Prologue

"I, Miststar, leader of LightClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the way of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn," said a pale gray tom on a tree stump looking at the stars. He lowed his head and looked at the two shapes in front of him. The first one of the two shapes was a light red she-cat who was looking at Miststar with an excited gleam in her wide yellow eyes. The other shape was a darker red she-cat who was looking down with a dull look in her blue eyes.

"Peachpaw, Rosepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?" Miststar asked as he watched the darker red she-cat raise her head to meet his green eyes.

"I do," the darker she-cat said almost hissing the words.

"I do," the light red she-cat mewed, her fur bristling with excitement.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you, your warrior names: Peachpaw, from this moment you will be known as Peachtail. StarClan honors your spirit and your honesty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of LightClan."

As Miststar walked toward the two she-cats, the lighter one bowed her head, and the pale gray leader rested his muzzle on it. Peachtail licked Miststar's shoulder, jumped down, and sat next a dark red tom. The red tom looked up the tree stump at the other red she-cat as she watched Miststar angrily.

"Rosepaw, from this moment you will be known as Roseheart. StarClan honors your courage and your strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of LightClan."

Miststar rested his muzzle on Roseheart's shoulder with a glare. Then she jumped down from the tree stump and sat on the other side of the dark red tom. The crowd of cats around the tree stump cheered by yowling the new warriors' names and quickly stopped when Miststar flicked his tail for silence.

"In the tradition of our ancestors," meowed the gray leader, "Peachtail and Roseheart must sit in silent vigil until dawn and guard the camp alone while we sleep."

As the cats at the bottom of the tree stump went back to their dens and the new warriors took their place in the middle of the clearing. A small black cat jumped on the tree stump to join Miststar. The gray tom turn his head to meet the black she-cat's dark green eyes and mewed, "Yes, Blackfur?"

"Have you thought about the prophecy?" Blackfur asked looking at he leader.

"How could I not?" Miststar purred amused, "It seems so easy but it makes no sense."

"the seven apprentices will decide the fate of the clan," Blackfur mewed looking at the stars, "Two will fall into darkness, one will join the stars, and three will lead the clan."

"But we don't have any apprentices now," Miststar said still looking at the black she-cat, "Peachtail and Roseheart were the only apprentices we had, but they're warriors now."

"Don't forget about Softkit and Blazekit," Blackfur mewed, "They're almost six moons already. They could be part of the prophecy."

"But it said that there will be seven apprentices not two," the pale gray leader meowed looking like he wanted to say more until he became quiet after Blackfur flicked her tail.

"Well, StarClan has never lied before. I'm sure we'll have seven apprentice running around her soon," the small she-cat said softly, "We just have to wait."