A/N: Another REVISED & UPDATED chapter. Still not totally new, though.
I've fixed a few odd places, brought Mal into it a bit more, and added some Chinese cussing. (Well, it's Firefly, yeah?)
Thanks to my co-'ghost'-writer, 24K for the input, prodding, and suggestion that I watch Out of Gas last night.

Serenity: Walk Among Ghosts

Part 2: the castle

River paused to take in the view once she reached the top of the cliff. The shock was enough to freeze her feet. Ahead of her, the base masked by trees, was a rather imposing, dusty-soot colored – castle. Well, her mind thought it looked like a castle. It had all the trappings of one, at the very least. The towers rose above the trees at two corners of what she guessed would be thick walls. One of the near corners looked as though some massive creature had torn the tower apart, the large stone blocks crumbling into and on top of the remaining round shape visible just above the tree tops. Her pause was long enough for a small but strong hand to firmly grip her shaking arm. A voice soothingly whispered, "River? It is all right. No one is angered with you. River?" Some part of River was aware enough to turn her head and look into Inara Serra's eyes before gripping the companion's face and forcing her to look at the structure. "—Oh!" The surprise in the sound threatened to send River into a fit of giggles. Now why had she overlooked such an imposing building when plotting the path for landing the ship, she wondered. Surely it showed up on the scans. Maybe the fact that there was no life signs or energy readings caused her to ignore it. River was inwardly alarmed. Something was pulling her toward the edifice, of that she had no doubt, and having overlooked it being so close to the chosen landing spot was a gross error in judgement. Her captain should skin her alive for such a horrid mistake.

Kaylee, having arrived with 'Nara, stood slack-jawed slightly behind the two dark haired women, her light sandy-brown hair catching a breeze off the creek that flowed just off to the left of the path. Her eyes were glued to the ruins in front of her. "Inara, have you ever… seen anything like this before?" she tore her eyes off the building to look at the shocked companion. The other woman didn't even need to answer. Her face revealed that there shouldn't be a castle here on this far-flung world. And even if one had been built, it should still be teaming with life, not a ruin like this one was.

The other four crewmembers of the good ship Serenity gained the edge of the path, the doctor bending over and grasping his knees to aid in catching his breath. Zoë swore softly in surprise, "Ai ya…"

It took Mal a second to register what it was that had the women's attention. 'Kao!' he thought in his mind, 'it's a castle, right out of a child's storybook. How the di-yu --?' He shook his head and looked to River, "Well, isn't this interesting. River, how did your scans miss this?" Mal's voice was a blend of out-of-breath, annoyance, and exasperation. River turned with her eyes the size of saucers and shook her head. "Look, girl, it's Okay. We all make mistakes. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. Come on. Back to the ship."

"Sir, don't you think we should make sure that there's no threat here?" Zoë was ever practical, and she could tell that River, if forced, would explode into a full capable-of-removing-an-army weapon that none of them stood a chance against. At this point, Serenity was more at risk of her sabotaging delicate systems to get out than the crew was of whatever might live in the ruins. She eyed Inara's firm, near white-knuckle, grip on River's arm, one that was holding River back from what might be pulling her forward. "I don't recall there being any large homesteads here, in any case. Do you?"

Mal eyed his second for a moment. Since Wash had died, Zoë was slipping more and more into her old military persona. That worried him somewhat. Still, she could read River better than most of them so there had to be a reason for the suggestion. He eyed the green-garbed girl for a minute before settling on Inara's face and seeing her pleading look. He was going to regret this if the lead feeling in his gut was any indication. Tightening his jaw he nodded, "All right. Let's have a look around then."

Zoë moved to the front, "River, walk with me, okay?" The longhaired young woman stepped up beside her, just back enough to give the older woman a clear view. She heard Mal set the others in place with Jayne taking the rear as they set off into the scattering of thin-trucked trees. 'Nara kept close as well, close enough to keep a light hand on River's shoulder. Zoë could hear the pilot muttering softly under her breath as they walked. The words sounded like 'Ghosts… Walk with me, and you will see… there is no more blood in my ethereal flesh… ghosts like me never rest….' There was more, some spoken so softly that she couldn't pick out individual words. Glancing back at the companion revealed that she too was listening to the riddle and trying to make sense of it. Zoë decided to leave it in Inara's capable hands for the moment and focus on keeping everyone safe.

The walk was a short one. They reached the edge of an overgrown lawn, bound by overgrown hedges. There was a gate teetering off its hinges and the creaking of metal strained by heavy weight reached their ears. She looked at River. "Stay here while I look around." River nodded and folded her arms across her chest. Zoë moved forward relying on her military training to keep her safe. Mal signaled Jayne to follow his second and watch her back. Zoë imagined that Jayne was looking a shade pale at the order. She heard his footsteps behind her. "Jayne? Check the carriage house."

"The what?" Leave it to Jayne to not know what a carriage house was. Zoë pointed at the large garage like structure just past the gates. "Oh, you mean the ship barn."

"Jayne, this is a castle. Castles don't have 'ship barns.' They have 'carriage houses.' For horse drawn carriages."

"When did you become Inara, anyhow?"

"Just check it out, Jayne."

"Yes, Sir."

Zoë turned her attention to sweeping the courtyard. It was rather nicely maintained, if a bit weedy. The cobblestones were in good shape. The fountain in the middle was dry; parts of it stained with a rusty brown scale of some sort. She swallowed. It couldn't be blood. Jayne reappeared and waved the all clear. She motioned him toward the massive front doors. He quirked an eyebrow before moving up to the steps opposite her. Zoë took the point and moved up to the door. She pushed. The door made a creaking sound as it swung open. Dust motes danced in the stale smelling air beyond. Jayne stood next to her and looked around. She waved him off to the side before turning to the butler's quarters that stood to her left. The door was blocked with a heavy metal bar and a padlock. Zoë stared for a moment before sweeping the rest of the narrow room. She ended up at the inner door, which was just as heavy as the last one, but on a smaller scale.

Jayne felt weird about this place. Something was not right. The outer building was filled with fancy wagons and coaches, all covered with a layer of dust. The long room he now scouted was nearly empty except for the thick carpet so dusty that the colors were muted to shades of browns and tan. Each step raised clouds of dust motes. The air had a faint tang to it that he wanted to say was death, but there were no signs of a struggle here. He reached the end of the room, looked at the odd cloth hanging on the wall there and grimaced at the morbid scene of an ancient battle before turning to head back toward Zoë. She was eyeing the carpet with a look that was oddly blank. As he reached her she focused on the door, looked at him for an indication of readiness and pushed it open.

As the door opened the inner lights came on, flickering to life mimicking candles. The room beyond was breathtaking. It was a proper entry hall, complete with suits of armor and weapons. Wood parquet flooring in multi-hued splendor led the eye to the sweeping stairs at the far end. A few bits of furniture scattered about were covered in white sheets. Surely it was fit to be part of a fairytale castle. Jayne had never seen anything like it before. He gawked.

Zoë stood there for a moment, watching him. Unbelievable. He'd never seen a castle before? Never been to anyplace with a replica? She leaned against the frame for another second as she waited for his mind to catch up. He looked over at her and seemed to realize she was waiting. His shoulders bobbed. She rolled her eyes and indicated for Jayne to sweep one side while she took the other. He nodded and moved into the room. About half way along she found a somewhat concealed door. She stopped. "Jayne?"

"There's a huge dining room on this side," Jayne answered awestruck by the sheer size.

"So this is likely the kitchen. Keep sweeping." She moved on without opening the door. Upon reaching the end of the hall, both of them were aware of the large round room with the stairs in the middle. Above them was an open landing. Doors were evenly spaced along the walls both above and below. The doors on the main floor opened to a hall with servant's quarters, a study, a conservatory, a ballroom, and a game room. The upper landing held a series of bedrooms and a huge library. Each room was filled with covered furniture. But aside from that the castle was empty. Zoë looked at Jayne. He was not her usual choice to bounce ideas off of, but Wash was gone, Book was gone, and Mal was set to leave. It was Jayne or no one; "River is acting odd. Did you notice?"

Jayne shrugged his shoulders; "Crazy girl always acts odd, I reckon. What is she doin' different this time?"

She had to think about that for a moment. "Well, Jayne… I've got a hunch that something in this castle is pulling her here. And if I'm right do we really want to deal with River in her 'reaver killer' mode?" Jayne blanched a bit before shaking his head. "Didn't think so. So we need to give her time to work this out, what ever it is. I think it's safe enough for the others."

"There's nothing here, Zoë. Why stay?"

"The furniture here is worth a fortune, Jayne. It's all a matter of finding the right buyer."

"Oh, yeah. Mal'll like that. Wonder if there's any hidden treasures here."

Zoë smirked a bit. She could always count on Jayne's greed to pull him into the plan. She'd let him act like the value in the furniture was his idea if it came down to convincing Mal of the need to stay. "Come on then, let's go get the others."