Title: Five Things That Never Happened to Inara Serra
Author: carmensandiego
Rating: M, for maturity of content in some parts
Spoilers: Anything and everything goes, although very little of this is set in relation to specific Firefly/Serenity events.
Author's Note: This is a collection of five separate short fics, taking place in five separate potential timelines.
1
The first day Inara meets the woman, it is only days after her eleventh birthday. It is the middle of autumn, and the days are growing shorter. She was picking a few late flowers along the edge of her family's property when a hover carriage stopped nearby.
"Aren't you a pretty young lady." The woman steps out onto the road. She's wrapped in a long sari of deep lavender silk, and gold sparkles at her neck and wrists. Even her long hair shimmers. She's the most elegant woman Inara has ever seen.
Inara smiles back tentatively. Though terraformed primarily for agriculture, the moon Demeter is accustomed to visits from glamorous Sihnon – where Inara guesses this woman must be from – but still, she has been taught not to be effusive with strangers. She clutches her flowers.
"Tell me dear, do you like roses?" She reaches back into her carriage and pulls out a long box. It's tied with a gold ribbon and glimmers almost as much as her garments. She pulls the ribbon and opens the box to reveal what must be a dozen flowers.
Inara pauses slightly, looking from the small wildflowers in her own hands and back to the glamorous bouquet in this stranger's hands. She's seen roses before, usually in pictures. They don't grow on Demeter - something about the moon's soil composition that even terraforming couldn't change. As the box opens, though, the floral scent spills out and Inara's curiosity takes over. She's only ever read about roses, along with so many things from different worlds she's never seen.
The woman holds out the box for a moment and then smiles again at Inara's hesitation. "I can see you're a bright young girl, as well. And why shouldn't you be a little cautious, after all, hmm?" Her head shakes as her expression remains warm. "I was given these by an admirer, but they'll begin to wilt before I can bring them back to my own home."
Now Inara smiles to herself again, watching as the woman pulls out a pair of roses and holds them out to her. She can't resist, and in the process doesn't notice the appraising glance this visitor is giving her.
"They smell so...I'm not sure." She inhales again, draws the flowers closer to her nose. "I like it." Inara's smile broadens.
"Give one to your mother, my dear," the woman tells her, before turning away towards the carriage. "I'm afraid I must carry on to the station." Her jewelry chimes as she steps into her seat and puts the box back in its place. "Perhaps I'll see you again soon."
She settles herself and continues down the road with a wave. Inara smiles back, polite, watching as the carriage disappears around the bend in the road. She looks down at her hands, thinks that now the few flowers she has picked are not enough to surround their two new, bright red companions.
Inara continues searching for flowers, and her bouquet grows. Half an hour later her father calls her in to dinner and the roses are lost in an armful of poppies and lavender. When she comes inside her mother greets Inara with a smile, which broadens when her daughter deposits the bouquet in her hands.
Two weeks later, Inara comes home from school, late from having lingered at a game with the others. She does this often, now. There's a boy from a farm on the other side of the village who has started becoming friendly with her.
When she arrives back at home she's still warm from running and her cheeks are pink from the sun. She comes in through the back and hears the voices before the door is even closed behind her.
Sometimes her mother sees patients at home, and for a moment Inara guesses that this is the case today. But there is something in the tenor of their voices that dismisses that in her mind. She steps forward quietly and listens.
"I'm sure if you give this matter some thought, you may change your mind after all…" She recognizes the voice now, remembering the woman who gave her the flowers, and her tone tells Inara this is a serious conversation. She lingers in the corridor, peeking in at the two women sitting in the front room.
Her mother is already shaking her head before their visitor can say anything else. "You've already heard my answer," she says clearly. "There is nothing left to discuss."
The visitor rises. Her gestures and tone of voice are still the very measure of elegance, but there is a firmness to them that carries an edge. "Your family would naturally receive a very generous sum. In gratitude, of course."
Her mother stands now, too. "So I'll feel better about putting my daughter into high class slavery, then?" She shakes her head. "You underestimate me, madam. And you haven't the slightest idea what my daughter wishes for herself, or her life ahead."
"And so you will not even allow her to consider this opportunity? Think of the life she could lead..."
"That's exactly what I'm thinking of. She's just a child--"
"--who will soon be a woman. Think of the doors that would be opened for her, the influence that would be in her power. Her beauty is already emerging, surely you must see that."
Inara lifts a tentative hand, brushing back the locks of hair that have fallen forward. She's not used to compliments; still doesn't understand how to respond to them. Her mother sometimes tells her that she is pretty, but it's not something she looks for. Never has she heard anyone say that she could be powerful because of it.
A floorboard shifts under her foot, and the women turn at the noise. Two smiles greet Inara, one much broader than the other.
Her mother crosses the room first, presses a kiss to her forehead and puts her arms around her briefly. "Sweetheart, why don't you go find your father. He has some new books for you. I think he's writing in his study at the moment..." Her mother flickers a glance over her shoulder, and Inara knows she is being told to make herself scarce.
Still, she cannot help but glance wide-eyed at the visitor, curious to know what they are talking about. "She was here before," Inara comments to her mother. "What does she want?"
"Nothing, my dear. She is leaving soon."
"Actually, Inara," the woman says, approaching, "I was telling your mother about a wonderful opportunity for you. I think you might like it."
Inara's curious, now, but she can feel her mother's grasp tighten around her hand. She looks up and sees her expression, how the worry lines at her forehead and mouth have deepened just slightly. She's seen her mother look like this before, and it's always been for a reason. She wants to ask what is going on, but the women's conversation continues.
"And I've told you already, madam, what our family's answer is."
The woman doesn't seem to have heard. She keeps looking at Inara. "You're the one who must decide, young lady. Wouldn't you like to hear what I can offer you? There are other young women, just as beautiful as you, and they have all come to live on Sihnon. You could come and live with them, learn about the Universe and…"
"How many times must I tell you 'no'? You will not take my daughter away from her home."
The woman speaks sharply to her mother this time. "I should warn you, Mistress Serra, our Guild has considerable power. You know that I can go to your magistrate, if it comes to that."
Her mother scoffs. "Please do. And while you're there, please give my kind regards to his daughter and new grandson."
Inara smiles up at her mother, remembering the day she had returned from the magistrate's daughter's childbed, and how proud she'd been. Her mother saved two lives that day.
"Will you not at least let your daughter consider the question? She is, after all, of an age that allows her to be aware of her choices."
She looks down at Inara, quiet for a moment. Eventually she leads them all back into the room, sitting with her daughter next to her.
Inara listens as the woman in silk speaks to her gently and enthusiastically, explaining the world of possibilities open to her if Inara comes with her back to this place on Sihnon.
"I would get to travel?" she asks, more than just a spark of curiosity in her voice now. She has long wondered when she would be able to see more of the Universe for herself.
"Oh yes, my dear. You could go as far as you wish, once you complete your training. Some women travel to the very edges of the galaxy."
"What would I learn about?"
The woman shifts a little, composing her words. "Companions are trained to bring comfort to others, both emotional and physical. This is what you will learn."
Inara thinks to herself that this sounds quite nice. She has always envied the way her mother is able to do this. "My mother is going to teach me to be a healer, just like her," she says. "She helps people." Next to her, Inara's mother smiles, blinking suddenly.
The woman looks at Inara's mother briefly, and then returns her attention to Inara herself. "This training would also teach you to help people," she explains. "You would bring them happiness and peace of mind. Companions restore balance to people's lives. Does that sound like something you would enjoy?"
Inara nods. "Yes. I would like to do things like that." A thought occurs to her. "How long does it take to learn this training?"
"Several years, darling. These are skills which take some time to master."
This makes her smile a little to herself. She could master this, these ways of bringing comfort to people. But then she turns again to her mother, whose expression does not share her own interest.
"But you do not wish me to go," Inara says to her mother, half in question and half in confirmation. She's still trying to understand this.
Her mother starts to shake her head, then stops, bringing both of her hand's around Inara. "I want you to have opportunities, sweetheart. And what this lady is offering..." she gestures briefly, "This would certainly be an important opportunity for you." She clears her throat, thinking. "I am concerned that there are other things you would miss out on, if you were to do this."
It dawns on Inara then, the reason why this decision seems to be so important. "Would I have to leave now?"
Their visitor interrupts, answering. "You would need to start your training soon, my dear. There are girls younger than you who have already begun. It would be necessary for you to come as soon as possible."
"Oh." Inara considers this. She looks at her mother again. "I wouldn't get to see you?"
Her mother swallows. She reaches her hands out to stroke Inara's face. "I don't know, sweetheart. Not for a very long while, I think." Her voice wavers as she speaks, and it unsettles Inara.
Inara puts her hands on her mother's arms, eventually clasping her mother's steady hands with her own. For several moments the three of them sit in silence, waiting for the girl's response.
Eventually, she shakes her head. She looks back at her mother. "But I don't want to leave you and father. I would miss you so much if I wasn't here…" Even as she considers it, she feels sadness drifting over her, thinking about what the loneliness might be like. She can feel tears pricking at the corners of her eyes, and something tells her to blink them away – she shouldn't show tears in front of this visitor.
Inara turns again to the woman from Sihnon, lifting her chin a little higher. "I like going to school here. We have the best teachers on all of Demeter, everyone says so," she says without quite understanding why. "And my mother always says healers are needed everywhere in the Universe. I don't want to change my mind."
The woman stiffens again, and this time the gentility has faded from her expression.
Inara is pulled into her mother's arms, startled as she is pressed tightly into the embrace. She wraps her arms around her mother's waist, and thinks that she must have said the right thing.