Fate | Baldwin IV

journey

Y/n's POV

"Sweetheart, wake up." Baldwin's voice reached me through the haze of sleep, soft but insistent.

I stirred, letting out a groan as I lifted one eyelid open. The sun had barely risen yet. The first light of dawn slipped into the room, washing it in shades of pale orange and muted purple. Baldwin was up leaning over me, his hands pressing gently into the mattress as he looked down at me. His face hovered close, a familiar warmth in his cold blue eyes. When my eyes met his, I quickly pulled the light covers up to my nose and shut my eyes again, retreating further under it.

A low chuckle escaped him as he reached for the covers, his hand slipping under the cotton fabric to gently tug it down to expose me to daylight. "Come now, love," he coaxed with patience. "We're leaving soon. You must wake up."

I groaned in protest, my body feeling heavy and unwilling to move. Before I could resist further, he wrapped his arms around my back, gently lifting me. I was pulled up from the warm embrace of the bed and placed to sit at the edge of the mattress like a child, my limbs limp and uncooperative. Then his gloved hands cradled my face, thumbs brushing softly against my cheeks as I finally opened my eyes to take it all in. I found him already dressed in a blue surcoat with a golden Jerusalem cross on the front and a long white cloak, his bandages freshly changed. The golden belt on his waist gleamed even in the dark, the embedded stones of deep blue and green catching the light as he moved.

He looked neat and ready in his travel attire, while I was still heavy with sleep and exhaustion. My eyelids fluttered and I leaned into his touch, letting my head rest against the warmth of his palm. I could fall right back asleep.

He smiled at me, his gaze tender as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "Come on, now," he murmured. "We must make haste. I'll call the maid to help you get ready."

Reluctantly, I watched him draw back, his hands slipping from my face, and then he was gone, the door closing with a soft click behind him. For a moment, I lingered there, still half-awake, before I allowed the bed's warmth to pull me back down, at least until the maid came. I flopped against the pillows, my mind already drifting. But the moment didn't last long. No sooner had the door closed than it swung open again, and Ines briskly swept inside.

She was at my side in an instant, helping me onto my feet and guiding me towards the basin where cool water shocked me awake. Then she led me from the washbasin to the dresser, which was now half empty since most of my gowns had been packed away.

I was too drowsy to even lift a finger, and before I knew it, Ines had me dressed in a loose, lightweight gown suitable for travel. It was off-white in color and simple in design but with embroidered details along the neckline and cuffs, subtle but enough to mark me as someone of importance. A long cloak with a hood was draped over my shoulders, my hair braided back and pinned in place under a linen wimple and a fine veil. She handed me another thin veil to cover my lower face like the king sometimes did, though the one she gave me was similar to those worn by local Muslim women. But it was fairly more elaborate than the ones commonfolk would wear on a regular outing, for it matched the headpiece I had on quite well. Ines told me I would need it for protection from dust, and men, of course. Men were dangerous on the road.

I tried the veil on in front of the mirror for the first time. It made me feel mysterious, like I was somehow holding the upper hand by simply concealing my expression. Strange feeling... I removed it and stuffed it in the small pouch dangling off the belt around my waist, right next to the dagger safely tucked in with its hilt slightly peeking out. There was not much to add after, and I was ready to leave.

As soon as I stepped outside the chamber, a servant girl appeared at my side down the hall, cradling a small bundle wrapped in a blanket. She offered it to me in a rush, and only when I felt the familiar wriggle did I realize it was Gravy. I gathered him into my arms without thinking, his warm little body nestled against me.