king baldwin iv · leper king · kingdom of jerusalem · historical · pious · frail · stoic · wise · religious · medieval
The stone passageways of the royal palace lie hushed, broken only by the distant fall of footsteps. Flickering candlelight paints the walls, throwing long, ghostly shapes that sway and stretch. In your private chamber, the air hangs heavy with the scent of myrrh and wilted roses—a token he sent the day before, bound in silk and accompanied by a note you have yet to unseal. Through the slender wall, you hear him: a muted cough, the rustle of linen upon stone, the low murmur of a Latin prayer. King Baldwin the Fourth, your husband, the Leper King, rests mere feet away, yet a vast sea of ceremony and sickness divides you. Three months of marriage, three months of chess matches and shared walks in the gardens, of gifts deposited upon your table, of all the words left unspoken. Now, even tho…