Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. Italics still are expression of one's thoughts.

Chapter 2

Plunkett tapped his feet impatiently. That witch sure is getting on my nerves! he thought. He was sitting across Rumina, watching her for quite some time; and all this time, she did nothing but stare at that bowl of hers. From where he sat, he couldn't catch what was actually in there, but it must be that wretch of a sailor. But why on earth is that sea-dog such a pleasant sight?
This time he spoke, "Rumini, dearest, would you care to tell me what's going on in that genius mind of yours?"

Rumina moved her gaze to Plunkett, quirking an eyebrow. "More than thinking, I was cringing, Plunkett pet," she observed, throwing a disgusted glance to the bowl, right to Bryn's face. Amazing how someone with Turok's blood turned out to be a tasteless peasant. "Now... where were we?" she asked, her fingers going back to grasp the pendant at her neck while smiling seductively to the pirate.
Cicero, in the meantime, stretched again before curling up in a ball and closing his eyes without leaving his mistress' side.

"Right on the streets of Basra", Plunkett spoke in a perfect business-tone. "But tell me this again, why can't we just get there, finish-off that filthy rat right away, and make a clean break with the past? You've been wasting yourself onto it for so long!" Disgust flashed in his eyes at the thought of that wretched sailor. As far as the pirate knew, the mission completely evolved around Sinbad. Rumina seemed to forget completely about mentioning the others to him.

"Because vengeance is a perfect art, and unlike you, my pet, I've mastered it. He'll have to suffer what I suffered, and possibly more," Rumina snapped, glaring at Plunkett and retreating from the bowl. Cicero turned to mirror his mistress' glare to the pirate for a moment.
"But now, handsome, back to the noisy Basra..." she declared, standing up to come near him. "You and your crew... the hairless one and the witch-in-training may be the most useful. You'll have to drag our mighty, mighty captain right into my trap," she announced, trying to sit on Plunkett's lap.

Plunkett was utterly distracted by the sudden movements of the witch, but only for a brief moment. He regained his composure immediately, allowed Rumina to sit on his lap, and wrapped his arms around her slender waist. "As you wish. I don't mind playing a little cat and mouse with him, either!" He was starting to lose track of this conversation, as he felt himself drowning into the pools of Rumina's vivaciously makeuped eyes.
But he somehow managed to stay tuned and added, "I think it's best for the crew to remain here with the ship. It would be much too troublesome to have them at Basra, and we plan to keep ourselves disguised. I'll take Rhyad though. He is good help. I need Eleana to stay aboard the Apocalypse. Somebody has to keep an eye out there."

"Then, Pet, you'll have to open your eyes and handle carefully what I'll give you. It will have to reach Sinbad somehow, and it's everything they need to break down those magic wards and set free the peasant redhead. White magic, nasty stuff," Rumina complained, wrinkling her nose in a cute way while stroking absently at Plunkett's hairs. "That witch-in-training of yours would have handled well the components with enough care. I only hope that this Rhyad person will do the same," she pouted, breathing deeply while she brought her free hand to her chest. A grimace appeared on her face.

"If you say its Eleana to handle them best, then Eleana shall be it. I'll put some other bloke to the caretaker job," Plunkett muttered. He was melting under Rumina's piercing gaze. Shivers ran down his spine at her touch. Nothing mattered more to him right now, other than this feisty witch. He was consumed by lust; he moved forward, about to capture her lips in a passionate kiss, but instead heard himself speaking again, in a husky voice, "Now, tell me, my dear, are you trying to seduce me?"

Rumina took another deep breath, letting the pain subside before turning to stare at Plunkett. A flicker of annoyance passed through her eyes, but it was gone before he could notice it.
"Why... isn't it working, pet?" the witch smiled seductively, leaning down and trying to brush her lips against his. "But not now, my pet... you've work to do and a witch-in-training to update."

"Update her yourself, I am not a man of magic to understand it all" Plunkett muttered, his voice didn't betray the annoyance he was feeling right that moment. "I am the captain, and she orders me around!"
He motioned for a servant, "Hey you! Find Eleana, the tall woman, and tell her that her captain wants her in the balcony to discuss some important matters. She is at the dining hall with the others." With that he dismissed him, and the servant strode off to find that witch.

Rumina smiled in satisfaction, stirring contently on Plunkett's lap. Everything was going exactly like she wanted it to go... But she needed to keep Plunkett on a leash, at least until she could reach a full recovery.
"I like a man who can take charge of his job..." she purred, trying to get even closer to the pirate.

She could hear the soft crackling of her seering pool, and she was somehow eager to spy on her not-so-beloved, not-so-dead, little sister and the annoying Captain Sinbad. When Scratch told her that little Bryn was indeed alive and well, she almost choked on her drink. But the little miss could wait. At the moment, she had a pirate to spoil.

"Yeah sure," grumbled Plunkett, his harsh voice softening a bit. "I am a man, been tested and tried, and sure proved my mettle hundred times in the past. So don't you ever question my abilities, dearest!" he said, a smug look playing in his face.

Rumina forced a smile and turned her face to stare at the ocean to hide her annoyance. Control yourself, Rumina, she imposed to her inner rage, her father's voice echoing in her mind.
"And you keep in mind I don't like the harshness in people around me, as much as I like them. And we both have to know and keep straight each other priorities, pet," she grumbled, quirking an eyebrow to stare at the pirate before standing up. Now, she could hear Scratch laughing, wherever he was. Useless bearded beast. Tzk.

Plunkett eyed the witch carefully. Sometimes, she was quite difficult to understand. One moment you find her flattering you up, the other moment she was all but poison. Plunkett was not a man to be intimidated, but he knew better than to enrage a witch who had a direct link to hell, so he remained silent, waiting for Eleana to arrive.

Men were such a pain, sometimes, Rumina breathed heavily, her hands going back to fidget the pendant at her neck. She felt a tingle, and then an image shot through her mind; a harpy was screeching in the sky above the palace. The hairless man in Plunkett crew, whip in hand. A woman with a purple scarf on her head, trying to escape him.

She turned to stare back at Plunkett, quirking an eyebrow.
"Your ship is under attack, dearest." she said, her eyes setting back on the bay.

Meanwhile on the secured bays of Tayr al Ramad something indeed was going on…

Rhyad was sitting on the top of the rail at the bow right beside the tiller. He was staring thoughtfully to the sea through the short opening of the cliffs around the bay. He hated to be stuck on land, unlike the rest of the crew who just barged the fortress on the top of the cliffs to dig into the rhum reserves. Carefully polishing his sword, he wasn't really caring about anything that wasn't the constant crash of the waves on the Apocalypse...

While the colors of the setting sun settled on the blues of the sea, Talya briskly walked around the rocky cliffs of the island. She was much too absorbed in her own thoughts to notice anything else.
D**n that worthless captain, d**n his coward bunch of ingrates, d**n them all! she thought to herself, a slight frown of disapproval and disgust forming on her face. How could they do this to her? Nothing can match up to the insult of when a pirate, herself, is marooned and with only the meager excuse of stealing from the captain to explain her insulting pain at that moment in time.
"Heck, those idiots couldn't even prove it!" Talya grumbled in frustration. "Well, I'm better off without them. One more day and I would have turned into one of those brainless baboons myself. At least I have something with me. I wonder what it will fetch on the black markets!" A smirk crossed her lips as she fingered the outlines of the brown bag she was carrying with her. "Now, I only have to find a way out of this godforsaken spit of land and the rest of my life will be just as I want it to be. No more pity from those weaselly guts of men who come to call themselves sailors," she muttered, determined to show the world that she is not someone to be taken lightly. She slowly made her way to the top of the cliffs, where something quite unexpected was waiting for her:

The ship rested peacefully at the opening, its black sails waved slightly with the gentle evening breeze, instantly caught her attention.
"What in Allah's name is a ship like that doing here? Hmm.. seems pretty abandoned to me!" Talya looked around her, and could make out the outlines of a marble palace in distance. "I guess they are enjoying themselves in some party! Good for them" Mischief and joy flickered on those beautiful eyes of hers, "I guess I should pay that lonely ship a visit, just to make sure everything's okay onboard!" She started creeping along the way to her target, totally unaware of the presence of the first-mate.
Talya reached the bay and found a couple of shore-boats lying on the soft sand.
"Perfect! Just what I needed! This sure is my lucky day, a well deserved one!" She took one of them and started rowing to the ship anchored not very far away…

At the same time Rhyad hopped down the railing, checking on his blade while he walked on the deck. He noticed a single boat pointing at the Apocalypse, and he furrowed his eyebrows.
"What the heck..." he muttered, trying to focus on whoever was rowing. No man in the crew surely wore a purple scarf on the head. And the person on the boat was way too short to be Eleana, as well.
"Visitor," he muttered, retreating slowly to reach the tiller. Unless it was that wicked witch of Plunkett's new love interest, maybe the dullness of the day was going to be cleaned up a bit.

Talya reached the ship, and climbed the rope tied to the anchor, then several loose ones to come aboard.
"Wow, look at this beauty, awaiting so patiently for me!" she squealed, utter satisfaction portrayed in her face. This is like her wildest dreams come true, to have a ship of her own, to conquer the world, to be living legend of the high-seas-- but her day-dreaming came to an abrupt halt as she felt the sharp-edges of a sword against her chin. Poor Talya, she thought. Can't even enjoy one decent moment alone!

"I wasn't aware the Apocalypse was waiting for you... because if I don't know you, neither she does," Rhyad muttered, keeping his blade at Talya's chin.
"So... your name?" he grumbled, a tight smile on his face, his eyes fixed on the small figure of the woman who dared to step uninvited on Captain Plunkett's ship.

Talya tried to smile soothingly at that enraged man staring maliciously at her, but did nothing but a grimace.

"Well, well, no need to be frightened of a woman, little one!" She avoided his question, looking hesitantly around herself, trying to find anything, a sword, a spear, an open door to hide behind, but alas! there she was, all by herself, being threatened by yet another mad man in her life! d**n you, Talya, d**n your luck! she thought.

"Sometimes you should use a mirror, lady, since if I'm small, you're a mouse." Rhyad grumbled, even less pleased then before. "Now, before I choose to throw you overboard, are you going to introduce yourself?" he asked, punctuating each word with a soft nudge of his sword against Talya's throat.

Talya tried her best to play cool, "Hey! Is that how you treat guests in your country? A simple 'hello, how are you' would've done nicely." But the mad man made no attempt to withdraw his sword, but nudged her even harder with it. Talya tried again, "I am Talya, the Black Rose of Oman!" she announced proudly. "And it's nice to meet you, but as much as I am enjoying this conversation, I've quite some work to do, unlike some lazy git wasting his time toying with that thing." She took one careful look at him, then turned around, about to leave.

Rhyad furrowed his eyebrows at the woman's introduction and attempt at escaping, then snapped into action. He retrieved the whip at his belt and set it free, making it snap before launching it forward, trying to make it wrap around Talya's ankle.
"Already leaving, Black Rose?"

At that point, Talya totally lost it. She turned around, narrowed her eyes, now blazing with fury, and sneered, "You want to play it dirty, don't you, scum? Then lets have it your way!" She bent down and in a swift, powerful movement of her leg, kicked the shin of the sailor.

"You chose it, girlie!" Rhyad growled, grimacing at the sharp pain on his shin before making the whip snap again, trying to let it wrap around Talya's leg. He maneuvered the sword he was still holding in the other hand, trying to block the pirate queen between the railing of the ship and the blade.

It burned like hell where the whip brushed against her ankles. Talya groaned in pain, then looked up to her attacker. She was trapped between his sword and the railing, but suddenly a rope, loosely hanging from one of the sails, caught her eyes. It took only a second to calculate the risks, then she lunged sideways ducking the sword and grabbed the rope.
She took a wild swing, reached behind the sailor, and grunted. She kicked him hard at the hand he was holding the sword.

At that Rhyad let go of the sword, but pulled with all his forces on the whip, still wrapped around Talya's ankle, to him in an attempt to drag the pirate onto the deck.

The sword flew high into the air, and by the time Talya got her fingers around the hilt the whip around her ankle dragged her onto the wooden deck.
"You monkey-face! Keep your slimy tail away from me!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. The whip was cutting through her flesh, she had to do something about it. So she crouched up, mustered all her strength, then made a powerful blow with the butt of the sword at his groin…

Back in the castle, completely taken aback, Plunkett just stared at the witch for a moment. "What? By whom?" was the only words that escaped through his gritted teeth. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that someone would dare to attack his ship. Then the reality of the situation hit him, and it hit him real hard. All his crew was in the castle, and the castle is on the furthest corner of the island; it was distinctly possible that he wouldn't be able to reach his ship in time before it was stolen. He felt his blood boiling in rage, a cruel grimace formed in the corner of his lips.

"Nobody messes with Plunkett, Nobody!"

"The harpy made me see a woman... She's fighting with that Rhyad-man," Rumina answered, gazing to the ship in annoyance. "Want a lift to the ship, Captain Plunkett, or are you up to leaving the dirty job to your first mate?" the witch said, quirking an eyebrow.

Before Plunkett was able to answer, Eleana entered the room. She approached them slowly until she finally reached them near the balcony. She gave a discreet nod to Plunkett and a sardonic smile to Rumina before reporting all her attention to the man.
''You wanted to talk to me, Captain ...''

"A woman! How dare that puddle of flesh and bone attack MY ship? If Rhyad is there, then he'll teach that wench a life lesson. Let me take a look at them." Plunkett's eyes were now glaring at the distant image of his ship that could be seen from there, and gestured Rumina to show him more in her magic bowl. The pirate had totally forgotten the presence of Eleana, who was standing at the doorway, waiting patiently for his answer.

Eleana was not surprised by the reaction of her Captain, who did not seem to be aware of her presence. She knew well that her presence was noticed, but the Captain and the Witch seemed to be more focused on the witch's bowl.

Rumina didn't bother to talk, waving a hand in the direction of the bowl full of glistening water. "Help yourself, pet," she smiled, glaring at Eleana in the meanwhile. "You and me, we've business to talk about, Witch-in-training."

At the mention of Eleana, Plunkett barely turned to look at her for a brief moment then returned his gaze to the image of his ship in the pool. "Yes, there's some magic thing you need to understand. Rumina will brief you," he grumbled out, his eyes fixed on the ongoing battle on the deck. Rhyad certainly was strong enough and efficient enough to take care of such simple affair all by himself but something told him the wench isn't too bad, either. He kept watching them with a furious expression on his face.

"You are going to Basra to lead the mighty Captain Sinbad and his crew into a trap, as you already know," Rumina briskly pointed out, crossing her arms on her chest while staring pointedly to Eleana. "I'll give you some bags, filled with some herbs and a white magic spell. Somehow, you'll have to make sure that the girl in Sinbad's crew receives one of these goodie bags, because if their rainbow-crapness doesn't kick in, they'll surely need it. By the way, Witch-in-training, you can't mistake yourself; it's the one wearing yellow, straight hairs, dull expression... bad taste in jewelry. She doesn't have any control on her powers, so try not to get in her way when she looses it. I don't want fried Plunkett around," she filled in the girl, wrinkling her nose.

She smiled slightly at Rumina's explanation about her part in the mission, and then replied in a calm voice, '' Well ... I will make sure she receives one of these bags. It should not be a problem ... When is the departure?'' A little adventure can be really fun, after all, she thought to herself. The crew seemed to appreciate Rumina's lair, but Eleana was bored...

"Soon. Go pack your rugs, Witch-in-training," Rumina announced with a glare to the Witch, snapping her fingers to gain Plunkett's attention before crossing her hands in front of her chest.

"Plunkett Pet? Are you trying to lose your ship, or can I send at least a couple of harpies to back your first mate while you ponder if he's capable of handling himself against a female attacker?" she asked in sarcasm, flapping her eyes to the man with a sweet smile.
A new fit of pain striked the witch in that moment, forcing Rumina to sit down one more time, leaning heavily on the cushions. Darn curses! She took a deep breath, raising her eyes back to the pirate a moment later, waiting for an answer.

Eleana only nodded her head as an answer. She didn't like the witch that much, but she could learn great things from her, as some sort of an apprentice. So she couldn't afford to lose the witch's confidence. As for Plunkett...she found it really funny the way Rumina could use Plunkett as a pet...
So Rhyad has been attacked. Eleana tried to hide her smile, but just couldn't... Men, she just can't leave them alone.
''I will go pack and see what's going on, on the ship... '' she said and then left the balcony to go to the port.

Plunkett snapped back into reality by the harsh snapping of Rumina's fingers, and deep down inside he was grateful for that. The mere thought of someone attacking his ship was enough to blind him with fury, that he lost his rational thinking to take care of the situation first, then think of all the vicious savage abuses that he can inflict upon that insufferable wench who caused him so much agony, no matter how brief a time.
"Do anything you like", he addressed Rumina, "but bring me that woman alive. I'd LOVE to meet her personally, and see though her problems myself." A scornful mocking smile curled into his lips.
With that, he started pacing up and down the balcony, pausing only to lean out over the railing to glare at the distant image of his ship, barely aware of Eleana leaving the place.

Rumina smiled despite her distress, stood up and approached Plunkett. He was getting so easy to toy around.
"Then, Pet, I think we should take the matter into our own hands..." she purred in his ear, joining him on the balcony and looping an arm through his.
"Ready for some magic?" she whispered, waving a hand in front of them, their figures already misting away…