Today we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2018 finalist, Vivian Lin! Vivian finished 6th grade this past school year. The story she submitted is called “Legend of the Two.” Enjoy!
Khatia dodged and hid from arrows shooting at her. After all, she was a criminal to the Kingdom of Ansalor. Her mother had died two years ago, only leaving her with half of a burned map. How had she gotten in trouble? Well, she might just discover that she was the daughter of some wizard. Every child of this wizard was wanted in this kingdom. They were known to be very dangerous to whatever Ansalor was guarding. And she was kind of just escaping from prison.
Khatia grunted and took out her bow and shot the annoying guards after her. She kept on running until she saw more guards.
Khatia’s eyes fluttered open, and a dreamy-looking girl was staring at her. “You’re Khatia, right?”
Khatia’s mouth dropped open.
“How do you know my name!” Khatia stuttered.
The girl just smiled and replied, “We have met before.”
Khatia stared at her, stunned.
The girl just gave Khatia a scroll with an arrow struck through it. Khatia plucked out the arrow gently and rolled out the scroll. At first she didn’t know what it said, but at last, she figured it was a prophecy about her.
At dawn you shall start;
The heir of the moon
Rejoin with her own
The treasures of two kinds
Should come together again
The lunatic wizard, who controlled the moon, was known as the Loon. Khatia was also the heir. Khatia looked at the sun from the tiny cell window. It was starting to set.
The girl banged open the window, jumped out and landed swiftly. Khatia followed her and sneaked out of the castle grounds. The mysterious girl dragged Khatia to a forest. Suddenly, Khatia couldn’t open her eyes and fell asleep.
…
Khatia woke up the next morning with a stranger staring at her. She noticed that he had the same mark on his right wrist that she did. A mark shaped like a moon, which was the sign of Loon’s children.
“Hurry! You’ve got a mission to start,” grumped the stranger. Khatia could instantly tell that he was not patient.
“Who are you, and where is the girl?” Katia asked.
“I’m Zaiden. I’m your half-brother. I’m here to help you complete your mission,” he answered hurriedly. Before Khatia could respond, Zaiden dragged Khatia and forced her to start walking.
“But, what about the girl?” Khatia questioned. Zaiden shook his head.
“You were the only person I saw. We should go to steal the two necklaces. One of them is from Loon, the other is from the sun wizard, Juna,” stated Zaiden.
“Also, take out your part of the map,” Zaiden demanded.
Khatia silently took out her map. Zaiden took out his part. When they were done putting them together, Khatia finally understood what this was for. It was to find the wizard, Loon.
“Are we supposed to find Loon?” Khatia asked. She was very curious. Zaiden nodded miserably.
“And he will not be happy to see us,” added Zaiden. Khatia and Zaiden looked around them. All around them were creepy shadows and dark, gloomy trees. Suddenly, an arrow skimmed Kathia’s ear.
“Who’s there?!” Zaiden thundered. A person with a mask appeared. Just like them, he had a mark on his wrist, except it was a flame.
“I am Devon, son of Juna. The witch of the Sun.”
Zaiden laughed.
“Really? I am Zaiden, son of Loon.”
“How ‘bout a battle to determine who’s stronger?”
“Sure.”
Khatia really didn’t think it was a good idea, but it seemed like there was no way to stop them.
“You shall die in my hands!” screamed Devon. He blasted a fireball at Zaiden. The sun children specialized in fireballs, while Loon’s were good with water. Zaiden blasted a strong pulse of water. The water soaked Khatia.
“ZAIDEN!” Khatia screamed. “Stop fighting now!” Khatia was very mad.
“Don’t you see that Juna has one of our treasures! We need to work together!”
Zaiden snickered and said, “Us work together? Are you kidding me?”
Khatia was raging now. Didn’t he get anything? She thought Zaiden was here to help.
“Zaiden! Snap out of it!”
Zaiden finally got a sense about what Khatia was talking about. He instantly put on a straight face and started talking sternly to Devon.
“Devon, do you want to work with us?”
Devon looked at Zaiden and looked at Khatia. He squinted, looked around him, and sighed.
“Is this really what you came here for?” Devon asked. Khatia and Zaiden nodded.
“Juna will not be happy about this, but I will help,” Devon reluctantly said. Devon led them into a cave, where there was a secret passageway to go to another side of the forest.
When they were about halfway there, Khatia spoke up.
“Why do you guys hate each other so much?”
Devon and Zaiden looked away.
“A long time ago, Loon and Juna were both some of the strongest wizard and witches. They would always work together in everything. But one day, Juna left Loon alone, for many years. And when she came back to Loon, Loon had been possessed. It was as if Juna leaving him had caused it.”
Khatia just stayed silent and thought deeply about this. Could this all be connected? The girl in her cell, her mother disappearing, and also the prophecy. Khatia was left with many thoughts and questions. Khatia looked around her full of suspense. Weird things were around them. At last, they saw a camp in front of them. And all of the people in the camp had a flame drawing on their wrist.
Devon took out a tool, and said, “First, if you two want to sneak in, I have to change the sign on your wrist.” Devon started drawing the flames on their wrist. When they were done, the flames looked just like Devon’s.
Khatia and Zaiden walked into the camp, following Devon. Suddenly, Devon announced,” Everyone! Behold Khatia and Zaiden!” Everyone started looking at them. Then a lady holding a scepter slowly walked up. Khatia could instantly tell that this was Juna. Juna walked to them and said, “Welcome to Camp Cavalli, children.” Devon smiled at Khatia and Zaiden. Khatia and Zaiden glanced at each other nervously. Devon waved his hand for them to follow him. He brought them to a small hideout. Devon sat down on a small stool and said, “This place is very dangerous for you. Try to stay out of others way as much trouble as you can.” Devon then led them to where they were staying. There was a bunk bed, a table, and a couch. Devon walked away, leaving Zaiden and Khatia on their own.
Khatia walked around the room, finding many books. Khatia opened one of them, a bright light came out of the book. “Zaiden!” Khatia called. This was very interesting. Zaiden walked over, Khatia showed him what she had discovered. Zaiden took the book from Khatia. They were engravings of a scepter and a crown. Zaiden traced his finger over what looked like an ancient drawing and fell into deep thought.
In the morning, Khatia woke up by a commotion outside. Devon went in and smiled.
“Welcome to morning at the camp.” Zaiden jumped up from his bed.
After they got all ready, Devon led them to the rec room there were chairs and many ping pong tables. Khatia went to the food table and got some bread for her and Zaiden. They sat down and started eating. Devon sat next to them and started calling Khatia to meet some friends.
“That’s Harper, she’s one of my friends.” Khatia walked with Devon to Harper. Harper smiled at them and waved. Khatia just looked and stood there frozen. She was at lost of words. Harper had smailed to her just like she did when they were in the cell.
“Ummm, hello Khatia!? Are you going to say hi?” Harper took Khatia by the arm and ran off into the woods.
“I know you have a lot of questions, trust me, I am your friend,” Harper said. Khatia saw many people started to follow them, so she just calmly went back.
Khatia and Harper walked back to the rec room. Khatia whispered into Zaiden’s ear about Harper and everything that had happened.
Zaiden whispered back, “Do you trust her?”
Khatia nodded. Khatia walked back to her room. She picked up the book, which had weird engravings on it. It seemed very familiar, she saw them many times in her dreams. She opened it up. Words seemed like they came to life. Suddenly, she saw a shadow at the door. She quickly shut the book and went outside.
She saw a note. She picked it up, and it read, Come to the rec room now.
Khatia walked slowly to the rec room. She found Juna inside. Khatia gasped.
Juna motioned Khatia to sit.
Khatia nodded, she was too shocked to say something.
“First, I just want to say, I know everything that you are doing, and I just want you to explain why you are doing this.”
Khatia looked off into space, nervously trying to figure out what to say,
“Well, um, you see we have had a mission to take the two treasured necklaces of you and Loon to do something that we don’t know yet.” Khatia was very nervous now.
“Well,” said Juna. “The two necklaces together will bring out someone very special, who will be able to instruct you how to kill the monster inside of Loon.” Khatia simply nodded, thinking the situation made a lot more sense now. “I will give you the necklace.” Khatia hopes went up. “Only if you could win a challenge I give you. And I am doing this because I believe in you.” Khatia nodded. “With Zaiden, starting tomorrow, you will have three days to go to a faraway small town and bring back a special stone. The stone could only be gotten if you fight and win their pegasus racing contest. If you win, I will give you the necklace.” Khatia considered it and agreed.
Khatia ran as fast as she could to Zaiden and told him everything. Zaiden quickly gathered a lot of supplies and set off for the journey.
“Do you think we can do it?” Khatia asked Zaiden nervously. Right now, they were both wearing heavy coats. To get to the small town, they had to cross a snowy mountain.
Zaiden looked up and said, “Well it doesn’t matter. We have to do it anyways.” They continued to walk quietly for a lot of time. Suddenly, a ray of light appeared in front of them.
A gray wolf with a spear appeared in front of them. “HALT. State your purpose here right now.”
“We are here for the pegasus competition.” Said Zaiden calmly. Meanwhile, Khatia was a nervous wreck.
The wolf grunted, and said, “You may pass.” As he stepped away from the entrance, Khatia gasped. A lush green city was in front of her.
Zaiden smiled and said, “Let’s go to find a place today. We got a competition to win tomorrow.”
The next morning, Khatia quickly woke Zaiden, and by the next half hour, they were both ready. They went to the place where the contest was hosted. Khatia heard that this race was very hard. And instead of Zaiden, Khatia would be the one entering.
“GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!!! TODAY IS THE DAY MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR TTTTHHHHHEEEEE PEEEEGGGGAAAASSSUUUSSS RAAAAAAACCCCIIING CCCCCOOOOMPPPPPEEETTTEEETTIIIIIIIOOOONNNN!!!!” Khatia covered her ears, as it felt like an elephant was screaming in her ear.
“CAN THE CONTESTANTS PLEASE STEP FORWARD!” Khatia took a step forward. She gulped nervously. Everyone else looked very skilled.
“NOW, WE WILL RELEASE THE PEGASUS, AND THEY WILL PICK ONE OF YOU TO BE THEIR RACING PARTNER.” The people surrounding the door seem to open some barrier, and it seemed as if a million pegasuses have come out. They each circled the people. And it seemed as if they choose their previous year partners. A very slick and black Pegasus with black wings approached Khatia. It was very beautiful. Then, it stopped and stood next to her.
The host scanned the field and said, “Well, the race will be on going.”
Khatia quickly got on and steered the reins.
“Let the Race BEGIN!”
Everyone charged, and apparently to win, they had to fly to the peak of the mountain, got a branch, and flew back down. Khatia charged her Pegasus, and it quickly flew past many. Then, when she was almost at the peak of the mountain, she had finally made it to 2nd place. The only Pegasus in front of her was a guy in a very thick coat. He was probably about 100 meters in front of her. Khatia tried to catch up but couldn’t. The man got a branch, and Khatia also did the same. Then, this was when they would go speeding down. She held on tight, and then the Pegasus wrapped its wings around, and started going headfirst diving, and was spinning. Khatia thought she had passed a blur, and thought she had passed the person. But when she landed, she saw that she had lost and the man had gotten first place. She looked at Zaiden, and Zaiden looked at her. They had both dreaded this the most. Khatia met Zaiden, and Zaiden patted her back. They watched as the man received the stone.
“Hey look it’s fine,” Zaiden said reassuringly. Khatia looked sadly. Then, an idea popped into her mind.
“Come with me! I have an idea.” Khatia started silently following the man that won.
“What do you think you are doing!?” Zaiden whispered. Khatia smiled slyly and said,
“Listen Zaiden, okay? We are going to steal the stone from him.”
Zaiden smiled and whispered back, “Let’s do it.” They followed the man to a small hut. They waited until they saw the man leave. They quickly went to the door and tried to open it.
“It is locked!” Zaiden said. He fumbled with it, and he finally decided to destroy the lock. They went in and looked around. The room was mostly bare with tan walls. They split up and looked through every cabinet. Finally, Khatia spoke up,
“I found it!” Zaiden quickly went over and looked. There it was, a glowing purple stone. They quickly took it, and there outside, the man was waiting for him. Khatia and Zaiden quickly got their weapons ready.
“Calm down! You two!” The man said calmly. Then with a wisp of his hand, he turned into Juna, who was holding out the necklace to them.
“THAT WAS YOU!” Khatia and Zaiden exclaimed at the same time. Juna nodded and just disappeared. The necklace was now resting in Khatia’s hand.
“Well, what are we waiting for!? Let’s go find Loon!” Zaiden exclaimed.
They took out the map and followed it. And they appeared at the Kingdom of Ansalor.
“Wait… LOON IS THE KING OF ANSALOR!!” Khatia exclaimed. Now everything made so much sense, about why she was in prison and all the other stuff. They approached silently and saw in the middle of the courtroom Loon sitting on a throne. He seemed as if he was frozen and lifeless.
“Oh no!” Khatia understood why. The witch had sucked Loon’s soul out and hid it somewhere. Then she took his form and hid his soul. They stepped towards Loon as if they were expecting something. They walked towards the frozen Loon, and they saw a small shimmer around Loon’s neck. It was the necklace!
“Quick!” Khatia exclaimed. They quickly joined the necklace and a magical light appeared.
“MOM!” they both screamed at the same time. Their mom just smiled and waved at them.
“I want both of you to listen to me. I don’t have a lot of time to tell you this. Loon has been possessed by the witch and is hiding out in a secret underground room. The witch has hid his soul, and taken his form. There, you must kill the witch and let his soul go free.”
Khatia opened her mouth to speak, but her mom silenced her.
“I will transfer my remaining life force into a dagger. You will use this special dagger, to kill the witch.” Khatia and Zaiden by now were just staring at her, trying to remember everything.
“But that means…….” Khatia filled with realization. Her mom just sadly nodded and glowed brightly. And all that was left was a dagger. Zaiden looked at Khatia and walked ahead.
He picked up the dagger and said, “Let’s do this.”
Khatia caught up and they both ran to the lower floors. They found a room and opened it. Khatia let out a small yelp. There in front of them was the evil Loon.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said with a cackle. Zaiden took control of the dagger and charged.
“GIVE MY FATHER BACK!” he yelled. He tried to stab him with the dagger, but Loon simply disappeared and appeared behind him. He grabbed him by the neck and threw him down. Zaiden tossed the dagger to Khatia, who then charged. She surprised Loon, as she threw the dagger. Loon was then killed. Khatia and Zaiden looked at each other.
“YEEESSS!” they both screamed. They still had to find Loon’s soul. In a cabinet, they found a small box and opened it.
“WOAAH,” Khatia gasped. A small golden wind flew by, and they quickly hurried back up. They saw Loon standing there smiling.
“Welcome back, dad” Khatia said.
Epilogue
After they had battled and killed the monster inside of Loon, they were brought back together and peace once filled the land again. Loon had now been treated as the king, and Juna was the queen, ruling the land with peace and harmony.
Wondering how to support the youth writer in your life? We can help! Check out our cheat-sheet below which will help you have creative, writerly conversations with your Young Inkling—even if you’re not a writer yourself.
[convertkit form=712017]
