Yasmin frowned, feeling anger and frustration building deep inside her--because she hated this. She hated the way that woman said it, like it was a foreign concept. Like it was such a stretch to consider that she and Agrian were human, not animals.
Not monsters.
But she swallowed it back. Snapping at the Shah, of all people, would not help their very precarious situation. Instead, Yasmin let her expression soften and gave her a sad smile. She didn't have to fake it; in addition to the anger and frustration, despair was pretty quick to follow. It was demoralizing, dehumanizing, to be viewed this way.
"Well...yes, Your Highness," she said, and realized then that though the Shah may not view them as human, Yasmin knew the woman was just as capable of feeling as she was. Wasn't she? Hakeshna, she hoped so. "I've known this man since I came here five years ago, scared out of my mind and sure I was going to die. He saved me."
She laughed and waved a hand. "Ah, not in the same way as today, of course. Just in the sense that I didn't know a thing about fighting back then. I had a fairly soft life before that. With no experience, I was certain I was going to die the instant I set foot in that arena. Haha, I think I cried myself to sleep every night before the big day. Anyway, this one here--" She motioned to Agrian with a lopsided grin. "He took pity on me. Showed me some things. He didn't have to, but he did--and I survived that day. And I'm still alive now."
Yasmin rubbed some old scars on her arm, looking away, and swallowed. "We'd never fought until today. I honestly thought I'd die--he's always been better than me. And I suppose that wouldn't have been so bad, since I know he would have made sure I didn't suffer. But...well, you saw what happened. I owe him my life twice now, and Your Highness, if you asked me to kill him, I couldn't do it, either. He's my friend."
She looked up at the Shah finally. "Could you kill your dearest friend if ordered to? The friend you owe your very life to?"