friends and for a while we all pooled what little money we had and lived in this, like, one-bedroom apartment. There were seven of us and I slept on an air mattress in the living room with four other people, but it was better than the street.”
“What happened to them?” Inara said.
“We were boosting ships, stripping them for parts, selling them, that sort of thing. They did a job and got caught. They went to prison.”
“You weren’t with them?” Inara said.
I shook my head. “I should have been. But I was sick that day. Had a stupid cold and Torra told me to keep my sick ass in bed.”
“Lucky,” Inara said.
“I guess.”
Maybe it was luck, but it made me feel like shit. I couldn’t understand why someone like Torra, who, granted, maybe wasn’t on the complete up and up, but who took a ton of us street kids under her wing, who taught us how to survive, how to stay safe, how to not starve, could go to prison and die there, and a fuck-up like me who killed her only sister got lucky.
Not that lucky. If it weren’t for the Draax, you’d be as dead as Esther and Torra right now.
“Ellis? Why did you steal the juice from the Draax ship?” Inara said.
“I didn’t. Cheryl did, remember?”
She laughed and I grinned at her. “I was desperate. After Torra and the others went to prison, I switched to the black market juice thing. You need a crew to boost and sell ship parts and I would have starved before I found another one. It was going fine, until I owed a guy a big shipment of juice that I used instead to save a friend from dying. The guy put a marker out on me, so I tried to steal the juice from the Draax ship in order to avoid being murdered by Richie for not bringing him the juice I owed him.”
“Why didn’t you just sleep with a Draax for it?” Inara said. “I haven’t slept with a Draax before but from everything I’ve read and seen, they’re pretty good at sex.”
“Seen?” I said teasingly. “Why, Inara, are you telling me that sweet little you watches Draax porn holograms?”
Her face flamed the colour of her hair and she poked me in the arm. “Like you haven’t watched it. Anyway, why didn’t you trade sex?”
“Look at me,” I said.
She looked me over. “What?”
“I’m ugly. The Draax won’t sleep with me. Hell, half the time they thought I was a boy… although to be fair, I did dress like a guy.”
“Well, you’re a little smaller than they like, but you’re definitely not ugly,” Inara said. “Don’t say that again.”
I just shrugged. “I knew they wouldn’t sleep with me, so I didn’t bother trying.”
“How did you know? Had you tried before and -”
The knock on the door was a welcome relief. I wouldn’t explain to Inara why I knew the Draax found me ugly. Couldn’t explain it.
The door opened and Inara and I stood when Sabrina stepped into my apartment. We both curtsied and I said, “Hello, your majesty.”
Sabrina made a face and rubbed at her belly. “Hi, Ellis. Hi, Inara.”
“How are you feeling, Sabrina?” Inara said.
“Like I’m gonna pop,” Sabrina said with a laugh. She took Inara’s hand and pressed it against her belly. “This kid has been doing summersaults for the last half hour.”
Inara grinned at her. “Considering how close it is to your due date, you look amazing.”
“You’re sweet, but I know exactly what I look like and amazing ain’t it,” Sabrina said. “Ellis, how is it going in the docking bay?”
“Really great,” I said. “I love it.”
“Melu isn’t being too,” Sabrina hesitated, “grumpy?”
“Nope,” I said.
She studied me. “Is that the truth?”
“Well, he’s cranky, but I can handle it,” I said.
“Good. I have some news I think you’ll like,” Sabrina said. “I’ve spoken to Quill and he has agreed to allow you to spend time with the other women in the common room and eat meals in the dining hall if you’d like.”
“Holy shit!” I immediately covered my mouth. “Uh, I mean… sorry.”
Sabrina laughed. “Trust me, it’s fine. The other day I had to explain to Quill why Jovie was suddenly referring to my broken tablet as that rotten bastard. Anyway, you’re now allowed to go to certain areas in the castle… the common room, the garden, the dining hall, the docking bay, and the pool. Bitta, our, for lack of a better word, IT guy, has programmed your