Caterina spent her whole life being underlooked and misunderstood.
Hatice spent her whole teenage years chasing a man who loved another.
But Hüsniye became more than a pawn. She became a queen. She conquered the heart of the Ottoman Sultan, the hear...
The scent of incense and sun-warmed silk hung heavy in the air. Gilded cushions lay scattered across the floor where my siblings sat, the candlelight catching in their flaxen hair—our mother's legacy made golden flesh. All except Mehmed. Dark-haired, brooding Mehmed sat apart, as always, his eyes unreadable beneath the fringe of his brow.
I paced like a caged lioness.
"So the whore wishes to send us off, huh?" I hissed, rage boiling just beneath my skin. "She thinks she can toss us away like scraps. Cast us out while her bastards play prince and princess?"
Ayşe frowned, folding her hands tightly in her lap. "She's not... she hasn't done anything to us. Not really."
I whirled. "Not yet! But she will. You think she looks at us with kindness? She looks at us like we're a threat she forgot to eliminate."
"You should be scared!" I barked. "You all should be. She wants us gone. I don't care how sweetly she speaks, how gently she pats our heads. She is a serpent in silk."
"She's our stepmother," Mahmud whispered. "And she's the Haseki. She can do what she wants."
"She's a slave with a crown!" I spat. "And she's poisoning our father against us, inch by inch!"
Mehmed finally stirred. "Do you really think he's so weak-minded?" he asked, voice low. "He's still our father. If he agreed to send us away, there must be a reason."
"He has eight new reasons," I shot back bitterly. "And all of them are younger, softer, more obedient. Do you think he'll ever name you crown prince, Mehmed, when Selim sings at his feet like a lapdog?"
Mahmud covered his ears. "Stop fighting!"
I crossed the room in a fury and pulled his hands away gently, kneeling down so we were eye to eye. "No, you listen to me. She smiles now, but she will kill us if she must. Just like—" I hesitated, the words thick on my tongue. "Just like our mother."
Fatma began to cry.
"Enough." Mehmed stood. "This is getting us nowhere."
"Then suggest something useful!" I snapped.
"We need to protect ourselves. That starts with Selim. He's her heir."
"And he's just a boy," Ayşe whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"That's what makes him dangerous," I muttered.
Just then, the heavy doors groaned open.
We all froze.
My heart leapt into my throat—until I saw the familiar shimmer of Aunt Hümaşah's silks. Her veil was pushed back, her lined face severe and unreadable, though the corners of her mouth twitched with amusement.
"You really must learn to lock your doors, my darling," she said as she stepped inside, "especially when conspiring against the Sultan's favourites."
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"Aunt Hümaşah!" Fatma ran to her, relief written all over her tear-streaked face.
Ayşe and Mahmud followed like ducklings to water.
I straightened and composed myself. "You scared us."
"And you," she said, eyes flicking over the room's shattered perfume bottles and a cracked mirror, "are clearly very busy."
"I'm sick of her!" I burst out. "I'm sick of her eyes on us like we're pests. I know what she's doing—"
"I know, child." She took a seat with the grace of a woman born to power. "I heard."
"So?" I asked, breathing quickly. "What do we do?"
"You leave."
Silence.
"What?" I stepped forward, stunned.
"You do as you're told," she said. "Go to your provinces. Smile. Bow. Act sweet and stupid. Let her think she's won."
"And then?" Mehmed asked quietly.
"Then," she replied, voice like steel wrapped in velvet, "when no one is looking... nature intervenes."
"Nature?" Ayşe echoed.
"A plague," Aunt Hümaşah said simply. "It's begun already in the outer quarters. A little silence, a little whisper here and there... and it will reach Topkapı. Sooner or later."
Mehmed narrowed his eyes. "You would risk the whole palace?"
"I would do anything to avenge your mother," she said, with a chilling smile. "And to make sure your bloodline survives."
"But... people will die," Fatma whispered.
"Yes," I said, my voice steadier than ever. "But not us."
Aunt Hümaşah looked at me with a mixture of pride and calculation. "Good girl. Stay angry, Hümaşah. Anger is power—if you know how to wield it." She stood and kissed Mahmud on the head. "Pack your things, my loves. The game has begun."
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OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 30K+ READS
I did tell you that you're not gonna love me in this era...
family tree:
Sultan Murad + Fülane Baş Kadın ⸺Hümaşah Sultan (16/05/1564) ⸺Şehzade Mehmed (8/07/1566) ⸺Şehzade Mahmud (22/01/1568) ⸺Ayşe Sultan (12/3/1575) ⸺Fatma Sultan (20/11/1576)
Sultan Murad + Fülane Hatun ⸺Rukiye Sultan (31/05/1566)
Sultan Murad + Haseki Hüsniye Sultan ⸺Mihrimah Sultan (29/10/1566) ⸺Şehzade Selim (29/10/1566) ⸺Hanzade Sultan (15/1/1569) ⸺Şehzade Abdullah (17/12/1573) ⸺Şehzade Süleyman (17/12/1573) ⸺Nefise Sultan (12/8/1578) ⸺Neslihan Sultan (12/8/1578)
Sultan Murad + Şah Kadın ⸺Fahriye Sultan (8/1/1568) ⸺Şehzade Ahmed (1/8/1577)
Sultan Murad + Nazperver Kadın ⸺Şehzade Bayezid (28/11/1574) ⸺Hatice Sultan (18/5/1576)
Sultan Murad + Fakriye Hatun ⸺Beyhan Sultan (6/8/1575) ⸺Mihriban Sultan (15/6/1578)
