Aris looked at the ground, a glint of contempt in her eyes when she glanced up at the Doge. The guards seemed jittery; perhaps it was because the Doge had heard them a moment ago. Aris didn't know, and she didn't care.<br/><br/>The sound of shoes pounding against the marble floor was deafening in the terrible silence the Doge had created. Aris remained still, not moving, not flinching when the Doge spoke of changing her hair color.<span style="font-style: italic">How can a mortal man think to make me any more perfect than I already am?</span>she wondered, but didn't acknowledge the words until one of the servants came back with a bucket filled with a strong chemical sloshing around in it. As he set the bucket down, Aris decided that being mute was not helping her get out of the situation. "You have me dunked in wine, dunked in bleach. You treat me like property; have you no guilt?"<br/><br/>-----------------------<br/><br/>Nathaniel gave a shrug to Ashton's request of not defiling her well-earned name. He flexed his hands, as if he would miss using claws while acting like a human. "I can use a sword just fine, but I am not getting on those stupid beasts" He glared at one of the horses, who looked rather worried about what Nathaniel might do. "I can run nearly as fast as a horse if need be."