*Oh, Goddess, yes!* she thought as she went down below. Every time she found herself near the Nomad she couldn't help but utter a small cry of joy, and this was no exception. Before closing the door that led to the lower deck, she cast one last glance at the place that had been her home for a year before she had been so ruthlessly snatched away from it, supposedly for her own protection.
Meanwhile, on the Nomad, Sinbad was busy giving orders and helping unload cargo. This was to be the last stop in a string of deliveries that the Nomad had made over the past month, and he was sure that the crew would be in need of a break.
"Little brother," Doubar said as he approached, "What's wrong with you today? You're not acting yourself."
"I just had a long night, big brother. A long, LONG night."
"More dreams again?"
"Aye. It's the same thing in every one: Maeve's so nearby and I can't reach her. It's just so weird."
"Sinbad, you haven't had one of those dreams in months now. What do you suppose brought them back now?"
Sinbad hesitated before answering. "It.... it was probably Bryn."
"Bryn? What does she have to do with it?"
"Any time I.... um.... encounter a woman who seems... well.... interested.... the dreams come back."
"And?" Doubar prompted.
"Well, Bryn seemed pretty.... interested.... last night."
"Bryn!?"
"Aye, but don't say anything about it!" Sinbad warned in a hushed tone. "I'm sure she just wasn't feeling herself and didn't mean anything by it. I don't want her to be any more hurt by this than she already is."
"Sinbad, did the two of you--"
"Nothing happened, Doubar. Nothing."
Maeve looked at herself in the mirror. She was trying out different looks. The 'look,' after all, was a very important thing. It was neccessary to lure Sinbad in with her looks before snaring him beyond the point of return. *Oh, this is so fun!* She always tried to think of it as a game, so that she wouldn't realize how desperate her situation actually was.
Maeve waved a hand to change her hair and took a last look. *Perfect,* she decided. The image the gazed back at her was as tall as she normally was, and had much the same figure, but the eyes were a startling emerald hue. Her hair was now knee length, platinum blond, and perfectly straight, flowing in sheets of silk. Her face had more prominent features, but was beautiful still the same. She wore a long, off the shoulder, emerald peasant dress that matched the color of her eyes, fit her perfectly around the torso, and flowed seductively from the waist. *Oh, yeah, this is absolutely perfect.*
Maeve made her way to the upper deck and found that the plank was already lowered for her to descend. She cast a sideways glance at the Nomad and saw none of the higher ranking crewmembers there. *They must have already come ashore.* She began walking through the small port town and soon discovered that there was no 'good side' of town. This was undoubtably the dirtiest town she had ever been to. And the looks she was getting from all the men weren't helping matters one bit.
*Where would I go if I were Sinbad.....* she wondered. She immediately headed toward the nearest tavern, for she had come to know the Captain well in the past year. Ale had recently become one of his weaker points...
Maeve didn't even get a chance to enter the tavern before a small group of drunken men came staggering out and bumped into her. She tried to move past them but was intercepted. "Excuse me, but I need to get in there," Maeve said as politely as possible.
"Why don't you just wait a minute there, sweety?" one man said.
"Yeah, little lady, hang around for awhile..." another drawled.
"Look, 'men', I don't have time for this. Let me pass!"
"No way, sugar." One man grabbed Maeve's arm while another tried to put his arm around her waist. Two more stood by and watched with amusement as she tried to fight them off.
*Damnit, why do I always forget the sword!?* Maeve cursed herself, not realizing that she had forgotten to block her thoughts.
Inside the tavern Bryn was feeding Dermott when suddenly he seemed to get restless. He shifted back and forth between his feet and squawked loudly.
"Bryn, what's wrong with the bird?" Doubar asked.
"I... I don't know. He just started this up all of a sudden."
"Maybe he wants to go outside," Sinbad suggested.
"It's worth a try."
Sinbad stood and held out his arm to Dermott. The hawk landed on Sinbad's rainbow bracelet, and at the same moment Sinbad got the feeling that he needed to get outside, NOW.
As Sinbad stepped outside, a body clad in emerald green was thrown up against the wall of the tavern, followed closely by two men, with two others lagging behind. The woman struggled as two men pinned down her arms and another came closer, casually letting his hands work their way from her neck down her body, stopping at her hips and pulling her to him.
"Don't worry, sweety," the man drawled, "It won't take long."
"If you don't take your hands off me right now, I swear the only thing you'll pull back will be a stump of an arm!" The woman struggled once more but was hit in the stomach for her efforts. The four men holding her captive laughed and closed in on her once again.
Sinbad let Dermott fly off and moved closer to the group. He had had enough. "I believe the lady doesn't wish to be in you company," he said with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"Bug off, we got business to take care of!" The four men drew their daggers menacingly, threatening both Sinbad and the woman.
"So do I," Sinbad drew his saber and flipped it coolly, catching it and leaving himself open for a few seconds for the other men to make the first attack. As usual, they took the bait, stupidly forgetting the difference in their weapons. In the end, all four of the men went away either bleeding, limping, or both, and all unarmed.
Sinbad looked to where the woman was and found that she had slid to the ground, where she was now crying and trying desperately to hide that fact from her savior. Sinbad sheathed his saber as he moved forward, crouched next to her, and put a comforting arm around her waist. Despite herself, she couldn't help but throw her arms around his neck and bury her face in his warm, strong shoulder.
"Are you alright, Miss...."
"Call me Feya," she managed.
Sinbad let his free hand tangle in her long, platinum hair before saying, "Feya, they didn't hurt you did they?"
She sat up and wiped away her tears, then answered, "Only my pride, I suppose. Thank you for helping me, Sinbad." Suddenly his face took on a guarded expression. *Aw, crap, I'm not supposed to know his name yet. I need a cover.....* "Um... I guess I really should feel honored to have been saved by a legend like you, Captain."
Sinbad's expression turned compassionate again as he helped her stand and said, "So, I take it you've heard of me? My ship only just arrived."
"News travels fast." She started to pull away to stand on her own, but changed her mind and allowed Sinbad to support her a little more.
"Are you feeling alright?" Sinbad asked, concern coloring his gorgeous sea-blue eyes.
"Yes... I'm just... feeling a little faint..."
"Why don't you come in and rest for a while?"
"Oh, thank you," she answered gratefully, allowing him to take her arm and lead her into the smelly tavern.
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The Captive - Part 4