Preys and Predators 3 Love Binds, Family Destroy Chapter 11

 

11.  

 

Vlad was not prepared for the works of the Voivode and the regular updates from the scouts and spies of his. The latter he learned fast and deployed them faster. He was told of the mass buildup of the new army under John Hunyadi.

“It was only days when I ……” Vlad tried to make sense of the threat. “Recall the Sipahi and Akinci. I want them back here.”

“I cannot confirm they will return.” The Boluk Bashi Tarmak told Vlad. “They are the army of the Sultan, but they have their own convictions on when and how they will fight. When you sent them off, they were unhappy.”

“So be it. We will battle the Hungarians ourselves.” Vlad looked to the others. “We will ……”

“Bold are your words, …… Voivode, but we remain weak with the last battle drawing many casualties.” One of the boyars voiced out. “We must …….”

“Retreat? Surrender? Perhaps some of you will like that. You could then have Vladislav II back here. You may be granted clemency from him.” Vlad confronted the boyars. “But I reign now.”

“We ……” One of the boyars was to speak, but Vlad ignored him. He looked towards the Janissary commander. “When do we ride?”

“Soon.” The Boluk Bashi assigned there told Vlad. “Once I have words from the scouts, we will assess their weak points.”

Back at the Ottoman Empire, Radu read the brief letter given to him by Vlad. He was delighted to know his brother was alive and well, but felt reluctance to reply then. He was happy there at the palace; his affection towards Aylin had deepened.

“What did your brother say?” Aylin, seated next to him, asked. They were in the private chamber at the secluded side of the palace. They discovered it when they were told to move some cases out. Since then, Radu had sneaked off there with Aylin. It was more comfortable than the chamber at the barracks, and Radu had furnished the chamber with some draperies for bedding and piled pillows for comfort. Aylin had come bearing drinks and fruits. It was not all they had there; they held privacy for their intimate moments.

“You are beautiful.” Radu had told Aylin the moment he had seen her nude before him. They had their pettings before, but they were never fully naked to each other. It was always the fear of being caught by others in the barracks.

“So are you.” Aylin blushed and covered her breasts and navel with her arms. Radu lay there with his limbs spread and smiled.

“I am? I never thought so.” Radu looked at himself. He was then young and virile at his prime. “Come here.”

Aylin approached the young man and lay down next to him. They have been careful not to cross the line of intimacy, and then Radu raised the issue.

“I could ask the Sultana to wed you. Then we can consummate our bodies as one.”

“No……. Please do not. I will... I need the correct moment to tell the Sultana this. She is not someone you ……”

“I love you and desire that you be my wife. I am ready to convert to marry you.” Radu looked at the lady next to him. “Why ……”

“There are rules in the palace. I, myself, here, have already breached some of the rules.” Aylin sat up and looked at her feet. “I could ……”

Radu reached out with his right hand to knead her left breast. She wanted to push him off, but it was nice to be touched. She smiled that one day, a baby's mouth would take her milk from there. Soon, the realization hits her. She got up and reached for her clothes.

“I must get going. I forgot that the Sultana asked for me today.” Aylin pulls on the pants and then the tunic. “Stay here till I am gone.”

Radu knew the discretion needed and nodded. She picked up the bodice and walked to the door. She opened it and saw the Janissaries there. They were waiting outside the doorway. A servant of the Sultana approached Aylin.

“You are to return to the Sultana’s chamber now.” Radu had seen the Janissaries and rushed to get dressed. He was escorted out, dressed only in his pants. He was brought to the Boluk Bashi Tarmak. The punishment was fifty lashes and then being thrown into the dungeon.

Aylin was not better off.

“She is not pure anymore.” The servant had examined Aylin, the Sultana was told. Aylin protested then.

“I am pure. I have not done any with any man.” Aylin cried out. She was shamed before the retinue of healers and servants, stripped of her clothes, and laid on the flooring with her limbs spread.

“Silence, servant.” The head of the servants called out before looking to the Sultana. “She has shamed us all. She will be punished by the law. She will be stoned.”

The gathered there murmured their views, but most agreed to that punishment. One healer stepped forth to lay out his view.

“Stoning is for the acts of adultery. The maid here is not wedded and may not…….”

“Silence all.” The Sultana voiced out. She had remained silent since. “The maid will be stoned. That is just punishment.”

“Have mercy, my Sultana. I have done no such wrong. I was wrong to entice the man, but never had we broken the oath of intimacy. I begged for forgiveness. My wrong was also to love the man.”

“Love? Do you know, love, servant?” One of those gathered there voiced out. “Yours was not love. It was seduction. If there ……”

“Silence!” The Sultana was upset. “The maid will be stoned. It will be done in the yard, and only the other servants are to be allowed. Once it is done, her body will be impaled on the stake at the borderland. I do not want her soul to wander here.”

The proceeding was then interrupted by the arrival of the Grand Vizier.

“The Sultan attacks the Hungarians at Kosovo again.” The last Battle of Kosovo took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan Murad I. The bulk of both armies was wiped out, and Lazar and Murad were killed. The battle marked the only time in history when an Ottoman Sultan was killed in battle.  The coming battle was the second one.

“May the Sultan be victorious.” The Sultana called out. She looked then at Aylin. “Send her away. Do as I order.”

Radu had not seen Aylin since, and his body was bloodied by the punishment. He had wished for the ointment, but dirty water was thrown on him instead. He was imprisoned in the dungeon.

“Vlad, do not return here. Death awaits you.” Radu's voice cracked under the pain. At Wallachia, Vlad was told by the Boluk Bashi that his safety there was in danger.

“The Sipahi and the Akinci have been directed to the Balkans. There, John Hunyadi had resumed his war. Hunyadi led his forces across the Danube and camped them in Serbia next to Kovin, just outside the Serbian capital of Smederevo. They await the German, Wallachian, Bohemian, and Albanian allies.”

“Wallachian?” Vlad was surprised.

“Not all of Wallachia is loyal to you. Some are loyal to the cause of toppling the Empire.” The Boluk Bashi explained. “The Sultan had to regroup at Sofia. There, the army will stockpile resources necessary for the campaign and receive reinforcements.”

“Where are the …... Wallachian rebels?” Vlad asked.

“They attacked Ottoman positions in Nicopolis. The units of Akinci were dispatched to respond to the attack. They did well to ambush and disperse the Wallachians, taking many prisoners in the process.”

“That is good news.” Vlad sighed.

“You are in support of the Empire.” Vlad was asked. “You must be. The defeated Wallachians were sent to Sofia, and it had bolstered our morale among the Ottoman troops before their march towards the crusader army.”

Vlad felt then that his safety was not only in the hands of the Hungarians but also among his own and the empire.

“The better news is that Skanderbeg was delayed from linking up with Hunyadi's army by the Ottomans and their allies. The Serbian Đurađ Branković, whose army had declined to join Hunyadi's forces due to an earlier truce with the Turks.”

“Truly, in war, alliance counts, or ……” Vlad sighed.

“Or you need to be a stronger leader. And to be one, you need to instill fear into your allies and enemies. A feared leader commands respect, and that comes with power.” The Boluk Bashi looked at Vlad. “You are still weak.”

“How may I strike fear?” Vlad asked.

“Be ruthless. We are trained to be. As you were. Make them fearful of you.” The commander of the Janissaries spoke. “Display your ruthlessness. Do what can be seen by others.”

“I …….” Vlad was in mixed feelings. “Be one or be dead.” The Boluk Bashi reminded him. “Kill or be killed.”

That day, Vlad gave the order for the revolting boyars and their men to be impaled on the stakes alive.

“Their blood will be fed to the pigs. Their estates were forfeited. Their families will be slaves.” It drove fear into the Wallachians.

“Vlad is mad.” The words spread out. He is impaling our people. He is like the Turks.”

The name Vlad the Impaler was then spread across the land.