|Victoria's POV|

-The Next Day-

"I truly believe that Halime Sultan was behind that attack" my auntie said, placing some of her jewelry into a box... Before our escape, she had already sent many of our belongings and jewelry to the ship waiting for us, so we would be ready to leave at any moment.

"She desperately wants the documents, but she's unsure if she wants to get involved in my problems" I replied, standing by the window, gazing at the new view... We had just arrived at the Topkapi Palace a few hours ago, but I felt uneasy here.

We heard a sound at the door, which made us turn, waiting to see the visitor... The door opened, and a girl of average height entered... She had brown hair and beautiful blue eyes.. wearing a red dress that matched her red crown.

"Good evening" she said with a smile "I am Dilruba... Dilruba Sultan, sister of Sultan Mustafa"

"Oh" I stepped forward a few paces, and from what she said, I could really see some resemblance between them "Good evening, Your Highness"

"I wanted to visit you in the morning, but I thought you would be busy arranging your things, so I postponed my visit until this evening" she said in a calm voice, her small smile never leaving her lips.

"I'm truly honored to meet you" I gestured "Let's sit down and perhaps have a cup of coffee"

"Yes, of course" she smiled, and soon a maid brought us coffee... We talked about many topics, such as the differences between here and where I came from, cultural differences, fashion, and even politics.

During our conversation, I learned that she was married to Davut Pasha, which surprised me... How could someone like her be married to such a weird man?

-------

I really expected the Sultan to visit me, and I wanted to take the opportunity to speak with him privately... But that never happened, so I decided to go to him myself... I was far from the harem, meaning Halime Sultan was not around, and I could easily go to his room.

"Good evening, Your highness" said a man who appeared in my path, making me jump slightly "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you"

"Oh" I shook my head "That's alright... Who are you?"

"Mahmud" he bowed his head "I'm in charge of the Sultan's room" He looked at me again "What are you doing here, Your highness? Are you lost?"

"No, I am not" I straightened my posture confidently "I came to see the Sultan" I took a few steps forward to continue on my way to the Sultan's chambers, but he stopped me.

"You can't do that" When I looked at him with raised eyebrows, he lowered his head "Your highness, you cannot visit the Sultan whenever you wish.. He is currently spending some private time with his harem"

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled.

"Your Highness" he paused, as if feeling embarrassed, then added in a low voice "You know, the Sultan needs to have an heir soon"

I nodded, finally understanding... Here, traditions are different; the Sultan has many women whose sole purpose is to give birth... Since Sultan Mustafa has no children yet, they must be feeling the pressure. This is happening in Europe as well; royalty wants to have sons as soon as possible.

I returned to my room, changed my clothes, then went to bed, insisting that I must meet the Sultan soon... He seemed kind and unaware of many things, which could be very useful for me.

-------

-The Next Day-

I made sure to wake up early in the morning so I could execute my plan quickly... I put on a long cloak over my dress and arranged my hair, hiding the documents securely beneath my dress before leaving the room and heading to the garden where I would meet Henry, who, of course, was not allowed to stay with me.

"Thank God you received my letter" I said quietly as I stood in front of him "Look, Henry, you know how important this is"

"Of course, Your highness" he replied confidently, nodding.

I looked around to ensure we were out of sight, then took out the documents "Hide them somewhere unreachable... If we lose them, we lose everything"

"Your highness" he took them from my hand and began placing them inside a leather bag he was carrying "I will protect them with my life... Don't worry; when you need them, I'll give them back to you"

"That's good, Henry... I trust you" I nodded with a smile, then returned inside, praying that Henry and those documents would be safe... I knew this task was not easy at all.

The rest of the day was somewhat boring; all I did was talk with my auntie and read a few pages from a strange book I found here until the evening when I heard a knock at the door.

"Your highness" a blonde girl who seemed to be a maid entered "The Sultan wants to see you"

"Finally, he remembers he has an important guest" I stood up and gave my auntie a reassuring smile before leaving the room.

I really needed to handle the situation wisely... I had to convince him of my plan, which I couldn't carry out without him... All I asked was for his mother to stay out of it.