Sabır (Patience) - Kurulus Osman

Chapter 56

By soon I meant not in a few months eheh... TW: violence/there will be some physical fighting between Konur and Ceyda don't hate me-

"Son, look I am here. I am here. Don't be afraid. You will live."

Ceyda furrowed her brow at the crowd ahead near the middle of the tribe as she jumped off her horse, letting the stableman take care of it. "What happened here?" she asked him when she noticed his fallen expression. He did not answer, so Ceyda hesitantly moved towards the crowd to see for herself.

Women, men, Alps, and Beys were mourning and grief-stricken, the Alps were even on their knees. Ceyda's breathing started to quicken as she looked around. "You promised, my son, please. You will live. Hang on. Hang on, my son." She immediately recognized Bamsi Bey's voice and swallowed. "Who could it be?" she murmured, sighing slightly when she found Osman and his Alps.

Boran noticed Ceyda coming in and tried meeting her gaze to stop her, to warn her. Ceyda would be consumed with guilt and grief even if what he said to her was true. He shook his head slightly when Ceyda looked at him, but she only furrowed her brow in curiosity and stepped closer.

She could finally see who it was that Bamsi Bey was crying over. The man whose head rested in his lap, who was trembling and jerking, whose eyes were filled with tears and kept turning to the sky, was Siddik. She froze.

"B-Baba," he choked out, and Bamsi smiled at him. "Yes, tell me, son. Tell me."

Ceyda blinked multiple times, hoping what she was seeing was just a nightmare, just a delusion, and not reality. But Bamsi's crying and begging brought her back. Her breathing hitched and she dropped to her knees. Osman glanced at her, then squeezed his eyes shut.

"You promised me, Siddik," Bamsi reminded in tears. "You promised me." He tapped Siddik's cheeks slightly. "Stay with me. Stay with me. Look, Ceyda is also here now." Shaking in both rage and sadness, he quickly turned to Ceyda who stared expressionlessly. "Ceyda Kizim, you can treat him, right. You can heal him?"

Ceyda blinked, and her heart dropped at his begging. She found the loyal young man's wound, a small cut on his neck. There was no blood but it did this much damage. Poison, she understood. Remembering that Bamsi Bey had already lost Aybars, and Aslihan and Hafsa Hatun before that, she was desperate to save Siddik. But she could not. It was too late. Unable to form words, she shook her head sadly.

Bamsi turned back to his son hopelessly. "You can't leave now. Y-you have to be my son. You have to get married, remember. Remember what you told me?"

Siddik Alp's face fell slightly, and he turned his head toward Ceyda. Struggling to speak, he gasped, "C-Ceyda...what I did...it wasn't...I was scared. You...deserve so much. I'm sorry. Please, will you be able to forgive me?"

Ceyda shook her head to dismiss what he thought he did wrong, then whispered, "You have my blessing...though, you should be the one forgiving me."

He smiled in relief and reached out a shaky hand, softly patting hers for just a second to relieve her then brought it back to Bamsi Bey's arm. Ceyda inhaled sharply at both his touch and the scene, oblivious of Konur's sharp eyes.

Konur swallowed as he eyed Ceyda and Siddik, confusion overflowing him, but buried these feelings of jealousy. Now was not the time. Boran sensed Konur's tension and thought of explaining after the funeral if Ceyda would not.

Siddik met his father's eyes, and choked, "Give me your blessing in this world and the next, Baba."

Osman Bey and the many Alps could not bear watching Siddik take his final breath and looked away as Bamsi Bey continued to deny this miserable fate.