Nevzad the head kalfa walked us up the stairs into the cariye quarters. I could see the rooms lined up in rows as we walked by. I felt a bit relieved by this, at least I wouldn't be cramped up in a corner just to sleep. We had walked for a while when I saw Nevzad make a stop and bow deeply. I impulsively did as she did, we all, about a hundred of us bowed instantly.
"Hazretleri" Nevzad called out as she bowed. Our heads still remained bowed even as she stood upright, this was part of the etiquettes.
"These are the new cariyes, I brought them here to present them to you, my lord" she continued. There was silence for about one minutes, before a familiar voice finally spoke.
"Rise" the voice ordered, and all of us slowly lifted our heads and stood upright. If course it was Malik, hearing him being called "Hazretleri" meant he was the highest ranking eunuch, we learnt all that during the training, and I clearly remembered when he talked about the Valide sultan and his role with her. He looked unconcerned as usual, although magnificent in his apparel, his gaze was dead.
"You've done well Nevzad. You may leave now" he ordered. Nevzad bowed before taking her leave. Malik stared at us for about a minute before he finally decided to address us.
"I officially welcome you to the harem of this great empire, your journey become anything starts right now, on these grounds. Tonight, you will be shown to the whole harem, and they'll get to choose their personal maids. Some of you were assigned mistresses already, but still, you'll be in attendance to show you have completed your training and is fit to serve" Malik narrated.
"But! I must warn you. Whatever you do here, you must be careful. Insubordination of any kind will cost you your head. If I were you, I'll just do my duties quietly and live, someday you could earn your freedom. Anyone here who has an ear should hear" Malik warned. After a brief silence, he spoke again.
"Form a group of four, you are about to be assigned to your quarters, your clothes will find you soon as well. After today, your work begins" Malik announced.
I do desperately search for Aisha and the rest of the girls and luckily, it didn't take long for me to find them. They waved at me and instantly, I rushed to their side. Malik handed each of us the keys to our respective rooms. He further told us be should be prepared before sundown for the formalities that would follow.
Immediately I got into the room with the girls, I felt a rush of relief rush through me. The room isn't anything fanciful, but it was pretty decent. We had beds now, although they weren't in the best of shape, I believe it was still better than sleeping on the cold floor. Fatima shut the door and quietly turned the key in the lock before turning to everyone and chuckling in silence.
"Sisters, we hit the jackpot!" she happily exclaimed.
"Sure we have, this is the coziest room I've ever seen in my life!" Aisha exclaimed happily. I stood there wondering how this room impressed them.
"Were their living conditions this bad? To the extent of not having a modest room?" I thought to myself as I watched the two girls giggle and jump around in excitement. Mariam as usual didn't share in their amusement, but she knew well to keep her displeasure to herself. Just in that moment, a knock was heard on the door. Immediately Aisha and Fatima cleared their throats and stood up straight.
"Who's there?" Aisha sked .
"We are here with some clothes for the four of you" a voice answered. Fatima carefully went over and unlocked the door. Some ladies filled in, a small pile of clothes in their hands as they walked in. Nevzad was with them, directing them on where to place the clothes.
"Here, your clothes. They are only two pairs, so use them wisely" Nevzad instructed, and immediately left the room with the ladies. Fatima closed the door again and immediately rushed to the neatly stacked clothes.
"Finally, some fresh set of clothes" as she picked up one of the clothes and inhaled deeply.
"Hold on a bit, let's sort out which one belongs to each of us before you dig your wide nose into it" Aisha remarked as she walked over to where the clothes were placed. The Mariam and I chuckled, before we walked over to the other two girls to check out which cloth belonged to us.
Finally, it was time. We were all ready for the event and immediately it was sundown, the Kalfas came in and ordered us out of our rooms. Aisha, Fatima, Mariam and I placed ourselves neatly in behind the different rows in front of us. A few others stood behind us and once it seemed like we were complete, Nevzad and Malik stood in front of us.
"Keep your head bowed until the Sultan orders you to ride. Do not disgrace your teachers tonight" Malik warned.
"Yes my lord" we all chorused. Malik and Nevzad began to walk and almost immediately, we followed them. We walked down the stairs, out of the harem, through the palace grounds and finally into a very large hall. I knew better than to raise my head, but I could perceive the aroma in the air, a very delightful one at that. My mind wondered for a bit, I imagined feasting on whatever it was that these people were eating, the growling of my stomach did a terribly awesome job on reminding me that I hadn't eaten throughout the day. Musical instruments played in the background, I could hear the beats and rattles they made and even the footsteps of the dancer and cursed at the fact I couldn't watch the performance because of some kind of etiquettes I have to observe. After what seemed like thirty minutes, the music abruptly stopped and the sound of tapping feet ceased as well.
"And who are they?" A strange voice asked. The tune of his voice was quite loud, but it sent cold and piercing shivers down my spine.