Some things never change
Part 4
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Yah, that's right! I have shamelessly plagiarized these characters! And I'm proud of it! Ya wanna make something of it? Huh? Huh? Yah... didn't think so...
*~*~*
When Sindbad returned to deck to take over his shift at the tiller at midnight he found Maeve standing at the bow again.
"Mullis, could you hold the tiller a little longer?" he addressed the sailor of the last shift. "I'll relieve you in a few minutes."
"Sure Captain."
Wondering why the Celt was still awake, Sindbad slowly walked over to her. Maeve stared off into the dark sky, her thoughts miles away.
"Can't sleep?" Sindbad asked her gently. Yet she jumped, startled by his appearance. She looked at him for a moment, wondering he might have asked her for she hadn't been listening at all. Realising that he was waiting for an answer, she decided to simply say why she was still out here.
"Dermott didn't come back from his flight. I'm worried."
"Nah, don't be. I'm sure he'll be back soon. You should go to sleep now." Sindbad advised.
"I'll go in a few minutes." Maeve promised. "I just want to wait a little longer."
"Okay. I have to take over my shift at the tiller. Good night, Maeve."
" ' night."
Satisfied that Maeve would be fine Sindbad went to relieve Mullis. The night was clear and the sea was calm, so it was an easy shift.
Two hours later another member of the crew took over from Sindbad. The captain was about to go below when he saw the lone figure standing at the bow. Maeve was still there?!? A little worried Sindbad went to her side again. This time he made sure she heard him coming, not to startle her again.
"He still isn't back?" he asked.
"No." Maeve's voice cracked. "What if he is hurt? What if..."
"Stop driving yourself crazy Maeve!" Sindbad ordered. "Dermott is strong. Believe me he'll be fine. Probably he is still angry about your behaviour. Go to bed!"
"No! I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. I'll wait for him. I have to apologise to him."
Sindbad sighed, but he knew better than to argue with her. When it came to Dermott Maeve was as stubborn as a mule. She hugged herself and Sindbad saw her tremble – it was a rather cool night. Sindbad sighed again and went below to fetch Maeve's cloak which he put round her shoulders protectively. Knowing that he couldn't change her decision he stroked her hair softly and whispered in her ear: "Don't blame yourself, Maeve. Dermott will be fine!" Then he left her alone and went below to get some sleep.
~*~
Sindbad woke at sunrise as usually. Concerned about his friend's wellbeing he went to Maeve's cabin. After a short knock he entered. Her bed was untouched. Already foreseeing what this meant he headed up on deck. And sure enough, there she stood at her place, looking as if she hadn't moved all night long. The first rays of light made her red hair glow like fire and a breeze gently swelled it. But except for that she stood immovable like a statue.
When Sindbad stepped behind her she spoke up. "He didn't come back." Her voice was little above a whisper. "And what's worse of it, I can't feel him, not at all. It's as if he was totally gone... or even..." She couldn't finish the sentence. She sniffed.
"Oh, Maeve!" Sindbad hugged her tightly. Desperately she clutched his shirt and Sindbad felt her tears on his chest. "Hush!" he tried to calm her.
"It's all my fault!" she cried. "I shouldn't have shouted at him like that!"
Gently Sindbad stroked Maeve's back, trying to comfort her.
Suddenly they heard an evil laughter. "What a touching scene!"
Sindbad and Maeve whirled around. In some distance to the Nomad an image was floating in the air. The image of Rumina.
"My, my, why are you so sad, pheasant wench? Lost your little birdie?" Rumina purred.
"YOU!" Maeve shouted. Her eyes flashed in anger. "What have you done to Dermott, you bitch?"
"Nothing, so far. But I can change that easily, if you don't do what I'm saying." The black sorceress hissed.
"What do you want from us?" Sindbad demanded.
"From you? Nothing Sindbad." Rumina answered. "To be honest I've lost my interest in you. You're to good and friendly; how disgusting! What I want is revenge. Bloody revenge." She said turning to Maeve. "I challenge you! Black magic against white magic. The ultimate battle. The winner gets the bird, in his original form. The looser dies."
"I accept." Maeve said calmly, her face was expressionless by now. Sindbad looked shocked at her.
"Fine. Come to the Isle of Tears. And don't keep me waiting for too long, or I might test some spells on that ugly bird of yours."
"Don't you dare touching him!" Maeve screamed and formed a huge fireball which she flung at the image. The fireball went straight through the image and Rumina merely laughed.
"How pathetic! Is that best you can do? Don't be late for our fight!" Laughing she disappeared.
Maeve screamed in anger. Doubar, Firouz and Rongar came running on deck with their weapons drawn.
"What happened?" Doubar asked concerned. "We were having breakfast when we heard screams!"
Sindbad turned to face his men. "Rumina appeared and challenged Maeve." He told them.
"She's got Dermott!" Maeve added heatedly. "I have to go to the Isle of Tears."
"Maeve that would be your sure death! You have to think straight! You're not truly believing that she'll play fair!" Sindbad declared.
"Sindbad's right. The sorceress will have at least a dozen evil traps and tricks ready to defeat you." Firouz said.
"I have no choice! She's got Dermott! I have to free him! And so I do at least have a chance of getting him back!" Maeve practically shouted and turned her back on her friends.
"And the big chance of killing yourself!" Sindbad argued. He was getting truly angry about her stubbornness. Still he tried to reason her. "Maeve, try to think clearly. I know Dermott means very much to you. But he is just a hawk. He's not worth killing yourself!"
This made Maeve loose all what left of her self-control. Furiously she whirled around and slapped Sindbad hard across the face.
"Dermott is no just anything! He is the most important thing in my world and I love him more than my own life! He is worth everything! Do you understand?" The witch shouted, clenching her fists.
The men were shocked. Never before had they seen Maeve that angry! Sindbad held his sore cheek. He began to understand that he might have made the biggest mistake possible: To tell Maeve to give up on Dermott. He should have known better by now, he cursed himself.
"As you don't seem to understand how much Dermott means to me, I think I better go now. I'll get to the Isle of Tears, even if I have to swim all the way!" The Celt turned to leave, but Sindbad grabbed her arm.
"Oh no, you won't go!" he told her.
She whirled around again. "How dare you giving me orders, you pig-headed sea slug!?! You're not going to stop me, damned sailor!"
"True, I can't stop you." Sindbad admitted. "But you won't be going alone. I'm coming with you. I'm not going to let you leave me again, Maeve. I promised you once, I'll either defeat Rumina or die trying to do so."
Doubar, Firouz and Rongar looked at each other for a moment then declared in unison: "We're coming with you, too!"
Maeve gulped hard and tears started welling up in her eyes. Such wonderful friends.
"Thank you. All of you. But we have to hurry." She whispered. "We don't have much time."
~*~
Half an hour later the Nomad set sails and headed towards the Isle of Tears. Aboard were only Sindbad, Doubar, Firouz, Rongar and Maeve left. The rest of the men had left having been told about the kamikaze-operation.
Doubar eyed the sails critically. "The wind seems to be against us, little brother." He told Sindbad who was holding the tiller. "If they remain like that, it'll take us more than five days to reach the Isle of Tears."
"Hmm... Rumina's welcoming, I'd say." The captain agreed.
"You're right Sindbad." Maeve said walking up to the two. "But it's not going to work. She seems to be underestimating my powers. Make sure, you're holding onto something."
Sindbad and Doubar exchanged a quick glance and both grabbed the tiller harder. Firouz and Rongar both wrapped a rope around their wrists and tied it to the mast.
Maeve closed her eyes and began humming a melody. Sindbad recognized it: Maeve had played it once on panpipes to call the winds. Next Maeve slowly raised her hands at the side of her body over her head, forming a circle. With her eyes still closed she began to speak:
"Father of the winds... I'm calling you... send your blessing, send your breath... make the winds blow... and take me where I want to go..." Then she sang in an old language which the men didn't understand. She sounded almost like a siren.
And soon tail wind started to blow. Gently at first, but then it grew stronger and stronger. It swelled the sails and the Nomad gained more and more speed until it was practically flying across the ocean. The ship cracked and creaked but held. They were making good progress.
"If we can go on like that, we'll reach Rumina's stronghold in less than two days!" Doubar shouted to Sindbad over the sound of the wind.
~*~
And really, two days later the five friends could see the shape of Rumina's island. Obviously she had been able to restore the skull cave. A few miles away from the coast Maeve told the winds to stop.
They assembled in the galley to make up a plan. Firouz had brought the map of the isle they had used when they had defeated Rumina two years ago. Maeve pointed to the wide area in the middle of the Isle of Tears.
"This is where we're going to meet her." She said. "I'm going to cast a protecting spell over you. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Very thoughtful. Still, if Rumina was to defeat you, we'd be dead meat." Doubar mumbled.
"You don't have to come along." Maeve told him once again. "Actually I would feel much better, if you would stay on the Nomad. I don't want one of you to get hurt accidentally."
"No." Sindbad declared. "It's all of us, or nobody. We came here together, and we fight together."
"Sindbad, you don't seem to understand. This is going to be the ultimate battle of magic. You're not going to be able to do anything. Rumina and I, we have reached a level in our powers, where normal weapons nearly can't achieve anything anymore." Maeve explained.
The group fell silent, each one of them lost in their thoughts. Sindbad was fighting inside. He wanted to tell Maeve exactly what he felt for her, but had he the right to do so? Or would it distract Maeve to much?
Finally Firouz cleared his throat. "I have go a question. How do we get to the battlefield? I mean Rumina will have placed skeleton warriors everywhere!"
"This should the smallest of our problems, Firouz." Maeve said. The inventor gave her a quizzical look that clearly said "Why?"
"Well, my friend, even if it's not my favourite memory, I've been on the Isle of Tears before and that means I can get us there easily by misting."
Again they sat in silence until Sindbad said: "I think it's time we go. Otherwise we'll drive ourselves nuts."
They nodded and got their weapons ready.
Then they headed up on deck and formed a circle. Maeve looked at each one of them. "I don't have the gift of foreseeing, so I don't know what our future holds. But I want you to know that I really enjoyed having friends like you. I love you all. Doubar, for being the loving friend and substitute-brother, my Tubby. Firouz, for being the man of ideas and science, always ready to argue about magic and technology. Rongar, for being the silent and understanding, true friend, speaking with your heart. And Sindbad, for being who you are. Thank you."
Sindbad couldn't keep silent any longer. "Maeve, I l...." he began, but Maeve silenced him with a soft kiss.
"Shh..." she whispered. "Don't say anything, Sindbad, please. We're going to have an eternity or never. Nothing in between." He nodded and a tear ran down his cheek. The witch wiped it away with her hand. Sindbad savoured every little bit of the touch.
"Have faith!" she told him firmly. Then she took his and Rongar's hand, closing the circle. They closed their eyes and let the well-known feeling of misting take over.
~*~
As they opened their eyes again, they found themselves on the battlefield. In the distance of about 100 feet stood Rumina with Dermott sitting in a cage of magic at her side.
"You did indeed show up, I'm impressed." The sorceress sneered. "Impressed by your stupidity. All this for a bird..." She laughed. "And you're bringing me some slaves, too! How thoughtful!"
Maeve clenched her fists at her sides. "Let Dermott go now, Rumina!" she demanded. "It's me who you wanted. He has got nothing to do with this."
"Oh, no my dear. It has very much to do with him and I think I'll keep him, as an entertainer you could say, when I am done with you. You see I finally remembered, why you wanted to kill me so desperately. It took me sometime, true; but you can't expect me to remember all the peasants I cursed in my life!" Her shrill laughter hurt in Sindbad's ears. His mind was racing. What was Rumina referring to? Maeve and Dermott cursed?
Maeve swore under her breath. Then shouted: "Let's stop this farce and get over with it! It's going to be either you or I!"
"The winner takes it all!" The sorceress grinned. "I'll kill you, and all of you!" With that she formed a gigantic energy ball and flung it at the group. Maeve crossed her arms over her chest, then brought them up over her head and swung them down at her sides. A blue shield appeared and surrounded them. Rumina's attack was easily deflected and the sorceress cursed.
Maeve took a few steps forward and the left the shield, but still it remained, surrounding the four men.
"You're not going to hurt my friends, bitch. This is only between you and me." Maeve said calmly and formed a fire ball which she threw at Rumina. But her enemy blocked it.
"You can't defeat me, pheasant wench. I have this!" She touched her necklace that held a dark red stone. "It's some Hellfire. It improves my powers a lot and it's going to be the last thing you see before you die!"
And the sorceress and the witch began their fatal fight, exchanging powerful blows, blocking and reattacking their opponent. For a long time they were equal opponents but bit by bit Maeve began to weaken, taking more and more blows. Dermott screeched in his cage and flapped his wings furiously, trying to encourage his mistress.
After an especially hard blow, which threw Maeve aback, Sindbad wanted to run to her side to help her, but he crashed against the energy shield. Rumina's spells couldn't hurt them in here, but they couldn't get out, too. Sindbad was furious. Maeve had done this on purpose!
"Damn it Maeve!" he shouted but she didn't hear him.
"Maeve is weakening." Firouz observed. "I don't think she'll be able to take much more!"
"Something is drawing on her powers. But what?" Doubar agreed.
Rongar tapped on Firouz shoulder and made several complicated signs. Firouz slapped his forehead with his palm. "Of course, you're right Rongar. Why didn't I think of it?"
"What is it Firouz?" Sindbad asked unnerved, unwilling to concentrate on anything except Maeve fighting for dear life.
"Remember what Maeve told us during our adventure with Serendib, in the City of Mists?" Firouz asked. "The longer a spell is maintained, the more it's weakening the sorcerer producing it! Maeve is weakening because of the shield that surrounds us!"
"What?!?" Sindbad shouted in shock. He whirled around and called to Maeve.
"Maeve! Bring the shield down!" The witch turned to him for a second, looking at him disbelieving.
"Bring it down Maeve!" Sindbad repeated. "It's weakening you too much! We'll be fine!"
Maeve didn't want to endanger her friends, but right the next moment Rumina lashed out again extremely powerful with her magic and Maeve fell back. She had to gather all her powers to have chance of defeating her arch-enemy and so she brought the shield protecting her friends down. Immediately she felt a rush of energy entering her body and she stood up.
"I'm not finished yet!" she shouted preparing for a new attack.
"Maybe not. But you have got a weak spot you forgot to cover!" Rumina hissed and sent a blast of pure black magic at Sindbad.
"NO!!!"
Sindbad was thrown back by the power of the blow. He lay on his back, amazed by the unbearable pain coursing through his whole body. In what seemed like an endless distance he heard his friends scream. "Oh, no! Sindbad!" "Little brother!!! No!" He thought he heard a hawk screech. Faces appeared in his blurry vision, but he couldn't make out who it was. He looked up to the sky. If only he could remember why he came here... What was his name again? And why did it hurt to breath?
Maeve whirled around to face Rumina. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"You monster! I'm going to kill you! May you rot in hell!" she screamed. Anger and hate flashed in her eyes.
Rumina laughed shrilly. "How pathetic! As I said, you have a weak spot. Don't worry, he won't suffer any longer. This is your end!" The sorceress brought her hands up and assembled all her magic in her hands for her final blow.
Maeve reacted automatically. She pointed her finger at Rumina and yelled "STOP!!!".
And Rumina stopped. She stood frozen mid in her attack.
Maeve sent her a short disgusted glare before she ran to Sindbad's side. She would deal with Rumina later. Now Sindbad's safety was her priority.
Maeve pushed Doubar a little aside and knelt down at Sindbad's side. Gently she stroked his face, trying to hold back tears. He was covered in his own blood and as pale as his white shirt.
"Hush, Sindbad... It's okay... You'll be fine..." she whispered, mostly to convince herself.
Another face appeared in front of his eyes. It seemed to be a woman, but Sindbad wasn't sure. Suddenly the woman began to speak and for him her voice sounded like the one of an angle. It calmed him and even seemed to ease his pain with only its tone. A name popped up in his head. "Maeve...?" he whispered hoarsely. It hurt so much to speak!
"Aye, Sindbad. I'm here... You'll be fine, I promise you!" Maeve answered him and took his hand. Tears were now streaming down her cheek freely as they were on those of the three men.
"Little brother... Don't go! I can't loose you!" Doubar muttered.
Firouz and Rongar both sent prayers to Allah, begging him to save their friend and captain.
Maeve took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. She had to act quickly now. Never before had she tried to heal somebody who was hurt so badly!
"Sindbad..." she addressed him. "Sindbad! Come on... You have to look at me!" She took out the healing powder.
Sindbad heard his angle again and tried to focus on her. He wanted to see her clearly!
"Good! You'll be fine!" The Celt told him. Then she threw very much of the powder on his wound, praying that it would work. She spoke the words of healing and felt the magic float through her body. Maeve knew she was weak but she continued. Without really knowing why, she began to sing a lullaby her mother had always sung when she was ill. And she felt the magic of healing becoming stronger, filling her whole body and going over to Sindbad. They started to glow in a supernatural white light as the magic started to work.
Maeve closed her eyes sending a last prayer to the Goddess and opened her eyes again.
Sindbad was sitting up and touched his chest. He looked at her. "Maeve..." he whispered.
The Celt lean towards him and embraced him tightly. Sindbad hugged her back, surprised by her reaction.
"Maeve... I had a strange dream..." he mumbled. "No, it wasn't a dream... Rumina, she..."
Maeve silenced him with a kiss which Sindbad was about to respond when he was trapped in a bear hug.
"Little brother, you're alive; I'm so glad!" Doubar shouted, embracing him.
Rongar and Firouz also hugged their friend relieved. Firouz started to examine him and asked: "Do you remember what happened?"
Sindbad slowly stood up. "Yeah, Rumina hit me with her magic, I think." He answered before thought of something else. "Rumina! Where is she now?"
The group turned to look at where the sorceress was standing. She was still frozen, but it wouldn't last much longer. Already the magical ball in her hands began to move again.
"That's it!" Maeve shouted taking a few steps in her enemy's direction. "I'll make her pay for that one!"
"But Maeve, she is still too strong for you!" Firouz contradicted.
They all stared at Rumina as she began to move her fingers slowly. A few more seconds and she would awake totally.
Suddenly Rongar had a kind of brain-wave. In his perfected body movement took out one of his daggers and threw it at Rumina with full force and precision.
Right that second Rumina awoke. She saw the dagger flying towards her, but it was to late to stop it. The dagger pierced her amulet and the stone holding the Hellfire shattered on the ground, breaking into thousands of pieces. Rumina screamed in anger as the magic in her hands fizzled out. "NO! You bastard!"
Filled with new anger Maeve jumped into action. She formed a huge fireball and flung it at Rumina. The sorceress, weak now that her supporting Hellfire was gone, wasn't able to block it. She fell back. Maeve immediately threw another fireball hitting her enemy frontal. Rumina stumbled backwards, trying to stay on her feet. The Celt raised her hands over her head and a big tree grew behind Rumina's back within a heartbeat. Some of its branches wound around Rumina's arms and became solid. When the tree stopped growing Rumina was trapped, unable to move her hands. Still she tried desperately to get free, cursing and swearing.
Maeve stepped towards her. "Give up, Rumina." She said. "My people worship the oak because it is strong, almost indestructible and unsusceptible to magic. Believe me, you won't come free. This is your end."
In the background Sindbad, Doubar, Firouz and Rongar applauded. They had been very impressed that Maeve could even control the growing of plants.
Maeve grinned at Rumina who had finally given up and hung in her natural chains. "Today your regime of terror ends." Maeve declared. She turned to the magic cave in which Dermott was sitting. The hawk chirped approvingly and flapped his wings. Maeve smiled and raised her right hand. A white ray emerged and the cave disappeared. Dermott screeched and winged in the sky. Maeve, Rumina and the men looked up to him. The hawk flew two circles in the sky, screeching loudly, before he swiped down to the tree where Rumina was trapped and scratched across her face with his sharp claws. The sorceress screamed shrilly, but of course nobody showed pity. She had tortured them too often.
Rumina panted, her face was bleeding. "Come on, pheasant wench. Get over with it and kill me."
Maeve formed a fireball and prepared to throw it when she stopped, thinking about something. *I always thought you hated Rumina and now... now you're becoming like her?* Sindbad's words danced in her mind. She turned around and looked at her friends for a moment. Next she looked at Dermott who sat in the oak, asking for his approval in mind voice. Dermott hesitated for a moment then agreed.
"No", Maeve said firmly. "I won't kill you, Rumina."
The four men gasped in surprise and Rumina looked up, wondering what was awaiting her.
"I won't kill you. You don't deserve the grace of dying. And furthermore", Maeve said with a quick side glance at Sindbad, "I'm not becoming like you." Sindbad smiled; that was his Maeve.
"But of course", she continued, "I won't let you escape easily. Never again you shall be able to harm anybody with your magic!" With that Maeve stepped closer to Rumina. Her hands came up and pure white magic accumulated there. Maeve stretched her arms to her fearful opponent and touched her chest. Rumina screamed as the white light pulled all bits of black magic out of her body. The magic assembled in a ball of the darkest black possible which floated above Maeve hands. As soon as the magic had left her body Rumina changed. Her hair became tousled and dull, her nose grew broader and longer, her teeth turned yellow and her expensive, red glowing robe changed into a simple gown.
The witch stepped back, eyeing the black ball.
"See this, Rumina." She spoke up. "This is all your power. Never again shall you be able to do magic again. You shall be doomed to live as a normal human, weak and poor, one of the peasants you're despising so much!"
"No!" Rumina screamed and in her despair she began to beg. "Please don't do this! I'd rather die than be one of them for one second!"
But Maeve remained cold. "Good bye, Rumina. Enjoy your new life!" She clapped her hands and the oak let go of Rumina. The ex-sorceress stumbled forwards and fell to her knees. Maeve raised her hands over her head and called the winds. A little tornado appeared around Rumina and carried her away.
Maeve smiled and turned to her friends. They were speechless until Doubar broke into a roar of victory.
"Hurray for Maeve, our champion!" he shouted and ran to hug the Celt. Sindbad, Firouz and Rongar followed suit. They embraced her, praised her and hugged each other, celebrating their victory.
Sindbad held Maeve especially tight, stroking her back and kissing her forehead. "It's all over now." He said happily. "We are free of her forever."
But Maeve stepped back. "No", she said, "it's not totally over yet."
Sindbad gave her an surprised look and the others also gave her an quizzical look, stopping their celebration at her words. What was she referring to?
Maeve turned to the black ball of magic which was still floating in the air. She took it in her hands, closed her eyes and concentrated on cleaning it. The ball started glowing and suddenly the blackness fizzled out, leaving behind a ball of pure white. Maeve opened her eyes and called Dermott. "Dermy, come here, my love. I will free you now!"
Sindbad was shocked. Maeve wanted to free Dermott, her love? What was going on?
Dermott swiped down from the tree and landed on Maeve's arm. She gently placed him on a rock, stroking his soft feathers a last time. Then she took a deep breath. She held the white magical ball in front of his chest and let it enter his body. "Be free", she mumbled, "free at last!"
Dermott began to glow in a bluish light which grew brighter and brighter until the friends had to shield their eyes from it.
Maeve didn't dare to breath. Would it work? Finally the light faded.
In front of them stood a tall, well-shaped, young man with red-brown hair and green eyes. He was totally naked.
The four man were shocked to no end. And even more shocked as Maeve jumped in the strange man's arms with a cry of joy. Maeve embraced him tightly, stroking his hair, his chest and his face, covering it with kisses. The man hugged her back and took her face in his hands. Then he stared at his hands, touched his face unbelieving and hugged Maeve again.
"Dermott! Oh, my Dermott! I missed you so much! My one and only! Dermott!" Maeve groaned still kissing him. Tears of joy were running down her cheeks.
"Maeve! My little Maeve! What a feeling to hold you again!" Dermott said overjoyed. He too had tears in his eyes.
Sindbad gulped. This was Dermott. He was a man. And Maeve called him love. Her one and only. Two days ago she had said that he was the most important thing in her world and she loved him more than her own life. So Dermott had to be her husband, or at least her lover.
Sindbad's heart shattered into millions of pieces. His Maeve was no longer his. But he had to stay in control, he was the captain!
So cleared his throat, showing that he wanted to say something. Maeve and Dermott turned to face him, both blushing lightly at having forgotten their friends' presence totally.
Sindbad took all his self-control and said: "Maeve, congratulations. Looks like you fulfilled your task and finally freed your husband, Dermott."
Maeve and Dermott were astonished for a moment. Then they looked at each other and broke into laughter.
This annoyed Sindbad even more. To be laughed at when his heart was already breaking and he had to keep himself from throttling Dermott. "May I ask, what is so funny?" he demanded angrily.
"You..." Dermott giggled. "You are truly thinking, I'm Maeve's husband? I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Never in my life would I marry such a stubborn something like her!"
Sindbad's eyes grew wide. Dermott was not Maeve's husband?
"Sindbad, I don't know what brought you to your conclusion, but Dermott is not my husband. He is my brother." Maeve explained.
Sindbad's face lit like a candle; it was as if someone had taken the world down from his shoulders. Dermott was Maeve's brother. She was his sister and nothing more!
Following his true feelings Sindbad grabbed Maeve and whirled her around in a circle. His heart was dancing.
"He's your brother. He's your brother!" he shouted. "Oh, Maeve I'm so glad!" And then he kissed her with all the passion he felt. After a second of shock she responded with full force. Doubar, Firouz and Rongar were shocked. Not only by the fact that Dermott was human and Maeve's brother, but also by Sindbad's behaviour. Dermott in turn applauded as the kiss went on. "That's my sister! A temperament like fire!" he shouted.
"That's your sister, and my brother!" Doubar roared and they all applauded.
Finally the couple broke their kiss, looking at each other. First they blushed and then they grinned.
"Crew, may I present you my big brother Dermott, the future Bard of the Winds." Maeve said. She grinned. "I think it's time you get some proper clothes, brother. You don't want to start your new found human life with a cold, now do you?" She teased. Dermott blushed, finally noticing that he was still naked. Maeve pointed her finger at him and the next second he wore brown leather pants, boots and a white shirt.
"I think it's time we head back to the Nomad, what do you think?" Sindbad asked his crew. "We have some very good reasons to celebrate!" The group agreed willingly and Maeve clapped her hands.
A few seconds later they sat in the galley and on the table stood a true feast, with enough food for twenty.
"That's my Maeve!" Doubar roared at the sight of this. They all laughed heartily and sat down to eat and drink.
"And now, we want to hear the whole story of why Dermott was a hawk!" Firouz declared emptying his first goblet of wine, the first of many tonight.
And so Maeve and Dermott began to tell...
~*~
It was long past midnight when Sindbad joined Maeve at her place at the bow. Smiling he sat down next to her and looked up to the stars.
"I still can't really believe the whole story you told us." He said after a while. "Let me get this straight. Dermott is four years older than you. He was the apprentice of the Bard of the Winds at Avalon and you were a novice there, meant to become a priestess some day. But then one day, Rumina showed up, demanding the Harp of Winds to increase her powers and Dermott defended it. Furious about him she turned him into a hawk. You wanted to free your brother, but in Avalon nobody was able to help you. So you travelled to the south in search of a sorcerer who could help you. Then you met Dim-Dim and he made you to his apprentice and taught you the art of white magic. He said you could only free Dermott if you killed Rumina. So this became your task of life. And then you came aboard the Nomad and I know the rest of the story. But what I don't understand is why you didn't tell me that Dermott was a human. I would have treated him much better!"
Maeve sighed. "I wanted to tell you, really, but part of Rumina's curse was that if I told anybody of it, Dermott would remain a hawk forever. The wise men and women at Avalon knew of it as they had seen the incident. And Dim-Dim simply read my thoughts when I first met him."
They sat in comfortable silence for some time. Sindbad put his arm around Maeve's shoulder and she leaned on him, closing her eyes and enjoying his closeness.
"If got only one more question, Maeve." Sindbad said.
"Hmmm...?" she muttered tiredly.
"Where did Rumina go?"
Maeve had to grin. "Can't you imagine that, my sailor?" she asked. "Where the winds may take her!"
Sindbad chuckled, then they fell silent again, enjoying each others company. Sindbad felt head on her shoulder and he smelled her sweet scent. He was happy in his small paradise.
Finally he gathered all his courage and began to speak. "What I wanted to tell you before we left the ship, when you stopped me with this kiss, Maeve, was... Maeve? Maeve?" He turned his head to her as she didn't react at all. Maeve was sound asleep with a smile on her lips.
Sindbad sighed quietly and stroked her hair. "It's okay, Maeve." He whispered. "You had a very long day. You deserve your sleep." He was silent for a moment then continued. "As you said earlier today... we're having an eternity together from now on..."
The End
*~*~*
Ha! You were all expecting me to end this story with something like "They married, had a dozen kids and sailed with them their whole life", weren't you? True, it would be a sweet ending, but with my ending there is a lot of space for new adventures and stories!
Feel free to continue from here on – I don't have any ideas at present.
Please tell me what you think of my story. Either review or sent me an e-mail to Bright.Phoenix@gmx.de
Sheela