Don't create a scene that would concern YOU as the central point. Be incognito and try to dissolve in the crowd by practising exact behaviour followed by people of that era.

Never should you judge anyone or question any belief publicly, even if it remotely repulses you.

There would be things that can distress your twenty-first century women's dignity, but you'll have to keep up.

It's awful to specify this, but after being transported you must forget,

Yes, you must forget that feminism is even a word which exists because...

It should not exist for the two of you.

My head reeled with the rules given by the project's co-executive Reuesme, when Cheryl and I were in the historical women training session.

After keeping us in a constant view of behavioural patterns, she had given drills on how to be a passive female whilst keeping up with self-protection tactics to get out of difficult situations.

But the thing that bothered me was,

I had broken the above rules. I had created a scene out of myself.

If Julian digs deep into my identity, it'll be a disaster.

I trudged behind him in silence. Only the sound of my chain scraping together was audible in the near surrounding.

Though he was reprimanding Damascus about the whole scenario, I couldn't shake off the feeling something was up his sleeve concerning me.

He hadn't spoken anything since he'd seen my chains crossed around the warrior's throat. Just a brief nod and I knew I had to go wherever he was taking me now.

A breeze of cool air wafted across my face, giving temporary relief to the burning skin. I looked to my right to see slight waves rising in the Nile.

Water.

Disappointment filled in when I noticed we weren't heading towards the river but in the opposite direction. Hadn't they announced everyone was to be assisted by the warriors to drink from the river?

Wait, oh my God. Was this his way of disciplining me?!

"Can I get some water?" I choked midway due to the dryness.

"Sit here, and you are not getting that water," he said nonchalantly, wiping his face with a wet linen that was draped around his shoulders.

"I was helping that wom-"

"Shh," he whispered, keeping a finger over his lips. "The more you talk, the drier your throat will turn than it already is."

My insides burned like hell, both with the lack of water and the newfound anger towards him. I gritted out my teeth, refusing to look in his direction.

"I want my book back," I stated without emotion, extending my palm with my face turned aside. Surprisingly, he dropped the book beside me and went away when a warrior came to discuss something with him.

I would've checked where he had gone, but right now I was scorching red hot. I couldn't care less where he goes.

Might as well be good if some crocodile from the Nile devours him whole.

Still, my stupid ass heart turned around to see him disappear near the banks of the river.

I summon you my dear crocs!

Gulping whatever little I could, I flipped through the pages, randomly reading what I had written so far.

The thing was, historical women's training session wasn't helping given the year I had spent in Queen Cleopatra's court. It was shocking to know women having a heck lot of rights and freedom, especially in Egypt.

Submissive exterior had flown out the window.

Feminism wasn't a word, but it did exist.

I took the laser pen and started writing the current position of my travels. They designed it like those feather pens used in the ancient world that were dipped in an ink pot for writing. Only mine didn't need an ink pot.

I started writing about Julian.

Although I wanted to dump all my anger about him, I had to keep it professional.

Julian Romanowski is supposedly a warlord, king of Romanos, close acquaintance to Alexander III of Macedon. He is of Greek ethnicity, probably the brother of Ptolemy I Soter. Romanos seems to be an unknown empire situated in Egypt's-

I did not know about this kingdom, given I never found it in my research. The more unknown stuff, the better would be my travelogue. After all, we were here to prepare a ground zero report.

Checking the surrounding for any passerby, I sneakily opened the last page of my book, which had a box-like structure.

Discreetly, I wrote a specific code inside it.

%turn21centAD%

+-Invoking device-+

Solicit #compass#

%revert4centBCE%

I closed the book and waited,

One minute....

Two minutes....

Three minutes...

Opening it, I found a compass sitting inside.

Warton was truly exceptional!

Along with the AI team, he was the one to create the Artificial Intelligence book with an unusual twist. I remember him giving us a five-hour lecture on how to use this new feature.

It was a sort of beta program, whose authenticity we could only check after being transported. And as unbelievable as it sounded, we could bring small objects from the twenty-first century, only if it's extremely important. That's how I'd bought the Chanel Paris as well.

I shook the compass, pointing it in the direction we were headed to. The red arrow pointed northeast.

As far as I knew, there was a village of Rhacotis that lay there, not any Romanos.

"Aye Julian! These Egyptian women here are stubborn as hell. Can we rest a little longer?!" I whipped my head to see a fellow warrior shouting, as Julian came back from wherever he'd went.

I turned my head back as calmly as possible and hurriedly wrapped the compass in my linen, sneaking it into my waist.

Sound of boots padding in the sand came closer as he crouched before me. I continued pretending to read my travelogue.

Without a word, he took the book back, grabbed my wrist, and started to unlock the iron ring. With the other ring still attached, he gripped the open end and stood upright.

"Get up," he commanded.

"I don't want any water," I said sternly.

"Get up, or do I have to drag you? Would be fair if my people get a decent laugh," he coerced, looking into the distance of slaves and warriors.

"Are we going to the Nile?"

"How many times should I say you're not drinking that water?" he raised a brow in intimidation.

I turned my head aside, crossing my arms against the chest.

He didn't pay heed to my ignorance. Instead buckled the free end of the iron ring, and with a last tug, began to walk away.

"Wait!" I stood up quickly, afraid he would really drag me across,

"Where are you taking me?!"

"To reward you. It would be shameful of me if I don't, for the bravery you showed there," he chuckled.

I grew stiff.

Suddenly, I wanted to run in the opposite direction. Given the terrifying sarcasm dripping off his voice, I didn't know what he meant by reward.

"Jul-", whoops, no. But I will not call him master either.

"Where are you taking me?!"

He decided to play ignorant. My revolting unwillingness did little to have him turn around to even look at me.

Panic rose when I saw we were entering the little forested area that had developed on the floodplains of the Nile in this arid desert.

The most I'm-possible idea came to my mind,

Was he going to kill me?

I was so delighted to finally get a hold on what to write as the major theme of my travelogue and here...

No.

Damn, I won't go back to the twenty-first century. Not when there was a dumbass virus attack going on.

"Are you going to kill me?!" I yelled again.

He turned this time. A bewildered look sitting on his face.

"Kill?" he repeated. "Woman like you are born once in a decade. It's not worth killing you," he replied casually.

My current state didn't know whether to take it as a compliment. Still, my heart fluttered at his statement.

We entered the forest complex, which had a cooler atmosphere compared to the outside.

And by cooler, the air conditioner of fourth-century cooler.

After walking in for a moment, he left my chain and walked ahead, shifting branches and leaves on our way. I never knew how he built enough trust that I won't run away. I stifled a laugh at his assumption.

Upon crossing a fallen trunk of the tree did I notice why he had bought me here.

"Nile's water was too salty, so I found a freshwater source here," he waved a hand towards the lake in front of us.

"Moreover, I didn't want you to be eaten by a crocodile," he bent down at the lake's edge to pluck a broad leaf that grew there. Folding it in the rightful way, he dipped it in the clear water to drink.

"Nile crocodiles are savage. They attack anything unfortunate that crosses their path, be it any other crocodile as well. Didn't want to take the risk there," he snickered, throwing the leaf to pluck another one.

And here I was summoning those crocs for you, I thought guiltily.

Shaking the big leaf in his hand, he trekked through the muddy stones where I stood. An unusual look came up on his face as he walked up. His eyes hooked with mine on level sight.

It was as if he was craving something inside, but kept shut about it. My cooled self turned burning hot again.

"Here," his eyes never left mine as he folded the leaf in a bowl shape and handed it to me.

"Go fast," he pointed to the lake with his head,

"And beware," his brown eyes searched my blue ones for something unknown to my knowledge.

"I can push you in there," he winked.

I went as fast as I could to hide the unexpected blush that engulfed my cheeks.