Oh my baby angel 🥺
Osman ordered Dumrul and Ayaz to tie up Dundar and Bahadir while he made his way to Balgay to inform him of their victory. Boran returned with the horses and prepared them while Konur built a small fire and rested his dagger in it. Meanwhile, Ceyda sat by a tree near the captives and undid her bandage, pressing the rags on it as she waited for the dagger to heat up. She glared at Alisar as he smirked.
"The nerve of this dog..." she muttered, then eyed Dundar and Bahadir from the corner of her eye. Dundar looked broken while Bahadir maintained a straight face.
People change, Bahadir had once told her. Though it was just a week ago, it seemed like a lifetime had passed since. "Seems like only some people change," she mumbled.
"Bacim."
It was Bahadir's voice. Ceyda ignored him and brought the dagger to her leg, cauterizing it before he could say anything more. The pain was a good distraction. She groaned through her teeth as the dagger sizzled on her skin. Gasping when it was over, she grabbed the new bandage Konur put out for her and wrapped it around her shin, knotting it at the end to keep it in place. She leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree and stared.
"Listen to me."
Ceyda cringed and clenched her fist to keep herself from throwing it at Bahadir; he would not accept his mistake or apologize, that was for sure. He always had an ego issue. After going over to tighten the captive's knots, Konur sat by Ceyda, putting out the fire he built.
Instead of cursing her cousin, Ceyda watched Konur, noticing that however many times she annoyed, disappointed, or angered him and however many times he promised never to speak to her or tried avoiding her, he never left her. He always stayed by her side. He always returned. Ceyda was grateful she had Konur and promised herself she would never leave him. She smiled. But it quickly fell with Bahadir's next words.
"I was only being an obedient son. Try to understand, I-it's not my fault ...please, talk to me. I-I had no choice-"
Ceyda inhaled sharply and lunged forward, ignoring the searing pain in her leg as she jumped on Bahadir, throwing her fist into his jaw then grabbing his armour. "You always have a choice! And you chose to betray your tribe! You chose to betray Turk tradition, our cause! You chose to betray by blindly following what you know is wrong! Because you are wrong. You tell me about change, but some people, Bahadir Bey, cannot change! Some people are doomed to be ignorant! Go to Hell for all I care but never speak to me about this not being your choice." Shooting Bahadir one last furious look, she pushed him away and started back to her spot when she heard Alisar chuckling under his breath. She turned sharply and gave him a hard punch, making his head fling to the side. "That's for everything you did to the tribe." She threw him another punch, using all her strength, and his head flew to the other side, blood and spit splattering to the ground. "That's for my Batur Abi!" Then, she threw him the hardest punch she had ever given anyone. "And that's for burying my Aygul in your bed!!" She panted in fury as Alisar's head dropped to the side, his mouth and nose dripping with blood and his eyes closing.
She turned around and stomped back to the tree, the wound in her shin, hand, and her heart, feeling much better. She sighed in relief, then noticed the Alps staring at her uneasily. She smiled, "Always wanted to do that."
---
After Osman Bey returned, they headed for the tribe, Dundar and Bahadir on horses with their hands tied and Alisar being led by a rope that Osman held, looking as if he would faint any second.
The tribe greeted them gratefully upon the victory, and the people threw everything they held on Alisar, some even managing to beat him. Once they were inside, Osman pulled Alisar's rope in front of him, sending him to the ground while the Alps helped Dundar and Bahadir off their horses, leading them to either side of Alisar. Osman circled the captives on his horse and reared behind them, insulting the former Sanjak Bey mockingly.
"Osman!" Alisar yelled. "You will pay for your doings, Osman! I will make you throw up blood! I will burn your roots!"
Bamsi walked over to him, bending so that they were face to face. "Don't make me cut your poisonous tongue," he threatened. "Don't make me cut your poisonous tongue!" Alisar growled at him, and Gunduz patted Bamsi's back to calm him.
Osman announced Alisar's crimes for the tribe to hear, making them lunge at Alisar, restrained by the Alps. Osman held up a hand to calm them. "As for my uncle Dundar and Bahadir...they were fooled by Alisar and betrayed our tribe's Beys... But my father will sentence them." Approving smiles were brought to Gunduz, Bamsi, and Selcan's faces. Osman dismounted his horse and walked up to Dundar, telling him something Ceyda could barely decipher. Then, he was taken away. Osman turned to Bahadir next, ordering the Alps to take him to the Prisoner Tent.
After dismounting and greeting their loved ones, the Alps and Beys brought Alisar to the front of Ertugrul Bey's marquee and prepared for his execution. Ceyda limped to her aunt who brought her in for a hug then examined her. "None of the Alps are wounded, why are you?" Selcan frowned, after seeing her bandaged leg.
"I'm not wounded, yenge," Ceyda retorted and then leaned in to whisper, "And they are, they just hide it better." Selcan chuckled under her breath and embraced her niece again. Ceyda then turned to Bala and Gonca who stood beside Selcan and nodded at them with a smile. They returned it; "May your victory be blessed," they congratulated, and Ceyda thanked them before wrapping her arms around the two. She noticed Gonca's wounded arm and raised her brow. "May yours be blessed too. Who did you run after?" She glanced between the three Hatuns, whose smiles fell slowly. And then Ceyda realized that they must have been a part of the raid of Alisar's kiosk. "Zohre, Burcin, and Aygul," she sighed. "Where are they?"
"Zohre and Aygul are outside of their marquee," Selcan answered, and Ceyda nodded before rushing away from the execution toward her cousin.
Once Ceyda neared Dundar's pavilion, she saw her uncle and aunt standing by a tent in front of the marquee and the Alps standing in a line beside them with their weapons out. She ran to their side to see Aygul with her back against the tent, tears streaking her face, and a dagger she held, to her throat. Ceyda gasped and started for her cousin when Dundar held out his arm to stop her. "Aygul," she called.
"Ah, Abi," Aygul cried, staring ahead sightlessly.
Ceyda realized that Dundar must have told her the real killer of Batur. "Aygul," she tried again. "Look at me." Ceyda lowered Dundar's hand and took a step closer to her cousin. "Look at me."
Aygul's tear-welled eyes met hers, and she glared. "What are you doing here? Traitor! Go away!"
"I told you I'd never leave you, didn't I?" Ceyda reminded, swallowing as Aygul tightened her grip on the dagger.
"But you did!" she screamed. "You left me. You broke your promise, and you left me alone! My brother left me and then you did too," she cried.
"But I'm here. I came back, Aygul. I'm here." She was now just an arm's reach from her.
"Don't come closer! You'll leave me again."
Ceyda shook her head and reached out her hand as she rested it on Aygul's wrist. "I'm sorry, I won't. Not again. Now we will be together. Hmm? It will be just like before. We've lost a brother...but now we have each other. Will you forgive and accept me once more? Huh?" Aygul watched her cautiously, and Ceyda lowered the dagger, waiting for Aygul to drop it.
She nodded slowly and the dagger fell to the ground. "Will my brother come back too?" she whispered, and Ceyda let her tears drop as she wrapped her arms around her cousin who laid her head on Ceyda's shoulder. "One day, we will all be together," Ceyda cried.
---
Dundar and Zohre stood by the steps of their marquee as Ceyda came down them. "She's asleep," she told them. There was a moment of silence when Zohre said, "Kizim...I have no words. We-I was very unjust with you." Zohre was on the brink of tears, and Dundar continued for her, "I have done and said many things I've come to regret. Too many to apologize for...I-I don't understand what to say."
Ceyda watched them sadly, then spoke, "You don't need to say anything." She paused and looked between them. "Just hug me once more. Make me believe that if I start to fall again, you will hold my hand and support me, and you will not let me fall." Dundar and Zohre looked surprised yet relieved and embraced the niece they considered a daughter. Ceyda inhaled their familiar scents and let go after a good moment. She sniffed then nodded at them. "I'll see you in a while." Ceyda left for her tent.
The crowd around Alisar cleared, and she saw the Alps take away a body, the ground around them smeared with blood. Alisar was dead. Before entering her tent, she spotted Osman speaking with Selcan and Bala. Remembering Alisar speak about Sungur Tekin earlier, she walked over to her cousin, hoping she could ask if he had any news on her father.
"Our enemies are still at large..." Ceyda heard Osman tell them as she neared. "Unless we have news on both Sofia and Yannis's deaths, we need to pretend she is still alive. Stay on guard." The woman and the Alps that gathered nodded and separated as Ceyda called out to Osman.
"Yes, bacim."
She waited for the others to clear before asking, "Any news on my father? I heard Alisar...speak about him. Does that mean he finished his mission? Will he return soon?"
Osman sighed lightly. "The only news I've heard is of his completed mission... There hasn't been anything after that." Ceyda's face fell, and Osman quickly continued, "But that doesn't mean all hope is lost, don't worry. Once I hear from my uncle, you will be the first to know. I believe it is safe to inform the others now, but still be careful."
Ceyda nodded and gave him a tight smile before turning to her tent. She pushed open the doors and looked for another pair of brown trousers; thanks to Alisar, these had a hole in them. After changing, she dropped by her folded bed. "Please be alive, Babam...I can't stand losing someone else. Please Allah, let my father return to me safely. Let me see the twinkle in his eyes again...please."
"Destur varmidir?" Selcan called from the outside of the tent. Ceyda straightened and stood. "Estaghfirullah, yenge. Come in." The doors opened and Selcan entered, a pile of clothes in her hands.
Ceyda took the pile from her and set it aside before seating her aunt by the goatskin couches. "What brings you here?" Ceyda asked politely, glancing at the clothing.
"Well, when I looked through your clothes last time, I realized I should buy you more...bright clothes. With the help of Gonca and Bala Hatun, we bought you dresses and tunics from Sogut."
Ceyda frowned. "No, you shouldn't have. I have enough-"
"I don't want to hear it. We have a wedding coming up and will have many more, InshaAllah. Don't worry, and just accept the dresses... I broke my back picking them out for you." Selcan dramatically rubbed her back.
Ceyda shook her head with a smile. "Oh, so you'll use guilt against me, ha?" she joked, eying the clothes again where she could see purples, maroons, greens, and blues. "Thank you."
Her aunt watched her with a flash of concern. "What happened, are you okay?"
Ceyda swallowed and nodded. "I'm fine...nothing to worry about."
Selcan smiled. "Tamam...come with me. I have something that might cheer you up." Ceyda wanted a distraction, so she followed her aunt out to Ertugrul Bey's marquee where three people stood.
Two were the tribe's midwives, and the other was an elderly man whom Ceyda had not seen before. Selcan led her to the sheepskin, and Ceyda wordlessly sat, glancing at the people cautiously. "Who are you?" she questioned. No one answered, and instead, the man knelt in front of her, holding out his finger.
"We are here to help you, kizim. Follow my finger," he said.
Ceyda furrowed her brow and stared at her aunt who gave her an apologetic and nudging look. "I don't need help."
"Follow my finger," he repeated, starting to move it slowly from side to side.
Ceyda stared ahead and watched it move before deciding it was stupid and stared straight ahead. The doctor tried again, but she didn't follow.
"Tamam," he sighed. "I hear you hit your head and were brainwashed by the Mongols for some time."
Ceyda narrowed her eyes at him. "Did I? I don't remember...there have been many more wounds since then. Would you like to hear about all of them?" she asked sarcastically.
"Ceyda," Selcan snapped, but she ignored her and continued watching the doctor with a mocking expression.
"Tell me, doctor, would you like me to explain my physical wounds or my mental ones?"
The doctor considered her. "Look, I don't want anyone's time to go to waste. I have come from-"
"Oh, but you are wasting my time, and you're own too because I am fine. Go ahead, tell me which wound you want to cure." He looked her in the eye and glanced at the midwives who neared her. Ceyda jerked her head to Selcan. "You said you'd cheer me up, why am I here?"
"Ceyda, please listen to the doctor-"
"Doctor? I don't need a doctor!" She was getting upset now; a fury that could never be her own.
"Yes, we know, but this is for your mental state-"
"I'm not crazy!"
"No one's calling you crazy, kizim. Calm down."
"Then why is he here?! You lied to me! Liar!" She lunged forward, but the midwives held her back, then the Alps guarding the tent entered as Ceyda screamed and threw her fists around. "LET GO!" Selcan inhaled sharply and backed away as the Alps held her down, and the doctor observed her before asking, "Who is Balgay?"
Ceyda stopped screaming suddenly and stared at him blankly, then laughed. It started as a low chuckle, then deepened and loudened until she was cackling and laughing. A laugh that started as her own but slowly turned into something else. Someone else. She laughed and laughed and heard whispers join in until she found her voice and chuckled, "How can you not know?"
Selcan stiffened, and the doctor repeated his question. Now, she wasn't laughing. Now she stared straight into his blue eyes, her own a bottomless well, and answered, "Azraelin."
Everything was still until Ceyda slammed her head into the doctor's forehead and pushed away from the Alps and midwives. She ran for the door when her aunt came in the way. Ceyda shoved past her and threw open the doors, running and running. Just one word guiding her: Return.
Something caught hold of her, and she screamed as she lost balance and fell to the ground.
"What are you doing? Get a hold of yourself, Ceyda!"
She was faced with a pair of brown eyes. Ceyda grunted and looked around. More eyes looked down at her. They were all familiar, but before she could remember, something else spoke through her, "He'll destroy you. He'll find you and kill you! Nowhere is safe, Kara Osman...he'll end your loved ones! He'll slay you all! You will burn in the fire of his fury and drown in the blood of your tribe-"
She screamed as a stinging on her cheek made her face the ground, and she blinked as her mind went blank for a couple of seconds.
"Hekim usta!"
Ceyda shook her head and looked up to see a face she'd never seen before. There was a reddish purplish mark on the side of his forehead. Ceyda looked around to realize she was on the ground and everyone was staring down at her, lines of worry etched on their foreheads and fear tattooing their faces. Ceyda pushed herself up so she was sitting, then cleared her throat as she stared at the stranger who moved an inch back.
"Ceyda?" Gunduz said, looking at her cautiously as he warily placed a hand on her arm.
Ceyda watched him then looked around again. "Why are you all staring at me?"
The drums started beating before anyone could say anything else, and Ceyda tried looking for the entrance of the tribe. Then she realized she wasn't in the tribe. Questions tumbled in her mind, and she stared as nobody moved then softly chuckled, "Is no one else excited about who's arrived?"
Selcan smiled, but it was a nervous one. "Yes, we should go see."
"Before that," began the man sitting in front of Ceyda," I need to ask you a few questions."
Ceyda stared at him and realized that the light stinging in her cheek just a few seconds ago must have been his doing. Gunduz called him a doctor, but Ceyda was far from calling him that. "Who are you?"
"Who are you?" he answered, his eyes sharp.
Ceyda almost laughed, both at his unawareness and his attempt to avoid her question. Jokingly, she arrogantly raised her head and replied, "Sungur Tekin Bey's daughter, Ceyda."
"Who is your father?" he asked, and this time Ceyda did laugh.
"Hekim usta, I think it's you who needs to see a specialist. No worries, I'll explain. If I am Sungur Tekin Bey's daughter, then my father would be..." she waited for him to finish it with an expecting smile. The doctor just shook his head, again flipping the conversation so that she would answer. Ceyda faked a disappointed sigh.
"And is your father alive?"
"Elhamdulillah," she grinned. The family shared a look, and the doctor looked back at them, a silent conversation with eyes. Ceyda's smile froze on her face, and she quickly clamped her mouth with her hand then shrugged it off casually.
"I'm asking again, who is your father?"
Now, it was Ceyda's turn to avoid the question. "Did you slap me?"
"Ceyda," Gunduz started, "Answer the question, please."
Ceyda sighed noticeably. "Sungur Tekin, okay?"
The doctor raised his eyebrow skeptically, and Ceyda frowned, "He's in Jannah; he comes in my dreams. How much more alive can he get? Now, can we go see who's here? We haven't had visitors in ages."
The doctor nodded once. "Last...who are you married to?"
Ceyda snorted, "What?" then looked at Selcan and the others whose expressions, curiously, stayed concerned. "Er...my swords. Now can we leave?"
The doctor looked back at them once more, then nodded at her. It looked as if everyone let out a sigh of relief and the tension in the atmosphere loosened. Ceyda sprang up and started for the tribe, muttering her questions as she found her path back. She looked at Selcan, Bamsi, Gunduz, and Boran once more. "Aren't you coming?"
"You and Boran go ahead," Gunduz said, and Boran made his way beside her. Ceyda decided to ask later and she and Boran treaded toward the Kayi Tribe.
After a few silent moments, both wanting to say something but not knowing how, Ceyda finally revealed what she had been dying to share, "You know..." Boran hummed shortly in response. Ceyda looked up at him, biting her lip nervously. "...My father is alive."
Boran's eyes widened. "What?"
"Yeah...I met him a few weeks ago...or was it a few days ago...?" She gave up finding the answer, and her eyes started lighting up. "His hair was still that wild grey tangled mess it always was. And his beard was still short-cut. And his nose just a little crooked, but fitting so perfectly on his face. And his eyes still had that dark- Ah!"
Ceyda brought a hand to her cheek and slowly turned to face a flushed and nervous-looking Boran, her mouth slightly agape. "What was that for?!"
Boran brought his fist near his mouth. "What? But you were supposed to- I-It worked last time!"
"Last time?!" Ceyda could not be more clueless.
"I-You- W-who were you talking about?!" Boran managed to ask, thinking she must have been talking about Balgay again, meaning she was still not in her senses. And seeing the doctor slap her to bring her back made it certain it would be the same if he did it, however regretfully and hesitantly it was.
"What is it with you people and my father? First, that so-called doctor asked me who I am, then who my dad is, then who I'm married to? Could that conversation get any weirder? I mean, is he trying to prop-"
"Don't, don't finish that thought," Boran interrupted.
Ceyda let out a sigh. "Now, I'm trying to tell you something I've been trying to bite down for-for weeks and you slap me?"
Boran's expression now was utter shock. "Wait...what? Sungur Tekin Bey is alive?"
"That's what I've been trying to tell you! Ask Osman Bey if you don't believe me." Ceyda's breath came out in short gasps from all that explaining and shouting. Boran's face kept lighting up then fading then brightening then dying.
"Wow...um...I-I am so sorry. I thought that-"
"That what? I was possessed for a while and was speaking of some other dad that may have been some old brute?"
Boran scratched the back of his head and chuckled lightly and nervously, "Something like that..."
Ceyda just sighed in false annoyance and continued limping, forcing him to suck up his embarrassment. "You have a weak right," she smirked, and Boran scoffed.
"You think I wanted to slap you? Of course, I went easy..." he retorted weakly.
---
"MashaAllah, MashaAllah!" praised a woman's voice Ceyda recognized well as she and Boran made their way to the arrived horses in front of Dundar Bey's marquee.
A long red patterned rug was laid on the ground from the side of a horse to the sitting area by the steps of the main marquee. Only one person would be extra enough for that. Ceyda smiled, "Welcome, yenge. How are you?"
Hazal Hatun smiled back, but she looked between Boran and Ceyda and amusingly before replying, "I'm fine, cok sukur. Will you just stand there or come embrace your aunt, ha?" Ceyda chuckled softly and sat by her, kissing her hand and bringing it to her forehead respectively before hugging her. Ceyda did not have anything against Hazal Hatun- though sometimes her arrogant attitude made her blood boil.
"Ceyda kizim, last I checked you were just this big." She made a gesture with her hand, showing her height to be just above Ceyda's shoulder.
Ceyda smiled, "Last you checked was nine years ago."
Hazal sent her a tight smile. "Now, look at you. You are so beautiful, MashaAllah."
Ceyda maintained a short smile and eyed Zohre from the corner of her eye, her expression was as sour as vinegar. Grumpy grandma was the first thought that entered Ceyda's mind and she bit back a laugh.
"I saw you coming over with a limp," Hazal brought up, and Ceyda cringed. "You're still fighting, of course. People praise your name and speak about your battles and hardships in markets, tribes, everywhere."
Ceyda clucked her tongue. "News spreads fast then..."
"Hmm...they say you were captured and brainwashed by that savage Mongol and... seduced his first-hand commander to free you... I hear he's quite handsome for a Mongol...could it be that you fell for him?"
This was one of the times Hazal made Ceyda's blood boil. Dundar cleared his throat while Zohre gave Hazal a murderous look. Boran raised a hand ever so slightly, but it was enough to tell her not to go off. She controlled herself and answered as calmly as she could manage, "Did you come all the way from your brother's tribe to confirm rumours, Hazal Hatun?"
"Tovbe," Hazal crooned. "Tovbe. Of course, I'm here to see you. I was just slightly curious."
"Curiosity gets people murdered."
Boran broke the tense silence. "I-I believe it was the cat." Ceyda blinked at him. "The cat," he cleared. "Curiosity killed the cat." Ceyda glared at him, and he broke eye contact, bouncing on his heels nervously.
Seconds later, Gunduz and Bamsi Bey walked over, breaking the uncomfortableness. Gunduz smiled and placed a hand on his heart. "Welcome, Hazal Hatun."
"Thank you, Gunduz," Hazal replied, and Bamsi nodded in greeting.
Right then Bahadir Bey came over, and Ceyda moved away when he knelt beside her to greet his mother. "Ana," Bahadir said.
"Your mother loves you, my lion," Hazal smiled.
Hazal turned her attention to Ceyda once again, then glanced at Boran who stared at his feet. "So, I assume you're not married yet, Ceyda?"
Ceyda almost laughed at how mocking she sounded and was very quickly finding Hazal's arrival unpleasant. "I assume your son isn't either."
Bahadir gave her a look, and she ignored it. Hazal sighed lightly, masking it with a soft laugh. "You must have men chasing you as you're an Alp now." She glanced at Boran again, making a connection that wasn't there.
Ceyda took a slow breath and stared hard at her aunt. "At least I have people that want me," she smiled and saw Hazal's nose flare when Ceyda made eye contact with Bahadir who was turning slightly red. It was wrong to say that, and Ceyda knew it, but she couldn't help wanting to see that defeated look in Hazal's face.
"Ceyda, why don't you take a walk," Gunduz suggested, and Ceyda was more than willing to leave. She carefully lifted herself and limped away, not bothering to give a last nod of respect.
"Shameless girl..." Hazal muttered lowly, shaking her head. "She was always disrespectful.... just like the one who raised her." Hazal watched Zohre who clenched her jaw, then turned to look up at Gunduz and grinned, "Beylic suits you, son."
Gunduz smiled, "Eyvallah, yenge, Eyvallah."
On her way to her pavilion, Ceyda muttered insults after insults, even rubbing her hand against her clothes to get rid of her aunt's poisonous touch. "Arrogant witch, why can't she keep her nose out of-"
"Who are you cursing now, Ceyda?" Selcan asked disapprovingly, sending her a hard look.
Ceyda huffed. "Go and see." She vaguely gestured back to Dundar's marquee then made back to her tent without another word.
When she entered, she was surprised to see her cousin inside, sorting through some flowers by her bed while she hummed something Ceyda didn't recognize.
"Aygul?" Ceyda sat beside her and watched as she grabbed a pink flower from a bouquet she must have brought from outside and place it in a pile of the same coloured roses. She then took a yellow flower and put it with the other ones. Aygul must not have heard Ceyda or wasn't paying attention to her as she continued sorting the flowers without looking up.
Ceyda examined her bed where petals and dirt were littered. She let out a dramatic sigh, "Aygul, you're going to have to clean this up."
"I'm picking flowers for the bride," Aygul grinned, and Ceyda smiled. "Which flower will she like?" Aygul furrowed her brow, frowning as she thought hard.
Ceyda chuckled softly at how serious she was taking this. "Bala Hatun will love both flowers, and she'll love them even more when she hears you picked them for her."
Aygul looked between the two flowers, still thinking, so Ceyda suggested, "How about you give her both?" Aygul looked up and shook her head in questioning. "Like this." Ceyda took a few yellow flowers and put them on the roses, then bunched them up and raised the bouquet to show it to Aygul. "See? Doesn't this look great?"
Aygul's eyes widened and she gasped as she took the flowers from Ceyda and examined them excitedly. Then she grinned, her emerald eyes lighting up. "It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, and Ceyda's smile turned flat as she realized something was wrong with the way she was too excited about all this.
Aygul pulled the flowers to her chest, closing her eyes as the petals tickled her face. "Easy, there are thorns," Ceyda cautioned with a chuckle, deciding to inquire more later.
"This evening there is a wedding," Aygul grinned.
Ceyda nodded. "Will you get ready from now?"
Aygul frowned. "You're right...it's too early..."
Ceyda made a thinking noise. "Do you have a dress?" Aygul shrugged, and Ceyda turned to the pile of clothing Selcan brought in before, still sitting untouched on the small round table by the couch. "Hold on." Ceyda brought the pile on the bed, brushing off the petals and dirt with her hand before laying out each outfit in front of Aygul whose mouth stayed slightly apart in awe.
"Which one do you want?" Ceyda asked.
Aygul looked at each of them indecisively. "They're all so beautiful."
Ceyda's eyes landed on a gorgeous emerald and turquoise dress. She picked it up and gave it to her cousin. "This one will bring out your eyes. What do you think?"
Aygul looked at it speechlessly, tears on the brink of her eyes. She then pulled Ceyda into a hug, and Ceyda patted her back lovingly. "Thank you," Aygul whispered. Ceyda tutted once to show there was no need for that. They pulled away smiling. "One promise," Ceyda said. "You will keep it." Aygul started to reject, but Ceyda shook her head. "It's yours."
---
Next chapter's gonna be fired up with the love...rhombus? Vote/comment!
School's starting in two weeks ahhh nooo...they literally start Back To School mid-August like- GIVE US A FRICKIN BREAK THERES STILL HALF A MONTH LEFT >:"(
enzyweyz...vote/comment n please I'm almost done the story just hang on we're getting to the exciting parts 🙏 (that's supposed to be me rubbing my hands together like an evil genius...minus the genius part-)