Paquin
"Do you feel anything?"
"Nothing."
"How about now?"
"Nada."
"Okay, how about this?"
Kaylee sighed and took the fifteenth wand that Harry had stashed in the little pouch. "This is pointless Harry," she whined. "I'm sure it was just a malfunction or something."
Since the time the wand in Kaylee's hand had sparked, Harry had gotten into an excitable frenzy and made her try all sorts of simple spells while barking commands about correct wrist movements and odd pronunciations all the time. Every time it didn't work, he moved on to another spell and tried to get her to do it but no matter what he did, the wand did not work for her after the initial sparks. Harry, however, wasn't going to give up after this minor setback. He began to make her attempt spells with every wand that he had collected from Durran's warehouse and was not ready to give up until he was completely out of ideas.
"There's no such thing as a malfunction when a wand sparks. The wand sparked because it was connected to your magical core!"
"So why aren't these working?" she asked, exasperated.
"They're probably not compatible with you," Harry said while fishing for more wands. "Every wand has the core of a magical creature. It's usually a piece of hair or feather depending on what kind of animal it is. The wand that is meant for you will have a piece of the animal whose personality matches yours. Dragons are aggressive and territorial, Unicorns are shy and proud, Thestrals are introverted and antisocial, Phoenixes are passionate and courageous, blah blah blah!
The only reason the wand sparked is because the core of the wand identified with your magic!"
"Looks like this core just changed its mind," Zoe chortled.
Harry gave Zoe the evil eye.
"Okay I'm out of here," Mal announced. He had had enough of magic. "Zoe, you mind joining me?"
"What's on your mind?" she asked.
"We got to find a planet where we can restock our supplies."
Zoe nodded and followed Mal to the bridge to find and plot a course to a reasonably safe planet. Jayne had already retreated to his bunk a while back.
Harry, meanwhile, hadn't given up. "Try this one. I think its core is dragon heartstrings," he said this with a reverent expression although it was a fake one and one born out of a need to entice Kaylee into not giving up.
"I want to ride a dragon," River said dreamily. "Soar through the black, from planet to planet, clinging on to a fire breathing monster."
Harry glanced at River and then shook his head, clucking his tongue. "And I suppose you want to ride a unicorn," he said to Kaylee.
Kaylee squealed. "I'd love to ride a unicorn!"
"Well you can't. They're very proud creatures and don't even like people touching them. Plus to see them, you need to be a witch to see them so…" He trailed away at the end looking at the wands suggestively. Kaylee rolled her eyes and groaned.
"Don't you think I'd know if I had super powers?! I don't have magic Harry. What happened was an accident, that's all."
"Maybe Kaylee's right, Harry," Simon said quietly. "Those wands are quite old and maybe they just malfunctioned. Even you can't use them, can you?"
"I can use them but not as well as my own." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and thought hard. "Have there been any incidents in your childhood that have been unexplainable?"
"No, I don't think so," Kaylee said after some thought.
"What about your skill with machines," Harry asked. "How did you get so good at fixing things?"
"I've always been good at it. Ever since I was a child I've had an affinity to fix machines and make them better."
Her eyes widened when the implications of that statement hit her.
"Magic," Harry whispered breathlessly. "Maybe because of the lack of usage, your magic has manifested into a talent for working with machines!"
Kaylee was certain Harry was just pulling words out of his ass. "Uh Harry. I'm good with machines because I have a good eye to find the source of problems."
Harry leaned closer and looked into Kaylee's eyes and said, "Maybe it's your magic that is guiding your instincts."
"Maybe," Kaylee said, now sounding tired of Harry's persistence. "But it's been more than half an hour and nothing has happened. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take this interesting spinning top and have a little fun with Simon."
Simon's face flushed with embarrassment. "Umm... do we go to my room or yours?" he mumbled.
"Mine," she said and grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along.
"She's got some crazy passion in her but I wish she'd take this more seriously," Harry sighed. He looked at River and noticed she was staring at the retreating figures of her brother and his girlfriend with her mouth open.
"You peeked into her mind didn't you?"
"Kaylee has an amazingly strange mind."
"Stranger than yours?"
River grinned. "I don't think so. No."
Disheartened by Kaylee's lack of reaction to the wands he began to put everything back into the pouch.
"You didn't make her touch your wand," River said suddenly.
"What?"
"You didn't make her touch your wand."
Harry frowned and then raised his eyebrows. "Well I guess it's going to have to wait," he said dryly. "I wouldn't want to disturb them now. Come to my room. I think it's time I explained a few things about mind magic to you. Maybe it will help get my mind off the crazy events of yesterday."
"It's not tomorrow for another three hours so it's the events of today," River quipped.
"Just sit on the floor and face me smart ass."
"Is it going to hurt?" she asked hesitantly.
"Probably a lot," Harry said, not mincing his words.
River felt nervous upon hearing that. She had no control over her emotions and if it weren't for the reassuring presence of Harry's mental shields, she would have gone into a steady state of panic after those words. She had wrapped herself around his shields like a leech that never let go. Without his shields, every time she experienced strong emotions she would turn into an invalid and that feeling of extreme helplessness frustrated her more than anything in the world. She wanted to be able to think without fear of losing control. She wanted to get angry and happy without having to lean to the extremes of those emotions. So with those thoughts in mind and Harry's shields to allow her a little clarity, she looked into his beautiful green eyes and told him she wasn't afraid.
"Very well. The basic principle of occlumency is to create a … … how do I put this … to create an image of what your mind looks like to you and to fill that image with your subconscious."
River didn't show any signs of understanding what Harry said.
"There is the physical brain and then there is the intangible mind. Occlumency means gaining control over the intangible mind and to do this you need a place to control it. The image can be a library or a building or a tree; it can be whatever you feel most comfortable with."
"So how do I do it?" River asked.
"This is a branch of magic and you don't have it. But after what happened with Kaylee, I'm inclined to believe magic has mutated and plus you have mind reading abilities, so going by that thinking you should also have the ability to protect your mind from other mind readers. It might be possible for you to create such a space in your mind but I don't want you to hold your breath over it."
"That's not what I asked."
"I'm making sure you know everything beforehand," Harry said, smiling faintly. "What we're going to do is - I'm going to give you some time to imagine a place that you think is ideal to hold your subconscious. After you do that, I'm going to have to help you fill that place with your memories."
This time River was startled. "You're going to see all my memories?"
Harry shook his head. "Not all of them, just the important ones. Occlumency can only be taught by a master. It's dangerous to try it on your own and you need the master's expertise to help you transfer your memories. Of course I will need to take an oath that I will not reveal what I see in your mind without your consent."
"I don't want you to see my memories," River said defensively.
"I'm going to see them if you want to make this work. You cannot harbor any secrets and you have to be completely open with me. But first we're going to see if it's possible so don't freak out just yet."
River was blushing and Harry suppressed a grin. This was going to be interesting after all.
"Close your eyes and picture an image you love and are at ease in. A place that washes away all your worries and fills your heart with happiness...Can you do that?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"Focus only on that picture and keep it at the forefront of your mind. Think of nothing but that picture. Are you doing it?"
"Yes."
"Tell me when you are ready and the picture is perfect to you."
"I'm ready."
Harry didn't think she would say it so fast but he knew her mind was on a different level than normal ones. "Let's hope this works," he prayed and drew his wand. He leveled it between her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Legilimens appareo."
What River felt next could best be described as being yanked by her navel from behind into a dark hole. She screamed because it happened so suddenly and so violently that her first instinct was to fight back but there was nothing to fight against.
"Open your eyes River." Harry's calm voice spread over her like a sedative and she opened her eyes.
She inhaled sharply when she saw what surrounded her. They were in a small clearing on a snow capped mountain surrounded by deciduous trees of all shapes, sizes and colors. There was a constant light breeze blowing past them and jumping from tree to tree, chattering excitedly, were a group of monkeys. The sky had a purple hue to it and there was no sun visible. What was visible, however, was a purple sky that sang with the sounds of a thousand birds flying across it in groups. Beneath their feet was snow and little green patches of grass were visible all around. A narrow stone path weaved through the trees, sloping downwards, until they could see it no more. There was an energy around them that filled their senses with serenity.
River laughed with childlike delight.
"This is beautiful, River. What made you think of such an image?"
"When I was young, my mother used to show me pictures of Earth That Was and I was always captivated by the beauty of the forests on mountains." She ran to one of the trees and lovingly ran her hands over its hard bark. "Didn't you say this was going to hurt?"
"It will," Harry said, impressed. He wasn't impressed by the image which he had to admit was breathtaking. What he was really impressed with was that River managed to create her mindscape so easily. Dumbledore had told him, during his training, that until there was a picture so clear in the mind's eyes, it could be impossible to enter a separate place in the mind. The first few attempts were particularly painful because instead of entering the mindscape he pictured, they would end up falling into memories that had a painful origin. "She's no ordinary girl," he thought warily as he watched her climb up the trees and attempt to chase one of the monkeys.
"River, get down here!" he shouted.
"Why?" she pouted.
"Because it turns out you're more than capable of learning how to build a barrier in your mind and now we got to see if transferring your memories works!"
With the grace of a seasoned gymnast, she grabbed a branch, swung to the neighboring tree that was closest to Harry, caught hold of another branch and dropped down right in front of the wizard.
"No need to show off," Harry said, rolling his eyes.
"I don't feel the turbulence in my mind anymore," she laughed, feeling alive. "I feel amazing!" She laughed again. "You should know that I love to show off," she added slyly.
"So if you weren't crazy River, you'd be shoving the fact that you're smarter than us right in our faces?"
"I'd do it with great pleasure," she exulted.
"So this is the real River," Harry drawled. "Show off extraordinaire and nature lover."
"Nature is not the only thing I love," she giggled.
"I'm sure it's not," he agreed. "But let's get down to the reason we're here."
"Ugh, can't we just stay here and do nothing?"
"This is not real, River. This is a creation of your mind designed to help you in the real world. Now I want you to tell me if you want to start viewing your memories from your childhood or do you want to go in reverse?"
"In reverse," she said, her voice turning weak. She chose to go backwards because she knew the latter half of her life had horrible memories. She wanted to go backwards because she chose to go from horror to happiness. Her youth had been full of joy and she wanted to have hope that her memories were going to get better as she re-lived them.
Harry nodded. "Then let's start with something simple. I want you to focus on today and I'll extract the memories."
"Extract?" she asked, alarmed.
"Basically guide it to this place," he placated. "So just concentrate."
River closed her eyes and thought about everything that happened to her since the time she woke up and Harry got into position. He spread his legs a little apart, stretched his arms out and began to trace tiny circles in the air. He continued to do so until a silver substance that wasn't fully solid formed in front of his wand. As soon as the substance was the size of his fist, he swept his wand to the sky and watched the silver substance, which was actually a collection of memories, fly into the sky and split into four parts going four different ways.
"Open your eyes River."
"What happened?" she asked.
"I brought some of your memories over to this plane."
"So where are they?" she asked, looking around expectantly.
"They split up. I want you to focus and imagine calling them all to you." Harry whispered another spell under his breath which made no visible impact to the surroundings.
"What?"
"Summon the memories that I just brought here to you."
River looked a little skeptical but considering the place she was in, she didn't argue and just thought about calling the memories. She was surprised when a monkey leaped out of a tree and ran up to her chattering all the way; a bird that looked like a sparrow but wasn't rocketed down from the sky and landed on her shoulder; a rock rolled towards them from higher up the mountain; and a stream of water snaked its way towards her forming a puddle under her feet.
The rock and puddle were glowing silver, as were the eyes of the bird and monkey.
"Every memory that comes to this place will take the form of an object or animal that resides here. And depending on how good or how bad that memory is, the object in which it is stored will represent that memory's emotion. The monkey is excited, the rock is dull, the bird is probably something that made you feel free and the puddle I'm guessing is something that made you feel less in control of yourself."
"How do we see it?"
"Touch it."
River touched the bird and like a river cascading before their eyes a scene from a warehouse in Beaumonde was unraveled before them. It was the memory of the delivery to the twins. Harry shook his head ruefully when he heard the captain and the twins exchange nasty insults which led to him being paid less than what was promised. River was standing beside Mal looking on impassively. The meeting lasted about fifteen minutes and when it was over the bird rematerialized and flew away.
"Did you feel it?" he asked her.
"Yes. They were the same things that I felt when I was there. Identical in every way," she said in wonder.
"And that is where the question of pain comes," Harry said grimly. "If it's a horrible memory, you will feel that horror once again and you can't stop it. If the emotions are strong then even I'll feel them."
River blanched.
Harry put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'll be there through each and every one of them so you won't be alone."
"Are we going to do it now?" she asked, frightened.
"No. So the bird represented a sort of adventure. This means that all the birds will have something to do with your excursions out of your home. The bigger the bird, the bigger is the adventure. Now let's see what the others represent so that we can create a sort of map for this place. Occlumency is also about organization so you must know where you can find what."
The monkey turned out to be the memory of what River saw in Kaylee's mind and when it was over, Harry was blushing and River's eyes were wide with fascination again. The rock was a memory of the bland lunch she had and the puddle was the uncertainty that she experienced when Harry was explaining occlumency to her.
"The more memories that come to this place, the more diverse forms they will take and you must be familiar with all of them. You won't be able to summon the memories like you just did but we will have to travel the length and breadth of this place, discovering them as we go. You were able to summon the memories this time because of a spell I just used and I can only use it when the memories are very less."
"What about the birds and monkeys?" she asked.
"I told you, occlumency is organization too. You will know where to find them."
"So bird is adventure, monkey means sex, stone is boring and water is uncertainty," she said, ticking each one off her fingers.
"Pretty much," Harry laughed pleasantly. "Now let's go back. There is one last thing we need to check before we can fully proceed with this."
"Egredior," Harry said out loud and this time River felt like she was being pulled out of a hole and her eyes flew open when she realized she was back in her own body. A second later she felt bile rising up in her throat and she stumbled to the bathroom and emptied the contents of her stomach.
Harry winced as her hacking cough echoed in his room. He waited for her to get done and sat still until she came out. Her face was pale and clammy and her lips were trembling.
"I'm hungry," she croaked.
"I know," Harry said sympathetically and got up to help her out. "How do you feel now?"
"Burdened," she whispered. "I want to go back to the place free of noise."
"You're hearing everyone again aren't you?" he said, guiding her to the kitchen.
"Yes. Mal is worrying about finding a job. Jayne is thinking about planets from where he can send money home. Zoe is crying, holding a bunch of Wash's clothes and Kaylee and Simon are loving each other."
"Zoe is crying?"
"She cries when she's alone," River explained sadly. "She lets all her sorrow out when she's alone."
"And Kaylee and Simon are loving huh," he said smirking.
"They're both thinking how lucky they were that they found each other," River said.
Harry removed a sealed bottle of synthetic milk and poured a glass for River. "Drink slowly."
"Why am I feeling like this?" she asked, groaning.
"You're feeling the effects of reality hitting you like a sack of bricks over and over again," Harry said. "The place we were in is created by magic, my magic, and it is so pure that coming out of it makes you feel sick."
"What does your place look like?"
"It's a place that makes me happy," Harry said secretively. "Maybe I'll take you there one day."
"You can do that?"
"I can do many things with my wand. Do you understand why I couldn't teach you when you first asked me?"
River nodded. "But this is not helping me stop hearing other people's thoughts," she complained. "Why are we looking at my memories? I don't want to relive the bad ones! I just want to stop hearing other people and stop being so volatile all the time!"
"To create a shield you first need to be the master of your mind. You are controlled by your emotions but to master occlumency you must be the master of your emotions. Another integral part of occlumency, as I have said before, is having a highly organized mind. A master Occlumens has a near perfect memory and he can suppress and control emotional shock with ease."
River finished her milk and then looked him in the eye with a trail of milk sliding down the corner of her lips.
Harry's hand jerked forward to wipe it but he stopped himself at the last moment thinking it would be inappropriate. River didn't notice it.
"She can control them with ease," she corrected instead.
Harry grinned. "Let's hope it is so."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
With the excitement surrounding magic and history dying down to a glancing attraction, the crew had finally regained a sense of normality that they once enjoyed. Inara had rejoined the crew after a successful outing on Persephone. Her arrival had sparked another row between Mal and her, because of her, as Mal called it, gloating about sleeping with rich baboons, while in actuality she was simply describing the romantic connection that she had shared with her client during the time they were together to Kaylee and Zoe.
Inara reacted almost immediately by calling him a wormy immature twelve year old with self confidence and jealousy issues. From there it degenerated into a spiteful name calling fight and it got so bad that Kaylee and Zoe had to drag the usually soft spoken companion back to her shuttle. Mal punched a hole through the kitchen shelf door and Simon had to endure Mal's complaining and bitterness when he bandaged his bleeding fist while Jayne brought out the tools to fix the cupboard, refusing Harry's offer to fix it with magic.
Jayne hadn't bothered to interfere in the fight but he was smiling broadly throughout it because to him it felt like things were back to normal. The only abnormal thing that still annoyed him was Harry and River, who were beginning to spend increasing amounts of time with each other and more often than not, River's screams would tear through the ship causing immense pain to his ear drums. Jayne had to then endure the similar routine of Simon accusing Harry of hurting his sister and Harry protesting and explaining that this was a part of her training. Jayne always guffawed when he heard Harry call what he was doing with River… training.
However, after a while, River's screams became a part of the silence of the Black, just like the whining sound of the engines had become a part of the silence for everyone on board. He was itching for some action after a lackluster trip on Persephone where they restocked the ship and had an unsuccessful meeting with Badger. His heart bled for the hopes of a job where he got to use his gun and three days after leaving Persephone, they had got a call from a businessman based out of Bernadette to retrieve his runaway bride from Paquin. Apparently they had fallen in love, got married and then she ran away with his life savings. Mr. Chenkov wanted his money back along with the bride or her head.
Mal refused and Jayne wanted to strangle his captain. Harry and Zoe were in agreement with Mal. Signing up for a murderous husband was not something they did. They transported or stole cargo which was infinitely better in their eyes. During the two weeks after Harry retrieved his wand, he had also got a call from Fanty informing him about the discovery of his Alliance identity. It hadn't been erased and his house in the capital of Beaumonde hadn't been taken into custody of the Alliance but instead they had discovered a pipeline through which his movements with that identity could be tracked. For some reason the Alliance didn't want to take him down just yet. Harry found it very suspicious and decided to abandon his Gregory Williams alias.
River was disappointed that she could never masquerade as Mrs. Williams again. But her disappointment was forgotten with her attempts to learn occlumency. The first couple of days of being in her mindscape were blissful but then they encountered a memory that was a black puddle of ooze and Harry's expression had changed from serene to worry. It was a bad memory and she felt afraid to even go near it. But Harry forced her to face it and it turned out to be a memory of her last days in the Blue Sun facility when they were doing research on her dreams. She felt the terror she experienced when they pushed the needle with sedatives into her arm, she saw the men in white coats surrounding her, restraining her and forcing another needle into her forehead and at this point River couldn't take the emotions and she became hysterical.
Harry was violently ejected from her mind and River too, came out of her mindscape still screaming at the top of her lungs. His head was reeling with the force of the ejection and Simon burst through his cabin door, his eyes wild with fear and anger. River was brought to a state of calmness eventually but Simon didn't want them to go on with the magic nonsense anymore if it was going to cause River so much pain. Harry responded by saying pain was the only way to make River feel lucid once more and then Simon tried to punch him.
Zoe and Jayne who were watching in the background were amazed when Harry just flicked his wand and froze Simon in his place. Kaylee had to act as an intermediary for sometime between the two until River convinced Simon that Harry was really helping her. Harry was worried about the violent emotions in River's memories and he requested Inara to watch over them when Harry was in River's mind. Even through all the horrors in River's mind, Harry could not believe the rate at which River was adapting to understand and use occlumency. She could not go into her mindscape by herself but she had become capable enough to summon her own memories when they were inside. She had also started to send her memories into this place without going into her mind and Harry had argued it was impossible until he saw it for himself. It felt like River was assimilating his magic and adopting a unique version of it in her own mind. How she was doing this he had absolutely no idea.
As fate would have it, even though they had refused to accept Mr. Chenkov's job offer, Serenity was heading for Paquin in search of another job. They had received a wave from Paquin, a few days after Chenkov's, and it was one of Zoe and Mal's old war buddies who wanted Mal to retrieve something that was stolen from him. They agreed to meet with him and so, after three weeks in the black, Serenity was once more entering the atmosphere of a planet in search of a job that paid.
"Now Zolo is a cripple so I don't want any staring when we see him alright?" Mal was addressing Harry, River and Kaylee since they had never met the man before. Jayne had had the misfortune of meeting him once and he had nearly gotten his head blown off for looking a second too long at his wound."
"He lost a leg?" Harry asked curiously.
Mal shook his head. "He lost a part of his arm and burnt half his body when he was caught in the radius of a grenade explosion."
The three cringed at the mental image. "So how are we not supposed to look at him cap'n!"
"When you talk to him, look at anything but his face or look at the good side of his face," Mal said grinning. "I think that explosion addled his brains a little."
"Messed it up completely," Jayne grumbled. He, Simon, Inara and Zoe were not coming. They were staying with the ship. Paquin was also known as the gypsy world and in tighter circles it was called a thieves paradise. It was for this reason Jayne and Zoe were fully armed and Simon was left behind to provide first aid if they had any injuries. Inara was in her shuttle looking for potential clients on the planet.
Everyone in the verse always dreamed of making one trip to Paquin to revel in the entertainment the world offered. Carnivals, circuses and plays were the main attractions. They were extravagant and a true delight for the mind and body. There was no central city or capital for this planet was not under Alliance control as there was nothing there for them to control and use. They left it alone and had built a tiny outpost on the planet which had been abandoned by the men running it in favor of indulging in the festivities of Paquin. In addition to the circuses and theatrical productions - there were fine art galleries, roadside magic shows, mysterious fortune tellers, quality booze and welcoming brothels. The Alliance did, however, extract a monthly tax in exchange for freedom.
This was what Paquin looked like at first glance. But if you looked hard enough, you would be exposed to the dark side of entertainment on Paquin which bears no mention. Unsuspecting travelers often found themselves entangled in such forms of entertainment and sooner or later were caught in a web of money or death.
This is how the saying was born, "If you have the coin or credit, you can find whatever you are looking for, here on Paquin."
"Why is the sky like this?!" Harry gasped when they left the ship. It was dawn and the sky was pink. It wasn't pink for long as it slowly transitioned into orange and then red. It was a stunning sight and Harry's eyes were riveted to this sky that had a thing for colors. The sun was bright red and was languidly rising up from the horizon.
"The atmosphere of Paquin is unique," Mal explained. "You should see the sunset to believe it. If we're lucky and there's a carnival on, then the show that they put on at sunset is truly a marvel."
Instead of patches of wild forests like on most planets, Paquin had patches of plain spaces and it was in these places that towns had been set up. The terrain of the planet was uneven but there were no massive land formations except for the mountain range of Belladonna. It was named as such because even though it was the water source for the entire planet with over ten rivers originating from its peaks, and flowing in all directions, the harsh environment of the mountains spelt certain death for anyone who attempted to scale it. It was the icy thorn on a planet of warmth. The merry sound of the rivers gushing through the forests was in stark contrast to the roar of its origins.
"Where are we going?" River asked, as they trekked through the forest of fig. There was a mist in the air and the croak of frogs and whistle of crickets echoed all around them. Sunlight was yet to penetrate through the forest but there was enough light for them to watch where they were going.
"The Mala tribe resides in these parts," Mal said. "Zolo has been living with them for the past five years."
"Mala tribe?"
"It means the necklace tribe. They make necklaces and sell them to travelers as lucky charms and what not. Zolo wears at least ten of their healing necklaces in hopes of getting his face back."
"This planet sounds more like a magical place," Harry said, hinting at the possibility of finding witches and wizards here. "Are you sure the people here are normal?"
"Define normal," Mal laughed. "These people believe in magic and they believe themselves capable of it. But if what they did was truly magic, then the Alliance would have descended on them like a pack of rapid Reavers. One look at them and you will definitely not call them normal!"
But Harry wasn't too sure about that. This planet would be immensely attractive to any witch or wizard but he didn't know how much their choices and attractions had changed in the past five hundred years. Of course he would never know unless he miraculously found a hidden community that had escaped the wrath of the Alliance.
The faint sounds of children laughing alerted the small group and they followed the noises pushing their way through the thicket, crossed a stream and entered a large field that was bustling with life.
Caravan's were lined up neck to neck near the tree line and outside each caravan, a makeshift shed had been built with wood and cloth under which women were twinning strings together to make desirable necklaces. Further down the stream were a couple dozen horses, tied to the trees with a long rope so that they could graze in the forest and drink water from the stream. In the center of the field, a large hole had been dug and it was filled with burnt wood and ash. The hole served as the fire place which was kept burning all night. A group of children kicking a ball and running after it passed by the group of smugglers and they waved merrily. Mal and his group waved back and continued walking into the camp and towards the nearest caravan.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where we could find Zolo," Mal asked an old woman by the caravan. She was dark and wrinkly with sunken eyes that had the beginning signs of cataract that dimed her vision but hadn't taken it away yet. She was wearing a simple long nightgown with full sleeves that had been made by patching together random strips of clothing and it looked beautiful on her old frame. She had a red cloth tied around her head to keep her hair from falling into her eyes.
"He'd be the one gathering firewood at the other side of the camp," she said without looking away from her work. Her voice was rough and weak with age but it had a certain musical quality that would make her an excellent storyteller.
"Thank you madam," Mal said.
They were startled when River bent down and placed her hand on the old woman's cheek. She gazed into those blue eyes with a pale white layer and said, "You're beautiful." She kissed her other cheek gently and the woman laughed.
"To be called beautiful by a vision of youth is a compliment indeed," she said, now having stopped her work and looking at the group with great interest. "Come and see if you want once you finish your business with that rogue Zolo.
Just you young one," she added to River.
River smiled and nodded.
"What was that?" Kaylee asked the reader curiously after they had moved along.
"Nothing," River said mysteriously.
Exchanging curious looks with each other they walked past many more children and adults, all who were busy with their own tasks and did not pay much attention to the newcomers. On the far side of the camp, opposite to the place where they had entered, they could see a couple of men walking through the forest and picking up dry wood for the fire at night. Among these men was a large man towering at six and a half feet who was missing his left arm below the elbow and was walking with a significant limp. He had his back to them and was carefully picking strong fallen branches from the ground and putting them into a bag that was hanging from his back. He was wearing a dirty white vest and loose brown pants that didn't fall off because of the straps that held them up by his shoulders.
"Zolo!"
The man turned around sharply revealing a grotesque face. Part of the left of his face looked like it had been melted away by extreme heat. It had curdled and turned on itself destroying his eye and part of his ear. His right side was untouched and his broad smile only stretched on one side of his face. The burns spread down to his neck and disappeared under his vest.
"Mal!" he roared in delight and ran forward to crush his old friend in a single handed bear hug. "It's great to see you pretty boy!"
"Good to see you too buddy," Mal said grinning. "You have no idea how surprised Zoe and I were to get a wave from you after all these years! Oh and before I forget, these kids are a part of my crew. The smiling brunette is Kaylee. The short one with the big eyes is River and the messy haired one is Harry."
"Nice to meet y'all," Zolo said politely, his single eye scanning them from head to foot.
"N-nice to meet you too," Harry and Kaylee stammered together and fixed their eyes at a spot behind the big man. River on the other hand was staring at his burns with her mouth open.
"You got a problem lady," Zolo growled, taking a step forward.
"It looks like pudding," River said, pointing a finger at the messed up part of his face.
For a moment it felt like sound had been sucked out of the air and everyone, including the other men, who were eavesdropping subtlety, froze in their places. All that could be heard was the rustling of the leaves and the imminent explosion that was to follow.
"What did you say you little whore?!" Zolo screamed, apoplectic with rage.
River had managed to charm a woman on one side of the camp and enrage another on the other side.
Immediately the men abandoned their wood gathering duties and sprinted to Zolo and restrained him from going after River with a giant branch in his hand.
"Calm down Zolo!" Mal shouted in alarm, moving between him and River.
But there was no calming him down. He was mad and he wanted to kill.
"You leave me no choice," Mal said and slammed a fist into his comrades gut. Zolo doubled over in pain and Mal took the opportunity to whisper in Zolo's ear. "The girls got a few loose screws, Zolo. The Alliance experimented on her," he said quickly.
Just as fast as his fury had risen, it died down that quickly as well upon hearing those words. "Are you serious Mal?" There was deep concern in his eye and he looked at River with renewed curiosity.
Harry, who felt his body temperature rise along with his adrenaline when Zolo went mad, took deep breaths to calm himself. That roar had inspired fear in every part of his body. Kaylee had taken cover behind him instinctively and peeked over his shoulder warily when Zolo had calmed down.
River hadn't even twitched. She was still looking as calm as ever and was still staring at his burnt face.
None of them had heard what Mal had whispered to Zolo but they were glad for whatever he had said.
"Sorry, sorry," he laughed out loud. "I'm sensitive about many things and have a temper that's even more volatile." He laughed loudly again and Mal was the only one that joined him.
"Ain't he a riot," the captain said chuckling.
The sun had risen far above now and a powerful reddish yellow light bathed down on them. Birds had begun to make noise and even the gypsy camp was getting noisier and more active.
"Let's go to my camper," Zolo said, leading the way.
"So what's this job you have for us?"
"Let me be honest with you Mal. I don't got much to pay you. All I can manage is fifty platinum and that's after participating in the carnivals in the big towns."
"Hey, you don't have to pay us anything," Mal said sincerely. "I haven't forgotten all that you did for us during the war."
"Yeah well… I don't like asking for favors."
"Just tell us what the job is already. The only payment I want from you is a wild night of drinking and singing."
Zolo laughed. His laugh was a hearty one that originated from the bottom of his large belly. "Alright, alright," he acquiesced. "What I want from you is to retrieve something of great value to me."
"What is it?" Kaylee asked timidly. She was intimidated by this giant of a man who she felt was more volatile than River at her worst.
Zolo became solemn at once. "A few days ago I ventured out into one of the towns for some entertainment."
"What kind of entertainment?" Mal asked, narrowing his eyes.
"The bad kind," Zolo sighed. "I went to the dungeons to make a little quick money by fighting in the pits but I really went there to remember what it feels like to be in battle once again."
"Oh Zolo," Mal said, disappointed by the actions of his friend.
"I'm sorry Mal. But I have to do these things or else my mind goes crazy! That rush of being in battle is what keeps me sane and I can't live without it! You understand what it feels like to be addicted to that rush don't you?"
"I don't," Mal said coldly. "The only thing I remember about battle is losing friends all around me and watching more friends make sacrifices to save my life." He glanced at Zolo's arm when he said this.
"Well, I'm not you," Zolo bit back. "We joined the war to fight for freedom but along the way it just became a bloody fight with no meaning to me. All I cared about was blood."
Mal sighed heavily. He knew men like Zolo were plenty and many that started out with honorable intentions came out of the war with broken bodies and damaged minds. Zolo was just one of the many casualties like him. "Tell me what you want me to do Zolo. I didn't come here to talk about the past," he said curtly.
"They stole my baby Mal. They stole her from me when I was fighting and I know who took her."
"Melissa?"
Zolo nodded. "I want her back, Mal. But I can't do it on my own and I knew you had a crew which specialized in getting things on the sly."
"We also tend to attract a lot of gun fire once the slyness is over," Kaylee said candidly, forgetting for a moment who she was talking to. She blanched and ducked behind Harry again when all eyes were focused on her.
"Where is it?" Mal asked.
"There's a town to the east about twenty clicks away. It's one of the circus towns and underneath the town are the dungeons where the more brutal forms of entertainment exist. I was fighting in the ring belonging to a Colonel Frederick and he had always shown a great deal of interest in Melissa. A few days ago, I was fighting this behemoth of a man and when I won, Melissa was gone. I knew Frederick was responsible and I tried to get to him but he is well guarded. Can you get her back for me Mal?" he begged.
Mal couldn't refuse. "We'll scout the area first and am I right in assuming you can't get in there anymore?"
Zolo nodded miserably.
"Then you're going to tell me how to get in there and where exactly is this ring."
"Anything you want."
"You three, get back to the ship and let Zoe know what the job is. I need to talk with Zolo privately."
Before they left River turned back to Zolo and fixed her penetrating eyes on his moist one. "You call me a whore again and I'll rip out your other arm," she said coldly.
Zolo's eyes widened and he knew this girl wasn't just throwing words at him. She meant what she said. His nostrils flared with anger and fear when he realized it and Harry quickly dragged River away before Zolo did something stupid and got himself killed.
Only once they were fifty feet away from Zolo, did they feel the oppressive atmosphere that surrounded the man release them.
River tugged her hand out of Harry's and walked ahead of him and Kaylee with a sulky expression on her face.
"Am I the only one who feels like doing this for Mal's war buddy is dangerous?" Harry asked carefully.
"The man is crazy!" Kaylee gasped. "I don't want to be anywhere near him! Did you look into his mind, River?"
River shook her head. "No. I know a black pit when I see one."
"I wonder what kinds of entertainment he was talking about though," Harry pondered. "What could be so bad?"
"I'm not going to think about that but instead, I'm going to think about all the fun we're going to have in circus town!"
"The planet of entertainment," Harry murmured. "There could be a chance of finding real magic here," he thought with hope.
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A/N: Drop a Review & do join my pat~reon channel (under the same pen name) if you're enjoying my works and would like to support me and get ahead with the story! A new original work is also in the works :P
Cheers,
Raul