Before probably committing her worst decision ever – beyond not fleeing when she could or remaining in a chasm for two centuries – Aloe brought Xochipilli to a restaurant as the child had something to eat as he had been surviving on a handful of pastries for the whole day.

  The locale was nothing to write about as she was relatively low on money now because she hadn't bothered to get more even if it was well within the realm of possibilities. Not that they needed quality food. Even if Aloe needed to eat, her taste had always been atrophied, and Xochipilli didn't exactly lag behind.

  It was in the afternoon when they finally made their way to the palace of Asina.

  The capital was already a sight for sore eyes, but the millennium-old building was even more so.

  "Oh!" The child expressed his awe, which got a chuckle out of Aloe. "What?"

  "Nothing," the Mother of Plants giggled again. She wanted to cover her mouth, but both of her hands were occupied with her parasol and Xochipilli. "If you are already reacting this way on the exterior, I can't help but wonder what you will do with the interior."

  Xochipilli pouted a bit, but he didn't have a chance to respond as they found themselves before the guards. Even though it was no longer morning and the calipha was no longer holding audiences, they let them pass without so much of a word. Has Naila informed them? Such thoughts passed through Aloe's head.

  She couldn't care much about such trivialities as she was enjoying herself in the glow of Xochipilli's eyes. The boy was bustling with joy at the myriads of colors and fauna that were the imperial gardens. The Evergreen had a wild beauty, but the gardens had a manufactured beauty; one that had been carefully trimmed for years. Only a fool would discard either of those beauties. Both could coexist without problems.

  Whilst she was well aware of where Naila was currently at, she didn't want to force herself upon her. Again.

  Aloe cringed at her previous behavior. She didn't consider it unjustified, but she knew that she could be better than that. The way of the sword wasn't her way, but at the same time, when was the last time she had picked up the quill?

  As Xochipilli was taking a great liking to explore the palace, Aloe complied and guided him through the installations. Much a great deal had changed over the centuries, but most of the stuff was… almost identical. It was an eerie feeling. The whole world had changed, adapted, and progressed, yet this place looked almost the same.

  It didn't take long for the calipha to come to meet them.

  They had stopped for a moment on a gazebo to sit down and rest, and whilst the place was completely different from where she had first met the sultanzade Fatima over two centuries ago, Aloe's mind brought that memory to her as it recognized the shallow similarities. She hoped that there would be no debauchery this time.

  "So this is the reason you had to go away, huh." Naila casually commented as she sat down on the gazebo at the opposite end.

  The way that she casually spoke comforted Aloe. It made her not see the amber-eyed woman of imperial blood as not a second Aaliyah, but that girl that had defended her when her status as a cultivator had been exposed at the palace of Sadina. She almost found that attitude… pleasing.

  "Is it yours?" The calipha added a moment later.

  "Excuse me?" Aloe blinked by reflex. Then she remembered that she hadn't been blinking for a long time.

  "The boy. Is it yours?" The sultanzade – or rather, the Sultanzade as she was technically now the progenitor of sultanzade – reiterated.

  "No, he's just an orphan I rescued." Xochipilli's expression was slightly saddened at hearing the word 'just' so Aloe patted him to comfort him. "It would be hard to have a child. The last time I shared a bed with someone was two centuries ago, and even if I decided I was… ready to do so again, I ripped out my womb."

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Naila's visage went through a mountain range of expression before she let out a weak yet worried, "Why would you do that?"

  "I was tired of getting period cramps."

  The calipha took a deep breath and swayed her eyes from side to side before letting out a long exhalation. "You know what, I get it. I wish I could do the same. After a single year, they get old. After two centuries, I am just exhausted."

  Aloe frowned. "Two centuries? You still bleed?"

  "This body is as youthful as it looks, Aloe," Naila added with a sigh. "If there is a single drawback to longevity, it is getting my period for every single month of my long existence."

  "What about losing your loved ones? Is that not worse?"

  "The pain of loss dulls with time, especially when you have had as many people in your life as I do. In a way, you grow used to it. I have seen more of my children die than emirates I control." For the first time ever, Aloe saw expression behind Naila's eyes. A sadness that was ever-so-familiar to her. She is and has been a mother. It was obvious in hindsight, but Aloe hadn't considered it once throughout the day. This Naila was no longer the one she had known. Then the calipha smiled softly. "But you never used grow used to menstruating. Oh heavens, I would sacrifice a newborn each month of my life just to stop them."

  Whilst brutal, Aloe could understand her rage. Actually, she couldn't. She had gone insane from bleeding for a handful of years of her life, and the woman before her had been experiencing that for two centuries now.

  "What about donning the defense stance? Doesn't that make it bearable?" Aloe asked her. "That had worked somewhat fine for me."

  "Not enough if you ripped out your womb," the Sultanzade chuckled. "It is not about the pain at this point. Regardless of your resistance, you are still getting hurt and suffering from internal bleeding even if your flesh is tough as steel. The uncomfortable warmness, the constant reminder of your mortality, and the nausea caused by the loss of vitality are still there."

  "Why do you not get constantly pregnant like Aaliyah had then?"

  "I have, I had…" Naila sighed. She looked so… tired. "I had for many decades, but at some point bearing a child inside you gets more tiresome than the bleeding. And more tiresome is seeing them die."

  "Then why haven't you…" As she was about to finish that question, the calipha stood up from her seat. It was obvious that she knew what the druid was about to ask.

  "Answers to such questions are not to be spoken here, especially in the company of your protégé." She spoke with regal elegance.

  Aloe had turned her head to the side to remember that Xochipilli had been next to her the whole conversation. He had been so silent that his existence had slipped from her mind for a moment.

  "Oh, I'm so sorry, Xochipilli. I have completely sidelined you."

  "There's no problem, Aloe." He responded with a toothy smile. "I've never seen you talk with someone this openly, and I didn't want to interrupt."

  Those words unsettled Aloe. For they were right. She had never talked this openly without the need of pretensions with anyone besides Xochipilli. When she was with Naila, it felt like she no longer needed to act, to hold the weight of her years and vitality, because she already knew most of her secrets and had the strength to be able to carry them.

  And that troubled her deeply.

  She is the calipha, don't forget that. The Mother of Plants reminded herself of the Sultanzade's position. There might be trust, but she couldn't unconditionally trust her.

  Aloe turned to face Naila, only to find her with an expression that a monarch shouldn't have for its sheer vulgarity. A shit-eating grin.

  "I am completely able to escape my duties," the woman continued as if she hadn't been enjoying herself. "But I must ask: where are you residing? We can talk for ages without the need for food or sleep, but the same cannot be said for the child. So I will make you an offer, please lodge yourselves in the palace."

  Once upon a time, Aloe would have instantly refused. Maybe she would have even hit Naila for even daring to suggest that, but now… There shouldn't be unconditional trust and there wasn't, but that please echoed hard in her mind. A woman like Naila didn't say please lightly, if ever, so it had a lot of power. The woman before her wasn't Aaliyah, not even Rani, there was no complex plotting or subterfuge behind her words. She was being sincere.

  Well, as sincere as the ruler of the world could be.

  It was hard to decide, and painful at that, but at the same time, she had personally enjoyed the luxuries of the palace of Asina back in her time. Even if she had been trapped with her rapist, the palace's luxuries had been like the softest and coolest of pillows. In a way, she had 'healed' as well as she had because of that. Perhaps… perhaps she could partially trust Naila.

  "We… will take your offer. But I want to leave any remaining conversations for tomorrow. Also, Xochipilli and I must share the same abode."

  "Those simple requests can be met easily," Naila dedicated them a roguish smile. It wasn't one hiding second intention, but simply an amused one. That comforted Aloe heavily, a weight out of her shoulders. "Then I will get back to my duties for the remainder of the day. I will have a servant come to you with all of your demands."

  As Naila walked away, Aloe couldn't help but observe that posture. Her half-sister had once walked with overflowing sultriness, outright shouting debauchery. But her… those confident steps, that shaking waist, those round glutes… there was no lie or act there. Naila wasn't Rani, not at all. But Aloe wasn't quite sure yet if she was or not Aaliyah.

  Tomorrow she would know.