The moon was full, its light blotting out almost all the stars in the sky. Bryn had chosen a spot that felt right- on top of a grassy knoll in the middle of nowhere, where they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Are you ready?" Sinbad asked, joining her on the knoll.

Nervously Bryn smoothed down her short skirt- she'd never done this, well not that she remembered anyway. Finally she nodded, avoiding his gaze.

With two fingers he lifted her chin, until their eyes met. "You'll do fine," he said, his voice deep and soothing.

She took his hands in her own and without breaking eye-contact she drew one last shuddering breath. "Let's do this."

She started chanting. First in Latin, then Hebrew and finally in Arabic, her voice lingered on even as she began the next chant. She sounded like a choir onto herself.

Sinbad could barely make out what she was saying- something about bringing back the one he sought. He felt the power gathering in the circle of their joined hands. Her hair started to float, his own followed suit.

The power between them was trying to force them apart, force a way out. Sinbad clutched Bryn's hands as tightly as he could, they were shaking with the effort. He gritted his teeth, afraid they'd be shaken right out of his mouth if this kept up any longer.

Suddenly Bryn cried out, the same moment they were blown violently apart, landing in two miserable heaps on opposite sides of the knoll.

Sinbad made it back to his feet, he felt a stabbing pain and figured he'd probably broken a rib or something but didn't take the time to check. He scrambled back up the knoll and almost fell over in shock at what he found there:

Master Dim-Dim sat naked in a puddle of water, Maeve stood near him, clutching a book to her chest and looking about her, next to Maeve another woman stood, shaking like a reed.

"Sinbad my boy, I should've known it was you! Can't you give a man a moment's warning to get out of the bath," Master Dim-Dim grouched but he smiled to take the sting out of his words. He'd jumped up and hid behind Maeve, grabbing her by her hips and turning her to the unfamiliar woman so no females could look upon his nakedness.

"Find him something to wear, will you? I'm his apprentice, not his body-shield!" Maeve protested.

Sinbad took off his shirt and handed it over Maeve's shoulder to his old teacher. There was no mistaking Maeve's appreciative look down his body. Resolutely Sinbad turned around, finally seeing Bryn limping back up the knoll.

"You alright?" Sinbad asked.

"I think I sprained- everything," Bryn moaned, then brightened. "It worked!"

"Yeah," Sinbad said, and suddenly jumped when he felt two cold hands on his back.

"You broke two ribs," Maeve said, from behind him.

"I figured. I'll ask Firouz to look at it later," Sinbad said.

"I've gotten really good at bone-knitting spells, if you want to let me try…" Maeve said.

"Uhm," Sinbad hesitated seeing Dim-Dim shake his head in warning over Maeve's shoulder. "Maybe some other time."

"Excuse me," the third person Bryn had magicked to the knoll finally found her voice, having been overlooked in all the confusion. "What's going on here? Is this some kind of trick?"

Everyone turned to her, trying to figure out who she was and why she was there. Dim-Dim and Maeve were sort of used to the impossible happening so they were unfazed by their sudden re-location but for a normal person…

"What spell did you use, child?" Dim-Dim asked Bryn.

"I found it in a book, I didn't think it would work at all!" Bryn said, nervous to be in the company of an actual sorcerer with obvious evidence of her screw-up standing right there. "It was a spell to bring back the person Sinbad was looking for," she added lamely. "I didn't know it could be used to bring back three…"

"It must be the ley lines. We're standing on an intersection," Maeve suggested.

"With this much power I'm surprised you didn't bring back the dead," Dim-Dim agreed. "Now young lady, we're awfully sorry for ignoring you. Can you tell us if there's a reason this young man here would be looking for you?"

"Shouldn't you be asking him that?" the woman asked, the fear that had kept her frozen in place turning to anger.

The others looked at Sinbad, waiting for an answer.

"I have no idea," he said. "What's your name?"

"Elaria… what's yours?" She asked, having not paid that much attention when they'd first appeared.

"Sinbad," he said, a puzzled look on his face. "Wait, Elaria, as in Lea?"

"That was my childhood nickname… Hold on, you're Sinbad! From Baghdad!" Elaria said. "Why on earth are you looking for me?"

Sinbad gaped at her, then turned to Dim-Dim. "Are you sure Bryn hasn't been bringing back the dead?"

"Do I look dead? After falling in the water my parents wouldn't let me play with you anymore, they said you attracted trouble. Not long after that we moved to a little village away from the coast… You really thought I was dead?" Elaria said.

"That's what your parents told me!" Sinbad complained.

"And you've been looking for me all this time?" Elaria asked compassionately.

"We were engaged!" Sinbad said, feeling like a fool now that it turned out one of his biggest childhood traumas- aside from the death of his parents- turned out to be nothing.

"We were eight…" She said, looking mystified. "Anyway, how about you people do that trick in reverse and get me back home?"

Bryn looked at Dim-Dim and Maeve. "I have no idea how to go about that," she admitted.

Maeve shrugged and looked to Dim-Dim for answers.

"Are you sure that is what you want, child?" Dim-Dim asked. "There are opportunities before you now that you never had cause to think of before."

"And I have two children back home who will have VERY few opportunities if I don't return," Elaria said.

"You make a good point," Dim-Dim said. He turned to Bryn and Maeve: "Watch carefully, consider this a teaching moment."

He lay his right hand on Elaria's forehead, closed his eyes and muttered three words. With the sound of a thunderclap the woman disappeared.

Like nothing had happened Dim-Dim now turned to Bryn and extended his still crackling hand to her. "You must be Bryn, it is very nice to finally meet you."

She eyed his hand warily. He followed her line of sight and laughed sheepishly while vigorously shaking his hand to get the remaining power off before extending it again. This time she shook it.

"Nice to meet you too, I've heard a lot about you," she said. "And you're Maeve right? Dermott's told me a lot about you."

Maeve shook Bryn's hand, Bryn saw Maeve's eyes narrow for one, almost imperceptible moment before she was all friendly smiles again. "And where is Dermott? I can't wait to see him!"

"We didn't want anyone else too close in case something explosive happened," Sinbad explained. "Or more explosive." He gingerly poked at his fractured ribs and made a face.

Maeve swatted his hand away, for some reason quite chagrined with him. "Don't touch it, you'll make it worse." She hooked one of her arms through Bryn's. "On the way back to the ship you can tell me all about what Dermott's been up to the last year. Was he very distraught when I disappeared?"

Bryn was very surprised but offered no resistance, steering Maeve in the right direction as they walked, telling her all kinds of things the crew would regret her knowing…

Sinbad watched them go, quite baffled. What had he done now?

"Well my boy, seems like you've done it this time," Dim-Dim said.

Sinbad eyed his former teacher. The old man made a comical sight with Sinbad's shirt hanging down to his knees and wearing nothing else but a knowing grin.

"What did I do?" He threw up his arms, flinched because of his ribs, and then the sailor the master sorcerer followed the two sorceresses. The going was rather slow in deference to the old man's bare feet which made Sinbad even more agitated.

"I think you're old enough to think this one through yourself," Dim-Dim gently admonished him.

"It's because I wouldn't let her treat my ribs?" Sinbad guessed.

"Hardly," the old man answered patiently.

"Something to do with Lea?" Sinbad made another stab in the dark.

"Nope," Dim-Dim said lightly.

"Bryn?" Sinbad asked.

"I think Maeve had expected quite another welcome from you, my boy. I believe she would have appreciated a greeting, a welcome back, perhaps, some evidence that you missed her maybe?" Dim-Dim said to his currently dim-witted pupil.

"But… When could I have done that? I was hurt! And then Lea and then… Well you know. She can't hold that against me! I didn't even welcome you back and I've known you far longer than I've known her," Sinbad protested.

"I wouldn't use quite those words when you apologize to her, my boy," Dim-Dim advised.

"Apologize? For what? I was busy!" Sinbad's voice got louder and louder. He'd forgotten Maeve had that effect on him…

"Still not that words she's looking for," Dim-Dim said, his sagely smile looking a mite too amused for Sinbad's liking.

Sinbad sighed, letting go of his irritation when he saw it led him down a path leading nowhere. "How about this: Welcome back Maeve, I missed you very much, will you please refrain from dying and/or disappearing in the future because my… nerves can't take it."

"Speaking of people dying on you… You took Elaria's appearance very well," Dim-Dim said, though there was a question in there somewhere.

Sinbad ran a hand through his hair. "I haven't thought about Lea for so long… But I guess she was always there, swimming just under the surface of my thoughts, you know? And now it turns out it was all for nothing. I don't even know how to… to wrap my mind around it, never mind how to react to it. I carried this around all my life and she didn't even think twice about it, didn't even slip away from her parents one time to say goodbye to me…"

Dim-Dim patted Sinbad's hand. "You can let it go now, one less load on those shoulders of yours. They could do with a little less tension you know. Maybe you can convince Maeve to rub them for you," Dim-Dim chuckled.

Sinbad shot the sorcerer a dark look but it didn't stick to the cheerful old man.