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Slowly but surely, the Ottoman Empire is being absorbed into the Roman Empire.
 
Well she has certainly appeared to prove herself in this war.

I very much like this shift of perspective. It instantly made me sit up and take notice when we learned that the switch from the man taking a drink was the observed act of the narrator.
 
It would appear that Mihrimah has become a slave to the desires of the Empress
 
Can't believe I've missed this so far, but just dropping in to say great work and keep it up.

Cheers!
 
Slowly but surely, the Ottoman Empire is being absorbed into the Roman Empire.
Slowly yeah, restricting my conquests for the sake of the story has been difficult.

Well she has certainly appeared to prove herself in this war.

I very much like this shift of perspective. It instantly made me sit up and take notice when we learned that the switch from the man taking a drink was the observed act of the narrator.

I know right! I've grown rather fond of my narrator, she appears to be a woman who want's someone to take pity on her and tell her how hard the world has been, but at the same time she is rather unapologetic and dismissive about her own actions. I can't wait until I can tell you more.
At time's i am worried about my ability to translate the story into English, since I have written it on my native language,

It would appear that Mihrimah has become a slave to the desires of the Empress
Indeed she is. The young empress of the prologue has grown into an authoritative figure.

Can't believe I've missed this so far, but just dropping in to say great work and keep it up.

Cheers!
Oh! Well I'm very happy to have you on board. I loved The Decline and Fall of Roman Civilization.

No chapter today, but I wanted to share with you the map of Europe, since we'll be delving into the intrigues of the Roman court, at the expense of the outside world. I'm afraid the next chapters won't contain many in-game screens.

6PHKWEi.jpg


Now let's see. In the west there is that old Satan, the Kingdom of France, who has been quite effectively contained by the Hapsburg's, who rule both Austria and Spain. England was apparently destroyed by revolts and Scotland took the opportunity to do some conquering, now England is allied to Austria. Ireland is Scotland's puppet.

In the South wee see independent Naples doing some early imperialism in Africa. And in the east the PLC is actually on the brink of collapse despite their size, or perhaps because of it. The AI seems unable to handle itself. (They constantly get into debt spirals.) Muscowy has also been struggling, though she started doing little better when I console annexed the remnants of Novgorod. Sweden is independent.

0DYAgfI.png


And here's a close-up on the mess that is central Europe. I've been keeping the blobs at bay with console magic, and I'm rather happy with how things have turned out. The religious affairs are broken in 1.28, since AI seems unwilling to convert it's provinces, so the reformation tends to succeed very well, though some countries also refuse to convert despite being 100% Protestant of Reformed. Again I've been forced to use the console to save the poor Catholics from the blue wave.
 
Chapter II
II

We left Bursa, or Prusa as it was now known, in the spring of 7068 (1560) It was the time of the first spring rains. The Roman flags depicting their double-headed eagles and crosses flew arrogantly on top of my father's former palace, alongside other symbols I didn't recognize at the time. A wooden cross had been raised on the domed roof of the grand mosque. I thought then that I'd never again return to that wonderful city of my childhood.

There are lots of beautiful palace's in the city these days. I like to spend my summer's there, away from the smells and noises of the capital.

I leaned on the only friend that was allowed to come with me. Maria of Trebizond, my handmaiden, who was a Pontian Roman. She was to become my truest friend and confidant. In addition, I was given a male servant called Nikolas Michelakis, a high born Roman from the city of Izmir, now also under Roman control. He became my teacher, and he, myself and Maria became inseparable. We referred to one another as "we three"

The only real family I ever had.

We traveled towards Constantinople, using the old Roman roads. The empress had forbidden us from using ships, a likely reminder of the true owner of the Marmara sea. Maria and Niko honed my skills in the Roman language as we traveled. My mother had been Roman, a Komnenos of Trebizond, the Sultan's concubine. But the Pontic language differed somewhat from the highborn Roman spoken in the capital, I didn't want to sound like a peasant. The Empress had also forbidden us from speaking Turkish, but I refused to stop speaking Persian, the language of poetry, Maria and I would have to recite poetry in secret. My brother would have none of it. Süleiman was silent the entire way into the City. Adapt you fool, I remember thinking. Adapt and strike back when you can. Stay alive little brother.

h2CbRv3.jpg


I still recall the first time I saw the city of the emperors. I was shocked. I saw the shadow of a metropolis. My father's siege had devastated the suburbs. Many ancient residential district's were still fields in which the city grew it's food. We crossed the strait of Bosporus and entered the city through the port of Kontoskalion. I looked at the Great palace, still undergoing restoration and felt the touch of destiny. The large golden cross on top of the cathedral of Holy Wisdom was glistening in the sun.

I had expected a humiliating walk through the city, a parade for the captured pagans. But no one seemed to care. Romans kept living their busy lives as we journeyed through the city in sedan chairs. So at least the empress didn't wish to humiliate us, I thought. I was wrong.

As we entered through the gates of the Imperial palace of Blachernae I saw that the courtyard was full of people. All the important nobles, dignitaries, politicians and military leaders had gathered to witness our arrival. I was hated from the moment my feet touched the ground. The Roman nobility looked at me in disgust, like I was some beggar. My guards had thankfully allowed me to remain veiled, and covering one's face seemed to be the custom among the highborn ladies in the city as well. I was later told that the noble women covered themselves from head to toe only when walking around in public, so that the lowborn wouldn't see their pale faces. "Blue blood" was a working class term for the nobles, because their veins appear blue under their untanned skin. In contrast to the laborers, who mostly work outside in the heat of the sun.

I tried to walk quickly behind my brother, but our guards walked slowly, parading us before the upper classes. I soon realized that they were mostly watching my brother, the ten year old son of the Sultan. Women didn't matter, not in the Sultans court and not in Rome, well Rome had an empress, but she was more like a goddess than a woman. I then started to hold my head high, it was the only way to gather respect in the Roman court, pretend and act like you're better than anyone else and the rest comes on its own. Respect didn't come easily however.

I was taken to my quarters where I could clean up and change clothes before my brother and I would meet the empress. I prayed God to give me strength, courage and wisdom to survive this ordeal.

There is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God.

The Empress granted us an audience in the imperial rooms of the palace. From the first moment these old Roman palaces gave me considerable anxiety. All that gold, red and purple gave me a headache, not to mention the incense. Always that damn incense, in palaces, in churches. I've never liked the smell.

The next thing I noticed was the guards, they were everywhere. The empress was paranoid, since the imprisoned child emperor Stephen still had supporters, not all Romans accepted the rule of the "she-emperor". I was terrified as we were led before the great throne and there, for the first time, I met Helene Palaiologos, Empress and Autocrat of the Romans. I fell into a deep curtsy and pressed my head as down as I could, like I had been told. My father was a great general and a sultan, but this woman was a true majesty. The empress was over two meters (6'8'')) tall, standing next to her my head would have barely reached her shoulder. After a while I finally dared to raise my eyes and look at her in all her splendor. Her hair were light brown, she was wearing a very decorative hairpiece, which looked heavy, but she carried it well. Her face was flawless and she was extremely beautiful, her neck was short, almost nonexistent, but by God she was beautiful. The empress smiled coolly, like pondering whether to waste a smile on us or not. That smile would become hauntingly familiar to me.

At first she asked some questions from my brother. Nikolaos acted as an interpreter. She welcomed him into the Roman court and exchanged some routine compliments. Süleiman said hardly anything, but Nikolaos embellished his words. Then she turned to me and we talked for a while. She was surprised how well I spoke the Roman tongue, though she ridiculed my Pontic accent. The court laughed. I held my head high.

The empress was courteous enough, but all I could think was the gossips I had heard. They said that in bed, she was insatiable. The Empress wasn't married, her intended had died before the wedding, and she never took a husband, but she certainly took men. On the outside she was a devout Christian, I remember spending more than enough time in churches and cathedrals, because if the empress decided to attend a divine service, the entire court had to attend as well. I often wonder; did she spend the day apologizing the activities she did during the night. Her personal guards were all handsome young men, beautiful men. I heard that the empress could simply pull a guard on his patrol duty into her bedroom, and no one dared to refuse. Empress Helene was a frightening woman. Her favorites were the Englishmen and the Scandinavians of the Varangian guard, though she also liked Italian lovers. The Varangian guard was often called the "guardians of the imperial bed sheets."

Poor boys, they often sped up when walking past the empresses bedrooms.

She was also cruel. Her armies had conquered Albania, Bosnia and even sacked the city of Venice. Tens of thousands of lowborn were killed when the Bulgars rebelled against her rule, and she had most of the Bulgarian nobility put to the sword, not to mention the murdered population of my native Bursa. Then there was the imprisonment of the child emperor Stephen, who had reportedly gone mad after spending his entire childhood alone in a prison, wondering why he had been put there. Then the self-centeredness. If she wanted to travel, the entire court had to come with her. All the people with all their possessions, all of the thousand gowns she owned, even the furniture was taken along. Sometimes we moved for several days, only to spend a week somewhere before moving back. And no one was allowed to outshine the empress. She would publicly have a noble woman's dress torn apart, if she thought she looked prettier than her. One time I remember when I had decorated my hair with a simple flower, she came over and threw it into the floor. Next week she had an entire bouquet of flowers on her head.

UFHzcxB.png


The empress lacked all warmth and respect of others. To her there was only she, and no one else. An atmosphere of fear surrounded Empress Helene.

Does she really deserve all these accusations? Yes, she does, and no she doesn't. Have I been a better person than she was? Yes, I have. I must have been, since I'm still alive. Am I cruel? Depends on the point of view.

The Empress then turned towards her adopted sons and introduced me to prince Andreas, my husband-to-be. I was horrified.

Authors note:
I've included a list of characters in the content section. I'll keep it updated.
 
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Mmm, women in power always seem to attract a certain sort of rumour. One only has to think of Theodora or Catherine the Great.

I liked the little detail about our narrator hating the smell of incense. A nice touch. The steel in her spine is also apparent, a truly regal account of this situation
 
Her personal guards were all handsome young men, beautiful men. I heard that the empress could simply pull a guard on his patrol duty into her bedroom, and no one dared to refuse. Empress Helene was a frightening woman. Her favorites were the Englishmen and the Scandinavians of the Varangian guard, though she also liked Italian lovers. The Varangian guard was often called the "guardians of the imperial bed sheets."

Poor boys, they often sped up when walking past the empresses bedrooms.

Poor boys? Quite the opposite really ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
 
Good Eastern Roman AAR. Women are more dangerous than men when these rulling kingdoms and empires. I have a question: who is the woman in reality which appearing in the image you chose to represent the empress
 
chapter III
III

z7PMDd3.jpg


The empress praised my noble bloodline, I was a daughter of the Ottoman sultan, but my mother was a Komnene of Trebizond, one of my grandmothers was from the Kantakouzenos family. I had Roman blood in me, but my eastern blood burned strong. My husband came from an equally noble lineage, but that was all the nobility he had in him.

Empress Helene had no children of her own, rumored bastards excluded. Her adopted sons were the grandsons of her aunt, Irene Porphyrogenita, younger sister to empress Sophia, empress Helene's mother. Princess Irene had married Stefan Kovacevic, the despot of Serbia and had five children to continue Stefan's dynasty. Constantine and Andreas were born to Irene's second son Lazar and his Roman wife of house Doukas. Raised as Serbs, but proud of their Roman heritage, the boys were brought to Constantinople at the explicit orders of the Empress, and given Roman names in place of their Slavic ones, and by the decree of the empress they were to be counted among the Palaiologoi.

The elder, originally named Stefan, after his grandfather, was named Constantine. At my arrival to the City, Constantine was 18 years old, dashingly handsome and well-mannered. He was married to a daughter of the king of Georgia. Melano Bagrationi and I hated each other. She was haughty and scornful, and always acted like her husband was already sitting on the throne. Empress Helene didn't care too much about her, especially since their marriage was childless. Melano did resemble the empress herself in some twisted way, but let's leave her be for the moment.

Constantine's younger brother Andreas, named after the Dragon himself, was my future husband. His original name was Ivan. He can be only described with words small and weak. He was pale and skinny, his long greasy hair kind of just hanged there. Mouth was hanging wide open and his face was long and dreary. Andreas' voice was high-pitched and tingly. In addition to all of that, he was exceedingly shy. How could God give everything to the older brother, and leave the younger with just ugliness? Constantine was the heir, Andreas was the spare. There was no doubt about it.

I had to submit to my role, like a good girl does. I gave up my faith. I was brought under the one true church and faith, it wasn't hard. I learned to love my new faith and the holy church, but I kept the suras of the Quran in my heart. Humans created religions. These holy men like to dictate terms on God's love. Do this and you'll get to eternal paradise, never do that or you'll be condemned to hell. My relationship with God is nobody's business but my own.

I gave up my name. The empress named me Sophia, after her mother, and mother's mother. I gave up my culture. I would have to become a Roman, no more Turkish barbarism. I decided very early on that I'd become a better Christian and a Roman than anyone in the Empress's court. I could never show weakness, never.

I confessed my Christian faith in the presence of the empress, my fiancé, and the ecumenical patriarch, five months after arriving into the Queen of cities.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, Begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made:

Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man;

And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;

And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures;

And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father;

And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who spoke by the Prophets;

And I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.

I look for the Resurrection of the dead,

And the Life of the age to come.

Ἀμήν.


I was now a Roman, reborn like a phoenix from the ashes.
 
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Mmm, women in power always seem to attract a certain sort of rumour. One only has to think of Theodora or Catherine the Great.

I know. Kings having mistresses is nothing new, but a female monarch with a lover? Scandalous.

Poor boys? Quite the opposite really ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
If you prefer older women. :D Helene was born in 1510, the story begins in 1560, so she's around 50 years old. :rolleyes:

Good Eastern Roman AAR. Women are more dangerous than men when these ruling kingdoms and empires. I have a question: who is the woman in reality which appearing in the image you chose to represent the empress
Dangerous statement you got there. Women certainly have had harder time convincing others of their right to rule, but I wouldn't call female rule "more dangerous".

The woman in the picture is no other than Isabella d'Este, one of the most important figures in Italian renaissance. Or at least it's presumed to be her. ;)
 
Nice chapter, now we know what kind of family dramas are evolving within the court :p
 
This lady is truly a survivor, to make such adaptations. I think I have spoken a little of the steel in her spine, and this is another manifestation. I am increasingly impressed by her clear determination of her goal.
 
Another good and interesting chapter. I like prayer from ending. I found always Byzantines a fascinanting and mysterious empire. I have played so much with them also in my semi medieval novel I have created a people inspired and modelled after them:D
 
chapter IV
IV

After leaving my "barbarian" faith behind, prince Andreas and I were ready to be officially engaged. The ceremony was arranged at the palace of Blachernae. Andreas was handsome, it was the only time I could call him that. We were together in our misery. We were both lost. His fate was to be the spare-heir, until his brother had a child, but what then? My fate was tied to his. We looked at each other, and in his pale eyes I saw acceptance. He was an outcast in the court, just like me. There was acceptance, but never love.
From that day until my wedding several months later, my life in the court was rather boring. I wasn't allowed to move around without guards, and even then my options were limited. I hadn't spoken to my brother since the day we were introduced to the Empress. He was at the feast celebrating my engagement, but I wasn't allowed to speak with him. I only had my truest friends. And I had some books, the empress had allowed Nikolaos to get me some tomes from the city's great library, the Roman language was difficult to read, but Niko taught me and Maria both.

My engagement had one positive effect; the empress showered me with presents. I lived in splendor and abundance, but I knew all that was temporary. The empress sent doctors to me almost every week, she wanted me to get pregnant. In Constantinople feasts and parties filled the life of the court. All that dancing and eating and drinking was tedious, at least for me. But I used the opportunity to get to know the empresses court. I was still the barbarian princess, but also the future wife of the Despot of Epirus, as prince Andreas was officially known. People started thinking, that by getting on my good side might help them advance their own agenda. I slowly started making friends.

Finally, in the middle of the autumn, the court was ordered to travel to Corinth at the Peloponnese peninsula. I loved the idea of getting out of Blachernae, but my imprisonment continued. I was forced to travel in a closed carriage, nevertheless I enjoyed traveling, and the false feeling of freedom. The palace of Blachernae was dusty and heavy. The City was loud and dirty. Ancient Hellas was free and fresh.

FrtFV3B.jpg


Ah! The land of Aristotle, Plato. The land of civilization! The land of Alexander! The land of the heathen gods that fornicated with everything and everyone! On that trip I became a Hellene.

The voyage lasted for a long, long time. The court traveled with everything one could imagine, and many things one could not. The empresses favorite, general Petros Argyros, who had been recently appointed as grand duke, traveled in the imperial carriage. He was often called the "night emperor", and now he truly held the power of an emperor, for the grand duke was the senior official in charge of the Imperial navy, but he also held the title of mesazon, or chief minister. As such he was the most powerful man in the empire.

When we finally arrived in Corinth via Thessaloniki and Thebes, I managed to persuade the empress to let me tour this ancient land. I tried to get prince Andreas to come with me, but he rather stayed in the palace of the strategos of Hellas, drinking wine and playing with his Latin friends. He seemed to be in very good terms with the Genoan ambassador, and had surrounded himself with Latins. I didn't mind it back then. I was still fresh to the political intrigues of the Roman court.

Corinth was no longer the major city it had once been, though it had recovered significantly during the reign of Andreas the Dragon. They say that the city was founded by a descendant of an ancient pagan sun god, long before the Roman empire, long before Alexander the Great.
Athens was only a short trip away from Corinth. Once the greatest city in Hellas, it was now only a mildly important harbor town, and a stronghold of the Imperial navy. In Athens we watched as imperial navy ships and sailors reenacted the legendary battle of Salamis. The Persian's looked very Turkish, which wasn't surprising.

The ancient Athenians would surely be shocked to hear, that their ancient rival Thebes was now the capital of the Thema of Hellas. Thebes is a glorious city in its own accord. There we saw the great workshops that produce the highest quality silk in the world. Despoina Melano was gifted a gorgeous gown of finest silk. I received nothing.

Everywhere we went, I saw happy people going about their lives. They didn't care that I wasn't born a Roman, they didn't even know. The people cared little for the glory of the empire. They removed their hats and bowed as we passed by. My only regret is that I never learned the common tongue very well.
The fragile state was recovering, slowly. First time in centuries the people didn't have to worry about a Turkish raid, or a pirate attack. But one inadequate ruler, one successful rebellion or one lost war, and it would all come crashing down. Empress Helene had the will and vigor, it was interest in ruling, that she had lost together with her youth. Still, one must give the empress some credit for the wars she fought victoriously, though those victories weren't technically her achievements.

We stayed in Corinth for three wonderful weeks.

On the way back, I opened my eyes to the true beauty of Hellenic Rome. We saw the olive trees, the starry skies, the mountains, plains and the archipelago's. We saw the glistening sea. Our sea. We saw the people. Poor, but content. they waved at us and the women lifted their babies, seeking blessings from her Majesty. I was sitting opposite to the empress as she picked up a baby of a farm girl. "Let us see him", her majesty said authoritatively. The mother dropped onto her knees and presented the baby like an offering to a goddess. She was young, and feminine.

-What is your name? the empress asked.
-Anastasia, your Majesty, the woman answered and curtsied clumsily.
-And the child?
-Daniil, your Grace. My husband is Giorgos. We live in this village.
- How old is the child?
-Eight months old, Majesty...may God bless....May God bless your Majesty...God bless you...
-And you Anastasia, the empress answered, and made the sign of the cross on the woman's forehead and on the child's face.

Suddenly empress Helene was a woman. The Mother of a nation. And a living human being. Anastasia looked at her empress, and I saw her looking at her child with pride. The thoughts of these two women met. Anastasia had something empress Helene didn't, a child of her own. I saw the empress nodding to a guardsman. I knew what it meant.
That night every house in the village had a feast. The child was passed around, hugged and kissed like a little miracle, a child blessed by the empress. Anastasia received two bags of coin.

T2le02x.jpg

In truth, she was nothing like the Blessed Virgin.

That day I saw empress Helene like she always should have been. She blessed a village, but she could have helped tens of thousands.

Back in Constantinople I quickly forgot about the poor as the endless festivities resumed, and my wedding approached.
 
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Nice chapter, now we know what kind of family dramas are evolving within the court :p
You don't know the half of it. :D

This lady is truly a survivor, to make such adaptations. I think I have spoken a little of the steel in her spine, and this is another manifestation. I am increasingly impressed by her clear determination of her goal.

She's telling about her own past, so her view on the events is not unbiased. I think she was a confused young girl, her only goal was to survive.

Another good and interesting chapter. I like prayer from ending. I found always Byzantines a fascinating and mysterious empire. I have played so much with them also in my semi medieval novel I have created a people inspired and modelled after them:D

I too am a complete Byzantophile. :p I could have fitted this story into pretty much any European court, but really the choice was not a choice at all. :D
 
She's telling about her own past, so her view on the events is not unbiased. I think she was a confused young girl, her only goal was to survive.
Oh she is thoroughly unreliable narrator - arguably the very best kind :) But still, young as she may have been, she knew what she needed to do to survive. There is a certain precociousness there.

I am getting bad vibes about this marriage though.
 
Another good and interesting chapter:) I enjoy narrative AARs because I am a novelist in real life
 
This is an interesting story. I will admit to checking up on the Nicene Creed to make sure you'd omitted the Filioque correctly, but the story is quite intriguing.
 
chapter V
V

The empress decided that we should be married in July. I had been in Rome for a little over one year. I was terrified, sleepless, tired and depressed. I felt like a lamb that was taken to slaughter. Empress Helene wanted to give the people of Constantinople something to celebrate, something that would take their minds of the work my fathers siege had caused. the suburbs beyond the Theodosian walls were still being reconstructed. The empress herself slowed the rebuilding. Initially, as the city's population rose, the suburbs simply grew without any control. Now empress Helene wanted the districts designed properly, only problem was, that she changed her mind about the plans almost weekly. So that there were many homeless people living in slums, when there was perfectly good land for them to live in relative comfort. Such was the selfishness of empress Helene.

The wedding was going to be a unprecedentedly grand affair. Three years ago the city had witnessed the wedding of crown prince Constantine and his Georgian wife, but then Rome had been preparing for war, and the ceremony had been relatively modest. I felt sick joy as I imagined the envy despoina Melano must have felt. Ships carrying goods arrived in the city every day. Ships from Italy, France and from Spain, all loaded with precious cargo. Exotic delights, fruits, flowers and even rare fish. More servants, priests, and soldiers.

The empress unexpectedly visited my quarters in the palace of Blachernae this one evening. I was alone, eating dinner. My husband-to-be visited me at the door, but said he wasn't hungry. I startled every time I saw him. I had just finished eating when the servant announced that the empress was coming. I ordered us some wine. I curtsied and waited for her to sit down on the sofa. I couldn't speak, the empress always spoke first. She took a wineglass from the servant.

-Sophia, we must now talk freely. We shall forget about the protocol. We have to talk.
-Your Majesty...
-Please, Kyría (madam) When we are alone, you can say kyría, and right now you don't have to follow the protocol.
-Kyría, I sputtered, I am very grateful, that you have come to visit me.
- I have been concerned about you both. The prince hasn't been well lately, he survived the pox, did you know that? He recovered just a few months before you got here.
- Praise be to God for his recovery.
- What do you think about him?
-I...I was very shocked when I saw him for the first time.
-I could tell.
I became bolder.
-His appearance is rather shocking, Kyría. The scars left by the pox make him even uglier, and he constantly scratches his body parts. Is that a habit? He is so skinny, and his eyes just kind of sink into his face...
-My child, he looks like a monster. He wouldn't be of any importance, but prince Constantine still has no children. We have brought you here to serve Rome, surely that is better than your dreadful life in the harem?

I felt good. Despoina Melano couldn't get herself pregnant. Can't say I blame her. The rumors told, that crown prince Constantine preferred men in his bed. I didn't judge him, he was always far too handsome for just women. The empress told me that, in my place, she would not have been able to sleep with Andreas. I understood what she said. There was only one way to get a baby. I told her, that there shouldn't be any problems with that. The empress was moved to tears, the wine may have had something to do with it. She felt guilty that I had to spend all my nights with the disgusting prince Andreas. I knew I could do it, I would simply close my eyes and think of Rome. After few glasses of wine, we felt rather merry, and tipsy.

After this peculiar audience, the empress decreed that my husband and I would have to spend all nights together after the wedding. Her majesty had commanded me to get pregnant. I had to be ready. Ready to transform from a barbarian Turkish princess into princess Sophia, the despoina of Epirus. I was an adolescent girl, but I had to step into the great history of the mightiest empire on Earth. I was ready, Nikolaos, wasn't I?

8406PXi.jpg


Kyría, we were ready. You, me, Maria, we stood there with you. Every step of the way we were together. And I feel like I should be here to follow you on this journey as well. You have a tendency to forget things you don't wish to remember.

You are an impudent old man, did you know that? This is my life, like I experienced it.

Exactly. Those that come after you deserve to know the full account of what transpired in the history of Rome in the days of Empress Helene, and her successors.

Fine! But this will all be top secret. For the emperor's eyes only. My son will probably burn half of it, and censor the other half... But that won't trouble me, for I shall be dead.

i shall write down as you speak Kyría.

Very well Niko, let us speak about my wedding. It is a beautiful day to talk about weddings, the window opener just opened the windows. Why on earth do we have a specific person for opening windows? But I digress.


The Christian marriage between me and prince Andreas was bound in the cathedral of Holy Wisdom on the 21nd of July 7069 (1561) I had turned fifteen, my fiance was sixteen. The night before I wept. My husband was an idiot. Would I have to share the bed with that fool? Would I submit to his groping? Was there even a drop of passion in him? Maria gave me a book that clumsily described, what would happen between a man and a woman on their wedding night. I felt sick. I threw the book into the fireplace. I told Maria that I do not need education on that matter. God knows I have never ever had the need for it.

My wedding day was beautiful and sunny. I was bathed at six in the morning and afterwards the empress and the ladies of the court inspected me. I stood before them naked. An old tradition dictated that the bride would be inspected. I felt like a horse for sale. My teeth were inspected, my womanly parts were checked. All was fine. Then I prepared for the ceremony. I had to tie a thick cloth between my legs, since I couldn't possibly go anywhere to relieve myself during the long ceremony, that lasted for five hours.

My wedding gown was heavy and filled with jewelry. On my brow was a heavy diadem decorated with a large diamond from India. I was like a living holy icon. My husband was handsomely dressed, for once, in the Genoan style, but he smelled of dirt. Prince Andreas rarely took a bath.

I surrendered myself to this marriage. I was taken into Rome by force, but I now stepped into the imperial cathedral voluntarily, for I had my own ambition, my own goals. I could have escaped! With you Nikolaos, and with Maria. We had devised an escape plan. But my eyes were now set. Set on the crown. As a daughter of the Ottoman sultan, I would have married one of my fathers emirs, I would have given him many children, and history would have forgotten me. I was free of the chains of the harem, but prisoner to the will of the empress.

I was pale. Maria noticed it and brought me a glass of water, it was liquor. I couldn't turn my head, because of the jewels. Next to me was the prince. His eyes were staring, but his face was expressionless.
The empress was beautiful, her jewellery was modest, as if not to take the attention away from the bride, who was drowning in her own baubles. The streets were lined up with people. Tens of thousands had come, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bride, the groom, or the empress. They worshiped us.

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We walked slowly towards the iconostasis, hand in hand. The empress walked behind us, now wearing the Imperial Dragon crown, made for emperor Andreas. It was the official crown of house Palaiologos, made of gold and decorated with the image of Christ Pantokrator. At the top of the high arch was a cross, guarded by two dragons with emerald eyes. It was an unwieldy thing, and never really suited anyone who wore it.

We were wed by the ecumenical patriarch. But I can't remember a word, only the grey fog, that dizzying smell that made me sick. I hadn't eaten all day and I was breathing the incense. I knew I couldn't pass out, it would have been a scandal. The Imperial cathedral was glorious, but I couldn't concentrate on anything. The heat was becoming unbearable. The sun was scorching outside, and all the guests in the cathedral were sweating. The smell mixed with the smell of the incense.

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The empress was in a world of her own. She was noble, and unspeakably beautiful. We had to stand trough the whole ceremony, she sat in a golden chair with a self-conscious smile on her face. Sometimes she had to rise like a common mortal, during the important parts of the service. She was helped by her courtiers.
At some point we were pronounced husband and wife. My husband bowed before me and I before him. The choirs sang beautifully and the voices echoed within the great dome. I really felt married. My husband was not the prince of my dreams, but at least he was a prince.
In the city the church bells were ringing and the cannons singing. We returned to the palace of Blachernae. There we sat, the imperial family. The divine empress Helene on her great seat of marble, on her left side crown prince Constantine, the despot of Morea, with his wife despoina Melano, and on her right side prince Andreas, the despot of Epirus and his new wife despoina Sophia Palaiologina former Mihrimah Sultan. I was only few long steps away from the throne.

Did I dream about sitting there as an imperial consort, besides my husband the emperor? No, for I was too busy breathing and staying alive. To many highborn, I was still the Turkish princess. The Latins hated me the most, they had infiltrated into every corner of the city. The Genoans had wanted the prince to marry some Ligurian wench. Hah! They got something very different.
 
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