Today was to be a very busy day. Hürrem Hatun was thankfully still in the dungeon for the time being, so my rank and prestige here was starting to be recognized more and more, so the Valide Sultan wanted me to come to her room for tea at lunch, and then the Sultan would have me in his privy chambers tonight. It was all very exciting.

At the moment however, I was to go and have breakfast in the Harem with the other girls. Now that I was a known favorite, there was an exclusive table I was to sit at, on a lower cushion, and Mahidevran Hatun on a slightly higher one to signify her power, but I didn't have to worry about it- things would change very soon once I have my way, and for that I needed to keep calm and low and not give myself away as a potential threat to them.

I was the first to arrive at our table and as I sat down I could hear faintly whispers of the other girls, saying things like 'she won't last too long if Hürrem has her way' and 'she looks weaker than I thought a new favorite would be'. I didn't honestly care. All these women will be sent to the old palace pretty soon from what Nigar Kalfa had told me about, and would be replaced by newbies, and then again newbies, and at least I am ahead in staying here. 

Gülfem Hatun arrived after me, smiled tightly, and then proceeded to sit to my left. 

"How are you, Gülfem Hatun?" I inquired lightly, trying to make conversation.

"Very well, thank you Francesca. And yourself?"

"I am doing amazing, thank God. Who else is to join us for this fine meal?" I asked, trying to see if there was anyone else I needed to potential be aware of.

"Mahidevran Hatun of course, and perhaps Hatice Sultan. Nowadays we don't really have any other favorites or anything to have variety." Gülfem pursed her lips. "And we all know of the rivalry between... you know who. At least we have you now."

I wasn't sure wether I should comment anything, so I simply nodded. At this point I heard the voice of Mahidevran and turned to see her approaching our table.

"Gülfem Hatun. Francesca Hatun!" She smiled. "Glad to have you join us today in our breakfast."

"Thank you, Mahidevran!"

Gülfem now spoke up. "I was just telling Francesca, how nice it is we have a little more variety in our table group. At least till Hürrem gets out."

Mahidevran scowled. "I can't believe she still gets to live in the Topkapi harem. After all the trouble she's caused everyone, all the stress she did to me and Valide Sultan, and she does whatever she wants!"

"Mahidevran, watch your words." Gülfem warned. "Hürrem was the favorite of our Padishah Sultan Süleyman Khan, and he does what he wants, when he wants, with any slave of the harem. You are no more special than she is. And now she is being punished for her actions, the way he deems it appropriate."

Mahidevran's expression darkened from a little shame at at the words of Gülfem, but didn't say anything, proceeding to simply sit down in the back center cushion and quietly eat her food. We didn't speak any more than that, until the guards rushed in and yelled,

"Destur! Hatice Sultan Hazretdleri!" Everyone promptly cleared out of the halls and those sitting at the tables stood up to bow. 

"Sultana Hatice." Mahidevran said, as she moved from her seat to another so the Sultana could sit there.

"Hello my friends." Hatice said happily. "How are you all?"

"I'm very good, thank you my Sultana, though I must confess if I had known you'd come I would have bought all the Sherbet in the world for breakfast." Gülfem sighed as Hatice giggled.

"Sherbet is for dessert, Gülfem. Don't overdo yourself! You work too hard." Hatice shook her head. "How are you, Mahidevran?"

"Good, my Sultana. Praying for your health every day." Hatice nodded at these words in approval. It was only then I realized that was a very typical thing to say to royalty everywhere- even in Spain people told me that as well, and I never really took it to have any other meaning or significance other than as a greeting. Being demoted in power really does open one's eyes to the way the world works.

Hatice Sultan turned towards me, and I saw a look of surprise flash across her face before it once again resumed to a happy-go-lucky look. 

"Francesca Hatun, right? The new favorite of my brother?" Hatice asked.

I nodded quickly. "Yes my Sultana."

"Where are you from? You seem to have a western European air."

"That's right, Sultana Hatice, I am from a noble family in Spain."

"Oh that must've been a nice place. Do you have any siblings?"

"I have a twin sister, and several others, and two younger brothers. Or did..."

Hatice frowned a bit sadly. "Oh I'm sorry. Perhaps someday you might get in touch with them through letters or something."

She smiled once more and then motioned to sit down, as though we were to move onto other conversations. I know Mahidevran was glaring at me all through the conversation with the Sultana, especially after Hatice described me as the "New favorite" of Sultan Süleyman, though it was the truth. 

Hatice and Gülfem went on to have their own discussions as I sat quietly eating my food and Mahidevran was concocting her plots with Gülsah Hatun, so an hour or two went by without my noticing until Nigar Kalfa came and bowed to us.

"Sultana Hatice. Gülfem Hatun. Mahidevran Hatun. I am here to take Francesca."

"For what purpose?" Mahidevran sneered. "Surely she isn't in trouble?"

"Quite the contrary, she is summoned for tea and some lunch with the Valide Sultan."

This angered Mahidevran who bit her lip and muttered something under her breath that I thought nobody could hear, perhaps only Gülsah, but Hatice's face turned a little pale so I suspected it was some sort of insult onto me. 

I got up, and bowed.

"Thank you so much for the honor of eating breakfast with you, Sultana Hatice. Gülfem."

Nigar and I now departed off to the rooms of the Valide Sultan, which were only up the stairs and overlooked the Harem. I had been here before, for pretty simple reasons, but now it was hard to guess why the Queen Mother would want to see me.

The Kalfa knocked on the doors and informed the female door guards of our arrival, and the doors were opened for us to reveal the Valide Sultan standing right in front of me, and not sitting upon her throne like usual.

"Francesca Hatun. There is much to discuss right now."

I bowed quickly. "Yes my Sultana."

I followed her to the couch, where she surprisingly had me simply stand and not sit below her on a cushion. She coughed to clear her throat and looked at me intensely, before a small smile broke out across her face.

"I would like to thank you for bringing justice to the harem by having Hürrem pay for her actions."

I nodded. "I just wanted to make sure accountability was held."

"Good. Now that that is out of the way, I want you to know that I have hopes for you."

I looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean, my Sultana?"

"I want you to have the Sultan's next children, and potentially his heirs to the throne. I find Mahidevran sort of weak. Hürrem is horrible. But you are a kind and obedient girl, and have the attitude of a good Sultana."

My cheeks flushed a little at the praises. "Thank you, my Sultana."

"Now that will take a lot of hard work and dedication, but I want you to know that henceforth you are under my protection. My aslan Süleyman thinks highly of you not as an obsession, but as a real consort should be loved here. So tonight, I want you to complete Halvet and report back to me in a week to see if you bear a child."

My brows rose at this command, but nonetheless I bowed and nodded. "I will do as you wish my Sultana. I owe all my loyalty and respect to you, Sultan Süleyman Khan, and the dynasty and will fulfill whatever it is you need of me."

"I'm glad you understand. So tonight, prepare yourself. Once you get pregnant, things won't ever be the same again, and hopefully that will be for the better in this palace. You may be dismissed now, Francesca."

I bowed a final time and backed away slowly towards the doors, where Nigar was tapping her foot impatiently. 

"Really, Francesca? What did you do? You were supposed to have tea and lunch with her, not be done in 5 minutes. In fact, it was less. It was like 3 minutes."

I ignored Nigar's babbling about what I did or didn't do in the Valide's rooms, but simply repeated what the Mother wanted, "to complete Halvet and report back to her in a week to see if I bear a child."

Nigar's eyes bulged out. "Wow, I didn't expect the Valide Sultan to drop Mahidevran Hatun that fast. That means she really believes you could be the next Valide Sultan."

My lips turned up at hearing this. "If this is really true, I must start to get ready. At what time do I go to Hünkarim?"

"Later tonight. Don't worry, we will doll you up as usual. But this time, you know exactly what must be done, and I assume you know how as well."

"Yep. I will do it."

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A/N: I'm sincerely sorry I'm so slow about updating any of my books. I'm trying to multitask with a lot of my other things, and I am also out of ideas sometimes. Rest assured, I am already having ideas for chapter 30 so hopefully that will be out in a few days. Meanwhile, I would recommend checking out some of my other books too. This chapter took me about 30 or 40 minutes straight to write, and now my fingers are a little tired lol. Thanks for reading! - xoxo Dilara.