FicWad

The year was 1453 and the Ottoman empire had just conquered Constantinople. King Henry VI decided that an ambassador must be sent to show that England was friendly to The Ottoman empire. He feared that as the empire expanded into North Africa and Europe that eventually it would turn its eye on England.

He chose Jasper, The Earl of Trevaine, to be the ambassador, a reward for his loyal service to the crown. His wife, Elaine was of course to go with him, and even though she was less then excited about the journey, she knew as a loyal wife she had to go where her husband bade her too.
The month before they were to travel, a plague hit London and Lord Trevaine was, one of the many who perished from it. The journey was canceled and his wife went into mourning, because even though it wasn’t a love match, she had respected her husband and cared for him. She cloistered herself in her house for a year, finally coming back into the public eye. Soon after her period of mourning was finished, she was stunned to receive a summons from the king, because except for a brief appearance at Jasper’s funeral, she had not seen or heard from anyone in the royal court. She dressed her best that day, wearing dark blue to show respect for her husband. She traveled by coach to the castle in London and was quickly ushered into the king’s throne room. He sat on his throne with his queen, surrounded by his confidantes and her ladies. Elaine curtsied and was bidden forward.
“Lady Trevaine,” he said in a pompous voice, “we have heard that you are done with the mourning of your husband.”
“Yes Sire,” she said quietly bowing her head.
“Then we would like for you to become the ambassador to the Ottoman Empire,” came his unsuspected next words.
Her head snapped up and she stared at him in surprise, before saying, “Sire, I am but a woman.”
The king waved away my objections, “I need someone who can be England’s eyes and ears.”
“You want me to spy Sire?” She asked incredulously.
“No not spy,” the king said, “but do a great service for your crown and country. You will report what you find to a man I planted in the city as a jewelry maker and they will be sending missives to England. Go now Lady Trevaine, I will give you two days to prepare for the journey, then you will journey to Constantinople.”
Knowing that she had no choice but to do what the king wanted, Elaine curtsied again and left the royal chamber. Quickly returning home, and calling Robert, her husband’s man to her.
“I have been told that I am to become the ambassador to Constantinople and be England’s eyes and ears,” she told him and he stared at her in shock, for a moment before quickly composing himself.
“I will arrange to have a dressmaker come as quickly as possible,” he said, “ the climate in Constantinople is very different from here.”
Elaine nodded her head absently, before wandering out to the family plot by the gardens. Her husband’s grave was located next to the only child she ever bore, a son who died soon after birth. She sat next to the grave and closed her eyes, she had been unprepared to go to Constantinople, when her husband had still been alive, now she was even more so. She, was an English gentlewoman and about to go into a civilization where most women lived in harems, and where women didn’t take part in politics.

Robert used the journey to teach Elaine how to defend herself with a knife, not only because she would be a woman alone in a male dominated world, but also because of the Barbary pirates that roamed the waters. They arrived in Constantinople after weeks at sea, and Robert went ahead to inform the sultan of her arrival.
She paced the cabin floor, until Maria, the maid who had been with her, since before her marriage, bade her to sit down. They sat there, waiting in nervous anticipation, until Robert finally appeared.
“The Sultan Mehmed has agreed to see you.” He said, “the sultan seemed very amused by the fact that you are a woman.”
Elaine nodded her head, more scared then she had ever been. Maria squeezed her hand, reassuringly, and Elaine thought of Jasper, of how he wouldn’t have been afraid at this moment. That he would’ve been honored to be able to serve his king in such a capacity.
“I’m ready,” she murmured, and Robert led her out of the cabin and off the ship. They traveled through the streets of Constantinople, and she was overwhelmed by the sights and smells of the crowded city. She noticed that she was drawing many stares as an unveiled woman and she looked at them unnerved, before Robert murmured in her ear, “It’s because they’ve never seen a woman with such blonde hair before.”
Finally they reached the large palace of the sultan, and swept past the Janissary guards that guarded the gates. They reached two large doors made of oak, which led to the Sultan’s throne room, where a short squat man in purple waited for them.
“I am Ahmed, the Grand Vizar of Sultan Mehmed the second,” the man said in a squeaky voice. “Are you the ambassador, Lady Trevaine?”
“Yes,” she said simply.
He eyed her, reminding her of a hungry dog eyeing a bone, and said, “the Sultan is very amused at the idea of a woman being an ambassador.”
“So I’ve heard,” Elaine said dryly, not sure if she liked this little man.
The Grand Vizar strode portentously toward the closed doors and flung them open, before saying in a loud voice, “may I present the Lady Trevaine, ambassador of King Henry.
Elaine looked at Robert who nodded reassuringly to her, then she took a deep breath, walked through the large doors and faced the most powerful man in the Ottoman Empire.