Apologies to my readers for taking a while to update this *Ahem ... just over a year!* My other story on here took top priority for a while. I promise I will try to update it more regularly. I will finish it I promise! ^-^

Rest? Get some rest?

Serenity was surprised she even knew the definition of the word. She didn't have the slightest idea of what to think, the last hour had been the most shocking hour she'd ever had in her life. She roughly pulled her hair out of her face as she slid down to the floor with her back up against one of the wooden poles; then winced from the action and started tentatively touching away at her blotchy purple wrists. Those ropes had not been kind on her skin. They hurt like buggery and no doubt the throbbing wouldn't stop for at least a few weeks, but truth be told, they were the last possible thing on the girl's mind.

Where in the name of the Gods had he come from? She didn't think it even remotely possible that she would ever see Sinbad again. The last time she'd seen him had been the day in Syracuse when she spotted him sneak on board one of the cargo ships bound for one of the many distant lands. It had been the last time she, Proteus or anyone in Syracuse had seen him.

Proteus…

Not for the first time that day did her gut churn as her mind went out to her older brother. It had been a lifetime since she had seen him, and as she had feared for the longest of whiles, it was only going to get longer still. Yet, she couldn't force herself to drown the glimmer of hope that finding Sinbad - as unexpected and as shocking as the reunion had been - she may get her chance to see Proteus again, even if ...

Stop it! Forcing Proteus out of her mind, Serenity glanced around her new humble abode. It wasn't exactly anything new to what she had seen on other ships in the past. A row of hammocks strung across the room for sleeping, scattered barrels, the scent of musk, rum and sweat laced the room which was bathed in warm light from a few glowing lanterns. All was completely normal to her …

Except the pair of yellow eyes that opened up out of nowhere on the other side of the room.

Serenity froze; her back pressed hard against the wall as the eyes drew closer out of the dark, belonging to a rather large, bulky looking thing. The princess moved a hand slowly to rest just above her leg, ready to extract the dagger that she had strapped underneath her left boot, hidden from sight and attack whatever was coming towards her from the dark. She still couldn't properly see what it was, but, judging by the panting and the way the eyes were glowing, she knew it was nothing good.

Just as she had a firm grip on the dagger, the creature finally came into view, and she gasped. The creature that came out wasn't what she expected … or what she wanted either. It was a dog. A large, drooling English Mastiff, and 'drooling' was quite an understatement, saliva slopped everywhere with even the slightest move the dog made, which it was flying in all places as the dog had gone from a walk straight to a bound – with Serenity as his target.

The dagger was out in the blink of an eye, and Serenity didn't hesitate to point it straight ahead of her into the path in which the dog was rapidly headed. She was not falling victim of this again. Ever since Tucker; a large, sharp-fanged mutt who had only one motto: 'No friend of the Captain was a friend of his'. Serenity just happened to be at the bottom of the food chain for the Captain, and her souvenir from that had been …

No! Not again! The princess raised the dagger high, waiting for the dog to reach the point where its head would be in perfect line with the sharp blade. No sooner had she steadied her arm – a fraction of a second away from delivering the fatal strike – the dog caught the glint of the silver blade and skidded to a record breaking halt, its eyes widening as it stared at the dagger with confusion and … was that fear?

Serenity staggered to a small halt herself; her focus no longer on saving her skin from a dog that, surprisingly as she saw in its eyes – had never had any intention of harming her. The girl had had enough years on studying emotions from any creature she had come across; be it human or animal. This dog may have looked large and dangerous, but she could see from the look in its eyes that it couldn't have hurt a fly. She still didn't make a move to lower her dagger; her experience with Tucker had left her incapable of bringing down her guard, but her prior intentions to slice this creature to shreds were no longer top priority.

The drooling canine was now sitting back on it's haunches; head cocked off to side and slobbery tongue lolled out lazily to the side from it's mouth before giving what looked like a half shrug and plodded off up the stairs to the deck. Serenity could have smirked at the rather humorous looking sight but instead she just sighed and sheathed her dagger back into the strap on her leg and absentmindedly lifted her hand up higher her leg, pulling up her black skirt slightly to brush across the large, bumpy, ugly looking scar on the back of her thigh that had been the result of Tucker's attack on her and an unexpected shiver ran through her.

They didn't play fair did they?

The princess shook herself thoroughly and pulled her black skirt securely back over her legs, hiding the hideous bite mark that had taken weeks to scar over. She counted her lucky stars that she didn't have a limp. In all honesty, Serenity had gotten used to the abuse she had been given in the past. It had more or less become second nature to her since she left Syracuse. The way Sinbad - and whom she assumed was his first mate - had treated her had been the nicest sort of treatment she'd received from anyone since she began her life on the ocean. Her life of freedom and seeing the world ...

It made her gut turn over to think about it. She knew now that she'd been very stupid. Her dreams of seeing the world had gotten the better of her, so much so that she was willing to do just about anything to get there ... she paid the ultimate price for her world journey. And despite getting the chance to see all the different places and sail the seas with - admittedly not too nice captains or crews - she'd have taken it all back in a heartbeat if she'd known what it would cost her.

Oddly enough her thoughts were strangely making her eyelids rather heavy, when was the last time she had even slept, let alone properly and, whether she wanted to admit it or not, the wooden pole she was leaning against was strangely comfortable...

The next thing she knew Serenity was dragged out of her unexpected slumber rather abruptly when the ship lurched to a sudden stop, taking her with it and sent her sprawling across the wooden floor as the temperature in the cabin dropped like a rock. The temperature had originally been relatively warm with the glow of the lanterns and the atmosphere slightly stuffy due to the odor of rum, sweat and musk in the air. Now it was suddenly unbelievably cold with the large burst of icy wind that shot through the cabin, taking out the lanterns and covering the entrance way in ... snow?

Rising from the floor, she quickly threw her long black hair into a loose braid before wrapping her cloak tightly around her arms - carefully minding her wrists - and proceeded to walk back up to the deck, where the cold wind was much stronger and she could see the mist of her breath whenever she exhaled.

Just as she got to the entrance, Sinbad stalked past her, giving her a mild glare as he passed. "You're going to want something more warmer than what you're wearing, princess."

"Quit calling me that." Serenity sneered, before quickening her pace and entered the top deck ignoring the churn in her gut at that word.

The scene that met the princess's eyes was both shocking and oddly beautiful. The ship was layered in snow and stuck fast in the now frozen solid ocean, surrounded by what had to be the ruins that she'd briefly drew her eyes over when that god-awful sack had been removed from her head. All of it covered heavily in snow. This was making the princess wonder just how long she had been asleep for. It hadn't been for that long had it?

Sinbad had possibly been correct. She may need warmer clothing for this weather. Her cloak wasn't doing very much in terms of warmth in the new icy climax. But her stubbornness kept her jaw clenched as she fruitlessly attempted to wrap her cloak tighter around her as she made her way to the side. Watching as the crew made their way down to the ice wrapped up in hats and scarves but still kept arms bare. Serenity huffed. Men.

Before Serenity could even think about what on earth had caused the abrupt change in the weather, she felt someone tap her shoulder lightly. Whirling around out of habit, she attempted a roundhouse kick at whoever it was behind her ... and staggered to a halt as the short-haired brunette stepped back quickly, avoiding the incoming foot. Serenity had to fight down a gasp.

Marina.

Her brother's lady was two summers older than Serenity, as was Proteus. He was three moons older than Marina.

"I didn't mean to frighten you." She said quietly. "Only wondered if you wanted these." She held out a purple winter coat and sheepskin boots.

Serenity looked at the clothing, fighting the new urge to grab them and then looked back at Marina. Her breathing hitched a little and she prayed Marina hadn't noticed. Sinbad was one surprise but she didn't think Marina would be on this voyage as well. That was a new shock altogether, and a new pain in her stomach. It never really left nowadays.

Doing what she did best, Serenity pushed it down and ignored it as she took the garments, mumbling out an emotionless thanks and refusing to look the other female in the eye as she put the clothes on, making sure to drape her cloak back over herself afterwards. Her cloak was the only thing from Syracuse that she still owned and be damned if she should lose or someone should try and rid her of it ... it was the only thing she had that connected with Syracuse; her old life, her home ...

Her brother ...

Despite that, she was still unable to stop herself from snuggling into the slightly irresistible warmth of the coat and the softness of the sheepskin boots which made her toes curl into them contentedly without her permission. Serenity sighed silently and looked away and turned back to the side after that, hoping that Marina would leave her alone.

"So, you're Proteus' sister?"

Guess not.

The younger girl gave a quick nod of her head and curled tighter into herself, praying that Marina would take the hint and walk away. Serenity knew what Marina would ask her, and she already knew it wasn't a conversation she would be able to stomach.

A rustle beside her and another pair of arms coming to rest on the railing gave her the rough answer to her prayers. Serenity scowled, first to the gods and then to herself. She should have known better than to think they would help.

Marina spoke up "I admit it was a surprise to find out he had a younger sister ... or even a sibling at all. Proteus hasn't actually mentioned you before."

Inhaling deeply to stop her stomach doing loop-de-loops, Serenity shrugged and focused her hand as she ran her index finger through the snow on the railing. "We were never close." she said bluntly. Brushing aside the fact that her mind was screaming at her to take her statement back.

It was easily one of the biggest lies she had ever told in her life.

Marina sounded thoughtful "Still, I would have thought at least someone on Syracuse would have mentioned you. Are you a half sister? Step sister maybe?"

"No, I'm full blooded." Serenity answered as blankly as what she could. It would have been a lot more believable if she had lied about that one and said that, yes indeed, she was his half sister. It would at least have made more sense as to why she had never been mentioned. But she couldn't bring herself to lie about everything. Not that one at least. She was Proteus' sister, regardless of all that had happened.

Reluctantly accepting that Marina wasn't going to leave her alone anytime soon, Serenity went for a change in subject "So why are you on this voyage?"

Marina laughed a little "I came to make sure Sinbad actually went to retrieve the Book of Peace."

Serenity didn't like the sound of that statement. She turned towards Marina "What do you mean 'Make sure he actually went'?"

"Sinbad wasn't originally going to go and get it. His intentions lay fully on a hammock in Fiji. Not sure why, it's monsoon season over there right now. Anyway, he was under the impression that your father wouldn't allow the council to execute Proteus, which ... knowing King Dymas, he might have tried to let Proteus escape. But I know Proteus. He wouldn't have gone. He's too loyal for that." Marina paused, clearly off in thought about the prince of Syracuse. Serenity found herself holding back a growl. She knew very well how loyal her brother was, and how heartbroken he had been when Sinbad had left without saying goodbye. How could Sinbad have not thought about that. As much as the princess severely disliked the fact that Marina was still here talking to her, she was grateful that Marina had been here to change Sinbad's mind.

"How did you persuade him to head for Tartarus?" She asked, to keep Marina away from asking her more about her relationship with her brother if nothing else.

"By speaking any captains language" Marina smirked and pulled out a diamond from her coat pocket. Serenity half smirked herself. Yup, that'd do the trick.

A variety of grumbles interrupted the girls from their talk which Serenity was only a little more than happy about. She was still surprised at how abrupt the weather change had been. It was sunny skies for miles when she was tossed onto Sinbad's ship and she could not have been asleep for that long. The crew out on the frozen surface were shivering away with miner picks and other kinds of tools and weapons that were useful for breaking surprisingly very solid ice. Not that Serenity really felt much sympathy for some of them. Half of them didn't have sufficient clothing to keep themselves warm. One of them in-particular was a small, skinny little frame with barely any meat on the bones. Chipping the ice with a mining pick - surprisingly faster and with more success than the others - he was grumbling slightly more louder than the other men so words could actually be made out.

"Steal the book of peace" It had to be mocking. Serenity knew that tone well. She had used that tone countless a number of times before in the past - never to anyone's face mind you - but definitely to herself. The figure shivered so hard you could hear his teeth chattering "We will retire to tropics."

There was something odd about that voice. Like Serenity had heard it before. She leaned over the side to try and get a better look at him. He turned around.

Crikey, it was one shock after another on this ship. The girl didn't know how much more of it she could take.

No way ... Rat?

A/N: I do have a good chunk of the next chapter written already so hopefully it won't take a year to get out. :)