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Part 2
Doubar was getting bored. It was his watch and so far, nothing. In fact, nothing was the word best fit to describe the past two weeks. The sea had been calm, cargo deliveries were on time, and there had been no sign of Rumina or anyone else for that matter. In short, the adventures of Sinbad and his crew had been pretty quiet.
The group was on its way to Kuriaon, the main city on the small island of Tieeriaon. The caliph of Bagdad had asked Sinbad to represent him at the ceremonial burial of the old king. Wishing to arrive during daylight, Sinbad had decided to set up camp for the night in the woods near Kuriaon.
Doubar took a look at his brother and friends, wondering what would have happened to them if things had been different. " Not that I don't care for Master Dim-Dim. But if he hadn't been taken away from us, this crew might not have bonded as it did,"he thought. Then, with a small grinning smile, he added,"Especially between Sinbad and Maeve."
He turned his attention to the Celtic woman. More than once, Doubar had wished his little brother would finally find the courage to tell her about his feelings. But, as strange as it may sound, the fearless captain who fought evil monsters with all the strength he had, seemed to lack the guts when it comes to the lovely sorceress. Doubar had always had a soft spot for this one, ever since she joined the crew. Feeling already protective toward his little brother, Doubar naturally extended this feeling to the young woman and wished to be to her the big brother she seemed to miss. Maeve never told him about having a big brother but somehow, Doubar knew she had one and that she was missing him.
Right now, Maeve's sleep seemed to be disturbed. For the past few days, Doubar had noticed she didn't sleep easy, but turned and moaned all night long. He had tried to get her to tell him about her nightmares but every time the fiery sorceress brushed him away quite hard. So Doubar decided to let it go. "Maeve isn't the kind of person to share her feelings and personal thoughts easily", he thought.
As he was thinking, Sinbad started to moan too and soon, the two of them were both struggling in their sleep. Worried, Doubar tried to wake them up.. It wasn't like his little brother to have a restless sleep...
All around her, the too familiar mists started to form.
"No," Maeve thought, "not again..." For the past few days, she had had the same dream where she fought an invisible opponent. But this dream was strange, it wasn't really a dream. It was more like magic. Although she was sleeping, Maeve was very well aware of her surroundings. The high ceilings were as dark as they were the last time she "was" here and the walls were as damp as she remembered. But this time, her opponent wasn't waiting for her. He wasn't just a shadow or a faceless ghost. He was turning his back to her, as if he was trying to figure out where he was. And for the first time, he had features she could identify easily.
"SINBAD!" she yelled.
Sinbad turned around to face her.
"Sinbad, what are you doing in my dream?" asked Maeve running to him. Suddenly, she stopped. No, he couldn't be Sinbad. The face was the same but the eyes... so much hatred in them. "His beautiful eyes never show that, not even when he is fighting evil," she thought. Still, she knew it was him. "If looks could kill, I would be dead right now!" she thought.
"And you will be!" answered Sinbad out loud, grinning. Maeve couldn't believe it.
"Sinbad, how come you can read my mind???"
Without answering her question, Sinbad approached her slowly, drawing his sword.
"No!" shouted Maeve. The nightmare was starting all over again. "I will not fight you! Sinbad, it's me, Maeve. Can't you see that magic is at work here?"
Laughing evilly, the young captain kept on approaching her. He was so close to her now that she could feel his breath on her face. Maeve didn't have a choice: she drew her sword.
"So, the little girl wants to play with the big boys," said Sinbad. "Very well, my sweet, let us play". And he brought his blade up, preparing to strike.
"No, I can't fight him" thought Maeve. "This dream is getting worse all the time. I'm tired of always fighting, always defending myself for nothing, for a dream. I can't do it anymore."
So Maeve didn't raise her sword. "Sinbad, please" she begged with all the love she had for him. And for a moment, her voice seemed to reach the true Sinbad. Confusion appeared in his eyes, but it didn't last. With anger, he dropped his arm, striking furiously at her left side...
They both awoke screaming, scaring the life out of Doubar and waking up the others.
"What is going on?" asked Firouz.
"Little brother! Maeve! Are you all right?" asked Doubar, speaking to both of them at once.
Sinbad and Maeve didn't reply. They were staring at each other, knowing immediately that they had had the same nightmare. Sinbad raised a hand to push away a lock of his hair that was falling in his eyes. But his hand was not empty, he was holding his sword. His BLOOD covered sword! Gasping, he looked back at the young woman. Staring back at him with horror, Maeve passed her hand by her left side. When she brought it up, it was also covered with blood....
Part 2