Yasak - Forbidden (A Goktug Alp/Kongar Love Story)

Chapter 1

A/N: Melike's scarf covers her hair but this is kinda what she looks like hehe

"YA ALLAH!"

A girl sitting on a large stray rock in the grass jumped as she heard a voice yell across the training field. She was wearing a deep violet tunic that reached just below her knees, and a headdress over a scarf that covered her hair. Her dagger lay next to her whilst in one hand, she held a shining sword, fit for a Turk Warrior, and in the other was a sharpening stone. She stopped honing the blade of her weapon for a moment and grinned, her almond-shaped, hazelnut-brown eyes wide as she looked across the training field at two Kayi Alps, wrestling playfully with each other. Light dimples appeared in her rosy cheeks as she grinned, amused by the scene before her; especially as one of the Alps happened to be her older brother.

"You know you can never beat me, Konur," said Boran mockingly, at his best friend Konur. He was a tall young man in his early twenties, lean and well-toned. His hair was a roasted tawny color, and his eyes were almost identical to his sister's. He had his sleeves rolled up his arms as he smirked at his fellow Alp, readying himself to fight as he surveyed his opponent.

Konur scoffed. He was about the same age as Boran though he seemed slightly older, but he was not as tall and slightly stockier. He had deep, curly, auburn-blonde hair and round, sky blue eyes full of life and excitement. "You can only dream of destroying me, kardesim," he laughed proudly, and loudly. Melike chuckled; Boran and Konur had been best friends ever since Ertugrul Bey and Osman Bey rescued Konur from a Mongol Slave Market and brought him to the tribe years ago, when Osman was just in his early teens and Konur was slightly younger, and both boys grew up to be Osman Bey's most elite Alps. Konur was not only Boran's best friend, but he was also a brother to both him and Melike.

Melike and Boran had been orphaned in a Mongol Raid just days after Melike was born, and Boran had been the only survivor from his tribe when his mother sent him into the woods on the run with his baby sister. He was only five or six at the time, but he did not hesitate to take his newborn sibling into his arms and escape the tribe without being killed. He ran as far as he could for a good few hours, before he nearly collapsed out of exhaustion- he told Melike that he had hidden himself inside of a crevice in the trunk of a tree, and rested there whilst he tried to soothe her.

He told Melike that he had named her on that very day- he called her 'Melike', which amongst other possible meanings, meant 'Angel'. Boran told her that in those few crucial hours of his life, she was the only reason why he fought so hard to stay alive and out of the Mongols' reach- he could never let her get hurt or die, or leave her alone in the world when she was just a vulnerable babe. She was all he had, and he was all she had- they only had each other. He was determined to not let anything happen to her; even after Turgut Bey and Bamsi Bey had found them after attempting to rescue their burning tribe from the Mongols, and brought them back to the tribe, Boran would not even leave his sister's side. Even when they had found a good wet nurse for her, he was the one who would dress her and look after her as best he could. It got better when Konur arrived in the tribe, for he too had had a younger sibling- they both took care of Melike together.

And as for Konur, he too had been orphaned in a raid- yet he was not lucky enough to escape his tribe.

"Tell me about the Mongols, Konur Aga," said young Melike. She was around seven years old, a chubby, bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked child full of curiosity. Growing up without knowing her real parents and family made her a very curious and unusual girl, and she often would think long and hard about things most young children would not even try to comprehend. "Melike! Don't ask sensitive questions like that," said Hafsa Hatun reproachfully. She was Bamsi Bey's wife, and was looking after Konur and Melike whilst she was cooking. They were in Bamsi Bey's tent, whilst Boran went hunting with Bamsi Bey along with Hafsa and Bamsi's children, Aslihan and Aybars. "It's alright, Hafsa Ana, I think I would like to tell Melike about it," said a 13-year-old Konur with a smile. "Alright, my dears," said Hafsa, shaking her head whilst smiling.