Merit didn't want to step forward and her eyes, once turned upon the pompous prince showed her distrust and her fear, though she tried to hide it. She did step forward but only for the fact that she didn't want more of the same that she'd gotten recently. She did not like it, not a bit. But how to protest it? Was there a way to? Beneath her clothing she carried bruises and a few remaining places where her skin had broken and given way to welts. Those were healing up but the memory of the pain remained.<br/><br/>He changed her name? She merely blinked at him, not sure what to say. It wasn't<em>his</em>fault that she had been taken and her husband killed… her community sacked and the women raped, children either taken or murdered.  No that greed had belonged to another man and she had nothing to say about it to him, not at that moment at least. She wasn't a fool and didn't long to meet the end of his whip nor taste his blade.<br/><br/>When he said the name Aisha, she turned her eyes to the other female, realizing then and only then that she was not alone in the Prince's care.  She'd never been part of a harem before and she didn’t much like it; her husband had been too poor to afford other women and she rather liked it that way, his companionship was worth going without planned meals. They'd been married for almost two years.<br/><br/>Her eyes held no friendliness nor did they speak of disdain, but she didn't make a move to introduce herself. He'd changed her name. She didn't really know what to think about that, him stripping her identity from her but she was rather hungry and thirsty, and full of distrust.  She wouldn't be taking anything from the woman that she hadn't seen prepared, be it meal or drink.  She knew the tales of concubines and their jealousies, poisoning of wine and fare… she wanted not even the sweetest of honey'd almond milk from the hand of this Aisha.<br/><br/>When the squealing pig spoke of castration or no castration, she did hope that the prince would be merciful to all and have his blithering tongue removed as well; she'd heard goats who bleated less.<br/><br/>The other female signaled for her to approach and she wanted to stay right where she was.  She didn't have a choice, the Prince seemed to be lively but lively often turned to anger in an instant.<br/><br/>"Twenty," she answered the question softly, her words in a whisper. The woman wasn't happy and she was pretty sure that the cat had claws. May Bast protect her, she thought with an internal snicker. She looked at the water in her hands, lifting the goblet to her lips and drank, having seen it be poured from a community pitcher. Probably would be the last safe thing that the woman would hand her.<br/>