No, not yet, sir. One of them may be the king.
Follow them and listen to me.
We are the only day and night for you, Hunter.
I wish that I were a hawk, sire, and salad in my prey.
Now there's a subject for our troubadours and actors. Speak to the Chamberlain about it, I beg you, de Maro.
I will, my lord. I will have the players call the entertainment
The Defeat of Saladin, the Sparrow of the East.
Well, it'll help us to pass these weary waiting nights at Jaffa.
Here's a man devoted to his work.
A beautiful thing, sire, but it has a stubborn streak.
The clasp is faulty and needs hot fires to make it pliable.
Perhaps I should ride with craftsmen and leave my nights at home.
Your Majesty.
No, de Preo, I will not fight today.
Or do you mean to slay us all?
And he just frees dinner from the look of him.
Sire, I've heard sounds in these woods.
I've heard nothing.
Let the man speak.
I fear this wood, sire. You're too far from Jaffa and the Saracens too near.
Have you seen any?
No, but I sense them about us.
This wood might have been designed for ambush.
What, de Preo, would you see danger in your own shadow?
I have put the brothers de la Table with the horses, sire.
And all is ready for the return to Jaffa.
If Your Majesty desires to go, we will stay here.
Until, William the Weary, you recover your composure.
And I hope your sense of humor.
We'll make one night.
I'll just take a look around.
Barbara.
Good afternoon.
What is all this? Who is he? How did he attack you? Why did he attack you?
I don't know. I didn't stop to ask.
What's going on? Where are we?
Sounds to me as if he's got some plans.
But who is he?
Wait, child.
Out of one, trouble into another.
Barbara.
Someone coming. Hide.
Saracens, I am the king. I am Malacric.
No.
You have no friends to protect you now, Malacric.
Am I to die as well?
If so, dispatch me and have done with it.
A king at liberty may give commands.
A captured one obeys him.
Take him.
Find the others and kill them.
Ah!
I have my friend here to thank for my life.
Are you all right, dear boy?
Yes, I'm all right.
That Saracen very nearly did for me.
Of course.
Did you hear what that man called?
Called him?
Saracen.
Malacric.
Yes, that was the name the Saracens had for King Richard, pure dillion.
Malacric.
So we're in the Holy Land?
He was trying to say something.
Yes, he's got a very bad wound here.
Here.
He was not the king.
Not the king?
The belt.
Hmm?
Get the belt.
This belt?
This belt.
Wait a minute.
Of course, yes.
I remember.
This belongs to his royal master, King Richard.
He'll certainly be glad to get this back again.
We should be able to get him to his favor.
Well, he needs some assistance to help find Barbara.
We can't wait that long, Doctor.
I'm going to have another look for her now.
Be careful, my boy.
Barbara!
How is he, my dear?
Did he take the drug I gave you?
Yes, but I'm afraid he's unconscious again.
Yes, well, it should be better when we get him back to his own people.
Where have you been?
You've been gone over an hour.
Are you all right?
There's no sign of Barbara anywhere.
As I said before, we must try and get some help from King Richard.
This certainly belongs to him.
I suppose you're right.
And how are we going to set about it?
Well, at the moment, we can do nothing further until I find some clothes for all of us to wear.
Yes, now I think Vicky and I should go down into that city and see what we can find.
Now, here, child, put on this cloak and it will help to act as a disguise.
While you're gone, I'll gather some branches and make a stretcher for him.
That's a good idea, but be careful.
In the meantime, keep your eye on that.
Come along, child.
I will do you no harm.
Oh, thank heaven they've taken that gag away.
Oh, I'm so thirsty.
I do not know who you are or how you came to be in the wood outside Jaffa.
Your clothing is strange.
It has caused some talk.
Thank you for the cloak.
Oh, that's better.
Where are we?
I'm told that we are at Ramla.
Ramla?
The great Sultan's encampment.
Oh, I see.
What are we doing here?
As for you, I can make no guess.
But I am King Richard Cur de Lion, leader of the mighty host scourge of the infidel.
But I thought Richard had red hair.
Had?
Still has if the ruse has worked.
Oh, then you...
I am Sir William de Preo, captured and mistaken for my king.
Some smiles will turn to long faces soon, I have no doubt.
Yes, I heard the sound of fighting in the wood.
We were sadly outnumbered and taken by surprise.
What happened to the others in the wood?
I do not know.
Maybe I shall never know.
But I have a hopeful heart.
And which is better, a lucky king.
And you, who will not say her name?
Barbara.
I would like to know how one so gentle puts herself among the swords and arrows.
And your garments are a fashion in themselves.
Take me back to that wood, Sir William, and I'll answer all your questions.
You ask for the impossible very lightly.
Is it so impossible?
Today it is.
What am I to say of you to the heathen?
How can I explain you to them?
Well, to them you're King Richard, so who would travel with Richard?
The queen would not.
But the princess.
Yes, you shall be Joanna, my sister.
And help me in my lies.
Very well.
I seem to have gained a brother and a title.
What is more, a friend.
I'm grateful for that.
Remember, you are Joanna.
Yusuf Saladin has commanded that all prisoners be treated with compassion.
Would you say I have complied with his wishes?
The sultan of Egypt and Syria would no doubt be pleased.
But this lady, my sister...
Sister?
Aye.
Joanna, princess of England and closest to me in affection.
My sister has been ill-treated, handled roughly by your men.
Is this the compassion Saladin speaks of?
Enough of your babbling. The woman is all of one piece.
Woman?
Hold your tongue, Saracen.
We shall call her a prisoner then.
Does that sound better?
You have no rights, no privileges.
Nothing except the benevolence of our leader.
But you are the king's sister.
Bodes well for me.
I can serve both the sultan and Mullah Ghaladil.
Saladin?
As you call the sultan's brother, yes.
He will be pleased to see the woman he has so long admired.
Let him go. He is a lion without claws.
Someone is going to have a very red face before long.
And an angry temper.
Silks, satins, fine robes, rich silks.
Satins from Basra, fine robes.
Silks, satins, the finest robes in Jaffa.
Silks, satins, fine robes, rich silks.
Fine satins, the finest robes in Jaffa.
My lord, you are from Pisa, my lord?
No.
Do you know her then?
I know of the place well.
You are very cautious, you traders from Venice.
I am not of a nation, neither am I a trader.
Oh, your pardon, my lord.
The richness of your cloak is hidden by the darkness.
You have some very fine materials here.
The finest on the coast, my lord.
Yes, that's what they all say.
Please step into my humble shop.
Truly remarkable, all the colors of the rainbow.
Yes, it's very rare. Did you say these wonderful materials came from?
Basra, my lord.
Basra, ha!
Forgive me, my lord.
It's not interesting.
Why can't you be more careful when you come here?
Why can't you wait until the place is empty?
They're all good, fine things.
All more than you paid last time.
Such clothes as these are difficult for me to sell.
Just give me my money.
I am afraid that I may sell them to the person you took them from.
Good price, that's all I ask.
Having been stolen once, they can be stolen again.
Or perhaps borrowed, shall we say.
Here, that's not enough.
It was dangerous work getting them things.
If I was caught, do you know what would happen?
Do you know the king's punishment for thieves?
I'd be shorn like a prize fighter and boiling pitch poured on me head.
And as for you, you did get out of the palace without being seen.
Of course I did.
Remember, I can go elsewhere next time.
And get less.
I couldn't get any less than what you give me.
Blimey, it was hard work getting them out of the palace.
I couldn't have done anything.
I spent all my time trying to get this money and you do nothing.
As you paid nothing for them in the first place, you have done very well.
My lord, my lord.
I was sure that he would buy from me.
I could have sworn that he hadn't left.
My beautiful clothes.
Ruined, all covered in mud.
My silks and satins.
The embroidered leaves of India.
Oh, I am beset by devils.
Oh, my poor friend, what a misfortune you had in action.
Am I not the most miserable of men?
Oh, yes, you are.
But I'm afraid of myself.
I must leave you, will you, misfortune?
But I shall retire, yes.
I will retire.
Oh, please do.
You should not be the loser by this visit.
Please do, my lord.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
For what, my lord?
Oh, for being here.
For being here when you are most needed.
Yes, yes, goodbye.
Goodbye, my lord.
Goodbye.
And long live the Sultan.
Speak, Alakir.
My lord, I bring good fortune, not only for your ears, but for he who rules over us as well.
My brother hears you as I do.
I would see his face when I tell my story.
Be content that your voice is heard.
If what you have to say pleases my brother, then you will see him.
Know then that I, Alakir, have the instrument to vanquish the invaders from across the seas.
Indeed.
I have taken two prisoners.
One of them, the king of the English, Malakrik.
Malakrik?
If you are speaking the truth...
The lion is in our cage.
Good fortune indeed, Alakir.
The other, a priceless stone I bring to lay before you as your heart desires.
The sister of the Malakrik, here for your command.
Princess Joanna.
No less.
Less and less.
Who is this creature, this rowdy jackal that yaps at my feet with tales of fortune and success?
Let them all!
You vile one!
Do you think I do not know the face and form of the princess?
You take me for a fool!
You tricked me!
Be silent.
This is not King Richard.
Not?
Look ahead of red gold hair I never saw.
You have the better bargain, brother.
She may not be the princess, but her beauty lights the room.
My lord, I swear...
I do not wish to hear you, but I will listen to you.
I am William de Preo.
And to aid my king's escape, I shouted out his name and took his identity.
This lady, your highness, has no part in this matter but in aiding my pretense.
And I beg you to look upon her kindly, whatever fate you have for me.
I salute your chivalry.
All is now clear to me except the lady's presence.
Great Sultan, this woman can be made to entertain you.
I can have her dance on hot coals, run a gauntlet of sharp-tipped swords...
No!
Die for your pleasure.
What do you say to that?
It sounds like the punishment for a fool.
It does.
And who here is the most foolish?
Alakir, I can devise my own pleasures.
Go with Sir William. Let me hear you've treated him like a brother.
Let him have all liberty except liberty itself.
Are you afraid of me?
No.
You're not of these lands, yet you seem to be a stranger to Sir William.
I'm a traveler. I came with three friends. We arrived in the wood.
You rode into the wood?
No.
You walked into it?
Not that either.
You arrived?
Yes. In a box.
In a box? Ah, you were carried into the wood.
Yes.
Please talk. It helps me to consider what I have to do with you.
Well, I could say that I'm from another world. A world ruled by insects.
And before that we were in Rome at the time of Nero.
Before that we were in England far, far into the future.
Now I understand. You and your friends, your players, entertainers.
With little value in an exchange of prisoners with the English king brother.
This is a trivial affair. I do not know why you waste your time.
I cannot dispense life and death lightly.
If Sir William is to be returned, he must make good report of our mercy.
Perhaps that is the factor in your favor.
I don't believe you're as calculating as that.
Then learn more of me. You must serve my purpose or you have no purpose.
Grace my table tonight in more suitable clothes.
If your tales beguile me, you shall stay and entertain.
Like Scheherazade.
Over whose head hung sentence of death.
Die! Enough!
It is the devil's own imbrication.
Continue.
And so these kindly people whose faces were like hidden in a mist until a moment passed,
saved my life and brought me here.
Good friends indeed, we thank you.
My brothers de la table are dead, de Marat are dead, Sir Richard de Preo taken.
What have I left but one wounded friend and a sore head.
One small thing remains yours, sir.
Once again I am in your debt.
But I give this for de Marat and the others.
My friends cut down about my ears or stolen.
My armies rouse about the streets and clutter up the streets of Jaffa with the garbage of their vices.
I learn my brother John thirsts after power, drinking great draughts of it though it's not his to take.
He's planning to usurp my crown and trades with my enemy Philip of France.
Trades!
A tragedy of fortunes and I am too much beset by them.
A curse on this, a thousand curses!
We must ask him.
I'm not sure this is the time.
He doesn't seem in the best of moods, does he?
We can't wait for his moods.
Gently, my boy, gently.
Your Majesty, there were four of us in that wood.
One of our companions was a lady.
Do not bother me with such things now.
I am asking you to send me with an escort to Saladin's headquarters.
And what will you do when you are there?
Arrange for the release of our friends.
As my emissary to Saladin?
Yes.
What, flatter him, bring him presents in return?
It would be of little use to play a king and a young woman, sire.
No.
I can bring them both back.
No.
Why not?
Are you deaf?
We do not trade with Saladin today.
Not today, not tomorrow, nor any day henceforth.
Our young friend is a woman, sire.
Have pity, let us help her.
Please, your Majesty.
Understand this.
This woman can rot in one of Saladin's prisons until her hair turns white
before I'll trade with the man that killed my friends.