She found her way back to the relieved Earlene who in turn gathered the others in pursuit after Xzavier. That was how Adalia came to be present with all the others.
As Adalia saw Xzavier bent over Eadweard, clutching a knife to the throat of the young playboy prince, she was overcome with a strange flood of emotions. The young girl was touched from the bottom of her heart. No one had ever defended her honor the way Xzavier had. First, there had been the incident at the market place, and now this…
It seemed like Xzavier was her angel on earth. He had defended and protected more than once. But this, this was different from all the others. The rage on his face as he was about to kill Eadweard told her a lot.
After staring at Adalia for what seemed like an eternity, Xzavier soon began to connect the dots. He slowly came to realize that not only was Adalia alive, she was obviously very fine. Xzavier didn't know how this came to be. He didn't care. He was just happy that she was alive. He turned to the playboy whom he had come very close to skewing only a few moments ago, and whispered in a harsh cold tone;
"You scum! You're extremely lucky that Adalia is alive…because there is literally no one that could have stopped me from killing you on the spot!"
Eadweard was the one whom Xzavier was addressing, but Laddie somehow felt like somewhere in Xzavier's statement was a ridicule meant for him. It almost felt like Xzavier was saying he couldn't have stopped him even if he tried. The challenge in his words weren't lost on the old man. Laddie shot Xzavier a reproachful look, and decided it would be best not to address the matter here, in the presence of a common enemy.
With that, Xzavier let go of the young man pinned beneath him and put his trusty saber back in its sheath.
Eadweard gathered himself and got up on his feet hurriedly. He still retained that rebellious look in his eyes. It would seem that all these experiences hadn't taught him a single thing. As he backed away from Xzavier and his group, he cursed and swore with all the vile words he could remember.
"Giving you the title of Baron was a huge mistake!! You're a mad man! Stark raving mad! I will never have anything to do with you ever again! NEVER!!"
He kept cursing and swearing until his form receded in the distance, and until his voice was no more than an echo.
With the recalcitrant playboy out of the way, Adalia finally gave in to her most pressing desire. She ran towards him and wrapped her arms around him in an embrace. Xzavier didn't even attempt to play the card of indifference. He reciprocated the warmth and also hugged her tightly. Holding on to each other tightly, to them, it felt like they were the only ones in the world. In that moment, nothing else mattered to the duo.
Only a short while ago, because of the wickedness of Eadweard's prank, Xzavier didn't think he would ever see Adalia again, talk less of holding her. He savored her distinct musk and drank it in with gladness. His left palm kept running through her hair, stroking her gently as he reassured her over and over again;
"It's alright Adalia, it's alright. You're safe now. Everything will be alright."
It was truly a comforting scene. It was by far the most emotional reunion anyone in that household had ever seen.
In that very moment, a few miles away, at a clandestine location that was unknown to anyone, the sole mastermind behind all of this sat with his lieutenant. The atmosphere was a bit dark from all the brooding. The very air was tainted with dainty touch of wickedness. As they went over all the details of the expected results from this ruse they had set in motion, once again, Quaid proved to be the diabolical genius that he in fact was. Seated opposite him was his lieutenant and partner in shady businesses, the Silver Knight- Dale.
Their discussion, much like their location was shrouded in secrecy and code.
The series of events that had played out in the past twelve hours had been scripted and organized by the governor himself. Dale, (being the perfect henchman for the task) had taken the orders of the governor and brought them to life. All the players had played their parts beautifully.
The first phase of the plan had been to organize a group of people to pretend to be bandits and kidnap Adalia. Quaid was a shrewd thinker, and this shrewdness reflected deeply in all his plans and actions. The governor knew that he couldn't trust the locals with such a sensitive project, so he had issued a command to Dale to go outside of Victoria City to import a fresh set of players that would pose as bandits. He gave Dale specific instructions to keep his identity, (and that of the targets) secret from the alleged bandit.
He didn't want to suffer any kind of blow back and risk these bandits actually kidnapping his daughter and her maid for real. Dale followed the governor's instructions to the letter, and the results came in as expected.
The primary purpose for all the theatrics was pretty simple- to provoke a conflict between Xzavier and the Anjou families. The plan had worked beautifully. Like a mad dog that had broken free of its leash, Xzavier went on a rampage and single handedly took out a band of level three mages and turned his bloodlust on the Anjou boy. The whole thing had escalated very quickly.
When tempers were at an all-time high, they created circumstances that enabled the 'escape' of the maid from the clutches of her captors. All so that Xzavier's wrath could be checked so he wouldn't go overboard and cross the limits for the intended plan. Quaid had multiple intentions for doing all of this. Like a masterful chess player, he manipulated all the pieces on the board, goading them in the direction he wanted. He played on all their feelings, until he got them where he wanted.
By going against the Anjou family, Xzavier would be forced to align himself with the Princy family now. Thus, creating an alliance for the sake of common ground and the elimination of common enemies. Secondly, Quaid would also be put in a unique position to observe Xzavier closely. He still wanted to know just what kind of person Xzavier was. Lastly, Quaid would also take advantage of the situation to suppress the influence and prestige of the Anjou family. This would lay the foundation for his long term plan.
Quaid had planned it all beautifully. He had designed it in such a way that no matter the choices any of them made, they would all end up doing exactly what he wanted from them. The grand thing about it all was that none of them realized they were being manipulated. It was the perfect plan that handled all of his objectives.
But one thing now worried the governor. It wasn't anything significant, but this problem had the potential to alter the trajectory of his plans. The thing that worried Quaid was just how Xzavier had lost control for a moment there. Quaid hadn't expected this from a man like him. He had expected a certain degree of restraint from Xzavier. But for some reason, he lost it for a minute there. If it hadn't been for Laddie's intervention, it was clear that Xzavier would have most definitely killed Eadweard.
This bothered Quaid very deeply. That singular act by Xzavier was not consistent with his character at all.
Quaid began to wonder if there was a psychotic side to Xzavier which he kept hidden. Was he psychopath that enjoyed killing so much? Quaid was a man advanced in experience. Middle age, and a lifetime of cynicism had distanced him from the truth that was glaring for all to see. Eventually, the governor began to see the whole picture. One single name stood out as the reason- Adalia.
A wicked smile crept across his face as the corners of his mouth extended. Dale saw it and recognized that look instantly. He knew that his governor had just chanced on something.
"Why are you smiling like you know something I don't?"
Quaid chuckled lightly before answering.
"My poor Dale, that's because I know something that you don't!"
The Silver Knight raised his eyebrows inquiringly. Sensing his desperateness, Quaid lingered for a bit before replying.
"The girl- that is his weakness. She is the reason he lost control and almost murdered the Anjou boy."
Dale assumed a thoughtful expression.
"That would have been a disaster if he had succeeded."
"Indeed! But at least, now we know his trigger. All this time, he had been so impenetrable, but now that we know how far he's willingly to go for the girl, we can use that against him…"
Dale stared blankly at the governor.
"How?"
"Come on! Use your imagination Dale! This is actually good news!"
Quaid zoned out for a minute and pondered for a while on the recent turn of events. After careful consideration, he arrived at a prudent decision.
It had been a very eventful evening. After the whole charade. Xzavier and the rest of the household made their way home. They all dispersed, each person to their own quarters. It had been a long day and a very interesting evening, so everyone was eager to hit the sack. Xzavier was not exempted from this wave of exhaustion that swept through the household. He was very much looking forward to the comfort of his feathered bed.
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