"Here take this" I handed Handan a piece of fabric. She looked at it confused then turned to me with a look in her eyes, asking me what the fabric was for.
"It's yours as a thank you for saving my life," I said. She grinned happily and ran a hand over the silky material. She kneeled down and kissed my robes like the good slave she was.
"Thank you Sultanim" She whispered before running to the room she shared with Murad as his caretaker to hide the fabric.
"Why did you forgive her?" Esma Kalfa asked from beside me. I sighed and turned to the woman who spent her life raising me as her own child because of her loyalty to my mother and Hürrem Sultan.
"I learned from Hürrem Sultan 'those who betray you once will never betray you twice'" I answered quoting the woman who took care of me my entire life and is now my mother-in-law.
"I'll be visiting the Sehzade, do you want to come?" I asked her as I stood up from my couch.
"No, I have some work to finish, the harem girls are giving me a headache" She sighed rubbing her temple. I chuckled and handed her, her cane that she uses as both a show of power and to walk, she is not as young as she used to be.
"If they're so bad, why don't you punish them?" I asked as we walked side by side out of my room and down to the harem.
"I have been but it seems they have to be threatened more often" She answered shrugging. We stopped in front of the harem doors, I looked inside to find the girls joking and singing instead of working.
"DESTOR, MEYLISAH SULTAN, HER HIGHNESS" One of the harem aghas announced when he noticed that none of the harem girls noticed my presence, too absorbed in having fun. The girls jumped up and bowed to me.
"Esma Kalfa, make sure everyone is doing their job otherwise I'm going to kick everyone out," I said loudly so the girls will hear me too. The girls started whispering to each other in fear of getting the kick, they had nowhere to go and not enough money to survive out there and we all knew that and that was why I had used that threat.
"How is that for a threat?" I asked in a whisper. Esma Kalfa chuckled and winked at me before walking into the harem and started throwing orders around at the girls who scrambled as fast as possible to do their jobs.
I walked down the harem and to Selim's room. Gazanfer agha opened the doors to me keeping his head down in shame because we both knew that I hated him for his loyalty to Nurbanu who was currently rotting in the dungeons under supervision. When Selim saw me step into his room he let go of the papers he was working on and stood up from his couch.
"Come here, my love" He grinned opening his arms for me. I speed walked into his arms and wrapped my arms around his torso and placed my ear against his chest over his beating heart and listened.
"I've missed you, you have been way too busy" I pouted pulling away from him. Selim chuckled and placed a kiss on my forehead.
"I'm sorry, darling, I promise that you and Murad and our baby haven't left my mind for a second," He said back. Selim's right hand trailed down my arm and made itself at home over my small bulging stomach where our baby currently lived. I smiled and looked to his right only for my smile to get wiped off of my face when I saw what he was drinking.
"You promised to stop" I whispered pulling away from him and glaring at the wretched cup on his table.
"I was stressed," Selim said as a way to defend himself. I rolled my eyes and sat down on his couch facing away from him.
"Come on, it's not that big of a deal," Selim said sitting down beside me on the couch and placed one of his hands on my back but I moved away from his touch which made him sigh sadly.
"Ok, fine I should have not let myself go so easily and I promise that it will not happen again," He said turning me around by the shoulders to face him.
"I don't want your promises" I hissed crossing my arms. I need to make him stop drinking otherwise he is going to make himself sink to the bottom of Sultan Suleiman's list of children and destroy himself.
"What do you want then?" Selim asked confused. I stood up and walked over to the table and picked up the cup. Selim watched my every move as I walked over to the window and pulled it open and held the cup out.
"Forget its existence," I said and poured the remaining of the wine down at the bush under his window. Selim sighed and rubbed his face then his red-rimmed eyes.
"How can I make it up to you now?" Selim stood up from his couch and walked over to me beside the window and wrapped his arms around my waist. I looked into his blue eyes and let myself think through my answer as he pulled me closer and placed a kiss on my forehead.
"Send a present to his majesty to pull him closer to you, make him favor you," I said back placing my hands on his chest to feel his beating heart under my palm. Selim closed his eyes and placed one of his hands atop my own that was over his heart.
"Whatever you want my love" Selim whispered. I smiled up at him feeling my heart soar at how easily I can manipulate him in a way, I still loved him of course but if I had to make sure he survived the throne war then I have to use the darker ways and that is manipulation.
"I love you so very much" I whispered back and pulled him down so he wouldn't notice the guilt that was starting to eat me up.
YOU ARE READING
MY SELIM| MAGNIFICENT CENTURY |
Historical FictionMeylisah was the daughter of a past maid and best friend of Hurrem sultan. When her parents tragically died she was taken under Hurrem sultan's wing to be cared for. Not really adopted for it was forbidden in Islam but she was just glad to have a ro...
