Roksolana watched at the fading figure of the man's body and sighed. Understanding that from the little time she had been with the man, he would make true his threat if she wasn't out by his allocated time or if she injured the maids. It's not like she would do that anyway. She wasn't about to let out her anger on innocent women who might be victims of their circumstances just as she was. She undressed and got into the bathing pot. She was surprised to find the water warm and relaxing.
She didn't fail to notice that the maids were afraid of coming near her, judging by the distance they were from her. She decided to relieve their fear."I won't hurt you. I just said that out of anger."The two women moved to her immediately and began to help her. They shared companionship in silence for a few minutes, until one of the women broke the silence."You are lucky to get the attention of the Sultan." She told Roksolana."What Sultan?" Roksolana asked."She meant general. A general is like the Sultan of the army." The second woman corrected."Yes, I meant general." The first woman added."Why do you hate him so much?" The second woman asked."Because he killed my family," Roksolana answered."I'm sure there are misunderstandings among you two. The man is nice." The first woman told Roksolana.By the time they were done with bathing and dressing, Roksolana already knew a lot about her adversary. The two women had deemed it fit to tell her little details about the man. They had also each told stories about how he had saved them from slavery respectively. She had learned that out of gratitude, the women whose names were Ayeshat and Rukayat had decided to stay and serve the Sultan of the sultanate.Roksolana looked at the expensive gown she was wearing and grunted. The material was too free and heavy on her. Even though the hijabs were lightweight, she felt a headache coming on because her head wasn't getting the fresh air it was used to. When she asked Rukayat if she could remove the hijab, the other woman frowned and told her only the general could give that order. By the time they had made her wear a shoe that wasn't a boot, she was ready to go and fight it out with the man whose name she now knows as Jamal, thanks to the two women.As Ayeshat led Roksolana out to where the general was waiting for her, she glanced about the ship. She was amazed at the expensive taste of the ship, which means they were rich tribes. Roksolana wondered why such a sultanate would attack their small tribe. She realized that it could only mean one thing, someone had set the two sultanates against each other. Who It was and why they would do such a thing began to bother Roksolana. She hadn't even realized they were already at their destination until she heard Ayeshat's small voice instructing her to get in."Right on time," Jamal said.Roksolana felt like going back and being back at a much later time. It didn't help matters that Jamal kept staring at her as if she had suddenly grown two pairs of heads. She also didn't fail to see that he was wearing something that flattered his body and looked quite expensive. It brought back the thought that someone had deliberately misled the tribe to attack them."Pardon my manners. Please sit," Jamal told her, gesturing to a wooden seat which she took unconsciously.As soon as she sat, trays of hot food began to come in. By the time they were done setting the table, it looked like the feast of a king."Let's eat, Dawn," Jamal told her."Why do you keep calling me Dawn? That's not my name," Roksolana asked."Are you ready to tell me your name now? Because I refused to call you 'your death'." He replied, smiling a little. "Let's eat." He told her when she didn't reply to him."I'm not hungry," Roksolana told him."I didn't ask for your opinion. Eat. That's a command," Jamal told her."Too bad since I don't listen to commands." She retaliated.Jamal looked at her for a moment, without saying anything. Then he spoke softly, that Roksolana almost didn't hear him."I had hoped it wouldn't get to this."Roksolana was about to ask what he meant when he spoke again."Bring them in."Roksolana watched as five women from her tribe were brought in. They were bonded and a piece of cloth each covered their mouths. Roksolana was happy they were alive, even though they must have been spared to make them maids. Jamal's next word halted her happiness."Eat, or they will be thrown overboard." He threatened."Anybody ever told you that you are a devil incarnate?""For every bite you refuse to take, one of them goes into the water." He told her, instead of answering her question.Roksolana picked up her spoon and began to eat. She heard the man sitting across her chuckle.Jamal picked up his spoon and began to eat too. He had wished he wouldn't have to resolve to blackmail, but he was glad he had prepared ahead. Roksolana was a stubborn woman and all his experiences with her made him realize that she wouldn't bend to anyone unless she got threatened by what she loved.He prayed that he wouldn't regret the words he was about to utter. He prayed that the threat was enough to make her stay calm. Just as he was about to speak, Roksolana spoke up."Who betrayed our sultanate? What did he say to your Sultan to get him to attack us?" She asked.Jamal looked at the woman sitting in front of him. She was a smart woman. She had managed to figure out things that would take others a while to understand in just a short time. Jamal contemplated if he should tell her the truth or not. The decision was taken away from him when she spoke again."Never mind. I've forgotten that you can't betray your Sultan. Anyway, I am done."Jamal looked at her plate and saw that she had indeed finished her meals while he was lost in thoughts. Jamal watched as she stood up."I'm going to trust that you will keep your words and keep my people safe." She said attempting to leave."Wait," Jamal told her. He hadn't even gotten a chance to tell her what was on his mind yet."If I wait, you're going to have to allow me to take off the hijab," Roksolana bargained.Smart. Jamal thought to himself. Truth was, he had missed the way her hair was always moving about. When he saw her come in earlier, he had almost rushed to take off the hijab himself. He decided to bargain with her."You can take it off since we are on the ship, but you have to put it back on as soon as we get to the sultanate tomorrow." He told her."Fair enough." She said and sat down again."Take them away," Jamal commanded the man with him.He stood up and got closer to Roksolana."Be careful. I still want to kill you." She warned him."I know. Why haven't you attacked me yet?" He asked."Because you are my ticket." She said simply. At Jamal's cocked brows, she explained. "I realized that you are the one protecting me from death. So killing you means that I have to die too and I can't die right now. I still need to kill your greedy Sultan and whoever betrayed my people. Once I'm done, I can come back to kill you."Jamal laughed. She really was a smart girl. Deciding not to delay anymore, he spoke."I want you to be my concubine when we get home, Dawn."The only response he got was a slap to his cheek, a hijab thrown to his face, and a hissing Roksolana walking away from the room and him.Roksolana felt bored being left alone all by herself for two days. Ever since the incident between her and the general had happened, he had stayed clear of her. His assistant, Sodeeq had suddenly gone missing from her presence too. Even Ayeshat hadn't come around to check up on her. As a matter of fact, no one had bothered to ask her if she was hungry or wanted to eat. They hadn't even brought a plate of food for her to even think about rejecting. She was so famished right now, she wouldn't mind eating even a human.Roksolana felt uneasy about it all. It felt like this was a calm before a storm. She didn't know why, but she felt like Jamal was up to something. What it was she didn't know, but she knew it had to be bad. Judging by her experience of him, she knew he must have given the order for no one to come near her or even act as if she existed.Was he still angry at her about the incident? After walking away from him and calming down, Roksolana had realized that she had
Jamal simply looked at her, before choosing to ignore her again. Roksolana was surprised by his actions. He had done it twice in thirty minutes and it was getting on her nerves. What was with him and the treatment he was giving her? Jamal readjusted his clothing at the sleeve, pretending that he hadn't heard what Roksolana said. He was boiling with anger. He had arrived at his sultanate only to find the shore empty, devoid of any security. His brain had immediately told him that they could have easily been besieged if it was an army from another sultanate that found that weakness against them. Turning to the second in command, he spoke. "Why was the shoreline not guided?"The man trembled as he answered, "I left people here for security. I didn't realize that they slacked off, Sultan.""You didn't realize?" Jamal barked in anger. The other man fell to his knee immediately.Roksolana became afraid of the man she was looking at. This was no longer the man sh
Jamal watched as she was dragged off, her knees scraping the floor and her voice still pleading for the men he had already ordered their death. He wondered what type of woman she was not to care about her own life. Any other woman would be on her knees pleading and groveling for her life. Jamal knew flogging a woman thirty times is like offering death to the woman the hard way. If the flogging doesn't kill her, her body would be marred for life. And a woman's beauty is in the spotlessness of her body."Sultan, stop them. She's just a woman and thirty strokes of the cane would kill her," Sodeeq pleaded to Jamal."Choose then. Your men staying alive or her not getting flogged," Jamal offered Sodeeq.Sodeeq's eyes widened at what the words implied. The sultan just gave him a chance to make a choice and that had never happened before. It was a pick one, leave one choice. If Roksolana got flogged, his men's lives would be spared. But if he chose Roksolana instead, he
Roksolana heard voices whispering around her somewhere in her subconscious mind, her body felt like it was on fire. Forcing her eyes open, she looked at the environment she was in. She was lying on the bed in a strange room, women in hijabs and cheap clothing crowded around her. She looked at her arm and failed to see the traces of the clothes she had on before. Alarmed, she forced herself to look at her lying body and saw that she was naked. She got up and immediately regretted the action. Her back hurt badly, and she cried out in pain."I see you are awake." A woman spoke.Roksolana looked in the direction of the voice. Sitted on an expensive chair was a woman clothed in the most expensive clothes Roksolana had ever seen. Expensive jewelry complemented the expensive dressing. The hijab on her head screamed expensive, with all the beads adorning it. Roksolana had never seen such expensive dressing before. Roksolana didn't fail to see the other women in the room bowing
Roksolana's stomach grumbled loudly and she remembered that she hadn't eaten anything in three days. Looking back now, she realized the people on the ship must have starved her on purpose because the sultan must have given the order to them. While she had doubted the odds before, it was suddenly making sense. Roksolana thanked her luck that she hadn't given in to his atrocious request of being one of his concubines."I'll get you something to eat." The maid told Roksolana before disappearing out of her sight.Roksolana was left to herself for no more than ten minutes before the maid was back. The maid sprayed the food she had brought in front of Roksolana who didn't bother to check what they were before devouring them. After she ate to her heart's content, she looked at the maid and smiled."What's your name?" Roksolana asked the maid."Seyiddah." The maid replied."Thank you Seyiddah but I think you should go back now to avoid getting in trouble,"
Roksolana felt like she was drowning in a pool of water. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't break free. It was when she started gasping to breathe that she realized someone was trying to drown her. Apprehensive, she opened her eyes and found her head immersed in a bucket full of water. Struggling to breathe, she grabbed the hand of whoever was holding her and flipped the person forward. The culprit let out a loud grunt. Roksolana coughed until she felt her lung was cleared. She cleared her eyes and looked at the person who had just tried to kill her. She was surprised to see a man who looked like a guard on the floor.Anger filled Roksolana up as the man tried to escape. She doesn't even know the man or did anything wrong to him. Yet, he had just tried to take her life. Roksolana held the man by his collar as he tried to run away. The man tried to loosen her hold on him but she held on firmly. Roksolana felt a blow on her face and let go of the man immediately. As soo
Before he could stop himself, he was holding Roksolana in his arm, turning her every which way he could to check her for any injury. He went even as far as checking her eyeballs for any signs he could get. When he was satisfied that she hadn't been injured, he let go of her. He saw Roksolana subtly roll her eyes.Jamal looked at the man who had tried to injure Roksolana, unmoving form. His face was severely bruised and he had some cuts on his face. Jamal knew that the man had thought of Roksolana as a mere woman who couldn't defend herself, hence the reason for his rash decision. Knowing that men would probably be wary of getting on the bad side of Roksolana, he felt a bit at ease. But he still felt a little uneasy knowing that her life could be in danger?"What're all the commotions for?" Lady Miriam asked, finally appearing with a face full of makeup.Jamal knew that Lady Miriam was a vain woman, but he hadn't known it was so bad until this morning when she re
Roksolana bit her lips as she came face to face with Lady Miriam. She hoped the woman hadn't realized what had happened between the sultan and her. She didn't need to add jealousy to the woman's reason for hating her. Her eyes widened as she saw Lady Miriam walk toward her with a menacing look. Roksolana took a step backward for each step Lady Miriam took until her back hit furniture in the room. When lady Miriam got to where she was, she slapped Roksolana hard on her face. Removing the hijab on Roksolana's head, Miriam wrapped it around her neck, choking her with it. Roksolana slapped the woman's hand, but she refused to let go. It wasn't until Roksolana was losing consciousness that the woman released her."I'll make sure you regret making the sultan mad this morning." Lady Miriam told Roksolana. "Is there anyone out there?" The woman called out.A man rushed in immediately. Roksolana couldn't believe her ears when Lady Miriam ordered the man to tie her to a chair. B