#salauddin

His eyes open to the sound of commotion.

“It’s him. It’s him! He’s back!”

He sees the white ceiling first, and once they’ve adjusted to the light, his eyes slowly flick from one wall to the next, until finally landing on the nurses talking in hushed tones.

“He’s back… but what has he returned to? His grandmother is gone, his uncle is dead and his wife? Missing. He’s returned to an empty home.”

“You say missing, I say she ran off with someone else. She probably knew that Mr FitzGeorge would’ve caught her and thrown her in an asylum the moment he returned and caught her with all those men!”

“Beth, I think they were just her employees or friends. She couldn’t be having an affair with all of them.”

“Oh you don’t know deviant women like her; they’d stoop to any level of depravity if it got them what they wanted.” Beth huffed. “And what can you say about her character if she’s seen hanging around at the wretched club! Thank heavens it burned down before corrupting all of London!”

Silas closed his eyes before letting out a loud exhale, catching their attention as they gasp and rush to him.

“M-Mr FitzGeorge! You’re awake!” The other nurse said. “I’ll get the doctor!” She ran out of the room, leaving Beth with him, who was fretting over him, hands finding ways to be useful as they offered him water, then went to adjust his pillows, then his blanket.

Silas ignored her. Perhaps she was trying to cover up for the fact that she’d been caught badmouthing his wife.

The doctor came in with the nurse, along with two police officers. After the initial check up was done, the officers began their questioning.

“Where is your wife, Mr FitzGeorge?” Flashbacks from the night appeared before his eyes.

I was buried alive in a coffin.

You slapped him across the face, making him snap out of it. “SILAS!! This is not your fucking grave! GET THE FUCK UP!”

You pulled him out of the grave.

He felt a throbbing ache in his back.

He was struck by a metal rod, making him fall. “Silas!” You dove towards him and shoved the man away from him, his uncle William.

“No!” You shielded Silas with your arms as he struck again, hitting you. “Stop! You’ll kill him!” You jumped over Silas to shield him as his uncle began raining down strike after strike, not stopping until you screamed in pain.

You blacked out and a figure came up behind his uncle, grabbed him by the neck, choked him and then slashed his throat.

He took in a sharp inhale as he recalled the tall figure turning to him, knelt down down and picked you up.

“If you don’t sacrifice for what you want,

What you want becomes the sacrifice.”

He looked back at Silas.

“You’ll never see her again.”

“The Ripper.” Silas whispered. “The Ripper has taken her.”

The officers shared an alarmed look, whispering something to each other before turning back to him.

“Lets start from the beginning. Where were you for the past 4 months?”

Silas took a deep breath as he began.

It started the day when Y/n had sent over the divorce papers. He remembers standing by the window of his study and seeing a figure out in the snow-covered backyard, near the trees. He went to investigate, taking the papers with him but when he reached there, he found a snowman dressed in a coat and hat, clearly disguised as a man to draw him out and the next he knew was being struck on the head and blacking out.

When he woke up, he found himself in a cell, dimly lit by a torch outside the bars. The walls were made of thick concrete, and there were no windows.

For days, he didn’t have any human contact. Food would be thrown into his cell, often a stale piece of bread. The person who would do this would be wearing a robe with a hood that covered his face and Silas made no attempts to talk to him. He wasn’t about to give into their satisfaction of initiating negotiations. Aristocratic ego.

Finally, after who knows how long, a masked figure came. He was wearing a golden ring that glimmered in the dim light. The mask was black with golden patterns on it, and the man was well-dressed in a three-piece suit, paired with a top hat. It was all well-tailored enough to let Silas know that the man didn’t dress cheaply.

As the man walked into his cell, his hands folded behind his back, Silas didn’t need a introduction to know that London’s most notorious killer stood only a few feet away from him.

Keeping calm, almost to the point of looking unamused, Silas spoke first. “Is this your plan? To keep me in solitary confinement to drive me insane? To kill me? To get my money?”

Jack the Ripper tilts his head a little, and speaks for the first time.

“What is your worth?”

“Ah, right to it.” Silas chuckles, standing up, the chain around his ankle clinking. “I suppose… 50 thousand quid, would be sufficient?” When the killer didn’t say a word, Silas sighed. “A million pounds, then?” JTR still didn’t respond, and so Silas kept increasing the ransom money.

“100 million pounds!” Suddenly, before Silas could react, the Ripper pushed him against the wall, had pulled out a knife and held it against his cheek. “Do you think a 100 million pounds could stop me from killing you?” Silas narrowed his eyes. “If you want a single pound of my money, you wouldn’t dare to hurt-” He sliced his cheek slowly, drawing out blood as Silas gritted his teeth. “You’re not worth a single penny.”

Slighted, a fire burned in Silas’s eyes. “If you wanted to hurt me, you would’ve done it long ago. So why don’t you stop playing your pathetic intimidation tactics and get to what you want.” JTR stares at him for a while before letting him go, turning around as he walked away from him.

Silas thought he was going to leave him to rot in the cell again when the Ripper turned around and pulled black leather gloves from his coat, putting them on, he made his way back to Silas and began beating him black and blue. Due to being chained, Silas couldn’t defend himself all too well, but he doubts he would’ve been able to even if they weren’t there.

Finally, the Ripper only stopped when Silas was lying on the ground about to pass out. Thats when the Ripper knelt down and spoke to him.

“I am going to take everything away from you. I will strip every delusion you have about yourself. By the time I’m finished, you will know exactly what you are worth- down to the last, excruciating detail.” He pulled off his now bloody gloves. “Whether by revelation or by ruin, you will learn. The choice I’m afraid, is no longer yours.”

For the next few months, the Ripper found different ways of torturing Silas, starting from physical methods that ranged from getting beaten up regularly, to being forced to lie on ice blocks for hours on end, and the worst was the waterboarding. He absolutely loathed that one.

But he remained resilient, he didn’t break down, simply suffering in silence. He knows very well that its highly likely he’ll be killed by the Ripper, but he wont give him the satisfaction of breaking down.

That is, until his grandmother died.

The Ripper had come to his cell and informed him of Sarah’s passing and he didn’t really believe it until he showed him the newspapers. Still, he was doubtful, as he continued to inspect the paper’s authenticity. “She was a lovely woman, did her very best raising you but you… such a disappointment.” The Ripper tutted. “I met her.” Silas stopped flipping through the papers for a moment, his eyes catching sight of the pattern on his gold ring- a snake eating its own tail.

“You’re lying.” He muttered. Yes, this is all a lie. Another tactic to get him to break.

“I visited her in Edinburgh, at the cottage she and her late husband used to meet at. We had a pleasent conversation.” Silas felt his blood run cold. That cottage, very few people knew of its existence, and he was sure that he was the only one to know of its history.

“You’re lying-” But the Ripper cut off his meek denial. “We talked about you, about Daisy and how you let your uncles send her away to the asylum, about the night your mother died. Your grandmother always blamed herself for not being able to help you heal from that night. But we both know that you only have yourself to blame.” Silas’s lips parted in shock. How did he know-?

“You thought no one knew that you were the one hiding in that closet and how you watched your mother be murdered while your coward self watched through the slit of the cupboard. Have you lied to yourself that you weren’t the very reason of her demise?”

“I- I was a child-” “You led the killer to her. Your mother had warned you many times to stay in your room at night, but you had to go to the library, didn’t you? You just had to take another book to read? And when you heard footsteps, you ran towards the nearest bedroom, hiding in the closet, not realising that you’d mistaken the killer’s footsteps for your mother’s. But your mother knew that those heavy footsteps were not yours, were not familiar and she came to get you, to protect you. But she was murdered instead. All because of you.”

All these years, all this time that Silas spent running away from the truth, trying to bury the traumatic memories from that night, had suddenly been resurfaced. They were slapped in his face, by none other than London’s ruthless killer.

Silas stood up, the paper dropping from his hands. In that moment, he realised that everything the Ripper knew about him, about the details of his family would only be possible if- if he was the one who’d killed them all.

Blinded with rage, Silas lunged at the man, barely landing a jab before he was struck down again and beaten to unconsciousness.

When he woke up, he was lying on the ground as Ripper cleaned his bloody hands.

“It was a wonderful funeral. Sarah would’ve been proud.” The Ripper stated. Silas stared at him, his chest hurting so much, he was sure he’d broken a few ribs. The killer only folded his arms across his chest. “You should be grateful. I attended it on your behalf. Your wife did an amazing job arranging everything on such a short notice.”

Wife.

Y/n.

Silas hadn’t realised it until now that he’d completely forgotten about you. You had not once crossed his mind since he his time in captivity.

“Will you finally kill me, now that you’ve taken away everyone I cared about?” Silas asked through jagged breaths. The Ripper looked over his shoulder. “Not everyone.”

Once he was left alone, Silas sat up and grabbed the paper again, going over the details.

Y/n. He supposed that he always thought you’d have left him and run off with someone, perhaps with Henry. Maybe now that the Ripper has him, you’d probably have taken his money and left London.

Not everyone. Those words echoed in the back of his mind.

The Ripper wasn’t done with him though. Far from it, really. Silas thought he’d already been through the worst of his abuse, but he was in a whole new world of pain when the psychological torture began.

It started with the classic “Betrayal Manipulation”, where Silas would be informed for hours on end, everyday, that he’s been abandoned by everyone, that no one is looking for him, no one cares about him. Silas didn’t have a hard time believing it, seeing as his grandmother was perhaps the last person who would’ve truly looked for him, his cousins probably would’ve sent a search party if they weren’t under his uncles influence, who he already knew couldn’t care less about him. He didn’t have any real friends, and perhaps Cadbury might’ve been one to alert the authorities of his absence, but then again, what chance did a butler stand against the Ripper?

Were you looking for him? He doesn’t think so. Silas doubts you even knew he went missing. You were probably out of London the day you sent the divorce papers via your friend.

Would you have looked for him, if you knew he’d gone missing? Even after that fallout with him? After he screamed all those awful things at you, would you have still put your bruised pride aside to find him?

He really doesn’t know the answer… after all, how much did he really know you? You did call it a sham marriage, but then again… you weren’t soulless like most people in his life.

Once the Ripper was tired of telling how no one will come for him, he would have Silas be taken to a cold cellar by his minions (robed and masked), where he would be tied down to a chair with a bucket of water placed over his head. He would be blindfolded, and they’d leave him there as water dripped out of the bucket onto his scalp, one drop at a time, at a slow pace he couldn’t predict. He remembers reading about it-“Chinese Water Torture.”

You would think that this was better than waterboarding, but it wasn’t. The pattern of the drops was irregular, and the cold sensation is jarring, which caused him anxiety as he tried to anticipate the next drip. It was mentally painful, instilling fear and causing mental deterioration.

Had the pattern been regular, he could’ve used the periodicity to meditate. But the ominous dread of not being able to predict the next drip, it was going to drive him into insanity. Silas remembers actually flinching when the water drops hit his head, and even today, he could pinpoint the exact spot on his scalp where the droplets hit. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve assumed that there was depression on his scalp at that site.

But the worst was still yet to come. The Ripper could see that Silas was falling to pieces, he was near his breaking point. And thats when it was time for his final tactic- “the Silent Companion”, with the Ripper’s own sick twist. You see, in method, dummy boards, also sometimes called “silent companions", are life-size flat wooden figures that were a popular room decoration in the 17th century. Painted and cut to resemble soldiers, children, loved ones, and were put in places that they’d be usually found in. A sweet way to remember them by.

But the Ripper decided to use it a way to shatter Silas.

Silas would wake up to the sound of screams coming from a cell at the end of the hallway. It was a woman screaming, begging, pleading for mercy. It would go on for days until she was put into a burlap sack and then thrown into Silas’s cell. The woman’s screams now were muffled, clearly gagged, and she would be thrashing in her sack until the robed men began to beat her into submission or unconsciousness. Silas couldn’t help her even if he wanted to, he had chains holding him down and he was far too emotionally drained to care.

But then the Ripper would come, folding his arms over his chest. “It seems like everyone has to pay on your behalf.” Silas was confused, but he still didn’t look up from the ground. The Ripper continued, not caring about his lack of response. “Everyone who ever cared about your worthless self has had to suffer. Every woman who ever gave a crap for you had to die. Your mother, your sister, your grandmother, your…” He trailed off, and Silas’s eyes finally snapped up. Your? His wife? “Y/N! Don’t kill her!”Silas leapt forward, before being yanked back down by his chain. He was on his knees, reaching out for you. “Dont kill her! Stay away!” The Ripper pulled out a knife and as soon as he’d touched the burlap, you began thrashing again. The men grabbed the body, while the Ripper cooed only, gently petting the sack as if calming an animal before it was ready for slaughter. “She shouldn’t have announced to everyone that she was your wife. She shouldn’t have lied about how much you loved her. She shouldn’t have associated herself with you.”

Silas leapt forward again, trying to break through the chains. “Take me then. Leave her. She has no part in this. Kill me!”

The Ripper looked up at him. “Why? Its not because you love her. I know that much. Do you think that if you save her, you can be absolved from the murder of all the other women in your life?” And with that, Ripper stabbed you multiple times until you stopped thrashing, while Silas screamed.

Silas stared at the lifeless form in front of him as the Ripper stood up to leave.

“Y/n is not your salvation. She is your ruining.”

Silas doesn’t know how long he was left alone in that cell with you, gasping for breath, tears he didn’t even know had stained his cheeks, until he mustered up the courage to go near and reach for the bloody burlap sack with a trembling hand, dragging it down your face.

It wasn’t you.

It was some… woman. He didn’t know her.

“She claimed to be your wife. I think it was to get fame, or your money.” Ripper’s voice cut through the room. He was standing outside the cell. “I’ll get to your real wife too. And I’ll dispose of anyone who associates themselves with you too.”

And thats how Silas was broken. Every week, a different woman would be subjected to the same torture and he’d be lead to believe that it was you. And everytime he lifted off the sack, he always thought that his eyes saw your face for a second. He was hallucinating you now.

During one of these live killings, the Ripper even tried to get him to sign the divorce papers. The papers he thought he’d lost the day he was taken. “Sign these, Silas. Sign the divorce and free your wife, hm? Let that be the last good thing you do before you die.” But no matter how much he was beaten, broken, tortured, Silas refused to sign the papers, fearing that if he did, you wont have access to his money or influence and become an easy target for the Ripper.

After months of inhumane torture, Silas had finally broken down. The Ripper walks to the malnourished man chained to the ground, hollowness in his eyes as he didn’t even flinch anymore. Kneeling down to his level, he asks him the first question he did when he was first brought here.

“What is your worth?”

Silas remained silent. The Ripper didn’t think he would answer, perhaps he had dissociated from reality-

“Nothing.”

The Ripper’s body relaxed. He raised a hand to pet Silas’s head.

Silas doesn’t fight it when he gives a glass to drink. He hoped it was poison, but it was only to put him to sleep.

When he wakes up next time, he was lying in a coffin, his body stiff and unable to move. He saw Ripper standing over his head, as someone places the lid over his coffin. He was being buried alive.

“Goodbye, Silas.” The Ripper says, and Silas closes his eyes as a tear slips out, grateful for finally being put out of his misery. As he heard the dirt being thrown over his coffin, memories of his life flashed across his mind.


I’m sorry, mom.

I’m sorry, Daisy.

I’m sorry, grandma.

I’m sorry, Y/n.

No one will come to visit him. No one will know where he is. No one cares. No one.

He is truly worth nothing. No one will come for him. No one-

“Silas!” A distant voice calls out. Is this the afterlife calling out to him?

“SILAS!” He hears that voice again, dirt being shifted and before he knew it, it was pounding against his coffin.

“SILAS!” Next thing he knew, a fist comes through, splintering the wood and oxygen floods inside. As the wooden panels are pulled apart, his vision clears as he sees your crying face.

Y/n? You’re his afterlife?

I’m in hell?

Silas only stares at you in disbelief as you try to drag him out of the coffin.

Why are you- how? Is he really in hel-?

You slap him across the face, making him snap out of it. “SILAS!! This is not your fucking grave! GET THE FUCK UP!”

It’s really you. You didn’t give up on him. You were looking for him.You saved him from being buried alive. You broke his coffin with your bare hands. You saved him from his uncle killing him. You took the beating. And you- you were taken by the Ripper.

You were taken by the Ripper.

This is all his fault.

-

The first few weeks after waking up was spent mostly at his manor recovering while the coppers came to question him again and again. It was during this period that Cadbury, who after crying tears of joy (something which shocked Silas since he hadn’t ever seen him show much emotions), filled him in on everything, specifically you.

How you kept searching for him, how you fought against everyone, how you found out about Daisy, how you stood against his uncles and stopped the from stealing his wealth and from slandering him, how hard you fought to keep his and his family’s reputation intact and how you went to the royal family to have them help you find him, how you were threatened and ambushed many times. And when he summoned Collin, who then informed him how you started your own newspaper company to raise awareness against the Ripper under the guise of finding him, how you singlehandedly strong-armed the monarchy into actually helping by threatening to expose their dirty secrets.

And when you finally had the world aware of Silas being missing, you had to stand alone and face being labelled as the “gold-digger”, fight the accusation of being “hysterical” and he was sure if you didn’t have his money, you would’ve been thrown into an asylum by his own uncles.

You stood against them all- the royal family, his uncles, Henry Blackwood, the public, everyone. All for him.

He stood up from his desk where you had laid out all the leads you had on finding him, walking over to the same window where he stood the last time before he was taken.

Why?

Why did you do this? Were you in love? Was it simply out of duty? As a wife? Or because you didn’t want to look like a suspect?

Was it because of curiosity?

Silas’s hand crumpled into a fist.

It doesnt matter, does it? Even if you had ulterior motives, many would’ve given up long ago the moment they were threatened. And if not then, you could’ve- you should’ve ran away the moment you saw the Ripper. He wouldn’t have blamed you. He’s lost himself to the killer, he wouldn’t have blamed you for leaving at the sight of him.

But you stayed, you fought, you broke your own hands to pull him out of his coffin, shielded him from his uncle.

You. Cared.

And thats enough reason for Silas to find you. He will return the favour. He will not give up on you. You didnt, even when you didn’t know whether he’d left you or gone missing, you looked for him, even when you had every reason not to.

I’ll find you Y/n. I’ll find you and I’ll avenge you, for every attempt on your life, every threat, every accusation, every tear- I’ll make everyone pay.

I wont rest until I find you. I wont let you suffer the same fate as the other FitzGeorge women.

-

True to his word, Silas did start searching for you. He created his own search party, knowing that the detectives and police alone wouldn’t be able to find you, he hired the best private investigators and paid good money to shady men who didn’t have any qualms using unethical ways. Next, he mapped out all the potential suspects that could either be the Ripper, or at least have helped him. His enemies, and anyone who held even the slightest bit of malice towards you, everyone was a suspect. At the top of his list, was the royal family, Henry Blackwood and Lady Scarlet (both of whom had vanished at around the same time of your disappearance).

Silas decided to take down the monarchy first. Not only because of what they did to you, but also because he had been long planning to avenge what they did to him and his grandmother, for treating his family as outcasts.

He went to Westminster Palace, where the British Parliament sat. As the Duke of Westminster, a title specially created for him by the Queen when she thought he would soon be her son-in-law, his connection to it is indirect, primarily through his role as a prominent member of the aristocracy. He didn’t really own the palace.

Until this morning.

Silas sat at the back of the room, quietly watching the dominoes of his plan fall as a fight broke out. The reason?

“The royal family’s long history of mental illness and life-threatening ailments.”

Ah yes, Silas had used the information you had gathered on the royal family tree and used your paper to publish it. Now the whole world knows, and as the parliament begins arguing over the legitimacy and security of the monarchs, he silently watches.

By the time he returns to the London Post, he already knows who is waiting for him in your office.

Prince Albert.

“My king, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Silas asked monotonously, sitting in his chair a bit too casually in front of the king, who was still standing, barely contained rage in his eyes.

“What is the meaning of this, Silas?” Prince Albert grits out as he throws the paper on his desk. “Why are you slandering royalty?”

“Slandering?” Silas asked, blinking at him unamused. “It is not slander if its true.”

“Whatever issues you have with us could’ve been sorted out privately.” The king said. “This is uncalled for.”

Silas snorts and Prince Albert has never felt so insulted before. “This isn’t anything personal. Its just the truth and the public has the right to know who rules their kingdom.” Silas rests his cheek on his palm and stares up at him with an evil glint. “Besides, you’ll know when I make it personal.” At the king’s confusion, Silas pulls out a document from his drawer and pushes it towards him. “This is currently being printed and published. Half of London has already gotten their hands on it, I’m sure by tomorrow, all of Britain will know too.”

Prince Albert’s eyes widened in horror at the headline.

“FUTURE KING OF ENGLAND FOUND IN THE ARMS OF A CROSS-DRESSER AT DEVIANT CLUB!”

His hands crumpled the paper. “This is not true!” “Yelling will get you nowhere, your highness.” Silas cut him off, standing up as he buttoned his coat. “And we both now, you are in no position to make any threats or demands.”

Prince Alberts face turned red with rage. “What are you going to do with this? Make people lose confidence in the monarchy? No one will believe this nonsense! Not me, not the people, and not the Parliament. And don’t try denying you weren’t there today.”

“I am not denying anything.” Silas let out a bored exhale. “As Duke of Westminster, it is my right to be there.”

“Right? You do not own Westminster Palace, Silas! It still belongs to the crown!”

“I dont own the Westminster Palace, your highness.” Silas’s gaze sharpened. “But I do own more than half of the Parliament. As of today, I have the leading party in my pocket, ready to obey my orders and even tear down the monarchy a new one if I say so.”

“SILAS-!” “Keep your voice down. You don’t want to sound hysterical and confirm the rumours about mental illnesses running in the royal family, hm?” Silas didn’t even smirk as he cut the king at his knees in the most brutal manner, only telling him to see where his son, the future heir was currently at.

As the king left in a hurry, the door to the office was suddenly slammed open and Benjamin barged in with Colin trying to pull him back by his shoulder.

“YOU!” Benjamin yelled, yanking his arm out of Colin’s grip. “YOU’RE THE REASON SHE’S GONE!”

Silas kept his calm, merely lifting his chin. “I know. I’m going to find her.”

“She should’ve never gone missing. Its all because of you! You should’ve died! You and your pathetic little self should’ve died! She’s in trouble because of you!” Benjamin accused, barely resisting the urge to not beat him to a pulp. “And to have the nerve to call me here, in her office where you sit! How dare you!?”

Silas only stared at him with a neutral expression, even if his heart was heavy with guilt. He nodded at Colin to leave them alone, and he reluctantly left.

“I called you because I need your help to find Y/n. You can hate me all you want, take a swing at me if it’ll make you feel better, but we both want the same thing.” He watched Benjamin take fast breaths, trying to reel himself in. “You were the last person she was in contact with before she found me. You were fighting some assailants that were after her, and you mentioned them wearing masks?” Silas didn’t wait for him to confirm the information. He already read the police report Benjamin had filed. “More than likely, it was the Ripper’s men after her. Now, if we want to find Y/n soon, you need to tell me the truth, Benjamin.” Silas stood up, pouring two drinks, one for himself and one for Benjamin. “My sources tell me Y/n had been in an apartment that belonged to Lady Scarlet, and that you were seen leaving that place just moments earlier.” He set the crystal glass in front of the barber. “What were you doing there? And what do you know about Lady Scarlet and Henry Blackwood?”

Benjamin stared at him, and Silas could see he was trying to come up with a lie that would explain his presence.

“There’s no need to lie. I just need to find Y/n. Please.” Silas didn’t need to plead. He could easily have this information wrung out of him, but you trusted Benjamin enough to help find him, so he’ll return the courtesy of not resorting to unsavoury means. For now.

The blonde’s shoulders sagged. “I worked for Mr Blackwood. I’d only met him once, but every task he needed me to do would be given to me through Lady Scarlet. She was his right-hand man. He’d been paying me to spy on you. I did it because… because I didn’t trust you with Y/n, and when you two had that rushed wedding, I just knew something was going to go wrong. I just wanted to keep Y/n safe.”

And financial gain too. Silas kept the comment to himself. Benjamin continued. “When Y/n started to investigate the murders of his employees, Mr Blackwood didn’t like that. He told her many times to stop, told her that the Ripper was just a myth, and that its bad for business. He didn’t want her meddling. But when she didn’t stop, Mr Blackwood wanted me to do something about it. He wanted me to keep tabs of her every moment, so that he could stop thwart her plans.”

Silas’s fists clenched under his desks. “What happened at the club that night?”

“I went to the club to confront Henry and tell him I want out, and I want him to stop bothering Y/n too. I didn’t know Y/n was there too. Lady Scarlet found me before I could find him, and she pulled me into Mr Blackwood’s office, telling me to not worry because “Y/n had been dealt with.” And when the fire broke out downstairs, we left the office, but she told me that Y/n was hiding inside, so I went back in and pulled her out of there. Since that night, I haven’t seen Mr Blackwood. Rumour has it, he left town. Or perhaps the Ripper got to him.” Or maybe he is the Ripper. Silas took a sip of his drink as the man continued. “After weeks, I was finally able to track Lady Scarlet down. It was the night you were found. I wanted to know where Henry was. If there was some unfinished business left… she said everything here had been concluded. I think she was planning on leaving soon too. I haven’t heard from her since, and her place is empty too.”

Y/n is missing. Henry and Lady Scarlet left town too. The Ripper targeted Henry’s employees.

If I’m able to find Henry, I might be able to find Y/n too.

Silas grabbed his coat and left the office, making his way to police station.

He needs to have the employees murder cases re-opened. There has to be a reason why the Ripper was targeting them, and Silas has a feeling that its not because they were “prostitutes”.

-

“I’m afraid the cases cannot be re-opened, Silas.” The chief of the department, his friend, informed him as the two sat in his office.

“And why not, Tobias?” Silas took a sip of his tea. “Whats the point of having a copper friend then?”

Tobias chuckled. “I wish I could help you out, but I really cant-” Silas set the cup down and pulled out his cheque book. “How much?”

“Silas-”

“How much, Tobias?”

“Its not about money!” Tobias exclaimed, feeling insulted. Silas’s grey eyes watched him run a hand over his face exasperatedly. “I cant open the case because its already been dealt with it. The murderer has been caught and awaiting trial.”

Silas studied him. “But… but its not the man who did it, hm?” Tobias’s eyes flicked up and he felt Silas see right through him. “I cant prove it but… the man we caught… I think he’s just a fall guy.”

“Henry paid him off, didn’t he?” Tobias jaw ticked, as he gave a stiff nod.

The two men remained quiet for a few moments before Silas spoke again.

“I’d like to examine the victims bodies.” Tobias shook his head, but Silas cut him off. “This isn’t a request, Tobias. We both know I can do this without you as well, but I need to find Y/n before time runs out.”

The police chief begrudgingly gave in to his demands and took Silas along with him to the morgue . “The earlier victims had been buried in the cemetery before the trial, but we still have the last victim here, waiting for the trial to be finished. I think after a few days, he’ll be laid to rest. We’re lucky that London is freezing now, slowing the decomposition of the dead.”

Tobias went to open the storage box that contained the last victim, only to find it empty.

“Where-?” He went to open other boxes, searched the entire room to find the victim, before going to ask the mortician.

“The mortician said that somebody came in with a permit from me saying to release the body, but I didnt- I didn’t sign any such documents! Oh god- someone stole a body from the morgue- someone stole from the police department!” While Tobias spiralled about his job being in trouble, Silas’s suspicions grew. He grabbed Tobias by the shoulders, shaking him. “Where are the other victims buried?!”

Tobias took him to the cemetery where they were laid to rest. “Silas, we need a warrant from the judge-” Just then, Cadbury came running in with a few men with him. The butler handed the warrant to Tobias, while Silas nodded at the men to start digging.

Silas’s suspicions were only confirmed when all the coffins were empty. All 7 graves, all belonging to Henry’s employees, were empty.

Tobias’s shock only grew. “No… how-? Who-?” “Someone’s getting rid of the evidence. But who would-?” Silas’s eyes widened. “We need to get to the the murderer right now.” Tobias looked confused. “The scapegoat? He’s in jail- oh!” He got what Silas was alluding to and the two reached the jail in no time. The guards stood up, not expecting to the chief today. “Sir-” “Where is the man we arrested in Blackwood case?!” “He was expecting bail today but no one came-” 
“Show me the cell!” Tobias yelled.
The guards lead them to the cell, and Tobias let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the man lying under the covers. “Thompson! Wake up!” The guard banged his baton against the bar to rouse him from sleep, but when he didnt, they opened his cell and barged in to pull the covers off, freezing as they found the man with his throat slashed brutally from ear-to-ear.

Someone had killed the suspect today, right in his cell. In a jail. In front of hundreds of witnesses. Yet no one even heard even the slightest struggle. Only one person could be so skilled.

The Ripper.

-

A week later, Prince Albert had passed away. It is said that he had fallen sick, but his sources in the palace tell him that the king had left to see his son in Cambridge, and when he found him in a club with people engaging in all sorts of depravity, well, frankly the scandal was too much for the father to bare. They fought, Albert tried to convince his son to come home and that they’d find a nice girl for him to marry and all of this nonsense will be forgotten, evil be nipped in the bud.

Of course, Prince Edward could care less. As pompous idiots do, when it comes to being told what not to do, they do exactly that. When the king returned to the palace, he’d fallen sick with typhoid and days later, passed away surrounded by his loved ones.

The Queen was particularly affected by his death, so much so that she mourned him by wearing only black for the rest of her life. Deep in depression, she blamed Edward for his death because of the fallout the father-son had, and so the rest of the country mourned with her. Life slowed down, businesses were affected and this distracted everyone from Jack the Ripper, who apparently had also went on a break from his killing spree.

Silas saw the rest of his family, his cousins and his uncle Adolphus at the Prince Albert’s funeral. He’d avoided seeing them since his return, fearing that he just might lose control and kill his uncle for how they treated Daisy and Y/n. He had no doubts in his mind that Adolphus and William planned on killing him for a long while. He’ll deal with them, just not right now.

Silas could only hope so during such trying times as the local authorities failed to do their jobs.

But just because the police and the general public were not working actively on this, doesnt mean he didn’t hire outside help, which in his opinion, were more competent.

“Silas.” His cousins were first to approach him, and he could see how cautious they were being around him, as if he’d explode on them.

He wouldnt. It wasn’t their fault. They’re not smart enough to ever try anything against him.

His uncles, on the other hand, who did pass down the dense genes, were greedy enough to go cross him.

Silas made small talk before Adolphus ushered his sons to leave. “How are you, Silas? I’ve been meaning to talk to you ever since-” “I was almost killed by your brother? Or when you took the first chance you could to steal from me?”

Adolphus’s mouth pulled into a thin line. “Now listen, I didn’t have anything to do with what William-” Silas cut him off with a scoff. “Insulting your own dead brother by lying? Cant say he doesnt deserve it.”

“Silas, I just wanted to come here and tell you that I’m using my contacts for whatever information we could get to find Y/n.” Adolphus tried again, but Silas beat him to it again. “And I’m using my contacts to build a case against you and your dim-witted sons for your hand in my kidnapping and the death of my sister.”

His uncle’s mouth fell agape. “Silas, I didn’t do anything to you or Daisy-” “Dont you dare say her name, or I swear to God, I’ll have you and your offspring disappear from the face of the Earth before the sunset and I can promise you, you’ll be begging me for death by the time I’m done with you.” Silas walked away from him. The Ripper was right about many things, he’s come to realise that. He was right about the events of the night his mother was murdered, he was right about how he and Daisy were manipulated by the very people who were supposed to care for them, and he was right about every woman he loved about suffering because of him, and now Y/n-

He stopped. Loved? I love Y/n?

Silas stood in front of the casket to pay his respect. I love Y/n? No. I… I couldnt. I care about her, yes. But- no, no its no love.

It cant be.

Right?

The young aristocrat walked away from the casket, his feelings about you were the only on his mind.

Love Y/n? Certainly not. And I wouldn’t come to that realisation here, at the state funeral for the prince.

No.

-

It’s been over 6 months and Silas hasn’t been able to find you. He has turned London upside down, and he even expanded his search area beyond borders, from street corners to continents, a suspicion that the Ripper may have moved his operations to elsewhere. But he knew that it was unlikely, then again, the Ripper is not a predictable force.

He didn’t have much luck with finding either Henry or Lady Scarlet. As if they’d dropped from the face of the Earth. So, Silas focused his attention to your notes, when you were trying to find him. He has a feeling that the Ripper was in contact with you, he was baiting you.

But why?

If the Ripper wanted to hurt Silas, he could’ve just killed you. But he didn’t, or at least he hopes, he hasn’t. Why drive him to the point of insanity, then let him go and take you?

I admitted defeat. Silas recalled the night when he was in the coffin. I was ready to die. He could’ve killed us both. What sick game is he playing?

Silas traced all your steps over and over again, everywhere you went, he went. His first stop was the one place that he hadn’t visited in years.

Aveline’s asylum.

The staff rambled on to him for all the donations he gave, leading him towards the room his sister was lived in.

His hand didn’t tremble as it reached for the doorknob, but there was an ominous dread in his gut.

As the door swung open, the state of the room was just as he’d seen it the last time he was here. When Daisy had died, he was asked to collect her belongings, but he couldn’t bring himself to return to this place, so he’d paid the hospital to keep her room locked and unused.

Silas wasn’t allowed to visit Daisy very often, but he remembers Adolphus bringing him here when his grandmother had yelled at his uncle to take him there. Sarah knew how much he missed Daisy, even though Silas hadn’t said it aloud.

She always looked weaker than last time when he visited her. But despite how frail she’d turned, how pale her skin became, Daisy always welcomed him with a warm smile and a gentle hug.

Silas sat down on her bed, mind flashing back to the last time he saw her.

“Silas! You’re a sight for sore eyes!” She giggled, wrapping her thin arms around him. “How are you- oh, what did you bring for me?” Silas handed her the books she’d requested after she complained about being bored.

She pulled him and sat him down on her bed, before reaching under her pillow to pull out a handful of candies. As she extended her hand to him, he noticed the bruise on her wrist.

Silas’s eyes flicked to her face, then to her wrist again. But he didn’t say anything.

He never did. Not even when he saw her clothes looking too big on her, different coloured marks on her limbs, the bags under her eyes getting deeper, her hair looking greasier.

He never said anything. After all, why would he embarrass her? “She’s sick in the head.” His uncle had told him, when he asked about her concerning state.

She’s sick in the head. But she was the same as she’d always been.

Silas only took one candy. “You have the rest.” He’d urge her, worried she was skipping meals. Daisy shook her head, handing him a few more before popping one in her mouth. “I had to bribe the doctor for this!” She stood up and walked over to her closet to put away the books he’d brought. As she opened the closet, he saw a red book. “I thought they didn’t have any books for you to read.” Silas nodded towards the red book. She smiled. “I dont. This is my diary.”

Silas’s eyes snapped towards the dusty closet.

Diary.

The day you left his house, the day he lost his temper on you, you had come to his study with that diary. You’d dropped it on the floor before leaving and Silas had put it away in his desk.

But how did you find it? Silas never took anything from the asylum, unless-

Unless you came and took it.

-

Silas had rushed home and opened the red journal as soon as he found it. And his heart only sank further the more he read.

“I dont know why uncles have sent me to this awful? I do not believe I am sick, or if I am, I do not see any hope of ever getting better here. Only worse.”

“What good can ever come out of starving patients? Then again, I think the stale food they give us is only making me more ill.”

“Silas finally came to visit me! Oh, how I missed him. He’s grown up so handsomely. I am sure he will get me out of here one day.”

“The new doctor is the only one who is nice to me. The nurses talk very badly to me, and their hands hold me down so harshly. But the new doctor tended to my injuries with utmost care.”

“The new doctor listens to me when I talk. He smiles sometimes, and chuckles at my jokes too. He doesnt scold me or has me tied down when I tell him I’m not sick.”

“I bribed him with poems. He gave me the candies I’d asked for. I don’t like to be empty-handed when Silas visits me. I can see the concern in his eyes when he looks at me, but he never says anything for my sake. I wonder what I can get him for his birthday. Perhaps the gold ring the doctor wears. It has a snake eating its own tail. Very unique. Silas would like it.”

Silas’s blood ran cold. Golden ring. Snake eating its own tail. It couldn’t be him-

“The doctor hasn’t come to see me in a while. Perhaps he’s busy. I would’ve liked to say goodbye. Uncle Williams came today. He wanted me to sign some documents. But he wouldn’t let me read it so I didn’t. He was furious with me.”

“The nurses have been very unkind to me. They have taken away my meals because “bad girls don’t get fed.” I don’t understand what I’ve done.”

“Anytime I try to ask what I have done to warrant this treatment, they beat me. I demanded to see my family, to see Silas, to see my uncles, but they only locked me in the dark room, bound to my bed.”

“After many weeks, uncle Williams finally returned. I didn’t think I’d see him again after our last falling out. But he returned and apologised for his behaviour. He even brought sweets for me as peace offering. I am having them right now with my tea, they are a little too sweet for my taste. I am getting sleepy though, surprisingly earlier than my bedtime. I suppose the sweets have filled my belly and made me tired.”

That was the last entry in her diary.

Silas’s hands trembled. If only- if only he’d read this earlier. The ring. The Ripper being her doctor. Williams feeding her sweets- he killed Daisy. He killed her.

A shaky breath left him. Silas wished the Earth would split open and drag him, just so he didn’t have to face the harsh truth.

Daisy met the Ripper.

Daisy was murdered.

Daisy was never sick. His uncles put her there. Because?

He suspected why, but he still wants to hear it.

-

Adolphus woke up to a slap to the face. He let out a strangled noise, and he felt the rope on his arms and legs that tied to him to the chair.

“Awake?” A figure appeared from the shadows.

“S-silas? What is the meaning of this?! Untie me this instant!” He struggled against the ropes only to be punched, this time the other cheek.

“Behave, uncle. Tonight, you will die. How painful it will be, that will be decided by you.”

“Silas-!” Another punch, and thats when he heard the sound of a trolley creaking in. Cadbury wheeled the trolley in and Adolphus’s eyes went saucer wide at the contents laying on it. A variety of knives, a saw, a plier, and other tools he couldn’t name but they looked of the medical sort.

“Didnt you tell me that you served as a medic during the war, Cadbury?” The butler smiled, though it didn’t match the sinister glint in his eyes.

“Yes, sir. Army Medical Corps.” Cadbury picked up a scalpel, loading a sharp blade onto it. “I had to amputate many brave men, and I had to do it quickly to save them.” Cadbury then looked at Adolphus and shrugged. “I was pretty skilled back then but its been a few years, I might be a little out of practise.”

Adolphus was drenched in sweat, practically shaking in his chair. “Silas- Silas, listen to me- I didn’t do anything! It was all Williams! It was all him! I didnt- I tried to stop him! I did! I swear on my sons lives!”

“Sons? You’re going to damn your own sons by lying?” Silas sighed. “Oh well, I suppose they were already damned the moment I sent them to the asylum.”

“W-what?” Adolphus throat dried up.

Silas hummed. “Oh, I just sent your boys and Williams’s to the looney bin to rot. Just like you sent Daisy.” He walked up to his uncle and grabbed him by the neck, yanking him forward. “And when they lose their damn mind, when they cant remember their name, when their reduced to a vegetable, I’ll kill them. Just like you killed my sister. And I’ll make sure no one remembers you.”

“S-Silas! I- I didn’t kill Daisy! I- Yes- We- we did sent her to the asylum! Yes- but we didn’t kill her! We only wanted her to sign and give us the fortune your parents had left for you two! We never killed her! It wasn’t us- It was the other man! It has to be!”

“What other man?” The Ripper?

Adolphus hesitated for a second, but the moment Cadbury picked up the saw, he spilled.

“We- we were trying to join a society. Your- William and I, we- we needed to get in this secret society. It was run by a man unknown, but- but the society in essence- it was the inner circle. The most elite. The people who had the first hand at everything. If we got into the society, we’d be invincible. But- but to get in that society we needed a huge buy-in. We didn’t have the money- so- so we tried to get your and Daisy’s inheritance- we- I was going to pay you back! Always, you’re my nephew, Silas!” Silas only shook him harshly again.

“What do you mean by the other man who killed Daisy?”

“I- I dont know- I’ve never seen his face- he’d always wear a mask, or a hood! All I remember is that he’d wear a gold ring, with a snake on it! Only members of the secret society have it. But- but he- I’d seen him one time leaving Daisy’s room at the asylum! He- he must’ve killed her!”

“What was he doing in Daisy’s room?”

“I- I dont know, I never asked.” Of course, you didn’t you spineless cretin. “Thats all I know, SIlas. I swear I didn’t kill her!”

Silas shoved him away and turned around, giving only a nod to Cadbury. Make him talk.

Cadbury gleamed as he picked up an odd shaped instrument. “Back in the war days, I had to peel off a lot of dead skin and replace it with skin grafts, Mr Adolphus. Now, I know I said earlier that I’m out of practise, but I’ve peeled a lot of potatoes! I have a feeling, this wouldn’t be much different!”

Silas left the room as he heard his uncles screams echo. For now, he needs to find the secret society.

-

You wake up with a jolt, gasping for air as you tried to come out of the effects of the dream. As your eyes adjusted to your unfamiliar surroundings, flashbacks from last night came to your mind.

Silas!

I pulled him out of the coffin- he was buried alive! But I pulled him out- he was alive. He was alive! All this time!

As you realised the ache in your back, you remembered his crazy, money-hungry, fat uncle was beating you two with a metal rod! He kept striking again and again until someone pulled him off-

You gasped.

The Ripper!

The Ripper!

Your eyes frantically scanned the room, as if dreading to find him standing in the corner. But the dark Victorian interior showed nothing except for luxury. Dark brown, almost black wood was used around the room and the ceiling was high, with no windows in the room, the entire room was lit with candles and lanterns. You were lying on a canopy bed, with maroon velvet curtains tied to the posts. The walls had a few paintings, some antiques around the room but other than that, you were alone.

And you were brought here by the Ripper.

Right?

It has to be him. Who else? He was the one who hinted where he’d buried Silas- He buried Silas! Oh my god, am I going to be also buried alive? No, then I’d have woken up in the coffin. No, no. He brought me here to kill me like the rest of his victims. Brutally.

You threw the silk covers off you, ignoring the bandages covering your hands and leapt out of bed, stumbling a bit as the pain in your back made you curl up, before you gathered yourself and with a shaky breath, began making your way towards the door. Which wasn’t locked, as you turned the knob.

You peeked a look and when saw no one, you craned your neck out and saw a long corridor on either side, lined with stone blocks from floor to ceiling, a medieval contrast to the gothic room you were creeping out of now.

Using the light from the sconces on the wall, you decided to take the right and walk down the hall. You kept walking, taking one turn after the other with no logic and only hope to not get lost, or worse, be lead straight to the killer.

Your heart thundered against your ribs. Oh God, what if he finds me? What if he tortures me before he kills me-

No. You stopped walking, and rubbed a hand over your chest, pressing in deeply to calm the panic attack that was sure to come if you let your mind go on. No, think positively. He cant- he wont find me. I’ll find my way out of here and I’ll use my time machine and get home-

My Time Machine!

You frantically searched your clothes, panic setting in again.

Where is it- where the fuck is it?!

You recalled having taken it from Lady Scarlet, you had it on you when you were running from those masked men and when you crashed into Benny. You went into the cemetery to find a spot to use it and you were going to when-

Your heart dropped.

The Ripper. He has it. The machine dropped from your hands when you ran to dig Silas out of his grave.

The Ripper has my time machine.

You muffled the whimper that threatened to leave with your hand.

What have I done?

The machine- the time machine is- is in the hands of the notorious psychopath!

Maybe thats why no one has ever been able to catch him. Because my dumbass was the one who dropped the most powerful device on Earth in his lap! Fuckin-

You slapped your cheek.

No. No. No! Now is not the time to spiral. Now is not the time to lose my marbles!

You take a deep breath and clear your mind.

Whats the new plan?

Plan A: get out of here, save your life and build a new time machine and hope for the best that the Ripper has a weak immune system and dies of cholera or smallpox.

Plan B: stay in this psychopath’s lair, find the time machine, save the world from catastrophic changes in history and time, and get home!

If you were a hero with good morals, sure- Plan B. But you could really not be bothered to be the saviour if you’re dead at the hands of maniac!

You start walking down the hall again, spotting a set of stairs trailing down.

How about this- it’s plan B until I’m in danger, then we jump back to plan A? Yes.

As you descended the stone stairs, the interior finally changed to Victorian again, only more gothic.

The ceilings were high, with intricate gothic arches clawing at walls, illuminated faintly by the moonlight shining through the glass windows, though the fog outside was too thick to clue you in as to where you are. More lanterns guided you down the hall, your footsteps creaking against the wooden floor. You slowed your pace, not wanting to be spotted by anyone.

As you turned another corner, you immediately scurried back as you heard someone walking down the other end of the hallway.

You peeked, and only saw a figured robe walking down the hallway- the same hallway where you were hiding just at the other corner of it.

Fortunately, the figured robe turned to his right and opened a wooden door and entered the room, the door shutting behind him with a loud thud.

That must be the Ripper, so- you quietly crept down the hallway, your heart practically lurching out of your mouth as you made your way past the room the man had went in, praying to God he doesnt come out.

Finally, reaching the end of the hallway, you took another turn and faintly heard the sound of-

Piano? No, something more deep- was that pipe organ?

Great. This place keeps giving vampire castle, rather than a murderers lair.

Some hymn, perhaps dark church, was being played.

Wait- was the Ripper playing the organ? Huh. He could’ve made a good living out of this.

Yeah, I’ll be sure to tell him about switching careers. You rolled your eyes.

You walked down another corridor and this one had more rooms on either side of it. Granted most of them were closed.

Does he keep his victims here? Oh yeah, Y/n, the Ripper is hosting them all like this is hotel Transylvania. Get a grip.

He probably found this abandoned castle, and made his home here. Perfect place to kill and hide.

You heard footsteps again and you shuffled to hide again, but the hall was too long and you’d be spotted before you reached the end of it, so you took a risk and opened the double door, sneaking inside when you spotted no one inside and closing the door as quietly as you could, putting your ear against the door to listen to the footsteps walking away.

You stayed put before slowly backing away from the door, just in case the Ripper decided he wanted to come in here, whatever this room was.

Turning on your heel, you looked around the well lit room, with an altar made of white marble at the center and behind it, large maroon velvet curtains hung on the wall, with a pattern embroidered on it with golden thread. A snake eating its own tail, forming a perfect circle.

“What the hell…?” You whispered as you walked towards the altar.

Is this where he kills his victims? You looked around the marble, it was spotless. Not a drop of blood. Is he a clean freak? OCD perhaps-

Stop psychoanalysing the killer. You’re not an expert, Y/n.

You heard someone talking outside the door and dashed towards the corner to hide behind a pillar in the shadows.

The door opened and in walked- one, two- 6 robed figures wearing silver masks and hoods over their heads entered. They all began cleaning the room, one was replacing the melted candles with fresh ones, one was dusting the antiques lying in the other corner and another was using a broom to clean, two of them were cleaning the altar with what you assume was their version of Holy Water, or maybe it was just that. And the last one- he made his way towards the curtains, before pulling on its golden cord to draw the curtains apart.

Your eyes widened at the sight behind it.

There it was. There it fucking was.

The painting. Your painting. The one Baldwin commissioned of you. The one that followed you through all timelines. The one you had burned with your own hands.

And there it hung, unscathed, mocking you.

How-? How is this possible? I destroyed it- I burnt it to ashes! I did-

As soon as the robed figures left, you sauntered towards the painting, your hands trembling.

Am I hallucinating- no- there’s no way- I’m hallucinating.

You touched the painting. It was real. This is real.

How? How did it-?

You jumped at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

It was another robed figure, this time with a white mask and pearly-white patterns on it, lips painted baby blue. The femininity of her mask and stature gave away that she was a girl.

“Lady Y/n.” She addressed you so politely. “He’s waiting for you.”

You didn’t have to guess who “He” was.

Spotting the robed figures from earlier behind her, you knew you were outnumbered, so with a shaky nod, you followed her, taking one last look at the damn painting before you left.

On the way, you saw many other robed figures, all wearing masks, you deduced different colours meant different ranks. Your gaze went back to girl in white who was leading you to your doom, fixating on the pearly patterns on her mask.

If you weren’t so shocked by the painting, you would’ve asked or rather, begged her not to take you to “him”. But your entire energy was now being focused on not crumbling down to your knees and crying yourself to into a catatonic state.

Eventually, a large door came into view and when the girl opened it, she lead you inside to a dining hall. A large table sat in the center with more than 20 or so seats. However, she didn’t make you sit there, instead she continued to walk and lead you to another door in the corner, and it revealed to be a smaller, more private dining area, with only a small rectangular table and two plush seats. On the right, there was a big window with stained glass, and on the left, the beige wall had two sconces along with different sized candles illuminating the room.

And at the other end of the table, just under the shadows, “he” stood.

As the girl left you two alone, your heart dropped when he stepped out of the shadows. Wearing a black mask with golden tendrils forming an intricate pattern, a black top hat and a stylish long coat over his suit that would make anyone tremble at the realisation of who it was.

“Lady Y/n.” You recognised the smooth voice. “I hope you slept well. How are your injuries?”

The Ripper was standing in front of you, barely 6 feet away.

You gulped the lump in your throat. “What do you want from me?” You croaked out, not realising your mouth had went dry.

He took a slow, cautious step in your direction as if approaching a prey he did not wish to scare.

“I will answer all your questions, but first, supper.” He motioned you to take a seat.

“I’m not hungry.” He stared at you and you felt the walls caving in when he walked up to you, until you could see into his eyes.

“I am hungry, and I do not enjoy eating alone.” He stated in a tone that didn’t leave room to argue. Stepping back, he pulled out a chair for you. “Please.” It wasnt a request.

You sat down, the hair on your arms rising as he pushed your seat in.

With a snap of his fingers, two robed figures came in with food. They set the plates in front of you and him, lifted the cloches to reveal a soup dish. They left you two alone and the Ripper began eating, while you contemplated if this was poisoned or not.

On one hand, if he wanted to kill you, he would’ve done so earlier, right?

On the other hand, this just might be one of the least painful ways to die from, perhaps?

With that, you began eating soup, eyes trailing to the man in front of you.

After entree and dessert were served, the dinner ended and you two sat from across each other in silence.

Is this what dinner with Hannibal Lecter feels like?

“What would you like to ask?” The Ripper finally broke the silence.

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to see the truth.”

“And what is that?” He stood up and for a second you thought he got annoyed and was going to kill you.

“I suppose it would be better to show you.” You hesitated for a moment before standing. He walked out of the dining hall, you walked a step behind him (if only to have the upper hand if you need to attack him, or more realistically, run away.) but he slowed his pace to match yours.

He was reasonably taller than you, so it’d be understandable if he walked faster.

“Feel free to ask me more questions while we walk.” He offered.

Alright. “Are you going to kill me?” Your steps faltered, preparing yourself to bolt.

The seconds he took to answer felt like hours. “No. Next question.”

You followed him again. At the sight of more robed figures passing by, you asked him about this place.

“Where are we? What is this place?”

“We’re a secret society.” He turned his head to look at you. “You think of the Ripper as a single entity, but as you can see, we have many members.”

“Secret society? Do you mean cult?” You seem to have become a little more confident now that he’d stated he wasnt going to kill you. You forget “torture” is still on the table.

Yeah, he didn’t exactly “kill” Silas either.

He chuckled. “For some people, sure.”

“And what exactly is the society’s purpose?”

“We maintain balance. Stop threats. Keep the routine going.” Threats? Does he mean people he think corrupt society’s morals? Is that why he targeted the prostitutes and the club?

As you were both walking, he pointed towards the fireplace, specifically over the mantel where the same snake pattern was carved into the wood.

“That is the symbol of our society. Do you know what it means?” He allowed you to go and take a closer look.

You traced the wooden symbol with your fingers. A serpent eating its own tail. In a perfect circle. A loop.

“An eternal cycle.” You remembered seeing it while you were studying Egyptian mythology in college. “Renewal of life, death… rebirth?” You looked back at him, and he nodded for you to continue. “In some depictions, the snake would be looped into a horizontal figure-of-eight. Or sign of infinity. The symbol is seen in different theologies and religions, but is generally called as “Ouroboros”. In the Greek version, it means unity in duality—the merging of opposites such as life and death, heaven and earth, and the conscious and unconscious mind. In alchemy, the Ouroboros represents the process of transformation, the idea that destruction leads to creation. In Christian mysticism, the Ouroboros was sometimes used to symbolise eternity and the idea of God as the Alpha and Omega—the beginning and the end. The serpent devouring its own tail was interpreted as a symbol of God's infinite nature and the eternal life promised in Christian theology.

In essence, it is a balance between life and death, chaos and calm.”

“Smart girl.” You could sense he was smiling under the mask. You shrugged. “So what does it mean? You “cleanse” the society of impurities? Of what doesnt fit in your moral code? Just so that life… can continue on? Some order is maintained?”

“You say it like its a bad thing- to rid the society of impurity.” He turned on his heel and began walking, and you followed behind him. You resisted the urge to scoff. “Some would say murder is pretty immoral.” It was a risky thing to say, but the man chuckled. “It is, isn’t it?”

“Did you start this society?” You asked, passing another figured robe who was wearing a sharp three-piece suite, a short top-hat, and a golden mask. He looked at you and only then did you realise that none of the other figures looked in your way. It was only for a brief moment before he looked away and passed you two.

“Yes and no.” You looked at him. He was relaxed, as if in complete control of the situation. As if he cold anticipate any move, any ambush you throw his way. Like he could predict the unpredictable. “Do you know about the Knights Templar?” You nodded. Of course. The Knights Templar were a Catholic military order founded in the 12th century to protect Christians and the Holy Land during the crusades. They were a powerful organisation with significant wealth and influece, with the crown’s backing and funding. However, by the 14th century they were suppressed and disbanded.

He began explaining. “As history records- the Templars were disbanded centuries ago. But despite how brutally they were persecuted, the Templars still managed to survive all this time and went underground to operate from the shadows.”

“So, you’re the Templars?”

He shook his head. “We are a branch of the Templars. Our mission is the same- to protect the public from evil organisations and keep the balance of good and evil.” He directed you towards a door and opened it to reveal a huge room with many robed figures working quietly. There were different chalk-boards. There was a black board on which different names and math equations were written, then another on which different years were written with an event pinned to it. But you were only able to recognise a handful of the historical events, the rest were of them were just- you didn’t even know what they were. The events lined to the years were sentences like-

“She jumps into the water.” “He was lost in the carnival.” “The boy slept in.”

They didn’t make any sense.

The Ripper didn’t stop you from reading the boards. Instead, he continued to explain. “I started this society only after I had lost someone dear to me. To find them, I… I began searching for ways to connect to them. In afterlife.” He hummed. “Its ironic. I never believed in life after death, I’m still not particularly religious, you see. But I was desperate. I abandoned science and logic, and went after mediums who promised me that they will connect me to my loved ones. As you would know, that was a complete waste of time. But it did help me connect with some powerful people, who then tried to invoke my sense of Christianity. In reality, they just needed my money to fund their programs. One of which was the Templars.” You listened to him, while watching the robed figures work silently as they wrote on the chalk board, drawing lines, connecting dots. “They didn’t particularly need me to become a Templar, rather they needed my money and in return, they’d support any agenda I’d have. I, of course, demanded that- my wife may be brought back to me.” It was the first time he addressed who he’d been talking about. 
He continued on. “They obviously cant raise the dead. And they were fed up with me, so when I threatened to pull back my support, they told me to pray to God. Pray that He may be so gracious and merciful to send her back. That God is kind to His most devout servants. So, I changed. I really did become the perfect Christian. I abstained from all kinds of evils, I followed the light. I studied the Bible, all versions of it, and when that wasnt enough, I studied the history. And thats when I stumbled upon a story. About a king and his lover who went missing.” Your heart began to sink.

He began walking again, leading you out of the room and down another hallway. “You wouldn’t find this story that easily, you see, it was buried so deep into the books, only one manuscript was found and kept save by the Templars. And it was in Arabic.” As he turned, you saw a familiar corridor, and before you knew it, you were back in the room with the painting. “It almost sounded like a bedtime story. A sick king who was bound to die, is saved by a slave girl who seemed to appear out of no where. She saves him with a kiss, because apparently God had given her some divine powers. The king believed so, that she was angel gifted to him by God. And who is he to deny a divine gift?” Your eyes are focused on the painting, refusing to look at him. He doesnt- he cant know.

“Then as all great love stories end, she didn’t want to marry him, ran away from the altar and jumped into the sea, disappearing forever.” The Ripper’s steps echoed as he walked ahead of you, standing directly under the painting. “It is said that the the king was so devastated, he didn’t believe she was actually dead. They never found her body, or any remnant of her. He searched everywhere for her, he left his kingdom and travelled half the world for her. Apparently, he had become so depressed, that he would talk to the painting- this painting, he had commissioned of her, so much so, that his tears had smudged her beautiful face, the lower half of it. I imagined he kissed her right… there.” He pointed at lower half of the face on the painting that was smudged. “The king eventually died with a smile that now he’d finally be able to meet you again. The Templars, embarrassed by their king’s mental state, erased all traces of the girl and any story linked to her was destroyed, in order to maintain the nobility of a true Christian. The painting, however, wasnt found in the king’s castle. No, it was found centuries later with the Ottomans, and I think it was either stolen from the king or the king himself gave it away to be kept safe, perhaps to a dear friend.” He turned to face you, stalking towards you as you felt the temperature in the room drop a few degrees. “Do you know who wrote that manuscript?”

He said it was in Arabic. Salauddin?

“A mathematician called Abbas. The love story didn’t really interest me, nor did it feel true. It wasnt… even that good. But one thing that did intrigue was the device that this girl- slave girl was paying Abbas to make it. He wasnt able to recreate it again, nor did he ever understand what was its function. He did suspect that it may be the reason you were running, or were able to escape. After all, I researched quite a bit and while many parts of his story were true, I was never able to find the family of the girl who she claimed to be trying to find. So, perhaps… the device did indeed have something to do with her disappearance?”

He knows.

He fucking knows.

“Great story. What am I to do with it?” You managed to keep your poker face. He tilted his head at you, not in confusion, more in a “are you really keeping that act up?” manner. You tried to divert the focus from you. “It was just a story, like you said. Besides, you could have all the resources in the world and still not be able to find someone. The world is a big place, and there are more humans than you could ever count.”

“And yet I found you.” He said curtly, cutting off any attempts of diversion. “I found you, Y/n. You were the girl, and yes, I verified it. Directly from the man himself. King Baldwin IV.” Your eyes widened.

“I dont know what you’re talking about. And the king is dead-” He pulled something out of his pocket and you felt fear take over you.

The time machine.

“I- where- thats-” How- how does he know? How the fuck does he know?

“The time-travelling device? Yes, yes it is.” He fiddled with it. “Are you still going to deny everything?”

You took a step back, forcing the lump in your throat down. “Who- who are you?”

He sighed, stepping back a bit. “I suppose it would be better to show you.” And with that he removed his mask.

The room was illuminated well enough by the candles and sconce, yet it still took you a few seconds to recognise the man in front of you.

No. Fucking. Way.

-

“That girl was just someone pretending to be her.” Cadbury informed Silas. He’d just returned from yet another day of following up on leads claiming that they saw Y/n, or were Y/n. Its been three years since you’d been kidnapped by the Ripper. Three years since he’d been searching high and low for you. Silas had done everything he was supposed to do- influenced the police to keep your case open, bribed anyone and everyone for any leads, hired bounty hunters, used all his contacts and more on any news on you.

Cadbury sighed. “Another person impersonating Mrs FitzGeorge for money.” Mrs FitzGeorge. Only Cadbury addressed you like that now. Everyone else assumed you were dead. Most have already forgotten about you.

Silas downed the rest of his scotch before standing up. “I’ll be back late. Follow up on the other leads.” Cadbury didn’t have to ask where he was going. He knew.

Silas was going to a party. A private one. The kind where only the most exclusive members of high society meet to engage in any kind of activity. Nothing is off the table.

He’d figured that perhaps he’d be able to find someone there who could give him any clues on your whereabouts. Or the Rippers.

Upon reaching the mansion, he gave the secret code and was allowed entry. He recognised many of the guests there, William Gladstone, Thomas Hardy, Edison, Arthur Conan Doyle, etc.

Avoiding them expertly, he went upstairs to the room where a special event was happening.

“Mr FitzGeorge, glad you finally joined us.” A guest shook his hand, while he gave a nod of acknowledgement, eyes fixed on the stage ahead.

“Ladies and gentleman, we have a very special guest this evening, all the way from America! Please welcome- Harry Houdini!” The crowd erupted in applause. Harry Houdini was an up and coming magician whose fame had grown fast enough to be recognised globally.

But Silas didn’t exactly come for a magic show. No, he came to know if he can figure out a trick.

After the show was over, Silas came up to him, handing him a glass of champagne. “That was quite a show, Mr Houdini.” The magician’s face lit up in recognition, clinking his glass with Silas’s. “Mr FitzGeorge! I was expecting you!” “You were?” Harry nodded, pulling the man aside and leading him backstage. “Of course! I wanted to ask- was it true that you were buried alive?! How did you manage to keep your calm without running out of breath? How did you get yourself out of the coffin?” Silas’s grip tightened on his glass.

“My wife saved me.” He took a deep breath, setting his glass aside. “Thats what I came here for today. I need your help, Mr Houdini-” “Please. Call me Harry. I insist.” “-Harry. I’m trying to find her. She was taken by the Ripper. And while investigating, he managed to kill a potential lead while he was in the cell, without breaking in or being noticed.” Silas explained the case about the scapegoat who was killed in a cell, surrounded by inmates and coppers, without anyone seeing or hearing anything. He came to Houdini because he was an escape artist, an illusionist. If anyone had a chance of figuring this case, it would be him.

Harry tapped his chin in contemplation. “You’ll need to give me some time to crack this one.”

Silas nodded, pulling out his chequebook. “For which, I’m willing to compensate you.”

“Can I ask you something?” Silas gave a nod. “Have you considered that your wife may be dead?”

I have. “Yes.” The answer was curt. The “And?” Was silent.

Harry tried his best to be cautious in his wording. “And… you still want to find her?”

Why wouldn’t I? Silas has thought about the possibility of you not being alive anymore. Hell, part of him wishes that if you’ve not escaped the Ripper’s clutches, then at the very least, you’re dead. He doesnt want you to suffer the way he or Daisy did. His biggest fear was finding you in one of the asylums, bound and tortured to the point of becoming a vegetable. Every time he went into an asylum, everytime he opened a door, everytime he turned around poor girl, his blood would run cold. Is this it? Is this the time he’d find you? In this horrid place? In this miserable condition? In a state worse than death? Is this the outcome of all the women in his life? Was the Ripper right? Did they all suffer because of him?

“Yes.” Silas answered. Houdini studied him for a bit, before smiling. “Very well. I will keep you updated.” Silas left the party quickly after that. He’d done what he’d came for here, there’s no room for any entertainment in his life. Not until he finds you.

A few weeks later marked the fourth anniversary of your kidnapping. Silas sat on a bench by the river, across from Westminster palace. Every year since you were taken, he’d have the palace be lit up by lanterns. He’d do this on your birthday if he knew it. What kind of husband doesnt know his wife’s birthday? He could also have the palace lit up on his wedding anniversary. But then again, he doesnt think you’d celebrate this union if you were still here.

No. The palace would be lit up on the day of your disappearance. Not to mark it as a day of sorrow. No. It was a request. A beg. A prayer, that if you were able to see this, you’d return. That if you were not able to come out of hiding because of the Ripper, then find comfort in the thought that Silas has not forgotten about you. He never will. The world may have moved on, may have started addressing you in past tense, but he won’t. You’re still alive. You’re still out there. And he wont give up until he finds you. You didn’t give up on him.

Its not about returning the favour. No, Silas has realised that he’ll never be able to compete with you, he’ll always be in your debt. Because you found him when you didn’t have anything, when the whole world was against you, you still saved him. And now that he had everything, all the contacts, all the money, all hurdles removed, he still wasn’t able to find you.

Where are you, Y/n?

Silas won’t say he’s in love with you. He doesnt think he has the right to. Love? Isn’t that reserved for people who don’t hurt their beloved? Isn’t that reserved for people who aren’t cursed like him? If his love was true, if it was pure, wouldn’t he have been able to find you? What has he not done to still not be able to find a trace of you? Where has he lacked?

He’d expanded his search from all over the world. Silas even went to Muslim countries, perhaps you’d gone into hiding there? He even went to Saudi Arabia, performed pilgrimage in Mecca, just for the sight of you. On paper, he was still a muslim. He never changed it since the day of the Nikkah. He won’t lie and call himself a believer, no. But he did pray in front of the Kabbah, a silent prayer as it rained.

What have you reduced me to, Y/n? He mocked himself. You made me fall to my knees, made me beg to a deity I don’t believe in, call out to the higher power, not for forgiveness, not for killing my uncle and cousins, not to ask for peace for my family’s souls, but for you. Asked God, Allah- that He may reunite us?

Who are you? You’re only human, nothing in comparison to others, yet I, Silas Edmund FitzGeorge, begged on my knees, pressed my forehead to the ground, called upon God and believed, if only for a fleeting moment, that He returns you to me. That if He gave you back, I’ll be the best man to you, I’ll take care of you, I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure that you never cry again.

Silas used to think it was the Ripper who made him realise his worth.

He was wrong.

You’re the one who has made him realise his value.

Absolutely nothing without you.

-

Silas sat in his office at the London Post when Benjamin barged in. He was the only one allowed to still act this way because - well, he was your friend. He cared for you when Silas didnt. Plus, he was still helping him in finding you.

“Benjamin. Any progress?” Silas closed the file on his desk and gave the blonde his full attention.

Benjamin’s eyes were sharp. He’d grown aggressive since your kidnapping, becoming more brash by the year. Silas had heard he was often seen passed out in bars and even high on snow these days. If this continued, Silas wont have any use for him. He’s no good to him indisposed.

“No. There’s no news on Henry Blackwood or Lady Scarlet. I’m guessing Lady Scarlet ran off and is hiding with Blackwood. Probably started another club someplace.” He moved to sit from across Silas , putting his feet up on his desk. Trying to spite him.

Silas ignored his antics. “What about his businesses? Any of them still running?”

“Nope. They all closed off one by one, all his partners pulled out when they heard about the Ripper targeting his employees.” He raised his brows. “Guess you’re the richest man in Britain now, eh? Feel big enough yet?”

Another attempt at slighting. Silas ignored it. “If thats all, you can go now.” He opened his file again, not looking up as he heard the blonde scoff and leave his office, slamming the door on his way out. Moments later, Colin entered, as he would whenever Benjamin left.

Silas pulled out a cheque and gave it to him. “He’s quit working at the barber shop, hasn’t he?” Colin nodded. “He’s committed himself to finding Y/n. Though as time passes, his grief deepens. He’s been drinking a lot now.”

Silas kept his eyes down. You would know about the drinking, wouldn’t you Colin? He never brought up that he knew how often Colin drank during office hours.

“Take care of him, Colin. If you need more money, let me know.” Silas dismissed him. He’d always give the cheque to Colin, knowing Benjamin would never accept any money from him.

When he was done with work and returned home, he wasn’t expecting Harry Houdini to be waiting for him there.

“After a whole month? I was starting to think you wouldn’t come.” Silas lead him to the parlour, offering him a drink.

Harry Houdini sat on the edge of his seat, gathering himself. “I must admit, I haven’t been able to crack the case you’d given me. I haven’t found any possible way for that man to have been murdered so brutally without anyone noticing.” He admitted defeat and pulled out the cheque Silas had given him.

He sighed. “Keep it. For your trouble.” Harry sensed the tone of finality. Silas wasn’t going to take back his cheque. Like he knew that Harry wasn’t going to be able to help him.

“You seem like a good man, Silas.” Harry stood up, downing his drink. “Perhaps, if you allow, we could try an unconventional way?”

I’m all ears. Silas gave a nod for him to continue.

“Do you believe in spirits-?” “No.” Silas finished his drink and poured himself another. “But go on.”

Harry smirked. He was desperate. “You see, I’m an escape artist. I do- magic. Illusions. But even I believe that sometimes, there is just another realm out there, invisible to us, doing things that cannot be explained by the human mind.” He paused, letting his words sink in. Silas’s face remained void of emotions. “I believe that the dead can talk. Or perhaps otherworldly beings. Call them spirits, ghost, supernatural beings, whatever. I believe they have answers to questions man cannot answer.”

“So?”

“So, if you’d like, you can join me for a private meeting tonight. Who knows, maybe the spirits can help us find where your wife is. Or if we’re unlucky, maybe she might be the one who talks to you directly. At least, you’ll have closure.”

What a load of bullshit.

“What do you say? Can I count you in?” Harry wiggled his brows. Pathetic.

“Sure.”

Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

Later that evening, Silas was sitting in the basement of an abandoned church. He wasn’t the only one there. Harry, along with 8 other people, all seemingly belonging from high society were also present.

It was a seance, or rather a ploy to scam grieving people of their money. They were divided into two groups. Silas watched the first group sit down on the table, a woman wearing garb, pretending to be a wise gypsy or perhaps a witch, rubbed her hands over a crystal ball.

Theatrics. He watched the woman hold hands with the others and mumble gibberish. This went on for 10 minutes until the candles suddenly flickered and they all gasped, one of them even started crying for their loved one.

Eventually, it was his turn. He sat down with the rest of his group, letting the others go first. Finally, it was his turn. The woman pulled out a lettered board, or as she called it “Ouija board, with the spirits using the planchette to spell out what they want to say.

“It helps the spirits talk to us.” Why? Cant you hear them?

“Who would you like to speak to?” The woman asked him.

“Y/n.” He didnt want to think about you being dead. He was just curious as to what answer the woman could come up.

She closed her eyes, muttered gibberish- it wasn’t Latin. He knew Latin.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. “She isn’t available.”

“What does that mean? Is she dead? Does she just not want to talk to me?”

She looked him dead in the eye. “She isn’t available. Would you like to talk to someone else?”

Alright. “Um… Sarah FitzGeorge.” He didnt want to say Daisy’s name to these delusional people. She’s suffered enough.

The woman closed her eyes, did her routine, then exhaled. “Sarah is here with us. Everyone, please put your hands on the planchette and lets say “Hello, Sarah.” Silas placed his hands on the planchette with everyone.

“Hello, Sarah.” Everyone repeated.

“Sarah, Silas would like to talk to you. Would you like to talk to him?” The planchette moved to “YES”.

“Silas, you may ask what you want.” The woman gave him the reigns.

“Um… are you well?” The planchette moved.

“D” “E” “A” “D”

“Right. Sorry. Um, do you know where Y/n is?”

The planchette moved. “YES”.

Silas looked at the rest of them. He was skeptical. Who was moving the planchette?

“Is she in trouble?” The planchette moved.

“NO.” That was comforting. Even if this lady is moving the board to make him spend more money.

“Is she hiding?”

“YES.” Good. She must’ve escaped him.

“Does she hate me?”

“NO.”

“Is she-” the planchette moved before he could finish his question.

“M” “A” “D”

“Mad? Is she in an asylum?” His fear returned.

“NO.”

“Then? Has she gone mad?”

“NO.”

“Mad. Mad- is she mad at me?”

“YES.” Oh.

“Why?” The planchette doesnt move.

“Why is she mad at me?” When he got no answer, he changed his question. “Where is she? I need to apologise.” The moving planchette gave him hope.

“D” “E” “A” “D”

What?

“She’s dead?” He didnt register the hopelessness in his own voice.

“YES.”

No.

“Take your hands off the planchette. All of you.” He growled at the rest of them, and they immediately retreated. It was only Silas who was holding the planchette. The lady tried to intervene. “This isn’t how it works-”

“Is she dead? Is Y/n dead?” Silas repeated.

The planchette moved. “YES.”

He doesnt remember the rest of the events. The lady took charge over the board again and bid Sarah goodbye when Silas remained silent. He was in shock. It didnt feel real. You’re dead?

“I hope you got the closure you needed.” Harry patted him on the back as the two exited the church. “How did she move the planchette?”

“What?” Harry was confused.

“What trick did she use? I was the one holding the planchette. How did she move it?” Silas glared at him.

“Silas, this wasn’t a trick. It was the spirit of Sarah FitzGeorge.”

“Stop.” Harry did. Silas dragged a hand over his face. “This is sick. You shouldnt- she shouldn’t exploit people like that.” Before Harry could say another word, he left.

Silas returned a week later. He was going to figure out her trick. Lucky for him, the lady would hold as many seances as he’d like to pay for. So, now it would just be him, the lady and… sometimes Houdini.

What used to be monthly visits, turned to weekly, until they turned to daily seances, all held at his home now. He used the Ouija board to talk to Sarah, only her. He couldn’t face the rest of his family, and… you never wanted to talk to him.

Another two years passed.

You were still “mad” at him. He’d tried tracking down the Ripper, he’d gotten rid of anyone who hurt Sarah, but she still wasn’t able to help him find the killer. How could she, when she didnt even know who he was.

Even after five years, he still wasn’t able to find you. If he had to guess, the Ripper got rid of your body, just like the rest of his victims. He didnt have the courage to ask Sarah how you had died.

“How do I make her forgive me?” He asked Harry. Silas had developed a sort of friendship with him. He wasn’t close, except he was in ways Silas never has had any of his friends before. Then again, Silas didnt even want to share something like “spiritual communication” with someone at all. He’d be laughed at.

Harry sipped his drink and shrugged. “I don’t know… buy her flowers?” Silas gaze sharpened. Harry raised his hands in defence. “Sorry. Um, well- I mean, perhaps finding her would be a starting point?”

“How? How do I find her if she’s already dead?”

“Um, its a totally different dimension she exists in now.”

“Dimension?” “Yeah. Realm. After-life, you know? We’ll all get there one day, when our time’s up, so… hang in there, man.” Harry finished his drink.

His words echoed in Silas’s mind.

And so, two weeks later, Silas stood in front of her.

“Hello. Its been a while.” He greeted the tombstone- his grandmother. “Or, maybe not. I mean, you have been “talking” to me.” He shook his head. “I know. Its ridiculous for me to think that “spirits talk”, I know. I am quite self aware that I may have been fooling myself into thinking that I was communicating with the dead, but could you blame me? I was lonely, I had a lot of money, and I was nowhere near finding Y/n.” He looked at the flowers you’d planted besides her grave.

“You were right about her, you know? About her being perfect for me.” A small smile graced his lips. “I used to think she was bad for me. And there was a time when I thought she was good for me.” He took a deep breath. “I do not think of her as good or bad for me anymore. I just think of her as mine.” He shook his head. You’d pull my cheeks and coo if you were here, wouldn’t you?

“Goodbye, grandma.”

When he returned home, Cadbury stood nervously. “Have you done what I’d asked for, Cadbury?”

“Yes- yes. Um, I went to the London Post and gave Colin the papers. He’s officially been promoted to the owner of the company. He didnt believe me and he kept slapping himself to “wake him out of this dream.” He’s gone mad.” Silas laughed. “I’m sure he’ll recover soon.”

Silas removed his coat as he went into his study, Cadbury following behind. “And- and I sold most of your properties and gave the proceedings to charity- “The Daisy FitzGeorge Foundation”.

“Good.” Silas sighed, before pulling out a file from his desk. “You’re fired, Cadbury.” He handed him the file.

“I- what?” Silas began walking out of the study.

“You’re fired. Effective immediately.”

“What? Why?!” The butler was appalled. “I’ve been loyal to you all these years, your only friend too- dare I say, family?!”

“Cadbury, dont be ridiculous. You don’t work for me anymore.” Silas put on his coat.

“This- this is just-” he opened the file, his eyes widening. “What is this?”

“I’ve fired you, Cadbury. I cant just leave you empty headed. This is the rest of your paycheque.”

“Sir-” Cadbury couldn’t take his eyes off the file. “You cant- you can’t just give me the house! This is your estate!”

“You deserve it, Cadbury.” Silas smiled. “Like you said, you’re family.” He turned to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m moving.”

“Where?”

“I dont know.”

“Sir.” The urgency in his voice made Silas turn back to him. “Are you alright?”

Silas nodded. “I’ve never been better. Goodbye, Cadbury.” He held out his hand for Cadbury to shake. The butler looked down at it before pulling him into a hug.

“Dont be emotional, Cadbury. Someone will see your tears.” Silas patted his back, chuckling as the butler held on tighter.

By midnight, Silas reached his destination. The abandoned church.

He walked inside, and tonight the events were going to be held on the ground floor. Not the basement. The place was prepared well tonight, cleaned up and candles illuminated the place. It was packed in here tonight. He wasn’t expecting this many attendees, all of whom were wearing red robes, all staring at him with blank eyes.

He strolled in and was quickly greeted by Harry, who lead him up to the altar. The cross was removed, he’d noticed, replaced by a symbol he couldn’t bother to recognise.

What would it matter? It wont change what he came here for.

Upon reaching the altar, Harry began speaking, “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, we’ll be witnessing and helping our dear friend to travel dimensions. Tonight, we will-” Silas didnt bother to hear the rest of it. His mind was telling him that this is just a cult gone crazy. That he’s being sacrificed for nothing. He doesnt believe anything these people believe in.

“Tonight, we will help Silas meet his wife! He’ll join her, in eternal life, where they wont be despaired. Where no sadness exist. He’ll be rewarded for his struggles, for all his pain, and he’ll be reunited with his true love.” What if you don’t want to meet him? What if you’re still mad at him?

Harry handed Silas a chalice. “This chalice belonged to our great saint-” How does he talk so much? Does he not hear himself and want to rip out his vocal cords? “It contains the ambrosia of eternal life, only given to the brave ones who are ready to take their final journey. And so the-” Ambrosia of eternal life? You mean, poison?

“Lets all pray for our friend’s safe journey to the other realm. Silas, you may drink.” With that, Harry and the rest of the attendees began chanting some gibberish, further cementing his belief that he’s being set up by a crazy cult. At least, they wont be able to get his money. He had Cadbury take care of all his assets, concluded all his businesses, tied all the lose ends. He’s solid.

So if he doesnt believe in anything the cult does, and he knows he’s just being killed for money, why does he continue to drink?

I don’t care anymore. He began drinking. It was sweet. Too sweet, probably to mask whatever they added in. I’m not even sure about the afterlife, if there’s one. And I’m not sure if I’ll meet you there. He’s sure you’re dead. Thats what his logic says. After 6 years, the probability of you still being alive is unlikely.

So, whats the point of it all if you’re not here anymore?

As he finishes the drink, he begins to feel dizzy. He’s laid down on the floor and he finally admits it to himself.

Silas FitzGeorge loves Y/n.

Memories of you begin to flash across his mind.

Silas FitzGeorge loves Y/n.

Your smile, your laughter- how did he ever forget that beautiful sound? The crinkle of your eyes, the mischievous glint in them, even the way your nostrils flared when you were angry.

Silas FitzGeorge loves Y/n.

You were the best thing that ever happened to him. You were his wife, his beautiful, precious wife.

Silas FitzGeorge loves Y/n.

You cried for him, you fought for him, you defeated Death for him, you sacrificed yourself for him.

Silas FitzGeroge loves Y/n.

He could hear you screaming his name faintly. You would be mad at him for going out this way, but you’d understand, right? Right?

Life began to drain out of him, his breathing shallowed.

Silas FitzGeorge loved Y/n.

Harry knelt down to check his breathing, then his pulse.

“He’s dead. Lets go.”

He left with the rest of the attendees. They all stood outside as one of them poured kerosene all over the church and then lit it up. They all watched it for hours until nothing but ash was left. Harry turned to them all, taking a quick bow. “You’ve all been very helpful. We will not forget Silas’s sacrifice. He has opened the door to the other world now. Your loved ones will now be absolved of their sins and be at peace!” The crowd erupted in cheers.

Harry returned to his house, where someone was waiting for him. “Its done. He’s dead.” He watched the man appear from the shadows. “You checked?” “Yes. Then burned down the place. Got rid of the body too.” Harry poured himself a drink and raised his glass.

“Welcome back, Mr Blackwood.”

Henry smirked. “Thank you. Your payment has already been sent to your account.”

“And the other favour?”

“Ah, yes. I’ve managed to arrange a meeting with the queen for you.” “Really?” Harry was surprised. “The mourning queen would see me?”

Henry nodded. “I sang praises of your talent. Who knows, she might be interested in the seances you set up.”

Harry chuckled. “So, how does it feel to be the most powerful man in Britain, now that your sole competitor is gone?”

“Its always good to be home.” Henry then left Harry’s place, all his dominoes were finally falling into place. With Silas gone, not only will he take the reigns over all his businesses, but also influence politics.

As he got into his carriage, he nodded at his two men, who quickly went upstairs to take care of Harry.

Like he would have introduced that idiot to the queen. What a tool.

His carriage began to move and he closed his eyes.

Once his business is concluded here, he’ll be back home to you.

-

You don’t know how much time has passed. You’re still trying to wrap your head around everything, about the Ripper’s identity. You’d never imagined it to be him.

How could it have been? You’ve been trying to match his story with everything, trying to see if you were truly so blind to have missed all the signs?

I didnt.

This- this isn’t possible. It shouldn’t be possible-

“Woah. Your brain’s going to fry if you keep thinking so hard.” You snapped at the sound of his voice. The robed figure with the black mask and top hat, wearing his three-piece suit sat down beside. He was the Ripper’s second-in-command. His right hand.

The first time he had removed his mask, you were shocked. How could- how could he be working with the Ripper?!

He took off his mask and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it before giving you a lazy smile. “What?” He asked when you stared at him.

“I just cant believe its you, Benny.” You tilted your head, devastated at the fact that he was the killer’s accomplice. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing.” Benny could see you trying to link some traumatic backstory to who he is now. “I chose this. You don’t understand it now, but we’re the good guys. Even if our methods are unconventional.” He patted your head, letting his hand play with your hair. Like old times.

He wasn’t the Benny you thought you knew though.

“How can you just… trust him?” He smiled at your question. He truly felt like explaining something to a child. “I just do. He’s made me see the reality of everything, given me a true purpose. I know its hard to see the bigger picture, but you’ll trust him soon too. In fact, I think a part of you already has begun to. Isnt that why you’ve been going along with him everywhere?” He raised his brows at you, his eyes still so gentle.

Is this the face of a killer?

You looked away from him, the wheels in your head turning again.

Adorable. Benny thought, still playing with the ends of your hair. “May I braid it?” He didnt wait for an answer, already standing behind you.

“I’m still the same man, Y/n. You just didnt know this side of me then.” He reassured you gently, as if understanding that you may be blaming yourself for being stupid. “You weren’t supposed to know before time. Though I’m surprised you didnt get a little suspicious of me.”

“I was suspicious. I thought you were the Ripper.” You defended yourself.

“And yet you went around with me?”

I chose to ignore it. “I didnt want it to be true…” The way you said it made him think of a child who’d just discovered that Santa Claus wasn’t real.

He tied your braid with a ribbon and came around to face you. Cupping your cheeks, he said earnestly. “I’m still your Benny, Y/n. I still care about you. And I always will. I will never hurt you. I promise.”

You just stared at him, searching for the cracks in his poker face. There weren’t any.

He pulled back, nodding his head towards the door. “He’s waiting for you. Go on, now.”

You sighed before getting up.

Reaching the room with the damn painting, you found him waiting there. Taking a deep breath, preparing yourself for what he’d give you today, you walked unto him.

He smiled when he saw you, his dimples appearing.

The Ripper has dimples.

You peaked up at him from your lashes before looking back down at the ground. Its not that you’re shy, or scared. You- you just don’t know what to say.

“Something troubles you.” He lowered his head to meet your eyes. “What is it, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart.

“It’s nothing.” You avoided his gaze, only for him to lift your chin. “It is something if it bothers you.” You pursed your lips. He wasn’t going to let it go.

“I just don’t understand how you’re the Ripper- how you even exist?”

He suppressed a smile. He didnt want to make you feel silly, but he couldn’t help but tease. “I’d figure that someone who came from the modern times and has your education would understand it better than others.”

“Silas.” He chuckled, apologising quickly.

Yes, Silas is the Ripper. London’s most notorious killer was Silas FitzGeorge.

But not your Silas, not the one you married. No, this is an older Silas, looked to be in his early forties, but he claimed to be 52. His hair had barely begun to grey, his eyes were still the same stormy color, and his dimples-

“Alright, I’ll explain this as many times as you’d like.” Silas took a deep breath. “I’m Silas FitzGeorge. I’m from another dimension, one where you also existed. And when similar events as of this timeline followed, my Y/n died. I looked all over the world for you, for about a decade, before deciding to join the Templars, where I was able to discover you and the concept of time travelling. Using the Templars, I started a society- or rather woke up a branch of the Templars, who also call them as “The Circle”, whose mission is to dedicate their lives to keeping the balance of time and events, and stop anyone trying to disrupt the timelines for sinister purposes.”

“And Benny?”

“Ah, Benjamin was already a Templar Knight. When he heard about “The Circle”, he was intrigued.”

“Did he- did he really kill all of those people?”

“Henry’s employees? Yes, yes he did.” He watched your face fell. “He was only trying to protect you.”

You didnt appreciate his attempt at consoling you. “Who killed me? In your dimension?”

“One of Henry’s men. It was presented as an accident. You died in a fire.”

“So, why are you here? You want me to replace her?” You asked cautiously. He smiled, shaking his head.

“Of course not. Even though you two share the same face and traits, there’s still something unique about her. She was my Y/n. We have shared many memories. No one can replace her, not even you.”

“So, why are you here?”

“To keep you safe. To prevent you from being killed. I wasn’t successful with other versions of you.”

“Other versions. You mean there are more dimensions?”

“There are infinite number of dimensions, Y/n. But we don’t exist in all of them. In fact, I’ve found myself in 9 others. You? Only in 2 others. One was mine, and one was in another, where you had died in childhood, a car accident.”

“Cant you use the time machine to bring your Y/n back?”

He shook his head, a sad smile on his face. “You cant raise the dead, Y/n. I’ve tried turning the time back to save her, but she’d always end up dying. Her death was already written, set in stone. Once the events have occurred, I cant change her end. I stopped trying after the 20th attempt. I watched her die twenty times, each death worse than the previous one. I can’t put her through it again just to relive my time with her again.” Silas sighed, something clear in his eyes. “This is why I came here, to save you. I’ve spent the last 20 years, figuring out all the events and changing them down to the last detail, just so that I can save you. If you’re alive and return to your time, I’ll have broken chain of events. You wont be killed.”

“And why am I being killed? What does Henry want?”

“Power. Revenge. Perhaps he deems you to be a threat if you’re the only FitzGeorge alive. Or maybe he just didnt take kindly to being rejected.” Silas smirked. “That is the common thing in the other universes you were in. You always rejected him.”

“It’s been years since I’ve gone missing. How come you and I haven’t aged?”

“We age only in our own timelines. That is what I’ve observed so far.” You suppose it’s true, because even after he’s taken you through so many different eras, you haven’t aged a day.

You looked at the time machine in his hands. “I still cant understand how you managed to understand the science time travelling. I mean, you may have graduated from Oxford but your education was limited to the Victorian period.”

He laughed, his dimples appearing again. “You underestimate the human mind and its capabilities when motivated.” You glared at him. “How did the Egyptians build the pyramids? With absolutely no modern machines, how did they even lift those heavy blocks?” You shrugged. He smiled, extending his palm towards you as his other hand set a date in the time machine.

“Let’s find out.”

-

Henry’s in his office when his assistant brings in his mail. “This was left for you without a return address.”

He looks at the envelope, then opens it. Its an invitation.

“Welcome back, Mr Blackwood. At the behalf of Freemasons London, we invite you to a night of socialisation with the future world leaders.”

Freemasons, huh. He closed the envelope.

I suppose there’s no harm in making more contacts and blackmailing more people.

He’d decided to go.

And once he’s done here, he’ll be back at home with you.

He reached the building- a castle rather. So, this was the Freemasons lodge? Fancy.

Henry spotted some men, who didnt say a word. They just lead him inside and he was waiting in the lobby, to be joined by the others. He adjusted his cufflinks, fixing the collar of his coat.

What? He wanted to make a good impression.

A shadow watched from above, hiding in the dark, waiting for the other one to arrive.

And then he did.

The shadow smirked.

Showtime.

Henry was still adjusting his collar when he sensed something.

A breath. Someone elses.

He ducked just as a knife was thrown at his head.

“Oh, sorry I missed.” Henry glared at him.

“Silas? How did you-”

“Survive? Did you really think I was just going to kill myself and let you win?” Silas scoffed. “I’ll take you down with me.”

Henry smirked, shaking his head. “Is that the only weapon you had on you, or are you ready to fight like a man?” He removed his jacket, folding it neatly as he set it aside.

Silas raised his fists. “You’ll pay for coming after me and my family.” And the duel began.

Silas landed the first punch and Henry grinned through the blood pooling in his teeth. “Good punch. It’ll be fun to beat you down now.” And then, Henry landed a series of hits that Silas wasn’t able to dodge. “When I kill you, I’ll enjoy taking over everything you own. And then I’ll have Y/n-” He was cut off as Silas kicked him in the gut, making him bend and Silas threw another punch, knocking him off his feet. Silas climbed over him, punching him again and again.

“Where is she?! Where have you kept her?!” Henry cackled through the hits.

“She’s in my bed right now, waiting for me to fil-”

“HOW DARE YOU?!” Silas’s anger had reached its peak and he was intent on killing him.

The shadow watched with a smile as the two men fought. Silas had mistaken Henry for the Ripper.

Benjamin looked at his watch, then pulled away from the balcony and went inside the room with the painting, waiting for you and the Ripper to return.

Any moment now.

And then a bright flash appeared, and you two appeared.

“Benny?” You looked at him, surprised to see him waiting.

“I’d greet you in a better way but we have a situation.” He looked at Silas. “Henry’s here.”

“No.” Silas face went grim. “He wasn’t supposed to find her- how did he even know about this place?”

Benjamin shrugged. “I have no idea, but he’s down there fighting with Silas. This timeline’s Silas.”

Silas is here? You tried to follow them, but the elder Silas stopped you. “No. You need to stay here.” “I cant-” But he cupped your face. “Please, Y/n. I cant endanger you. If something happens to you, all of this, all my work will be for naught. Please.” He was begging. You nodded stiffly, and he smiled. “Good girl.” He pressed a kiss to your forehead, before taking your hands, squeezing them reassuringly. Your heart skipped a beat as you stared into his eyes. “I’ll be back soon. Benjamin, guard her with your life.” You watched him slip on his mask and leave.

“Benny, whats going on? Tell me the truth. How did either of them find this place?”

“The two of them mistook the other for the Ripper. They’re fighting for you.” He sighed, walking near you, gathering your hair and placing it on over your left shoulder. “As for how they found this place… well, someone sent out an invitation to Henry. And Silas had faked his death to make Henry come out of hiding, and Silas now followed him here.”

Your brows furrowed. “What? Silas faked his- who sent out the invite?”

“I did.” You didnt have time to react as he pressed on a pressure point, making your world go black.

-

Silas came just in time to see his younger self beating the life out of Henry. But at the sound of movement, the younger one looked up, confusion flashing across his face.

If the Ripper is there, then-

Henry took this moment of distraction to throw Silas off him and he knocked him out cold with a punch. He turned around, only to get hit in the face by the Ripper.

Henry spit out the blood, cracking his neck as he smirked at him. “You’re the reason why my employees died. I’m going to fuck you up.”

However, over the course of next 15 minutes, it ended with Henry being the one who got “fucked up”.

Henry was lying on the ground with at least a dozen broken bones, and he was in a world of pain, as evident by his laboured breathing, barely hanging onto consciousness.

“I’ve been looking forward to this day for the past 30 years.” He pulled out a knife and held it against Henry’s throat. “What a disappointing opponent you turned out to be.”

Just as he was about slit his throat, a bloody scream ripped through the air.

“SILAS!!!!!”

The Ripper’s eyes shot towards the room he’d left you in, smoke had started to come out of the closed doors.

Y/n.

-

Fifteen minutes ago.

You woke up to the sight of Benjamin hovering over you, tying your arms together. Your feet already done so.

“Ah, I was hoping you wouldn’t wake up for this part, but oh well. I suppose it’s tradition for me to confess my crimes to you, as I did in every other universe where I killed you.” He’d placed you on the altar.

“B-Benny, what are you doing? Stop-” Your eyes filled with tears. He cooed. “Shh, don’t worry. I told you, I’m one of the good ones. The ones on the right side of history, and religion.” You tried to reach for the time machine you’d hid in your sleeve when Silas slipped it in your hands.

“Looking for this?” Benjamin dangled the device in front of you before chucking it aside. “Had to get it off you before you slipped away. Silly girl, making me chase after you.”

He pulled out a rosary with the cross and slipped it over your head, onto your neck. “I am the Templar Knight, I will never wrong you or my faith. If its any consolation, this will be quick and painless. This time, at least.”

“Benny, you said you’d never hurt me-” You struggled against the ropes. He held you down, and stared into you. “I am not hurting you, Y/n. I am saving you. I am saving us all.” He pulled out a flask and began anointing you with what you assume was Holy Water.

“I would’ve loved to baptised you, but we don’t have the time for that.” 
“Please stop.”

“You should be thanking me.” He chided you in almost a motherly tone. “I am making you holy, I am returning you to your maker, I am returning you to Baldwin.”

Your blood curdled. Baldwin?

“Silas- he doesnt see it, that old fool. He’s too far gone in love to ever understand his duty. His responsibility as a Templar. I do! I cant allow sacred, holy, pure creatures like you be just tainted by the world! No, you’re divine, you’re blessed- just like the Holy Grail.”

Oh no. Its only dawning on you now that Benny’s not just a lunatic. He’s a religious lunatic!

“Benny- BENJAMIN! Stop- if I’m so sacred, WHY ARE YOU KILLING ME?!” You shrieked, struggling against your restraints. “Just keep me around like the damned painting- or the Holy Grail!”

He sighed, shaking his head. How naive you are. “Y/n, hey- shh. I can’t you keep you like an artifact. You’re a living being, I have to sacrifice you before the world taints you. You’re already onto believing that you’re Muslim or married to a heretic like Silas.” He pulled out a knife and your breath hitched.

“Oh God. Oh God. Oh God- please- please don’t do this-”

“Dont you understand? This is a good thing. When I kill you, the balance will be restored. I’ve done the math, I swear. With you gone, King Baldwin would’ve never left Jerusalem. Christianity would’ve been the religion of the land. We would’ve ruled all over the world. Humanity will be saved.” He patted your hair as you cried. “Dont worry. I will personally make sure to preserve your sacrifice. I will pray for you, although I think, God will be merciful to you and allow you to enter paradise. You’ll be reunited with Baldwin.”

He’s crazy. He’s crazy. He’s crazy.

“Ive done this before. It was a very quick, very painless death. You remember Daisy?” Your jaw dropped. No. No.

“You killed Daisy?!”

“I had to. How else would’ve Silas been driven by guilt to reach here?” He positioned himself over your head. “Silas thought he was the mastermind behind everything. He couldn’t have been more wrong.” You sniffled, and Benjamin’s eyes softened. “Benny, please- I don’t want to die- please, I don’t want to die!” He set his knife aside, and ran a hand through your hair. “Its okay. Calm down, love. I know its scary, but I’ll help you through this. Forget about the knife- hey, hey.”He cupped your face to make you look at him when your teary eyes drifted towards the painting hiding behind the drapes, illuminated by the candles. He wiped your tears, his heart actually melting at the sight of the big fat tears in your doe eyes. “You remind me of my baby sister. She was so much like you, so pretty, so innocent, yet always a mischievous glint in her eye. Breathe. Breathe, Y/n.” You took a deep breath, a feat that seemed so hard to do now that you were going to die. “You’ve healed a part of me, you know. You let me be the big brother she never had. Thank you.” And just like that, you saw a glimpse of the old Benny. The one you could never imagine killing someone.

He knelt down to press a kiss to your hairline, but you took that moment to knock your head against his hard, throwing off and allowing you to roll away, the sudden movement made your legs hit the candle and push it over, causing the drapes to catch on fire. Benjamin reached for you, but you jerked your bound legs in a way that made you kick him in the chest. You spotted the time machine lying just a few feet away from you and you leapt towards it, the fire behind you catching onto the entire wall.

You were only a few inches away from the device when Benjamin grabbed your ankle and yanked you back. “Enough!” He yelled when you thrashed in his arms.

“SILAS!” You screamed his name and seconds later, the door bust open to reveal the Ripper.

“Get away from her!” Benjamin threw you to the side and you hit your head, knocking yourself out.

The two men began fighting. No doubt, the Ripper was stronger and better at fighting, and Benjamin couldn’t be fast enough to dodge the hits.

Outside, Silas had finally regained consciousness. He looked to the side, where Henry was out cold, badly beaten, barely alive. He then looked upstairs, the sound of yelling and the sight of smoke brought him back to reality.

If Henry is not the Ripper, then-

His eyes widened. Y/n is here! He dashed upstairs to the room.

His eyes darted first towards the Ripper and- Benjamin? What is he doing here? The Ripper was punching Benjamin over and over again, and only then did he spot you lying on the ground, only a few feet away from the burning wall.

Y/n!

Silas was about to run, when he hesitated. What am I doing? Run to her! His mind screamed at his body to move, to save you, but it was like the months of torture had suddenly paralysed his body.

Everyone you’ve ever loved has suffered because of you! You’re worthless. The Ripper’s words echoed in his mind. I’m worthless. I’m worthless.

He watched the Ripper throw Benjamin against the wall, only sparing Silas a glance before turning towards you. You were groaning, lifting your head as you looked at the Ripper.

“Silas.” You called out for him, even as the Ripper walked in your direction. You were calling for him even in the face of death.

Do I deserve her? Am I worthy of her? Irrelevant. She called out for me!

And it was like you’d broken him out of trance.

He ran. “GET AWAY FROM HER!” His heart skipped a beat at the sight of your small head in the Ripper’s murderous hands. Pumped on adrenaline, Silas jumped on the killer.

“I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL KILL YOU!” Silas began throwing punches, while the Ripper only defended himself.

“Silas! Silas!” You stumbled onto your legs, calling for him to stop but it was like he’d gone deaf. The Ripper- elder Silas looked at you and nodded for you to get out of here. You suppose he’ll handle this situation then. You picked up the time machine, running towards the exit when you saw the fire had reached the roof, when you were suddenly grabbed by your hair and yanked.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Benjamin yanked you back inside the burning room. “Let me go!” You clawed at his hands that were embedded in your hair. He dragged you back near the burning painting, where his knife laid. “We could’ve done this the easy way, but every version of you has to fight me!” He threw you to the ground and you screamed in pain.

The Ripper punched Silas in the jaw and threw him off him. He dashed towards you just in time to push Benjamin away and as the two men struggled, Benjamin stabbed him in the chest just before the Ripper snapped his neck.

Silas looked down at you and your eyes were staring at his stab wound. “Dont worry about it. I’m- I’m fine.” That would be a more convincing argument if blood didnt spurt out of his mouth. He knelt down, checking on you. “Are you alright? Can you move?” You nodded, only to hear a loud crack. You two looked up to see the roof which breaking, and before you could react, he took the time machine from you and set the date.

Your eyes widened. My machine!

The roof fell and he shoved the machine in your palm, pressing on the button, pulling you under him and shielding you from the burning roof. You felt it fall on him, but before you could pull him along with you, you’d already teleported.

The Ripper was dead. And so were you. Silas saw the burning roof fall on two of you.

He doesnt remember being pulled out of the burning building, he doesnt remember anything.

All he can see is the sight of the roof falling on you and the Ripper.

He failed. Again.

"Gather the troops and have them warn the public. All the infantries will be stationed here and here. The archers and cavalary-" Salauddin was sending orders to his generals. As soon as he was informed of Baldwin coming, you knew he had only limited time to make a game plan.

You didnt understand why Baldwin would come all the way here for a war. He wouldnt leave Jerusalem unarmed this way, so either he's bring half of his army while the other half protects his kingdom from invaders- which would put him at a great disadvantage against Salauddin. Or he's bringing all of his men and that means Jerusalem is practically up for grabs.

No. He wouldnt leave Jerusalem unarmed like that, so that means he's inadequately prepared for the war?

No. Baldwin's too smart. If he won against Salauddin at just 16 years, then he's definitely coming up with a plan. And it scares you to not know what he has in mind.

You looked at Salauddin who had just finished instructing his generals, as they left. He was stressed, you could see that. War. Its not a small thing. There are no true winners when there's blood shed on either side. While Salauddin does have the advantage of fighting in his home ground, that is also his disadvantage. At the end of it, his people- his Egypt will suffer.

"Y/n." Your eyes meet. "I need you to stay inside the palace. I will have guards assigned to you. If they tell you to go somewhere, follow them."

"What? No. I'm coming with."

"Have you lost your mind?"

You ignored his insult. "If Baldwin is coming for a war-" "You're gonna talk him out of it?" "I mean, its not a bad plan but I was gonna offer you to use me as a bargaining chip? That way you could avoid blood shed." You wouldn't offer to put your life in danger but since your time machine is still not ready, you need to avoid a war.

"No." He gave you a stern look. "I dont want you anywhere near him or his men. You will stay here. Listen to me for once."

"But I-"

"Y/n." He warned. You sighed before nodding. Well I could always just go out when he leaves, just like last time.

Almost as if he had read your mind, he made you follow him to a room that had no windows or any other exits besides the one door that was made of solid wood and had guards stationed outside.

"This is the safest room, Y/n. It is impenetrable." Oh no, you cant stay here.

"I think you're overreacting a bit-"

"Overreacting? Your fiance is coming over to start a war because of your crazy brother-in-law who you underestimated because you said that he's just a tool. I think I'm reacting very appropriately." He shut you up.

"I want Isabella."

"No."

"Please Salauddin, I need to keep her safe too-"

"No."

"This may be the last wish you ever grant me, so can you just agree-"

"You think I'm going to die?!" Salauddin stared at you in disbelief.

"I... I didnt say that." You tried to think of a lie. "I mean, maybe this might be the last time you see me... alive? Who knows when the angel of death pays you a visit? If we look at the statistics, between you, me and Baldwin, at least one of us going to die-"

"Stop talking." He gritted out, "Fine."

-

"Princess." Isabella wailed as soon as she entered. You let her hug you. "I missed you too, Isabella." You smiled wiping away her tears.

"I- I heard rumors of a war! Is it- his majesty coming?" The girl sniffled. You nodded.

"Its true. A war is going to happen... unless I do something about it." She blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

You held her hands and gave her your most pleading eyes. Its time for manipulation.

"I need you to get me out of here." "Why?" "Because I need to talk to my future husband out of war."

Her eyes widened. "B-but its too dangerous for you to go outside, princess!"

You sighed. "If I cant even protect people from unnecessary pain and bloodshed, then what good am I as a queen?" Yes, time for some heart breaking lines about self sacrifice. "I would rather risk my life than the lives of those who have their families waiting for them at home. I would happily fall on my own sword if it means my subjects wont have to. If I cant prevent suffering of the very people who would bleed for me, then I have no right to be the queen of Jerusalem."

-

Half an hour later, Isabella had knocked on the door for the guards to let her out.

"Sultan Salauddin has forbidden-"

"Princess Y/n from leaving. Not me. I'm her lady in waiting and the princess needs me to get her belongings so that she can write her will."

"We can have it fetched-"

"You? A common man she has no relations with- wants to touch her stuff? I dont think so." Isabelle glared at them through her niqaab (all of your maids had followed your dress code in Egypt). She didnt wait for an answer as she began walking away before a man appeared by her side. It was one of Salauddin's guards.

"What?" She snapped at him, continuing to walk.

"They sent me to walk with you and bring you back safely." He said before grinning at her. "I thought you'd be happy to see your habeebo."

"Habeebo?" She asked, reaching your room.

He caught her wrist and turned her around, gazing at her veiled face with affection. "You cant still be mad at me for leaving the other night- I had duties."

"What right do I have to be mad at you?" Isabella kept her face down, conveying she was still very much mad.

"Habeebo's habibti- you have all rights over me. You're the only woman for me." Habeebo said as he placed a hand over his heart.

Isabelle finally giggled, freeing her wrist from his grasps. "Stop... someone could walk in on us." She warned.

"So? I'm not afraid. I can do anything for love!"

"Anything?"

"Anything." He assured her.

"Then go fetch me some cold water while I pack the princesse's belongings. Hurry now, I'll be waiting for you here." Habeebo all but smiled before walking towards the kitchen, leaving Isabella alone in your room.

As soon as she was sure he was gone, she removed her veil and quickly changed her chaddar with yours.

"Thanks Isabella." You muttered as you slipped on your chaddar. Yes, you had left Isabella in the room upstairs and pretended to be her to slip out of there. She had told you about her crush Habeebo who you had also fooled into leaving you here, and youre sure that if he were to go back upstairs and find Isabella instead of you, he'd protect her. Surely.

Sneaking out of the palace wasnt a hard feat by now. What was hard was trying to figure out what way to go to find Baldwin or Salauddin, with all the people panicking as they were being constantly warned by guards about Baldwin's arrival.

You decided to go through the market and head towards the madarrasa, though you doubt Abbas is anywhere done with the parts you gave him to make. You had given a week's deadline but only because you needed him to hurry up, not because he could actually make them in such little time.

The streets were packed, shops were getting closed and people were trying to rush home to safety. You were nearing the madarrasa when you were pulled to the side in an alley.

"Y/n!" Abbas exclaimed. "Finally, I found you." You raised a brow and he grinned. "Your things are ready."

"Already?" You were in disbelief. How did he-

He puffed his chest. "Of course. I had a deadline and with the war being announced, I'm glad I made haste!" You felt hope again. If the parts are ready, all you need to do is assemble them and you can leave this timeline for once and for all, and if Baldwin and Salauddin do end up fighting each other, everything works out! You're sure that Salauddin would win by playing to his strengths, and because eventually Guy will fuck up and betray Baldwin and cause him to die. Then another crusade will happen and Salauddin will take over Jerusalem! Everyone wins.

"Well? Hand it over."

"I dont have it with me right now! I took the parts home to work on them. Lets go." You trailed behind him, the market still bustling as the air became more tensed. They're kingdom is about to be attacked and they have little to no time to prepare for it.

Soon, you reached his home. It was a cozy place, made of mud. The beige walls added onto the coolness. He lead you inside, crossing the patio. Abbas told you to wait there while he went inside a room to get your parts. While waiting, your eyes landed on a cage in the corner that had 5 doves.

"Here it is." Abbas returned with a wooden box and gave it to you.

Opening it, you saw the designs you had given him. You took the parts out and examined them. They weren't top notch, but they'll make do.

"Thank you." You handed him a pouch of gold coins. He pocketed it before raising his brows at you. "So... will you finally tell me what this is for?"

You looked up at him before taking out your time machine. Might as well assemble it here and leave as soon as possible. "I would but I'm afraid it'll go over your head." He frowned at your words before grumbling angrily under his breath before going to the doves to give them seed. Good, he should be distracted while you put these parts in.

It didnt take more than a few minutes for you to place them in. All you had to do was to put in the last key, turn it on and set the date-

"Y/n." You looked up at Abbas, not understanding his horrified expression. What's wrong? You followed his gaze and looked behind you, and there it was-

A shadow standing at the doorway of the patio.

You squinted your eyes before your heart dropped at the realisation.

Black robes, hood over the head, geared up.

Assassin.

"This is the wrong house." Abbas said with a trembling voice.

The assassin stepped forward into the light, while you and Abbas took a few steps back.

"What- what do you want?" The assassin didnt answer him, his eyes fixed on you. This is- this is not an Ismaili. They wouldnt attack alone, and especially not so soon, and not when a war hangs over their head.

The assassin took another step forward, this time you grabbed the time machine and held it closely. This made the dark figure tilt his head at you.

"Get behind me." You moved behind Abbas. "Get out of my house- this is not the time. Evacuate!" Abbas warned the guy but he didnt stop staring at you.

As soon as he took another step, Abbas grabbed a wooden stick from the side and ran towards him, only for him to be flipped over his shoulder and slammed to the ground. You took this as a sign to run but the assassin was faster, grabbing you by the chaddar as it ripped off you. Your eyes widened as he grabbed you by the shoulder and yanked you back and your immediate reaction was to slap him, but he caught your wrist and pushed you back inside the patio. Abbas got up and tried to punch him, but he was knocked down back on his back in a second.

You ran, but didnt make it more than a few steps before you got tackled to the ground. You struggled to break free but the assassin had his arms wrapped around your neck, putting you in a chokehold.

Knowing Abbas couldnt come to your rescue, you clawed at the assassins hands, flailed about trying to break free from under him. But he had overpowered you, putting immense pressure until you started seeing black dots.

Just at the last moment, your eyes caught the sight of the dove cage and instinctively, you yanked the cage, hoping to hit the assassin in the head with it, but all you managed was to tip it over, the latch holding it close dropped.

And in the next moment, the doves flew out and went straight for the assassin. You wouldnt say they were attacking him, but the moment he saw them flying in his direction, he raised his hands to bat them away, which only caused him to get scratched-

You didnt stick around to find out if they clawed his face off, springing to your feet as you ran inside a room, hoping to find a window to escape.

You spot the window, quickly opening the wooden frame to leap out. Only the moment you have one foot out, you're pulled back inside and thrown against the wall.

The assassin is back, his body language conveying he's more pissed now than before.

You cant outrun him. You take a fighting stance. You know very well that you cant beat him either, but it works well to at least make him doubt that.

Maybe you could bribe him?

"What do you want?" You ask him, your fists raised. He tilted his head at your attempt to look ominous.

You glared at him. "You let me and my friend go, and I can assure you I can give you enough gold to keep you out of work forever. I am..." you pause before using your last card. "I am King Baldwin's fiance, future queen of Jerusalem. Let me go, and I'll give you anything you want."

He took another step forward and you knew you were backed into a corner so you punched him, only he caught your fist before it was anywhere near his face.

He stared at you, tightening his hold on your wrist.

"Please dont hurt me." You gulped before raising your other hand to punch him, but he caught it too. Now both of your hands were in one of his while he used the other to grab your throat and push you against the wall.

"Oh fuc-" He squeezed a pressure point on your neck until you passed out.

-

Salauddin was on his horse at the front of his army, waiting at the gates of his kingdom for Baldwin. His generals had informed him that they had placed the respective troops posted according to his plan. Everyone waited with baited breath for his command. They're ready to protect their sultan, ready to sacrifice their lives to protect their kingdom.

Salauddin heard them before he saw them.

The heavy jingle of metal armour, the marching of the horses and then he saw their cross flags. He gave a nod to his men, signalling to be prepared.

They're coming.

In all honesty, Salauddin was expecting Baldwin's army to not make it through the hot desert, since they rarely ever leave Jerusalem.

But it was still a surprise when he saw the actual size of his army.

It wasnt that much. Thought he anticipated it, after all Baldwin wouldnt have left his kingdom without some men, but now this means that Baldwin is not relying on numbers.

He's relying on strategy. And its hard to predict Baldwin's moves.

Salauddin's mouth turned into a grim line. What was he planning?

The templars lead the army to the gates of Egypt. The Muslims had their weapons ready to be drawn. Salauddin watched the Christians Knights halt.

Do they attack now?

Baldwin emerged from the masses on his horse, sporting his iron mask despite not needing it anymore. Salauddin also rode his horse to meet him halfway, knowing his generals dont appreciate him leaving.

Their horses stopped a few feet apart from each other. Everything was silent apart from the sound of warm air whooshing through the desert.

Baldwin raised his hand. Salauddin heart skipped a beat. He's going to signal them to attack-

"Salam alaikum!" Baldwin greeted with a wave.

Salauddin gave a nod. "Walaikum asalam."

Baldwin tilted his head. "Why so tense, Sal? Not happy to see me?"

"I dont like uninvited guests." He replied. Baldwin chuckled. "Of course. But we're friends-"

"Why are you here, Baldwin?"

Baldwin stared at him. No king appreciates being interrupted.

"I'm here to meet my fiancee."

Salauddin stared at him unamused. "You left the Holy Land to meet your fiancee who was going to return home soon anyways?"

Baldwin shrugged. "I missed her."

"Baldwin."

The young king sighed. "I know I should've informed you before coming but I really do want to see Y/n. I mean no harm, Salauddin." He raised his hands in surrender. "I just thought it would be a nice surprise for her. Ever since she cured me, I realised I hadnt seen the world that much, so what better location than Egypt?"

Salauddin stared at him, before his gaze fell on his army.

"Come on, Salauddin. Where's Y/n?" Baldwin asked with a goofy smile.

Salauddin's brows furrowed before he sighed. "In my palace." He nodded at his men to open the gates as he lead Baldwin in. But not before whispering to his second in command to surround the kingdom from all perimeters and be on high alert. Things can always go south.

Baldwin smirked looking at the size of Salauddin's army. "Aww, you didnt have to bring them for my warm welcome." Salauddin ignored him, knowing very well that Baldwin knew how it looked when a king comes unannounced at another king's door.

-

They soon arrived at the palace, welcomed by servants and maids who were looking at Baldwin in awe. They had heard rumors of his beauty, and when he removed his mask, they realised how huge of an understatement it was. And the fact that this young king was the one to defeat their sultan at just 16 years age, it definitely added to the charm.

But Baldwin wasnt blind to the furious gazes of his soldiers either. He just ignored them, which was easy since his mind was occupied by thoughts of you. Y/n. My princess. My angel.

What surprised Salauddin was that Baldwin hadnt come alone. No, Guy was here too which only confused him more. If Baldwin brought Guy along, then who did he leave to take care of Jerusalem? Sibylla and Guy's son was still too young to be a heir.

He did remember your theory about Guy being the one to hire the assassins to ambush you in the desert. If Guy came here despite his failed attempts to get rid of his enemies, then he's either incredibly stupid or he's well assured that he'll get away with everything.

Salauddin wont let him. He'll make Guy pay.

"I hate to rush you Salauddin, I know Muslims are knows for their hospitality but can you just lead me to Y/n's room? She is a sight for sore eyes." Baldwin requested sweetly, making Salauddin roll his eyes. He signalled a servant to bring you down.

Guy looked disgusted to be in the presence of so many Muslims, but the moment he caught sight of any maids passing by, he would be eyeing them like a piece of meat. A maid came by holding drinks in a tray. When she offered it to Baldwin and then Guy, the latter startled the poor girl by purposely touching her wrist with his grubby paws.

Salauddin gripped the armrest tightly. If he wasnt Baldwin's brother-in-law, Salauddin would've plucked his eyes out and had him whipped in public to make an example out of scum like him.

"So, when did you leave your camp outside Jerusalem? I was expecting to see you there on my way here, but there were new troops of yours instead." Baldwin asked, sipping the cool drink.

"I came here with Y/n. I had some errands that required my attention." Salauddin didnt bring up the ambush, watching both him and Guy to gauge their reactions. Did they know?

"Went on any new conquests recently?" Salauddin decided to make small talk as they waited for you. He hopes you're not taking time to get ready to meet Baldwin. He'd rather you come up covered in a chaddar when Guy is here.

Instead of allowing Baldwin to answer, Guy cut him off. "Of course! We are the noble warriors, the Chosen Ones! God wants us to conquer as much as possible, for the sake of his-"

"How dare you talk to me?" Salauddin silenced him. "I'm talking to your king. He may allow it but you're in my kingdom now. You will abide by the rules or so help me, your head will be on a spike for the crows to shit on." Guy's eyes widened and his jaw fell open. No one had threatened him like that, at least not since he married Sibylla.

Baldwin barely suppressed a smile and when Guy looked at him for help, he only shrugged. "You should listen to him. We are his guests, after all."

The servant returned with the special guards he had assigned to protect you, all looking scared.

"S-sultan... the princess-" Baldwin and Salauddin's gaze sharpened at your mention. The poor servant gulped.

"The princess is gone."

There was deafening silence. The servant had his head bowed, along with the guards, all too afraid of the wrath they're going to face.

"Gone? Gone where?" Salauddin spat as he walked upto them.

"I- I dont know-" Salauddin grabbed the guard by the collar and shook him. "I left her in a room with no windows, a room guarded by the 6 of the most skilled men. Where did she go?!"

The guard's head only lowered further. "Sultan, we only opened the door to let princess Y/n's maid in and out. B-but- but when we opened the door, the maid was waiting there instead of the princess!"

"Which maid? Where is she?!" Salauddin roared.

The guard nodded at his men who pushed a young girl forward roughly. She fell on her knees, crying pitifully. He immediately recognised her.

Isabella.

"Where's the princess?" Salauddin questioned her, only to be answered in hiccups and tears. A vein on his forehead popped. He doesnt have time for this. Who knows where you are? If you're safe-

"Isabella." Baldwin called out gently, kneeling in front of her. She sniffled and bowed her head. "Isabella, look at me." She took panicked breaths before lifting her eyes to meet his kind ones, not a a grain of anger in them.

"You know where princess Y/n is?" He asked, pushing her hair back over her ear. She shook her head, hiccuping though she wasnt bawling her heart now.

"Use your words, Isabella. Tell me what happened." Enchanted by his gentleness, she spilled, told him all about how you made her take your place so that you could go and stop you from starting a war with the sultan.

Salauddin watched the interaction closely, trying to figure out if Isabella was lying. He did note Baldwin's behabiour throughout this entire interrogation as well. For someone whose future wife is missing, Baldwin is surprisingly calm. Then again, he's rarely ever seen Baldwin lose his temper.

"Where did she go?" Baldwin questioned her once again.

"I- I dont know, your majesty. She never told me!" Isabella cried out.

Baldwin nodded before standing up, his brows furrowed as rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger.

"If Y/n was going out to stop me and she never reached the gates, then it means... she's still here." Baldwin said after some deep thought. He looked at Salauddin. "Your men have surrounded the kingdoms, havent they?"

Salauddin nodded before ordering his men to find you.

"Search every house, every place. No one gets in or out of the kingdom!" He yelled at them, watching them leave. He felt Baldwin stand beside him and out of the corner of his eye, he saw his face wasn't... too concerned.

"You know, for someone whose fiancee is missing, you're surprisingly calm." Salauddin was both stating his observation, and accusing him too. Did Baldwin know where you were?

Baldwin simply smiled, his dimples showing. "I know you will find her."

"And why is that?"

"Because if I dont have Y/n in my arms by today, then I will burn your Egypt to the ground."

-

The Templar Knights kicked down doors, rattled the poor citizens and took great glee in destroying their belongings, using you as an excuse to "search thoroughly". Salauddin's army was also rigorously working to find you, interrogating everyone for any clues on you. Then again, no one had really seen how you looked like. You were just another woman covered in a chaddar and niqaabi among a whole city of them. It would be like finding needle in a hay stack and Salauddin wasnt about to allow anyone to rip off the niqaabs off his Muslim women. He wont allow such a transgression.

Fortunately, Baldwin agreed. After all, why would you be hiding from him? You dont have a reason to, right? But still, he had to find you. So he was walking through the streets of Egypt himself to look for you.

Salauddin had joined him, and not just because he wanted to ensure the safety of his folks but also to stop Guy from provoking Baldwin by feeding him any lies.

That cretin was getting on his last nerves.

Salauddin pretended to be deaf as Guy harshly whispered to Baldwin that "How can a princess just vanish? Clearly, there's someone plotting. These Arabs must've sold her off! They dont respect women like we do-" only to be pushed away by Baldwin who told him to focus his energy on finding you.

Its been 3 hours since Baldwin's arrival and still no sign of you. Despite his best attempts, Salauddin could see Baldwin's calm demeanour chipping away. He was running out of patience.

They were now standing outside the madarrassa where all the scholars, students and staff were rounded up. Salauddin was the only one who knew about Abbas, but now that he looked at each face, he realised he was the only one missing.

Immeadiately, he sent the guards to find him. Salauddin was sure that he knew about your whereabouts, He had to.

"Who is Abbas?" Baldwin asked as they both followed the guards that had found out his residence.

Salauddin didnt miss the suspicion in his tone. As much as he wanted to toy with Baldwin, now is not the time.

"He is a craftsman. Y/n had hired him to make something for her. Maybe she went there to collect it." He purposely avoided telling him about the unique chessboard you had gifted him.

After half an hour, they had reached Abbas's residence. It wasnt all that odd to find the front door open, and truth be told, no one was expecting anyone to be home.

It was concerning to find the disasterous state of the house as they entered. Clay pots were smashed to the ground, a cage lying empty in one corner. Clearly, something had happened here.

However, something caught Salauddin's eye that made his heart sink.

Your chaddar, lying on the ground.

-

You woke up with a pounding headache. When your lids fluttered open, they first spotted the single candle in the corner of the dimly lit room. Memories of the previous events flashed through your mind and you fitted the pieces like a jigsaw puzzle.

When your eyes finally adjusted to the dimly lit room, you realised you were still in the same room the assassin had knocked you out. Not only that, but Abbas was also lying beside you, though he hadnt regained conciousness yet.

"Abbas- Abbas, wake up." You raised your hand to shake him, but your eyes caught the sight of your ripped sleeve. When- when did this-

You looked down at your clothes and realised they were all tattered too. Your niqaab was gone, you recalled the assassin had pulled off your chaddar during your escape attempt, and now that you looked at Abbas, he was in a similar state too. His clothes were torn and ripped too. But why? The assassin had already knocked you two out, he didnt need to-

You gasped, patting yourself to find your lack of belongings. Your time machine was gone, as was your jewellery an coins. You'd been robbed!

Panic surged into your veins as you violently shook Abbas, your machine was gone- your only way out of this era was gone!

"Abbas! Wake up!" But he only groaned in response. What was wrong with him?

You dont have time to wonder as you rushed to open the door. You need to catch that thief, assassin- whatever he was, before he got too far and you lost your time machine forever. Grabbing the handles, you tried to yank the door open, but it didnt even budge. Its... locked.

You whipped your head around, remembering the window you were trying to get out of earlier. Running up to it, you tried to open the wooden shutters, but they didnt move an inch. No. No. This is- this is not happening. You ran back towards the door. You felt your throat close up as you pulled the door with all your might before banging your fists against them in frustration.

You were locked in.

The thief has your time machine. He's probably gone far away with it. By the time anyone comes to your aid, he'd have fled the city. He'd be gone as Baldwin and Salauddin fight and burn Egypt to the ground. I'll be trapped here, probably die under the rubble with Abbas-

Abbas.

You look back at him, still unconscious. How hard was his head hit?

You fall back on your knees besides him, trying to wake him up. He'd know- Abbas would know how to get out of this room. He's smart, and he knows his house, probably built it himself- he'd know a way out.

"Abbas! ABBAS! Wake up! Wake up-!" You grabbed his head and laid it in your lap, turning it side-to-side to see if he was bleeding. You started to massage his temples, hoping the circulation will wake him up.

Wait. Circulation.

You recalled what they taught you in first aid class- what to do when someone faints? Raise their legs above heart level. You quickly moved and pulled his knees up until they were able to stay bent on their own, before cradling his head in your lap again, tapping his cheeks.

"Abbas- Abbas, wake up please. Abbas-! I swear if you dont wake up, I will give you a tight slap-"

You were cut off by the sound of the door being banged.

What in the-

The door shook as something hard banged against it. You jumped at the force. Did the war start already? Are they using cannonballs?

No. While cannonballs were used as heavy artillery in medieval Europe, it was more popularly used in the 1700s, but I'm still in the 1100s-

NOT THE TIME TO GEEK OUT! I'M ABOUT TO DIE-

The door burst open and light flooded into the room, blinding you for a moment. You raised your hand to shield yourself from the light before slowly bringing your hand down as you saw figures entering into the room.

Once your eyes finally adjusted, you recognised the figures in front of you.

Salauddin. Baldwin. Guy-

Guy?

All three of them stared at you, though your eyes remained focused on Baldwin, who looked at you, then at your clothes, and then... at Abbas.

The look of relief turned into confusion. What? Whats wrong?

You heard Salauddin yell something in Arabic at his soldiers, which made them instantly look away and leave the room. Baldwin kept looking at you in barely suppressed shock.

"Baldwin?" You whispered, though it was Salauddin who moved first, removing his chaddar and bending down to cover you with it, but your eyes were fixated on Baldwin's face. Why is he... looking at you like that?

Wait. If Baldwin and Salauddin are here together, then it means there's no war. Which means-

"Are you okay? What happened?" Salauddin asked you, though before you could answer him, Guy began laughing.

"Okay? She's more than okay!" He smirked. "After all, she was spending some time with her secret lover!"

Both your and Salauddin's eyes went wide. It finally clicked why Baldwin was looking at you like that.

He thinks you and Abbas-

"No. That's not true-" You tried to speak but Guy cut you off.

"Of course it is! Look at you, holding his head in your lap so sweetly!" He accused before snarling at you. "And you chose a dirty Muslim to cheat on our King? The audacity! And the lack of taste."

You shook your head. "Thats not true. This is Abbas. He's a- a craftsman-" "Oh, I'm sure you were pretty crafty with him too." Guy cut you off.

"Shut up, Guy!" You snapped. "I came to get my valuables from him. It was a gift! I had them commissioned for- for you Baldwin!" You half lied.

"And where is that gift?" Guy interrogated.

"I was robbed. We both were-" "Oh how convenient!" You glared at him. He was framing you. You pointed at your clothes. "How else do you explain the torn clothes?!"

Guy hummed and you knew you were going to regret as soon as a disgusting smile crept on his face.

"Well, animals fuck with wild passion-"

"I WAS ROBBED!" You yelled. "Look, the thief even knocked out Abbas!"

"I dont see a head injury." Guy shrugged. "I just think he's passed out from drinking. Or maybe his stamina wore out-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Your face was red with rage, though to anyone else it may have looked like you were caught red handed in a lie. You calmed yourself down. You need to explain before things got worse.

"Baldwin, I'm not having an affair with Abbas. He's married-" Once again, Guy cut you off, this time waving his hands. "My king, it doesnt matter to these Muslims. They're into polygamy. Whats one wife, when you can have four?"

Of all the things, this is the one thing he knows about Islam?

You didnt detect one, not a single emotion of trust or love from Baldwin's stoic face. Is he- is he actually believing this bull?

Why wouldnt he? He's a man after all. And who knows what other lies Guy has been filling his head with to make him doubt your loyalty?

Enough is enough. You need to come clean.

"You know what Guy? I was going to keep this a secret to let you beg for forgiveness, but I think its time for the truth, hm?" You watched Guy's smirk falter. Enough games. You stared at Baldwin with determination. "Here's what has happened Baldwin: Charlotte didnt just happen to drop by Jerusalem. No, Guy summoned her by pretending to be you. Oh and I have that exact letter where Guy used your respectful name as proof. Guy exploited Charlotte and his plan was to use her and her son's illness to infect you so that you could die and he could get your throne."

Guy's face paled. But you didnt stop there.

"Of course, when that didnt work because you and I have an unbreakable bond, Guy decided to get rid of me." You looked at Salauddin. "When I left for Egypt and I was at Salauddin's camp, he had hired assassins to ambush us in the dead of the night and kill me or Salauddin, or both! If I were to die while I was with Salauddin, he would've convinced you that Salauddin was the one who killed me. And if Salauddin was dead, then it meant good news for Guy because he would have to deal with one less enemy after he took your throne."

"Lies! There's no proof-"

"No proof? Baldwin, did you realise that more than half of my entourage was missing? Its because they're dead. And if that isnt enough proof, then this might help-" You pulled up your sleeves to show your fading burn marks. "My back is full of these marks because the assassins left me to die in a burning tent. It was Salauddin who saved me!"

"And today? When we heard you were coming, everyone thought that there will be a war. I left the palace on my own, to find you Baldwin. I wanted to stop you from committing unnecessary bloodshed! I came to Abbas's house to get my gift for you, but Guy sent a thief after us! The thief knocked us out and he robbed us both!" You explained. "Didn't you ever wonder Baldwin- why Guy decided to accompany you today? Guy has never left Jerusalem, not even for a war, not to defend his people. He wouldnt leave the throne empty! He hopes, he prays and he plots for you to die everytime you leave Jerusalem so that he can finally be king!"

"BLASPHEMOUS!" Guy screamed, red in the face. "You wench-!"

"With all due respect Guy, which is NONE! I didnt think you would be smart enough to come up with such schemes. I underestimated you, which turned out to be mistake because you made Baldwin doubt me!"

Guy shook his head and stood in between you and Baldwin, acknowledging the stoic faced king first. "This is slander! All lies, Baldwin! I'm your brother-in-law! I would never betray you!"

"Never betray Baldwin? You aren't even loyal to Sibylla! I could have more than half of Jerusalem attest to that you've tried sleeping with other women! Adulterer!" Guy's eyes practically popped out of his socket and he screeched.

"You dare accuse me of cheating?! YOU?! You're the one who is locked in a dark room with a strange man in your lap like a fucking whore!" Not risking Baldwin's suspicion, Guy stormed towards you with his hand raised to strike you.

"You unfaithful, lying bitch-!" You heard the air being sliced and you flinched as you felt something splatter across your cheek.

Thud.

You looked down to where the sound came from.

Guy's head dropped in front of you.

Your ears began ringing. Slowly, your eyes trailed back up to where his body remained.

Headless body. That fell to its knees before dropping to the side.

You could hear the ringing get louder.

Baldwin stood there, his eyes full of rage, his hand holding his sword that had just cut off Guy's head.

He was breathing heavily, nostrils flared and a vein popped in his temple. Your heart dropped as his eyes landed on you and he moved towards you.

Your consciousness finally gave out.

Salauddin caught you but not for long as Baldwin made his way to you. Fearing for you, Salauddin tried to bargain for your life.

"Baldwin, she didnt-"

"Let her go. Now." Baldwin commanded, throwing Abbas's head off your lap. He didnt wait for Salauddin to move, simply taking you from his arms, ripping off the chaddar and replacing it with his cloak instead, before picking you up.

"Lets go home." He whispered in your ear before kissing your temple, pulling you snug against him as he walked out of the room.

-

You wake up to the feeling something wet on your legs. You jolt, eyes snapping open as you look for your potential assaulter-

"Isabella?" You croaked as you saw the young girl at the foot of the bed, her face red and eyes swollen from all the crying.

"P-princess." She greeted tearfully, holding a wet towel in her hand. Her lips wobbled as she spoke, nose bright red, sniffling as she stared at you with those big sad eyes.

"What's wrong?" You couldnt help but be soft with her. She just- she looked so pitiful.

She looked down, her hands clutching the towel tightly. "You- you were- you were gone for so many hours. I- I didnt know where you were- his majesty and the sultan- they were so mad- they were so concerned- i- i didnt think they believed me when I said I didnt know- where- where you were- i thou-thought you were-" Her tears cut off her hiccuping explanation. You didnt think she would be this distraught over you.

"Its... its okay, Isabella. You didnt do anything wrong. I'm... fine." You tried to calm her down, beckoning her forward. You sat up on the bed, taking the rag from her hands before holding her hands in yours. Giving them a gentle squeeze, you assured her. "I'm fine, Isabella. In fact, I should apologise for causing you all the trouble-" She shook her head. "No- princess- its my duty to serve-" You gave her hands another squeeze, calming her down.

"Thank you- oh. Isabella-" You looked at her hands, noticing something red peeking from her wrist. You pulled her sleeve up, realising that the redness was from the welts on her arms. "What happened?" You asked, turning her wrist around, noticing a small scratch.

She pulled her hands away, pulling down her sleeves as she sniffled. "N-nothing to worry about, princess-"

"Did you get injured? Are you okay?" She nodded. "I just- when I heard you were missing, it made me worry too much and I- I tend to scratch my arms when I'm stressed!"

You gave her sympathetic look, grabbing the cool towel from earlier and handing it to her. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Isabella. Here- take this. It'll help your skin, hm?"

"But the king asked me to wipe your sweat with this-"

"Its fine- wait? What sweat?"

She nodded. "We've been travelling through the desert for some days. His Majesty suggested I be the one to wipe you clean while you were unconscious." Now that you looked around, you realised you were in a tent, much different in design to Salauddin's.

Wait, desert?

"We've left Egypt?"

"Yes-"

She stopped speaking as soon as the sound of footsteps filled the room.

You stiffened at the sight of Baldwin.

Isabella had to only take one look at his face before taking her leave. Events of the last time you had seen him flashed through your mind, and you couldnt help but be scared of him when you remembered the murderous look on his face as he killed Guy. It is one thing to know that a king has killed people, perhaps even more brutally than this but after spending so many months with Baldwin, you had become accustomed to his soft nature. Never in your worst nightmares could you have ever imagined such a barbaric actions from him, and to his own brother-in-law.

It made you question everything, your own mortality- your own safety with him.

"How are you feeling?" He had his arms crossed behind his back as he made his way towards you. It took everything for you to not flinch back and beg for your life. No- no, you need to think smartly. If he wanted to kill you, he wouldve gotten rid of you back there-

Or maybe he has decided to torture you.

"I'm fine." You replied weakly, keeping your eyes on your lap. You dont want to risk pissing him off.

Maybe I should apologise, clear the air before he has any other doubts about me.

"I'm sorry." You said abruptly, finally looking up at him. His stoic expression didnt falter. This is not the Baldwin you knew, no. This was the king you had imagined when you first came here. Stiff and apathetic.

Taking his silence as a sign, you continued. "I'm sorry... for everything. For hiding the truth about Guy, for causing misunderstandings, for making you doubt me-"

"I never doubted you." He cut you off.

Your brows raised in surprise. He sighed sitting down on the bed besides you.

"I never doubted you, Y/n. Not once." He said with conviction."I didnt doubt you when Salauddin said you'd be with Abbas. I didnt doubt you when Guy raised false allegations. I didnt doubt you when I saw you in that dark room alone with that man. You could've been naked in there and I still would not have doubted you."

Your lips parted. What... what was he-

"You trust me? That much?" You couldn't help but whisper.

He smiled sadly. "I do. And more than that, I trust in my love for you." Baldwin looked down at his hands, still smiling gently. "I love you so deeply that I know you would never betray me. I have loved you the way I want someone to love me. My love for you... it is free of impurity, of imperfection. And thats how I know you would never betray me."

You couldnt help the tears that came in your eyes, and you looked down. How could he- how could he-

"If anyone should apologise, it should be me, Y/n." Your head snapped back at him. He was looking at you with genuine guilt. "I may have loved you deeply but I have failed to express it to you. Had I- had I done a better job, had I let you know just how much I feel for you, you wouldn't have hesitated to come to me. You wouldn't have felt the need to hide your traumas, your pain from me. You wouldn't have felt shy to get my help, to tell me your secrets. All of this could've been avoided if I had made you feel secure enough to come to me. I alone am responsible-"

"Baldwin." Your teary voice cut him off. You shake your head, sniffling at him. "This- this isnt your fault- I-"

"You did nothing wrong." He assured you, holding your hand. "Traps were set for you, but it was my job to save you from them. I am your protector, your shield. I owe my life to you. I owe everything to you."

A tear slipped from your eye. "I- I didnt think you'd save me. I thought you didnt trust me- I thought I lost you forever." You dont know why you said that, but they were true.

"I would've found you. I will always find you." Baldwin cupped your cheek, he felt his heart break at your confession.

"If I don't go to you Y/n, then where do I go?" And at that, the dam you'd been holding finally broke.

Baldwin immediately pulled you into his lap, his arms wrapping around you as you buried your head into his shoulder, sobs wracking your entire being. You dont know why you're crying, whether its because of Baldwin's pure love for you, or that Guy is dead because of you and you've ruined the timeline, or because you're mourning the loss of your time machine and its just dawning on you that you're stuck here forever.

He patted your back, rocking you gently like a child. "All my paths lead to you, Y/n. All my conquests bring me to you. Everything leads to you." He kissed your cheek, his hand petting your hair smoothly as you broke down in his arms. "You... you are the beginning and end of my everything."

Baldwin pulled you away and wiped your tears away with his thumbs. "I love you, Y/n. And I know you love me too. You may not say it, but I know deep down in your heart, you love me. I know you do-"

"I love you, Baldwin." You said.

His eyes went wide. "You don't have to say it-"

"I love you, Baldwin. I really do." You admitted.

Baldwin's shock was replaced with joy, a grin gracing his face as he cupped your face and kissed your forehead deeply.

"You have no idea how happy you've made me." He whispered before pulling you into his embrace.

-

Following this, you both began your journey back to Jerusalem. Every now and then, you'd start crying again because you'd realised just how much you were loved by Baldwin. You remembered the time when you saw him with Charlotte and you didn't give him a chance to explain. You had already decided that he was a cheater, he was disloyal. Yet when the tables were turned, when everything pointed against you and Baldwin had every right to find you disloyal, have you punished for even being in a locked room with another man, he trusted you. He didn't question your love for him. And even if you didn't love him back then, you respected him enough, both as a king and as a man and he still didn't ask for an explanation, let alone accuse you of adultery.

The rest of the trip home was spent with you crying and Baldwin consoling you like a toddler. No matter how many times your tears fell, he was right there to wipe them away and assure you that you did nothing wrong.

Did you love Baldwin? Maybe not back then, but you do now. Perhaps he was right. Maybe you did love Baldwin deep down, you just didn't know it.

And it's not like you don't have a choice either way. With your time machine lost, you can't leave this place. So, you've accepted your fate and agreed to marry him. Baldwin says the wedding preparations are mostly complete and the wedding day is on Sunday.

Today is Friday, when you both finally reach Jerusalem. It didn't dawn on you until now just how you were going to face Sibylla, the woman whose husband was killed because of you.

But Baldwin already had a plan. "Guy was buried in an unmarked grave outside of Egypt. I have instructed my knights to inform everyone that Guy had died a dishonourable death because he was a traitor to the crown."

"Traitor to the crown?"

He nodded. "I'll tell Sibylla I caught him cheating on her and plotting against me." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Its believable. She'll be upset, but she'll get over it. Besides, she deserves better than him. I have already found a list of suitors for her."

He truly has thought of everything.

-

Sibylla as expected was the grieving widow and after she welcomed you and Baldwin, she excused herself and left. You pitied her, she really did love Guy despite all his shortcomings. But she also respected her brother.

After a quiet dinner, you had returned to your room. You sat on your bed as you thought over the events of the past few days. Baldwin had assured you that he doesnt hold any hostility towards Salauddin. In fact, to further put your mind at peace, he told you that he had invited Salauddin to the wedding. As for Abbas, Baldwin said he doesnt know what happened to him but he's sure Salauddin didnt harm the man.

"Did you ever find your family?" Baldwin had asked earlier. You shook your head, telling him that you mistaken someone you thought was family.

"I know you would prefer to have the Nikkah first, before our actual wedding, but I wasnt able to find someone to marry us off in the Islamic way. But then-" He grinned, almost proud of himself. "I decided who better than Salauddin?! Since he'll be arriving on the day of the ceremony, he could walk you down the aisle and then later that day, he could do the Nikkah for us!" You could only smile and agree, what difference does it make what ceremony happens first? You're stuck here either way, and you're gonna be his wife soon.

You sighed and got up to dress into something more comfortable. As you removed your clothes, your hand found something in your underclothes.

The key.

You fiddled with it. Its useless now. The thief probably has broken your machine or sold it and it could be anywhere in the world now, also useless without this key here.

You put it back in your underclothes. Perhaps it'll be of use you can craft your machine again one day.

Lying in your bed, you thought about Guy. You didnt feel guilty, no. He had it coming, and it really was a matter of you versus him at the end. But what bothers you is how much you had underestimated him.

Guy's plan was perfect. There was no chance of escape for you. He had ambushed you and Salauddin, and when you narrowly escaped that attack, he brought Baldwin to Egypt to cause misunderstandings between him and Salauddin. And when they found you with Abbas, all his allegations were perfectly said. You're only here because Baldwin was far too much in love with you. He had no reason to not take Guy's words over yours.

You turned to your side and closed your eyes.

Perhaps God saved me.

-

Today is Saturday and Sibylla had taken you to get your dress fitted.

"Whats that?" You pointed at the huge frame, covered by silk as the servants struggled to hang it on the wall.

"Oh, you're not supposed to see it yet, but Baldwin had commissioned a portait of you. He wants to gift it to you tomorrow, so dont peek. He'd hate to miss your first reaction." She explained.

"You look... absolutely stunning." Sibylla praised as she looked at you in awe. She brought some jewellery to pair with your white gown. A diamond necklace, tear drop earrings, and-

The ring.

"Its the-"

"The exact same ring!" Sibylla finished for you, slipping it on your finger. "After yours was stolen by that thief in Egypt, Baldwin had the same ring made again by the royal jeweller within a day!" Your heart warmed at the gesture. Baldwin must've known you felt guilty over losing his family ring.

"Isabella, will you pass me the veil?" You asked. Isabella brought the soft veil and helped you wear it. As she was adjusting it, your eyes caught sight of her hands again.

"Oh, they didnt heal?" You gently grabbed her hands, taking note of the same red welts on her arms again. She pulled her hands from your grasp away.

"N-no, they healed princess. Its just- its that I'm stressed again! Thats why my skin is itchy and I- scratched them raw."

"Stressed? By what?" You asked.

"Oh- um, the wedding." She muttered. "Its- its not that I'm not excited for it, I am very happy for the union of you and His majesty, but its just we have very little time and there's so much to do-"

You giggled, nodding at her understandingly. "I see. Well, I apologise for causing you to stress. And I hope you know how much I appreciate your efforts."

"Its my honour to serve you, princess." She squeaked.

"Well, do get those checked out soon, Isabella. I dont want you getting sick." Sibylla advised the young girl who bowed her head before taking her leave.

Sometime later, after you had lunch with Baldwin, you decided to go to the gardens and... be by yourself for a while.

Planned or not, I'm getting married tomorrow. This will be my last day as a single woman and I... I should savour every moment left.

You were sitting in a cozy little spot in the royal garden. It was besides the huge bush maze, near the area where your time machine had first gotten burned by the maids accidentally. Speaking of maids, the small entourage had given you space and were standing near the maze, away from your eyes with some knights. They were all eager to please you, the future queen, if only to get a better status by you or Baldwin.

But you had already decided to make Isabella your lady-in-waiting. She deserves it, for everything she's done for you.

You laid down on the soft bed of grass, looking up at the sky as you wondered what will happen tomorrow. Well, nothing about the wedding, Sibylla had made you rehearse several times that you knew exactly how the ceremony will go tomorrow. No, you were curious about... how your wedding will impact the future.

Will you cease to exist? Will the world change because the crusades might not happen since a Christian king married a Muslim commoner? Will there-

Doves flew up in the sky. You smiled, recalling the doves in Abbas's house. You hoped he was alright now. Maybe he could attend the wedding-

Wait.

You sat up with a jolt at the realisation, heart beating fast as you connected the dots.

-

Isabella rushed to the gardens. A servant had told her that you had immediately summoned her. Fearing the worst, she hiked up her gown and ran as fast as she could.

She was out of breath by the time she found you. "You called for me, princess?" She gasped out. You hummed, standing beside a gilded cage of doves.

"Arent they so beautiful?" You asked her, beckoning her to come forward. "They are indeed." She agreed, standing beside you.

"I was thinking of releasing them tomorrow, outside the chapel. All the maids could hold them in their hands and release them as I walk out with the king. What do you think?"

She nodded. "Wonderful idea. I'll go and have it arranged-"

"Hm? Oh, I took care of that. Why dont you open the cage and hold this one for me?" You smiled at her as you made you took a few steps back. "And gloves off, Isabella. I want to see how you will look like tomorrow."

Isabella throat ran dry, She gulped looking at you, then at the cage before back at you.

"I- I cant hold the doves, princess. They'll slip out of my hands-"

"We have plenty here for you to practise. Dont worry. Now make haste." You crossed your arms in front of you and looked at her expectantly.

She parted her lips to say something, but then looked back at the cage. "Whats the matter? Dont know how to hold them?" You sighed before making your way back to the cage. "They're just tiny little birds, gentle ones really. They wont bite you, so I dont know why you fear them. Here, let me show you how to hold one." You opened the cage and carefully held the dove in your hands, petting it softly. "There, there."

You suddenly thrusted the bird in her direction, and Isabella jumped back. "What's the matter? Scared of birds?"

Isabella hesitantly nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry princess- I- I- dont like birds. I'm very much afraid of them." You nodded understandingly, before placing the bird back in the cage. "How very inconsiderate of me. Very well, off you go." Isabella bowed graciously and was about to leave when you suddenly grabbed her arm and rubbed a feather along her exposed arm.

"P-princess-!" She shrieked, trying to yank her arm out of your grasp but your grip didnt relent.

"Would you look at that?" You grinned looking at the area turning bright red. "Are you itchy now? Did I stress you too much?"

Isabella could only look at you in horror as you became angry.

"How stupid do you think I am?" You snarled before throwing her hand down. "That itchy red skin wasnt from stress, it was from birds!" Her eyes widened.

"You had me thinking that your tears, your red skin, your snotty sniffles was because you were soooo concerned for me. But you actually had the rose fever from birds!" You recalled seeing the scratch on her hands the day you had first seen her skin, which wasnt just random skin welts. They were hives, from her allergy to avian protein (or birds, in simple terms).

Isabella could only look at you in silence as you continued. "How long did you think you could keep this charade up? Did you honestly think I wouldnt find out?!" She kept quiet while you continued, which only made you angrier.

"It was you. You were the thief. You- only you knew when I would leave the palace. You followed me! And you stole from me?!" When she didnt speak, your threatened her.

"Say something before I tell the king how you attacked me!"

Isabella looked up, and she smirked.

"You have no proof."

You looked at her in disbelief. Instead of defending herself, denying all the things- she basically admitted to it all.

"Isabella, where are my belongings?" You asked her. "If you return my things, I wont let you stay here, but I will let you leave this castle on your two feet." You didnt bother asking her why she did it, you cant waste any more time. You need to get your time machine back.

She shrugged, playing with her nails. Now that she was caught, she didnt bother putting up her scared, demure little girl image. "It doesnt matter. You will never get it. And you're not getting rid of me either. After all, you have no proof of any of the things you accused me of."

"You think you're going to get away with it?" She hummed. "I already have, princess. Now, I will be returning to my duties to prepare for you wedding tomorrow. And I think we'll do no birds-"

You pulled out a knife, silencing her. She looked at the knife before smiling. "Are you really going to kill me? Did you forget how I overpowered you and Abbas back there?"

"I havent." You bring the knife up to your throat. "But if you dont tell me where my belongings are this instant, I will slit my throat and let you explain to the king how you killed me. Oh and you may think you can just sneak out of here, but remember, there's a whole entourage who saw you come here. They'll tell Baldwin you were the last person to see me, and then no matter where you run, Baldwin will hunt you down. Him and his Templar knights."

Her brows furrowed at your threat. "Princess, I dont-"

"Dont think for a moment I wont do it, Isabella. I'm mental." When she remained quiet, you pressed the blade harder into your neck, just enough for the skin to break and blood to pour, making her eyes wide.

"Okay! Okay- stop! I'll tell you."

-

Isabella lead you to a room inside the castle, hidden away in a corner. You had never been here before, you realised when you stepped inside. She pulled out a drawer from the desk, which had a false floor in it. Lifting the wooden panel, you saw all your belongings, including your time machine.

"Leave." You ordered her. Once you were alone, you pulled out the key from your underclothes and placed it inside. Saying a tiny prayer, you turned on the machine.

It worked. The tiny lights turned on. All you had to do was set the date and-

The machine was snatched from your hands. "Isabella drop-!" Your eyes widened at the sight of Baldwin holding the machine.

"What are you doing?" He asked you, looking at the machine.

"Baldwin, please give it back-"

"This?" He shook the machine in his hands. "Sure, you can have it." He smiled at you before bashing the machine to the ground.

"BALDWIN NO! STOP!" You tried to stop him, but Baldwin pushed you away and kept smashing the machine until its lights went out and they key broke.

"NOOOOO!" You finally snatched it from his hands but it was too late. The screen wouldnt turn on, wouldnt display the date no matter what you did. The key was broken.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" You cried out.

"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you?!" Baldwin yelled. "What were you going to do with that? Leave me, the love of your life, to go where?! Back to heaven?!"

Heaven? No fucking way-

"Do you- do you actually think I'm an angel?" Oh god. The look on his face was enough to let you know that he was actually serious.

"You can deny it all you want, but I am your husband to be and you cannot lie to me! You appeared out of nowhere in my castle. You cured me, you brought that baby back to life and you have escaped death one too many times! You may think I'm a fool, but I'm the king of Jerusalem, head of the Church and you were sent to me by God Himself! YOU ARE MINE AND I WILL NOT LET YOU GO BACK!"

Oh God. Oh God, you're marrying a crazy person.

Wait.

"How did you know I was here?" Your brows knitted together when he didnt reply, still looking at you in rage. "Did Isabella-" You gasped.

Of course. OF-FUCKING-COURSE!

"She wasnt a thief. She was a spy!" You chuckled humourlessly. "All this time, I thought Guy was behind it all, but I knew- I knew he was too dumb to come up with such a plan. It was you! It was always you! You sent the Ismailis after me! You sent Isabella after me to steal my belongings and spy on me! You set me up with Abbas so that when you "saved" me, I'd fall for you! Oh and I'm sure you made it seem like Charlotte was also here because Guy had called her. You framed Guy just so that you could have an excuse to get rid of him!"

"I did it because I love you!"

"You hurt me because you loved me?" You whispered to him, tears flowing down your cheeks. "I almost burned to death because of you. And you say- no. Why did you do this, Baldwin? Why the hell did you do all this?!"

"I was- I was testing you." He answered, bending down on his knee to cup your face. "I... only wanted to see if you would come to me for help. If you truly trusted me, loved me enough to come to me." He wiped your tears away. "I'm sorry it had to happen this way, but it worked out in the end-"

"You dont test the people you love, Baldwin."

"Oh, come on. Even God tests his strongest believers-"

"YOU ARE NOT GOD!" You shrieked, pushing him away.

"I'm not, but I'm special to Him. He made you for me. He gifted you to me. He made you fall in love-"

"I dont love you!" You cried. "I can never love you! Never!"

Baldwin's face hardened. "You do love me. You said so yourself. Now, youre just saying nonsense out of hysterics. Calm down-"

"I hate you. I have never loathed anything as much as I loathe you. I would never love you, even if you were the last man on Earth. I fucking hate you."

Baldwin stared at your red face. "Well, I hope you can change your mind because we will be getting married tomorrow regardless." He tried to touch your face but you slapped his hand away. "Besides, I love you enough for the both of us."

-

Its Sunday. You were locked in your room with a whole infantry ordered to not let you out. You had cried the entire night at your loss, at your fate, at your stupidity. How could you have ever trusted Baldwin? And now you will have to marry this religious lunatic.

The maids did their best to dress you up and tried to mask your red, swollen eyes. And with Isabella in the room, you were sure she had told them to not comment at your pitiful state.

You were standing outside the chapel with Salauddin. Everything seemed to blur, the choir singing, the attendees- you couldnt focus on anything.

"Y/n." You finally looked up at Salauddin, who was looking at you with deep concern. "Are you okay?" He asked you, noticing your teary eyes and dull expression.

"No."

He wasnt expecting you to answer bluntly.

"Do you want to marry Baldwin?" He whispered.

"No."

"I can help you-"

"No." You sniffled. "No one can."

The knights stood outside the chapel doors, waiting for you to enter. A few ladies held your trail behind you. Salauddin cast a glance at them before passing you something in your hand discreetly.

"Abbas asked me to give you this."

You opened your palm to see-

A key.

The key!

But how did he make this? You never designed it-

You smiled. That genius. He must've used the other parts to figure out the design and crafted it.

Abbas, I'm sorry I dont give you enough credit.

"Give him my thanks. And a lot of money, hm?" Salauddin could only nod in confusion. You looked back at your ladies. "I need to pee." Their eyes widened at the use of such crass language, especially in front of the sultan.

"But princess, the ceremony is about to start-"

"Would you rather I pee in my gown?" You snapped.

"But there is no bathroom here-"

"Then be useful and find a sheet and a bush. Now!" They all scrambled away to find some bush. You looked at the knights in front of you. "Go inside and inform them of a delay. The princess has to take a shit."

They looked hesitant to leave. "I'm not taking off my underclothes in front of you men. LEAVE!" They hurriedly went inside and closed the door to give you privacy.

You looked at Salauddin. "Can I borrow your horse?" He nodded, helping you up on it.

"Where are you going? I'll come with."

You shake your head. "No. I have to go alone. And I suggest you go inside as well."

"Y/n-"

"Please, Salauddin. No more questions. I dont want to lie to you." You smiled at him.

Salauddin reluctantly went inside the chapel, and you rode the horse out of there. There was only so long before Baldwin realised you had left, so you needed to speed things up. Grateful that you had swapped your broken time machine during your heated argument with Baldwin. You placed the new key in, just as you heard the sound of galloping horses and Baldwin-

"Y/N!" You didnt pay attention as you sped off ahead, only stopping when you reached the edge of the cliff. Climbing down, you looked at your machine as you turned the key.

It didnt turn on.

No. No. No-

"Y/N! GET BACK HERE!" Baldwin yelled at you, getting off his horse as he made his way. His troops had surrounded the area so you couldnt escape.

You looked back at your time machine and you- you banged it with your hand. "Come on. Come on!" This had to work- you banged on it as you would bang on a TV set when it stopped working, on a remote when it didnt operate quite right.

"Did you think you could escape me?!" You looked up and Baldwin was a few feet away.

"Baldwin stop!" You took a step back, nearing the cliff. "I'll jump-I'll fucking jump, I swear!" He halted.

"Dont be stupid, Y/n. Come to me, and we can put this behind us-"

You banged on the machine, cutting him off.

The machine turned on.

You grinned as Baldwin stared at you, shaking his head. "Dont-"

You jumped, pressing the button and hoping you returned to your time. You hadnt been able to set the date cause of the broken buttons.

The last thing you heard was Baldwin screaming your name.

So what do you guys think? Yall better comment and send asks and reboots because i sacrificed lunch and dinner for this.

Also, what do u guys think will happen in the next part? Do you think she'll return home or to a new timeline??? And which era???👁👁

Its also been a week over the due date you were supposed to return to Egypt to get your tools from Abbas, but its been hard to leave when Baldwin insists on spending time with you 24/7 because wants to make up to you for "suspecting his devotion to you".

He draped himself over your shoulders, caging you in his arms as he pecks your temple. "I'm sorry for making you doubt my love for you, princess. No, no- clearly, I'm the one at fault! Let me make it upto you~" Ugh, sometimes him being such a green flag is making it seem like a red flag. But you cant argue because... well, if you dont let Baldwin shower you in affection, then he might stop chanting "its my fault, princess" and change the narrative into "its your fault, princess and you need to be punished for doubting me- the KING, for slapping me- the KING, for thinking yourself so highly that you think i cant have all the women i want, me- the KING! To the dungeons you go, darling!"

Anyways, you both were now sitting down in the royal gardens, Baldwin's head laid in your lap as you worked your fingers through his luscious locks, absentmindedly braiding his hair while he made you tell some stories.

"And so, she found out her husband was cheating on her because she found out a jar of strawb- a jar of lard in her house." You looked down at his face, finding him already staring up at you, eyes full of awe. "And she doesnt eat lard. She hates it, so she never allowed it in the house."

Baldwin let out a small gasp. "And then what did this- Sharkerilla lady do?"

"Shakarina left Pickle. Divorced him." You told him, adding in small daisies in his hair. His face displayed pity. "Wow. And how do you know these people?"

You paused for a second. You cant explain to him how Shakira and Pique were celebrities and the concept of drama channels on youtube.

"We were neighbours." You hummed, patting his head. "There, I did your hair. Now I'm going-"

"No. Come on, we havent spent enough time." He whined, blue eyes looking at you pleadingly.

You scoff. "Baldwin, we've spent the entire day together. We ate breakfast and lunch together, we read books in the library, we looked at tiaras and crowns for the wedding, we even played chess." He lifted his head up from your lap and rested it on his palm as he leaned on his shoulder.

"And you lost all 5 games." Baldwin grinned, making you smack his forehead gently.

"I need to go-"

"Why?"

"Because I need to make arrangements for my trip to Egypt." You explained as Baldwin groaned, plopping his head face-first into your lap. "No." He mumbled against your dress.

"No?"

"No." He raised his head, pouting at you. "You're not going to Egypt. I miss you too much."

You gave him a lazy smile. "I'll be back soon."

"Not soon enough." He argued. "I have to go find my family, Baldwin." You continued on with your lie, raising a hand to caress his cheek. He sighed and leaned into your touch. "I can send the knights to find them." "They wont be able to. Only I will. Besides, I need to know what theyre like, if its even best to let them back into my life again, hm?"

He pondered over for a moment. "Then I will come along?" "What? Why?" He gave you a charming smile. "Because I dont want to part from you. Not for weeks, not for days, not even for-" He leaned up close to your face, eyes darting from your eyes to your lips back to your eyes. "-a minute."

Your face flushed and you looked to your side, using your hand to push his face away, making him chuckle as he grabbed the same hand and pressed a kiss to it. "You're so adorable, my little prude."

You shot him a glare. "I- I'm not a prude. But at least one of us should have a little shame."

He gave a chuckle, poking your still flushed cheek. "Shame? Whatever for? I love you." His eyes lit up in amusement as your head whipped towards him. Baldwin raised a brow at you. Its not the first time he's confessed, but... it still catches you offguard everytime.

"Did you hear me? I love you." He repeated, eyes still twinkling at how you continued to become flustered.

You opened your mouth and then closed it like an idiot, not knowing how to reply.

"Thank you." You finally said, looking anywhere but at him. He burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh god- I tell you- I love you and you say "thank you"? You really are something out of this world!" Baldwin teased you, making you huff.

"Lets not get off topic, Baldwin. You cant come with me to Egypt because you cant abandon Jerusalem. If your throne is empty, Guy- though he doesnt have the brain for it, or Salauddin or someone else will attempt to take your throne from you! You have a responsibility to your people! Keep them safe." You reminded him.

Baldwin stared at you before sighing, leaning back and resting his head on his arms. "You're always so smart, aren't you?" He smiled with his eyes closed. "I suppose it is a good thing that you care so much for your future subjects."

-

Next day, you were all set to leave for Egypt again. Baldwin and you stood at the gates of the castle as the kingdom all gathered around to bid you safe travels. You were ignoring Baldwin's stupid lovey dovey eyes boring holes into you, because there are people here and you dont want this blue orbed man to embarrass you.

But alas, he took your hand in his, making you look at him. He flashed you his dimples, bringing up your hand to press a kiss to it, the crowd cooing while you blushed (though it could be mistaken for anger with how hard you were frowning).

Tearing his eyes away from you, he addressed his people. "O people of Jerusalem! Your princess is going on an important journey. I ask you all to pray for her safety and well being!" The crowd looked on you two with awe, or more at Baldwin for being such a doting husband-to-be.

"While I know that your hearts must ache to see your princess depart from us for some time, I bring you good news to keep your hearts at peace as well." You looked at Baldwin in confusion. Good news? What is he talking about?

Baldwin smiled at you, the sunlight hitting his face at angle that made him look majestic.

"In 3 weeks time, the princess and I will marry!" Your eyes widened as the crowd erupted in cheer.

Baldwin hugged you close, and you whispered. "Three weeks? But I'll be gone for at least two! I wont have enough time to make-"

"Dont worry about a thing, princess. Sibylla and I will make all the arrangements necessary and trust me, it'll be a wedding for generations to remember." He pulled back, grinning at you as he pecked your forehead. "You just focus on returning safely, okay?"

Sibylla, Guy and their son were also there to bid you farewell. Sibylla pulled you in for a tight hug, promising to give you a grand wedding and that she'll keep your prefrences in mind. Their son ran off and Sibylla went to chase after him, leaving you alone with Guy.

"Bye." Guy gruffly said while you smiled tightly at him. "I know what you did, you buffoon." He looked at you slighted. "What the hell are you-"

"Charlotte? The letters? Yeah, we'll talk when I return. And you better not cause anymore trouble for me or else-" You turned to look at Baldwin, waving sweetly at him. Guy gulped, taking in your threat.

-

As usual, your first stop was at Salauddin's camp. You would go without stopping here, the knights Baldwin sent with you claimed to know the way but... you dont trust them to know how to survive the desert. And you knew you were right when some people from your caravan started feeling faint.

"Return to Jerusalem and take care of yourself." "But we cant just leave you, princess-" "You are not going to be able to serve me if you dont survive the desert. Salauddin's camp is near and with his guards combined with mine, I'll be more than safe. Go now. And tell the king that I insisted you returned." You assured them, commanding a few knights to guard them on their way back.

Looking ahead, you saw the sand hill beyond which Salauddin's camp was. Isabella, your lady-in-waiting, gave you your niqaab and chaddar.

-

"And then, he told me about who Charlotte was and what really happened. It was all a big misunderstanding." You told Salauddin as he moved his pawn.

"You believed him?" He raises a brow as you made your move.

"Of course! I already knew Guy was behind it. I figured it from the letters, and his face practically gave it all away when I confronted him about it." You reached under your veil to fan yourself. "Is it burning in here or am I just imagining it?"

Salauddin turned and brought you some cold water. "Guy could be a threat to you. Dont trust him."

You turned your head to the side, barely lifting your veil before bringing the glass underneath it to your lips, gulping it down as you let out a relieved sigh. "I know. Guy is a tool, and tools are meant to be used."

His lips quirked slightly at your words. Sitting back down, he played his move. "When do you plan on leaving Baldwin?"

"Soon. The plan is in motion." You took some time before moving your knight. Salauddin wasnt making this game easy for you this time and neither was the hot temperature.

He leaned forward, taking your knight with his bishop. "And how do you plan on doing that when your fiance has just announced your wedding date?"

You narrowed your eyes at him. "How did you- spies?" Salauddin's silence confirmed how news travelled so fast. "You dont need to worry. I'll be long gone before the wedding day."

"Care to indulge me on your plan?" He popped a date in his mouth.

"No." You replied making him glare at you. "If your plan involves relying on Guy, then you're even stupider than you look."

You scoff, pushing his king down. "I'm sorry, how many rounds have you won against me?" He smirks, though you suspect that he's just trying to cover up for being a sore loser.

"Maybe I just let you win so that you get to live." Of course, how can you forget his "win or you die" version of chess.

"Whatever you say, grandpa." His jaw clenched, making you chuckle. "Your existence gives me a headache. Leave."

As you walked out, you're suddenly hit with a wave of dizziness. Under your veil, your face is sweaty, you cant even use your hands to wipe it away because of how clammy they are, you even feel beads of sweat rolling down from your neck to your leg.

"Are you alright?" Salauddin came up behind you, eyes studying you stumbling a bit.

"Yeah- I'm just- hot..." You muttered, sweat gathering around your upper lip while your mouth felt like cotton. He watched you blink slowly as the sun hit you in the face, making you raise your hand to shield yourself, even though your muscle cramped.

"Y/n?" You heard him call you, but black dots clouded your vision and then in a second, you fainted.

-

You woke up to the sound of drums playing outside. Looking around, you recognised this to be the women's tent you had been in the first time Baldwin brought you here.

Isabella walked in, halting for a moment when she realised you were awake before rushing towards you. "Princess? Are you okay?" She poured you a glass of water, helping you drink it. "What happened?"

"You fainted from the heat. We were going to take you back to the kingdom but Sultan Salauddin advised us all to stay put here because the air was only going to get hotter for the rest of the day. And by night, it would be too cold for us to make it back." She smiled gently. "He was kind enough to offer us stay here."

You nodded and sighed. For sure none of you wouldve survived if you were to return to Jerusalem today.

You walked out of the tent to see it was night now. The drums you heard earlier were being played by some men of Salauddin's, accompanied by few women clapping and having an overall merry time around the bonfire.

You didnt spot Salauddin with them, but you suppose he's probably either working or resting.

The temperature had indeed dropped as night fell, and you wrapped a shawl around before joining the camp fire. You sat down on the ground with some women, smiling as they immeadiately welcomed you warmly. The one on your right was quick to show you her baby, and you recognised him to be the one you saved.

"Jibrael." She told you his name. The baby was almost a month old, and his chubby cheeks made you coo. Jibrael- or Gabriel, is an angel who acted as an  intermediary between God and humans and as bearer of revelation to the prophets, most notably to Muhammad (PBUH). In Christianity, Gabriel was the archangel announcing the coming birth of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. In Judaism, Gabriel is a helper to Daniel and a warrior angel for God's cause.

You played with the baby for a while before handing him back to his mother to be put down for sleep. It was getting cold now and most had already left to go to bed now. You wrapped the shawl around you closer, snuggling into it as your eyes gazed at the dancing flames. You felt someone sit next to you.

"How are you feeling now?" Salauddin asked, keeping his eyes ahead.

"I'm fine. Thank you for catching me."

"I didnt. You fell. It was funny." You turned to glare at him (the respectable gap between you two did not go unnoticed... or unappreciated by you.) and perhaps for the first time you saw him smiling. Genuinely.

Though his thick beard covered most of his lower third of the face, you could see his sharp jawline that sculpted his face. Strong. Hard. His lips, bottom one appearing to be plumper than the upper one, were resting in a relaxed smile.

The moonlight seemed to soften his sharp features, but his kohl lined eyes adorned with luscious lashes shone with amusement and... something in the orange hue of the bonfire.

He turned his head to you. "What?" You were thankful for your veil covering your expression for being caught staring at him like an idiot. You shake your head, dismissing him, turning your head back towards the dying fire.

"What are you going to do once you leave Baldwin?" Salauddin asked, stoking the fire.

"Leave."

"To where?" You shrug. "Anywhere. Maybe try finding my family. Or venture somewhere else."

"He wont give up so easily." You rolled your eyes. "Yeah yeah, because he loves me and all-"

"He wont forgive your betrayal." Salauddin cut you off. "He wont forgive you for the embarrasment. He wont forgive you for the insult of rejecting a king. He wont just- let you go." He looked at you, his tone haunting as he uttered the next words.

"Baldwin will hunt you down. And he will make you wish you were dead."

You stared at him, processing his words. Baldwin would... hurt me?

"Are we talking about the same man?" You ask him with a light chuckle, though your throat has ran dry.

He nods. "I know he seems like he couldnt hurt a fly, and physically, he couldnt until you cured him. But I've seen him on the battlefield. I've had him as my enemy and I've observed him obliterate people who just tick him off." He offered you some dates, and you took a few. You were hungry, and these looked pretty good right now.

"Baldwin is smart, calculating. He's the king, he has the power to end his enemy very easily. At the drop of a hat. But he doesn't. He waits for the perfect moment, or rather creates the perfect chance to torture any man who had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of his anger. And he does it with a completely cool, clear mind." And even though Salauddin has fought Baldwin many times, they both know they're only fighting for their people, for their religion. Its nothing personal, so they're technically not enemies.

"So what do you suggest I do to not piss him off so badly? I've already tried rejecting him respectfully."

He stayed quiet for a few moments, stoking the fire. He smiled when he felt your curious eyes on him.

"There is a way." He said.

"Which is...?"

His smile widened even more. "You're not ready for it yet." You frowned. "Drop the act, Salauddin. You came here by yourself because you wanted to tell me the plan. Stop teasing and just tell me." He chuckled hearing you become frustrated.

"In due time, Y/n. In due time." You roll your eyes, standing up. "I'm not going to beg you to tell me. But your "plan", which I dont think exists, it better not mess with my escape." You stomped back inside your tent, and Salauddin snickered as you tripped a bit on your chadar on the way in.

He stood up, giving a nod to the rest as they all settled in for the night.

-

"Salauddin!" You cried out, your eyes full of tears that he could see from a mile away, even if your were wearing a niqaab. He could feel your agony, your distress. You were standing in the middle of the desert alone, the boiling sun along with your black chadar covering you from head-to-toe, would only be increasing your body temperature. Why were you all alone? He left you with his caravan. Or did Baldwin leave you in this harsh enviorment to die? Did he find out you were going to leave him?

"Salauddin!" You called out to him again, your voice wet from all the crying. This time, he rode his horse towards you. Fast. He needed to get to you, even though the galloping hurt his shoulder. Yes, he got wounded while he was fighting. He sustained many injuries, many gashes, so much so that by the time he reached you, his white armour had turned bloody. But he was not bothered by it, no. He needed to reach you. You. How long have you been out here? Arent you dying of thirst?

Your arms were still wide open, though drooping from the lack of energy. He could hear you sobbing as you called him again, and he all but ran towards you, bodies colliding as he pulled you into a strong embrace. Muscled arms wrapped around you, comforting you that he's here now. You're safe now.

Salauddin looked around as you bawled into his chest, trying to see if everyone had really abandoned you here and... left you die.

You pulled away from him, but Salauddin didnt remove his hands from you. And thats when he felt the cloth you were wearing. It was too thin. The sun must've burned your skin now. Is that why you're crying? You're in pain?

In a blink, he removed his own thick black chadar that rested on his shoulders and wrapped it around you, pulling it over your head to stop more heat damage.

"Y/n?" He spoke softly as you continued to cry so brokenly as he adjusted the cloth over your body. "What happened?"

"Y-you left me!" You blubbered. He shook his head. "No. I- I left to go in battle. I couldnt take you along. It was dangerous-"

"You left me, Salauddin! You left me here! Baldwin- he hurt me! He hurt me so badly! And you weren't here to protect me!" You sobbed out, your eyes red and swollen from the tears. "I am a part of the ummah! I am a Muslim! You- you were supposed to keep me safe! On your honour, I was in your care! Why didnt you save me, Salauddin?"

Salauddin felt his heart being crushed at your words. He failed to keep you safe? But... he was at war. What was he supposed to do?

He grabbed your shoulders, pulling you to his chest as he rubbed circles into your back. "I'm sorry." He whispered, shushing you as your body shook from tears. "I'm here now. I promise to keep you safe, Y/n. I will never leave you again. I will never let anyone hurt you again. I swear, Allah as my witness, I will do everything to keep you safe." You pulled your head back from his chest, your red eyes looking at him weakly.

"You're too late, Salauddin." You whispered and a sharp sound whooshed through the air, making your body jolt in his arms. You both looked down and thats when he saw it-

An arrow. Poking through your chest.

"Y/n?" His voice trembled, watching the life drain out of your eyes.

You fell, and so did Salauddin, catching your body. He couldnt- he couldnt believe it. He cradled you in his arms, readjusting the chadar over you again, softly calling your name.

Wake up. Wake up, Y/n. Return to me.

Footsteps approached him, though he couldnt bare to tear his eyes from you. He already knew who it was.

"Why?" Salauddin asked him.

Baldwin kneeled down to his level, staring at you for a moment before yanking his arrow out of you, making a stream of blood gush out. Salauddin panicked, tried to cover the gaping wound with his hand. He looked at Baldwin in disbelief. This... this was not the Baldwin he knew. Baldwin was never so cruel- so heartless.

"She deserved it." Baldwin stated before stabbing him in the chest.

Salauddin continued to hold you in his arms, watching Baldwin leave on his horse as you two bled out to your deaths in the middle of the desert.

Salauddin woke up with a jolt, his forehead sweaty as he breathed fast. He could feel his heart beating against his chest loudly.

Nightmare. Thats all it was. He was still in his bed, in his tent.

He got up to fetch himself some water, taking sips to slow down his heart. Judging from the darkness, he knew it was still nighttime. It was quiet, everyone was asleep except for a few men he left to guard them.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Salauddin whipped around just in time to knock the shadowy figure standing behind him with a sword. In a second, Salauddin had overpowered and snapped his neck, only then realising more shadows moving outside his tent.

"We're under attack! WAKE UP!" He yelled before grabbing his two swords and running out to defend his caravan.

-

You woke up to screaming and Isabella pulling you out of bed.

"We're under attack!" She says, yanking you out of the women's camp that was set on fire. Your eyes were wide and for a moment, you were frozen as you took the scene in front of you.

Fire. There was fire everywhere. All the camps were ablaze, along with some people being burned alive. Haunting screams echoed the entire area. Time slowed down as you saw Salauddin's men fighting... some people. You couldnt figure out who they were, but you knew they werent the knights Baldwin had assigned for you. No, you saw them fighting these mysterious figures as well. They were covered in dark clothes to blend in with the night, had hoods and masks covering their faces but they fought skilfully and very fast.

"Princess, we must leave!" Isabella caught your attention again, dragging you away from the chaos. You saw her following a knight- your knight, who led you towards a horse for you to escape with.

Salauddin... where's Salauddin?

You looked back frantically and you spotted him in the sea of flames, cutting through multiple armed one with his two swords slicing them brutally.

For a moment, your eyes met and then in the next, he screamed your name.

Isabella had pushed you away just in time as two men came at you with swords. You knight yelled at you to run. Again, Isabella pulled you to make an escape but it wasnt long before you two got separated by a woman who was on fire, running in between you two.

"H-help her." You told Isabella who took of her shawl to put out the fire. In the middle of all this commotion, you heard a distinct cry.

A baby's cry.

Jibrael!

It was coming from one of the tents. You ran in, looking around for the baby before spotting the bassinet. You grabbed the crying baby and held it close to your chest, trying to shush it as you walked towards the exit only to halt when you saw who was blocking it.

The shadowy figure. He was wearing dark hood and mask, while the rest of his armour was made of leather. He was armed with swords, daggers and a satchel.

It clicked. Assassin.

The assassin stared at you with dark eyes taking a step forward. You backed away, holding the crying baby protectively to your chest. He tilted his head at you, and for a second, you thought you saw amusement in his eyes.

Slowly, he walked out of the tent without saying a word but he stood right behind the curtain of the tent. You saw his shadow pull out his sword before standing there still.

What is he doing?

You turned around, hoping to find another exit but thats when you saw it. Two more shadows stood outside the tent and then they dropped something on the tent walls.

Fire. They lit the entire tent on fire and stood outside with their swords, giving you the choice to either die by their swords or burn yourself alive.

The fire spread fast, burning the flammable tent easily. Dark smoke started to surround you making you cough. The baby continued to cry harshly and you pulled him under your chadar to protect him from the fire and smoke.

But you didnt realise it until it was too late. Your chadar, your clothes had caught on fire as well. You screamed for help, screamed in agony as your skin burned. It felt like you were being branded, felt like someone was ripping your skin off.

Is this it? Is this how it all ends for you? Suffocated, skin charred, body naked? In a period where no one knows who you really are?

You fell to your knees before hunching over the baby, cradling it in your arms as its harsh cries burst your ears, protecting him from being burned for as long as you can.

Allah... Allah... Allah...

Through the thick smoke, a figure ran and covered your body with a thick cloth, patting down to put out the flames.

He picked your trembling body up, your arms still wrapped around the baby protectively. He walked through the ablaze tent, his face still covered by the smoke, or perhaps your vision was too blurry.

He exited the tent, the smoke cleared out and a gush of air filled your lungs. But you were burned, suffocated and exhausted.

The last thing you saw before your world faded to black was Salauddin's face.

-

You woke up to the sound of Quran recitation. A gentle, steady voice read the words beautifully.

Fluttering your eyes open, you looked around the room for the source. To your side, you found Salauddin reciting the Quran with his eyes closed in concentration. Was he a hafidh? (Hafidh is someone who has memorised the Quran completely).

He opened his eyes when finished reciting, looking stunned for a second to find you awake before a small smile graced his lips.

"We're in Egypt now." He informed you before concern washed over his face. "How are you feeling now? I changed your bandages in the morning, but I think its time to replace them." He grabbed the bowl of water and bandages on your side.

"B-bandages?" He stopped before understanding your confusion.

"You were in the tent when the assassins set it on fire. Your... clothes caught on fire, which stuck to your skin and burned it as well. I had to remove the remains of your clothes to treat your burns-"

"What?!" Your eyes looked down to confirm his words, he had indeed changed your clothes. "Why did you-" Your hands touched your face, heart sinking as you realised your veil was not there.

"You removed my niqaab?! My clothes?!" Your fury was only a disguise for your fear of what he'd seen, what he'd done to you in your vulnerable state.

He shook his head. "I had to do it as soon as we were safe. You were hurt-"

"Why? Why did you have to do it? Why not Isabella or any of the other women?!"

His face turned solemn. "Isabella... was gravely injured. She was in no position to look after you. Most people- most women from my tribe did not survive. The few who did were also wounded. The men... I just thought you wouldnt prefer someone you didnt know to look at you in such state." Salauddin looked at you, his eyes clear. "I did not do anything unbecoming of a man. Allah as my witness, I did not touch you with ill intent."

Perhaps it was the way he said it, or perhaps you just wanted to keep your mind at peace but... you believed him.

"How's Isabella now?" You let him change the dressings on your arms, watching him like a hawk as he moved quickly and carefully, no unnecessary touches or lingering that would make you uncomfortable. Even when he treated the the burns on the back of your legs, he worked fast, applying some balm on the red areas. The balm was like a cool gel against your irritated skin.

"She's better now. Just needed some rest." He replied as he finished wrapping the bandage on your legs. "Your back." Salauddin softly asked. You hesitated.

He sighed. "Y/n... I need to apply the balm or your skin will scar." You slowly turned around, holding your breath as you removed the robe from your back partially.

If he wanted to, he could've done anything when you were unconcious. You calmed yourself.

Again, Salauddin's hand worked fast, applying the balm quickly and placing some gauze over the marks. He pulled your robe over your back again, letting you turn around with a flushed face.

"My... my face?" You asked cautiously. You did not know if damage had been done there as well.

Salauddin understood you. "Fortunately, your face was save from the flames." He stood up and went over to the wardrobe to grab you a white chadar, handing it to you so that you cover your head with it. "Maybe when you were ducking over Jibrael, your arms covered both you and him from the fire."

"Jibrael...?" You asked. He smiled assuringly. "He's fine. You saved him... again." You sigh in relief. At least this wasnt all for naught.

Salauddin sits back down in the chair and though you've covered your hair with the shawl, he keeps his eyes trailed down on his hands in his lap. "I must ask you of one thing." You peeked at him before keeping your eyes focused on your lap as well.

"Will you... tell Baldwin about this incident?" Why would you when it would only cause Baldwin to panic and prevent you from leaving the castle, or his sight at all? You still need to come here to get parts for your time machine and even if the machine was working, you need to be able to use it without Baldwin or his army of knights breathing down your neck.

"No. It will only cause misunderstandings between you and him and I need to punish the real culprit for it."

He frowned but didn't raise his gaze. "And who might that be?"

"Those men... they were assassins, right?" He hummed. "Judging by how vicious they were, I think they were Ismailis."

Ismailis were a sect of Shia Muslims. Basically, like the great schism of Christianity into Orthodox and Catholic Church, Islam also had a schism that divided it into Sunni and Shia Islam. Shia Islam further had divided into different sects, of which one was Ismailis.

Sunni and Shia Muslims have been at war with each other since the beginning over religious differences. And considering Salauddin was not only Sunni Muslim but also targeted many Ismaili assassins so that they would not oppose his rule, it would be an understatement that they wanted Salauddin dead.

But... you know Salauddin had already gotten rid of most of the assassins and established his dominance over them. You're sure he's already had a peace treaty with them.

"Salauddin, you have an agreement with the Ismailis, don't you?" You watched his eyes widen slightly. "You're on peaceful terms with them at the moment?"

"How did you know?" Of course, the great Sultan Salauddin, an orthodox Sunni, wouldn't want the world to know that he spared the Ismailis. No, that would stir rumours that Salauddin has empathy for Ismailis, for the Shias, and which would lead to the rumours of hum being a Shiite Muslim.

You waved him off. "I know your character. I know of your mercy. Besides, I know both you and the Ismailis have a bigger common enemy- the Christians. Its more than likely that the Ismailis are supporting you so that you defeat Baldwin and claim Jerusalem, then they can focus on you. Plus, if the Ismailis wanted to kill you, why wait until now? They know you've been camping outside Jerusalem for months now." Salauddin was... impressed by your deduction skills to say the least. How are you connecting the dots so fast? Just who are you, Y/n?

You rubbed your chin. "So that means that someone not only hired the assassins but also wants us to think that the Ismailis were behind it all." Who could it be? Someone who wants to harm Salauddin but... they also wanted to harm you. It couldnt be the Roman Catholics or other Christians. No, they'd know better than to interfere with Baldwin, their Holy Emperor's war. Especially not with his wife-to-be in harms way. Who... who would know that you're with Salauddin and still attempt an assassination-

"Guy." You muttered, pinching the nose of your bridge. Of course, its fucking Guy, shit for brains Guy who cant sit still and wait his turn to play king.

"Guy? Why would he attack me when you're still here?" Salauddin's mind immeadiately gives an answer as soon as he asks out loud.

"Because I am here." You groan. "He's trying to eliminate us both, or at the very least- me, while I'm with you so that he can provoke Baldwin to go to war with you because you "killed" his future wife. He would tell Baldwin that it doesnt matter if they were Ismailis or not, we were all Muslims and this is just how Muslims are! He'd send Baldwin off to not only go to war with you but rather go to war with Muslims everywhere! And knowing Guy, he probably hopes that Baldwin dies in the process of his rampage. If you, me or Baldwin are all dead, or even one of us is, then Guy will only have to worry about dealing with one less person. His best bet was probably to get rid of me and you both, then have Baldwin go to war with all the Muslims who killed his fiancee. He's using all of us as pawns so that he gets to sneak on to the throne and be king!"

You heard Salauddin sigh. Perhaps he agreed with your theory. Perhaps he didnt. Whatever he may think, you know he will still conduct a thorough investigation of his own to find out who the real culprit is,

"Dont worry, I will deal with Guy. In fact, I'll let you have him to slaughter as you please." Of course, Salauddin will kill Guy. He has to pay for the blood of all his people.

Salauddin watched you get up from the bed and walk towards the vanity. "How long will these take to heal?" You asked, referring to your burns. "Usually take about a month, but the balm I used will significantly fade the marks." Good. You dont need Baldwin freaking out over them.

He stood up to take his leave. "I'll check on what information they've been able to gather from the assassin we caught. You-" He pointed towards the bed. "Rest. I mean it. These burns will only get worse in the heat outside, thats why I gave you the coolest room in the palace." He continued to glare at you until you finally sighed and sat on the bed. "I have to go see Isabelle-" You tried but he raised his hand. "No. You are to stay here, in your room. No one gets in, and no one gets out. I dont trust anyone to not try to kill you, not even in your own entourage- whatever is left of them. My men are stationed right outside. If you need anything, you tell them. But you are not to leave your chambers."

"I'll see you at dinner." He left and you saw the guards stationed outside your door.

The great thing about Egyptian palaces was that they had big windows to allow for ventilation. So you were already out of the window and climbing along the edge. You were about to jump when you heard someone call you.

"P-princess?!" Isabelle looked at you in horror. Apparently, you had climbed down near the balcony of her room. "Oh hey, Isabelle! How are you now?"

"I- I'm fine- princess, please get down from there!" She practically begged, fearing for your life. You climbed over her balcony and hugged her. "I'm so glad you're okay! Because I need you to do me a favour." You gave her a sweet smile while she looked at you in confusion. "See, I need to go out for a bit but Salauddin has told me to stay in and rest. So... I need you to cover for me again, just like last time."

"I- what- princess-"

"I wouldnt ask you if it wasnt of grave importance." You pleaded, finally making her give in. "Okay, I'll go to your room-" You stop her when she begins walking away.

"You cant just walk in there. There's guards stationed there and they wont let you in."

"Then how am I supposed to get in?"

You smiled at her. She didnt like that smile. It wasnt... well meaning.

"Well..." You looked at the balcony and she followed your gaze, almost immediately coming to tears.

"Princess please-"

"I am right here. I will help you, I promise Isabelle! I wont let you fall."

-

After helping a trembling Isabelle climb into your room, you had finally made your way to the madrassa. You had covered your face with your chadar and sneaking inside was no feat.

Abbas jumped out of his seat the moment you entered.

"Y/n! I thought you forgot all about me- wait what happened to your hands?" He referred to the bandages.

"I had an accident while conducting an experiment." "What experiment? Can I be a part of it? Please please please-"

"Abbas." You silenced him. "Business first. Did you make the tools I asked you to?" He quickly ran to his desk and pulled them out from the drawer. You examined them. They werent the best but you could make do with them. You nodded before asking for a paper so that you could draw the last few bits you needed.

"I need these by the end of this week." Abbas chuckled. "Oh I thought you were joking. How do you expect me to build- whatever this is! in a week? No way. I would need to get all the material and-"

"Abbas. I need it this week. I dont care how, but you have to do it."

He looked at you suspiciously. "Maybe if you could just tell me what it is that you're making-"

"No. I cant. And you will make me this by the end of the week, if not earlier because I have a very good reward waiting for you."

Abbas rolled his eyes. "I dont need your money-"

"I will let you ask me anything you want. Any question on any topic you'd like." You knew Abbas's thirst for knowledge.

You saw the twinkle in his eyes. "I will still take the money." "Of course, but I'll pay you after you make me this." He sighed and agreed.

"Wait- check this please?" He handed you his journal that had some math equations. You huffed, grabbing his pen and working on the mistakes. "I'm doing this just so that you do my work." You gave him some other math problems you did in grade 8 and handed it back to him.

You turned to leave before pausing.

"Abbas?" He hummed. "I think... we should set some security measures." You whispered.

"Whatever for?"

"Just in case someone came looking for me or my work. You know you're not supposed to tell anyone about this."

"I couldnt even if I wanted to." He tilted his head. "Why would someone come looking for you? Are you in trouble?"

You shake your head. "No. But you're aware of how other... scholars are eager to steal ideas." He nodded, being a victim of such crime.

"What do you have in mind?"

-

Salauddin was informed when you had returned to the palace. Of course he knew the moment you left. This was his Egypt. Not a bird flies without his knowledge here.

He sent out a spy after you, both to keep you safe and to follow you around. He couldnt help but let out a huff when he was told of your daring climb out of the window. Didnt he tell you to stay in bed?

"This girl..." He grumbles.

The spy told him that you went inside the madrassa. Why? What business could you possibly have there?

Perhaps you're creating a poison? To kill Baldwin? No, there would be easier ways to get poison. You did tell him and Baldwin that you were going to Egypt to find your family, but he has a hard time believing that.

Just what were you upto?

He'll find out soon enough. This is his kingdom, he finds out things. And he'll find out your secret too.

He knocked on your door before entering. You were sitting on your bed, your face now covered with a niqaab and your hair with his white chadar. His clothes. He felt something warm in his heart at the thought.

"How are you now?" He asked, his hands clasped behind his back.

"I'm fine. Just bored waiting here all day." You sighed exasperatedly.

Such a liar.

"I apologise for not being able to entertain you. I was busy with the assassin." You looked at him in anticipation. "He didn't reveal much but he did say that they were hired. I suppose that would bring us closer to your theory."

He watched your eyes narrow in thought. "It has to be Guy. He knew I was going to the desert to you first. He needed to get rid of me without anything to come back on him. Coward."

The door was knocked.

"I hope you dont mind- I had them bring dinner up here." Salauddin explained, letting the servants in. They set down a dastarkhawan in the balcony. A red table cloth was set on the ground, onto which many dishes were placed. You both sat down on cushions, the area was lit up with candles placed. You were busy admiring the view of the pyramids from your seat while Salauddin poured you some ginger kehwa.

"Here." You lifted your niqaab a bit to sip the hot tea, a sigh escaping your lips. Salauddin's lips quirked a bit but he, like you, kept his eyes focused on the pyramids.

You picked up the plate of dates from your side, knowing how fond he is of them. "Here." You mimicked his voice, making him smile as he grabbed a piece.

You both silently ate, admiring the view and enjoying each others presence.

Some time later, you were both done with dinner and just sat in silence. That is until Salauddin spoke.

"I'm sorry." You looked at him. "For letting you get hurt."

You exhaled, trailing your eyes back towards the night sky that was littered with gleaming stars.

"I know. But you shouldnt be, Salauddin. I'm not made of porcelain."

I know. I saw you jumping off the palace walls with the confidence of an assassin and the grace of a headless chicken.

"Still, you're under my care. I am responsible for you-"

"I free you of this burden." You're not a burden. "I am not that hurt and I am not scarred for life. If anything, all that incident made me question is just how far would man go?" Your eyes glazed over as you recalled the incident in the tent, where the assassin left you and the baby to burn to death. You could understand killing you, but a baby? He was willing to let a baby burn?

"It makes me believe just how barbaric people were to the Ahl al-Bayt (family of Prophet Muhammad PBUH). How easy it was for them to slaughter his lineage, how easy it was for them to keep water from them, how their hearts did not halt for a moment when they heard the cries of Ali Asghar- who they killed with an arrow in the neck." Your eyes glistened. "A baby. He was just a baby. How would've his father felt in that moment, holding his dead son in his arms, knowing he had to bring him home to his wife?" The battle of Karbala was one of the most heart wrenching tragedies of Islam and whats worse is that Prophet Muhammad knew of it years before it happened. He knew his own grandsons will face martyrdom years before it actually happened, when they were just little children in his arms.

"Man is cruel." Salauddin stated.

"But Allah made man. Why... would he allow man to be so cruel? Even animals are not this merciless." You wondered.

"Because man cannot see God." He says. "There are signs of His existence, signs for those who wish to be guided. Animals can see God. Angels can see God. Humans... Allah has made us with the ability to think, to choose. Man chooses to be cruel when he forgets that Allah is watching, that these things- the stones, the trees, everything around him? They're all living beings who will testify against man." He smiles. "But that is why the true believers also have a greater reward in the hereafter. What do you think of the reward, of what you'll get when you enter heaven? You dream of wealth, of food, of all luxuries. But there's a greater reward waiting for us. Do you know what that is?"

You gave a slight shake of your head.

"The true believers will see Allah. They will get to meet their Lord, their Creator, the One who saw them through it all, the One who knows their secrets and kept them hidden, the One continued to shower His blessings upon them even when they were not grateful." Those words... they comforted you. How peaceful it is to the heart to hear that your Creator waits for you. The One who has seen you shed tears and took care of you in this world will also take care of you in the next. And at the same time, this is such devastating news for the sinners too. Those who act selfishly, who forget who their Lord is, they will end up in hell and will never get the opportunity to see their Creator again, to ask of mercy from the most Merciful.

"Still..." You mumbled, wanting to find an excuse for such wickedness.

"It is not our place to ask why, Y/n. Allah does not owe us answers, explanations. He already has given us His book for guidance, his prophets for example. But know this- everything happens for a reason. Maybe the battle of Karbala was just to show us how quick man can turn on his own. Perhaps in the future, a time will come when people will kill many women and children, slaughter men so brutally while the entire world watches and yet... no one does anything. And then people will wonder- surely, man is not so evil. Surely, man wouldn't kill innocent children. Perhaps then they will remember history."

-

Salauddin woke up with a sigh. He had gone to sleep after he left your room last night, but he woke up from yet another dream he had of you. You. You. You. Since that night in the desert, he's been having constant dreams about you. Its either you dying at the hands of Baldwin or Guy, or its you asking him to help you. Tonight, he dreamt of you two celebrating Ramadan together, with you picking up the plate and offering him dates, however unlike dinner, you were sitting much closer to him in his dream, by his side. So close, he could see himself in your eyes.

Salauddin wasnt vain enough to admit it to himself- he had feelings for you. But what were they?

Lust? Not really, he's seen far prettier women than you. Beauty... is subjective and Salauddin is a firm believer in "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Admiration? No. He admires your intelligence and your wit but Salauddin also has those qualities.

Infatuation? Sure he does think about you often during the day but not enough to call it obsession.

No, its love. It has to be. His heart doesnt know what exactly it is about you that draws him in. His mind doesnt comprehend why he feels like you belong with him but his soul, every fibre of his being screams that you do.

Allah has created someone for someone. He created Eve for Adam, He creates a woman from the rib of the man.

Salauddin touches the side of his chest, just above his abdomen.

Perhaps you're his missing rib.

You were smart, you were daring, you were also stupid enough to put yourself in harms way but it was... endearing. More importantly, you were the only person who could bicker with him, stand your ground against him and get away with it too.

He sat down on a chair, looking out at the pyramids. Like the man he's named after (Prophet Yusuf/Joseph), Salauddin believes in dreams having meaning. Perhaps its a way for God to talk to you, to warn you or guide you.

And from all his dreams about you, he's come to interpret it that he must save you from Baldwin... and everyone else. And he can save you- he can save you without you having to go through the trouble to be plotting against Baldwin and endangering yourself by working with Guy.

He could marry you.

If you were to marry Salauddin, you would become the queen of Egypt and the wife of the strongest Muslim leader of the time. Not only that but the entire ummah, Muslims around the world will come together as one to fight against Baldwin, against anyone who dares to harm you. You would be safe, you would be secure by his side as his wife.

But the plan is easier said than done.

Baldwin wouldnt backdown so easily. He would wreak havoc and if he's as obsessed with you as Salauddin has seen him, then he wouldnt stop at nothing to get you back. Baldwin will have to be dead for you to be safe from him.

Besides Baldwin, you yourself also are a hurdle. You havent shown any interest in him (which is understandable because you're engaged) but he doubts you're interested in marrying anyone at all. You're not one to be affected his wealth or status, you dont go for materialistic things. He's sure if he were to ask your hand, you would laugh hysterically and then maybe try mocking him. And Salauddin does not want to force you to marry him. He wants you to want him.

There is a way he could convince you. All he has to do is make himself look better than any man, especially Baldwin because you do seem to have a soft spot for him despite trying to sabotage him.

A sinister idea comes to mind.

What if Baldwin breaks up with you?

If Baldwin, for any reason, decides not to marry you then not only will you be free from him but a war will be avoided.

All Salauddin has to do is give Baldwin a reason to break up with you. He could send some concubines to him, but he doubts Baldwin would use them. And even if he did, it isnt reason enough for him to call off things with you. No, the only way Baldwin would break up with you is... if you're unfaithful to him. You dont need to cheat, dont need to sleep with any man. No, you dont have to do anything at all. All he has to do is make sure you're in the right place at the right time and Baldwin's there too, just enough to create doubt in his mind. And the ball will roll from there. Baldwin will continue to second guess your loyalty to him until he's driven himself insane. Then he'd leave you without ever punishing you for a crime he thinks you committed but has no proof of. Thats when Salauddin will swoop in as your knight in shining armour and you'll see that all men but him are shit and you'll say yes to his proposal-

No.

He sighed, rubbing his temples. Despite it being a perfect plan, the safest plan- Salauddin cant bare to stain your character. He cannot spread a rumor about you being unfaithful. He cannot have anyone talk badly of you, even if it will end up with you in his arms. You're important to him. And if you ever figure out that Salauddin was the one behind it all, you'd never forgive him. You would never trust him.

The thought of you not trusting him, just like you dont trust him enough to tell him why you sneaked out of the palace, it hurts him. He doesnt know why but he wants you to trust him- trust him enough that you come to him with your problems and have faith that he will solve them for you. He will keep you safe. He will protect you.

He will have to find another way.

Salauddin offered the morning prayer before reciting the Quran, asking Allah for guidance for his problems and good health for you.

He walked out of his room and turned to the corridor where your room was, only to find you sneaking out of the room with Isabelle. You were still wearing his white chaddar, and it engulfed your small body like a blanket as you hurriedly walked down-

You tripped on the bottom of the long chaddar and fell face first.

"Princess!" Isabelle cried out as she helped you up, but you quickly dusted yourself off and continued talking her ear off as if nothing had happened, the tail of the chaddar trailing behind you as Isabelle walked beside you to keep up with what you were saying.

"Idiot..." He whispered to himself, though he was smiling. He called a servant and ordered him to bring the finest chaddars and niqaabs for you. He cant have you tripping all over the place because you wear his chaddar that was too big for you, despite how adorable you looked in it.

-

You knocked on his door.

"Salauddin, I was going to the market-"

"And you came to ask for permission? Okay, granted." He waved you off with a smirk.

You rolled your eyes. "Where do you get the audacity- nevermind. I came to ask if you'd lend me a few gold coins? I need to buy some things, souvenirs if you will." You had lost your coin purse in the desert and you need to pay Abbas.

He raised a brow. "What do you need? I can have it brought to you here."

You pursed your lips. Why is he being difficult? "I dont know what I need until I look. Just give me some money, I promise to pay you back as soon as I can."

He stood up, walking upto you but you neither backed away nor moved your eyes from him. "Its not about the money." He pulled out a pouch and dropped it in your hands. "I worry for your safety. Who knows how many others Guy has hired to kill you? I'm coming along."

"Aww, you're worried about me? That's so sweet-"

"I wouldnt want my image to tarnish because a guest died in my care." Your smile dropped as you grumbled something under your breath.

"Whatever. I still dont need you to tag along-"

"Good thing about being the sultan is that I dont need anyone's permission." He cut you off before walking past you. You stomped after him. "Salauddin, dont you have work-"

"You can either come with me or stay in your room for the rest of your stay here." He stated.

-

"What?" He heard you snicker beside him. Your eyes twinkled with amusement. "Oh, its just these rags suit you a lot." Salauddin and his guards had worn disguises to blend in with the commoners. He didnt want to draw attention to you two.

He rolled his eyes. "I have to blend in for your safety-" "I have never looked more in danger than I do right now. Look around and see people staring at a lady dressed so modestly is surrounded by brooding men wearing rags." You giggled as Salauddin looked around to see some people were indeed looking your way.

You stopped at a small stall that was selling some jewellery. You were looking at some rings, trying to choose something for Sibylla. The shopkeeper, an old man must've seen Salauddin standing over your shoulder looking around for any suspicious men.

"Son, why dont you help your wife pick something? Focus on her!" The shopkeeper said, catching you both off guard. You looked at Salauddin and laughed at his surprised face. Continuing to pull his leg, you stared up at him and batted your lashes. "Well, husband? What do you think would suit me?" You asked raising two different earrings to your face. One had a ruby in it, the other had sapphire.

He looked at you for a moment.

"Neither."

Your smile underneath your veil vanished, and you placed the earrings back on the table.

"The blue opal ones." He nodded his head as the shopkeeper handed him the tear drop gold earrings that had the precious stones fixed in it. He brought the earrings near your face, never touching it as his eyes assessed his pick.

"They bring out your eyes." He said before paying the old man and giving them to you, all while you were looking at him in awe.

"Wait! Why did you pay? I had the money." You two had begun walking again. "You mean the money I gave you?" You frowned. "I'm gonna pay you back." He smiled. "You dont need to. I have enough. As for the earrings... consider them a gift."

"Gift?"

He hummed, his chest puffed up. "Part of the hospitality of the sultan."

You glared at him before smiling. "Thanks." You two continued to walk around the market, Salauddin gave alms to the poor he encountered. You were standing at another stall, watching in fascination as the man ground up the black powder and mixed it with oils to make kohl. He filled it up in a beautiful vessel before asking if you'd like to try it.

"Oh, I dont know how to." Especially not without a mirror, which the man didnt have. But he was persistent to sell his product and when he looked at Salauddin's kohl lined eyes, he offered it to him.

"Would you apply it on your wife?" This time, Salauddin didnt react like he did the earlier when he was associated with you. He took the wooden stick dipped in the kohl and looked at you for permission.

You gave a nod. He walked upto you, gently cupping your veil covered face. You thanked God for the niqaab, or else he would've seen how violently you were blushing.

"Chin up." He whispered before tilting your chin up. Your eyes shifted as they stared into his brown ones. "Open wide." He ordered, even though your eyes were already saucer shaped from the close proximity.

He began tracing the soft edge of the stick along the waterline of your right eye. He seemed to have noticed that you were holding your breath. "Relax." He softly commanded, patting your cheek with his thumb. That broke you out of your trance as you narrowed your eyes at him.

"Dont tell me what to do." You grumbled. "Open wide." He ordered again bringing the stick up to your left eye for a second coat. You hated the way he commanded you, hated that he seemed to be having his fun with this.

"Dont order-"

"If you dont listen to me, I will marry you today." Your eyes blew wide open in shock.

"What-?!"

"Hush." He smiled placing kohl on your now wide eyes. "Whats wrong? You seemed to enjoy playing my wife but when I joke to marry you, you dont like it."

He's... joking?

Without realising, you blinked causing the still wet kohl to spread in your eyes. Salauddin had pulled the stick back just in time to not poke your eye out.

You hissed in pain, raising your hand to rub your eyes but Salauddin caught your wrist pushing it down.

"Open your eyes, Y/n. Look at me. I said- look at me." You opened your eyes to stare at him, your vision blurry from the mixture of tears and kohl.

Salauddin grabbed his handkerchief and began to dab the excess away as he tutted at you to stay still. Once he was done wiping the excess away, he blew cold air on your irritated eyes gently.

"I swear... if you dont sit still, I really will marry you today." He threatened you as he watched your red eyes glare at him. He didnt like that you were in pain, even if your own stupidity was the cause of it. This time when he applied kohl, you didnt dare to move an inch.

Fortunately, he worked faster this time around.

He gave a nod of approval when he was done. You dont know whether it was because he liked how your eyes looked now or if he was admiring his own work.

Salauddin handed the man money before taking a few bottles of kohl.

For the next hour, you two walked around in silence mostly. The image of your kohl lined eyes occupied his mind, not only because of how beautiful they were but also all the emotions that switched in a matter of seconds. You could try and hide your feelings all you want but your eyes tell. The eyes... they're the window to one's soul.

He saw attraction, anger, mesmerisation, disgust and pain in your eyes. Or maybe he's overthinking this. Maybe it was all just momentary and you really do hate the idea of being married to him.

You were both standing at yet another shop, this one was selling dates. Salauddin walked inside the shop a little more to inspect the quality of the dates, expecting you to be following behind him but when he turned around, you were gone. He walked outside the shop, hoping to find you there but it seemed like you had vanished. Even his guards hadnt seen you.

And then, as Salauddin whipped his head around, he saw the silloutte of your chadar disappearing around the corner. He ran after you, hoping to not lose you in the crowd but as soon as he turned around the corner, he couldnt spot you anywhere. He ran down the street, looking left and right but you werent there.

Where are you, Y/n?

He began walking back towards the main street when in the corner of his eye, he caught the sight of a familiar chadar. He turned his head to the right and there you were, standing with your back to him under the shadow of the large canopy of the shop talking to some man.

He walked up behind you, the man you were talking to seeing him first.

"Y/n." He snapped. You turned startled before your shoulders relaxed at the sight of him. "Oh, its just you. Did you buy the dates?"

Dates? You're asking him about dates after you just made his heart stop for a few minutes?

"Why did you leave me?" Ya Allah, that came out way more desperate than he wanted it to.

"I was getting something from this man." He raised a brow, almost as if he didnt believe you. You sighed. "This is Abbas. I hired him to make some things for me?"

"Such as?" You narrowed your eyes at his accusatory tone before nodding at Abbas, who then pulled out a heaxagonal shaped board that looked somewhat similar to a-

"Its 3 people chess!" You exclaimed, bouncing on your feet as you handed it to Salauddin. "I designed it and had Abbas make it for you!"

"For me?" He asked, turning the board around as he tried to understand how it would work.

"Yeah. I wanted to thank you for saving my life. And for your hospitality. And for lending me money."

His eyes softened slightly. "You dont need to thank me, Y/n. Its... my duty. I'm responsible for you." You waved him off. "Yeah yeah. Look, just take this and I'll teach you how to play so that one day you could play it with your wife and... kid? Or maybe with your wife and Baldwin? Or two wives-?"

"Y/n, I appreciate the gift but I would appreciate your silence more now." You pouted at his words but never the less, you both left to return to the palace, unaware of the eyes watching you two.

The mysterious figure wrote down what he'd seen before using messenger eagle to deliver the note to Jerusalem.

-

It had almost been a week in Egypt. You and Salauddin were having lunch together when a guard came to him and whispered something in his ear, the sultan frowning.

"Whats wrong?" You asked him.

He looked at you. "Baldwin... he's coming to Egypt."

"What? When?"

"He's crossed the desert. He should be getting here today, in a few hours." Salauddin was still frowning. Why is Baldwin coming to Egypt?

You shook your head. "Baldwin wouldnt ever leave Jerusalem, not unless..." Your eyes widened at the realisation.

"He's coming for a war." Salauddin confirmed.

Fuck.