Promises fulfilled

by Torra

Sinbad stood looking out over the cliffs to the sea, "I fulfilled my promise, Maeve," he whispered into the wind. "I bought you home."

Sinbad looked down to the bunch of white heather he held clenched in his fists. "I promised I would. Do you remember the day you asked me to? I remember. You said 'Sinbad, the day I don't make it home to you, I want you to take me back to the home I left behind.' Those were your exact words, do you remember, Maeve?

"I never thought I would *have* to remember. I just always thought....I thought we would be together.... forever. I never thought..." Sinbad's voice became choked off as the tears began to fall again. He struggled to go on, "I never thought I would have to make this journey. I never thought I'd have to bring you back here...to meet your family...only to tell them I was there to bury you." Sinbad wiped some of the tears from his cheeks, "I did, you know. Meet them...all of them.... all the ones still alive, that is. Your mother misses you. Your father too...and....your brother. I'm sorry, Maeve. Dublin and Shan died in a raid two winters ago...but I guess you already knew that, huh? They're probably with you on the other side now.

"Dermott is okay, though. He hasn't decided whether or not to stay. He says as the only living son, now that he's in human form again, he should stay with your mother and father, but he's just like you,
Maeve. He wants to explore again. To sail the seas with us on The Nomad." Sinbad had to stop for a few moments as the lump in his throat choked off his words.

Taking several deep, shuddering breaths, he went on, "It was a beautiful ceremony...I mean...that's what everyone told me. I--I just couldn't be there. I couldn't watch as they put you in the ground. You always belonged in the sky...in the sea. Somewhere where you could move around, to flow around the world and explore...not bound, trapped in the ground, never able to leave. I just couldn't watch them do that to you. I know it's what you wanted, what you asked for...but...Oh Maeve, I just can't let you go yet!"

Sinbad fell to his knees, not heading the tears any longer as they fell down his face, "No Maeve, No....I don't know if I can do this without you...I love you so much. I don't want to let you go. I don't want you to leave me again. I don't want you to leave."

A hand resting on his shoulder cut off his choked sobs for a moment. Looking up he looked into the eyes of his love's Father, Dunban.

"She hasn't left you, Sinbad." he said.

It was all he needed to say, and Sinbad felt his walls crumbling again. Dunban sat down beside Sinbad, looking out over the sea as Sinbad spent his tears. After the worst of Sinbad's sobs faded, he spoke up again.

"It's my fault she left, really. I was the one who accused her of harming her brother. Of consorting with the Dark Gods. Her brothers, Dublan especially, didn't believe she could do such a thing. Her
mother was too deep in morning the loss of her second son to pay attention to the rest of her children at the time. The pain was just too fresh.

"I believed the strangers. I held their word over that of my own child. My only daughter. I sent the Warriors to fetch her one night while she was out on the moors. I thought all that time she spent
alone on the moors was proof of her consorting with Evil Forces. I never thought--" His voice caught and he tried again. "I sent the Warriors after her...and she fought them. She took two down with
magic, two more with only her sword...the sword her brother Dermott had given her on her 13th birth celebration. I never thought one girl, one CHILD, could defeat four of the Clan's strongest, best trained Warriors...I just believed it more proof against her.

"After the fight, she ran. I never thought I'd see her again, but two nights later she came to my room. I don't know how she got in. She tried to explain to me, to tell me what had happened, about how the strangers had bespelled Dermott. I didn't believe her. My own blood, and I didn't believe her."

Sinbad looked over to the old Clan Chief, and it seemed as if he had aged ten years simply in the telling of the story.

"I tried to kill her." he finally whispered.

"What?" Sinbad choked out from his now dry throat

Dunban nodded, his eyes red with unshed tears. "I tried to take her life. I thought she had killed my son...I thought.... Gods, how could I have been so blind!" Dunban let several of the tears fall but
pressed on. "She didn't raise a hand to me in defense. I drew my dagger on her and tried to slash her across the face. I missed, but just barely...and she just looked at me...with tears in her eyes...and
didn't say anything. She...she waved her hand in the air, and began to fade into mist...but her eyes.... they were the last to fade. She just kept looking at me with those huge tear-filled eyes...and I realized what I had done. And she was gone before I could try to stop her."

Dunban took a shaky breath, trying to control his emotions, "I never forgave myself for what I did to her. For making her leave. But...even in the darkest times after that...I always knew she never completely left me." Dunban looked up at Sinbad, "I knew she was always with me...and maybe even forgave me. I knew as long as I loved her, she *could* never leave me. Not completely. And I know I'll never stop loving her...my daughter...my sweet, beautiful daughter."

Dunban had to take a deep breath before he could continue, "You see, Sinbad, when you love someone...they never leave you. You always carry a piece of them, of their love...here, in your memories of them..." Dunban tapped Sinbad's right temple. "And right here..." he finished, placing a hand over Sinbad's heart.

The two men spent the next several moments in silence, looking out over the cliffs to the sea, before Dunban stood up and walked away, leaving Sinbad wrapped up in his thoughts once again.

Finally, Sinbad drew himself to his feet. Taking a deep breath of the heather, he tossed it out to the sea. The flowers were caught in the wind and lifted upwards, spreading around though the sky. It spread all around, some of the flowers continuing to be blown by the winds, some of them falling to the water to be carried off by the currents to places unknown.

"I'll never stop loving you, Maeve." Sinbad whispered, before slowly turning away from the cliffs and heading back to the village and his friends.

Fin

This story was originally called "In The Hills", but I decided to change the name on the simple fact that almost no one UNDERSTOOD the original title! ::LOL::  S'ok.  I like this new title just as well..and I hope you do too.  Don't forget, FEED BACK OR ELSE!
    Torra

ps
HUGE thanks go out to Selynne for spell checking and Beta reading this.  Selynne, you're TRULY a God's Send.  (They probably sent you to Debunk my insanity ...bigest mistake THEY ever made.)