Sabır (Patience) - Kurulus Osman

Chapter 6

"No, NO!" Ceyda cried as her lifeless horse's eyes stared back at her.

The blood had stopped oozing out of Ceylan's body, and the ground around it became wet and darker from the blood.

Her horse was gone. Now she had no way to get back to her tribe safely and was left without a companion. She hugged her dusky horse and sobbed, "Thank you for everything, Ceylan'im."

Understanding she would achieve nothing by crying, she wiped off her tears, picked herself up, and began to dig a hole with her dagger. It was dusk by the time she made it big enough for Ceylan. She pushed her horse into the grave, covered her with the soil, and started walking back to her tribe.

When she was too tired to walk any further, she sat down by a tree. "Allah, please help me get back to my tribe safely. Don't make my family worry about me. Don't make Konur worry too much."

Hearing a wolf's howl, she sped up towards her tribe. It was almost dark, and not much was visible. She tripped over a broken tree branch and fell to the ground.

"Are you kidding me?" she cursed as she felt blood on her hands.

Ceyda got up and limped around. There was no time to bandage her leg. She used the trees as support and her senses to find the river.

She couldn't find it. This was a part of the forest she hadn't seen. Where am I?

It was night now.

Ceyda sighed, then reasoned. "I shouldn't go any further until morning."

She climbed a tree to one of the highest branches with difficulty and leaned against its trunk, falling asleep within a few minutes.

----

"Baba!" Ceyda woke up with a jolt from the screeches of her nightmare.

It took a second for her to realize where she was and remember how she got there. Her leg was still wounded, but the blood had dried. "Great, now it might get infected."

She sat up straight and heard a crack. A bird landed on the branch next to her. "Oh, hello little bird."

Ceyda heard another crack. The weight was too much for the branch, and it tore away from the tree. She shooed the bird so it would fly away as she fell to the ground with the branch, being scratched by every twig and every branch she fell against.

She closed her eyes and fell to what was certain death, but something stopped her fall. "What?"

Ceyda slowly opened her eyes as she felt around her. She had landed on something warm. Her hand rubbed against his hair. It smelled of forest and was quite comforting. Ceyda had landed on the black body of a horse who had a contrasting blond mane.

She laughed with both excitement and gratitude and silently thanked Allah. "Hello, horse. You were right on time. Konur would never forgive me if I fell to my death like that. Although it wouldn't matter... because I'd be dead."

The horse neighed. It was a wild one without a saddle, and it was simply a miracle she was still on it.

Ceyda got off and faced her Saviour. "Thank you. You are so handsome," she complimented with a giggle. "You came in my darkest hour, my hero." The horse whinnied happily. "Do you mind if I ride you and take care of you?" She patted the horse and mounted it. The horse did nothing. "Now, can you lead me out of this forest?" The horse reared, and Ceyda held on to his mane lightly as he ran.

The wind blew in Ceyda's face. She loved this feeling. This feeling of pure freedom. Nothing was stopping her. It was just her and the horse. The horse ran so fast that it took only a few seconds for him to find his way out of the forest.

Ceyda patted the horse, whispered a "thank you" once more, and looked ahead. Her tribe was only a few miles away. She was home.

She breathed in the beautiful morning breeze and closed her eyes for a few seconds before getting off the horse and hugging its neck. "You came and rescued me from certain death, my saviour. I shall name you Kahraman."

Kahraman whinnied again, as if in agreement. Ceyda chuckled at the horse's excitement. "You may go now. Go. Be free." The horse neighed and stood still. He didn't want to leave her. Ceyda understood, "Fine, but I'm not putting a saddle on you. You can come when I call you." The horse reared and ran into the forest as Ceyda smiled. She walked the rest of the way home.

The tribe was unusually quiet. It had been three days since she left. She headed for her uncle's marquee with hesitation.

Suddenly, everything went black.

---

Konur paced in his tent, rubbing his chin deep in thought. Allah, where has she gone?

Boran entered and became worried when he saw Konur's mixed expression of annoyance and worry. "What happened, Kardeş?"

"Ceyda."

"What happened to Ceyda? She's not back?"

"No, she's not."

"Maybe she needs more time?"

Konur shook his head quickly. "No, she would have returned before night. It's been two nights."

"Ceyda bacim can protect herself if anything bad happens, EvelAllah."

Konur paused in his pacing and stared at a smiling Boran. "Allah forbid, Kardeş."

"I'm just saying she would not have been kidnapped."

"Boran, are you trying to make me lose my mind? Don't say such things."

"Sorry, Konur," Boran muttered, trying to hide his knowing smile.

Konur was always a little too protective of Ceyda. He was fine on the battlefield and whenever they were together, but he was always disturbed when she was alone for too long.

"Osman Bey is going to save Bala Hatun. You should get ready. Don't worry, Ceyda will probably be back when we return."

"Inshallah, Boranim. Inshallah."

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We're at Ep. 4 right now. The next chapter is going to be around Episode 5. Winter break is ending nooo :( I'll update less frequently cuz I'm gonna get a load of schoolwork just a heads up. Vote and comment!