One Chance

17. Secret

She looked like night with her midnight blue gown as she descended down the stairs of the Kayi Bey tent after the dinner. The gown she wore was the one Aykiz gifted her and according to her sewed by her own hands. It was made of velvet, it was beautiful and warm and even she got so much compliments from everywhere, she couldn't spot Ertugrul even stealing a glance at her for once.

She was going to spend the night in the tribe, Hayme Ana insisted to which Selcan and Sungurtekin's smiles were too obvious. Halime agreed without another word, she needed some time too.... around people she was going to spend the rest of her life.

They all treated her like a doll made of glass, the thing, the life she was trying to run away from, the comments and expressions she was trying to avoid were not stopping. She was scared because in that way, no one would stop her if she's doing anything wrong, saying anything wrong, no one would correct her and she didn't wanted to turn into someone who won't get corrected for their mistakes.

Halime Sultan, daughter of late Sultan Allaedin and sister of Sultan Kiliç Arsalan.

But there was one voice that never called her that. "Ceylan?" She heard him as she turned back. The tribe was painfully quiet and she felt the urge to whisper out the whole conversation with him. Everything felt like a secret between them.

Though they weren't exactly standing in middle of tribe or in anyone's attention, they felt like still keeping their meeting a secret like it's all planned, that they are secretly meeting and nothing sort of a coincidence.

She had a smirk at him calling her Ceylan. He loved to tease alot, didn't he? "Uh hmm?" She said as he walked towards her, his own face having a big smile.

"I was wondering if I can ask you for something."

Silly man didn't even knew how to start a conversation. "And I was wondering something related too but go on." She replied which earned her a laugh.

"I know you fought alot for me, for us but.... does Sultan Kiliç Arsalan know? I mean-"

He was simply asking if her coming to tribe or him sending her as the message said is a plan to reunite them or is it also a part of thousands of coincidence.

"He's the only one with whom I share everything. He knows. When I returned back years back, I told him back at that time. He allowed."

That seemed to give him alot of ideas and thoughts and that even raised some concerns in his mind as well it also relaxed him a bit knowing there are no interruptions from Halime's family side. "So you coming for war-"

"It wasn't a coincidence he sent me. After baba, I practically tortured myself with training so much and I thought i became dangerously strong and my only component was my own self. He thought I could go back, get myself out of the misery i have put myself into, show my skills of fighting and all i learned against mongols and rewrite the stars with the person whom I left wondering only if we get 'one chance'."

He smiled. He just did that. Nothing else. He kept doing it. She kept waiting.

"Tonight, even though the sky is painfully blank, you look like you can light up the whole sky." He complimented and he wasn't lying, she was glowing, she was shining, she was different yet anyone can point her out and tell that to her that she looked like she didn't belonged there but she also could point her finger towards the heart resting in Ertugrul's chest and tell that she actually belonged there.

"You ignored everything I said, I expressed, I revealed by using this compliment that have been resting in your mind since the moment I entered the tent for dinner." She complained, raising her brows, she was mocking him, he knew it.