2. On a leash
Safie is deeply troubled by this morning's events. For the last four years she's been living a lie. Now she fears that the Valide has discovered her subterfuge. If she's been found out, then Safie has condemned not only herself to a brutal death, but her family as well. Safie nearly confessed everything this morning under the wilting interrogation of the Valide and the sultana. It took all her willpower to resist.
General Hertschell had indeed surrendered at the Battle of the Mohács four years ago; and he had willingly offered the freedom of his daughter in exchange for his release. Only it wasn't the general's daughter who was handed over to the Ottoman forces. It was Safie. The daughter of a labourer who lived in the same town as the general. Safie had the misfortune to be about the same age, and have the same colour hair, as the general's daughter. One of the general's aides had threatened the lives of her family if they didn't play along. The twelve year old Safie had to pretend to be the general's daughter and meekly surrender herself into a life of slavery. For the sake of her family, Safie has had to keep up the pretence ever since in case word reaches the general of her betrayal. So far she has succeeded in keeping her head down and not standing out. She knows that if she's well behaved, then she might be released in a few years and be allowed to return home.
Her friends among the odalisques are equally mystified by what is happening. None of them can offer any reason for the Valide's sudden interest in Safie. She'll just have to do as she is told, and hope that everything works out. As instructed, Safie pays a visit to the harem baths before reporting to the chief aga's office. He escorts Safie to a room on the upper level of the harem. She recognises it as one of the rooms reserved as living quarters for the sultan's favourite concubines. Rooms which are little used these days. Mahidevran and Hürrem now live in the Royal Wing and the sultan has forsaken other concubines.
"This is Aybige," says the chief aga. "Aybige, meet Safie. She's been sent to replace Sadika. This room is now the home of Prince Mustafa's personal harem."
Safie looks surprised. She's heard about the two girls who were given to Prince Mustafa on his fifteenth birthday, but she hasn't given them any further thought. Until now. It's the first indication she's been given about why she's been removed from her normal duties. The two girls exchange a brief greeting.
"I don't understand," says Safie to the chief aga. "I've not been trained to be a concubine."
"Nevertheless you are now Prince Mustafa's concubine. Sadika proved to be unsatisfactory. Let us hope for all our sakes that you can do better. You and Aybige are expected to perform an important service for Prince Mustafa. He is now a man, and is in need of manly possessions. Sultan Suleiman has ordered that two concubines be given to Prince Mustafa to advance his education in the arts of sexual relations between a man and a woman. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I think so," replies Safie. "You expect us to help teach the prince how to get pleasure from intercourse with a woman."
"I think he already knows how to do that," laughs the chief aga. "But he is inexperienced, and he seems to lack a good technique. His skills need to be refined. You two are to provide what is necessary to ensure the prince's skills in that area are properly developed."
Aybige winces. It's as though the chief aga's words have triggered an unpleasant memory. Safie has a sudden flash of nerves. She never anticipated anything like this happening to her. Until this afternoon she had rarely thought about having sex while she was living in the Imperial Harem. Only the girls selected to be concubines were ever fortunate enough to enjoy such intimate pleasures. Odalisques like Safie must normally resign themselves to their own imagination, and, for some, the occasional furtive relationship with another girl.
Safie has never told anybody here about her sexual experiences before her enslavement. When she arrived here, everyone simply assumed she was too young for such things. Nevertheless she is able to recall what she has learned. When she was growing up, she lived in a small house shared with three of her father's brothers and their children. Safie never slept in a bed that wasn't shared with at least three of her cousins. Their house was too small for separate male and female children's bedrooms. Consequently Safie is very familiar with the male anatomy. Despite her tender age, she was a willing participant in her cousins' strange games which caused funny feelings deep inside her. Pleasurable feelings. So much so, that Safie initiated some of the games just to experience those feelings once again. Her cousins were careful not to go too far, although it was nothing short of a miracle that Safie was still a virgin when the dreaded day of her enslavement came around.
Before being ripped from her home, Safie had helped her father, uncles and cousins in their work. She did a lot of the fetching and carrying. Activities which developed her muscles until she could out-wrestle any boy her age. Even after her initiation into the Imperial Harem, Safie's strength meant she was given the heavy carrying tasks around the harem. Safie's muscles aren't as bulging as they once were, but they are still more developed than those of any other girl in the harem. Given her physical attributes, Safie is puzzled by her selection as Prince Mustafa's concubine. She's excited though. Until now, she hadn't realised how much she has missed the intimate games she used to play with her cousins. Her thighs are tingling and the faint odour of her arousal is in danger of distracting her.
"This will be your living quarters when Prince Mustafa doesn't require your services," says the chief aga. "You will be sharing it with Aybige. Be ready at all times in case the prince calls for your services. I will have a couple of suitable dresses sent up for you to use until you can afford to buy some of your own."
The chief aga leaves the two girls alone in their room. They stand looking at each other for a few moments before either of them speaks.
"Welcome to Hell," says Aybige. "That's your bed, and the chest over there is for your things."
"Why do you call it Hell?" asks Safie. "And what happened to Sadika?"
"I don't know what happened to Sadika. None of the girls does. She could have been sold or transferred but I think she's probably dead. She complained too loudly, so let that be a warning. The devil prince is the ruler of our private Hell, and you, my friend, are now one of his playthings. Perhaps Sadika is the luckiest of the three of us."
At first Safie thinks that Aybige is joking and having fun at her expense. But Aybige's expression, and the heavy make-up over what could be bruises, warns Safie that Aybige is perhaps being serious.
"Do you think Prince Mustafa killed Sadika?" asks Safie.
"It's possible. If he did, he wouldn't be the first prince to kill a slave girl. But he enjoyed Sadika's fear of him too much to simply kill her. Her terror drove him wild with lust. Unfortunately our devil prince feeds on such emotions, and he doesn't know when to stop. I suppose he could have killed her by accident, but the last time I saw Sadika was when she was going to meet with the Valide."
The girls' conversation is interrupted by an aga arriving with some clothes for Safie. She promptly changes into one of the gowns and tidies her hair. Safie admires herself in the mirror. She feels a sense of beauty she hasn't experienced before. However, when she compares herself to Aybige, Safie silently admits that she will have difficulty in competing with the Aybige's natural grace and attractiveness.
But looks aren't everything. Safie has experienced enough of harem life to understand the value of intelligence and affability. Both are attributes which Safie has learned to use to good effect. Besides, it would surely be better for the two girls to get along and help each other out. Aybige looks as though she's in need of a close friend, and Safie is going to need help in adapting to her new role.
"What are we supposed to do while we wait?" asks Safie.
"When Sadika and I were living in the main harem, we helped with the harem work. Making and repairing clothes mainly. It wasn't much fun, but it kept boredom at bay."
"Why can't we do that now?" asks Safie.
"Mahidevran's orders. Prince Mustafa's concubines must be kept away from the other girls."
"But why?"
"So we can't show off our battle wounds and gossip about her son. That was Sadika's mistake."
"Well we can't just sit here all day," says Safie. "Are we allowed to go anywhere apart from this room?"
"I don't know. Apart from not being allowed to work and socialise with the other girls, nobody has said anything about where we can go. We will need to let one of the agas know if we are leaving our room for any length of time. If the devil prince calls for us and we can't be easily found, then we will be sleeping in the harem dungeon tonight."
"Then let's test the length of our leash. Let's tell an aga that we are going for a walk in the harem gardens."
Aybige admires Safie's bravery. It isn't something Aybige would have dared to do on her own, and Sadika was too timid to even contemplate such a move. They go to find an aga.
"It's raining outside," replies the aga to their request.
"We don't mind the rain," replies Safie. "The fresh air will make us more frisky for the prince when he calls for us."
"Frisky?" laughs Aybige when the two girls are walking through the garden. It's the first time in days that Aybige has laughed. The aga also thought Safie's words were unusual, but they were enough to overcome his objection.
"Well it was the only word I could come up with at short notice. I'm not as educated as you."
"Then we had better do something about that," replies Aybige. "If we ever succeed in getting the devil prince to stop treating us like tavern whores, then we each need to be able to hold an intelligent conversation with him."
Aybige and Safie enjoy a pleasant half hour walking through the gardens. They don't mind that their clothes are wet through. The walk is doing wonders to ease their own personal worries about their situation. Unfortunately, their moment of peace and quiet is interrupted by an aga who informs them that Prince Mustafa requires both girls to attend to his needs. They have been given only twenty minutes to prepare.
The girls are unaware that Prince Mustafa has noticed them walking in the gardens. The windows in the Royal Wing overlook the harem gardens and the prince recognised Aybige. He assumed the girl with her is his new slave. Mustafa has summoned them with the expectation that they will either be late, or that their attire will be below the immaculate standard expected of concubines. Either way, the girls will need to be punished, and Mustafa is looking forward to their chastisement. What an excellent way to break in his new pleasure slave.
Aybige and Safie quickly rush back to their room and change into clean clothes. By working together, they manage to make themselves reasonably presentable in the time allowed. If the prince wanted them to look perfect, then he should have allowed them more time. Nevertheless, both girls are very nervous when the aga arrives to escort them to the prince's room.
They arrive on time, so the prince can't complain about their punctuality. Their attire, though, isn't acceptable as far as Mustafa is concerned. He dismisses the aga before rounding on the two girls kneeling on the floor before him.
"You must be Safie," says Mustafa. "Stand up and look at yourself in that mirror. You are slovenly and a disgrace to the Imperial Harem. I will not have my slaves disgracing me by their sloppy appearance."
Safie does as she is told and stands in front of the mirror. Her back is turned towards Aybige, but she can see her in the mirror. Aybige looks fearful of what might happen next. The prince moves in front of Aybige and slaps her across her face. She lets out an involuntary whimper, but rights herself quickly and manages to hold back her tears.
"Stop that!" cries Safie without thinking. It's an unpardonable break in the accepted behaviour of a slave. A slave must never address a member of the imperial family in such a way. The prince turns towards her and for the moment is completely lost for words. Finally he reacts.
"Aybige. Go back to your room and don't dare to appear in my presence again in such a disgraceful mess."
Aybige hesitates as though she wants to stay and defend Safie, but a glaring look from Mustafa breaks her resolve and she flees to the safety of the girls' room. Mustafa turns towards Safie.