Azarias couldn't tell if Allandra was joking or not, and if she was, why she was doing it. It wasn't as though the two of them were friends, or even that close. They had only just met not that long ago, and though she may have stopped the people in this realm from jumping him and killing him on sight, that did not make them friends. Her sudden hospitality was a little eerie.<br/><br/>As they walked, Azarias allowed his mind to return to the little encounter at the shrine. How easily those other dragons had been persuaded to listen, and to allow for him, a black dragon, to remain in their midst. He suspected Allandra was a powerful individual here, not just in terms of abilities and such, but in influence. Here she was a guardian, someone to look up to and respect. If he could get her onto his side, his influence would be greatly augmented. He would need to ensure his agenda remained hidden, all the blame remaining on his poor, clueless brother, until he was at a point where the next steps could be taken. So far Allandra seemed to be much more comfortable around him, friendlier...perhaps progress wasn't so far off as the prince had originally thought.<br/><br/>He was a little surprised when she asked about what a prince did. Did they not have rulers here? Had she not mentioned only moments before that they had a Lord? Of course, the way things were run in the various realms was different, but to this extent? Azarias had never been one to interact much with the more common folk in his own realm, but surely those outside of the palace, or in his case, the stronghold, knew something of what went on behind the imposing stone walls. Where was he suppose to start with explaining?<br/><br/>"Well, as a prince I am expected to learn how a realm is run on the off chance that I should become king. Of course, my brother being the eldest is the crown prince and as such was given more lessons in these affairs then I was." This hadn't stopped Azarias from learning on his own, filling in where his brother was too stupid to perform his duties and making him look good in from of their people. So many times his brother had gotten the credit for something Azarias had done, or instructed the other prince to do. He was thankful for the change in subject, otherwise he would have continued along this dark path of thoughts.<br/><br/>"I'm sure you are aware of my magical talents." Azarias said, allowing for the chains he wore to disappear. "And it just so happens that enchanting was one of many areas of the magical arts that I studied in my spare time." The black dragon smiled, prideful in his power and knowledge. "As a<span style="font-style: italic">prince</span>," Azarias stressed the title after Allandra's comment. "I was treated with respect. In fact, many of our servants even feared me. Could you imagine?" Azarias nearly laughed at the thought, something else he prided himself on, before catching himself. He was becoming much to relaxed, and in an enemy land of all places! His spine stiffened and the prince stood straight once more as they approached the house.<br/><br/>When Allandra turned around to face him just outside the door, Azarias thought she was going to give him some kind of warning and he prepared himself to scoff at such a thing. What he got instead caused the black dragon to pause for a few seconds longer than he normally would have, one eyebrow raised at the question and the giggling faerie dragon. He would be ashamed to admit that he had stuttered a little in giving an answer.<br/><br/>"I...I would suppose yes, he could, under the right circumstances of course." Clearing his throat and looking anywhere else but at Allandra, Azarias followed the faerie dragon inside. He was still a little confused by her previous question, and he allowed Allandra to  prepare the bed as she saw fit. He had nothing with him, but what the shelter provided would be enough. It was no where near what he was used to, having grown up being waited on, with anything he could want (within reason of course) right at his fingertips. He visibly perked up at the mention of books though, and the black dragon was soon running his pale fingers over the spines, reading the titles as he went. It was far from the library back home, seldom used by anyone but himself and the very few scholars left to their people. Most black dragons had no use for books, more concerned with the battle than the history.<br/><br/>"It's no stronghold, but it will do." He said in his usual cool tone, once more turning to face Allandra. He was aware of the awkward silence growing between the two now that the immediate threat was behind them.<br/><br/>"You've asked a lot about myself, but what of you? What does a Guardian do?" Azarias saw this as an opportunity to do some additional learning on things he had little to no knowledge on. There were other questions he would love to ask, but he held back. There would be time yet for those, and he didn't want to draw any suspicion to himself.