Further into the castle was not the direction Merida had wanted to go. She had hoped that he had meant outside in the courtyard, she might have even been persuaded to stay longer if he had taken her to the castle gardens. The earth and the soil were her life and she had come to love all of it, in her own way. Instead, she now stood, much too close to the king's side, in a room filled with fresh fruit. Who could eat all of this fruit? Would it not go bad before it was eaten? Her siblings would love to have some of the apples and plums. They did not have very many fruit trees on their property. Maybe she should plant fruit trees. She didn't know how they affected the soil though and she didn't have the tools to pick the top fruit, not to mention it was a large investment for a future profit.

Merida shook her head, now was not the time to be thinking about this. "I much prefer the outdoors your majesty, there is a beauty to the vastness beyond our skies." She had once heard a fairy tale about people who became stars after they died. She no longer believed in fairy tales but it had been a comforting thought when she had first lost her parents; even now she felt comfort in looking at the stars. "Is it not rude to ask about someone before offering some details of your own?" She wanted to direct the conversation away from herself, but the king seemed insistent.

When he went to touch her face she took a step back. She had not for a second thought about the fact that being in a room, alone, with a man, could cause her potential bodily harm but now it was the only thing going through her mind. "Yes your majesty, I do. I have two children at home who rely solely on my care." She was sure her brother would be able to take care of their sister if something happened but she did not want to put him in that position. That was also not something the King needed to know. She did hope however that the king assumed they were her own children, that he would think her a harlot and lose interest.

Her guard was up and her adrenaline was pumping. Merida did her best to keep her voice calm. "I really should head home soon, as I said, the streets can be very dangerous at night." As it was, Merida knew there would probably be more bandits out looking to attack women on their way back from the ball. "Besides, you were so uninterested in the ball, surely there is something else you would rather be doing."