The Sultanah Ch. 04

It took us around an hour to make our way to the bridge over the river just a few hundred yards from the city. There had been guards on the bridge the day before, enemy soldiers. They were no longer present. Soyguncu and I scrambled up the banks of the river and climbed onto the surface of the bridge. I reflected briefly on the memory I had shared with Arkadas just a few hours before, the time I had jumped fully into the river and swam to the other side. I smiled; it must have had some significance to be here again. But there wasn't time to think about it.

From the bridge I could see the field before my city's gates spread out before me. To my left and far off into the distance I could see my enemy's camp, smoking in the early summer sun. I could make out places where fires still burned. I strained and I could see the King Sican's food depot, a charred black mass. In fact, I could see in the far distance several ornate wagons moving towards the sun rising in the east. Some of the more wealthy lords had already seen the writing on the wall. Not wishing to hunger before our gates, they were already heading home to Dusman, Temsilci and Surgun where they belonged. I was not surprised to find that Sican and Lider were among them. I felt my heart rise in my chest and turned toward the rising sun, offering a silent prayer to Gunes for her deliverance.

My eyes then fell directly in front of my city, to the no man's land that had existed between our gates and the enemy camp. I noticed that there were several bodies of enemy soldiers there. Apparently in fear of the fire that consumed their camps, they had lost their minds. They had rushed to the gates, seeking refuge and been shot down by my guards.

Finally, I turned and looked at the city walls. Never before had so many sentries been in place! It seemed my city had learned of the fire and everyone who could turned out to watch. They looked baffled and confused. They did not know what had caused the fire and they did not know what it would mean.

"How can we sneak back to your guard's location? Surely he cut the line when the enemy troops arrived. And even if he hadn't the city is teeming with people," Soyguncu said, "Not to mention that we have to be careful that we are not shot ourselves." We were nearly halfway across the bridge and I knew that everything she said was correct. No one was looking at us now, but eventually, someone would.

Rather than feeling nervous, I felt elated. All of the plans and schemes that had been put into place over the evening were through. All of the nerves I had felt before my meeting with Arkadas were gone. I would see Arkadas again! My empire would live to see another. The magnitude of the situation had finally sunk in. I had been, of necessity, so narrowly focused on each task the previous night that I had been unable to even conceive of what would happen if I won. And now I had and I more alive than I had at any time since my father died. Perhaps even before that. Any fatigue that I had previously felt instantly fled from my limbs. My eyes no longer burned from fatigue and smoke. I felt euphoric, and was ready for more.

"You are right, we must change the plan," I said. I quickly unwrapped my black head scarf and threw it on the bridge. Then, without another word to Soyguncu, I began to run across the bridge. I kept my eyes plastered onto the city walls, waiting for the right moment. I ran so fast that in a few moments, my lungs were already robbed of air and my legs began to ache. While I moved I reached into the belt of my pants and found the knife I had brought with me. It was short, only 5-inches long, and I didn't know how to use it. It was more ornamental than functional and had a round, clear glass bead on the bottom that made it look more beautiful than fearsome. I had brought it to take my own life in the event of imminent capture. Now I thrust it high in the air over my head to give myself a slightly martial appearance. My eyes were wide and I felt like I was breathing fire.

Finally, someone on the bridge noticed me. I saw a head turn in my direction, I could see the eyes of one of my subjects. That was my cue. I stopped running, but kept the knife above my head. I looked directly up at the wall, so that my features could be seen by the people. Some of them would surely recognize me.

"Citizens of Şehir, Countrymen of Ülke, Imperial Subjects of Bütün Dünya!" I called at the top of my voice. I was surprised by how loud and commanding it sounded, the particular acoustics of the location bouncing it off of the city walls, "Open the North Gate for your Sultanah! For I am Gunes Representative and I have called down the fire of the one true god and smote our enemies in the night! Fire balls have destroyed their camp and burned up their food and our enemies are defeated this day!" I called. My voice echoed across the valley and it seemed that everything was silent, save for the crackle of fires to my left. I knew I was exposing myself to some danger. If someone in the enemy camp was able to shake off their dismay and come for me, I had only my little blade for protection.

For a moment after my voice stilled, all was silent. Then I noticed people were turning to one another and whispering. The whispering grew into a murmur. I saw people looking down over the wall, staring down at me. I shook my head slightly, releasing my long hair I trying to make my face as clear as possible. I moved closer and closer to the gate.

"It is her!" I heard a voice call out.

"The enemy is retreating!" Another cried. I looked in the direction of my enemies. None were moving this direction. By I took my little knife and heaved it as hard as I could in that direction. It flew several dozen yards through the air. It landed, plugged directly into the grass. The rising sun was at the perfect angle to strike the bead on the handle. The light refracted within the glass and cast a massive rainbow across the fields and walls of the city. The crowd gasped at the beauty and I heard a woman begin to cry.

I heard the sound of cheering beginning, on the side of the wall closest to me. Slow and somewhat sporadic at first it began to grow. I could see heads moving down along the wall, people passing on the rumor to others farther down the line. The sound of cheering began to grow. I felt the euphoria rising in me. I strolled closer to the gates of the castle, looking up at my people as their voices began to rise. Soon the cheering seemed to rise up from all over the city. The words "Gunes" and "Sultanah" were on every pair of lips.

I happened to notice a bit of a tumult directly over the North gate. There seemed to be a slight argument before people quickly moved out of the way. I kept my eyes on that location as the cheering got louder. Finally, I saw a person pushing through the crowd. In a moment, the person became recognizable. Cin had climbed on to the top of the gates. Kardes and Saygili were next to her, both looking extremely relieved. Relief was not present on Cin's face, instead I saw something else. Pride. She smiled at me slightly and then raised her arms high above her head.

"Gunes be praised, the Sultanah has delivered us!" she called loudly, "Open the North Gate!" The crowd, still whooping in their release from their agonizing despair and fear quickly followed orders. People were still straining to catch a glimpse of me and others were yelling epithets at our vanquished foes.

The North Gate, or, as it has forever after been known, the Sultanah's Gate, was opened. Soyguncu had caught up to me now, but stayed several steps behind me as the gate was lowered. I felt absolute joy in my heart and a feeling of power I had never know before. I had my back to the enemy and I suppose they could have organized and come flooding in. But I felt a confidence from Gunes that told me they were defeated. I no longer feared them as I once had.

When the gate opened I saw the city crowds were not limited to the walls. The courtyard within the gate was packed with people, cheering loudly and chanting my name. I saw tears in their eyes and many had fallen to their knees. Standing in the front of the crowd, bawling like a child, was my friend Arkadas. I smiled at her and I stepped once more into the city, free for the first time since I had ascended the throne. Somehow as I entered the rea, the cheering grew louder. And the fearsome sound of our victory echoed through the valley, scaring our charred enemies and pushing them away from our rivers.

End Chapter 4

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YKN

*****

P.S. I do one edit of my work and I try to be thorough. But I figure when it comes to handing out free erotica, you all would be better served getting it fast (if a little rough), than waiting for me to polish it like I was getting paid for my work. Especially on a massive project like this, it took a year to write and could take longer to edit. So, in short, I know there are some errors and I don't really care that much. Don't complain about the soundtrack in your porno, don't sweat the typos in your erotica. Thanks.

YKN