Gossips And Bickering

"Say, this woman matches your description very well. For goodness's sake, won't you tell me who you wrote this for?" I am surprised to hear them speak Persian.

He lifts his cloth up to peek, then puts it back on. "Her? No. I didn't write this for a slave." I can still see the small bruise, the one I made by my fist. Looks good on him.

I frown at being called a slave. "I don't think you wrote it for anyone. The lines sound vague."

To admit, it took me a lot of courage to say that. His lips twitch a little but says nothing and the older man, after staring at me with eyebrows raised, bursts out laughing. "Oh come on, I've not seen such a sweet looking girl lately. You look familiar. Come, sit."

I sit down slowly beside the blonde man. "I am Akbar Effendi, jurist and a noble. A pleasure to meet you...lady."

His companion rolls his eyes and mutters, "time waster and show off."

He only dismisses him with a wave of his hand and smiles at me. Remembering my manners, I nod. "Jahanara Razia. I am... enslaved apparently."

"And what happened to your wrist?"

"Oh, this? I was shot. On my calf as well."

The man widens his eyes and turns to the admiral. "What did I teach you about respecting women-"

"She tried to escape," he says flatly.

Akbar Effendi shakes his head. "So, where do you hail from, Razia?"

"Indi-" you catch yourself. "I mean, I used to live near the coast of Beirut."

"Of course you did. You speak Persian well, mistress. You're going to the main hall right? Are you lost?"

"Not exactly. I was looking for Suluman Agha-"

"Suleyman Agha." The admiral, who's been quiet the whole time, corrects me with an actual chuckle.

"Why do you happen to need the Kizler Agha?" It was the Effendi this time.

"....Atike Hatun sent for him."

"I see, well, if you go to the main hall you'll find a tall, almost as tall as this giant beside me, and black man. He isn't much old...but remember to treat him with respect, he's the main eunuch here."

The admiral suddenly chimes in, removing the wet cloth. "I don't understand why anne is always after him-"

For the first time, Akbar Effendi tenses and gives him a warning look. Then fake smiles at me. "You can be off then, lady."

I nod and then hurry off. I can't wait to meet Fatma! There's plenty of roses here, I take one to tuck it into my hair. Finding the main hall is done with ease by following the Sultana's instructions. There is a large door, carved with intricate designs, but it's wide open. Before I can get in, I bump into someone.

It's exactly the man I was looking for. He towers over me, and looks to be about two decades older, probably.

My tiny voice, out of nervousness, squeaks, "Gulbahar Sultan sent this." I show him the piece of metal which kind of looks like a seal now that I notice.

He takes a look, then stares at me. I feel like I'm under a spell under his electric blue eyes. "Name?"

"R-Razia." He gives me a grim nod then leaves. That's it?!

I keep standing like an idiot until someone back hugs. "Where were you?! I've been asking around for you every hour!"

I squeal and turn around to hug Fatma again. "I am so sorry I wasn't there with you. What did you do yesterday?"

"Scrubbing floors. My lacquered nails are about to fall off."

Like that, we keep chattering while getting in the main hall. We also meet Raysha as well. So far I've learnt they've been scrubbing the floor and went to the harem school yesterday. They taught them some rules.

"Can you believe it, Salim Agha said no men," Fatma says.

"But he is a man," I exclaim with surprise.

Raysha replies, "No he isn't, he's a eunuch-" she moves her two fingers like scissors. We all burst out laughing. But soon stop when we realize how painful that must have been.

"Wait wait, let me introduce you to Anisa, Suleyman Agha's sister." Fatma pulls a girl passing by with a big spoon in hand. I get a feeling that they've done a good job creating chaos in the harem already.

"Uh- hello- I speak Arabic too so I made friends with this crazy lot-"

It's that Anisa.

"Nice to meet you, pretty-face," she smiles wryly. She recognized me.

"Um- nice to meet you too." It's a bit awkward because she just got shoved at my face. It's a bit hard to believe she is Suleyman Agha's sister, that man isn't exactly good-looking while she is really pretty closer up, but she does have a resemblance, the same blue eyes. She has to be at least ten years younger than him, though.

"What's with all the bickering here? Get back to work!"

It's Nur Khalfa. Atike Hatun's assistant. Her comical face makes it hard to take her seriously, but she can be a real pain in the arse. And the cheek.

Apparently, Fatma seems to know that as well, so she rolls her eyes and goes back to scrubbing and Anisa flashes you a knowing grin and runs away to the kitchen- probably.

I keep just standing there. Nur points her short index finger at me. "Hey? Got no job? Need a spare bucket?"

"But you know I am injured!"

"But you can walk atleast, so go and fix the mattresses. By the way, your bed is next to that brunette- Rashi- Raysi- or whatever her name is." I pout, but she just struts off. What a bi**h.