"OH! THE young hanim is so cute!" Torah, a girl who was older than Kosem by two years, was the assigned attendant that the Grand Vizier Esad Fahrettin. Wearing a simple white satin chemise and pants with minimal head accessories, Kosem smiled radiantly at Torah.
In her past life, she did not encounter Tora since the past Kosem avoided the Grand Vizier like a plague.
'Which is a dumb move for the past Kosem. Well, I can't blame my past self. Who could have guessed that the Grand Vizier would plot to kill me?' Kosem lamented.
What she did know before was the fact that Grand Vizier's faction opposed Hazeyn's edicts every chance they could get.
"Really, Torah? Do I look like Grandpa now?" Kosem knew that she was a beautiful girl and she would take advantage of this fact in her lifetime.
Torah gushed as she watched the young lady. The latter displayed her peculiar eyes full of innocence as she smiled widely while showing her dimples on each side of her cheeks. "Yes, of course! Grand Vizier Esad will surely love our young hanim more!"
Kosem just grinned wider at Torah before she grasped Torah's hands. "Will you love me too, Torah?"
Kosem continued in her thoughts. 'Will you let me use you like a doll, Torah?'
Torah did not know the hidden message beneath Kosem's innocent question, nevertheless, the young attendant hugged Kosem for a minute before nodding her head vigorously. "I will serve you with all I got. So please trust me, Kosem Hanim."
"Then, will you come with me then Torah?" Kosem reached her small hands to the wondering Torah.
"To where Kosem Hanim?" Tilting her head, Torah asked Kosem.
Instead of answering Torah, Kosem just smiled at her. "Grandpa told me to select a soldier for me so will you help me find an amazing guard for me, Torah?"
GRAND VIZIER Esad showed nothing but kindness to Kosem since he officially adopted her three weeks ago in the Fahrettin Household. And Torah was the only one who showed Kosem that she was welcomed since the other attendants did not like the presence of another master to be served. The attendants were so used to the lonely Grand Vizier that having an additional master would be a burden to them but Kosem wanted to change that. She would control this household first as she would get the Grand Vizier's trust.
And yesterday, he called for her in his office because of two things. First, he asked if she was adjusting well and the second reason was he wanted her to select a Janissaries soldier – an elite soldier under the influence of Grand Vizier.
The Janissaries were the elite soldiers of the Ottoman Empire. They used to answer to the Sultan solely but the previous Sultan, Hazeyn's father, appointed the Grand Vizier to command the Janissaries which was the biggest mistake that would lead to Sultan Suleiman's tragic death. And that's where I will begin my task.
Macit Guray. The name that would play a big role in the siege of Vienna four years from now, he was an outstanding captain of the elite soldiers that would bring great pride to his benefactor – the Grand Vizier. Though Sultan Suleiman led the siege, the bureaucrats viewed the Grand Vizier's eye for talent when the newly ordained captain of Janissaries contributed a lot to seizing Vienna.
'But now, Macit Guray is only a fourteen-year-old boy in the fighting pit. After all, that's where the Grand Vizier saw his potential. The young Macit Guray already displayed potential in fighting.' Kosem thought.
Clad in a baggy black-colored coat, Kosem and Torah went out of the Grand Vizier's palace. "Kosem Hanim, the campsite of the Grand Vizier's Janissaries is inside the manor." Hesitation and worry laced upon Torah's voice as Kosem led Torah away from the palace.
Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Kosem did not listen as she glided to the buzzing square of Constantinople. Nostalgia hit Kosem as the familiar view engulfed her. Ever since she came back to her past life, this would be the first time that she would be stepping into the main square of Constantinople, the capital city of the Ottoman Empire.
Gliding her gleaming peculiar eyes around her, Kosem felt the urge to dance around but she steeled herself from doing so. She persuaded herself to behave by observing everything around her. From the merchants offering poets about their goods to the people luxuriously walking in the streets under the bright sun to the hanging carpets above the streets that were recently woven by the empire's craftsmen – Constantinople exudes a merry feeling.
"Just follow me Torah, I will select a Janissaries of my own," Kosem tugged Torah with her. The former's destination was to the part where the bureaucrats of the empire would love to say – the fighting pit. As they walked away from the buzzing main square of the capital city, they went deeper and farthest part of the city wherein bureaucrats wore hoods to conceal their identity as they bet.
Torah knew where the direction Kosem was heading but she first refused the thought at first seeing how her young mistress skipped happily before making Torah gulp a few times more than normal. "You can't take a fighter from the pit, hanim."
Kosem was not able to answer when a private soldier in the fighting pit stopped them from entering. But what Kosem did make Torah gawked – she just saw her young mistress show the seal of the Grand Vizier to the soldiers and they immediately ushered them to the VIP seat located at the top of the fighting pit. The whole time, Torah was awestruck as she followed Kosem who was walking confidently while being escorted.
Kosem whispered to the leaving soldier after she tugged the hem of its uniform. "Did Macit The Slayer already enter the fighting pit? I want to watch him fight and see if I can use my akce to him." Kosem subtlety showed her purse of akce to the soldier to which the latter responded greatly.
Clasping his hand with greed reflected in his Mediterranean eyes, he answered. "You are in time, young hanim. Macit the Slayer will fight two successive rounds this day. Would you like to arrange a private meeting with him?"
Kosem dismissed his attempt to sweet-talk her. "I only want to watch him. But if he will do well, then I think I will spare you my extra purse for an arranged private meeting."
The soldier's eyes gleamed like the akce they were talking about before he dispersed after the stiff nod from Kosem. Torah observed the hushed interaction between her and realized something she did not know how to grasp – her young mistress was a genius.
'Maybe that is the reason why the Grand Vizier adopted her after one meeting,' she thought.
Torah remained standing at the back of Kosem where she was sitting. They did not take off their hoods as they watched the parade of fighters go and left the blood-stained arena. Their form was not something that would stand out in the fighting pit seeing numerous figures like them, hiding beneath the oversized baggy hoods as they cheered for every death of a fighter in the arena below them.
Kosem rested her chin on the back of her palm as she watched the wretched sight before her with a boring look. The past Kosem would shrink at the gore-packed scene unfolding in the arena.
'But four centuries already passed and a lot has changed and will change.'
The host of the fighting pit dramatically walked to the newly cleared arena, upon his entrance the crowd's silence made Kosem raise her eyebrows.
'Is it time for Macit to enter?' Kosem wondered.
"And for the main event, let us rattle our purses for our challenger in the right corner, Onin the Destroyer!" A burly bald man with a cloth covering his loin region walked proudly inside the arena with a gigantic ax in his right hand. He opened his muscled arms as if asking for a cheer which earned a scoff from Kosem. The crowd went wild, especially the common folks who were situated just below the podium of the VIP. Curses, threats, and swears rained which alerted Torad. For her, this was not a proper scenario for a barely fifteen-year-old kid like her mistress but the nonchalant reaction from Kosem made Torah think twice. She decided to shut up and observed Kosem for the latter's safety in such a rowdy place. "And from our left corner, our undefeated champion, Macit the Slayer!"
Upon the mere mention of his name, Kosem straightened her back as she sat on the carpeted chair. She saw a child barely a teen walking confidently inside the arena. Unlike Onin, Macit's opponent, he did not have bulging muscles or any weapons around him. Macit was just like a lost boy standing at the center of the arena with his sandy brown hair and scarred olive-colored skin.