"Oh. Okay," she said. Emerald looked around at all the houses and farm land. From high off the ground, everything looked so small. Now that she is on the ground, everything looked huge. This little town is kinda cute, she thought. "What's the view of this village like in your castle? Is it far away from here?"

"It depends on what window you are at." Zayne said as he pointed to the castle that could been seen past the village. Once they were in the village square, he came to a stop and helped her to get off the stallion, following after her. He could hear the villagers talking over themselves in congratulating him on killing the fire breathing beast that had flown over their village. "Citizens!!" I have not slayed the dragon. My companion here is the dragon. She only wants safe passage through my kingdom. I have grant her this privilege on the grounds that my people remain safe. He said to them in a voice that was loud enough for them to all hear but not to the point that he was yelling at them. His voice strong, confident and powerful, it carried a weight with it that made people listen to him and accept his words.

After looking at the castle, Emerald waved to the crowd. What a relief! she thought. I'm glad these people listened to him.
She smelled something tasty. She looked around. "Where do we go now?" she asked. "I'm a little hungry."

"We are heading to my home." Zayne to her as he smiled and waved to the crowd as well. Amber eyes looked around for a moment before he climbed back onto the stallion, pulling her up behind him. He clicked his tong and pressed his heels into its' side spurting it to a run so that they could get to his home more quickly. "How much can you eat? I mean i would have gotten something for you from the village but i don't think they would entertain the idea of feeding you after what i had just told them. They will need a bit of time to adjust before they can get to that point." he called back to her, the wind seemed like it was trying to snatch his words away.

"I don't eat as much when I'm a human, but I still eat a lot," Emerald replied. "I'm glad your home is a castle, 'cause otherwise I would hope there would be enough food for the both of us." She chuckled. "Anyway, what are we gonna have?"

"You would probably eat me out of house and home." Zayne to her as he laughed, he was rather amused by her comments before he frowned at seeing various royals and nobles entering the castle. "It appears as if my step-mother has decided to through a ball. So the menu will be a vast but large one." he said to her with a fake smile plastered onto his face as he nodded and waved at various people. It was not long before he lead her into the castle, taking her to a room that was filled with various dresses. "I am sorry. I need you to dress in something a bit more appropriate. I am sad to say that I must use you as my companion." he said to her softly before bowing his head to her as he turned to leave the room.

"A ball?" she asked. "It's one of those human social events, huh? I've never been to one before." Emerald looked around at all the dresses. "Do you have any siblings? 'Cause there are a lot of dresses here." She found a more fancy version of the dress she was wearing. "I'll put on this one." She turned around and saw the prince wasn't there.

Zayne waited long enough for Emerald to find a dress and change into it before knocking on the door, going to change himself. He of course heard what she had to say before leaving the room. He waited until he was sure that she was finished changing before entering once more. "I have a sister but we haven't heard or seen her in a long time. But this is a room that the late Queen had set up so that those who wanted to attend such events could with out feeling out of place." He spoke to her softly as he smiled, looking her over in the dress that she wore before holding his hand out to her. "Yes it is a human social event which sadly i must attend." it was clear by the tone of his voice that he did not want to go, but being a prince means that he had to.

"Sadly?" Emerald asked. "Do you do things different from the others since you're a prince and all that, or do you do the same things the others do?"

"Yes sadly...." Zayne said to her as he gave her a smile, he helped with tying the back of her dress for her. He thought about her next question carefully, tying her green hair back in a braid. "I am not one much for parties. Though you will find out soon enough about what it is like for me."

After Zayne was done tying Emerald's hair to a braid, she looked in a mirror and smiled. That looks so cute, she thought. "Why do you think your step-mother wants to throw a ball?" she asked. "Does she know you don't like parties?"

"She is always throwing a ball. It is probably to make the people to like her more so that she can get her child on the throne and have me gone." Zayne said to her as he pulled a draw open, pulling out some purple jewelry to place on her. He took her hand, tucking it in the crook of his elbow as he lead her towards the ball room. A smile was plastered on his face as he walked down the hall, waving to people and greeting them as they passed. "Yes. She does what she can to get rid of me."

"That's no good," Emerald said as she looked around. She saw music being played, people dancing, and food. She saw lots of food. What caught her eye, though, were the tons of white grapes at the table. She was so hungry, she skipped to the table and grabbed a plate of grapes among other things. Some of the other guests were a little shocked because of how much she put on her plate, but most simply talked with others and paid no mind. She chuckled a bit. She skipped to an empty table and started eating.

Once within the ballroom, Zayne gave a small, real smile as he watched Emerald's eyes sparkle at the spread of food. Chuckling to him self as he watched her get some, ignoring everyone as she promptly sat down to start eating. Though unlike her, he was not able to move about freely as he was instantly surrounded by various women and even some noble men. His face is tense, not that anyone could tell, a smile was permanently plastered on his face. He talked and interacted with everyone, faking a laugh at the appropriate time in conversations. He even danced with a few of the girls, compared to how he acted with Emerald earlier it was like he was just a robot.

After Emerald was done eating, she walked over to Zayne. She knew what was wrong. "Do you need to eat anything?" she asked. "Some food might give you a little break from dancing and talking to people."

"Pardon me." Zayne said to them as he pulled himself away from the crowd that surround him. He was thankful that she had called him away. He took her hand, kissing the back of it as he lead her out onto the dance floor to pull her I to a slow waltz. "thank you...do not worry about me. I can go hours without food and using the restroom. Something I had to learn." he said to her softly in her ear, keeping an eye on everyone around them.

"Oh. Okay." While they were dancing, Emerald glanced at the clock.Oh, good. It's still 10, she thought. She looked back down at their feet, trying to move with the music.

"Emerald....thank you. I know this will go on for a while so would you like to take a break?" Zayne said to her as he flashed her a charming smiling as the twirl around the floor, watching those around them. His eyes landed on his step-mother and he was barely able to keep the disgusted look off of his face. "Don't look at your feet, just watch me." he whispered into her ear as he tilted her face up, not minding when she stepped on his feet.

Emerald quick looked up and chuckled. "Okay. That sounds good." After the song, the two of them went to a table for a quick breather. She looked around to find anyone who looked like an evil step-mother from the human tales her mother read to her as a baby. Unfortunately, according to the young dragon, all the fancy dresses and makeup didn't help her very much. They all look the same to me, she thought. "Where is that step-mom of yours, prince?" she asked. "She's the one who wanted this to happen, so she has to be here."

Zayne smiled as they moved back towards the table, glad that she was making him take a break and the fact he was able to avoid others that wanted him to pay attention to them. "She is right over there on the throne....hard to mess the queen even among these other nobles." he said to her as he pointed out his step-mother, clearly does not like her even if the smile on his face said that he does. "Please avoid her." his words were gentle and whispered as he handed her a drink as he took one himself, trying to enjoy himself.

Emerald nodded. "Okay," she whispered. She took a sip of the drink and smiled as she looked at the window. She secretly hoped Zayne's step-mom wouldn't notice his son with some weird young lady. With a quick glance at the clock and the queen, she took another sip. "When do balls usually end?" she asked after a little bit of silence.

"The normally to very early in the morning or until my step-mother tires of them. Looks like this one is going to last until midnight." Zayne said to her as he chuckled, sipping at his drink. He was looking at his step-mother, noting how she looked so that he could gauge about how long the ball was going to last. The later it grew the more people gradually left. "If you would like to leave, we can do that. Though I do not know how interesting castle life will be to you." he said to her as he took a couple of snacks off a platter that a maid was carrying around for the guests.

"Midnight?" Emerald asked, startled. "That's when I turn back to a dragon." She grabbed a snack. "While I would love to look around the castle, I don't want to scare anybody. Where can I go outside?"

"yep." Zay e said to her as he smiled, it soon dropped to a frown as he was about to ask her was that a problem before she told him. He gave a whole hearted laugh, running a hand through his long red hair. The image of her changing into a dragon right then and there. Scaring everyone away and maybe even his step mother was just a funny sight to behold. "Ah sorry sorry. Yea we can go to the courtyard or to the gardens, even the training grounds. I would say where we keep the stables but you might frighten the horses to death. Besides if you scare people that is okay cause I invited you here after all." he said to her in a kind voice as he reached out with his hand to tuck a stray strand of hair back behind her ear.

Emerald smiled. "Garden, it is! I don't plan on scaring anyone again today. You know what happened last time I accidentally scared anyone. Where's the fastest route to the garden?" She looked at her drink and found that it was empty.