Status. Glamour. Money.
It was a heady proposition. Especially for a young girl with few other prospects.
Sihnon was a core planet, lush with credits flowing in from the far reaches of the settled worlds. Far from evenly distributed, it was true, but even the poorest families were often better off than on the rim. At least outside the blackout zones. And Inara had never stepped foot into a blackout zone.
Her family lived near enough the Companion Academy that she saw the beautifully dressed women and men pass by occasionally. The wide-eyed young girl would sigh, and her vivid imagination would create stories about their assignations, and what adventures might ensue.
There weren�t many choices available for a young woman of her social class. Inara knew she had no stomach for nursing, no patience for teaching, and even less tolerance for nit-picking secretarial work. Her father had hopes that his beautiful daughter might marry up the social ladder, but she wanted independence. The status, glamour, and money were secondary.
Recruitment for the Academy was rigorous. It was not, as Kaylee might have put it, posted at all the schools with the byline: �Become a companion, travel the �verse, meet interesting people, and fuck �em,� although the idea made Inara smile. No, the testing was invitation only. And she had smiled when she received that invitation. It meant she had a fighting chance to see what she was made of, how far she could go. The smile remained as she passed the physical exams, and only grew bigger as the psychiatric exams flew by.
Entering the Academy was the hard part. Inara�s smile grew as she learned all the skills she would need, and learned them well. Even during the comprehensive testing to become a full-fledged companion, she kept her smile.
Then it disappeared, at least in private. The final shock, the only shock, really, the one thing she had refused to think about.
The operation.
It would mark her forever as a companion, never anything more, never anything less. Why provide complications for the clients? It made a sort of sick sense, and at age seventeen, it seemed a very small price to pay. At least that was what she told herself, and her family. And they were pleased, because Inara�s success gave them higher status, too. And because she seemed content.
Truthfully, there were advantages, and her smile was outwardly bright as it had been. And her status grew, and the glamour was there, and the money? Oh, there was lots of money, especially while she stayed with the house on Sihnon. As she grew older, though, regret colored the edge of the smile, and Inara realized that seventeen was far too young to make irrevocable decisions. Perhaps that was why she left.
And now� now, Zoe was glowing. Wash and Mal looked stunned, and there were smiles on everyone�s faces. Even Inara�s, although it hurt as if her jaw was cracking. Glamour, status and money suddenly seemed paler, less of what she needed or wanted.
And for a moment, Inara hated her for it.