Family Disloyalty
After years of bloodshed and war, peace seemed at last to develop in the Holy Land. The new Queen was able to salve the wounds cause between the d'Ibelin and de Bures families, which threatened to flare into outright war at any time, and the Muslim Emirates to the east were content to fight each other, mostly over the Sultanate of Syria, which was a new entity in the Holy Land. At last, a period of recovery and peace was forecast by all.
Then the Queen died. The illness was swift and without mercy. Scarcely had the Queen taken to her bed before she passed away. The swiftness led many to suspect poison, and the d'Ibelin's blamed the de Bures, and the de Bures blamed the siblings. Duke Balian himself was stricken by grief, for he had loved the Queen dearly, and he remained in his chambers for days.
One death that led to many more deaths.
It fell to his son Balian to act. With the typical swiftness that characterised his military training, Balian the Younger gathered the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the great lords of the realm and had himself crowned King of Jerusalem. His father was absent for the ceremony, a fact that few people failed to notice.
At length, Duke Balian recovered from his grief. Instead of disapproving his son's haste to crown himself, he instead supported it. The Duke was old, and no longer as able as he had been in his youth. He diverted his energy, money and troops to supporting the throne. The power of the de Bures family had been broken in the war to instal Queen Melusine, and with his father's support, King Balian was able to quash the rebellions.
With peace at last in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, King Balian called for a great feast for all the lords of the realm, to show that bygones were bygones, and that the King could be generous to his loyal vassals. Duke Balian, despite his growing years, took it upon himself to attend, more to display a d'Ibelin solidarity to the realm than any other reason.
The King in the Holy Land, the d'Ibelin rise to prominence was complete.
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7th of February, 1248 AD
The Tower of David Royal Complex, Jerusalem
The feast was in full swing. The high table and the lower tables were all enjoying themselves, the din of conversation and merriment filling the room. It was hard to imagine that few months previously the same collection of people in the same room would have resulted in a bloodbath. At last, dynastic rivalry seemed to be put aside in preference to feasting.
All was not well, however, at the High Table. The majority of those sitting at it were d'Ibelin's. King Balian, his father Duke Balian and his two eldest sisters. Cousin Othon was sitting at the far end, now well advanced in years with his body failing his otherwise sharp mind. The King was evidently enjoying the feast. The King had evidently developed a taste for the local wine.
"So, father" asked the King, "I am to be married. No idea to who yet, but a King needs wed, no?"
"I am glad to hear it." The disapproval was clear in the older man's voice, but this was his King, as well as his son.
"Really? For true?"
"Yes." The Duke wanted to avoid making a fuss infront of the assembled nobles. If the d'Ibelin's appeared united, then they were.
"Good. I want the castle of Ibelin for my dowry." The wine was slurring the King's words.
The castle at Ibelin was one of the Dukes main holdings, and was valuable not only for the taxes and levies, but had a special sentimental value to the Duke; he had been born there, and it had been the site of his father's victory in the battle for Jaffa. "No..."
The Duke was about to explain how it was important to defending Jaffa from landward attack when the King smashed down his goblet. His voice was low, but conversation in the room dimmed as faces turned towards the high table. "You dare say not to your King?" The King's voice was cold.
"I dare say no to my son." The Duke's voice was equally frosty, with a stare to match. "You have castles aplenty. I need Ibelin. If you think you can take castles away from your vassals as you took toys when you were a boy, you have much to learn about kingship."
"Do not speak to me like that. Need I remind you, I am King here!"
Duke Balian knew it too well, but he had a temper when provoked. His voice contained enough menace to kill. "And need I remind you that it is me that keeps you King!" Too far, thought Balian. He is my son, and he has my temper.
Rage boiled up. "Treason." The single word was spoken low, but the entire hall was silent, focused on the argument between father and son. "Treason!" The King stood. "You dare threaten the King?" It was clear the d'Ibelin temper was in full force. "Guards, seize him and lock him up!"
The tension mounted. The dozen or so of the Duke's personal guard started forward, but Balian's hand gesture stopped them before they reached the table. As the King's guards advanced towards the Duke, he noticed that most of them had at one point, been his own men. Understanding that refusal would lead to bloodshed and feud, the old Duke allowed himself to be led away, with the realization that it was all he could do to preserve the illusion of unity within the d'Ibelin family, and most importantly, he could not make his son look weak.
Father and son differences were magnified when the two hold great power.
OOC: A few things. I've changed my style to try to draw out some events by splitting them into more posts. Feedback would be nice, because pacing is a concern with me; I don't want to neglect the story, nor end up bogged down with no advancement. Finding the middle ground is a priority at present.
The other things are that I love the AI's logic. Imprison the dad that installed you and is your strongest, loyalist vassal for a claim and then abuse his well built demesne. Also, I'm regretting calling every kid Balian now, so many Balian's! Something like four or five Balian d'Ibelins floating around in the family tree!
Feedback welcome as always, and I hope everyone's enjoying the read.