Yeni Bir Kavga- A New Fight - Aylah's story

Chapter Thirteen

They were just outside the broad gates of Sogut when Osman turned to them, "I want you all to be careful, keep your eyes open, and choose your words carefully, understand?" 

Orhan tilted his head curiously, looking at his father from where he sat in front of him, "Aren't these people merchants, Baba?" Osman nodded grimly, "Jackals tend to hide in sheep's clothing, Oğul. Unfortunately, people have taken advantage of our mercy in the past."

Orhan nodded in reply, satisfied with the answer. Aylah looked around from where she sat on Goktug's snowy white horse. Sogut had always been a lively place, filled with people from all sorts of backgrounds, selling items from the east, the west, and everything in between. 

Almost immediately upon their entrance, people called out greetings, "Hosgeldin, Osman Bey!" Chorused many voices, and Osman put his hand to his chest in acknowledgment. Aylah smiled at the people who had gathered around them as they turned to the stables.  

"Baba, can we go talk to those kids over there?" Melike asked, and Osman looked away from the conversation for a moment, nodding. "Goktug, Baysungur, stay with the kids, their safety is entrusted to you." "As you order, Bey."

The group walked towards the merchants' children mostly consisting of Roman kids, with light-colored hair and eyes. "Why do you look so scary, Goktug Emmi?" Aylah inquired upon seeing some people's frightened reaction to the tall soldier. "I don't know," Goktug mused, "Isn't that a good thing? No one will mess with me."

"But, it also means people are less likely to talk to you," Aylah pointed out, making Goktug scoff, his icy eyes surveying the crowd. "Thanks for that, kid."

"Hosgeldin, Orhan Bey," Orhan turned, startled by the title, but still smiled politely. "I'm like eight," He whispered, "Why are they calling me a bey?" Aylah snickered, "Wait till someone calls Melike, Melike hatun." 

Orhan snorted, "I can't wait for that to happen." Orhan stepped forward first upon reaching the group of kids, "I'm Orhan, what's your name?" 

(Look at him, such a social butterfly.) 

"I'm Lukas, and this is my brother, Marcus," said a boy who looked to be a little older than Orhan, with dirty blond hair and pale brown eyes. Orhan smiled kindly, his dimples becoming apparent, "This is my sister, Melike." "I'm aware," The boy had said dryly, making Orhan's smile falter. 

"Who are they?" Lukas then asked, gesturing to Aylah and Kayi,  as if his previous statement was not at all pretentious. "Aygul alp oglu Kayi," said Kayi calmly, crossing his arms. 

Orhan glanced at Aylah, giving his younger friend a quick encouraging smile. "I'm A-Aylah," She had tried to force the words out without tripping over her words, but inevitably, it happened anyway. The boy gave a stiff nod, "Who the heck does this kid think he is?" Melike whispered and Orhan shook his head slightly, "Let's just go talk to someone else." 

As Aylah turned to follow her friends, someone bumped into her. A little girl with wide, azure eyes looked up at her, "I'm sorry," The girl said quickly, looking around fearfully. Aylah gave her a small smile, "It's okay," The girl couldn't have been more than three, but looked thin and small for her age.

"I'm Aylah, can you tell me your name?" Aylah asked kindly, "Livia." The girl replied hesitantly, "Do you live here?" Livia asked, looking around carefully. Goktug had gone with the other 3 while Baysungur remained at Aylah's side. Aylah shook her head, "Not here, but close by."

"My father said we're going to live here, but this place is so big." Aylah nodded, "It is big, but it's a nice place." "It is?" "You'll like it here, trust me," Aylah reassured. The girl finally smiled, and Aylah got up, walking with Baysungur to follow her friends. 

"Did you see that? I actually talked to someone!" Aylah exclaimed to Baysungur who kept his eyes on the surroundings but gave the girl a quick smile. "I saw, Aylah, you did a great job."

They found the rest of the group talking to a boy around Orhan's age, incredibly light blond hair reaching his ears. "Don't worry this kid isn't a jerk," Kayi whispered to Aylah, despite what he said, Kayi stood defensively like he just about always did. 

"Did you come here with your family?" Melike asked the boy, whose name, as Aylah had learned, was Andreas. The boy nodded, "My parents are over there with my younger brother, they're big fans of Osman Bey apparently," said Andreas with a slight eye roll. Orhan grinned, "Trust me, we feel the same way. It's weird when everyone knows who your father is." 

"Do you two have any siblings?" Andreas asked curiously to Kayi and Aylah, "I don't." Kayi replied, then looked at Aylah to see if she would answer for herself. "I have a little brother, he's 2," Aylah responded.

"Orhan, Melike, Aylah, Kayi, come on, we're going to the inn," Osman Bey called, walking over to them with the rest of his alps. Aylah glanced up at the sky, which was covered in heavy rainclouds. "Is it going to rain?" Aylah asked, and Melike grinned cheekily, "Nope, buckets of water will just fall from the sky."

Aylah rolled her eyes, "Funny, very funny," Osman lightly nudged them forward towards the Inn, "Come on now, I don't want to explain why all your clothes are soaking wet." 

A/N: Heyy Guyyys, i had a bit of a rough day yesterday, but I'm a little better now. Do you guys have any suggestions as to what should happen in the story? I'm a little dry in inspiration right now. 

Also should I do another Q&A? 

Salaam and Have a great day

-Laraib