She sighed and sat down across form him. [b]"I have been well. Thank you for asking."[/b] She replied, staring at the fireplace. [b]"I'm sorry to hear about your brothers. It's hard losing a family member like that."[/b] She told him, turning to face him with a smile on her face. She wanted him to at least feel welcomed here. Maybe she should drop the formalities and begin making him feel more comfortable. She could tell that her demeanor was beginning to affect him and as it should. Many of guards would tense up whenever she acted like this. She smiled to herself. She needed to loosen up. After all, he wasn't bad and he was pushed into this as much as she was. 

She reached over best she could and grabbed an apple, her dress almost creaking under the pressure. She smiled awkwardly at him, trying to hide her pain. The dress was just a bit too tight and she could hardly breath but she would tough it out. She pulled the apple to her mouth and took a small bite, chewing with one hand stuck in her lap. Her back was still straight but she hoped that her eyes would convey her... feelings for him. She didn't want to seem uncaring but at the same time she couldn't shake her posture. she felt ridged but at the same time was trying to relax and the dress wasn't helping... nor the heat. Still, she did not buckle nor complain. Her face showed her lineage. A long line of prim and proper princess. That was what she had to be... Even though... She long to be where Link was. To be among the trees and the animals. To be free from this suffocating castle, this suffocating dress, all the suffocating rules and mannerisms. She needed a break. She needed someone she could relax around. Her back was starting to hurt, but she didn't show it. She turned and looked back at the fire. She couldn't even relax around Link. She was bound by duty and promise. 

She turned those thoughts away and once again turned to Aidan. [b]"So, what of the rest of your family? Are they well? Loss like that can strengthen the ties of a family like nothing else."[/b] She said, a soft smile on her face. She didn't pity him, but she saw in him maybe a bit of herself? Maybe... Maybe he knew the suffocating nature of being tied down, of being forced to wear the maskings of nobility, of the upper class. She felt great hatred for the dress that sat upon her body. As if it were a symbol of her shackles; Shackle she knows she can never take off.