A/N: Heya peeps! I'm on a roll today, so I figured I'd post the prologue for this. Hope you enjoy it! That's all I'm gonna say…

Prologue

Goldfinch had known it was a bad idea. She'd known from the start, when she'd first glimpsed him at the Gathering, sitting with his friends, laughing at some stupid joke.
Her golden fur was still wet with sweat, but her jade green eyes were shining with pride.
The strong RiverClan tom had completely mesmerized the sensible ThunderClan she-cat. His dark calico fur, his inquisitive yellow eyes, his goofy yet powerful nature-was it any wonder Goldfinch had fallen for him so quickly?
She knew how dangerous it was. She'd heard stories. Graystripe and Silverstream. Leafpool and Crowfeather. So many others.
But as the tom's yellow eyes locked onto hers, she felt herself forgetting all that.
"They're beautiful, Goldfinch," he murmured, gently running his tail over her back. "ThunderClan is lucky to have such fine new warriors."
"What do you mean?" Goldfinch cried, staring at him.
"Don't kits like ours go with their mother's Clan?"
Oh, Minnowtail, she silently wailed. Why do you have to be smart now?
Unable to answer, she looked at their kits. The little she-cat who so resembled her father. The golden tom. And the inexplicably white she-cat, silver tiger stripes running along her tiny body.
She looked up at him. "At least help me name them," she begged.
The tom leaned forward and muzzled her face. "Of course," he said, his voice rough.
The calico kit squirmed and opened her tiny mouth.
A calico tail pointed at her. "Hazelkit."
Goldfinch looked at him in surprise. "Why?"
He shrugged. "She looks like my sister," he said quietly.
Goldfinch's heart gave a pang. She had almost forgotten Minnowtail's sister, who had introduced them and then died in a Twoleg accident a few months later. She had been named Hazelpelt, and, now that Minnowtail mentioned it, the little kit did look an awful lot like his sister.
She nodded gently. "Hazelkit," she agreed.
She turned to the golden tom. "Solarkit," she said firmly.
Minnowtail purred. "Suits him." he teased.
They both looked at the white kit. Minnowtail frowned.
"Where did she come from?" he murmured.
A golden tail wrapped protectively around the kit.
"I don't care," Goldfinch said fiercely. "I'll love her just the same."
"I never said you wouldn't," Minnowtail said hastily. "All I'm saying is it's a little strange. Our other kits look exactly like us, yet she's different."
The golden furred she-cat nodded. "She's quiet, though," she said fondly. "Almost serene."
Minnowtail flashed his trademark grin at her. "She'll be called Serenekit, then."
Goldfinch smiled, stretching up to nuzzle her kits closer to her belly. Then her smile faded as she looked back up at him.
"How will I raise them without you?" she whispered. "How will you manage watching them grow up in a different Clan?"
Minnowtail's gaze softened with pain. "I hadn't thought of that," he admitted.
Goldfinch's shoulders slumped as the two cats thought about their situation.
Finally, Goldfinch spoke.
"You could take Hazelkit back to RiverClan." she said softly.
Minnowtail stared at her. "I couldn't do that!" he gasped.
"She looks more like a RiverClan cat anyway," Goldfinch continued miserably. "ThunderClan would get suspicious. Besides," she attempted a smile. "You like her the best. I can tell."
Minnowtail smiled sheepishly. "Well, she looks almost exactly like Hazelpelt. How could I not favor her?"
Goldfinch chuckled. Serenekit mewled, her body writhing on the ground.
Minnowtail hesitantly stretched his neck forward and muzzled the tiny kit. The kit stretched forward, swiping at her father with tiny claws. Minnowtail chuckled.
"She's fierce," he murmured proudly.
The white kit nuzzled closer to Goldfinch, who bent down and gently licked her. Serenekit yawned.
Goldfinch looked up at him sadly. He looked at her and licked her cheek slowly.
"We'll manage," he said quietly. "We'll take them back once they're strong enough to travel."

A week and a few days later, Goldfinch was guiding Solarkit with her tail and carrying Serenekit in her mouth. She turned to look back at Minnowtail, who had Hazelkit in his jaws. He turned to look at them, and a look of everlasting sadness passed between them. Simultaneously, they turned and headed back to their respective camps.
Minnowtail would say his mate had had Hazelkit, along with two others, but the others had died and the mother died as well. Goldfinch wouldn't say anything, for a queen has the right to remain silent about her mate. She would only say she couldn't stand the nursery and had wanted her kits to be born in the open forest. To Jayfeather, the blind medicine cat, who had predicted she'd have three kits, she would simply say, "You were wrong. I only had two,"
Both cats would long for each other, and were constantly on the lookout for the other. Meanwhile, while they were pining for each other, their kits began to grow up…

A/N: Phew! This took me a long time to write!
I hope you like it! I might have some drawings up on Deviantart soon! Same username, if you're interested. ;)
Review please!