Now I Rise
Page 18

Radu let the crowd pull them along. Nazira pointed out a young girl carrying a screaming toddler nearly as big as herself. The toddler managed to wriggle out of her arms. The little girl grabbed his wrist and dragged him on determinedly.
“Does that make you miss your sister?” Nazira asked.
Radu shook his head. “Lada would never have been so tender.”
“I wish I had gotten to know her better.”
“No, you do not.”
Nazira stopped, looking into Radu’s eyes. “Yes, I do. Because she is important to you, and you are important to me, so she is important to me.”
Radu shifted away from acknowledging Lada’s importance to him. He tried not to think about it, or whether he was actually important to her. He had made his choice. Again. “You would not like her. And she would not like you.”
Nazira sniffed, lifting her nose haughtily. “Everyone likes me. Just because you could not make your terror of a sister be civil does not mean I would have fared so poorly. I am the sweetest person alive. Or have you not heard?”
Radu laughed, taking her hand and rushing through a brief opening in the square. “I have heard, and received ample evidence to support the rumor.”
After a few stops for Nazira to purchase ribbons for waving, they reached the docks. It took some time to find a spot to stand, but people tended to make way once they noticed Radu and Nazira’s fine clothing. Radu still dressed the part of a frivolous member of the court, with bright robes and as much jewelry as he owned. Nazira wore her status with the easy grace of one born to it.
The day was brilliantly sunny, the warmth cut through by the wind. Light reflected off the churning water, and small waves slapped at the dock they stood on.
Out on the water were Radu’s ships. Well, the empire’s ships. But Radu felt a flush of pride looking at them. He had visited the construction docks under the pretense of going to his country estate with Nazira. Suleiman was ambitious but practical. Under his hand, everything went according to schedule. And now, before them, were the fruits of their labors.
It was a glorious sight to behold.
Nazira pointed out the different types. “Three of the big ones! What are they called?”
“Galleys. The largest ships the empire has ever owned, all brand-new.”
“And those five medium ones?”
“Also galleys. Three are older, two are new.”
Nazira sniffed in disappointment. “They should really be cleverer with naming than that. Big galleys and medium galleys. What about the smaller ones moving between them?”
Radu laughed. “You are going to be disappointed.”
“Galleys?”
“Yes.”
She scowled crossly. “I should have been consulted. Still, it is amazing! Look at them all! How can the water hold that much weight? Oh! They are moving.”
Sails unfurled. Though the ships were too far out for Radu to see their decks, he knew the sailors would be scrambling to tie things off and adjust the sails to capture the wind. There would be even more men on benches manning the long, heavy oars for navigating rivers.
The boats danced on the water, cutting through the waves or skimming on top of them, depending on their size. Every time a boat maneuvered particularly well, the crowd cheered. After a few minutes, all the galleys lined up near the shore and stopped there, close enough for the onlookers to see the flurry of on-deck activity. And then the cannons fired across the water, away from the bank.
Though the ships could not bear the load of too much heavy artillery, the sound was terrible and impressive. Babies and children cried in fear and surprise. Everyone else clapped and waved their ribbons in the air. Never before had the Ottomans had such a navy. Never before had any of them seen such a demonstration.
Radu smiled, because he knew the truth: this was only half of their fleet. The other half was hidden in a boatyard on a little-used section of one of the tributary rivers.
“There he is.” Nazira’s quiet voice broke through the noise. Radu turned to see Mehmed, standing on a balcony. He wore deepest purple, with a red turban and a blindingly white cape. Nazira and Radu were not the only ones to notice him. Much of the crowd turned to cheer and wave their ribbons at him. Radu was too far away to be sure, but he thought Mehmed smiled.
Radu pretended that the smile was for him, and joined the cheering.
 
“We should take more holidays together,” Nazira said, leaning back in their carriage. “Fatima does not like to go to new places. It was all I could do to persuade her to stay in Edirne for this long. She loves familiar things, routine.” Nazira smiled fondly. “She has settled in nicely there, though. As long as she does not have to go out among crowds.”
“I did not know she had such a hard time with them.” Radu watched the countryside pass by. He tried to hold on to the happy pride of seeing his work dance on the water. But the same scene kept playing out in his mind. Instead of being on the dock with Nazira, he had been on the balcony, at Mehmed’s side. As Mehmed watched the triumph of Radu’s planning, he shifted closer and closer. And then their hands, at their sides, brushed.
Instead of pulling away, Mehmed’s fingers linked with Radu’s, and they stood like that, watching the ships, together.
“Yes,” Nazira said, puncturing Radu’s fantasy. Which was just as well. It was poisonous, dwelling on such things. “Fatima does not— You see, when she was very young, she—” She paused, frowning. “I do not think it is my story to tell.”
“I understand.” He took Nazira’s hand, which felt nothing like Mehmed’s had in his imagination. “I wonder if anyone gets through childhood without being broken. I certainly did not.”
“Oh, I had a wonderful childhood! Our parents died when I was too young to understand it. Kumal made certain that my life was filled with love and joy. And then, when I discovered Fatima shared my feelings, I had even more love and joy. And then, when you married me, even more. I sometimes think I am the most blessed woman in all of creation. I pray God gives me an opportunity to repay all the kindness He has shown me.”
They had entered the city. The buildings rose around them like guests at a party—familiar, all of them, but hiding so much.
Radu squeezed Nazira’s hand. “You have nothing to repay. Your life is filled with the goodness you attract because of your own goodness.”