Chapter IX : One Step Must Start Each Journey

Sinbad stood at the tiller, talking with Doubar, Firouz and Rongar, when Maeve appeared on deck, wearing her warrior outfit - the one her captain had missed so much. Of course, her dress wasn’t half as luxuous as the outfits she had been wearing for the past year, but still, she looked splendid with her red hair floating freely around her shoulders, just like before. She walked to them, blushing lightly when she noticed their appreciative gazes upon her.

‘’Here’s the sorceress I know’’, Doubar exclaimed happily as he hugged her, making her giggle.

‘’I must say, it feels really nice to put that dress on again. I’m so happy I’m finally able to take a deep breath of sea breeze without feeling my lungs are restrained anymore. I don’t miss the corsets at all’’, she said, smiling.

‘’What about the nice figure it gave you ?’’ Sinbad teased her, referring to what she had told him when they were climbing the hill, a few days ago.

She glanced at him. ‘’Any grievances you wish to formulate, sailor ?’’ she asked defiantly. The men chuckled. Before Sinbad could answer, she replied : ‘’If so, you shall address them to my lovely arse’’.

She turned around and walked away, trying to suppress a smile as she heard the men cracking up behind her. All but Sinbad, for her foul reply had startled him. Doubar patted his brother’s shoulder: ‘’You know what they say. You can take the girl out of the ship, but you can’t take the ship out of the girl’’. They cracked up again and Sinbad shook his head, laughing too.

Later that evening, Sinbad walked on deck after dining with Rongar and Bryn in the galley. The others were now off to bed, and the captain was getting ready for his night shift. Not until he reached the tiller did he notice Maeve standing at the bow, Dermott perched on the railing beside her. He asked one of the crewmen to take the tiller and walked over to the bow.

‘’I thought you were already off to bed’’, Sinbad said as a greeting. He smiled to her. ‘’You’ve been standing here for a few hours already’’.

‘’I know. Obviously, Dermott and I had a lot of catching up to do. Most of which was rather interesting’’, she glanced at him with a mischievous smile. Sinbad suddenly felt worried about what the hawk could have told his misstress. His mind immediately started racing to gather excuses, expecting Maeve to question him about what he had done during the past year, but his train of thought was interrupted by her giggles. His flushed face really amused her. She was only having fun at his expense.

‘’Don’t you worry’’, she said, smiling. ‘’Besides, Dermott holds male solidarity high in esteem. Whatever secrets you two are sharing, he knows it is not for him to tell’’.

‘’Well, in this case, I’m relieved’’, Sinbad replied. Then, he realized what he had just said and quickly protested : ‘’Not that I have anything to hide from you, of course !’’

She laughed heartily. Sinbad felt his heart melt. How he had missed her laughter. The sorceress looked at Dermott, thinking about their own secrets. She smirked and answered : ‘’Oh, I’m sure you don’t, Sinbad.’’ Dermott chirped and flew off. Maeve stood by the railing, watching the moonlight dancing upon the waves. They remained silent for a while. Sinbad leaned his back against the railing so he could see her face while talking to her.

‘’The crew asked me why you chose not to destroy Crimson, especially after everything he has done to you. I must say, I really didn’t know what to answer’’, he told her.

She sighed. ‘’I know it must be puzzling for you all. I have to say, I can’t properly explain it myself, but even after all that happened …’’ she reached for the tiny bandage covering the biting wounds on her neck. ‘’Still, I couldn’t find enough hatred in me to kill him. I know it’s weird. I guess we had a love-hate relationship, something like that.’’

She looked down, expecting Sinbad to reprove her decision. But he didn’t. ‘’You acted very kindly with him. Almost motherly’’, Sinbad stated. From the way he spoke to her, Maeve knew he wasn’t criticising her. ‘’You saw beyond what Crimson and Kane were. Vampires, dark creatures ; yet behind them both, you saw the man they used to be, too’’.

Maeve looked at him, surprised. ‘’I’m relieved to hear you say that. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to understand.’’

Sinbad raised his eyebrow and smirked. ‘’But I do. After all, Goz did try to kill me’’.

Maeve nodded as she recalled the man Rumina had turned into a monstrous beast. ‘’Except Crimson will never be anything but a vampire. There’s no turning back’’, she sighed. She remained silent for a moment. ‘’I think I pitied him. I know it’s not a nice thing to say, I myself would hate if anyone pitied me. But I think Crimson, fundamentally, has always been a very lonely man. One who always got everything he wanted, yet he never had someone he could talk to. Decades of loneliness made him a reckless hunter, though Xander’s bloodthirst didn’t help on that matter. Now that Xander is gone, I really believe Crimson can do fine by himself. With the help of his new hunters, of course’’.

‘’New hunters ?’’ Sinbad thought about the day’s events. Maeve had spent some time by herself in the village while the crew was getting the ship ready for the next tide. She must have made sure Crimson wouldn’t stay unsupervised once she had left.

‘’The horsemen who attacked you the first day you were in Sarania’’, Maeve explained. ‘’They had an agreement with the vampires as well. Their task was to make sure I was safe, and they helped me with the criminals, too. In exchange, the vampires promised they would never prey upon any of their family members. They told me they would keep an eye on Crimson and his new companion’’.

Sinbad noticed Maeve’s mischievous smile. ‘’What exactly is it that you are not telling me ?’’ he asked the sorceress.

Maeve giggled. ‘’Sorry, but I can’t talk to you about this matter’’.

‘’Why not ?’’ He raised his eyebrow again.

‘’Because I’m a respectable woman, therefore I can’t talk about such things …’’, she answered playfully, smiling haughtily.

‘’A respectable woman with quite a foul vocabulary, might I recall’’, he teased her. She elbowed him and giggled.

‘’Alright. Well, there is a village next to Sarania. There was a woman there. A brunette, beautiful green eyes, creamy skin, really pretty. She’s totally Crimson’s type … at least, she would have been if he was still alive.’’ she chuckled. Sinbad frowned. His expression made Maeve giggle. ‘’You wonder who she is, don’t you ?’’ Maeve asked a puzzled Sinbad. ‘’Let’s just say, she is well known of several men…’’, she smirked.

Sinbad gaped. He started chuckling. ‘’No way, you sent Crimson a prostitute ?’’ he exclaimed. Maeve hushed him, giggling. She didn’t want the whole ship to know about this.

‘’No, I sent him an independant career woman, known to have a thing for luxurious clothing and jewelry, ‘’ she rolled her eyes, giggling. ‘’She is skilled when it comes to getting men wrapped around her finger and she knows how to deal with the most capricious of them. But don’t worry, she knows what she’s doing. She wanted to live like a princess, so she agreed to watch over Crimson while letting him pamper her. She will be fine ; plus, the horsemen will watch over her.’’ Maeve smirked. ‘’Oh, and I forgot to mention that her rebellious attitude as well as her temper are legendary. Crimson should be worried’’. Sinbad chuckled, shaking his head.

‘’Well, this trip to Sarania has been full of surprises’’, he said while glancing at the sea.

Maeve smiled, but she didn’t answer. Even though they had been apart for a year, she knew him so well that she could tell he was not referring to the vampires, nor the wench. She was glad it was nighttime ; it was too dark for Sinbad to notice she was blushing. Her thoughts wandered to the previous night, in his tent. She didn’t bring the subject up, and she knew Sinbad wouldn’t either. It would be too awkward. They never really talked about those things, even if they were to have an impact on their relationship. Just like a year and a half ago, after Sinbad had defeated the Vorgon. They had kissed passionately, in the heat of the moment, being simply happy and relieved the other had survived. They had never talked about the kiss or what it meant afterwards. However, they both knew it had changed their relationship, but in a very subtle manner. So subtle they even wondered if the crew had noticed. From that moment on, they had allowed themselves to flirt more openly, and had started exchanging affectionate gestures more frequently. Sinbad had even restrained himself from flirting with other women, until …

Maeve interrupted her train of thoughts, feeling her heart aching. Even tough she could easily imagine what this last year had been like for Sinbad, some things were better left unknown. It would hurt more than it already did. She didn’t lie when she told Sinbad that Dermott had not revealed anything compromising about him. However, to her silent questions about his behavior and occasional nightly whereabouts, Dermott had kept Sinbad’s secrets, but had been sincere to Maeve. He only told his sister : ‘’You already know the answers’’. And it hurt like hell.

Sinbad was lost in his thoughts too. He didn’t mind the silence at all, because it didn’t feel awkward. Maeve’s presence soothed him. Having her back on the ship filled his heart with joy. He fought against his desire to hold her tightly in his arms and to kiss her, because from where they stood, everybody could see them. Even though the main crew was either in the galley or sleeping in their cabins, Sinbad knew the sorceress wouldn’t appreciate such unexpected public display of affection. Therefore, he restrained himself.

He glanced at her and immediately knew she was thinking about him … about them, more precisely. Sinbad sighed as he thought about how her departure had shattered their nascent relationship. So many things left unsaid, even before she was taken away from him. If they didn’t consider themselves as a couple, their relationship was definitely evolving toward it before she left. A few weeks before Maeve fell overboard, their flirting had increased. They had spent more time together, thus had grown more intimate. Maeve had started talking about her past, somehting she had never done before. Of course, she had not given too much details and had not revealed any secret, but that was a start. Sinbad smiled as he recalled some private moments they had shared, which none of the crew knew about, not even Dermott. There was nothing unchaste about those ; only playful errands involving stolen kisses. But it was their secret and it made the game more fun. However, they had never reached the point where their feelings had been openly declared. Even now, standing by her side, Sinbad couldn’t gather the courage to talk about their relationship, past or present, nor about his feelings for her. He couldn’t tell her he felt heartbroken when he thought he had lost her forever. And now was definitely not the time to confess his many, recent sins. One question, however, had been on his mind for the past two days. He finally broke the silence.

‘’Maeve … there’s something I want to ask you’’, he said softly. Their eyes locked. She didn’t say anything and he interpreted it as an invitation to ask her whatever he had in mind. ‘’After the storm took you away … DimDim appeared to me. He said he had taken you with him so you could hide safely from the dark forces and master white magic all the while.’’

‘’He did ?’’ Maeve raised her eyebrow.

‘’Yes. Thus, there’s something I don’t understand’’, he replied with a frown.

‘’What would that be ?’’, she asked him.

‘’You told us Kane found you on the shore, in Sarania, almost a year ago. And from that moment on, you’ve stayed with the vampires and had been hunting for them. Why would DimDim tell me you were safe, if in fact you were surrounded by evil forces ? It makes no sense’’.

Maeve smiled and looked down. She chuckled and glanced at Sinbad. His blue eyes questioned her. ‘’Sinbad, I’ll ask you something, and I want you to be perfectly honest’’, she said. Sinbad folded his arms across his chest, feeling uneasy because of her request. He nodded. ‘’When Master DimDim spoke to you, did it comfort you to know I was safe and hiding from the dark forces ?’’ she asked him.

‘’Of course it did’’, he replied. ‘’I probably would have gone insane if I had known your life was endangered and I wasn’t there to protect you’’.

Sinbad’s answer momentarily dazed her. It was pretty much the most he had ever allowed himself to say for her to understand how much he cared. She cleared her throat, trying to compose herself. ‘’Then, you should thank Master DimDim for this little white lie’’, she said with a sweet smile.

Sinbad stared at her in disbelief. DimDim had never lied to him before. All this time, she was in fact risking her life, she was surrounded by evil creatures. Why would DimDim, his friend, mentor and foremost, surrogate father, allow himself to lie to him like that ? Sinbad frowned, feeling his anger rising. He gritted his teeth.

‘’Why, Maeve ? Why didn’t he tell me where you were ? He knew it, didn’t he ? I could have sailed to Sarania within days ! I would have found you and I wouldn’t …’’ Sinbad interrupted himself. He was about to say *I wouldn’t have had my heart ripped from my chest. I wouldn’t have mourned you for an entire year*. Trying not to betray his feelings, he rather said : ‘’I wouldn’t have left you there for a whole year’’.

‘’I don’t have an answer’’, Maeve sighed. ‘’As DimDim always said, everything has a purpose. Maybe we both needed to learn something from this, in order for us to grow’’.

‘’That’s a lesson I wish I’d been spared from learning’’, Sinbad muttered with much bitterness.

Maeve looked at him. His whole body had tensed from pain and anger. ‘’Sometimes, knowing the truth is too painful’’, she said softly. He glanced at her. His eyes softened and she could tell he understood the underlying statement. Sinbad thought about his own behavior during this past year. How reckless he had become. How he had almost tripped into the dark side. And all this, thinking she was safe. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened if DimDim hadn’t lied to him. It scared him too much.

‘’Bryn seems like a nice girl’’. Maeve stated in an attempt to lighten the mood. ‘’And she has taken good care of Dermott, too. He told me he likes her very much.’’

‘’Aye. Bryn is a wonderful person. She and Dermott immediately got along. I hope the same happens for the two of you’’, he smiled, thankful she had changed the subject.

‘’I hope so, too’’, Maeve answered. Then, she frowned and asked him : ‘’How exactly will you be handling this ?’’

‘’I’m not sure I understand what you mean’’. Sinbad frowned as well. He really wasn’t in the mood for potential jealousy issues.

‘’Having two women on board. Two sorceresses, I might add. This is quite a challenge for you men, especially for your mental sanity, don’t you agree ?’’ Maeve teased him.

Sinbad chuckled. ‘’Well, since you left the Nomad, we’ve had two more sailors joining the crew. That makes more food to prepare, and many more socks to darn and shirts to stitch’’, he smirked, knowing how much it annoyed her whenever a man reduced her to her traditional status as a woman. Purposedly, he added : ‘’At least, now the two of you can divide the chores’’.

Maeve elbowed him, giggling. ‘’I take it Firouz’s cooking skills haven’t improved much since I left?’’

Sinbad grinned. ‘’He has many other talents, though.’’ They both laughed heartily.

‘’I really have to take my night shift now’’, Sinbad told her reluctantly. He could have stayed with her the entire night, only standing here by her side, chatting, looking at the stars. ‘’I think Wahid must be hungry by now’’. He looked at the sailor at the tiller and made a hand gesture for him to know he would take the tiller in a minute.

‘’And I, will now get a good night’s sleep’’, she smiled. He walked her to the galley’s door. She stood on the lowest stair and turned her face to Sinbad to wish him goodnight. He swiftly leaned in and stole a kiss from her. He stepped back, grinning.

‘’You cheater’’, she whispered. ‘’I didn’t know the game was on’’. She smiled, her heart bursting with joy. He had not forgotten about their sweet, playful teasings.

Sinbad walked to the tiller. He smiled, and for the first time in almost a year, he truly felt lively.