at his little features. She pondered upon what she had heard said of him and the very real threat they all faced. Would Paul be able to defend them, she thought, as he was not a warrior? He had not been taught properly to fight with arms? No matter how good the sword may be, it was still the man’s skill that would ultimately count. Her mind drifted to thoughts of Nicholas. How was he doing? Was he well now? He could certainly fight. Maybe she could ask him to escort her and Paul. She shook her head annoyed at herself for even thinking such a thing. A rap at the door drew her attention back to the present.
“Come in,” she said quietly.
Taqi popped his head around the door and looked in smiling broadly.
“May I?” he asked, indicating to enter. Alisha nodded yes. Quickly but quietly he entered the small cabin, closed the door very quietly and sat down on the wooden chest opposite Alisha. He smiled and pulled out from his jacket a large white square piece of cloth folded up. It had blue and green strips sewn into it. Gently he unfolded it and handed it to Alisha. She took it in her right hand whilst still gently rocking the baby in her other arm held close to her chest.
“Sister, you look tired. You know I love you, don’t you?” Taqi said quietly as Alisha studied the cloth. It had two embroidered emblems done with gold and silver thread in one corner.
“Yes…why do you need to ask?” she whispered.
“Hmmm. Well, do not tell me to mind my own business but…”
“But I was harsh with Paul, yes?” Alisha said before he could finish his sentence. Taqi feigned a smile and nodded yes. “I know I was. Hopefully I shall never have to repeat it.”
“Ali. That man would die for you, you know that too, yes?”
“Brother, I do not want him to die for me. I want him to live for me. He once said that not even three arrows through his heart would kill his love for me, but I do not ever wish to see the day that ever happens. I just need to trust him totally.”
“And you can, Ali. You can. There is no darkness in that man,” Taqi responded and leant forwards. “Now you must let him know your love has not changed since having a son…for as Father taught us, sometimes that can happen,” Taqi explained.
“Do not be so foolish. He knows I love him,” Alisha replied, shaking her head, surprised at his remark. Taqi just raised an eyebrow quizzically.
“Good. Make sure he does know and that you tell him. Us men can be pretty stupid in understanding these things. But look, look at the swaddling blanket I have made for the baby. I started it as a gift for Paul last year, but it seems more appropriate now to give it to the baby. It has our family sigil and Paul’s as Father showed me…look,” Taqi said, pleased with himself as he folded open the section revealing the gold thread symbols.
“Sigils…what are they?” Alisha asked as she ran her finger over the images.
“Well…it is like a symbol…but unique to our families. So I have joined them as one. I must have known, eh?” Taqi laughed.
“’Tis beautiful. Thank you, Taqi. I shall miss you dearly when you leave us,” she sighed and held the symbols near to the baby.
Fig 20:
“So come on, Ali…what are you going to call this little man?”
Alisha looked at the baby in silence for several moments. She stroked his cheek softly and very gently kissed him on his forehead.
“I was thinking Arri.”
“Arri?”
“Yes. It means ‘noble one’. Something Raja told me just before she passed away,” Alisha sighed and smiled again. She yawned and her eyes looked darkened.
“Get some sleep whilst you can, little sister. We shall decide upon how we travel next but either way ’tis still a long journey ahead of us,” Taqi said as he stood, kissed her on the top of her head and opened the door quietly.
Alisha looked at him and nodded silently. Taqi left the cabin and closed the door as quietly as he could. Slowly Alisha stood and laid the swaddling cloth out upon the fixed single bunk and very carefully laid the baby upon it and wrapped it over him. She climbed up and lay down next to him and just stared at him as he slept peacefully, just the noise of waves lapping against the outside of the hull and the odd seagull. She fell asleep smiling.
Paul and Tenno looked up as Taqi entered the cabin smiling broadly but knocking the main wooden door behind the canvas covering into Theodoric, who was sorting out some drinking tankards secured in a cupboard next to the door itself. Taqi laughed when he saw Theodoric behind the door. Quickly he sat down opposite Paul smiling broadly, his hands clasped together.
“Guess what…your son has a name,” he exclaimed enthusiastically. Paul pulled himself in closer to the table, puzzled, as Theodoric and Tenno looked at him in anticipation waiting for him to say more. “Arri… she has named him Arri,” Taqi announced.
“Arri?” Theodoric said aloud and pulled a face.
“Arri,” Tenno also said but in his stern clipped manner and shrugged his shoulders and looked
at Paul.
“Arri….do I not get a say in this matter?” Paul asked and all three immediately shook their heads no, smiling. “Arri!”
The Hospitaller captain entered the room quickly.
“Paul…We have had riders come in from eastern shores. Great storms have indeed battered the coastline so we shall wait longer here before proceeding. But we shall be sending on a small contingent by land to escort some important people on their way to Jerusalem. You may join that convoy if you wish or wait it out here with us,” he explained.
Paul looked at Tenno, Theodoric and Taqi in turn. All shrugged their shoulders.
“The decision must be yours,” Tenno remarked and looked at him, raising a single eyebrow as he did.
Paul felt very conscious as they all looked at him waiting for his decision. His mind raced as he tried to weigh up the benefits of a smoother ride for Alisha upon the Tarida, but having to wait for several days more and possible storms, or travel overland in an escorted convoy. The caravan was not that bad to travel in, he thought. Tenno raised both his eyebrows and sighed as if impatient for a response.
“Then I say we go soonest…by land,” Paul heard himself say.
“Brilliant. I can’t wait to get back on dry land,” Taqi stated with an enthusiastic smile.
The Hospitaller captain nodded and smiled his acknowledgement of Paul’s decision and immediately left the cabin.
Theodoric just winked at Paul, smiling. Paul hoped he had just made the right decision.
Chapter 20
Princesses
Port of La Rochelle, France, Melissae Inn, spring 1191
“Paul’s first major decision eh?” Gabirol noted as he wrote.
“You could say that,” the old man answered and took a sip of his drink. “Paul was surprised how the decision had fallen to him as he had assumed that Tenno or Theodoric would have been the ones to make it. He was more surprised to learn that Taqi was eager to get off the Tarida. He confided in Paul that he did not feel too comfortable upon boats. Never had done. That evening, Paul felt awkward around Alisha as he sensed her mood and that he somehow irritated her. They said very little and she shrugged him away when he went to kiss her. He busied himself packing away everything ready for the morning to leave. He made his excuses to Tenno, Theodoric and Taqi that he was tired so would not be joining them in the evening. Sister Lucy helped Alisha with Arri and Paul felt rather lonely. It was past the midnight hour when Alisha and Arri finally settled and fell asleep. Paul remained awake just watching over them.”
“Well, having children can do that to you…I should know as my wife did not let me near her again for over a year after our firstborn arrived,” Peter commented with a wry smile.
Ayleth looked embarrassed and blushed.
“Well, he understood she was emotional and would be for a while as Sister Lucy had warned him about it…but it still made him feel sad. No sooner had he fallen asleep himself, than it was time to get up. Once the Tarida was beached and secured, he left Alisha dealing with Arri whilst he helped unload Adrastos, their caravan and several other horses including their own second horse. The port was very busy and the main route that ran along the section of beach was packed with pilgrims and travellers. The Hospitallers readied themselves and their horses very fast and had to wait for Paul’s group before moving up the steep track that led to the old fortress high above them. It was there that the party was to link up with a small contingent of Templars and several other caravans. One of which was carrying quite an important traveller,” the old man said and paused for several minutes just thinking. Simon coughed loudly on purpose. That made him look up.
“So who were the important people?” Peter asked.
“Well. She was a woman of means and a formidable character that was for sure. She was just returning from a pilgrimage of her own to Constantinople. That is why she was in the port. She had hoped to take a boat but as they were in increasing demand and none readily available…at any cost…she opted for the overland route. You may have heard of her…Stephanie of Milly…or, as some know her, Princess Stephanie,” the old man explained.
“We know of her well,” the Templar remarked with an almost dismissive look in his eyes as his brother nodded in agreement.
“She would have a profound influence upon Paul…in time. But it was the coming journey that would set in motion the wheels of their relationship,” the old man explained, shaking his head slightly.
“Please do not tell me she and Paul had a relationship. Poor Alisha and shame on them,” Sarah commented, shaking her head disapprovingly.
“Things are never that black and white in life, Sarah, but if you let me explain further, I would like to tell you a little about her, for she had an important role to play. In fact I would say the only reason I now sit here today…with this sword still,” the old man explained as he moved the sword slightly upon the table.
“I would like to know more of this woman for I have read much on her over the years,” Gabirol said and bit the end of his quill.
“Then let me briefly explain that Stephanie of Milly was born 1145, not 1155 as some are quick to claim,” the old man started to explain before Sarah interrupted him.
“Well there you go…she is far too old for him,” she stated.
The old man laughed at her comment before continuing.
“She was the Lady of Oultrejordain and a very influential figure in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. She is also known as Stephanie de Milly, Etienette de Milly and Etiennette de Milly. She married three times.”
“What a disgrace,” Sarah interjected again.
“It is not uncommon in Outremer to be married several times, especially as so many men were killed fighting. In her case she was married firstly to Humphrey the Third of Toron, secondly to Miles of Plancy…and then to her third and last husband…Reynald de Chatillon.”
“Of all people!” the Templar remarked and sighed as Miriam held onto his hand.
“Yes. She was the youngest daughter of Philip of Milly, lord of Nablus, and Isabella of Oultrejordain, who herself was the daughter and heiress of Maurice, Lord of Oultrejordain. Through her various marriages, several of her husbands became Lords of Oultrejordain. Many rumoured that Reynald only married her for the title he would get. But her first marriage, in 1163, was to Humphrey the Third of Toron. That is how we know she was not born in 1155 otherwise she would have only been eight years old. Well, he died in 1173 but they had two children, a son named Humphrey, who became Humphrey the Fourth of Toron, and a daughter, Isabella. Her second husband was Miles of Plancy, Lord of Oultrejordain, who was assassinated in 1174. In 1175 she married Reynald of Châtillon, the former prince-consort of Antioch, who as you now know, as I explained earlier, had then only recently been released from captivity in Aleppo. From her marriage with Reynald, Stephanie had another two children, a son, Raynald, who died young, and a daughter, Alix, who married Azzo the Sixth of Este.”
“Oh that is terrible…to lose a son so young,” Ayleth commented.
“Yes…very much so. And it did have an effect upon her. It was only through Stephanie that Reynald succeeded as Lord Jure Uxoris of the lordship of Oultrejordain, and used his new position to harass Muslim caravan and pilgrimage routes.”
“You mean abused?” the Hospitaller remarked.
“Yes…that would be a better description of it. In 1183 he even threatened to attack Mecca itself as I explained earlier just as he had promised Gerard he would one day. In 1180, Baldwin the Fourth of Jerusalem had betrothed his eight-year-old half-sister Princess Isabella to Stephanie’s son Humphrey. The marriage took place in Crac de Moab, the Castle of Kerak, in 1183. The ceremonies were interrupted by the arrival of Saladin, who besieged the place in response to Reynald’s threats against Mecca. According to the chronicle of Ernoul, Stephanie sent messengers to Saladin, reminding him of the friendship they shared when he had been a prisoner in Kerak many years before, though this is a fiction or some mis-remembered event, as Sal
adin is not otherwise known to have ever been held hostage at Kerak. But we do know that Stephanie had had secret dealings with Saladin previously. Now Saladin did not lift the siege but agreed not to target Humphrey and Isabella’s wedding chamber. The siege was soon raised by King Baldwin. The Old French Continuation of William of Tyre claimed that Stephanie hated Isabella’s mother, Maria Comnena, and prevented her having any contact with her daughter. But that was for political reasons as Baldwin had arranged the marriage to remove the little girl from the influence of her stepfather’s family, the Ibelins.”
“Are we not jumping ahead of ourselves in the story of Paul and Alisha…and the sword?” Simon asked.
“Yes…but I am telling you this now so you will get an understanding of what Stephanie was like. Plus to understand her husband better for Reynald continued to harass the caravan and pilgrimage routes, which as you shall learn ultimately led to the invasion of the kingdom by Saladin in 1187. It was a tragedy for the whole of Outremer that her second husband, Miles of Plancy, was assassinated in 1174. Miles was far from a saint but he paled in comparison with Reynald’s brutality and hate of Muslims. He was also known as Milon or Milo, and he was a noble in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. He was born in Plancy-l’Abbaye, Champagne and came to the east in the 1160s, where he served King Amalric the First, to whom he was distantly related. Amalric made him seneschal of Jerusalem, and in 1167 he participated in Amalric’s expedition to Egypt. He encouraged Amalric to make a treaty with Egypt rather than capturing it by force and submitting it to plunder; after Amalric returned home, Egypt quickly fell under the control of Nur ad-Din Zangi and his commander Shirkuh. This event would eventually lead to the union of Egypt and Syria under Saladin, an inauspicious outcome for the Crusader kingdom. In 1170 a fortress was built at Gaza by the Knights Templar, to defend against attacks from Egypt. Miles would not allow the unarmed inhabitants of the city to take shelter inside and many of them were killed when the city was attacked. In 1173 he married Princess Stephanie and through this marriage, he became lord of the castle of Montréal and Lord of Oultrejordain. The inheritance of Montréal was, however, to prove controversial. Stephanie had gained it on the death of her young niece, Beatrice of Brisebarre. Beatrice’s father, Walter the Third of Brisebarre, had previously been forced to exchange his lordship of Beirut for a money fief; he was compensated for his sister-in-law’s inheritance of Montréal with the much-inferior fief of Blanchegarde. The resentment of the Brisebarres may have been a significant factor in Miles’s eventual murder but there were persistent rumours it was in order to get Reynald placed to be her next husband, which of course he did become within the year. In 1174 Amalric died and Miles acted as an unofficial regent for his son and successor Baldwin the Fourth, who, although stricken with leprosy, was crowned king in his own right. The chronicler William of Tyre did not like him, calling him a brawler and a slanderer, ever active in stirring up trouble, and Miles insulted the other barons of the kingdom, especially those who were native easterners, by refusing to consult them on any matter. Count Raymond the Third of Tripoli came to Jerusalem and claimed the regency as Baldwin’s nearest male relative. Raymond was supported by the other powerful native barons, including the king’s stepfather, Reginald of Sidon, Humphrey the Second of Toron, the grandfather of Miles’s stepson, and the brothers Baldwin of Ibelin and Balian of Ibelin. In October 1174, Miles was assassinated in Acre. The Regni Iherosolymitani Brevis Historia in the Annals of Genoa blamed the killing on Walter the Third of Brisebarre, former lord of Beirut, and his brother Guy. As noted above, Walter had been married to Helena of Milly, older sister of Miles’s wife Stephanie, and it may be that the murder was a result of the private family feud over the fief of Montréal. It is also possible, as William of Tyre hinted, that the Brisebarre brothers, already aggrieved, had been further incited by Miles’s political opponents. There is no direct evidence that Raymond was involved, but he was certainly the chief beneficiary and showed the lengths he was prepared to go to further his own ambitions. William of Tyre also reported that the assassination occurred because Miles was so fiercely loyal to Baldwin the Fourth: he had refused to grant away crown lands. Within days, the Haute Cour officially designated Raymond regent. Stephanie married Reynald de Châtillon, the widower of Constance of Antioch, in 1176, though it was very widely known that Reynald had never gotten over losing his Constance and swore he would only live to avenge her death, her death occurring whilst he was in prison. He hated all Muslims after that with a deep vengeance,” the old man explained in detail as Gabirol wrote as much as he could. Only when the old man saw him struggling to keep up, did he pause. [19]