Doubar spent the entirety of the next morning pacing the length of the village. He’d walk to the south end of the town and stare at the cliffs, then he’d pace to the north end just to stop himself from dwelling on his brother’s where abouts. Dermott flew over his head, circling the village in time with Doubar’s pacing; the bird was equally as impatient as the large sailor.

Xaldar, Tayia, and Firouz watched Doubar closely. "Brother, may we not leave this very moment? The man is frantic about his brother, making him wait is not fair on our parts." Tayia asked, turning those beautiful blue eyes onto her brother, pleading with him.

Firouz nodded, "We’re all rested from yesterday anyway. We could leave now and make the cavern by twilight. Sooner if we pick up our pace."

Xaldar sighed, he hadn’t wanted to get ahead of schedule, and Allah knows he didn’t want to find Sinbad alive and well, but the prospect of perhaps running into Maeve once more made him nod. Besides, he couldn’t keep giving non existant excuses to his sister and companions. "Fine. Doubar!" he called, "Pack your room, we’re moving out in thirty minutes!"

An all encompasing grin broke across Doubar’s face as he broke into a run. Within fifteen minutes they were ready to leave, only this time they had a horse for the princess to ride upon. Doubar set a grueling pace back to the cliff face, but with the princess riding upon the horse, nobody really had a problem keeping up.

"We want to make it to the cavern by nightfall, should the witch decide to try anything. Perhaps we’ll luck out and find Maeve; we could use all the protection we can get our hands on." Xaldar said as he hurried after Doubar.

Doubar grunted, "Aye, and more likely than not, where we find Maeve, we find Sinbad." Pulling ahead, Doubar missed Xaldar’s scowl entirely, and took his silence to mean he approved.

Tayia’s ears almost literally perked up. "Then Maeve has found her true love? She always said she would never fall in love; this Sinbad must be a great man to have captured her heart." she sighed. "Oh, how romantic to be able to choose your life’s love, to marry the one that makes your heart ache. Father has arranged my marriage."

Firouz frowned. "Well, judging by the way they have been acting lately, I wouldn’t exactly say something like that to those two, you’d be very likely to lose some vital body part, your highness, just as a warning. But why would your father want to arrange your wedding at this point in your life? Does he not want you to find happiness?"

Tayia shook her head. "Oh, no. As the future queen of this Island, I must marry so that the country has a strong king to give me strong daughters to sit upon the throne. The future of Thalderon is my only life, and my only concern. My happiness exists only when Thalderon is a thriving country, and its people are satisfied. Father searched the kingdom to find me a suitable husband, he saw it as his honorable duty to me, and has done his best. I am to be married during the morning of my coronation day in front of Allah and my subjects."

"Two such large events in one day, your highness? That can be a rather draining experience on the energy of one so young." Firouz said sympathetically.

Tayia smiled delicately. "Perhaps, but as the future queen, I cannot show such weakness. Besides, it’ll be well worth the trouble should these acts secure the future of Thalderon. A strong marriage and a strong heir will bring much peace to my land."

Firouz looked at her in admiration. "Spoken like a true queen." He was truly beginning to like this child queen.

Doubar scowled back at them, "Less talk and a faster pace would help get us to the cliffs much sooner, Firouz." He paused and looked back again in horror. "I beg your parden, your highness, I did not mean to speak roughly to you."

"No, Doubar, you are quite right." Tayia responded, urging her horse into a faster walking gait. "I realize your concern for your brother, and our dear friend, Maeve. Please, let us move as quickly as we possibly can, and perhaps I’ll receive the pleasure of seeing my old friend once more."

Firouz looked to the sky as they doubled their pace. "I wonder where Dermott has gone off to." He said.

Doubar waved a hand. "It doesn’t matter, the bird will find his way to us if he wants to. He’s probably just off hunting something for dinner. You know Dermott."

"Yes, but does it not seem odd to you that he followed us to Morani, knowing that Maeve was in danger? Then staying with us all evening, only to fly away this morning with out a word of warning?" Firouz drew out his magnascope and began to scan to skies. "He is no where near us now."

Doubar sighed. "Then that’s all the more reason to continue at a quicker pace, Firouz! Perhaps she wasn’t in danger last night and she is this morning! Arg, why must you ask such meaningless questions, Dermott can take care of himself!"

"Doubar, he is part of the crew, we should try and find out what has happened to him."

"Forget the bird! If we find Maeve and Sinbad, we will find Dermott, now walk!"

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

Sinbad and Maeve were laying in each other’s arms in a grassy clearing on the Morani side of the mountains. Their time in the hot springs had lasted for hours; more often than not sitting on the cavern floor wrapped in a warm embrace discussing their past, present and future.

Maeve could hardly stop herself from smiling all the time; once that one tiny moment of pain had passed, pain that was greatly eased by Sinbad’s gentle touch, her world had been filled with nothing but pleasure and passion. Even her blindness could not take from her the joy she felt at hearing Sinbad’s voice or feeling his delicate caress; she couldn’t get enough of him it seemed.

Once their passions had been sated and their tired bodies had rested some, Sinbad had led Maeve down the tunnel, a tunnel that opened into an entirely new cavern which in turn led to the outside world. As they had prepared to leave the cavern, Sinbad looked at his sorceress in wonder; her joy, her love, her courage and innocence took his breath away. Even now he longed to take her in his arms and make love to her again, never letting go; his passion for her, instead of decreasing after being realized, had only increased steadily. By Allah he loved her.

With a sigh they left the cavern and Maeve had Sinbad promise to never allow her to forget what it had looked like. For though she hadn’t seen it, her mind created a picture of its own, and she never ever wanted that to fade away.

By the time they had reached the grassy clearing they were laying in now, twilight had fallen, and Sinbad saw no reason to carry on. "Doubar and Firouz will have the princess back here in a matter of hours," he had said, "Perhaps this is the best place to wait; the walk to Morani would be too treacherous for you, I fear, my love."

Maeve shook her head. "Sinbad, you aren’t going to try and coddle me now, are you? Just because we’re lovers, doesn’t mean that I feel any differently about my life than I ever had. Haven’t you learned by now, nothing stops me? I am not weak, or slow, or helpless, and as soon as my sight returns I won’t be needing a guide either, so don’t base your decision to stay here on my capablilities. If you say we have to be somewhere, then believe me, I’ll get there, and in one piece!"

Sinbad waited for the sorceress to stop lecturing him before lifting her into his arms. He trailed hot kisses from her neck down to the tops of her breasts and back up again to settle against her mouth. He breathed in deeply, loving the very sight and scent of her body, a body he had come to know very well. He knew exactly where her weak spot was.

Dipping his head, Sinbad brought his mouth across to her ear; taking the lobe slowly between his teeth, Sinbad began to nibble gently while his hands busied themselves with unlacing her vest, and pulling off her dress.

Sinking back into the soft grass, Maeve had smiled; she could get used to being loved like this forever.

Now the morning had come and they were up and about early; still they had no reason to leave. Sinbad truly didn’t believe that Maeve would be able to make the journey unscathed; there were too many hazzards for her to fall into in her disadvantaged state, especially before she had accustomed herself to her new way of life. Besides, he told himself, Doubar and Firouz had to pass them by on their way back to the capital, so Sinbad decided that they would rejoin their group at that time.

So they had gotten up, dressed themselves, and gone to gather fruits and water for their breakfast. Being caught giving into their passions by their crew kept them from touching for fear they wouldn’t be able to stop there.

Sinbad led Maeve over to a nearby apple tree. "Would you pick us some apples, Maeve? I’ll go and get us some water."

Maeve smiled over her shoulder, "I think I can handle that." Rolling up her skirt to use as a carrier, Maeve slowly began picking apples, only hoping that they were as fresh and ripe as they felt to her.

It was just as she was turning to head back to camp that a famililiar voice reached her ears. "Dermott!!!" she cried, loudly, turning in a complete circle, chasing the sound of his call, "Dermott, over here!" She knew her directions were unnecessary, however she felt so over joyed by the sound of the birds call that she forgot herself for a moment.

She closed her eyes and focussed upon the bird. "My sister, I have finally found you."

"Aye, my sweet, you have. Is all well?" As Maeve reached her mind out to meld with the bird, she was amazed to be able to see the world as the bird did. Though her physical eyes had been damaged, her minds eye had not. The land had never looked more beautiful; her heart ached for the sights that she could no longer behold.

"I searched for you, sister, but I found only darkness. What has happened?"

Maeve smiled, "We will discuss it later, brother, come see me now."

Moving carefully back to camp, Maeve dropped the apples to the ground and donned her hawking glove; Dermott flew to her and perched on her arm. Moments later Sinbad came running out of the trees, frantic after hearing Maeve cry out, only to see her sitting down safely, gently caressing her beloved pet. "Mae.... Dermott!!!!!" he cried in shock.

"Sinbad, the others are returning, and they are getting closer as we speak. Dermott says that at their speed they should reach us by late afternoon, early evening."

Maeve couldn’t see the flash of disapointment cross Sinbad’s face, but the same look was mirrored on her own. Their time together was coming to an end, and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

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

They spent the rest of that morning and well into the afternoon collecting firewood and food for the group to eat that night at camp. Neither Maeve or Sinbad particularly wanted to return to the cavern, for two reasons; one, should Mordred attack, they would be like sitting ducks, or fish in a barrel, all lined up in a row for her to kill. Two, neither particularly relished returning to the place where memories of the last two days would be forced back into their hearts and minds once more. Being together without actually being together was going to be a trial in itself, being back in the caverns would just make it worse for them. So they built up a suitable camp, Maeve relying on Dermott to be her eyes as she worked on her chores, Sinbad relying on Dermott to keep an eye on Maeve in case she got ambitious and tried something stupid.

Dusk began to fall quickly once their camp was ready, and Sinbad built a cooking fire so that when the others arrived they would have food and drink to warm their bellies. Moving to stand behind Maeve, he brought his arms around her, drawing her near. She looked almost forlorn, looking out into the night without actually seeing anything; Sinbad sighed against her neck. "Still nothing?"

She shook her head and leaned back into him. "It’ll come, I just have to have patience."

Sinbad felt his heart drop. She was kidding herself, and he knew it; her eyes would have recovered by now if they were going to, the ice had done too much damage. Still, he didn’t have the heart to dash her hopes; he’d wait and have Firouz look her over when the scientist and Doubar returned, then he’d have to find a way to tell her, because if anyone was going to, he knew it had to be him.

Without warning, Dermott flew overhead screaming in terror.

"Maeve, what is it?!" Sinbad hollared as he pulled away to scan the skies for the hawk.

"She’s coming, Sinbad, and she’s coming after us!!! We have to..." Her voice trailed off as she felt Sinbad stiffen and Dermott’s warning filled her mind. She turned and screamed out, "DUCK!! SINBAD DUCK!!"

Without hesitation they both dove to the ground just as a huge fireball flew over their heads and ignited the trees next to the camp with a blast. Moments later the space around them filled with dark warriors, human shaped but covered with dark cloaks so that not a piece of their body could be seen. These dark creatures drew their sceptors, sceptors that glowed in the dark. Sinbad shook his head, "Maeve, we’re in trouble."

Maeve drew back her hand and formed a fireball. "They’re not the only ones around here that can play with fire. Just tell me where, Sinbad."

Sinbad had to admire the fire that burned in the sorceress’s soul, and as he drew his own sword, he looked about him, "Starboard, Maeve, and fast!"

Maeve turned to her right and let the fire ball fly; she heard the scream of pain as her target was engulfed in flame. "Port!" She flung herself around to her left and let loose another fire ball.

Sinbad threw himself into the battle, swinging his sword as though it were an extention of his arm; one could hardly distinguish his sword from his body as they moved as one, slaying the dark warriors, drenching the clearing in their unholy blood.

Sinbad turned as he heard Maeve cry out in pain, and witnessed a warrior slice its sword down her side, her clothing ripped widely, but only a thin line of blood appeared. She turned immediately and fried the creature with a bolt of magic, turning again to fling another fireball into the direction she could hear something approaching her. The duel cries of death met her ears, and a viscious smile crossed her face. Sinbad raised an eyebrow, she certainly had a streak of the warrior in her, and he turned back to his own battle.

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

The giant fireball in the near distance was what captured the attention of Doubar, Firouz and their royal companions. What had them running full tilt for the fireball was the flurry of smaller explosions that followed.

"Maeve!" Firouz cried, "She’s alive!"

"And she’s in trouble!" Doubar cried as he hurtled himself through the trees towards the glowing horizon. He and Firouz drew their swords and shoved their way into the clearing where Maeve and Sinbad were fighting bravely against impossible odds. Doubar had to duck as Maeve turned at the sound of him arriving and threw her fireball at him. She appeared to be looking straight at him as she did it, though, and to Doubar that was the oddest thing about the accident.

Quickly he hit the ground and her fireball passed harmlessly by him igniting the bush from where he had just come. He raised his eyebrows and called out to her, "Maeve! That’s twice in three days that you’ve nearly killed me with one of those things! Be careful, girl!"

"Doubar?????" She cried out, "Doubar, where are you? Port or starboard to me?"

Doubar looked at her oddly as he slayed a dark warrior. "What are you talking about, girl? I’m in front of you and to your right!"

"Fine!" Turning to her left Maeve let sail another fireball, praying that she would hit the target she had heard coming. Hearing a scream of agony, Maeve growled in satisfaction. "Sinbad! How many more?!"

"One at ten o’clock, Maeve!" She turned and slew the creature. "One at four!" She turned a half circle and heard the scream. "Three at twelve o’clock, but Firouz is there too!" Conjuring a larger fireball, Maeve turned to twelve o’clock.

"Firouz, if you don’t want to become barbeque, duck!" Firouz didn’t hesitate as he leapt to the side, and Maeve let sail the larger fireball, engulfing the three warriors in burning flames.

As the number of warriors began to dwindle under the flashes of swords and fireballs, Doubar and Firouz began to turn and look at Maeve and Sinbad oddly. They were working almost as one, he calling out directions, she turning without a breath of time’s passing; they appeared to be undefeatable.

Sinbad plunged his sword deeply into the chest of the final warrior, giving it a twist as the creature began to slide off of it to his death. Quickly sheathing his sword, he moved to take Maeve’s arm, "That’s it, Maeve, you can stand down now."

Allowing her last fireball to disolve harmlessly, Maeve slumped back into Sinbad’s arms. "How’d I do?"

Sinbad raised his eyebrows and with a smile said, "Well, there are a few less trees and bushes than there used to be," she scowled at him, and he laughed, "But there are a hell of a lot less dark warriors too. You did excellently."

Doubar and Firouz looked at each other in confusion; they were pleased to see the duo so close to each other, but something about Maeve was wrong. Why was she not looking around for herself, why did Sinbad have to give her directions on where to aim, and why was she looking for approval? Maeve didn’t care what anybody thought of her actions, she just did what she felt like and the world be damned.

Sinbad whispered, "Brace yourself for a second, I want to have a look at your side." She nodded and he dropped himself to his knees. Pulling open the sliced side of her dress and vest, he peered at her wound in the light of the burning trees. That raised both Doubar and Firouz’s eyebrows in shock, that Maeve would allow anybody to peer at her as intimately as Sinbad was at that moment passed all belief. Sinbad slid his fingers into the tear, and probed the wound. She drew in a sharp breath. "Hurt much?" he asked with a smile.

"No more so than any other pain of the last few days." She said, trying to sound cocky.

Sinbad chuckled and Maeve blushed, realizing the alternate way her statement could have been taken . Sinbad laughed at the same time and stood up. "It’ll be fine in a couple of days, I don’t even think that it is deep enough to leave a scar."

Maeve smiled and took his hand, "Thank you."

Sinbad gently led Maeve around the corpses of the fallen warriors, to a fallen tree for her to sit upon; running her hand over the wood, Maeve seated herself hesitatingly. "I won’t be far," he whispered to her, "Just talking to Doubar and Firouz." He handed her her hawking glove, "Call Dermott to be near you."

"Aye, aye, Captain," Maeve said, quietly, donning her glove. "You’ll tell them?"

Sinbad nodded, "Yes, I mean it’s not like they aren’t going to notice, besides, we can have Firouz look you over too see if maybe there is some way he can restore your sight."

"Perhaps."

Sinbad looked back at her as he walked over to his brother and the scientist, but as Dermott perched on her arm, he knew she would be fine for the time he’d be away from her.

"Okay, little brother, what’s wrong?" Doubar said, after hugging the breath out of Sinbad, and clapping him on the back so hard, he almost knocked the captain off his feet.

Sinbad looked at them aprehensively. "The cave-in in the cavern, it was more than that, it was an explosion, I’m sure."

"How can you be so sure?"

"The force of the air coming out of that tunnel knocked Maeve straight off her feet, at least fifteen feet straight through the air, and then allowed her to drop into a chasm. A simple cave in couldn’t have caused such a gust of wind."

Firouz nodded. "A displacement wave; when the tunnel was filled in with so much rock, the space inside it needed some place to go, so it went into your cavern. You say she fell into a chasm? Is that why she is acting so strange? Do you need me to examine her?"

Sinbad nodded. "Firouz, I really would like you to examine her, as a matter of fact, I was going to ask you to as soon as I filled you both in on what had happened." Firouz made to walk towards Maeve. "Firouz, wait, there’s something you need to know." He waited until Firouz turned back to him. "When Maeve was tossed off that cliff, she landed in a pool of freezing water, and she was in there for a long time. She wasn’t breathing and her heart wasn’t beating when I finally was able to pull her out. She was like that for at least fifteen minutes, because that was how long I worked on her to bring her back after I removed her from the pond."

Firouz nodded. "So you were able to revive her?"

Sinbad shook her head. "Not exactly. I had given up trying to revive her, and for no apparent reason her body just started working again."

Firouz frowned. "How odd."

"I know, but that’s not the worst of it." He rested a hand on Firouz’s shoulder and leaned in to speak lowly. "Firouz, she’s blind, completely, totally blind. She sees nothing, not even the different shading of the suns light. She’s been like this since she awoke, and I really don’t think her sight is coming back. Could you make sure for me before I tell her?"

"You want me to examine her, tell her she’s all right, and then tell you the truth?" Firouz looked at him sadly.

Sinbad nodded. "If she is going to be blind for life, I want to be the one to tell her. Do you understand?"

Both Firouz and Doubar nodded, and the scientist moved over to Maeve to examine her. She smiled bravely as he sat down before her, and began shining his torch light into her eyes. Nothing, her pupils never dilated, nor did her eyes even attempt to track the light. Firouz sighed, noticing the slight red tinge filling the whites of her eyes, the burst vessels, the wide open pupils, and he knew the truth. Still he took her hand and said, "Maeve, just let me examine you for a moment, to make sure that the cold didn’t do any more damage than what it has done to your eyes."

"Firouz, when will I get my sight back?" Maeve asked, her face imploring him for the truth.

Firouz swallowed hard, and looked away from her, concentrating on checking her skin’s temperature, her side where the cut lay, and her reflexes. "I won’t know for a few minutes Maeve. I need to examine my information." He lied through his teeth.

Getting up and moving back to Sinbad and Doubar, he came in on the end of the brothers’ talk. "How are you going to feel if she never sees again?" Firouz heard Doubar ask.

"The same as I do now, brother. I love her, whether she is blind or not, I don’t care. I love her." Sinbad answered his brother in his most brutally honest manner, and neither Doubar nor Firouz doubted his word for a moment.

Firouz walked up to them and spoke lowly. "That’s a good thing, Sinbad. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but my news is not good."

"It’s permanent? She’ll never see again, will she?"

Firouz shook his head. "I’m afraid not. The water she fell into must have been extremely cold; the vessels in her eyes have burst from it, and she has probably ruptured the connections between her brain and her eyes. Did she hit her head by any chance as she fell?"

Sinbad looked thoughtful. "I’m not sure; her body crashed through the layer of ice that laid upon the water, perhaps she struck her head as she broke through that ice."

Firouz nodded. "That would coincide with my diagnosis." He looked back over at the sorceress sitting so quietly, so forlorn. "I’m so sorry, Sinbad, there’s nothing I can do."

Sinbad smiled sadly. "It was not your fault, Firouz. I, we thank you for at least trying to help." He sighed. "I have to tell her, now. I can’t let her torture herself any longer." The other men nodded as Sinbad returned to Maeve. They watched as he knelt down before her, moving in closely, taking her hands and holding them to his chest. He never even had to say a word; they both watched as the sorceress’s face crumpled, and her eyes filled with tears. As Sinbad laid his head upon her lap, and she draped her body over him, the men turned away; that was a moment only the two should share.

"You’ll be all right, Maeve," Sinbad whispered against her. "I promise you. We’ll be all right, the two of us together."

Maeve smiled at him, holding his body, feeling her tears streak down her face; Lord knows that she wanted to have a life with Sinbad more than anything in the world, but was it right to curse a sailor with a lover who could not see, and therefore could not hold her own with the crew. If her blindness had been temporary, or if there was any possiblity of her sight ever returning, she may have thought differently, but with no hope.... Maeve didn’t allow herself to finish her thought. She knew she couldn’t live her life the way she wanted, but for a little while, she would allow herself some happiness, some love.

Maeve chose at that moment to love Sinbad for only a short time, once things started to get too serious between them, once she began to feel like she could never leave, she would do just that; she’d leave Sinbad, the crew and the Nomad. Her tears came harder now, and her body began to shake. For now, she clasped onto him tightly, praying for a miracle, knowing in her heart it wouldn’t happen. For now she would love him with the entirety of her heart and soul, with all that she could possibly give him. For now she would make him believe that they were all right and that they were going to be all right. For now she would lie to herself, fool herself into believing that she could stay in his arms forever. And for now she would pretend that her fragile heart did not just shatter into a million pieces.

Continued in Shared Admissions: Part Ten

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