Exotic Ruhenian Girl

BLACK cloaks covering their entire silhouettes, Kosem and her group of three entered the capital, Constantinople's, main square. The familiar buzzing of the Ottoman Turks was still lively. Rugs in different colors were still hanging above the streets and along the walls of the buildings as the demand for the rugs increased across the Ottoman Empire. The smell of pita bread from different food stores invaded Kosem's nostrils. People were walking along the busy streets of Constantinople.

"Hanim, where are we going? The Grand Vizier thought that you will buy things for your playtime with the sultan." Torah's words were whispered to Kosem's right ear. On Kosem's left side was the alert Macit Guray who was surveying Kosem's surrounding for any malicious intentions.

Kosem shrugged as an answer to Torah. "Just follow me and you will know," Kosem answered in a mysterious way that aroused Torah's suspicion.

"B-But – " Torah's words of protest were cut off by Kosem when the latter entered a secluded pathway, away from the main street. It was safe to say that Kosem's directions were to the slums of Constantinople. The realization that hit Torah made her paled considerably that she turned to Macit Guray, forgetting that she was afraid of the child. "Macit bey, won't we stop the young hanim? This is the dangerous part of Constantinople!"

Macit Guray answered stoically, his cobalt-colored eyes bore into Torah. "I follow the will of the master." Macit took a step forward, following Kosem closely. But he stopped for a while and turned his head back to Torah's frozen form. "And I am strong," said Macit Guray before leaving Torah.

Kosem, on the other hand, stopped right into the only lavish store at the center of the slums. Silver decorations adorned the entrance of the store, but what the store highlighted the most was the line of nude girls both foreign and Turks.

"Hanim, why are we here in the slave trader's store?" Torah, who was once a buyer in this store under the secret command of Kosem, was worried. "If you want to buy and save another slave, I can buy that person for you. You do not need to risk your identity."

Kosem shook her head slowly, her odd pair of eyes stared at the lavish slave trade store. "No. That person is yet to arrive in this store."

The Cheshire cat's grin was now plastered on her face again. "Who are you talking about, hanim?" asked Torah.

"The key to the Mushtasem Assassin Group," whispered Kosem that only Macit Guray heard and reacted by the knot formed between his brows.

TO FIGHT a beast, one must be turned into a monster. To be a monster meant to walk a thorny path full of shards and pain. To numb the pain then one must eradicate any trace of lingering emotions. Of these three steps, the third one was the hardest for Kosem who live through time and was currently at war with destiny called history. She knew that it was greed that made her attached to her past lives' emotions hard to handle. To forget the smiling image of Sultan Hazeyn Suleiman and to turn away from his warm gentle voice was enough to spread doubts within herself. But the mere memory of her beloved sultan's death right beside her cold corpse never failed to harden Kosem's resolve. Because if she truly loved him more than herself then she would avoid the past from repeating itself and that would mean she could no longer embrace her lover nor gaze at him.

Since the day she became the young heir of the Fahrettin Household, she was already walking a separate path from Hazeyn Suleiman.

The first step was to make him hate her, drawing an invisible line against her. With this, Hazeyn together with his adviser Muhammet bey would be wary of the Grand Vizier's every move. And the next step would be the people around her. Kosem, who knew the events of the Ottoman Empire's history, would take the focal personalities to her side and use them to shake the Grand Vizier Esad Fahrettin's power. And to start that crucial point, she would start here – at the auction house of the slave traders.

With the use of the cloak that veiled the three of them, their identities were obstructed except for their silhouettes. The bald Turk who welcomed them with akce laden eyes twinkled upon observing the stature of nobility from the young hanim whom he spoke to. His plump cheeks were flushed red and his navel protruded from his tight vest. "This way, masters."

Behind the crimson silk curtain, the bald Turk showed the three what was inside the lavish store. The rugs on the floor and the carpets attached to the wall and ceiling were enough to conclude that this store was doing well with their patronage.

"These girls are the spoils of war from the ongoing Hungarian-Ottoman war. Most of them lived at the border and some of them are still untouched." The bald Turk pointed at the girls sitting near the wall, they were eating grapes without any clothes on as if they were enticing the customers that walked past them. But Kosem, whose eyes had lived two lifetimes, saw the disparity within the women's eyes.

'They are miserable.' Kosem thought solemnly.

Due to the existence of the Koran, the religious book of Muslims, slavery was not rampant in the Ottoman Empire. But selling foreign girls as whores and mistresses even as prospective wives were allowed even in the capital city, Constantinople. Kosem did not know if it was better for the girls to be slaves or be sold in an auction house. But she did not come here to play hero, she came here for one person in mind.

Kosem answered the guide with a low voice. "Bring me your best goods." Intentionally, Kosem flipped her veil to show him the purse of akce tied to her waist.

Upon the clanking of the akce coins inside her purse, the bald Turk, whom Kosem believed was not the owner of the store, clapped its robust hands with greed. "Then follow me, masters. I have the perfect piece for you."

He led the three to the narrow stairs, leading to the second floor. They bypass the group of merchants who were being entertained by common whores. And they bypass a group of nude ladies dancing atop the tables, their pubic hairs and private parts were clearly on display before the hungry eyes of officials and merchants who came here to seek pleasure and entertainment. Walking the narrow staircase, the lavish atmosphere did not dwindle. Silver ornaments were decorated on the walls where Persian carpets were attached.

A warm light welcomed the four upon walking to the hallway of the second floor of the store. A soft melody from the instruments saz and baglama echoed within the thin walls. Soft murmurs and giggles escaped from the closed doors they walked past.

'Are these the VIP rooms of the store used to meet privately – or play privately?' Kosem wondered as she followed the bald Turk to the farthest part of the hallway. The sound of footsteps echoed in the narrow hallway. The three fell in silence. Torah was reluctant about the place and was too afraid that anyone could recognize her mistress' identity. Macit, who remained alert inside a new territory, remained calm on the surface. And Kosem, who was contemplating the person she would soon meet – it was only a matter of minutes.

They came to a stop when the bald Turk stopped in front of lavish-looking double doors. The silver and gold embedded in the ebony made Kosem conclude that whoever was beyond the doors was someone that the store was proud of.

'Is it that person?' Kosem thought. Her hands sweated and ran cold due to the anticipation of the event that would unfold.

The bald Turk grinned with greed as he gestured to open the door. "The red-haired Ruhenian girl was bought yesterday. Too bad. I know she could compete with this one. But do not fret, this woman is the very definition of the word 'exotic'." Pride oozed from his words as he showed off his trading skills.