Chapter 6 - Red Hair

The inside of the White Horse was jam-packed and loud. Even if it was only noon, there were customers everywhere, laughing and cheering, playing cards and throwing darts, bickering and joking, eating and drinking. Excited groups of youngsters who believed the whole place was theirs danced and sang near the bar, older men competed in iron-arm tournaments and gambled in poker games, intimate couples whispered in dark corners, kissing and snuggling, and waitresses with gleaming smiles gracefully glided through the throng of lively customers and numerous tables, carrying mugs of ales and trays of stews that made everybody's mouth water, just like the spicy red lentil salad Maeve was currently eating. Robin had highly praised its delicious flavor and he had been more than right. This was the best meal Maeve had had in weeks, no offense to Dim-Dim's cooking.

Many chandeliers hung on the walls next to woolen tapestries, decorated trophies and painted shields, offering the wooden interior of the place a soft, warm glow that was compensated by the fresh air and bright light the opened windows allowed through. The large front doors were also constantly opening and closing, a bell hanging from the top frame ringing every time a new group of people came in.

The overall joyous and convivial atmosphere of the White Horse was like that of any other popular tavern she had been to, with its lot of loud customers, flirty maids and occasional brawls, but Maeve couldn't help feeling out of place nonetheless. More to the point, she still couldn't quite shrug off the icy chill that had washed down her spine when she and Robin had first walked into the place, the tavern's lively buzz momentarily falling to a quiet hush as all eyes fell on them, but mostly on her. People had stared with wide eyes, choked on their drinks and broken into hurried strings of whispers, but not for long. Robin's commanding presence had somehow shut them all up as he casually led her to a free table, his sharp raptor gaze daring anyone to speak a single comment.

Maeve was still completely baffled by their unusual entrance but chose to follow Robin's lead as he calmly ignored them all. Despite his comforting presence though, she still felt like a complete stranger in this far away land where there was nothing even remotely familiar about her surroundings.

She was all alone. The crew wasn't there.

Glancing around at the many faces dancing before her eyes, Maeve wished Doubar would suddenly emerge from the crowd with a tray filled with mugs of ale. She wished Firouz were sitting next to her, meticulously exposing a revolutionary scientific phenomenon. She wished Rongar were winning the dart contest taking place to her left. She wished she could catch a glimspe of Dermott's fluttering wings outside the nearby window. But more than anything else, she wished it was Sinbad sitting in front of her across the table, even if it meant the waitress would flirt with him and make her burn with quiet possessiveness, but she wouldn't care less right now, so long as she could look into his beautiful blue eyes and see his warm dimpled-smile.

But he was miles away...

Lost in a gentle whirlwind of longing, she barely noticed her fingers were absently toying with his red bandana around her wrist, until Robin spoke and yanked her out of her brooding state.

"So, Maeve," he began as he took a sip of his tea. "Is there a family name that comes with your first name?"

Maeve was startled by the question. It had been many years since someone had asked her that, except maybe at dinner once with the crew as they reminisced the good old times when they used to be young children. It wasn't often, in fact it had been extremely rare, up until now, for Maeve to present herself by her full name, but she reasoned that perhaps it was common practice in Kalladrell to know and address people in such a fashion.

"Kalleeryen," she answered, her mother's family name sounding somewhat foreign in her own mouth as she pronounced it. It had been so long since she had uttered it out loud. "Maeve Kalleeryen."

In her family, the women kept their family name. That's why Maeve had inherited it from her mother and not from her father as would be expected. In the back of her mind, for a split of second, she found herself pondering on the resemblance between her family name and the name of the island she now found herself on, but she quickly shrugged it off.

Robin nodded satisfactorily. "Good strong name," he commented, his brooding gaze studying her face with a mysterious spark that seemed to have flared up with the reveal of this new information about her.

Maeve cleared her throat uneasily, wondering what could be so exciting about her name. "What about you, Robin…"

"Gallaway," Robin answered, still smiling that mystifying smile, but he quickly seemed to get the hint that he was making her uncomfortable and carried on to another matter. "Would you care to share where you come from?"

Watching him closely for a moment as he eased back in his chair and the spark in his eyes was replaced by sincere curiosity for her backstory, Maeve tried to relax and let her nerves unwind a little. "Have we upgraded to friends yet?" She teased lightly.

Robin chuckled, teasing her back with a genuine smile. "I don't usually invite strangers to lunch."

Maeve's lips curled up as well as she tore at a chunk of bread with her fingers. "Well...up until two weeks ago I was a sailor," she explained, but then frowned as she remembered the time split. "Actually, five weeks ago…"

"A sailor? You?" Robin's eyebrows both went up in surprise.

"Aye," Maeve nodded proudly. "I traveled to many places around the world from one adventure to the next, transporting cargos, trading goods…but then one night there was a storm and I fell overboard." Maeve lowered her eyes at the cursed memory and did her best to ignore the painful pang in her heart, the wound still fresh and raw, which also prompted her to deliberately omit any mention of her legendary captain and crew. Sinbad's name preceded him everywhere on the seven seas and she couldn't see why Kalladrell would be any different in that regard, and right now she wanted to stay low and avoid any unwanted attention, so she simply went straight to the point. "My mentor, the brilliant man who reads Endorian classics, is the one who sent me here. He knew about the raid in Denwood and that his friend was in danger so he sent me to protect him. But now I'm too late…" Maeve's voice trailed off as she thought of how miserably she had failed in her mission to aid Dim-Dim's friend.

When she met Robin's gaze again, his face was unreadable, as if he was silently analysing everything she had just told him, weighting every word for a truth or a lie, and probably wondering why on earth a common sailor, a woman no less, would be sent to the edge of the world on a distant far away island to protect a random man against an army of brutal invaders. Maeve realized her story made absolutely no sense, but before she could open her mouth and add anything, Robin's face softened and he offered her a comforting smile.

"Maybe he's still alive," he observed encouragingly. "Like I said earlier, a few villagers survived. What's his name?"

Maeve blinked. "Jacob."

Robin shook his head regretfully. "I'm afraid I don't know who that is."

They both looked at each other then, a thin thread of tension stretching in the space between them with everything that was being left unsaid. Maeve had spoken the truth, but not without omitting a bunch of details; the fact that her mentor was a wizard, that Jacob was a prophet, that there was a Belrok soon to be unleashed by a Djin Lord according to a dreadful prophecy...and Robin regarded her as if he knew perfectly well that she wasn't being completely honest with him, but there was a softness in his brooding features that somehow let her know it was alright, for now.

Growing restless with the pending, loaded silence, Maeve stirred her salad with her spoon. "Do you have family in Denwood?"

Robin shifted in his seat, accepting her change of subject. "I do," he said, and his blue eyes turned darker with his next words. "My uncle was amongst those who perished under the blood-tainted steel of the invaders."

Maeve was saddened to hear he had lost someone in the attack. "I'm sorry," she replied softly, knowing her words would be of little comfort to his grief.

"He died with honor, fighting to protect those he loved. My sister and my niece, bless the spirits, survived the slaughter," Robin explained as memories clouded his eyes. "Southampton was attacked, too, a few months ago. With the city's thick defenses we managed to drive the invaders back easily, but the village of Denwood was much more vulnerable. It was completely bare and naked, sitting right on shore for the invaders to take. The raid it suffered from was of a blood-spattered ferocity unlike anything I have ever heard of. It took everyone by surprise. In a matter of hours, everything was burned down to the ground and half the villagers were killed. And I wasn't there to protect them..." Robin's grip around his mug momentarily tightened as his features hardened with guilt. "We got news of the raid merely two days ago, when a surviving villager from Denwood sailed around the bay to Southampton with a local fisherman and he told us everything, down to the last gory details."

Maeve listened to his nightmare silently, recalling the raid that had destroyed her own life so many years ago. She could only imagine how miserable and tormented Robin felt. "Who are these invaders?"

Robin's features darkened even more. "They call themselves the Blood Raiders," he answered grimly. "Led by their king, Zankar, they came from the south and invaded the island of Tyross to the east. We used to live in peace with its people but in a matter of months, this horde of brutes seized power everywhere and plunged Tyross into chaos and tyranny," Robin explained as he twirled the tea in his mug. "King Zankar is now trying to conquer Kalladrell as well."

"And I thought I had problems…" Maeve mused ironically as she looked down into empty space and sighed dejectedly. "I wish I had gotten here sooner…"

There was a silent pause between them again, heavy as a cloak, but Robin quickly sliced through it like a sword cutting through air.

"Can I ask you a question?" he leaned forward in his seat once more, suddenly eying her closely with many questions brimming in his penetrating gaze. "How exactly did you get here? You're not from this island and you obviously didn't come by sea. If you had sailed here, either you would have docked directly in Denwood or you would've docked in Southampton's port and then the roads would have led you straight here to the city. But still, expect for our local fishermen, worldwide ships rarely dock in Kalladrell, not even in Erindale's port. So how is it I found you running in the middle of the woods all by yourself?"

Maeve froze. She could almost see the apology in his eyes, silently pleading her to at least answer this one question and in return he would ignore everything else she was witholding until she was ready to tell him. He wanted the truth just this once, and Maeve could clearly sense the underlying question in his voice, about the one thing that would truly explain how she had gotten here in the first place. The word was almost hanging in the air between them, like a bait neither of them wanted to be the first to snatch.

Maeve didn't know what to do. She had no idea where Kalladrell stood when it came to magical matters. Was magic even practiced on the island? Was it allowed? Prohibited? The thief she had blasted in the forest surely had looked quite surprised...

She searched Robin's eyes for a clue about his knowledge on the matter but found none. All she could see was sheer curiosity and the genuine desire to understand how she had appeared on his island out of the blue, and she figured she owed him as much as a decent answer.

Yielding, Maeve took a deep breath and glanced to the sides carefully to make sure no one would overhear, then she leaned forward in her seat to face him fully.

"Magic," she said in a low voice, holding her breath as she braced herself for his reaction. She was surprised when he barely flinched, his raptor blue eyes simply riveted on her and inviting her to go on. She took his overall calm composure as a good sign and quietly obliged. "My mentor is a wizard. Right after Jacob contacted him, calling for help because his village was under attack, he gave me a travel vial to send me here," she explained slowly, getting to the part where everything had gone haywire. "I used the vial this morning; this morning was three weeks ago. Something went wrong with the magic and I must have hit a time split, an unfortunate mishap that messed everything up with the temporality of the spell. I should have been here, in Denwood, the day of the raid, three weeks ago."

Robin's eyes never left hers as she spoke, quietly listening to her tale as the noises from the lively tavern vibrated around them. Both leaning towards each other closely across the table, Maeve waited for any kind of reaction on his part; a blink, a frown, a clench of his jaw...anything to indicate if he believed her or if he thought she was raving mad. But she caught no sign at all as he simply remained unreadable, his arresting gaze anchored on her, sharp as a hawk. It was profoundly unsettling, but after an endless moment he finally leaned back in his chair, his broad shoulders slacking and a deep breath filling his lungs.

"Well, Simon was right," he jested playfully. "Hunting was good today; it seems like I made a good catch." And with that he dissolved the budding tension between them as easily as if he was swatting a fly.

Maeve blinked in surprise at his shameless statement, unable to help the small smile of relief that tugged at the corner of her lips, but still, she couldn't help but wonder whether he was truly satisfied with her answer or not. "Are you familiar with magic?" she asked tentatively.

"No," Robin chuckled good-humouredly. "No, I'm not, but the elders of the Central Council in Erindale are all very powerful wizards, and there's a duo of wizards stationed in every city as well, to preside the local councils. There are also a few other practitioners of the craft on the island so magic is no foreign word here," he spoke reassuringly, smiling in kind, but then he paused, licking his lips hesitantly before letting his next words hang between them like an auspicious omen, his voice deep and resonant. "Are you a sorceress, too?"

Time stood still for a moment, the curious glint of intent returning in his brooding stare, almost shining with expectancy, as if this had been his one true question all along.

Puzzled by the undercurrent of interest in his honest gaze, Maeve appraised him, unsettled once more, her eyes narrowing as she wondered why he suddenly seemed so calmly eager to know about her magical abilities, and her chin almost tilted upwards in defiance. "Yes, I am."

She waited for his reaction, poised to catch any trace of change in his endearing features, but the tension between them was abruptly severed by a loud cheer that erupted from the table next to theirs where a scruffy looking man won an iron arm duel. Those who had bet on the wrong guy cursed angrily as they handed their money to the winners, and after gulping the rest of his mug down, the bulky loser heatedly nudged his opponent for revenge. "Come on! Two out of three! Two out of three!"

Unable to help herself, Maeve chuckled along with Robin at the display of manly pride, watching as the two men settled for another round under the encouragement of their friends. She shook her head at the competing pair, almost fascinated by their behaviour, and was about to bring her attention back to Robin when she caught a glimpse of two elderly women sitting at a remote table next to the bar. Whispering to one another with expectant smiles, they were glancing straight at her with that special flicker in their wrinkled eyes, and Maeve felt something snap inside her right then and there. This was the last straw.

Shifting restlessly on the edge of her seat, she decided to seize the occasion once and for all and leaned forward to face Robin again determinedly, growing serious as the icy chill returned to prickle her skin. "Can I ask you a question, now?"

"Of course," Robin nodded, shifting closer as well as to listen to her as he took a sip from his tea.

Maeve gathered her wits and finally adressed what had been bothering her since they had arrived in the city that very morning. "Everyone I've come across on this island so far, you included, has been staring at me like I'm some sort of creature they've never before laid eyes upon. Why?"

As if on cue, Robin's composure faltered, his eyes darting around nervously, and Maeve knew she had just hit an important nerve. Meeting her eyes again, cornered, he pressed his lips together, as if searching for something to say, as if he didn't know just how much he could tell her.

"Your hair," he finally answered with unnerving simplicity.

Maeve frowned, echoing his words. "My hair?"

"They're red," Robin nodded, his gaze gently drifting to her head and her cascade of curls. "No one has red hair on the island."

Maeve eyed him sharply, not at all convinced by his simple answer. What she saw in people's eyes was much more than just fascination for her hair color. "What else?"

"What do you mean?" Robin averted her pointed look.

"No one has red hair on the island, fine, but there's something you're not telling me," Maeve observed, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously for a second time.

"You think I'm lying?" Robin looked amused but slightly offended as well.

"I think you're not telling me the whole truth," Maeve insisted as she kept her eyes locked with his, watching as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Robin!" A young woman with a long, wavy pony tail strolled in their direction from the bar, unknowingly rescuing Robin from their conversation, a waitress apron tied around her waist.

"Wikken Hells," Robin cursed with a grunt under his breath and tilted his head to the side in the opposite direction, as if hoping the woman wouldn't recognize him. But it was too late.

"I've been looking all over for you!" The woman exclaimed as she reached Robin's side, stopping abruptly when she noticed Maeve sitting at the table in front of him.

If Maeve saw the special flicker in the woman's brown eyes, it was just as soon replaced by a glint of feminine competition. She couldn't yet decide if this was Robin's clingy girlfriend or simply an annoying flirt, but either way, she bit her lips not to laugh at his growing distress.

"Hello, Lilian." Gathering his wits as best as he could, Robin slightly twisted in his chair to face the blonde and flashed her his best smile, one that was totally fake and forced as much as Maeve was concerned.

"I hear you're about to cross the Blind Mountains again," the woman said, placing her hands on her hips angrily as she glowered down at him. Her voice was nasally high-pitched and was already ticking Maeve off.

"I am," Robin answered as he stole a brief glance at Maeve. "The villagers in Denwood need all the help they can get to rebuild their homes and their lives."

"But you, of all people, know that only one man out of three makes it out alive on the other side. It's suicide! And you know how much I hate it whenever you make the crossing," Lilian fussed, almost scolding him like a child.

"It's suicide for someone who doesn't know the woods," Robin pointed out calmly. "I do. And it's my job to ensure as best as I can that the men who step into the mountains all safely step out on the other side."

"But what about you?" Lilian demanded anxiously, her voice heating up. "You're tempting faith, Robin. Someday it's you who won't make it out. Why don't you stay here and let Simon lead the volunteers? You've trained him well, I'm sure he could do it," she suggested, running her fingers through his short dark hair to comb them affectionately, her hand then sliding down to his neck and shoulders.

She was being completely oblivious to Maeve's presence, and Maeve had to bite the inside of her cheek not to laugh as she noticed Robin's ears were reddening.

"He's never crossed the Blind Mountains on his own before," Robin explained, carefully undraping Lilian's possessive arm from around his neck. "Besides, my sister is on the other side. She's waiting for me."

Lilian's face fell with disappointment. "How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know," Robin answered as he looked over at Maeve, a look that didn't escape Lilian's notice.

"You don't know?" she asked accusingly. "Do you have any idea what I go through when you're gone? Can you even imagine-"

Robin stood up from his seat to calm her down, growing nervous about the fact that people around them were beginning to toss curious looks their way. "Lilian-"

"Don't worry," Maeve cut him off, directly adressing the blonde who had completely ignored her in the past few minutes. She had had enough of her childish fuss and she didn't like the attention she was drawing on them anymore than Robin did. "I'll keep an eye on him for you so he doesn't do anything reckless. I'll make sure he eats three meals a day and I promise to personally see that he doesn't go cold at night." And with that, she crowned her bold declaration with a perfect grin.

Lilian stared at her wide-eyed, her jaw dropping low in complete bewilderment. Maeve thought smoke was about to come out of her ears as she suddenly pursed her lips tightly and leveled a death glare at Robin, demanding an explanation at once. But he wasn't even looking at her; he was staring down at Maeve, twice as stunned by her brazen statement. With the palpable tension escalating between the three of them, Maeve thought Lilian would explode at any second, but instead she simply huffed through her nose sharply, wheeled on her heels and stormed off towards the bar.

Maeve and Robin watched her as she disappeared through the back door that led to the kitchen, slamming it close behind her with a loud clap. A small hush then fell on the interior of the White Horse as inquisitive eyes peered at the scene with curiosity, but Robin expertly shot a stern glare all around the large room and the buzz of the place quickly returned to its usual clatter.

"Interesting taste in women," Maeve jested with a quirk of an eyebrow as she stood up beside him.

"You know you just upgraded our relationship status," Robin wittily observed as he gathered his composure again.

Maeve rolled her eyes, a small smile dancing on her lips as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I only did so because you looked desperate, and because I'm not one to simply stand by and watch when someone is in dire need of help," she casually explained, then mocked him with a smirk. "Even when I enjoy the show."

"But you did promise to keep me warm at night," Robin pointed out, teasing her back.

"Aye. I'll make sure we don't run out of firewood," Maeve replied as she picked up her cup.

Picking up his mug as well, Robin held her gaze with his perfect blue eyes. "I'll hold you to that," he declared with a smirk of his own, their glasses clanking together as they toasted, sealing their agreement.

"You're still hiding something from me," Maeve reminded him conversationally as they finished their drinks.

"So are you," Robin mirrored her words coolly, a quiet challenge written in his eyes.

"Are you always so evasive?" Maeve picked at him, both innocently and seriously.

"Are you always so suspicious?" he replied, matching her tone in this little sparring word game they had started playing in the woods when they first met.

Maeve leveled her gaze at him, trying to decipher the look in his bottomless blue eyes without losing her grip on reality. She straightened her back as she faced him, her spine like steel as she somberly declared, "It keeps me alive."

The buzz of the tavern softly echoed around them while Robin maintained their visual connection, unblinking and unmoving, his eyes suddenly shining with protectiveness, sharp as a blade. He took a breath and his features lined themselves with iron resolve. "I'll keep you alive."

FINALLY! My goodness I wrestled so much with the editing of this chapter! I sincerely hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to R&R! :)

If you want to know who I've always had in mind as a casting for Robin, please visit the thread dedicated to this story at the Distant Lands proboard (link in bio). You can also look up some amazing fanarts from previous chapters that my good friend Inbid/Kriss created! She's a gem!

See ya around for next chapter, coming soon! :)