A/N: Here is the promised chapter. This one is much more longer.

A few had passed after the change of course when Doubar announced that the City of Mist was in sight. Firouz, who had been told they were going to get Serendib, had been paying a close attention to his looks, especially on the morning when the longboats were thrown in the water.

It took them a little over an hour before reaching the shore. As Sinbad looked around while her crew members dragged the longboats to shore, the captain realized that maybe City of Mist wasn't such a great name for the village was laying in front of him. The mist had obviously dissipated and Serendib seemed to have done a really good job at restoring her hometown.

They walked the streets of the new village for a while before they finally found the now grown-up teenager sitting on the stairs of a store. Maeve immediately cried her name.

"Serendib!"

The young woman looked up and watched the crew walking towards. It took her a few seconds to recognize who they were. She immediately jumped to her feet and ran towards the captain.

"Sinbad!" she replied even if he hadn't the one calling out her name.

The 18-year-old sorceress collided into the captain and the two of them hugged, under the jealous stare of the captain's wife. Opening her eyes, Serendib caught a quick glance of the scientist and immediately pulled away from Sinbad. She walked up to her old friend. They stood facing each other, silently.

Maeve moved closer to Sinband and whispered in his ear:

"They look like teenagers reuniting after a long time apart."

Sinbad smiled.

"They look like teenagers in love." He corrected.

Then, clearing his voice, he added a little louder:

"I hate to break up your reunion but Maeve has something to tell you, Serendib."

The young sorceress turned to the older one.

"What is it, Maeve?" she asked, expectantly.

"We are going to defeat Rumina once and for all and we need your help."

Serendib frowned, as if wondering why they needed her. Maeve sensed her confusion and quickly added:

"So far, we are only four sorcerers. We're missing one."

Serendib's features lit up. She understood.

"You mean like the Big Five?" she asked.

A voice behind her startled her.

"Yes." Dim-Dim replied. "I see you have been trained well, my dear. May I ask who your master is?"

Serendib turned to the old man.

"His name is Laurie. He's the town's new sorcerer. He's been training me for a year."

Dim-Dim nodded.

"It seems like he has done a good job. Not many sorcerers know about the powers of the Big Five. Maybe it would be wise to tell him that you are leaving. We'll wait for you."

Serendib agreed.

"It won't be too long, I promise. Laurie lives close to here. It should only take a few minutes."

"Take your time, child. We are not in a hurry."

"Uh... I'll go with you, Serendib." Firouz said as he followed the young woman.

Behind him, he heard his crew laughing.

As they waited for the young woman to return from her master's house, Maeve and Sinbad decided to take a small walk around the village.

"Tell me about the Big Five." Sinbad said as they turned a corner, disappearing from their crew's sight.

"In order to defeat a powerful sorceress like Rumina, we need to gather up some sorcerers. She has extraordinary powers, Sinbad, as much as I hate to admit and her powers don't equal our own. It is believed that one powerful black magic sorcerer equals five white magic sorcerers."

"So what you're saying is that black magic is five times more powerful than white magic?"

"Exactly."

"But you said that you already have four people. I can one count how many sorcerers they have? I mean, if there is a weak sorcerer in the group, does that person still count as one?"

Maeve shook her head.

"It goes with the power of the person. For example, Dim-Dim is equal one person and a half. He is a very powerful sorcerer and could be equal to two but because of his age, his force might not be as great as it used to be. Malika is his other half. Her powers are equal to one person's but because of her age and size, a half is knocked off. I'm equal to one and so is Bryn."

Sinbad was getting more confused by the second.

"So that makes four?"

"Yes." Maeve replied. "And with Serendib, we are now five."

"But don't you need more than five sorcerers to defeat Rumina?"

"Technically speaking, yes. Six would bring up our chances to defeat her for good but five is good enough. You see, Sinbad, the Big Five is chosen very carefully. The five members need to be linked in some way. They have to be linked together and to be linked with the sorcerer they are trying to defeat."

Sinbad tilted his head, even more confused. Maeve seemed to have read his mind and answered his question before he even had a chance to voice it.

"Malika and I are linked because of our power to communicate with one another. Mali is connected to Rumina because Rumina killed her mother."

"Oh." Sinbad replied. "I didn't know."

Sinbad immediately felt sympathy towards his little protegee.

Poor little thing. He thought.

"It's okay, Sinbad. Don't feel bad. Not a lot of people know."

She paused for a brief moment.

"I am linked to Dim-Dim because he is my Master and because we have fought Rumina together. And he is linked that witch because he was cursed by her father. As for Serendib, we both fought against Rumina three years ago."

"But how about Bryn?"

"Bryn had to be trained to be linked to us. She had to swear loyalty to us in ways I cannot tell. She is bound to us from now on."

Seeing the shocked expression on her husband's face, she immediately added:

"Don't worry, Dear. She chose deliberately. Nobody forced her to do anything."

"I surely hope not." Sinbad replied, a hint of anger in his voice.

Maeve squeezed his arm. He seemed to relax.

"Does this mean I will be of no help?" he asked.

"Of course not. We'll still need the crew. Do you really think Rumina won't send stupid beasts and demons our way?"

Sinbad didn't bother answering. He knew she was right.

"Maeve, I want you to be careful. I don't want to lose you again."

Maeve stopped walking. Sinbad did the same.

"You're not going to lose this time. I'm stronger than I was before. There's no way Rumina is going to kill me."

Sinbad's fist clenched.

"Damn right you won't die because I'm not letting that witch kill you."

Maeve giggled.

"You really love me, don't you?" she asked, her usual teasing smirk on her face.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't have married you if I didn't. Do you love me? I don't hear you say it often. Sometimes, I even wonder."

Maeve looked shocked and Sinbad almost regretted his words.

"You wonder about what?"

Uh oh. He thought.

"I wonder if you really love me."

Eyes grew wide.

"Of course I do, Sinbad. It's not because I don't say anything that I don't. Sinbad, do you really think it's easy for me to live with you, sleep with you, spend all of my time with you and never being able to tell you how I feel about you because the minute that I do, Rumina is going to use this against me? I long to say it, I've long to say it for a while now but I just can't. Not yet. Rumina is only waiting for me to say these three little words before she attacks and probably kills you. People I love, Sinbad, disappear or get hurt. I don't want it to happen to you too."

She paused.

"Sinbad, if you really do love me, you won't pressure me into telling you until Rumina dies."

Sinbad couldn't see the link between Rumina and her feelings but he nodded anyway. Whatever his sorceress wanted, she was getting.

"But Maeve, what if she doesn't die the next time you see her?"

"She will."

Sinbad smiled.

"You sound so confident."

Maeve shrugged.

"I am. I'm not doing this only for my brother's fate. I have another life to save."

Realizing she had said too much, she quickly grabbed his arm and began to walk back to the store.

"Come on, the crew is probably waiting for us."

Maeve walked up on the deck, alone. She didn't know the time but she knew the sun had set hours ago. But she needed to think. The fact that they were going to face Rumina once and for all had finally caught up with her and now, she was starting to doubt herself.

She knew exactly where Rumina was. They were about two days of sailing away. The more the sea pushed them towards Rumina's new lair, the more she grew anxious. A protective hand flew to her stomach. She hadn't told Sinbad yet. She was starting to show but she didn't want to get his hopes up. She didn't want him to have to get over two human beings if she were to die in her final battle. She also knew he would worry if he found out now and probably wouldn't let her fight her enemy. She couldn't have that either.

The night was warm for the time of the year. Maeve sat on the side of the ship and looked up at the sky. She was surprised when her eyes were instinctively drawn to her brightest star. That twinkle seemed to confirm her beliefs. She was scared.

She felt rather stupid as she opened her mouth to speak but she needed a comfort that neither her husband nor her friends could bring her.

"Star, I don't know who you once were but please help me defeat Rumina once and for all. Please protect Sinbad and the life that is growing inside of me."

Yes, this was definetely stupid. She looked around once more to make sure she was alone. The man at the tiller on the other end of the ship was too far to hear anything. She turned her attention back to the star.

"It's going to be our first child, the proof that I do feel the same way he does. But before I have this child, I need to defeat Rumina. I'm sure my brother would love to hold his niece or nephew. I need you, Star. I need you to look after us, to help us and guide us. If you do, I will be forever grateful."

Maeve sighed, got up and went back down to her cabin. Sinbad was sound asleep when she crept slowly in bed and laid down beside him. She then turned her back on him and finally fell asleep.

TBC of course