The Princess Of The Moon

• Amelia Taylor-Rose, Grade 2, St Agnes Primary School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

Long ago, there lived a Japanese girl. She was called Kyoko. She was a bright little girl but she knew she was different from everyone else in her village because she had a secret: Kyoko could see the future. As a little girl, her power was not very strong but every time she had a birthday, her powers got better.
Because her powers were still weak, she could not see far into the future so she did not know that a fierce warrior named Akio was hunting her down.
When she turned 15, her powers were strong and she figured out Akio was on the hunt for her! She had to get away. She ran across the countryside and then entered the woods of Motanewy. No-one had entered the woods for years because of the Legend of the Missing Warriors.
It was June 2nd, 14 years earlier, that two brave warriors were training in the woods – but one disappeared, never to be seen again. His name was Akihiro. He was Kyoko’s father. The other warrior was his younger brother Akio. No-one in the village knew but Akihiro was next in line for the throne. But Akio knew and he was a trickster. He tricked his older brother into going deeper into the woods by saying “Our father, the Emperor, wants us to train in the Motanewy woods so I'll go on ahead of you and find a suitable spot,” but Akio secretly ran back to the village while Akihiro searched for him. The more he searched, the deeper he went into the woods. No-one ever saw him again and Kyoko grew up never knowing anything about her father.
Growing up, Kyoko’s mother taught her a rhyme: “Face your fear and your fear will disappear,” so with Akio chasing after her, Kyoko took that advice and ran into the woods to hide. Deep in the woods, Kyoko met a poor, old man who lived in a cave. He told her that she wasn’t a nobody. She was the Princess of the Moon, destined to be Japan’s next Empress. He knew this because he was Akihiro, her father! She was thrilled to see her father at last.
Suddenly there was a flash and a bang! Akio had found them and was going to destroy them both so he could be Emperor. But with her pure heart and bravery, Kyoko transformed into the Princess of the Moon and defeated Akio. With her stronger powers, she found her way back to the village and took her father with her. And she yelled out to her village, “Akio is destroyed!” Her father declared Kyoko the new Empress. Looking into the future with her special powers, Kyoko knew she would be a great ruler and her people would live happily ever after.