Adalia

To his surprise, Xzavier found the young beauty sitting on the floor and clutching her knees in the middle of the dead bodies. She was completely still.

Frozen in place like a bronze statue, she stared into space with a disturbingly blank expression on her face. Xzavier couldn't blame her. He knew that given all that she had witnessed only a few hours ago, the young beauty was probably in shock.

She would probably have nightmares for a while. But there was no doubting the fact that she definitely wouldn't forget about this particular night in a hurry.

Xzavier stood afar off as he wondered how to approach her. It was clear that her fear had caused her to space out. So, she wouldn't hear him as he came up from behind her.

He also knew that because she couldn't hear him, it would be like he had crept up on her and the additional shock could cause her to faint and probably send her into a coma.

Xzavier assessed the situation and knew that his best bet would be to announce his presence by calling out to her from afar as he approached her slowly.

So, Xzavier took a deep breath and called out to her in his best impression of a non-threatening voice;

"Hello there!"

Xzavier's loud voice broke the stillness of the open clearing. His call did the trick on the young girl. She was pulled out of the sea of deep thoughts in which she had submerged her mind.

Life returned to her face as she instinctively jerked her head in the direction of the voice. At first, she was glad to have heard a human voice, but she was taken aback when she saw the sinister form of Xzavier in his all black attire and a rifle slinging from his shoulder.

Xzavier saw her face and instantly knew that she was about to scream.

"Damn it!" he cursed inwardly, "What is it about me that makes people so scared?"

The young girl opened her mouth and let out a deafening scream.

Xzavier lifted up his hands reassuringly and approached her gently;

"It's okay young girl. You don't have to be scared alright? I have killed all the orcs so you're safe now."

At his last statement, the young girl calmed down a bit. She was very much still shaken, but she at least seemed to be getting her cognitive functions back. As Xzavier came closer to the young girl in white, he was taken in once again by what he saw.

It turned out that he had been mistaken when he had thought of her as a young girl. No, this was a grown woman. The closer Xzavier got to her, the more he appreciated just how stunning she was.

She was indeed a beautiful woman by every standard. Asides from her ethereal milk like complexion that made her seem like a glass of milk, the first thing that struck Xzavier was her endearing facial features. To him, she resembled a goddess from the ancient statues he had seen.

Her high cheekbones, her perfect lips, and even her burning black eyes contributed to her allure. Xzavier didn't miss the perfect yellow locks of hair that fell from her head to her waist like a golden mane.

It didn't happen too often, but Xzavier was smitten.

Her face, hair and complexion were one thing, but her body was a whole other thing. Her slender limbs were in direct contrast to the fullness of her body parts. Even as Xzavier gazed at her, he found himself taken in by the sexually charged atmosphere around the strange woman.

Her voluptuous breasts hung out of her semi torn gown, and in response to the cold morning air, her nipples stood out firm and strong, bursting against her gown.

Her thick luscious thighs blew out of her otherwise slender tummy like an hourglass.

With the beauty sitting on the ground, as Xzavier stood above her as she looked back at him with those eyes and with one arm covering her overflowing cleavage, Xzavier finally understood why those orcs were driven into a sexual frenzy.

He understood why they had killed off all those other soldiers just so they could have their way with her.

The image of the orc digging his fingers into the tender unexplored regions between her thighs flashed through Xzavier's mind. He finally understood.

The beauty suddenly spoke;

"Thank you for saving me kind stranger…"

Her voice was soft and silky and it came out of her mouth like smooth whipped cream. Xzavier found himself struggling to focus to hear what she was saying.

"I am just a humble maidservant in the palace of a ruler. I do not remember how or why, but as I was passing through this area, I was attacked violently by a band of uncivil vagabond orcs."

Her voice trembled a bit, and then gradually, it broke into a sob as she recounted in a sorrowful tone what had happened to her.

The more she spoke, the deeper Xzavier sank into the warmth of her aura. He could spend all day just staring at her. It was impossible not to get lost in her ethereal beauty. Even a logical, mission driven mind like Xzavier could attest to the unfathomable glow and inaudible song of the siren before him.

As she narrated her ordeal to Xzavier, he noticed that there was a certain vulnerability about her that was almost sensual. Xzavier was faced with a dilemma. Since he had gotten the orc's base, his original plan was to head there immediately and launch an all out assault.

He had enough ammunition to execute them without even breaking a sweat. But right now, he was worried about the safety of the beautiful woman before him.

If he left her, there was every possibility that she would be raped bloody by any random band of orcs that may chance upon her.

These woods were their territory. It wouldn't be an unlikely event that they might patrol the woods once again. Even if the orcs wouldn't come across her, there was every possibility that other creatures, or even humans might take advantage of her.

If he couldn't leave her behind, Xzavier knew that the only other viable option would be to get her to safety and protect her from any other threats that might surface along the way.

Xzavier quickly ran the numbers and discerned the fact that he would surely lose a lot of time and ground if he decided to help her out.

There was no way he could get her home safely and at the same time, make it back to his original mission of bombing the base of the orcs.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, a worried look crept across his face. The beauty (who had been narrating all this while) had fully regained her composure. She was quite perceptive so she picked up on Xzavier's hesitation. Without beating about the bush, she asked him blatantly;

"What's the matter stranger? You seem disturbed. Did I do something wrong?"

Her question jerked Xzavier out of his mental process. He quickly got himself back as she threw her question at him. He knew that her motive wasn't insincere. Not wanting to lie to her, he considered his answer briefly and replied her accordingly;

"Honestly, I was on my way to go kill off the remaining orcs. But I remembered you and…"

He paused. Xzavier tried his best not to sound overly egotistical as he answered her. But the blond woman wasn't in the least bothered about his bravado at the moment. On her own end, she cringed at the mention of the word 'orcs.'

She fought to push her fears behind her and started to see things from his perspective. She couldn't fault his reason for hesitating.

It was understandable. She suddenly realized that she had been discourteous. He had saved her life and she hadn't even introduced herself.

"Please, pardon my manners stranger, it rude of me not to have introduced myself…"

She held on to the edge of what remained of her dress and curtsied in the manner that was typical of medieval ladies.

"My name is Adalia sir. My entire family was murdered in one night by the orcs. If you would have me, I would like to tag along with you and watch as you bring an end to their miserable lives."

Xzavier was surprised. This was far from what he expected from her. He didn't quite know how to react to the new turn of events. He couldn't help but be impressed and at the same time, a little worried.

"I am Xzavier Mace. And I come from a land far away from here."