The Little girls of the Mountains

          High up in the hills, near some mountains, there laid a big old temple that had been around for hundreds of years. This temple was called ‘The Seven Year Temple’ and this temple had a sad story behind it.

          The story was hundreds of years ago, before the temple was built, there used to be a village in the area. It was what you called a peaceful little village with wheat fields all around. But there was something sad about this village. The village had an old tradition of sacrificing a seven year old girl to the mountain god for a good harvest, every seven years.

          One night a seven year old girl was being sacrificed to the mountain god. She was dressed in fine robes and all set to be sent to the mountains, where she was to stay put in a shrine and die there. But the girl’s parents and older brother didn’t want her to die, even if this was a tradition. The older brother, who loved his sister a lot, even argued against the landlord of the village to not have his sister sacrificed. But the landlord just said; “It is for the sake of the village, deal with it”. He was one of those landlords who never cared about his own people’s feelings.

          So the girl’s family couldn’t do anything to prevent her from being sent to the mountains. But there was something they could do to prevent her from dying. Her parents planned to take their daughter out of the shrine in the mountains, hide her somewhere else and keep her alive by sending food to her. Of course they weren’t really allowed to do that, and they feared that this would attract the wrath of the mountain god, but the girl’s parents and brother couldn’t just allow the villagers to kill her.

          It wasn’t long when the girl was led up to the mountains and into the shrine to die. But sometime after the girl was placed in the shrine, her brother got her out of the shrine and together they found a small cave in the mountains for her to hide in. The girl was afraid that the villagers would find out about this, but her brother reassured her that he and their parents would protect her.

          For the next three years the girl’s parents and her brother visited her in secret, at night times, to give her food and clothing. As for the harvest in the village the wheat had grown well over the last three years, even if the girl hadn’t been sacrificed. They say that the parent’s actions of saving their daughter didn’t attract the wrath of the mountain god. Even though everything was going well it still made the girl worried that the villagers would find out that she was still alive.

          One night the girl’s parents and brother decided they should leave the village and take her with them. They knew they wouldn’t be able to keep their secret up forever. So the parents told their son to go to his sister and tell her that they were going to leave the village tonight. The son did that at once and the girl agreed with the plan of leaving the village.

          But before the girl and her brother could leave the cave, trouble appeared. Some men from the village had followed the brother and they saw the girl. The men realized that the girl and her family broke the rules of the tradition and they were angry. The girl and her brother tried to run away, but the men caught them right away. “You have violated the rules and angered the mountain god,” said one of them “so for your crime we will sacrifice both you two and your parents to the mountain god”.

          Once the men brought the girl and her brother back to the village, they seized their parents at once and tied the whole family up in ropes. The father tried to reason with them saying that the mountain god hadn’t sent a famine to them or anything else bad. But the villagers wouldn’t listen; all they cared about now was completing the sacrifice ritual so not to anger the mountain god. The land owner ordered the girl to be killed first and then they will kill her brother and parents next. A villager, with a shovel, got ready to strike the girl on the head to kill her. The girl braced herself for the blow, while her parents and brother could do nothing to stop him but watch in horror.

          Suddenly the man with the shovel caught on fire, just before he was about to kill the girl. The villagers gasped at the sight and demanded to know what happened. Just then a voice appeared saying; “you will not kill this girl or any other girls anymore”. A seven year old girl appeared in front of everyone like magic; she was a ghost. “Ever since I was sacrificed to the mountain god, four hundred years ago, I watched this village sacrificing girls the same age as me,” she said “I also watched the poor girls suffer like I did. But now I have seen enough, and they have too”. Hundreds of ghosts of seven year old girls appeared; they were ghosts of girls who had been sacrificed in the past. The villagers were horrified of seeing the ghosts in front of them. Even the girl and her family were shocked of seeing them.

          Some of the ghost girls released the girl and her brother and parents from their ropes and told them to leave. The landlord was about to stop them, but the ghosts interfered before he could stop them. “All of us girls still feel the coldness of the shrine we were locked in before we died,” said the four hundred year old ghost “and so we shall bring fourth fire to warm ourselves up”. Just like magic fire suddenly appeared and it started to burn down the whole village. The villagers tried to run away, but they all got trapped by the flames. Some of the villagers tried to apologize to the girls but it was too late; the girls could not forgive the villagers for what they had done and so the villagers were to die by the fire.

          At that time the girl and her family had fled the village, all safe and sound, and right now they were watching the village burn to the ground. And they heard the screams of the villagers as they were being burned alive by the fire. “Instead of attracting the wrath of the mountain god,” said the father “the villagers had attracted the wrath of the spirits of the girls they had sacrificed in the past”. “Yes, and it was the villager’s cruelty and selfishness that attracted the girls wrath” said the mother. The girl and her brother agreed and then the family left the village to live a happier life someplace else.

           A few years after that, the girl and her brother who were adults now returned to where the village used to be and together they built ‘The Seven Year Temple’. The girl hoped with all her heart that the girls would find peace now since the village no longer existed and so did her brother. After they completed the temple, they left the temple and never returned to it again.

          So ‘The Seven Year Temple’ was built to help put the spirits of the sacrificed girls to rest. But the priests who have run the temple over the years have said that on moonlit nights, when the moon is full, they see the spirits of the sacrificed girls roaming around the area, where the village once stood. 

Magic that came from the moon part 3

The Moon Spirit of Nature

               

          Today was a beautiful sunny day and the royal family of Lunaasia were having a picnic in a forest. The forest was filled with strong oak trees, strong chestnut trees, tall pines and wild flowers were bursting everywhere. “I love having picnics here in the forest Mother” said Princess Diana. “So do I, my daughter,” Queen Luna said “it’s peaceful here and I always feel at ease here. Being here also brings back memories when your father, Archer, was still around”. “I remember too Mother,” said Diana “I remember when we would always spend special days like this together, and I also remember when he would play with Serena and me here all the time”. “So do I,” sighed Queen Luna “even though he’s gone, the good news is though is that our special forest isn’t gone”.

          Serena was picking some wild flowers, to put in her room back at the castle. Serena had always loved flowers; they always gave off a nice smell and flowers make gardens, fields and forests very colourful. Just then she noticed something near her. There were a lot of stone statues in the shape of fairies, with wings. “Wow, I never noticed these before” said Serena. She walked over to the statues. The fairy statues were beautiful and they were so well built, they almost looked real. “It’s a shame that these fairy statues aren’t real,” Serena said to herself “it would be nice to meet a real fairy”. Just then her mother turned up. “Ah there you are Serena,” she said “I was wondering where were”. “I got side tracked by these fairy statues Mother” said Serena. “Ah yes,” said Queen Luna “these statues are really nice to look at aren’t they?” “They certainly are Mother,” replied Serena “these fairy statues remind me of the forest in William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’”. Queen Luna chuckled. “Come on now my daughter,” she said “it’s time to go home now”. Serena picked one more wild flower quickly and then she and her mother and sister went back home to the castle.

          The beautiful weather of today turned ugly that night. It was pouring with rain and very strong howling winds were blowing. Serena was looking at the storm through her bedroom window. “Oh dear what a horrible night,” she said “I do hope this storm won’t do any damage”. Even when going to sleep, Serena still felt worried about what the storm would do.

          Next day Serena and her family were having breakfast. Queen Luna was talking to her steward James. “Any news of the damage created by the storm James?” asked Queen Luna. “Yes there is your majesty,” said James “apart from trees falling on the line, some old farm buildings have blown down and some houses have lost their roofs”. “Right we better sort out this mess at once,” said Queen Luna “we need all the men we can get to build new farm buildings and get all the houses fixed. And as for the trees we must plant new ones at once”. “Is there any news on the forest?” asked Serena. “I’m afraid there is,” said James “and it isn’t good”. Damage had been done to the forest. Serena asked her mother if she could go to the forest to check out the damage. “Yes you can,” said Queen Luna “when you get there make a note of the damage that has happened in the forest, and once we sort out the damaged buildings, we will sort out the forest”. “Yes Mother” replied Serena.

          When Serena arrived at the forest in a carriage, she was shocked. Trees were blown over and flowers were scattered everywhere. It was a terrible mess. “That storm last night really did cause a lot of damage” said Serena. She went to see if the fairy statues were okay, but they weren’t; they got broken and chipped after falling over in the storm. Serena felt upset that the forest was ruined. “Even if my mother does plant new trees and flowers,” she sighed “it will take ages for the forest to be back to what it was like before”.

          Just then she heard someone crying by the fairy statues; it was a little girl about nine years old, with blonde hair. “What’s wrong?” asked Serena. “I’m sad because this forest is destroyed” said the girl. “I am too,” said Serena “this forest is special to me and my family, and it brings back memories of when my father was still alive. Now that this forest is destroyed it feels like the memories are destroyed too”. “If I had my special bead,” said the girl “I could make this forest right again”. “Special bead?” asked Serena. “Yes a special magic bead that I need to bring back my magical powers”.                           

          Serena was confused by what the girl said and was about to ask her what she meant, when suddenly her moon bead bracelet began to glow. ‘Is a moon bead here?’ she wondered. “Where did you last see your special bead?” she asked the girl. “I last saw it in this forest by the fairy statues,” said the girl “and now that these statues are broken, I can’t find it at all”. Serena wanted to look and see if there was a moon bead around the forest, but she couldn’t leave this girl who was upset about her lost item. “Don’t worry,” she said “I’ll help you look for it”. The girl was grateful and she and Serena began to look for the special bead together.

          Serena decided that maybe she could find both the moon bead and the girl’s special bead all at once. Then suddenly her bracelet glowed very bright. She looked down onto the ground, and there on the ground, hidden between some grass and mud, was a dull plain looking bead. Serena picked it up from the ground. “This must be a moon bead” she whispered. Suddenly the girl ran up to Serena. “You found it” she said happily “you found my special bead”.

          At that moment both the girl and the dull bead glowed. “No way,” gasped Serena “it can’t be”. The girl suddenly turned into a fairy. She had long white hair and was wearing a pale silver dress, with pale silver shoes. In her right hand was a small silver magic wand. “You’re a moon spirit right?” asked Serena. “Yes I am the Moon Fairy,” she said “and it was thanks to you that I have returned to my real form at last”. “Do excuse me Moon Fairy, but how did you and the Moon Eagle, Moon Pegasus and Moon Unicorn become ordinary humans and animals?” asked Serena “And how did the moon beads become dull looking beads?”

          “You know the story about Celina?” asked the Moon Fairy. “Yes I do” replied Serena. “Well that night when the villagers set fire to her house, the other moon spirits and I were caught by the flames too and it felt like we were going to be destroyed too. But Celina used her magic to send us away before that could happen. In the process we moon spirits were separated from our beads and lost our powers. And because we lost our powers, our moon spirit forms were turned into regular humans and animals. We all wanted to go back to our original forms again, but we never found our beads, until now. And thanks to you Serena, Moon Eagle, Moon Pegasus, Moon Unicorn and I are finally back to our real forms again”. Serena was amazed by this story. “Moon Fairy,” she said “I promise you, I will find the rest of the moon beads. You have my word”.

          Moon Fairy gave her thanks to Serena, and then with her magic she helped the forest grow back to what it was like before. She even repaired the broken fairy statues. Serena was happy that the forest was okay again. “Thank you Moon Fairy” she said. Then the Moon Fairy went back into her bead and attached herself to Serena’s silver bracelet. It was now a white bead, with a picture of a fairy on the front.

          When Serena got back to the castle, she told her mother and sister that the forest was okay and that only some broken branches were lying about. She didn’t dare tell them the whole real truth, because they would never believe her about the Moon Fairy. Queen Luna and Princess Diana were relieved that the forest was okay.

          That night Serena made a vow, while touching the moon bead story book. The vow she made was to Celina in heaven that she would find all the remaining moon beads that were still lost. “I won’t let the moon spirits down”.   

Magic that came from the moon part 2

The Horses of the Moon

          Today, Princess Serena and her family were at the horse race track. A horse race was about to start. “I wonder which horse will win” said Serena, excitedly. Princess Serena liked the horse races. She liked riding horses herself and of course she liked horses as well. “Mother after this race is over; can I go see the horses?” She asked her mother. “I don’t see why not,” said Queen Luna “besides I know very well that you like horses”. Today’s horse race turned out to be very exciting, and in the end a brown horse named Chestnut won.

          After the race, Queen Luna asked Peter Brown the stable master if her daughter Serena could see the horses. Peter agreed; he knew that Princess Serena adored horses. While Serena and Peter were on their way to the stables, Serena noticed two big statues near the stables. Both of them were white statues and were in the shape of horses, but different. One of them was a statue of a pegasus, with wings. The other was a statue of a unicorn, with a horn. “Are they new statues?” Serena asked Peter. “Yes they are,” said Peter “I decided to have pegasus and unicorn statues as decorations for once, instead of normal horses statues”. “I call that a good idea,” said Serena “besides there are no laws saying that you’re not allowed to use mythical statues as decorations”. “I agree” said Peter.

          There were lots of horses in the stables; black ones, white ones, brown ones and grey ones. There were even some horses that were tamed and some still a bit wild. Then suddenly Serena spotted two horses in a stable together. They were beautiful white horses, with light greyish manes and tails. “Those two horses are beautiful” said Serena to Peter. “Those two are our newest members,” said Peter “they’re also still wild. Funny thing is though, we caught them on the same day we received the pegasus and unicorn statues. I’m telling you they were hanging around the statues, as if they were attracted to them”.

          Serena started to remember that the Moon Eagle did the same thing with the eagle statue at the library, when it was still a pigeon. ‘I wonder if those two are really moon spirits’ Serena thought. “May I pet them?” Serena asked. “Go ahead your highness,” said Peter “but do be careful”. Serena slowly and carefully moved her right hand towards the horses. On her right hand wrist she was wearing the silver bracelet, with the moon eagle bead on it. She decided to take it with her, just in case she found any more moon beads. The two horses saw her bracelet and nickered happily. One of them pressed its face against Serena’s hand. “Well I’ll be,” said Peter “normally these two don’t like to be touched by strangers. But they are certainly not scared of you”. “I think they are just interested in my bracelet,” said Serena “but I think they are still a bit upset, since they were captured in the wild”. “I think they are too,” said Peter “that’s why I’m going to set them free tomorrow after the race”. “Are these horses going to be in the race?” asked Serena. “No,” said Peter “they are not tame enough to be in races, so they will be staying in the stables all day tomorrow, until the race is over”. Just then Princess Diana came into the stable. “Serena, Mother says it’s time to go” she said. “Okay” said Serena. She bid farewell to Peter and set off for home with her mother and sister.

          The next day Serena and her family were watching the horse race. Last night Serena had made a plan; since she was seeing the race with her family, she had decided that while everyone was distracted and congratulating the riders after the race, she would go into the stable and let the two horses out and turn them back into moon spirits. Since the horses liked Serena’s silver bracelet with the moon eagle bead very much, there was no doubt that those two were moon spirits. Serena was secretly hiding two dull looking beads in her right pocket. Yesterday she saw the dull beads on the bases of the pegasus and unicorn statues and she secretly took them out of the statues and took them home with her.

          Soon the horse race had begun, there were fences for the horses to jump over during the race. The riders were racing their horses like crazy to get to the finishing line. In the end, it was a black horse that won the race. ‘Now’s my chance’ thought Serena. Serena told her mother where she was going and then she ran over to the stables.

          Serena walked over to the two white horses and opened the door of their stall. “Come with me you two” she said to the horses. The horses were obedient and followed Serena. Serena led them to a wide open field, outside the stables. She had a good look around to see if there were any people around. “Good, no one’s here” she said. If people were there, Serena would have trouble turning the horses back into moon spirits; she didn’t want people to see what she was doing in case it would freak them out. She took out the two plain beads from her pocket, and when the horses saw the beads they magically transformed. The first white horse turned into a beautiful animal, with a white mane, two large silver wings and silver hooves. It was a pegasus. The second horse also became white, with a white mane, light grey hooves and a silver horn. It was a unicorn. “Wow,” gasped Serena “they’re so beautiful”. She held out her hands to pet the Moon Pegasus and Moon Unicorn. The Moon Horses bent their heads towards Serena and let her pet them.

          After Serena petted them, the Moon Pegasus lowered its back towards Serena. Serena looked at the Moon Pegasus in confusion. “Do you want me to get on your back?” she asked. The Moon Pegasus nodded, as if it just said yes. So with no hesitation, Serena got onto its back. As soon as she did that, the Moon Pegasus galloped across the field, and then with the flap of its wings, they took off into the sky. “Wow!” gasped Serena, while they were in the sky, “this is amazing!” The Moon Pegasus flew over trees, fields and the stables. Serena was worried if anyone would see the Moon Pegasus, but luckily no one did. “Come on Moon Pegasus,” said Serena “it’s time for us to land now”. The Moon Pegasus nodded its head and then flew back to the field where the Moon Unicorn was waiting for them.

          Serena dismounted from Moon Pegasus, stood in front of the two Moon Horses and then took out the two dull beads from her pocket. “Time for you two to get back into your beads” said Serena. The two dull beads and the Moon Pegasus and Moon Unicorn glowed and then the Moon Horses got sucked into the two dull beads. The dull beads turned into two white beads, with pictures of a pegasus and a unicorn at the front, and then they attached themselves to Serena’s bracelet. “I wonder what moon spirit I’ll get next” Serena said to herself.

          Serena went back to the stables in case anyone had been looking for her, but no one was at the stables yet. She was worried though; what would Peter say when he found out that the two wild white horses were not in the stable anymore? Just then Peter turned up. “Ah there you are your highness,” he said “your mother says that it’s time to go now”. “Okay” said Serena. Peter checked his stables. “A new horse will be in that empty stable soon” he said, pointing to the stable where the moon horses used to be. “Huh?” asked Serena “but didn’t that stable already have a horse in?” “No,” replied Peter “that stable has been empty for a while now. Serena was confused; ‘He doesn’t remember about the horses that were in there earlier,’ she thought ‘it must be something to do with the magic of the Moon Pegasus and Unicorn beads after I captured them.

          Serena went home with her mother and elder sister, thinking that she had a lot more to learn about the moon beads.

Magic that came from the moon part 1

The Story of the Moon Beads

       

          ‘Many years ago there was a powerful sorceress named Celina, who processed magic that came from the moon. Celina’s magic was a gift given to her by the moon goddess Selene. The story was that the moon goddess once visited the earth in the form of a dove. One day the dove had broken her wing and couldn’t fly, but Celina found and cared for it until its wing was better and could fly again.

          When it recovered the dove revealed its true form to Celina. The moon goddess was grateful for Celina’s kindness and gave her the gift of magic from the moon; a silver bracelet which held sixteen beads called ‘the moon beads’.

          The moon beads were sixteen magical beads that held a moon spirit within. Eight of the moon spirits were human, while the other eight were beasts. Celina’s magic bracelet gave her the ability to summon any of the moon spirits from any of the moon beads. The moon spirits were not dangerous, but whenever trouble approached them or their mistress they would attack the enemy viciously.

          Celina lived a peaceful happy life, but one day a terrible thing happened to her. The truth was the villagers accused her of being an evil witch and believed that her moon beads were very dangerous. Because of their fear, they decided to get rid of her at once. One night, while Celina was sleeping the villagers set fire to her house. The fire was set to burn her and the moon beads. When the fire had died down, the house was completely burned to the ground and Celina’s body was in ashes.

          Celina’s ashes were proof that the villagers succeeded in destroying her. But there was no proof that they succeeded in destroying the moon beads. The villagers searched for the beads, but they never found them. They believed that the beads were destroyed along with Celina.

          The mystery of the moon beads was never solved and it still remains a mystery.’

          “I must say” said a girl’s voice “that story needs a new ending”. The girl’s name was Serena and she lived in a kingdom called Lunaasia. It was called that because the island was shaped like a crescent moon. Serena was the youngest princess of Lunaasia and she lived with her mother Queen Luna and elder sister Diana. Princess Diana was to be the next queen of Lunaasia.

          Princess Serena had been reading a picture book about the story of Celina and her moon beads. Princess Serena loved to read books and the story of the moon beads was her favourite. But she didn’t like the ending very much because the moon beads were never found again; the ending always disappointed her.

          Just then a knock came at the door. “Come in” said Serena. It was her elder sister Princess Diana. “Reading again little sister?” she asked. “Yes I am,” replied Serena “I just love to read a good book”. “I remember our father being like you,” chuckled Diana “he always liked to read”. “I miss Father” said Serena. Their father King Archer died three years ago. “I know I miss him too,” replied Diana “come now our mother is waiting for us”.

          Queen Luna was sitting at the table in the dining room, when her daughters came in. “Morning Mother” said Diana and Serena together. “Morning Diana and Serena,” said Luna “before we eat breakfast, I have something to say. After breakfast, we will be going to the opening of our new library”. “Is it the library that you had built a few months ago?” asked Serena. “Yes Serena,” said Luna “and it is finally finished and all the shelves are all set up with books”. “I can’t wait” said Serena excitedly. Queen Luna giggled. “You certainly love your books don’t you dear?” Serena nodded.

          After breakfast, Queen Luna and her daughters made their way to the library. It was a big white building, with grey tiles for a roof. In front of the library was a long red carpet for the opening. A red ribbon was hung in front of the door for Queen Luna to cut. Queen Luna walked up to the front of the library, cut the ribbon and declared the new library opened. Inside the library, there were hundreds of shelves full of books and lots of tables and chairs for readers to sit at. Serena felt happy; she wanted to pick out some books at once.

          Suddenly something caught Serena’s eyes. It was a stone statue of an eagle, standing on a pillar, a few metres away from a window. “Wow that statue is pretty” she said and walked over to it. The eagle statue was coloured white and looked perfectly built; not a crack in sight. Serena asked the librarian of the new library about the eagle statue. “We decided to have it here as a decoration,” he said “what do you think your highness?” “I think this eagle statue suits this library very well” replied Serena. Just then she saw something interesting at the base of the eagle statue. It was some sort of a round bead thing; it was white and looked very dull and plain, like it had lost its shine. ‘That’s a funny part for a statue’ thought Serena.

          Just then a grey pigeon was tapping its beak against a window, like it was trying to get into the library. The librarian saw the pigeon and shooed it away. “That pigeon has been doing that for a while,” he explained “when we brought in the eagle statue, the pigeon kept trying to get to it. And no one knows why”. Serena looked thoughtful. ‘I wonder if it’s interested in that bead in the eagle statue’ she thought.

          When no one was looking, Serena walked up to the eagle statue and tried to get the bead out, without damaging the statue. The bead was a little stuck, but with a pull, Serena managed to get the bead out. “I don’t know if it is the bead that the pigeon wants,” she whispered to herself “but I’ll see anyway. And if it doesn’t, I’ll just put the bead back”. The base of the eagle statue did now have a blank hole, but Serena wanted to see if her theory was right, so she ran out of the library and searched for the pigeon on the library grounds. She held the bead in her hands and called out for the pigeon. “Pigeon do you want this bead?” she said.

          The pigeon heard her and flew over. It saw the bead in her hand and cooed very loudly. Suddenly both the bead and the pigeon began to glow white. In a flash of white light, the pigeon magically transformed from a grey pigeon into a light greyish eagle with a white head and tail. Serena gasped; she couldn’t believe what she just saw. Just then the bead flew out of Serena’s hand and flew over to the eagle. Then the eagle glowed white again and suddenly got sucked into the bead and then the bead floated back into Serena’s hand. The bead was now a beautiful shiny white bead, with a picture of an eagle at the front. “It can’t be” gasped Serena in shock. She then remembered from her picture book of the moon beads. “This is a moon bead. Then that means the other moon beads might be here on Lunaasia as well”. After she said that a silver bracelet appeared in her other hand; it was the silver bracelet from Serena’s book. The bead attached itself to the bracelet like magic.

          Serena went back into the library to check to see if the eagle statue was okay, and it was. The eagle statue was still there and nothing looked wrong at all. The strangest thing though, was that the hole, where the bead had been, had vanished; the base of the statue was all covered up. “That must have happened when the eagle went back into the bead” Serena whispered to herself. Just then her elder sister came up to her and said that it was time to go home. The royal family bid farewell to the librarian and went back to the castle.

          Back at the castle, Serena was looking at the Moon Eagle bead and her moon beads book. She didn’t tell her sister or mother about what happened today; she knew that they would never believe her. “If the moon beads are here on Lunaasia, then I will search for them,” she said “and then maybe I can write a new ending for the moon beads picture book”. What Princess Serena didn’t know was that a little white dove was keeping its eye on her.         

Emperor Falcon part 8

Chapter VIII

 

          The laugh, that interrupted everyone’s thoughts, came from General Takeshi. “Well it seems you have failed your majesty,” said General Takeshi “at least it now gives me the pleasure of disposing both you and your nephew at the same time”.  “What are you talking about General Takeshi?” asked Emperor Hisashi. The General smirked. “Simple your majesty,” he said “I have been your general for years, but my real desire has always been to become emperor of Japan. And now I will make my dream come true by getting rid of you and your nephew and claim the throne for myself. And killing you will be more fun than killing any peasant or servant”. He drew out his sword and pointed it towards Emperor Hisashi. “You traitor!” shouted Emperor Hisashi and pointed his sword towards General Takeshi. “Traitor, me?” chuckled General Takeshi “says you who killed his own father to become emperor”.

          Everyone was confused with what General Takeshi had said; Emperor Yoshitoshi, Hisashi’s and Annika’s father, died from a sudden illness and no one knew what he died from. “Since I’m about to end your reign your majesty,” said General Takeshi “I will tell them the truth now. You see everyone twenty three years ago, just before Emperor Yoshitoshi became dreadfully ill, he started making preparations of passing his crown. Of course Hisashi would have been given the crown anyway, as he was the only son and prince. But the emperor had other ideas; around that time General Masao had asked him for Princess Annika’s hand in marriage, and the emperor accepted it. The emperor’s idea was to pass the crown to his daughter and General Masao, after they got married. The truth is the emperor knew full well that his son was a cold and cruel person, and would become a wicked and cruel ruler. So he intended to pass the crown to Princess Annika instead. Hisashi heard of his father’s planning and of his sister’s marriage plan to General Masao, and got very angry of this. He couldn’t believe that his sister and her fiancée were to become the next emperor and empress of Japan, instead of him. So to get what he wanted, he made up a poison and gave it to the emperor while he slept, and kept on giving it to him every night until the night he died. The emperor did not die by an illness; he died from being poisoned by his own son”.

          After General Takeshi spoke the real truth of the emperor’s death, everyone was shocked by this. General Masao, Prince Hayato, Nobuko and Master Ronin were shocked most of all. “I know I said that Emperor Hisashi was an evil and mad man,” Master Ronin whispered to Nobuko “but this is worse than what I said”. “As for his sister,” said General Takeshi “well the truth is he didn’t want her to marry General Masao and give birth to his children, as they would have been heirs to the throne. Not to mention he had always been in love with her ever since they were children. Hisashi didn’t want any other heirs to take his place, nor did he want his sister with any other man, so he intended to have her as his wife and have her give birth to his heirs. That way his right to the throne would be secured, and he would have his sister all to himself. But since Princess Annika had given birth to an heir two years after she ran away, his majesty’s right to the throne is now insecure, so Hisashi’s plans have all failed now”. Emperor Hisashi got ready to swing his sword at General Takeshi and began to act insane. “So what if I killed my own father?” he shouted “so what if I wanted to marry my sister?! The throne is mine and only mine! And I will not let anyone take it from me! Not my nephew or even you General Takeshi!” He began to swing his sword at General Takeshi, but General Takeshi defended himself with his sword. Soon a big sword fight broke out between Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi.

          The councillors backed away towards the back of the throne room, so they wouldn’t get caught in the fight. General Masao and Prince Hayato didn’t do anything to help; they did not intend to interfere with this fight. “Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi have both gone mad” General Masao said to his son. Nobuko and Master Ronin just watched the fight too, wondering how the fight will turn out. “Things have turned out worse than I ever thought they would be” said Master Ronin. The sword fight was a terrifying one; the swords were clashing at each other like crazy and Emperor Hisashi was fighting like he was a warrior from hell. When the swords clashed at each other again, General Takeshi quickly took a dagger out from his belt and stabbed Emperor Hisashi into the heart. Everyone gasped as Emperor Hisashi screamed and fell down dead. General Masao stared hard at Emperor Hisashi’s dead body. ‘It was my desire to dispose of him,’ he thought ‘but as long as he’s now dead, it’s fine that someone else has done it’.

          General Takeshi took some deep breaths. “That was fun” he said. Then he pointed his sword, now stained with blood, at General Masao and Prince Hayato. “Now that I’ve gotten rid of the emperor,” he said “I will now get rid of you two, and then the throne will be all mine for the taking”. Nobuko stepped forward. “No you won’t!” she shouted, in her normal voice, “Sorry to ruin your plans General Takeshi, but you will do no such thing!” Nobuko took out her katana sword, but when she did that her straw hat fell off her head, loosened her hair and revealed to everyone, especially to General Masao and Prince Hayato, that she was a girl, not a boy. General Masao and Prince Hayato were surprised to know that their friend had been a girl all along. General Takeshi looked at Nobuko, and then smirked. “Well then,” he said “I’ll have a greater pleasure killing you, than when I killed your family, Nobuko Okamoto”. “You may have killed my family General Takeshi!” said Nobuko, crossly, “but you will never kill another family again!”

          Nobuko got ready to fight General Takeshi. General Masao and Prince Hayato got ready to fight too, even though they were still surprised by Nobuko. “Three for the price of one,” he said “this must be my lucky day”. He charged at Nobuko, General Masao and Prince Hayato for a fight. General Masao, Prince Hayato and Nobuko fought with General Takeshi together. Even though General Takeshi was fighting with three people at the same time, he was a warrior that wasn’t going to go down so easily. But then at last, while Prince Hayato and Nobuko distracted General Takeshi, General Masao was able to slash him in the back. General Takeshi screamed in pain and then fell down dead.

          Nobuko breathed heavily after General Takeshi died, and then placed her right hand on her heart. ‘Mother, Father and baby brother, that was for you’ she thought. Just then she noticed that Prince Hayato and General Masao were staring at her and then bent her head down in guilt; after all she had been lying to them all this time. She knelt down onto the floor to apologize. “I am sorry for lying to you for whom and what I am,” she said “but disguising myself as a boy was the only way I could escape from the palace and find someone who could help me get rid of General Takeshi and avenge my family’s death”. General Masao walked up to Nobuko and placed a hand on her head. “It’s all right,” he said “I understand everything of what you did”. Nobuko got up from the floor, surprised that General Masao wasn’t cross with her. Prince Hayato walked over to Nobuko. “I find it hard to believe that the best friend I ever had was a girl all this time” he said. “I apologize for not telling you earlier your highness,” said Nobuko. “I said you can just call me Hayato, Nobuko” said Prince Hayato, holding onto her hands. “Hayato” replied Nobuko.

          Master Ronin walked up to them and looked at the dead bodies of Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi. “Now that Emperor Hisashi’s evil reign is over,” he said “maybe now Emperor Yoshitoshi and Princess Annika can now rest in peace in heaven”. “Yes and hopefully Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi will get what they deserve in hell” said General Masao. “I’m happy that no one will suffer because of them ever again,” said Nobuko “and I’m also glad that they won’t be killing innocent people anymore”. Master Ronin turned to Prince Hayato. “It is time for you to take your place as Emperor, Prince Hayato” he said. The councillors stepped forward. “Hail to Prince Hayato!” they shouted and cheered.  “I am ready to take my place as emperor,” he said “but there is one more thing I want”. He turned to Nobuko and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Nobuko I want you as my empress”. Nobuko was surprised by the sudden proposal. “But is it all right for a woman like me to become empress?” she asked. “Of course it is,” said Master Ronin “a good, brave and selfless woman like you has the rights to become an empress. And since you care and are willing to help others, I can tell that you will make a fine empress”. “I agree with Master Ronin,” said General Masao “I accept you for a daughter in law”. Nobuko looked into Prince Hayato’s eyes and gave him her answer. “I will marry you Hayato”. She and Prince Hayato smiled at each other and then they hugged and kissed each other.

          The day after Emperor Hisashi’s death, Prince Hayato was crowned Emperor Hayato. “Everyone,” he said to the audience “I know for twenty two years, Japan had suffered under the evil reign of my uncle, Hisashi. But he and General Takeshi are dead now, and Japan can now live in an age of love and peace”. Everyone clapped for Emperor Hayato. After he made that speech, Nobuko stepped forward to become empress and Emperor Hayato’s wife. She was out of her male clothing and was now wearing a beautiful red, pink and green kimono. “You’re beautiful” Emperor Hayato whispered to her. “Thank you” she whispered back.  Emperor Hayato and Nobuko were happy to be with the one they loved. General Masao stood proud at the side and was happy for his son. He presented Princess Annika’s silver hair pin with the blue bird and purple flower to Nobuko as a gift. At first Nobuko felt reluctant to take it, as it was Princess Annika’s, but General Masao reassured her it was okay. So Nobuko accepted the silver hair pin and promised General Masao that she would take great care of it. Master Ronin was happy for the young couple too. “I pray that God’s blessing be with you both from this day forward” he said. “Thank you Master Ronin” said Emperor Hayato and Nobuko. Soon Emperor Hayato and Nobuko were married and Nobuko was crowned empress of Japan. “Long live Emperor Hayato and Empress Nobuko!” the crowd cheered.

          Under Emperor Hayato and Empress Nobuko’s reign, Japan did live an era of love and peace. The people of Japan liked their new emperor and empress very much and were happy when the evil reign of Emperor Hisashi ended. General Masao regained his post as general to the army and he also taught new recruits how to sword fight. Master Ronin decided to move out of his temple and move into the palace; he wanted to continue watching over General Masao, Emperor Hayato and Nobuko. “I intend to live the rest of my life, seeing how your lives turnout” he explained to them. General Masao, Emperor Hayato and Nobuko understood his desire and gladly accepted him into the palace. Emperor Hayato had graves built for the innocent people that his uncle and General Takeshi had killed over the years, including Nobuko’s family. He felt bad sometimes for all the evil things his uncle did to the people, but he knew that they will always find peace now, since his uncle was now dead.

          Nobuko felt happy with her new life and when she gave birth to her first born son a year later, she was happier than she had ever dreamed. She still missed her family and her adopted father Tetsuya, but as long as her new family were always with her, she never felt sad and lonely again. Emperor Hayato and General Masao were happy to be together, both in human forms, and not cursed anymore. They all lived happily together for the rest of their lives.

Emperor Falcon part 7

Chapter VII

                    

          After spending another whole day of travelling, Master Ronin and Nobuko soon arrived at the palace. It was dark by the time they reached the palace, so Prince Hayato was in his human form and General Masato was in his wolf form. Nobuko and Master Ronin explained about the plan to Prince Hayato. Prince Hayato agreed with the plan and had his father placed in a cage. Right now, they were all traveling in Master Ronin’s carriage and Nobuko’s horse and General Masato’s horse were tied to the carriage. “Okay,” said Master Ronin “time to enter the palace grounds”. Prince Hayato was getting nervous by this because he had never entered the palace before. “It’s all right Hayato,” said Nobuko, in her male voice, “everything will be all right”. Prince Hayato was happy that Nobuo was with him and felt at ease at once.

          When they reached the gates, a guard halted them. “What business do you have here?” he asked. “My sons and I wish to present this wolf as a gift to the emperor” said Master Ronin. Prince Hayato and Nobuko presented the wolf in the cage to the guard. “Wow, that’s a good wolf,” said the guard “I’d like to have a go at it”. He was about to draw his sword, but Nobuko stopped him. “I wouldn’t do that if I was you sir,” she said “because the rules are that if an animal is a present for the emperor, that animal has to be kept unharmed until the emperor sees it. And if someone harms it before them, he would get a very severe punishment”. The guard gulped at the word ‘severe punishment’ and just let them through. “Was that rule that you said to the guard true Nobuo?” asked Master Ronin. “Yes it is,” said Nobuko “the last person who harmed an animal gift before the emperor could deal with it got a real beating”. Master Ronin and Prince Hayato were surprised by that.

          After successfully getting into the palace grounds, Master Ronin, Prince Hayato and Nobuko took shelter in the palace stables for the night. Prince Hayato let his father out of the cage and huddled up to him. “We’ve made it into the palace grounds successfully,” said Master Ronin “now we get some sleep for tomorrow. It will be a long day for the both of us”. Prince Hayato and Nobuko agreed with Master Ronin and Prince Hayato went to sleep with his father at once. “I feel scared about tomorrow Master Ronin,” said Nobuko, in her real voice, “especially since we don’t know how this will all turn out once it’s finished with”. “That’s why I will pray tonight for our success and victory Nobuko,” said Master Ronin “so you go to sleep now too and have faith for tomorrow”. Nobuko nodded and then went to sleep. Before going to sleep himself, Master Ronin prayed to the gods for protection and he prayed to Princess Annika and Nobuko’s family in heaven to watch over them. “May the gods be with us tomorrow” he whispered, and then fell asleep himself.

          Next day, Nobuko and General Masao got ready to invade the palace throne room. Nobuko had a plan; “I’ve been listening to what the servants have been saying all morning,” she said to General Masao “Emperor Hisashi, General Takeshi and the councils are holding a meeting in the throne room in just a few moments”. “Good,” said General Masao “I will confront Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi then. Nobuo I trust you of helping me get into the throne room”. “You can count on me General Masao” said Nobuko. Master Ronin was watching the sun in the sky. “The sun and moon will come together as one soon,” he said to General Masao “and then both you and Hayato can confront Emperor Hisashi as one”. “I only see the sun in the sky old man;” said General Masao “and the moon wouldn’t be out at this time”. Master Ronin sighed; General Masao still didn’t believe him. “Master Ronin, you keep watch over my son. I don’t want him involved while I’m doing this. Come Nobuo, it’s time to enter the palace”. Master Ronin wished them luck and waited for the sun and moon to join together, with Emperor Falcon. He was also relieved that General Masao did leave his falcon with him; so he could watch what happens when the sun and moon join together.

          Nobuko brought General Masao to the palace kitchens. “We can get to the throne room quickly from here,” she explained. When they entered the kitchen, they asked the cook if they could walk through. “We are meant to be in the throne room for the meeting by now,” said General Masao “and we are running late already”. The cook saw nothing wrong and agreed to let them through. Nobuko was worried about walking through the kitchen; she feared if any of the kitchen servants would recognize her. After all she did work in the kitchen before she left the palace. But none of the kitchen servants recognized her in her male disguise. It also seemed that none of them recognized General Masao either. So Nobuko and General Masao managed to get through the kitchen with no trouble at all. “Phew that was close,” Nobuko sighed, after they passed through the kitchen, “I was worried there that we would have trouble or that they would recognize us”. “So was I,” said General Masao “but I haven’t been here for twenty years now, so I had a feeling that the servants wouldn’t recognize me now. Come Nobuo we must hurry now, I want to get to the throne room before Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi get there”.

          General Masao and Nobuko ran through the hallways of the palace, until they finally reached the throne room. Nobuko opened the doors of the throne room a little bit, took a quick peak of inside and then shut the door again. “I saw the councils in there,” she whispered “but the emperor and general are not in there yet”. “Good,” whispered General Masao, putting his black mask on his face, “we enter now”. Nobuko opened the door again and she and General Masao walked in. The councils watched them walk in. “Are you some of General Takeshi’s men?” asked one. “Yes we are,” Nobuko answered, in her male voice, “we were given orders to come here right now just in case there was any trouble”. The councils understood and let them in with no trouble at all. Nobuko and General Masao stood by the right wall, feeling relieved that their plan of getting into the throne room worked.

          Soon Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi entered the throne room, and ten guards entered the throne room too. They did notice the two samurais in the room, but the two samurais bowed to greet Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi. Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi suspected nothing suspicious when they were greeted, so they just continued with walking up to the throne. Nobuko felt relieved that the emperor and general didn’t recognize them.

          Emperor Hisashi sat down on the throne, with General Takeshi standing beside him, and began to talk. “Councillors,” he said “I gathered you all here today because I have devastating news to tell you. It is about my missing sister Princess Annika”. “Has Princess Annika been found your majesty?” asked one of the councillors. “She has,” replied Emperor Hisashi “but the news I got is rather a sad one. I have just been told that my sister had died two years after she ran away”. The councillors gasped in shock and couldn’t believe that the princess had died.

          Nobuko turned to General Masao. “I thought he told them about Princess Annika’s death eleven years ago,” she whispered “I mean a spy told him everything about what had happened to you and her and Hayato”. “Yes,” replied General Masao “but what has happened though is this; since both my son and I have been alive all this time, Emperor Hisashi has always known that his nephew’s existence may cause him to lose his rights to the throne. That is why he sent Shigeo to get rid of me and Hayato, so that his position as emperor would be safe”. “So he thinks that you and Hayato are dead,” whispered Nobuko “which is why he’s telling the councillors right now about Princess Annika’s death”.

          “Councillors my sister’s death is a true tragedy,” said Emperor Hisashi “especially since she and I are the only heirs to the throne. And now I am the only living heir left”. Nobuko was in a bit of a shock after hearing that. “The councillors don’t know anything about Hayato” she whispered to General Masao. “You’re right,” whispered General Masao “Emperor Hisashi never wanted anyone to know about Hayato’s existence, and that’s why they don’t know about him”. Nobuko shook her head in disbelieve. “Councillors,” said Emperor Hisashi “as the only living heir to the throne, I will continue to rule over Japan. And I intend to find a wife soon and then have her give me an heir in the future”. “Not if I can help it!” shouted General Masao.

          General Masao stepped forward and took off his mask. “It has been a long time Emperor Hisashi” he said. The councillors were surprised by the appearance of General Masao. “I thought he was dead” one whispered. “Unbelievable” whispered another. “I can’t believe that it’s really him”. “I thought he was never coming back here again”. Emperor Hisashi and General Takeshi were in shock to see that General Masao was still alive. “Emperor Hisashi,” said General Masao, bringing out his sword, “I will now bring you and your evil ruling down once and for all”. Emperor Hisashi ordered his guards to dispose of General Masao. Nobuko was about to step forward to help General Masao, but he raised his hand to stop her; apparently he wanted to handle this fight alone. So Nobuko just stayed where she was and waited to see what was going to happen.

          Suddenly Nobuko saw something happening in the sky through a window. The sun was being blocked by something black. ‘Could that be what Master Ronin said?’ she thought ‘is it the sun and moon becoming one with each other?’ General Masao noticed it too and realized that Master Ronin had been speaking the truth all the time.

          At that time, Master Ronin was watching the sun and moon becoming one with each other. “It’s happened at last” he said. Then when the moon blocked the sun completely, Emperor Falcon changed back into Prince Hayato. Prince Hayato couldn’t believe that he was human again, as it was still day time. “Master Ronin?” he said. “The curse is broken your highness,” said Master Ronin “you are now permanently human again and so is your father”. Prince Hayato was happy, and then he turned serious. “Master Ronin take me to where my father is please,” he said “I want to face my uncle now”. Master Ronin understood and gave Prince Hayato some clothes and a sword to fight with. He also handed a golden pendant to Prince Hayato. “This was your mother Princess Annika’s pendant,” he said “before she died she asked me to keep it safely until it was the time for you to wear it. It will be proof to everyone that you are her son and an heir to the throne”. Prince Hayato understood and then he and Master Ronin ran off for the palace throne room.

          Right now General Masao was sword fighting against the guards. It was a bit of a struggle for him because the guards proved to be strong fighters, but General Masao managed to kill them off one by one. Then he got ready to kill Emperor Hisashi. Emperor Hisashi started to smirk. “You realise General Masao that if you kill me the curse would go on forever,” he said “surely you think of your son”. “Even so,” replied General Masao “but I will now avenge him and his mother by sending you to hell”. General Masao was just about to attack Emperor Hisashi, when a voice behind him interrupted him. “Wait Father” the voice said.   

          General Masao turned round and saw that the voice belonged to Prince Hayato, in human form. Emperor Hisashi started to turn pale in the face for seeing his nephew in sight. Prince Hayato and General Masao walked slowly towards each other, and then pulled each other into a hug. “Father” whispered Prince Hayato. “My son” whispered General Masao. Nobuko was surprised to see Prince Hayato in his human form again and walked over to Master Ronin, who was standing by the doorway. “Is it over?” she asked him. “Yes it’s over, the curse is broken” replied Master Ronin, with a smile. Nobuko was happy to hear that and also happy to hear that the curse was broken at last.

          Prince Hayato stopped hugging his father and spoke up to the councillors. “Everyone,” he said “I am Prince Hayato, the son of Princess Annika, who died after giving birth to me twenty years ago”. He held up his mother’s pendant to prove it to the councillors. “That is Princess Annika’s pendant” said one of the councillors. “Then that young man is her son” said another. “Then he’s an heir to the throne” said a third. All of the councillors were surprised by all of this, as they never knew that Princess Annika had a son. Prince Hayato then turned to his uncle. “Uncle Hisashi,” he said “I have been hiding from you ever since my birth twenty years ago, but not anymore. I have come here to reclaim my right to the throne”. He took out his sword to help his father fight against Emperor Hisashi.

          Emperor Hisashi started to turn really pale in the face and started gritting his teeth. ‘All my plans of disposing those two have failed’ he thought ‘my curse upon them, my men and my hunter Shigeo, they all failed’. “The throne belongs to me,” he said angrily “and no one else”. He took out a sword to fight against General Masao and Prince Hayato. ‘If this is all I have to do to dispose them myself, so be it’ he thought. The fight was about to begin, when it got interrupted by a laugh.

Emperor Falcon part 6

Chapter VI

                                                        

          Nobuko and Prince Hayato were having a good night’s sleep, when suddenly Nobuko got woken up. She heard a noise of a horse and cart coming up to the inn. ‘It might just be a late night visitor wanting a room;’ she thought ‘but just to be safe, I’ll go see what it is’. Not to wake up Prince Hayato, she crept outside the stable to see who was outside. It came to a shock when Nobuko saw who it was; it was Emperor Hisashi’s huntsman Shigeo. “What’s Shigeo doing here?” Nobuko whispered to herself. She listened to Shigeo’s and the innkeeper’s conversation. “What are you doing at this time of the night?” asked the innkeeper. “I have been ordered by his majesty, the emperor, to hunt down a grey brown wolf and its master” said Shigeo.

          Nobuko gasped at what she had heard. ‘He must be hunting down General Masao and Hayato’ she thought in fear. She woke up Prince Hayato at once. “Hayato wake up, there’s trouble outside!” she shouted, nudging him. “What’s going on?” said Prince Hayato. “Your uncle’s huntsman Shigeo Morita is here, and I just heard him say to the innkeeper that he’s hunting down a grey brown wolf and its master. I think your uncle has sent him to kill you and your father”. “Oh no!” said Prince Hayato “we need to find my father quick before Shigeo does”. “But how will we find him?” asked Nobuko “he could be anywhere by now”. “Don’t worry,” said Prince Hayato “I can tell, don’t forget I’ve travelled with my father, in his wolf form, lots of times”.

          Nobuko and Prince Hayato gathered up their belongings and weapons and even packed up the blankets, in case they’d be handy, and then they led their horses out of the stable and rode off into the forest. The rainy storm had begun and thunder and lightning were going off in the sky. “Okay so how do we find him?” asked Nobuko. “I’ll show you” said Prince Hayato. They came to a clearing in the forest. Prince Hayato howled like a wolf, and then a real wolf’s howl was heard in return. “That’s my father’s howl”, Prince Hayato explained “this is how I contact my father, when he’s a wolf, when I need him”. “That’s clever,” said Nobuko “and that also means he hasn’t been caught yet”.

          Just then Nobuko saw something big and wooden in the tree branches, in the trees that surrounded them. “I see something in those trees,” she said “and I don’t think they’re just branches”. “I’ll have a look” said Prince Hayato, and climbed one of the trees to investigate, and then he climbed down the tree again. “You were right Nobuo; someone has set up crossbows and arrows in the trees”. “It must be one of Shigeo’s traps,” said Nobuko “and I think I have an idea to stop him”. This was her plan; since Prince Hayato knew how to howl like a wolf, he would act as bait to lure Shigeo to the area where the crossbow and arrow trap is. Then when Shigeo gets to the area, Nobuko would set of the crossbow and arrow traps, and then the arrows would finish Shigeo off. “I like this plan,” said Prince Hayato “but would he fall for it”. “Trust me Hayato,” said Nobuko “I saw Shigeo lots of times when I worked at the palace. And let me tell you something; he is a skilled huntsman, but he is a very stupid one”.

          To carry out the plan Prince Hayato stood in the area of the trap, while Nobuko hid behind the tree where the main rope for the crossbow and arrow trap was; Nobuko needed to pull the rope to fire the arrows from the crossbows. Prince Hayato started to howl like a wolf, as loud as he could. Not far from the trap, Shigeo heard the wolf howls and thought they might be a real wolfs howl, and then started to follow the sounds of the howls. Back at the trap, Prince Hayato kept on howling, and then Nobuko told him to stop. “I hear someone or something coming” she said, and Prince Hayato went behind a tree to hide.

          Shigeo came to where he had heard the howling. ‘This is where I heard the howling, but I don’t see any wolves’ he thought. He walked into the middle of the area, right where his crossbow and arrow trap was. This was Nobuko’s chance to set off the trap. She tugged at the rope very hard and sent the arrows flying from the crossbows. The arrows struck Shigeo into his back, chest and head, and he fell down dead. Prince Hayato and Nobuko came out from behind the trees and looked at Shigeo’s dead body. “I can’t believe that he really fell for this trick” said Prince Hayato in amazement. “It’s like I told you Hayato,” replied Nobuko “he was an all muscle and no brain”. “I agree with that” said Prince Hayato. At that moment they heard a howl from nearby. “My father is safe now”. “We better get away from here now, before anyone finds out what has happened, and I don’t want to be around when General Takeshi’s soldiers hear about this” said Nobuko. She and Prince Hayato rode off on their horses at once.

          They galloped through the forest to find new shelter from the rain. “Where should we go to?” asked Prince Hayato “I mean it wouldn’t be safe to go back to the inn, but we still need shelter from this rain”. Nobuko saw the answer; there was an abandoned, lonely house not far from where they were standing. “That’s handy” said Prince Hayato. Nobuko inspected it first. “There’s no one living here,” she said “so it should be all right to rest here until sunrise”.

          The inside of the house was a bit dusty, but all the furniture and tools were still in place. There was even a big pile of firewood for the fire place. “Funny, no one is living here and yet everything is still in place” said Nobuko. “I guess who ever lived here, had no family to take care of it after he or she died” said Prince Hayato. “Never mind though,” said Nobuko “taking shelter in this abandoned house is better than anywhere else”. Prince Hayato got a fire going in the fire place, while Nobuko got the two blankets, she brought with her, sorted out for a bed. She also found two abandoned futons in the house. “I suggest we go to sleep right now, before we run into anymore disturbances tonight” said Nobuko. Prince Hayato saw nothing wrong with that, and with the fire still going they fell asleep.

          Next day, Nobuko woke up to see General Masao, in human form, inside the house with Emperor Falcon on his right hand. “Oh morning General Masao” she said, a bit groggily. “Good morning,” said General Masao “you found a very good shelter for last night”. Nobuko stretched and rubbed her eyes to get the sleepiness out. “Ugh last night was a nightmare” she said. “What happened?” asked General Masao. “It’s a long story,” said Nobuko “but to cut it short, we ran into Shigeo Morita last night”. “Emperor Hisashi’s huntsman, what was he doing here?” “Emperor Hisashi sent him to hunt you down in your wolf form and to kill Hayato too”. “Where is he now?” “He’s dead; he died from his own crossbow and arrow trap”.

          At that moment, just as Nobuko was still stretching, Emperor Falcon flew from General Masao’s hand to her hand. “Oh, morning Emperor Falcon” she said, stroking its feathers. “I see that you and my son have become closer with each other,” said General Masao “what else happened last night”. “Well, disguised as girls, we got something to eat and drink at an inn” said Nobuko. General Masao chuckled at that; the thought of his son in a women’s kimono was amusing. “Then just to be safe, we stayed in the stable and talked. He said that his wish was that the curse was broken and that he and you could live a normal, happily family life again”. General Masao smiled a bit; his son’s wish was his wish too. “What did you say to him after he told you his wish?” he asked. “I told him about my family’s death and about Tetsuya and his death,” said Nobuko “and I also said that I envy him for still having a family”. General Masao looked at Nobuko, with pity in his eyes; he started to feel sorry for her. Emperor Falcon started screeching a light screech as if it felt sorry for Nobuko too.

          Just then General Masao and Nobuko heard a noise outside. “I think someone’s here” said Nobuko. General Masao went outside to see what the noise was. There was nothing to worry about though; it was only Master Ronin. Master Ronin had been travelling by his horse and carriage. “What brings you here?” asked General Masao. “I intend to enter the palace with you, Hayato and Nobuo,” said Master Ronin “besides, I promised Princess Annika, before she died, that I would watch over you and your son, if you ever intended to return to the palace”. General Masao sighed. “Very well” he said.

          Nobuko stepped out from the house. “I’ve just been thinking General Masao,” she said “since we are safe here; I think that we should plan what to do when we reach the palace. I mean we can’t really just go up to the palace doors and ask to enter without any trouble”. “Nobuo is right Masao,” said Master Ronin “besides everyone there would recognize you”. “I agree with this” said General Masao; he wanted to complete his quest without any trouble.

          The plan was for the group to get into the palace grounds, without anyone recognizing General Masao, and how to actually get inside the palace, with no trouble. “General Masao,” said Nobuko “I know the soldiers would recognize you, but would they recognize Hayato, in his human form?” “Not really,” said General Masao “my son and I have been hiding from the soldiers for twenty years, so they wouldn’t really notice my son’s presence”. “Then I think that I have an idea” said Nobuko.

          Nobuko told General Masao and Master Ronin her plan. “Since no one at the palace would recognize Hayato, I suggest when we get to the palace we wait for tonight to get inside. And as for you General Masao, we could have you, in your wolf form, in a cage. That way Master Ronin and Hayato and I can make out as travellers wanting to present you, as a wolf, as a gift to Emperor Hisashi”. “I agree with this plan,” said Master Ronin “and this will save any trouble”. General Masao agreed with the plan too. “You are a clever lad Nobuo” he said. Nobuko smiled and thanked General Masao for his kind words. “Oh hold on a minute,” said Nobuko “what’s worrying me though is that people would recognize you in your human form when its daylight again General Masao”. “There’s no need to worry,” said General Masao “because I have this”. He took out a black mask from his bag. “Wow,” said Nobuko, looking at the mask, “I didn’t know that you wore masks”. “I don’t really,” said General Masao “I only use it when I need to disguise myself”.

          Master Ronin had a quick talk with Nobuko alone by some trees. “Does General Masao still not believe what I told him and you last night?” he asked her. “I’m afraid so,” said Nobuko, in her real voice, “he describes the ‘gods giving you the answer’ as insanity, and he calls the ‘sun and moon coming together’ nonsense”. Master Ronin sighed. “I had a feeling about this” he said. “My guardian Tetsuya used to say that ‘seeing is believing’,” said Nobuko “so when we see the sun and moon becoming one tomorrow, General Masao will believe it then”. “Yes,” said Master Ronin “but I just hope that it will happen before General Masao has the chance of killing Emperor Hisashi”. “I hope so too,” said Nobuko “especially since Hayato said to me last night that he wishes to live a normal life with his father”. “All we can do now is wait and see what happens tomorrow” said Master Ronin.

          Soon it was time to head off for the palace again. Master Ronin set off with his horse and carriage, while Nobuko and General Masao set off on their horses. ‘I’m coming for you Emperor Hisashi,’ thought General Masao ‘and I will deal with you for good this time’.