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Maeve slowly opened her eyes and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She soon realized that she was in her cabin aboard the Nomad. She huffed and turned over onto her other side, desperately wanting to have a good nights sleep. For the past few nights, Maeve had been having painful flashbacks of her past, and all she wanted right now was a full nights sleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Maeve!" Maeve's mother called. "Where are you?"
An eight-year-old Maeve groaned as she heard her mother's calls. Maeve squinted down and saw her pretty mother scanning the farm. She could see everything from her hiding place, high in a tree. She sighed as she laid back in the entangled branches. Her mother wanted her to help her cook, or clean, or sew, or some other house-bound task.
Maeve wished she had been born a boy. All the neighboring farms had children, and while the girls helped their mothers, the boys remained outside to play and watch the animals. In fact, the only visible difference between herself and the boys, was her long red hair and the dresses that her mother forced her to wear.
Maeve's father was a pig farmer and her mother was a typical housewife. The three lived on a small farm with lots of chickens, horses, sheep, cows, and pigs. Although the farm could be fun at times, Maeve preferred the big forest behind it. It was always sunny and green there. She could just lie there, listening to the peaceful sounds of nature, and watching the busy world pass her by.
"Maeve!" her mother once again shouted. Maeve sighed.
"Oh, I'm coming, I'm coming!" Maeve called back.
As she climbed down the tree, her mother gave her an exasperated look. "Maeve, you look a wreck!"
Maeve carelessly shrugged. That's why she loved the forest. She didn't have to please anyone up there. She looked up at the clear blue sky and thought of how the rest of this day was going to go to waste.
"Maeve, go wash up for supper." she added. As Maeve turned to go in, her mother scolded her, "If you must insist on climbing trees like a monkey, at least wear some shoes!"
Maeve smiled. How she loved her mother! Even when she scolded her, she always had a touch of love in her voice. Her mother, Sophia, was a beautiful woman in her early thirties. She had long fiery red hair, which she always wore in a loose bun on the top of her head. Sophia was a dedicated wife to her husband, Makon, and always wore an apron, ready to wait on his every need. Sophia knew that Maeve loved her father, but she wished that she was closer to him. She held out her arms and gave her young daughter a loving hug. Maeve smiled and turned to go into the house. She could hear the neighboring children's joyous shouts from across the valley, and shook her head disapprovingly. She would rather play alone than even live in the same country as those snobs.
Sophia watched her daughter sneer at the noise the children were making. She had heard what they had said to her daughter. The awful names they had called her. Sophia looked longingly as her child slowly trudged into the house, and she rubbed her round stomach. She couldn't wait for the baby to be born, Maeve needed a sibling. She had never seemed to get along with the neighboring children.
"Soon, my daughter," she thought, "you won't be so lonely anymore."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few months later, Maeve's mother gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Dermott. Although it should have been a joyous occasion, it was anything but happy for Maeve and her father. Shortly after the baby was born, Sophia passed away. Makon blamed her death on Dermott, and he grieved more than any man could mourn the death of his wife.
A nine year old Maeve was incredibly sad. She was also angry at her mother for leaving. She had said that she would always be there for Maeve. All Maeve could think of was that her mother had lied to her. But she couldn't be sad for long. Makon selfishly shut himself off from his children, leaving them alone for days at a time while he went off on his own.
Maeve had to maintain the household and care for her new infant brother. She was a natural at caring for him. Even though it was hard work, caring for an infant all by herself, she loved the company and the responsibility. But everyday, while her brother napped, she still snuck out and went into her forest. It was the only time and place that she could be alone.
Maeve missed her mother more than anything. She wished at least someone had come to move in with them, to let her actually be a kid. But her only living relatives were her baby brother and her neglectful father. In fact, she rarely ever saw her father. Her hate for him grew every day, not only for neglecting his parenting responsibility's, but for hating Dermott. The poor little baby would not only grow up to not know his mother, but now he wouldn't know his father either. Plus, Dermott hadn't done anything, except be born, and that wasn't his choice.
Sometimes, Maeve would just sit and watch her brother sleep. He looked so peaceful, as if he didn't have a care in the world. But she knew that he sensed that something was missing. On his first birthday, Maeve decided that she would raise him on her own, since her father had shown no interest in his children's welfare.
Maeve had had to drop out of school after Dermott had been born, since she had had the responsibilities of a parent thrust on her with out warning. She hadn't been prepared for the challenges of raising a child. At least Dermott was a good and healthy baby. It was almost as if he knew that if he wanted to survive, that he was going to have to behave. In fact, he rarely ever cried.
The first two years of his life were the hardest. Makon would come home every once in a while, unannounced, and expect to have a clean house and a good meal. Maeve had learned to just do what he said on these visits. She had learned the hard way about not talking back to him.
As Dermott neared three, he began talking. He should have learned earlier, but he needed a mother or father, not a twelve-year-old girl. But Dermott admired his big sister. He tried to do everything like she did, and whatever he did, he tried to make her proud of him.
One day, Maeve was getting ready to leave for her daily trip into the woods. As she was heading out the door, the baby began to cry from in his play pen. "What now?" she asked him, slightly annoyed.
"Don't go leave me!" he wailed. "I wuv you Maeve!"
Maeve's heart melted as her three-year-old brother said that. She hadn't been told that she was loved ever since her mother died.
"Oh, come on Dermott!" she said lovingly as she lifted him into her arms.
Every single day, from that day forward, Maeve and her little shadow played outside. By now, most of the farm's animals had died. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't maintain the whole farm, animals, house, and Dermott by herself.
Little Dermott was no longer a baby. As a four-year-old, he was Maeve's only friend. They did everything together. Everywhere Maeve went, Dermott went too. The bond they had was stronger than any siblings had ever had for each other.
Maeve had taught her brother how to read and write, and he taught her the playful little songs that he made up. Maeve still couldn't go to school, since she had too many responsibilities at home.
Almost every single night, Dermott and Maeve slept outside in the trees. They both loved this one tree, that had huge intertwined branches for them to lay on. It was sturdy, and comfortable. It even had a hole in the canopy, so they could look up and see the twinkling night sky.
"Look Maeve! Look up there! That's the big dipper!" Dermott would excitedly tell her.
Maeve was so proud of her little brother. He read books at the same level as her now. He could even stump her with math problems. And he never, ever bragged to her. The two never even disagreed with one another.
As Maeve contentedly closed her eyes, she cuddled up next to her little brother and quickly fell fast asleep. She usually dreamed of how proud her mother would have been of her, if she saw how Maeve took such good care of Dermott.
At fourteen, Maeve juggled her schoolwork, housework, and her brother on a daily basis. She had recently re-enrolled herself back in school, since she believed that education was important, especially since she and Dermott had to live alone. At six, Dermott began his first year and was doing wonderfully.
Makon had packed up his bags and moved out a few months earlier. Maeve and Dermott could have cared less, since they barely even knew him anyway. The whole year was a blur to Maeve now, all except for one day that stood out among the rest. It had started simple enough...
"Maeve! Time to wake up!" Dermott said as he shook his sister awake. "School's closed today!" he exclaimed.
"Why?" Maeve asked him, half asleep still.
"It's snowing!" he replied.
"Yes!" she shrieked as she jumped out of bed.
Even though she was the one who enrolled herself in school again, she was a kid, and snow days were always the best. She pulled on a robe and hurried into the kitchen. The crisp air felt good against her warm cheeks from sleeping.
"Come on! I'll make us oatmeal for breakfast!" she decided. "You go feed the animals. When we finish eating, we can go out and play." she planned.
"Okay." he agreed. Dermott pulled on a jacket and some boots and skipped outside into the snowy farm.
About twenty minutes later, Dermott still hadn't returned. Maeve was beginning to get nervous, so she pulled on some boots and a shawl to go and get him. When she reached the barn, she saw him collecting some eggs from the chickens.
"How thoughtful!" she thought.
He was always trying to do something helpful for her. When Maeve turned back to the house, she noticed a girl about her age standing near the fence. The girl was very pretty and wore a lot of jewelry and an exotic looking dress. Maeve shrugged, not thinking much about it. As she opened up the screen door to her house, the girl walked up to her.
"Hello, can I help you?" Maeve asked.
"Yes." the girl replied. "My name is Rumina. I am the daughter of Turok, the greatest sorcerer in all the world!" Rumina proudly declared. "I'm almost completed with my training."
Maeve carelessly shrugged.
Rumina went on. "My daddy said that you will cause trouble for us later on."
"Me?" Maeve asked. "I don't even know magic!" she explained.
"You will." Rumina replied. "You're just not trained. But you don't have to worry about that anymore. Where you're going, you won't need magic." And with that, Rumina raised her arm and allowed a blue ball of light to form in her palm.
Just as she was about to throw it, Dermott threw himself into Rumina, knocking the witch to the ground, and causing the fireball to explode against the side of the house, barely missing Maeve.
"Come on Dermott!" Maeve yelled as she ran away from the house.
Dermott got up and fled with her. Rumina was furious. No one had ever messed up one of her spells. She chanted a few words and pointed at Dermott. Maeve stopped and watched him in horror. His little arms shrank against the side of his body. His shoes were torn open as sharp claws emerged from his toes. Dermott's tiny nose grew larger and pointier to form a beak. Maeve began screaming as she watched her little brother fall into the snow. Not as a human anymore, but as a small, black, red tailed hawk.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maeve sat up in her bed, realizing that she was still in her cabin, aboard the Nomad. She began to cry as she remembered her dreams. They had been plaguing her for the past few nights, and each night, her guilt became worse.
"It's all my fault!" she whispered.
Tears streamed down her face as she remembered the pain that Dermott had gone through. Learning to fly was the worst. Maeve closed her eyes, trying to block out those awful memories.
As Sinbad was returning to his cabin, with a small glass of water, he heard someone whimpering. As he turned back, he realized that it was coming from Maeve's room. He quietly rapped on the door and opened it.
"Maeve?" he whispered.
Sinbad shut the door and set his glass down on her night stand. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw Maeve sitting up in her bed, sobbing. He sat down next to her and put a hand on her trembling shoulder. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck. Sinbad hugged her back and slowly rocked her back and forth. How it broke his heart to see her like this!
"Maeve?" he asked. "Dim-Dim always said that it helps to talk about your problems." Maeve nodded.
She slowly pulled away from Sinbad. He watched her wipe away her tears with her nightgown's sleeve. "Sinbad?" she asked in a wavering voice.
"Yes Maeve, I'm here." he assured her.
"Promise me that we will kill Rumina."
Sinbad was surprised to hear that that was what she was crying about.
"Maeve, I don't know how she hurt you, but I swear to you, I will do my best to defeat her." he said.
As Dermott flew to the windowsill, Maeve began to sob again. "It's my fault!" she cried.
Sinbad pulled Maeve close to him, wishing he could erase her pain. If Rumina had caused Maeve to be crying right now, he would gladly kill her a thousand times. As Sinbad sat, slowly rocking Maeve, he vowed to kill Rumina, much like Maeve had for Dermott, ten years earlier.
Dermott sat watching his sister and Sinbad from his seat on the windowsill. He missed being a human, but not so much for him, but to erase Maeve's sorrow. She blamed herself for his condition, but he would easily go through it again in a heartbeat if it was for Maeve. She was so good to him, he just wished he had arms right now, so he could comfort her.
He should be the one comforting her, not Sinbad! Dermott was indeed jealous of the attention Sinbad always got from his sister, but he was a good man. Dermott also wished that he could thank Sinbad for accepting him and treating him fairly, like a member of the crew.
He knew that if anyone could kill Rumina, it would be Sinbad and Maeve. As Sinbad looked at the hawk on the windowsill, he could have sworn that he saw a single tear drip down Dermott's tiny face.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
About an hour later, Sinbad quietly closed Maeve's door and returned to his own cabin. Maeve had finally fallen asleep. She still hadn't told Sinbad what was wrong. As he walked into his cabin, he thought of what Maeve had said.
"Promise me that we'll kill Rumina." she had said.
"What has Rumina done to her?" Sinbad wondered out loud.
He knew it had something to do with Dermott, but he didn't know what. When Dermott had flown into her room, Maeve had said that it was her fault.
"What was her fault?" he would have to think about that.
Hopefully, she would tell him when she was ready. Sinbad laid down on his bed, trying to figure out what the connection was between Maeve, Dermott, and Rumina.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maeve was walking down the cold streets of Baghdad with Dermott on her gloved hand. They had been searching all day long, and they still hadn't found what they were looking for.
*Maeve!* Dermott chided.
*Come on Dermott, we have to find this man!* Maeve sent back.
Maeve and Dermott were in Baghdad, looking for a man named Dim-Dim. Maeve was trying to learn, or at least understand her powers. She had heard that Dim-Dim taught students magic. As soon as Dermott had been transformed into his feathered prison, the siblings had found that they could communicate telepathically. They were both extremely happy, so they could still share their thoughts and feelings.
*You don't have to do this!* Dermott said. *Let's just go back to the farm and live our normal lives again!* he finished.
*Dermott, it's my fault you're like this, and I have to learn my powers to free you!* she said.
Maeve was determined to master her magic and free her little brother. She just couldn't let him live out his life as a hawk! After a few more minutes, Maeve exhaustedly plopped down on a wooden bench.
"I'm never going to find him!" she thought as she peered out into the darkening town.
"Maeve?" A short, elderly man called her. Maeve looked up. "I am Dim-Dim. It's awfully chilly out here. Please, come in." he offered.
Maeve happily nodded in acceptance. Dim-Dim opened the door to allow Maeve and Dermott inside. The warm house felt good against Maeve's cool skin.
"You wish for me to teach you sorcery, correct?" he asked her as she sat down on the soft couch.
Maeve nodded. "Master Dim-Dim, this is my brother, Dermott. An evil sorceress named Rumina turned him this way. Please help us."
Dim-Dim nodded. "I will teach you spells and magic, Maeve. But you must undo Rumina's black magic yourself."
Maeve understood. A few weeks later, Maeve, Dim-Dim, and Dermott moved to the Isle of Dawn. They were in for a long road ahead of them.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Maeve slowly opened her eyes as she heard Dermott speaking to her. *Maeve, please tell Sinbad about me.* he simply requested.
"But Dermott-" Maeve began.
Then she reluctantly nodded as she opened up her door. Although she didn't think it was the right time, it was Dermott's decision, after all. Maeve went into the hallway and walked down to Sinbad's cabin.
"Sinbad?" she called as she knocked on his door.
"Come in." he called from inside.
He was still awake, thinking about Maeve and Rumina. Maeve opened the door and entered. Sinbad was sitting up in his bed and he patted the spot next to him, inviting her to sit down. She sat down next to him and he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Sinbad, we need to talk." she said as Sinbad nodded.
"Yes, I was hoping you'd say that." he said
"If I tell you this, I'd like you to keep it between us." Maeve said as she gestured to Dermott who was perched on Sinbad's windowsill.
"Of course Maeve. You can trust me." he promised.
Maeve took a deep breath before beginning.
"Okay. Here goes." she began, "Dermott is my little brother. He's eight years younger than me. We met Rumina when I was fourteen and Dermott was six. She said that I was going to cause trouble or something. She tried to kill me, but Dermott stopped her."
Maeve looked at Sinbad. He was staring at Dermott with a pained look on his face. He shook his head, then looked back at Maeve.
She continued, "As punishment, she turned my six year old, baby brother into a hawk. My mother was already dead and my father walked out on us. I had no friends, besides Dermott, so we left and went to Baghdad to find Dim-Dim. I was with Dim-Dim for almost ten years trying to learn my magic. And that's about it."
Sinbad was silent as Maeve watched him.
"Maeve? Thank you for telling me that. I had no idea." he shook his head in his own stupidity.
Sinbad stood up and slowly walked over to his windowsill. "Well my feathered friend," he said as he stroked Dermott's soft feathers, "you won't have to be like this forever. We will defeat Rumina. I promise."
Dermott chirped in thanks.
"Once you're returned to your true form, you will still remain a member of my crew, right?" Sinbad hopefully asked.
Dermott squawked and Sinbad looked at Maeve. She nodded.
"I'm sorry this happened to you two." he told Maeve.
Dermott peacefully sighed as he watched Maeve and Sinbad hug. He could wait to be returned to his normal human self. This way, he could at least spy on these two lovebirds without them noticing. Dermott flew out the window into the cool night sky. As he happily swooped around the Nomad, he was completely unaware of the evil eyes of Rumina that were watching him.