The rays of the midday sun gently glided over the surface of the marble fountains, filling the garden of the Topkapi Palace with warmth and light. The smell of blooming jasmine and roses enveloped everything around, creating an illusion of serenity that rarely visited the walls of the palace. Mihrimah Sultan was sitting on a soft carpet spread under the spreading branches of a plane tree. Her eyes, dark and attentive, stared ahead as she watched her older brothers train.

"Look at them," she said softly, smiling faintly, and turned her gaze to her maid. - "Mehmed likes to compete with Mustafa so much."