BXBX NOVEL Chapter 74 Intrude
The guard handed them over to a servant at the gate with instructions and returned to his duty post. The well groomed male servant, clad in the official uniform of the household staff, led both Xzavier and Dale into the estate and Xzavier was taken in by the brilliance of the whole scene. It took him a while to get it all in.
Of course, Xzavier had seen much more complex architecture. He had also seen the style of European manors and estates in movies and dramas, but there was something gripping and compellingly astounding about seeing such a retro architectural structure in real life.
The first thing Xzavier noticed was the well nurtured trees on both sides of path that led down to the actual building. He felt like he was taking a walk down a very secure park. The trees weren\'t all uniform in color, no. They were a collage of nature\'s display of diversity. The different colors splashed against each other, competing for beauty and at the same time, enhancing each other\'s beauty.
Like tall beautiful sentinels on guard, they stood majestically of the opposite ends of the road, swaying with the wind and filling the air with a natural fragrance. But the trees were only a small part of the whole scene. As Dale and Xzavier progressed down the path that is best described as a driveway, like a budding flower, the trees finally gave way, revealing the real jewel behind.
The main building itself stood on a rock. It was something between a castle, an ancient Roman noble\'s house and a relatively modern European Manor. It was absolutely magnificent. The three-story, castle-like manor was painted in a brilliant white. Its pillars were glazed with marbles and gigantic life sized statues were strategically placed at the entrance and at the four corners.
On the east wing of the compound was what appeared to be a fountain with a small garden on the side. The full glare of the afternoon sun accentuated the white paint, enhancing the already intimidating sight of the mansion. Indeed, this was a lofty vestibule.
The servant led Dale and Xzavier down a complex series of corridors, before finally arriving at the waiting room. No doubt, Xzavier was a little impressed. He showed a very negligible amount of interest in the retro style of the mansion.
Dale had been covertly watching Xzavier all this time. He had been careful enough not to give it away but the whole time, he had his eye on Xzavier. When he detected Xzavier\'s slight interest in the awesome sight that was the governor\'s mansion, Dale immediately concluded that Xzavier was probably from a pretty ancient family and also, he probably grew up in a secluded part of the continent.
Dale had expected a simpleton like Xzavier to be awed by the majestic splendor of the mansion, but when he saw that Xzavier\'s interest was only mind, Dale also jumped to another conclusion that Xzavier\'s very little interest in the lavish, and tastefully furnished mansion was probably an attribute of a great master.
"Maybe he had sworn to detach himself from the material things of this world…" he wondered.
"Damn, this isn\'t good. The whole evidence points towards the fact that he might be a master in disguise."
Satisfied with his own conclusions, Dale wheeled his mind away from Xzavier, instead focused on the governor.
Dale knew the governor well enough to guess that he was probably in a heated discussion with some executives. Dale himself had been part of the project a while ago, so he knew more than anyone that it would take a significant amount of time to navigate around the parameters of the project. To say that a satisfactory result could be obtained within a short period would be a far cry from the truth.
Dale couldn\'t sit still. He began to pace up and down the room until he finally decided that waiting wouldn\'t get him anywhere. He had to interrupt the meeting, else, it could be a while before he could get to see the governor.
So, without uttering a word to Xzavier, without even the slightest glance, Dale stormed out of the waiting room. Xzavier was a bit surprised at the way and manner with which the Silver Knight had excused himself. It was almost like he had snapped or something. So, with the Silver Knight gone, sitting by himself with no company whatsoever, once again, Xzavier found himself alone in a waiting room.
It wasn\'t an established rule, neither was it written formally in the laws of the state, but it was common knowledge that the governor was not to be disturbed when he was at a lunch meeting with other officials. The only exception to this rule was the venerable Silver Knight- Dale. Indeed, to just about every other official, it seemed like Dale was the only one who could dare cross this line by interrupting the governor.
This wasn\'t because Dale was a close confidant of the governor, neither was it because of any fancy reason like \'the governor had given Dale a special privilege to do so.\' Nay, this was because Dale had read the situation and decided to use his discretion. Objectively speaking, he knew that the governor would prefer to deal with the issue of the mysterious stranger than so sit for hours on end, debating on mundane topics that were sure to be potentially fruitless. Dale knew that the governor would definitely chose receiving the stranger.
So, armed with this knowledge, Dale did the unthinkable and barged into the dining area where the governor was hosting his officials.
Nothing could stand in the way of Dale when he truly wanted something. So, when the guards at the entrance to the dining room saw him, they recognized his authority, as well as the air of urgency around him, and therefore held their peace.
With calculated aggression, knowing fully well what awaited him on the other end of the door, Dale poured a sufficient amount of strength into his arms and forced the doors to the dining open.
The dining room which had been filled with ramblings and old men discussing suddenly went silent when they saw how the doors were flung open. There came the shock at first. They couldn\'t imagine being interrupted by anyone at all. So, angrily, they turned their heads in the direction of the culprit that was responsible for the crudely executed invasion.
Shock soon returned to the faces of the previously annoyed officials. The looks of surprise on the faces of the officials when they saw Dale furiously charging into the room was priceless. None spoke a single word. Not a single one of them found the words to address Dale. Astounded, they watched as Dale ignored every single one of them and marched straight to the governor.
On every timeline, and on every continent, even cutting across the solid iron barrier of time, cultures and dynamics, one truth always remains- executive meetings can be hellishly boring. The constant droning out of facts and figures, the long negotiations, and the general atmosphere of utmost seriousness can make the responsibility of administration a real burden.
So, any form of disruption, in any way, almost always leaves an earth shattering effect.
For the executives who were knee deep in negotiations with the governor, this was the last place they had ever expected to be interrupted. As political leaders, each and every one them had a stake in the project at hand. In some way or the other, all of them had something to benefit. Either from government issued contracts to their private firms, or just general strategic positioning that was sure to make them look good in the up coming elections.
So, it was safe to say that their hearts and minds were very much invested in this lunch meeting with the president. So, when the doors to the most exclusive meeting in the city flung open in the most audacious way, their surprise knew no bounds. The temerity of the audacity could not really be quantified by any measuring standard.
When the shock fully cleared, and when they finally came their senses, it was a bit too late to react.
The Silver Knight walked straight to the governor, (who frankly seemed a bit relieved that someone had managed to quell the tension by this disruption) and whispered a message in his ear;
"Governor, I thought you might want to hear this. But that fellow who is responsible for the slaughtering of the orc chief, and the dispersing of the orc tribe…well, he\'s here!"
The governor\'s face turned white instantly. He almost shouted \'what!\' This was definitely not on the list of what he was expecting today. But he welcomed to intrusion with open hands. He struggled to mask his facial expression in order to keep his nervousness hidden from the rest of the officials. But alas, the snake eyes of the government officials had already seen his reaction.