[When she sets the kettle back down, she turns off the burner and her attention exchanges between their two cups, evidently keeping an eye on how it steeps and when she ought to offer Balthier his. No amount of her watchful eye, however, leaves her ignorant to his assessment of her situation. It's a pretty easy conclusion to come to and not really inaccurate either.]

You're astute.

[Aerith replies to him with a nod.]

Yeah. They've been looking for what is called the Promised Land. In Cetra legend, it's supposed to be a place with an overabundance of the energy source they want. Only a Cetra knows where it's at. When I was little they had my mom and me in their custody. I'd draw pictures on the walls and tell them it was the Promised Land because that's... what it was. They'd take my mom out every day, probably to question her on where it was. When she wouldn't tell them, they decided... why use Cetra who won't cooperate? Why not make their own?

[She doubts she needs to spell it out beyond that.]

So it was like that until we were able to escape. My mom took us to Sector 7 of Midgar and that's that.

[That's not exactly that, but the rest of what follows isn't something Aerith immediately relinquishes.]