GonBor- A Gonca hatun and Boran alp story

Chapter 56- A Name Heard

Boran alp P.O.V

Osman Bey stares at the map on the table, Gunduz Bey, Turgut Bey, Goktug, and I sat on the floor of the Marquee, carefully looking at these letters and maps scattered on the table. "Do you guys remember Beybolat Bey or Albasti?" 

I nod slowly, "The one who murdered Suleyman?" A sad look flashes on Gunduz's face, the two were good friends for the short period of time they knew each other. "The same one who killed many of our alps, my brothers, Mergen, Dumrul." Turgut bey adds, nodding, "Why do you ask, Kardesh'm?" Osman strokes his beard in thought, "Kotyan, there has been unrest in the tribes surrounding that name."

My eyes widen as Osman Bey taps the locations of the different tribes with the tip of an arrow. All of their locations leading up to our tribe. "This isn't good, not good at all," Gunduz says, shaking his head.

"No one has seen his face, all they know is he kills, and he kills brutally."

A Little While Later~

Goktug and I were training alps on the field, but the thought of the mysterious Mongol remained stuck in my mind. I looked to where Goktug watched a couple of alps practice, and his mind seemed occupied as well. "Goktug?" I call, walking up to him and he flinches.

"Um... Yeah, Boran?" "What's wrong, your mind seems elsewhere?" Goktug shakes his head, "Nothing, I just... remembered something."

I could tell Goktug wasn't thinking about the current matter I was thinking about, but something else made him act this way. "You seemed bothered by it, Goktug, what did you remember?" Though Goktug finds my constant persisting about these things annoying, I have to do them. Goktug will continue with his tough face if I don't, even if his heart was burning.

Goktug sighs, knowing I'm not going to stop pestering him until he tells me. "I remembered my brainwashing, the one the Mongols did when I was a child."

"I saw myself, a little me, crying for Konur, for my parents. And then I saw the smoke, I watched them force me to inhale it. And then I saw them tell me that I'm Kongar. I saw myself believe it. I saw myself grow up, and fight and kill. I saw only Kongar, Goktug was gone."

Goktug talks in a quiet voice, his eyes unfocused and numb. "I don't get it, Boran. Will it ever go away? Will it ever leave me alone?" I shake my head, "I can't tell you the answer to that, Goktug, but I can tell you one thing. Allah doesn't burden a soul with more than it can bear. I think you should talk to Turgut Bey about this, he went through something similar a long time ago."

Goktug raises an eyebrow, "He did?" I nod, "It happened before Ertugrul Bey even became the Bey of the tribe. Turgut Bey was captured by templars, and they brainwashed him, making him forget everything. He forgot his family, his friends, even his love."

"But he didn't kill any of the people he loved," Goktug says in a dry voice and I shake my head. "He almost did. The templars used him as a weapon, he stabbed Ertugrul Bey, and almost killed his friends. When they finally brought him back to the tribe, he was hated by a lot of people, but slowly he started to remember."

"And then what happened?" Goktug asks, his interest peaking, "The rest isn't my story to tell, you can ask Turgut Bey, he'll tell you the details." Goktug crosses his arms, "You're not even going to finish the story, jerk." I roll my eyes, "Yep, now come fight me or something, you need a distraction." 

Goktug scoffs, "Aren't you afraid I'm going to punch you again?" I grin, "If you do, I'll punch back." 

"If you two start punching each other, I will come over there and punch you both!" Gunduz yells, and I laugh.

The Next Morning~

I stand in the dim lighting of my tent as Gonca ties my armor. Osman Bey's exact orders were, "Meet me behind the tribe at dawn, sharp. Tell no one where we're going. There is no need to create unrest when we don't have enough information."

I pick up my hat from the table, fixing it on my head, then touching Gonca's cheek. "Take care of yourself, alright?" She looks up, her deep, dark eyes meet mine, "I will, Boran, just stay safe, please." I smile, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, "I love you." Gonca smile back at me, "I love you too, Boran."

I slip my sword into its sheath and walk outside, but then, I hear someone else call my name. I groan internally, Feriha.

'What the hell is she doing outside at this time?' "Where are you going, Boran?" "Duty," I reply, shortly, crossing my arms. "Oh, are you an Alpbasi?" I raise an eyebrow, "No," My tone doesn't seem to phase her at all as she keeps going. "And your friend, the Mongol?"

I clench my jaw, taking a breath, 'No one talks about Goktug that way, not on my watch.'

"Goktug is not a Mongol. Don't ever talk about him like that, he's more of a Turk than you will ever be."

Feriha seems shocked at my sudden burst, but I keep going before she has the chance to speak. "My position, my job, my family, and my life is none of your business, Feriha, Stay out of it." I turn to walk away, but then stop, "And, it's Boran Alp to you."

(*clap clap* I'm so proud, he's standing up for himself)

I walk off, taking a different path before looping around to go to the back of the tribe where Osman, Gunduz, Goktug, Cerkutay, and Turhan stand. "Where were you, Boran?" Osman Bey asks, "Feriha got in my way, I had to go a different way." I say vaguely, Osman looks like he wants to ask more, but just nods. 

We walk over to where we had hidden our horses the night before, and Gunduz walks next to me, "What did Feriha say, Boran?" "Just some... crap," Gunduz raises an eyebrow, "And what did you say?" "I said my life was none of her business, so she should stay out of it."

Gunduz nods approvingly, "And you're right, Good job, I'm proud of you." He says, patting my shoulder and I chuckle, "It's always the same with you. It's been almost 20 years, and you still always tell me I'm doing a good job." 

Gunduz laughs, "It's only my duty, Boran. To make sure you guys don't get into a mess that you can't get yourselves out of."

A/N: Ello, Ello, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I wonder who this Kotyan guy is... 

All the Buyuk Seljuk fans, Please go check out my new book Cesaret-Courage! 

Salaam and have a great day!