Cesaret- Courage~ A Buyuk Seljuk Story

Chapter Five

Mehmet walks the streets of Isfahan in his merchant clothes, which in his opinion, suck. "I don't understand why I have to wear this weird outfit." He says under his breath as he navigates through the market, and then he smirks to himself, 'I wonder what Sencer had to wear. Whatever it is, it's probably uglier than mine.'

"Come to the truth! The path of the Great Imam will lead you to paradise!" Mehmet slowly walks to the man as people gathered around him, their curiosity outweighing their logic. 

Mehmet pretends to be very interested as the man called out, "Who will join the right path? The path of the Great Imam, the path to paradise." Mehmet looks around carefully as the man keeps talking, "The Seljuks have silenced us with their fitna for too long. We must stand for what is right! For what is the truth!"

Mehmet watches for a moment as people whisper among themselves, 'Alright, my time to shine.' "He's right, How long will we stand for the lies of the Seljuk?" Mehmet internally cringes as soon as the words leave his mouth but keeps a straight face.

The whispering increases and Mehmet feels multiple people look at him, however, he looks straight ahead. As Seljuk soldiers walk around the corner, the people quickly disperse, not wanting to be involved. 

Mehmet goes a separate way, walking into a rather narrow alleyway and as he turns the corner, he feels the sharp metal of a dagger against his neck. "You," It was the Batini who was speaking earlier. "I have never seen you here before," Mehmet rolls his eyes, "I came for the market, like everyone else."

The man presses his dagger harder, "No ordinary man would have to courage to speak." "Well, you were speaking, which means you aren't an ordinary man either," Mehmet shot back, smartly. "I only spoke my mind, I only spoke the truth," The Batini used that word a lot. Truth, always trying to justify their truth, so Mehmet made sure to use it.

"I seek the truth, and you seem to know the way to it, do you not?" Mehmet carefully asked, and the man slowly pulled his dagger away, slipping it into its sheath. "Meet me on the outskirts of Isfahan tomorrow morning at dawn, come alone." 

Before Mehmet can say anything, the man walks off, and Mehmet rubs a hand across his neck, "Phase one, complete... and I didn't die."

Meanwhile, In the Palace, Mahmelek stares at the target before pulling an arrow back. Just as Mahmelek is about to let go, she hears a dreaded voice call her name, "Mahmelek!" Mahmelek slowly brings the bow down with a sigh, "Where have you been? I have been looking for you."

"I just wanted to practice for a bit, Ana," Mahmelek tries to reason and Terken hatun shakes her head. "What use will these things be, Mahmelek?  You're the Sultan's daughter, you don't need these things, you're wasting your time."

Mahmelek says nothing, instead of setting the bow down and walking quickly away, ignoring her mother's calls. Mahmelek quickly changes into simpler clothing, grabbing her dagger and going out the door.

Mehmet stares at the wall of the Inn in Isfahan, a bored expression on his face. "Isfahan is supposed to be big, and it's supposed to be fun. I have nothing to do, no Sencer to annoy, just nothing."

(Welcome to Mehmet's Ted Talk)

Mehmet takes out his dagger, flipping it around idly, "I wonder if Sencer has advice for what to do when I can't annoy him." He pulls out the leather pouch and takes a small piece of paper out.

I can't believe you're already bored, it's a wonder how you've survived without me. But, congratulations, you didn't die today!  :)
-Sencer

Mehmet raises an eyebrow, "Well, that was coincidental, it's almost as if he's watching me somehow. That would be weird, a ghost Sencer..." Mehmet shakes his head at his thoughts, "I should just go to the forest or something, that'll be more fun."

Mehmet walks around the forest, bow, and arrow in hand, looking around. Then, he spots a small bird sitting on a branch, technically he didn't need to shoot, but Mehmet needed something to do.

(What a sociopath)

Just as Mehmet aims for the bird, he hears a loud noise, making him jump and trip over a low branch. He falls right into a peaceful clearing, "Shi-crap." Mehmet looks up and sees the same woman he saw in the palace, "Uh..."

Mahmelek turns at the sudden thud, only to see a vaguely familiar pair of green eyes, "Uh..." The boys stutters out, "I... fell." Mehmet says lamely, getting up and brushing his clothes off. "Have we met before?" Mahmelek asks and it finally clicks in Mehmet's head, "You're Sultan Melikshah's daughter... crap, Sencer's going to kill me for being disrespectful."

"It's fine," Mahmelek says, smiling slightly, "You're one of Sencer's alps, right?" Mehmet nods, "Yeah, wait how'd you know that?" "And that would make you Mehmet, Tapar was talking about you." Mehmet grins, "Yep, that's me, the kid Melik Tapar threatened to cut his arm off."

Mahmelek laughs, "So we know how I got here since I just tripped like an absolute loser. But, why are you here?" Mehmet asks and quickly corrects himself, "I mean, you don't have to tell me." Mahmelek shakes her head, "I don't know actually, I just wanted to get away from the Palace."

Mahmelek didn't know why she was telling him, Mehmet came out of nowhere, but now they were talking like they actually knew each other. Mehmet just nods slowly, "I mean, it makes sense," Mahmelek raises an eyebrow, "It does?" "Yeah, a lot of people wish they had money and royalty, but I really don't think it matters."

Mehmet thinks for a moment before adding, "And I've only been in Isfahan for a day and I'm already bored. Even the Sultan must wish he wasn't the Sultan sometimes, right?" Mahmelek nods, "That... actually makes a lot of sense." 

Mehmet grins, "Well good, now I should probably shut up before I say something stupid."

A/N: Help, we've been on this call for the past 2 hours. I don't even know why, but we're kind of dying inside rn. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please comment, it makes these depressing calls funnier.

Also, Our boy is very very awkward, he just tripped and randomly came across Mahmelek. 

If y'all have any suggestions or ideas for Mehmet and Mahmelek please comment! We would love to hear them.

Salaam and have a great day!

-Laraib and Zainab