The Sultana mother's headquarters remained both lively and calm. Raina, who was chosen as one of the Sultan's concubines, disturbed the tranquillity. She was a princess from a neighbouring country that was conquered, and as a result, she was betrayed and sold as a slave to the Sultan by her brother, the king; on one condition, she should not be mistreated.
Raina was just sixteen years old and had a difficult personality to interpret. Not even the Sultana mother. She could not be tamed or controlled in any way. Her honey skin colour yelled, 'I am different from the others,' making her quickly spotted and renowned throughout the harem for her lack of decorum. Her lovely oval but solemn face was emphasized by her drowsy bright hazel eyes and chestnut hair.
Raina barged into the Sultana mother's chambers unexpectedly, unconcerned about what she may discover.
"Sultana mother, I am here to report something to you!"
Sultana mother, who was accustomed to her barging into her room, was unsurprised to see her. She was having a good time with a young royal eunuch who appeared to be half her age. 'Of course, the Sultan had no idea.' That's what she'd always assumed.
She rolled out of bed, draped herself in her silk bedsheet, and sat in one of her bedroom chairs, staring at the uninvited guest in front of her. Raina would not leave her alone if she did not do so.
"What have you come here for this time, Lady Raina?"
The eunuch waited beside the Sultana mother, still dishevelled, waiting for her signal to exit the chamber, but there was no such indication. He appeared uneasy, yet he stood patiently and listened to their talk. He didn't have much of a choice because leaving without permission meant death. The Sultana's mother was a highly dangerous and respected lady in the court, and her authority was larger and virtually identical to that of the Sultan's Grand Vizier, Mohammed. She ruled the harem and was a well-mannered middle-aged woman with ambitions and a slyness that belied her age.
"I came to complain how poorly I've been treated here since I arrived." She sobbed, "Look at this. This scar was created by your illiterate palace slaves. They did this to me despite the fact that I had no scars. Please, Sultana mother, grant me justice!" She mentioned this while displaying a new wound scar on her left arm.
Sultana mother waited for her to finish speaking.
"But I'm afraid that such discussions are not of any appeal to me, Raina, no matter how much free time you may have in your hands, I cannot help you with your affairs. Now if you will excuse yourself, I have a lot of pending matters to attend to."
"Sultana mother, because we are from the same kingdom, you are the only one who can assist me in this situation. I am confident you understand what a fellow citizen is experiencing. Only you have the ability to defend me, which is why I am able to withstand all of the bullying from the other harem concubines."
"So you've chosen to come to me with your nonsense once more?" Her voice became stern as she continued "Raina, pay close attention... If you continue to act like a spoilt brat, I will lose patience with you. You are no longer a princess of any kingdom, but instead a slave. Should I continue to remind you?" She veered off topic.
She rose from her seat and approached Raina, who was still standing at her bedroom doors. "I was having a fantastic time. It was an intimate time with someone, and I was almost at my climax...yet you had to disrupt it. Who cares about your scar, eh?" She firmly grasped Raina's chin and scowled at her "If you ever...ever...come to my bedchambers without prior warning... I vow I'll have you decapitated. Do I make myself clear?"
"But Sultana mother …"
"Get away of here! Get out and never return!" Her voice was tinged with rage as she grabbed Raina's injured arm and shoved her out of her room like trash.
Raina lacked the energy to fight back. She was aware that her actions had consequences. The thrust reopened her wound, and the agony in her injured arm became scorching.
"That malefactress... I will make her pay for all the harm that she has caused me."
Raina took a couple of deep breaths and then began to walk as blood began to pour from the cut in her left arm. Her injuries needed to be treated right away.
***************
The wedding of Hatim and Arshi was kept as modest as possible. There were no festivities because everything was hurried, and Arshi did not want a big celebration. Her family was unable to attend, so Mohammed, joined by another of Hatim's close aides, stood in for them as witnesses.
"Do you Arshi Selim, accept before the Almighty, Hatim Osman, the son of Mustafa Osman as your lawfully husband with two million gold indemnity?"
'Hatim?' the name sounded unfamiliar to her. That was the first time she knew of her husband's-to-be real name.
"And do you Hatim Osman, accept before the Almighty, Arshi Selim, the daughter of Abdulkareem Selim, as your lawfully wife with two million gold indemnity?"
"I accept," Arshi replied.
"Do you also accept?"
"I accept," Hatim responded calmly.
"Do you accept the young maiden, Arshi Selim, the daughter of Abdulkareem, the woman you wished to be legally your wife as the primary wife of Hatim Osman?
"I accept."
"Do you also accept?"
"I accept."
"The people observing this marriage, are you witnessing this?"
"Yes, we are." Both Mohammed and the aide responded respectfully.
"Are you?"
"Yes.
"With the strength and presence of the witnesses, they are finally husband and wife."
***************
"We are almost reaching our destination, my love. To your new home. Our home."
"My new home," she whispered to herself.
"Do you have any second thoughts about getting married?" he asked her worriedly. "I apologize, the carriage is taking too long to reach our destination, my love."
Arshi confessed, "I am not sorry I married you, Hathi. I hope you do not regret taking me as your wife either." she put her arms around his neck and said as she leaned forward and kissed his lips. He returned her kiss as well.
"If only my family could have been present to witness our wedding. Hathi, am I such a disobedient daughter? For the sake of my happiness, I threw behind the life I was supposed to enjoy at the palace as one of his majesty's concubines. In the process, I have hurt my family... my father... and I am terrified and heartbroken." She offered him a shaky grin.
"Pay attention to me, my beloved. I may not be flawless, but I am confident that I can make you happy. I also understand that my happiness will not be the same as your family's, but I will always be there for you."
"That's nearly impossible - but I can only imagine," she said and there was laughter in her voice.
"You doubt?" He grabbed her chin as she averted her gaze from his piercing eyes. "I want everyone at the palace to know how much I love you and how proud I am to be your husband—especially my mother."
"Palace? What exactly do you mean by "palace," Hathi?" She inquired innocently, but she was still perplexed. "Do you work in the palace?"
After hearing her statement, Hatim almost burst out laughing and responded, "You may say that I live and work there."
"No, you jest,"
"I wish I was, but that is where I was born and raised," Hatim replied earnestly.
She'd never been to the palace before, so she had no clue what to expect. She had always heard about the legends that came from there, but she was never interested in identifying herself with anything related to that place.
Arshi paused for a minute before shifting her eyes to Hatim, her face filled with curiosity about her husband's home. She had no clue that someone like him could be living in the palace because they used to spend so much time together and he didn't act like a slave or a royal towards her. He usually dressed like a noble and spoke in a different manner than she did, but what piqued her interest the most were his assistants, both Mohammed and the other aide who attended their wedding ceremony. They were dressed beautifully, and she saw a royal insignia embroidered on the other aide's turban. "What are you attempting to convey to me, Hathi?"
"I am trying to tell you the truth and only the truth."
"And what is the truth?" Arshi inquired.
He turned away from her, avoiding her gaze.
"In reality," he said, "I had never yearned for a wife before. After witnessing you smile and laugh for the first time... And the more we talked, the more I fell madly in love with you."
He replied gently, shifting his head and looking at her. "My name is Sultan Hatim Osman, and I am the first son of Mustafa Osman and Zeenat." "I am the third and current King of the Aleppo Kingdom," he said, his eyes seeming almost like a lion's as he looked at his followers. He was a king indeed.
In the shocked silence that followed, he looked at Arshi to see all the colour leaving her face. Arshi looked startled. She paled, and her body was as still as death.
"As expected, you are not asking me anything." He replied disappointed. He expected her to be shocked by the news but not that much to turn her white.
"You are the Sultan? His royal majesty…Sultan Hatim?" Arshi answered tonelessly before turning her back.
For some reason, she did not look as delighted as Hatim had expected. He had told her the whole truth. What was there left to say?
The reality had become too much for her to bear. She adored Hatim but was terrified of the rumoured tyrannical king. The one she had always been disparaging. She had no desire to be linked with the royal life in any way. She intended to flee on the day she was scheduled to visit the palace, and she had informed Hatim of her plans. Why did he make her look like a fool? She thought to herself. Her husband had been deceiving her for years by concealing his intentions towards her.
"Arshi?"
"Do not touch me!" she replied. "How long were you going to keep this a secret? You purposefully sought to mislead me and succeeded." Arshi accused him, adding ominously, "Are you still not satisfied?"
'Then why get married?'
Why would he approach and marry her if she was picked to be his concubine? Wasn't he the one who issued the imperial decree? He also allowed her enough time to get ready for her departure. He pretended to know nothing about her problems and listened to whatever she complained about to him. Was he really madly in love with her? Or was it just him being a maniacal tyrant?
"I had my reasons for approaching you at first," he acknowledged, "but then I fell in love. Is it inappropriate for a monarch to fall in love and marry? I didn't mean to keep this a secret, but you're already my wife, and of course, I want an heir from your womb. So, my love, please accompany me to the palace."
She quickly lifted her chin and informed him, "I will not accompany you to the palace. I'm not going anywhere with you. I'd rather be somewhere else than in the palace, where I'll have to stare at your deceitful face every day."
Immediately Hatim frowned.
"Enough of this!" Hatim abruptly came to a halt. "But there is one thing you are correct about, Lady Arshi. It isn't too difficult for me to restrict you to a location from where you will be unable to escape. In fact, my love, I should have done it a long time ago."
Arshi's eyes widened with shock and disbelief. "I am your wife, not your slave, Hathi!" she cautioned. "If you dare to do this, I will despise you for the rest of my life," she said, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Then you leave me with no option, my Sultana!" he said angrily. "I will adore you regardless of how much you despise me. I'd rather you despise me than lose you forever."
"You are heinous! I will undoubtedly report you for this!"
"You seem to forget one thing, my darling," Hatim informed her effortlessly, his hands wrapping around her waist quickly drawing her closer to him and gently gripping her chin, "In this Kingdom of Aleppo, I am the law!"
Arshi was too stunned to speak, and there was quietness. She could feel it dangerously expanding between them, and now that she was so close to him, she could see something she hadn't noticed before.