16 Tacy

The waitress who had handled the transaction the previous day with Xzavier found herself in a dire situation. She wasn't in trouble, and yet, she was at the same time. Her present trouble wasn't of the domestic kind.

Her present trouble was more primitive. It was the kind of trouble that kept her up through the night. It was the kind of trouble that kept her from being herself.

It was the kind that kept her heart beating like a loud percussive instrument when the thought of the young stranger whom she had met only just twenty four hours ago.

Tacy was a relatively simple girl with extremely low self-esteem.

She young bar maiden had completely fallen in love with the young mysterious teenager who had graced the underground exchange with his presence.

The air of mystery around him had drawn her in like a magnet to metal. Though she had somehow managed to mask her true feelings when they had first met, internally, Tacy had been bursting with admiration for the young handsome lad.

Long after he had left, his cold charisma and questionable charm bedazzled her. The memories of the way he handled his affairs seduced her mind away. There was simply no doubt about it. The young Tacy was stricken.

She went about her daily chores absent mindedly. Although she was physically present, her mind was several miles away.

Her heart was centered on the young man. She allowed herself to dream and dream as she replayed the scene of their first meeting in her mind.

"How I wish I had made a move on him then! Maybe he would have had a lasting impression of me!"

Unfortunately for the young lover, she lacked the confidence and self-assurance that nature had endowed most women on the grounds of physical looks.

Tacy didn't have confidence in her own body so she couldn't make a move on Xzavier at their first meet. It might also have been because of Xzavier's extraordinary presence. She still remembered the mysterious aura that drew her to him.

It was almost impossible to resist the pull that seemed to come from within him. Indeed, the mysterious teenager seemed to have his own center of gravity that made it look like everything around him gravitated towards him. Tacy remembered the way he moved and almost gasped out loud.

Xzavier moved like his feet barely touched the ground. It was like levitation.

All of these thoughts crowded her mind as she swept the floor of the open space in the underground exchange. She was so caught up in the tumult of emotions raging in her heart that the sudden appearance of the man of her dreams completely took her by storm.

She should have been to pick up the long shadow that darkened the ambience of the open space. But she missed that completely. The next sign was the sudden chill in the air that suggested a very cold presence had entered into the sphere of her orbit.

"Point me to where the old man is right away."

So engrossed was she in her thoughts that the cold familiar voice startled her so much that she nearly jumped out of her own skin. She turned around abruptly to assault the stranger who dared to intrude on her personal space.

All the anger melted away as soon as she saw the rugged handsome face of Xzavier Mace. Her heart leapt within her as her gladness escaped from her heart and took on the form of a grateful smile on her face.

Tacy was normally sharp minded and vigilant, but today was just not one of her days. She was aware of the fact that Xzavier had gone on a dangerous mission. Given the nature of her job, Tacy was more informed about the dangers of these kind of missions.

She had seen several hunters go only to never return again. She had no doubt in Xzavier's ability as a hunter, she knew he was more than capable of succeeding. But she had expected that it would take at least a week or more to complete his task.

To see him back so quickly filled her with more joy than she could possibly contain. In her experience, a quick return usually meant failure on the part of the hunter. But Tacy honestly didn't mind. All she cared about was his safety.

Every other thing could go to blazes as far as she was concerned.

Although it looked like Tacy was blatantly ignoring Xzavier's request to see the old man, in actuality, she wasn't.

Like a lover who hadn't seen her heartbeat in a long time, Tacy's eyes poured all over Xzavier's body. Her fear was that he had been injured. But the more she looked, the more she confirmed the fact that he was okay.

"Oh Xzavier," Tacy thought to herself; "I never for once doubted your skills!"

After a long disturbing pause, she finally regained her ability to speak. Xzavier was an extremely patient guy, but he was glad when she spoke up and said;

"Welcome back Xzavier."

Tacy surprised herself at how high her pitch was. This was just one of the many things that had gone out of place in her body upon seeing Xzavier. In order to rectify the problem, she adjusted her voice to sound normal.

But unfortunately, she ended up over compensating and deepened her voice a little too much so that she sounded like a man.

"Master Kadin is indoors."

Poor Tacy was embarrassed to the bone. She wished the earth could open up and swallow her whole where she stood. Xzavier saved her from her embarrassment by ignoring the hell out her and walking straight to the front desk.

Without any pomp or ostentatious movement, he then dropped the token which he had worked so hard to obtain on the counter. The ugly thumb of the chief of the Goblins literally stuck out like a literal sore thumb.

Without actually looking at her, Xzavier issued her a new directive in a cold voice;

"Tell Kadin I am back. The mission was successful."

Anyone observing Xzavier might have easily ruled him out as melodramatic and prideful. The demeanor of the young man pointed towards those signs.

But Xzavier was just himself. He was a confident male and it reflected in the way and manner he handled himself. At the moment, Tacy was completely mesmerized by that confidence which seemed to repel others.

Her big brown eyes remained fixated on him in both admiration and shock. She left the chore she was handling and wandered over to the counter with her arms crossed across her chest as she gazed at Xzavier in wonder.