Medicine | King Baldwin

Prologue

"Thank you, good sir." The raven-black haired girl nodded as they hopped off onto the dock. The salty breeze that the Mediterranean sea brought caressed her soft cheeks. Standing on the dock of the shore, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon. For a fleeting moment she wished they hadn't boarded the ship that took them all the way from Cyprus to the shores of Jerusalem. Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts out of her head and adjusted her satchel.

Beside her stood her friend, Jurian, his features etched with determination as he scanned the vast expanse of sea before them.

"Isabel." Jurian called her name. She glanced at his short frame with her piercing green eyes. "Fear not, my friend." he said, his voice steady and calm. "We may be venturing into the unknown, but we do so together. And with courage and determination, there is nothing we cannot overcome." His words were like a beacon of light in the darkness, guiding her through the tumultuous seas of doubt and uncertainty.

"We shouldn't have left." She admitted her thoughts. They were like a wave washing over her again and again since they have left their homeland.

"There's not a thing that's missing from there. Only our good ol' workplace." Jurian said, trying to cheer up his friend. All this was accomplished when Isabel chuckled to herself in her sweet voice.

"No doubt." Isabel answered. Thinking back to their old workplace, she was overwhelmed by a bottomless pit of want. She missed the scent that wafted through the small room. Strong smell of herbs and chemicals. The pride in the finished products that filled them. All that was in the past. They came to Jerusalem to improve themselves with other techniques, so that they could help as many people as possible with their medicine and their knowledge.

They had embarked on this journey together, bound by a shared sense of purpose and a desire. For Isabel, Jerusalem beckoned like a distant dream—a land steeped in history and mystery, where tales of crusaders and Saracens mingled with whispers of divine prophecy. She had heard stories of Jerusalem since she was a child—the holy city where prophets once walked and miracles were said to unfold before the eyes of the faithful.

Jurian sensed her unease and offered her a reassuring smile, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder. "Come." He said as they took one last glance towards the sea before Jurian began guiding Isabel to Jeruselam, towards the Holy Kingdom.