Nizamülmülk opened his eyes to see Turna Hatun nearby.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay."
"I was worried when I heard that you fell ill out of nowhere, I did tell you to take it easy, Hace."
Nizamülmülk faintly smiled, "I'm fine."
Turna nodded before Sultan Meliksah entered the room.
Sultan Meliksah, dismissed Turna Hatun as he wanted to speak to Nizamülmülk alone.
"Tell me, what did you mean? Aiyla Hatun...being your daughter?" Sultan Meliksah questioned.
"Sultanim, I just learned about it."
"I thought you never had any children, that you never settled down and created your own family because you favored the state's well-being more than anything."
"I did and I still do, but we are weak among love."
"Why wasn't your daughter raised with you?" The Sultan genuinely asked.
"Sultanim, years ago, you weren't the only one that lost things for the sake of our state. I lost the woman I loved and along with her loss was the loss of my only child that I never knew existed till now."
Sultan Meliksah closed his eyes, he remembered his pain after learning that Başulu had died.
The heart-wrenching moment when he left his son Ahmed flashed quickly before his eyes.
"These losses are so painful, even if time passes by, we remain in constant pain." Sultan Meliksah spoke up.
"I stabbed her, the look on her face will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life now. I learned that she's innocent and is my daughter, only after she's departed from this world. Her mother left me because she worried about her fate, but I was the one that caused her fate to shatter."
"I don't know what to say, I'm not sure what to tell my son, Tapar. He will most likely search for Aiyla Hatun's whereabouts, he's my son after all. I did the same when I was younger. But, what happened has happened. We will make them pay, Nizamülmülk. May Allah have mercy on her soul."
"Ameen." He replied quietly.
Nizamülmülk sighed as he called for one of his trusted guards.
As the guard entered, he showed courtesy to Sultan Meliksah.
"You called me, Hace."
"Where did you bury Aiyla Hatun?" Nizamülmülk asked him, he wanted his daughter to lay in a grave near Isfahan, somewhere peaceful.
"Hace, you told me to bury her somewhere far away. It was thundering and raining, I reached near the outskirts of Anatolia that night. I just dug a grave in the middle of the woods that night." The guard spoke out.
"In the middle of the woods?!" Nizamülmülk yelled as he got up.
Sultan Meliksah stood up, "Take us to the grave." He ordered the guard.
"Sultanim, I won't remember the exact place. Forgive me, it was a dark and rainy night." The guard spoke in fear as he looked to the floor.
"It doesn't matter, we will go and search that entire section of the woods, you will remember if you go there again." The Sultan spoke, he wanted to help lift some of the guilt Nizamülmülk was feeling.
"I will come along as well." Nizamülmülk announced.
"No, you will remain here. Rest, Nizamülmülk. I will send someone we both trust with him. We will correct our wrongs."
Nizamülmülk nodded his head, he trusted Sultan Meliksah with the matter.
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Aiyla | Uyanış Büyük Selçuklu
Historical FictionA story about love and pain interwined together. Aiyla Hatun has grown to care for only three people in her life. After the loss of her mother, that number went down to only two people. One day she is thrown into an unexpected journey that slowly...
