The brotherhood of wolves

Chapter 11

THE DEATH OF A QUEEN

Murad pain knew no limits, letting out an agonizing scream of anguish like a wounded animal on a varge of dying, he felt to his knee in front of his mother's dead body.
His face darkened, hot tears poured down his eyes, ironically the very thing he was after, took the life of his only person he cared about. No enough words of consolation could be told...
A blinding rage like a hot melting lava which erupted from the depths of his own being, blind him, incapacitate him to evaluate clearly the facts that was done.

The memory of his mother's head rolling on the cold floor was deep engraved in his tortured mind, haunting him for the rest of his life.
He bitterly regretted that he did not obstruct her from living to keep him company until late, as she used to do it before most of the time.
The lust like a cunning snake took a grip on himself, Allah punished him for the unclean thoughts he had for a woman who did not belong to him, he violated his word of law and now bears the brunt of the consequences, he thinks whining in his mind.

The palace was boiling with the news of the valide sultana's assassination, gossips about her death spreading like wildfire, everyone making assumptions about the murderer. Who could commit such an grusome act not being afraid of the consequences. She was selfless and generous being , regretted by many..
Sultan Murad ordered to begin the funeral preparations, revenge remains for later on.
Tearing his caftan off as a sign of pain, he mourned the loss of his mother as was customary, him withdrawing in silence, locking himself in his private space to mourn until the funeral.

In the solitude of his chamber he could think of his next move.
"May Allah protect me!
As long as I live, this cursed family will be shaved from the face of earth, not even they name will be left in the remembrance! "He thought out loud about Vlad Draculea's family.
"May Allah have mercy of my soul if i'm rong!"
He vowed pounding his chest with his fists, in a solemn voice forging an oath to himself.

The royal funeral took place the next day in a solemn and mournful atmosphere, the procession of people leading the Valide Sultan on her last journey on earth.

Vlad hearing the news about Valide's death, trying to express his condolences for the Sultan loss, he was struck by a refusal from him, guards doubling at the door of their chamber.
After the funeral was over, Murad in a state of a self-controlled meaner summoned the Divan once more with the goal of determining the fate of Vladimir and his family once and for all.
Full of resentment, considering him directly involved or at least having some contribution in the death of the Valide, he summoned Vladimir to the Divan Chamber to be tried.

Vlad entering the chamber, unknowing the reason for which he was summoned, looking around at the petrified faces who watched him frowning, he knew he should wait for the worst of outcome to welcome him .
Sultan Murad give him a frozen look, disrespectfully in an inquisitive manner as if addressing to an ordinary man, he address him
"were you been the past days ghiaur, especially over the last day with fool moon ? " He asked.
By the insinuating voice tone of Murad, surprised by the question, not being guilty of doing anything rong    he knew that his sentence was already decided having no importance the fact that there was no way he could leave the bedroom unnoticed by the Sultan's guards.
He finally realized that the Divan meeting was a in fact a martial court meeting and he was the accused one , swallowing his anger, he replied
"What have i done wrong to you, o great sultan, to be judged this way like a common thief?! " he answered, avoiding a direct answer.
" You make yourself guilty of the Valide Sultana's murdering, Wallachian king! What do you have to answer to this accusation?"
Vlad had his suspicions, the gruesome manner she died was uncommon, but how on earth to be sure he was right about? Only one men he knew was capable of such thing, but he was far away.
Murad frowning, taking his hesitation as an answer, he knew that Vlad was not directly responsible for the murder, but intuition told him that his mother had been sacrificed as a warning, for the Wallachian king to be left alone. But the battle axe was thrown and he could not let his mother's death go unavenged, no matter what was at stake.
" Vladimir Draculea, king of Wallachia, you were found guilty of the Valide sultana's death, according to the laws of the great Ottoman Gate, you are sentenced to death by torture in the public square and then buried alive in front of the sultan's mausoleum, so that you can mourn your deed !" the sultan gave the verdict in a cold threatening voice.

Staring into Murad's eyes, Vlad verbaly confronted him
"You think i'm so stupid and not realized that you know i'm not to be blame for your mother's death, but i'm not the one you're targeting, just the victim used as bait in the trap you set to win a bigger prize!? "

The Sultan surprised by the quick-witted reaction of the Wallachian ruler, having no other arguments to say he ordered the guards to take the convict for the execution.

Before being taken, Vladimir turned his head to the Sultan and asked him
" I am ready to pay with my life if that is the will of your greatness, none of my people has given up in the face of death" Vlad says proudly, "but at least spare the life of my wife and children!"
Grinning sardonic, Murad replied
"It is not given to you to know what will happen to them, .. Ghiaur! Guards take him!! "being the last thing addressed by him to the Wallachian king.
With his head held high, Vladimir left the Divan Chamber heading for his death.

Word that the Valide sultan's murderer had been caught spread fast in all corners of the empire, that he was of the noblest lineage being a king himself, and he will be publicly tortured before being executed.
Peoples curious about the killer identity gathered in the central square, in the whispers of those present, amazed that the rumours was true, the convict accompanied by only two guards made his entrance.

Naked, only in his trousers, Vladimir was brought to his knees and whipped by the executioner until his back became a mass of bloody flesh.
The crowd incited at the sight of blood, cheering.. was encouraging the executioner to strike with even greater force .
After almost three hours of savage torture, he looked unrecognisable. losing consciousness, he was thrown on the floor like a bloody rag

The executioner to wake him up from fainting, threw a bucket of cold water over him.
He intended to start the torture from the beginning but was stopped at the command of the sultan who was watching the all scene from the main balcony of his palace .
The day was slowly fading replaced by the night, sultan ordering for Vladimir to be there left until the morning.
Vladimir was at the border between life and death, still breathing..
He wanted to be able to see his beloved for the last time, to tell her how much he loved her and how much she meant to him, to kiss her goodbye.. and with that his thoughts became diffuse, lost in a sweet forgetfulness nothing mattered to him anymore but a heavy lethargic sleep.

Murad waited anxiously to see if his trap was successful, almost a month had passed from since his mother death and mourning neer over, the moon shone softly in the sky, scattering a silvery glow over everyone, how it was possible for such a beautiful star that inspired for hundreds of years poets and lovers, to have such a detrimental influence on the monstrous creatures of the night.

It was obvious that the creature he was hunting with so much dedication was related to the phases of the moon.

He would have continued to philosophize if the glass in his bedroom had not been broken into thousands of pieces, the hideous beast appearing in the middle of the night right in his very room.
Taken unexpectedly, miscalculating the location of the attack, he pulled the silver dagger which he never parted with, from his belt, and quickly thrust it into the monster's chest.
The monster fell down like paralyzed, only his hissing breath showed he was still alive.
The Janissaries stormed the Sultan's chamber tying the monster with heavy silver chains to capture his power at once.
The Sultan rejoiced with joy, at last the hunt succeeded, he still had to wait until the morning when the identity of the murderer was revealed, metamorphosing and taking back the human appearance.

At least the plan was well done, capturing both father and son in one fell swoop.
The crack of dawn arrived at last, the sultan who had not closed his eyes all night trembling with impatience, he filled his time watching the creature, studying it quietly at the light of the lamp by his bedside. The creature seemed to be in a state unconsciousness, heavy binded with solid silver chains, silver was like acid for his skin, him realising by the burnt skin and fur where the chain touched it.

The monstrous features finally began to recede, the monster contorting his body, in the repulsive sound of broken and rearranged bones gaves way to the man below..