rusalka

The sultan’s horse was fiddling nervously under the man, as he clearly felt the sultan’s impatience. The villages had been burnt down, the people taken away as slaves. The sultan wanted to set off for Istanbul, but the chief commander reported that the local nobel’s daughter managed to escape from his janissaries, into the forest, heading towards the Hungarian armies staying nearby. Sultan Selim was well aware that if the woman manages to reach the hUngarians, as it might well could be her aim, then his armies can be decimated by the growing Hungarian army lead by Count Hunyadi, who was labelled „The Turk-killer”. Selim knew he could not afford losing more men. He had to return to Istanbul to get more janissaries. Selim made a sudden decision and turned his horse towards the forest in a fast gallopp.

The woman, daughter of Count Istvandy, Rose Annabell, was aware she was risking her life. But she had to reach the camp where she knew she would be in safety among Hunyadi’s soldiers. She was running as fast as she could but then she heard it. It was the stamping of a horse’s feet, getting closer and closer each moment, getting stronger, pulsating in her ears filling her heart with deep fear. She started to pray, asking God to help her reach the camp before the janissary reachees her. Somehow instinctively knew it was a Turk who chased her.

Selim bent down as he caught her up and got afirm hold of her waist, with one arm, and lifted her up the saddle. The girl resisted with all her power, she was screaming and kicking about, maybe she was hoping somebody would hear her but Selim knew they were still far from the Hungarian armies. The little wild cat was clawing, kicking and biting. Selim gave a smile, held the reins firmly and hit the gilr in the head with the hilt of his sword to make her quiet. He rode out of the forest and gave the girl to his chief commander, the vezir of his armies.
„Take her to the commander ship and make sure she cannot escape”, he told the vezir.
„Shall I put her to the others, Master?”, the grand vezir asked while two janissaries took the unconscious girl away.
„No. Let Azir take care of her. She’ll make a wonderful odalisque, she1s a real ’afet’, a beautiful woman”, the sultan answered with an odd smile. The grand vezir nodded, bowed before the sultan and waved to the janissaries to follow him to the ship anchoring at the Danube.

Whe Rose wke up, she felt the touch of silk on her skin. Her head was pulsating with pain, she felt dizzy a little bit. She sat up and look around. She immediately relized she was not in Hungary anymore. There were small silk and velvet pillows around her, heavy brocade curtains and sweet scent of flowers. She remembered that a janissary picked her up and hit her on the head. The heathen Turkish dog! She looked out of the window and saw onion domes. Istanbul.

The door opened and a black man appeared, he was wearing huge golden earrings and traditional Turkish clothes made of black silk. He had a sword on his waist.
„My name is Azir, noble lady”, the man spoke Hungarian to her, which suprised Rose.
„Yes, my lady, I speak your language. I speak many languages. This is my duty”, Azir was smiling at her surprisal.
„And what else ais your duty?”
„I take care of the sultan’s harem. I am his chief eunuch”
Rose lowered her head and closed her eyes. This means I’m a member of his harem too, she thought.
„Ypu don’t have to be afraid of the sultan, my lady. When you get to know him, you will get to love him”
Rose slowly stood up and looked right into Azir’s eyes with pride.
„I would rather be buried than touched by a Turkish dog!”
Azir gave a smile and bowed.
„Come my lady, I’ll show you around the palace. The the sultan awaits you to have dinner with him in his room”

Azir showed her around the palace which was enourmous and beautiful. Rose had to admit the sultan knew how to live. The servants were respectful to her, which was a good feeling, but still she was planning her escape.

When they entered the sultan’s private room, Rose was taken aback that the sulatn was all alone in the room, standing at the windows, showing his back to the door. She was taken aback even more when the sultan turned round. It was him. The man who kidnapped her, whom she thought to be a janissary. The sultan wasn’t very tall, but had a fine figure, he was brawny and seemed strong and commanding. He was wearing white clothes, which, Rose had to admit, suited him very much. He had long, thick black hair let down, and Rose could see his sparkling emerald-green eyes even from that distance. He had noble features, handsome features, beautifully shaped eyes and lips. But still, he wasa heathen pagan. A conquerer who wanted to destroy her people, her country. She had to hate him.

„What’s your name?”, the sultan asked in Turkish, waiting for Azir to interpret his words. Rose lifted her head proudly and answered in turkish before Azir could say a single word. Her father, Count Istvandy, found it useful to teach the conquerers’ language to his chidren. „If you know their language, you can be equal to them. If you don’t, you lose the war before even it started!”, he kept saying.
„Well, you speak our language”, the sulatn smiled.
„Rose… what does your name mean?”
The gilr did not answer but Azir did.
„Gül, my Master. Rose means „gül” in Turkish.
„Gül… Macar Gül… Hungarian Rose”, the sultan whispered and waved to Azir to leave. They were left alone, Rose was standing in the middle of the room, there was a long, short table next to her on the floor, with pillows around it. The table was full of delicious food.


The sultan watched the girl deep in thoughts and walked around her, having a look at every part of her body. The girl was wearing an odelisque’s clothes which suited her very much and stressed her striking beauty. Selim’s eyes were touching every part of her body and Selim knew she was in great embarrassement. He slowly touched her face, with his thumb, drawing an invisible line from her brows, through her cheek to her lips. It was not stronger than a whisper, a sigh but Rose could not move, she was chained by the feelings the touch evoked in her. She hated herself but couldn’t help herself, she was bewitched by the man’s incredibly green eyes. No doubt, the sultan was a charming, appealing young man, with a strong sexual charma, and he had a very charming, masculine scent, very pleasant to a woman’s senses. Rose was surpised, she always thought the Turks didn’t bath , were always dirty and smelly, at least she was told that by older Hungarian women who claimed to have been kidnaped and raped by Turkish janissaries. The man’s fingers were long and gentle, very clean, just like the man himself. Selim knew exactly what was happening inside the girl’s soul and mind. He was an experienced lover, had a huge harem and 4 wives, whom he didn’t love but this did not matter, he did what he had to, after all he was the sultan.

The man suddenly stepped aside and invited the gilr to the table. He sat down and took a slice of melon and started to eat it in such a manner that the girl knew it was by will to make her even more hungry.
„Aren’t you hungry?”, he asked finally.
Rose was extremely hungry but would have never admitted it. The sultan gave a smile.
„I hope you don’t want to die of hunger. I don’t think it would help your people in any way”
Rose relaized the sultan was right and slowl sat down, as far from the sultan as she could.

She was frightened, She was frightened the sultan would come at night to make her his. Although she was charmed by his dark, sparkling, flaming eyes, his unbelievable charisma, her doubts did not let her rest. He is the enemy, after all, how can she then dream about his touch..?

But the sultan did not come that night. Nor the following night. Rose started to calm dow, she hoped the sultan lost interests in her. But deep inside her heart the thought, the wish was there: she secretly imagined what his touch would be like... his kiss...the smell of his skin…


One night Azir adviced her to take a walk in the sultan’s rose garden. Their path lead past the bath where the sultan was swimming that night. Azir stopped at a rose-bush just in front of the bath and satrted to examine the leaves. Then he declared the bush was infected by worms and that he immduately had to cut the infected leaves off ohterwise the wholw bush would die and the sultan would kill him for this, as he was very proud of his beautiful rose garden. Rose couldnt doa nything else but wait for Azir to finish his job. While Azir was working, she started to look at the bath, which walls were like lace, she could see everything that was happening inside. There was a huge pool inside and the sultan just finished wimming. He emerged from the water and slowly walked out. Rose knew she should have turned her eyes away but she was not able to. The sight chained her eyes that direction and she felt her lips dry as she watched the waterdrops rolling down the man’s brown skin, his shoulders, his waist, his bottom, his brawny thighs. The light of the candles made his skin appear as sparkling gold shining like liquid diamond. His long balck hair stuck to his shoulders wet, and made him appar uncontrollably wild and still majestic like a black panther. Two eunuchs helped the sultan get his silk robe on and the sulta wlaked out of the bathroom, leaving Rose all alone with her thoughts and wild desires. She could hardly breathe, her lips were trembling and she was shivering with desire. Azir looked up from the rose-bush and gave a know-all smile.

Rose was under the effect of what she had seen in the bath for days. Whenever she caught sight of the sultan, she trembled and blushed. She thought of escaping les and less and she thought of the sultan more and more times. Selim showed her around in Istanbul, they had long walks in the rose-garden, without a single touching of each other. Selim was admirable. He told her folk stories, old jokes and tricks. Slowly Rose got closer and closer to the sultan, she saw his everyday life, met his wives and his odalisques. She still did not understand why a man needed so many women, she tried to overcome her negative feelings and tried to talk with the other women. Each of them spoke about the sultan with high respect and admire. This surprised Rose. And each woman agreed with Elien, the sultan’s first odlaisque, when she told Rose the sultan was a great, gentle lover.
„He knows every secret of a woman’s body”, she said smiling. „he’s experienced and generous, you don’t have to be afraid of him. You’ll want him when time comes and won’t be able to refuse his touch. Nobody is.”


One night Azir brought her gifts from the sultan. A bawl full of delicious fruits, mead and beautiful red roses.
„Roses, to the Hungarian Rose”, he smiled and left her alone with the gifts. Rose, after drinking the mead felt a bit dizzy and felt an ancient desire gaining control of her body. Only some candles lit the room when the sultan entered, they híd his face in shadows. Rose insticntively knew why the sultan came but she was unable to move or refuse him. And she didn’t even want to. She felt her heart beating faster and faster when the sultan embraced her waist with his strong arm and gently touched her lips with his. Selim felt the same desire in the girl that he himself long had. He was patient, he waited for her patiently, to get ri of the chains that bound her soul, and he knew he made those fears disappear and he could clearly felt the passion in the gilr, the passion he could feel in her the very first time they met, there, in that Hungarian forest. He kissed her slowly but passionately, while laid her down the pillows. He touched the wondefrful breasts, his fingers were like a hot wind, Rose almost forgot to breathe. His lips walked around her body, touching every part gently, evoking eternal desires and joy. When the girl couldn’t bear it anymore, she grabbed his long hair and gave a pasionate, joyful scream. Selim slowly put his robe off and covered her flaming body with his. He was gentle and patient, and made the first occasion a beautiful crescendo of love for Rose. She held him tight and could feel the man everywhere, on her, deep inside her body, and in her soul. They followed an ancient, eternal rhythm and when it peaked, they both fell into the neverending universe of bright joy and peace. Peace they couldn’t find anywhere else.

The sultan of roses conquered the Hungarian rose, and the fragile Hungarian rose captivated the powerful Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The hungarian Rose became the most beautiful rose of the sultna’s garden, presenting Selim with an even more beautiful rosebud. A rosebud that inherited the most beautiful petals of the Turkish and the Hungarian rose.


The sultan's pictures was painted after Tarkan Tevetoglu, Turkish singer: www.tarkandudu.com

rusalka

Sorry for posting it here but I don't have a website... and this is my own writing I wanted to share with you. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Silversun

Sorry rusalka, but you can't post fic directly to the boards. I understand you probably can't post original fiction on ff.net, but please host your fic at a website and post a link to it.

Please check the rules thread if you have any questions.

[ 11-09-2003: Message edited Silversun ]