AMONGST THE YOUNG

by SpelCastrMax

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry it's taking me soooooo long to write this, but it's coming along and I promise to be a little more punctual in the future. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS! (thank you ness345, CandyCane, Space-Case7029, Maggybeth, dshortklutz, fanny, Lai-Ku, LostMarbles, ads, and maevezanar! Oh and to maevezanar: I actually dropped the movie plotline idea so don't worry about it, you're not nuts. And the advertising is actually quite cool! I plan to check out your link!)

CHAPTER SEVEN: Dreaming

The Village was all too grateful for the help provided by the crew of the Nomad and stocked the ship full of all the supplies they could spare. Firouz, having left a number of his equipment on the ship, rushed them into the long boat, Doubar carefully carrying the little girl whose blood now stained one side of her dress.

She was laid upon the only steady bunk on the ship, which had been built in Sinbad's cabin, although the man had always preferred a swinging hammock. While Firouz tended to her and Dermott supervised, the rest of the men, and lady, waited anxiously in the main cabin.

Young Sinbad was staring straight ahead. He was seated on a bench staring at all the swords hung neatly on the far wall. "Where's Lea?" he suddenly asked in a dull, sad voice.

Doubar was struck dumb by the question. He recovered quickly when he saw the sharp look in his little brother's eyes. "She's gone Sinbad. There was an accident...a long time ago."

Sinbad's head slowly gave a nod. "What about her? Will she be alright?" His head then jerked in the direction of the cabin he had been told was his.

Rongar reached out to place a comforting hand on the child's shoulder, but Doubar shook his head and the man drew back his arm.

Bryn offered a smile. "Firouz will have her better before you know it and the two of you can fight as usual."

A smile attempted to show itself on Sinbad's face, but vanished quickly. He looked up at his brother with cloudy eyes. "I was useless today, Doubar. I couldn't help. I couldn't even...

Doubar instantly sat down next to Sinbad. "None of that now. Sinbad, you are a great man, but right now you are just a boy. You can't expect to do be able to do everything."

Sinbad stood up and walked over to the row of swords. The boy pulled out the sword with the blue engraving down the blade. "Whose is this?"

"Maeve's," Doubar stated also standing, "You usually kept in here to make sure it didn't rust or the blade wasn't dull."

"But she was gone," the child pointed out with slight confusion, "Why would I polish her sword if she wasn't even here?" He weighed it in his arms awkwardly staring that his own reflection in a corner of the steel.

Doubar set his hand on Sinbad's shoulder. "Because sometimes, little brother, we just have to keep believing people will come back."

The cabin door opened and Firouz stepped out breaking the moment between the two brothers. The sword fell from the boy's hands, but no one noticed the loud clang it made against the wood floor. Every person in the room held their breath as he moved his mouth to speak. The man rubbed his curly head and sighed, "She's conscious and I've stopped the bleeding."

"So...she's not going to...she's going to live," Sinbad almost meekly asked as he heard the rest of the room release a unified exhale of relief.

The man of science grinned, "The cut was deep but not deep enough to hit any internal organs. But I need someone to talk to her and keep her calm while I mend the wound."

Doubar winked at the boy who barely reached the great man's middle. "Sounds like something for a hero."

Sinbad scoffed, "Me? But she'll just yell at me to get out."

"Well, at least it would keep her from yelling at Firouz," Bryn pointed out.

Maeve lay with her eyes focusing on the notches in the cabin's ceiling, trying to hold back the tears the pain was causing her. Her blood stained over dress had been removed and she lay in her shift with a large tear in the side of it. Firouz was busy mixing together different herbs and liquids. The young captain entered and wrinkled his nose at the scientist's work as its stench filled the crowded space.

"What is that?" he asked with obvious disgust.

"Something that will help with the pain," Firouz began to explain, "You see this wild root with this..." He paused when the little girl attempted to suppress a groan.

Sinbad went to her, staring down at the angry wound in her side and offering a quick grin. "I'd be yelling like crazy if I had a cut like that in me."

She glanced up at him a little scornfully. "What happened to you hating me?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"I never hated you," he corrected, "You hate me, remember." He pulled up a stool close to her bunk and perched upon it. His back was to Firouz, but he could still hear the sounds of mixing and mashing.

"I don't hate you, either, stupid," she responded. He was tempted to return the insult when he heard her whimper and gasp as a little breeze brushed over her stab wound.

Almost as a reaction, the little boy caught her hand with his and offered, "Is there anything I can do?"

"Can you make it stop hurting?" she whispered pleadingly.

Sinbad shook his head regretfully, giving the hand in his a squeeze. "I could tell you a story. Master Dim Dim always tells me stories when he wants to take my mind off bad stuff." The little girl's lips pressed together tightly, but she nodded at him to try with his story telling abilities. He wasn't nervous, even though when he opened his mouth he had no idea which on of his old master's tales would come rushing out.

"Once, there was a girl…a girl who was followed by this dark monster that only she could see. It went with her everywhere and always made her sad. She couldn't fight it or chase it away by herself. The only thing she could do was keep the monster from hurting anyone else. She was afraid no one would ever believe her about the monster, so she never told anyone.

"It wasn't until one day when a old traveler met her on the road that things changed. He told her that he could sense something dark following her and knew how to free her from her loneliness. He knew how stop the darkness..." Sinbad heard Firouz's movement stop. "I think he's ready."

Firouz came close by with a cup in his hand. The concoction within was bubbling and fizzing. There was a potent smell, almost rancid. "All right, here's something to make you feel better," he announced.

Maeve's face tinted green. "Firouz, I'm not going to have to...drink that, am I?" she questioned with fear.

"Of course. What did you think it was for?"

"I think I'd rather die from the pain," she replied.

Sinbad smiled, but kept his hand around hers, even when she nearly broke his fingers as the thick medicine was poured down her throat. When she loosened her grip, she scratched her tongue along the top row of her teeth in an attempt to rid her mouth of the after taste. With her tongue still pressed against the top of her mouth she asked, "Ta' wha' hap'ens?"

Sinbad glanced at Firouz who signaled for him to continue. The little boy turned back to the girl and whispered with a storyteller's flare, "The old man told the girl that the only way to beat the monster was to let someone save her."

"Let someone save her? But how could she do that if no one else could see the monster?" Maeve asked, her voice raspy from the thick medicine.

"Don't interrupt," Sinbad scolded teasingly, realizing that he sounded like Dim Dim. "What the man said to her was that she'd have to fall and trust someone else to catch her. The only way to defeat the monster was with help."

Firouz began to bandage Maeve, his touch not as painful as it had been before the medicine.

Maeve stared anxiously at Sinbad, barely noticing Firouz. "Who helps the girl?"

Sinbad thought for a long while until finally letting out a short laugh. "You know, I don't think Master Dim Dim ever finished that story."

"Great," Maeve sarcastically remarked then heard Firouz exclaim that he was finished. "Really? Can I go up on deck now?"

"No, you need rest," Firouz insisted, gently placing a hand on the girl's shoulder when she tried to sit up. He gathered up his equipment, followed by starting out the cabin door.

"Firouz..." the red haired child's voice caused him to pause. She was shy, but her words were unmistakable. "Thank you."

The scientist smiled. It was a small smile, one of surprise and sadness. Firouz then exited with a nod of his curly head.

With him gone, Maeve grunted, turning her eyes back up to the ceiling. "I don't want to stay in here. It's bor-ring!"

Young Sinbad casually offered, "I can stay with you, if you want."

The eight year old eyed her companion with uncertainty. Finally, she sighed as if surrendering. "Did you know that if you pull off a lizard's tail it'll keep moving?"

"Neat!"

The two began to talk, the conversation starting off as the usual chatter of little kids - what types of animals were the most interesting, comparisons of favorite objects, equal disgust to the mention of least favorite foods. It was a half an hour before their talk turned more serious.

"Do you have dreams?" he questioned, "You know, about being grown up?"

Maeve attempted to sit up, moaning slightly at the pain in her side. "No. I have nightmares...well, one nightmare."

"What's that?"

"I'm drowning." Maeve slowly shifted her body, turning until she was sitting with her back against the cabin wall and her feet sticking out over the side of the bunk. Sinbad climbed up to sit beside her, also leaning his back against the wall. "I'm drowning," she said again, "And someone is calling out my name. Then I hear a splash and the voice calling out to me is coming near me. Then I wake up."

"They told me you fell overboard," Sinbad pointed out, "I bet that's what you're dreaming about."

"But who jumped into the water? What happened to him? They couldn't find me so..."

"He ended up washed up on a beach and we found him a few hours later," Doubar explained as he entered the cabin, "How are you feeling, lass?"

Maeve smirked at the concern of yet another crew member. "Better. But, Doubar, who was it that tried to save me?"

The man sat down on the stool that Sinbad had previously occupied. "Who do you think," he replied as he motioned to his little brother.

"Me?" Sinbad remarked with surprise, "So I finally get to be a good swimmer?"

"Apparently not. He said you were washed ashore," Maeve teased.

Sinbad frowned at the crack. He considered a comeback when a screech from Dermott caused a commotion from the crew. "Man comin' aboard!" one of the Nomad's members announced.

Doubar looked confused and was quick to start out of the cabin. He paused to look at Sinbad, "Whoever it is, he's going to want to see the captain."

The boy jumped off the bunk enthusiastically. Maeve started to slowly rise, but he spun back around and pointed his finger forcefully. "Sit, Maeve."

"But I..."

"Captain's orders."

After he was gone, Maeve growled, "Some captain. He can't even reach the tiller."

Rongar, Firouz, and Bryn were already questioning the man who had rowed a long boat up to the ship. He was pale and red haired from the curls on his head to the twisted beard decorating the end of his chin.

"I'm Dudden," was his introduction, "I'm a merchant; I come from the village. By the way, thank you for killing that creature for us. Aye, twas a true terror."

"Sorry, but point in fact, you don't look like you were born in that village or even in this region of the world for that matter..." Firouz stated as graciously as he could.

Dudden clapped his hands together and sharply breathed inward. "Yes. That is true. I was not born there. I'm a merchant from a land far northwest. I stay in that village half of the year while I am collecting items for trade." He slapped his palms together once again. When he opened his mouth he was much more boisterous and became the voice of a true salesman. "That's what brings me here. I noticed that you had a child with you who looked as if she could have been from my area of the world."

Dermott screamed once again, but his thoughts and feelings were so panicked that Bryn could not make any sense of it.

"What do you want with Maeve?" Sinbad asked, stepping closer to the stranger.

The man from Eire rubbed his hands. "Well, if the child is an orphan aboard your vessel, I wanted to offer my services to take her back with me to her people when I return in a month."

The hawk's wings beat wildly and he swooped down from his perch near the crow's nest until he nearly collided with the man's head.

"Dermott!" Doubar shouted ,scolding, "What the devil has gotten into you!"

"Crazy vulture," Dudden good naturedly commented, "I think I should talk with the child." Without permission from the crew, he pushed his way towards the short door which lead below the deck. Sinbad was the first to follow in protest, the rest of the main crew members close behind.

Bryn focused her energy on the hawk, pushing past all of his fear and anger to find an image. It was a memory, flash of a dream in which the same man several years younger had grabbed a teenaged girl with red hair. The girl was yelling and crying at someone in front of her. The vision changed perspective so Bryn could see who it was that had commanded this man to restrain the young woman. A breath taking girl a little bit younger with jet black hair stood with her arms crossed in front of her. She smirked down at the hysterical red head, then waved a hand to order her to be taken away.

The sorceress's heart leapt into her throat. "That man works for Rumina...Don't let him near Maeve, he works for Rumina!" She ran to join in the chase, Dermott swooping overhead.

Dudden came to the cabin door behind which Maeve sat unaware of what was happening. How he knew where she was did not matter, all that mattered was stopping him from entering the room. As he pushed open the door, the young captain slid underneath, managing to go into the room before him. Instantly the boy shoved his body against the wood trying to shut the door on the man's arm, but the strength of the Celt was such that with one shove the door swung in full, knocking Sinbad onto his backside.

Maeve jumped out of her bunk, grunting in pain as she picked Sinbad off the floor. Dudden turned to the two children and a memory flashed in Maeve's head. It was more like a piece of nightmare, panic filling her up. She heard herself scream for Dermott, although she wasn't sure why.

Dudden slammed the door closed. Sinbad scrambled to find something that would protect them. He chose a book which Maeve had taken from the cupboard in the room. He lifted it up, swinging it in his hands as a threat. Doubar and Rongar pounded on the other side of the door, but for all their brawn they could not knock down the thin wooden barrier.

The young captain swung the book again, allowing it to smack at Dudden's hand as it reached out. The man snarled as he snatched at the tome, then angrily flung it down onto the ground in front of the pair. Maeve attempted to form a fireball, but all her weak body could manage was a couple of sparks.

Dudden reached into his vest for a crumpled piece of parchment and a small glass vile. His hand grabbed at a clump of Maeve's hair. She fought as best she could all the while calling out, "Sinbad, do something!"

Dudden managed to pull out the cork on the vile with his teeth, snapping for the child to hold still as he spit the cork back out. The Celt read from the paper as best he could over Maeve's shouts and the angry punches against the door while he lifted the glass container, preparing to pour the mysterious liquid within down the girl's throat.

As the boy watched as three drops of the liquid rolled out of the vile and onto Maeve's lips, he felt dread. Maeve's eyes slipped closed for the umpteenth time in several days. In another second Sinbad ran at their captor, using all of his weight to knock the man down. The glass tube slipped from Dudden's hand and the liquid within flew about the room. Although Sinbad didn't see where the vile had landed he sensed an odd taste in his mouth and knew that he had somehow swallowed some of the concoction.

Scrambling to find the bit of parchment he'd been reading off of, Dudden found it resting on the book Sinbad had used as a weapon, which lay open, the spine broken. It was his turn to panic as the wood of the door was giving way to an axe one of the crew members was violently swinging against it. He read, not sure if what he was reading was from the book or the scrap of parchment.

Maeve and Sinbad lay on the floor, helpless as the children they were with the world growing dark around them. Dudden finished his incantation just as the door gave way to the blade and broke open. Doubar, Rongar, and Firouz burst through first.

The men's' eyes scanned the cabin wildly, but the Celt had vanished. They also searched for the children. Doubar took a step forward, his foot colliding with something soft. He fearfully looked down. Sleeping peacefully, almost side by side, was a young man of sixteen and a girl with red hair who was almost the same age.