Sabır (Patience) - Kurulus Osman

Chapter 53

"Watch me!" Ceyda challenged, gripping the second sword she grabbed from the weapons stand.

They grunted as they each fought for possession of the sword. A slightly older Konur sighed as he watched them fight over the same thing yet again. "Boran, just drop it."

Boran pulled harder, but Ceyda's grip was strong. "Why...are you always...on her side?" he questioned between grunts.

Konur shook his head tiredly. "Ceyda, will you just let him have it."

Ceyda dropped her other sword to hold on with both hands. "Why are you always...on his side?"

Konur looked around cautiously. Some of the boys outside distracted the guards of the tent and Osman was out hunting with his father, but that didn't mean no one else would hear the noise Ceyda and Boran's fighting was creating. "Keep it down!" Konur whisper-yelled. "Someone's going to come in."

"Tell him to leave it," Ceyda persisted. "You had it last time. Besides...there's another sword on the stand."

"So, why don't you take it?" Boran argued.

"Well, because I touched this first," she shot back.

"Fine," Boran smirked, letting go as she pulled hard, sending her stumbling backward with the sword. Boran quickly grabbed the other sword she left on the ground and hid it behind his back as Ceyda grinned victoriously. "Ha!" she laughed, then Boran showed her his sword and mocked her, "Ha-ha!"

Ceyda's smile fell, and she let out a long groan before jumping on Boran. Konur facepalmed and jumped in too, trying to pry away Ceyda's hand from the sword while also keeping Boran still.

Then, Gunduz Bey and Savci came out of a room in the tent with annoyed yet tired expressions. "What is happening?" Gunduz sighed.

Ceyda, Boran, and Konur immediately broke apart and stood in a line with their hands behind their backs and their chins up, the way Gunduz told them to stand whenever a Bey or Alp came by- which wasn't actually true, but Gunduz found it hilarious. He snickered, and his brother hid a smile before they faked a serious expression.

"Are you three fighting in the sacred marquee of the great Suleyman Shah?"

"No," began Ceyda. "Well," Boran interrupted. "You see," Konur continued. And then they all started talking at once. Savci and Gunduz grimaced and brought their hands to their ears to clear out the noise.

"One at a time!"

They all quieted. Not knowing who was meant to go first, they started talking at the same time again, then over each other before Gunduz shouted, "Silence!" and they pressed their lips together. "Ceyda, start explaining," Gunduz ordered.

Ceyda opened her mouth to speak when he interrupted, "Chin up!" Ceyda closed her mouth and watched her cousin's wide eyes and the vein in his neck that always showed when he shouted. She bit back a laugh. "Start," Gunduz repeated. "I was trying to show these two newcomers here," she patted them both on the head- a little harder than she should have- and they had nothing to do but smile innocently, "what a real sword looks like. These poor things can only train with the wooden ones on the training field, you know? How sad..."

Konur facepalmed and Savci shouted, "Hands behind your back, chin up!"

Gunduz had a considering yet unbelieving expression on his face and he took a few steps closer to her, bending so that they were eye-level. "And if I remember correctly, you train with them too, don't you?"