Yan!Baldwin IV x reader part 7
⚠︎Warnings⚠︎ historically inaccurate, yandere themes,
✎Note✐reader is a female in this. This is not the actual historical figure but the figure from 'KOH'.
✎Tags✐ @jsprien213 , @lunamoonbby , @random4137 , @ashley22zak , @thebluehair23 , @jj-ma26 , @therussianinyourneighborhood , @random-bouts-of-randomness , @myede , @snorklingfae , @marina27826123 , @mel-vaz , @awshit , @fatpotatochip
࣪ ִֶָ☾.｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙࣪ ִֶָ☾.࣪ ִֶָ࣪𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡ ִֶָ☾.
You thought arriving at Aleppo will give you a break to think about your magnificent run away plan, but you thought wrong, terribly wrong. Before you even settled in your Chambers you were informed that some members of the council are demanding an audience with you, which you had to accept because it must be something important, right?
An elderly man was standing next to a sturdy guy, whom you assume are the grand vizier and the military commander, they were waiting for you in the council room, their faces stoic yet obviously troubled "our deepest condolences." The vizier began "but this matter is urgent. It's about the succession and it cannot be delayed any longer or things will get more complicated."
This part you were expecting, but what you didn't expect was them wanting to delay the entire funeral, saying that the body of your brother should be left unburied for the meantime "I don't understand.. What's the point of postponing his burial?."
The vizier sighs in exhaustion and rubs his eyes, it seems like he hadn't slept the entire night, this time the commander spoke up "Sultana, on your way you must have noticed how everyone in the market is going on their days like normal." You hadn't paid much attention to this detail.. But it is true, throughout the ride to the palace people on the street acted normal as if the state isn't falling apart "because to them, it is like any normal day."
"As you know, the absence of a ruler is the perfect condition for disorder."
And by disorder he means riots, and the people who wish to end the rule of the zengids would find it incredibly easy in this situation and unfortunately for you as a member of this doomed dynasty you are definitely eating shit unless you manage to slip away during the chaos which the chances of are as high as the chances of guy being an undermined genius this entire time
"And the council members are fighting between each other." The vizier stated, lowering his gaze, ashamed of the childish behavior coming from the council none the less "about the succession?, Shouldn't we just put the eldest and first in line which is Imad ad-Din Zengi and end this matter?." You point out the obvious choice but the troubled looks on their faces only became more grim
"Ah about that.." You raised an eyebrow at the nervous tone of the vizier "before the Sultan died, he had called all of his council on his deathbed and named the younger brother of Imad ad-Din Zengi, your youngest cousin Izz al-Din Mas'ud as his successor... That's why the council is arguing, one side wants to follow the wish of the deceased Sultan while the other side wants to follow the line of succession and traditions."
Great.. Just great. with everything that is happening, the council is fighting with each other like kids.. But you do get it, this is a tough situation and if you think about it, each one of your cousins would be usurping the other if they try to take the throne, because the throne should be izz by right because he was named heir but on the other hand the throne is also imad's right because he is the first in line and he could argue that As-Salih Ismail wasn't in the right of mind when making the decision
God!, this equation is hurting your brain, whatever! The state ends up in Saladin's hand at the end of the day so it doesn't matter! They both lost! Besides, what did they call you for? To vent to you as an unpaid therapist? Shouldn't they be busy figuring out a solution to this mess instead of causing you headaches and wasting time?
"What can I do to help?" You ask, trying to understand what they are trying to achieve from this entire meeting besides giving you a heart attack "to tell you about the decision we made as council, as you know even during all these problems, the sultanate cannot and won't wait for us to get up" the vizier spoke as the commander just stood there nodding "until the succession problem is solved, we need someone to be regent and since the council members are divided into two sides we all agreed that the most suitable person in such case is your highness."
࣪ ִֶָ☾.｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙࣪ ִֶָ☾.࣪ ִֶָ࣪𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡ ִֶָ☾.
At this point strangling syiblla in her sleep is easier than running away but at least it buys you time, how bad can it be? Just sitting down and reading boring documents all day, documents affects the lives of everyone on this land. But Come on! Don't be grumpy!
If a leper can do it, you definitely can!
Now you should start with cleaning up to make sure no rats ruin your plans, Since the news was never announced to the public there is no way for it to reach Jerusalem without spies being the little birdies that carry out the messages, you don't know whose spies but what you know for sure is that as long as there is spies near you, you will never be safe
So grab your broom and start swooping them out, But this is easier said than done in a short time. You called your support group into a meeting, subject line 'rats'. "I don't know how much time we have but we must act before any more information gets leaked, and we must act fast." You stood waiting for any suggestions as the silence stretched before Safiye spoke up "if we want to chase out spies we should start with the harem, but I prefer if you let us handle this ourselves, you already have a lot going on."
For once in this terrible 'vacation' you felt the weight on your shoulders feel a little lighter, you already have enough on your plate without having to worry about how to catch the spies and the fact that you can put this matter into trusted hands makes you relax, that at least there is one thing out of your hair. Sometimes you think of marrying safiye
Considering that the death of the Sultan is obviously very private information that few people staff included know of it, and 6 people is an easy list to start watching over..
Now, now let's not forget winbald during this hardship. you should send him a letter to inform him of this huge responsibility on your shoulders, that you can't just leave the people of your homeland in such desperate times! So.. Can we extend this vacation for a week or two?...
When using the seal to mark that this paper is legit, the thing felt inside you was oddly empowering... I mean when you think about it, by the seal in your hand you could do anything, literally. You believe it's the rush given by the vibes of writing a political letter to baldhead, during your time as queen overall you didn't do much. Yes you had some influence on the state sometimes when Baldwin would humor your comments but by looking at the expectations of you now..
You aren't just some influence, you are the state itself your ego is now bigger than any male's ego on earth
You just hope that you don't fuck yourself up, I mean let's be for real, you know nothing when it comes to ruling which is a given when considering that your biggest concern few weeks ago was how to piss off sibylla without getting poisoned in the process, and even back in the modern day you didn't pay attention to most of your classes whether in school or college and last time I checked they don't teach you how to rule a kingdom at school either so you get off the hook this time
So all you have to rely on is your best judgement here which isn't a lot if we're being honest here
But how hard can sitting on a desk and reading through lots and lots of documents? Nah you'll be fine. Now if we take a look at the long curtains, the fabric feels nice, do you think they would sell for a decent amount of coins without mentioning that you stole it from the palace? No?
࣪ ִֶָ☾.｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙࣪ ִֶָ☾.࣪ ִֶָ࣪𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡ ִֶָ☾.
Sending Baldwin a letter telling him that you will have to take more time than what was originally agreed on could backfire horribly for you, there is a high chance of you finding him on your doorsteps the next day if be refuses this 'negotiation'
But unfortunately a woman gotta do what she gotta do when she is regent
Now, focusing on your plan. The best place you found to runaway to is escape to the kingdom of sicily, it is very far away From Jerusalem, from everything here which is exactly what needed and not only that but now it is in its golden age under William ii the good reign which is an advantage. And maybe after few years there you would return to stay in Damascus? For it will be under Saladin and Baldwin would have been dead by then.
But let's get through today first, tomorrow's plans can wait
While you were busy discovering that reading boring documents is harder than it looks like and doing the work that should have been handled by the old hags in the council. Safiya had given everyone a list of places and people to watch over like hawks, even if that didn't catch all the undercovers it, it will at least slow then down and maybe stop the leaking for some days since no one is dumb enough to send out letters when they are under watch
࣪ ִֶָ☾.｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙࣪ ִֶָ☾.࣪ ִֶָ࣪𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡ ִֶָ☾.
Meanwhile in Jerusalem, Siyblla thought with you away for the meantime she could try to plant some seeds of doubt between you and the leper king, with things going on between you two as sweet as honey, it will cause her trouble along the way and what best way to ruin a relationship other than sliding in small amounts of poison?
And things isn't going as smoothly as she wished for, her pathetic excuse for a brother has being whining about your absence ever since you left, every dinner he'd always find ways to slide comments about you in whatever topic is being discussed, some part of her wanted to snap right off at him but her son being present on the table would hold her back
'You know? Her grace had enjoyed these.' He'd comment on the plate of tarts while she would be talking about everything new that happened in court which he doesn't exactly care about and some part of me tells me that this is his way of telling her to shut up but who knows?
This childish behavior from her brother makes her want to rip off her hair, like since when 'I miss my wife' became a personality? While his 'whining' about you isn't as dramatic as she make it sound like, it is quite obvious that the King has fondness for his wife and any comments sibylla makes her just gets ignored by him as if she is speaking a total different language but the joke is on him since determination was always siyblla's specialist guess stubbornness just runs in the family?
like any other evening siyblla brought her son to pay the sickly king a visit, it's highly unlikely that he would turn down his nephew who is named as his heir since winbald is unlikely to ever father a child. he would tell his nephew on the duties expected of a king, it's his way of bonding with him and teaching him as much as he could
Siyblla stood over Baldwin's desk while he and her son were playing chess in the balcony, her eyes scanning over the documents on the table 'nothing out of the ordinary' she thought until her eyes landed on a letter that had the seal of the zengid dynasty. Her body froze in it place, wondering how? She had been told that the Sultan had died and there has been no information on someone being chosen as a new sultan or a regent being placed. She glances over at Baldwin seeing him distracted by the chess and decides to 'borrow' the letter
"since the both of you seem to busy with the game, I'll leave you alone to enjoy more privacy. I'll send for a maid later to come pick my son at bedtime" she stated in that artificial honey voice and left without waiting for dismissal or a response which Baldwin didn't pay much attention to or just didn't care, properly the latter
As soon as she got in her chambers she let go of a breath of relief. this wasn't like anything she had done before and it's stupid in a way that could get her in serious trouble. what she had 'borrowed' could be identified as private state information and that is the easiest way to get charged with high treason and Baldwin doesn't exactly show mercy when it comes to such matters but she had a feeling that this letter would flip the table upside down and she was right unfortunately for your unlucky ass
Reading through the letter had replaced the fear inside her with a mix of satisfaction and smugness, this piece of paper is your death warrant and you unintentionally handed it to her on a plate of gold. She folds the letter and orders for a messenger to be brought before her, once this piece of paper has reached the hands of the person she has in mind it she'd have the last laugh
࣪ ִֶָ☾.｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙࣪ ִֶָ☾.࣪ ִֶָ࣪𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡ ִֶָ☾.
The messenger rode his horse day and night in order to reach northern syria as soon as he could, when he got there the guards were doubtful of the stranger yet his claims of carrying letters that hold treason in them has caught the attention of your dear cousin, Imad ad-Din Zengi. he had received two letters, one from princess Siyblla of Jerusalem and the second is an already opened letter from.. The Sultan?
The feeling of confusion soon turned into stillness, the princess wrote of usurpation and the proof is your opened letter. Imad stared into the letters then he ripped off Siyblla's letter in half while keeping yours as it is "tell your princess to not get involved in family problems." He dismisses the messenger, his tone calm yet his eyes held clear conflict
Even after being left alone in the room, he would read the letter over and over again, as if rereading it multiple times would change it, his eyes always stopped on a specific line
'My brother had named izz as his heir.'
It wasn't just rage for the fact he is being robbed from his right as he is the first in line according to the law and traditions. No, rage is chaotic and raw yet what he is feeling inside of him is mere stillness at the fact that once again someone else was chosen over him, when his father died he was shocked when his younger brother safy was named as successor in his father's will, disinheriting him and now the throne is being taken away from his grasp because he wasn't seen as good enough
Is he that bad? That terrible? That weak for him to be not only once robbed from his inheritance but twice by his own younger brothers?
He was going to rip your letter as well but something in him settled down, why does he have to stand in the side while someone else take what's his by law? If he moves faster than you and izz supporters he could stop this theft from happening, he has enough troops that would suffice and soon the rest of the army would join his side once they learn of this treason
If he has to march to the capital and claim what's rightfully his using force then so be it
Your escape plan better be ready on short noticefor when arrive, he will not show mercy for usurpers
࣪ ִֶָ☾.｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙࣪ ִֶָ☾.࣪ ִֶָ࣪𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡𖦹°‧✮⋆˙｡ ִֶָ☾.
