Tanabata Contest 2009 Winner

Zerataku's entry

Long Lost Lovers

Once upon a time in a Kingdom known as Veta, there lived a girl named Kathy. Kathy had every thing she could ever want. Not only did her mother overrun the whole Kingdom as Queen, but that made Kathy a Princess. Late at night when everyone in the castle was sleeping, Princess Kathy found herself lying on the balcony of her bedroom, staring at the stars above and trying to figure out why she felt so lonely inside. The truth was, Princess Kathy wanted a Prince.

When the troubles of being a Princess made Kathy sad, she would sneak out of the Kingdom and travel down to the Colony below where she could get away from it all. Her favorite spot was a lake in the middle of the forest where the moon light would sparkle down upon the water. It was better known to the peasants as the fishing hole, but Princess Kathy found it to be very calm and relaxing.

One night Princess Kathy grew very weak and tired. It wasn't because the trouble of helping to rule a Kingdom with her mother was hard. The thing that was hurting was her heart. She climbed down the vines on the wall next to her bedroom window and jumped to the ground below, beginning her journey once more to the lake that was so magical for her. She came upon the trail that led directly to her favorite spot at the lake and noticed that something was different. As she looked in front of her, she realized that there was a boy sitting on the ground next to the lake.

Princess Kathy sighed, knowing that she could no longer claim the spot as her own. She grew sad because she didn't have a place to be along anymore, but instead of turning around and walking away, Princess Kathy quietly walked forward and sat down next to the boy hoping that they would become friends. The boy glanced her way and began talking to her, introducing himself as Zachary. Princess Kathy introduced herself to the boy and almost instantly a relationship was created.

The two would meet at the lake every night to talk until the sun came up. They enjoyed each others' company, and as the days passed by Princess Kathy began to realize that she loved this boy. "Do you like me?" Zachary asked one night. Princess Kathy shook her head and the boy became sad. She looked into his hazel eyes and smiled. "I don't like you Zachary, I love you." He looked up at her with tears in his eyes and held her close, knowing that he had waited for so long to heart those words from her. "As I love you, Kathy."

They spent months and months through summers' and winters' holding each other, confessing their deepest secrets, and loving each other with more love than anyone had ever known...but as the kingdom began to fall apart and war broke loose, Princess Kathy and Zachary couldn't see each other as much as they used to. It broke Princess Kathy's' heart to know that her Kingdom was fighting against Zachary's' Colony, and soon enough Kathy's' mom and dad found out about her relationship with Zachary. They told her not to see him anymore.

That night Princess Kathy and Zachary met at the lake just like they always did, but instead of telling each other how much they loved one another, Princess Kathy told Zachary that she couldn't be with him. She left quickly, running home without turning back, and spent the next few weeks crying in her bedroom. Months went by and they never saw each other again. Princess Kathy was heartbroken. She tried to make herself happy again, but nothing she tried would work.

Over a period of two years, the war finally stopped and her mothers' Kingdom and the Colony below were at peace once again. Princess Kathy thought about talking to the boy that she had fell in love with long ago, but she was scared because she thought that he had forgotten about her. Against her mothers' wishes, Princess Kathy ran to the lake hoping that he would be there. She was very sad when he wasn't.

Princess Kathy sat on the ground and cried, knowing that she had said goodbye to the only boy she would ever love in that way. Moments passed as it began to rain, and Princess Kathy realized that home was calling her name., but when she stood up to walk away she heard a familiar voice behind her, a voice that sent chills down her spine. "I thought you'd never come back." Zachary said, his hand on her shoulder. She turned around and hugged him tight. As she stood there crying and saying she was sorry for leaving him, Zachary wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss.

He didn't feel sad anymore and neither did she. They sat there at the lake all day long talking and holding each other as they had a long time ago. That night they walked to the Kingdom where Princess Kathy took off her tiara and threw it at her mothers' feet. "If being a Princess means I can't have my Prince, then I don't want to be one." Kathy and Zachary walked out into the night and lived happily ever after.

The End.