Aria A Cappella

Part 4

Author's Notes: I am so very sorry for the immensely long wait. I just completely forgot about needed some time to think about this story. This chapter steadfastly refused to be written. It did not want to happen. I finally beat it out, and while I'm not proud of the work, it's what I've got. Thank you so much for your patience, and I'll get straight to work on the (hopefully longer) (and better) next chapter.

Jayne sat at the small desk in his room. The room was not large, but there was plenty of room. It had been decorated in varying shades of blue. There was a soft bed in one corner, a bureau against the wall, and a small desk and chair in another corner. It was very nice, catering to all needs he had, as well as being very comfortable. He scowled. Comfort made him uneasy. Better to be squatting in the dirt and heat than lounging in a soft chair with a cool breeze blowing. Comfort made a man lose his edge. And, Jayne thought, as he lifted a knife and pointed it threateningly at a painting of a lake, the edge was all that kept you from being a corpse.

"Howdy there, Jayne." Startled out of his posturing, Jayne fumbled with the knife for a few seconds before slamming it down on the desk.

"Gorramit, Mal," he turned towards the panel set into his wall, "don't startle me like that."

The captain laughed, his face and voice transmitted through said panel. He shook his head.

"Couldn't resist. You know me." Jayne rolled his eyes, but Mal ignored him. "So, how's things on lovely Maat?"

"Fine," Jayne replied evasively. He didn't think he ought to mention how they were stopped by the Feds not even an hour into their stay. They were both fine…nothing for the captain to worry about. Jayne wouldn't want to make the captain stress about things past.

"That's good." Mal obviously wasn't buying it, but he wouldn't press it.

"How's things with you folk?"

"Ah, criminal activities are at an all-time high," Mal smiled broadly, eyes twinkling. "Thanks so much for asking."

"Wasn't nothing," Jayne shrugged, picking up his knife. "How much longer you reckon we'll be here?"

"Not more'n a week, if all goes smooth." The two men exchanged a knowing look. Since when had things ever gone smooth? "Honestly though, I don't think it'll be much longer. Why? Not enjoying your vacation?" Jayne snorted.

"Gettin' a mite tired of the crazy girl's company."

"How's the little lady doing?" Jayne shrugged.

"She's crazy."

Mal grinned to himself, though Jayne didn't understand the cause of his amusement. There was some sound from off-screen, and Mal looked away from the camera. He listened, then nodded, before turning back to Jayne.

"Wash tells me we'll be entering atmo in a few, so I should be returning to my captain-ly duties."

"Have fun," Jayne said wistfully, extremely jealous that the rest of the crew was participating in possibly violent crime without him. Mal smirked back at him.

"You can count on it."

The screen flickered the black, the connection broken. Jayne sighed, and picked up the knife again. He fiddled with it for a few seconds, before setting it down. It was getting beyond dull staying in his room. However, venturing out meant dealing with River. He hadn't seen her since the day before, when she'd "helped" him unpack.

Obviously not trusting her with any weaponry, he had given her charge of his few other possessions, mostly clothing. Of course, being crazy, she had not been able to complete the very simple task. She had strewn clothing about the room, throwing a shirt into the hall and chucking a holster on top of the cabinet. She even tossed a pair of his boots out the window, to be discovered later atop a topiary by a highly confused gardener. To make matters worse, whenever he tried to correct her haphazard placements, she merely picked up the retrieved item, and placed it in an even odder position. Finally he had given up, and ordered his belongings once she had disappeared down the hallway with a knowing nod.

Now he weighed the possibilities. If he stayed in this pretty room, he might die of boredom. Or maybe shoot himself. If he left…no power of man nor God could predict what insanities he might witness. In the end, he decided that at least insanities would be interesting, so he strode out into the hall, and headed in search of entertainment.

What he found surprised him. River and Madame (as she insisted they call her) were deeply involved in a game of chess. True, River was precariously balancing on the back of a chair, and there were playing cards scattered in a small fairy circle around her. But he had never seen her concentrated so hard on anything normal for so long. She stared unblinkingly at the board, lost in thought.

"Playing a game?" Jayne grunted, stating the obvious to announce his presence. Madame turned and smiled at him. River smiled too, though she did not look away from the board.

"Not a game," she whispered, giggling a little.

"Then what is it?" Jayne asked, not sure what kind of crazy answer to expect. River's smile widened.

"It's a war," she said, sounding thrilled at the thought, "blood pouring into the ground, the very stones weep tears of crimson. The enemy forces are advancing, and there's not a chance they'll cease their march of doom. One can only hope they haven't got dinosaurs." Her laughter was jovial and good-natured, that of pleasure at a shared joke. Jayne didn't get it. From the look on Madame's face, neither did she. But neither of the sane people said a word. After some contemplation of her own, Madame gently pushed her rook forward, and leaned back with a triumphant smile.

River didn't hesitate for a second before seizing the rook with a properly positioned knight.

"Slashed it to bits," she said, almost apologetically as she removed the rook from the board. Just like me, Jayne thought, rubbing his chest at the memory of a certain little psycho and a butcher knife. That had been punishment, he was now sure. She had known he would betray them on Ariel, knew that it was in his mind all along. She had tried to prevent it. River shook her head.

"Looking too deep," she muttered, as if speaking to the board itself, "reading between lines that don't exist. Look to the surface, the covering is the key."

"What the—" Jayne began, but stopped abruptly when he noticed Madame smiling slightly. He still wanted to at least pretend he had manners. He grumbled under his breath and wiped his hands on his pants, for lack of something better to do.

The two returned to their game, and played in silence. Jayne watched, trying to figure out what was happening. Chess had always been far too confusing for him to bother with it. It seemed like a sissy kind of pastime anyway. What was the point in a hobby you didn't get to shoot stuff during? But now, he felt very lost. He was surrounded by finery, something he never felt comfortable with. And he was stranded with the craziest girl in 'verse. It wasn't a great deal. His "vacation" was far more stressful than any time of work for him.

River stretched her legs out for a moment, wobbling dangerously, before tucking them back in. She tilted her head and bit her lip as she regarded the pieces. Madame still had a tiny smile on her face, as though she was humoring the younger girl. River either didn't notice, or didn't care. She blinked slowly and smiled a little. She reached out and nudged her bishop.

"Checkmate."