DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to The New Adventures of Sinbad - all this recognition goes to the Creater, Ed Naha.
This weekend I finally received my AOS DVDs from . I was shocked that it was finally on DVD for all of our viewing pleasure. If you haven't received yours be sure to make your purchase before they run out :)
Here is another chapter for your reading pleasure! Enjoy and let me know how you like it.
Chapter 6
The sun was setting by the time Doubar returned with Gunnar. They found Aunt Meg in the kitchen busily preparing a meal with the help of one of her daughters; while Firouz, Sinbad and Bryn were in the backyard seated at the same table they had dinner the night before.
Firouz was playing a game of chess with Meg's other daughter. He was enjoying himself because for once he felt challenged. Sinbad was seated at the other side of the table with Bryn sitting right next to him; she had her head laid down on her folded arms in front of her. She didn't want to tell anyone that she was feeling nauseous from the syrup Firouz gave her. The fresh air was helping. With her eyes closed, she felt comfort by the feel of Sinbad's hand rubbing her back. She didn't want it to end, but it did when he saw Doubar and Gunnar approaching. She held her head up when she heard someone call her name.
"Bryn!" Gunnar was making his way towards her, "Thank the Gods that you're alright". He sat next to her to take a closer look; to assure himself that she was well. "Doubar told me everything". He looked at his sister and he wasn't convinced. "Are you sure you're okay?" Gunnar asked while making direct eye contact with Bryn. He was worried.
"I'm much better than I was earlier", Bryn smiled, "I'm just a little tired".
Sinbad watched his brother take a seat next to Firouz, "Where is Rongar?" He noticed that he did not return nor did Felix.
"He is with Felix. They are stopping by his cottage to gather the berries for Firouz", Doubar nodded his head towards their physician. "They will be back shortly".
"Did Felix look okay?" Bryn was concerned.
"Don't worry about him, Bryn. He is fine", Gunnar answered, " If what he fed you are the berries I'm thinking about, he must've developed an immunity towards them. He claimed he's been eating them for awhile". He shook his head in disbelief.
"That's amazing", Firouz responded while concentrating on the chess game. He looked up at Gunnar, "Has anyone else chosen to eat them in the past?"
Gunnar nodded his head, "Yes, which has resulted to illness or death. That's why so many people have stayed away from them".
At that moment Bryn couldn't fight the nausea anymore. She excused herself and slowly stood up. The last thing she wanted was one of them to ask her how she was doing or follow her, "I'm going to see if Aunt Meg needs any help", she fibbed. She didn't make eye contact with anyone and hoped they would just continue their conversation. She was relieved when she saw they did just that as she entered the house. It hit her; the aroma of whatever Aunt Meg was preparing in the kitchen was strong and did not help. Relieved to see that her aunt and niece had their back to her, she covered her mouth and quickened her pace into the washroom.
Aunt Meg turned to the sound of the washroom door slamming. "Oh dear", She only needed one guess to know who it was. She turned to her daughter, "Sweetie, go get Firouz and tell him I need help". For Bryn's sake she felt she wanted to be discreet about Bryn's current situation. She watched her daughter leave the kitchen to do as she asked. She heard a door open. She peeked around the corner expecting it to be Bryn, but she was mistaken, Rongar and Felix have arrived.
"Rongar! Felix!", she welcomed them, "You've made it in time for dinner. It's just ready". She looked at Felix's hand and noticed the cloth that contained the berries that they were to bring. She heard another door open; behind her was Firouz. The physician saw Felix and Rongar and immediately misunderstood why Aunt Meg called for him in the first place.
"Hello!", he greeted them both and looked at Felix's outstretched hand, "These must be the berries". Firouz opened up the folded cloth to confirm that he was right. He immediately turned toward the nearest lit candle to take a better look. Aunt Meg stopped him.
"Firouz", she gestured towards the washroom, "Before you get involved in that, can you please check on Bryn?"
Firouz paused looking puzzled; it took him a moment to understand. "Oh, is that where she went?"
Aunt Meg nodded. She than turned her attention to Rongar and Felix while Firouz headed towards the closed washroom door. "You two, will you help me carry the food out?" Rongar nodded with a smile and followed Aunt Meg to assist. Felix on the other hand was distracted by the thought of Bryn needing to be checked on. She was ill and it was all his fault. He followed Firouz.
Sinbad turned his attention to the sound of Aunt Meg talking. He heard her say Rongar's name and a comment about his strength. Rongar was laughing and was walking towards them with one large, steaming pot of what he assumed was stew in his hands. He looked behind Rongar; the only person that followed was Aunt Meg.
"Where's Felix?" Doubar asked the question that was on the tip of Sinbad's tongue. Rongar tilted and nodded his head towards the house behind him to answer.
He is with Firouz and Bryn, Sinbad concluded. Realizing that Firouz was not helping Aunt Meg as her daughter asked him to just moments ago, Sinbad stood up and excused himself. "I will be right back". He caught Doubar's warning eye as he started to stand up as well. Sinbad gestured with his hands to sit back down. Doubar complied.
Bryn groaned at the sound of knocking. She didn't want to be sought out now. She sat on the floor of her aunt's washroom resting her head against the wall. Firouz was right, that syrup did get her pretty sick but after the fact, is now feeling much better. She heard Firouz call her name from the other side of the door. She sighed and slowly stood back up, "I'm fine, Firouz", she called through the door. She went to the water pump to splash water on her face. She heard another voice.
"Bryn? Can we come in?" Felix called to her while leaning against the door.
She knew if she didn't they would just keep hanging out there to wait for her; so she opened the door and she was face to face with Felix and Firouz.
"Bryn?" Firouz caught her attention, "Are you okay?" He studied her appearance and noticed that she looked pale and her eyes were moist from either tears or choking from the results of the syrup.
"I am now. You were right about that syrup". She gave Firouz a weak smile. "I probably should get some rest".
Firouz nodded his agreement and stepped aside for Bryn to walk in front of him. His efforts was useless because Felix stepped in front of her before she could move.
"I'm so sorry, Bryn". Felix apologized while placing a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what I was thinking".
Sinbad appeared behind Felix right before Bryn could respond. She looked into Sinbad's eyes as he was approaching and thought if 'looks could kill'. She knew her captain wasn't happy.
Sinbad heard the tail end of Felix's apology, "You weren't thinking!", he spoke to Felix, "She could have been killed". Felix backed away from Bryn and looked at Sinbad.
Felix couldn't help but raise his own voice, "It was an accident!" Felix turned back to face Bryn, "I swear".
Bryn looked into his pleading eyes and believed him. "I know," she responded quietly. She knew Felix had to more to say, but she was too tired to want to talk about it at this moment. All she could do was give him a reassuring pat on the arm to let him know she was really okay. She also thought it would be best if she placed herself between Sinbad and Felix, so she decided to step forward. Glancing at Firouz, she saw that he was relieved for that action. Firouz didn't care much for arguments but he knew if he needed to he would have had to step in.
Bryn stepped closer to Sinbad, "I'm going to go back to the Tavern and get some rest. I'm not feeling at all hungry for dinner".
"I will go with you", Sinbad didn't want her walking alone just in case she felt sick again. He let her walk in front of him and he placed a hand on her back as he followed. He turned to Firouz, "Please, let Aunt Meg and everyone else know that we will not be joining them for dinner".
Firouz nodded his understanding and took a quick glance at a silent Felix before making his way back to the others outside. "She's fine, Felix", Firouz assured him, "She was lucky she only had a little", he referred to the berries. Felix nodded and walked forward to join him.
Bryn and Sinbad walked back to The Tavern in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Every now and than Sinbad would glance at Bryn. She looked exhausted and he knew she had a right to be. He too realized how tired he was feeling. It was a long day for both of them. Was it only this morning that he met with Benson? He also noticed he finally gets some time alone with Bryn and neither of them were in the mood to speak.
Bryn heard him give a heavy sigh and glanced at him, "How are doing over there?" She met his gaze.
He placed an arm over her shoulder before speaking, "You really had me worried". He thought about how close they were to loosing her. If she consumed any more of those damn berries that Felix fed her she would not be standing next to him right now. He looked at her and and at that moment he felt that unknown force of gravity that pulls him closer to her. What he wanted to do was to stop and press her against that tree that was behind her and kiss her like it would've been their last; but he didn't. He was surprised by where his thoughts were heading.
Bryn saw something different in his eyes and she wasn't really sure what it meant. All she could do was look at him and assure him that she was fine.
When they got to The Tavern, Bryn didn't walk through the front doors, instead she took Sinbad's hand and lead him towards the back. Sinbad soon learned what Felix was doing that morning when he saw him from The Inn. Bryn was leading him towards a back entrance that lead to a stairway upstairs. Felix must've went up stairs that morning to see Bryn or at least have peak. When Bryn opened the door, the door was not locked. He wondered how many times has Felix came back here? He started to get upset at the thought and his grip on Bryn's hand was tightened. She noticed.
"Are you okay?" Bryn stopped and asked him. He waved his other hand to dismiss her worry, "It's nothing". She let it go and continued walking towards her room. From inside, he could hear the sound of customers and live music playing from the Tavern below. He saw the stairwell that would lead them down behind the bar.
"Sometimes, I like to come through the back", Bryn explained, "Less of a chance for anyone to stop and talk to me".
"What a waste of liquid courage for them", Sinbad joked referring to the many sloshed men below.
Bryn rolled her eyes and laughed, she must be feeling better she realized, she hasn't felt any nausea or any pain since they left Aunt Meg's home. She opened the door to her room, "Sometimes I just want to go to bed". She gave an innocent shrug and gestured for him to enter, and he did.
Sinbad looked around him. He looked at a room that she made her home outside of The Nomad. He saw that Dermott beat them home. He was perched on the back of a wooden chair next to the same opened window he looked up at earlier this morning. Across from that chair, against the wall, he saw where Bryn would lay. Like the one on The Nomad, she had a single size mattress neatly made with one feathered pillow. On the other side of the room he saw a small closet that contained her dresses and probably some of John and Mira's stuff. Within the closet, leaning against the wall, he also noticed the silver sword she often would carry while aboard The Nomad. He realized he has not seen her wear it once while in Capua.
"I know you haven't eaten", Bryn interrupted his thoughts. He didn't noticed that she didn't enter her room after he did. She must've went to Mira and John's kitchen because she stood behind him with a bowl in hand. "John makes the best soup. I brought you some bread too". She handed it to him.
"Thank you", Sinbad replied. He was caught off guard. Here he was making sure she got home safe so she could rest and it turns out she is the one taking care of him. Making sure that he's eaten a meal. He was thankful for it because he was starting to get hungry. The last thing he ate was at Benson's, who offered him and Doubar some bread and cheese to go with the wine.
"I'm going to go bathe before I lay down" Bryn went to the closet to grab a change of clothes, "You're welcome to stay and eat. I won't take long".
Sinbad nodded with food in mouth. She smiled at him and closed the door behind her. He heard Dermott chirp. The falcon was eyeing his bread. Sinbad broke off a small piece and gave it to him, "Again, thank you for finding her".
When he finished his meal, he made his way out of Bryn's room in search of the kitchen to return the bowl. It wasn't hard to find, he only had go in the opposite direction of when they entered. He turn a corner to see the fireplace which contained a hanging pot of which Bryn must have gotten the soup from. The fire was dying down. He placed his empty bowl on the counter in front of him. He then heard laughter, he walked towards an opened window overlooking the right side of The Tavern. Looking below he noticed a couple against the building hiding within the shadows. He laughed at the scene and turned around to give those two the privacy they sought for. He turned just as he heard Bryn calling his name.
"I'm here", Sinbad called back. He started to walk back to her room. She met him at the entrance of the kitchen.
"I wasn't sure if you already left", Bryn looked up at him and she appeared worried.
Sinbad raised his hand to caress her right cheek, "I'm here". He looked down at her and noticed all she was wearing was a thin robe. Her feet were bare and her wet hair smelled of lavender. She was about to speak but was disrupted by an uncontrolled yawn. "Come on, let's get you to bed". Sinbad instructed and gently turned her around and he followed.
Bryn sat herself on her bed and lifted her legs up to put them under the covers. Once she settled, Sinbad sat on the edge of the bed to say good night.
She looked up at him sleepily, "Thank you for walking me home".
"Anytime, Bryn", Sinbad whispered as he leaned down to give her a gentle kiss. She surprised him though. Right when he was about to lean back she pulled him in for a much deeper kiss. She opened her mouth to him and he could not deny the invitation. He kissed her the way he wanted to on their walk back to The Tavern. He felt relieved when he discovered that Bryn didn't seem to mind, for she returned his kisses just the same. He didn't want to stop but knew she needed her rest.
They finally parted and it took all his strength for Sinbad to stand up. "I will see you in the morning". She nodded and he kissed her temple. While walking down the back stairs, he couldn't help but smile and think that he was surely on dangerous waters.