A vision of immeasurable beauty met his awakening eyes - his beloved Maeve. The sun behind her formed a halo, befitting of the angelic splendor which stood before him. Silently praising Allah for the fact that she was alive and apparently healthy, he quietly called her name. "Maeve…"
"Name's Bryn," replied an alien voice as the vision of the tall, red-haired sorceress was replaced with the reality of the shorter brunette that stood over him.
And that's when the praise stopped.
Meanwhile, an unconscious, not to mention dripping-wet, Maeve was being misted into the lair of her sworn enemy.
Rumina looked down at her prize, ready to gloat the moment her pesky rival awoke. She gave little notice to her father as he misted into the room to survey his daughter's handiwork.
"Rumina," Turok called, "We have much to discuss."
"What's to discuss, father? The moment she awakens, I'll make her pay for her years of insolence and all the grief she and her brother have caused us. She'll suffer a slow, painful death, and then we'll send whatever's left of her to Sinbad for his… approval." Rumina grinned wickedly at the idea of just seeing the look on the sailor's face through her scrying bowl. Oh, pay-back would be so sweet.
"I do hate to burst your bubble, daughter dearest, but that simply cannot be done."
Rumina whirled aroundin anger and defiance. "And why is that?"
"Don't you remember the protection spell daughter? Or have you become that incompetent?"
Rumina sighed in frustration. "Of course I remember, father," she admitted. "Is it still so strong after a year's worth of wear?"
"Of course it is, idiot! It was Dim Dim's spell, wasn't it!?"
"Ooh, I just want to yank him out of that other dimension and kill him right now!"
"But that can't be done. And you cannot kill the peasant witch. The moment you try, you will die yourself. And we can't have that, now can we?"
Rumina turned and stomped off, not wanting to hear any more of her father's ramblings about Dim Dim's year-old protection spell over Maeve. Oh, they had almost broken through it a few times, and it had certainly not kept her from being hurt, but it had ensured that she would not die in her efforts to defeat evil. At first it had only been an inconvenience, something that she would only have to be patient in dealing with. But now she was hungry for vengeance, and she had an insatiable appetite. She had to take care of the little wench, and now.
Rumina felt herself being misted unwillingly out of her present state. Only one person she knew of could do that, and she despised it every time he did. "Father," she seethed.
"Daughter, I know how much you want that wench to die, but perhaps we can devise a punishment more… suitable for her crimes. And one that would be appropriately painful for Sinbad and his little band of Nomad's, too."
Rumina sat intrigued. "I'm listening…"
Together the two sat for hours, working out the details of a plan that was bound to achieve their goal. They determined that they should bring Scratch into their plan, after all, the devil could counterfeit anything to perfection, and such a talent would be useful in this particular endeavor…
"All right," Rumina said, finally understanding the basics of the plan. "So we send the peasant witch to this alternate dimension -"
"One that we create ourselves, with Scratch's help."
"And we - what? - just let her live there, out of our hair for a year? I still don't quite get it."
"No, no, NO! You still don't understand what I'm trying to tell you. She'll be in the alternate dimension, and everything will be as it has been for her for the past year, except the crew of the Nomad and her master will be… different. Scratch will create replicas of them, exactly the same in physical appearance, but their personalities and attitudes will be completely different. All will treat Maeve almost the opposite of what she has experienced for the past year. She will be trapped in her predicament and unable to detect our spell."
"But won't she just see right through it? I mean, she knows that crew and Dim Dim like the back of her own hand!"
"You forget that we will erase any memories that she has of the Nomad crew. Her last remaining memory will be of the day before she met them."
"Oh! Now I see!" Rumina couldn't hide her excitement.
*It sure took you long enough,* Turok thought. "She's going to be trapped in her own, personal, living hell."
Around this same time, the Nomad crew was adjusting to the loss of their dear friend Maeve. There to help them cope was a recent addition to the crew, Bryn. The quiet amnesiac would fill Maeve's place on the ship, but they all had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to fill the emptiness in their Captain's heart. At least Sinbad had Dim Dim's promise of Maeve's safety to comfort him…
An aging sorcerer sat alone in his small dwelling, brooding over the fact that he was too far from reality to be of much help to a grown man who had become like a son to him. Dim Dim accepted the fact that he was stuck in this dimension, but he didn't have to enjoy it, especially at a time like this.
He let out a low, mournful sigh. Oh, how he hated having to lie to Sinbad. *Well, it wasn't a complete lie,* he tried to justify. It had to be done, though. Otherwise the Captain might not have found a reason to go on, and his destiny required that he be alive for quite a while longer.
He had told Sinbad that Maeve was safe, which was… well… a bit of a half-truth. After all, she would be alive at the end of her ordeal, thanks to his forsight. However, there was no telling what her physical and emotional state would be. No one could know the horrors that the girl was about to endure, or if she would even seem the same person at the end of it all...
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Untitled - Part 2