Sabır (Patience) - Kurulus Osman

Chapter 18

Konur was tied up in the stables near the inn with Samsa Cavus, Abdurrahman Gazi, Boran, and the rest of the alps, each of them harshly beaten up and heavily wounded. Konur coughed from his wounds, making Samsa Cavus chuckle, "What have they done to you, Konur brother? Your face looks like the Sogut Bazaar." This made Boran and the others crack up and cough from their wounds.

"What does that mean... What did they do to me? I am like a lion," Konur replied, mustering up the strength he had left.

"Yes, an injured lion... and when he looks at Ceyda..."

"... he becomes a mouse," Boran finished, snickering. This made Konur and everyone else laugh as well, which they tried not to do as it turned into coughs.

"Walk!" a familiar voice ordered. They turned their heads to see who was coming. "Ceyda?" Boran recognized, furrowing his brow. Konur grinned but frowned when he realized what she was doing. "Walk, dog!" she pushed Batur to the ground and grabbed the rope from Kongar and tied Batur's hands, making sure it was tight.

"Ceyda, what are you doing?" Batur questioned, trying to meet her eyes. "It's me, Batur. Your abi." She stayed silent then stared at him for a while and smirked, "Eh Kongar." Kongar hummed in response, and Ceyda looked at the others, who stared at her with both confusion and hurt. "This one does not look as terrible as the rest of them." She faced Batur, the usual sparkle from her nearly black eyes replaced with fog and pure darkness. "We want you to fit in, don't we?" she stated in a mock-baby voice. Batur said nothing and silently gulped.

"Ceyda..." Konur called, a tint of longing in his voice.

Ceyda sighed in exasperation and ignored him, "What do you say, Kongar? Do you want to do the honours or should I?"

Kongar smirked, "This is your first mission."

Ceyda smiled evilly and leered in front of Batur dangerously before punching his face. She didn't stop there and continued, earning yells of protest from the others and cackles from Kongar.

"Ceyda, stop! Ceyda, what happened to you?! Ceyda!" Konur yelled hopelessly.

Ceyda stopped and jerked her head to Konur, her fist held high, threatening to hurt him. "If you call me that one more time..."

Konur looked into her eyes to find something that hadn't been there before. They were not deep like before, they were foggy; he couldn't dive into them like before. Something stopped him from doing so. "What did they do to you, Ceyda?"

"Shut up!" she screamed, letting go of Batur as she glared at Konur.

"Listen to me, Ceyda."

"Stop!!"

"You are not yourself. You are not the Ceyda I know. My companion since childhood. My Ceyda."

Ceyda's head throbbed, and she yelled out in agony as she grabbed her head. "Don't listen to him," Kongar advised, placing his hand on Ceyda's shoulder to calm her.

"Don't touch her, Mongol filth!" Boran shouted, struggling against the ropes that bound him uselessly.

Ceyda went still for a moment. Suddenly, the only memory that flashed through her mind was of a boy. A boy with a vertical scar on his right eye that turned most of it red while the other eye was a dazzling sky-blue with a unique twinkle to it. He had slightly curly, auburn hair that set him apart from most boys.