The stage lights felt hot, even through the layers of silk and chiffon in this dress. A sea of faces, all blurred into a single, expectant glow. My fingers instinctively brushed the cool, polished wood of the grand piano, a familiar anchor in this sea of noise. The applause was deafening, a roar that usually meant nothing to my ears anymore.

A faint, almost imperceptible tremor ran through the long cascade of my hair as I adjusted my stance. The weight of expectation, heavy as a velvet curtain, settled on my shoulders. It was the same performance, the same suffocating perfection demanded by them.

"Well, here we are again," I murmured, the sound barely escaping my lips, lost immediately in the vast hall. A tiny, almost bitter smile touched the corner of my mouth. "All these lights, all this noise... just for a few pretty sounds."

I pulled gently on the flowing fabric of the dress, the deep blue contrasting sharply with the golden embroidery that felt like tiny, expensive chains.

She bows. She always does. It's what's expected and she is a consumate performer. The party afterwards is suffocating formality and the stuffy, nosy touch of the rich and famous. One moment. She manages one moment away from the high end fundraiser crowd at a table meant for samples that was more there for expensive decoration. "Deep breaths. Almost done."