Prince Mustafa's Monologue

      I am Mustafa, the son of sultan Suleiman, the chosen prince. I am the heir to the great Ottoman empire. This throne, this power, this burden… How many hopes I placed on the throne, how many lives crumbled to dust at the foot of my dreams…       Power… Power… They are like the edge of a knife that tempts with a steely sheen, but they can only hurt themselves. I see my brothers and sister, the red-haired shadow, their victories and defeats. They play with power like chess, and every wrong step is death.       I am Mustafa, the chosen prince. I pray to the Almighty for only one thing: that he does not send me the power for which I will be forced to go against my own blood.       The fear of my enemies in front of me, the distrust of the sultan-father… They grab me with icy hands, pull me down… I’m on the edge of a precipice. I feel like a storm is about to break… Who can stand in it? Who will survive her?       In the shadow of the luxury of palaces, the tears of my victims and my enemies are hidden, and the reflection in the mirror asks: Who am I now? I am not just prince Mustafa, the heir… Darkness settled in me. The darkness that will be with me for a long time will walk with me hand in hand until the storm subsides.…       I am Mustafa, the chosen prince.