} drabble : body language {

Nikiya’s gift is not song. There are devadasi at the temple who sing, but Nikiya does not count amongst them. Thus, when Gamzatti requests that she sings for her a lullaby, her devotion forbids her to decline, yet her talents fail to keep the princess satisfied. “Your voice,” she says, dismissively, “it is weak. Inferior to your body, use body language instead.” And indeed, Nikiya does. She dances a song, a lullaby to calm her beloved’s nerves with all the gentle heat of smouldering embers, but what causes Gamzatti finally to fall asleep is another use of the body altogether.