Duvarları içinde - within the walls

Chapter 1

A few months had passed after Osman had married Malhun Hatun, daughter of the Bayındır tribe, Umur Bey. She gave Omsan a son, Orhan, whom Mihrimah adored.

After he had caused Aya Nikola to flee from their last dispute, the Tekfur had contacted his Byzantine friends, such as Tekfur Rogatus Laskaris of Bilecik and Tekfur Mikail Kosses of Harmankaya Kalesi, and Rogatus to capture a priest named Gregor.

Meanwhile, a Bey named Turgut Bey kidnaps Kosses' sister Prenses Mari, and this causes even more trouble between the Turks and Byzantines. But she reunited with her brother eventually. Priest Gregor attempts to blow up Sögüt and the people residing there, as he was blinded by his own ideology, which led to his execution.

Rogatus then becomes more infuriated with Osman after Priest Gregor's execution and summoned assassins, two of them being Julia and her distant cousin Evangeline, later known as Eva. After the children were kidnapped from the tribe to be raised in a monastery, she had a change of heart and aided Kumral Abdal, who was undercover as a visiting priest. She then pledged her loyalty to Mihrimah, whom she had fought before and lost in battle. Her knowledge helped Osman in his battle against the Tekfurs. Rogatus eventually had a change of heart and started to aid Osman in his conquests.

Julia and her assassins were tasked with bringing an old treasure of Osman, which was given to him by the late Ertuğrul Bey. It resulted in the martyrdom of Boran Alp's wife, Gonca Hatun.

Nikola and Kosses had made a marriage arrangement between Nikola and Mari, but she is reluctant as she is in love with Turgut Bey and sees it as an insult to her freedom. She then met with Turgut and told him about the marriage. When the marriage was nearing, she sent her maid Cornelia to ask Turgut for help.

A governor named Soguros was to be poisoned but was saved by Osman and sided with the Bey.

''Governor Saguros?'' Mihrimah asked confused, then her face lit up in realization. ''Oh, the Governor you saved from poisoning.''

''Evet Mihrimah. He and his daughter, Prenses Hera, will be visiting our tribe.'' Osman Bey said. ''Governor Saguros set off to Iznik to visit us.''

''And we will host him according to the rules of Turks.'' Mihrimah proudly finished her uncle's sentence with a wide smile.

Gunduz Bey, Malhun Hatun, and Bala Hatun smiled at the girls behavior. ''Are the preparations completed?'' Osman asked his wives.

''Yes, Beyim.'' Malhun answered and turned to Bala, who spoke. ''Iznik will talk about our hospitality for days, my Bey.'' Mihrimah nodded in agreement. ''And I had a few Alps patrolling the woods in case someone would like to ruin Saguros' visit.''

''We show our hospitality to the ones who are trying to be friends with us.'' Osman said proudly. ''And we give a lesson to the ones on the battlefield who are trying to be our enemies. Sharpen your swords. It is time to make conquests.''

''I couldn't have said it better, Emmi.'' Mihrimah said. ''Speaking of conquests. It is only a matter of time before we hear anything from Davut Usta and Serdar, as they are undercover in Inegol.''

Gunduz Bey looked confused at his niece and then at his brother.

''You're right, kardeş kizim. We will need catapults if we want to break their walls.''

''And as there are iron mines near the castle, we will be able to make more swords for our Alps.'' Mihrimah smirked. ''Who knows iron better than a blacksmith?''