THE FORTUNATE KHAN| MAGNIFICENT CENTURY |

CHAPTER 03

"Is it really necessary for this walk?" Mihrimah whined as Firuze fixed her dress behind her. She was cranky since she woke up after crying herself to sleep, she hated that she was marrying someone who wasn't Bali Bey despite the fact that he had no interest in her and gave her zero signs of any attraction towards her.

"The Khanzada wanted to meet you before your wedding tonight besides Sehzade Mehmed will be with you so don't worry" Firuze tried to assure the younger girl. She felt a little bad for the Sultana in front of her, she was barely sixteen before her father informed her of her arranged marriage and her whole world crumbled since that day.

"I am not afraid, just very uncomfortable" Mihrimah answered. She twirled around to face her maid who looked at her awaiting orders. There was something off about Firuze lately but Mihrimah couldn't put her finger on it.

"You're coming with us, right?" Mihrimah asked almost worriedly. She felt comfort when Firuze was around her and she wanted to take advantage of that safe feeling she got.

"Of course, Sultanim" Firuze bowed before moving to the side so Mihrimah can sidestep her. Mihrimah looked at herself one last time in the mirror before she opened the doors to her room and walked out.

Arslan didn't know why he felt this nervous as he waited for his soon-to-be wife and her brother to arrive. He fixed the collar of his Kaftan to stop his hands from shaking and to stop his mind from overthinking about his appearance. His mind wandered back to the conversation he has with Mustafa the night before, he remember how for a second he loathed the Sehzade who would have been in his shoes if it weren't for his sister's affair but Arslan did not blame her, he has never fallen in love before in his life other than with swords and war but he understood from the cries he heard coming out of her room as she longed for the man she fell in love with, he understood when he remembers the tears that welled up in her eyes as she recalled their memories together and because of the way she gave a sad and bittersweet smile when she spoke of him now after all these years.

"Khanzada" Arslan jumped out of his thoughts and turned to face the person who had addressed him to find Sehzade Mehmed who he had met the day prior to this.

"Sehzade" Arslan gave the other young man a small nod of the head. Mehmed had a soft friendly smile on his face as he stepped closer to the man his sister will be marrying this night.

"A penny for your thoughts, Khanzada" Mehmed joked trying to lighten the mood. Arslan let out a small chuckle which made Mehmed sigh in relief over the fact that the man his sister will be marrying was not a stuck-up serious soldier.

"If my thoughts were worth pennies then I would be the richest man on in the world" Arslan joked back. Mehmed chuckled shaking his head. Their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps approaching the two. Arslan held his breath and turned around to face the doors he and Mehmed and walked through and listened closely as several people approached the door.

Arslan cursed time as it seemed to slow when the doors began to open. Arslan was afraid of what he will be seeing when they were fully open in front of him. He had never met Mihrimah before and he had no idea what she looked like and Aybige was no help having not seen the young Sultana since she came back and he hadn't had the opportunity to speak with her after they came here. He wouldn't dare ask his mother who would probably scold him and tell him that he had no patience. Arslan's eyes grew in size when they met the breathtaking forest green ones of Mihrimah Sultan. She gave him a polite smile and stepped closer to the two men in front of her.

"Khanzada, it's an honor to meet you" Mihrimah was the first to speak between the two seeing as Arslan was frozen still. Her words broke Arslan out of his frozen state, he couldn't help but blush a little feeling embarrassed with the way he reacted when he first saw her.