Muhtesem Yuzyil Imagines ♡

sᴜʟᴇɪᴍᴀɴ's ᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴏᴜs ɢᴇᴍ - Prologue (By Seraphis88)

As soon as the four children saw their grandmother, they immediately ran over to her with Ahmet and Dilara standing back as their younger siblings saw her first. Emine and Hakan toddled over as fast as their little legs could as they leaped into her arms, much to the amusement of those in the room. The Valide took them both in her arms, hugging them tightly as they laughed in joy. Zeynep Sultan stood behind her two eldest cradling her belly as her unborn child kicked, hearing the laughter in the room. Her dark pink dress flowed down to the floor as she watched her children in joy.

"My darlings. How I've missed you." The Valide gave a kiss to both of the young toddlers, before gesturing the two eldest towards her. Giving them hugs and kisses, she watched as their mother stood there patiently next to her daughter Hatice. "The apples of my eye. My darlings, did you miss me too?"

"We did," all four children echoed as one as they smiled at their grandmother.

Her daughter, Emine, was next to speak as she asked, "Where is Baba?"

"He's likely busy, my dove. You'll see him later." Zeynep told her patiently, having dealt with similar questions on their trip to Constantinople.

Her youngest daughter pouts but doesn't speak against her mother, much to the pride of the Valide as she compared this to the earlier encounter with Mustafa and his mother. The gall she had to teach her son that the palace belonged to him still makes her steam in anger but she hid it from the children in front of her. Gesturing for Zeynep to sit, she watched as the heavily pregnant woman sat down gently with help from her maids.

Turning to her maids, the Valide ordered, "Take the children outside to play."

Giving bows to the three powerful women, the Valide's maids each take two children by the hand and lead them outside the room, where they meet their father striding towards them.

"My children," Suleiman smiled as his four children came into view.

"Baba!" They exclaimed as they rushed away from the maids into their father's waiting arms.

"My little ones, my dear children." He held the two youngest in his arms while the two oldest had their arms around his waist. Holding them close, he looked up to see their mother nowhere in sight. "Where is your mother? She's usually not far from you."

"She's with Nene in her rooms," Ahmet answered him as he took his father's hand in his and kissed it in deference to being the Padishah of the Ottoman Empire. Dilara did the same as the two twins babbled to their father about their trip from Manisa.

Knowing the tense relationship between his Haseki and Valide, he urged the maids to take the children to their chambers before striding to his mother's rooms. Opening the doors, he noticed both lights of his life talking intensely with each other. Hearing the door open, they both look up to see the Sultan walk inside. With help from her maids, Zeynep stood up and gave a small curtsey to him as he walked toward her. Taking his hand in hers, she kissed it before leaning back up with a smile.

"Welcome Zeynep, we missed you," Suleiman told her with a soft smile towards his wife, kissing her on the forehead.

"We missed you too, my sultan," she said softly with a smile filled with love toward her husband.

"I hope Valide has your quarters ready for you to rest in," he glanced at his mother to see the slightly sour look on her face at his interactions with his wife. He knew she wasn't a fan of the English-born princess, stemming from the fact that Zeynep's maiden family was an enemy of the Ottoman Empire. The Tudor family, currently headed by Zeynep's older brother Henry VIII, was aligned with the Catholic Church of Rome and the Holy Roman Emperor, fierce enemies of the Ottoman Empire and Islamic faith.