Life for Rent by SLynn

But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy

Well I deserve nothing more than I get

Cos nothing I have is truly mine

“Life For Rent” by Dido

Inara never imagined her life would be like this.

She was just a girl when out of hundreds of others she’d been picked to become a companion. Her family had been proud. It was an honor. And she’d been proud even if, at the time, she didn’t fully understand what it meant.

A companion was someone special. Someone revered.

But companions didn’t have families.

She had left hers at twelve.

Her mother, whose face now seems so distant, had cried. Her father had barely said a word. And her sister had been jealous. Jessenia had been passed over for training two years earlier and could not forgive her for being accepted. That was what Inara remembered most. She had never even said goodbye to her.

Training had been difficult and at first she had been extremely homesick. Homesick and lonely. But eventually the feelings had subsided, never really leaving but becoming gradually less intrusive as weeks became months became years. There was so much to learn and it left little time for such concerns.

A companion’s life was always about giving of yourself to others. There was no recreation time. Who needed it anyways? Certainly not a companion. Companions only needed to give. And the more Inara understood that the more she felt that it truly was a blessed life.

In times of uncertainty, she was always provided for. Wherever she went she was respected. Her company sought after. Inara was proud of who she was. Her station in life was secure.

And then…

What? She wasn’t sure.

She awoke one day and felt empty. Used. Her life, her entire life she’d given to others. Her mind, her body, her soul.

What did she have to show for it?

Friends? Not really. Companions rarely interacted with anyone outside their sect. And even if they did it was mostly in an exchange of ideas, no real discussions ab