6. A secret revealed.
Safie and Aybige wait nervously for the Valide to return. Safie tries to pass the time by continuing with the repairs to her dress. Unfortunately her mind isn't on the task, and she makes very little progress. Similarly, Aybige resumes her embroidery, but she is also too nervous to do her work well.
Although it is Safie, rather than Aybige, who is the unwilling source of the drama, both girls are worried about what will happen. Aybige doesn't want to lose her new room mate and be faced with the consequences alone. Fortunately the girls don't need to wait for long before the Valide returns to their room.
"Are you, or are you not, the daughter of General Hertschell?" asks the Valide of Safie.
"Not," replies Safie, realising that if the Valide finds it necessary to ask the question, then she already knows the answer. A lie would likely condemn Safie to a far worse punishment than telling the truth. Safie tells the Valide the story of origins and her enslavement. Her secret is finally revealed.
"As I suspected," muses the Valide. "That is both fortunate and unfortunate for you. Fortunate, because my son won't publicly execute you in reprisal for Hertschell breaking his oath by resuming military activities against the Ottoman Empire. Unfortunate, because it means your origins make you an unsuitable consort for my grandson."
Safie doesn't know what to say. With the exception of the few women of royal birth, all the women and girls in the Imperial Harem are slaves. Many of the odalisques come from family backgrounds similar to Safie's own. Even the Valide was once a slave. It was the death of Sultan Suleiman's father which had triggered the Valide's freedom from slavery. Belatedly, Safie realises that family background must be an important factor in the selection of concubines for the royal males.
"I don't understand," says Safie, finally finding her voice. "Hürrem is Sultan Suleiman's favourite concubine, and yet she is of lowly birth."
"I'm well aware of that," snaps the Valide, clearly not wanting to be reminded of that fact. Safie has unintentionally hit on a raw nerve. Hürrem isn't widely liked among the concubines and royal women. Something which Safie had attributed to their jealousy of Hürrem's closeness to the sultan. Perhaps Hürrem's background also fuels that dislike.
"So what is to become of me?" asks Safie.
"What is done is done," replies the Valide. "Prince Mustafa seems to be very protective of you both, and his father won't listen to my advice. So, for now, you are to continue to attend to Mustafa's desires. You may use this room as your own, but you are no longer barred from socialising with the other concubines in the main harem. If you wish to sleep in the main harem, then you may do so."
The Valide soon leaves them. Aybige and Safie look at each other in surprise. They don't waste the opportunity to find the other concubines in the harem. For Aybige it is a joyous reunion with her friends. For Safie it's a chance to meet the other concubines and begin her education in earnest.
The routine for the next few months soon settles down. The prince often requires Aybige's attendance for breakfast. Once in a while, Aybige is called to his room in the evening, and on those occasions she usually spends the night with Mustafa. Safie never spends the night with the prince. Which is something which occasionally triggers a brief bout of jealousy. Safie is invariably called to the prince's room after his martial training with the Janissaries. Her routine with the prince is always the same; bathing the prince followed by some very physical rough and tumble. Fortunately the prince has provided Safie with some additional clothing, otherwise she could never keep up with the constant damage to her dresses. As it is, she spends a lot of her free time stitching and mending.
It's no secret that Aybige is becoming Mustafa's favourite. Something which doesn't surprise Safie, but still causes her a twinge of hurt and jealousy. At least the prince has learned his lesson and is treating Aybige more gently. As for his treatment of Safie, then the two of them have achieved a tacit understanding of what is, and what isn't, permissible in their games. Not that Safie is able to protest too loudly when the prince oversteps the mark, but at least he generally confines his actions to those he knows Safie will endure without genuine resistance. Similarly, Safie begins to understand how far she can rebel against the prince's dominance without resulting in another night in a dungeon cell.
Their pleasant routine ends abruptly. The sultan decides that Prince Mustafa is now old enough to take the next step in his training to be a suitable ruler of a vast empire. As is customary, once a royal prince reaches Mustafa's age and maturity, he is assigned to the role of a provincial governor. This involves him moving away to whichever province he is to govern. His mother, Mahidevran, is to accompany him to help guide Mustafa in his decision making.
The arrangements for Mustafa's departure are made with almost indecent haste. Even Mustafa seems unable to tell Aybige and Safie what is to become of them. With only two days to go before the prince's intended departure, Aybige is informed that she is to accompany the prince's retinue to his new home, while Safie is to remain in the Imperial Harem. Aybige is overjoyed, while Safie is downhearted ... not because she loves the prince or anything like that. The prince's continued rough treatment of Safie only proves that his interest in her is simply for some rough sex. But his departure means that Safie will probably be sent back to work with the other odalisques in the laundry. After the comfort of the room she has been sharing with Aybige, going back to where she was before is a huge backward step.
The day before his departure, the prince summons Safie to his room. They go through the same routine as usual, and Mustafa admits that he'll miss Safie's company. Safie tries to be unemotional about his departure, and she partially succeeds. The prince gives her some valuable jewels as a parting gift, but to Safie it only makes her feel like a courtesan. Nevertheless she accepts the prince's gift. Principle has minimal value to a slave. Safie consoles herself by silently reminding herself that in reality, that was all her relationship with Mustafa has ever been ... a lord and his pleasure slave.
Mustafa tells Safie that she is being transferred back to the main harem without any indication of what is to become of her. It's as though he's already lost all interest in her. Fortunately, Safie isn't left in limbo for long. The Valide calls for Safie as soon as she returns from her final meeting with the prince.
"I told you once before that your background makes you an unsuitable consort for a prince," says the Valide when she and Safie are sat alone in the Valide's suite. "At least my grandson finally saw the wisdom in my words and withdrew his demands for you to accompany him. Now I must arrange for your future."
Safie sits silently while the Valide makes a short speech about the different customs and rules which are guiding the Valide's decision about Safie's fate. Safie soon realises that she isn't to be returned to live and work with the odalisques. Her brief time with Prince Mustafa has elevated Safie's status inside the harem, so laundry work is inappropriate given Safie isn't guilty of any wrongdoing. Unfortunately, despite all the Valide's words, Safie is still unclear what is to happen to her.
"Firstly, we must check that you aren't pregnant," says the Valide, finally getting to the point of this meeting. "You are to continue living in your room until the midwife is certain either way. After that we will discuss whatever options are open to you."
Safie wants more information about the possible options, but the Valide refuses to go into more detail until the midwife is able to report on Safie's condition. Safie is unsure which outcome she prefers. The nature of the games which she and the prince played meant a pregnancy was possible but unlikely. It's as though the prince had listened to the advice of the Valide, and he regarded Safie as unsuitable mother for a young prince. A view which Safie knows that her lack of education and training only reinforces. But Safie also knows that Hürrem was once limited in the same way, and she overcame those obstacles ... at least as much as the snobbery of those of noble birth will allow.
Aybige comes to say farewell to Safie when she is about to depart. It's a tearful separation. Despite their differences, both girls regard their friendship as something special. Unfortunately they both know that unless both Aybige and Safie bear Mustafa a child, they are unlikely to meet again.
The midwife's initial inspection of Safie suggests that Safie isn't pregnant, but the midwife wants to wait a while before being sure. The Valide doesn't allow Safie time to mope about in idleness while she waits for the midwife's decision. Instead she has Safie undertake a number of training and educational lessons. Safie finds she has a thirst for knowledge, and more than an average aptitude for the lessons. Finally the day arrives when the midwife stops sitting on the fence, and tells the Valide that Safie isn't expecting a child. The midwife's announcement comes as no surprise to Safie, whose own body has already provided her with that information.
"You cannot remain in the Imperial Harem indefinitely," says the Valide. "You are Mustafa's concubine, but he has cast you aside. It's not an uncommon situation, and if there was a chance that he would reconsider his decision, then you would be kept here."
Safie knows that the prince won't be allowed to reconsider his decision while the Valide and Mahidevran influence his life. The Valide is getting old and may not live for many more years. Safie could play for time in the hope things may change once the Valide is gone, but Safie isn't certain that she wants to spend years of her young life waiting. Besides, there's no guarantee the prince will still want her by then.
"Then what is to happen to me?" asks Safie.
"You have a choice," replies the Valide. "Most concubines in your situation accept an arranged marriage to a suitable husband. It will provide you with security, and an opportunity to start a family of your own. Alternatively, you can be released from slavery so that you may return to your family. Your family will need to collect you, or alternatively you will need to find your own way home. I warn you that such a journey will be fraught with dangers for a woman alone."
"My family doesn't have the means to travel to Constantinople," replies Safie. "Are there any other alternatives?"
"Once you are free, you can do whatever you want once you are beyond these walls. The offer of finding a suitable husband for you is to provide you with an opportunity you might not get when you are on your own. I don't know of any girl who has been released from the Imperial Harem who hasn't either accepted marriage, or been taken back by her family. Constantinople is a dangerous place for a single girl to try and make a living."
Safie is granted a few days to consider her options. She uses that time wisely and studies what possibilities might exist for her once she is free. An arranged marriage doesn't appeal to Safie. She is too independent to play the dutiful young wife to some rich merchant in need of heirs. Having made her mind up, Safie informs the Valide and arrangements are made for her release. Safie is given a small sum of money in addition to the jewels and possessions she has acquired while she was Mustafa's pleasure slave.
The fateful day arrives. There's only a brief farewell from the other girls before one of the agas escorts Safie to docks where the ship on which Safie has booked passage is waiting. A few hours later, Safie is standing on the deck of the ship taking in her last look at Constantinople. She notices a couple of the male passengers are eyeing her with interest, but Safie has enough confidence in her own strength and abilities to be untroubled. For better or worse, her new life begins here.
[The end]