A/N: This is first attempt at writing for Sinbad. After watching the movie last night for the first time since childhood, I was struck by how good it was. I was also intrigued by Sinbad, Marina and Proteus, as well as their respective futures. This is my take on it.
Summary: An interlude in the future of our favorite trio, a glimpse into what would could be. One-shot. Complete.
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Dreamworks. Leta and Cassandra are mine.
Stars of Gold: An Interlude
"I don't care if she's Helen of Troy!"
Lady Leta of Alexandria fumed as she glared at the woman across the long receiving hall. "She was formerly the Ambassador of Thrace, true," she continued waspishly, ignoring the amused smile from the quiet man beside her, "but should she really be here?"
"I was told she was a good friend to His Majesty," the man beside her said, which only earned him a sidelong glare from Leta.
He was an odd man, this captain whose name she had yet to learn. He was much more tolerant of her flying tongue than most nobles in this room, who went out of their way to avoid her and whomever she had recently chosen to verbally thrash—usually done out of earshot of her chosen victim. Leta was not brave enough to say such things to a subject's face. No, she was a lady, and ladies did not confront each other. They played games of intrigue and subterfuge all while wearing a pleasant smile. That's how it was done.
She was new to Syracuse, having arrived for the marriage of King Proteus to Princess Cassandra of Troy, daughter of the mystic Cassandra, granddaughter of King Priam, the mythical ruler of Troy. Several important nobles from the Twelve Cities had been invited to the festivities, Leta included, and now the new monarchs of Syracuse were mingling with their guests, hoping to strengthen ties with old allies and forge new bonds with others.
None of that, however, explained why the monarchs were allowing that woman to monopolize their conversation at the moment. "Good friend?" Leta let out an unladylike snort and continued her train of thought. "How could she be a good friend? She was an ambassador of Thrace, a woman with power! She was going to marry the king, by the gods, and she threw that away to sail the seas as a thief? She's mad, if you ask me."
"Doesn't sound crazy at all," the man countered, the humor in his voice more evident now. "It's the choice I would have made."
Leta waved his comment away. "You're a man of the sea, Captain," she said, "that's expected of you."
"You know," she continued, "I heard she killed that husband of hers."
Now she had the captain's attention; she could feel him stiffen with surprise next to her. His next words were carefully spoken, modulated to give nothing away. "Really? How did that happen?"
Leta snapped her fan open and began waving it in consternation even as her green eyes sparkled with the chance to divulge some entertaining gossip. "I heard that she left him on an island after a fight, and he starved to death."
"Really?" The captain was interested now, leaning towards her, his dark eyes sparkling. "How do they know he died?"
"Well, he didn't swim back to the boat!" Leta laughed, watching as the former ambassador reached out to gently pat the king's cheek in what appeared to be a rebuke. Her lip curled in disgust at the brazen woman's familiarity with the king of Syracuse, and she barely refrained from pointing the gesture out to the man beside her.
"Trollop."
The man beside her snapped to attention, turning to stare at her. "I'm sorry?"
It was a crude term, but Leta refused to pretend as if she had not just insulted the woman's reputation. "Look at her!" she said, gesturing dismissively towards the elegant woman, a little jealous. "Her husband is dead, and she is bearing another man's child!" It was true that the former ambassador's stomach was swelling with the first noticeable signs of child, but the captain wasn't convinced.
"It could be her husband's," he retorted, his voice still cool and controlled.
"Doubtful," Leta spat back, her fan fluttering. "See the dark man next to her, the one who has been shadowing her all evening? No doubt he killed her husband so he could get her with his seed. No doubt the bastard is his. Perhaps it's even the king's!" Leta's eyes lit up at the chance to spread this rumor, and she took no notice of her companion, who had gone still. "Perhaps she killed her husband because she wanted to return to the king of Syracuse as a free woman!"
The man beside her had clearly had enough of her bile. "Excuse me, madam," he said coldly, drawing her gaze, "but is this yours?"
Leta glanced over and gasped as she saw that he held her prized diamond necklace before her, casually dangling by its chain. Somehow, he had managed to lift it from around her neck while she was occupied—while she wearing it!
"How dare you!" She snarled, snatching it out of his hands. "Who do you think you are? No reputable captain would do behave like such a cad!"
The man gave her a short bow, his dark eyes never leaving hers. His lips curled into a mirthless smile. "Better an honest cad than a lying courtesan, my lady."
Leta's gaze swept over his form, her brows knitting. He was dressed in a soft black tunic and red breeches of the same material, red braid decorating the shoulders of his tunic, the only decoration he had donned for the king's coronation and wedding. A sharp dagger nestled in his sash, and Leta had the feeling that if he was searched, guards would find many more weapons than that single one.
"Who are you?"
Again, the slow, crafty smile, the edges of his dark, neatly trimmed beard moving upwards as well. "Captain Sinbad of the Chimera, my lady." He took a step forward, his gaze locking on hers as she took a cautious step back, frightened by the sudden anger in his eyes.
"First of all," he said quietly, his voice smooth and coiling around her like a dangerous snake ready to strike, "I would ask that you not insult my wife further. I'd hate to alarm Proteus by having to threaten a noble at such a nice party." His lips curled in the ghost of a smile for a moment. "It's true that Marina did leave me on an island, but it was only because she was in a foul mood because of her pregnancy. She came back for me. That child is mine, and I am clearly alive to care for both my wife and our child."
He turned and began to stride away, but turned back for a moment to stare at the gaping lady behind him. "And as for Kale and Marina?" His white teeth flashed in his swarthy face for a moment. "Kale would cut off the very member that allows him to function as a man before he betrayed me like that."
"Ah, Sinbad!" Proteus said jovially as the infamous captain joined them, slipping an arm about his wife's waist. "You decided to join us at last!"
Sending his old friend a grin, Sinbad glanced over to see Kale slipping off into the crowd, no doubt to find some food. It had become an unspoken rule that neither of them left Marina alone. His wife chafed at "the babysitting," but after the kidnapping attempt a few months ago, Sinbad was not about to take any chances. Call him paranoid, but he would like to avoid any more contact with the gods, even if it was only Eris' insane sister, Calypso.
"Enjoying yourself, I hope?" This came from Cassandra, Proteus' new wife and queen. Sinbad could happily say that he had been on hand to see this second ship carrying Proteus' future pull into the dock, and with Marina in his arms, he had felt no jealousy as his old friend greeted the princess who would hopefully become his wife.
A quick courtship had followed, and despite the political founding of the match, it was clearly one of love as well. With her graceful build and her height—she was nearly as tall as her new husband—Cassandra did not look as if she was used to anything but a privileged life. However, that graceful form hid a fierce strength that came from the trials of her ancestors. She had inherited the fierceness of her beleaguered mother, as Proteus found out the first time she bested him in the saddle, and when he once found her in the lists, beating some of his finest guards at archery, her aim straight and true.
Periodically, Marina, Sinbad and the rest of the crew of the Chimera returned to Syracuse—it was their refuge, their safe harbor, even if Sinbad would never admit it, always claiming that Fiji was where he wanted to be. After returning the Book of Peace, the late King Dymas had granted him safe passage through Syracuse, and Proteus was quick to uphold that promise.
Taking Cassandra's hand, Sinbad gave her his most charming smile as he raised it to his lips. "You have outdone yourself, Your Majesty."
Ducking her head, the new queen actually blushed under the full force of his charm, her blue eyes darting away from his dark gaze, her midnight hair falling into her face. She turned to bury her burning cheeks in her husband's shoulder, and Proteus tightened his grip on his wife's waist, sending Sinbad a mock glare over her head.
Sinbad jumped and took a hasty side-step as Marina swatted him on the arm, her long sleeves brushing his. "What?"
His wife was giving him the same glare Proteus was, but her dancing blue eyes told him that she didn't hold it against him. This was not the first time this had happened. "I'm right here, darling," she said sweetly—too sweet. She enjoyed watching Sinbad's eyes widened with fear. It was when she was at her most saccharine that he had to watch himself. Bad things could happen.
"You know," she continued cheerfully, plucking the dagger from his sash with fingers that had not slowed even as her belly swelled and made traveling by sea difficult, "You really should watch yourself, Sinbad. I might just run off with Proteus when you're not looking. I could get jealous."
Sinbad spread his hands in a peaceful gesture, warding off the dagger that dangled from her hands, too close to his navel for comfort. A few inches south… "Marina," he said, giving her the same charming grin, "are you telling me that you would choose Proteus over me? That hurts."
"I suppose I could always take the Chimera again," his wife mused, depositing the dagger back in his sash. She giggled at Sinbad's stricken expression, and the new monarchs of Syracuse were quick to join in, having heard the saga of that particular couples' spat many times over. "The crew wouldn't argue."
"Insufferable woman," Sinbad growled, pulling Marina into his arms and brushing her auburn hair out of her face even as he grinned down at her. In one swift movement, he swept her into his arms, grimacing apologetically to Proteus and Cassandra even as Marina protested. "Excuse us, would you?"
"Sinbad, this is not acceptable! Put me down!"
"No," Sinbad refused cheerfully as he strode through the room, ignoring the shocked stares of all the nobles and the encouraging whistles of his crew.
Marina's fingernails dug into his shoulders as she adjusted her grip, but even that bite could not convince him. She glared up at her husband. "Is this because I said I was going to run away with Proteus?"
"Partially," her husband admitted, striding out onto the balcony and gently setting her down, brushing his hand over her swelling belly as he did so, as if to ensure that his child had not been harmed. "It was also to do this without an audience."
Marina trapped his large hand against her stomach with one of hers as his lips fitted against hers as if they had been made for that exact purpose. Winding her other hand through his hair, she pressed up into his embrace, needing more. There was a pleasant heat humming through her veins as they parted, and Sinbad was no less affected, if the tight grip he had on her waist and the pulsing heat of his body were any indication.
"Wish we were back on the ship right now," he mumbled against her lips, moving to brush against her cheek and neck as she hummed in response. "Why did we decide to come?"
Marina pushed away her growing need for her husband and stared up at him. "You were going to miss Proteus' wedding and coronation so you could keep me sequestered in our cabin?"
"Mmm," Sinbad murmured, much more interested in tracing her collarbone with his lips. "You would have enjoyed it."
"No doubt," Marina gasped, leaning back to grant her husband better access, enjoying his attentions. With difficulty, she wrenched her mind back to the present. Cupping his face in her hands, she brought his head back up to hers before he could go any farther and shred any more of her already tattered self-control. "Sinbad, have you considered Proteus' offer?"
"You know how to ruin a moment," he grumbled, releasing her and moving away to lean against the railing. Marina briefly considered the irony of the locale. It was here that Proteus proposed, it was here he released her, it was here Sinbad proposed, it was here she told him she was expecting, and it was here that they would discuss their future. What was it about this balcony that invited her to use it as the setting for the most important moments of her adult life?
"I don't know," Sinbad admitted, running a hand through his dark hair and turning to her. "I don't think these nobles like me much, and I don't want to be fettered to land that often."
"Even if it means spending more time with Proteus?"
Her husband gazed out to the moonlit sea, the same sight that had enchanted her so many years ago, made her long for adventures she thought she might never have. "Marina, do you want me to take the job?"
The woman blinked, momentarily baffled. "It's your choice," she said softly. "Proteus asked you to be the admiral of his royal navy, not me."
"The sea is my home," the sailor said quietly, turning to look at her, his dark eyes silver when reflecting moonlight. "But I can't just think of myself any more, can I?"
Reaching out, he wrapped one warm arm around her waist, and Marina allowed herself to be drawn into his comforting embrace, nestling into his shoulder as she often did. His large hand came to rest on her belly again, and Marina felt the child within her stir slightly, as if sensing her father's presence. "I have you two to worry about now."
"What about the crew?"
Marina rolled her eyes at his question. "We wouldn't desert them, Sinbad. They've been with you for years, and I know how devoted they are. The Chimera will have them for as long as they'll have her."
Pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, Sinbad smiled gently down at her. "I love you."
Marina rested her cheek against his broad shoulder, running her fingers through his hair. "I want our child born on the waves, Sinbad. Wait until she comes. After that, you can give Proteus your answer."
"Making an honest man of me once I have a family to support, huh?" Sinbad teased, his smile melting her heart.
A gruff bark broke their tender embrace, and as he had many times before, Spike pranced up to them, a large bone gripped in his jaws. To celebrate the occasion, he had allowed Marina to drape a garland of white and blue flowers around his neck, to stand for Syracuse's colors of blue and silver, but he had heartedly refused to allow her to twine it with ribbons.
"Spike, what have you got?" Sinbad crouched down to wipe the excess drool from the dog's jowls, then straightened. "Enjoy!" He called as the dog trotted farther off, no doubt to finish his prize before going back to scavenge for more.
"Sinbad! Marina!" They turned to find Proteus and Cassandra standing between the two pillars that led back into the hall, waiting for them. Proteus gestured to his old friend, his shortened hair fluttering in the night breeze.
"Enough of that," he said, rolling his eyes as Sinbad smirked and Cassandra sent Marina a knowing smile. "Come on," he told them. "I'm about to toast my lovely wife, and I need you there to interrupt with embarrassing stories from our childhood."
Sinbad tilted his head, a roguish grin spreading across his face. "Fine, but just remember, you asked me to embarrass you!"
Proteus gave the thieving captain a rueful grin. "I know I'll regret it to my dying day."
Laughing, Sinbad took his wife by the hand and led her back into the music-filled hall. "Come on, Marina. Let's go embarrass a king."
A/N: Brief, yes, and perhaps not my best, but it was what came to me. Reviews are appreciated!