A Tudor Turk by Rehan Khan

Author:Rehan Khan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HopeRoad

25

PREVENTION

WAVES THUMPED AGAINST THE VESSEL’S hull. The sea became clearer the further north they sailed up the Adriatic, away from the coast of Africa, away from the plains of the Sahara . . . away from the lands of her fathers.

With the vastness of the Mediterranean behind her, Awa’s mood grew sombre; her heart numb at the thought of being in exile for three whole years. But if she had said no, the Rüzgar would have left her in Alexandria to fend for herself, to run the gauntlet of being re-captured by a vengeful Odo and Ja. With the Janissaries, she would be starting afresh in a foreign land.

The four-masted ship they had taken from Alexandria to travel to Venice was one owned by the Venetian authorities. The crew of the La Liona were Italians, Spanish and Portuguese. It was strange to see men devoid of colour. Awa had to remind herself that these men, like her, were the Children of Adam, all from the same origin. God had scattered people across the vast regions of the world, and part of His test was for peoples of different tribes and nations to understand one another by showing compassion. It seemed to Awa that this tenet of the Divine was often forgotten, trampled under man’s insatiable pursuit of power.

In the morning, they sailed alongside the island of Corfu and straight into the Adriatic Sea. They cruised close to the eastern shores of Italy; ships heading south hugged the Balkan coast. Merchants and tradesmen made up the bulk of the passengers. As one of the few women on board, Awa caught unwanted stares wherever she went. After leaving port, she had decided to take off the men’s clothing the others had given her, for it seemed unfitting for a woman to be wearing such garments. Earlier she had purchased, with an advance Konjic gave her, an outfit more suited to feminine tastes, but one that allowed her to move freely in conflict. Her curved scimitar was strapped to her waist, as were two knives; one she kept hidden, strapped to her ankle below her white trousers. To complete the outfit, Awa wrapped a long scarf around her neck; when she prayed, she used it to cover her head. She liked her new clothes, as they were practical, and she purchased two matching sets.

She noticed Will approach. He came to stand beside her at the aft of the La Liona, leaning against the railing and staring out at the clear waters of the Adriatic. She liked Will. From what he had shared about his life, his past was a troubled one. Despite his lack of formal education, of all the Janissaries, he understood her best. The pain of parting, the humiliation of enslavement, the plight of becoming destitute and then the crumbs of hope to hold onto, when all was lost. He knew all about that.

‘Is Gurkan still ailing?’ she asked him.

‘Yes, he’s lying down, incapacitated for now.’

Awa could tell that the Konyan

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.