There was no mistaking the sound of the doors to the hall flying open, or the audiable gasp coming from the crowd of onlookers. Maeve turned, knowing that she couldn’t see, but hoping that something would give her a clue as to what was happening. Then the sound of Sinbad’s anquished cry met her ears. Closing her eyes, she reached her mind out to Dermott who was perched in one of the halls great windows. "Show me." She whispered, lightly touching the crystal for strength.

The sight of Sinbad filled her mind, the blood staining his hair, the slowly fading bruise on his face, the tear in his pants where a guard’s sword had cut him. Her jaw dropped.

"Maeve, please!" Sinbad’s voice, eyes, and heart pleaded with her. "Don’t marry him, marry me!"

Her breath caught in her throat; she couldn’t have heard him correctly. Slowly she shook her head, "Two days ago, Sinbad, I would have done anything you asked of me, but you left." Her voice died and she broke her connection with Dermott; seeing Sinbad was just too painful for her to handle. Her world plummeted back into darkness. "As Dermott and I watched the Nomad sail away, I decided to fulfill my end of the deal I struck with Xaldar. I am marrying him."

"No." Sinbad was suddenly very calm, he could convince her yet, it wasn’t impossible yet; she still loved him. "Maeve, I didn’t leave you. I’ve been here the whole time."

"He lies!" Xaldar muttered into Maeve’s ear. "He left you in your blindness to suffer alone, that’s how much he loves you!"

"I made him go."

"No, you asked him to go, and he chose the easy way out; instead of fighting for you, he sailed away and didn’t even look back. If he truly loved you he would have fought for your life together. He merely lusted after your body, used your blindness to satisfy his urges, and then left you high and dry. You only mean anything to me, otherwise you’re worthless, and useless and he knew it."

"I never left you, Maeve. I could never leave you, it would be like ripping my own heart out, tossing it onto the floor and then leaving it there. You’re a vital part of my life, Maeve, I need you."

"He needs you all right; he needs you flat on your back when ever he feels the need to satisfy himself. How many times did he ask you if you wanted to? Tell me that, he always just assumed you’d be willing, didn’t he? He only needs you until he’s had his gratification, and then he doesn’t need you anymore. You’ve already fell for his lines once, Maeve, can you afford to do it again?"

"You are my life, Maeve. If you don’t believe me, have Xaldar take you to the dungeons, our entire crew is there, locked up under his orders, even the Nomad herself is hidden away somewhere only Xaldar knows. Maeve please, I couldn’t come back to you, Xaldar wouldn’t allow it!"

Maeve’s head swung back and forth between the two voices, yearning to believe Sinbad, afraid not to believe Xaldar.

"He’s lying, Maeve. My dungeons are inescapable; if Sinbad had indeed been in them, he wouldn’t be here now."

"Rongar rescued me! Yes, Xaldar, you forgot Rongar! When you stormed the ship he evaded your men and came for me! As we speak he is freeing my brother and my crew; it’s over Xaldar."

Maeve felt Xaldar stiffen beside her and before she could react, his arm wrapped around her throat, choking her.

"Well, Sinbad, I’m giving you your choice. You can keep standing there for as long as you like, but only to watch one of two things. Either you watch Maeve marry me, give her a nice little platonic kiss in congratulations and then walk us to our room for our honeymoon, or you can stop this wedding right now, and watch me snap the witch’s neck like a twig. Don’t think I won’t do it; look into her eyes, she knows I will. Maeve has become very familiar with the sting of a whip these last few days; breaking her neck is not a far stretch for me." Xaldar laughed. "The upside is, if you choose the latter, I have no problem with relinquishing her to you afterwards!"

"Why are you doing this to us, Xaldar?" Sinbad asked slowly, trying to reign in his temper.

"Doing what? I’m just saving Maeve from the worthlessness that would have been her life with you." Xaldar never noticed the anger begin to spark in Maeve’s eyes. "Stupid witch actually thought she could be good at magic, you should have seen her all those years ago, I’m going to be the most powerful sorceress in the universe she would say." He laughed cruelly. "Well now she can hardly form a fire ball, and her own teacher didn’t even stick around to finish what they started." Maeve’s face hardened and her fists clenched. "Think about it, Sinbad, even with her sight she was useless to you, well, aside from the obvious that is." His fingers began playing blatantly with the beads on her gown. "You are a man of the sea, your heart pumps pure salt water. Your only concern is what merchant is going to purchase your next cargo. Maeve would have just sat in your cabin always waiting the return of her man like the proper little woman. You would have owned a weak, worthless, nonunique wife, one like every other woman on this godforsaken planet. She’s already crazy, spending her entire day talking to that stupid bird; I believe that hawk will be on my menu sometime in the next few nights," he smirked. Maeve’s eyes narrowed and she raised her hands to press against Xaldar’s chest. He smiled triumphantly. "See, even she wants me!" What Xaldar didn’t notice was Sinbad raise an eyebrow and step away as Xaldar released Maeve and she turned to face him.

Xaldar grinned as she rubbed her palms against his nipples. "Maeve, you’re the one who wanted to wait until we were married. Have you changed your mind?"

Maeve’s eyes sparkled. "Oh yes; I can’t wait one minute longer for this."

"Lay it on me, sweet heart."

"Not a problem." With a lazy grin Maeve slowly opened her mouth and whet her lips. Xaldar shivered in anticipation. Maeve moved forward to whisper softly into his ear. "Buh bye."

Before Xaldar could even blink, two beams of read magic sprang forth from Maeve’s hands, sending the prince flying across the hall. His body slammed into the far wall and he slumped to the ground, unconscious, but alive.

Sinbad was rushing forward and enveloping Maeve in his arms before the glow had faded from her finger tips. He plunged his fingers deeply into her hair and pressed his lips against hers with a force that took her breath away. Her body folded into his and they stood before Allah and all the citizens of Thalderon locked in a lovers embrace.

"Did he hurt you?" Sinbad asked, peering at her closely.

Maeve brushed off his concern. "Nah, he was a prince among men." There was no way she was going to tell Sinbad the truth, she feared the captain may try and kill the prince. Instead she pulled him closer. "You didn’t leave me."

"I’ll never leave you." He whispered to her softly. "Marry me."

He felt her body stiffen, but hung onto her; he only pulled far enough away to watch her face. Her eyes took on a guarded expression, "Why?"

"Why?!" Sinbad starred at her in disbelief. "You are my life’s breath, my heart’s blood, my soul’s redemption. I can’t live without you, Maeve, we were destined to be together, can’t you feel it?" With slight hesitation the sorceress nodded. "I’m nothing without you, you make me whole. Please, you own my heart, Maeve, the only way I can live is if you will marry me. Take me as your husband and I will be your willing slave through this life and all others." Sinbad dropped to his knees and pressed his face against her stomach. With tears of pure joy streaking paths down her cheeks, she held him to her, but still she had to ask one more time to be sure.

"But my eyes...."

"Mean nothing; your eyes be damned Maeve, I’m not going to lose you over something as meaningless as blindness. We will find a way to be together, Maeve, together."

He felt her entire body shudder, and her arms tightened around him. Her voice was a whisper over a soft sob, "Yes."

His heart stopped beating and he had to force air into his suddenly tortured lungs. "Yes?"

"Yes."

"Yes...." Sinbad could hardly believe his ears. "Yes."

"Little Brother!!!" Doubar cried as he burst into the hall. "Are you all right, Sin..." his voice trailed off as he took in the sight of Sinbad and Maeve.

Sinbad stood with tears in his eyes as he turned to face his brother. "She said yes, Doubar."

Firouz and Rongar slammed into Doubar’s back as the big man stopped dead in his tracks. A smile broke across his face and he ran to clap his brother on the back, so hard that Sinbad began to cough, then he hauled Maeve into a bear hug and spun her around. He laughed in pure joy, "When is the wedding?"

Sinbad looked to Maeve. "When?"

Maeve shrugged. "Well, it would be a shame to allow all the money spent on today to go to waste." She smiled and raised an eyebrow.

Sinbad turned to the priest. "Your holiness, I beg your forgiveness for the interuption of todays ceremonies, however, if you would have the patience to wait another two hours I give you my word, there will be a wedding today."

The priest smiled, watching the joy sperad out before him. "My son, take all the time you need."

"Thank you, sir." Sinbad shook the priest’s hand vigourously, and turned back to his bride to be who was still being smothered in hugs by the crew. "Hey, hey, hey... let me in here." He laughed , playfully shoving Firouz away from Maeve; he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her lightly. "Can I walk you back to your rooms?"

She smiled. "Yes, but for the sake of two hours, we really should keep things proper, love." Sinbad blushed as the crew laughed at her comments. "I only meant to walk you there and leave, Doubar, Firouz, Rongar and I have to go purchase dress suites for the wedding." He paused. "That is if you will all stand up with me."

All the men smiled widely and reassurances were flying at the couple; there was no way these men weren’t going to stand up for their best friends.

The next two hours were probably the longest ever in Maeve’s life. She began pacing the room from end to end, growing more and more impatient, and then more and more nervous as the time drew closer.

A knock sounded on the door only minutes before she was supposed to head back to the hall. "Maeve?" Sinbad’s voice reached her ears.

With a smile she hauled the door open. "Hi!"

"Hi." He pressed something soft into her hand. "I brought a present for Dermott."

She cocked her head at him, running her fingers over the small piece of cloth. "What is it?"

"It’s a tie. When I asked the crew to stand up for us, I meant the whole crew."

Dermott squawked loudly, ruffling his feathers, flying gracefully over to where the duo stood. Sinbad retrieved the tiny dress tie, and gently tied it around the bird’s fragile neck. He stroked the bird’s chest feathers lightly. "You’re a good friend, Dermott, and I’d be highly honored if you would agree to be in our wedding."

The bird shifted feet and made tiny noises; Sinbad looked to Maeve who smiled. "He wouldn’t have it any other way."

Sinbad took a deep breath. "Well, my love, are you ready?"

Suddenly Maeve realized that she was; she could finally see what her life was meant to be; she was meant to be a sorceress, she was meant to sail on the Nomad, she was meant to be happy, and she was meant to be Sinbad’s wife. No other feeling could compare to the absolute sense of belonging that washed over Maeve as she took her soul mate’s arm.

"I’m ready."

****************************

"The participants of today’s ceremonies have asked to read their own vows." The priests voice carried clearly to the hundreds of guests. "Sinbad, you may begin."

Sinbad turned and took Maeve’s hand. "The necklace you now wear around your neck was crafted with the purest of emotion, love. It holds the essence of our love within it, our emotions spiralling to change its color to red, the color of passion. This ring I hold for you is crafted from the same crystal, but instead of being red it is white; white for the innocence we see in each other, white for the heat we raise in each other and white for the consistancy we will find in each other. White is the most solid of colors, as ours is the most solid of relationships, and ours is the most solid love."

Maeve blinked back the tears threatening to overwhelm her as Sinbad slipped the ring onto her finger. Her time had come, she smiled gently. "Between us lies something special, whether it be sorcery or destiny; the gods have placed us together, and our hearts took us from there. I know we fought our feelings tooth and nail, but we can’t fight a bond as deep as ours. I give you my heart freely, so that our two lives may become one. I will hold you in my heart from this life, to the next, until our essences fade from this spiritual realm. But true love will never fade, so long after we are gone, we will be remembered by the power of our hearts and our souls, for true love is what we have always had."

Sinbad caressed her palms with his thumbs as the priest finished the rituals. They never heard him pronounce them married, so lost in their world were they. Dermott acted as Maeve’s eyes as Sinbad leaned in to kiss her lovingly. With ever so soft fingers he brushed the tears of joy off of her cheeks. It was then that they turned to face the crowd of friends, family, and Thalderon’s entire population. Not a person in the hall could match the joy the crew felt on behalf of the captain and sorceress; tears misted Doubar’s eyes as he pushed past the crowd of people piling in to congratulate the newlyweds.

The dinner was a splendid array of meats, vegetables and salads, all of which Sinbad and Maeve denied themselves. Their stomachs were turning; they had finally gone through with their fondest dreams. As of this day, Maeve thought our futures are entertwined.

Sinbad gazed at his new wife in wonder. "We’ll never be lonely again, will we?" he whispered.

"Never again," she vowed, finally realizing that in his arms she had found what she had been searching for her entire life. In Sinbad’s arms, Maeve had found home.

Suddenly she felt Sinbad stiffen next to her and the whole hall went deathly silent.

"What is it?" Maeve asked, her usually calm voice breaking in sudden terror.

"It’s unbelievable."

"I beleive you, now what?!" Maeve demanded.

"Zeus."

"Zeus???!!!" Her voice rose unintentionally.

A woman cleared her throat. "Well, I’m here too, you know. Don’t I warrant some attention?" she said, grumpily.

The voice pierced into Maeve’s heart. "Aphrodite?!" she gasped.

Sinbad turned to his bride in surprise. "How did you know she was here?"

Aphrodite giggled. "Maeve and I have recently had a conversation dealing with the benefits of a diety granting life to a mortal."

Realization dawned in Sinbad’s eyes. "The cavern."

Aphrodite nodded. "He’s a smart one, Maeve, figured that out all by himself did he? You surprised me, girl, you were not supposed to remember anything of what happened. The sorcery in your veins must be more powerful than I had thought." She shrugged. "How cool is that?"

"Why are you here, Aphrodite? You said you could only interfere once and you did that the night you brought me back to life." Maeve’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Zeus held up his hand for silence, and Sinbad’s warm fingers tightened on Maeve’s arm to warn her. Zeus stepped before the two. "When my daughter came to you earlier, it was to help you. This time it is not."

Maeve’s fingers found Sinbad’s hand and clutched him tightly; dread filled her heart, a dread mirrored in the heart of her husband. Sinbad held her hand to his chest. "What are you trying to tell us?" Sinbad asked slowly.

Aphrodite cut in before her father could answer. "What daddy is trying to spill is that this is not the right timeline for you two. Your wedding, your future, your..." She cut herself off as she looked at Maeve, "Never mind, all you need to know is that it’s not supposed to happen this way. We need you to go into the future and stop the time line from being disrupted."

Sinbad glared at the goddess. "Why would we do the one thing that would destroy our only chance at happiness?"

"Because if you don’t none of us will ever have a future." Both Maeve and Sinbad’s heads swung in the direction of the new, yet rather familiar voice.

A cloaked figure misted gracefully into their midst. She slid the blue cloak hood back to her shoulders to reveal her identity. Sinbad gasped. "Maeve!"

The celtic sorceress had grey streaking her brilliant red hair, her skin had taken on a harshness never before seen to the young witch, scars covered all of her body that could be seen, and her eyes were glazed over from many years of uselessness caused by blinding. Still there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that this was Maeve.

Her face softened at the voice of her lost love and her hand reached out in his direction. "Hey, sailor." She said softly, but then her face twisted in agony as she clenched her hands across her stomach. "Sinbad, Maeve, we haven’t much time!" Regaining control she stood again. "I no longer answer to the name Maeve; Maeve died the day you did Sinbad. Now there is only Mordred, keeper of time, so proclaimed by the gods as the most powerful sorceress in the universe."

Maeve drew in a deep breath as Aphrodite stepped forward and laid a hand on Mordred’s shoulder. "Maeve, Sinbad, I’m truly sorry for this, but you just simply have to do this. For the sake of our universe, for the sake of millions of lives, you must sacrifice the love you have for one another."

Mordred sighed. "I have finally found you. At long last, it is finally coming to an end."

Sinbad drew Maeve into his embrace and his arms tightened around her body. The day’s joy had decended into first terror and now a bone deep sorrow felt not only by the two, but by everyone in the room. As Sinbad sighed into her ear, Maeve knew what his final decision would be.

Blinking back sudden tears, Maeve stood up to face down the gods and her future self. "Tell us what we have to do."

Continued in Shared Admissions: Part Twelve.

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