ACRE THE TERRIBLE

The more Julie was with Robert, the more he fascinated her. "You know a lot a details I've never read about," she commented. "I like hearing them."

He took another sip of tea. "Details? Yes, there were many details."

"What about the winter he had to spend in Messina? What do you know about how that went?"

"For him, for the knights, it wasn't so bad. But he'd made a set of 'laws' to entertain himself before he left Chinon and rather enjoyed enforcing them."

"Laws?"

"If, for instance, a sailor murdered another, he would be bound to the dead man and cast into the sea. You've heard of being tarred and feathered? Richard loved that. If a seaman stole anything, his head would be shaved, boiling pitch would be poured over him and chicken feathers shaken over that. A soldier who was found gambling would be whipped naked through the army for three days or thrown into the sea on three mornings.
Richard, you see, enjoyed punishing."

"What about Cyprus then? You really think Richard didn't go there just because of Berengaria?"

"The treasure, Julie, he had loaded her ship with the treasure he intended to use to buy supplies in the Holy Land. When the ship wrecked in the storm, Comnenus got ahold of Richard's treasure. He traveled on a separate ship from Berengaria and his sister, Joanne, and during the storm her ship and two more were blown far to the south. He lost 25 other ships in that storm, all without a trace. It was a terrible storm, terrible." A slight shudder took him. "Comnenus was still sending rowboats out to gather more hostages when our...Richard's...fleet appeared on the horizon. He smiled. "I like to imagine what Comnenus thought when he saw that. And Richard, he was among the first to reach the shore. He used an axe that day, not a sword. Swung it like the wrath of God Himself, he did."

"Three days later," he continued, "Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, arrived with a small fleet from Acre. Guy wanted Richard to leave immediately for the Holy Land but Richard had several matters of import to himself he wished to attend to first. Berengaria's coronation, for one. She was crowned Queen of England there in the castle chapel at Limassol with two kings observing, as well as all Richard's officers of state. Half the nobility of the Holy Land was there, too. He liked that. Then there was the wedding ceremony, long, complex, spectacular. After that he went off to track down Comnenus. King Philip sent envoys to ask him to stop and come help with the siege of Acre. He didn't ask. No, Philip demanded. Richard was not one to have something demanded of him."  Robert grinned. "He was furious, furious. Called them fools and sent them away...then went after Comnenus again. Once Comnenus got close enough to Richard to fire poisoned arrows at him. Didn't hurt him. Bounced off his armor. But when he found out they had been poisoned he dug his spurs into his horse and gave chase. Comnenus, though, was riding Fauvel, the fastest horse in Cyprus. Richard was ill for a while after that with one of the sicknesses that constantly plagued the army, but when he finally caught Comnenus, the man threw himself on his knees and begged that he not be put in iron chains. Richard agreed."

"Oh," Julie spoke up, "I know about that! Richard had chains of silver made for him. He ended up in the dungeon of Margat, a Templar fortress."

"He did, indeed. A few days later, Richard's fleet set sail for Acre at last. June 5, 1191. His reputation preceded him...as it always did. The crusaders already at Acre seemed to think its walls would fall just because of his presence."

"Acre turned out to be a terrible place, though, for both sides."

"It was. More terrible than you can possibly imagine."

"But you can? Imagine it, I mean?"

He didn't answer her directly. "Richard himself was very, very ill through much of his time at Acre. There was once, though, he was simply so very...Richard. The military commander directly under the king, Alberic Clements, had sworn he would enter Acre that day or die in the effort. He took Richard's standard and was using a scaling ladder on the wall when the Saracens pulled him up with a giant grappling hook so they might have the pleasure of killing him. One of the Saracens paraded along the wall, wearing Clements' armor. Richard was sick and lying on a silk mattress, but he picked up a crossbow and shot the man through the heart. He was like that." His mind seemed to drift for a moment on a cloud of memories. "But the siege was long, very long, and everyone was reduced to exhaustion and desperation. The Christians constantly battled on two fronts, hemmed between the hills behind them where Saladin's army waited and the walls of Acre in front of them. It was misery, misery and squalor for them. Grass, bark, leaves, even dirt became food. Boiled leather was a delicacy, a stew of horse entrails a dream. Starvation, sickness. Yes, it was a terrible place." Absently, he rubbed a place on his upper arm.

"Even that wasn't the worst, though, was it? When one thinks of Richard at Acre, one thinks of...."

"The massacre," he finished for her with a deep sigh. "Yes, there is no getting around the fact of that. And Richard carefully arranged it as a showpiece for Saladin. He knew exactly what he was doing. After Saladin seemed to have no intention of keeping the agreement he'd made with Richard, Richard lost all patience. He intended to march next to Jaffa, seventy miles to the south, and couldn't take his 3000 prisoners with him. So on August 20th he placed them on a hill called Ayyadieh in full view of the Muslim army. Men, women...children. Three thousand of them, bound together with ropes. Then the parade of armored knights, infantrymen by the thousands. Richard himself directed it all. The sky was so blue that day, just intensely blue and clear." Robert closed his eyes again. "Swords flashing in the sunlight, lances, axes, bodies falling. All of them. Every one." His hand came up, clamping over his eyes. "Every one. I can still...." 

Abruptly he stood. "I thank you for the dinner, Julianna. It was excellent. I must be going now. Please excuse me." With nothing further, he strode to her door and let himself out. She watched him, her mouth slightly dropped open.