C??? ????????

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝐀𝐲𝐬𝐮𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕
The night air was soft against my skin, warm with the last breath of summer. The terrace stretched wide, lit only by flickering lanterns and the silver gaze of the moon. Below, the gardens slept under the stars, silent and still.

Suleiman and I sat together in silence, side by side, on the cushions, a light breeze tugging at the hem of my robe. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. His posture was relaxed, but his gaze was distant, fixed on nothing. He was thinking about something. I could feel it in the quiet between us.

"You haven't spoken in a while," I said softly, breaking the hush. "Are the stars speaking louder tonight?"

He turned to me slowly, a faint smile pulling at his lips. I knew him well enough now to read the tension behind his stillness.

"I've been thinking about something for a long time now" he finally spoke.

I turned to face him fully, my fingers tightening slightly on the rim of my cup. "What is it?"

"I want to leave the capital for some time. Just a short while," he said. "We'll go to Manisa. You, Osman, Hürrem, Mehmet, Mihrimah, Selim and Mustafa."

His words sank into me like a stone in deep water. I blinked, unsure I'd heard him correctly.

"All of us?" I repeated, slowly.

He nodded. "A week, maybe longer. The children need open air, distance from this palace, and perhaps, I do too."

I looked away for a moment, letting the cool wind soothe the thoughts whirling inside me.

"And Mahidevran?" I asked, not because I cared for her answer, but because I knew she would make a big deal about it.

"She will remain here," he said simply.

He turned to me again and reached for my hand, folding it between his own. "I want peace. For you. For our son. For them all, if it's possible. But I trust you most in this, Aysun. You carry something calm in yourself."

His words struck somewhere deep inside me, warming and wounding me at once. I had always longed to be seen this way, not just as a concubine but as his peace.

"I'll go wherever you go." I whispered.

We sat there for a while longer in silence, our fingers intertwined as the moon climbed higher.

But even as my heart beat softly with the idea of distant lands and fresh air, I knew it wouldn't be a peaceful journey.

____________________________

Servants rushed through the corridors with trunks of carefully packed boxes Eunuchs barked quiet orders while guards mounted their horses in disciplined rows in the courtyard below.

It was just after dawn, the sky still blushed with pink as the sun stretched its arms over the palace. I stood in the grand hall near the entrance, holding Osman's tiny hand as he blinked up at me, barely awake.

My heart pounded with excitement. Leaving this palace, even for a short time, felt like stepping into the open air after holding one's breath for too long.

Hürrem's entrance was as carefully orchestrated as always. She arrived wrapped in emerald green, a smug serenity painted across her face, one hand on Mihrimah's shoulder and the other gently guiding little Selim ahead. Mehmet walked beside her, quiet and composed.