Crimson Threads ♡Sinbad X Oc♡

Chapter eleven: Gift

Reaching the top of the final flight of stairs, Yunalesca heaves a sigh of relief. "I don't remember going down so many!" Yunalesca leans against the wall, completely exhausted. Looking around at her crowded surroundings, Yunalesca noticed a young woman walking toward her. "Excuse me, miss, but are you by any chance Yunalesca from the Sindria trading company?" She asks hesitantly. "Hmm. Ohh, yes, that's me." Yunalesca confirms, smiling awkwardly. She didn't have the energy to question why the woman was asking about her.

To her surprise, the young woman's face lit up, and she immediately took off running down the hallway. "I've found her! She's over here!" Yunalesca could hear her shouting as she turned a corner. "Okay? Guess I'm in trouble." Yunalesca raises an eyebrow. Pushing herself away from the wall, Yunalesca felt her legs give way and immediately clung to the wall again. "Nope, running away isn't an option." She sighs, looking back down the hallway where the woman disappeared. To her surprise, she saw someone sprinting toward her, his familiar violett hair whipping furiously behind him.

"He's probably so angry with me.. I should apologise." Yunalesca grimaced at the thought of Sinbad scolding her, but before she could say anything, his arms were around her. "Don't ever disappear like that again." He says into her shoulder, causing a wave of guilt to crash over Yunalesca, who stood there in surprise. "He seems flustered." Yunalesca thinks as she pulls away from the hug. "Where were..." Sinbad stops when he sees her face. Though she had sweated most of it off, he could see blood on her face.
"What happened?" Sinbad asks, trying to keep his rising anger out of his voice as he brushes Yunalescas hair away from the cut on her forehead. "Who did this?"
"I.. hit my head." Yunalesca says sheepishly. "You hit your head?" Sinbad repeats her statement, obviously not believing her.
"Yep. I got lost and then accidentally tripped and hit my head." Yunalesca laughs nervously as she skims over the details, refusing to meet his gaze. She could tell by the way he was frowning that he still didn't believe her.
"Yuna, you can tell me." Sinbad pressed, his voice full of concern, washing another wave of guilt over Yunalesca. If he didn't stop, she might just confess everything. "Can we talk about this later?" She still couldn't meet his gaze, the guilt gnawing at her.

Noticing a crowd starting to form around them, Sinbads frown deepens, pressing a sigh out of him. He knew Yunalesca was hiding something, but pressuring her now would only cause a scene. "Alright. We'll discuss everything when we get home." He says, snaking his arms around her shoulders and under her thighs picking her up. "Whoah! What are you doing? I can walk on my own!" Yunalesca protests grabbing onto Sinbads neck.
"But you're hurt, and how can I, as a self-respecting gentleman, allow an injured lady to fend for herself." Sinbad gives Yunalesca a sly smile as he walks through the crowd. Cringing from embarrassment, Yunalesca covers her face with her hands in a futile attempt to hide from the gathering onlookers.

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"Gladiatorial events?" Yunalesca asks, a little perturbed. They were back at the inn after a quick visit to a local doctor. "Yes, so we won't be able to perform today." Sinbad says, running his fingers through his hair. Nodding slowly, Yunalesca turns to look out of the window, her mind drifting to the slave boy. "Surely he won't fight.. he's a child.." She couldn't keep the worry out of her mind.

Watching her closely, Sinbad takes a seat next to her, her hair blocking her face.
"So. Mind telling me what happened at the colosium? Why did you disappear all of a sudden?" He asks, his voice soft. After a few moments of silence, Yunalesca finally spoke. "I thought.. I thought I saw someone I knew." She lied, hoping Sinbad would believe her.
"From the slave ship?" The tenderness in his voice surprised Yunalesca, who just nodded in response, afraid her voice would betray her.

Though he couldn't see her face, Sinbad could feel Yunalescas unease. Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Sinbad gets to his feet. "We can go look again if you want." He suggests, but Yunalesca just shook her head."No need. It wasn't them." Furrowing his brows in concern, Sinbad gently pats Yunalesca on her head, trying to at least comfort her. "That aside, I talked to a young woman this morning. Turns out she's part of a musicians guild, and for the right coin, they'll happily orchestrate our performances." Sinbad says, trying to change the subject. "Talked to her? It looked to me like you were enveigling her." Yunalesca says with a mordant laugh, trying to sound as waggish as possible. She didn't want Sinbad to notice the guilt festering in her chest.

"How could I not compliment a lovely young lady and praise her abounding beauty? It is a mans duty!" Sinbad answers exuberantly. "Uh huh." Yunalesca laughs, willfully ignoring the dull ache in her heart.
"On the note of beautiful women." Sinbad interjects Yunalescas laughter as he fishes something wrapped in a silky cloth out of his pocket and extendes his hand.

Eyeing Sinbad suspiciously, Yunalesca carefully takes it, gently unwrapping its silky cocoon. When all the layers were removed, Yunalesca stared dumbfounded at the ornately engraved bangle in her hand. It was made from solid gold, no thicker than her pinky, embellished with intricately engraved flowers and vines. Picking it up to inspect it more closely, Yunalesca noticed writing on the inside.
𝓕𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓢𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓸 𝓨𝓾𝓷𝓪.
"I wanted to give it to you at the after our visit to the theatre, but things got a little out of hand." Sinbad says, scratching his cheek. "Why.." A single tear runs down Yunalescas face. Why was he giving her something so valuable when not even a day ago he flirted with another girl? "Ahh, I just remembered you looking at a bangle when we first arrived in Reim, and then a few days ago, when we went to the night markets, you looked at a similar one.. so I thought you might like it..." Sinbad trails off, a little flustered. He didn't expect this reaction.

Wiping the tear from her cheek, Yunalesca shakes her head. "And you're right, I love it. Thank you so much, Sin. I'll treasure it for the rest of my life." Yunalesca chuckles as she looks at Sinbad, her eyes softening at the sight of the boy in front of her. "He's just that kind of person. A womaniser through and through." She smiles to herself, hugging the bangle close to her heart.