Chapter 1: The Rules

Inara

I always dreamed of going on an epic adventure like everyone in my childhood stories did. Of course back then I didn’t realize that all my favorite characters, the brave heroes, were guys, and girls were only supposed to be damsels in distress. That never seemed a valid option for me.

Of course I was raised in a mostly masculine home. With only my mom as a feminine influence, I naturally turned more towards the outdoorsy interests. My dad took my three brothers and I camping, hunting, and fishing all the time. I quickly became rather accomplished in shooting sports, especially with a bow.

This did not please my mom in the slightest. She tried to instill me with proper manners and insisted that I attend church with her every week; I did, but only because it was located at the Fairhaven Shrine. It was a lovely place, a perfect blend of religion and nature. When the weather was nice, church service was held in the Open Air Church outside. I always thought that it looked more like an outdoor amphitheatre.

There are a lot of rules to observe while at Fairhaven Shrine. One of the most important rules was one I disobeyed many years ago. I never told my mom about it, mainly because I wouldn’t want to hear the rant she would give. It was that one rule that changed my life completely.

Do Not Drink the Holy Water.

Now let me just say one thing about holy water. I’m sure that it has some sort of mystical power and holds benefits for every religion that uses it. However, it tastes disgusting; it’s only really stale water that has been sitting in a large plastic tank in the middle of the elements for who knows how long.

I accidently drank holy water when I was only five years old. It had been about twelve years since that incident and nothing had happened except for the taste being permanently ingrained in my mind. Then came the week of my seventeenth birthday…

I heard a car horn blast a few times from down in my driveway. It had to be Charisma, my best friend. Every single year since kindergarten we had gone shopping for our birthdays; when we were younger our parents took us, then they merely dropped us off and picked us up, but now we could drive ourselves.

“Inara, Charisma’s outside for you,” my mom called.

It was only a formality that she yelled upstairs for me. I had been waiting for Charisma for an hour already. Racing down the stairs I grabbed my chocolate brown Bob Timberlake suede jacket my dad bought me from Bass Pro Shops and waved to my mom. “See you later.”

“Why must you dress like that?” she asked.

I looked down at myself and shrugged. I saw nothing wrong with my khaki cargo pants or my simple royal blue long sleeved t-shirt. It could have been worse; I could have been wearing a flannel shirt. “It’s comfortable.”

“But, Inara…”

“Bye Mom.” Then I turned and headed out the door and ran over to Charisma’s car, a nice 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder.

I would have thought my mom would have given up on turning me into a girl a long time ago, but amazingly she persists. I can’t help it that I enjoy being outside more than worrying about the so-called important matters for a teenage girl.

Honestly it makes life easier. I never have to worry about impressing anyone or taking too long to shower, or put on makeup, or pick out my clothes. Besides, I hang out with a group of mostly boys anyway, and none of them really seem to care. In fact, I think they like that I’m not like a stereotypical girl and that I can actually go out with them to sporting events and understand what is going on, or I can go fishing and bait my own hook.

Regardless of any of that, Charisma and I always go to either the book store or the movies to celebrate our birthdays. I’ve only ever really spent money on books, movies, food, and supplies from either Bass Pro Shops or Cabela’s. They actually have really nice clothes there, and they are built to last through a lot of wear and tear, which is perfect for me.

“So, what are we doing this year?” I asked Charisma when I sat down in the passenger seat. We tried not to make any decisions until the day of our birthday celebrations. “Bookstore or movies?”

Charisma looked over at me and smiled shyly. Her blue eyes seemed to be worried about something.

“What is it?”

“Inara, I didn’t want to say anything but I don’t think I can keep quiet anymore,” she answered, her voice soft. “My mom told me not to say anything, at least not until she knew all the details.” She paused and turned to gaze at her steering wheel. “Mom was offered a better job in Connecticut and we’re moving in a couple weeks.”

“You’re moving? To Connecticut?” I shook my head. “What about school, and James, and…wow, I can’t believe this.”

“I’m really sorry. I wanted to tell you earlier but Mom was still arguing over a few details. We’ll still keep in touch. I mean, I’m only going to be a few hours away.”

“Yeah, by plane,” I commented. “Couldn’t your mom have waited until you finished up high school here? She’s just going to move at the end of your junior year? Does that seem right?”

“They aren’t going to have the position available for long, Inara. She had to take it now. I wish it didn’t have to happen this way.”

Silence enveloped the car and a few moments later, Charisma shifted into drive and pulled out onto the road. I didn’t know what to say to her. This was not what I expected for the beginning of my birthday celebrations. Sure, I knew that she couldn’t help the matter any but still, I was hurt that she hadn’t told me sooner.

“What would you like to do today?” she asked.

I looked over at her. “Right now I’d just like to take a nice long walk. I don’t think I could peruse through books or sit still through a movie,” I answered. “Could you stop at Fairhaven Shrine? I haven’t been there in a while.”

“Umm…sure. Are you all right?”

Letting out a deep breath, I turned my gaze back to the window, and the bleak surroundings. The trees were just starting to bud and the temperature was beginning to rise. Soon I would actually start to call it the spring season. “I’m fine. I just need to have a little time on my own, to think about all of this.”