Lulu tiptoed behind Aloe as if her movements were about to disturb the archives. It was surprising for the scribe to see this aspect of the maid. Until now, Lulu had almost been the perfect idea of what a maid should be, the role model, so seeing the actual person behind the job comforted her.
“Calm down, Lulu,” She told her. “Your presence alone won’t volatilize the books.”
“You don’t know that!” The maid responded with a strained whisper.
“Don’t worry, I do.” Aloe contained the sigh forming in her mouth, though she let her eyes roll. “The scholars don’t keep sensitive documents at everyone’s display. There are ancient documents that even daylight can damage them, but I assure you none of them are here. You may only find somewhat useful rolls or books here.”
“Why somewhat useful?” Lulu dashed behind her as the distance between them grew because she lagged behind.
“Well, you are not going to offer your best knowledge for free. Are you?”
“No?”
“It was a rhetorical question but correct.” Aloe pointed at the shelves surrounding them. “I’m not saying all of this is wrong and not useful, but if you want the best knowledge on the subject, you are better off attending a conference or buying a book.”
“And why don’t you do that?”
“I don’t have the time to attend conferences. And I doubt there are botany conferences. Hmm...” The scribe swayed her head from side to side, deep in thought. “Maybe... there are a lot of weird scholars out there. But...”
“I was talking about the books.” Lulu stepped into her trail of thought.
“Oh.” Aloe opened her mouth in an ‘o’ shape in realization. “I don’t have money to afford that.”
“You are the scribe of commoners.” She responded as a matter of fact.
“The newly appointed scribe of commoners.” Aloe deadpanned. “I have yet to be paid. And I don’t have exactly a lot of liquid assets. Books are expensive, an unnecessary expense I’d rather not take.”
“Then what are you going to do? Haven’t you said the books here are not that useful?”
“Well... I haven’t planned that far? You are the one that said to come here, after all.”
“Oh.” It was now Lulu’s time to be surprised by realization. However instead of open-mouthed, her visage became of stone. “Sorry for inconveniencing you.” And she bowed down.
“That’s not a problem. Wasn’t this outing just an excuse to... you know, go out?” Aloe scratched her hair trying to hide her embarrassment. “Let’s just search for botany-related documents and if we don’t find anything, then there’s no problem. The palace’s library still remains for us to search for.”
Aloe was far from a scholar, her visits to the archives had been few and far between, but most of her life had been nurtured through paper so the endless shelves didn’t confuse her in the slightest. The same couldn't be said for Lulu who seemed to have a hard time comprehending the existence of the archives in the first place.
“So where should we look?” Lulu asked, her eyes jumping from one shelf to another. “Are there any labels that can guide us?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but finding a certain shelf isn’t the difficult part. It’s usually more about finding the right documentation. Just look around and if we don’t find anything in a while, we’ll ask a scholar for directions.”
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The archives lacked any imagery or guiding system that could allow newcomers to guide themselves through the many stored parchments. The only way to know one’s path was through sheer memorization. And Aloe herself wasn’t acquainted enough with the archives to do so.
Whilst the scribe methodically looked around, maybe opening a book or two to localize herself – wings were categorized by disciplines, so the first plant-related book they found would mean they were in the right place – the maid took a more free-willed approach. It was dead obvious that Lulu was not versed in letters, if it weren’t for the Sultanah’s education edict she probably wouldn’t be able to read, so she just paced around. Aloe had no idea what her strategy was if she even had one, but judging by the maid’s expression, it was likely she was simply looking for plant images.
Academical records did tend to have detailed drawings of plants, especially if it was for an herbalist who needed to find them in the wild, but it would seem Lulu hadn’t fallen on the idea that to see those images she would need to first open said records.
Aloe followed the maid closely behind her as she checked on the occasional parchment, partially out of amusement, but really because she didn’t want to lose her in the archives. It wouldn’t do good for her nonexistent reputation that she lost a maid.
Her eyes shot wide open as she saw Lulu approach a certain corridor.
“Stop!” Aloe raised her voice, crying for the maid’s attention.
The normally calm maid jumped on the spot scared and turned to face her master. “Is there something wrong?”
“Uhm... Well, no.” She responded shyly. “But it’s better to not go to that concrete wing.”
“Why not?” Lulu innocently asked.
Aloe blushed. “Just not.” She stated harshly.
The maid tensed upon hearing the strong tone of the scribe’s voice, not out of surprise, but of reflex, as if she was used to it.
“As you command,” Lulu replied obediently, her own tone deprived of emotion as she tucked her shoulders and arms into her body.
“I...” Aloe didn’t know what to say. Dunes... She felt incredibly bad for raising her voice, especially in a way that abused her power and authority. “You did nothing wrong, Lulu.” She tried comforting the maid. “But I know what that wing is and there’s nothing of value there. Let’s just ask a scholar where the documents we are looking for are, shall we?”
“Understood.” The maid affirmed with the same trained dead and polite tone, albeit ever-so-slightly sweeter and livelier than before. That was enough for Aloe.
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After some fiddling, they managed to convince a passerby scholar to guide them to the wing they wanted. Aloe didn’t mention she was the scribe of commoners, mainly because she didn’t want to abuse her power again, but it wasn’t needed. A scholar would have shooed away a commoner for stealing their time, but Aloe didn’t look like one. Her dress was made of the finest silk and jeweled trinkets loitered her body. Right now, she didn’t look like a commoner, but a noble. The maid following behind her helped sell that image too. And a scholar could spare a minute to guide a noble. Most of them were only commoners after all.
“What are we looking for?” Lulu asked with a book at hand. They currently sat on a table looking at a myriad of scrolls, documents, and anything vaguely related to horticulture.
“I’d focus on plant biology. More about how to keep plants alive and their medicinal uses rather than how to find them in the wild.” Aloe explained as she gawked at a book of her own. She doubted she would bring any of this home, but it could help her once she searched the palace’s library.
“Understood,” Lulu replied dutifully.
Her tone had regained her normal energy, though Aloe couldn’t help herself but feel bad for her previous childish outburst. Lulu didn’t deserve that. Aloe would never be damaged by words, but she knew other people could, so the best she could do was to not say anything offensive.
As predicted, they didn’t find anything noteworthy between the shelves. Ydazi flora was vaguely interesting, but not something Aloe could spend her time studying. Time was a thing that was lacking at the moment. When will I go back to the greenhouse? I only have a month before I need to accompany Rani to Asina, so I’d better pay a visit before that... But there was not enough time for that. If she wanted to go to the greenhouse, she would need three days a minimum of three days for that. Assuming she only dedicated one to her stay.
I guess I should ask Rani... That scared Aloe. The emir already held a lot of power over her, she was her employer and her liege, but if she were to petition her – again, unfortunately – that would tighten the collar around her neck even more. Why did I accept this job? The answer to that was simple: coercion. Since the moment Rani offered a job when she first summoned her, there was no way out.
When someone in her position offers something, nine times out of ten it is not an offer but a demand. And a commoner cannot deny the demand of a sultanzade emir.
As the light of the sun began to dwindle, darkness closing onto the candleless archives, Aloe sighed and closed her book. She stood up, her body weighing down on her.
“Shall we get going, Lulu?” She asked the maid.
“Of course, Aloe,” Lulu responded with a smile. At least I can count on her.