Captured For The Sultan’s Pleasure

Roksolana ran back to the harem and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that none of the ladies were back. She walked into her room and stopped short. Roksolana took a step back and stared at the door to be sure she was in the right now. Sure she hadn’t made a mistake, she looked into the room again. Her window was opened and everywhere was scattered. All her clothes were on the floor, scattered across the room. Her drawers were opened and all its contents were lying on the floor. Roksolana looked around trying to see if anything was missing. Nothing looked missing to her. At least, not something she recognized.

Someone had come for her while she was in the hall. But who was it? And what had they wanted? Roksolana knew for sure that it wasn’t Asleem this time since he had been tied up in the hall too. Unless he had instructed his men to carry out the mission when he had been held captive. Or it could have been another person entirely. But who could it have been? She didn’t have any enemy on Wadai’ sultanate, and she didn’t think that she had offended anyone. The person had chosen the perfect hour to strike when everyone would be busy in the hall. Another thing was the fact that the person had been so sure that she wouldn’t attend the ceremony. This means that it was someone who knew a lot about her and her stubborn nature. What the person hadn’t known about was the threat hanging on her people that had forced her to attend the ceremony.

Roksolana gasped in fear as a hand took hold of her arm. She relaxed when she heard the princess speak to her. She knew the exact moment the princess saw the state her room was in when she heard her exclamation. Roksolana explained to the princess that she had scattered the room when she had been looking for the outfit that would suit her dancing. Roksolana watched as the princess looked at her for a minute before she shrugged her shoulder then bent to pick up some of the things. Roksolana joined her and together, they cleaned up the room and rearranged the things back to their positions. When they were done, the princess sat on the bed and sighed.

“Thank you,” Roksolana told the other woman sitting beside her on the bed.

The princess didn’t say anything for a long while and Roksolana almost thought she hadn’t heard her.

“I like you. You are not hungry for power, unlike the others.” The princess said.

“Neither do you,” Roksolana told her, connecting their hands. The princess smiled at her. “Why are you really here though?” Roksolana asked her.

The princess removed her hand from Roksolana’s. For almost ten minutes, she didn’t say anything and Roksolana became frightened that she might have crossed her boundary. She worried that she might lose the princess’s friendship because of her insensitivity. She was about to apologize for the question when Princess Azeezat spoke up.

“Because our sultanate is under threat. So, my brother sent me here to try and keep me safe. I feel awful for leaving him in danger though.” She said, almost crying.

Roksolana patted the other woman’s hand gently. If the princess sultanate was in danger, then why was the Jedi’s sultan threatening Jamal instead of asking for help? Besides, what kind of danger could they be in for the Princess to be moved away from her sultanate? Roksolana wondered why the princess had confided in her though or why she had even befriended her.

Princess Azeezat looked at Roksolana and felt guilty a little bit. Her brother had told her to act this way towards the woman because he thought that she might be able to help them. Princess Azeezat felt like her brother might be wrong in his assertion towards the Sultan and Roksolana and his thoughts about how the woman can help. From the weeks she had spent at the harem, princess Azeezat was sure the Sultan felt nothing for Roksolana. And if today was any indication, she was sure that no good could come out of this. But, she still had to try just for her sultanate.

A lady from the harem busted into the room, her expression was one of fear. Roksolana stood up from the bed, feeling afraid for a reason she couldn’t fathom. She walked to the other lady and watched as the woman tried to find the words to speak.

“Ayeshat… Lady Roksolana… Ayeshat… Was found dead by a guard just now.” She finished.

Roksolana felt life gone out of her temporarily. Ayeshat was dead? Why? For what? Roksolana thought hard and only arrived at a thought. The bracelet. Did Ayesha really know something about how the bracelet came to be in Roksolana’s possession? She had to know something. And if there was only one person who would know about Ayeshat’s death, it was lady Miriam. She’s had enough of Lady Miriam trying to get all over her. She had to stop her, otherwise, Roksolana would lose her life in the battle she hadn’t known she was fighting with the other woman.

Roksolana rushed out of the room. She heard the princess and the other lady screamed behind her to stop, but she didn’t stop. She was going to confront the woman, regardless of the outcome. She passed through the sideways door which led directly to Lady Miriam’s house. When she got to her front door, she stopped.

There were no guards around the house and the house itself seemed quiet. Her first thought was to turn around and leave. But then, the anger in her demanded that she confronted the woman. A voice reminded her that she could be walking into a trap Lady Miriam had deliberately set up for her but she ignored the voice. Roksolana exhaled loudly and walked to the door. As she placed her hands on the doorknob, voices from the room made her stop in her actions.

“Why did you kill her?” Lady Miriam was asking.

“Because she tried to talk to the Sultan.” A male voice answered.

Roksolana guessed that they were talking about Ayeshat and paused. Ayeshat had tried to talk to Jamal? But why? It had to be something important if Lady Miriam and her lover had killed her for it.

“By the way, someone knows about my identity. But don’t worry, I’m looking for ways to get rid of the person.” The man’s voice said again and Roksolana heard Lady Miriam gasp.

“Who is it?” Roksolana heard Lady Miriam ask in fear.

“It’s no one important.” The man answered.

Roksolana knew for certain that Asleem was the one in there with Lady Miriam but she wondered why the voice seemed a little different from Asleem’s voice. She also wondered why he was protecting her when he was probably plotting ways to get rid of him.

“What are you planning to do about the Sultan now?” Lady Miriam asked.

“Don’t worry. I’m planning a revolt against him to usurp him from the throne. Once my troops are ready, we can make a move.” The man said.Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

“Spend some time with me since no one would be looking for you.” That was Lady Miriam.

“As you wish, my lady.” The man responded and everywhere became silent.

Roksolana scoffed at the closed door and walked away. She knew Asleem was plotting treason, but she hadn’t thought that it was soon. When she got to her room, she saw that it was empty and she sat on the bed. The Sultan’s life was in danger. Should she tell Jamal about their plans? She stood up and began to pace the length of her room lost in thoughts. If she were to go by how the Sultan had treated her and what he had done, then she was sure that he deserved whatever befell him.

Just today, the man had threatened to kill her people. He had even ordered Asleem to be beaten until she arrived, which means that Asleem could have been beaten to death if she hadn’t shown up. She could see how that would make Asleem feel and his reasons for revenge. However, that means his people would suffer over things they knew nothing about. Everyone on the sultanate would get displaced. And the hatred between the two sultanates would be a never-ending war. One of them had to let go of the hatred for the betterment of the land, Roksolana thought grudgingly as she stood up and went out. She bumped into a hard body and winced.

“Lady Roksolana, I’ve been looking for you.” She heard a man say.