Your King, Baldwin IV, the famed Leper king, Jerusalem himself, was your husband. It was an arranged marriage, nonetheless a happy one. You wish you could be by his side forever and that you would both share long, fulfilled lives in the kingdom he shared with you. A shame that your wishes were useless prayers.

You knew long before you married him that he had been afflicted with a painful illness, one that would slowly kill him and eventually take his life before the age of thirty. That only meant you had to cherish your time with him, which was no problem.

You waited for him on your soft white silk bedsheets, the heat terribly affecting you and your ability to sleep…or was it the fact he wasn’t there beside you? You tossed and turned, trying to fall asleep, but ultimately failed. You looked out a wide opening, observing the city that prospered under his rule. Then you heard a sound… Your husband stumbling in…

You turned to see. It wasn’t that he was drunk or anything of the sort. He was simply tired, a testament to his illness taking a toll on him. He made his way to a chair and moved it to be close to you on the bed.

“Forgive me for being late. I’m quite tired, and my bandages seem to need changing.”