Author's Note: It's time for some update. Welcome to my world of imagination! The reading portion below was my original writing. But it wasn't complete yet. So I decided to add in couple more details, and I ended up with a part with similar length. Call me crazy if you want haha, but I can't stop myself from writing long chapters. That's why I decided to break this chapter into two halves. This is part one of chapter seven, and part two is uploaded at the same time. You may have the same feeling that I'm giving you another two chapters. Well... Let's just say it's my apology for taking longer than expected again. So enjoy reading!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Adventures of Sinbad. The story I write here comes from my own imagination.

xxx Flash back xxx

In another part of the world…

"Salyn! OH Salyn! Where are you my dear?"

"Over here aunty Mina!"

"Good gods in heaven. What are you doing little one? You've been out for too long and got us worried."

"I got lost in the game with Wiley." The little girl spoke as her eyes guided her aunt to look to her left.

"And who is this charming prince?" asked the dark haired lady.

"My name is Wiley." The little boy replied with a beautiful smile on his energetic face.

"I'm Salyn's aunt. You can call me aunty Mina."

"Nice to meet you aunty Mina."

"Nice to meet you too sweetie."

Turning to face the playful sweetheart named Salyn, her aunt started, "My precious little treasure, do you know it's past your curfew?"

"I'm sorry aunty Mina," replied Salyn, feeling a little guilty. "I was going to look for seashells, and happened to find Wiley doing the same thing. So we decided to look together, and whoever finds more seashells will be the winner." Salyn said with the most delightful tone in her voice. She sounded so cute that her aunt almost forgot to give her a little warning for going over her curfew.

"And why is this game taking my dear this long?"

"I'd like to have the prettiest seashells to make mommy a necklace." Salyn joyfully replied.

Her aunt was taken a step back to see such happiness in Salyn's eyes when she mentioned her mother. She then softly replied, "It sounds like a good reason my dear, but you still need to keep track of the time. We need to get back home before your mommy goes look for you."

Salyn nodded her head in understanding. She knew she would have to stop her seashell-quest here today and followed her aunt home. Turning to Wiley, she happily said, "Will you meet me here tomorrow? We're not done with our game yet."

"Agree! See you tomorrow Salyn. Goodbye aunty Mina." The little boy said his quick goodbye and turned to leave.

"See ya Wiley." Salyn called out to her friend's back. She then looked to her aunt who reached out a hand to take her home. They started walking further into the island. On the way home, Salyn didn't stop talking. She was telling her aunt how good her day was, what she did, and so on. "Could you please keep this secret aunty Mina?" The little girl pleaded, looking up at her aunt. "About this necklace I'm making for mommy, it's a little surprise." Salyn lowered her voice and held up a finger on her lips, grinning playfully at her aunt when she mentioned her little secret.

Her aunt couldn't deny such cute little request. Gently smoothened Salyn's hair, she replied, "Alright sweetie. This secret is only between us."

"Promise?" Salyn said with her tiny pinky rising up to her aunt.

"Promise." Her aunt softly replied with her pinky hooking to Salyn's. They continued to walk home with Salyn singing non-stop along the way.

Salyn and her aunt got home right after her mother had just finished cooking dinner. The little girl got her aunt's help to quickly wash herself before eating. As soon as her mother set out the table, Hakim, another member of the family returned home from work to find dinner was ready. He joined his family in a delightful meal where laughter and happiness filled the atmosphere. Salyn was like a little twittering nightingale who kept on telling everyone about her about her joyful day, what she did, and how she came across Wiley and befriended him. Of course, she didn't reveal anything about finding the seashells to make a little gift for her mother. Watching her daughter being in her happiest age, Salyn's mother couldn't help feeling so thankful to gods for letting Salyn come to her life. This sweet little treasure was the greatest blessing that she had ever deserved. Whatever life threw at her, she swore she'd never let her Salyn out of her sight, nor would she ever let anyone take her daughter away from her. By carefully noticing Salyn's mother, her aunt didn't miss a clue of what her sister was thinking. She knew she needed to have a serious talk to her sister about that very important topic floating on her sister's mind at this moment. The sooner the sisters got over with this long-delayed conversation, the better Salyn's mother would be.

After finishing dinner, Hakim took Salyn out for a walk where he could tell her numerous stories about legendary heroes protecting mankind and the world from evils. Salyn always found it fascinating to listen to those stories and imagined her becoming a brave heroine one day to defend the weak. With her adventurous spirit and great sense of justice, Hakim knew Salyn would one day make her dream come true. More importantly, she was prophesied to be a great warrior just like her parents. Since the day she was born, Salyn was chosen to be the peace maker for this world. Even though she was just a little girl now, Hakim and her aunt knew that Salyn would have to take up her duties once she grew up to be a mature lady. As time went by, both Hakim and Salyn's aunt did their best to train her to become a warrior, for her future was approaching with the most important mission – to fight the devils by uniting her parents whose fates were linked together before time. As much as Salyn's mother opposed such nonsense idea, she herself couldn't deny the fact that Salyn was desperately needed for bringing peace to the world. She also deserved to know about her parents as well as her own origin and an explanation of what roles she played in bringing peace to this world. Salyn's mother knew better than anybody that this future would foreshadow nothing but danger and even sorrow to Salyn. She never wanted her daughter to deal with any sort of danger or hurtful events which she had gone through during her youth. She never thought her little girl would be ready. All she wanted was to raise Salyn as best as she could, and two of them would be living a peaceful life along with her sister and Hakim. However, her wish couldn't be granted, for she knew Salyn would have to come to term with her fate soon.

Tonight was the time of fatal revelation.

"She's something, isn't she?" Salyn's aunt asked as her sister was tucking the little girl under the blanket. The look on her face was so adorable and innocent that neither woman wanted to leave her for the night.

"She's everything definitely," replied the mother after giving warm and gentle kiss on her forehead. She looked at her daughter with the sweetest smile on her face at the thought of how precious Salyn was to her. The girl looked like she was having a wonderful dream of growing up as a beautiful lady. There was surely no doubt of such dream. *This special girl of mine deserves to become the most gorgeous princess ever, not any type of warrior.* She quietly sighed to herself as she made her way out of Salyn's room, her aunt followed from behind. Both of them went to the living room to spend time fixing some old clothes of Salyn. This little girl was too stubborn sometimes to not listen to her mother. She was one of the most playful girls and it didn't keep her away too long from ruining her clothes. Torn, ripped, scratched, and all that kind of damages were easily noticeable. As much as Salyn's mother wanted to lecture her about being careful with her clothes, she couldn't hide a wide grin on her face at the thought of how much Salyn was like her years ago. That realization didn't pass her sister at all.

"She's an exact version of you, just a lot younger," started Salyn's aunt.

Both of them chuckled to recall their memories when they were little. Salyn's mother couldn't disagree with her sister at all. "I can see now how you and parents were driven crazy."

Her conclusion quickly led to a louder laughter from both sisters. The older had to stop herself before choking. "What a wildcat you were, full of adventurous spirit if you can recall. Salyn will grow up just like that. Just like you." She paused a little bit. Carefully studied her sister's reaction, she continued, "Just like her dad as well."

As she had predicted, her sister's joyful eyes immediately were filled with sadness and heart-break every time the thought of Salyn's father hit her. She slowly looked down to the wooden floor as if to hide a hurtful tear that appeared quickly in her eyes. Without saying anything, she was telling her sister to stop mentioning her broken love. Her sister still continued anyway.

"You have to tell her the truth Bryn. She's growing every day, and you can't keep her away from that already expected encounter in the future."

"Tell what truth? You want me to tell her that her dad walked out on us, and her aunt was the cause? I don't think I can even handle it myself Mina." Bryn was losing her control whenever her sister Rumina brought up this topic.

"I admit I was a fool to separate you from Sinbad. It was all rooted from my jealousy of you two. And I deserved to be punished, which happened when that Celtic wench killed me. But I never thought I would have been rescued and brought back to life to unite with you two. The Guardians truly bless our family to grant me a second chance to make up for my mistakes. I never knew how much I'd grow to love Salyn this much. It reminds me of our childhood memories. We were so connected back then, and I was completely stupid to let the dark art trade of our sisterhood with jealousy. Living here with you and Salyn teaches me what a true family means, something I had forgot since mother died. And I want to make every moment right."

"I understand. And you're doing so by letting go of the past and embracing the future. Salyn has the greatest aunt ever and please don't take this wonderful person away from her."

"She deserves to know the truth, to know who I used to be, and to know who her father is. You can't have her live on without questioning about him. Would you live on with a lie that he had passed away? What would her reactions be once she found out it's not like what you told her?"

"Please Mina, please stop doing this!" Bryn was starting to cry as the thought of telling Salyn about Sinbad. She couldn't handle a second to face that man again, nor would she ever intend to let him know about Salyn's existence. "The last thing on earth I'd ever wish for," continued Bryn, "is to let Sinbad know about Salyn. He'll take her away from me, and I can't live without my daughter."

"No, Bryn. It won't happen." Rumina drew closer to Bryn's side to pull her into a hug. Her younger sister was sobbing as their conversation about Sinbad went on. No matter how much Rumina wanted to correct her mistakes in the past by trying to unite Sinbad and Bryn, she couldn't stand seeing her sister suffer at the thought of being with Sinbad again. Yes, she had once wanted to separate Sinbad and Bryn, and she had made it. But now she regretted, for she realized how much her sister loved this sailor, and how deeply the scar of broken love had been carved in her sister's heart. Bryn was seriously broken on the day she stepped off of the Nomad, away from her only family, and away from Sinbad. Even though it was because of Rumina that Sinbad and Bryn had resulted in indescribably huge misunderstanding, Sinbad's lack of trust in Bryn had caused the worst wound ever in her soul. It made her believe that Sinbad would never trust her again to let her keep their only child. That thought badly scared Bryn that Sinbad would take Salyn away from her mother once he found out about the little girl's existence. Bryn would rather die to see that day coming. No matter what she had to do, no one could ever split Salyn away from her mother's embrace. Quickly brushing Bryn's hair out of her sweating forehead, Rumina said, "I'll make sure that Sinbad will never touch Salyn, nor will any of his damned crew members take her away from us. But you still need to tell her about him. You had grown up without knowing what a true family to be with both parents, what a girl's childhood would be like without her father's attention. I know deep down inside your heart, you will never let that same incident happen to your daughter."

Bryn was calming down as her sister still kept on talking. It was true that she never wanted her child to grow up without a father's love. Her childhood wasn't fully blessed when her mother passed away. Her father, not long after, turned evil and lost his love for her once he found out she wouldn't give herself in for the dark art. Such wounded memories made Bryn promise to give her children, especially daughters, a complete family picture with both parents in it. Rumina was right about letting Salyn know about Sinbad. But what would happen next? Bryn never wanted to know the answer for that question. She couldn't handle seeing the disappointment in her Salyn's innocent eyes once she found out how her parents had broken up and how her aunt's been responsible for that separation.

Turning Bryn to face her, Rumina went on. "Even if she knows I was the cause," Rumina said as if she sensed what Bryn was thinking, "that will never change the fact that I love her. And even if she wants to make me pay for what I'd done, I'll be happily and willingly let her carry out justice and pass judgment on me. She's been chosen to be in charge of keeping the justice scales balance. That gives her no excuse to have mercy on someone with terrible sins, even if that is a family member."

"But Mina," Bryn responded with a pleading look, "that decision will do nothing but to tear her soul apart. How can we help her face that reality? I don't want to see my little girl going through any sort of harshness. There must be a way."

"There is a way, and no one can make it happen except you, my dearest Bryn."

Both Rumina and Bryn looked up to see Hakim walking in the living room. The look on his face told them that he's been quietly listening to their conversation. Both witches looked at Salyn's guardian with hopeful eyes, seeking answers from his great wisdom and knowledge.

"Rumina has the chance to make up for her mistakes without having Salyn to carry out justice on her," was Hakim's reply that got both the sisters' attention.

These two women were overjoyed to receive the news. However, their happiness didn't remain too long once they both noticed the concern in Hakim's eyes. Their intuition told them that he wasn't done with his announcement yet, and the rest of his words could be seen unbelievable to take in. With that thought, Bryn and Rumina held on to their breath and patiently signaled Hakim to continue.

He finally broke off the silence by revealing the unexpected news. "The Higher Ones have decided to let Rumina spend her next ten years to raise Salyn. During that time, she must faithfully remain both roles of a mother and a teacher in raising and training Salyn to become the greatest warrior. By the time Salyn reaches her sixteenth year, she'll be ready for her mission. Of course, all Rumina's hard work will receive full support from the Higher Ones. Anything she asks for, within their consideration, will be fully granted."

*What a great news!* Both sisters thought after Hakim finished. But something in this news struck a big question in their heads, so Rumina decided to bring it up without wasting any longer second.

"You mentioned the role of a mother and a teacher," she said. Her voice was filled with mixed emotions and confusion. "What about Bryn? She's the real and only mother of Salyn's."

Bryn nervously looked at Hakim for his clarification. He returned her look with the sadness in his eyes then took both hers and Rumina's hand to lead them outside to the garden. It was a beautiful view outside. The moon was high in the sky with countless stars hovering across the dark background. Cool night winds were blowing three people's hair backward. The ocean waves constantly came in and out the shore, making the most familiar sound to Bryn. She was recalling her memories when she used to be a valuable member of the Nomad. Sinbad's face quickly appeared on her mind as her glances stopped at the brightly shining moon. His smile, his look, his touch, his body, his everything has been haunting Bryn in the past seven years. As much as she wanted to erase his image in her heart, beautiful night view like tonight seemed to be against her effort. The moon seemed to be brighter than usual which guided Bryn's thought to Salyn. Her daughter was conceived in a past night when the moon was similarly bright. That was why she had decided to call her child Salyn. It meant the moon goodness which had granted a chance for both Sinbad and Bryn to have spent a night together, to have resulted in the most incredible pregnancy, and to have let the little girl come into Bryn's life when everything else had turned against her. Deeply thinking about her daughter, Bryn tightened her grip on Hakim's hand as he instructed her and Rumina to look at the moon. The white bright moon suddenly turned red after Hakim waved his hand at it. Then, the moon became a crystal clear mirror to reveal the darkest plan of the most devilish creature – Scratch. Both Rumina and Bryn gasped in horror to see their evil enemy attacking the Nomad in the middle of the angry sea. A storm was created to make the entire scene more dramatic and amusingly entertained to its maker. A huge squid could be seen using its tentacles to violently and constantly pounce upon the poor ship where its first mate was struggling to hold on tight to the tiller. The ship scientist and other crewmen were helplessly securing the lines on deck. Not too far from them, their Celtic sorceress was trying to concentrate her power in a fireball to shoot at the sea creature. At the same time, the royal prince on board was having a equally hard time to help his captain defeat the monster. He was standing on deck and trying to aim his daggers correctly at the creature' eyes as the rain was mercilessly slapping at his tiring face. Bryn's heart ached desperately at the scene, feeling painful to see her beloved people suffering in Scratch's game. Her legs felt weak that she almost fell down if Hakim and Rumina didn't catch her in time, for in front of her was the vivid image of the love of her life – Sinbad. Her captain just climbed up the crow nest to have a better aim at the sea monster. He had carried with him some boxes filled with Firouz's exploding composite, hoping to throw right at the monster to blow it up. Constantly making his attempts, Sinbad seemed to be getting more exhausted when none of his throw hit its target. The entire ship was facing the risk of being wrecked in the middle of the ocean without any help from gods. The crew men would eventually end up dying which wasn't what Bryn ever expected to witness. She then quickly turned to Hakim for help.

"You must help them Hakim! Anything you can, please act quickly, or else they all will die." She continued pleading even if her begging didn't seem to shake the guardian's determination. "Take me to the Higher Ones. I can convince them to help Sinbad and his crew. We can't just stand here to watch them die Hakim. We must do something, anything. Please Hakim… I'm begging you."

"Calm down my child! This isn't taking place at the moment yet. The Higher Ones have informed me of this incident, and it'll be happening tomorrow night. Keep your hopes Bryn!"

His clarification didn't seem to sooth Bryn's fear all at. Tonight or tomorrow night, Sinbad and his crew still couldn't avoid the encounter with Scratch. Once that devil got to them, who knew what on earth he would do torture them, which he considered as "having fun". With that thought, Bryn's tears were uncontrollably pouring from her painful eyes. Rumina had to tighten her embrace around her sister's shoulders once she realized how weak Bryn has gotten at the announcement. The older sister then had to rush Hakim for an answer that could help the Nomad from being toyed by Scratch. Anything Hakim had to suggest, Rumina believed Bryn would follow.

Grabbing Bryn's hands in his, Hakim spoke with the most unemotional tone. "You're the only hope for Sinbad now Bryn." He knew his answer would give both Rumina and Bryn the most surprising look on their faces, and he had predicted such reaction. He then continued, "This isn't simply a game by Scratch, but rather another powerful dark power."

Rumina and Bryn paused for a second before feeling terrified at their realization. They both asked in unison, "Hades?" which received a slow but confirming nod from Hakim.

The guardian went on. "Everything that had happened thousands years ago must be resolved in this life. Hades' been waiting long enough to win the battle he had left off for too long. Scratch is just being his tool to win over Sinbad. Don't you both forget that the lord of the dark has a great interest in one certain sailor who holds the key to defeat another powerful god."

"But isn't Poseidon going to act or anything?" Rumina voiced her thought, which she believed was on Bryn's mind at this moment as well.

"He chooses not to. If Sinbad's soul falls into Hades' hands, it's all because he got it on himself. Poseidon would rather be sacrificing Sinbad than betraying his own vow as a mighty king."

His announcement certainly shocked both witches. Never had they imagined that declaration to come. Upon taking the news, Bryn knew no one else could help Sinbad except her. She was the only person with the strongest power to protect Sinbad. Looking attentively at Hakim, she was asking for Hakim's answer of how she could rescue Sinbad and his crew. Hakim quickly returned her look without any longer hesitation.

"You must keep Scratch away from Sinbad as long as possible. Without Scratch's direct access, Hades will have a hard time to keep his plan on track. I'm very sorry to inform you that you may end up having to keep Scratch occupied for at least ten years. During that time, you also need to make sure that Sinbad too has to be away from the devil's reach. In other words, Sinbad and the dark power have to be kept away from each other in ten years. However, the Higher Ones knows you can't remain longer than that, so they had agreed on sending you another powerful ally in the battle of fighting the evils. You and Sinbad, along with this person, are the only three capable of defeating the devils once and for all, for you three hold the strongest connection amongst others regardless anything." Hakim finished his sentence with a more hopeful look in his eyes.

Bryn understood that look, even though she never expected to be able to understand the underlying meaning of this message. Bryn seemed to be asking the final question to confirm her thought. However, her voice certainly showed Hakim and Rumina that she already knew the answer without even having to ask. "The third person you have just mentioned is Salyn?"

"Indeed, it truly is Salyn. Not only are you three capable of defeating the devils, the deepest connection between you also is strong enough to break the curse that's been placed on you and Sinbad in the past thousands years. You all can finally be united as a complete family."

"And to have that complete union, you are saying that I have to sacrifice the next ten years being with from my daughter? Just to keep that evil hairy creature away from Sinbad? What else on earth can make that great sense huh – choosing between my daughter and her own father?" She sounded like mocking the news she had just received.

Hakim sadly replied at Bryn's reaction, feeling empathy for Bryn's fear of being away from Salyn. "There's no other way Bryn. You're his only hope. If you refuse to help, his life will be at stake. Sinbad is the very first target in Hades' plan to destroy the world. Once he has Sinbad's soul, he'll definitely be able to use it against his own brother Poseidon. They will then…"

Bryn was too angry to listen to any other word coming from Hakim. She interrupted his sentence to present her own thought. "That's their business. It has nothing to do with me or Salyn. Why can't we be living a peaceful life together without any intrusion? That sailor, I'm telling you, has no right to ask for my protection by making me leave my one and only child in this world."

She then quickly turned back on Hakim and Rumina to go to inside, not bothering to see the reactions on their faces. Both the guardian and the dark-haired witch were surprised at Bryn's ignorance on Sinbad's safety, the very one man whom she loved as much as Salyn. Hakim was about to follow Bryn inside and persuaded her, but Rumina stopped him.

"Leave her alone for a moment." She defended her younger sister. "She's making her most important decision now." Both of them exchanged knowing look, then Rumina continued. "Bryn won't let any of us down, for she knows her family's fate better than any of us."

Hakim had to agree with Rumina, for he didn't know what else to do besides waiting for Bryn to make up her mind. As much as he wished for Bryn to make a rational decision, his heart ached at the thought of watching Bryn being separated from her own daughter. Hakim's been the guardian for both Bryn and Salyn for too long to realize that Bryn's heart would again be torn apart by choosing to leave her one and only child. Bryn was always known as the strongest child Hakim had ever watched over, he still wasn't sure how she could handle this harsh decision. He never wanted his dearest child Bryn to suffer from anything, for her smile was a precious treasure that High Ones had decided to grant Hakim to be her guardian. He's been watching her grow up with happiness and sorrow life threw at her. Even at her most terrible moment of being abandoned by Sinbad, she still managed to show her strength and bravery of to fight against any negative social treatment at an unmarried pregnant woman. Thankfully, the Higher Ones finally decided for Hakim to reveal himself as a guardian to Bryn. He came to her in a hopeful morning on the island called Brisa to take her to this unknown island where she could peacefully raise her child. He could never forget the happiness mixed with discouragement on her delicate face after he unfolded everything from her past that she couldn't recall and revealed her fatal destiny in the future. He knew Bryn would be strong enough to handle everything, especially after she gave birth to Salyn. This little adorable baby girl was like a complete source of courage and strength for Bryn to recover from the scars caused by Salyn's father. The more Salyn grew up, the more Bryn became satisfied for being able to raise a child without another man's help. Of course Hakim still walked with both of them on every step they took, but the main responsibility of raising a kid still fell on Bryn's shoulders. She was a mature woman to handle anything, and Hakim would be there for her in case she needed advice or guidance. Not so long after Salyn was born, Hakim doubled Bryn's happiness by bringing her the long lost sister Rumina whom he had rescued from the battle with Maeve. The Higher Ones had also agreed with Hakim that Rumina would play an important part in influencing Salyn's life, so they gathered her ashes and soul together to heal her. After a while, Rumina recovered and felt regretful to have separated her sister and Sinbad. She was overjoyed upon hearing the announcement that she was allowed to live with Bryn for the rest of her life and made up for her mistakes. Moreover, Hakim told her that Bryn was forgetting Sinbad in her life when she raised Salyn. Another person to push up the effort would be great, especially if that person was from Bryn's family. He also told Rumina that he knew Bryn would be merciful and generous enough to forgive Rumina for cruelly having created a huge misunderstanding between Bryn and Sinbad. Just like what Hakim had predicted, Bryn welcomed Rumina without any discomfort or hatred regarding her sister's mistake. The two sisters united with the joy of raising a little kid together. Salyn didn't take so long to get used to her newly found aunt, and Bryn was so pleased to see her daughter getting attached to her own sister. Bryn's life could be seen as perfect without the existence of the fatal destiny which she had to face very soon. Hakim had already informed Rumina of what the future expected of her sister. The both prayed together for Bryn to gain the needed strength and courage to come into terms with her future. It would be very hard, of course, but both Hakim and Rumina had no choice but to hope for Bryn to make the wisest decision that could affect the whole world around her.