After Maeve's fever had finally broken Sinbad and Firouz had gone back to the ship to tell the others about their discovery. Doubar, Rongar and Bryn listened intently to Firouz's story about discovering Maeve.
"But are you sure it's Maeve, Baruuk called her Roslyn," Bryn asked.
"Oh it's Maeve all right, She called out for me," Sinbad said slightly blushing.
"Why does Baruuk call her Roslyn then?" Doubar was confused.
"Maybe Maeve doesn't know who she is, or maybe she is in hiding," Firouz concluded.
Sinbad got up and walked down to his cabin. He shut the door and sighed as he slid down to the floor. Engaged? How could she be engaged? How could he face her tonight at Baruuk's dinner? The past two years he had been searching for her.
Sinbad vowed a long time ago never to love again but then she showed up and he melted for her. The whole crew had seen it. They poked fun at it every chance they could. She was his match. He was so afraid of getting hurt that he never made a move. He just basked in her glow. He watched her from the sidelines. Sinbad, the lover of woman, had never dared to show his face since she had made a presence. Sinbad relished in the kiss they shared in that small village some years ago. Then Maeve disappeared and Sinbad realized that he loved her. He missed her so much. He regretted so much. Now she was here but just out of arms reach.
Sinbad reluctantly went up to the castle to dine with his friends. He did want to see Maeve but not like this. She must have not remembered him but then why would she call out for him?
Sinbad had gotten through half of his meal relieved that Maeve had made no presence yet. Of course, as fate would have it...
"Here she is! I was hoping you would join us for dinner my love. Sinbad, Doubar.. May I present to you, my lovely fiancée Roslyn." Baruuk said glowing, as he escorted in the fiery red head to the table. She was dressed in a simple but form fitting, green gown. Her skin was still very pale. Her hair was just as Sinbad had remembered it, curly and crimson. Her eyes were shining.
Sinbad nearly spit out his wine at the sight of her. She looked so heavenly. Baruuk introduced her to the crew.
"This is Bryn, and this is Doubar his brother, here is Firouz, he;s the one who helped heal you, this here is Rongar and last but not least is Sinbad the Captain."
She looked at Sinbad in the peculiar way. She came and took a seat down next to Baruuk and across from Sinbad. During the rest of the dinner Sinbad remained quiet. He tried to study Maeve the whole time without her noticing. A couple of times though there eyes met. Sinbad swore he saw her blush once.
When dessert rolled around, Sinbad finally got the nerve to ask questions."So Roslyn, how long have you known Baruuk?" Sinbad asked hoping to get to the bottom of this.
"Oh well Roslyn and I have only known each other for less then a couple of years," Baruuk interrupted.
"I see. So where are you from, my lady? Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Sinbad became more curious with each question.
"That's actually quite a funny tale, you see I found Roslyn out on the beach many months ago. She had no recollection of who she was. Poor thing had been shipwrecked and she was confused. I tried to help her recall her memory but it was to no avail. The people who cared for her must have assumed she died. No one ever came looking for her. We started to spend lots of time together and before you knew it, I had proposed." Baruuk was quite immersed in his story.
Maeve sat there smiling at everyone while Baruuk spoke. Sinbad saw the sadness in her eyes when he spoke of no one coming to find her. His heart broke as he watched her. He wanted to go over and console her and let her know that he had been looking for her everyday.
Maeve/Roslyn sat in her room brushing her hair when she heard a sound. She quickly turned around and saw the captain Sinbad swoop in her room from the window. She got up and started to protest when Sinbad motioned for her to be quiet.
"Please don't be afraid. I'm here because I need to tell you some things."
Maeve stared at him uncertain as to whether she should scream or not. It was like she had seen him before. He walk up to her and placed his hand on her cheek.
"I just needed to tell you that what Baruuk said was not true. I do care for you and I never stopped looking."