sᴜʟᴇɪᴍᴀɴ's ᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴏᴜs ɢᴇᴍ || ᴍᴀɢɴɪғɪᴄɪᴇɴᴛ ᴄᴇɴᴛᴜʀʏ ғᴀɴ ғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪ

Laughing at the sight the three of them made, she stepped into the room where a chorus of "Anne!" greeted her. Smiling as her two youngest cubs toddled over to her, she opened her arms to let her two youngest lunge into her arms and kissed the tops of their heads. Looking up, she met the kind eyes of her husband as he came forward for her to greet. Curtseying, she took his hand into hers and kissed it before pressing it to her forehead, showing her devotion to him. Standing back up, he placed his hand behind her head and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. Leaning his head against hers, they both closed their eyes in bliss as they relished in their love for each other. Rubbing her belly lovingly as he was excited for their next child to arrive, he led her over to the sofa to sit as their young children continued to play.

"I assume you heard about last night?" He asked her, amused about her reaction to his new interest in the red-headed slave from last night.

"How can I not, it has spread across the entire palace," she smirked at her young husband, much to his embarrassment as he knew she was teasing him. "But I approve. She is very beautiful and I gifted her two fabrics to make dresses for when she visits you."

He looked at her in admiration, "How am I so lucky to have an understanding wife and partner in my life?"

"Just as I am lucky to have a wonderful husband and father in mine," Zeynep laid her hand against his cheek and he leaned into it, gently rubbing his hand over the swell of her belly as he felt his child kick. "And our child agrees."

He pulled her forward to lay her head against his chest as they both watched their youngest children play. Hakan and Emine were the lights of the palace, their joy was infectious, and were adored by the Aghas and Kalfas. Their older siblings Ahmet and Dilara were the most committed of the children, taking their duties seriously. As the eldest son and daughter of the Sultan, eyes were constantly on them, and try as she might, their mother could only do so much to lessen the burden they felt. So anytime she had them, she let them be children and played with them into the evening at least a couple times a week.

"My Sultan, it must be time to get back to your duties and don't forget to see Mustafa as well before you go. I know he misses you, don't let Mahidevran get in the way of your relationship with your son," Zeynep advised him as she leaned away from him to look into his eyes.

"You're right, I have neglected Mustafa lately. I'll spend some time with him tomorrow and take him and Ahmet to learn archery," Suleiman decided, much to her approval as this gave the two brothers time to bond again without their mothers getting in the way.

"Very good," she looked over to see her two little ones yawn as they rubbed their eyes. "It looks like it's time for me to put these two down for a nap," she stood up with some help from her husband as she walked over to her children. Taking their hands in hers, she gave a curtsey to her husband and excused herself from the room, taking them to the adjoining room where all her children slept. Tucking them into bed after changing them into their nightclothes, she sang a lullaby to lure them into sleep before leaving the room to see her husband was gone, leaving behind a pale pink rose on the sofa. Lifting it to her nose, she inhaled the sweet scent, happy that he still thinks of her as his English Rose.

Hearing the door to her chambers open, Zeynep watched as her eldest children walked inside to greet her with Burcu Hatun right behind them. She thought to herself that she would need more maidservants now to help ease the load that her two maids felt at taking care of her and her children. She'll start looking through the slaves tomorrow and pick a few to help them, she decided as she hugged Ahmet and Dilara. They both looked tired, so she dismissed them and sent them to take a nap with their younger siblings. They protested at first, not wanting to be treated as little kids but she argued that they needed the rest to help them grow.