Sienna - Kurulus Osman

8

"Move, I will go inside," Sienna ordered the soldiers guarding the door.

"Nikola is busy right now. He said not to let anyone in."

"Busy with what?"

"He's making an agreement with Dundar Bey."

Colour drained from Sienna's face, "Dundar Bey?"

The soldier nodded. Sienna clenched her jaw and stared at the door. "Ah, Nikola..." She turned around and left.

---

Sienna gazed outside the window from her room. "Nikola... this agreement is a trap, don't you see? Another of Ertugrul's traps. You make me suspect you with every passing day. Your hate to Turks, your loyalty to our cause..."

Sienna saw Dundar Bey leaving the castle and headed for Nikola. She barged into his room in fury and stared at him, panting.

"You are not breathing with a rhythm, Aziz Dostum. What is making you angry?" Nikola asked, distracted by drawing the posing soldier.

"Falling into Ertugrul's trap!"

Nikola stared up at her, then looked at the soldier. He stared at Sienna again, "What does that mean?"

"The agreement you sealed! It will make us sit down! You are making a mistake, Nikola. The shepherd made you fall into his trap."

Nikola looked at the soldier and gestured for him to leave. Sienna paced around the room as Nikola put away his art tools. "What do you mean by calling him a shepherd? The shepherd that killed your father? The shepherd that took you away from your sister?" He started sharpening his knife.

Sienna walked around him, "Don't talk about my father and my sister like this again. Don't."

Nikola turned around, "We didn't come here for our father's revenge but the future of our children, Sienna." He continued sharpening his dagger by the desk.

Sienna stared at him, "A child's future is nothing without their parents. I don't care about children's future until I take my father's revenge."

Nikola put down the knife and sat on his chair, finishing his drawing of the soldier. Sienna was always quick to judge. She never thought about the games that were being played and focused on only what was in front of her. This made her different from Nikola. Innocent Sienna, as Nikola put it. She had no idea of the games that were being played now or were being played before. "I like your uneasy mood. But don't forget, Sienna. Those warriors who go overseas change the sky, not their mood."

Sienna stared at the wall, but her mind was elsewhere.

"We will show these Turks who turned Sogut into a swamp what Byzantine's blessed rain looks like. And we will do this through the agreement which I put my seal under."

Her ears perked up at that, and she turned to Nikola. "How?"

"We will humiliate Ertugrul through this deal, make him seem unable to keep his word."

---

The next day, Sienna headed out of the castle after discussing their plan and rode for Sogut. As she was walking through Sogut's markets, she saw the men Nikola told her about by one of the stalls. She walked towards them and nodded, "I bring greetings from Nikola."

The men nodded back. "You know what to do," Sienna told, signalling for them to head to Sogut's main area. She watched them go, then noticed a small boy. She smiled and walked to him, "Hello, little boy."