Once Upon A Sinbad

Kelly/Dabnis

The crew of the Nomad were resting on the shore of an island. Firouz was showing Rongar his latest invention. Doubar was eating a delicious apple. Maeve was talking to Dermott. Sinbad was out by the water, skipping rocks.

Suddenly, the ground shook. Everyone was thrown off balance. Then came a tornado. It came and pulled Maeve off the ground.

“Sinbad!” she yelled.

Sinbad jumped up and tried to make his way to Maeve. He grabbed her legs but she slipped out of his arms. She disappeared into the whirlwind.

Before Sinbad could realize Maeve had been carried away, he turned around and saw Rongar fade before his eyes, then vanished all together. Then a hole opened up out of nowhere, and swallowed Doubar. He disappeared without a trace.

Firouz was standing by a cave. A strong wind pushed him into the steep cave.

Then the water leapt up into the sky, forming a huge tidal wave. It crashed over the tiny island and Sinbad. When the water went back out, Sinbad went with it. Suddenly he was pulled under.

The last thing he heard as he went down through the dark depths was a female voice saying, “Sinbad…see what can happen when you’re not nice to Rumina?”

Suddenly, the wind stopped, and dropped Maeve in a forest. A very familiar forest. This was the Forsaken Forest, where Maeve was kidnapped by the Norsemen.

“What am I doing here?” she muttered to herself.

“You are here because your dear captain wouldn’t do as I wished,” a voice said over the wind.

“Rumina!” yelled Maeve. “Show yourself!”

Rumina laughed.

Rongar reappeared on a faraway island. He walked over the hill. He recognized this place as Baronia, where Sinbad had to fight to the death, and then they helped Tetsu pursue his dreams of being a sailor.

“Rongar…” said Rumina’s voice, out of nowhere.

Rongar spun around, and saw that he was alone.

“You can blame your captain for your predicament.”

With that, she laughed, her voice fading in the wind.

At the Lake Isle of Leopold, King Shadbush and his daughter, Princess Gaia, were out walking in the gardens, enjoying the beautiful day. Suddenly, out of nowhere, appeared a gigantic hole.

“Father! What is that?”

“I don’t know, Gaia.”

The hole spit out a large object, then disappeared. Everything was back to normal. The two ran over to the unconscious human.

“Doubar!” gasped Gaia.

Doubar’s eyes opened.

“Where am I?” he asked.

“The Lake Isle of Leopold.”

“How did I get here?”

“Blame your dearest brother,” they all heard a voice say over the wind.

They all looked up towards the sky and towards the other gardens, but found no one.

Firouz was still sliding through the steep cave. He came to a cliff suddenly, and fell into a river. He went with it, until he saw an end. The water seemed to be flowing faster and faster, as he got closer to the wall of rock. He closed his eyes.

“Firouz, wake up!” said a voice.

Firouz slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at a woman. His eyes were blurry for a second, then they came into focus.

“Queen—”

“Sssh. Don’t try to talk. You have some nasty bump on your head.”

“But what am I doing here?”

He knew this place as the castle where Vincenzo had changed people into marble.

“Blame Sinbad,” they heard Rumina say.

Sinbad, after what seemed like hours of struggling, opened his eyes. He was no longer in the Arabian Sea. He was in a desert. He didn’t know exactly which one, at first. Then he remembered. THE VALLEY OF THE COLOSSUS! How on earth did he get here? One word came to mind: Rumina.

“See what can happen when you’re not nice to Rumina?” she repeated.

“Rumina!” Sinbad yelled. “Why are you doing this?!”

“Numerous times, you wouldn’t marry me. Think of this as a form of…punishment.”

“Leave my friends out of it!”

Rumina answered with a laugh.

Sinbad was wandering for a couple of hours. He didn’t know how to get back out. He possessed no magic, and therefore couldn’t figure out how to leave and find his friends. He wondered who they were doing, and where they were.

Finally, he came to a rest on a small patch of desert grass.

“It’s all my fault we’re all split up,” he said to himself. “Maybe it would have been better of I’d never lived at all. They wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for me.”

He put his head down. It became dark very quickly.

“Sinbad…Sinbad…” said a voice, barely audible.

“Dim-Dim?” Sinbad asked, raising his head.

“Yes. It is I,” said the voice.

“Where are you?”

“That is not important.”

“Have I found you at last?”

“No.”

“Then why are you here?”

“To show you what it would have been like, had you not been born.”

Suddenly, the scenery melted away, to be replaced by a field of lonely gravestones.

Sinbad walked among them, reading off the names. He eventually came to one in the corner, away from all the rest. It was covered in plants. No one seemed to care about the person buried there. After clearing off all the flowers and leaves, Sinbad gasped, as tears began to roll down his cheeks.

“Dim-Dim! Why?” asked Sinbad.

When the voice didn’t answer, Sinbad asked again, “Why Doubar?”

Suddenly, Doubar appeared.

“Little brother,” he said simply.

“Doubar! What happened?” Sinbad stared in disbelief at his now-thin brother.

“Tragic story, really. I didn’t have you around, little brother. I had no one to take care of, and love. I felt as though I wasn’t wanted.”

“But Doubar! I wanted you! You were more than a brother to me!”

“I know. But you weren’t born in this time and place.”

“Why were you so thin?”

“I often lost my appetite.”

“How did you end up there?” Sinbad nodded his head towards the gravestone.

“I told you…I didn’t feel wanted…or…needed.”

“You mean—”

“Yes…suicide.”

Sinbad felt his knees buckle. He fell to the ground in a heap.

“The red-haired maiden!” yelled a voice.

“Eyolf?”

“How’d you know my name?”

“I’m Maeve. Remember me? You captured me, and tried to sacrifice me to the Gilling Demon. My friends, Sinbad, the captain of out ship, and the crew, Doubar, Rongar, Firouz, and Dermott, came to help you get rid of him—”

“We have no idea what you’re talking about,” said another, stepping up to Maeve.

“You’re…but I thought you were dead!” Maeve looked at that man, who was the leader of the Norsemen.

*I must have been sent into the past, for some reason* thought Maeve.

Suddenly, she looked up and couldn’t remember the people in front of her. She looked over and saw a little kid.

“Leave the boy alone!”

“The boy can stay, but you…must come with us.”

“Stay away Dermott!” she yelled to the hawk circling the area.

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Oh yeah? Say ‘hello’ to my choice!”

She drew her sword.

The boy and Dermott both left, probably to get help.

Somewhere far away, Rumina laughed, as she watched the whole thing. Maeve was certainly under her spell, and soon, she would forget she even knew Sinbad. Everyone else would. They will know him, but only because he’s a legendary sailor.

“Doubar, where are the others?” asked Princess Gaia.

“Who?”

“Sinbad and the crew.”

“Well, I don’t know where my crew is. I have no idea who you’re talking about when you say ‘Sinbad’. It’s only a wish come true to meet the legendary Sinbad. Of course, I never sailed with him. He would never want someone like me sailing with him, when he can pick whomever he wants.”

“You can’t even remember your own brother? Can’t you remember Sinbad?”

“No, sorry, but I’ll have to say that I have never even met him. How can he possibly be my brother? Where’s Maeve? I do hope she’s all right. I can’t stand the thought of living my life without her.”

Gaia looked at her father. “But I thought Maeve had a thing for Sinbad.”

“Sinbad?!” Doubar roared. “He had better keep his hands off her. If Maeve knew Sinbad liked her, she’d probably leave me.”

King Shadbush led Doubar to the castle, to see if he could get a physician to look at him. Gaia stayed out in the garden.

“Gaia…Gaia…” said a female voice.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Gaia asked, becoming more frightened.

“Don’t be afraid. I am Cairpra, a friend of Sinbad and the crew. The only way to get Doubar to remember is to take him back to the ship. Rumina has erased all memory of where the Nomad is, so that will be tricky. I know not where it is, except that it is by a tiny island in the Arabian Sea.”

“But that is so far away! How do I get there?”

“You are very near the Valley of the Colossus. That is where Sinbad is. Go find him, and he may help you, for his memory is the only one not erased.”

“But I don’t know magic. I can’t possibly find it, let alone enter it.”

“You will be able to find it. But you must go alone, for there is only enough magic for one, waiting there. I will meet you there, and you shall enter and find Sinbad.”

“Why can’t you go in there and get him?”

“I can’t because I am not solid, in human form. Not only has Rumina put the crew under her spell, but I as well.”

“Do you know where the other crew members are?”

“No, I’m sorry. I just know where Sinbad is. I was lucky to find Doubar. Now, I must go, before Rumina catches me here.”

Firouz was sitting up in bed, talking and joking with the Queen. Suddenly, he felt something zip through his body. He became really dizzy. It was a good thing he was not standing, because he would have tumbled to the ground.

The Queen saw the look on Firouz’ face.

“Firouz, are you OK?”

“Yes, I’m fine, just a little dizzy.”

The Queen took that as a good answer, for he looked better again.

“Remember when Vincenzo was here, and he turned people to stone, including Maeve? Sinbad destroyed him, by turning him to stone, and he fell on the rocks far below. Well, at least he won’t be doing anymore ‘sculpting’ around here, or anywhere, for that matter.”

Firouz was listening to the humourous story with a smile on his face.

“I never heard that story before. Where have you heard it?”

“You mean you don’t remember this place?”

“No. Should I? And who’s Sinbad? He had better stay away from my Maeve! This Sinbad couldn’t possibly be that world-famous sailor, could he?”

“Yes, Firouz. And I thought Maeve and Sinbad loved each other, but are just afraid to show their feelings.”

“He had better stay away from her. I don’t want her falling for some pretty-boy who can fight any enemy and win. I want her to look deeper. Besides, she loves the scientist in me.”

Rongar was walking along the shore, wondering where his friends were, and how he was going to get off this island to find them. He was a long ways away from where the ship was.

A figure appeared over the crest of the hill, and began to run toward him.

“Rongar! I am so glad I found you!”

A young girl was running as fast as her legs could carry her. It was Serendib, from the City of Mist.

“Your friends need your help. They have all lost their memories, and you will, too, but I can help that. I have no idea where the others were, so I came to you. You have to find all of your friends and get them back on the Nomad. Once you’re off this island, Rumina can’t take away your memory. Please come with me, and we’ll find a way off this island.”

Rongar was ready to listen to young Serendib, so he could find his friends, and head back to the ship.

He finally woke up after what seemed like a couple of hours, at least. He was no longer in the graveyard. Instead, he was on a boat, similar to the Nomad. The only crew member Sinbad recognized was Maeve. They were on their way to the Lake Isle of Leopold. Suddenly, the water turned black, and seemed to be on fire. They were trying to outrun the fast-approaching flames.

“I can try to make a giant hurricane to make more wind and blow us out of the fire’s reach,” suggested Maeve.

“No…uh…what’s your name again?”

“Maeve…and I can do it!”

“NO! Women have no place on deck. Go down to the cabin and stay where you won’t be in the way. I’m the captain, and I say a peasant witch can’t save us with her small magic tricks.”

Maeve retreated to the corner and began to cry.

“Where’s Dermott?” Sinbad asked Dim-Dim.

“The Captain wouldn’t allow birds on board, so he had to be killed.”

“No…” Sinbad said.

Suddenly, the fire reached the boat. It blew up, and sank right there.

“MAEVE!” yelled Sinbad.

Then, the burning and sinking ship disappeared, being replaced with the Nomad and its crew. They were also being chased with flames.

“Maeve! How about some magic here?” the captain paused, and gave her a heart-melting look. “You can do it, Maeve. I know you can.” He said it with the belief that she could.

Obviously, the captain had strong feelings for her. It showed in the way he looked at her.

“Doubar!” called Gaia.

Doubar turned around to face the beautiful princess.

“Do you want to go for a walk with me?” she asked him.

“Where to?”

“Just down to the water. It’s beautiful at this time of day.”

“Sure, I’d love to.”

They walked to the water. Doubar was ready to turn around, when she pulled his arm to lead him further along the coast.

“Doubar, I’m going to be leaving for a few days. I want you to stay at the palace and not to cause any trouble. I have to look for someone that can help you find your crew.”

“Why can’t I come?”

“I think it would be better if you stayed here. I am going to be bringing him back, and he can help you then. Do you know the way back to the palace?”

“Yes. I suppose you’re leaving now?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

Gaia turned and left, leaving Doubar to stare after her, wondering what she was up to.

Gaia walked for hours in the direction Cairpra had shown her. She came to a meadow that was full of huge boulders and mountains of rock. Then she saw it. The door she was told to find.

“Gaia…” said a voice.

“Cairpra? Is that you?”

“Yes.”

“What do I do now?”

A bag appeared before Gaia.

“Take this bag, and mix up each of the things inside, then pour it on the symbol beside the door of the cave.”

Gaia did as she asked and the door glowed an orange colour.

“Is Sinbad in there?” she asked. But there was no answer. Gaia had done what Caipra had told her, and now Caipra’s job was done.

The scene Sinbad saw before him melted away.

“Dim-Dim! I don’t want to see anymore! I don’t want to see what Firouz and Rongar would have been like. It was bad enough to see my brother and Maeve. I would have liked to kill that captain for making Maeve cry, I would never have yelled at her like that. Please! Make everything back the way it was!”

He fell to his knees, and put his head in his hands and bent to the ground.

Meanwhile, Serendib was conjuring up a boat for them to get off this island.

“Rongar, if you lose your memory, I’ll take you straight to the Nomad. Promise me that you’ll try to remember that you must get back to the ship. I’ll help you get there. Take this as a sign that you must help me and your friends.” She picked up a small piece of sea lavender, took Rongar’s hand, and placed it in his palm. She then closed his fingers around it. “Keep this just in case.”

Rongar nodded, and tucked it in his boot, so he wouldn’t lose it.

A few minutes later, Serendib finally finished conjuring the boat, and they were pushing it off into the sea.

“Soon, we’ll have you and your friends back together. We must find Sinbad. He is the only way.”

Rongar had a puzzled look on his face. It was as if he was thinking *who’s Sinbad?*

“Oh no. You lost your memory.” Serendib looked at Rongar’s boot. The piece of sea lavender was gone. Rongar must have lost it while they were pushing the boat. She sighed, and looked out over the water. Something small caught her eye. It was a piece of sea lavender. She picked it up and showed it to Rongar.

“Rongar,” she said. “Take this in your hand, and remember that we must help Sinbad and all your friends. Do you remember Maeve, Doubar, and Firouz?”

Rongar nodded.

“They are in trouble. We must help them. But first, we have to find Sinbad. He is the person we need.”

With the sea lavender in his hand, he could almost remember what Rumina had made him forget. He could remember that he met Sinbad at least once before, and that he’d be more than willing to help them.

“Sinbad! Where are you?” Gaia yelled through the lonely valley. She ran up a hill and looked down over the other side. She saw a heap lying in the sand. It was Sinbad, lying with his face in his hands. She ran to him.

“Sinbad?” she asked, nudging him slightly.

“Huh?” he asked, turning over. “Gaia? What are you doing here?”

“A friend of yours…Cairpra…has sent me. She was also put under the spell by Rumina, so she asked me to find you. I know where Doubar is. He has lost his memory. He seems to remember everything but you.”

“Where is he?”

“At the palace, way back on the Lake Isle of Leopold.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

Two days later, Doubar was sitting on a bench in the gardens, when Gaia and a stranger walked up to them.

“Doubar!” called Sinbad.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Sinbad.”

“Oh, so *you’re* Sinbad. Trying to steal my Maeve away from me, are you?”

“Doubar?” Sinbad asked questioningly. “Why can’t you remember me?”

“I dreamed so much that I would like to sail with you, but that dream had ended when I discovered that you want Maeve.”

“But Doubar, we’ve sailed together for a long time. We’re brothers. And you don’t love Maeve except as a sister. Please remember.”

“Sinbad, the only way you’re going to make Doubar remember is by taking him back to the Nomad.”

Meanwhile, Maeve was being taken by the Norsemen.

“We’re lost. L-O-S-T, lost.”

Suddenly, Rongar and Serendib came from behind the bushes.

“Maeve!” Serendib called.

“Serendib? What are you doing here?”

“This is all an illusion. Touch one of them,” Serendib said.

Maeve did just that, and the one she touched disappeared. She touched all the others, and they all vanished into thin air.

Then Maeve saw Rongar. They made eye contact, and couldn’t look away from each other.

“Rongar! I am so glad to see you!” Maeve ran and gave him a hug. Then she began to kiss him madly, as though she hadn’t seen him in years.

Rumina watched everything happen. “Soon, I’ll have Sinbad, because his crew would all be in love with Maeve. Sinbad won’t have Maeve to love, then he’d have to come to me, and we can be wed. With that, she let out a wicked laugh, and decided to see what the handsome sailor was up to.

Sinbad and Doubar left to find the ship, and maybe some of the other crew members. They have been trekking for a long time. Doubar decided not to let his feelings for Maeve get in the way of the journey. He actually got to fulfill his dream and sail with Sinbad the Sailor.

They eventually came to a beach, that had a boat waiting. The boat seemed to be abandoned, so they got on board, and drifted away. They were passing an island, when they saw three figures standing on the shore. They decided to check it out.

“It’s Maeve!” shouted Sinbad.

That was about enough to earn him a punch in the face.

“She’s mine, sailor!” shouted Doubar.

Doubar hopped onto the longboat, and tried to pull away without Sinbad. But, at the last minute, Sinbad jumped over the side of the boat, and landed in the longboat.

As they got closer, Sinbad watched Rongar kiss Maeve passionately. Doubar didn’t seem to notice. Or, if he did, he didn’t seem to mind. All he wanted was for Sinbad to keep his hands off of Maeve.

Serendib was the first to see the two heading to shore.

“Hey! It’s Sinbad and Doubar!”

Maeve looked up.

Doubar was running from the longboat. He came to her and kissed her. They were breathless. Maeve was hugging both Doubar and Rongar. What more could she want? Two handsome men who wanted her.

Sinbad came running behind Doubar.

“Maeve! What’s going on?” asked Sinbad.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“It’s me…Sinbad.”

“Sinbad? The Sailor?” she asked.

“Yes…do you remember me?”

“Yes. You are the famous sailor. All your adventures are legendary. I am honoured to make your acquaintance, sir.”

“Er…call me Sinbad.”

Sinbad looked away from the two men who were obviously in love with his Maeve. Well, actually, she didn’t seem like his Maeve anymore. She was their Maeve, now.

A few minutes later, he decided that he needed to talk to the other crew members, and Serendib, about what had happened. Together, Sinbad and Serendib tried to explain what happened.

“First of all, you three are not supposed to love each other more than siblings. Second of all, we are going to explain what had happened. While we were on an island, Maeve was pulled into a tornado and taken away. Then Rongar faded and vanished, and Doubar was swallowed by a gigantic hole in the ground. Firouz slipped and fell down a steep cave, and we haven’t seem him since. He could be in grave danger. I was pulled into the ocean, and somehow made it to the Valley of the Colossus. We must all work together. All of you have lost your memories. In order to get them back, we must find the Nomad…er…that would be our ship. And after that, we must find Firouz. Who knows where he ended up.”

Sinbad groaned as he looked over at Maeve. She hadn’t been listening at all. But, at least she wasn’t making goo-goo eyes at Rongar or Doubar. No, she was making goo-goo eyes at him, instead.

“My, your handsome, Sinbad,” she said.

“Um…ah…thanks…Maeve…” Sinbad muttered, embarrassed.

Maeve got up and walked over to Sinbad. She sat beside him. She put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

“Firouz!” called a voice out of nowhere.

“Who is it?” asked Firouz. It was the middle of the night, and he was trying to get some sleep.

“It’s Cairpra,” answered the voice. “I know you have no memory at the moment, but I need your help concerning your friends. They are all gathered on a beach, but have no idea how to get off.” Cairpra hated to lie, but she thought it was the only way to get Firouz to go to the island. Even though she was still under Rumina’s spell, she has found Firouz. “Firouz, I have only enough strength to send you to where they are. The minute you are on the island, you will have your memory, and you must help Sinbad get the others off the island and to the Nomad. The people in this palace will have no recollection of you being here, so they won’t know you’re gone.”

Suddenly, Firouz was taken from the bedroom, and placed on a beach, where he saw all his friends.

“Sinbad!” Firouz called. He could suddenly remember everything. “We must get these people back to the Nomad, and fast!”

“Firouz!” Sinbad called back. “You have your memory?”

“Yeah. Cairpra helped me. She said she only had enough strength to help me, and then she couldn’t help anyone else.”

Firouz was now standing beside the captain.

“We’ll have to rest for the night. You, Serendib, and I are going to have to watch while the others sleep. We can take turns. I’ll go first, and you and Serendib can watch together, after me. OK?”

“OK.”

Unfortunately, Maeve had no intention of sleeping. She was only interested in Sinbad.

Rumina was watching. She did not like what she saw. Her spell was supposed to make Maeve hate Sinbad, but instead, she wanted him.

“Sinbad?” Maeve asked, after pretending to be asleep for a half hour.

“Yes?”

“Can I talk to you…er…alone?”

“Sure.” Sinbad didn’t like what he was getting into, but he knew it probably wouldn’t hurt to only talk with her.

They walked to the water, and sat down, side by side.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Sinbad asked.

“You silly boy, I don’t want to talk at all. What I want is you.”

She kissed him on the cheek, then turned his head around, and kissed him on the lips. Since Maeve would probably get her memory back in the morning, when they find the Nomad, he decided to let her. It wasn’t often they shared moments like this.

Maeve was happy when Sinbad started to kiss her back. She pushed him down, so he was lying on his back. She didn’t stop kissing him.

In the morning, Sinbad opened his eyes, to find that Maeve hadn’t left him. They were still arm in arm, lying in the sand. He decided to give her one last kiss, then got up. He nudged Maeve. When she opened her eyes, she smiled.

“What a nice thing to wake up to,” she said, watching Sinbad blush.

“Um…er…ah…Maeve…we…ah…have to go to…the…er…boat, so we can…um…find the…ah Nomad, OK?”

She pulled him down so that he was on top of her. She wouldn’t stop kissing him.

“Maeve…please?”

` “Fine,” she said. “You’re right.” With that, she got up, and linked arms with Sinbad.

An hour later, the newly reunited crew was sailing away in the tiny ship Sinbad had found. They left Serendib on the island, because she had to go back to the City of Mist, and she left the special portal open in the middle of the Forsaken Forest.

“Sinbad!” called Firouz. “I see a ship in the distance! It could be the Nomad!”

Sinbad changed direction to the ship. As they sailed up to it, they saw that it was indeed the Nomad. They immediately boarded it.

Rongar, Maeve, and Doubar collapsed once on the ship. They were taken below deck and put to bed.

Sinbad wouldn’t leave Maeve’s side. Even though Maeve wasn’t in her right mind, and Sinbad didn’t have time to kiss her the night before, he believed that what they had shared was truly special. He hoped that she wouldn’t forget that.

“Sinbad?” Maeve asked the captain. He was sitting in a chair, sleeping, with his head on her bed.

At the mention of his name, he brought his head up, and saw Maeve awake at last. He kissed her on the lips.

“What was that for?”

“I’m just glad you’re awake, that’s all.”

She sat up and gave him a hug.

“Maeve?”

“Yes?”

“Do you remember anything that happened since the tornado came and took you?”

“Actually, yes, I do.”

“So you remember last night? With you…and me?”

“Yeah, Sinbad. And I remember that I liked it a lot.”

“I did, too.”

He bent down to kiss her.

They walked up to the deck, and looked out over the ocean, with the arms around each other.

The End