She catches the way she says address me like that. She didn't mean to misstep, but the truth is that at the moment she's much more familiar with Cetagandan modes of address than the Barrayaran counterparts. It's the first time she's actually met her. "Sorry. Princess Sonia. Is that what you prefer?" Giving her the choice. She can see that she's angry, scared, but she pretends not to notice. She lets her keep her pride- as much as she can, at least.

"I wont ask if you're.. okay. I just wanted to make sure they hadn't hurt you since they brought you here," she offers softly. She's not used to failing like this, let alone in a way that hits her soft spots about young women in trouble. Sonia reminds her of Ava a little, reminds her of friends she's lost, of blood on her hands, and there's a part of her softer than she ever admits to that refuses to let it happen again.

She should have stopped it before it got this far, but she wasn't fast enough. So she works with what's left-- it doesn't feel like a lot.