BXBX NOVEL Chapter 89 What’s The Matter
Yet again, the fates had displayed their ubiquitous hands in the ordering of the events in the human realm.
A servant, dining with her master, not just any master but the governor himself, a man whom was practically the most powerful entity in the entire city, this was indeed a life altering event!
On this continent, in this social world, and in this time, such a thing was unheard off. Even history didn't bother to tone down the truth when it came to the social classes and the practice of segregation in Medieval Europe.
There wasn't a single aristocrat, government official, or virtually anyone in power who would be kind enough to give a servant a seat at their table. A thought of this nature could never take form in the hearts of any of them. It was literally inconceivable.
Class was everything, even those who were rich were extremely selective of the caliber of elite people who were allowed to dine at their table. For someone like Governor Quaid who represented the entire category of the top brass, the number of families who could be afforded the privilege of having breakfast with him (and his family) could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
This was the history, and the primary reason behind the shocked countenances of the siblings. Adalia in particular, was dumbfounded. Her vision went white, as blood was diverted from every other part of her body, and headed straight to her head with lightning speed. The jar of water which she held tightly in her hand was threatening to break to pieces under the overbearing power of her crushing grip.
One day ago, even one hour ago, if Adalia had been told that she would be seated at the same table with the governor, his family, and with his esteemed guest, she wouldn't have taken it seriously. In fact, she would have waved it off as the ramblings of a deranged mind. Such things happened only in a fantasies and fairy tales.
Due to the blue eyed blonde's tight grip on her own reality, even in her own dreams, she wasn't averse to admitting that the odds of this happening was virtually zero. The entirety of her existence had been subjected to the harsh reality of her situation. She had accepted it with the whole of her heart and with the whole of her being. So, to the poor girl, much like the millions of others living on the opposite side of affluence and power, the dream of dining with a noble was on par with the dream of riding on the back of a dragon into war- they both could never happen.
Eventually, when she dared to lift up her eyes to glance in the direction of the Governor, she was met with an approving look and a nod, encouraging her to go ahead. Adalia's knees almost gave away underneath her. Finally, she forced herself to come to terms with her new reality and willed her legs to move forward before her reluctance would be misconstrued as rudeness.
Adalia was positioned right behind Earlene, who was seated right opposite Xzavier. So, the poor girl who could barely stand at the moment was forced to circumvent the remaining length of the table, to enable her get to the place she had been allotted- which was beside Xzavier. Adalia sighed inwardly, though her journey was supposed to be a relatively short one, to the young maid, it seemed like a trip half way around the world.
With every single pair of eyes watching her every move, Adalia made her way around the table with steady strides and purposeful steps. Until finally, she pulled out the chair beside Xzavier and sat down with a graceful thud. Of course, this clever positioning was no coincidence. The diabolical mind of the Governor had picked up on a subtle vibe between the two of them. So, he had cleverly engineered the situation that brought them together at the table at this time.
Anything to keep Xzavier happy of course. And he had done it in such a way whereby it felt like he was actually doing the girl a favor. This level of manipulation could only be achieved after several decades of playing the game. Quaid chuckled congratulatory thoughts to himself as he watched the young maid try desperately to conceal her joyful grin. Quaid watched with amusement as Xzavier's own face remain professional. The young man betrayed no hint of satisfaction or joy.
Quaid neither said nor showed anything, but deep down, he was more than impressed by the young man's composure. The egocentric governor liked to think that he saw a bit of himself in Xzavier. Clearly, the young man had his emotions, thoughts and will under control. Quaid thought this was commendable, for in his own mind, those three parts of a man's consciousness were the organs that controlled every aspect of a man's life.
So, as he sipped his water and watched Xzavier closely, he became more and more convinced that his original assessment of the young man was spot on. Asides from Xzavier's fearsome reputation that suggested that he was a cold blooded killer, he was obviously a rational mind too.
"This deadly combination is rare in young men. Xzavier my boy, I definitely struck gold with you. You will be the arm that will mold Cadence into the perfect weapon…"
The governor thought to himself as he munched on a piece of bread with a thin slice of cheese. Quaid commended his son for taking the initiative. The fact that Xzavier was here with him was proof of the fact that his son's had already begun his own beguiling.
Quaid couldn't help but giggle slightly.
"Like father, like son…"
Though Cadence was still too young to realize it, the fact was that he was very much indeed his father's son.
But of course, Quaid's plan was way beyond keeping Xzavier's around solely because of his son's need for an astute tutor. He had a much grander scheme in mind.
Completely oblivious of the storm clouds hovering in the diabolical mind of the poker faced governor, Adalia dove right in to the rich breakfast, and ate to her fill while maintaining an outer semblance of calm and proper table etiquette.
The entire family and their guests passed the rest of their time at the table in silence. Breakfast was devoured by all parties and soon, everyone disbanded. The governor was the first to recuse himself. Xzavier noticed him checking his pocket watch every now and then, and therefore concluded that the governor was a principled man who worked with time. It could have also been the fact that had other appointments lined up for the day.
So, when everyone dispersed, Xzavier followed suit and rose up from the table to head back to his quarters, from where he would await further directives from his host regarding the next item on his itinerary.
"Xzavier…" behind him, Adalia's sing-song voice came.
Not sure what this was about, he turned around to look at her.
"Yeah…"
"I'd like a see you for a minute, do you mind?"
"Sure thing. What's the matter?"
Adalia shook her head,
"Not here silly. I meant somewhere else obviously."
"It's all good. Where?"
Adalia didn't reply him. Instead, she swung her head behind her, and checked from side to side to see if anyone else was close by. When she confirmed that they were alone, Adalia marched towards the exit.
"Let's go…"
Still not completely sure what this was about, Xzavier followed her as she led him to an unknown location. Adalia took a route that was completely different from the one that he and Cadence had initially used when coming here. Xzavier marveled at just how large the estate was. Just when he thought there couldn't possibly be more twists and turns, Xzavier found himself being led down an even more complex series of corners.
Finally, they emerged at a secluded area that was cut off from most members of staff and household. It was a garden of sorts, it was well tended to in the sense that there were still neat passages between the vegetation. But the flowering trees were so high up that no one could see anything behind the curve that disappeared in obscurity.
When they finally arrived here, Xzavier got the feeling that Adalia probably wanted to talk about something private. So, he was instantly on alert for any kind of bad news whatsoever. Adalia noticed he had gotten a little bit more tense.
"Relax Xzavier, I am not going to bite."
She said as she leaned against the wall with arms crossed on her chest.
Xzavier raised his eye brows asked her warily;
"Is there something wrong Adalia? Are you in danger?"
Adalia's wild blue eyes danced with amusement in her sockets.
"Wow, are you even capable of not over analyzing everything? Not every situation is a battle Xzavier, I'm sure you know this already…"