Carefree •Magnificent Century: Kosem

chapter •gulbahar hatun

...

The moon shone brightly through the windows and the harem girls prepared for bed. Anastasia tied her white nightgown in place as the other girls prepare their beds. She could feel the other girls staring, talking about her. She did her best to ignore them.

"So, they brought you for our Sultan?" The girl fixing her bed beside Anastasia's says. She looks to other girls who sat just a few feet away. "She's not even special."

The comment made the everyone giggle. Anastasia frowns and turns away from them.

"With all the existing harem girls, didn't they find anyone better than her?" Another girl comments. Anastasia sit on her bed and pull the covers to her chin.

"I didn't want to come! You can have your Sultan." Anastasia snaps. She's hope that they'd leave her alone now. She didn't see when Shieste Hatun motions for her friend, Ayse, to continue talking.

"We didn't want to either, but we were forced to. Did you see our Sultan?" Ayse asks Anastasia. The Greek fourteen year old shakes her head.

"Don't get scared when you see him, if you do he'll hurt you more." Shieste warns and places a hand on Anastasia's elbow.

"I'm not scared of anyone!" Anastasia claims and shoos her hand away

"That other little poor girl was so scared." Shieste says. Anastasia didn't see the other girls laughing, didn't know that all they were saying was a lie. She was too hooked on what Shieste was saying.

"Little girl?"

"SHH! If they heard me they'll kill me!" Shieste says, looking around to the harem. "Look, don't tell this to anyone, okay?" Anastasia nods. "Our Sultan, may Allah prolong his life, is so fat! He's puffy like half a dome! And he's so old!"

"They say he's almost 100 years old."

"He's way older than that!" Shieste exclaims and looks back at Anastasia. "They say he used magic to become immortal. He eats the heart of young girls who enter his bed each night!"

Anastasia turns her head around slowly and the girls who were once laughing quietly at the made up story, cease to do so when Anastasia looks at them. Instead they nod with serious looks on their faces. With Anastasia's head turned away, it gave Shieste and her friends time to laugh quietly too.

"How can I escape this?" Anastasia asks when she turned back around.

"There was a girl-she's the only survivor-she didn't look at his eyes at all! She stood frozen in her place and didn't even move a hair. She stood like a rock. Our Sultan," Shieste leans in and inhales air hard through her nose. "...smelled her a little bit and then he walked away." She tells and raises her hands. "May Allah help all of us!"

"Amen!" All the girls recite. Out from the shadows walks Gulbahar still dressed in her day clothes. She walks closer with a solemn look on her face

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, Gulbahar. Mind your business." Shieste says. Gulbahar looks at the girls around the harem and smirks. Unknown to them, Gulbahar had listened in, but she wasn't about to let anyone know. She was the eyes and ears of Raziye, she was invisible compared to the young Sultana. Easily-looked passed.

"You must be talking about our magnificent Sultan. May Allah protect him from all danger." Gulbahar says. The girls say amen and Gulbahar looks at Anastasia. She raises her hand to have Anastasia join her. Anastasia stands from her bed and walks over with a grumpy look. Gulbahar looks to the other girls and leans in from only Anastasia to hear her.