Love and marriage are typically not two things that go together within the harem of the Ottoman Imperial. It was a rare occasion that a woman could gain a marriage that was not just for a political alliance. However, that was the norm of the day and within many cultures. Women were used for political alliances no matter what their age was and their wombs at times were the tools used for such alliances. Though this often happened many times women were looked down upon as the weaker sex, however, they could be important players in the game for thrones. It did not matter if one was the daughter of a king or of a peasant. Having a daughter just meant having a pawn to use in their personal game. For Malantha and her sisters this was not the truth because their father cherished each of them as if they were jewels placed on his crown.

Due to this Malantha known often as the Imperial Rose or the Shadow Witch never once thought for a marriage or love interest in her lifetime. She set her sight on doing things behind the curtain to help the empire grow and conquer. However, the fates seemed to have other plans in mind for the Imperial Rose or some could say it was a sheer cruel twist of fate. Malantha knew better to go against fate, however, there seemed to be a draw to complete self-destruction. She could not know how hard she would have to fight for freedom. 

She had been marked at conception by the shadows. They had surrounded her from even before she took a breath in the world. She had known them as friends, but there had always been a dark side to them even though she could not understand. For the most part the shadows protected her but there was still something that seemed to scare her. Perhaps it was the voice that came to her at night as if it was trying to lure her deep into the darkness. This luring voice could send a chill up one’s spin. 

Slowly the voice would begin to tell her at night things about it and one night told her the name the shadows call it. “The Shadow King”, the one who ruled over the shadows and seemed to be attached to Malantha since the moment she was conceived. She did not know why the Shadow King seemed to be attached to her or even wanted to help her. Even when she grew into womanhood this knowledge did not seem to fully come to Malantha.  

It was always a voice and nothing to attach it to; Malantha only knew the voice that could make ones’ skin crawl. It was deep and raspy, almost seductive to her when she became of age to even understand such things. However, it was only a voice that drove her insane or drove her to long for power. “You will always be consumed by darkness. You will never know light. You were born for the shadows.” Where her twin Mihrimah was allowed to be the lighter one of the twins; Malantha had to enjoy the darkness never to be truly seen by the Ottoman people. This only drew her closer to the shadows and to the one voice that whispered upon the shadows. “Will there be a day I can actually see you?” she asked with thick Turkish accent. It was a longing for truth and longing for acceptance that drew her ever closer to one that could destroy her. “Yes, in time you shall see.” The deep voice would always reply with an ever-slight annoyed tone. 

As time went on a loving emotion or tie began to form long before a face ever came with the voice. One would say that it was like courting, but this was slightly different in many ways. It was not until when the sky had the sun risen high covered with blood red clouds that a face was finally shown to the Imperial Rose. “Well, hello there Sultana.” A chill went up and down her spine though she knew the voice seemed to cause her to feel a slight sense of fear. Little did she know that this would be a shift within her own life to something vastly different than anyone would expect her path to end up.