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Alina: A Song For The Telling
by Malve von Hassell
SYNOPSIS
EXCERPT
Excerpt from Chapter 9 – "Arriving in Jerusalem"
I don’t know why I thought Jerusalem would be in a desert.
We had been climbing steadily along
rocky terrain over the past few days, and I had imagined small, sad, stone
buildings spread out across a merciless plain with the sun beating down.
Instead we were greeted by a vista of
green hills with Jerusalem nestled among them, a densely constructed town with
glowing white sandstone walls and imposing gates. I squinted up at the sky,
marveling at the tall tower above the walls of the city.
“Thy neck is like the Tower of David builded
for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty
men.”
Startled, I turned around and saw
Stephen had ridden up behind me.
“That’s beautiful,” I murmured,
unsure where to look as my face flushed, but when I sneaked a glance at him, he
smiled at me. It was a quote. I knew that much.
“The Song of Songs has some very apt
descriptions,” he said before nudging his horse on.
My eyes on his straight back and my cheeks
burning, I remembered how my father used to tease me like that with quotes from
various works, delighted when I recognized them.
Soon we reached the gate and entered
the town. After the days of quiet riding through the plains, it was strange to
hear the clip-clop of the horses’ hooves
echoing from the stone walls amidst the sounds of a busy town.
The streets were crowded, and we had
to maneuver carefully around people leading donkeys with carts carrying
carpets, fruits, vegetables, and large clay jars, and many others going about
their business. Children ran alongside our group, shouting and calling out in
their excitement. We rode on a central street up a hill and emerged on a plaza
with another gate flanked by tall brick walls leading into a courtyard.
Laughter reached us as we came to a
stop.
A girl clad in a flowing silver-grey
robe, her long, dark hair loose down her back, stood in front of two young men
smiling at her. The men looked relaxed, their surcoats tossed onto a bench, and
the padded doublets knights wore under their armor open at the neck. She had
her hands on her hips in a provocative pose. “You think I can’t do that?” she
challenged. Her voice was surprisingly deep and husky.
The men chuckled.
Count Raymond, meanwhile, had
dismounted and walked over to the group. The men looked askance, bowed hastily,
grabbed their surcoats, and moved away.
“Sibylla,” he said, with a stern note
in his voice.
The girl flicked her shawl as she
turned to him, managing to look irritated and provocative at the same time.
“Oh, Cousin Raymond, you have returned from Acre.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Thanks for posting the excerpt! A wonderful book, I really enjoyed it a lot
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