Chapter 52: Celebration
“No, it’s the Jaffa Gate.” Caesar cautiously refrained from saying that if someone were to fulfill the identity prophesied, the cost would inevitably be enormous, far beyond what a slave could bear: “The King also explained to me why the Jaffa Gate was built in an L-shape.”
“He must have quite liked you back then,” Geoffrey said.
You still seize every opportunity to sow discord, Caesar thought helplessly. On the way back, he turned around and gazed distantly at the Golden Gate.
——————
Amalric I rejected the Byzantines’ request, but to appease the Princess, he generously promised that at the welcoming ceremony, starting with him, every noble on Ayyarasa Road would wear Byzantine-style fine clothes, and the subsequent banquet would also be in Byzantine style, so that the Princess would feel at home.
Some nobles grumbled about this order; they usually wore loose robes and headscarves too, but to cater to the “daughter of the Eastern Emperor,” they felt some unwillingness.
But then they thought that in the negotiations, Amalric I had already secured that the wedding ceremony would follow the sacred standards of the Latin Church, not those of the Orthodox Church, so the so-called clothing and meals became trivial details—those who had climbed to such positions were no fools, of course, and so they shut their mouths.
“I think the Princess will be satisfied,” Bohemond said.
At a glance, even in the early spring without abundant flowers, the road from the Jaffa Gate to Holy Cross Castle was already a riot of colors everywhere. Actors took their positions on wooden platforms, dressed as figures from various historical periods, with all sorts of props: around the silver manger at Christ’s birth clustered the Virgin Mary and saints, with a spice box beside it inlaid with gemstones; the wooden boat carrying Antony and Cleopatra had gold and silver vessels at front and back, with two children dressed as oarsmen rowing; Psyche sat in a flowerbed made of silk, arms outstretched to welcome winged Cupid…
And beneath these wooden platforms, along the sides of the road, crowded the spectators, packed closely together, full of anticipation. Whenever such joyful scenes occurred, the nobles always generously tossed gold coins to the crowd—not to mention that, for them, witnessing a King marrying a Princess in their lifetime was prize enough.
“Are they coming? Are they coming?” they asked eagerly, on tiptoes, but these were all inexperienced folk; the savvy ones were listening intently. Listen, that’s the horn, flute, and drumbeat—they were faster than the horses, already arriving on the wind. They’re coming, they’re coming!
The first wave was neither the nobles of Ayyarasa Road nor Byzantine officials, but a group of pilgrims—the treatment once enjoyed by Count Etienne, Envoy to the Holy Land, now extended to the Byzantine Princess. There were about a thousand of these pilgrims, occupying a long stretch of road. People cheered and applauded them laughingly, but they took no offense, instead ceaselessly praising God, glorifying Christ, and using every word they knew to extol today’s King and his bride.
Unlike Count Etienne, these pilgrims had no boldness to travel alongside the convoy; they merely led the way, followed closely by about a dozen minstrels wearing striped clothes or parti-colored clothes.
They plucked their lutes and sang songs, soft or high-pitched, of the amorous adventures of Charlemagne’s daughters, of how the love between mortal Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite bore Aeneas as its fruit, and of how King Arthur’s close friend Gawain was willing to marry the ugliest witch to rescue his master…
After them came sixteen carriages bearing the Byzantine Princess’s dowry: exquisite furniture, smooth silk, even gold and silver vessels. The sight dazzled the people, and even the cheers quieted. Fortunately, this symbolic convoy soon passed.
Immediately following were processions of monks and priests, from both the Latin Church and the Orthodox Church, distinctly separated and walking on either side, each holding holy images and crosses. Several attendants carried incense boats and gold basins; the priests continuously chanted prayers, sprinkling holy water on the crowd, and those blessed were beside themselves with emotion.
At that moment, several clear horn blasts rang out, and the people fell to the ground like wheat toppled by a gale.
Several light cavalry rode across the road, sounding horns at intervals. Behind them was a band beating small drums and blowing horns, dressed in brilliant yellow velvet jackets and deep green trousers, with dwarfs darting among them.
The King’s flag of white with yellow Ayyarasa Road cross, the Byzantine Emperor’s flag of purple with golden double-headed eagle, the Principality of Antioch’s flag of shield-shaped fleur-de-lis, the County of Tripoli’s flag of two-colored cross, and the flags of the Holy Land’s lords or legions all stood tall, fluttering in the wind.
Knights held a forest of spears, following solemnly behind the standard-bearers, their armor gleaming white, clad in clean robes, their horses sturdy, hooves clattering crisply on the cobblestones.
Their escorts and armed attendants followed in vast array.
Then came a great throng of mounted nobles and officials, in silk, mink fur, and wool, gleaming with pearls, gemstones, and glass, among them lords and noble ladies.
Amalric I was surrounded by his ministers and lords, walking ahead of a huge gilded sedan chair.
The sedan chair was as large as a small house, but surrounded only by railings; the fine gauze curtains had been hooked up with golden hooks, so that the people of Ayyarasa Road could see their new mistress.
The Byzantine Princess was only fifteen this year, wearing a loose-sleeved Byzantine-style robe, over which was a sleeveless outer garment; the robe was golden silk, the outer garment purple, with hems, cuffs, and collar adorned with pearls the size of fingernails, and a white wool headscarf covering both her hair and neck, topped by a golden crown.
Two handmaids attended her, while around the sedan chair walked Byzantine ministers, officials, and warriors.
The people were still cheering, but the cheers had noticeably quieted. Though the Byzantine Princess’s attire was exceedingly luxurious, compared to Amalric I’s first wife, the Countess of Jaffa—that plain face was already unremarkable, and under the gold, pearls, and purple silk, it seemed even more pallid. Though she had clearly dressed with great care, it only made her still-youthful face appear more mature and stiff.
Undoubtedly, those drawn by the Byzantine Princess’s title felt disappointed; their attention was quickly captured by the animals behind the gilded sedan chair.
Christian doctrine did not permit believers to enter arenas like the Ancient Romans to watch beasts against men, men against men, but the Byzantines still had theater, music, and gambling, along with other amusing entertainments like beast-taming. The father of Empress Theodora, wife of sixth-century Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, had been a bear-trainer.
These wolves, tigers, leopards, and bears in wooden cages had all been specially procured by various parties for the Byzantine Princess’s wedding; they could even be considered part of the dowry. Compared to the unattractive Princess, these majestic beasts aroused greater awe. Children ran alongside, and bold attendants and escorts shouted nearby, but when they tried to tease them, the servants guarding the beasts drove them off fiercely.
No one noticed that a wooden cage not meant to be in this procession was rattling along, dragged by six sturdy Shire horses at the convoy’s end. Just after the cage with another bear had passed over a hundred paces, a knight casually asked: “Is that a bear too?”
“A she-bear,” answered the Byzantine official in charge of escorting the cage. He was dressed almost identically to the previous overseers, and the attendants walking beside the cage wore clothes of the same pattern, so the knight asked more out of curiosity than suspicion: “Is it big?”
Look at those deep wheel ruts（the cobblestones were pressed into the road）, and the wheels that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
“No matter,” the official said with a smile, “it’s done well to make it this far.”
The knight thought the Byzantine might mean that in the upcoming hunt, this great bear would become the knights’ prey. He nearly raised his spear to lift the coarse cloth covering the wooden cage, but held back.
“Why did you talk to him so much?” As the knight walked away, an attendant approached the official reproachfully. From his tone, his status seemed higher than the official’s, but the official seemed unconcerned. “We’ve entered Ayyarasa Road; what trouble do you think could arise—rather, did the man you bribed really hide the she-bear’s cub in the reliquary box?”
“I watched it being put in myself, then placed inside the sedan chair.”
——————
Princess Maria suddenly heard a abruptly cut-off gasp. She continued smiling at the crowd while slightly turning her body.
“I accidentally knocked over a box—but Princess!” the handmaid whispered in panic, showing the Princess the opened reliquary box. This reliquary box, containing a lock of the Virgin Mary’s hair, was to be placed on the altar by the Princess herself. It should have held silk and a few strands of dark hair, but inside the silk was wrapped a furry little animal, dead but without obvious bloodstains.
An ill omen—this was the Princess’s first thought. Was it the women around the Emperor, or the ministers opposed to this marriage, or the priests and believers of the Orthodox Church? The Latin Church despised the unruly Orthodox Church; did the Orthodox Church not equally despise the overreaching Latin Church?
For Amalric I and Manuel I, this marriage involved mostly worldly cooperation, with little of faith, but from the Church’s standpoint, embarrassing these two disobedient rulers pleased them. As for the Saracens, without Amalric I and Manuel I, were there no Kings willing to launch a third, fourth, or more Crusades?
But a few breaths later, the Princess knew she was wrong.
——————
Baldwin and Caesar followed beside Amalric I. They had not yet become formal escorts, so in such a procession they were mere ornamental attendants. Sons of nobles like David and Abigail were also around them, but since these fellows had essentially betrayed Prince Baldwin before, they now found it hard to chat and laugh with him. David kept stealing glances at them, while Abigail hung his sullen face.
“Where’s William?” Baldwin suddenly asked.
David was stunned. “What?”
“I just saw him head to the back; he went…” Before Baldwin could finish, a terrified, almost tearing scream erupted from behind. He immediately wheeled his horse around（fortunately this time they were riding adult horses）, charging ahead of everyone, with Caesar closely following.
The screams came from the onlookers: “It’s beasts, the beasts have escaped!”
Several wooden cages had been opened, and all the beasts inside had run out. To keep them docile these past days, their diet had been deliberately reduced—before the hunt began, they should have been lethargic and sluggish.
But once given the chance, they burst forth with wisdom and strength beyond human imagination. Some lunged to devour a person; others ignored all and fled to less crowded areas first—people saw them charging with bared white teeth and red tongues lolling, unable to stay calm.
Brave knights and escorts went to fight the beasts, but this only roused their ferocity. More blocked beasts began tearing and clawing; brown sand and gray-white stones were almost instantly splattered with blood.
No one noticed a black-gray she-bear slowly moving through the chaotic beasts and crowd, head raised, sniffing the bloody air. Suddenly, she found her cub and scented its death. She charged forward swiftly—those who haven’t hunted bears can hardly imagine how fast, light, and agile such a massive creature can be. Some knights saw her but had no time to react.
Meanwhile, a clever handmaid thought to use the chaos to discard the young beast from the reliquary box.
Before she could let go, the she-bear arrived. Unlike humans, she didn’t roar skyward before attacking; having scented and seen her child, she locked onto her target—the gilded sedan chair.
The Byzantine Princess’s face was ashen. She hadn’t expected these people to want not just to humiliate her and leave this marriage with regret or a broken foundation—they had gone straight for the root!
The she-bear charged the sedan chair, with one swipe snapping an official’s spine, then smashing a sedan chair slave’s skull. The sedan chair crashed to the ground, shattering into pieces.
