The next morning both siblings headed to the government headquarters. They took the same path Suad had taken before, and when they reached the building they checked if the office was empty.
It was.
So they scaled the building and entered from the window into the room.
Saad started to search through the papers. Suad had decided to go watch the hallway — he left the thinking to her — he was more useful moving. So he drank half of the invisible potion and put it on the desk loudly. The sound made Saad look at him, and he gestured to her to drink too. She nodded and took a sip. It seemed like she was going to be drinking it in intervals. He didn't mind — she was a professional and knew what she had to do. So he went outside and started walking through the corridors to get the layout of the building.
Suad passed a couple of guards and was very tempted to mess with them, but the amount of the invisible potion in him wouldn't last long, so he had to focus. He cursed himself quietly — Saad had warned him about the potions, and as usual he hadn't listened. He pushed the thought aside and focused on what mattered: the higher-ups down the corridor were talking, and they were talking about the war — the weapons, strategies, tactics they were going to use. Suad took notes in his head so he could write the plans out later. He knew they were not going to stop this war or try to change it, but he also knew that listening to the plans was something they could use later on if things didn't go according to plan. They could just send these plans to Dawai, and hope for the best.
He hoped that would satisfy his sister.
* * *
While Suad was listening to the plans and strategies, Saad was searching for any information regarding those purchases. But she could not find anything. She supposed that if they really did belong to Isla, they might have moved them to a top-secret location or had them destroyed. That also applied if a higher-up had been embezzling the country's money for his own good. This was depressing.
She thought that she could forge the evidence if it came to that. So she took some of the blank papers that were there and put the government seal on them. She knew this was not right or truthful, but she had to do something — even if she did it the wrong way. She also took a paper to sample the handwriting. After all, it was the government that had started the lies. To treat them the same way was not deception. After all, stealing from a thief was not considered stealing.
Saad left the office angry. She felt her anger reaching the boiling point, and if she stayed in that four-walled room she was going to destroy something.
While outside she listened to the guards talking about the upcoming war. Their speech was not encouraging at all, so she decided not to continue listening anymore.
She roamed around to find Suad and go see Isla. And as she turned around a corner she stopped in her tracks.
There she was. The culprit.
Isla.
Isla was talking to a man who looked about forty summers old. He was neatly dressed and had a trimmed beard, but he didn't appear to be wearing military or formal attire. His clothes looked expensive but flashy — more like the nobles and the rich people. Saad wondered who this man was.
"So make sure they bring it right this time," said Isla in an annoyed manner. The man gave her a sympathetic nod, but Saad could tell it was an act. His eyes reminded her of the commander's eyes when he went along with the elders — he was pretending to be sympathetic, but in reality he seemed to be annoyed with her, and probably didn't think well of the woman next to him.
Saad didn't have much time. The invisibility potion was going to end its effect, and she couldn't take the next dose until she finished this one, or else it would have negative effects. But she wanted to hear them — especially since it was Isla. She regretted giving Suad half of the drug. Her brother was always careless with the usage of the potions. That was why she always brought extra. She knew he was going to use her stash as well, but now since they were on this pilgrimage they were told only to bring a decided amount and to use them wisely.
She always told him to be careful with the potions. But her brother never listened and was always over-using them more than he needed, so he always ran out empty. Even now, he had drunk half the vial and gone out. This way he might stay invisible longer, but it wasn't much. If he drank dose after dose he would be able to stay longer — but since they were separated, it might have been necessary. Only this time.
She decided to risk taking the second sip. It was crazy, but she really needed to listen to and watch Isla before confronting her.
As soon as Saad drank the potion, she felt the effects. Her throat felt like it was burning and her stomach felt full and about to explode, then it was all gone and her head felt light. She clutched the wall as she stumbled behind the two.
"So we need you to appear again. This time we need you to be the vengeful angel," said the man. This close, Saad could see that Isla was holding his forearm as they walked. For some reason this made her angry.
"Leave it to me," said Isla sweetly, "they will not know whether to pity me or fear me," and she laughed a little, like it was a game she was already winning.
Saad snorted. What was good about a woman who acted like a leech? Her snort went unheard since there were a lot of soldiers walking by. She didn't even notice she had made a sound, and had come close to getting herself caught.
"Oh no, dear," said the man. "You don't need to be forceful — it would look suspicious. We need you to still look like a victim, but it should show that there is a hidden anger in you, to make it look real."
"Oh, so you mean like Ishab in the Rose Garden novel?" said Isla.
Saad rolled her eyes. Ishab was a reckless avenger who managed to get himself killed in the novel. Even she knew that was not what the man wanted from her.
"No, more like Albi in the Castle and Clouds novel," said the man, laughing.
Saad nodded her head. Albi was a man who had been abused all his life by his family — his uncle had taken his land and his mother by force after the death of his father. Albi grew up weak and frightened, but when he fell in love with the new maid who arrived, he watched his uncle rape and then kill her. So he ran away and vowed revenge. On his travels he met good comrades, and they helped him take back what his uncle had stolen and reclaim his property and his rights.
Saad felt that the handsome man was not only attractive, but also knowledgeable and educated. That made him more attractive in her eyes. Then she stopped.
Why? Why was she following them? She couldn't remember. She stood there for a while, thinking, trying to remember why she was following them.
Her head ached. Yes — these two had just confirmed everything in front of her. So it was time to confront them.
"Hey," she called.
Both of them stopped walking. They turned around and looked at the people around them, confused, trying to figure out who had called. She opened her mouth to shout more, but before she could say anything else a hand covered her mouth, shutting her up. She panicked. She had been discovered? Discovered what? Then it all came back to her — her mission, her purpose — and most importantly she knew who had shut her off.
She relaxed.
"Don't blow our cover, sis," he said in her ear.
She nodded. It was Suad. The two in front of her were still looking around, but once they didn't see anyone looking at them they concluded it was someone else calling someone else, and they moved on. She released her breath, noticing now that she had been holding it. Her brother let her mouth go.
Some guards were moving close to them, so they both moved away, matching the guards' footsteps. Saad turned to her brother. He looked at her face, noticing her dilated eyes and flushed face.
* * *
Suad wanted to hit her.
She must have taken another dose without waiting for the first one to finish. This was dangerous and led to many side effects. He was glad it had only made her drunk. He moved her around the guards, since she seemed to still be under the weather. She followed obediently, and that worried him more — it was not like her to act docile. She grumbled, but her voice was low, and no one seemed to listen. He was glad he was here to move her away from the guards.
She looked at him and seemed ready to say something, but he raised his finger to his mouth, signaling her to stay quiet. She seemed to get it and stayed quiet again.
He was angry.
She was putting her life in danger for something that was not their business. This whole issue was because she had wanted to save the Dawi. But her mission was simple: finish the pilgrimage, return home safe, get the promotion she had worked her whole life toward. Not this. Not any of this. And here she was putting her life in danger by drinking two doses of potion without waiting for the first to fade.
And it wasn't just her life on the line. If they got caught here, the governor would never certify their passes. They would reach the temple with nothing to show for it — the whole pilgrimage wasted.
They would return home with shame and disgrace. He didn't really care about it — but she would. She would get depressed, then she would blame him, and then she would hate herself. And then there were their parents, who would have to face the whole village in shame because their adult children couldn't finish an easy job that even a child could do. Gods, he hated being the responsible one.
After making sure she was a bit better, Suad guided her to Isla's room. He knew where the room was, so it was easy to get there. They found Isla with the man she had been with when he came — they were talking before her door. He looked at his sister and noticed with a grimace that she was looking at the man with stars in her eyes. He could see that the man looked a bit like their dear commander, and that made him angry.
After making sure she was a bit better, Suad guided her to Isla's room. He knew where the room was, so it was easy to get there. They found Isla with the man she had been with when he came — they were talking before her door. He looked at his sister and felt his stomach drop — she had that look on her face, the one she got around the commander. The man must have reminded her of him somehow. That was the last thing he needed right now.
Saad's crush on the commander was something he had never approved of, and seeing that look on her face again, here of all places, made something twist in his chest that was equal parts anger and exhaustion. Besides the fact that he was married, the commander was a very greedy man who always took advantage of her feelings for him to make her do jobs that would get him a good reputation and recognition. In other words, he used her for his own career advancement. She couldn't see it. She never could. When he had told her that, she told him he was just jealous — as if his concern for her was something embarrassing to be dismissed. The whole issue was stupid and he did not have time for it. But he never had time for it, and it never stopped mattering
The man seemed to have been wishing Isla a good day. Isla went into her room, closing the door. As soon as she did, the man's expression seemed to change from pleasant into something darker. He glared at the door, then went away. It was evident that he had been putting on an act of his own to trick the woman.
Suad looked at Saad, asking her what to do, and saw she was already moving behind the man.
How she had gotten away from him, he never knew.
He followed her. This time he could understand — she was not following him out of affection. This man seemed important. And since they knew Isla would be in her room, it was better to follow him and see where he was going.