Copyright Myst; August, 1999
~*~*~*~
It was a beautiful spring day, allowing the crew of the Nomad time to work on the ship.
A soft wind caressed their skin and a shy sun showed itself at times, when the clouds did want it. The Nomad drew alongside a port in the city of Mesapolis, with many other ships. Doubar sang an old song that he learned from one of his old friend when he was an ordinary seaman. Sweat fell on his forhead and and he abstractedly wiped it with the sleeve of his shirt. He was watching Sinbad, who was talking to a girl on the next ship. She laughed at almost all of his words and smiled blissfully. Doubar shrugged and continued his work. He was accustomed to that kind of scene, which happened very often. His brother attracted women like honey for the bees.
He sighed when he saw that Bryn was observing him sadly. He knew exactly what she thought and it made him sad. Doubar loved Bryn very much, but Sinbad will break her heart, just like he does with all the other women. Doubar shook his head, telling himself that it wasn't his problem. It's theirs.
Watching the scene too, Firouz had almost the same exact thoughts as Doubar. Women always liked Sinbad, even when he was young, but Firouz never saw their attraction to him Since Maeve was gone, Sinbad had changed. Firouz didn't know if it was because she wasn't there any more, or if it was something else. He sighed quietly and turned to look at Dermott,
Maeve's hawk, who was perched on the mast. He was looking right in front of him and Firouz asked himself what he was thinking. Dermott was no ordinary hawk, and Firouz was sure that Dermott thought ordinary human thoughts. He only wished that he could figure out Dermott's secret.
On the next ship, the young lady who was talking with Sinbad smiled."You know, I've always dreamt of one day meeting Sinbad the sailor, master of the seven seas. I think that my dream finally came true," she said, looking at him eagerly. She drank all his words. She would do anything to pass one night with him. "I don't think I introduced myself. My name is Janna," she says, as sensual as she can.
Sinbad smiled. "It' a pleasure to meet you, Janna. I enjoyed talking to you, but I do have a ship to repair." He said goodbye to her by a sign of his hand and walked to the tiller, where Doubar was standing. Sinbad was surprised to see that some of the crew ahd listened in on his chat with Janna. But most of all, he was angry that he can't have a private life of his own on the ship. He joined Doubar, who lost his smile when he saw the expression on his face. "Why is it that half my crew is spying on me, when they should be working?" Sinbad yelled loudly so everyone heard him and rapidly went back to work.
"Relax, little brother. No one was spying on you..." Doubar tried to reassure him. Inside of him, he was wondering where was the old Sinbad, the one who always laughed, always nice and gentle, always smiling and attentive with his crew. Probably gone with Maeve...He missed that Sinbad a lot and wished he would come back soon.
Sinbad watched Doubar, trying to read his mind. Something was going on abord the Nomad. Everyone was acting strangly, even Dermott. Sinbad will find out what's wrong and soon. "Change of subject. How are the repairs coming?"
"Well, it's almost over. The sails were replaced with new ones, and the stairs were repaired. The deck just needs a little work done to it and we should be finished. I say maybe two days, max to finish the repairs," Doubar answered,
On their last expedition to an unknown island, the Nomad hit some rocks that the darkness hid well. By chance, Mesapolis were just at two hours from there.
"Good, good. We'll leave as soon as all the repairs are done. "I believe that's going to be it for today." He turned around to face his crew. "You can go. End of the day. Meet tomorrow, same hour." He went down to his cabin for a moment and when he got out, he almost walked straight into Bryn who just arrived in the passage.
"Sorry," she whispered, while continuing her way without looking him. She entered in her cabin and closed the door loudly.
Sinbad frowned. Bryn was habitually so gently and always smiling; today, she seemed not to be herself. Sinbad was almost sure he saw some sadness in her eyes. Or maybe it was regret, he didn't really know. He decided to find out what's going on and knocked on her door. He waited a moment, but nothing. So he knocked harder. "Bryn, it's me. Can I come in for a minute? Bryn?"
"I'm sleeping," Bryn muttered from the inside. "Can't we sleep in peace oon this boat?!" She shouted, little furious.
"Ok, ok, I understand. I just wanted to talk for a moment. I'll come back later. And Bryn...it's not a boat, it's a ship!" He sighed and went up on deck
In her cabin, Bryn took a deep breath and slowly opening the door to quickly look around. Finally, he was gone. She laid on her bed, her eyes looking at the ceiling. Why are all these women after him? Why? And why did he flirt with them all? She could not even count the number of women he kissed since she joined the crew.
She sighed sadly, if only she could remove him from her thoughts. But it was too late. Since he first looked her, he stole her heart and she was now thinking about him night and day. Unfortunatly, he wasn't feeling that way for her. "Damn you Sinbad. Why are you doing this to me? Can't you see I love you? You don't need all those women. I'm here..." She whipered to herself, trying to hold on the tears that came to her eyes. "No, you won't make me cry. Never! She turned around and fell asleep.
~*~*~*~
The next day, everyone went back to work early. But this time, the atmosphear was very different. No one talked and they seemed all furious against someone else. They just concentrated on their work.
Janna was already at her post, watching the handsome captain from her father's ship. She dreamt about him all night and was more certain than ever that she would pass one night with him. She smiled, laughed and looked away a moment. Her eyes went on the only woman of his crew. Janna could bet all she owns that the woman was madly and deeply in love with the captain. Janna did not blame her at all, it was hard to resist to resist Sinbad's charm. Never would a man like Sinbad ever love a woman like that. He needed a passionnate and experienced woman., like her. She laughed again and disappeared from the deck.
Firouz and Rongar just arrived at the Nomad with supplies, when they heard screams coming from the city. Soldiers were running to the ships- mostly to the Nomad. "SINBAD!" Firouz screamed, trying to catch his attention. He pointed the warriors who just arrived and were trying to get aboard. The complete crew waited for them, swords at the hand, ready to attack.
"What do you want?" Sinbad yelled to them. They did absolutely nothing to provoc the anger of anyone in the city.
"Our master will offer to us a big reward if we bring him back the head of Sinbad the sailor," their chief answered, laughing.
On those words, they began to attack. They were more soldiers than there were of Sinbad's crew, but Sinbad had a great crew and each of them were skilful with a sword. The warriors fell one by one overboard, but the strongest stayed and gave the crew a run for their money. They had already lost two men.
Doubar was stuck with a man who was twice big as him and impossible to touch. Doubar tried everything he could, the man struck him harder and harder each time, until he suddenly fell to the ground. The man took adventage of Doubar's fall and lifted him and he threw Doubar to the ground.
Without having the time to think about what was going on, Doubar fell hard on the ground, knocking his head on a box. Satisfaid, the man took one of his daggers and threw it at Doubar, but the trajectory of the dagger was changed by Sinbad, who just threw himself on the back of the man. The dagger penetrated Doubar at the shoulder.
"DOUBAR!" Sinbad screamed. The fury that he felt gave Sinbad more strength and he was able to push the man overboard. Sinbad ran to his brother and kneeled near him. "FIROUZ! Come here!"
The scientist rushed up to Doubar. "He's unconcious and bleeding a lot. We need to get him to his bed. But be careful!! I can't be sure if he has something broken."
" After getting rid of the warriors he was fighting, Rongar went over to Sinbad to give him a hand with Doubar. Bryn and the rest of the crew got rid of rest of the men that were still on the ship.
In Doubar's cabin, Sinbad and Rongar gently laid Doubar on the bed. Firouz immediatly went to work, trying to repair the injury to the shoulder. Sinbad was sitting near his brother, is hand in his.
Bryn entered in the cabin, breathless. "They are all gone. Eman and Asir are putting everything back together on the deck ," she explained, her eyes never leaving Doubar. "How is he doing?"
"Not very well. His injury at the shoulder is very deep and he hit his head very hard. But he's going to make it...he's strong, " Firouz declared, trying to convice himself more than the ohers. He soon finished with the bandages. "We need to let him sleep. Only time can cure him now."
"I'm not leaving," Sinbad declared. He looked at everyone who was in the room. "As soon as the repairs are finished, we'll leave. We can't take any chances. Now, I would like you to leave me alone with my brother."
Firouz, Rongar and Bryn left the room silently and went up on deck. No traces of the soldiers could be found.
~*~*~*~
The night had fallen and silence reigned in the darkness. Sinbad was on deck, watching the stars. Firouz was with Doubar, to see if there was anything new. Sinbad was feeling better now that he could breath some fresh air. He had some time to think during the day, but his thoughts weren't very clear.
Bryn was watching him, sadly. She wished with all her heart that Doubar would heal soon She walked over to Sinbad and put an hand on his shoulder. "How are you doing?" she asked, gently.
He sighed. "I'm worried about Doubar. He isn't doing very well...I...I don't know what I would do without him. He had always been there for me. Always. I...I couldn't live if he isn't here..." Sinbad whispered, mostly for himself. The words left his mouth before he could stop them. He guessed he had to tell them to someone and inside, he was glad it was to Bryn.
"Doubar is strong, he'll get better soon. He's a fighter. He will survive, I'm sure," she answered him, trying to assure Sinbad the best she could. Bryn hasn't know Doubar long, but she was sure that he could make it through this.
Sinbad put his hand on hers. "Thanks. I hope that you're right. He watched her go, his eyes mid closed. She had stayed with him a good part of the day in Doubar's cabin. Her presence made him feel better, but he didn't know why. He was startled when he heard a voice near by. He turned around and saw Janna who was observing him, an indescrible look on her face.
"I learned that your brother wasn't doing very well. I am truly sorry. If there's any thing I can do..."
"I thank you, but I don't think so..." he answered her. He looked at her, without seeing her.
"Can I come on board? Talking like that is kind of strange," she asked, smiling gently.
Sinbad shrugged. "If you want." He watched her coming on board and walking to him. She was almost as tall as him. She was very beautiful, he had to admit it. He knew her intentions, and she knew that he knew. He needed and she was there, just in front of him, playing all her cards.
Sinbad couldn't remember how they got in his cabin. Janna locked the door and was now removing his shirt while kissing him sensually. He really didn't have the strengh to resist, so Sinbad let her do what she wanted with him.
Janna pushed him on the bed, a satisfated smile on her lips. Her dream will finally come true. She continued to carress him until he started to do the same. His hands burned her skin. Never before a man had this effect on her.
Janna knew that Sinbad wasn't indifferent to her either, in fact he was far from it. He wanted her as much as he wanted him. A hugh feeling of satisfaction passed through her body and she lost all sense of time
~*~*~*~
Sinbad suddenly awoke in the middle of the night and was surprised to feel something on him. When his eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness, he recognized Janna. Suddenly everything returned to him, how she had seduced him, walkingtowards his cabin and into his bed.
He sighed. He wasn't very proud of what he had done. He swore himself it wouldn't happen any more. He sighed, Sinbad wasn't very proud of what he had done. He swore to himself that is would never happen again. A picture of Bryn appeared in his mind. He felt like he had betrayed her. Sinbad passed a nervous hand through his tousled hair and looked around him. His clothes were on the ground, mixed with Janna's. He was too tired to think, so he fell back asleep.
~*~*~*~
When Sinbad woke up, he was alone and Janna's clothes were gone. He conclued that she had left before dawn, so no one would see her. He jumped out of bed and dressed quickly. He left his cabin and went into Doubar's, where he found Firouz sleeping. He shook him pronoucing his name at the same time and Firouz woke up. "Good morning. " Sinbad waited for Fioruz to get up and sat, near Doubar. " Has anything changed?"
Firouz stretched and yawned. A chair wasn't the best place to sleep. "No, nothing. But he did get some color back, which tells me that he is going to be fine soon. Well, I'm going to eat now, " he declared , hearing his stomach gurgling. He left and dragged himself to the kitchen, where he found Bryn. "Hello!" he greeted happily, sitting in front of her.
She glanced at him. "What makes you so happy? I find nothing to be happy about this morning."
Firouz was surprised by her unhabitual coldness. "Doubar is much better today," he said to her prudently. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, chewing on some fruit.
"Everything's fine! Wonderful, perfect!," she shouted. She brusquely got up, overturning her chair in the process. Bryn didn't make a move to put it back on its legs. Bryn turned to head back to her cabin and ran into Sinbad, who had come to get something to drink. "Look where you're going," she mumbled.
"Hey, I want to know what's going on with you," he asked, a little anxious. When Sinbad saw that Bryn wasn't going to answer, he followed her into her cabin, before she could lock the door. He leaned against the door, his arms crossed on his chest. "Now, tell me what's wrong..."
"What's wrong??? I think that I should be the one asking that question. I would have never thought you could do something like that. I thought you had more respect for your brother!" She cried, hysterical. Inside, her heart was bleeding, crying with pain over everything that happened..
"What exactly are you talking about?"
"Sleeping with a girl that you've known for barely two days, while your brother is fighting for his life is very lousy in my opinion!" she shouted. She didn't recognize herself. When she had seen Janna come out of Sinbad's room earlier, her heart broke in two. But it was what Janna said that was worse. Janna walked closer to Bryn, smiling. "I just had the most wonderful evening." she laughed. "But then of course, you'll never know what that's like, will you? Face it, Sinbad could never be intersted in you, when he has someone like me." Janna growled.
And she also had told her she would probably never know it, because Sinbad wasn't interesting in girls like Bryn. After Janna left, Bryn ran back to her cabin and fell on her bed in a fit of tears. She swore that she would never cry because of Sinbad, but it was too late. But what was worse, Bryn still love him...
Sinbad scratched his chin and sighed. He had hoped Janna would be discret about what happened. "Bryn...I'm sorry. Truly I am, but I don't know what to say. I regret what happened, believe me. But..." He tried to explain the situation, but he saw that Bryn didn't want to hear a thing. Sinbad tried a different tactic. "So what? I don't have to explain myself to you! Doubar is doing much better and I have the right to do whatever I want, when I want. You have no right to judge me! After all, it's none of your buisness and I don't see why you care," he said to her, coolly. Sinbad then left the room, before Bryn could answer.
Bryn stared at the door. Sinbad was right. It wasn't like he had promised her eternel love. They simply exchanged a kiss. *For luck,* he had said. It probably didn't count for him. She was simply a friend for him... "Go to hell, Sinbad. Why do you have to do this to me? Just...damn you..." Bryn fell to the floor and shedded the last of the tears left in her.
TBC....