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Fighting the urge to keep rambling on, Cadence stopped for a bit before firing on.

"I have no idea how long you plan to be with us, but in the mean time, I will do my best to be of any assistance you may or may not need…"

Xzavier listened with rapt attention as the young lad spoke. There was a certain maturity about the lad. It was undeniable, and yet, it just didn\'t quite fit. It was like a boy who had stopped into the coat of his father.

In all sincerity, Xzavier hadn\'t paid much attention to the lad since getting here. His elder sister\'s flamboyant, colorful personality completely dominated the space in his mind that was reserved for both siblings. He hadn\'t thought much of the younger sibling. Although, Cadence appeared to be the calmer and less playful of the siblings, Xzavier wasn\'t completely sure if that was because he was exceedingly smart, or incredibly dumb. Either way, he was going to find out.

Cadence was still speaking now.

"… so, I come bearing a token of my intentions…"

He stepped back a bit and gestured at Xzavier;

"If you would please step out just for a moment sir."

Still not sure where this was going, Xzavier stepped out curiously to see what all this was about. He noticed the young man pointing towards his left. Xzavier complied, and his eyes followed the trail, only from him to see a large bronze, no, gold shield! And a very mean looking, artfully crafted helmet that was fashioned in the image of a roaring Tiger!

"Sir, please accept this as a token of my friendship. I know that it is nothing befitting of a person as powerful as you are. But, I hope that you would take it in good faith!"

What a mature young man, Xzavier thought. But that wasn\'t what was completely occupying his thoughts in that moment. With his face, an unreadable and undiscernible mask, Xzavier admired the vintage work of art. Especially the helm! It was mixture of black metal and solid gold that outlined the edges. The mouth of the tiger that was opened way too much served as the space for the head of the wearer. It was truly outstanding.

Xzavier wasn\'t naïve to think that this was a basic gift. Even back in his own era, he knew that relics like this would be worth a mint! Even though jewelry and flashy things weren\'t up his alley, Xzavier only had to take one look at the shield to know that it was made of pure gold! This was particularly funny because Xzavier had never held gold in his life before. And yet, before his very eyes, leaning on the wall before him was more carats of pure refined gold than he could ever hope to see in four lifetimes.

It was all so alluring. But unfortunately Xzavier knew that he couldn\'t accept this. It was a honey trap of the juiciest kind. And if he were to fall headlong into it, he would find himself trapped in more than one way.

In that very moment, Xzavier recalled one of his favorite quotes;

\'There is nothing costlier than a gift given free of charge.\'

Xzavier didn\'t allow himself to linger far longer than was necessary. Refusing to be tempted, he tore his eyes away to address the young man.

Is habitual cool voice, he asked Cadence a question that was both simple and yet indirect;

"Tell me the truth boy, did anyone put you up to this?"

Cadence shook his head vehemently.

"No sir, this was all my idea."

Quite frankly, he was a bit hurt by Xzavier\'s question. Indirectly, it was a soft jab at his own ego. It was an undermining question that belittled his integrity and intelligence. But then again, because Cadence could never seem to find any wrong in Xzavier, his young mind twisted his initial reaction into something more positive.

Instead of dwelling on the fact that Xzavier thought so little of him that he immediately ascribed his idea to someone else, Cadence chose to see it in a different light. From a more optimistic approach, it simply meant that he was on the right track. If Xzavier was doubting the fact that he came up with this idea himself, this was a clear pointer to the fact that he had outdone himself. As if to consolidate his claim on the idea, Cadence reassured Xzavier again.

Placing his right hand on his chest, as if he was reciting a pledge or confirming his allegiance, he assured his idol;

"I assure you Mr. Xzavier, I mean no disrespect whatsoever. Please, rest your mind at ease, this isn\'t some elaborate ruse to unsettle you in any way. It is only my own token."

Xzavier observed the boy closely. Obviously, he was well educated for his age, and well mannered even for a young noble. In another world, he would have taken a liking to him. But Xzavier was far from home. And because of that, he was always reminded of the fact that this was a different environment. Consequently, he had to be on his guard at all times. Maintaining a permanent state of suspicious alertness would be exhausting for anyone else, but for Xzavier, it was his default state of mind.

So, because he was hardwired to suspect anyone and everyone around him, he had to lock his heart up. The gift alone was a magnanimous gesture. But Xzavier could see the governor\'s hand written all over it. If a man could push his own child to play in the game of movers and shakers, Xzavier knew that there was probably no line that such a man would not cross.

Having made up his mind, Xzavier caught one last look at the precious relics and gave his reply to the governor\'s son;

"Sorry lad, but that\'s a no from me..."

Cadence\'s eyes opened apprehensively. He lifted up his finger and voice in a bid to protest, or even counter. But unfortunately, Xzavier had already made up his mind.

"Sir! If you could just giv---"

BAM!

That was the sound the door made as it slammed in the bewildered face of the young, wannabe, teenage diplomat. Cadence may not have realized it, but in that moment, even though it didn\'t seem all too rosy, life had gifted him a precious gift. A new sense of purpose came forth in Cadence\'s otherwise placid heart. He left Xzavier\'s door that minute with something he hadn\'t had a few moments ago- a burning desire to succeed.

As he walked back, he looked back on the rejected gifts leaning on the wall next to Xzavier\'s door. Strangely enough, Cadence wasn\'t sad. If anything, he was seething with a fresh drive. Xzavier had turned him down. Of course, he had been naïve to believe that Xzavier would have so easily given in to his request on the first go. Maybe it was the gift. Maybe it wasn\'t sophisticated enough. Maybe Xzavier had seen enough of these relics where he had come from, and that was probably why he wasn\'t moved.

Over the next couple of weeks, Cadence used all the resources and authority available to him to source for the ideal gift for Xzavier. He brought him priceless stones, he brought him ancient books, one time, he even brought in a stunningly beautiful priceless warhorse. This particular gift was as beautiful as it was expensive and rare. And yet again, Cadence was greeted with a loud, unflinching \'NO.\'

This time, Cadence gave up. He had given in everything he had just for this endeavor. As he trotted his warhorse back to the stables, Cadence saw for the first time just how stupid and useless his gift was to someone like Xzavier. He kicked himself mentally when he remembered Xzavier\'s battle armor motorcycle that by far superseded anything he had ever seen before. Because he didn\'t know what it essentially was, he called it the \'Iron steed.\'

He realized that Xzavier was the last person alive who wanted a warhorse. For someone who had a magnificent beast like that \'iron steed,\' his transportation and battle problems were solved for life. Also, he always the option of going in a carriage instead of a warhorse.

While Cadence fought for Xzavier\'s attention with all subtlety and guile, Earlene however chose a different path. Really, the older sibling appeared to be the least infatuated with Xzavier. Because her character tended more towards flamboyance and straightforwardness, Earlene had no time to be all subtle and sneaky. The young lady\'s own problem with Xzavier was that he seemed to be taking up a lot more time with Adalia than was necessary.

Earlene and Adalia had been friends for a long time. Naturally, their lives and daily routines had consequently been interwoven with each other. Before the advent of the Xzavier factor, Earlene and Adalia could spend hours together, talking, laughing and playing. But recently, it felt like Earlene was barely able to catch Adalia\'s shadow these days. If Earlene had been able to catch up with Adalia even for a moment, she would have asked her straightaway. But by the time, Earlene was done with her daily lessons, Adalia would be nowhere to be found.