Chapter 3
When the sun entered the horizon Toris was already making his way out of the war room. He had saddled up his horse and his weapons were already packed on. He would leave before they'd wake up, before they were able to stop him. Last night was the last time for him. The last time he would let Vexicus take what he held dear. First he took father and uncle, then slaughtered hundreds of farmers and their families, he poisoned the coastline with his potions, which if it weren't for Maeve's cures would have killed all the sea life.... 'Maeve' he thought....thinking of her once more brought back all the events from the night before. Vexicus had taken so much, now his mother. He could not let this happen to him, not again, he could not lose her. He was going to get his mother back if it was the last thing he did.
He was mounted his horse, ready to leave on his mission. However, as he reached for his charm, he found it wasn't there. He promised Deora he would never leave without it in his pocket. He dismounted and made his way quietly inside.
The only beings up at that hour were the sentry who were consigned to guard the palace as they slept, but they were under strict orders to not let anyone know where he was off too, not even Deora. He made his way to the throne room and picked up his charm from his royal chalice where he kept it for safekeeping. As he grabbed it, it put it against his heart relieved it was back in his possession, he remembered.....
*Flashback* "Since you gave me that beautiful necklace for out betrothal, I wanted to give you something in return." Deora said as she opened Toris' palm and put the charm in his hand. It was a small strange looking thing, he wasn't quite sure of its shape, but he felt the power of it. The look in her eyes were so warm and gentle, he could not believe he was so against their arranged marriage. He had not seen her though since she was 4, and he was 6, so their recollection of each other was quite limited. However, when he met with her again he found himself lost in her, her eyes, her hair, her very soul. He knew they were not arranged by their royal status but by the heavens. "Well do you like it or not...please do not leave me with this anxiety, I don't think it is fitting for a princess." She retorted but kept the smile on her face. Another thing to love about her, she may be a princess, but she was not the usual princess. She would be silent when she needed to listen, but always voicing her opinion whether it was welcomed or not. She also was never afraid to show when she was annoyed. He loved her traits, some thought him crazy for marrying the independent princess, 'not easy to control' they would tell him, but he always answered 'good, I would not want to control her.'
His silence and gazing was killing her. Did he like it or not?! It really was a simple question. She was vexed by what she had become. A lovesick woman who needed reassurance from the man she loved. She had vowed a long time ago she would never let herself become one of those women, but the moment she saw him again she knew that even she could not contend with such a force. 'ARGH..would he answer me or no. That does it....' She finally stopped her trains of thought and spoke up, "Toris, for the sake of Allah, would you please answer me. It is alright if you do not like it, but for good....." She could not finish her lecture for she was busy being kissed.
He could not help himself, when he saw the fire in her eyes he always wanted to kiss her. However, this is the first time he saw it in private with her, so he decided to seize the day. They had never kissed before, but it was not as awkward as the woman he had first kisses with in the past, it was first very soft and sweet, and what shocked him the most SHE was making it deeper, pulling him in. He wanted to have her right then and there. But he could not do it until they were married; he knew that, they both had kingdoms and reputations to consider. But if she continued kissing him like this he knew the wrong head would start doing the thinking. So he grudgingly pulled away from her.
She was so stunned by the kiss, and then how he abruptly pulled away. Did she do something wrong? She was not very experienced when it came to things.....like that..but she knew heat when she felt it. Was it only she who felt it? Well she was not about to sit there dumbfounded and have that satisfaction, but nothing more came out than, "I'm sorry." 'I'M SORRY!' she thought to herself, 'GIRL, GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" But yet again the words were unavailable. "Do not be sorry. I kissed you." 'See even he knows that, *I'm sorry*, what has this man done to you for you to become so pathetic?'
"I love the gift." At least they were better words then what he was truly thinking to say, 'we must marry tonight because I do not think I can wait very long for another kiss.' He continued his thinking, 'what has this woman done to me, I am a warrior, a future King, when did I become so pathetic?'
They both stood there staring for a long while not knowing what to say to each other, each individually trying not to fall more in love than they already were. But no matter how hard they tried, or what they did, their lips just could not stay away from each other. A kissed filled with more passion, more love than either knew what to do with. He could not stand it anymore, and again he pulled away, but this time he put his hands on her face so she'd look him in the eye......
"Deora, I love you. I love you more than I could ever truly explain." His words stopped her heart for a few moments. 'He loves me.' She knew he did, but neither had ever admitted their feelings to one another, that is not how it was done. Nevertheless, she did not care of tradition at this point, they were beyond cold tradition and found something eternal, and anyway she could never let him have the upper hand, so she frowned at him, "You may love me, but I don't know how I feel about you."
'WHAT?! SHE DOES NOT KNOW...IS SHE ABSOLUTELY INSANE....I CAN NOT BELIEVE SHE....' his thoughts were interrupted as she began to laugh at him. He then realizing she was teasing him. "You think that is funny?" She nodded her head because she was laughing so hard that anything that would have come out would have been accompanied with a certain amount of saliva.
She knew that look he was giving her. She got up and made a mad dash down the beach, to where she didn't know, but she knew if he caught her he would.....he grabbed her waist and pulled her down while falling too. He started to tickle her, knowing how ticklish she was, he knew he was going to get what he wanted. "Say it and I will let you go." She looked at him mockingly giving him a confused look. She started laughing again as he resumed tickling her.
"FINE...you win..I LOVE YOU!" her laughs died as he let her go. When they were completely diminished she looked up at Toris, who looked so serene. She came to him and they once again kissed.
*End Flashback*
He held the charm close remembering that, it had become the catalyst for so many more days filled with love and laughs. When his father passed it was her strength that got him through it. He always wanted her near him, even though he knew it was not possible, so the charm was there to at least give him her presence. He wanted to say good-bye to her, but knew she would never let him leave. However much he loved her he could not leave his mother in the hands of Vexicus. That was a fact he knew she would understand even if she did not agree with it.
He put the charm in his side pocket and began his path to leave. That was until he felt himself stop walking.......not because he didn't want to.....but his feet were bonded to the ground. "What in the name of..." he did not finish his sentence as he continued trying to move his feet. However, the answer to his confusion came from behind him. Maeve.
"Where are you off to at this time of day?" Asking him, though she knew the answer already. "Maeve, release me NOW!" His face became red with anger as he realized his attempts to get his feet back were futile. "No. I don't think I can do that," she started to reply now mad he was adding treating her like a servant to his list of crimes this morning, "but if your royal needs anything, this lowly servant is at your service." She said mockingly enough to make his red face now turned a dark crimson. "Maeve, if you will PLEASE release me, I would be ever so grateful." He said trying to put calm in his voice so she would trust him to release him, he failed. "No, I believe it would be in your best interest if you inform of why your steed has been saddled for what seems to be a long journey? Also when I inquired to the guards here, no one seemed to know why, so I unsaddled him for you." She said with a crafty smile.
"DAMN YOU WITCH! YOU AND YOUR SPELLS!" his scream was expected, his words stung a though, "DAMN ME!" she replied incredulously, "Damn your people. For that is what you're doing if you go off to face Vexicus." He was looking at the ground now, knowing the truth in her words, "When you go there to face him, you will leave your people vulnerable, and when you are killed by him you will leave them without a leader, and Vexicus will win." He slowly tilted his head up with a look of pain and anger, "She is my mother Maeve. My mother." He wanted to kill her for stopping him, for reasoning with him.
Maeve would not let him be self-righteous, not with what was on the line. "Yes. I was there when he took your mother. But your mother is alive. Which will be more then I can say for you if you attempt to go free her. He is keeping her alive to trap you, to trap us all. He will kill you. And you then not only Damn yourself, your people AND your mother, you will be leaving other people to his mercy." She then pointed back at the door.
There standing in the entrance was Deora holding on to his sister. "Toris you will leave them alone, they have many to defend them, but without you they will be alone. Can you really be so selfish to do that?" He than closed his eyes and looked back at his betrothed and younger sister. He loved them both so much, but he loved his mother too. "What should I do Maeve, sit and wait for that man to just kill my mother. She is the only parent we have left. I can not raise my sister, she needs her mother." Maeve and Toris stared at each other knowing that convincing the other person was almost impossible to do since they were both rather willful people.
"You are right Toris." A voice came from behind Deora and Maila. The Sailor walked past the princesses and next to Maeve's side. This was the closest they had been since they saw each other and Maeve became somewhat flustered by both the statement and his presence. She knew she had to concentrate though to keep the spell active on Toris so she tried to ignore the feeling.
He looked at her, up and walking, and already taking charge of a situation. He thought he was dreaming when he heard Toris and Maeve screaming at each other. He had been waiting by her bedside for her to awaken. As the blonde woman, Shalice, the woman Maeve walked in with, the one who protected Firouz and the stone had told him she would be fine but her body could not handle all the energy she had dispense. He found her bed empty when he heard the screaming. So when he came down he heard the majority of the conversation, and thought it time to intervene. "Toris, we need your mother back, that is not an argument," he began as he notice Maeve trying very hard not to look him in the eye, bringing a smirk to his face he continued, "but to get your mother back and defeat Vexicus we are going to need you, HERE, alive and well....I promise on my honor as a captain and on my ship, we will get your mother back. You are just going to need to trust me."
Maeve was shocked by Sinbad's words, she was well aware of the extremity of what he swore on, any sailor, a captain no less, would not swear on their station AND ship if they were not truly honest. Than she noticed the men give each other knowing looks of respect. Sinbad walked to him and they shook arms as to say Toris was counting himself in for whatever Sinbad had planned. At this Maeve waved her hand and Toris was loose again. And as Toris went to thank Maeve for not letting him do anything foolish, her legs gave out and landed straight into Sinbad's arms. And as she looked into the deep eyes of the sea, everything suddenly went black.
When the sun entered the horizon Toris was already making his way out of the war room. He had saddled up his horse and his weapons were already packed on. He would leave before they'd wake up, before they were able to stop him. Last night was the last time for him. The last time he would let Vexicus take what he held dear. First he took father and uncle, then slaughtered hundreds of farmers and their families, he poisoned the coastline with his potions, which if it weren't for Maeve's cures would have killed all the sea life.... 'Maeve' he thought....thinking of her once more brought back all the events from the night before. Vexicus had taken so much, now his mother. He could not let this happen to him, not again, he could not lose her. He was going to get his mother back if it was the last thing he did.
He was mounted his horse, ready to leave on his mission. However, as he reached for his charm, he found it wasn't there. He promised Deora he would never leave without it in his pocket. He dismounted and made his way quietly inside.
The only beings up at that hour were the sentry who were consigned to guard the palace as they slept, but they were under strict orders to not let anyone know where he was off too, not even Deora. He made his way to the throne room and picked up his charm from his royal chalice where he kept it for safekeeping. As he grabbed it, it put it against his heart relieved it was back in his possession, he remembered.....
*Flashback* "Since you gave me that beautiful necklace for out betrothal, I wanted to give you something in return." Deora said as she opened Toris' palm and put the charm in his hand. It was a small strange looking thing, he wasn't quite sure of its shape, but he felt the power of it. The look in her eyes were so warm and gentle, he could not believe he was so against their arranged marriage. He had not seen her though since she was 4, and he was 6, so their recollection of each other was quite limited. However, when he met with her again he found himself lost in her, her eyes, her hair, her very soul. He knew they were not arranged by their royal status but by the heavens. "Well do you like it or not...please do not leave me with this anxiety, I don't think it is fitting for a princess." She retorted but kept the smile on her face. Another thing to love about her, she may be a princess, but she was not the usual princess. She would be silent when she needed to listen, but always voicing her opinion whether it was welcomed or not. She also was never afraid to show when she was annoyed. He loved her traits, some thought him crazy for marrying the independent princess, 'not easy to control' they would tell him, but he always answered 'good, I would not want to control her.'
His silence and gazing was killing her. Did he like it or not?! It really was a simple question. She was vexed by what she had become. A lovesick woman who needed reassurance from the man she loved. She had vowed a long time ago she would never let herself become one of those women, but the moment she saw him again she knew that even she could not contend with such a force. 'ARGH..would he answer me or no. That does it....' She finally stopped her trains of thought and spoke up, "Toris, for the sake of Allah, would you please answer me. It is alright if you do not like it, but for good....." She could not finish her lecture for she was busy being kissed.
He could not help himself, when he saw the fire in her eyes he always wanted to kiss her. However, this is the first time he saw it in private with her, so he decided to seize the day. They had never kissed before, but it was not as awkward as the woman he had first kisses with in the past, it was first very soft and sweet, and what shocked him the most SHE was making it deeper, pulling him in. He wanted to have her right then and there. But he could not do it until they were married; he knew that, they both had kingdoms and reputations to consider. But if she continued kissing him like this he knew the wrong head would start doing the thinking. So he grudgingly pulled away from her.
She was so stunned by the kiss, and then how he abruptly pulled away. Did she do something wrong? She was not very experienced when it came to things.....like that..but she knew heat when she felt it. Was it only she who felt it? Well she was not about to sit there dumbfounded and have that satisfaction, but nothing more came out than, "I'm sorry." 'I'M SORRY!' she thought to herself, 'GIRL, GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" But yet again the words were unavailable. "Do not be sorry. I kissed you." 'See even he knows that, *I'm sorry*, what has this man done to you for you to become so pathetic?'
"I love the gift." At least they were better words then what he was truly thinking to say, 'we must marry tonight because I do not think I can wait very long for another kiss.' He continued his thinking, 'what has this woman done to me, I am a warrior, a future King, when did I become so pathetic?'
They both stood there staring for a long while not knowing what to say to each other, each individually trying not to fall more in love than they already were. But no matter how hard they tried, or what they did, their lips just could not stay away from each other. A kissed filled with more passion, more love than either knew what to do with. He could not stand it anymore, and again he pulled away, but this time he put his hands on her face so she'd look him in the eye......
"Deora, I love you. I love you more than I could ever truly explain." His words stopped her heart for a few moments. 'He loves me.' She knew he did, but neither had ever admitted their feelings to one another, that is not how it was done. Nevertheless, she did not care of tradition at this point, they were beyond cold tradition and found something eternal, and anyway she could never let him have the upper hand, so she frowned at him, "You may love me, but I don't know how I feel about you."
'WHAT?! SHE DOES NOT KNOW...IS SHE ABSOLUTELY INSANE....I CAN NOT BELIEVE SHE....' his thoughts were interrupted as she began to laugh at him. He then realizing she was teasing him. "You think that is funny?" She nodded her head because she was laughing so hard that anything that would have come out would have been accompanied with a certain amount of saliva.
She knew that look he was giving her. She got up and made a mad dash down the beach, to where she didn't know, but she knew if he caught her he would.....he grabbed her waist and pulled her down while falling too. He started to tickle her, knowing how ticklish she was, he knew he was going to get what he wanted. "Say it and I will let you go." She looked at him mockingly giving him a confused look. She started laughing again as he resumed tickling her.
"FINE...you win..I LOVE YOU!" her laughs died as he let her go. When they were completely diminished she looked up at Toris, who looked so serene. She came to him and they once again kissed.
*End Flashback*
He held the charm close remembering that, it had become the catalyst for so many more days filled with love and laughs. When his father passed it was her strength that got him through it. He always wanted her near him, even though he knew it was not possible, so the charm was there to at least give him her presence. He wanted to say good-bye to her, but knew she would never let him leave. However much he loved her he could not leave his mother in the hands of Vexicus. That was a fact he knew she would understand even if she did not agree with it.
He put the charm in his side pocket and began his path to leave. That was until he felt himself stop walking.......not because he didn't want to.....but his feet were bonded to the ground. "What in the name of..." he did not finish his sentence as he continued trying to move his feet. However, the answer to his confusion came from behind him. Maeve.
"Where are you off to at this time of day?" Asking him, though she knew the answer already. "Maeve, release me NOW!" His face became red with anger as he realized his attempts to get his feet back were futile. "No. I don't think I can do that," she started to reply now mad he was adding treating her like a servant to his list of crimes this morning, "but if your royal needs anything, this lowly servant is at your service." She said mockingly enough to make his red face now turned a dark crimson. "Maeve, if you will PLEASE release me, I would be ever so grateful." He said trying to put calm in his voice so she would trust him to release him, he failed. "No, I believe it would be in your best interest if you inform of why your steed has been saddled for what seems to be a long journey? Also when I inquired to the guards here, no one seemed to know why, so I unsaddled him for you." She said with a crafty smile.
"DAMN YOU WITCH! YOU AND YOUR SPELLS!" his scream was expected, his words stung a though, "DAMN ME!" she replied incredulously, "Damn your people. For that is what you're doing if you go off to face Vexicus." He was looking at the ground now, knowing the truth in her words, "When you go there to face him, you will leave your people vulnerable, and when you are killed by him you will leave them without a leader, and Vexicus will win." He slowly tilted his head up with a look of pain and anger, "She is my mother Maeve. My mother." He wanted to kill her for stopping him, for reasoning with him.
Maeve would not let him be self-righteous, not with what was on the line. "Yes. I was there when he took your mother. But your mother is alive. Which will be more then I can say for you if you attempt to go free her. He is keeping her alive to trap you, to trap us all. He will kill you. And you then not only Damn yourself, your people AND your mother, you will be leaving other people to his mercy." She then pointed back at the door.
There standing in the entrance was Deora holding on to his sister. "Toris you will leave them alone, they have many to defend them, but without you they will be alone. Can you really be so selfish to do that?" He than closed his eyes and looked back at his betrothed and younger sister. He loved them both so much, but he loved his mother too. "What should I do Maeve, sit and wait for that man to just kill my mother. She is the only parent we have left. I can not raise my sister, she needs her mother." Maeve and Toris stared at each other knowing that convincing the other person was almost impossible to do since they were both rather willful people.
"You are right Toris." A voice came from behind Deora and Maila. The Sailor walked past the princesses and next to Maeve's side. This was the closest they had been since they saw each other and Maeve became somewhat flustered by both the statement and his presence. She knew she had to concentrate though to keep the spell active on Toris so she tried to ignore the feeling.
He looked at her, up and walking, and already taking charge of a situation. He thought he was dreaming when he heard Toris and Maeve screaming at each other. He had been waiting by her bedside for her to awaken. As the blonde woman, Shalice, the woman Maeve walked in with, the one who protected Firouz and the stone had told him she would be fine but her body could not handle all the energy she had dispense. He found her bed empty when he heard the screaming. So when he came down he heard the majority of the conversation, and thought it time to intervene. "Toris, we need your mother back, that is not an argument," he began as he notice Maeve trying very hard not to look him in the eye, bringing a smirk to his face he continued, "but to get your mother back and defeat Vexicus we are going to need you, HERE, alive and well....I promise on my honor as a captain and on my ship, we will get your mother back. You are just going to need to trust me."
Maeve was shocked by Sinbad's words, she was well aware of the extremity of what he swore on, any sailor, a captain no less, would not swear on their station AND ship if they were not truly honest. Than she noticed the men give each other knowing looks of respect. Sinbad walked to him and they shook arms as to say Toris was counting himself in for whatever Sinbad had planned. At this Maeve waved her hand and Toris was loose again. And as Toris went to thank Maeve for not letting him do anything foolish, her legs gave out and landed straight into Sinbad's arms. And as she looked into the deep eyes of the sea, everything suddenly went black.