Aria A Cappella

Part 5

Author's Notes: I expected this chapter to be longer in coming since I've been pretty much unable to write because…well…my mind has been taken over by Green Day, and I've recently preferred to sit at the computer blaring my CDs and watching a slideshow of Billie Joe pictures as opposed to…writing, or something crazy like that. However, this one was much easier to write, since I've had several of the scenes planned out before I even wrote the first chapter.

Soundtrack: International Superhits (Especially 'Longview', 'Minority' & 'Warning')

River was lost. It wouldn't be obvious to the casual observer. Someone in the room would see her sitting next to Madame on the carved piano bench. They would hear her making her voice mimic the pale keys Madame pressed. To have a piano, a real piano, not some kind of synthesizer, was truly a mark of wealth. Someone sitting there would see her and hear her, and wonder how she could possibly be lost when she was right there. But although River could hear the sound of her own voice ringing out, could feel the smooth cool wood on the backs of her leg at the place where her skirt failed to cover her…she knew she was actually galaxies away.

She wasn't sure exactly where this strange place was, but it was not anyplace she had seen before. That was what lost meant, really. Not knowing where you are, how you got there, how to get home. She had been lost for a very long time now. Months, years, she wasn't exactly sure. Perhaps it had been a century. Some of them noticed. Simon pretended not to. He didn't want to know she was lost, he hoped that if he didn't accept it, it would cease to be true. But it wasn't working. He tried to bring her home, bring her back. But he couldn't. She couldn't find her way back. Because they took it from her. They took it.

"Try this one, River." Madame let her fingers fly along the keys, singing along with herself, to show River what to do. River obeyed, and Madame smiled broadly. "You really are quite talented, dear, don't let anyone tell you differently. I haven't had such a natural talent in all my years at the Guild."

"Showed all the little songbirds what to do," River said agreeably, but her eyes were sad. "Taught the painted china dolls, even though you couldn't be one of them."

Madame's eyes widened, and she flushed.

"River, I…what do…how could you…?" she trailed off, unable to form the proper question. River rolled her shoulders, trying to release the tension that had suddenly settled in the room, like a haze. It wouldn't have mattered if Madame found her question. She couldn't have answered it. She was sure. Her mouth would betray her, and not let her explain the string of seemingly unconnected words that would spill forth. She shook her head as Jayne entered. River glanced up at him, broken-hearted that she had hurt Madame's mind.

"Her birthday is next week," she said quietly. Madame brightened immediately, thrilled to have something else to talk about.

"Your birthday, River, really? Oh, we must have a celebration! I'll invite absolutely everyone, and-"

"How's that gonna work?" Jayne snorted. "She's on rutting wanted scans." Madame's face fell slightly, and River mentally cursed Jayne for depressing her. However, the depression didn't hold for long.

"It will be a masquerade! I hear they're all the rage on Loki." River nodded enthusiastically, then leapt to her feet and did a stunning twirling jump on her way out of the room. Madame bustled off to begin planning, but Jayne stared after River's back, watching her skirt flare around her. He followed her into the hall.

"Hey, wait up! Crazy girl!" River ended her bound abruptly, landing with enough force to shake several of the antique ceramics that were displayed along the corridor. She cocked her head to peer under her arm, looking back at him.

"Yes?"

"Why do you do that?" He couldn't stop the question from coming forward. He had been wondering about it for a while, and far be it from Jayne Cobb to not speak his mind. "Talk about yourself like you're somebody else. You're always saying 'her' and 'River'."

River stared back at him for a second, then straightened and turned around so she was facing him. She looked incalculably sad.

"That's because I'm not River." Jayne's mouth dropped.

"What're you talking about? Of course you're-"

"No! No no no," she clapped her hands over her ears and shook her head violently. "Not River. River lived here once. But she's gone now. They tore her apart. They ripped River to shreds, and Simon can't put her back. He tries, he tries so hard but he can't, because the pieces don't fit properly. No matter how Simon strives, River can't be reassembled, the vital bit is missing. They took it. They took it from her, and she can't get it back."

Jayne was awed for a moment by her outburst, then regained his bearings. "What'd they take?" She lowered her hands experimentally.

"Nothing." Her whisper was barely audible, especially in comparison to her earlier shouting. Jayne rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, girl, don't you get all-"

"Nothing!" She full-out screamed at him, sounding quite hysterical, and he winced at her piercingly shrill tone. She stormed up to him, stopping only a few inches away, and she glared up at him, pointing accusingly. "They took nothing. Nothing is gone. I am every place, every time, everyone. Nothing is lost. They stole away nothing, and she will never get it back."

She poked his chest firmly and he looked down at her in surprise. What was that all about? His mind was struggling to work it's way around everything she had just said. It sparked something in his memory, giving him a rare flash of insight.

"Does that have to do with that miggy thing the doctor was talkin' about back on Ariel?" She stared hard at him, apparently trying to puzzle something out in his face. After a few moments, a small smile appeared. She shook her head, still smiling just a bit, looking very much like a mother who, however angered by her child's mischief, could not really stay displeased with him.

"Minds work in mysterious ways. Perhaps the muscles bind some gray matter." She reached up and rested her delicate hands on his broad shoulders. She nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Cobb. I'll take it from here."

Her hands flew into the air so fast Jayne started. For a moment he thought she was going to hit him, but no. She arced her arms over her head and twisted her feet into proper ballerina position. She pirouetted on the spot, almost catching his nose in her whirling arms. He leaned back, staring incredulously at her. She spun for a few moments, then stopped. She looked up at his furrowed face, and bowed solemnly. She then turned on her heel and strode down the hall, leaving him in confusion.

"What the rutting hell was that?"