Legend of the Seven Seas

Confessions

That night the ship sailed silently over calm waters. The sky was a clear, letting a good bit of starlight shine through. The deck was practically empty as Odette stepped out and surveyed the water. Glancing around she spotted Sinbad standing stoically behind the wheel. With a thoughtful frown, she made her way to the upper deck, looking off the side from there. Sinbad glanced at her as she approached but said nothing.

"Sinbad...." Odette began, turning to face him.

However, the curious and hopeful gleam in his eyes clammed her up. So instead of saying what she intended, she decided to go another direction.

"....Thank you for coming back for me." Odette told him quietly.

Sinbad smirked cockily.

"Well you.." Sinbad began but stopped as he looked at her.

Odette watched him quietly, being very sincere in her gratefulness. She didn't deserve to have it brushed off by him.

"...you're welcome." Sinbad softened with a smile.

Odette smiled back at him, leaning with her back against the railing. She examined him for a moment, taking in his seemingly calm expression. Thinking back on their childhood together, she couldn't remember many other moments where he looked like that.

"This life suits you." Odette admitted to him.

After watching him in his element, Odette couldn't deny that this was where he was meant to be. Not back with her and Proteus back on the mainland. Sinbad shrugged it off.

"Ah...I wasn't made for dry land." Sinbad agreed, being genuine in his words.

It seemed that the moment called for sincerity instead of Sinbad's façade of cockiness that he tended to put on around others. It was just him and Odette now, and she already knew the real him. He looked over at her curiously, watching as she glanced back over the waters. He had never really known where she wanted to be. Odette fit in perfectly wherever she was.

"And you? Is it the shore or the sea?" Sinbad inquired, oddly nervous about her answer.

Odette grinned, making her way beside him.

"I've always loved the sea. Even dreamed of a life on it." Odette told Sinbad, wistfully staring out across the ship.

Sinbad frowned, listening to her intently. Odette glanced at him before straightening up and shrugging.

"But it wasn't meant to be. I have responsibilities, duties." Odette explained solemnly.

"You really had to give it up." Sinbad asked Odette, realizing that she did what her father wanted.

Odette was always one to put others before herself. Sinbad admired that about her as it was not one of his strong points. Yet at the same time he wanted to see her truly happy, doing what she wanted to do.

"Yes." Odette whispered, holding herself self-consciously.

Sinbad frowned. He knewe that the royal siblings had duties but it never occurred to him how bound they were. Odette had tagged along and gotten the experience of her dreams on the seas but knew that when it ended she would have to go back to her life. Her duties and dreariness. Thinking for a moment he swallowed and hesitantly reached for her hand. Odette glanced down at it in surprise before bringing her eyes up to his. He smiled at her with a loving gentleness that took her breath momentarily. With a sure nod, he softly tugged her over to stand in front of the wheel. Guiding her hand to one of the handles he stood just behind her. Odette shot him a questioning glance but remained silent. Was he really about to let her sail his precious ship? Sinbad gestured for her to continue with his eyes, and she beamed placing both hands on the wheel. He watched her silently for a moment, taking in the happiness in her expression.

In the dim lighting and the true joy in Odette's face Sinbad never thought she looked more beautiful. Shaking his head he looked back out across the waters, still standing slightly behind her.

"You know I've traveled the world. Seen things no other man before has seen. But nothing, nothing compares to the open sea." Sinbad marveled in a whisper, staring out across the vast ocean before them.

"And is this what you've always wanted?" Odette asked him, genuinely curious.

Had he followed his dreams?

"Well not really." Sinbad huffed with a grin.

Odette stared at him curiously.

"When we were young Proteus and I talked about joining the royal navy. And serving Syracuse side by side." Sinbad recited dramatically.

Odette chuckled quietly, remembering the two boys and their heroic antics.

"But as we got older, our lives began to change. He's a prince and I'm...." Sinbad glanced at Odette, and cleared his throat.

It hurt to say it out loud in front of Odette.

"Well you know." Sinbad trailed off with a wry grin.

"I was never jealous of him though. Until one morning a ship came into harbor. A ship with his future on it. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen." Sinbad smiled, his mind going back to that day.

"What was on the ship?" Odette whispered, handing on his every word.

Sinbad turned to face Odette.

"You." Sinbad whispered seriously.

Odette's eyes widened in surprise.

"Proteus met Marina at the dock. And following her was you, fresh from the finishing school that your father sent you to. I couldn't believe that the same little kid that was always following Proteus and I around was the woman on the deck of that ship." Sinbad told Odette, reminiscing as he did.

"That was the day you left...." Odette realized, staring at Sinbad in surprise.

"I jumped on the first outbound ship and never looked back." Sinbad agreed, glancing away from Odette.

"Until now." Sinbad added, staring at her longingly.

Odette couldn't say anything as her mind whirled around with this new information. She had been crushing on him since she was just a kid, following after her brother and his best friend. Then when she left for school the ache for him continued but he was gone by the time she returned. Ever so slowly, Sinbad reached for her hands that had dropped from the wheel. Grasping them gently he leaned in, but Odette held a hand to his chest. Sinbad instantly halted, staring curiously at her pained expression as she stared at his chest.  Without saying he knew he went too far. As he began to pull away Odette quickly tightened her hold on him, wanting him to understand.

"Sinbad wait, I...." Odette began but was interrupted by a blinding light that suddenly lit up the night sky.