Maeve paused for a moment before removing herself from the grasp of the young man. Her blind eyes searched the darkness, trying to come up with some sence of familiarity; the pattern of his mind, slowly entwining itself with hers confirmed what he was saying. His mind was a mixture of hers and Sinbad’s, she could feel Sinbad’s presence with in this boy; a young man no more than five or six years younger than herself, yet still her unborn son. "Declan," she whispered, unaware of her arms wrapped around her stomach in the protective gesture of every mother towards her child, "My son?"

Declan’s eyes shone with tears as he looked upon this very young version of his mother. "Aye, mother," he looked at her curiosly, "You had no knowledge of me yet?"

Maeve slowly shook her head, moving to lean into Sinbad’s embrace; his arms also curled around her stomach, his hands covering hers gently. "We didn’t know... couldn’t know... it’s only been...." Maeve’s voice trailed off as Declan cleared his voice.

"Ten days, I know, you told me all about my father and you years ago."

"Years that are still to come." Sinbad added.

"Aye, but if you are successful in your quest, not for me."

They both drew in a sharp breath, and Sinbad looked at Declan in shock. "What do you mean?"

Declan smiled softly. "Mother told me all about her quest to go back in time to bring you here to stop Xaldar from going back in time. It was all very confusing at first, but then she explained the whole story to me, and why she couldn’t help us herself. I must admit, Mother, seeing you like this, carrying me inside you, well it is a shock, especially since I had never the chance to meet you, Father." Declan smiled, suddenly shy, "I always wondered what you would think of me."

Sinbad smiled at the young man, "I think you have turned out to be a fine young man, Declan, and I do look forward to getting to know you a little better."

"Alas, that is not possible, Father. If you do indeed suceed in changing your time, then I will never be born." Declan shrugged, "Mother explained that to me too; you and mother wouldn’t have had the time in the cavern," he smiled as Maeve’s hand moved to her necklace, "Nor the time in the palace, nor your wedding. That would eliminate every possiblity for me to be conceived; but that’s all right, I saw the way my mother has lived for the last twenty years, and I don’t want you to have to go through that."

Sinbad’s eyes softened. "Now I know you are a good person, Declan." He reached out and shook his son’s hand, "A very fine person indeed. You must love your mother very much."

Declan nodded. "Aye, I do hold her most dearly in my heart; she taught me much magic as she taught herself. She has spent most of our life reading old magic books, a feat not easily obtained as she did not have the benefit of seeing eyes, learning all that she could in her efforts to one day repay Xaldar for killing you, Father. She knew that she needed to stop him, and the only way she knew how was to become the most powerful sorceress in the realm of existence. She taught me so much, she saved me from so much by sacrificing herself; I could never repay what she has done for me."

Maeve smiled. "It would be unnecessary; I would protect your life with my own, Declan, and die willingly with a smile upon my face. All that matters is that my son is well, my life would mean nothing without him."

"You sound so much like my mother, yet you haven’t experienced the things she has to make her as she is. How is that possible?"

"Declan," Maeve said, softly, "Family is not something I grew up with, so subsequently it has become very important to me. You are the son of my one true love; my first and only love, to do any less than to die to protect you would go against my entire nature. Your mother must have hung onto that part of our personality as she changed from Maeve to Mordred."

At the sound of Mordred’s name, Sinbad’s brow furrowed. "You know, that’s something that I have not been able to figure out; if Mordred is Maeve, and Maeve is good, then who was attacking us with the magic and the demons?"

Declan shrugged, "That’s easy, Xaldar is a sorcerer himself; that’s how he was able to activate the talisman you now hold. About eight years ago he came in contact with a very old sorcerer, one by the name of Turok." At the sound of Turok’s name both heads snapped up. "Yes, Rumina’s father, returned from the dead. Apparantly he never had vanquished his thirst for vengence upon you, Father, so when he saw the chance to enact revenge upon your widow and son, he took it. He bestowed upon Xaldar all the powers of a sorcerer, plus all the knowledge that comes with the powers of the dark side." Declan sighed, "He was never a very nice man, but once he had those powers, he went mad. He couldn’t handle the knowledge or the power, and his mind just caved in. That’s when our lives went from miserable to hell; if mother hadn’t been there to protect me all these years, I wouldn’t be alive; Xaldar hurt her badly, but never truly wanted to kill her, so she survived, but me, if he had ever been allowed to release his powers upon me, I would have died. Yes, I know sorcery, but I walk in the light along side Mother, and Xaldar’s powers are surreal instead of natural, I would have been no match for him."

"You’re very calm about all of this for a young man who’s life may end with in the week." Sinbad said, raising his eyebrows.

Declan smiled. "Outwardly, I may seem calm, Father, after all I have had years to deal with the fact that my life wasn’t meant to be. Inwardly, however, I am being ripped apart. There’s just no reason to show the world what I am feeling."

Sinbad’s eyes widened and he turned to stare at his beautiful wife. The things Declan said were straight from Maeve’s heart; for Maeve to admit to having feelings was stretching things, for her to show them was almost improbable, until just recently. She had raised Declan to be like her, and she had done a good job. He truly was a good person, as was his mother.

"Does Xaldar realize that we will be arriving today?" Sinbad asked, peering cautiously around him.

Declan shook his head, "Not likely, he believes you to be dead and Mother to be in his grasp."

Maeve nodded, "Then Firouz and Rongar must still be alive in our time. Mordred said that as long as someone knew what was happening and could keep the memories of the original timeline alive then the future wouldn’t change, but as soon as that person either died or forgot the details of their environment, this whole world would be shaken by the ripples in the timeline, destroying all the activities we know to happen, and killing all chances for us to catch Xaldar."

Declan turned his head towards Maeve in curiosity. "Mother, where is my mother? Why did she not come back with you and father like she had planned?"

Sinbad’s eyes flashed pain for the boy. "Declan...."

The boy nodded sadly, bowing his head. "Aye, I understand, he got her didn’t he?"

"Aye, in the altar just as we were leaving. We killed him in our timeline, but then the original Xaldar attacked just as Maeve and I were preparing to jump; that’s when he killed Doubar and Dermott." Both Maeve and Sinbad had to fight back their feelings about the deaths of their brothers.

"Did she suffer?"

Sinbad shook his head, "No, she passed very quickly; to the end, however, she tried to help us, directing us on how to suceed in time travel. I held her as she passed."

Declan sighed, a single tear escaping his eye and travelling down over his face. "She never truly wanted to live once you died, Father. She lived only for me and to stop Xaldar from killing you. She spent her entire life either trying to enact revenge or taking the blows meant for me; she looked so old, so much older than forty five, she never should have had to turn into what she did. Mordred should never have existed; Maeve walked in the light, with innocence and confidence, Mordred walked on the line between dark and light, her hatred for Xaldar keeping her from the light, but her love for you and me, Father, keeping her from the dark. Her life was in limbo, her spirit will now be reunited with yours, and perhaps she can be happy again."

Maeve reached forward and touched the boy’s cheek. "She died on the side of the light, Declan, with no darkness in her heart. She died in beauty, and her soul will move on in beauty."

"Thank you, Mother." Declan turned away, and straightened his back. "I had better sneak you into the palace before someone sees you and reports to Xaldar. Come, we’ll follow the stone road through the woods."

"Stone road?" Sinbad asked in shock, remembering the treacherous journey he and the crew had only just embarked upon. "When was that built?"

"Oh, about fifteen years ago, it just made passage for the miners to load the ships much easier."

"Miners? Oh, of the gold and jewels."

Declan shook his head. "Oh, no, when I was about three years old this really dark substance was found, if you light it on fire it stays burning for a long time. It’s called coal. We gave up on gold and jewels when we found the coal; people pay great amounts of money for it."

Sinbad looked around, noticing for the first time the bare patches where the forest used to be full and beautiful, the hillsides stripped of rocks and vegitation, the cliff face almost completely gone, and the dark black cloud covering much of the island. "What happened here? Thalderon used to be so beautiful, now it looks like it is dying."

"It is dying, Father, Xaldar has destroyed entire forests searching for his coal. The small crops we used to grow for supplimental grains and vegitables have been choked to death by the black cloud. The animals have long since fled, where to, I have not the knowledge, but food is scarce now, we must ship it in on a weekly basis for the entire community."

Sinbad looked longingly at the destroyed cliff, remembering the events that took place there just over a week before. "And the cliff? What happened to it?"

Declan sighed. "You were burried at the base of the cliff, Father, Mother insisted that your body be interred in the ground below her most treasured memory of you in Thalderon. When I was about six years old and mother took me there to show me where my father was burried for the first time, Xaldar became enraged. He took some of his exploding sticks and planted them all the way through the cavern; he took mother and myself there one day, under the guise of escorting her to your grave, and destroyed it before my very eyes. Mother knew what had happened, I could tell, the light entirely faded from her soul for that one instant, but luckily she was able to hang onto her rage long enough to come back to the light. As for me, that day I lost the only solid evidence of my father I had, until now."

Maeve sighed. "Lead us to the palace, Declan, and we’ll see what we can do about setting things right."

"Aye, mother."

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

Declan led them through the vines covering the castle walls. "Through here there is a hidden entrance into the servants quarters. Follow me and I’ll lead you out into the great hall."

Silently Sinbad led Maeve around the sharp rocks protruding from the floor, roof and all surfaces of the tunnel, making sure her step was steady, and she was progressing comfortably. As he fussed about her, Maeve began trying to shrug him off; finally she spun on her heel in frustration.

"Sinbad! I am blind not stupid! I will not fall! Just warn me if there is a rock in my path or something, and just please, quit hovering!"

"You aren’t just blind, Maeve, you are also pregnant. I don’t want anything to happen to you." Sinbad touched her arm.

Maeve rolled her eyes. "Sinbad, at most I am ten days pregnant, believe me, I’m fine! Now stop treating me like an invalid and let’s get moving! Time is of the essence here."

"Ten days pregnant is still pregnant, and I want you to be careful!"

Unnoticed by the squabbling duo, Declan smiled softly. He had never had the oppurtunity to have a real family; his mother, though she loved him dearly, was severly traumatized by his father’s passing, he had not known his father in the least, and his step father hated him visciously. Watching Maeve and Sinbad bicker good naturedly at each other was comforting to him; his parents may now both be lost to him, but he knew that these two would make a good family for their child, no matter what child may be born to them in their future. Perhaps his spirit will again be given the chance to be their child, perhaps he would someday live a life with Maeve and Sinbad as his parents, as his family, with brothers and sisters and animals and a house, to grow up and have his own children, to pass onto them the love and caring his parents would have taught him, all the things he had craved but could never have.

Suddenly they came up upon a door; slowly Declan peered through the entrance into the corridor before him. "All clear," he whispered back, stepping out quietly, signalling for them to follow.

Stopping their feuding, Maeve and Sinbad slipped into their professional personalities, sliding softly into the corridor after their son, following very closely. Declan dissapeared through another doorway, his soft whisper to follow the only evidence they had that he was all right. Maeve worried about him, hoping he was being cautious, praying that he knew what he was doing.

The door exited into the great hall, the very same hall that they had time slid out of only two hours before. Sinbad slid up close to Maeve, "How come when we went through time we didn’t land here in the great hall. Wouldn’t time travel keep you in the same area you left in? We were all the way down to the landing point at the beach."

Maeve furrowed her brow. "I don’t really know for sure; perhaps the talisman is also a spacial as well as temporal bender. Sinbad, I hardly even know how I got the talisman to work this well; at least we are when we needed to be."

Sinbad shrugged, "I guess... I was just curious."

"And you know what they say: Curiosity killed the cat, as it shall you, Sinbad."

Maeve turned at the sound of the too familiar voice, feeling Sinbad stiffen on one side of her, and Declan jump on her other side. She reached her hand out to calm the boy, and glared in the direction Xaldar’s voice had come from.

"Hello, Xaldar."

"Well, if it isn’t my ravishing bride. I have to admit, I like you better as you are here than I ever did that counter part of yours that I married. What a hag."

"My mother was beautiful, as beautiful as any being in this world! She would have been even more radiant if you had ever treated her with a measure of decency, Xaldar!"

"Declan," Maeve’s voice warned, "Don’t get him any angrier than he already is, we need to get out of this alive."

"Not likely, my dear." Xaldar snarled. "Though I may let you live for a while... just until I’ve had my fill of you; your other was, shall we say, unappealing to me; you, however, are not. But either way the boy and that annoying sailor you keep insisting you love are dead where they stand."

A green flow of magic shot out of Xaldar’s hand directed towards the two young men. Sinbad leapt for Maeve, pushing her to the ground, and Declan threw himself against the wall. The beam of magic shot past them harmlessly, but Xaldar only laughed. "Play all you like, my boys, you will die here today."

Maeve formed a fireball and threw it toward the direction Xaldar’s voice was coming from; Xaldar merely sighed dramatically and misted out of that plane of existence; the fireball passed through him harmlessly, and he misted back. With a wave of his hand, Maeve’s running body was yanked backwards by an invisible leash around her neck; Xaldar’s index finger moved slightly and the leash tightened on her throat , stealing her breath from her lungs.

"Maeve!"

"Mother!"

The two cries rang out simultaneously, as both young men ran for the woman they held in common. As they reached her, Xaldar laughed and began reeling the leash in towards him; Maeve’s body was dragged across the cold stone floor, her back scraping open on the sharp edges of the rocks, her mind beginning to numb with the lack of oxygen.

As Declan lashed out at Xaldar with a blue stream of magic, Sinbad ran to Maeve’s head and began trying to untie the string of magic. "Come on, pretty lady, work with me here... concentrate on breaking your bonds."

Maeve was hardly conscious as Sinbad’s words penetrated the fog in her brain. Forming the words to an incantation, she began to whisper them, using her last breaths to breath the words into the world. "May your magic have no control over me, may your thoughts have no authority over me, may your power have no affect on me, may my powers release me." Sinbad felt the magic fade from the thread as it loosened around Maeve’s throat; without hesitation she passed out.

Sinbad had to laugh with relief; he was going to have to talk to her about her recently developed habit of passing out during a battle.

"FATHER!!!" Declan screamed out, as he, weakened, had to give up his attack. "Behind you!"

Turning just in time to see Xaldar form a fireball in his hand and throw it directly at the captain, he wrapped his arms and legs around his wife rolled them both away from the fireball. It turned to follow them. "What the...???"

Sinbad rose to his feet and turned directions again, again the fireball moved to chase after him. Sinbad continued to dodge the fireball, but it continued to keep up with him. The heat from the fire reached his sash, and Sinbad had to hurriedly rip it away from his body before the rest of his clothing caught on fire.

"MAEVE! WAKE UP, I NEED YOU!" Sinbad hollared in desperation as he passed by the prone form of the sorceress. Miraculously, Maeve raised her head from the ground, her lungs again drawing in the necessary air for her to live.

"What?" she cried in confusion, damn her lack of sight, she can never help when she’s needed!

"What can you do to get a fireball off my butt?"

"Tell you to duck?" Maeve furrowed her brow.

"I’ve tried that, it follows me!"

Maeve’s jaw dropped in shock, but she began to think quickly. Without more than a moment’s hesitation she spoke an incantation, and the room exploded into a rain storm. Within seconds the fireball fizzled out and Sinbad relaxed against the wall.

Instead of being angry, Xaldar appeared amused. "When did you get so powerful, little girl?" he asked cruelly.

Maeve shrugged. "Desperate times, I suppose. I won’t let you kill him, you know, Xaldar." She bravely raised her chin to face him.

Xaldar merely chuckled. "You have no choice, my dear. I tire of this game." The sorcerer flicked a finger and a bolt of lightening began to strike from directly behind Sinbad who was facing Maeve; Sinbad was unaware of the lightening’s existance.

Knowing that Sinbad would never be able to react in time to save both himself and Maeve from the lightening, Declan began running towards his parents. "FATHER, MOTHER, WATCH OUT, PLEASE!!!" Diving at the last moment into the path of the bolt of lightening, he was struck dead on, and flung backwards into his parents who had just begun to turn.

Sinbad’s eyes widened in horror as he took in the sight of the black, gaping hole filling Declan’s once beautiful chest, and continuing to widen as the heat ate away at his skin. Black burns covered his youthful face, and charred the skin all over his body. His clothing had melded right into his skin, and there was smoke rising up from the boy’s body.

"Declan?" Maeve’s hands reached out to touch her son, unaware of the extent of the damages, knowing only that the smell that reached her nose was sickening her, and at the same time terrifying her. "Declan?" The presence that had only recently began to fill her heart flickered as Declan’s life force flickered.

"Don’t, Maeve." Sinbad held her close. "Don’t touch him."

Maeve drew in a deep horrified breath. "Don’t tell me not to touch him!! He’s my son!" Her fingers came in contact with the charred skin of what used to be Declan’s strong arm, skin that was melted and peeling away in her hand.

"Mother...." Came the boy’s tortured whisper, as he forced himself to take air into his dissolving lungs. "Mother... loved you... live... happy.... try.... please?" Before she could answer him, his eyes glazed over, and his life forced faded completely.

Maeve felt the void fill her heart once more and tears filled her eyes, "Oh, no. Oh, please, by the gods, no."

Xaldar’s cruel laugh came from behind them, and Sinbad jerked around, suddenly remembering the sorcerer. "One down, two to go." Xaldar had wasted too much energy playing with the small family, he had to rest before facing the witch and captain again; at least he had gotten rid of that annoying little pest. "See you soon, Captain. Enjoy your little family reunion, it has become a real blast hasn’t it?" Xaldar laughed again. "I guess it was bring your own barbeque."

Sinbad lunged at the sorcerer, but Xaldar misted out of the room before the captain could reach him. "ARGH!" Sinbad hollared, as his fists connected only with the air, and Xaldar’s laugh echoed through out the hall.

Sinbad turned back to find Maeve; Maeve who was sitting by the still burning body of what used to be their son; Maeve who was rocking herself back and forth, clutching at her stomach, tears streaming down her face; Maeve who was his heart, his soul, his life, Maeve who he couldn’t help yet again; Maeve who was heading dangerously close to the dark side of her powers.

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

Continued in Shared Admissions: Chapter Thirteen, Section Two

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