Even if the great city of Sadina was their destination, Aloe didn't want to get near it. She would just be exchanging masters, she knew it. Her trust in the imperial family had been nonexistent since the beginning, but now it was negative. The faces of Rani and Naila only sent shudders down her spine, her doubt festering like a wound with each step closer to the city.
The cultivator had pondered if she should go to her greenhouse, but that would only raise too much suspicion. Yes, everyone knew Aloe valued her greenhouse, but would an infirm lady unable to walk decide to make a one-day journey across the desert when she could rest?
The answer was a perhaps, and that was exactly the problem.
Aloe gave it a fifty percent chance – a coinflip – that the soldiers would escort her to her greenhouse if she asked them. But she needed to do the journey alone. As much as she wanted to trust them, Jamal and his men served Aaliyah, meaning that if they discovered a single thing out of place with the oasis, they would probably report it to the sultanah.
She had no alternative but to quietly accept her fate and march into the city.
There's still a chance. Her heartbeat wavered as the entourage carried her into the city. They had long untied the sled and now carried her on their shoulders with the palanquin. I have a lot of Blossomflame seeds. Maybe I can't grow them in the palace, but I could leave a single potted plant in my house and water it once in a while under the pretense of resting from work at home. That way I could heal faster.
That was the only way she came up with where she could manage an access to a Blossomflame. Until she healed more, a solitary travel to the oasis was impossible, even if she had a mount and had no need of walking herself. Perhaps even more because she had a mount. Dwellers weren't exactly comfortable or healthy rides.
Aloe felt her breathing and pulse becoming more and more erratic as they got closer to Sadina's palace. It didn't help that the soldiers had to carry her over very long and pronounced stairways to get there. Even with toughness, she didn't feel comfortable with the ascent.
You are hurt. They will not do anything to you. You are useful to them. The scribe told herself. Rani is smart enough to not discard a useful tool. Aloe was fine with being a tool if that allowed her to survive. Until she grew her Nurture and healed her body, there was no chance of repercussion. From either side.
The sun was beginning to set when they finally set foot on the palace, but their presence had been long noticed. There had been some exchanges at the city gates. The soldiers had talked with the city guards, and they had also left all but one camel with them. The only mount they still led carried Aloe's few belongings.
A servant walked up to them. Aloe herself couldn't see them, but she had heard them approach with haste. Her sole and full focus was on acuity. Even if Naila were to attack her out of nowhere with her speed stance, the scribe trusted her heightened senses to detect the sultanzade with enough time to shift into toughness. The memory of the young princess' movements wasn't fresh, but the feeling of speed was. Aloe knew with absolute certainty that even with Naila donning speed and attacking at melee, she had enough time to shift into toughness.
For even in that infused state, the daughter was infinitely slower than her uninfused mother.
Aaliyah's speed was impossible even when she wielded the charm stance, which should have lowered her speed. And unlike the first time Naila had attacked her – what felt an eternity ago – she now had acuity at her disposal. Aloe had faith that her eyes would be able to follow the sultanzade.
The servant panted for an instant, the squeaky sound betraying them as a woman, and then directed to the entourage.
"Her Highness, Rani-al-Sadina, has ordered the scribe of commoners to meet her in the audience hall." The maid announced nervously.
Hmm… Whilst she had a better time reading faces, Aloe couldn't point out the origin of the woman's nervousness. Or rather, it didn't make sense to her. She isn't nervous about the summon or Rani… The emir of Sadina wasn't an intimidating person to begin with. No. She's scared of… the soldiers?
Aloe was aware that she was being escorted by four imperial soldiers, but they weren't that strong or intimidating. Well, they are certainly stronger than me with strength… But that didn't surprise Aloe. They were grown adults busting with muscle. Trained killing machines. The strength stance boosted one's physical strength, and no matter how big that multiplier may be, Aloe's base strength was abysmal. If I wanted to have a chance to defeat an imperial soldier with my current vitality, toughness or haste would be a far better alternative. Being tougher than bark or faster than their eyes could follow would be way more effective than having the strength of three men.
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Three untrained men.
Jamal and the rest of the soldiers looked at her with expectation, it was only now that Aloe realized she had zoned off for far too long. These many days in silence during the journey have boosted my internal hermit. She was aware they waited for her command.
"Is the summon urgent?" Aloe slightly raised her back and asked the maid. She was, unsurprisingly, young and beautiful. "I would rather not show the emir such a dirty façade. Sand may tarnish the throne room."
"I…" The maid fidgeted on the spot as her gaze met with one of the twins whom Aloe couldn't be bothered to remember. "I doubt Her Highness would slander your lack of decorum. She was explicit with her orders. The emir wished to see your likeness as soon as possible."
"I see." The scribe took a deep breath and laid down. "Lead the way, maid."
"I…" The woman yelped. She was barely older than Aloe yet infinitely more frightened. "Of course, venerable scribe." The maid accepted in defeat.
There was a noble reason for the woman to lead the way; the soldiers didn't know it, after all. But Aloe had another one of lesser 'decorum' when she ordered the maid. She wanted the woman to suffer a bit. A slight scare couldn't be compared to what she suffered.
Aloe didn't rejoice in her actions; she didn't observe the woman's shape or visage. It was obvious that she wasn't comfortable with the order as she walked forward with an uneven pace. She didn't rejoice at the woman's suffering, but neither was she afflicted by it.
She simply was.
For better or worse.
The scribe had lived in the palace – fully lived there – for months. She knew how the palace of Sadina looked, yet after coming from Asina, the initial luster of the building faded into obscurity. The golden palace of Asina was more of everything. The heart of the capital of Ydaz could make such magnificent buildings as this one feel dull. That was even more the case when they entered the throne room.
They couldn't even be compared. Sadina's audience hall was a paltry room when put side to side with the monumentality of the hall Asina had. But it's far cozier. Aloe didn't hate the diminutive space and decorations. At least the room wasn't overtly hostile like its counterpart in Asina. Most of that aggression came from a person rather than the room itself, however.
The maid waited on the doorway and the soldiers carried Aloe forward. It only took them a few steps before they knelt down, leaving her palanquin barely raised up from the ground. The scribe raised her back and head and scanned the room.
She recognized many faces, mainly the scribes and servants. Tamara and Naila were present, though the same couldn't be said for the scribe of scholars, Nuha. That's barely surprising. Aloe didn't fail to notice the presence of another woman next to the throne. Who's she? The woman was tall and dressed in expensive clothing with inlays of gold. Her skin and hair were auburn, but her clothing and eyes were orange. The new scribe of nobles? She guessed.
There were a lot of questions to be made, but Aloe knew better than not to dwindle in thoughts. After all, a princess waited for her.
"Salutations, Rani." Aloe bowed as much as she could, which basically amounted to a nod. "I, Aloe Ayad, am back from my… diplomatic mission in Asina." The scribe gritted her teeth. I should have thought my words better before talking.
"I see." Rani-al-Sadina – head of the emirate of Sadina, princess of the Ydazi Sultanate, and cultivator – expressed taciturnly.
She's analyzing me, but I don't feel the sense stance from her. No one reacted in the room, everyone mostly waited for the emir to elaborate. The only one who hinted at some emotion, besides the servants, was Tamara. The old scribe of commerce was probably the only woman with a shed of emotion in this room, Aloe included. The same cannot be said for Naila. I very much feel like she's using the stance. Those eyes aren't from someone on the speed stance. The young sultanzade might have been using another stance, but Aloe doubted it.
Rani idled on her royal seat. Her body was unmoving, but her eyes certainly not. They shone like amethysts. Beautiful as ever. Aloe pondered at the illustration-worthy image of the emir. Rani's clothing was few, yet it hid and highlighted parts of the skin with perfect mastery. The dress was meant to be revealing, yet conservative. Alluring, yet formal. Perfect curves, ample breasts, plump lips, shining bronze skin, long eyelashes… Aloe could continue for minutes and not reach the end of Rani's many perfect features.
And that made her want to puke.
Not only the influence of the charm stance was like getting dumped in a septic pool, but that beauty was one she recognized. One she had experienced. One she hated. Rani had perfectly inherited the beauty of her mother, yet none of her power.
Somehow, that made Aloe hate her even more.
Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, Rani cut through the pregnant silence.
"Your lack of presence has been felt through these corridors. We are more than welcome to have you among us once more." The sultanzade stood up from her throne using only her feet in what was a surprising display of leg strength. "You are free of duty today, Aloe, but I will expect to see you tomorrow morning here. I am more than certain that your assistant scribes will put you up to page with the rest." Rani eyed the unfamiliar woman at her side. "I am sure you will need time to acclimate to the change of scenery, but the presence of the scribe of commoners is always needed." She clicked her heels and stepped forward. "The session is adjourned."