Lionheart's Scribe (8 page)

“Off to your duties, boy,” he commanded and I was forced to leave. I heard what happened later, however, from one of the guards. His name is Rigord and he is adept at listening through entrance curtains. I shall have to curry his favor.

I am learning much about how to get information out of people, by the way. It is a useful talent.

Rigord said that the king and the emperor came to an agreement that Isaac Commenus would swear allegiance to King Richard and come on crusade with him with five hundred knights. He also promised to hand over the castles of Cyprus as a pledge of his sincerity, as well as three thousand, five hundred marks. Rigord says he knew the emperor was lying all along, and it seems he was right. After the king and Isaac Commenus finished their meal, the emperor snuck out, mounted his horse—which is called Fauvel and is famous for its speed and endurance, I hear—and disappeared into the night. He was obviously just sounding the king out and had not the slightest intention of keeping his promises. The king feels he has been made a fool of and is furious, Rigord says, and is preparing to pursue the emperor. I do not think it wise to make a fool of the king of England.

The eighteenth day of May

Rigord is proving to be as forthcoming as a gushing spring. I have taken to cleaning his armor for him and sharpening his spear. It loosens his tongue marvelously.

The latest gossip is that King Philip has arrived in the Holy Land and is already causing trouble. He is campaigning to replace Guy, the rightful king of Jerusalem, with Conrad of Montferrat, Lord of Tyre.

God's legs, but these nobles do love their intrigues! (“God's legs” is King Richard's favorite oath and I have decided to adopt it myself.)

The nineteenth day of May

They have all sailed off together to find the emperor. I am left with my listing. It is very boring. I miss the horses.

The thirtieth day of May

Another great victory. Not only did King Richard capture the emperor, but he and King Guy went on to conquer the whole of Cyprus. Now King Richard is lord of Cyprus and all the riches of the island are his. This victory will give the armies in Ôutremer a good source of supplies. Rigord, who was on the campaign, said that the citizens of Cyprus recognized King Richard as their liege lord gleefully. I am not so certain of that, as the king required the men to shave off their beards so as to prove their loyalty and look more like westerners. These Greeks are proud of their hairy faces—I wonder just how gleeful they really are.

The emperor was brought back in chains and there is a story there too. It seems—according to Rigord, of course—that part of the terms of Isaac Commenus's surrender was that he not be put in iron chains. King Richard agreed, and then, after the emperor had surrendered, had him put in
silver
chains! He will be sent to Syria as a prisoner. Apparently there is more than one way to keep your word and your honor if you are a king.

And I was right, it doesn't do to make a fool of the king of England.

The fifth day of June

At last! We set sail this morning for Ôutremer! This time it is very different for me. I have a nook to myself near the king's cabin on his own ship. King Richard was pleased with my work on Cyprus and has promised to give me more, although so far I have had nothing to do. Just as well, as I am so excited I can hardly write. I must go and hang over the rail so I do not miss my first glimpse of the Holy Land.

The sixth day of June

We reached Tyre today and disembarked with all eagerness, only to find that the garrison, acting on instructions from King Philip and Conrad of Montferrat—he who would be king of Jerusalem—would not give King Richard permission to enter the town. This is almost treason. The king is beside himself with anger. I have never seen him in such a state. We are camped outside the walls and King Richard rages within his tent. His voice carries to every partof the camp—inside the city walls as well, I would wager—and the rest of us are cowering and trying to keep out of his way.

Tomorrow we will sail southward down the coast to Acre. What will we find there?

The seventh day of June

What excitement today and what an odd outcome! We set sail from Tyre early in the morning. The king did not summon me to him, so I was free to hang over the rail to my heart's content. I think I was born to be a sailor. Now that I am no longer seasick, I relish the motion of the ship when she is under sail and speeding through the waves so quickly, with no need of the oarsmen. The wind whistles through the rigging and fills my body with its freshness. Truly, when I am on deck I feel as if I were made entirely of air and sun and salt spray.

While I was clinging to the rail, drinking in every drop of this wonderful day, I suddenly saw a silvery flash upon the water. Then another. And another. To my utter astonishment, small fish were hurling themselves out of the waves and
flying
through the air for incredible distances before flopping back in. In my excitement I cried aloud to the sailor nearest me.

“Look!” I shouted. “Fish! Flying!”

He didn't even bother to raise his head from the frayed rope he was repairing.

“See them all the time,” he said, sounding bored. “Nothing special about them.”

I was very embarrassed.

Then I saw another fish, much bigger, leap out of the water in an arc and dive back in. I wasn't about to display my ignorance again, so I kept quiet this time and just watched. There were about three of the huge creatures and I could swear they were following alongside us and playing! I did learn later by asking another sailor a few casual questions that these fish are called dolphins and they often follow ships at sea. They seem to enjoy human company, he said. Indeed, he swore that some of these fish once saved a shipwrecked man. The man was clinging to a piece of wreckage when he was encircled by a group of them. At first he screamed in terror, believing they were about to eat him, but then, to his amazement, the dolphins began to nose his plank toward shore. They pushed him all the way in, then gave a few joyous leaps and disappeared back out to sea. It is a marvelous tale. I am not certain I believe it, but I will be on the watch for these creatures and I hope I see more of them.

As I was watching the flying fish I heard another sailor, high in the rigging, call out, “Sail, ho!”

That brought men scurrying from all parts of the ship. I narrowed my eyes and tried my best to see the other ship, but it was several moments before I could make out the shape of sails against the horizon. The ship seemed to be changing its direction—tacking so that it would avoid us. At that moment the king himself appeared on deck.

“Bring us closer to that ship,” he ordered. “I would see what flag she carries.”

Immediately more sails were raised and we spedto intercept the strange vessel. In minutes we were within hailing distance.

“Whence come you?” our captain bellowed.

“We are Genoese, bound for Tyre,” came back the answer, fragmented by the wind.

The king frowned. At that one of the sailors came forward. I thought him bold to approach the king without permission, but sailors are an independent lot.

“Hang me, Sire,” he said, “if that ship is not Turkish!”

The king looked at the man keenly, then barked, “Have one of our galleys close with that ship!”

The orders were trumpeted out. Oars sprang out from the galley beside us and the oarsmen made haste to close the distance between her and the unknown ship. No sooner did she close with it, however, than a rain of fiery arrows and missiles descended upon her. Undaunted she ran even closer. I could see the sailors preparing to board the enemy ship. They returned the fire with their own arrows and flaming missiles, but in spite of all the efforts of her crew, our galley did not seem able to get close enough to board.

I was fairly dancing at the rail in my frenzy.

Finally, the king's patience seemed to run out.

“Ram her!” he ordered.

One of the iron-prowed warships broke away and headed for the enemy vessel. Through the hail of fire she plowed, her oarsmen not faltering for a moment. I lost all sense of myself and cried out at the top of my voice along with all the rest who were shoutingand yelling. Our warship collided with the enemy ship. There was a horrible sound of wood splintering. For one brief moment all seemed silent, then the men on the doomed ship began to scream. Missiles from our first galley landed on her deck and in another instant she was aflame. I could see men hurling themselves into the sea from her rails, even as she began to sink.

The king ordered our ship close in, and ropes were thrown to the survivors in the water. Most of them were pulled out. Some, however, floated unmoving, tossing lifelessly in the waves. I could still hear screams from the other ship. Bits of planking flamed in the sea around us.

Then I saw a boy in the water just below where I stood. He was floundering and thrashing around, and it was clear he could not swim. No one else noticed him, but I don't think he could have reached for a rope even if one had been thrown to him. I watched in horror as he sank beneath the waves. Then I saw a flash of sodden scarlet as he resurfaced briefly. He looked up at me, and in the instant that our eyes met he cried out.

I didn't have time to think. I braced myself on the railing and vaulted over. I may be clumsy on land, but thanks be to God I am a good swimmer!

The cold of the sea shocked me as I plunged into it. The saltwater filled my nostrils and blinded me. For a moment I groped unseeingly for the boy, then my hand touched something solid. I grabbed it and hauled it close and found that I was holding onto the boy's limp body by one arm. I slipped my arm underboth of his and brought his head above water. Then I shouted. I shouted more loudly than I have ever shouted before, because at that moment I realized fully what I had done and I was terrified. What if no one saw me? What if the boy began to struggle and pulled me down with him?

I cannot find words to describe how relieved I was when one of the sailors on board our ship saw me. He threw a rope and I made a desperate grab for it. Just then the boy came back to full consciousness. He cried out again and began to struggle, but luckily I had a firm grip on the rope.

“Stop it!” I cried in Arabic, as it was obvious this was indeed a Muslim ship.

He struggled even more fiercely.

“Stop it!” I screamed again. If I had had a free hand I would have hit him, I was so angry. Here I was, trying to save his life and he was putting us both in danger.

At last he seemed to realize he was safe.

“Can you hang onto the rope while they pull you aboard?” I gasped. I was sputtering and swallowing seawater at a great rate. I think I must have had as much of it inside me as he did.

He nodded weakly. He coughed, but reached for the rope and clutched it tightly.

At that moment I realized that the sea around me was full of snakes! I cannot begin to describe the horror that washed over me. Their long, slippery bodies lashed into me as they whipped desperately in the water. One even twined around my arm and I screamed. Just then another rope splashed into thewaves beside me and I made a frenzied lunge for it. I was battered against the side of the ship repeatedly as the sailors pulled me up, but I hardly even noticed, so glad was I to reach the safety of the deck again.

It was only then, as I stood there dripping and spitting up seawater, with the boy collapsed on the deck beside me, that I could see him clearly. Long black hair clung wetly to his body, all the way to his waist. He was not wearing men's clothing, but was clad in a soaking wet gown. He was small and thin, and there was no mistaking one thing. He was not a boy. He was a girl!

Later …

I had to stop writing as the king called me to tally the goods that we managed to salvage from the Muslim ship. He is certainly a great one for listing his prizes as soon as he gets them!

To continue …

I stood there, staring stupidly at the girl, while the sailors crowded around, laughing.

“A maid!” one cried. “We've been given the gift of a maid from the sea!”

“Does she live?” another one asked. He gave the girl's body a jab with his toe. At that she stirred, but her eyes remained closed. Strands of black hair fell wetly across her face.

I started forward. I had no idea what I could do, but I knew I had to do something.

Just at that moment a voice rang out.

“Stand back. Leave that child alone!”

To my surprise Queen Joanna strode forward to stand beside the girl. She and Queen Berengaria sail with the king now, for greater safety, I suppose. The queen looked around and her gaze fastened upon me.

“You, Matthew. Pick up this girl and follow me.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” I stuttered.

She turned and sailed through the men back to her cabin.

I bent toward the girl.

One of the sailors jostled me. He laughed and made a crude gesture. “We'll carry her for you, gimp foot,” he said with a nasty chortle. “Won't we, mates?”

This particular sailor, whose name is Hugh, has ridiculed me ever since I joined this ship. I ignored him, but the men behind him laughed as well and I did not like the sound of it at all. I know these men, and I know full well what would be the fate of a helpless maid in their hands.

“The queen gave an order,” I shot back. “It must be obeyed.”

“And
you
are the one to do it, gimp foot?” Hugh guffawed. “I wager you couldn't carry a
cat
across this deck with that devil-begotten foot.”

That was enough. I gave him as good a glare as I could muster, then bent to pick up the girl.

I couldn't help staggering, even though her body felt as light as my little goat's had. Then I got a better grip on her and slung her over one shoulder. It wasn't very dignified, but it was the only way I could manage. As I did so, she coughed again and agreat flood of water streamed down my back. I was so wet it did not matter.