ONCE UPON A time, there was a king who had three beautiful daughters. The girls grew up as lovely as the day was long. They made grand marriages, too, but the arrival of the first grandchild brought disappointment. The youngest princess produced a daughter so very, very tiny that her mother took to keeping her in a pocket, where the girl went
“Do you know why I chose the name Hawke?”
My heart kicked at my chest at the unexpected change of subject. “I figured it was a name that belonged to whatever poor soul you most likely killed.”
He laughed, but there was no humor. “There was no poor soul who owned that name. Or at least not that I’m aware of. If there is or was, that would be a pure coincidence. But I chose Hawke for a reason.”
I wanted to tell him that I didn’t care, but I did. Oh gods, I wanted to know.
He lowered his hand. “In Atlantia, it is tradition to be given a second name, a middle one, so to speak. It's given in honor of a cherished family member or friend, usually picked by the mother, and it is a well-guarded secret only shared outside of the family with the closest of friends and with those who hold a special place in one’s life. My mother chose my middle name in honor of her brother. His name was Hawkethrone. My full name is Casteel Hawkethrone Da’Neer. When I was a small child, my mother took to calling me an abbreviated form of that name. And so did my brother. They, and only they had ever known me as Hawke,” he said. “Until you.”
I soon learned to know this flower better. On the little prince’s planet the flowers had always been very simple. They had only one ring of petals; they took up no room at all; they were a trouble to nobody. One morning they would appear in the grass, and by night they would have faded peacefully away. But one day, from a seed blown from no one
Chapter 8Kitabı okuyacak
Subjects don’t have to fill the frame to pack a punch.
By allowing your subject to sit within a wider composition you communicate context. This makes the viewer aware of the landscape the subject exists within. Just keep in mind that if your subject is small within the composition, you need to make sure it still remains the focal point.
Sayfa 26
Aaron’s eyes didn’t waver. They held mine. And just as they did, I watched how they warmed up for just a heartbeat. The skin around them wrinkling only slightly with the smile I now knew he refused to give me.
I felt something shift in my chest. Something very subtle and small that I almost missed, but it didn’t help the pace of my breath—still all over the place from the auction—to return to normal.
He took one step closer. “Sometimes, I’m convinced you enjoy making me suffer.” His usually deep voice sounded hushed. Giving to his words an afterthought quality.
“Oh.” I frowned. My mouth opened, but I still struggled for a few more moments. “Okay, you have every right to be pissed, but in all fairness, we are even because you should have warned me it would get that intense.” I laughed awkwardly. “If I had known, I would have added a ninja star or two to my outfit. They would have definitely come in handy with Lady in Red.”
Aaron towered over my short height, quiet and still gazing at me in that way that made me shift on my feet again.
Silence settled between us once more, bringing to my attention that we were no longer surrounded by the crowd that had gathered in front of the stage. Instead, the murmur of voices accompanied with a mellow tune came all the way from the other side of the rooftop.
Aaron broke the silence, saying, “Dance with me.”
This is surprising because higher income undoubtedly permits the purchase of many pleasures, including vacations in interesting places and opera tickets, as well as an improved living environment. Why do these added pleasures not show up in reports of emotional experience? A plausible interpretation is that higher income is associated with a reduced ability to enjoy small pleasures of life. There is suggestive evidence in favour of this idea: priming students with the idea of wealth reduces the pleasure their face expresses as they eat a bar of chocolate!
Sayfa 473 - e-bookKitabı okudu
