Stories Thread

[TheFlax]

((Coop story written with Andres))

Outskirts of Belgrade, 1100

The afternoon was well under way when a carriage flanked by a handful of heavily armed guards made its way slowly through the military camp of Savvas ek Militou. The small group progressed directly to the central tent of the commander, halting only a few feet away from it.

Savvas moaned. He tried to get out of bed, but as soon as he had lifted his head, it seemed like his tent was turning round and round. He reached for the bucket that was always near him, early in the morning.

After emptying his stomach, he started to laugh hysterically at the memory of Kristophoros, his loyal bodyguard, who fell in a pool of mud last night, while he was trying to kneel for one of the prostitutes that are always travelling with a marching army.

Somebody entered his tent.

"General!"

"Oh come on, can't a man have a few moments of rest, please?", Savvas murmured.

"General!", Aleksios, Kristophoros younger brother, entered Savvas' tent. "We have a visitor! You should get up now."

"Who's there? Peasant number 154 worrying about the three sheeps we took from his farm? Screw him. He still has 100 sheeps left."

"Eh no sir, it's the Basileus' daughter."

"What? Anna is here?"

Savvas stumbled out of his bed. "Don't stand there like that, you idiot. Go out and tell her that the General is leading a patrol, scouting the hostile area. Then you politely offer her to set up her tent next to mine. Ask her if there's anything she needs and tell her the General will be with her soon, after he ends his patrol. Once she's inside and resting, give me a sign. That should give me more then enough time to dress up and make myself presentable. Oh, and send me Larna, the older prostitute, and tell her to bring make-up."

"You should ask the Emperor for a name change, General. Savvas the Cunning would suit you much better."

Aleksios left the tent and walked towards the princess and her guards...

Some time passed as Anna waited patiently in the newly erected tent, wondering why a general would lead a routine patrol. Perhaps he was one of those men who chose to live the same hardships as their soldiers? It mattered little to her, with the help of a few choice scrolls she could wait indefinitely.

Digging through her chest, she found a text which suited her fancy. She took this opportunity to remove her veil and store it in the chest. Text in hand, she propped herself on a few plush cushions and began dissecting the public address she had chosen.

Meanwhile, in Savvas' tent, Larna arrived. She was carrying a large wooden box.

"Larna, darling, thanks for coming." Savvas whispered, "I'm afraid that today I'll need some of your other...", Savvas grinned, "talents."

"Savvas darling, I noticed you have an highly esteemed guest. I can make that tired look on your face disappear in no time and that awful smell can be easily replaced by something more adorable, but of course, my other... talents also come with a price."

"Oh, come on darling, please, this is no time for haggling!"

Larna took her wooden box and started to walk away...

"No, no, please stay Larna! In return for this favor, I will recommend your services to my bodyguards."

"As if I need any recommendations," Larna said, an insulted look on her pretty face.

"Oh damn it, take this silver goblet all right."

"Sit down, little darling of me, I'll make you look as handsome as you were at the age of 25 and smell like a rose."

Larna started to work on Savvas. After she put her instruments back in the box, she started to undress, a naughty expression on her pretty face.

"No no, not now," Savvas said. "Maybe later..."

"As you wish darling", Larna said, with a smile.

"Ehm, please, put your dress back on before you leave my tent, darling."

Larna giggled.

Savvas put on his armor and his black cloak and sneaked out of his tent, towards the tent of Aleksios and Kristophoros.

"Come with me, Kristophoros, we need to sneak to our horses, ride them a few hundred meters and then come back. Aleksios, when you see us coming, yell as loud as you can and ask me if we encountered rebels on our patrol. Then you tell me that the princess has arrived."

In the very late afternoon, two manly horse riders entered the camp.

Savvas, stopped at his tent, staring with a surprised look on his face at the magnificent tent that had risen next to his.

"Sir! Did you encounter any enemies during your long patrol?"

"We encountered three bandits. Those bastards attacked us from behind" Savvas said, while he was wiping of some dust and looking ostentatiously at what looked like some blood on his armor.

Aleksios was a bit puzzled about how Savvas managed to get blood on his armor, but he continued the charade.

"Now Sir, how did they fare against you and Kristophoros?"

"Nobody needs to worry about them scumbags anymore," Savvas said with a loud voice. "Tell me, Aleksios, do we have a visitor?"

"Oh, where are my manners, General! Her Royal Highness, Anna K..."

"What?" Savvas said, apparently sincerely surprised, "The princess is here? Why didn't you say so before?"

Savvas walked towards Anna's tent.

Hearing some commotion outside her tent, she rose and left her text on the cushions. She took this opportunity to smooth out the ruffles in her light green robe with gold filigree. As Savvas entered the tent, she gave him a polite smile.

"It is good to finally meet you in person. You look well." Her eyes widened slightly as she noticed the blood on his armor. "I trust you did not encounter too many troubles in this patrol of yours?"

Savvas bowed for his princess.

"Just a couple of bandits, mylady. The blood is theirs, not mine. Please don't worry about my well being and please, accept my sincerest apologies for any inconvenience my absence during your arrival may have caused. I hope my men have treated you well?"

Anna nodded. "As well as can be expected. Come, sit." She indicated some cushions. "We have much to discuss."

"Indeed we have, mylady." Savvas sat down, seemingly accidentally close to Anna, but not too close to be inappropriate. "In one of your latest letters you spoke about an alliance? Please tell me, your highness, what services would you want me to offer you in return for your valuable friendship?"

She shifted slightly in the cushions, as to get into a more comfortable position. "As you well know, I have no voice in the Magnaura and yet, I hold certain matters close to my heart. You can help me make these matters come to pass."

Anna's maneuvering in the cushions amused Savvas.

"Is mylady feeling well?" he asked, with a gentle smile on his face. "Maybe your highness is getting a bit hungry? After all, it's already the ninth hour. This reminds me, one of my men shot a deer a couple of days ago. The flesh should be just about perfect for consumption right now and I have with me these excellent spices. I would be very honored if mylady would join me for diner, later this evening. We can go outside, out of these hot and uncomfortable tents and have a pick nick on the nearby hilltop, where we have a splendid view over the valley. Sunset is extraordinary beautiful around here."

Savvas clapped his hands and Aleksios, who had been waiting outside, entered the tent.

"My dear Aleksios, can you please bring us two goblets of wine?"

"Of course, general."

"We might as well start with the aperitif, don't we?" Savvas said, a friendly and warm expression on his face. "Please tell me, what are these matters you just mentioned?"

She chuckled lightly. "All in due time Savvas, the next Magnaura session is still sometime away. As for that aperitif, water will do fine for me."

Savvas nodded in agreement.

"Very well mylady. I will be happy to act as your spokesman in the Magnaura, if such is your desire."

Aleksios entered the tent with two goblets of wine, two empty goblets and a carafe of water.

"Thank you, dear Aleksios. Can you please prepare everything for a picnic on the hilltop. Tell our cook to prepare some of the meat from the deer your brother shot a few days ago."

Aleksios discretely left the tent. Savvas poured water into the two empty goblets and offered one to Anna.

Anna took the offered goblet and took a sip from it. "So, you are still heading from Belgrade? Even after Methodios' victory?"

"The Megas Logothetes, who has a better view on the current situation, asked me to continue my march to the north. The Empire is still facing many dangers. We almost faced a complete disaster because of the lack of sufficient military presence in the north. Methodios did very well and he truly deserves his nickname. Once I reach the area, I will probably be responsable for the defense of the Belgrade region. I hear your brother is marching to Sinop. Do you have any news of him?"

It took all of her restraint not to grimace at the mentioning of her brother. "I haven't heard of him for quite some time. He feels he does not need me and for some reason unknown to me, despises me."

Musing out loud, she took another sip. "I wonder how my father deals with him..." Anna refocused herself on Savvas. "Anyhow, there are far more interesting topics than my brother. I wonder about Methodios, do you not think his acts of glory-seeking will avail to nothing more than placing at risk all we have worked for? It is a selfish and dangerous gamble he is playing."

Savvas took a sip from his goblet of wine. "Mylady, I insist, you should try out this wine. It's outstanding! Just take a little sip, only to taste it and to give me your opinion."

Savvas took the other goblet of wine and placed it next to Anna's goblet of water, while continuing to talk: "It saddens me to hear that your relationship with your brother is problematic at the moment. If there's anything I can do to intermediate, discretely of course, feel free to ask."

Savvas leaned back and looked at Anna's eyes. "As for Methodios..." Savvas shrugged. "He is a hero, or at least, that's how the people perceive him. The common people look up to him. We need people like Methodios to keep the peasants, our tax payers, happy. Yes, he is selfish and his gambling is indeed dangerous. I would prefer Methodios to be more... careful. But he has a strong argument to defend his reckless actions: they have all been successful thus far."

Savvas reached for his goblet of water. Before taking a sip, he looked at Anna.

"I take it you're not very enthusiastic about his recent adoption into the Royal Family?"

Annoyance played on her features. "Everyone has their part to play for the Empire to function efficiently, those who go against the state of things always end up harming the whole to serve their own selfish aims. I do not appreciate such people."

"I understand. But dangerous as he may be, Methodios isn't a powerful man. At the moment, he doesn't even have a territory of his own. I am more concerned about the Order and their religious fanaticism. They also don't seem to understand the real threat, which lies in the West. Do they really think that the Catholic crusaders will fly to Jerusalem? Well, they won't. Soon we will see more then one crusader army in our Empire and those will be much more of a threat then some rebel armies. Our Empire simply can't deal with the muslims, and especially those damnable Turks, and a combined West."

Anna took a sip of the wine this time and smiled. "While these so called "Crusades" are a serious threat for us, since they have become inevitable, we must find a way to turn them to our advantage instead of simply bemoaning their presence. As you said, they will not "fly to Jerusalem"." She paused for an instant. "I think you are not very fair in your assessment of the Order. While their holy mission lies in the East, they have done nothing but bring wealth to the Empire and have not marginalized the need for defenses on the West. From what I understand, it is not them who pushed for a war with the Turks, but another noble household.

She handed back the cup of wine to Savvas. "I concur, it is a fine wine you have here."

Savvas took Anna's cup and put it on the small table.

"Maybe you're right about the Order, but...", Savvas stared at a distant point for a brief moment and said very silently, almost whispering. "I simply don't like those fanatic religious nutjobs." A sad expression came on his face, immediately followed by an angry look. He shivered and his facial expression went back to the usual warm and friendly. "But that's a completely different story and not relevant to our current conversation."

Aleksios entered the tent and bowed.

"General, mylady, diner is ready."

"Ah, thank you Aleksios." Savvas turned back to Anna, stood up, bowed and offered Anna his arm.

"Can I escort mylady to the diner table?", he gently asked.

Anna indicated for him to wait an instant.

"I cannot leave the tent like this."

Turning to her chest, she rummaged through it for a few moments before pulling out a headscarf which complemented her robe. After securing it tightly around her head, she took Savvas' offered arm.

"You can take me there now, I am famished."

While he was escorting her to the diner table, Savvas wondered how Anna would be able to eat with such a garment on her head.

"Lovely weather, isn't it? Do your duties allow you to spend much time outside, mylady?"

Anna shook her head lightly, regret etched across her face. "Not as much as I would want to, I have a complexion to maintain."

"Don't worry about that today. The sun will go under within an hour or so."

Savvas and Anna arrived at the hilltop. The table was richly dressed, plenty of delicious smelling deer meat was already served, cooled wine, water, grapejuice, cheese, bread, ... Candles were put on the table and six torches were put around it. A warm fire was still burning not too far away from the table and it seemed like nobody was in the vicinity of the table.

Savvas walked to one of the chairs. While offering the chair to the princess, he gently said "Please, have a seat mylady. What can I offer you: water, wine or juice?"

She smiled at the whole dinner arrangement. "Water will be fine Savvas."

"Water it will be then," Savvas said, and poured water in Anna's glass.

"Just pick what you like. Bon appétit, as the French say."

Savvas filled his plate with meat, cheese and bread. Surprisingly, he didn't touch the wine, but took grape juice instead.

Anna frowned at the strange words, before washing down her annoyance with a drink of water. She took a small portion of meat and cheese at which she nibbled absently.

"Have you traveled much outside of the boundaries of the Empire?"

"I've seen my share of the world when I was still young. My father, who was of noble birth, but member of one the lesser houses, was also a merchant. We needed the additional revenues from trade." Savvas shrugged, as to apologize himself.

"My dear father traveled a lot and he occasionally took me with him. I've been in Toulouse, in Paris, in Novgorod and in Jerusalem. French is very much like Latin, which is why I easily picked up a few words here and there."

Savvas drank a bit from his grape juice and continued.

"But I am sure mylady has seen her share of the world as well. Compared to our Empire and even the muslims, the west seems so, uncivilized, I'd almost say barbaric."

Savvas reaches for some more deer meat

Anna's features once more curled up into a dismissive frown. "Latin? French? Why waste time learning the languages of barbarians? I, myself, learned Magyar in the Kingdom of Hungary. It is a crude tongue, lacking the civilized intricacies and nuance of our great Greek language."

Savvas shrugged.

"Of course our own language is a very beautiful one, but it doesn't hurt to know something about the ways of foreigners nor to understand their language, does it?"

She shrugged. "Maybe so, but that is work best left to envoys and interpreters."

"I see. By the way mylady, have I already show you how exactly I took Arta a few years ago?" Savvas asked, pointing at his horse that was standing next to a tree about ten meters further.

Anna finished chewing a small piece of meat and then took a sip of water. "No, you have not."

"Well then, here we go," Savvas said and he stood up, walking to his horse.

"My esteemed audience, I hereby present to you: 'The Assault on Arta', featuring your favorite actor Savvas ek Militou as himself, his Lord Aleksios, his men, the enemy and the narrator."

Savvas bowed.

Anna smiled and give him a mock applause, joining in his jest.

Savvas climbed on his horse and immediately fell back on the grass. He got up and climbed back on the horse, only to fall back again.

"Ahem," Savvas said, looking around him.

He climbed on the horse for the third time and pretended to fall asleep. After a few moments, he started to snore extremely loud.

As he pretended falling asleep, Anna gave out a soft laughter.

Savvas shook his head and slapped himself in the face.

He turned and looked at some distant point behind him.

"Don't worry mylord, after winning a drinking contest against you, these rebels shouldn't be much of a problem."

Savvas jumped of his horse, took of his helmet, walked a bit further and looked at the horse.

With a worried expression on his face, Savvas said, with a slightly different voice : "Oh no, what have I done? Why did I give Savvas the command of this army?"

Savvas ran back to his horse, putting on his helmet again: "Why Lord, you lost the contest and you said the winner would command the army!"

Savvas put of the helmet again and walked to the supposed position of Aleksios. "I did? I don't seem to remember that? Oh well, I'll take your word for it."

Savvas put on his helmet again and jumped on his horse.

"You won't regret this, mylord." he said, over-acting.

Savvas jumped of the horse, using it's tail as some sort of fake beard and he imitated a cripple old man.

"And then," the "old man" coughed... "Sorry, my audience, I'm a man of old age and apparently they still didn't find a new guy to do this job... So, and then, Savvas divided his forces into two groups: one attacked the south gate, another, smaller group, under his command attacked the eastern gate."

Savvas took a log of wood and moved it forwards and backwards, imitating a battering ram, meanwhile screaming "Bam! Kadang! Kaboom! Oh, this is heavy and that lazy drunkard of a general is just sitting there on his horse, trying not to fall asleep!" Savvas shook his head and then continued "Kabang, boom, boink!"

Anna joined in the theatrics, showing exaggerated excitement and wonder. Her laughter slowly increased with each new act.

Savvas dropped his cloak, turned his helmet ninety degrees and jumped on a nearby rock, yelling with a high voice and a very strange, foreign sounding accent:

"Oh no! Ze Romans are at our zgates! Sally through ze South gate and for the East Gate, eh, just stand there and watch zhose spearmen battering our East Gate!"

Savvas jumped of the rock, and again used the tail of the horse to imitate the old man.

"And while the enemy attacked the large group of Aleksios, Savvas' men broke through the East gate."

Savvas put on his cloak again and took the log.

"Crash! Yes, we are through the gate!"

Savvas jumped on his horse and yelled: "Advance! Attack!"

He jumped on his feet and made galloping sounds "Kadang, kadang, kadang!"

Using the tail of the horse, the old man said to the audience: "Of course, we can only imitate the charge charge, because, if the esteemed actor would charge his horse for real, it would become difficult for the audience to keep following the play."

All of the sudden, the horse dropped what horses sometimes tend to drop and Savvas managed to jump out of the way of the droppings just in time. Acting as if nothing happened he again imitated the old man, this time without using the horse's tail, saying : "It seems like one of the actors is improvising..."

This time, consternation was etched on her features, yet it was hard to say if this was an act or true surprise at what had happened.

Savvas took back the role of himself and pretended to look at the "old man": "In fact, that also happened at the siege of Arta, not that I expected my horse to remember that."

Savvas dropped his cloack and gave his helmet a turn and started to talk with the funny accent again.

"Oh no, ze Romans are through the East Gate! We are doomed! Doomed!"

Savvas put his helmet back to normal and put his cloak back on.

"Indeed you are, rebel scum!"

He unsheeted his sword and started to swing it at invisible enemies.

"Haha! I decapacitated their leader! Victory will be ours!"

Anna applauded softly once more and smiled.

"Verily, Savvas, you might have missed your calling." It was obviously a jest.

Savvas bowed for the princess, shouting: "Thank you! Thank you! You were a fantastic audience! Thank you! I love you too! Thank you! Oh please, stop throwing flowers and applauding, it's becoming embarassing, thank you very much!"

Savvas made a final bow and grinned at the princess.

"Now mylady, shall I show you how I kidnapped the Russian princess, Victoria Annanova, on a hot yet beautiful evening in Novgorod when I was still a young man aged sixteen or do you prefer to enjoy the sunset while sitting by my side?"

Anna emptied her cup of water. "I think there has been enough storytelling for the day. I will tarry a bit longer for the sunset Savvas, yet I must soon retire. I will have to leave at the first hour in the morrow."

"But of course mylady. Surely you have to be tired after your journey to my camp."

Savvas sat next to Anna and looks at the magnificent sunset.

"Ah, one of the advantages of being in the field, outside city walls. Did you ever take the time to enjoy sunset or sunrise during one of your travels, mylady?"

Savvas took some grapes from the table and offered some to Anna.

She picked a grape and absently rolled it between her thumb and forefinger. "Certain preoccupations often prevent me from such indulgences."

"But not tonight, mylady. I feel that we still have much to discuss, but maybe that should wait until later. Allow me to offer you this moment of rest and peace in a magnificent setting as a small gift in return for your friendship."

Finally, Anna ate the grape and reclined her head to watch the sky. The silence appeared to soothe her, as if some burden had been removed for now. A thin smile of appreciation crept on her face.

As the sunset was over, Savvas silently stood up and offered Anna his arm.

"Mylady, can I escort you back to your tent?" he whispered, as he was afraid to disturb the princess' rare moment of peace.

She simply nodded as she rose and took his arm.

When they arrived at Anna's tent, Savvas talked softy to her.

"Mylady, I understand that you have been promised to another man. Whoever he is, I sincerely hope that your marriage will be a happy one,... or at least bearable", he added, an empathic look on his face. "I would never want to dishonor you, so I can only offer you my friendship. Whenever your family is in need of help or whenever your highness would need a moment of peace and silence in her busy life, just find me."

Savvas took Anna's hand and gently kissed it, in the process discretely letting a small parchment drop into her sleeve.

This elicited a warm smile from Anna. "That is very kind of you Savvas, yourself should never hesitate to contact me, for any reason at all. The was a very pleasant evening." With those word she retreated into her tent and once away from prying eyes, examined the parchment.

[flyd]

Thessalonike, 1110

"What does illegitimate mean?" asked the little boy.

"Huh? Um," stumbled Markianos Ampelas, "it's, uh, well, eh... something that is... not legitimate. So, it's... something that's not officially recognized... by law." He paused to look at a boy with an unsatisfied curiosity. "Run along and play then."

So the boy did run off, and Markianos slumped in his seat.

"At least he didn't ask what a bastard was," he said to himself.

He laughed. It was funny. Sort of. It was funny in that way where it's not funny at all, where it's, in fact, so far in the opposite direction from funny that the only thing you can do is to laugh that half-insane, half-dejected laugh.

He sat on a bench outside of a building in the moderately poor, but not so poor to be dangerous, part of Thessalonike. It was daylight, and children were playing in the street. At this time, the half-insane bit had increased to somewhat past two-thirds, so he decided to get philosophical.

"The problem with politics," he said, probably to a bum who sat on the ground near him, although equally probably just to himself, or maybe even to some other himself, as that two-thirds-insane bit may well have been closer to three-quarters by now.

"The problem with politics," he said again, maybe just to emphasize the point, or maybe because the narrator had gotten off on a tangent last time, and there would have been too much crap between two parts of a split statement. He didn't like the new narrator, and wondered whatever happened to the old one.

"The problem with politics," he said, (and that's all he did), "is that you are supposed to be a moral, upstanding, and noble citizen, and that you must associate yourself with likewise people."

"The second problem with politics is that nobody is and does."

"The third problem with politics is political opponents."

"The problem with the third problem is that it would use the combination of the first and second problems against you."

"The solution to the problem with the third problem is to keep your second problem secret."

"The problem with the solution to the problem with the third problem is..." he paused, "well, there is a great multitude of problems with it." He sighed.

After a short and (insanely) thoughtful pause, he continued.

"Really, the chief problem is that all the interesting people are in the lower classes. And that they murder, steal, and do all sorts of other 'improper' things. Or they used to, but the third problem wouldn't much care for the distinction."

"And the problem with religion is that priests don't like secrets."

"And that," he said with a grin, satisfied at his logical deduction process, "is how bastards are born."

He sat in silence for a moment while the three-quarters-insane bit reduced to about one-third, while the one-quarter-dejected one increased to fill the gap. He stood and tossed a coin to the bum.

"There you go. Get some lunch and enjoy it, you lucky sod. I have a Senate session to get to."

He walked into the building and walked out after about a quarter of an hour, and walked off toward the fancy part of town, leaving a rather lovely young lady in tears at the door.

[deguerra]

(with theFlax. Duh)

Iconium, 1110

Ioannis Kalameteros stood at the flap of his tent, peering out at the darkness. The fires of the besieging army lit the night and filled the air with an eerie glow. Again a siege. And again he could not sleep. He sighed. He hated campaigns.

Slowly, unwillingly, he retreated to his bed. The slim shape of Anna stirred beside him as he lay back, eyes wide open, and contemplated the tent’s ceiling. He was too tired to think.

A flash. Ioannis is in the garden again. This time, the smells and colours seem faded. But the memories are all the more vivid. Young Aleksandra and her friend are playing in the grass again. His father approaches, talking to another man. He is dressed plainly. His face is sinewy but old. His eyes look thoughtful as he listens to the other man, happy as he observes his daughter. Ioannis’ dagger hangs at his side.

Odo. A man from the north. A childhood friend of his father’s and his closest advisor. They have much to be happy about this day. This day Basileos Diogenes was raised to the throne. Odo has told Ioannis this means much to his father, to his family. Odo knows these things.

A flash. Odo sitting in a chair, his head in his hands. On a nearby stretcher Ioannis’ father thrashes and moans. His bandages are drenched in blood, his speech incomprehensible. Basileos Diogenes is dead. Odo is muttering to himself. Ioannis doesn’t understand, but a name is repeated. Andronikos.

A flash. There is no sound. He looks down and sees his father at rest. No more thrashing. No more screams. He looks calm and peaceful. The plain dagger protruding from his chest gives off a metallic gleam in the beam of light from the window. His dagger. Odo’s dagger. Odo stands by the bedside, his hands drenched in blood. His father’s blood. He is talking rapidly, then yelling. Ioannis cannot hear a word.

He sees himself reach for the dagger, watches as he pulls it from his father’s unmoving body. In pain he lashes out at Odo. There is still no sound. The old man is quick, but Ioannis’ thrust catches him in the side. He falls to the ground.

Just then, Aleksandra rushes into view. She throws herself over her father protectively, her arms outstretched to keep Ioannis at bay. He can feel the pain rising, the pain and the fear. The room suddenly seems tiny, the air thick. There is still no sound.

Panicked, Ioannis runs. The house goes past him at a blur, as does the garden, as does the road beyond. Like a wild animal he runs, faster and faster. He trips over a stone on the pathway, fails to keep his balance, falls, screaming. There is still no sound.

In his tent, Ioannis wakes to the sound of screams. It takes a second of realization that they are his own. His body is drenched in sweat and shivering, his breathing rapid and panicked.

With a soft moan, Anna stirs to wakefulness. She wipes a lock of hair from her face before propping herself on her elbows and looking over to her husband, deep concern etched on her usually pleasant features. Her voice is little more than a soft whisper.

"Ioannis, is everything alright?"

Still breathing heavily, Ioannis tries to compose his thoughts. He replies in a hoarse voice.

"A dream. An old dream. I once told you the shadows of my past have all but consumed me. I hope you know that was not quite true."

He shrugged. "But they do catch up with me occasionally."

She gently passes the back of her hand on Ioannis' face, her voice remains soft yet contains traces of concern.

"You are completely drenched!"

She rise from the bed, motioning for him to remain there.

"I will get you some water."

Opening his mouth as if to protest, he thought better of it and lay back. It had been such a long time ago. He had been a boy, nothing more. More importantly it was the past, and it did one no good to bring out the past. He was Ioannis Kalameteros. That was the present. Focus on the present.

Moments later, Anna returns with a bucket of water she holds with both hands. She stumbles into the tent, cursing the uneven ground as some of the water spills on her nightgown. After closing the distance to the bed, she kneels besides her husband and pulls out a cup of water from the bucket which she then offers him.

"Refresh yourself and the tell me about this dream you just had."

Taking the cup, Ioannis gulps it down, nearly choking in the process. His immediate thirst quenched he leans back and looks down at Anna, sighs and gives a tiny smile.

"I don't suppose 'Just a bad dream' is going to cut it?"

In jest, Anna's expression turns stern and uncompromising. "Not unless you scream like a little child at every nightmare."

With care, she passes a damp piece of cloth on Ioannis' brow. "Come now, tell me what ails you so, I doubt we will be able to go back to sleep anyway."

Ioannis looks back defiantly.

"I did not scream like a little child. I was a very manly...scream."

He gives a brief smile and sighs. "My father died when I was still a boy. But...I remember nothing of that day, my memories of my entire life before that seem...fragmented, as if bits are missing, except for one moment. I am in my father's room, and he lies dead before me, his servant Odo's knife in his chest and the man standing at his side, drenched with blood.

Shaking his head, Ioannis continues. "Then things get hazy again. I ran. I was scared, scared for my life. My father was murdered and I was scared that I would be next. But I remember nothing. My father was murdered and I do not remember why."

Anna finds herself at a loss for words, part of her expected Ioannis to dismiss her, yet now that he has revealed his plight, she cannot abandon him. Having finished cleaning his face with the cloth, she drops it to the floor. An awkward silence passes as she simply stares at him, still unsure if she should say what she truly thought.

"That must have been very painful Ioannis, perhaps part of you does not wish to remember that moment?"

Nodding, he sat up and touched her arm lightly. "Do not...anguish yourself over this. It is nothing. It is the past. This is now. You are now, Helena and Magnentios that is now. What's gone is unimportant."

She rises and sits on the bed, beside him. "Ioannis, this isn't something you can just brush away. It pains you, I sense it. Do not seek to shelter me in false comfort, I will give you what succor I can, I am here for you."

He looked at her somberly. "I know."

He paused, then continued in an equally serious tone.

"Do you know what else pains me? You, my dear, have cold feet. Icy one might call them, and that would still fail to accurately represent the sensation. And you couple it with a most alarming habit of warming said ice blocks by sucking the warmth from mine."

Grinning at her initially shocked expression, he let himself fall back onto the bad and stared at the ceiling.

Pulling her feet on her, she rolls over her husband and finally lies on her side of the bed. Nevertheless, she does not relent, her voice taking more playful tones.

"Dear husband, if you try to deviate the conversation once more, you will feel a different kind of pain my "cold feet" can deliver..."

Still staring at the ceiling, Ioannis winced but grinned.

"All right. What would you have me say? I am repressing a painful memory? Probably true. But it changes nothing of the here and now."

Anna's voice also turns more serious. "If you do not want it to trouble it anymore, you need to remember, part of you needs to remember this or you would not dream about it."

"You may well be right. But I have tried. If the memories are there, they have sealed themselves off quite formidably. And perhaps it is better that way."

She props herself on one elbow and locks her gaze with Ioannis' eyes, seeking the truth. "Do you truly believe that?"

Ioannis' eyes, usually so intent, shy away from her gaze.

"There are aspects of what I do remember that could do me some harm, even now, if put into the wrong hands. What if there is more? The less I remember the less I can give away."

"And the less you know of yourself." Anna quickly adds.

"Granted. But given how hazy my childhood is in my mind, I like to think I define myself more from those parts of my life I do remember."

She gives an exaggerated sigh. "Very well, back to sleep then?"

Ioannis turns towards his wife and smiles.

"Thank you. I am lucky to have you. Even if you have cold feet."

Anna returns the smiles. "You sure are." She turns away from him, settling to sleep. Some time drifts by in silence before she can be heard again in a slightly annoyed voice.

"I do not have cold feet."

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Cairo, 1110

Two men entered into a small chamber. Room had no windows and the few candles didn't show much light.

"He is here, My Lord" said one of them.

The other one, papers in his hands, looked around but did not see anyone. Once the guard left someone spoke from the darkest part of the room.

"So what did you found out?" the voice asked.

Although still not seeing anyone the man started his raport..

"This is all what we wound on this man so far..

Name: Efstathios Laskaris

Birth place: Estate of the Laskaris', near Constatinople

Son of Nicholas and Isabel Laskaris

He is considered quite intelligent. Also he seems to be a man of faith.

But the following things makes us worry..

In 1071 he lost his grandfather from fathers side in Manzikert and in the same year his grandfather from mothers side was killed near Bari by the Normans.
His father was killed in Alexandria in 1087. He was accused being a spy but there is no proofs that he really a spy.
And in 1090 his mother and younger brother was killed by the pirates who were supposedly on the Venetian pay-roll.

After those losses he have started to hate the surrounding nations. He could cause a headache to us.

The last news are that he joined the Crusade. Against what city it was called it is uncertain but I think he have joined the Western Christians in a Crusade to "liberate" Jerusalem.

This is all at the moment."

The man stops speaking.

"Go! That is all" the mysterious voice said.

After the man, most likely the head of the Egyptian spies, left from the room the mysterious man said quietly to him self..

"How long to I need to Hear that damned name. When will the last Laskaris be dead!?
I must use my power as a Chancellor of the Fatimid Caliphate so that Caliph would make every effort to kill him! I got rid of his father and now it is time to do so with the son."

Saying this he left the room through a secret door.

[Ramses II CP]

It was the dream again.

Vissarionas ek Lesvou was back on the fields southwest of Antioch. In his apartment in Constantinople Vissa screamed in his sleep, startling several people reasting in nearby rooms. It was a scream of utter hopelessness, of abandonment.

As before the dream ran through Vissa's sleep addled awakening, his casual pursuit of the fleeing garrison of Antioch with his Order mates, and their laggardly return to the tents of the Grandmaster to find him injured. Once again the sergeants of the Order made haste for the gates of the city, but this time before they could enter a cowled figure strode out and raised a hand to halt them.

Vissa was unaware of his brethern fading out of the dream, unaware of Rafi and his guardsmen vanishing from his thoughts. All that he could see was the gray robed figure slowly drawing back his... no, her hood. It was Aliya al-Badawiyya, concubine to the Caliph of Egypt, and for a period of many months Vissa's companion in wit and entertainment. And his lover.

In his sleep Vissa struggled against the import of the dream, tossing in his bed and muttering,

No. NO! I atoned. I am forgiven. Redeemed! Please, please, please...

In the dream Aliya raised her hand in a gesture clearly recognizable from many depictions of the Virgin Mary. Vissa felt a vague sort of guilt at the near blasphemy of it, but it was quickly overwhelmed by his spiraling dread. Then Aliya spoke, not in the dulcet tones of a court lady, but with the shattering voice of an angel,

For this... For Antioch... You are forgiven.

Her raised index finger swept around to point at the city, which took on a hazy, sun glare sort of look behind her. Then the high church tower of Antioch's abbey was replaced by a series of minarets as the walls of Cairo formed. Aliya spoke once more, still with the voice of an angel but now twisted into an implacable, cruel tone,

For this... For Cairo... You will burn!

So saying her face melted away into a blackened skull, and a drop of blood appeared on her extended index finger. The figure, no longer Aliya, took one menacing step towards Vissarionas before turning and drawing back it's hand as a person might to throw a stone. The creature made a gesture of hurling an object high into the air, and that tiny drop of blood, somehow still clearly visible, hurtled into the sky over the city of Cairo. As it reached the highest point of it's arc the figure vanished, and Vissa, his horse somehow no longer under him, turned to run afoot from the city.

He'd not gone three steps when the thunderous roar of a splash, greater than any wave he'd ever heard living by the sea at Lesvou, pulled him up short. Turning about he was terrified to see a tide of rich, red blood lapping over the very walls of the city of Cairo. There could be no further purpose in flight. Vissa sank to his knees, turned his face to the sky, and accepted his dream death as the red wave rolled over him.

...

In the morning he rose refreshed, and remembered nothing as he prepared to return to the Senate. Unaware of the dream that might have arisen out of guilt over his dealings in Cairo, where he traded slaves, took a woman, and sent men to gamble in his name all to fulfill the Patriarch's confusing, rudderless, but holy mission. Or might have been a genuine prophesy? Or just as easily might have merely been an aftertaste of the Polish sausage he'd bought from a street vendor on his way home last night?