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Dale couldn\'t hide it, it was evident in his satisfying grin and his worshipful gaze; he was proud of this carriage! Xzavier was amused. It was clear to him that no matter the continent or time line, powerful men were the same everywhere. They absolutely loved their cars, automobiles, and in this case, horse drawn coach.

The coach finally stopped on the sidewalk and the driver, an eccentric fellow with a top hat and a whip, hailed the Silver Knight.

"Good day sir! Ready whenever you are!"

Dale replied him excitedly.

"We\'ll be right down my good man."

He patted Xzavier on the back and said:

"That\'s our ride mate. Let\'s be on our way shall we?"

Not waiting for his reply, Dale hopped down the few stairs on the pavement and landed on the sidewalk. Some guard who was close by immediately reached to open the carriage door for him. Xzavier followed suit, and in a couple of minutes, both men were seated comfortably in the back of the coach as they made their way to the residence of the governor.

The opportunistic Dale took advantage of their brief moment together to try to try to pry into Xzavier\'s background. Like a wolf, he nibbled around Xzavier\'s armor trying to find a chink in it.

"So, tell me about yourself Xzavier, so far you\'ve been awfully cagey about yourself."

Xzavier shrugged.

"There\'s nothing to tell Mr. Dale. I am just a simple man."

Dale scoffed at his last statement.

"Come on Xzavier. I gather that you are a pathologically modest person. I respect that, but come on, you\'ve got to give me something to work with here."

Xzavier\'s mind was working overtime trying to keep the intruder out of his personal space and away from any information that could potentially hint at his true background.

"I\'m afraid you\'ve got rather high expectations of me Mr. Dale. Besides, I could very well say the same about you. We\'re literally strangers who only just met."

"Indeed. On some level I guess you\'re right. But I am something of an open book myself. If you need to know anything, you only need to ask."

"But I didn\'t…I could have, but I didn\'t…"

Dale took a minute to allow Xzavier\'s winning argument sink in. He couldn\'t believe he had fallen for such a basic rhetoric cudgel. Xzavier had used his own words against him, and turned it around to support his claim. It had been beautifully done. Even Dale couldn\'t argue with that.

After a few very uncomfortable minutes of silence, Dale went at it again. This time, he chose a very different angle.

"You make a valid point Xzavier, but you seem to have misunderstood my intentions."

He sat up right, folded his arms and continued.

"You forget one thing my dear Xzavier, I sit at the head of the council that determines whether or not you\'re fit enough for the award. Now while I myself am personally convinced, I need a few details about you to present to the council…"

As Dale spoke, he explained his position in a calm clear voice, appealing to the emotional side of Xzavier with the hope of eliciting some kind of sympathy from him. Of course, this was just another manipulation. And Xzavier saw right through the thinly veiled conceited deception lurking at the edge of his speech.

"You have spoken well Mr. Dale. But this award should be based on my accomplishments and not on any other factor. I\'m sure you agree with me…"

Dale made a move to speak up, but Xzavier continued, acting as if he didn\'t see him gathering the nerve to counter or agree, or whatever side he wanted to take this time.

"Besides, I do recall you saying a few minutes ago that \'you yourself were personally convinced,\' so I\'m sure a man of your status will surely manage to see that things fall through accordingly."

Dale was once again astounded by the stranger. Once again, Xzavier had used his own words against him! Asides from his insanely dark blood-red aura, the only thing Dale had gotten so far about Xzavier was that he was an astute listener. Not only that, Xzavier was also equipped with the skill and wit that was vital to flipping a person\'s words against them! It was uncanny! But in a way, Dale felt that it was also to be expected from a hidden master such as Xzavier.

Outgunned and outplayed, Dale found himself chuckling as he thought to himself;

"Too bad Xzavier, if you weren\'t so reserved, you would have made for a perfect politician."

And so, after another unsuccessful attempt of trying to pry into Xzavier\'s past. Dale backed off for the time being.

The magnificent coach paved its way through the streets of Victoria City and emerged in a different section of the city. Here, the distinct noise that was typical of the noise of the inner city was no where to be found. Xzavier strained his ears to listen to the familiar hustle and bustle of the streets, but none came. There was only the steady trotting of the horses, and the scraping of the metal wheels on the concrete road.

The occasional noise of another horse marching by was heard at very long intervals, but other than that, there was no other way of knowing where there were based on the sounds of the environment. Xzavier fought the instinct to look out of the window for any clue whatsoever. However, he soon realized that the pervading silence was all the noise he needed.

Sure enough, at that point, a soft wind blew through the carriage. With it came the ruffling of the curtains, and consequently, a brief view of the environment outside. Just as Xzavier suspected, they had left the inner city way behind them and they were now ascending up a hill. The ascent wasn\'t noticeable in the sense that, as passengers seated in the coach, it was almost impossible to know that they were forging their way up a hill.

The slope was carriage friendly, and the road was smooth. Xzavier\'s brief but insightful view of the outside, as well as the encompassing silence told him that this was a secluded territory. The tall buildings and closely packed edifices of the main city weren\'t seen anymore. In place of those concrete edifices were a string of elegant brilliant white manors and estates. All of them were evenly distributed, and space was ample.

The vegetation in the surroundings were well taken off. Brilliant looking guards on horses occasionally patrolled the road, their stern eyes looking for anything that was out of place.

As Xzavier and Dale journeyed on in silence, the driver announced that they had arrived at the Golden Estate and would soon be at the governor\'s mansion. Dale unfolded his previously crossed legs and sat up in one graceful movement. He leaned forward to his own window and lifted up the curtain to place their location and calculate their approximate time of arrival.

With a thoughtful look, he whipped out his pocket watch and glanced at it.

"Six minutes," he said aloud.

"Shouldn\'t be long now old chap, so just hang on a bit alright?"

Xzavier nodded his head, acknowledging his message.

Xzavier did not have a timepiece on him, but as the carriage pulled to a stop a short while later, Xzavier knew that the Silver Knight\'s estimated time of arrival had been spot on.

Almost immediately, a short but prominent knock came on the door. Dale coughed and a guard opened the carriage door, greeting Dale as he ushered him out.

"Good afternoon sir!"

"Afternoon, is the governor in?"

"Yes indeed. May I inform him of your arrival?"

"Yes. Inform him."

The guard was only asking out of courtesy. Dale knew that the moment his carriage had set foot in this estate, intelligence must have reported back to the governor that he was on his way.

This was a system that had been put in place in order to prevent any surprise attack or visitors. So, by the time anyone arrived at the governor\'s place, the governor would have been briefed already and well prepared.

Dale was well aware of this arrangement, heck it had been his idea in the first place. But because protocols were protocols, he had to endure the whole charade. The guard barked brash orders to a couple of other guards and they responded instantly. They fled in the direction of the manor as if they had fire underneath their feet, rushing to do their chief\'s bidding.

The main guard turned to the guests at the gate and said:

"Please, follow me sir."

He made sure to keep his voice and tone polite at all times. As a guard who had served the governor for so many years, he knew just how egocentric and unnecessarily sensitive some members of the ruling class could be. Especially the wives of these government officials. So, even when he asked them to follow him, he always made sure to say \'please\' and to also smile in order not to seem commanding.