Kelebek Sultan | {SULEIMAN} Magnificent Century

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double update ;)

Istanbul, Turkey

Sultan Suleiman had disappeared that morning, offering her a fleeting kiss on the forehead.

Kelebek had watched him go, before turning to look at her daughter, eyes still heavy with sleep.

Zeynep was indeed a jewel, as beautiful as her mother in completely the opposite way. Kelebek could not stop herself from dragging her hand through her child's dark curls, kissing her forehead with adoration welling in her chest.

Kelebek would make her the Jewel of the Empire, with the power to take her own destiny into her hands. She would stop at nothing to ensure it so.

She thought again of the poisoning, and of the mouse from yesterday.

It would not be easy to get poison into the Harem, not unless you were someone with significant connections outside of the Harem - such as Mahidevran, who had spent time in Mansia, and Defne, who was Turkish by blood.

Yet it would have been remarkably stupid for either of them to have poisoned her. Despite Ibrahim Pasha's lacklustre investigation, every girl in the Harem was well aware that it had been Mahidevran behind Hürrem's poisoning. Yet even if Ibrahim had managed to save her this time, he would not be able to cover for her again - surely he and/or Mahidevran was aware of that. To try to kill Kelebek now would be exceedingly reckless.

For Defne, she didn't yet have anything to gain as she was not a favourite with access to the Sultan, and was too intelligent a girl to let herself be manipulated under another's command.

Moving off the bed to pick up the list, Kelebek struck Defne Hatun's name from the list of those who had visited her.

She wasn't quite prepared to dismiss Mahidevran entirely yet.

Still, if she was to assume the poison was not acquired from outside the Harem, then that either left the possibility of an Agha or Kalfa being bribed, or the eunuch in the shop had warned others of the effect of the vial and they had used it to kill.

After all, Kelebek herself had taken the vial in case she ever needed to rid herself of an enemy.

She supposed the first step would be to return to where she stole the vial.

Looking over to her daughter, Kelebek realised she could use this opportunity not just to investigate but for other purposes as well.

"Banu, come with me," Kelebek commanded, scooping up her child from the bed.

Zeynep blinked up at her, sapphire blue eyes shining as she rubbed one chubby fist against her right eye.

"My precious child," Kelebek murmured in Croatian, kissing her tuffs of dark hair. "How would you like to assist your mother with some scheming?"

As if she understood, little Zeynep rewarded Kelebek with a toothless smile.

~•~•~•~•~•~

Striding through the Harem halls, many a Hatun turned to watch as the favourite walked past with the Sultan's only daughter.

Amongst them, Hürrem Sultan sat on a bundle of cushions, her own Sehezade Mehmed cradled in her arms.