SULTANATE : Fight for the Throne

Chapter 5

Mihrişah Haseki Sultan

Istanbul, February 1528

"Ayaz Pasha, you have guests," I said to the Ayaz Pasha, man I served, when someone entered his house. I placed a veil on my head which would cover my face from stranger men not to see me and left to the outer part of the garden of the mansion.

My name is Beatrice Morosini.

I was born seventeen years ago in the most beautiful city on the Earth, Venice. I was born as daughter of rich merchant Andreuccio and a woman of noble origin Fiammetta. I lived my peaceful life with my family in the one of the mansions on the Grand Canal of Venice, in a beautiful palace where I lived like a real princess. I had younger sister, Filomena, and elder brother, Francesco. I lived the best possible life I could, until the day that changed my fate.

When I was fourteen years old, on the day when I went to one of ceremonies with my whole family, we heard church's bells ringing, but it wasn't time for them to pray. We all knew what this meant and that city is in the danger.

"Beatrice, come on, let's hide in the mansion," Francesco, my brother, took my and our younger sister's hands and grabbed us away with him. All the people started to run away from the ceremony and everyone ran to get to the safest place possible.

"No one can conquer Venice why are you so afraid?" I asked my brother as we finally arrived into the mansion and went on the highest floor just to make sure we can see what is happening there.

"Look through the windows and repeat to me your sentence once again, maybe they can't conquer our land, but they can do a lot of bad things to us the inhabitants," I slowly walked towards the window from where I saw a navy and many people running out from the boat. They were opening every doors of every house and entered in every one. I saw how they took so many girls and so many boys with them which made me scared.

"Who are those people and what are they doing?" I asked him but in the same time I hugged my younger sister because she started crying and our mother was no where around so I had to take care of her.

"Those are barbarians, they are taking girls and sell them as a slaves while they take boys and sell them to infidel army," he said but at that moment something took my attention. I focused better to see what is happening, and I saw them having my father in their hands.

"Where are you going Beatrice are you crazy?" Francesco asked me as I started running downstairs because I wouldn't let those barbarians do something to my father.

"To save father from them," I said confidently and ran downstairs. He ordered Filomema to hide somewhere and ran towards me to stop me, but it was too late.

I opened the main doors of our mansion which led to the square, but first thing I saw was dead body of my mother laying down on the floor and in front of that Barbarians held my father who was down on his knees and begged for his life.

"How can you do something like this?" I yelled on them not caring for consequences because after I saw my mother dead I couldn't handle my anger anymore. They just looked at each other and one of them ran into our mansion and I knew this is going to be our end.

"She is beautiful girl, we should send her to Constantinople, there we could sell her for very much money," one of those barbarians who held my father said in Turkish and luckily I understood everything he had said, because my father was a merchant and I learnt it from him.