But now take me home Take me home where I belong I got no other place to go Now take me home Take me home where I belong I got no other place to go Now take me home Take me home where I belong I can't take it anymore
STATUS: open to @scfiyc @ofmarquessa @crownedprxncess @sfcrzas @isabelofyork @ofshiraz @queenalexandrina @jvanas @drippedink @amiraofcordoba @mairinarurik
LOCATION: Couvent des Celestins, Mihrimah’s celebration
TIMESTAMP: March 1459
The old quarters were alight with brass ensembles, the drapery of rich purples and the singing of the meddah who quoted the tales of Achilles, the Greek whom refused to leave the safe and isolated haven of his military tent. The room that was once the sanctuary to Catholic nuns, was transformed into an Islamic Palace; a central hearth to the Imperial Harem of the Sultan.
Mihrimah, sat upon the floor, surrounded by luxurious pillows embroidered in geometric designs, with her veil pushed back, as it always was when she kept herself within the security of the Harem. It was surely a sight to be seen, for the room was cloaked in colour and riches — leaving it to seem almost mystical, the very room becoming a peek into what Mihirmah’s upbringing had always been. The shapes, tastes and sounds were what formed the young Sultana, and what brought her to this moment, sat with only a handful of the ladies who had come to Paris’ summit.
“What do you think?” She asked, her eyes alight, as she reached forth to pluck a piece of Lokum, placing it between her lips with a slow motion — savouring the taste before her eyes widened in delight. She had hoped to dispel any foul rumour about the Harem, to let such grand and prestigious women into the Ottoman way of life. With the pop of her lips, Mihrimah reached forth to take another slither of Lokum between her fingers, gesturing for the other to open their mouth. “Do you like it?”
The warmth of the harem reminded Safiya not just of her own home, but of her mother. It was nice to be surrounded by sights and sounds and food that was all a bit more familiar. Her mind may the adventurous sort, but she had to admit she had been growing more and more homesick every morning when she looked out her window at the ever gray Parisian sky as the seasons changed. She missed the way the glittering sun would bounce around the halls of her home more than she could ever admit.
She grinned at her cousin her joy clear as she ate a Lokum herself. “How could I not love it? This may be the greatest event in all of Paris.” She said earnestly. “Dear cousin I must at some point come visit you all in the Ottoman Empire. If this is even a momentary glimpse of the beauty of your home then I must experience it for myself.” She had often regretted not seeing her mother’s home in person, she was so young she truly hadn’t travelled much at all in her life. But now it was all the more decided she must visit the Ottoman Empire.
Though Safiya was excited to see her whole family, she had to admit on of the people she had been most excited to see was her Aunt Amira. Her Aunt was everything she hoped to be. She was a woman respected for her intelligence and skills, and held a position without marriage. She was strong in the way Safiya dreamed of becoming, with the potential to do good in the world. So when her Aunt became a Governor and left her home, she was a mix of a million emotions. On one hand she was proud. Her Aunt would achieve so much and it was another goal she could strive towards, but the young girl also missed her Aunt terribly. There weren’t many who wanted to hear about her interests, being with her aunt made her feel less alone in the world.
And now finally they would be reunited. To say she was overjoyed would be an understatement. As soon as she had the chance she rushed to her Aunt’s chamber like a giddy child. The advantage of being the youngest child was she did not nearly feel as much pressure to grow up. When she arrived she knocked gently on the large door though with her excitement (and admitted impatience) she was tempted to simply rush into the room unannounced. Her mother and Aunt had raised her better than that though and she waited patiently.
When the door was finally opened, she could nearly cry tears of joy at the site of her aunt. “Eimti, I have missed you so much.” She said before pulling her aunt into a hug. “I feel my life has been spun all around so quickly, I am just so glad you are here in person, mashallah.”
Whether it was a blessing or a curse, she was still unsure, but Amira had never had children of her own, despite three marriages which had given her the opportunity. It left her to place what maternal feelings she possessed upon her brother’s children, and she could not deny that she felt a connection to his daughter. Safiya had been a light of her life for all of the girl’s years - their spirits much the same, to Amira’s great satisfaction and joy.
The sight of her entering the room at once brought a smile to Amira’s face, standing from her seat to embrace her niece closely. “And I have missed you, sweet girl. My days have not been the same without you, though your writings to me were always a pleasant surprise.” She nodded and tugged Safiya to sit on the bench against her wall, gentle with her as ever. “It has certainly been quite a whirl of change, these last few months. But you are taking it all in stride, I know.” She nodded, warm. “Did you enjoy the journey? I confess I hate this cold weather, but the scenery was quite lovely to see. And there is much to see in the city.”
“Your writing was sometimes the highlight of my days, I can not express how thankful I am to be with you again. Though I must admit, I wish we were together again at home.” Safiya did not feel the need to hide her disdain for France (and really all of Europe) around her aunt. Amira had always been a confident as well as an aunt to the young girl. They were kindred spirits and she had never doubted that her secrets were safe with her aunt. So far the biggest lesson she was learning since her arrival in France was how blessed she was to have such a dear and loving family.
She sat down on the bench next to her aunt with ease though her excitement had her feeling giddy like a child and she could bounce like one too. She was lucky to be so young and still have such youthful joy, life had been good to her and had not crushed that yet. “The journey was uneventful, mashallah. I expected to hate it far more than I actually did. It is more life here in France that I find myself... frustrated.” That may be the best word she could find. “I agree with you the cold is miserable but I fail to see any sort of appeal to European court life.” She had no patience for the topics many of the ladies tried to get her to discuss in salons. never once had she contemplated the colors of fashion for the season, she had far more interesting things to think about and occupy her mind with. “I do not mind the city besides it whether I will admit to that. I have had my ladies pick me up quite a few books from their collection though I must take a trip to their libraries myself though.” And she damn well didn’t care what any European noble would think about her choice in reading material.
Safiya has been relatively healthy her whole life. She only had one major health scare as a child when she developed a severe ear infection which left her bed ridden and there was doubt about her survival. Of course, she survived the event and in all honestly hardly can remember it. Since then her health has remained completely average and ordinary, though her physician has advised since their arrival in France she does her best to stay warm since she has caught a few minor colds this winter.
Safiya is yet to finalize her opinion of Ivan the Terrible. As a leader, she respects his ability to rule such a tumultuous land, but she disagrees with his violent methods. She recognizes the importance of an alliance with him and Russia but can’t help worrying that he may be a risk to Cordoba’s interest int he trade alliance. She can’t tell if he acts out of mad rage or strategy. Either way she is certain he has the potential to destroy the whole alliance if he wants to. She has no urge to cause trouble with him though, it is better to have friends you don’t trust than enemies. She is also open to her perception being wrong since she doesn’t know him well personally, they have only met in person and never had a true conversation so she can’t form a strong opinion on the man.
A part of her felt dizzy from meeting so many different people in such a short period of time, how was she supposed to remember all these names and faces? This particular meeting had been arranged, a planned meeting between two young royals. A walk through the gardens which her ladies had sworn would be a private meeting should could get to know the young man but she was certain there would be prying eyes behind every bush. It seemed rare that any meeting in all of France was truly private these days.
Thankfully the March sun made the cold not seem as miserable as it did in the evening. Safiya loved the heat, and would do anything to get through this miserable winter. She had found a bench to wait for her new companion watching the bees moving through the garden, they had only just appeared recently as the days grew longer and warmer. She never thought to be thankful for bees before.
When she spotted the man making his way through the garden towards her she rose from her spot on the bench a pleasant and easy smile rising to her lips. At least he wasn’t horrible to look at it if she was to spend this time getting to know him. “You must be Prince Thomas. It’s lovely to meet you.” She said glancing over him curiously. “Thank you for taking the time to join me here, I am sure you have been kept busy all over Paris.” She hoped he had been, it would be miserable to converse with a shut in dud who had nothing to contribute. Especially since she postponed a fascinating discussion on astronomy with a visiting lecturer from the University of Krakow. “Have you enjoyed your time here thus far? Is it much different from England?” She must remember to thank her mother for forcing her to study English, it certainly made this interaction easier.
💣 for a stress headcanon: safiya was the type of person often plagued with stress (mostly because she created it herself) simply because she agrees to too much and puts the pressure on herself to be perfect. she isn’t someone who discusses her feelings with people though, especially stress. she does have a wonderful support system she could turn to but she’s stubborn and instead keeps her feelings to herself. she usually ignores her feelings till she gets angry and explodes or cries. she eventually will need to find a better coping mechanism, maybe a relaxing hobby?
💕 a love headcanon: safiya has yet to be in love, after all she is still so young she has time for that. when eventually she does fall in love though her way of showing affection isn’t through grand gestures or perfectly crafted words of affection but the little things. she’ll remember you mentioning once in passing that you liked a certain flower and she’ll make sure the vase in your room always has them. she hopes for a marriage where even if they do not love each other going into the relationship, they can grow fond of each other. her relationship goals is to have someone look at her the way her father looks at her mother, but from witnessing all the failed marriages in europe she has resigned herself to the likelihood she won’t get that.
🍯a food headcanon: she adores fruit, her favorite food in the whole world is loquat. she isn’t a picky eater by any means though she generally prefers fruits and vegetables to meat but she eats whatever is put in front of her out of politeness. the only thing she won’t eat is shrimp because she has a severe allergy to it. this was discovered at a ball when she was a child and tried it for the first time. thankfully she survived from the reaction (though her parents were horrified)
Open to: Everyone
Location: Cordeliers Convent Feast
Oh these feasts seemed to kill a little piece of Eivor every time he attended them. Stuffy men and woman seated all around their perfectly long tables, eating their perfect food with their flawless silverware. Proper chatter filled the air along with the soft, soothing, sounds of the lute. It was disgustingly sweet. The only saving grace of the night was the French wine but even that was a light affair when compared to the mead he and his family brewed on there farm back in the day. The feasts they had- Now that was a real celebration. Drinking, singing, shouting and so much dancing. They would eat with there hands. The same hands that hunted whatever they were feasting on. The nights would stretch on and no. Sometimes those days felt too far away to be real and on nights like tonight, Eivor could not help but long for them again. Though he was fairly sure that most of the men and woman here would piss themselves with fear should any part of his old world sneak into their lives.
With that in mind, Eivor kept himself on his best behaviour. Which is to say he did his best to enjoy the food and drink. Avoiding conversation was best but he couldn’t always manage that. He was known for his skill in warfare. Not that he’d been able to flex those muscles recently but his name still cared some weight with those who had been paying attention to battles of the recent past. Some wanted to pick his mind about just that. Those were just about the only conversations Eivor could manage to get through without offending someone some how.
He’d just managed to squirm himself away from another bloated diplomat. Taking his wine goblet with him, Eivor made a break for the door. However, his alcohol idled mind was not working as well as it might over wise have been. As he walked briskly towards the exit, he missed someone walking right in front of them. Eivor ran into their back and his wine goblet tumbled down to the floor with a rather loud clang. Dropping his hands at his side, Eivor let out a long sigh. “Pitty.” He grunted under his breath. “That was a horribly good drink.” He added before glancing at the ceiling of the building they all ate under. “Odin save me.”
Safiya attended lavish feasts with boing conversations mainly because she had too. She would rather have taken her dinner in her quarters with a few of her close friends to keep her company, or even a few academic peers to debate with. She had needed a break and had excused herself momentarily from dinner to collect herself. She needed a second to simply breath and cool her temper. If one more French woman asked her what colors were popular this season in Cordoba she may scream. How could this be consider valuable conversation? Not math or the sciences or even how to best help people? She dressed the part because she had to, not because she wanted to.
She walked towards the exit briskly but attempted to seem calm. She had a role to play and that was a sociable princess. She wasn’t expecting to be ran into and couldn’t help but yelp and jump in surprise as she felt the cool wine spill on her and the dress. She spun around quickly in shock and slight horror. A part of her wanted to argue with the stranger after all he should have been looking where he was going. She wasn’t that short he should have been able to see her. But sound advice from her aunts and mother rang clear in her mind: use every situation to your advantage.
“Oh um please don’t worry about it I am sure it can be repaired or saved.” To be frank it wouldn’t be the end of the world if it couldn’t be. A dress was a dress after all and she could have another made by the end of the week far more extravagant. “Though perhaps you have had too much to drink? I think both of us should take our leave I for one need to get cleaned up. Will you walk with me? Might keep you out of trouble since many would be far harsher about such things like spilled wine.” No one would stop her from leaving now, and she wouldn’t be viewed strangely either. Really this was a stroke of luck.
Though Safiya was excited to see her whole family, she had to admit on of the people she had been most excited to see was her Aunt Amira. Her Aunt was everything she hoped to be. She was a woman respected for her intelligence and skills, and held a position without marriage. She was strong in the way Safiya dreamed of becoming, with the potential to do good in the world. So when her Aunt became a Governor and left her home, she was a mix of a million emotions. On one hand she was proud. Her Aunt would achieve so much and it was another goal she could strive towards, but the young girl also missed her Aunt terribly. There weren’t many who wanted to hear about her interests, being with her aunt made her feel less alone in the world.
And now finally they would be reunited. To say she was overjoyed would be an understatement. As soon as she had the chance she rushed to her Aunt’s chamber like a giddy child. The advantage of being the youngest child was she did not nearly feel as much pressure to grow up. When she arrived she knocked gently on the large door though with her excitement (and admitted impatience) she was tempted to simply rush into the room unannounced. Her mother and Aunt had raised her better than that though and she waited patiently.
When the door was finally opened, she could nearly cry tears of joy at the site of her aunt. “Eimti, I have missed you so much.” She said before pulling her aunt into a hug. “I feel my life has been spun all around so quickly, I am just so glad you are here in person, mashallah.”
The March evening was still cold as winter seemed to hold on to Paris far longer than Safiya would have liked. She like many others had found activities to keep them occupied inside for the time being, and to her greatest pleasure many nobles spent their evenings dancing to keep the cold away. Safiya had found herself standing on the sides watching the dancers and enjoying a glass of wine. This sort of evening was only second to a night spent in a long debate on theory. As she watched the dancers more and more and craved to join in and began to scan the room for any suitable partner, until she spotted a man she did not know on the other side of the room.
Her ladies were able to identify him as the grand Duke Nikita Rurik of Russia, and that only peaked her interest more. Russia seemed like an entirely differently world than her peaceful home in the Iberian Peninsula. She saw little appeal in living somewhere so cold or dark, but the man in front of her seemed to be neither of those things yet.
She made her way through the crowd with relative ease, mainly due to confidence if she was being frank until she arrived next to the stranger. "Excuse me your highness, I was wondering if you would join me for the next dance?" She figured English may be the best choice for a language they could converse in, after all she didn’t know Russian and she doubted he knew Arabic. She could practically feel already a few of her ladies’ disapproval. They felt she was often too blunt and over confident, she simply felt it was idiotic to wait to a man to realize what she wanted when she already knew. It seemed most men really didn’t know anything either so it saved her time and energy to do it herself.
EUROPE, 1458. thanks is given by the PRINCESS OF CORDOBA, SAFIYA AL-BARRACIN, from CORDOBA. they are at best LOYAL, and at their worst PRIDEFUL. whilst abroad, their ambition is to TO FIND A WAY TO HELP HER FATHER EXTEND THE OFFICE BRANCH TO THE WEST, WITHOUT MARRYING SOMEONE SHE WON’T LOVE. SHE seems to remind everyone of YARA SHAHIDI & AN EXPANSIVE LIBRARY, GLITTERING GOLD & DAWN RISING OVER THE OCEAN. ❞ penned by NANCY; EST, SHE/HER, 20.
Stats:
FULL NAME : Safiya Qamar Al-Barracin
TITLES : Princess of Cordoba
BIRTHPLACE : Songhai Empire
AGE : Twenty
LANGUAGES : Arabic, Spanish, Turkish, English (conversational), French (conversational), Portuguese (conversational)
DYNASTY / HOUSE: House Al-Barracin
MOTHER & FATHER : Hisham Al-Barracin (father) & Hurrem Sultan (mother)
RECOGNISABLE FEATURES : Warm smile, deep brown eyes
REPUTATION : The beautiful Princess of Cordoba is not just a pretty face but she has a brilliant mind. With access to some of the greatest tudors and libraries in the world she has become one of the most educated young women in court. Now her family searches for an advantageous match for her to secure her future and an alliance for Cordoba.
WANTED CONNECTIONS : Literally all of them but I made a list of a few specific ideas inspired by song lyrics found here. Please feel free to give me all your other ideas though!
Three Bullet Point Blurb From Her App:
Safiya has always been intelligent, from a young age she thrived in her lessons with tutors. While she was naturally very book smart she was often a bit tactless as a younger child and was prone to insulting people without meaning too. Thankfully with age this has gotten better, and people can now see how kind she actually is. She is not the type of person to outwardly offer support or be overly affectionate unless she knows you intimately, but she is the type of kindness where she’ll notice you had a bad day and are sure someone sent your favorite sweets or fruits to your room. To those she is close to she is fiercely loyal, this is mainly her family honestly. She is also incredibly proud of all their accomplishments and has little tolerance for disrespect for her family.
Safiya’s main interest of study was mathematics. She had many tudors who initially doubted her in the subject on the basis of her sex but she is better at it than most. She craves to understand why the universe works the way it does and frequently reads mathematic and scientific writing from around the world, really whatever she can get her hands on. She also loves meeting with academics (much more than sitting with most Western nobles if she is being honest) to hear about what they are researching. Her worse nightmare is having to sit through boring conversation about something trivial like fashion trends. She dresses in fashionable clothing because it is expected of her as a lady of her station, but she lets her ladies maids make those choices since she would likely lose her temper being asked about fashion.
Despite not being the most traditional of noble ladies, Safiya adores dancing. She is a terrible musician but she loves to listen, and loves even more to dance to it. She has begun to learn more and more of the Western styles of dancing simply because she wants to be able to enjoy it while in the company of Westerners. She may think their culture doesn’t compare to her own, but she must admit she can’t turn down the opportunity to dance and enjoy a glass of wine.
2087
stormborns
yousharknotpass
