Servants rush in and out of the huge dining hall, carrying refreshments to Lady Agnes, the mother of King Baldwin and Princess Sibylla. “Why is that girl taking so long?” inquired Lady Agnes, who, despite her age, possessed a refined and dignified appearance, with a thin and delicate stature, fair white skin, blue grey eyes, and a sharp nose, as she sips her tea.

“Patience, mother… I am sure the new queen was well informed that we were going to visit her,” Princess Sibylla, who sat next her mother, says. like her brother King Baldwin, who has stunning features and lovely ocean blue eyes.

“You know I don’t like to be kept waiting… I already don’t like her even though I’ve never met her, and now I have every reason to,” Lady Agnes remarked sarcastically. “If I had known his majesty intended to marry, I would have introduced him to several ladies from a good family background,” lady Agnes hissed.

“Oh.. mother.. give her a chance.. you might even like her,” Sibylla remarked as Lady Agnes rolled her eyes at Princess Sibylla’s response.

Philippa entered after a minute, accompanied by Emma and Bathilda, who opened the door for her. ” Presenting Her Royal Highness Queen Philippa,” declares Bathilda, as the two ladies rise from their seats, lower their heads, and bow “Your Majesty.”

“I apologised if I kept you waiting… ” Philippa remarked to Lady Agnes and Princess Sibylla with a smile. ” oh please.. do sit down ” Philippa said as the two ladies sat down

“It’s alright… you must have a good reason,” Lady Agnes replied with a sneer.

“Well.. actually Y-yesss,” Philippa replied uncomfortably.

” do tell.. what is the reason? ” Lady Agnes asked as she pick up her cup of tea

“well… umm.. I actually overslept…” Philippa said as she bite her lower lip

“hmm.. a reasonable excuse….” lady Agnes said sarcastically

Lady Agnes turned to look at her as Princess Sibylla exclaimed, “Mother….” as she turned to face her.

“I apologised, my mother was just tired from the long trip… So… the rumours that you are very beautiful are true,” Princess Sibylla said as she turned to face Philippa. “I can see why my dear brother was smitten,” she smiled.

Philippa POV:

Princess Sibylla, like her brother, is a gorgeous woman with blond hair and ocean blue eyes, and as lovely as she is, she looks like a fairy tale princess in a story book… and their mother Lady Agnes, albeit at her age I can see that she is also extremely beautiful with a petite frame body and her deep pair of blue grey eyes set precisely at her small face, but I get the impression that she doesn’t like me… I thought to myself, As I gazed at them.

Princess Sibylla inquired, “Your Majesty? Is there something wrong?”

“Oh… where is my manner…” I say, “I was honestly in amazement of how lovely you were; you look exactly like Baldwin.”

“I don’t see any resemblance between them,” Lady Agnes retorts, “but they do share the same hair colour and eyes, which they got from their father.”

“Mother…” Princess Sibylla murmured, turning to face me. “Thank you for your compliment, your Majesty,” Princess Sibylla responded politely.

“So… your grace, Lady Agnes… I heard you recently joined Baldwin’s court, I too recently started, I hope I can learn a thing or two from you,” I said as we began to have breakfast.

“You shouldn’t just call him by his name, my son is still your King; you should be mindful to refer to him as his Majesty, he is not just any man you can call by their first name…we do have hierarchy in this castle…” Agnes explained as she sliced her steak on her plate.

“I- I apologise… I- I wasn’t aware…” I say, embarrassed.

“I’m sure it’s not your fault you didn’t have a proper education and parents to teach you… ” Lady Agnes went on, smiling at me.

For a brief minute, I was ticked off by her caustic remark; I felt she was attempting to belittle me, and I sensed she didn’t like me either, I thought to myself as I glanced at her.

“but you don’t have to worry from now on I will personally looked over to your education as Queen… I believe you have met Lady Mabel, she is one of my governesses…”Lady Agnes stated as she sipped her tea. “his Majesty, my son is a very kind and generous man to place you on his side, you should be thankful that you were chosen,” Lady Agnes said, smirking.

That’s the end of it! Lady! as I shouted inside my mind and tried to smile

“True… His Majesty is a very kind, generous, and lovely person, your grace… I am so grateful for how you raised him… and he is my husband, not just my King… I am free to call him by whatever name I want… he is married to me,” I said calmly.

Lady Agnes’ eyes widened as she heard my remarks.

“I don’t need anyone to teach me things; I can assure you that I am here because of my abilities and skills that I was unable to learn from my poor parents; don’t worry, I can carry my weights,” I added proudly.

Lady Agnes threw down her serviette and stared at me with scorn in her eyes.

“I’ll be honest with you… I don’t like you… and I know it’s unfair because I don’t know you personally, but I can see what your true intention is to my son,” Lady Agnes said

“It appears that I am being judged without your knowing who I am…” I sarcastically said as I sipped my tea.

” a beauty like you wouldn’t go for a man like my son, all in the Kingdoms are well aware that he is contagious. That he himself would never consider marrying…” Lady Agnes explained, “But you came just like that, and all of a sudden we received news that he will marry as soon as possible without consulting me as his mother…”

“Well, thank you for such a kind remark, and I see… you think I’m a gold digger…and I approach him for personal gain,” I explained.

Lady Agnes cocked an eyebrow, “G-gold what?”

“True… that I did approach him for personal gain…” I stated gently.

“See! then it’s true that you wanted nothing from him… but the title and power of Queen,” Lady Agnes exclaimed as she stood from her seat.

“Mother!” exclaimed Princess Sibylla, clutching her mother’s arms.

“But that is not my intention, nor is it the reason I marry him!” I say.

“It’s understandable that you dislike me, your grace, and I will not stop you; I don’t want you to like me just because you’re told to; you must have felt threatened that I came from a family that will someday threaten the crown; you must believe that I marry him to be Queen…” I say. “But, sorry to burst your bubble… No, that is not why I marry him…. I marry him because I want to be beside him,” I stated as I looked her in the eyes. I will continue.

“Stay beside him for what? for wealth?” Lady Agnes questioned.

” Wealth is something I already have, after all, I only have a title and the name of a noble family to offer… I know you wouldn’t believe me, but I care for him and want him to live longer, which is why I’m trying to find a cure for him,” I responded.

“How ambitious…. you think you can cure my son’s illness… not even a skilled physician can treat him… but you believe you can make a difference… let me tell you… your still a woman, don’t forget that…”Lady Agnes said with a sarcastic smile.

“I won’t…” I said, smiling. “I will not forget that I am a woman, but you must remember that I am still your Queen… and I know you have heard that my husband’s condition is improving, and we are both aware that I can make a difference…”

Princess Sibylla smiled at me and stated sternly, “Mother… I think that is enough.”

Before she could say anything else, a messenger appeared, carrying a message for Lady Agnes, as we both remained silent.

Lady Agnes turned away from us as she read the message “pardon me, but I must go now… I need to see Archbishop Henry… Sibylla please accompany her grace… I will be back shortly, if you excuse me, your highness.”

“I will keep an eye on your every move, your highness,” Lady Agnes said. “I was a Queen once, and I know how thin the ice you will walk on.”

“I know… I hope I can learn from you..” I said, and she nodded and walked away without saying anything leaving me alone with Princess Sibylla.

Meanwhile…

On a scorching hot desert day, you can hear the loud huff of horses running on the sand. The Iron Mask King, King Baldwin IV, and his knights arrived at the western boundaries and were met by knights stationed there.

“Your Majesty…” they said as they bowed their heads and kneeled in his presence.

“Rise…” he remarked calmly as he dismounted his horse.

“My Lord… thank you for coming,” Lord Tiberias began. “I know this is a happy time for you and the new Queen, my lord, and I apologised if I brought disappointing news.”

Baldwin POV:

“It’s alright, my wife is a compassionate and wise woman, she’ll understand… I’ve heard you were recently attacked by revengers and plunder our supply,” I say.

“Yes… they took some of our weapons and horses, my lord…” Tiberias explained. “I am certain it is the Muslims…this is their response when we refuse to submit, my king,” he continued.

“Tiberias, old friend.. I’ve fought with you in war for as long as I can remember, and I already know how you moved… just like Saladin, he is my rival from the beginning, and I know him so well… I know he is not that kind, petty, and cowardly man… I know that this is not his doing,” I said calmly to the worried man.

Tiberias inquired, “How can you tell, my lord?”

“The Muslims are very respectable people… they will kill for honour and faith, but they will not go around robbing people… I just know that this is not their doing… and I will certainly look into it,” I added.

Tiberias responds, “I understand my king.”

“For the time being, I will leave some of my knights to guard this area; I know there are many merchants passing through and we need to protect them… I want Jerusalem to be a safe kingdom for both Christians and Muslims.”

“Yes, My King.. I, too, will stay and guard,” Tiberias promptly responds.

I smiled as I looked around. “Tiberias, are those merchants from Golgotha?” I inquired.

“Yes, my lord… we just saved them from the raids earlier this morning… the majority of them are Arabs,” he said.

I approach casually towards the merchants who were carrying a variety of things from various regions, such as fine porcelain Jars, Jewellery, food such as pistachio and dates, colourful textiles, and many more…. As I came to a halt, there was one object that drew my attention.

“My lord?” Tiberias inquired as he trailed behind me.

It was a wonderful silver hair comb barrette with a white gem attached to it, exquisite and finely made as I closely looked at it.

“It’s called moonstone, my King,” said an elderly Arab man.

“moon stone?” I asked.

“It’s actually a rare stone, my King… In ancient Greece, moonstone symbolised beauty and love, as well as the moon; moonstone was sometimes called aphroselene, combining the names Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, and Selene, the moon goddess; and moonstone symbolised the moon goddess Diana in ancient Rome,” he explained. “The moonstone represents rebirth and renewal, and so moonstone represents these as well; lovers who had to separate or quarrel would give each other moonstone jewellery to symbolise love being constantly reborn,” He added.

“I never knew such stone, hold greater meaning, and belief,” I said.

“There’s no harm in believing in such… we’re all hoping and believing in something, aren’t we?” He smiled.

Such a strange old man, I thought, “but I’m certain she’ll look lovely in this,” I remarked quietly.

“Yes… she will be as beautiful as the moon,” he continued.

“I will take it… how much?” I inquired.

“Free… it’s free, my king… take it as a token of our appreciation for saving us all,” he said.

“thank you and salam alaikum ” I said

” “Wa-Alaikum-Salaam,” he respond,” Tiberias… ” I said as I gazed at the hair piece.

“Yes, my king?” he replies immediately.

“I want to go home now… I want to see my wife…”

Tiberias POV:

As I bowed my head, I said, “right away, my king, I will bring the horse.” I had never seen him so thrilled and eager to return to the castle since he was a young boy, although he had never really liked to remain there. He feels confining and lonely among those four-cornered bricks, so he stays longer when he visits… But now the king wants to go back, which means there is someone waiting for him who he values more, I thought to myself as I grinned, he is no longer alone.