Captured For The Sultan’s Pleasure

Sultan Jamal paced around the carriage, wondering if he hadn’t made a mistake in bringing Roksolana to meet her family. When he got tired of pacing about, he entered into the carriage and sat. He wondered what they were discussing about at the moment. It was probably about the thousand ways they should kill him for lying to them. What if Roksolana refused to follow him back now that she knew that her family was alive? He hadn’t thought the plan through before he brought her over. He had just wanted to make her happy at that moment. He got tired of waiting in the carriage and got down again. Twice, he walked up to the door but managed to refrain himself at the last minute. When he guessed that he had given them enough time to bond, he told a guard to get Lady Roksolana from the house and watched as the guard disappeared into the house. He was kicking his right leg back and forth when the guard emerged with Roksolana. Jamal breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her alone and unarmed.

Roksolana saw the look of worry on the Sultan’s face and nearly laughed. She could guess what he had been thinking about before she arrived. He must have thought that it wouldn’t be too hard for them to overpower him if they wanted to fight against him for their freedom. She would have thought the same way too if she were him. Roksolana walked up to him and thanked him for bringing her here. He held out his palm for her and she took it. Jamal helped her to climb up the carriage before he got in too. All through the carriage ride, Jamal kept staring at her to see if her reaction to him had changed. While she was grateful to him for sparing her family, she still couldn’t find it in herself to forgive him. However, she decided to compromise with him.

“I promise I won’t kill you again because you spared my family,” Roksolana told him.

“Have you forgiven me then?” He asked her.

Roksolana shook her head. “For every other thing, yes. But not for forcing yourself on me.” She told him.

“Thank you.” The Sultan told her. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but knowing how stubborn his woman was, he was grateful she had given him that much all at once. It wouldn’t be long before she completely forgive him.

The rest of the carriage ride was filled with silence from both sides. When they got to the Sultan’s house, Roksolana left for the harem as soon as her feet touched the ground. When she walked in, she saw that all the women of the harem were gathered in the hall. She was about to ask what was going on when Lady Miriam stepped in front of her and slapped her. Roksolana’s eyes doubled from the effect of the slap and she held her cheek. When the stinging effect ended, she looked at Lady Miriam. The woman smiled maliciously and anger sparked in Roksolana’s mind. Without pausing to think about the consequences, Roksolana slapped Lady Miriam hard across the face. She saw the woman hold her cheek in utter surprise and smiled, thinking that she deserved what she got.

Jamal held the doorknob to open the door to his house but paused in his actions. He still had time for lunch before his meeting and he felt like eating with Roksolana. He turned away from the door and walked to the harem. He stood by the door just in time to see Lady Miriam slap Roksolana. He got angry at the harem leader and had wanted to interfere with the conflict between the two women when he saw Roksolana slap the woman back. A part of him became proud of the fact that his woman could always protect herself from dangers and predators. He rushed into the hall when he saw that Lady Miriam had raised her hand again to return the slap she had been dealt with. The two women looked surprised to see him there, even though he was sure that the surprised looks were for different reasons for each woman.

“Sultan, she slapped me.” Lady Miriam wailed, turning to face him.

Jamal looked at Roksolana who hadn’t bothered to look at him or tried to explain anything. She probably thought that he would choose Lady Miriam over her again, as he had always done before. He took her hand in one of his, then he used the other hand to lift her face towards him. He inspected the cheek Lady Miriam had slapped her. When he saw how reddish it was, he became angry. He turned to Lady Miriam in that anger.

“Why did you slap her?” He barked at her. The woman began to shake under the sternness of his voice. “Answer me.” He barked again.

“I… I called for a meeting of the harem but she was late by an hour. So I thought…” She couldn’t finish the words.

“So, you thought to slap her?” Jamal asked again.

Roksolana turned to look at him when she realized that he was supporting her. She had initially hardened herself when he came in because she thought that he would support his favorite mistress as he had always done each time they argued. Even when he had held her hand and inspected her face, she hadn’t given it much thought. But as she looked at him, she saw anger blazing through his entire stand as he questioned Lady Miriam.

“Sultan…” Lady Miriam began, but Jamal held up his hand to stop her.

“Royal decree.” The Sultan said, and everyone in the room except Roksolana knelt down. Jamal let go of her hand. “Dawn, kneel.” He commanded her.

Roksolana wondered what the Sultan was up to. She was afraid that she would be punished for slapping the harem leader and she nearly pleaded for her life. However, the fact that she wasn’t in the wrong made her hardened her heart and she decided that she would accept whatever punishment he melted to her without flinching or pleading for her life. Having decided so, she knelt like the rest of the women.

“From this moment onward, Lady Miriam had ceased to be the harem leader. Lady Roksolana is to replace her with immediate effect.” The Sultan commanded.

Two women looked up in shock at once. Neither of them believed what the Sultan had just said.

“Furthermore, Lady Miriam has to move out of the harem leader quarter immediately, so that Lady Roksolana can move in.” He finished.

“We obey your command, Sultan.” All of the women chorused. They turned to Roksolana, still bowing. “Congratulations, Lady Roksolana.” They chorused at her.

Roksolana was still in shock and disbelieve. The Sultan had just usurped his favorite mistress and appointed her as the leader instead? She stared at him to see if he was serious and Jamal smiled at her. She opened her mouth wide, unable to close it.

“You have to accept the royal order, Lady Roksolana.” Princess Azeezat whispered to her. That jolted her out of her shocked state.

“Thank you for your benevolence, Sultan,” Roksolana said.

“You all may rise.” The Sultan ordered.

Roksolana watched as Lady Miriam stood up and walked away from the hall without a word. Aabdeen walked in and told the Sultan that the meeting was about to begin and they both went out together. Princess Azeezat moved closer to Roksolana with a smile and gave her a warm hug. Seyiddah chose that moment to walk in and the princess shared the news with her. Seyiddah hugged her too, but Roksolana’s thought was on why the Sultan would do what he did.

Seyiddah asked her why she was looking gloomy instead of being happy she would never have to bear the brunt of Lady Miriam’s wickedness anymore as soon as they were in the room. Roksolana explained her worries to her two friends. She explained what had happened between the Sultan and herself to them. After she was done with her explanation, they confessed that they heard what she and the Sultan had discussed the last time he was here. Roksolana blushed and her friends laughed.

“But, he does care about you.” Princess Azeezat said.

“She’s right. As for the sex, you are his concubine and so, your body automatically belongs to the Sultan,” Seyiddah told her and she touched her hand that she rested on the table. “Give him a chance to right his wrongs.” She finished. Roksolana saw Princess Azeezat nod in agreement.

They were right about everything they had said. Besides, the man was trying really hard to make her forgive him. And, she was already tired of fighting with him. She missed him a lot. She missed the way they bantered with each other. She missed the way they teased each other whenever they weren’t arguing. Before she could change her mind about forgiving him, she bid her friends goodbye and rushed over to the courtroom.

Jamal felt happy within himself over the decision he had taken back at the harem. Now, his mind would be at peace knowing that there was no one else who could give Roksolana a hard time. As he walked into the courtroom, murmurs filled the room and it only stopped when they realized that he was there. Every one of them bowed and remained that way till he got to his royal seat. News really does fly, Jamal thought as he took his seat.

“You may all rise,” Jamal commanded and they all stood up. “What’s the agenda for today?” He asked them. The finance janissary came out first.

“Sultan, we heard that you dethroned Lady Miriam as the harem leader and chose another.” He said. Or more like, he questioned.

“You mean your daughter? Yes, I did,” Jamal answered.

“Sultan, we all know that the harem leader is more likely to become the Sultana. So, you can’t choose an outsider who knows nothing about our culture as the leader.” The finance janissary said.

“I can and I did,” Jamal said, a little too loud. The finance janissary was getting on his nerves. “If you dare question my authority one more time, I promise you that you won’t live to see the next sunrise.” He told the man.

Everyone in the room kept shut all of the sudden. Jamal was sure that if a pin dropped at that moment, they all would hear the sound of the fall.

“Jamal! Jamal!!.”

Jamal heard someone call him and thought that the voice belonged to Roksolana. Beside her, no one else would dare to call his name and lived to tell the tale. He sent Aabdeen to check if it was her. The other man went out, he confirmed it to be her indeed when he came back in, and Jamal ordered for her to be let in. When he saw her walk in, he stood from his seat and rushed to her.

Roksolana saw that Jamal was in the middle of a meeting with his janissaries and immediately regretted how disrespectful she had been by calling his name. What if he got angry at her again? She quickly bowed her head when she saw him coming.

“Roksolana,” Jamal said when he got to her.

“I’m sorry I disrespected you, Sultan,” Roksolana said as an apology and heard Jamal chuckled. She lifted her head and saw him still smiling.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Don’t bother about it. I like it when you call my name,” Jamal told her.

Sounds of surprise filled the courtroom and Roksolana looked around. She saw that every single person in the courtroom was watching the scene between her and the Sultan and blushed. Jamal saw that she wasn’t comfortable and held her hand. Roksolana looked up in surprise and tried to release her hand, but Jamal wouldn’t let go.

“Everyone, meet the new harem leader, Lady Roksolana,” Jamal announced.

Everyone in the room bowed to her in respect. “Greetings, Lady Roksolana.” They all chorused.

“Why are you here though?” The Sultan asked under his breath.

“I wanted to see you,” Roksolana replied, using the same volume.

Arousal filled Jamal to the very bones at his toes. He began to walk away from the courtroom, still holding Roksolana’s hand.

“This meeting is adjorned.” He told his janissaries when he was halfway through the door. He didn’t wait for their answer or greetings as he walked away. All he wanted at that moment was to be with the woman he loves.