Chapter 10

 Kongar was now back in the cage tent scanning everyone there. He walked over to Samsa Cavus and looked a little shocked. Then he looked back and turned around to punch him in the stomach. Everyone started yelling. "Hey Kongar! You don't have dark slanted eyes nor are you short. You must be a mankurt," Konur yelled out. Kongar turned back and looked at him with fury. "If you are a man, say it again. SAY IT AGAIN!" he yelled back. "It looks like you didn't hear me properly, so I'll say it again. You are a mankurt," he said again. "UNCHAIN HIM!" he ordered the soldiers. "Hayir! HAYIR!" the alps screamed. Kongar beat him up so hard. He was laying on the floor, Kongar on top of him when Konur pushed his neck to the side. A flood of memories of his childhood came. Him and his brother getting ready and seeing his dead father. It also reminded him of the promise he made.

*10 years ago*

BTW, in this flashback, Hayal is 9, Emine is 13, and Konur and Boran are 14. (I obviously made up their ages)

Konur, Emine, Hayal, and Boran were sitting in the field, tired of all the playing they had done today. "Konur Abi, when will we go fight some real people?" Hayal asked excitedly. "Hayal, kardeşim, when you get older, you will take the carpets, and we will do the fighting," Konur explained. "No! I want to fight like my father. Emine bacim will fight with me!" "No thanks Hayal, I think that I'll mainly stick to the women's work. But I may come fight with you sometimes." Hayal had a mad expression on her face. Turgut Bey and Aslihan Hatun had come out of their tent to feed the children and take care of them. "Our bey has given me a very important task against the Mongols," Turgut said. Konur straightened up and they all noticed. "Konur, I think it's time you tell everyone, they should know," Turgut suggested. "Know what?" Hayal asked impatiently. "I have a younger brother. He used to be my little alp, my only alp. One day, the Mongols raided our tribe and my father died. We got captured by Mongol slave traders and Osman bey managed to save me. However, I was not able to save my brother. My dear brother. Ever since then I have sworn that I will not die before finding him," he explained. "We can promise you too! I promise you that I will help you find your brother too!" Hayal quickly jumped in. Emine looked at Boran while he was looking at Konur, shaking his head in agreement. She also nodded her head and as he turned his head she looked down. 

*now*

Kongar got free from his grip and punched him more. Konur stayed still. Cerkutay entered the tet and saw Kongar beating him up. "Yeter Kongar, remember we can't kill them," he reminded him. Kongar sighed and pulled Konur back up. He was still in a state of shock. Benim yigit kardesim, what have these Barbarians done to you? He thought in his mind. "Konur, iyi misin?" Boran asked. Konur nodded in return, but he was still deeply hurt.

"Merhaba guzel'im" Bala whirled around to see Alisar standing there. "I thought we could talk since I have found you here now," he said casually. Bala eyed Hayal and she ducked back behind the tents, listening to their conversation. "What is there for us to talk about, Alisar bey? You have already expressed your so-called love for me a million times, baska bir sey var mi?" she asked. Alisar went into deep thought. "I still have not asked you the final question. Bala hatun, will you marry me?" he asked. Bala's eyes went wide and she put on a furious face. "NO! I WILL NEVER MARRY YOU! YOU ARE MY BIGGEST ENEMY! GIT SIMDI, HAYDI!" she yelled and started running back to the flower field. Alisar stayed calm and walked back towards the tents. Hayal ran to the other side so that he wouldn't see her. I will make you mine Bala, just you wait, he said to himself.

Hayal ran to the flower field where Bala was. She was crying really hard. "Bala, bacim, are you okay?" "Osman, call Osman please," she said. Hayal nodded and ran as quickly as she could to him. "Osman abi!" Hayal called out amidst the chaos. He turned around. "What happened sister?" "Bala is looking for you," she said. Osman's eyes widened at the name of Bala and Hayal saw Alisar turn around in the corner of her eye. Osman ran and Hayal followed. Alisar took a shortcut to get there quicker. Alisar approached her and she wiped her tears off. "Why are you here now?" she asked. "I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said. "Yeah right," they heard a voice say from behind.

Hayal was running with Osman, but she held herself back so they could have some alone time. The Mongols and Alisar were still in their tribe, but they had seemed to calm down. Hayal was about to go inside her tent when she heard someone call her name out. It was Emine and Hayal rolled her eyes and started walking away. She climbed on her horse and rode towards her favorite place, the place that was in between Lake Balkai, the Balkain mountains, and the Overbridge Pass, very close to the Inegol border. Balgay saw her leaving and he saw Kongar going after her. Good, he will go after her and bring her back to the tribe as a prisoner, he thought. But Kongar had something different in mind.

"Selcan ana, what do I do? Hayal keeps running away from me when I try to talk to her," Emine explained. "Let me go find her and try to talk to her," Halime suggested, but Emine shook her head. "She left the tribe already. And she took her stuff. Only Allah knows where she is going now," Emine said. Halime exited the tent in a hurry. "Alps! Go find Hayal Hatun and tell her to come to the tribe fast. It is Halime Sultan's order. Understand?" the alps nodded and got on their horses quickly. Batur alp also came running over there. "Batur? When did you get released?" she asked in surprise. "Just now. I can lead the alps to go look for Hayal hatun," he said quickly. "Tamam. Git simdi, haydi," she ordered. He nodded his head and got on his horse to go find her.

When Bala saw Osman, she ran up to him and hugged him tight. Alisar was clearly jealous. "Osman bey. What is your business with the hatun I love?" Alisar asked. "Alisar bey. May I ask why you are bothering the hatun who loves me?" Osman countered. Alisar was annoyed and started walking away. "If you bother my flower again, I will be the end of you, bilesin," Osman yelled out. Alisar stopped, then started walking again. I will be your end, Osman. And she will surely be mine. 

Hayal reached her secret place and dismounted her horse. She tied her horse to a tree and started walking on the Overbridge Pass which would lead her to a large part of the mountains. She left her horse in the forest to make sure no one would follow her. She started walking up the mountain path, which led to a hidden cave that was carved into the mountain. There, she had all the extra supplies she needed: Some weapons, some extra food, extra clothes, and everything that would be in a nomad tent. This was her own place that no one knew about, not until now. Let's see who they put after me and who finds me first, she thought. Kongar had just dismounted his horse and was confused at where she had gone. "Cicek! Where are you?" he shouted. No response. He saw footprints leading onto the pass. He followed them and let him up to the mountain. After a while, the footprints had stopped and he saw nothing. He suddenly heard footsteps from close by and then saw Hayal coming out through a small door. When she saw him, she quickly ran back inside, but Kongar had grabbed her hand. "I'm not here to kill you or capture you. Please! I just want to talk to you and... be with you," he said. Hayal was about to respond when they heard some horses. "Run up as high as you can and go to the second cave you find, at the very top. Then, climb back down, don't come down the same way," Hayal ordered. He nodded and started running up. He found the cave so he stopped there and entered, then came out and climbed back down. By that time, the alps found their footsteps. "She may be with someone. We will bring her back unharmed," Batur said. "She will be my future wife," he mumbled under his breath. Kongar had climbed down and was now in the cave. He covered the door with some soil, rocks, and plants so that it would look natural. When he entered, he was amazed at how she kept this place all to herself. "You are a genius woman!" he complimented. "But, why did you choose a cave, in a mountain? Especially in a place where rocks and stuff are always falling. They literally fall right in front of your place," he asked. "That's the good thing. The entry will always be blocked and hiding so that no one can find it easily. In fact, a landslide happens two-three times every day. One should be around this time," she stated. And indeed she was right. They felt the ground shaking and they both held on to something tight and secure. The alps were on the mountain path and they came back down, scared that the landslide may destroy them. "How did she get up there?" one of the alps asked. "She must have climbed to the top," another alp suggested. They all looked up and they saw a dimly lit cave opening at the very top. "We will climb up there and get her, tamam?" Batur ordered and they all started climbing. Little did they know, her cave was behind the debris. "Enough small talk, tell me. Why are you after me? What do you want from me?" Hayal asked Kongar. "I don't know why. I just... want to see you. I don't want anything from you. And even if we meet regularly, if you want to that is, I won't tell Balgay anything, not even a word you say," he said. "So, you're suggesting that this could be a place where we aren't enemies, is that so?" she asked. Kongar stayed silent for a while. "Answer my question! Yes, or no?" "Yes! That is what I am suggesting!" There was a pause of silence. Hayal moved a little closer to him. "I would like that," Hayal said quietly. Kongar moved a little closer to her. "I would too."

"Bala, are you okay? What did he say to you?" Osman asked. He wiped her tears off as she started speaking. "He asked me to marry him." Osman looked in great shock. "How dare he! I will put him in his place!" he said and got up to go find him. Bala pulled his arm. "Osman. Not now, please. I want you to stay with me for a while," she pleaded. Osman nodded and he stayed back, putting an arm around her, making sure she felt secure.

"Yenge, what did you do?" Emine asked. "I told the alps to go look for her. What else could I do?" Halime answered. Emine and Selcan nodded in agreement. Suddenly they heard Safiyye Hatun coming. "Welcome Safiyye hatun. Is there a problem?" Halime asked. "No, there isn't. I just wanted to come see you guys..." she trailed off and fainted. Everyone rushed over to her and they called the midwife. "It's too early for her baby to come. What happened?" she asked the midwife. "Nothing is wrong. She is getting too tired and stressed out. Don't say anything that will stress her and keep her on bed rest. Otherwise..." the midwife trailed off. "Otherwise what?" they heard Yigit Bey say. "Otherwise... we might lose the baby." They all gasped. Yigit promised them that he would take care of her. And Halime promised Yigit that if he wasn't there, she would take care of her. 

Batur and the alps were climbing to the top cave of the mountain. He sent some of the alps on the path just to check if there wasn't any other place. Hayal and Kongar were still in her secret cave. They were about to peek outside when they heard footsteps. Kongar automatically put a hand behind him to protect Hayal, but she took no notice until she walked into his hand. He was about to say something but Hayal put her finger up to her lips, silencing them both. She suddenly took his hand and pulled him to the middle of the cave. "Did you go up all the way to the top?" she asked. "Yes. To the highest place that was there. Why? Did something happen?" he replied. "No. There was a cave a little lower down and that cave is connected to this one. They can't even see it unless they were on the path. And the entrance to that cave also always gets landslides, so they can't come in here," she said scientifically. He stared at her as she continued talking in a low voice about the nature of this place, how she found it, and why she chose it. By the time she was done talking, they had both sat down and Hayal was basically asleep, wearing herself out with all the talking and moving. He picked her up gently and put her in bed, covering her with the blanket. He sat down in a comfortable place so that he could rest a little too. He was soon, fast asleep.

Emine pulled Halime to the side to talk to her about something. It was almost dark and the alps still hadn't found her. "Emine, what did you want to talk to me about?" "Halime, my aunt, I need to tell you something very important. You cannot tell this to anyone else, okay?" Halime nodded and looked around in worry. "Let's talk in my tent. If someone hears us, it won't be good," Halime suggested and they quickly went into her tent. "Tell me, what do you want to tell me?" Emine started explaining, remembering the conversation with her father.

*Their conversation, flashback from Chapter 7*

"Baba?" Emine cried, tears pouring out. "Kizim? Sen ne işin var burada?" Emine's father, Sultan Ahmet Giyasah. "I'm here to see you baba! Are you okay?" she asked. "I'm okay, sen merak etme," he replied. "Ok baba, as long as you are okay, I will be okay," Emine said, sobbing hard. "How are you? I haven't seen you in years Emine," "I'm ok baba. The tribe is standing but they have lost their place. How are you, ana, and my siblings doing?"Ahmet looked around before giving an answer. He leaned in and said "They are doing well. I'm going to send Aaqir, Saladin, Emel, and Ilkay to the tribe secretly. DO NOT tell anyone about this, understand?" "Yes, baba," Emine whispered. "My soldiers are coming to save me, don't worry." "Okay. What about ana? Gelecek misin?" "Unfortunately, no. She is in hiding and wants to stay in hiding," he said. "Okay. I think I should go before they force me out. I miss you baba. I hope to see you soon when we are in a better position. Stay safe," was all that Emine could force out of herself. She had many other questions like where is her mother, how did this happen and when her siblings come, but she had to put it all aside to make her father happy. 

*now*

"He told me specifically to tell you about the whole situation, since you are the only one who can relate and help us best," Emine told her. "The only others who know are Hayal and Osman bey." Halime nodded and went into deep thought, thinking about how she could help them.

Bala and Osman decided to stay in their secret cave for the night because the tribe wasn't safe. Balgay and Alisar had planted themselves here for the night and Osman hated the fact. Dundar was more than happy to serve them. Dundar and Alisar were in the marquee, discussing something important. "Dundar bey, it is time for us to talk about a very important matter," Alisar started. "What matter?" Dundar asked.

"Mine and Aygul hatun's marriage."