Maeve's thoughts were interrupted as the Captain opened the door and entered the room. She was startled by this and confused. Sean had said that the Captain would leave her alone tonight, so what was he doing here now? Maeve watched and didn't make a move as the Captain shut and locked the door behind him and moved toward Maeve.
"What, weren't you expecting me?" the Captain asked. He didn't wait for a reply. He grabbed Maeve's arms and kissed her harshly. She tried to pull away, but he just shoved her over toward the bed. Maeve landed in a sitting position on the floor, but the Captain went over to her. He pulled her up again and shoved her onto the bed. He tried to get on top of her, but Maeve slid over at the last second and he landed beside her on the bed.
"Oh, good!" the Captain exclaimed, "I like them feisty!" The Captain then managed to hold Maeve down as he began to undo the ties on her vest.
"No! Please!" Maeve cried. The Captain ignored her and suddenly realized that he couldn't get Maeve's vest off while her hands were still tied. He took out his dagger and managed to cut it off of her and throw it onto the floor. The entire time Maeve struggled to move away and hoped that the blade wouldn't slip.
"Please! Stop!" Maeve cried again. She tried to fight back, but with her hands tied, there wasn't much that she could do. Just as the Captain was about to remove Maeve's white shirt/dress, the two heard a knock at the door. The Captain listened for a moment, continuing to hold Maeve down.
"Captain?" came a voice from behind the door. The Captain was about to ignore the voice and continue the business at hand when the voice came again.
"Captain!" it said more insistently. This time Maeve recognized the voice as Sean's.
"What do you want? I'm busy!" said the Captain.
"There's a storm approaching! You're needed up on deck, now!" Sean said.
"Fine," the Captain muttered, clearly disappointed and frustrated. "Fine!" He continued more loudly, "I'm on my way!" The Captain got off the bed and went to the door. Unlocking it, he turned to her and said, "We'll finish this later," and then left.
Maeve felt as though she was about to be sick, and she couldn't sit on that bed for even a
moment more. She practically jumped off the thing and went over to a corner of the room, as far as she could possibly get from the bed. She sat and pulled her knees up to her chest, putting her arms over her knees and lying her head in her arms.
A few minutes later, the door opened cautiously and Sean walked in. He looked around for a moment and then saw Maeve sitting in a corner of the room, crying. It broke his heart to see her this way. Her sobs were so violent that she hadn't even noticed that Sean had come in. Sean quickly shut the door and made his way over to her.
"Maeve," he said softly as he reached her and untied her hands. He put an arm around her. "It's alright, I'm here, he's gone. You're safe now." Maeve turned to face Sean. She put her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder and continued to cry. Sean put his arms around Maeve's waist and drew her close to him.
"Did he hurt you?" Sean finally asked, pain in his voice.
"No. I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm crying. He didn't do anything. Why am I crying?" Maeve managed to say between sobs.
"Shhh. You have nothing to be sorry for. You can cry all you want to. I'm right here, and I'm not going to let anything else happen to you." Maeve began to calm down a bit at these words. Now she was crying quietly and she was able to look up at Sean. He smiled a bit and wiped away her tears. Maeve was able to smile a little at this gentle gesture, and for the first time she realized how little she was wearing. She took one look at the short white shirt/dress she was wearing, which barely covered her, and began to blush and look around the room for something to cover herself with.
Sean immediately knew what the problem was. Maeve had just been attacked, of course she would be uneasy about being seen this way right now. He quickly grabbed a nearby blanket and gave it to Maeve.
"Thank you," she said quietly as she draped the blanket over her.
"Why don't you take a moment to rest while I go get your supper?" Sean suggested.
"Okay. Thank you," Maeve said.
"For what?"
"For everything."
With that Sean left the room quietly, with the promise that he would return soon.
Sinbad was in his cabin, doing some serious thinking. *Okay, so she's a member of my crew.* he thought, *I would be just as worried if Doubar or Rongar or Firouz had been kidnapped. I think. Wouldn't I? I mean, we've grown to be friends. Good friends. But that's all. There's nothing more. There can't be. Can there?* Sinbad was busy trying to convince himself, and not doing too wonderful of a job. *I AM worried sick about her. She could be hurt. Or worse. I have to find her. But what then? Is it so impossible to think that we might be able to have a relationship beyond the basic arguments and implied friendship? Well? Is it?*
Just then Sinbad heard a knock at the door. "Who is it?" Sinbad asked. No answer came. "WHO IS IT!???" Sinbad called again. He was frustrated at his train of thought having been interrupted. When again there came no answer, Sinbad walked over to the door and flung it open. When he saw that it was Rongar standing there, he began to feel guilty for having yelled. "Oh, sorry Rongar. I'm just upset. What's wrong?" Sinbad asked.
Rongar made a few signs that meant 'Doubar wants to see you.'
"Thank you, my friend," Sinbad said. Then he went up on deck and over to the tiller. What Sinbad saw when he arrived topside was an enormous storm in the distance, with black, ominous looking clouds and the occasional streak of blindingly bright lightening.
"That's some storm!" Sinbad commented to Doubar.
"Aye, it is," Doubar replied. "What should we do?"
"Well, the Nomad's pretty sturdy, but so is that storm from the looks of it. As much as I hate to say it, we need to avoid it as much as possible. Adjust course to try to go around the most dangerous parts, and we'll find a way to cope with the rest."
"Aye, aye, little brother." With those words Doubar moved the tiller and the ship leaned a bit for a moment as it pivoted a bit on the water.
*Well, isn't this just lovely?* Sinbad thought. *Now it'll take even more time to get to Maeve!*
*You worry too much, Sinbad,* Dermott's voice broke into Sinbad's thoughts.
*Don't sneak up on me like that!* Sinbad mentally yelled.
*I didn't. I'm still in the sky, right where I've been the whole time. It's not my fault if your mindvoice travels.*
*Whatever. Anyway, I think I have a right to be worried. Maeve's been kidnapped by pirates, she's trapped on a ship that's larger and faster than the Nomad, and now there's a storm in our way.*
*O, ye of little faith.....*
*What?*
*Never mind, Sinbad. Just trust me. I could find Maeve if I was blind and both my wings were broken, not that I'm suggesting that we try this or anything.....*
*Alright, Dermott, we'll do this your way. But the moment you have any doubts, I want to hear about them. Got it?*
*Got it, Captain.*
*By the way, you and Maeve can communicate over distances, right?*
*Under normal circumstances, yes.*
*Have you 'spoken' with her since the kidnapping?*
*No, as a matter of fact, I haven't. Usually she's the one to contact me.*
*Could you try and see how she's doing, please?*
*Yeah, I'll try. I'd fly ahead to the ship she's on and talk to her directly, but then Doubar wouldn't know where to go. Plus the ship is pretty much right in the middle of that storm right now, and I'd prefer not to be lost at sea. Not to mention the fact that the pirates most likely don't know about Maeve's magic right now, and if they see her talking to a bird they might get a little suspicious.*
*Okay, okay, I get the point. Just keep leading us and let me know if you find out anything.*
*Aye.*
Back to the main page
Back to Zephyr's fics page
A Fact Of Life - Part 4