pre⋅tend [pri-tend]
–adjective 10. Informal. make-believe; simulated; counterfeit: pretend diamonds
The days are long and silent here. Whispered longings overshadow even the sweetest of victories, as learning becomes her only solace. It is not her place to desire more than has been offered to her. This unique offer made out of marble floors, and lush furnishings. Like the shah’s favorite, and yet required to give nothing but her voice as payment.
It did not seem terribly strange, music was the only thing that stirred his soul, and music was the one thing denied her outside these walls. Her voice a danger, her strange and unreliable magic brought to stunning life by a succession of notes.
Music bound her to him. Music bound them to each other in away, but even as he praised her voices beauty and slowly taught her technical. She knew she disappointed him. New that he wished for a song mage and instead found a singer, whose voice set things ablaze.
His breath was warm against her shoulder. His hands were hot on her arms. He stood too close against her back. Invading her personal space, as if it was his right, and a shiver worked its way down her spine.
Sing he whispered. Enticing and inexorable, her voice rose to meet his demand. He stopped breathing somewhere after the fifth measure, his warm breathe no longer tickling distractingly along her neck. His hands remained as if to keep her standing in the proper position, and song poured from her lips continuously. She wasn’t aware of breathing herself, though she knew she must be his scent so strong in her nose. When the song ended, he whispered his pleasure against her hair. His lips brushing against the wild strands as he spoke.
She turned slowly, uncertain of his response. She had sung and sung well, but as was custom, no power rose to meet her voice. Though she could not ignore the candles, each burnt to tiny stubs with only the passage of an hour.
“You should go prepare for dinner.” He said after a moment, dismissing her easily.
[...] Pretend. [...]