Thank you for the kind review. It is nice to nlknow someone reads this.
Sinbad lifted himself to watch. Rumina dropped her arms and stopped the magic before turning to face her father. "We have to stay vigilant, she insisted. Without your magic, you are vulnerable. " Turok lifted a torch that was hanging on the cave's wall and lit an alcove. All the missing children from the village were standing in the dark, immobile. They were safe, but they seemed to all be in trance. "I won't be without magic for long, Turok said. Only a few more children and we'll have enough pure hearts to extract the energy necessary to restore my powers." Rumina shook her head. "I can feel it. They are close." Turok put the torch back in its place and walked up to his daughter.At that moment, Sinbad slowly drew his sword."What's your plan?" Firouz wispered.Turok doesn't have any magic, Sinbad explained. We have to take him by surprise before he hurts anyone.How about the daughter? Doubar asked.I guess we'll have to improvise.Sinbad turned to Maeve and waved to catch her attention. She was trying to keep her composure, but he could see she was shaken. "Maeve, look at me." he pleaded in a whisper. She faced him with worry in her eyes. "I need you to be ready, you hear me? We can do this. Ready?" Maeve let out a sigh and shook her hands. After a few seconds, she locked eyes with her captain and nodded.We have been doing this spell for weeks, if not for months, Rumina said. It's been draining all my energy.Don't worry, my child. It will soon be over.Sinbad jumped on the rock behind which he was hiding and jumped on Turok, jabbing his sword in the sorcerer's chest. The evil man didn't have a chance to react. He fell to the ground and vanished in a cloud of black smoke. "Noooooo!!!" Screamed Rumina. At that moment, Maeve sent a magic beam of light to the light ball responsible for the pied piper spell, neutralizing it. The red headed sorceress then turned to Rumina and threw her a magic beam light. The witch replied quickly just before the magic hit her. She was able to push Maeve's beam of light further.While this magic battle was happening, Rongar, Firouz and Doubar discreetly worked their way to the alcove and started to pull the children out of their trance. Maeve was surprised to have the upper hand in the battle. Rumina seemed to have a hard time keeping up. Her magic had been weakened from the spell she had casted for weeks and she was obviously shaken by the sudden death of her father.Nobody noticed, but since the sun was slowly rising outside the cave. This gave Dermott the opportunity to fly inside and perch on one of the rocks. As Rumina got distracted by Dermott, Maeve's magic hit her. The crew noticed the fear in the witch's eyes as she let out a scream. Maeve's magic stopped as she took a deep breath to gather her energy. Rumina raised a hand with determination to resume the battle. Maeve replicated immediately and quickly gained more space over Rumina. Seeing that she was quickly losing her energy the witch thought of a strategy and slowly redirected her magic towards Dermott. Maeve's eyes widened as she understood what was going on. As Rumina's magic was coming close to Dermott, Eyolf placed himself in front of the hawk and the black magic hit him in the chest. He immediately fell to the ground. "Noooooo!" Maeve screamed. "This is not over. You will pay for this." Rumina said, breathing heavily. She looked distraught and exhausted. Maeve responded with an even stronger beam of magic. Before the bright beam of white magic hit her, Rumina vanished in a cloud of smoke.The crew let out a sigh as the atmosphere suddenly felt lighter. Maeve quickly turned and kneeled close to Eyolf. He was unconscious but still breathing.Please, she begged. Wake up.Can you heal him? Doubar asked.My magic is not strong enough, Maeve answered in despair. I have never been able to do so, and now I have used most of my energy to fight Rumina.You have to try, encouraged her captain as he kneeled next to her.As Maeve Placed both hands on Eyolf's chest, she started to recite an incantation. "White as light, chase the powers of the night. White as light, may the light conquer the night" She started in a whisper, but as her hands started glowing, she recited with more assurance. After she recited a second time, she opened her eyes to see if Eyolf had woken up. Desperate, Maeve grabbed the fabric of his shirt as tears were running down her face. "No, please!!" She laid her head on Eyolf's chest as she felt all hope was lost. Sinbad placed a hand on her shoulder as the crew was standing in front of them, holding their breath in this tense moment. "Maeve, the captain urged. You have to try again." The sorceress straightened herself. "I just can't. I am not powerful enough." In a nervous gesture, she wiped the tears off her face. "You have to" encouraged Sinbad. "Try again". Maeve took a deep breath before placing her hands above Eyolf's chest one more time, Sinbad's hand gently squeezing her shoulder. As she recited her spell, behind her shoulder, out of everyone's sight, Sinbad's rainbow bracelet started to glow. The light under Maeve's hands grew brighter as a strong magic was in works. As she finished reciting her incantation, Eyolf opened his eyes. Maeve looked at her hands with confusion as the light faded, but quickly let out a sigh of relief as Eyolf sat up. The sorceress welcomed him with a tight hug as the crew smiled in astonishment. "You saved me." Eyolf simply said. "You saved Dermott." Maeve replied.When they had gotten out of the cave, the birds had started to sing as the sun was rising above the horizon. They had guided the children through the forest until they reached the village. Sinbad had decided to set sail the next morning, as they were all exhausted. They had taken the rest of the day to get some sleep and a bonfire was set at night to celebrate the return of the children.Everybody seemed to be sufficiently rested and were happily celebrating. Everybody except Sinbad. Somehow, even if he had recreated the perfect setup for a refreshing sleep, he had not been able to sleep. In his head, he kept repicturing every interaction he had seen between Maeve and Eyolf. He could not brush those images out of his head. He felt frustrated that it bothered him so much that Maeve and Eyolf were so close. Why was it so important? He had to stop lying to himself. Ever since Maeve had joined the crew, they had gradually gotten closer. They now shared a warm friendship based on trust, respect and understanding for one another. The crew kept teasing them about their relationship, but just because they shared a bond didn't mean they had to be together, did it? Then again, the lines and boundaries defining their relationship had recently felt blurrier. They were human after all. Maybe they were simply biologically drawn to each other. He should not risk spoiling their friendship for superficial reasons.Sitting close to the fire, he took a big sip of ale, watching the flames as people danced around him. "Why so thoughtful?" a familiar voice asked. Startled, Sinbad wiped his head to see Maeve approach and sit next to him. His heart started to race, as he was afraid she could guess his train of thoughts. Taking another sip of ale, he tried to regain his composure before answering. "I didn't sleep much." He explained. Maeve gave him a side glare, looking puzzled. "Weren't you exhausted? I fell asleep as soon as I laid down." Sinbad finally dared to lock eyes with her. She was giving him a big smile with a hint of playfulness in her eyes. She had been drinking a little more than she was used to. He could see the little extra spark in her eyes. He opened his mouth, ready to give her a vague answer, but he was interrupted by Eyolf's voice. "Maeve, may I speak to you?" Maeve looked surprised as Eyolf seemed so serious. She looked back at Sinbad. The captain raised a hand with a forced smile in a gesture meaning that she could be excused.Maeve got up and followed Eyolf away from the crowd. As they walked away from the fire, she pulled her cloak and wrapped it in front of her. Eyof stopped to face her at the edge of the forest. Maeve watched him shift his weight from one foot to the other in nervousness. He took a deep breath before finally locking eyes with her. "Maeve, I know this is only the second time our lives have crossed paths." Maeve swallowed hard as she was starting to guess where this conversation was heading. She suddenly had an impression of déjà vu. Kaled had given her a similar speech a few weeks ago. "But I have come to know you a little more in the past week or so." He smiled as he grabbed her hands. "And I have to say, I have never met any women as smart, strong and kind as you are." Maeve blushed and lowered her gaze to her hands restings in Eyolf's hands. "I know you have to leave tomorrow," he continued. "But I would never forgive myself if I didn't ask you if you would consider staying here, with me and Freyiah."By the fire Sinbad couldn't not resist the urge of looking at them. In the dark night, he could only make out their silhouettes. He could see they were standing close, holding hands. Here we go again, he thought. He felt his heart pound into his chest.Maeve bit her lower lip. She didn't want to disappoint Eyolf, but she could never consider leaving the Nomad. "Eyof, I was very happy to see you again." She could already see the disappointment in his eyes. He knew right away that she was declining his offer. "But I have made a vow to vanquish Rumina." Hearing those words, a gloom of hope appeared in Eyolf's eyes. "What will you do if you ever succeed? Would you, by any chance, consider it then? Would you stop traveling?" Maeve gave him a compassionate smile. He understood immediately that she was still declining. "I see." he said with a nod while gently letting go of Maeve's hands. "I had an impression you had feelings for him, but I had to ask." Eyolf said. Maeve frowned. "Feelings for whom?" she asked, completely oblivious. Eyolf simply looked to his left. Maeve followed his gaze up to Sinbad who was sitting close to the fire. She laughed nervously. "What? No! It's nothing like that." Eyolf's lips cracked in a faint smile. "It's not. It's just…" Maeve was searching for an explanation that made sense. She didn't even quite know for sure why she didn't want to consider settling down if she ever managed to kill Rumina. "I… I would miss the sea too much." she finally explained. Eyolf simply nodded without believing her explanation to be true.*The next day, They all boarded the Nomad after saying their goodbyes to Eyolf and his family. The villagers had gifted them with tons of supplies for their travel. Sinbad had held his breath until Maeve had embarked in the long boat and he felt relieved that they were finally leaving. "Where are we heading?" Firouz had asked. "To Bagdad." had the captain answered. "Last time we were there, I stood the caliph up. I just hope he won't hold it against me."They had traveled all day and the air was slowly starting to feel warmer. At the bow of the ship, Sinbad was gazing at the stars. The northern sky seemed strangely so different from the southern sky. The sun had set a few hours ago, but after spending the last nights wide awake and sleeping during daytime, the crew had a hard time getting back to a normal schedule. Maeve was nowhere in sight, though. Just as he thought she was the only one sleeping, she came up on deck. She threw her cloak on her shoulders and when she noticed her captain was looking at her, she came up to him and stood by his side, her eyes fixed on the stars. "Here I thought you were the only one who didn't have trouble sleeping." Sinbad said. Maeve remained silent for a while, gathering her thoughts. "It's been so long…" Sinbad gave her a puzzled look, but her eyes remained fixed on the stars. "I have been tracking Rumina for so long and I have had so many occasions to defeat her, but she always manages to escape." Sinbad breathed deeply, as he knew this subject always made her sad. "I think this time, she got really scared," he said in an attempt to make her feel better. She shook her head in response. He knew it wasn't enough for her. "Also, it's been more than a year since Dim Dim is gone and I don't have any clue as to how we can find him." Sinbad looked at the ground for a few seconds. He understood the underlying message in those statements. He understood that she felt like she was failing. The next thing she said confirmed what he feared. "I just don't know if it still makes sense to go on." Sinbad placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her gently so that she was facing him. "I know Rumina is still out there," he said. "But every time we have come to face her, we have come closer to defeating her." Maeve forced a smile, but she didn't seem convinced. "Last night, Eyolf asked me what I planned on doing if I ever succeeded in defeating Rumina. I must admit, I didn't know what to say, because I can't even imagine the day this would come true." Sinbad simply looked at her with empathy. Not knowing what to say anymore. She turned back to the sea and fixed the horizon, her head slightly turned the other way. He suspected she was trying to hide the water filling her eyes.The thoughts were racing through his head, as his heart was sinking. He was desperately trying to find something to cheer her up. "I am sorry you feel that way," he said after a while. "From where I am standing, your powers have become stronger each day since I first met you. Yesterday, not only Rumina was so afraid that she fled, but you managed to save Eyolf." Maeve turned back to look at him, but it wasn't the facial expression he was expecting. She seemed thoughtful. "Speaking of," she said. "Didn't you feel something?" Sinbad was confused. "Feel what?" Maeve could not even explain the sensation she felt when she saved Eyolf. It was as if some external force had taken control of her body, boosting her magic. "Nevermind,"she said.Sinbad looked at her as she was looking at the stars. He did not understand where this question was coming from, but at least she didn't seem so defeated anymore. That is when he thought of something that would surely change the mood. He had been dying to ask her. "So what else did you talk about with Eyolf?" Maeve threw him a quick glance in amusement. "He offered me to stay with him," she simply said. Sinbad was caught a little off guard. He hadn't expected her to be so up front and honest. He swallowed hard, reminding himself that she was still here with them, with him. therefore she must have declined his offer.He figured he could light the mood by teasing her a little. "You seem to have received a lot of those offers, lately." Maeve's jaw dropped with an amused smile. She was faking to be stunned and disturbed by his comment, but deep down she was amused. Sinbad felt comfort in the fact that the mood had suddenly changed and felt lighter. "You get offers from women all the time," she retorted while giving him a nudge on the shoulder. Sinbad replicated with a soft laugh. In the past year, his name had traveled a lot and Maeve had witnessed the effect it could have on women. It wasn't surprising anymore to see women entering a flirtatious mood whenever they came to know his name. But to him, this was much different. Those women barely knew anything about him. they only knew what he had accomplished. Maeve was too, often getting her share of unwanted attention. Her beautiful looks did not often go unnoticed. She usually quickly deflected any flirtation attempt, but whenever a man couldn't get the message, she had to throw him off his feet. It definitely made great entertainment for the crew. "Not like that," Sinbad argued. "The offers I get are nothing different from the men you have to throw to the ground all the time." It was Maeve's turn to laugh before silence set between them.
Sinbad bit his lips, trying to hold his question, but he couldn't refrain from asking : "So, what did you tell him?" He regretted his question the minute it slipped from his lips. If he seemed too eager to know, she might clam up. Maeve gave him a quick glance before returning her attention to the stars, knowing he was even more curious to know than he was trying to let on. "I told him I'd miss the sea too much." Sinad looked at her with a frown. It wasn't the answer he was expecting. In fact, he had no idea what he was expecting. As he was trying to understand what she meant by that, she turned to him with a large smile before walking away and his heart suddenly felt like it was swelling. Could it be possible that she meant she would miss him too much?