"Sinbad, you didn't tell me my present would have to be fed," Maeve said.
"I didn't think it would."
"I can find food for myself, thank you," the animal answered to their surprise.
"I've lost it, Maeve, I thought I just heard that horse talk."
"I'm a pegasus, human, and you'd do well to remember that!"
"Sinbad, I think you've made it mad."
"I'm not an 'it', I'm a 'she' if you must know." The animal sounded angrier this time.
"Just calm down," Maeve said. "What's your name?"
"Rum..... I mean Ramara," she answered. *Drat! I almost gave it away!*
Maeve didn't look too convinced. "Okay, Ramara, what exactly is going on here?" she demanded.
"Well... An evil sorceress trapped me inside that necklace, and if I had stayed there any longer I would have died," Ramara lied.
"Really?" Sinbad asked. He hadn't noticed the animal's earlier slip-up, and he was actually believing the story.
"So you just decided that you should try to choke me to death? Thanks a lot, Ramara," Maeve said sarcastically.
"Well, I had to... uh... get your attention, yeah. I really had to get out quick."
Maeve wasn't about to give up. This so-called Ramara would have to slip-up soon. "So what was the sorceress's name?" Maeve asked.
"Um... it was... uh..."
"Could it have been Rumina?" Maeve asked.
"Yeah, that was it!" *Why didn't I think of that? That little peasant witch is going to expose me and ruin my plan!*
"Rumina!?" Sinbad nearly shouted. "Why did she do that?"
*Why does he have to make this so hard? Let me think....* "Um... I was... about to expose her plan!" she finished, proud of herself.
"What plan?" Maeve asked.
"Well... uh... she wants to... um... take over Baghdad."
"What!? We have to stop her! What can we do to help?" Sinbad asked.
Maeve frowned at him being so gullible. *Can't he see through her disguise?* she thought.
'Ramara' looked very pleased with herself right now. "Well, my... I mean Sinbad, you could go to Baghdad and keep her soldiers from taking over the city." *This is going to be so easy! Once I get him alone, he's mine!*
"We can leave right away on the Nomad, but... It would take us at least a week to get there from here," Sinbad said.
"Well, I could take you there much faster," Ramara said. "Of course, I could only take one person. So, are you ready to go, Sinbad?" *This is working perfectly!*
"Aye, we can leave whenever you're--"
"Excuse me," Maeve interrupted, "But shouldn't I be the one to go? After all, you may be quick with your sword, Sinbad, but you're no sorcerer." *Oh, she thought she had him, but I'm not letting Rumina take my man that easily!!!*
"You're right, Maeve. I guess you should go ahead with Ramara and the rest of us will follow on the Nomad," Sinbad reasoned.
"Uh... Yeah, that'll work, too," Ramara said. *I'm really, REALLY going to hurt her for this! I almost had him! I was so close! Oh, well, I'll accomplish one goal today. Just fly high, buck her off, and that little peasant witch is nothing more than a grease spot on the sidewalk!*
With those last words, Maeve climbed onto Ramara's back, and they took to the sky as Sinbad rushed onboard the Nomad to prepare for the voyage to Baghdad. Maeve clung to the creature's mane as they soared higher and higher into the sky. She remained quiet until they were over the sea.
"So, Ramara, where did you live before Rumina trapped you in the stone?" Maeve asked.
"I, uh, lived... on an island... in --"
"Oh, give it up, Rumina! We both know who you are, and you're not doing a very good job of hiding it!"
With that comment from Maeve, Rumina promptly began to fly vertically, straight up into the sky. Maeve was having a hard time keeping her grip and couldn't hold on any longer when Rumina suddenly did a loop in mid-air. Sinbad, who was watching from the Nomad, was terrified to see her falling toward the water. He watched hopefully as she looked as though she was trying to work a spell as she fell, but before he even had a chance to call out to her, she had plunged beneath the waves and disappeared from sight.
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A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Part 4