Oranges; Sinbad x Reader

The Twenty-Sixth Voyage

"Well~" He cooed out, getting up to sit next to me, "I happen to be very skilled myself with swordplay... If you'd like, I could teach you a thing or two~"

"Enough Sharrkan." A masculine voice spoke over. Turning my gaze toward Sinbad, I stared into his eyes. Sternness were held in those amber orbs. From the glint in his eyes, or the lack of thereof, I snapped my gaze away immediately. With unspoken words, Sharrkan got up and quickly left the room, leaving me alone with the purple-haired sailor. He seemed stressed out of his mind, as small eyebags hung under his eyes. "I should apologize to him later..." He grumbled under his breath, as I contemplated about what to do. He wasn't one to lose his temper, and I didn't want to cause more trouble.

"Are... you doing alright, Sinbad? You seem very tired." The male stared up from his paperwork, giving me a vacant glance, before showing off his genuine smile.

"I did not sleep well last night." Sinbad answered simply, as guilt reaped over my features. The King took notice of this, "It had nothing to do with you, (Y/N). In fact, when you fell asleep last night, I slept as well." A small hue reappeared on my features, as I adverted my gaze.

"Did I... do anything embarrassing last night?" Sinbad hummed in questioning, before I continued with a stutter, "W-Well, I've been told that when I stay up late, I... tend to do somethings I wouldn't normally do." At this he grinned.

"Can you give me an example?" The sailor cooed out teasingly, however, I didn't answer his request. Not only because I had no desire to tell him, but because I couldn't really remember the times like those happening. "From that look in your eyes, I can tell you really don't remember, huh?" Shaking my head, he smiled, "Last night, you requested to talk here. In this room, you insisted on brushing my hair. When you got done, you fell asleep on me. After that, I took you back to your room and went to sleep myself." The moment he told me, I remembered. Suddenly, a wave of embarrassment passed over my brain. 'How could I do that?!'

"I'm sorry!" Bowing my head till it reached my knees, Sinbad became excessively surprised.

"Woah, there isn't a reason for that!" He recognized, as I glanced at him pitifully, "Like what I said last night... I quite enjoyed it." Feeling butterflies in my stomach in my stomach again, I suddenly turned away to hide my expression. Moments like this... felt really warm and fuzzy.

...

Sinbad was stationed beside me, with a determined grin on his features. I was shaking from excitement from witnessing the sight of Sindria once more. Sinbad had created such a beautiful country, that staring upon it brought me almost half the joy I feel from gazing upon Feanel. "(Y/N)?" Sinbad asked, as I turned to face him, "You are my honored guest. And I wish for you to have a wonderful time in Sindria." Agreeing with him, my eyes trailed back to the country on the water. Once docking at the ports, Sinbad and I were the first to walk down to the pier. "(Y/N), would you like to take a-" Suddenly, a red string wrapped around the purple-haired sailor's neck. He was slightly choking out but continued to smile.

"Now, you've been gone for over a month, without any notice but a single note in the corner of my desk... Do you have any reasonable explanation?" The white-haired assassin was pissed off. Sinbad pointed toward me, unable to speak. Ja'far was the first to meet my gaze as he started to yell at Sinbad again. 'Called it...' I thought, before the advisor took a quick gander at my figure once more. "Princess (Y/N), welcome back to Sindria." He bowed out of respect as I did the same.

"The pleasure is all mine, Ja'far. I'll leave you and your King alone for a while." Wandering off, I went to explore more of this beautiful island. In the moment, I wasn't a Princess, nor was I of any importance. I was like any citizen. Well... kind of. I would have been if a certain Fanalis wasn't following me around from the 'shadows.' Walking into an empty alley, I managed to catch Masrur off guard. "Masrur, would you care to join me? You didn't have to follow me so." Nodding his head, we left the alley before making our rounds. "So why were you following me in the first place, Masrur?" I asked.

"I was ordered to keep you safe." Raising my eyebrow a little, I opted to let it go. Passing through a clothing market, I stopped in a few shops to get new needles and thread. Everything in the shops were so beautiful that I couldn't help my gawk at the merchandise.

"Are you seeing anything you like, miss?" The store owner queried happily, as I shook my head. "We have quite a bit of stock, so don't be scared to buy anything." A simple smile echoed on my features, as I continued to browse the goods.

"Actually... do you happen to know where I can get some horsehair?" The shop keep stared at me for a second, before redirecting me down the street. "Thank you. I'd also like to buy this from you."

"A... ring?" They queried. It was a simple silver band, with etched designs similar to the Sindrian emblem. Though the size was much larger than my fingers' diameter, I was sure that Sinbad would enjoy it. I had to return his hospitality somehow. Buying it quickly, I ran out of the shop and toward the Fanalis that was accompanying me. Masrur and I continued around Sindria's market and thriving economy. I bought my horsehair before, gently placing it in one of my pouches. I hadn't looked so closely at everything as I was doing right then.

"I'll be taking you back to the palace now." The day had gotten away from us, as the sun set over the rock walls. Nodding, I followed alongside him.

"Hey Masrur? Can I ask you a question?" He hummed, before I continued, "Do you happen to know why I'm in Sindria? Sinbad nor my sister told me the reason for my visit..." The male shrugged his shoulders, insinuating that he didn't know a thing. But in reality, the Fanalis knew the reason for my presence and was ordered by Sinbad to keep it a secret. Something in me screamed that he was lying, but I let it go then and there. There was no use in arguing.

I didn't want to appear rude or disrespectful any more than I was being. It wasn't gaslighting. Simply put, it was a mannerism that I learned from my studies. Being courteous usually gave me the answer quicker. A representative of Feanel wouldn't behave so rashly. However, I couldn't help but feel a little aggravated.