The Sultans Assassin

chapter 2

They reached the palace within hours of the sun setting. The pink and orange blended together beautifully she thought as she passed by several people, the girls who had accompanied her had already been sorted into different roles.

Ruby would be a kalfa, Adelaide had trouble pronouncing the word at first and was mocked by a funny looking man. Actually he didn't look funny, he just acted strangely, but he didn't matter at least not to her. She had other things to consider, more important things. Like trying to remember all the entrance and exits she had come across or glimpsed. The colour uniform the guards had been wearing and most importantly faces of people she was passing by. 

She would not remember it all within a day, it'll take days maybe even months but she was determined to reach her goal before a year went by. If she was lucky enough she would be able to make it back to her town, if not then she would move far far far away from this hell. At least then she would be free.

The other girl she had traveled with, her name was probably lilly, Jocelyn? Whatever, she was told that she would be training to be a maid for a royal family member, how lucky Adelaide thought sarcasticly. How lucky she was to serve a spoilt prince or princess. But she couldn't judge, once upon a time she was just like that. Or similar. 

Ibrahim had very kindly (note the sarcasm) allowed them to bath in a big room full of water basin's and different types of soaps and oils. She had scrubbed herself until all her dirt had left her body and had oiled her hair with a scent provided. It was lavender, not her favourite but not the worst. Her hair was another story, it took her a while to detangle the knots and brush the hair out. 

What supried her was the white dress that was given to her afterwards, it was  plain looking but she was just happy to wear something clean instead of her torn up clothes from her former life. It came with another pink shift, it was called a kaftan apparently. A maid helped her put in on since she had embarrassingly struggled at first, the maid also brushed out her hair and styled it in nice open waves. Looking in a mirror she smirked, her former beauty shining through. 

When Ibrahim saw her he nearly slipped, she wasn't even exaggerating! Or maybe she was, but he seemed to like what he saw because he then requested an audience with a woman. He addressed her as 'valide sultana' she didn't even try to pronounce the word knowing she would fail. She would simply try to learn the language as quickly as possible, Ibrahim already taught her some words and simple greetings. But mostly he did all the taking and she listened. 

As they walked into the chambers of the valide, Adelaide gasped. Even though she grew up privileged she had yet to see a room this beautiful. It had everything she read a queen would have, from the bed to the little seats. Beautiful.

The woman sat on the bed was a whole different story if she was honest, she was in a blush pink dress with white embroidery on it, her hair tied back and a white crown on her head. Her lips pulled into a frown, she looked pretty yet intimidating. She reminded her of her governess, she missed the older women who died years ago. Her replacement never quit growing on the then young girl. But that didn't matter anymore, her old life was gone. Wiped away. 

She made the unintentional mistake of not blowing until a older women nudged her onto the ground, she did as directed with anger in her eyes and humiliation colouring her cheeks. Yet she held her tongue, biting back any bitter words. 

She rose and watched as Ibrahim communicated with the woman in Turkish. She understood some words such as ' nobel women ' and ' pretty ' but couldn't understand the rest. Party since he spoke too much and partly because he spoke fast and it was hard to catch on. She rolled her eyes as they continued. Several minutes later Ibrahim addressed her. In french obviously.