Hello and welcome to my first story, The Young Knight.

I had this idea rolling around in my head for a few weeks and a character popped up that I simply had add. For the purposes of the story, I've aged River up from 16 to 18. Also, at first, a lot of the dialogue from the show will be intact. The reason being that a new character probably wouldn't make huge shifts to what's said in the beginning. As the story goes on, expect more original dialogue. Also, excuse any spelling or grammar errors as I don't have a beta and Windows Office only goes so far.

All characters belong to Joss Whedon, except for my OC of course, and I'm making no money off of it.

Thanks and enjoy the story

XxXxXxX

In the cold darkness of the forest, Audrena walked silently across the snow covered ground, the sword in her right hand angled out to the side. Her white shield was covering her left arm and raised to cover her torso. The sword was a 32 inch, single edged chokuto, a remnant style based on Earth-that-was. Its jet black hilt was gripped tightly by a pale, gloved hand, nearly as pale as the white snow she was currently stepping through to reach her objective.

A flash met her eyes, causing her to kneel and a position her shield to protect her body. The protective metal shield vibrated as bullets danced across its surface. A few of the shots went wide, whizzing past and impacting the trees behind her. She lowered the shield slightly, just enough to stare over the top at the gun emplacement that was currently reloading 100 yards ahead of her.

With a deep breath, Audrena sprinted and covered distance on a matter of seconds. She knocked the gunner out of the placement, sending him sprawling to the snow covered ground. She quickly struck out with her sword, stabbing him straight in his heart. The man gurgled and blood started to leak out of his mouth as he eventually lay still in the white snow. Audrena said a small prayer for the man she had just slain, but could not linger. Her eyes surveyed her surroundings, spotting the large mansion labeled in her mission dossier.

Her target was somewhere inside.

The problem was she wasn't sure what they looked like. Only a name was given: Lizbeth Thompson. Hopefully, the mansion wasn't that full and she could complete her mission without extra casualties. A speeder was parked in front of the garage, indicating that there was a presence inside. Audrena did a circuit around the large building, looking for any weaknesses. She quickly spotted an open window in the second level. Apparently someone like the cold weather. Sheathing her sword on her back, and laying the shield over top of it in its magnetic sling, she stealthily scaled the wall and made her way to the open window.

Taking a quick look inside, she found she was peeking into a bedroom. She quietly stepped into the room, careful not to make any noise. The bed to her left was empty, but looked disturbed. Perhaps whomever had been in here had heard the machine gun go off outside. The rest of the room had indicated that belonged to a small child, most likely a girl judging by the toys on the bed and the colors of the room. She made her way to the bedroom door and opened it up, showing her a hallway. It was mostly dark, but one room at the end of the hall had lighting peeking out from it. She silently, made her ways toward, careful not to give away her presence. Once she got to the door, she put her ear to the cold wood, in an effort to try and see if there were any people on the other side. She heard whispered voices, but nothing distinctive could be gathered from the hushed conversation.

Drawing her sword once more, she kicked the door in with practiced ease. The door gave way with a groan and cracked in half as it slammed to the floor. Screams rang out as a man and woman huddled together on the bed, both looking at Audrena with wide, terrified eyes. The man quickly moved himself forward, shielding the woman and trying to look as defiant as he possibly could. Audrena stared back, pointing her sword straight at the man's chest.

"Names," Audrena said plainly.

"W-what?"The man stuttered back. "Your names. What are they?" Audrena said with a bit of steel in her voice this time.

"What are you doing in our house?" the man replied, looking even more afraid.

"I'm looking for someone," she stated, boring her ice blue eyes deep into the man's brown ones. The man was about to respond when a small noise came from behind Audrena. She took a small step back, still pointing the sword at the man but allowing herself to identify the source of the noise. A small, five year old girl stood in the door way, staring wide-eyed up at Audrena. "Lizbeth, run! Get to the safe room."

Just then, Audrena's blood ran cold. She stared at the girl in front of her, taking in every detail. Her curly brown hair barely made it past her shoulders, framing a young face. The brown eyes completely visible above a small nose and a slightly open mouth. Freckles dotted her face.. This girl was the one she was supposed to kill?

'This was the mission?' she thought to herself. 'Who could have possibly approved this?' She had only killed traitors to the Alliance. A child was innocent, pure. What possible motive could this have come from? A scrambling sound came from the direction of bed, indicating that the man made to move towards Audrena. She looked over at his large form leaping towards the sword stretched towards him. Her arm moved on its own. The woman screamed.

Audrena's eyes snapped open, her breathing ragged. In her hand was a knife that she had pulled out from underneath her pillow. Eyes darting around the room, she held her breath, looking for any disturbances. Nothing moved for a few seconds before Audrena let out the deep breath that she had been holding. Placing the knife down on the bedside table next to her, she quickly moved from her bed to the window across the room. Dawn greeted her, the sun barely clearing the mountains as it lit up part of the Eavesdown Docks.

Persephone was really an interesting dichotomy. It was one of the original colonies that was founded after Earth-That-Was and it had a heavy Alliance presence. The cities located on its surface were gleaming in shiny new splendor, a tribute to what money could build. The slums, on the other hand, were controlled by local gangs and moneymen that wanted power over anything the Alliance didn't really care for.

As she watched the early risers get ready for the day, she thought back to the earlier nightmare that had woken her. She shook her head, trying to erase the burned in image of the young girl's shocked expression. Turning away from the window, she decided that she probably wasn't going to get back to sleep and might as well start her day. That began with a trip to the bathroom and a nice shower. After spending five minutes under tepid water, she got out and began to towel herself off. She caught her reflection in the mirror and paused, looking at herself for what seemed like the first time in months.

A slightly pale face stared back at her, framed by pure white hair. Her ice blue eyes looked pale as well, like they were losing their color. Her necklace hung around her neck. It was a simple gold chain with a cross. She had that necklace for as long as she could remember She leaned in closer to the mirror to scrutinize her skin. No blemishes were seen minus the freckles that were dusted over the bridge of her nose.

Surveying the rest of her body, her eyes passed over the few light scars that appeared at different places. At the young age of nineteen, Audrena thought her body would have filled out a bit more. She was a reasonably tall 5'11" but her chest area had not filled out completely. Years of chest bindings and skin tight body suits had stunted their growth. More sacrifices I gave for the 'great' cause.

Audrena shook her head, driving thoughts of her old life out of her mind for the time being. She needed to figure out what to do next. Maybe I'll go down to the docks and look for a freighter that's taking passengers. God knows she needed to get out of Alliance controlled space before she was discovered. She dug through her bag, searching for her clothes. She had to move quickly. She had grabbed a pair of pants and a plain looking shirt. Grabbing her boots, she pulled them on. Her blue coat was hanging over a chair. She grabbed some of the things that were scattered over the table including a tablet and a few personal documents. Securing them away, she pulled the bag over her shoulder. She picked up her other bag that was laying on the floor next to her bed. It held some other personal items and supplies.

She made her way down to the front desk and gave her room key to the woman manning the desk. She was a dumpy, short woman who looked like she had lived in the Eavesdown Docks her entire life.

"Didja enjoy your stay, missy?" the lady asked, giving Audrena a critical eye, almost like the woman was going to judge her for the rest of her life based on Audrena's response.

It unnerved her a bit.

"Yes, it was pleasant," Audrena answered back, then asked, "How much do I owe you?" She hoped that this stay wouldn't drain her funds. Fifty thousand platinum seemed like a lot when she first left, but it turned out not to last very long. As it was, she was down to her last ten thousand platinum. Maybe she should look for work while at the docks.

"100 credits. Or 250 platinum, if you have that."

It wasn't a huge hit by any stretch, but she had to be careful. She had no idea how much a ticket would cost on a ship. She pulled out the money laid it on the table, coins clinking together. "Thank you very much, miss," the woman said cheerfully, smiling widely. Audrena noticed that she was missing quite a few teeth.

She made her way outside, blinking away the sudden light that greeted her eyes. The morning had truly started now and vendors were opening their stalls, eager to sell to citizens and ship crews alike. She passed in between them, heading towards the main part of the docks. She was trying not to draw attention to herself as she passed by a few Alliance patrols. She wasn't sure if her previous employers had put out a picture of her yet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an Alliance patrol pointing in her direction. She tried not to notice but picked up her speed hoping to lose them in the crowd. Another quick look told her that the patrol was now heading over to her, speaking into their communicators.

Audrena stopped and put down the bag in her left hand. She shifted her bag over to her left shoulder, giving herself easy access to her sword that was hidden in her pack. She didn't want to kill them, but she was willing to debilitate them a little so she could get away. She stood in the middle of a shifting crowd. She held her breath, listening for the steps of the two Alliance patrolmen. They were about five meters behind when she grabbed her hilt. Just when she was about to spin around and attack, they passed her on either side and caught up to a man that was walking a few meters ahead of her. Audrena let out her breath, letting go of the hilt and walking past the man being apprehended by the two Alliance feds, bickering about some stolen item. Audrena couldn't care less. She had almost attacked two men because she thought they were after her. She picked up her dropped bag and continued to move through the throng of people.

I need to get a grip.

Finally she made it to the main part of the docks, where most of the ships were parked. Audrena made a note of each ship's destination, looking for someplace that she could disappear. Most were large transport ships that were taking people on tours of multiple planets and moons. Some of the smaller ones were settlement ships that were looking to start a settlement on an uninhabited planet. Audrena almost considered boarding one of these ships. She could make a fresh start and contribute to the creation of a new settlement, possibly even a new civilization. Many captains were talking to any wandering soul that would stop to look at their ships. Audrena just kept walking. Some were going to places she had no interest in going, others were merely too expensive. The cheaper ones were the settlers, but they were mostly full and looking for families besides.

Just when she was bout to go around the docks a second time, a flash of twirling color caught her eye. She looked for the source and found that it was a parasol, one used for a sunny day. The colors were like that of a rainbow, all swirling into the center, making it look like a pinwheel. The young woman holding it was sitting in a…lawn chair. Where had she found that? Audrena wondered to herself. The woman in the chair looked nice enough, wearing a slightly dirty green jumpsuit with a blue silk jacket over the top of it. Her feet were barely covered by light blue and pink sandals. Her hair was pulled up so it was out of her face. She looked like she was a mechanic of some sort, considering she a few grease smudges on her face. She looked behind the young woman and noticed the ship she was sitting in front of.

It was a Firefly.

Scratch that, it was an old Firefly.

Memories flooded through her mind of a young girl taking her first ride in a starship, making Audrena forget where she was. She was shaken from her thoughts when she heard a voice say to her, "She sure is a sight, ain't she?" Audrena focused her gaze back to the woman with the colorful, twirling parasol. I guess I was staring too much. The woman looked expectantly at her with a small, satisfied smile on her face.

"Uh, yeah. I don't think I've seen one of these in at least a decade." Audrena finally said. "Well that's not surprising. Serenity's probably one of the only Fireflies that parks here in Persephone."

"Serenity?" Audrena echoed.

"Oh yeah, that's the name of this beauty: Serenity," the woman said, climbing out of her seat and approaching Audrena. She stopped in front of her and held out her hand. "And my name's Kaylee." Audrena looked down at the offered hand, and then extended her own. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Audrena."

"That's a pretty shiny name; you don't hear that one too often. Are you fixing to go somewhere specific?" Kaylee asked, her hand now back on her parasol. Audrena opened her mouth, and then closed it. She wasn't sure how much she should say. People don't really respond well when you tell them you're running away from something, or at least they get too nosy.

"I'm, uh, looking for work in one of the colonies."

"Well, I think the captain said we were heading to Boros. Maybe you can find something there."

Boros, Audrena thought to herself. It was a big Alliance colony, but maybe she could find someplace out of the way. At any rate, it was a good place to hide and get her feet underneath her for a while. She decided to take the chance. "So, what's the going rate for transport?"

"Depends how many people are traveling with you and how stuff you're bringing." Kaylee chirped, obviously pleased that she was able to get a passenger. "Well, I'm traveling alone," Audrena stated. "And this pack is the only thing I've got with me," she finished, hefting the heavy bag on her shoulder.

"Well, in that case, I'd say for you and what you're bringing, it would be around 5,000 platinum or 2,000 credits. Unless you have some provisions." Audrena perked up when she heard that. She had a large bundle of food that she had taken with her when she made her…departure. She still had a fair amount of preserved meat, large containers of flour, sugar, salt, and several small bottles of spices. She showed this to Kaylee who looked almost ecstatic at some of the items shown to her.

"Wow, you really came prepared. Do you like to cook?" Kaylee asked, looking almost hopeful. Audrena nodded. It was one of her favorite things to do in her off time, and the money from her previous job allowed her to obtain premium goods. "Shiny! Well since, you're bringing on food, you can pay 1500 platinum. It would cost us twice this much to get stuff like this here at Persephone." Audrena smiled and gladly handed over the money. Now she wouldn't have to start out with almost nothing in Boros. "Thank you." Audrena said, fully grateful for the opportunity. "No problem, hun," Kaylee said with a smile, "Let me show you where you can store your things."

Audrena followed Kaylee up the ramp into the cargo bay of the aging transport. It was bigger than it looked on the outside. Boxes stood stacked near the walls. Over on the left side were a set of stairs that led up to a walkway that circled the entire cargo bay. Towards the back of the bay was another set of stairs that stopped at a metal landing about six feet off the ground. Two more sets of stairs rose to meet the walkways. The walls were nice and open, showing a lot more space than it seemed.

Kaylee stopped and turned towards her. "Well since you're the first one here, you can put your packs anywhere you want. We're probably not going to leave for a bit since the captain has business that he's taking care of." Audrena nodded, placing her packs down on the ground. She started to pull out her different foodstuffs when that she had with her when Kaylee stopped her "Oh, you don't need to do that right now. Like I said, we've still got a while to go. I'll take it when we're in the air. Audrena smiled up at her and nodded, zipping her bags back up and leaving them there. She really wanted to inspect her sword, but she couldn't really do it with Kaylee standing about. She'd just have to do it later.

"Do you want me to show you where you'll be staying?" Kaylee inquired. Audrena nodded her head and followed Kaylee as she led her to the back of the cargo bay. They walked down a few stairs and passed a lounge area and a room with glass windows. The lounge had a comfy looking couch and a few chairs. In the middle of the set was a small table. The room opposite looked like it hadn't been used in a while. A flight of stairs rose up next to the room, leading to some other part of the ship.

They stopped at a group of wooden, sliding doors, two on each side of a short hallway. Another short hall, split off showing that there were a few more rooms. Kaylee showed her which one she would be using. The room seemed simple enough: A bed with white clean sheets, a desk with a chair, and a small set of drawers. The room had a small sink in the corner. "The bathroom is down the hall, if you need it," Kaylee said, pointing to the hallway that was just off to the right. "I've got to get back up to the cargo bay, I've been gone long enough as it is."

"Well, thank you for showing me around," Audrena said sincerely. "No problem, hun," Kaylee chirped back, "If you need anything else, I'll be out in the bay."

"Do you…mind if I join you?" Audrena asked hopefully. "Of course you can! Not often that I get company with me while looking for passengers. The rest of the crew is usually doing business," Kaylee responded, looking happy at the prospect of having a person join her. She led them back up the stairs and crossed the cargo bay back to the chair that was waiting for them at the edge of the ramp. Kaylee took her seat again and Audrena sat down next to her. For the next few minutes, the two made intermittent conversation in which Kaylee did confirm for Audrena that she was the ship's mechanic. A few people stopped here and there to take a look at the ship and its destination, but none could really be swayed by Kaylee. Most of them weren't going to Boros anyway.

Finally, a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties paused in front of the ship, looking up at it critically. He was obviously rich folk based on his garb: shiny loafers, neat clean trousers, and a white shirt that was covered by a dark grey vest. Over top of that was a black suit. His face was adorned with a pair of red glasses, hiding his eyes. He finally looked at Kaylee, seeming like he just noticed her in front of him. "How long does it normally take you to get to Boros?" the man asked in an even voice. "Usually takes about 5 to 6 days," Kaylee replied. "And do you take many passengers?" The young man inquired "We just got the one so far," Kaylee responded, motioning to Audrena. Audrena gave a polite wave and a smile.

The young man didn't return the courtesy. "Fine, I'll buy passage on your ship, but I'll need someone to pick up a package that I have at my hotel."

"That's not a problem," Kaylee replied cheerfully, going inside the ship. Audrena continued to stare in silence at the man in front of him. The man fidgeted a bit, obviously a bit unnerved at Audrena's long gaze. Finally, he said "So, I suppose we're to be shipmates." Audrena nodded and said, "That's the notion. My name is Audrena." She stood up and stuck out her hand. The young simply stared at her, causing her to put her hand down at her side. An awkward silence filled the space in between the two for about five seconds before Kaylee came back out. "Ok, so our pilot is going to meet you at the hotel, and he'll pick up your package." The young man nodded and thanked her. He then left, making his way through the crowd towards the hotel. "Well, he seems very…nice," Kaylee said, taking a seat in her chair yet again. Audrena nodded but didn't comment, taking a seat beside her.

Didn't seem that nice to me.

A few minutes passed in silence before a middle aged man came quickly up to the ship, saying he wanted to pay for passage on Serenity. Kaylee accepted the pouch of money, but the man left before she could get his name. About fifteen minutes went before an older man in a blue coat He looked like he was carrying a heavy rolling suitcase behind him, based on how slow he was moving. He was looking at the different ships. He had white hair that was held back by a hair tie and a small smile on his face as he swiveled his head. Audrena felt a nudge on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Kaylee looking at the man. She gave Audrena a playful look and said quietly, "Watch this."

"You're gonna come with us!" Kaylee yelled out, causing the man to look over at her. He paused in front of the ship and said, "Excuse me?" Kaylee continued on. "You like ships. You don't seem to be looking at the destinations. What you care about is the ships, and mine's the nicest." She jerked her thumb backwards pointing at the ship behind her.

"She don't look like much," the old man countered, smirking as he said it.

"Oh she'll fool ya," Kaylee countered back, "You ever sail in a Firefly?"

"Long before you were crawling," he answered, then took a closer look at the ship, "Not an aught three, though. Didn't have the extenders, tended to shake a bit."

Kaylee rose from her chair again and approached the man.

"So, how come you don't care where you're going?"

The man replied, "Because how you get there is the worthier part."

"Are you a missionary"

"I guess… I'm a Shepherd, from the Southdown Abbey." Audrena was surprised at this. Based on his knowledge of ships, she assumed he was a traveler of sorts. "Book, I'm called Book. Been out of the world for a spell. Like to walk it awhile, maybe bring the word to those that need it told." Kaylee nodded then replied, "Well, I'm Kaylee and this here's Serenity and she's the smoothest ride from here to Boros for anyone who can pay." She paused for a bit, and then asked worriedly, "Can you pay, or…?"

Shepard Book moved towards his bag and said, "Well, I have a little cash," he paused, bringing out a small wooden box, "and this." He opened the box for Kaylee, who looked surprised at its contents. She looked back at him and said, "Ooh, grampa." Book's smile fell a bit as he said kindly, "I never married."

"Shiny! Well, let's get your things aboard. The captain should be back any moment." Shepard Book started his way up the ramp making his way inside. Kaylee stood on the top of the ramp, seemingly looking for something or somebody. Soon enough, the same middle aged man from before was walking towards the ship.

Kaylee saw him and greeted, "Ah, welcome aboard, Mr…"

"Dobson," the man grunted out, walking quickly up the ramp.

"…Dobson," Kaylee echoed, beckoning him in.

"Thank you," he said quickly

Audrena spotted a 'mule' slowly make its way to the ship. It had a few containers directly behind the seat and was hauling a large box on its trailer. She assumed that was the package that the young man brought with him. The man on the vehicle was a man that looked like he was in his early to mid thirties. He had red hair and blue eyes. He smiled and sent a wave at Kaylee as he made his way up the ramp.

As the vehicle made its way past, Audrena noticed that the young man from earlier was back, standing on the left edge of the ramp. He looked towards the man driving the vehicle and spoke. "Please be careful that." Kaylee cleared her throat, and said, "Simon, Audrena, this is our captain." Both Simon and Audrena looked over at the man that had suddenly appeared on the ramp. He was a stocky man of average height. He was wearing a brown coat over his red shirt and pale pants. His brown boots were well worn, but still good enough to wear.

"Mal," Kaylee continued, "this is Simon and Audrena, two of our new passengers." Simon paused for a minute then said, "Captain Reynolds," in a sign of recognition. Audrena waited for a moment and then said, "Pleasure to meet you," giving him a polite nod.

"Welcome aboard," the captain replied. "If you'll excuse me." He walked up the ramp and disappeared into the cargo bay. "Captain's not much for words," Kaylee said, trying to apologize for her captain's demeanor. "That's fine," Audrena replied, not really affected by the man's nature. She had met worse. Simon simply turned and made her way up the ramp. Audrena decided to head inside as well. It looked like they were leaving soon and she didn't want to get in the way.

Making her way into the cargo bay, she saw Captain Reynolds talking to a dark skinned woman in hushed voices. After a minute, the captain made his way up the stairs, disappearing into the upper decks. Audrena looked around at the other passengers that were traveling, wondering how much interaction she would have with them. She didn't want to reveal too much about her life, lest they go running to the authorities. Suddenly, a dull thump was heard on the left side of the ship. The passengers all looked up to see what the noise was. "Oh, don't mind that," Kaylee said. "That's just our ambassador arriving in her private shuttle." Everyone nodded in understanding, but was still a bit wary.

A minute later, the captain reappeared and yelled out to Kaylee, "Kaylee, I'm locking it up." Kaylee nodded and grabbed her things quickly and came inside the ship before the airlock closed. Once inside, Captain Reynolds locked up the airlock and told the pilot to take off. The ship lifted off, shuddering slightly.

All aboard, Audrena thought. No turning back now.