Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 2 - 2 | Page 187

The Assassination of the Ming
Victoria Shanghai Academy, Wong, Matthew - 10
The sky was as pink as a blushing beetroot, as chaotic as a ruined empire, and the sea as dark as the endless
depth of an eternal abyss. The ships were coming, crammed with shimmering iron. In the ship were a
thousand snores, and the joyous shore of India grows ever so closer.
The sky melts away. A peaceful blue drives the chaos away. Suddenly a shriek of fear pierced the air. The
ships have come, casting a long, thick shadow on the earth. The mast was painted with a golden dragon,
which looked as though it was frozen in melted gold.
The shore was suddenly overwhelmed with soldiers, and the general screamed out “Zheng He arrives! By
the order of the heavenly emperor, we bring you these valuable treasures. Let our empires coexist in
prosperity and happiness. We shall flourish in this trading route. Now, we shall depart after three days time.
I this time you will pay respect for the heavenly emperor, and we shall be in peace.”.
The people cowered as the ships sailed away, but nobody noticed the raft that followed the vast vessels…
“Ahh!!” a scream of terror slashed through the air as the shimmering blade shot through the kitchen. The
intruder leapt on board, and silenced the cook.
The figure crept up the stairs silently, and she strained her eyes to find the man he had to kill. She needed a
distraction to lure him in her trap; she had been unwise to silence the cook; he was a essential distraction.
She had no choice but to venture deeper in the kitchen. Before long, a soldier arrived. She had acquired the
distraction she had wanted.
“Freeze!” shouted the soldier, but was silenced as the assassin flicked a poison dart at him. “Stop!” cried
another soldier, but he was beaten unconscious by a well aimed stab of a chopstick. She was yet again
stopped by a soldier, who tried to pin her to the ground. Yet she kept calm, and shoved a spitting cobra at
her opponent’s face, who viciously bit the soldier’s face. The soldier collapsed, and the snake slithered away,
while the assassin waited to kill the man who had to die.
“Bang!” a loud noise rang through the kitchen. “It’s probably nothing,” mumbled Zheng He, the admiral of
the fleet. Thud. A scream rang through the vessel. “Bang!” A loud noise rang through the air as though
someone was firing a gun.
“Bang!” The sound torn the veil of silence once more. Zheng He decided to investigate. A sliver blade
slashed through the corridor. “Finally, you shall die.” whispered Abdula, assassin of India.
Zheng He examined the sword that had been thrown at him. It was curved and carved. Ivory adorned the
blade. This was definitely not a Chinese dagger. “This looks almost like the elaborate Indian dagger!”
thought the admiral. “Prepare to die, fool.” Zheng He looked up. A short knife was pointing at him.
Zheng He drew his sword. The assassin leapt through the air, slashing at the admiral. However, her
opponent dashed away, using a piece of severed wood as a shield. She pulled out a six foot long krait. He
pulled out his second sword. The snake darted forward, striking at Zheng He. Zheng He sliced its head off.
The assassin knew he was too strong. Suddenly, she jumped off the vessel.
Strange things were happening at the ship. A week after they visited Africa, a barbaric race bombarded the
ships. A day later, half of the cooks went missing. Then, the giraffe they captured broke free and wreaked
havoc, savaging ten sailors before it was killed. Later, a weird infestation of strange bugs poisoned twelve
people. Afterwards, cobras were sighted roaming the ship. Rumours flew around the ship, cold as shadows.
Were they cursed?
Nevertheless, they carried on. The fought off the barbarians even in the most dangerous of places. They
captured the animals that dared to escape, and tried to exterminate the dangerous bugs. But the snakes were
nowhere to be seen….