Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 -1 2019 | Page 233

The Adventures of the Ming Treasure Fleet
Po Leung Kuk Choi Kai Yau School, Tsang, Bernice - 10
Sakura felt seasick - again. She had told her family many times that she couldn’t be a proper pirate because
she knew she would get seasick. She hugged her sides. Sakura was pretty sure the pirates on board were
thoroughly annoyed with constant her seasickness, but the captain insisted she stay. She was also pretty sure
that if her father hadn’t told the captain and “convinced” him to let Sakura come on board, she wouldn’t
even be here. For her father was the great pirate Coblarato. She sighed, wondering how she had wound up
with such a stubborn parent. Sakura went above the deck and leaned on one of the rails on the side. Salt
water splashed onto her arms. The wind whipped a few stray strands of hair from her messy bun onto her
face. The ship was in a frenzy, and new recruits were coming on board every minute or so. Sakura watched
the other scared sailors who were going to leave with her, but then she spotted a familiar face – Alara, her
childhood friend. “My god, it’s so noisy in here!” Alara shouted, with her hands pressed over her ears.
Sakura couldn’t help but agree. Alara’s pretty green eyes darted from man to man, glaring at them. She
rolled her eyes, and turned to Sakura. “They should be readying the ship now.” Sakura nodded.“Yeah,
sadly. I don’t even wanna be here…” Soon after, the ship pulled up its anchor and gently departed from the
dock.
Alara was sleeping when the whole ship lurched forward. Her eyes snapped open and she tucked
herself under the covers. At first, she didn’t hear the knocking coming from the door, but it quickly got
louder and faster, as if the knocker was getting annoyed. “Coming!” Alara jumped out of bed and thrust
open the door. A boy greeted her with a nod. “Max…” “Hello Alara, may I come in?” Max quickly made
himself comfortable in Alara’s extra bed. “Max! You’re making the bed dirty!” Alara chided her brother.
Max shrugged. “So what? Nobody uses this anyway.” Alara clenched her teeth. “Just get off!” “Fine!” Max
stood up. Alara thought, “ Why is he even here? What does he want from me? Is he just here to be an
annoyance? ” “Hello?” Max waved his hand over her face. “Alara? You okay?” Alara shook herself from her
thoughts. “I’m...okay.” Max frowned, like he knew something wasn’t okay, but then the door opened. It
was Sakura, with a smile on her face. “Hey, come up to the deck. We’ve arrived.”
Glittering lakes glistened in the sunlight. Tall trees covered the country. There were crowds of
waving people at the side of the ocean, taking a look at the giant ship. The ship stopped at the dock and the
people gathered around it. Pirates taking all sorts of treasures from the ship grinned, showing the people
their crooked and missing teeth. “Where are we?” Alara asked, waving to one of the dark natives. “India,”
Sakura whispered back, smiling at the people, “We’re giving the treasure to the people here. The Emperor
thinks they will make a good ally.” Alara understood why the Emperor wanted this country as an ally. The
people were nice, strong, and seemed easy to control. Sakura nudged her arm.“Come on, Alara. We gotta
go.”
It would have been nice to walk around the new place with Sakura and her brother- except for
the fact that they had to carry hundreds of pounds of gold. Alara muttered,“Do we have to carry these?” She
lifted her sack, which packed full of gold coins. “I dunno, but it’s heavy.” Max was sweating a lot too. The