Chapter Three
2112 Words
No. Children. On. Board. This. Ship.
Captain Malcheffi had lied to his face. Lied to his father. How could he do that? What reason could Malcheffi have to stop Mark from joining his own father on board the Lady Sinatra? It was preposterous, really. Mark was a good kid. He would never intend on causing any trouble or any damage. Unless…maybe the captain had business to discuss with his father. Business that only concerned the adults.
Yes. That was it. That shouldn’t have any reason to concern Mark.
Then again, as he looked up towards the Lady Sinatra, he found the source of the voice that was calling him quite disturbing. It was a young girl, probably a little younger than Mark. She had brown hair in plaits and wore what looked to be a yellowed dress with a brown apron. She was quite small. To Mark, she seemed pretty cute.
A young boy joined the girl. He looked a couple of years older the girl and wore a grey hat with a blue shirt. He looked quite mousy and pale.
Mark was astounded. What were the children doing on the ship? And how had no one noticed that these two children were there?
No. Children. On. Board. This. Ship.
Malcheffi’s voice just kept ringing inside his head. It was like a threat. It was a judgement. It was a lack of trust from the captain. Yet his father was on board that ship all the same. Surely, that should have been good enough for Malcheffi?
The girl started to wave again. With both arms.
‘Join us!’ she shouted.
Mark was hesitant. He didn’t want the two children to face any trouble from the captain. Then again…Captain Malcheffi was rather rude to him. Maybe an act of rudeness in return wouldn’t be so bad? After all, if anyone had a problem with these two children being on board the ship, they would have been thrown off by now.
Mark decided to ignore the captain’s instruction. He had to take his chances and jump on board.
Making sure no one was looking, and making sure that Malcheffi could not be seen, he jumped onto the plank and embarked onto the ship. The young boy on the ship grabbed Mark by the arm and dragged him towards the main mast.
‘What were you doing down there?’ the girl asked. ‘You were all by yourself too. Why?’
‘Umm…nothing,’ Mark replied. ‘I was…waiting’.
‘Waiting for who?’
‘My father,’ Mark replied. ‘Why?’
‘Did the captain tell you not to come on board?’ the boy asked, rolling his eyes and chuckling. ‘Typical man! That i***t, Malcheffi. Doesn’t like children at all. It’s bad enough that we’re on board the ship! He almost had our eyes out the first time he caught us nicking snacks from the kitchens. Shouted at us like mad. Told us he would flay us alive next time he saw us down there!’
‘How…sorry…who are you?’ Mark asked. Now he was speaking to the two children, he might as well get to know their names.
‘Can’t tell you that’.
‘What?’ Mark asked.
‘Can’t tell you’.
‘Why?’
‘Because’.
‘Because what?’ Mark asked, losing his patience.
‘Because we can’t tell you, that’s why’.
‘What’s your name?’
Mark almost stopped himself from revealing his name. Why should he, when these two children refused to reveal who they were? Then again…maybe if he did reveal who he was…
It was worth a go.
‘My name is Mark’.
‘Ha! Mark’.
‘Shut up!’
‘What? It’s a brilliant name’.
The boy playfully shoved the girl to one side, then wrapped an arm around Mark.
‘It’s much better than not revealing your names! Anyway – why don’t you tell me your names? Are they some sort of code or something?’
‘A magician never reveals their secrets!’ the girl said intellectually. She was grinning a little to happily for Mark’s liking. Mark could tell from the girl that she was smart and intelligent. Even though she looked like a cleaner or a maid, Mark could perceive the girl as a conscience type. One who might be rational in many difficult situations.
‘So - tell me, young Mark,’ the boy continued. ‘What brings you down here?’
‘Oh…well, my father’s a farmer, you see,’ Mark explained. ‘And we had an order come in from the Sinatra. So, we came down early this morning to deliver the supplies for the crew’.
‘Excellent,’ the boy responded. ‘I hope dinner will be good tonight. Did you bring plenty of poultry?’
Mark stopped for a moment. Now he thought about it, the order did seem a bit odd. Why did they only order vegetables and not livestock from the farm? Especially as they supposedly told Edward they had such low supplies.
‘That’s if we get any dinner,’ the girl snarled. ‘Normally, we’re stuck with a bit of gruel and some carrots. It’s not very filling, is it?’
‘On a good day, it is,’ the boy chortled.
‘And on the morning, they give us bread and water’.
‘This is the amusing thing about the adults, you see,’ the boy continued, ignoring the girl. ‘They like to feed themselves, right, but they don’t like to feed the children. At least, Malcheffi doesn’t. His wife isn’t so bad. She’s the only one who can keep him straight in line. She makes all the right decisions for us. Not him. We’ve been stuck on this piece of junk for months, and there has been no way out! We go from one meaningless place to another, delivering stuff that no one wants and collecting useless junk that no one ever needs! It’s pointless!’
‘So, what does the crew of the Sinatra actually do?’ Mark asked curiously. ‘They must have a purpose, right?’
The two children stopped. They looked at each other, not sure on how to respond. Mark felt slightly uncomfortable.
‘Sorry,’ Mark said apologetically. ‘Did I say something wrong?’
‘I’m not sure how to tell you this,’ the girl responded. ‘No one knows what the purpose of the Sinatra actually is’.
‘It’s a mystery to everyone,’ the boy explained. ‘Their clients are unique in a way. They are not normally bothered with the outside world. Yet they have all these good connections with the captain. Rich, wealthy types. That sort of thing. They are all involved in all sorts of crazy matters. They’re all quite pally, to be fair. It must be a valuable service to some. Otherwise, no one knows what they do’.
Mark was stunned. He was stood on an actual, physical object that had sailed around the world, and no one knew what it did? Owing the fact that the Lady Sinatra was the most immaculate ship on the Docklands, surely it had a way to make a generous amount of money? If not, what was the point in its existence?
‘Where are you sailing next?’ Mark asked.
‘Germany, I think,’ the boy replied. ‘We’ve just come back from Spain. Before that, it was Iceland. And we joined the ship from a country called…’
‘Mark!’
Mark turned. He saw his father racing towards him.
‘What did Malcheffi tell you?’ Edward asked, shouting at Mark. ‘He told you not to get onto the ship’.
‘I’m sorry, father,’ Mark responded, feeling apologetic and rather upset. ‘But, you see, I was talking to these two other children, and…’
Mark turned round. He was just about to introduce his father to the children he had just met.
They had disappeared.
‘Son,’ Edward continued, much calmer than he was a moment ago. ‘I know it’s your birthday, and I understand you want to explore your surroundings. But you mustn’t disobey me! I don’t know why the captain didn’t want you to come on board, and I am sorry if this has ruined your day. But it’s for your own good – he has his instructions for a reason’.
‘Sorry, father’.
‘That’s okay,’ Edward said. ‘And I promise that I will make it up to you. Now, we had better get off this ship before…’
‘Oi!’
Edward turned. Malcheffi was stood right behind him.
‘I told you! Did I not make myself clear to you?’
Malcheffi’s voice boomed so loudly throughout the ship, every crew member stopped and turned. Even passers by outside of the ship stopped and turned their heads. His presence was known.
Malcheffi appeared to hate Mark so much, it actually hurt to feel so much hatred. His face was as red as a tomato. His breathing was heavy and deadly. His nostrils flared, and his eyes were as black as a starless night sky.
He was furious. And Mark had had enough.
‘I swear!’ Mark pleaded angrily. ‘There were two children stood with me just now. Their names are…’
He did not know what their names were. His luck had run out. He was determined to know where those children had gone to. Just so he could prove that he wasn’t a fool. It wasn’t all fantasy. Those two children were real. They just didn’t see that.
‘They were on this ship! I saw them. I promise you!’ he pleaded.
‘You are nothing but a nasty little liar, aren’t you?’ Malcheffi snarled, going down on him like a tonne of bricks. He wasn’t about to let some boy waste his time. ‘There were no other children on board this ship and you know it! You deliberately disobeyed my orders…’
Just as Mark and Edward’s luck were just about to run out, a woman scrambled towards Malcheffi. She tried to pull the captain away as calmly as possible. But she was panicking more than Mark was.
‘Sigourney, please! Don’t…’
‘Stand aside, silly woman!’
‘Please, darling! It’s just a misunderstanding…’
‘This has nothing to do with you! Stand aside, now!’
The woman tugged pleadingly at the captain’s sleeves, sobbing with all her might. Malcheffi pushed the woman roughly to the ground and turned his attention back towards Mark.
‘Now, then,’ Malcheffi continued. ‘I will ask you one more time. Where is it?’
Mark could have swallowed a wasp at that point, as there was a dry stinging sensation in his throat. Exactly what was Malcheffi accusing him of?
‘Where…is…it?’
‘What the…hell are you talking about?’ Mark asked, trying with all his might to sound as dominant as possible.
‘I’d like to ask the same thing,’ Edward added furiously. ‘I think you have a cheek. To stop my son from joining us on your fancy little ship is one matter. That was your decision, and I appreciate that. I completely respect your wishes. But you have no right to call my son…’
‘A thief?’ Malcheffi interrupted. ‘But of course, you have no idea what your little boy is capable of!’
‘How dare you?’ Edward spat. Mark could tell his father had been pushed over the edge now. He began to roll his sleeves up, preparing to give Malcheffi a real what for!
‘I understand this is your ship, Malcheffi,’ Edward continued. ‘But you have no business to accuse my son of crimes he has never b****y committed! Now, stand aside. Stand aside now. And allow us to leave in peace! You will rightfully never hear from any of us again’.
Malcheffi rolled his eyes. Without warning, he punched Edward square in the face. Mark squealed as he saw blood pouring from his father’s nose, begging the captain for mercy. There were gasps and shouts around the main deck of the Sinatra. The woman who tried to stop Malcheffi stood up and tried to pull Malcheffi back. However, without touching the woman, Malcheffi forced the woman back. She landed, hard, down the stairs leading below decks.
Mark gasped. He had heard of this in some of the books he had read at home. What was it called? It was by that play write he loved so much. The one where there were witches, that blood bath and characters of royalty. It was all becoming too real.
This was some sort of sorcery. This was the work of the devil.
This was magic.
There was no blocking Malcheffi’s path. Mark was in his grasp.
And this time, Mark Cannidor could not escape.
‘You. Will. Pay’.
- Writer
