Twelve years into Morgan's reign
I sit on my knees in front of the altar. I miss home, I miss Anna, William and Joann. But I know I must do this, I promised. I'm happy I got to return home for a year, I wish it could be forever though.
" Morgan", A soft, but firm voice says. I stand up and turn around, Louis stands in front of me. " Your Holiness", I say as I get on one knee, I kiss Louis' hand.
I stand up. " They'll be here in a minute", Louis informs me. " Thank you for informing me", I say as I sit in a pew, Louis sits next to me. " Thank you for doing this, It's a noble thing", Louis says.
" I just keep thinking, is it wrong to murder Muslims?", I say, questioning myself. Louis sighs, " I've had the same debate with myself. Murder is wrong, horrible. Yet we do. I think it's a grey area, in the eyes of our Lord, it's a grey", Louis says in a soft voice.
" Hello gentlemen", Malcolm says as he, Wilhelm, Charles, Arthur, and Karl walk in. " Men, let me show you the plan", I say as we all walk over to the planning table.
" Okay, we'll land at Tripoli, It will most likely be abandoned. Then we will move south to Tyre, we are guessing we will have to fight the Muslims there. Then we'll move southeast to Nazareth, then Jericho, then Jerusalem, and finally Bethlehem", I say as I run my finger across the map.
" Seems like a decent plan, our armies will stay together, right?", Karl asks. " Yes, If we win, Malcolm's brother, Julius, gets the throne", I inform everyone. " Come on, for the might of God", I say as we walk out of the church.
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We've been at sea for 3 months now, I miss my family. But I need to do this, for myself. " Tripoli ahead", The scout yells, he rings the bell. I swerve the boat towards the city, the others do the same.
The city appears empty, the anchors slam into the ground. " Be careful men", I scream as everyone walks off their ships and info the streets. Rubble lies everywhere.
" It's empty", Wilhelm says as we walk in front of the troops. A man screams in another language, men on horses ride down the streets.
" They were expecting us, line your shields", I scream as we line up and place our shields in front of us. The horses slam into our shields. I pull my sword from my waist and slam it into a horse.
The horse neighs violently falls over. " Come on you sons of bitches, do you not want to live forever", I scream as we push forward. " We have the cannons primed", Charles yells.
I raise my sword and swing it down, the cannonballs fly over our heads and rain into the Muslims. " One last push", I scream as we push the Muslims down the streets. A man screams in another language, the Muslims retreat down the streets.
I hand my shield to a soldier. " We've pushed them out", Wilhelm screams. I breathe heavily and sit down against a wall. " Are you okay?", Charles asks.
" Yeah, I'm just catching my breath", I say reaching for my pipe. Charles snatches it from my hand and the troops walk past us. " I spoke to Anna, she said she doesn't want you to do this", Charles says.
" I'm sorry, I got it from a soldier", I inform Charles. " We love you Morgan, don't kill yourself", Charles says after throwing the pipe on the ground. He stomps on it.
Charles sticks out his hand, I grab it and pull myself up. " Karl, you stay here with your troops, guard the town", I inform Karl, he nods. " Onto Tyre", I scream.
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It's been two weeks since we've left Tripoli. We sent some scouts ahead, they said Tyre is fortified tightly. We'll have to blow a hole through a wall and force ourselves in.
" Wake up Morgan", Arthur says shaking me. I open my eyes and sit up. " We just got word from Caliph Muhammad XI, we wiped half of his force at Tripoli. Tyre, Acre, Nazareth, Jericho, and Bethlehem have surrendered to our scouts. Muhammad wants to meet us in Jerusalem for a peace treaty", Arthur informs me.
" Okay, let us ride", I say.
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The army marches down the trail. " This is good, I'm happy no more innocents have to die", Wilhelm says. We approach the gates of Jerusalem. " Who?", A man yells with a thick accent from on top the walls
" King Morgan, King Wilhelm, King Arthur, King Malcolm and King Charles", I scream. The gates open, Jerusalem shines beautifully in the sunrise.
" Thank you", I scream as we walk in. A man my age stands at the stairs of a huge mosque, The Dome of the Rock. " Hello King Morgan", the man says with a thick accent.
I bow, " You must be Caliph Muhammad, thank you for meeting with us", I say after kissing Muhammed's hand. " I want to speak with you, alone", Muhammad informs me.
" Okay", I say as we walk into the Mosque. " Tell me, do you hate Muslims?", Muhammad asks. " No sir, I made a stupid promise. And I don't break promises", I inform Muhammad.
" I rule over the Arab world. Tell me, why should I trust you", Muhammad says. " Because I have a lovely wife at home, and a ten year old boy and six year old girl at home. I just want a crusader state, and a safe passage for pilgrims", I respond.
Muhammad sighs, " You will get what you want, but, I will need your friends to bow to me", Muhammad says. " Of course", I say, we walk outside. Everyone bows to Muhammad.
YOU ARE READING
A Sacred House
Historical FictionKing Rhodri IX of Wales has just died in the year 1449 after serving 37 years on the throne. Rhodri's son, Morgan, has to now steer his way diplomatically and militarily through the mess.
