New dawn fades

When she smiled, she raised a hand up to her breast, palm upward with her rings scintillating downward, while she gazed at her companions in apparent amazement. The hand then traveled from her bosom to envelope the valley under her high cheekbone. With downcast eyes she allowed the smile a slow but controlled retreat, as if her lips, that were very red indeed, needed some time to return to their normal stance, lest they be damaged in the process.