[@Dusksong]Desmond lit the cigarette he had started before with a snap of his fingers and took a long, hard drag. He inhaled the cloud of billowing slate grey and released it through his nostrils. He ignored the custom of bowing or self presentation, but addressed her appropriately. 

"Your Highness, I understand you witnessed something peculiar today," he stepped forward with one hand out as if he didn't already know exactly where the desk was, which he did. It was a skill he had learn long ago to remember the placement of objects in a room, and wherever he went. His enhanced senses were Ben more enhanced than that of the average Moroi too, due to the lack of one, "but that is not what interests me. What I find fascinating is that you must have seen his eyes, and yet you did not flee. Most Moroi Royals are too self-preserving to brave anything, let alone an unknown and frankly terrifying beast." He drew once more, blowing the smoke away from the princess before continuing, "Are you courageous, stupid, or simply intrigued?"

Two of those options were useful to the official. One was not. Her answer would decide the next course of action. He waited, his head turned slightly so that his ear was toward her. The air was spiced with clove scent. The retrofitted air conditioning hummed ever so softly. He could hear every little sound and smell every scent, right down to the Chancellor blinking and the faint perspiration of the Dhampirs outside. They didn't like being separated from their charge. That too was good. Despite all of the 'noise' in the room, Desmond could smell the royal girl's perfume perfectly, and hear her breath and heartbeat. The tiniest hint of a lie would be like an alarm clock in his ears. This was his main value, the one that gave him purpose in his secret duties under the queen.