Hello :) In this AoS fic, I planned a light-hearted, hopefully funny storyline. Jiniri is the female version of a Djinn. So, this story is gonna have a lot of magic in it and trips to the genie realm. DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters. Ed Naha does. :)

Chapter 1: Pride of the Seas

It was a beautiful day at sea. The Nomad was sailing in blue waters and the sun was shining in the sky above. But the Nomad wasn't the only ship in the waters of Mansour. For some time now they were being followed by what appeared to be one of the largest, most magnificent ships Sinbad had ever seen! Of course he wouldn't admit it as much since the Nomad always took first place amongst sailing vessels. Still, this newcomer of the ocean seemed to be the pride of the seas.

"Triple-masted, five square sails for every mast. I've never seen anything like it!", proclaimed Doubar in blatant admiration. He closed one eye and peered through the magnoscope again.

"Doubar, you've been giving a running commentary on the ship for nearly an hour now-",noted Sinbad, with an indulgent smile. He held the tiller firmly as a gust of wind played through his brown hair. "Can't you just wait until it gets closer so that your curiosity gets satisfied all at once?"

"It;s your lack of curiosity that surprises me, Sinbad!. I'm sure a powerful ship like that could only belong to the son of the Caliph of Mansour. Or perhaps a wealthy Pasha- Just look at it! It's painted in ornamental red and gold!"

"I would if you didn't hog the magnoscope",quipped Sinbad, coldly.

Doubar pulled away embarrassed. He quietly handed the instrument and Sinbad took a few steps back to observe the trailing ship.

"Triple-masted,all right. She must have three decks at-least! A splendid specimen of a sea-worthy vessel!"

"That's more like it!", lauded Doubar, delighted that Sinbad shared his adulation of the ship.

"Must support a crew of fifty-"

"Maybe more", vociferated Doubar enthusiastically.

Maeve walked up to the men and gazed into the horizon with Dermott on her arm. "What are you boys upto?",she quizzed.

"Here, take a look!",said Sinbad, politely offering his spyglass.

Maeve took a peek and stated blandly. "Hmph! It's a ship. What about it?"

Sinbad took a look at Doubar and turned away aghast at Maeve's lack of excitement. "It's a ship", imitated Doubar in muted exasperation. "Leave it to a woman to appreciate the rarer novelties in life!"

Maeve chuckled at their reaction. "I was only kidding, Doubar.",she assured, patting Doubar's arm as if to console him for injuring his feelings. "Yes, she is a fine ship and she's been on our tail for a long time-"

"No wonder!",cried Sinbad, stiffening in sudden alarm. "She's a pirate ship!"

"WHAT?!",bellowed Doubar at once. "It can't be!" He gave the tiller to Rongar and glared through the magnoscope. "Pirates never sail this close to the Port!"

"True",agreed Sinbad. "But,she's running the colors of a pirate ship. And she's got a figure-head as well. Strange, I've never seen such a decorative pirate ship before"

"Do we sound the alert all over the ship?!",demanded Doubar.

By now, Firouz had joined them.

"No,wait!",cried Sinbad again. He stared hard into the magnoscope. "I don't believe it!"

"What? What?",demanded the others.

"The flag colors are black allright.. a black rose stitched in white!"

"Talia?!",exclaimed Doubar, in disbelief.

Sinbad carefully held the instrument to his eyes. "It appears.. that we are about to have a rendezvous with our favorite pirate queen.."

Maeve's face fell at once. "Oh no",she moaned, ill-tempered. "I don't trust her one bit! She's nothing but trouble-"

"Come on,Maeve.." coaxed Sinbad, jovially. "Where's your sense of adventure? Talia maybe trouble but stick with her and she'll give you one heck of a ride! Your money's worth or else"

Maeve glared sullenly and moved away. Firouz studied the figure-head with interest. It was strangely disturbing. A white stone figure-head of Talia, leaning over the waters with a spear above her head.

"Her taste in statuary is..", commented Firouz, with interest.

"Revolting ",ended Doubar,firmly.

"Not the word I was looking for.. ", protested Firouz. "I would say, unique. Looks like she's struck gold!"

"And we'll soon find out why",replied Sinbad, grinning steadily at the approaching ship. He waited expectantly but deep down in his heart, he knew that Maeve was right. Talia was trouble with a capital T. But they couldn't escape the rendezvous now. The pirate ship was too close to the Nomad. They'd have to put their best foot forward and be wary at all times of Talia's trickery.

"If that was possible", sighed Sinbad to himself. He put his foot upon the bowsprit and leaned out in reception of the Black Rose.

The huge triple-masted ship drew up alongside the Nomad and a gangplank was drawn at once as a sign of welcome to Sinbad and his crew.
"Sinbaaaaddd!", cried Talia in exhilaration as she appeared at the head of the gangplank. "Welcome! Welcome aboard the Black Rose!" She threw her arms wide open and enveloped him in a warm hug.
"Doubaaarr! It's so good to see you!", hugged Talia, happily. She clasped Rongar and Firouz's hands in a friendly shake. "Maeve, sweetie! And Dermott, the cutest hawk in the world! Ohhhhh". Dermott flew up and perched on Talia's arm, much to the pirate's delight and Maeve's dismay.

"This is some ship!", exclaimed Doubar, staring appreciatively all around. Talia linked one arm through Sinbad's and the other through Doubar's and confessed, "It's finally happened, you guys. I've finally made it. This ship is mine and I've got enough cargo in the hold to trade for a lifetime.."
Sinbad laughed, a mix of happiness and curiosity at how she managed to accomplish this feat. "Tell us your secret", he said, in good humor.
"Ohhhh, there's plenty of time for that!",cried Talia. "First, I'm treating you all to a hot meal- Persian specialty!"
"Persia?",echoed Firouz with a laugh.
"You've been to Persia?",asked Sinbad, in surprise.
"Yes.",replied Talia. "I went there on a mission for the Caliph." She raised her hands before Sinbad could protest. "No piracy. Just good, honest labor. I would even go far as to call my mission noble!"
Doubar, Firouz and Rongar laughed. Maeve rolled her eyes and looked around. Suddenly she caught the eyes of a young girl,perhaps the age of Serendib, smiling shyly from the lower deck door.
"Who is this?",asked Maeve, gesturing to the girl.
Talia looked around and motioned to the girl to come forward. "Ohhhh, I forgot to introduce Cyra. She's the Persian girl I rescued. I'm bringing her back to the Caliph of Mansour for a handsome reward!"
Cyra came forward, looking very shy and wide-eyed. She folded her hands ,gracefully raised them above her bowing head and knelt down to the ground before Sinbad and the crew. Sinbad stepped back at a loss of how to respond to this very formal greeting. The girl remained in her prostrated position.
"Hmmmm... I think in the future you should replace that bow of yours with a handshake", observed Talia, amused.
"A hand-shake", echoed Cyra in a foreign accent. She brightened and waggled her hand in the air with a smile. "Like this?"

"No! Not like that at all!", groaned Talia.

"Allow me",said Sinbad, taking Cyra's hand in his and giving a warm handshake. "This is how we say hello", he said, gently.

"Hello",replied Cyra, bashfully. "I..I haven't been around too many people", she said, by way of explanation for her shyness. "Captain Talia was the first person I saw in-"

"- two weeks!", bounced in Talia with an unusually boisterous laugh. "Haha.. it's maddening how long you can go without meeting anyone at all!"

Maeve giggled. It was very rare that she took an instant liking to people. She mostly distrusted them and was highly suspicious of their "friendliness". But she liked Cyra. Her manners seemed to be a mix of innocence, propriety and a sense of wonder at the events occurring around her. Also, Cyra clearly was quite a foreigner. She had lovely dark brown hair which was swept up to the top of her head in a knot. Some hair fell in locks , framing her bronzed oval face. She wore a costume unlike anything Maeve or the others had ever seen. Very loose pants and a tight velvet bodice which showed her belly button. She wore a vest over the bodice which was heavily worked off in embroidery. There was a large amulet around her neck, her only ornament.

"Come on, Sinbad",beckoned Talia, fawning on his arm. "While Cyra shows your crew to the dining table, why don't I give you a personal tour of the Black Rose and perhaps later,.." She gave a mischievous wink. "... the Captain's cabin?"
Sinbad's face turned a glorious shade of red and Doubar and Firouz did everything possible to control their explosive laughter.

Talia took a deep breath of the salty sea sir. "Now I know how you feel when you walk across your Nomad",she said, one hand on her belt and the other flourishing across the length and breadth of her Black Rose. Her feet kept up a jaunty stride. She clenched her hands into fists in excitement. "This... solid feeling of ownership, of being the master of one's own destiny!" Her eyes shone like stars. "Ohhh, this is a feeling I've long since awaited,Sinbad. A ship of my own to sail where-ever I please!". Talia led Sinbad all around her huge ship which was carved in tropical teak and iron wood. The sails were dark orange and there were crow's nests on both of the tallest masts.
"I don't see any sailors", remarked Sinbad, squinting hard at the nests. The thought struck him odd. "Actually, I don't see sailors anywhere at all"
"Yeah well-", chuckled Talia, sheepishly. " You know how I have this paranoiac fear of mutiny-"
"Talia-"
"The only people aboard the Black Rose are me and Cyra, my trust-worthy first mate!"
"What?!",gasped Sinbad in disbelief. He shook his head. "I don't believe it. You're joking-"
"Oh, its true. It's true. Don't let Cyra's naïve appearance fool you,Sinbad. She is an expert when it comes to sailing ships. She was the reason I got this ship in the first place."
"Uhhhuhhh",replied Sinbad, warily. "Why do I have the feeling that there is something more to all this,Talia?"
"Sinbad, come on.." Talia gave one of her most disarming smiles. "I've finally settled well in life and I have all these riches to share and all you can do is scrutinize everything with a critical eye.."
She pouted at Sinbad and he relaxed the terse expression on his face.
"Forget your worries!",urged the pirate queen."This is Talia's ship you're sailing in!" Talia threw her arms wide and twirled happily. Her feet stepped lightly in a happy jig."Can you believe it? Only in my wildest dreams have I dared to imagine myself owning such a large sea vessel!"
"She is a beauty", admitted Sinbad with a nod. His good-natured smile returned. Talia turned to him, coyly,
"And you know, I'll get a handsome reward from the Caliph for returning Cyra. She is his long lost niece-"
"I see.",said Sinbad ,recognizing the first signs of Talia about to turn on her charm. He stepped back and found the mast in his way. Talia grinned and linked her arms around Sinbad's neck. Sinbad grinned back uncomfortably.
"It would be nice to share my wealth with a special someone-"
"Talia, I've told you before-",began Sinbad but was quickly silenced with a toe-curling kiss.