Sienna - Kurulus Osman

5

Sienna finished the duty Nikola had given her and headed towards the bazaar, where she assumed Nikola probably was. She grabbed an apple and munched on it when she heard Nikola's voice. "Ah, I knew it." 

When Sienna arrived, she saw that he had grabbed the attention of the Inegol folk and was talking to them. "Is that true?!" 

"That's true!" the people shouted.  

Sienna didn't pay attention to the rest of Nikola's words. She noticed someone looking at her and turned to see a woman about her age with blondish red curly hair. She suddenly remembered who it was. The girl looked away once Sienna saw her. Eleftelya... 

Eleftelya used to be Sienna's friend from childhood. Sienna's father was the Tekfur's closest friend, and Eleftelya's father was their cook. So, since they were about the same age, Sienna and Eleftelya would always hang out. The two friends became very close and were inseparable, but it all changed when Sienna started sneaking out of the castle in the night. She would come back sweating, and her clothes would always be stained with a dark red colour. Eleftelya started to become worried and kept questioning where Sienna went, but Sienna always lied about it. She didn't need people worrying about her. Then, when Sienna was exposed and sent to the dungeon, Eleftelya, like everyone else close to her, left her. Abandoned her. Now, she was here.

"Never forget that we are the real owners of these lands!" Nikola yelled, hitting his palm against his chest. When he finished his speech, the people clapped and cheered. Their taxes had been reduced. Nikola looked at Sienna, and she smiled. He then looked at Eleftelya, who smiled and clapped. Sienna noticed the way he looked at Eleftelya and suddenly got angry and a little disgusted.  

Nikola looked towards the people and raised his hands to stop their clapping. He got off the cart and walked to Sienna as Eleftelya backed away to her stall.  

"Was this one of your plans Nikola? To hit them with their own happiness?" Sienna asked, somewhat annoyed. 

"It wasn't a move. It's the truth. We are fighting for our folk, Sienna. It's only the beginning." 

Sienna couldn't help but smile. She slightly turned around to see Eleftelya still looking their way, but pretend to do something else once Sienna noticed. Sienna rolled her eyes and walked with Nikola. 

"What happened? Why do you keep looking back?" 

"Nothing..." She took another bite out of her apple. 

Nikola sighed in exasperation. Sienna was always eating. It ruined his seriousness, "Put that away." 

"...It's healthy." 

"We will have a feast tonight, and you can eat all the apples you want there. Now, please put that away. You're embarrassing me." 

Sienna smirked and put away the apple. "You had me at 'feast'." 

--- 

Sienna and Nikola were eating the food that the cook had prepared for them. Arito was placing the dishes onto the table, and Sienna was watching him. She knew him. She loved him. But he showed no interest in the girl he practically raised. When Sienna's father was completing duties for the Tekfur, he had left Sienna in Arito's care. Sienna was starting to get angry. Even though he was deaf, which Sienna found out earlier when she praised his cooking, and he didn't respond, Arito had a knack for remembering people. Sienna's thoughts were interrupted when one of Nikola's spies walked in.  

"What's the situation?" 

The spy was about to reply when he looked at the cook. Nikola noticed and said, "My cook is deaf. You can speak freely." 

Sienna cringed when Nikola said 'my cook.' She looked at the spy, waiting for news. 

"Yavlak Arlsan's man lured Osman into a trap." 

Sienna and Nikola froze, then shared a smirk.  

"Ertugrul Bey went to Yavlak Arlsan's tribe by himself." 

Sienna smiled in disbelief, resembling Nikola's expression. "Who lured him? And why? I want to know immediately," Nikola ordered. 

"As you wish," the spy left.  

Nikola then turned to Sienna and asked, "Has the flying flame arrived?" 

"It's on the way, Nikola. It's probably almost here," Sienna answered, taking another bite out of her food. 

Nikola nodded and continued eating as well. He then tapped his cup with his fork, making the cook look his way. Nikola waved at the cook and gestured to pour more wine into his cup. Arito did as commanded and Sienna continued watching him. 

"Like Caesar said, 'a toast to the fools who have brought us victory.'" 

Sienna smiled and raised her glass and they both drank together.  

---

Sienna was in her room, thinking about what happened earlier. She went to the Sogut Bazaar and snuck the rats into the people's stalls, spreading the disease Nikola had prepared. Then, she had met an orphan. Well, not exactly met but saw.  

She was sitting down on a bench when she heard a 'clink' behind her. She turned to see a little boy with a cut on his face smiling at her. She stared at the boy. He looked as if he had been through a lot. "Thank you, son."  

The boy's smile vanished and was replaced by a look of hatred. He backed away. "May Allah bless you," a deep voice said. She turned to see an aged man smiling. He placed his hand on his chest and greeted, "Selam Alaykum." 

Sienna got back into character and smiled, getting up and placing her palm on her chest. She had seen Turks do this and heard the response many times before, "Aleykum Selam." 

The boy looked a little afraid and hid under the man's arm. "MashaAllah. May Allah keep you with him," Sienna smiled, watching the boy. "His father was martyred in the fight with the Inegol infidel," the man explained, frowning. Sienna's face fell. He was an orphan, just like her. Instead of empathizing, she answered in a way every Muslim would to draw less attention, "May Allah grant his son the same position." 

The man nodded, "Ameen. Baci, let us offer you a meal." 

Sienna placed her palm on her chest, "Thank you. You already did." 

"Ahmet, let's eat," the boy walked away with the man as Sienna continued watching him. Ahmet...she thought. The boy then turned around and glared at her when the man called him again. 

He glared at her. She had never been in a position where an orphan would glare at her. She loved children, and they would always be smiling whenever she was around. However, that was a long time ago, and a lot of things had changed since then. 

Am I that bad that children are afraid of me? Look as if they hate me? She sighed and tried remembering her face during the encounter. Maybe I was glaring at the child first. Sometimes that happens. She unconsciously looks at people as if she wants to murder them. It wasn't her fault. She just had a rough past.  

She shut her eyes and leaned against the wall as memories of killing and torturing people flashed through her mind. A tear trickled down her cheeks. I'm sorry... 

---

Ahhh she regretss. Hope you enjoyed :) Please vote/comment!