Sabır (Patience) - Kurulus Osman

Chapter 11

Konur looked at the horse one more time to confirm, "Yes, you're definitely not Ceylan. But then how..."

Konur was lost in thought. Ceyda rode Ceylan out of the tribe...and came back wounded on another horse. She must have run into someone. That's the only way...there must be a bigger game behind this.

Konur heard footsteps coming towards him. He turned around to see an anxious Batur. Konur nodded in greeting, "Batur Bey, what's wrong?"

"I-I was...Do you know where Ceyda is? She is not in the healing tent."

"She's not in Dundar Bey's marquee?"

"No, I asked my mother but... she was no help."

"Maybe Aygul Hatun knows?"

"Good idea...I'll ask her."

"You didn't- never mind."

"What happened to you? You looked lost in thought."

"I was..." Konur decided to tell Batur. "This horse...it's not Ceylan."

"What?" Batur checked the horse's neck and furrowed his brow. "You're right. It's not."

"Something bigger is going on...Ceyda must have run into someone. Ceylan would never throw Ceyda off her back. I didn't realize it before, but now that I think of it, Ceyda's head injury was too severe to be caused by falling on a rock."

"I found ana coming from the end of the tribe. She was acting all weird and kept hiding her hands. When I walked closer to her, she revealed her hands, and it was stained with blood. She said it was just thorns," Batur remembered. "We should keep this between us."

Batur faced Konur and saw the desperation in his eyes. He wanted to tell Konur. He really did. He said he would dig deeper into this matter and now it was time to. But he couldn't. He couldn't have Osman or his alps targeting his mother. It would ruin the reputation of their whole family. He took a deep breath and suggested, "We should go look around the place she fell."

Konur looked at Batur questioningly. He knew he was hiding something, "Batur...if you have any information or have heard anything...if you don't tell me now, it will endanger this tribe's future. It might even endanger Ceyda."

Batur shook his head, "I don't know."

"Okay, tomorrow I will look around the forest behind the graveyard."

"Let me come with you, Konur Alp."

"No, I will go alone. Don't tell anyone yet. If we want to expose the people behind this...we should keep quiet for now."

"Okay," Batur agreed. He walked back to his marquee, ready to tell Aygul everything.

Konur's heart burned with desperation and longing, "Ceyda...Who hurt you? Who washed your bright face with the dark blood? How can I live without you remembering our childhood? All those memories. How can I live with you not knowing who I am? Who you are."

---

Osman's heart burned. The father of the woman he loved rejected his proposal. Selcan sat beside Osman, talking.

"Oh Osmanim, I don't know which is worse. One of my children got rejected, and another one will never know love."

"Can I come in bey?" Konur asked.

"Come in, Konur."

Konur entered the tent, his eyes were slightly red. He placed his hand on his heart slowly and nodded in greeting to first his bey, then Selcan Hatun. He stayed silent for a while then said, "Beyim, I couldn't stay in the tent."