Fiction: Group 2
New Tales of the Pearl River Delta
Canadian International School of Hong Kong, Chong, Kylie - 10, Fiction: Group 2
mack!
The back of Xu You’s hand flew across Shane Qing’s face. “Ow!” Shane screamed in pain.
“You and your family were ordered to steal from that cargo ship. Instead, you gave them our weapons.
This is your last chance. Fail again and you will all walk the plank,” Xu barked. “A royal ship will pass us
tomorrow. Find
something
valuable...”
Lucy Qing felt uneasy as this was her fault. Months ago, an earthquake destroyed her hometown and
only the Qings survived. Without a home, the Qings joined Xu’s pirate ship and now they must steal to
continue surviving.
Later, Shane, Lucy’s father, returned to the room the Qing family shared on the ship. Lucy, Lucy’s twin
brother, Milan, and their mother, Jin, were all grim. To lift their spirits, Shane recited a poem. “Cheer up,”
he said. “We each have to steal just
one
thing and we never have to steal again!” The room remained silent.
In the middle of the night, Xu marched into the Qing’s’ room. “WAKE UP!” he screamed. “The royal
ship, laden with treasures, is passing us. Steal something valuable and make sure you come back before the
crack of dawn.”
“Beware, pirates were hanged or jailed a lifetime for breaking in to the royal ship. They did it in broad
daylight, though...” he sniggered.
Milan’s eyes widened. “This is even worse!” he exclaimed. “Death penalty just for boarding the royal
ship? Unreasonable!”
Lucy was scared but remained calm. Jin had goose bumps all over her arms, Milan was trembling and
Shane was literally
frozen
.
Xu rolled his eyes. “I see pirate potential in
one
of you. If not, I would’ve kicked all of you off this ship
ages ago. If you succeed this time, you’re free to go.”
“I know what to steal, and one of us MUST steal it,” Shane remarked. “One night, I overheard Xu said
that on the royal ship is a diary by a former king.
He said something about the king being special, about
being the first to be evil.”
“Interesting,” Shane whispered. He looked out the small cut-out hole in their cabin. “Let’s get that
diary so Xu will be pleased and free us.”
The family put on black masks. They each had a small sack for the treasures and in their hands, they held
knives.
Waiting in the small lifeboat, they spotted the royal ship in a distance. The Qings rowed towards it and
quietly boarded the ship. No one was in sight and the bodyguard’s cabin was empty. So the guards must be
on watch
somewhere
on the ship.
Milan whispered, “Let’s go find the treasure before we get caught.”
They scampered off to different parts of the ship. After an hour, Milan found a book with torn edges.
Lucy took three bags of gold, Jin took metal swords and Shane grabbed every valuable book he could find.
S
