Legend of the Seven Seas

Something changed

Coming back down hard on the sled the both grunted and tried to reorient themselves. Sindbad's eyes widened as the bird planted itself right in their path, waiting for them. He quickly scanned the area and spotted a small cavern off to the side.

"Lean right." Sinbad instructed, yanking Odette's shirt in the right direction. As they banked hard, he maneuvered up onto his feet, pulling her up along with him. In getting the new angle, she latched onto his hand and leaned all the way over, nearly touching the ground. As they closed in on the entrance he yanked her back up against his chest. Odette grunted at the impact and was glad the cold could cover up the red in her cheeks. They skated inside and managed to pull themselves to a stop at the edge of a sheer drop. Letting out a sigh of relief Odette chuckled shakily, starting to come off the adrenaline high. She smiled over at Sinbad who was grinning widely.

The moment was broken as a loud screech and shadow closed in on the entrance behind them.

"Round two." Odette quipped as she yanked Sinbad forward, sending them down the side of the cliff as the bird burst through the ice wall.

Sliding down the drop another gorge appeared ahead and the duo narrowed their eyes in concentration. As one unit they lifted themselves upwards, Sinbad grabbing the sled and stuck the landing on the other side, continuing at their staggering pace through the ice cavern. They weaved in and out of ice pillars while the bird powered on behind them using its wings to propel forward since there was no room to fly. Sinbad frantically glanced around for a way out. Spotting bit of light to Odette's side he grinned, a plan formulating in his mind. Whipping her knife from his belt he tightened his hold on her.

"Hang on." Sinbad warned before digging the knife into the ground and using his strength, whipped them around to shoot off at a sharp angle towards the exit. As they shot off, Sindbad slipped but Odette caught him and held him in a vice grip as they rocketed towards the hole. She grit her teeth as she continued to hold his weight while keeping him out of reach from the bird barreling behind him. Just before they reached the end, the weight of all the crumbling rocks buried the creature, and began an implosion of the cave. The two let out shrieks as they freefell down towards the boat beneath them.

"Yup there they are." Cale hummed casually, slipping his cap back on as he spotted the two bodies falling down towards the ship.

Money began to change hands as people cashed in on the bets they had made. Sinbad yelped as the two of them smacked into one of the large orange sails, tearing it and using the material to break their fall. Odette let out a short laugh as she landed and slowly opened her eyes.

"There....just as I....planned." Sinbad trailed off, staring down into deep brown eyes of Odette. Neither acknowledged the fact that he was on top of her as they stared quietly. As if by some unseen force the two of them gravitated closer. Just as Sinbad's nose brushed against hers the sail was ripped off, momentarily blinding them with light.

"It's Odette!" The crew cheered as they spotted Odette under their Captian.

Sinbad quickly scrambled off of Odette and allowed his crewmates to yank the girl up, doting on her.

"We thought you were gone forever." Rat bawled as he latched onto her waist.

Odette grinned in amusement and patted the man's back lightly.

"Good to have you back." Marina grinned at Odette.

"Oh I'm fine, really, but I'm touched by your concern." Sinbad dramatically informed them, wincing as he tried to crack his back.

Just as he straightened it with a pop a larger crackling noise caught his attention. Peeking open one eye he glanced back to watch the tower above crumble and make its way towards the waters before them. Sinbad watched in bafflement as the rocks instantly broke through the ice, leaving a crack so wide that the boat was released and a path was made for them to move back to open water. Everyone stared at it for a moment before bursting into elated shouts of celebration. Sinbad turned and caught Odette celebrating along with the rest of the crew, laughing as Cale swung her around playfully. His smile softened as he took in her laugh and her smiling face. After all their run ins he couldn't continue keeping away from her. She was slowly wriggling her way back into his heart and for the first time, it didn't bother him that much. Being set back down Odette glanced around, locking eyes with the man in question. She and Sinbad shared a soft smile, both silently acknowledging the slight change in their relationship. Neither quite knew what that meant, but something was different.