CHAPTER 178: CHAPTER 178 - THE WEDDING 2

September 18th, 1181 - Jerusalem

The air inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was heavy with incense, sweet smoke rising in pale blue spirals that mingled with the candlelight, softening the vast stone arches of the holiest place in Christendom. The gathered assembly stood hushed, their silks and mail and polished plate muted in the dim radiance, their voices subdued beneath the gravity of the moment. From the carved pulpit, the Patriarch’s voice rang clear and solemn as the marriage rite began.

Baldwin IV, masked in white and gold, stood at the altar steps. His garments were woven from the finest cloth of gold, lined with crimson, a mantle edged in pearls that shimmered faintly in the lamplight. His hands trembled slightly—not from weakness, but from the enormity of the hour. He could feel the weight of every eye upon him: nobles, clergy, knights of the Temple and Hospital, merchants and artisans pressed into the side aisles, even barefoot pilgrims who had somehow been admitted. All had come to witness what they knew was more than a wedding. This was an act that would shape kingdoms.

And then came Constance.

She moved down the nave in measured grace, every step deliberate, her veil trailing like a river of silver. Her gown was of deep Sicilian blue, brocaded with golden threads forming fleurs-de-lis and crosses. A circlet of jewels rested upon her brow, emeralds and sapphires that reflected the candle flames like stars. Two handmaidens bore the hem of her gown, while knights of her Sicilian household marched solemnly behind her. The rustle of silks, the clink of spurs, the faint echo of footfalls on polished stone all blended into a music that needed no harp.

The assembly whispered as she passed. Some spoke admiringly of her beauty and the power she represented as the aunt of William II of Sicily. Others muttered their unease: what would it mean to give her so prominent a role, here, in Jerusalem, a land of fractious lords already ill at ease with Baldwin’s reforms?

Yet even the whispers faded as she drew level with the altar, where Baldwin awaited. When their eyes met, there was silence—an expectant hush that seemed to press down upon the entire church.

The Patriarch raised his hands and intoned the opening words:"Beloved, we are gathered together before God and His angels to witness the holy union of His servants, Baldwin and Constance, in the sacrament of matrimony."

The ritual proceeded with solemn weight.

Baldwin took her hand first, his fingers steady now, the mask of gold covering his face but his voice clear and strong:"I, Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, take thee, Constance of Sicily, to my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health. To love and to cherish, till death do us part. So help me God."

Constance’s lips parted slightly as she looked at him. For the first time, she could hear not only the king, but the man behind the title—the one who carried such crushing burdens yet still spoke with hope. She answered, her voice rich, resonant, carrying to every corner of the nave:"I, Constance, daughter of Sicily, take thee, Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, to my wedded husband. I pledge to share thy burdens, to strengthen thy hand, to guard thy heart, to comfort thee in sorrow, to rejoice with thee in gladness. I will walk with thee in faith, in love, and in steadfastness, till death do us part. So help me God."

Their hands were bound with a strip of embroidered silk, as the Patriarch pronounced:"What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."

A murmur ran through the crowd—half prayer, half awe.

Then came the moment reserved for queens of Jerusalem. Upon a velvet cushion, borne by a deacon, lay the crown wrought for her: a circlet of gold filigree set with pearls and crimson garnets, delicate yet regal. The Patriarch lifted it in both hands, but rather than place it himself, he presented it to Baldwin.

For a heartbeat, Baldwin hesitated. He thought of his mother, Queen Melisende, who had once ruled as co-sovereign, and of the great precedent this act would echo. He held the crown, feeling its weight, and then, with solemn care, he lowered it onto Constance’s brow.

The act was not lost on anyone present. It was Baldwin himself, not the Patriarch, who had crowned her. Symbolically, politically, spiritually—this was an affirmation not merely of marriage but of partnership in rule.

The nobles shifted in their seats. Some looked grim—Humphrey of Toron’s jaw clenched, and a Templar knight lowered his eyes. But others nodded approval, understanding the wisdom in what had just been done. The balance of Jerusalem had shifted, subtly but unmistakably.

The Mass continued, the Eucharist celebrated with great pomp. Choirs sang in Latin, their voices soaring to the domed ceiling, echoing like angelic hosts. Baldwin and Constance knelt together on the altar steps as the Patriarch offered prayers for their union, for the kingdom, and for the peace of Christendom.

Their foreheads touched the stone floor as they whispered their own petitions—Baldwin for strength to carry on despite his illness, Constance for the wisdom to guide and support him.

And then it happened.

A warmth pulsed through the air, subtle at first, like the first shimmer of dawn. The candles flickered violently. The floor seemed to hum beneath their knees. A radiance began to gather, enveloping them in white brilliance.

Baldwin lifted his head sharply—this was no mere trick of the eye. The light grew brighter, whiter, until it obscured all else. Gasps rippled through the assembly, but then even those sounds were gone.

Because time itself had stopped.

The chant of the choir froze mid-note, the Patriarch’s lips parted on a word that no longer moved, the nobles’ faces arrested in half-formed expressions. All the city seemed hushed, as though the very heartbeat of the world had been stilled.

Baldwin and Constance turned to one another, wide-eyed. He reached for her hand instinctively, and she clasped it tightly, both trembling.

And then the world fell away.

They were no longer kneeling on stone, but standing upon something vast and luminous, a plane of light without horizon. Above them stretched no ceiling of stone, but endless radiance, shimmering like the sea.

From the brilliance before them a figure emerged—indistinct, enclosed in pure light. No features could be discerned, no shape fully grasped, yet the weight of presence was undeniable. It was not terrifying but overwhelming, majestic and gentle at once.

Baldwin’s breath caught in his throat. His knees buckled. Constance, eyes wide with awe, sank down beside him. Together they knelt before the being, hearts pounding, knowing instinctively they were in the presence of the divine.

Neither spoke. Words seemed too frail, too human.

The being’s light washed over them, warm, pure, infinite.