The Return of Maeve 12

Absolution and Understanding

Part 1

Sinbad felt his nerves begin to fry all along his fingers, toes, joints, and mostly behind his eyes.

He was horrified to feel the tightness beginning to build up behind his blue orbs.

He was filled with so much guilt, experiencing it so much that he was used to feeling it, that he wasn't quite sure he was ready to let it go.

His guilt surrounded his heart and protected him from the sins of his body, even as his heart and soul absorbed his body's past transgressions against his love, his Maeve.

He was guilty of adultery.

Though he had kissed many females, which was bad enough, he had slept with only one.

He had hurt this woman because he had accepted her solace and warmth for a night, and repaid her by calling out his love's name at release.

He hurt himself by lying to his friends and family about his feelings and by closing his heart from the pain he KNOWS he was causing.

Lastly, he was hurting Maeve by being with that woman and trying to erase her memory from his heart even as his soul fought to protect her memory.

He didn't want to face Maeve with this guilt, and yet he didn't want to see her without it. She deserved better than what he had given her, and she deserved to see him as he is…a hollowed out shell of the man she once knew.

He begged and pleaded with his heart to hold back those tears, but one escaped his control and fell in a slow trek down his stubble cheek.

Caipra's, who had been watching him closely since she had awakened from her dazed state, eyes swelled in concern for him.

He hated that he was showing his emotions so easily lately, but at the same time he was hopeful that he might be healing from the pains of the past year. He didn't want to lose the discipline he had gain this year, but he wanted his old, carefree personality back as well.

He was tired of hiding his true emotions from his friends.

Those who weren't his friends, who hadn't earned his trust, didn't need to know; but his friends, those who had stayed with him, deserved to know him as he once was.

He swallowed back the lump that had formed when Caipra's old eyes met his and said, "I guess that leaves me, then."

Doubar placed a brotherly hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you okay, Sinbad?"

He smiled his old smile, one that showed his love for his brother and his happiness for the concern showed, and said, "Yes Doubar, I think I will be."

He had made a promise to himself just then, even if the words weren't uttered, and he would try.

This was his first attempt in bringing out the old Sinbad.

Doubar, Firouz, Rongar, and even Dermott's eyes widened at the smile and tone in Sinbad's voice. That was a tone and sight they hadn't seen in a year!

Caipra's smile was both loving and proud as she said, "Into the circle, love, it's time."

Sinbad eyed the circle and star in white and stepped in.

What would his test be?

Will he see an image or the real Maeve there?

Will she even see him, if she was there?

How could he do this, when he can't even own up to his own faults lately?

Caipra shot him an annoyed glance.

He flushed in embarrassment as he realized he was sliding down a slippery slope once more called guilt and insecurity.

He slowly took a deep breath and laid down.

His last thought before the spell seized him, was 'What will she look like when I find her in my soul?'

Once he was lying in the circle, Caipra raised her hands, for the second time to ensure her power was controlled and said in a loud voice that grew even louder at the end,

"From this hour until your return,
this candle of hope I will let burn.
My lord and lady, watch over you.
Keep you safe, from harms view.
From now until you return to me.
This is my will, so mote it be."

Rongar, who was behind the old sorceress, had to lunge a few feet to catch her as she collapsed.

"Caipra!" shouted the others as Rongar picked her up and carried her over to her chaise couch.

Firouz placed a worried hand on her forehead and then placed his fingers just under her jaw bone next to her main artery at the side of her neck.

What he found worried him; her face was feverish and her pulse was weak and the beat was rapid.

He looked to Bryn and said, "Get me some cool water and a washcloth."

Bryn nodded and hurried to get what he ordered.

Her face was white with fatigue and her clothes drenched in sweat. This last attempt, though the others didn't know it, caused her already poor reserves to be all but wiped out.

She had very little left in her, and she still had to cast a spell to help open the way to Maeve.

She didn't know if she could do it.

She really didn't understand why Turok chose this spell. It caused everyone, dark sorcerer and light sorcerer alike, to be cast into specific roles that no one could deviate from.

Was the allure of killing Maeve so enchanting, that he'd given up on his conventional methods of black mail, threats, pillaging, and simple murder or assassinations?


Deep underground, surrounded by tons of white marble and granite rock, each putting equal tons of pressure on her body, Maeve's glowing green, protective aura flickered.

DimDim's ghostly image appeared, smiled sympathetically down at his beloved student and daughter of his heart as her own magical strength, seen easily by the yellowish light emanating from her silent form, rose up and formed the ghostly image of Maeve.

She blinked at him and then down at her physical body.

Her head tilted.

DimDim shook his head and waved his hand at her.

Her vision grew dim, but she didn't fear what was to come. She was confident in the fact that DimDim would never harm her or place her in harms way.


Rumina, slowly rising from the hard thumping she had endured from Dermott's test, growled and sneered at her silver seeing pool.

In its glowing waters, she had witnessed DimDim summoning of Maeve's spirit.

She had seen the old Master send the peasant witch into the chambers.

She had seen Caipra do the same thing with Sinbad.

She knew exactly how to bring this situation to heel.

All she had to do now was show Maeve what Sinbad had been up to for the past year, and Maeve would be filled with so much rage and anger that her new power levels would burst free from her control and burn Sinbad to ashes.

Maeve's guilt would then cause her to destroy herself with her own powers in absolution for her sin against her love and against the laws of light magic-never kill in anger.

She looked down at her ruined dress and waved her hand in disgust. Her clothes had been ruined when she was slammed against the rock wall.

Now dressed in a red form fitting dress that clung to her curves and soft red slippers, she walked over to her seeing pool and caressed the images in it.

She subconsciously caressed the ball of Hellfire around her neck and hummed a victorious tune as the spells magic took hold of her and soundlessly transported her to another chamber far from her present accommodations.

As her form, now a dark mist, floated over her enemy's still body, her evil, cruel, hazel eyes gleamed darkly as she tried to escape the spell and enter the deadened body of the Celtic woman.

As she touched the chilled flesh, a soft, yellow glow, surrounded by a powerful, ancient, green aura repelled her quite fiercely.

Glowing more powerfully in rage, she tried again, but was once more rebuffed.

The green light, which was DimDim's aura she was sure, sent out a tendril of power, gripped her tightly in its hold, and in a flash of light she was gone.


Rumina shrieked in powerless rage as she found herself slammed onto her rear inside a dark cavern filled with nothing but seeing pools and side dishes with different powders beside them.

Each pool showed one person.

She cast her dark gaze around, her magic shimmering gold around her, a physical reaction of her magic, and spied DimDim's elder frame leaning exhaustedly against the wall closest to the pools holding the images of Sinbad and Maeve in them.

Infuriated by his presence, and the fact that she was still too feeble against the old fool, she raised her clawed hand and yelled as dark gold arches of lightning flew from her fingertips and slammed into the magician.

DimDim's ghostly green form didn't respond to her yells or her attacks.

His eyes were empty and dead.

Confused and honestly, a bit freaked out, Rumina dropped her hand and the lightning vanished.

He looked at her and said monotonously, "All you can do it whisper in their ears…this is your part to play in your father's spell."

His form waivers like ripples do in a pond and then he was gone.


Maeve opened her eyes and found herself at the top of a deep and very wide ravine.

She gasped; she knew this place, Camelot and farther up the river, the Isle of Avalon.

She glanced up at the sky and sighed happily as she drank in the cool, misty breezes and the cool, damp air.

She breathed in deeply; relishing the effect that the magically enhanced atmosphere had on her tired body and weary soul.

The sky was blue with puffs of white clouds floating serenely across the blue hues. Some of the lower clouds where darker grey; hinting to possibly rain later on.

Where she stood, she could see the forests of her homeland; the evergreens: the Honey Yew and the Ivy trees where beautiful all year long.

There, from her peripheral vision, were the mountains; they loomed high above her in the distance. Their white peaks disappeared into the clouds' bellies.

Looking down into the ravine, she took a step forward but paused as a loud crack was heard and the sound of tumbling rocks reached her ears.

Confused and slightly panicked for old lessons about the faithless and the bitter-hearted appeared in her head, Maeve took a deep breath to calm down and think about what her Aunts and mother had taught her…

Their voices thundered in her head, 'Only one pure of heart both faithful and unhindered may exist in the spiritual center of Avalon.'

She knew this was only a mental representation of Avalon, created in her mindscape to give logic and reasoning for her sanity. In fact, she knew her true physical body was still surrounded by tons on rock.

But, why was her mental representation of Avalon, her representation of her soul, crumbling at her feet?

Again her mother and aunt's words rumbled through her head, 'Only one pure of heart both faithful and unhindered may exist in the spiritual center of Avalon.'

She took a step closer and once again had to step back quickly as a large rock (about five to ten pounds of ten to twenty kilograms) broke from the mountain side she was standing on and fell to the ground hundreds of feet below.

She frowned, crossed her arms, huffed annoyed and grumbled as she stepped back to more solid ground and sat down to think things through more clearly, "Sinbad this is your fault…I know it."

Then her frown deepened at her words. She had blamed her friend and captain yet he wasn't even here.

How could he be the root of her troubles?

That was illogical.


Rumina, in the cavern filled with pools, smirked and said in a whisper as she bent down over the pool holding her nemesis' picture, "Sinbad has hurt you one time too many Maeve…of course he is the reason you cannot reach peace in Avalon!"

She reached into a side dish beside her, filled with reddish brown powder, and lightly tossed it into the pool.


Maeve's head shot up as a voice began to whisper in her ear.

A voice she knew and hated venomously.

Her eyes narrowed, but them as a light dust fell from the sky above her, they grew more hazy and unfocused…

"Sinbad has hurt you one time too many Maeve…of course he is the reason you cannot reach peace in Avalon."

Maeve's eyes blinked open again and she said lightly in protest, showing that she was fighting Rumina for control subconsciously, "But he's not here, how can he be hurting me?"


Rumina's grin was gleefully, sadistic, and cruel as she waved her hand and a picture of Sinbad and some unnamed woman (Gianna) appeared.

They were kissing passionately.

"He made a promise, however much unsaid, to you; to find you; he doesn't seem too interested or eager to look, does he?"


"He made a promise, however much unsaid, to you; to find you; he doesn't seem too interested or eager to look, does he?"

Maeve's eyes teared up as the voice said those words. She had seen this before, in her own looking pool, and had grown terribly jealous and angry.

DimDim, dear sweet man that he is, had talked to her about it too.

DimDim had told her that Sinbad was simply trying to ignore the pain of loosing her had caused.

DimDim had said that Sinbad didn't want to hurt anymore either.

After a time, she had come to understand this.

Most men responded to pain the same way.

She had heard stories of her uncles and how they dealt with their heartaches and it wasn't any different that Sinbad's. Her aunts had forgiven their men, and had taught her to do the same should she find herself in this situation and her man was truly repentant and remorseful.

'After all, if a man doesn't orally give his promise to you,' they had said, 'he isn't accountable to it no matter what emotions tie them to you.'

She trusted her aunts, mother, and DimDim and learned, in time, to forgive her captain and friend. They hadn't spoken of such things, before she was taken, so Sinbad really owed her nothing.

But at the same time, she had to learn to give him up a bit so that her own heart wouldn't break with each kiss given to another woman because she loved him still.

And so, her eyes cleared up just a bit as Maeve slowly broke through Rumina's control.


Rumina frowned, threw in another handful of the reddish brown powder, and waved her hand over Maeve's pool.


As Maeve's eyes began to clear, she blinked as red dust fell from the sky once more.

She tilted her head up and gasped as the powder touched her again.

And again her eyes grew hazy.

There in the haze of her mind, she watched as Sinbad, the man she loved, though hadn't admitted to loving, kissed another woman; this time a powerful blond (Empress Hitria). Even though she knew this wasn't his fault. The Empress had cast some sort of spell on him.

But again her heart broke at the sight. She loved Sinbad and seeing this all again tore at her still fragile heart.

She closed her eyes and repeated DimDim's words, "He's blocking his heart from the pain of my disappearance. He doesn't love any of them. He's only using them to take away the pain."

But those words, for some reason, weren't making her feel any better.

In fact, they made her feel a hundred times worse.

And another two boulders of rock crumbled away…


After a few seconds, Sinbad opened his eyes because he was sure Caipra hadn't started yet, and to his surprise, found himself in a dark cavern fill with rocks of all shapes and sizes. Some where hanging from the ceiling and other jutted out from the floor.

Dark crevices hid shadows that tried to claw at him like a predator ready to pounce…

And he was their unwilling prey.

He yanked his sword out of its sheath.

He shivered; an apt analogy representing Scratch and his desire to devour his soul whole.

The only light that he could locate came from his rainbow bracelet and an eerie, dull, blue light that emanated from the rocks around him.

The lights from the rocks weren't very powerful. They were just enough to prevent him from stumbling around like a common drunkard.

Confused, he stumbled through the mammoth cavern trying to find an exit or at least a pool of water to quench his sudden panic attack.

Water, any water, calmed him down.

'It must be the sailor in me,' he decided.

Each rock's tip appeared to be handcrafted by the world's most magnificent mason. Each tip appeared to have tiny crystals that illuminated the rocks with a breathtaking, inner glow.

He raised his bracelet and let the red and green bands of light shine out into the cave like a lantern.

His panic dwindled just a bit with the additional light.

Now at lest, he could see if something attacked him from the shadows.

And to himself at least, he admitted, he was also hoping that the bracelet's bands would keep back the shadows that hunted him ravenously.

Suddenly, in front of him, were three different passages.

He lowered his bracelet in confusion and instinctively held up his sword in defense, but nothing came out of any of them.

Instead, his bracelet let out a soft hum and softly pulled him in the direction of the first corridor on the left.

He was helpless.

He had to follow.


In and underground cave with water sweating up the cavern walls, Scratch and Turok watched Rumina as she tore Maeve's heart apart bit-by-bit.

Turok, who was very discontented with the limits Scratch had created in him with his magic and angry with Rumina's deception, raised his black one inch long nails.

Scratch raised and eyebrow at the evil sorcerer's actions and chuckled.

He teased with a bullying tone of voice, "You'll only waist more of your precious sorcery, Turok."

Turok growled, spun to the devil he was somewhat allied with (unwilling he privately added), and ground out, "If you had simply let the Griffin's Egg destroy everything, even my head, THEN resurrect me once again, this wouldn't have happened!"

Scratch snorted at his ally and stated rather lackadaisically, "I did, but what you nor that meddling messenger, Caipra, don't understand, is that being resurrected has a price. The Griffin's Egg DID destroy you. It didn't take the spell and amplify its summative reaction (end result). I DID use the ambient magic though, and with my own spells of deviousness, resurrected you once more."

He waved his hand and said cheerfully as Turok's face morphed into a visage of astonishment, "What? Did you think I'd let the chance of controlling one of the world's most powerful dark sorcerers pass me by? What kind of devil do you take me for?"

Turok's hands trembled with impotent fury. He knew his limits. If he cast anymore spells, especially one designed to hurt a devil of Scratch's power, he'd be powerless for a year, if not more.

Instead, he bit his lower lip until it bleed.

He spun back to the seeing pool and sneered at his once favorable daughter.

Scratch was right.

If he used what little he had managed to save up, simply to attack his idiotic daughter, he'd have no magic for two days-at the least.

He pursed his lips though as he spied the dazed Maeve. Perhaps, this was the way to defeating Sinbad and destroying Maeve after all.

He'd get his ultimate revenge on Sinbad and kill Maeve all at once.

Perhaps, he hadn't made an error when he picked this spell after all.

Unfortunately, this spell used so much strength and power to cast; it had set him back by a year to the day.

This was why it was only coming to fruitation now; instead of when he first cast the spell that had thrown Maeve overboard a year ago.

The loss of his magic for one year…

That had been the price of beseeching Poseidon's blessings he supposed.

Scratch saw all this and sneered.

From his lazy stance against the wall, he asked somewhat curiously, "Why are you so intent on killing the red headed girl?"

His smile was cruel, "Do you fear her so much that letting her live makes you nervous?"

Turok glared at him over his shoulder. His eyes gleamed gold, like his daughter's, turned back to the pool and saw Maeve's soul room.

It was a beautiful work of art crafted by the Great Mother herself.

A ravine both wide and deep spanned his vision.

The land was a deep green; greener than the most expensive emeralds.

With evergreen trees filling the air with sweet scents.

Along the ravine's rocky walls were several winding paths down into the land of his wife's past life.

The river below, so pure and blue, was propelled by nearly a dozen or so waterfalls at random intervals.

The only wall that held no pathway down into the ravine cradled the temple of Avalon. Its pinkish white marble glittered in the spare sunlight.

Avalon's temple was surrounded by a turquoise blue lake.

He had thought his wife's descriptions to be flawed in some way, but seeing it now, even through Maeve's eyes, made him believe in the impossible.

Avalon was an island, for the ravine's rock wall was a curious phenomenon. This portion of the rock ravine was broken from the ground to the top where Maeve sat dazed.

This allowed the river to surround the Temple of Avalon; making it an island inside a river, inside a rocky ravine.

The whole place was somewhat veiled by the mists that saturated the island of Albion naturally; Avalon was doubly blessed with those mists.

A secondary protection.

The ravine was the first.

Even to his darken mind and heart, Avalon was beautiful.

"Well?" drawled the annoying voice of Scratch as fire spewed from his mouth.

Perhaps he was feeling friendly or perhaps it was a new desire to rebel against his 'master', or he simply wanted the devil to leave him alone, but he answered, "Maevelynn is descended from the family that banished my wife, Brietta, from Avalon. Isn't that motive enough to want her dead?"

The fire grew bigger and hotter with his incomplete answer.

Turok sighed and added in exasperation and anger truly in his voice, "With her being hidden by that meddling DimDim, we are ALL in limbo! The war cannot conclude without ALL the players on the board, you know that!"

Sadistically, gleeful Scratch said, "So, you cast a spell meant to kill Maeve and the others, but instead you have helped them heal old emotional scars we could have torn open again and used against them."

Turok growled once more and said weakly, "It was the only way to get her OUT of the protections DimDim cast on her!"

Scratch continued heedlessly to Turok's protests about his great plan, "You beseeched a God who showed favor to Maeve and those maggots of the Nomad and now you cannot stop it!"

Turok, having finally reached his melting point, yelling in fury, spun around and threw arching black lightning at the demon of the West.

Scratch chuckled and said, "That tickles Turok, do it again."

Exhausted and defeated, Turok fell to his knees gasping for breath.

Just before he vanished in a ball of Hellfire, the demon said, "And now, it looks like they will save the red headed peasant after all. Good work Turok, I'll be back to collect my things later."

Then he was gone; and Turok was helpless.

The only thing he could do was crawl over to the seeing pool and watch...hoping his daughter succeeded where he had failed.

Now, instead of using the ambient magic to destroy DimDim's dimension, he'd use it to break that demon's dastardly, controlling, resurrection spell.

No one controlled him.

No one.


As reached the end of the long, empty, tunnel, he found himself in another cave, smaller than the first, with a tiny pool of water right in front of him.

Tired from all the walking, he sheathed his sword, sat down on a flat rock close to the pool and closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he jumped back in shock. There in the pool was a scene he had no memory of.

But it felt like a real one.

His bracelet's glow grew warmer and more comforting as if to support his previous feelings of truth and honesty.

He turned back to the picture in the water and watched as it came to life….

Seventeen year old Doubar was watching his little brother sleep. Sinbad was a precocious nine year old and simply loved adventures.

He placed his large hand on Sinbad's tiny cheek softly and said, "I'll protect you, always, Sinbad. I'll never let anything hurt you, my son."

Doubar placed a paternal kiss on Sinbad's cheek and silently exited the bedroom.

Sinbad touched his cheek and felt warmth enter him from the exact place Doubar's younger self had kissed his child-like self.

Curiously he wondered why his test showed him this. It didn't challenge him at all. All it did was make him feel empowered.

Then he remembered Doubar earlier words, "You, Sinbad, you are the child I always wanted when I grew to understand what fatherhood meant. I never wanted another. I had you, so please…please…by the grace of Allah, let the guilt go. I don't blame you, so neither should you."

He understood now.

He was absolved of his guilt and was allowed to move on and grow as a healthy person always does.

He was allowed to grow into a good, pure-hearted person.

And another scar, previously healed over, a bit, healed completely at last.

His vision was marred by a flash of white light.

When he could see again, he found himself in a room that was filled with all kinds of drying or dried herbs, mortars and pestles, and shelves of books.

The table was covered by a runner made of red linen and had a bowl of fresh fruit on the center of it.

In front of him was his friend, Firouz and his lady, Velda.

They looked to be in a serious discussion.

Then, like someone had unplugged his ears, he could hear what they were saying.

"You could stay here with me Firouz; we need all the help we can get."

Firouz, who was mashing some herbs in the mortar, looked up and said sincerely, "I'd like to, but the others, they're my family."

Velda put down the book she was reading, stepped close enough to touch his heart and said sweetly, "We can make a new family here."

Firouz put down the pestle and countered, "You could come with us on the Nomad."

Velda's hand fell from his chest as she said with a shake of her head, "I don't travel by water well, and I couldn't leave these people without a healer."

Firouz placed his head on her cheek softly and said, "Then…we are parting then…"

Velda gripped his hand with her own and said as a tear began to well in her eye, "Sinbad will let you come back for rest, for sure."

Firouz nodded but said unconfidently, "Of course, but I don't know when that'll be, my dear."

Velda's tear was the only one that fell as her face grew stronger and she stated seriously, "He needs you."

Firouz added, "They need you."

Velda's smile was wistful and sad and hopeful, "Till next time then…"

Firouz nodded and said, "Yes."

Together they leaned in and kissed.

Sinbad felt his face burning in embarrassment.

He hadn't wanted to intrude on an obviously tearful and meaningful good bye, but he couldn't control these visions.

What was this all about?

Why had it showed him Firouz saying good-bye to Velda?

Was it trying to make him feel sorry that they had chosen to go their separate ways?

A jolt ran up his back.

…that they had chosen….

Chosen!

He didn't need to feel guilty about tearing Firouz and Velda apart! It was their decision, not his!

He had no part in it!

And another scar healed itself up completely.

Then he was surrounded by the white light again.

Surprised, he looked around and found himself in the main cavern once more.

It was as dark and dreary as ever.

The blue light still hovered above the rocks they grew out of and yet…

…and yet the light seemed brighter somehow. Like an additional optimism was growing inside them.

It made the cavern less menacing and much friendlier.

And the shadows seemed more hesitant to come out now.

The predator was curious about it's prey's next move it seemed.

His rainbow bracelet's glow illuminated the path straight ahead; the second passage was calling.


Rumina whispered maliciously into Maeve's ear as yet another woman (Dara) kissed her Sinbad, "He doesn't seem to love you at all, does he? Just look at that all those women. Look at how he holds them. Look at how his eyes smolder into theirs. He's never held so much passion for you, has he?"

Maeve's tears fell unheeded down her pale cheeks.

Her greatest weakness, her greatest insecurity was her heart.

She loved deeply and fully.

Once her heart was given to its chosen mate that was it.

Whether he knew it or not, Sinbad possessed her heart and soul, every last bit of it.

To witness him stomping on her heart again and again without a care to her well being or emotional breakdown caused a rage to grow fiercely in her heart and soul.

She had never been a particularly confident in the opposite sex. The family was very protective of her, so the only males she had been around were family members.

Her brother had been stolen from her when she was fourteen, and she had decided to travel the world seeking a tutor in the Eastern Arts. It had been her fault after all. If she had not been so proud and cocky, Dermott wouldn't have ended up permanently as a hawk.

Before that, she had been totally focused on her Priestess training and elemental powers.

She had no time for boys or men.

Her father and uncles were proud; she was naturally beautiful and had young men and older ones crawling after her wherever she went.

Not that she had noticed then.

And then she had found DimDim and focused all her attentions on learning new magics that would help her defeat Rumina once and for all and free her brother.

By the time she had begun to listen to her heart, it had fallen head over heels in love with the silly boy captain and would not let go.

She hadn't wanted it to either.

And now, her insecurities about relationships, romances in particular, were shaken to their very core.

She didn't know if she would forgive him for this…

DimDim's words, still whispering lightly and delicately in her ears, were having less and less effect on her as Rumina added in a deceptively nice tone.

"Look, he has even kissed Bryn hasn't he…?"

Even as this image burned itself once more into her head for a second time in her life, Maeve clamped her hands down over her ears and muttered to herself, "He's suppressing his pain. He does this to not feel the pain of loosing me. Pain causes men to do uncharacteristic things."

The image waivered again and showed Sinbad once more kissing her cousin, Bryn.

Maeve didn't hold Bryn accountable for betraying her as she felt Sinbad had.

Bryn had lost her memory when she flew off the Purity, Bryn's personal ship, and into the stormy sea.

Sinbad had found her on the island later that same day…

…the same day she fell off the Nomad.

Sinbad knew his heart wasn't his to slander about as he was.

Sinbad though, her heart quaked, shivered with chilling, maddening, rage that caused her entire body to seize up.

Tears of pain, tears of hate, tears of broken love lost, and even a shred of tears of hope and tears of love fell from her tumultuous brown eyes.

"SINBAD! SINBAD YOU BASTARD! I HATE YOU!"

As she screamed this into the heavens, a whole mountain side of rock crumbled on the opposite side of the ravine.

The way to Avalon was closed to her now.

"Sinbad…" she growled hurtfully.


Rumina smirked smugly as she watched Maeve's insecurities fill her heart and mind.

Of course she knew her words were false, but to Maeve, who thought her voice was the red head's own consciousness, it was pure torture.

She went in for the kill…


Maeve, who was bent over sobbing terribly into her arms, yelled in pain as yet another vision of Sinbad and a woman (Shirez) filled her eyes.

She could no longer see her beloved Avalon.

All she could see was the crew of the Nomad and she, unfortunately, could hear everything…

Bryn stepped down, brushed aside a strand of straight brown hair and asked Doubar and Firouz, "What's the delay?"

Doubar answered, "We still have a passenger on board."

Firouz added a bit awkwardly, "She's getting a ships tour."

Bryn smirked a bit and replied, "Ah, that's what you call it?"

Then as Bryn passed by the door leading below deck, it opened to reveal a beautiful red head women wearing a scandalously low cut blue gown that showed off entirely too much skin and cleavage and a black traveling cloak and Sinbad with his hair looking like she had spent a lot of time running her hands through it.

Maeve screamed in pain as her mind filled in all kinds of activities they could have done that necessitated that particular desire.

Shirez smiled desiring into Sinbad's own as she said, "I didn't know ships quarters could be so…exhilarating."

Sinbad smiled smugly down at her, as if he was proud of himself as he placed a hand behind her head and pulled her in for another passionate, sexy kiss that left both him and her breathless.

Maeve's body was now trembling with so much rage and heartache that her body was beginning to glow with a bright yellow light.

All the others were politely looking away.

Oh how she WISHED she could do the same!

But this voice and this vision would not let her be!

And her magic grew more as her heartbreak grew.

She started with a knowing gleam of lust, "Next time your in port…"

Sinbad ended with an ease of someone saying this many times now, "Yea…"

She gave a sultry laugh and leaned in for another kiss.

He kissed back with equal fervor.

Maeve didn't know love could feel this terrible! Why would anyone put themselves at such a risk for so much pain and heartache? It didn't seem logical to put oneself through all this pain, so why was her heart not letting him go?

Why was it holding on so desperately to the man who had shredded it to pieces?

Why?

WHY?

WHY?

Somewhere deep inside, a tiny voice, her true voice, whispered into her ear, to softly for her conscious mind to hear through all her anguished screams and painful tears, "Because love is as painful as it is healing, you love him, and he truly, sincerely loves you too…"

And there, before her, without her noticing it, a golden portal appeared. It shimmered a bit and then solidified into a doorway that revealed a gorgeous, blue cavern on the other side.


Sinbad entered the cave at the end of the second corridor.

Just like before there was a pool of water waiting patiently for him.

He sat down and watched…

It was Rongar and his sister, Zorah. They were sitting on plush pillows of all sorts, all kinds of rich colors. On the table was a fruit bowl and beside Rongar was a brownish red traveling cloak.

Zorah's hand was resting lightly, sisterly on Rongar's face.

Her hand glowed a soft greenish-blue color.

Zorah and Rongar's eyes were peacefully closed, and yet their eyes were easily seen moving under their lids.

Sinbad knew they were seeing something with the help of magic.

Then the glow vanished.

Zorah and Rongar's eyes opened.

Zorah's hand fell to her lap and she stated calmly yet warmly, "I understand brother. Your life as a prince was stolen from you and you created another as an adventuring sailor…go and always know that there's a place to rest for you here."

Rongar and Zorah hugged tightly in goodbye and Rongar put on his travelling cloak and pulled up the hood.

Sinbad smiled.

That must have been before he rejoined the crew on the Nomad, just after he bid farewell to Shirez.

He winced at that.

Of all his mistakes, she was the one he regretted the most.

She was the one he committed true adultery with.

What was worse, she even looked like Maeve; just a bit, even if only the skin tone and red hair and even the hair is a bit of a stretch.

Shirez's hair was darker than Maeve's.

Even as his heart clenched at the pain he had put her and Maeve though, he felt great warmth fill him; similar to the one that had filled him when he had witnessed Firouz's choice.

Though Rongar loved his sister, the moor felt more loyalty and friendship with him and the others. He desired none of the wealth but all the adventure.

Rather than being a prince, Rongar had CHOSEN to stay on the Nomad as a simple sailor.

A third, partially healed over scar, healed completely.

In a flash of white light, he was once more back in the main cavern.

This time the cave's blue rocks appeared to be brighter; no longer dull at all. The rocks looked more fascinating than scary.

He wondered why but knew it had to do with the healed over scars in his heart, intuitively.

The third passage tantalized him.

With no thought whatsoever to his safety, again, he entered fearlessly into the passage.

This one was different than the others.

The other tunnels were warm and comfortable.

This one was chilly and his breath left cold mists in the air.

His steps echoed on and on forever in front of him.

His hand strayed to his sword, now it in sheath.

He thought about pulling it out, but decided not to. He hadn't been in true danger yet, and didn't want Karma or Fate to switch their favors on him.

When he reached the smaller cavern at the end of the rocky hallway, he saw the third pool.

He sat down and peered in eager to learn what was hidden and to gain more healing from it…

It was Caipra.

She was seated on the floor in her spell caster's circle, surrounded by yellow candles all lit up and dancing wildly in the nonexistent breeze.

Her body was encased in a light pink glow.

She was whispering, "DimDim, DimDim, DimDim…"

After a few minutes of watching this, a light green aura seemed to appear bit-by-bit and hug Caipra in a loving embrace.

Caipra's smile said it all; DimDim had managed to cross the divide.

Their auras swirled and clung to each other like separated lovers do, but the green aura was slowly fading to nothing.

Caipra opened her eyes and said to herself, "So it is not yet time for DimDim to be freed. Poor Sinbad, so much pain and suffering he holds inside him and yet he is innocent of all the blame he places upon himself. Perhaps, then, he has not been swayed by evil as I had feared but has simply let his soul darken with all the guilt he bares…so much pain."

She closed her eyes and said lovingly into her empty room, "My son in heart, my Sinbad, be at peace, love, I forgive you."

The image faded from the water like water drips through fingers.

Sinbad felt his whole heart burst with joy and light. His smile was glorious and full of innocent love and enjoyment of life.

The cavern shimmered in his view delightfully like all the stars in the heavens do on a crystal clear sky.

His rainbow bracelet burst into life once more causing him to cover his eyes, yet he felt invigorated not scared.

Deep within his heart, a fourth wound sealed over no longer able to cause him pain.

He vanished in a burst of rainbow light from his bracelet.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in the main cave but it was amazingly different.

Each blue light shined with an inner fire that awed and inspired him to want to be better. It was warmth that made him think of Maeve's inner fire and how she made him want to be a better man.

The cavern's dark and gloomy aura was slowly vanishing.

The cavern now looked more inviting than ever!

But still some dark corners lingered and with them the shadows that hissed in disapproval at him.

The prey had become the predator once more.

Then a golden light appeared in front of him.

When the light died down, he was surprised to see it was more like a window or a doorway than something like the smaller seeing pools he had been using.

Through it, he could see a wonderful green land and even more stunning was the person he had hoped deep within to see…

Before he could take a step closer, he looked more closely at her and grew concerned.

She was crying.

Without a care, now that she was there, he stepped through and said in an awed, whispering tone, "Maeve…"

Instantly, her bowed head shot up and her tearful brown eyes met his loving blue ones and said whispered in shock, "Sinbad…?"

End of part one

A picture of Maeve's 'soul room' can be found by looking you images of Avalon. I don't have the addess as this iste won't let me post them.

A Picture of Sinbad's 'soul room' can be found on a travelling site about New Mexico. I'm sorry I didn't get the website address, but the blue tone of the cave was my idea!