***Trigger warning*** - Bigotry

MAJA

The sun peeked through the smog of the city air along the dock. Maja neared the end of her search for a boat with every captain laughing in her face along the way. She was starting to think taking the next few weeks off for a trip had been a waste. 

Her last chance of the day was a small fishing, Fishtail. It was so small that if she had known how to sail she could have taken off with it on her own, but sadly that wasn’t one of her many skills. She wandered towards who she assumed was the captain tying ropes along the dock.

“Hey!” She called out to him. He was younger than she expected, maybe in his twenties, with long poofy hair and darkly tanned skin from the ocean’s beating sun. “Wanna job?”

He barely looked in her direction. “Not interested,” he muttered.

“I’ll make it worth your while.” Maja had been saving up for months in the hope to bribe a captain. 

He didn’t say anything, but Maja took that as a good sign. He wasn’t cussing her off the docks like some of the others tried.

“All I need is you to take me to the center of the Makei Zune,” she continued confidently. 

The man finally paid her attention, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked her up and down. “I could do that,” he said in a cocky voice. “But I ain’t taking you.”

That was it. She had enough of these sailors looking down at her because she was Agostogian. “What do you mean you won’t take me? You said you’d go, so why not take me?” She yelled at him.

“Look lady, you can’t afford the trip!” He yelled back, which surprised her. She wasn’t expecting him to discriminate against her because she looked poor. That was a new one. Maja felt a little guilty for assuming. Looking at him again she’d guess he had some Lan heritage like Alela. They tended not to pay too much attention to the drama in the Gatti Kirshes.

“I’ll find a way to pay,” she begged, even though she saved quite a bit he’d likely ask for more simply because he could. She wondered how obvious it was she was desperate at this point. Her hair stuck to her face covered in sweat. She bet the exhaustion had started showing in her eyes.

“That ain’t no good, Lady, cause around here-” He glanced around at the dirty looks people were giving Maja. He continued, “you ain’t worth nothing. I need payment now, and you can’t afford her.” He pointed behind him at the dinghy blue boat. 

She hated that he was right, just as much as she hated that he was the only one willing to even speak to her civilly. 

“But I can.” A proud voice said from behind her. 

“Excuse me,” Maja asked as she jerked around to find a prissy looking rich boy with bright red hair. His clothing was simple like he had been trying to fit in but the fabric looked expensive. He even had the long silver chain of a pocket watch dangling from his side. 

“And who are you?” The Captain asked. Maja looked back towards him and recognized the greedy glint of a man who just found gold in his eyes. 

“Dore Von Girdwood. My family owns the factories in West Zerion. You can trust that I can pay,” Dore said. He sounded smug like most of the rich boys she had gone to the University with before she had gotten kicked out.

“Now you, I can do business with. Jinkins,” Captain Jinkin said, walking past Maja to shake Dore’s hand. 

She groaned. How did someone steal her ride? “And why do you want to go to the Makei Zune?” Maja asked. She assumed he had been listening to the entire conversation at this point.

He stared down at her with calculating emerald eyes. He looked just as rich as he probably was. Maja wasn’t up on the readings of the most powerful families in Zerion but if he was a part of them she wouldn’t be surprised. “That’s none of your concern, but you’re more than welcome to join. I have no reason to deny a travel companion.”

Maja glared at him. There was something about him that she didn’t like but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Maybe the attitude? But, she had no reason to deny a free ride. “Fine. So long as you’re paying mister money bags,” she replied.

This was going to be a long journey. The Makei Zune was at least a few days away and who knew how long they’d be traveling aimlessly until they found something. Maja was going to suggest they set out in a few hours so she could go grab some supplies but for some reason Dore was in an even bigger rush than she was. He insisted that he just buy everything on the spot, so they left immediately. 

Maybe that’s why she didn’t like him. She recognized that subtle desperation in the way he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. She could understand how hard it was to be happy when you were missing something. Hopefully they’d both find what they were searching for in the Makei Zune. 

They watched as the tall towers of the cities shrunk in the distance in silence. Maja’s nails dug into her elbows. The waves were calm unlike that night they had fled to sea. The Zeri Colonies held their only hope for the future, but the journey had been perilous. Only Maja and her mother had survived those shaky waters.

She took a deep breath and looked away from the waves. She needed to focus on finding Stein, not on losing him.