The crew started walking toward the forest, where they planned on installing their tents for the night. Rongar and Firouz took care of the firepit. Maeve sat on a rock as she watched her horse grazing in the clearing. Sinbad sat beside her. He reached gently for one of her golden earrings, which was encrusted with emeralds.
‘’Life seems to have been kind to you this past year,’’ Sinbad commented.
‘’I’ve been lucky, I guess,’’ she answered, evasive. ‘’Do you still own the Nomad ?’’ she asks, willing to change the topic.
‘’Yes,’’ he smirked. ‘’I must say, she’s had some hard times, but she’s a toughey’’.
‘’I do miss her,’’ Maeve admitted.
Sinbad grinned, then grabbed Maeve’s arm and pulled gently on it as they stood up. ‘’Come’’, he told her with a mischievous smile.
‘’Where are we going ?’’
He showed her a trail in the forest, which led to the top of a small hill. ‘’I’m sure we can catch a nice sight of the sea from up there‘’ he explained. Maeve smiled and followed Sinbad in the trail. Halfway through their ascension, she had to stop and rest for a few minutes, because she was litteraly out of breath. She sat on a log as Sinbad grinned at her, amused.
‘’Damn it, this corset. It’s killing me’’, she told Sinbad, panting.
‘’Then why are you wearing one ?’’ he chuckled.
‘’Oh, only because it gives me a nice shape’’, she answered with sarcasm.
‘’Well…’’ he nodded in an appreciative gesture. She punched him lightly in the stomach, laughing.
They finally reached the top of the hill. The landscape sight was breath-taking. They could also see the Nomad anchored at sea.
‘’She’s exactly how I remembered’’, Maeve whispered softly, staring dreamingly at the ship she used to consider her home.
Sinbad smiled as he watched her reaction, her sweet smile as she was lost in her thoughts. He felt a burst of joy and pride for she seemed to truly love and miss the ship, his ship. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. How beautiful she was at this very moment. He observed her features closely : her eyes, so deep he could get lost in them. Her lips, he was dying to taste. The soft skin of her cheek and neck, he felt like fondling lovingly. Her body, so perfect. How her dress accentuated her curves. He was surprised at how her corset affected her breathing : being so tight around her waist, thus confining her diaphragm, she had to breathe from the upper part of her chest only. As a result, her breasts lifted upwards every time she would inhale. It enticed him.
She noticed he was staring at her. She turned her face to him, smiling. Without even thinking, he leaned over and kissed her softly. If she felt stunned because of his initiave, it lasted only a few seconds, for she responded to his kiss almost immediately. He placed his hands on her hips as she moved in closer. She rested one hand on his forearm while the other reached for his shoulder. She tasted as sweet as he remembered. The kiss they had exchanged after he had killed the Vorgon had been haunting him ever since. Maeve had thought about their first kiss several times, too. But she also feared her captain would have forgotten her by now. She felt it, she knew it : there had been many women in his life after her departure. How much did he care for them ? For her ? The way he kissed her, so softly and so lovingly, was very different from the way she always saw him kissing other girls. His tongue entwined with hers slowly, gently. He held her tightly, pressing her body against his, as if he was afraid she would eventually fade away. That’s when she felt his anguish and his pain. That’s when she understood how much he had ached for her while she was gone.
She broke the kiss. ‘’We should go back, now’’ she whispered with sadness in her voice. She stepped away from him and headed back to the trail. Sinbad was puzzled. He ran to her and grabbed her arm, pulling it gently so she would stop walking.
‘’Maeve, are you mad because of the kiss ? If so, then I am really sorry’’ he said, looking concerned. He saw sorrow in her eyes. But she didn’t answer. She rather escaped from his grip and kept walking down the trail, back to the campment.
The rest of the crew had finished setting up the tents and had already started a fire, as they were getting ready to eat. They saw the couple coming back from their short hiking. But their mood didn’t seem as joyful as when they had left, half an hour earlier. They looked as though they were having some sort of fight.
‘’Maeve, please stop. What’s wrong with you ?’’ Sinbad asked.
‘’I have to leave now,’’ she said coldly, walking to her horse.
‘’I told you I was sorry about the kiss,’’ he insisted.
They didn’t even notice the whole crew was staring at them. ‘’Don’t be,’’ Maeve said as she continued walking. A horrible thought suddenly popped in Sinbad’s head. He reached for Maeve’s arm and grabbed it tightly, twirling her around so he could look into her eyes.
‘’Are you married ?’’ he asked her more sharply than he intended to.
‘’What ?! Don’t be silly.’’
‘’Promised to someone, then ?’’ he insisted.
‘’Sinbad, let go of me ! ’’
‘’You dress in exotic fabrics and wear jewelry most kings couldn’t afford…’’ he stated as he relased her.
‘’Is that what it’s all about ?’’ she mocked him.
‘’You tell me.’’
‘’I didn’t choose this. I don’t care about money,’’ she scolded. ‘’The jewelry, the clothes … Crimson’s the one who’s making me wear all this’’.
‘’Crimson ?’’ Sinbad repeated, unable to dissimulate his jealousy.
She sighed. ‘’It’s not what you think. He and I have an arrangement…’’, she explained.
‘’Yes, and I can easily imagine of what kind’’, he said angrily.
Infuriated by his insinuation, Maeve slapped him. He grabbed her roughly by the wrist. The whole crew was startled.
‘’How dare you’’, she snarled, ‘’comparing me to those lewd wenches whose company, as I recall, you’ve often allowed yourself to enjoy.’’
Sinbad looked outraged. But to everybody’s surprise, he said : ‘’I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.’’ He released her. ‘’However, I’m having trouble figuring out why a man would offer so many somptuous gifts to a woman, unless he expected something from her.’’
She glared at him.
‘’I’m working for them. It pleases Crimson when I dress up, that’s all. I don’t own all of this.’’
‘’Who are you working for ?’’ Firouz interrupted their conversation. Maeve and Sinbad glanced at him, and they realized the crew has been watching and listening to them for a while. Firouz looked embarrassed, but asked again : ‘’You said ‘’them’’. Who are they ?’’
‘’Does it really matter ?’’ she yelped.
‘’Yes.’’ Sinbad snapped.
‘’Lass … I think you should tell us what’s going on’’, Doubar said gently.
‘’This … evil energy I’ve been feeling since we got here…’’, Bryn hesitated, ‘’you know about it, don’t you ? Is it linked to them ?’’
Maeve stared at her. ‘’Yes,’’ she admitted.
‘’What are they ?’’ asked Bryn.
Maeve sighed. She sat down on a log, by the fire, where the crew was already settled. Sinbad sat further away.
‘’They are powerful, dark creatures. In Sarania, the villagers call them … Those who feast at night. They prey upon the living’’. Each of the crewmembers felt chills down their spine. ‘’I am their hunter, the one who brings their preys to them. Murderers, rapists … any bloodlusted criminal I find, I shall bring to them so they can feast upon him’’. The crew stared at her in shock. ‘’I’m not hurting innocent people’’, she protested, ‘’I’m helping the villagers the best that I can’’.
‘’If you are helping them, then why are the villagers so afraid of you ?’’ asked Sinbad.
‘’Because, they don’t understand what I am doing’’, she replied. ‘’All I want is for those brigands to face their fate, and for innocent people to be safe. There were so many innocent people dying before I came here. Young people, too. But the villagers, they won’t trust me. They think I am evil because I work for them.’’
‘’I sense no darkness in her,’’ said Bryn. ‘’She’s telling the truth.’’
‘’Is there no way we could get rid of these creatures ?’’ Doubar asked. ‘’What are they, some kind of ogres ?’’
‘’I wish they were. Then I could use my magic on them’’, Maeve sighed.
‘’Why can’t you ?’’ Sinbad asked. ‘’Together, you and Bryn are certainly powerful enough to fight black magic and defeat those creatures.’’
‘’Sinbad …’’, she hesitated. ‘’It’s impossible.’’
‘’Why not ? Have more faith in yourself’’, he admonished gently.
‘’Because … we can’t kill what’s already dead’’, Maeve finally answered. ‘’Besides, these creatures are not governed by our laws, the laws of the living. They don’t surrender to either white or black magic. They’re more powerful than both, altogether. If you wouldn’t think about killing a god, then don’t even think about killing his soulless counterpart.’’
‘’Demons’’, Bryn shivered.
The crew remained silent. Maeve stood up, saying she now had to go and explain to them why she wasn’t bringing them any prisoners. She walked toward her horse.
‘’Wait !’’ Sinbad yelled. ‘’We can’t let you go alone.’’
‘’Sinbad is right’’, Doubar added, ‘’there’s no way you’re going to that castle by yourself.’’
They all got up, ready to follow her.
‘’Don’t worry about me,’’ she tried to reassure them, ‘’they won’t hurt me. But if you come with me, I can’t garantee you’ll be given the same treatment. So please, stay here.’’ She stressed her last sentence with an authoritative voice.
‘’No.’’ Sinbad said in the same manner. ‘’We’re all going’’.
Maeve frowned, then got on her horse. ‘’I will go first to make sure they don’t attack you. They never allow strangers around them’’ she stated. ‘’Find some horses and follow this road, in the forest. It will lead you to their castle, it’s almost an hour away’’, she instructed them. ‘’Your swords … they won’t be of any use. Allah forbid … Bryn, you shouldn’t come if you bleed’’, Maeve warned her as she flushed out of embarrassement. ‘’Dermott stays here or onboard, but he isn’t coming. My word is final’’.
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