A/N: This is the prequel to "Double Surprises". I hope you enjoy!

She was tired. The sun had long set and her candle had almost burned completely. Outside, the stars were twinkling in the sky. It would be yet another clear sky. Dim-Dim loved a clear sky. He said you could learn a lot from looking at the stars. But Maeve preferred the more hands-on lessons to her stargazing sessions. She could never remember the different constellations which changed depending on the season. Here, however, it was always the end of spring: not too hot, but not too cold.

She closed her spell book, unable to concentrate on any incantations. The letters seemed to merge all together into one and she couldn't decipher anything. Instead, she got to her feet and walked towards the back of her room. In one corner stood her oracle. She hadn't used it much she had arrived in Dim-Dim's dimension. There had been too many things to learn and to do. It had been at least two months since she had last looked in it. After seeing Sinbad kissing this new woman on the ship, she had promised herself never to look in it again. But tonight, curiosity got the better of her.

She waved her arm over the still water. An image immediately appeared. Her heart skipped a beat as she laid eyes on her former captain. She still couldn't believe how much he had changed in the past year. He'd let his hair grow, had changed his clothes… He no longer looked like a young boy. He now looked like a man. Not the kind of man she particularly liked, but she knew, deep down, the true Sinbad was still there.

The urge to be back with her friends grew stronger as she watched them walk through a familiar village. They had definitely been there in the past, when she had been part of the crew. Nevertheless, she couldn't pinpoint where they had docked. Instead, she just watched them, her eyes never leaving the captain.

She'd heard him, the night Dim-Dim had spoken to him. She could still remember.

"I never had the chance to say goodbye, Maeve... to say how much I care."

Maeve watched him helplessly as tears poured down her cheeks. For a year she had longed for him to tell her about his feelings towards her. Deep down, she'd known the two of them had shared more than a strong friendship and a part of her had always wanted Sinbad to validate her hypothesis but he had kept his feelings to himself. Even after they had shared that hug, after they had almost destroyed Rumina, he had acted as though nothing had happened. They had gone back to their usual routine of longing stares and flirtatious smiles.

Now that she was stranded in this alternate universe, where Dim-Dim controlled everything from the weather to what kind of animals roamed the woods behind their house, he was finally admitting… something.

She could tell he felt guilty about what had happened. If only she had held tighter to the rope, maybe she wouldn't have fallen into the sea.

"Are you okay, my dear?" Dim-Dim asked her.

Maeve sniffled.

"Please, Master Dim-Dim, tell him. Tell him I am still alive."

Dim-Dim nodded.

She snapped back to reality. The image had turned blurry. Once again, she had lost focus. She sighed, irritated. When would she finally learn not to lose her focus while practicing her magic? As she regained her concentration, the image grew clearer. She watched as Sinbad stopped to talk to a man. Again, Maeve felt as though as she had seen him before. She tried to remember all the ports they had stopped at and all the villages they had visited. Suddenly, she knew where they were. A year earlier, they had shared their first and only kiss in that same village.

An idea began to take shape inside her mind. She ran outside where she found Dim-Dim dozing off near the fire. She lightly touched his shoulder. The man jerked awake.

"What is it, my dear?" the old man asked, half-asleep and disoriented.

"I want to go back."

"Back where?"

"I need to see them again, Dim-Dim. I need to see my friends."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Maeve. You are not strong enough. If Rumina finds you, she could kill you."

Maeve sighed.

"I know all of that. Is there a way that I could go back without her knowing?"

Dim-Dim shrugged.

"Not unless you were a different person. Even if I were to change your appearance for a few hours, Rumina could still recognize you from the magic powers within you."

"I'm willing to take the risk," Maeve replied.

Hope began to emerge. If there was any way she could go back just once, maybe now she could focus completely on her studies.

Dim-Dim was clearly awake. He looked at Maeve, eyes filled with worry. He had always known the two young adults would form a powerful bond. He just hadn't expected it to turn to love, a love so strong that even being in another dimension couldn't break it.

"If you die, I will never forgive myself."

Maeve couldn't help but smile.

"I won't die," she said in her most assertive tone. "When can you do it? I know where they are."

Dim-Dim chuckled.

"Relax, dear girl. Tonight is not the time."

Maeve felt disappointed. Who knows what would happen to the crew the following day? What if they hadn't planned on spending the night? What if they had planned to leave early the next morning? She didn't know how long they had been in the village. Sinbad rarely stayed in a village longer than a day or two.

She tried to hide her disappointed for fear that Dim-Dim would come back on his words. Instead, she tried to make him promise to send her to the village the following morning. He said he would think about it.

She hardly slept that night. She must have slept only a couple of hours and was awake before dawn. From her bed, she watched the sun rise slowly. When it was barely over the horizon, she jumped out of bed and went straight to the kitchen to prepare a breakfast.

Dim-Dim joined her later in the morning. He informed her that he had studied the incantation and was ready to perform the transformation. Maeve nodded. Her heart raced inside her chest at the thought of seeing Sinbad again.

"Are you ready?"

She closed her eyes as Dim-Dim recited the incantation. Quickly, she began to feel a light tingling sensation throughout her body. Soon enough, the strange feeling disappeared and silence fell in the kitchen. She opened her eyes to find Dim-Dim staring at her, wide eyed.

"Did it work?"

But even as she spoke the words she knew it had. Her voice was different, a tad higher than her regular voice. She even seemed to have a vague, exotic accent.

"You will need to find a new name."

"Arianna," Maeve replied.

"Where did that come from?"

Maeve frowned.

"I don't know. It just popped into my head."

"It suits you."

"What now?"

"We go to the portal."

Maeve followed her master to the portal in the back of the garden. She had only crossed it once, the day she had arrived in this alternate dimension. She remembered the feeling of a cold cascade poured down on her. Yet, once she had crossed, she had found herself to be dry.

"Stand in front of it," Dim-Dim instructed her.

Maeve did as she was told.

"And remember: the spell will only last one day. Tomorrow, at this exact time, you will turn into your own self. Make sure nobody sees you when it happens. I will come get you."

Before she knew it, the cold water was pouring down her back.

She fell to the ground hard. She had landed in the middle of the forest, the same forest Dermott had disappeared into when he had been captured by the Vorgon. The thought of it made her shiver. Slowly, she got to her feet and began walking in direction of the voices she could hear ahead. Within a few minutes, she had reached the edge of the village. The villagers busied themselves around her as she slowly crossed the village. None of them paid any attention to the newcomer going through their land.

It had been a while since she had set foot in the village and yet, she felt as though it had been yesterday that Dermott and she had vanished and Sinbad had vanquished the Vorgon. She could still remember the feel of his lips on hers as the two of them had given in to their repressed feelings. Of course, they had both denied it at the time. It now seemed like a foolish decision on their part.

A familiar voice reached her ears. She spun around to find Doubar and Firouz talking loudly as they walked towards another part of the village. Sliding in behind them in the crowd, she followed them from a short distance. She watched as they stopped in an inn. Maeve chuckled.

He is probably looking for women and song, she thought, remembering a similar conversation the two brothers had had together. She followed them inside.

Sinbad was nowhere to be found. The two men simply sat down at a table and continued their passionate conversation. Disappointed, Maeve walked out of the inn and resumed her search for her former captain.

By the end of the afternoon, she still hadn't found him. The village was small, making Maeve wonder where he was. Not intending to give up until she found him, she went back to the inn only half-expecting to find him there. However, she was happily surprised when her ears caught the sound of his laugh. Her heart began to race faster as she made her way through the crowd, ignoring the whistling and the words of the men she crossed paths with.

He looked up at her when she stopped beside their table.

"Well hello," he told her, flashing the flirtatious smile he knew and used so well.

Butterflies began to flutter inside her stomach. Being in his presence was overwhelming. She longed to tell him the truth about her identity but the thought that Rumina could be watching overpowered her desires. Instead, she mustered enough courage to talk back.

"May I join you?" she asked him, hoping that her voice had been seductive enough.

"Of course."

Straightening herself, she confidently walked towards him and took a seat on his lap. She surprised herself at her own courage and couldn't help but feel delighted when she saw the new girl's jealous glare. Sinbad simply chuckled at the act of bravery and wrapped his arms around her waist.

The evening passed in a flash and soon, she found herself entering Sinbad's room. They had spent the evening talking and laughing together, occasionally holding each other's hands as lovers would have done. Firouz had wanted to show something outside. She had followed the crew out on the streets.

"You go. I'll stay here," Sinbad had said.

Curious as to what Firouz had wanted to show her, she had left Sinbad behind. But when she had come back in, she had found him sitting near the fire place. Being less straight forward this time, she had taken a seat beside him. His gaze had been staring into the flames. In his eyes, she had seen sadness and had wondered if it was her absence that was causing it.

"I feel sadness in your heart," she had said before she could stop herself.

He had torn his gaze from the fire and turned to her. He had looked deeply into her eyes. When Sinbad had leaned in to kiss her, she hadn't thought twice about kissing him back. It had quickly become a passionate kiss as Maeve let herself give in to the pent-up feelings she had for him.

However, now that things had progressed, Maeve began to have doubts. She had only wanted to see him. It had never occurred to him that things would go so far. But as Sinbad kissed her neck and began to undress her, she pulled all of her thoughts aside and gave in, for the second time that night, to her urges.

She awoke with a start the next morning. The sun had already begun to rise and Maeve didn't know how much time she still had before the spell would be broken. Slowly, she pulled herself out of bed and began looking for her clothes. She found them scattered around the foot of the bed.

"Leaving so soon?" she heard behind her.

Sinbad was looking at her, eyes still filled with sleep. A smile stretched across her lips. She walked over to the bed and sat down beside him. She bent down and kissed him tenderly.

"I have to go. My father will wonder where I have gone," she lied.

"Make sure you don't tell him you spent the night with Sinbad the sailor," Sinbad said, cockily.

"Don't worry about it. It will be our little secret."

They kissed once more. Sinbad got out of bed and began to dress. Hand-in-hand, the two of them left the room and joined the rest of the crew. Doubar's surprised expression made Maeve wonder if she had gone back to her former self. But he wished her a good morning, using her fake name, she knew immediately she had not been uncovered.

Her heart nearly skipped a beat as she saw Dermott standing on Bryn's arm. Maeve felt a slight pang of jealousy at the thought that her brother now had a new owner.

Soon, my dear, she heard inside her mind.

Maeve gulped. This reunion would soon be over.

Dermott screeched and flapped his wings wildly. Maeve frowned. Had he heard Dim-Dim's voice inside her mind? Did he know who she was?

"I think it's time we head back to the ship," Sinbad said. "It looks like Dermott needs to stretch his wings."

The rest of the crew agreed. As they began walking, Sinbad stayed behind. Taking her hand, he gently kissed it.

"I hope we will meet again."

"Goodbye Sinbad."

"Goodbye, Arianna."

She watched him disappear into the crowd. After a few seconds, she followed behind him. Never losing him, she followed him to his ship. She watched as they loaded the ship, lifted the anchors and began to sail away. Sitting down on a large rock, she watched until the ship had disappeared in the horizon. Closing her eyes, her body returned to its original state.

Immediately, she heard a man's voice inside her head.

Now that you got what you wanted, it's time for you to come back, my Dear.

Taking a deep breath, Maeve tore her gaze from the ocean and nodded.

I know, Master Dim-Dim. Bring me back.

Instantly, she was back by her mentor's side, alone and heartbroken.

And yes, I have used the same words from the prologue in "Double Surprises".