Jerusalem was a city of light.

At least, that's what the stories told by merchants in the streets and the priests in their sermons said. When the sun rose over the golden walls, the whole city seemed to burn not with fire, but with a warm, holy glow. The light crept over the high towers, settled on the white stone streets, and filtered even through the narrowest windows of the royal chambers.

You often stood right there. At the window of your room, hidden behind heavy curtains and far removed from the life of the court. While other princesses, bedecked with jewels, strolled through the halls, bearing names known in foreign courts, you were little more than a whisper in the palace. Not unpopular. Not despised. Just… forgotten.

Perhaps it was because you had never learned to be loud. You preferred the quiet corridors of the palace to the great halls filled with voices. You preferred the gentle flicker of candles to the attention of strangers. Often you walked alone through the long corridors of Jerusalem, accompanied only by the sound of your footsteps on cold marble and the distant ringing of bells.

That morning, the sky had been clear. Golden light filtered through the high arches of the palace, making the dust in the air look like tiny stars. Servants were busy, knights traversed the lower halls, and somewhere far away, muffled voices echoed from the throne room. But you were alone. At least, that's what you thought. Only when you turned the corner of a long corridor did you stop abruptly.

There, between light and shadow, stood King Baldwin. Still. Almost motionless. The white silver mask concealed his face, but that only made him more imposing. The sunlight reflected off the metal, making him seem almost unreal like a figure from ancient legends, too beautiful and too sad to be truly human.

For a moment, you hardly dared to breathe. Not out of fear. But because something about his presence filled the entire corridor, even though he didn't utter a single word. Then he slowly turned his head toward you. And although you could barely make out his eyes behind the mask, you had the strange feeling that he saw you completely.

"You often hide from this world, Princess."

His voice was calm, deep, and surprisingly gentle.

Not mocking. Not stern. Almost as if he understood the desire to become invisible better than anyone else in this palace.