He quickly realized that if he could capitalize on this by providing these kinds of services exclusively to the rich and powerful, he could leverage on this and make sure that he stayed in power. Of course he didn't mind breaking the law. It was all worth it at the end of the day.

It was impossible for any hot blooded male to resist such a wonderful experience. This was the type of drug that was more addictive and more sought after that regular psychedelics. Once anyone got a taste of it, it was practically impossible to break away from it. It was the nectar of the gods. It was the kind of thing powerful men enjoyed since a lot of them probably had all kinds of weird kinks and sick fantasies. Stuff that they couldn't do at a public brothel. So, if Quaid offered them a safe haven for their perversions, they were willing to pay top coin for it.

Xzavier himself couldn't deny the potency of the whole arrangement. If he himself wasn't on a mission, he would have sank into this sinkhole of raw, undiluted pleasure, losing himself completely, as well as his own sense of justice. But Xzavier had made a promise to Babara regarding her sister. And he fully intended to keep it. So, Xzavier decided to give it a try.

Xzavier fully assessed the whole situation and knew that this particular mission called for finesse. By the way things looked, he knew that violence definitely wasn't the best fit. No doubt, Xzavier knew that if he decided to go all in, guns blazing and armor shining, he would definitely succeed in getting Janae out of here. But long term, it would be too high a price to pay. No, he knew he had to play it cool.

So, having factored in all these variables, Xzavier decided to try and test the limits of Quaid's graciousness. Of course the governor had done him a solid by giving Adalia up. Even though Quaid had benefited immensely from that deal, it didn't change the fact that he had indulged Xzavier's request. And now, here was Xzavier, literally about to propose the same deal again (at the risk of looking and sounding greedy).

If Quaid was as much a bastard as the Anjou boy Eadweard, then staying here would be pointless. He would simply have to retreat and plan another strategy. But if Quaid was willing to negotiate reasonably, then there was a slight possibility that things would go smoothly. After all, Quaid had this establishment in place for a reason. Of course it wasn't completely about the steady stream of gold flowing freely into his coffers. No, Quaid was too smart for that.

The fact was Quaid had other vested interests. This probably included favors from very high placed socialites. And fortunately, the governor viewed him as one of those few people whom he needed. Xzavier knew that now that Quaid had given Adalia up, the governor was probably looking for another way to ensnare Xzavier into making another deal with him- a deal which would most definitely give him room to sneak in another one of his capricious requests.The more Xzavier thought about it, the more convinced he was that this was indeed the way forward. With just the basic framework of a newly formed plan in place, Xzavier slipped out of bed, and began to search for his clothes. As his eyes glanced across the room, he was once again shocked at just how much of a mess he and Janae had made.

The whole place looked like it had been turned upside down. His pants were at one end, his shoes were miles apart from each other (even he didn't know how that had happened). Xzavier actually had to search for his underwear and shirt. They were at completely different locations. Xzavier was truly puzzled because he didn't even remember taking off his shirt in the first place. As he shuffled across the room to gather his stuff, Janae was roused from her deep slumber.

Her eyes still heavy from deep sleep, she sat up groggily, and when she saw Xzavier looking for his stuff, her heart sank within her. The whole thing was all too familiar to Janae. She began to fear, thinking this had all been a nasty prank played by some deranged baron who had only been looking for a little something extra. She thought she had been on the receiving end of a very cruel joke. Had it all been a hoax? She wondered. Janae realized for the first time that the baron hadn't even told her his name.

She felt a sick hurt well up in her all over again. Summoning the courage, she called out weakly from the bed;

"Baron? Are you leaving me?" she struggled to hold back the sob in her throat, as she held her breath, waiting for the bombshell to drop.

Xzavier heard the sorrow in her voice and turned around sharply. He recognized the look in her eyes immediately. It was fear. He had seen that same look in the eyes of some of the new recruits in his army days. It was the fear of being left behind- the hopelessly crushing fear of abandonment.

He couldn't blame her. He knew exactly just how the whole thing appeared. He felt bad for her and assuaged her;

"It's okay Janae I'm not leaving you behind. I just need to take care of some business first. Go back to bed okay? I'll be right back."For some reason, even though she had no reason to trust him at all, his gentle assurances soothed her. The fact was Janae was very much still exhausted from all the crazy lovemaking she had just had. She had only stirred because she heard Xzavier's movements across the room. She still had a lot of sleeping off to do. So, having received Xzavier's assurance that he would be right back, she went back to sleep with a hopeful smile on her face.

Xzavier hovered over her like a guardian angel and watched her sleep for a while, then gently stepped out to look for Quaid.

As he wandered down the halls of the magnificent castle, Xzavier couldn't help but admire the architecture, the interior decor, and the all-round ambience. It was choking. Even the air itself was laced with the heavy fragrance of exotic spices and oil. Overhead were delicately hung chandeliers that looked like they cost an entire city's budget for a year. It was all intentional.

Along the walls were exquisite pieces of art. All nude of course. The paintings were reminiscent of the renaissance period- lewd, salacious and provocative. Along his third turn down another long stretch of one of the many hallways, he finally found a servant.

"You there, take me to the governor at once."

The servant slavishly bowed. "Of course Baron." And she led him to another wing of the castle that was exclusive to Quaid only. Along the way, Xzavier wondered how the servant knew that he was a baron. He had only been there for few hours, and he hadn't been sighted by that many people.

The more he thought of it, the more he knew that these servants probably saw a lot of things in their time here. They probably had a lot of stories to tell. But of course, they would never say a word. Their lives depended on it. While Xzavier swam in his own thoughts, the maidservant led him through a series of turns and finally brought him to an impressive looking door. She knocked lightly, only two short taps, and waited outside the door while Xzavier went in.

It was a large room that was bedecked with even more lavish articles and furniture. Quaid was reclined on a couch that was built 'Roman style.' And as always, he was working. The governor never seemed to catch a break. He was always up to something, despite being in a place of pleasurable wonders like this.

He lifted up his eyes and watched as Xzavier made his way to him. His careful shrewd eyes scrutinized Xzavier's body language and facial expressions, hoping to read into any subtle change in his demeanor. Anything at all that suggested what kind of time he had just had.

Quaid hadn't just been lazing around for the past couple of hours. He had taken his time to research on the skills and abilities of the girl in question Xzavier had chosen. Her ratings were not bad at all compared to the others. But even still, she was part of the one percent. A rare gem amongst gems, and she was more than enough to make any young man burn with passion.

Quaid didn't get anything from Xzavier at all. He thought Xzavier was intentionally hiding his delightful experience behind a wall of ice and stone. He chuckled to himself. He truly respected a man that could hold his own. Xzavier had proven many times over to be one of the very few men that belonged to this category.

Without saying a word, Xzavier walked over to the couch opposite Quaid and sat down. For a minute or two, none said a word, the two men simply sat apart and stared off into space. The view adjacent to both of them was a pretty impressive sight. It was a twelve foot long, eight foot wide portrait of some winged deity descending from the sky with a drawn sword. Xzavier took a closer look and saw that it was a female in a very revealing body armor. It seemed every piece in the castle was of the erotic genre.