Maja

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Chapter 28

 

Moon beams glimmered across the calm sea. The Fishbowl sat unmoving on the waveless view. Maja stood on its wide deck staring longingly at the horizon. She leaned against the railing resting her elbows on its edge. She tapped her fingers against her arm in anticipation, as if anything could happen on the horizon. This was the closest she’d ever gotten. She shivered. Even her warmest clothing wasn’t enough for the ocean breeze. She wore long worn-out cargo pants and a windbreaker with the “Hein Energy” logo across its back. Her golden locks were tucked in under the company hat. A work uniform was the best she could do. 

 

Dore appeared by her side, with the carefree grin expected of nobility. He looked warm in his thick blue coat. “You know you haven’t said a word to me since we set sail a week ago,” Dore said, glazing at her. “I expect a little more hospitality from a person who’s travel expenses I’m paying for.”

 

Maja rolled her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was become entertainment for a dainty rich boy. “Word,” she muttered.

He chuckled. “For a kirze you’re pretty stubborn.” He joined her on the railing staring out at the sea. Nothing spectacular happened yet. Maja didn’t know what to expect with all the vanishing ships. She had hoped for some magical phenomenon whisking them away possibly to safety, but what would that even look like? And why haven’t any of them returned?

 

“Hmmm,” Dore hummed to himself. “It sure is gorgeous. Been a while since I’ve seen such calm waters.”

 

“Tourist,” she comments. All she ever saw were turbulent waters. Her skin felt cold like it had that night. The large waves meant not a sole on their little refugee dinghy was dry. They had cuddled together for warmth. 

 

“No need for name calling,” he said, still as jovial as ever. 

 

He really knew how to piss her off. She gripped the edge of the railing and turned to look at Dore in his bright green eyes. She glared him down. “Mr. Dore Von Girdwood, do you take me for a fool? I know exactly who you are and where you are from.” The Girdwood county owned half the Fierboxes in the old world, or energy factories as they liked to call them and were always looking to expand, regardless of who they troubled. “You and your family have strived to destroy the livelihood of honest workers like myself for years,” she spat out at him as she pointed to the badge on her jacket’s arm. “Do you see this Mr. Girdwood? I’m one of the fierboxers whose wages your family wants to cut.” Maja was at the bottom of the food chain even amongst fierboxers, with her status as an Agostogian. She was lucky to get a job shoveling coal instead of mining it.

 

“This has nothing to do with politics,” Dore said. His joyous expression finally wavering.

 

It was Maja’s turn to chuckle. “Is it not your grandfather, who holds a chair in parlamont? Is it not your father who supports him? And is it not you who will follow them?” Maybe today had nothing to do with politics but she wasn’t about to be friendly with someone who would stab her in the back tomorrow. She’d seen enough of his family’s propaganda in the papers to know what his stance would be on her livelihood. “Do not speak to me Mr. Girdwood. I have no interest in the novel ideas of naive nobles.” She knew his type. He acted friendly now but when push came to shove he’d side with his family and their beliefs. Blood was thick with his kind. “Thank you for the passage, but do not mistake your one time kindness as the right for companionship.” Maja stared back out at the sea again, ignoring Dore. After this trip she’d never see him again anyway.

 

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Their days at sea went by in silence. Dore kept his distance from Maja after she called him out on his entitlement. She watched him on the front deck, searching the sea through a long spyglass as the fishermen worked around him. They pulled up large nets full of heavy fish. Captain Jinkin was likely making a decent gielde off of this fishing venture. Maja’s arms tingled with goosebumps, not from the cold. She’d been watching Jinkin navigate the maps. Today they were supposed to reach the makei zune. Today she’d get her answers.

Or so she thought before the boat began lurching to the right. She bolted to the front of the ship, where Dore was none the wiser to their shift in course. “What are you doing?” Maja screeched at the fishermen.

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The fishermen ignored her and continued with their work. One folded a net while the other tossed their fish into the hull. She ran back to the captain’s quarters. Dore followed her panicked charge into a small room with a desk and bed. Maps covered the wall and a thick ledger sat on the desk with a few more papers and books. Captain Jinkin stood in the center of the room surprised by their little disturbance.

 

“Why are we turning,” Maja demanded. Her voice shook with desperation. This was the closest she’d ever gotten. 

 

He stared at her with a look full of pity. “We ain’t going any further,” he said.

 

“What do you mean you won’t be taking us any further? I wanted to at least get to within a mile of the marei zune.” Maja pleaded.

He shook his head. “Too bad lady, cause this is as close as I’m gettin’.”

 

“Excuse me,” Dore butted in. “But I hired you to take me to the center.” He had a shockingly calm smile, calculating.

 

“And I’ve already taken you closer than anyone else would be riskin’.” The captain didn’t budge.

 

“But, I paid you.” Dore’s voice was sharp like a deadly dagger, as if he’d already decided the punishment for betraying his dollar. 

But the captain just kept shaking his head. “Not enough to get myself killed. Ain’t no one comes back from there and I ain’t lookin’ to off myself anytime soon,” he explained.

 

Maja should have known he wouldn’t willingly take them to a death zone. Not for a couple of gielde. Dore clenched his fist tightly at the response before opening them again. He walked aways with an oddly calm expression. “He won’t change his mind,” he said numbly.

Maja gave the captain a final glare before following Dore out. This time she followed him to the back of the ship. He watched the waves they were leaving behind in despair. “Why are they so scared?” he asked with a familiar desperation.

 

She had never asked him why he wanted to go near death's end. They had been comrades in this odd mission for this moment, so the least she could do is share her discoveries from the years. The sailors knew the rumors, but they hadn’t spread much further than the docks. “The marei zune is like a deep dark pit to the sailors. They don’t want to be swallowed. I’ve been searching for years and this is the closest I’ve ever gotten. I suppose I should thank you for that,” Maja said. It’d likely be the closest she ever got. Maybe Alela was right… Maybe it was time to stop. She’d tried every venue to find her brother: orphanages, slave markets, kirshes. After giving up on the idea of him being rescued from the watery abyss she looked into the more mystical ideas, like the marei zune and its possibilities. She simply refused to believe in a existence where her entire family was gone.

 

Dore looked as equally destroyed as she was. “Years? That would take too long, by then my brother…” He trailed off. But that caught Maja’s attention. 

 

Another story so similar to her own. “Did his ship go down in the marei zune?” She asked.

 

He wavered for a moment. “Yes, in a way-”

 

She couldn’t give up just yet. Especially when facing someone who felt her own despair. So long as she could dream of a world where her brother lived on, she wouldn’t give up. She so desperately wanted to see that world her little brother thrived in. He had always been a smart kid, much smarter than her. If anyone could survive he could, and maybe Dore’s brother could too, and she had a good feeling about the marei zune. All she had to do was unlock its secrets and having a money bag to fund her endeavor would help.

 

“Dore, your brother might be alive,” she said with the false confidence of someone who was clinging to theories.

 

His eyes widened with new hope.