Kelebek Sultan | {SULEIMAN} Magnificent Century

xvi. did you miss me?

"They are beautiful, but they are not all I want from you," Kelebek said, revelling in the way the Sultan's eyes widened. She took one step, two steps forward, her face sultry.

When she was right in front of him, Kelebek ran her hand up the man's chest, leaning in to whisper, "I want your love, my Sultan. Shall I prove how much I want it?"

The Croatian glanced down meaningfully, and the Sultan swallowed.

Kelebek didn't move, her hand remaining on his chest and her breath in his ear until he finally let out, "yes."

She smiled.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Kelebek enjoyed entrance to the Sultan's chambers many nights for the next two weeks, her visits going so far as to outnumber Hürrem Hatun's, especially as the other woman grew nearer and nearer to her due date.

But she was not alone.

Not only had Aysun been called to his chamber, but so had Kata. It was as if fate itself was conspiring against her.

Meanwhile, many of the concubines - jealousy colouring their faces - went out of their way to remind Kelebek that her station had not yet risen.

The call of 'Kelebek Hatun' and 'won't you do this for me, Hatun?' haunted her every movement.

If anybody was particularly cruel about it, it was Mahidevran Sultan.

She visited Kelebek's chambers at the end of the week, Mustafa's hand clasped in hers as she proclaimed her son wanted to meet his baby sister.

Kelebek, who was instantly reminded of little Leon, immediately took to the small boy. Carefully, she leant down so that he could see the swaddled baby in her arms.

"What a beautiful girl you have there, Hatun," the Sehzade's mother mocked, a smile playing upon her lips.

"Her name is Zeynep, which means a father's precious jewel," Kelebek told Mustafa delicately, before moving her eyes up to look at Mahidevran, "it's a shame that he does not have more jewels like you and Zeynep."

Mahidevran's eyes coloured in anger at the slight, but the blonde cared little for the woman's reaction. Instead, she watched with joyful eyes as Mustafa reached out a little hand to stroke his baby sister's face.

Then, his little cubby face broke out into a large grin.

"She looks like me!" The little boy proclaimed and Kelebek laughed and agreed.

"I can only hope that our Sultana will turn out to be as lovely a child as you, my Sehzade," Kelebek told him, glancing back down towards her daughter.

When they had both left, Kelebek was left to think about what to do about Kata.

She could try to frame the other girl for stealing something, or even poison her, but that would only destroy the reputation that she had been cultivating with the harem girls and the Sultan's family. She would appear as jealous and petty over the Sultan as Mahidevran and Hürrem.

No, that wouldn't do.

Briefly, she considered harming herself and painting Kata as the perpetrator, but Kelebek had no one close enough to Kata to place her at the right place at the right time or with enough authority to influence others.

First, she would need to network.

"Sevil?" Kelebek inquired, watching as the friend who she had asked the Sultan to take as one of her concubines just yesterday walked over to her, "by any chance do you know where Defne Hatun is right now?"

"I think I saw her in the main harem, with Kata and Anja," Sevil answered, fluffing a pillow upon Kelebek's long, elegant sofa.

"And Sümbül Agha?"

Sevil had to think for a moment, "I didn't see him in the harem. He must be in his rooms."

Defne Hatun. Sümbül Agha. Meltem Kalfa.

Kelebek would not stop until they were hers.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Getting up for water late in the evening and walking down the cold halls alone was not something that Kelebek missed.

But, as Sevil had been sleeping so soundly and Banu was gone - presumably in an evening lesson - the blonde had chosen to do so. Should Zeynep cry, Sevil was there.

Encountering someone on her walk would not have been unusual. After all, it mandated for the walker to go near to the Valide's chambers where concubines darted in and out regularly.

However, nobody would expect to find a sobbing Sultana.

"Sultana Hatice?" Kelebek inquired, surprised at the other woman's state. She always appeared so calm, "Sultana Hatice?"

The other woman was walking quickly in the direction of Kelebek and, despite the other woman having called out to her multiple times, soon nearly collided with her.

Her wide, dark eyes darted to Kelebek as she said, "they're going to marry me. They're going to marry me."

She seemed to be talking to herself more than anyone else, but the Croatian woman grabbed onto her shoulders anyway. She hoped the contact would bring the Sultana back to her senses.

"Who's going to marry you?" She asked.

"Not Ibrahim. It won't be Ibrahim," Hatice said, before her eyes filled with horror and she elbowed Kelebek out of the way.

The favourite watched the Sultan's sister's retreating back.

Well, that was one big secret to learn on a Tuesday night.