Chapter 29

Hamid sat in the golden chair in the middle of the room. He was still somewhat in a daze. The soldiers…his soldiers were waiting for orders.

"No one must know," said Raoul. "If word reaches the sultan's soldiers that are in these lands, we will be killed."

Hamid slowly nodded. "Yes…," He snapped out of his trance and looked at the men. "Do you know where all of the sultan's units are in this land?"

"We do not," said the old man.

"That will be my first order. We need to search out every location within these lands."

"My lord, we do not have enough men to do such a thing."

Hamid smiled. "And are the people loyal to the sultan?"

"Only out of fear."

"When word reaches their ears that the son of Titus lives, I believe we will have more than enough men."

"This is true," replied the old man. "Although your father was cruel, the people were still better off."

"What is your name?" asked Hamid.

"Muti."

"What did he say?" asked Raoul.

"His name is Muti," translated Hamid. "The name means obedient." He could not help give a small laugh in unison with Raoul.

"As I said before, the sultan chose his leaders most wisely," pointed out Raoul with a smile.

"Well he will no longer choose for these people from this day forward," replied Hamid in a firm voice. He looked at Muti. "I want the leaders of each family line to secretly make their way here. We have much to discuss and plan."

The old man smiled. "I hear and obey…King Hamid."

--

"You should eat something."

Rashida shook her head again as one of the slaves offered her a plate of food.

Suleiman's mother looked at her with concern. "You need to be strong. Growing weak will not benefit you."

She probably had a point, especially if she was going to find a way to escape. But Rashida's stomach felt awful.

"Eat small pieces of the flat bread," said Iris as if reading her mind. She said something in her foreign tongue to a slave.

Rashida relented and broke off a small piece. "I hate that I do not understand anyone here."

Iris nodded in understanding. "I will teach you."

That was probably a good idea. Her father always said it was wise to learn everything about an enemy. Now she understood why he wanted her to read the book. As she swallowed the bread, Rashida looked at her "So…you are the sultan's first wife."

Iris smiled. "I have been married to him since I was your age."

"How can you be married to a man who has multiple wives?"

"First, I love my husband. He has always treated me with respect and love."

"Love?" whispered Rashida. "How can you say that when he marries others?"

"Because secondly, I understand that for the Ottomans to be safe, I must sacrifice some of my Christian beliefs for the good of the people."

"Yes, I remember that argument with Raja."

"Raja?" asked Iris in confusion.

Rashida blushed. "I mean…Suleiman. He pretended to be another man. I did not know he was the prince."

"And why would he do such a thing?"

"To bring me here," she muttered.

Iris tilted her head. "Perhaps."

"What other reason would there be?"

"Maybe you should ask him."

Rashida's eyes widened as Suleiman stood in the doorway. The slaves quickly knelt on the floor while Iris stood and greeted him with a warm embrace. She whispered something to him and looked back at her. The slaves were dismissed and Iris left them alone.

Rashida awkwardly got up from the table on the floor. She tightened her robe. "I do not want to talk with you."

"I am not surprised."

His voice was rough and she noticed his face was tight. Looking closely at him, Rashida saw lines of strain on his face, his eyes flat and sad. He looked as if he had not slept for days.

Not that she cared.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

He sighed. "Do you not wish to ask me why?"

"What? That you posed as an imposter so I would fall into your trap?"

"My father ordered me to seduce you."

Rashida looked at him in horror. "I am sure he is very proud of you. Congratulations, you will be as ruthless as he when you rule."

"It was you who seduced me," he said so softly she almost did not hear him. Suleiman suddenly straightened, his eyes becoming cold. "I did what I had to do."

"So your story of love was a complete lie!"

It appeared as if for a moment he winced. But if he did, the expression quickly disappeared, making her wonder if she imagined it.

"Yes…I lied. But in time you will still learn to please me."

Rashida's anger made her shake. "Never."

"Perhaps you should take lessons from your friend."

"Friend?"

Suleiman gave her a cruel smile. "Your friend Nicole. My brother brought her here. I of course already tasted her talents while I was in France."

Rashida felt physically sick. Who was this man? He was nothing like she remembered. She thought maybe if he truly loved her he would feel at least some remorse. Instead he was now only hurting her even more.

"I hate you," she said in a strained voice.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment and nodded. "If you do not learn to obey me, you will be beaten."

"I do not care."

Suleiman laughed softly. "Your spirit remains strong. But it will not last. If you do not bend to me, you will have a most painful life."

Rashida slowly shook her head. "No, Prince Suleiman. I will have no life. I will die before I am your wife."

His eyes met hers and she swore for a moment he looked at her with…approval?

"You would rather die than be with me?" he asked gravely.

"Yes." That was probably what he wanted.

He appeared to give a slight nod. "Then you are truly worthless to me."

Before she could react, he quickly turned and left the room. Rashida slowly sunk back down to the floor. Sitting, she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Holding herself, she bowed her head and quietly wept in despair.

--

"Suleiman!"

Suleiman cursed under his breath and stopped when he heard his mother's voice. Breathless, she caught up with him.

"Why are you so angry?"

He gave her a hard look. "It is none of your concern."

"Did you have an argument with Rashida?"

"I have to meet with my father now." He bowed his head respectfully to her, giving her no opportunity to ask him any further questions.

Because if she did, he might just damn well crack and admit to her what he was doing. As painful as it had been, he had to make Rashida hate him even more than she already did. Using Nicole was an added knife which definitely worked. And although his heart was shattered, Suleiman turned it into anger instead.

Which was exactly what he needed for what he was about to do.

Arriving at his father's court, the soldiers quickly parted for him. Slowly he made his way through the crowd of people listening to a report from a leader from a military unit.

"My lord, we have heard no response. It could simply mean they are remaining silent until the current issue is resolved. I am unsure if-,"

When the man stopped speaking as he noticed Suleiman's sudden appearance, the entire court murmured and bowed their heads. He cringed slightly, wondering if his father would be angry at this unannounced visit, not to mention the interruption of what appeared to be an important report.

But to Suleiman's relief, the sultan gave a smile and nodded at him. He waived off the soldier who bowed and backed away. Leaning forward, his voice was rich and strong. "Suleiman, I did not expect to see you until the presentation of the girl. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today?"

His heart pounding, Suleiman almost changed his mind. Instead, he thought about the entire situation with Rashida, forcing himself to grow angry again. Clenching his hands into fists, Suleiman spoke in a low voice. "I must speak with you alone."

The sultan's eyes narrowed but he slowly nodded. The court quickly emptied, the doors shutting firmly. When all was silent, Suleiman's father looked at him expectantly.

He swallowed and looked at the two nude slave girls sitting on the sultan's steps. His father frowned when he understood Suleiman did not even want lowly slaves present for this conversation. The sultan shoved one of the girls with his foot and she let out a slight gasp. Both girls scrambled down the steps and left the court.

"Now," said the sultan sitting back. "Tell me what is so important that only my ears may hear."

"I think we should consider other alternatives for my first marriage." As expected, his father's reaction was not encouraging, the sultan's eyes darkening.

"And why is that?" he asked in a deep voice.

"First, there are many other lands we could use to our advantage with a different union. This girl you have selected has no political ties…we gain nothing from this when it comes to increasing our dominance over other lands." The sultan gave no response so he continued. "The girl is also a nuisance. I will have to continually beat her into submission. She has no respect for our rule and will continue to challenge my authority."

His father slowly smiled. "She has a very strong spirit."

"Yes, and I admit I was first intrigued by it. But she has been extremely difficult since her arrival. This first marriage will be closely watched by everyone. I cannot simply lock her up at all times to hide her lack of manners."

"You managed to seduce her easily enough," replied the sultan. "I believe you can find other ways to, shall we say, influence her."

Suleiman stiffened as he knew his father was referring to sex. He shook his head. "I will be forced to rape her on the wedding night."

The sultan chuckled. "Yes, you may have to tie her down. And you will give her no choice but to accept your gentle, sweet torture. I have watched you and I know you can be very patient. After one long night of your ministrations, I think she will bend to you."

"Only her body," muttered Suleiman.

"Her mind will also be yours in time," said the sultan reassuringly.

"But not her heart."

His father studied him for a few moments. The sultan spoke in a gentle voice that Suleiman had not heard since he was a child. "While you should love and respect your wives, it will take time to earn that in return, especially from this particular girl. I hear she is fiercely independent with a strong mind. These are traits we need for our future. And that is more important than any alliance with other lands."

Suleiman shifted in his stance uncomfortably. This was not going at all how he planned. His father was actually being supportive, even trying to encourage him. He drew a breath and tried his last tactic.

"She will kill herself," Suleiman said in a hard voice while he crossed his arms over his chest.

The sultan's eyebrows rose. "You are certain?"

"She told me herself. Before our wedding night I would not be surprised if the girl is dead. It will be shameful to me…to us if such a thing happens. We cannot take the risk. I want nothing to do with her. There are many girls in far off lands that may have similar traits. My own brother brought one of the French women here quite easily."

"Easily," echoed the sultan. "This is exactly why I have selected this girl. Other women may have a strong spirit but not the same intelligence. While I understand your concern, this is the right decision."

"But she will be dead before I can even have a child with her!" said Suleiman angrily.

"No," replied the sultan in a calm voice. "You will place her on close watch to ensure she does not harm herself. After the wedding you will keep the girl in your bed until she swells with your seed. Once with child, she will not harm herself. If she is like her mother, I do not believe the girl will take her life for the sake of the child."

"Her…mother?"

The sultan sighed. "For a time I was married to the girl's mother."

Suleiman hid his shock. "The woman who…betrayed the Ottomans?"

"She was punished when it was discovered she had a secret book case in her room. I made her a lowly slave and banished her. She was given as a gift to the masked man who built this very palace."

Something else was very wrong. Suleiman felt it in his gut. "You...made her a slave."

"That is what I said."

"Why did you not take her eyes?"

The sultan's face hardened. "I wanted to make an example of her to our people. A lowly slave is by far worse than a blind wife."

"But…why would the architect agree to give you his child?" A thought popped into his head. "Wait, the masked man was an architect. Did he…did he build her the book case? " When he looked back up at his father, Suleiman immediately knew he asked one too many questions. The sultan's eyes were angry, his jaw clenched and Suleiman bowed his head. "I-I did not mean to offend…,"

"While it is none of your business," said the sultan harshly, "I will simply tell you that the masked man had a brilliant mind. His traits combined with Alexandria have created what we need for our future strength. That is the purpose of this match."

"And revenge." Suleiman cursed himself as soon as the words left his mouth.

"I will not deny it."

Suleiman raised his head. "But…you do not do this just for our people alone. This is…about you."

"What of it?" demanded the sultan.

"It is just that…you taught me there is no greater importance than our people. No personal justification should ever be used." Suleiman jumped as his father slammed his fist down on the arm of his chair.

"I justify it by the fact that the girl's mother would have given me a stronger heir!" Stunned, Suleiman backed away. The sultan cursed and he took a deep breath to calm himself. His eyes suddenly softened. "Allah meant for you to be the next sultan, my son. At the time I did not see it, but now I understand." The sultan raised his head. "But we will still use this girl for our future benefit…as it is meant to be."

"Father, this is dangerous. What will our people think if the girl cannot be tamed? Or worse, what if she still succeeds in killing herself?" The sultan was silent, once more studying him. Suleiman grew tense as his father had a talent for reading people. "My lord?"

The sultan slowly leaned forward, his hands gripping the sides of his chair. "And tell me, what would you do with the girl if you did not marry her?"

Suleiman shrugged, acting as if he did not care. "It is probably best to release her."

"Oh really," said the sultan in more of a statement than a question. "And why is that?"

"Why anger her father further? Get rid of her."

"And yet the girl fascinates you."

"At one time yes. But not as a wife."

The sultan was looking at him with serious eyes. "And you would not make her a slave."

"No-,"

"Why not?" the sultan demanded.

"Her father-,"

"How is her father a threat against the entire Ottoman empire?" asked the sultan in a loud voice.

Suleiman's chest tightened as he felt fear begin to creep into his mind. "This girl is only important to you…not me."

Unexpectedly, the sultan stood and walked down the steps from his chair. Although Suleiman had grown tall, his father still had a few inches on him. The ruler narrowed his eyes and looked down at him.

"I do not think so," said the sultan in a soft voice. "I believe she is just as important to you."

"What…what do you mean?" asked Suleiman. He tried hard to look straight into his father's eyes without flinching.

"You love her."

Suleiman forced himself to laugh. "Not likely."

"Very likely," corrected the sultan. "In fact, I believe you love her so much, you are willing to set her free."

"No," protested Suleiman in what he realized was a shaky voice.

The sultan bent down to his son's ear. "Very well," he said in a dangerous tone. "Then let me put the matter into perspective. Either you take the girl for your bride…or I will take a fourth wife." Suleiman could not hide his eyes filling with horror and he tried to glance away. But his father caught his head within his hands and forced him to look into his eyes. "Do you understand?"

Shaking, Suleiman could only nod, his voice completely gone. As his father touched their foreheads together in a bonding gesture, Suleiman closed his eyes.

If he did not take Rashida…his father would.

Author's note: oooo, maybe I SHOULD make the sultan marry Rashida...hmmmmmm. (I'm terrible, I know.)