I felt over the moon the following days. It was like seeing what one had long been blindly believed in for the first time. My brother, the world's strongest will, was beside me. The confidence that this gave me was unconditional. I felt like I could obstinate anything. Durad was safe. Hearing that Jaromir accepted him to the family gave me life's greatest joy. It wasn't bothering anymore to see Tomris and Durad in the palms of Mehli - because I knew that they belonged with me and sooner or later, we would all be together. I wanted to tell Tomris what happened immediately but couldn't catch her alone. Mehli was scalding around her like a damn honey bee. A week later, she started to kill time beside Kartal. They were nearly inseparable. Kartal seemed happier than ever. Tomris was still. She was usually busy taking care of Durad. I thought they were all pleased to have a successor to Danishmenthan's throne from their blood. ı could perish those venomous thoughts more leisurely those days. I was imagining Durad playing in the rose gardens of the Dragon Nest. Tomris and I were sitting on the balcony of the high garden, getting a kick out of my brother's victories. Suddenly, a faint thought crowded me: Durad would never be a successor to the Tigrisian crown. Jaromir was married and would have an heir after the future was cleaned from any Danishmenthan or Bayezid. Then, the thought faded like a salvia in summer. We would all be where we needed to be. Two weeks later, what Jaromir had predicted to come arrived much sooner. One morning, Bayezid gathered the council, and Kartal announced that Temur was headed south of Danishmenthan to Kayseri. Bayezid's eyes were cartridges. He was visibly excited. He stood up and eyed each one of the men sitting at the table. His eyes stuck as they reached Jaromir. "My lords and commanders, prepare for the war at the end of the world," he said with the voice of a thousand kings. The battle strategy had already been prepared. Bayezid had memorized every single attack, every single forecast. He was looking forward to this day since the first letter from Temur. The fight between the wolf and the elephant became a small talk in the tongues of locals. Everyone was so calm and sure of Bayezid that they didn't even consider the outcomes of a defeat. I, on the other hand, must think about everything. I felt like that should be what it meant to be a father. Jaromir was not leaving Bayezid for a second. They usually talked beneath heavy doors till the sun rose. Jaromir was wandering into rooms and out of the rooms with frowned eye-brows and striking peeks at Kartal and Commander Utar, who had already become two of the Bayezid's most trusted men: one was the so-called uncle of his grandson. The other was the army commander, which was Prince Yakub's legacy. Jaromir never hesitated to say what he thought. Bayezid -must have seen himself in the burning eyes of him- treated him like he was too stressed out and become slightly delusional. I never thought Jaromir was delusional, but sometimes I sensed his jealousy of Bayezid's approach to those two. Despite all these impeachments, Jaromir was in the sight of Bayezid in every blink of an eye. On Wednesday night, Bayezid went to the marble arena to handle a bull for Dukan to be sacrificed for Tengri. In exchange, he was going to wish for good luck and support. I sneaked into Tomris' room. She had not gone with them to put Durad to sleep. She didn't even crumble when she saw me and kept singing that woeful lullaby. I closed the door slowly after. 

"Why did you come, Vukasin?" she asked like a line from the lullaby. I sat on the bed before her and watched Durad fall asleep. Her eyes were tired. She was careless towards my presence. I saw that she was relieved. Her eyes, which were always concerned for some reason, were given up. "Have you started to love Mehli?" I asked spontaneously, and I immediately regretted it. She sighed senselessly. "He is a good father. He is there when I need him," she said. I could only nod, foaming in rage. She exhaled. "But this doesn't matter now," she continued. "I have nothing to hide from you. As Bayezid leave the city with Mehli and everything, I will be gone far away with Durad by my side. Kartal planned everything for us. We will be safe, be disappeared." I was puzzled, "And why in the world do you do such a thing?" She looked at me callous. "You made a choice, Vukasin. There is no place for us in the life you decide to live. You have always known that. You ventured to give up on us, only kept coming back because of a silly devotion to knighthood. You are not a knight. Your brother is—your brother who despises me. Your love was filthy. I don't want it anymore." Her words were to take vengeance on me. They were lost in the air even before they reached my ears. I took out the sapphire ring that my brother had given to me. She looked at the ring and then again faced me, breathing rapidly. "My brother gave this ring to me to give it to you. I have many fancy words but not enough patience to speak them. I ask you to be mine. I want to be yours. I want to see you, to touch you anytime. I want you to be a part of my family. I cannot offer you any wealth that you don't have already, but I can propose to you a tremendous, filthy love that is eternal. We can raise Durad together. We can see those wise mountains and randy rivers that have been calling since you left Karaman. I am ready to go wherever you want, to do whatever you do. I offer you freedom. If you change your mind, you can easily dump me or hunt me with an arrow of your bow. You did it once, which cost me a lot. You stole my heart. You can do it twice to steal my life. That will be a peaceful death." Tomris kept looking at me, not even touched by the words I had just said. She was contemplating something deeply. She looked to Durad and then to me. "You confronted with your brother?" she asked finally. I nodded and grabbed her hand, but she didn't escape. "You confessed to your brother, knowing that this might mean to disappoint him and cause you to be deprived of any governmental positions?" I said yes. What happened came to the same conclusion after all. "What do you say?" I asked again. She looked at me in terror. "Yes," she said but in a crooked, strange tone. I put the ring on her finger. "So King Jaromir approved this?" she continued. I nodded. "And he said?"  I touched her cheeks. "He said he would protect us as you and Durad are a part of his family now." Tomris was enlightened; something flicked in her mind, and her slanted eyes widened. "You don't go to the war, "she demanded. I grinned. "You cannot. Promise me you won't," she continued. I kissed her hand, "If it were up to me, I would immediately take us all to Tigrisia, even on foot, but Jaromir will fight, so must I." She gripped me by my chin. "Listen to me carefully, Vukasin. You must persuade your brother not to go to the war. This is not Tigrisia's war to fight." I kissed her hand on my chin. "Darling, relax. It is just a war that we will add to our victories list." Tomris turned to Durad to check him, then again faced me. This time, she was more severe. "Danishmenthan will lose the war. Going there is a death sentence," she said. I was restrained, too. "Why do you say that? Jaromir never runs from a good battle. Neither he nor Bayezid have lost a battle before. This is taken for granted." She sighed. A cruel feeling shadowed her eyes. "If it is that easy to win, then your brother doesn't need you. We can run away to Tigrisia. Nobody will know till the war ends." I was concerned and suspicious. "What is going on, Tomris? Why do you insist? Tell me, what do you know?" She kept repeating, "Don't go."  I caressed her hair. "What is it? Tell me, sweetheart." She started to weep silently. "If you want me to stay with you, give me a reason." She tightened her fists. "I have already told you. Danishmenthan will lose." I stood up. "I understand you. You are too sentimental and pessimistic right now. I have heard that women tend to feel this way after childbirth. It is okay." She hit my belly. She stood on her knees on the bed and got taller than me. "Karamanians were always allies of Temur. This marriage between Mehli and me was to sneak into the castle and make Kartal the king's hand. I recently learned that Artuncha will also betray Bayezid on the battlefield." Looking at her eyes, everything was limpid. I realized they were darker than I had thought. She was right all from the start. Love alone was not enough. She approached me and clenched her fingers to mine. "Don't go," she whispered. I took the branches of hair on her face, beneath her ear, feeling the acrid notion of doing something for the last time. "If I tell my brother this, he will immediately tell Bayezid. He won't stop till he kills Karaman's last blood. You won't run away forever. I cannot protect you alone. There is no other way to prevent Jaromir from fighting in that war. I am willing to rip off my heart and give it to you if that is what it takes for you to be fine, but I cannot sacrifice my brother. You will do what you planned to do with Kartal and disappear. I will fight alongside Jaromir, making sure that nothing happens to him... I genuinely thought we could be together." Tomris disagreed with her head numerous times. She was raving, "No, no, no... Tell Jaromir the truth. Tell him. I don't care. Just make sure Durad will be fine." I grabbed her shoulders. "I told you before, it would be a peaceful death to die for you. I see it now. That is what love does to the lover. You are not trying to be with them. You ensure they will always be even though you won't." She looked at me, detesting from my words. "Stop romanticizing it. It is not one of your tales of knighthood. We must work this out. There must be a way." I stuck on her lips and kissed her for life. She pushed me away. "Your brother could find a way. We must tell him," her voice was trembling. I kissed her cheeks, and tears glided down to her chin. "Please, Vukasin. Please." I tilted my head down to meet her sour eyes and tried to calm her. "I know my brother. He would do anything for Bayezid. He will tell him. Jaromir will gladly kill every Karamanian for Bayezid." Tomris knew it. She looked at me so hurtfully and keenly that I was sure that was how it was- inexorable. She embraced me so hard that I would lose my balance momentarily. "If I could make it out, then I will find you. I won't stop till I find you, and everything I promised you will become real. This will all going to be a faint bad dream." I lastly kissed her forehead and attempted to leave, but she grabbed my wrist. "The ceremony will continue till the sunrise. You can stay." Tomris climbed on the bed next to Durad and curled towards him. I followed her and lay on the other side, gently caressing Durad's little fingers and palm. She offered me her hand. I took it and hugged Durad. Seeing Tomris wearing the ring pounded my heart even after all those conflicts we were dealing with. She raised her hand with the ring and held it to the light. "I haven't seen such a unique ring before. Is it a family relic?" she asked. I had just realized the elegant appearance of the ring. "Yes, it is," I murmured, yet I knew I had never seen it before. It couldn't be a piece from Father's treasure. I wondered why Jaromir carried a ring like this with him. An old discourse got into my mind: nothing so beautiful can be entirely decent. Durad clenched my fingers. I kissed his soft, white forehead. When our eyes met, I thought we saw the fragments of a future that never would.