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Kassandra

Part 1/1

By Philomel

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PLEASE do not archive, print, or post anywhere without permission—please e-mail me and ask first. (I just like to know. Thanks.).

Disclaimer: These characters and this universe are not mine, I didn't create them, and their owners still own them. I'm just borrowing.

Summary: Big plot stuff here! But without cows. There shall be cows, but not in this fic. No monkeys either. Okay, I lied. There is no plot, and not even anything resembling plot-stuff. Just a quick vignette—no smut, no spoilers, and no cows. Originally written for the Firefly Friday fic challenge. (topic: "Trust.")

Flowers, chocolate, and a thousand thanks, as always, to Sarahetc. for shiny beta.

Feedback Supplication: If you have any comments, positive or negative, I'd be more than grateful to hear them.

Thanks for reading.

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There is a buzzing in my ears and through my toes. The air hums with it, and spins a counter-melody, and it echoes in my brain. The harmony is discordant, in minor sevenths, and it's all falling and laughing, like dust mites playing in the sun.

There was a piano in our house, many years ago, a baby grand in the traditional style of Earth-that-was, and I would play and play and play in the warm sunshine streaming through the picture window in the music room.

It has been seven months, four weeks, 66 days, and 11 minutes since I crawled out of the box into Simon's arms.

My mind trickles and ebbs and flows and adapts to all the chemical compounds Simon likes to experiment with. But right now, it is quiet. So quiet, I can hear the stars. I breathe deeply, the air refined and filtered in a 20% oxygen mix, and feel the life flow through me.

There was a time, I sat on my father's lap, and he read to me. The tales all began at the beginning, and they started with, "Once upon a time."

But I'm starting in the middle