As always – as dangerous as that expression could be – Naila had kept her word. After removing herself from her office, Aloe spent some time with Xochipilli and the maid that 'babysat' him. Instead of training Nurture or Evolution like he would have done when alone, he had chosen to make the mature maid teach him about the language. Perhaps he had a solid fluency in Ydazi, but he was still only ten, so those lessons would do him good.

  It took an hour before a servant came to look for her. She would have called it an interruption if it wasn't because she had been sitting still for the last forty-seven minutes – according to one of those clocks – just watching Xochipilli read.

  "I have been instructed to guide you to meet with our head of engineering," the servant announced.

  With a groan, Aloe stood up. It pestered her having to move after having taken roots. Metaphorically speaking.

  "Lead the way," she responded gracefully, unlike that previous groan.

  Whilst the main building and annex secondary buildings of the Imperial Palace of Asina had not changed their layout in the slightest, it had grown a bit over these centuries. Aloe would have never imagined that the imperial family would have opened a university on the very grounds of the palace before Naila's coronation. Though calling it a university was a misnomer. The appropriate term the servant said as he guided him was a 'laboratory'.

  Apparently, most of the technological progress of the Caliphate was centered in Asina. Whilst that held mostly true through history for Ydaz, during Aaliyah's reign the University of Sadina was more prestigious than Asina's, though that no longer seemed to be the case.

  These laboratories were to blame.

  Not only did they snatch all the brightest minds from all the other universities, but they also held many generous government-sponsored investigation programs, meaning that technological advancements were mostly tied to Ydaz, and by proxy, the hand of the calipha.

  She's no Aaliyah, but it seems Naila had taken the few good elements the woman had. After hearing of Aaliyah's brutal demise, her head no longer throbbed and became dizzy whenever she thought of the woman. There was a degree of satisfaction now, though there was a growing void too.

  Though the Imperial Laboratories were not the same as a university, it was… a halfway thing from what the servant told her. There were libraries, but there were no classrooms nor students, only experts in their field trying new breakthroughs.

  "The Calipha allows the most dangerous experiments to take place on the Imperial Laboratories under the condition that they are under her gaze," the manservant announced on their leisure stroll into the facilities. Whilst there were some decorations here and there, this was obviously no palace and most… everything was just surfaces of cold yet durable stone. "This brings the most deranged individuals to Asina as otherwise their research would not be financed, but because those individuals tend to bring significant advancements with their… non-traditional viewpoints, they are tolerated."

  Naila was a highly utilitarian person, alike yet different from her mother, so of course she would use any manpower possible, though this servant didn't bother to hide his dislike for these 'deranged' individuals.

  "You are going to meet with the head of engineering. She is one of those individuals, but certainly the sanest of all. Maybe that was why she even has that position…" The last part was spoken in a soft whisper, but Aloe's ears were more than keen enough to hear it perfectly.

  In a way, she was enthusiastic to meet this head of engineering because of the sheer frustration that the servant was portraying in his voice.

  "This is her office," the servant extended his palm to the office's door. "Does the fair lady require guidance once she gets out?"

  "No, consider yourself free of service." Aloe dismissed the man and opened the doors to the office.

  The office was enormous by every standard possible. Those of her era and those of the current one with the small floors all buildings had. The office was littered with books and papers everywhere. In her time, this would have been considered a major offense to all scribes of Ydaz as the paper was really expensive, but in this era, it literally grew on trees. And trees were something they had a lot of now.

  There were many exhibitors full of books, models, maps, and whatnot. All these exhibitors were of such quality – both in wood, glass, and craftmanship – that they would have cost a house centuries ago, yet now there were dozens of them in this room of the exact same look. Aloe felt the dissonance of her time and the current one grew larger in this room.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Finally, the druid looked forward, and she saw the head of engineering. Her first thought was: young. The woman was young, not as much as she had been when she had been given the important position of scribe of commoners, but still young by all metrics.

  The young woman sitting behind the desk raised her head as she heard the door open and looked at Aloe. She wore thin glasses – far thinner than those of yore – and a white coat.

  "Oh, woah!" The head of engineering exclaimed the moment her eyes laid on the dressed woman, and then she fell backward from her chair. "Ah!"

  Aloe arched her eyebrow in a mixture of surprise and confusion, but before she could ask the woman if she was fine, she jumped from under the desk with her hands extended upward.

  "I'm fine! I'm fine!" She announced. "You surprised me. I was told I was going to have a personal guest of the Calipha, but I didn't expect someone so… beautiful." The head of engineering had a colored visage, but Aloe couldn't quite determine if it was because of her recent physical exertion or the effects of glamour on the woman.

  "Thanks for the compliment. This is the first time my beauty has thrown someone to the ground." Aloe responded with a giggle as she strode forward into the office.

  "I somehow doubt that!" The head of engineering said as she circumvented her massive desk and presented herself before the druid. "Oh, you are tall…" She mused softly as she stood before her and noticed that Aloe was nearly two heads taller than her. The woman coughed before continuing. "Nesrine Gerges, chemical engineer and head of engineering of the Imperial Laboratory of Engineering at your service!"

  The name hit Aloe with a whiplash and shoved her down memory lane. Nesrine wasn't a rare name by any means, but neither was it common. She couldn't help but think of the guard she had abandoned in the palace of Sadina centuries ago, and by proxy, her loyal maid Lulu.

  It took a single breath before she regained her composure, yet it was long enough for Nesrine to realize that something was happening. Aloe didn't let the glasses-wearing woman capitalize on that chance.

  "Chemical engineer? I had the feeling that engineering was a more… mechanical field."

  "Oh, engineering is a really big field. It has many disciplines with subdisciplines within it. Chemical engineering itself is a colossal field, I myself specialize in the development of drugs and medicines, but I have substantial knowledge in more industrial processes like the manufacturing of steel, and by proxy more mechanical fields like the fabrication of engines. Everything is connected, but an engineer needs to find their niche to truly shine."

  With the glow in her light blue eyes, not of gemstones but fire, Aloe finally understood what the servant was talking about. Perhaps not deranged, but this woman was overly enthusiastic about her field. Perhaps way too much.

  "I see…" Aloe was interested in her words, but she had to admit that they somewhat escaped her grasp. "So how does an apothecary like you end up at the position of head of engineering?"

  "I think there has been some misunderstanding here… I develop medicines and drugs, but not in the sense of a… apothecary. I do not work with plants, dear guest, but with fundamental chemical components. Salts, acids, metals, and whatnot."

  "I see." She had totally lost her. "I apologize for my errors. I admit this field of engineering in its totality is way too much for myself."

  "Nonsense!" Nesrine exclaimed. "I have seen many people in this field, and you definitely have the skills needed to be an engineer."

  "And what are those?"

  "A critical mindset!"

  "And…?" Aloe asked as the engineer fell silent.

  "That's all! That's why engineering is such a beautiful field. You just need to ask questions, be curious, and understand that there will be mistakes. And let me tell you, I can see that in your eyes and words! Not many people can admit to their mistakes and show the willingness to ask questions!"

  Nesrine was shouting so much that Aloe was having trouble understanding if this was the influence of glamour or her real self. Probably both. The engineer portrayed the twitches characteristic of an infatuated person, but also of a passionate one.

  "I can understand that you are an engineer and not an apothecary, but how have you reached your position at your young age?"

  "Oh well, it's not a prodigious tale. More of a bit embarrassing one, really. Also, I'm not that young. I'm twenty-seven." Nesrine walked backward and supported her bottom and palms on the desk. She was way older than when Aloe had become the scribe of commoners, yet now Nesrine was also impossibly young compared to her. "Chemical engineering as a field is gaining popularity as of late and that made me one of the candidates for head of engineering, but the reason why someone as young as me is the new head of engineering is because the previous one exploded."

  Aloe arched a brow. "Exploded as in exploded?"

  "Yup," the engineer nodded. "Because of that, they considered that the next head of engineering should be more… mentally stable. Pathetically enough, I was the only one that fit the criteria as no one believed I would immolate myself."

  "Right…" The dark-skinned woman half-groaned half-sighed as she partially doubted that. "Anyhow, I have yet to present myself. I am Aloe Ayad." She extended her hand to the fairer-skinned yet still dark woman.

  Nesrine tensed at her introduction. "Wait, Ayad? Are you a sultanzade?"

  "What? No!" Aloe swayed her head in negation and her eyes were wide open at the preposterous proposition. "Why would I be one?"

  "Isn't that the surname of the sultanzade?" The engineer tilted her head in confusion. "You know, because of the late Grand Vizier Ayad?"

  "Who now?"

  "You know, Aya Ayad the spouse of our Calipha?"

  Aloe's ears rang as she heard the last statement, her head began spinning. "…What?"