Six moons later...
Rosestar looked over her plateau. Her fur was ruffling in the wind as she just thought. She had become a deep thinker, lately. She watched the grasses and shrubs below her move as the Leafclan allies moved around. How things change when you become a leader, she thought for the thousandth time. She had been right. You're perspective changes along with your life. It had only been six moons since Skyclan had chosen her as leader.
"Rosestar!" cried Moondawn. "Maplewind's kits have been born!" Rosestar followed Moondawn into the nursery, and a sight shocked her. Against the jet black Maplewind's fur, and the gray and black kits, she saw a little albino at the edge of the line of kits. "Rosestar," whispered Maplewind. "I know. It's surprising, but true." Rosestar smiled at the little kit. It's fur was still quite matted, but you could clearly see that the fur was white. Rosestar nudged the kit around until she could see its face. She gasped; the kit looked exactly like she did. She quickly glanced at the other kits; two. A gray one and a black one. "I shall name them," said Rosestar. She went to the black one. "Little one, you shall now be known as Nightkit." she walked over to the grey one, next. "You shall now be known as Stormkit." she finally got to the albino kit. "Little one, I feel that you will be especially strong. I shall name you Rosekit." Maplewind and Moondawn looked at their leader. Maplewind smiled, and Moondawn went back to her den.
Rosestar watched as Rosekit played with Nightkit. She remembered when she would tumble with Skyflower, who was now hunting. Yes, many things do change, she thought. She wondered what this kit would really end up as. She could very well be a Medicine cat. Or maybe she would die in battle as a warrior? These possibilities rushed through her head. Now that she was leader, Rosestar began remembering the other leaders. Flowerclan's was now Oakstar. Sunclan's was still Beamstar and Leafclan's was now Willowstar.
Rosestar was hunting at the borders of her camp. She picked herself a nice, fat, gopher. She was proud of digging for hours to get it out of its den. She carried the fat body into a shallow hole. She patted dirt over it and listened for more prey. She heard the twittering of chickadees; in trees and impossible to catch. She cocked her head the other way. She heard the soft heartbeat of a baby mouse. No, no young. Only elder prey. She turned toward the east, listening once again, her mouth slightly open to smell. She heard a soft rustling. Even softer than the leaves.
She smelt a light Twoleg scent. She ran toward the sound. She stopped when she saw many large, white leaves. They were all the same shape, and hanging to a hard surface, which was the same shape. They were clinging to it in a semi-circle. As the wind blew the white leaves, Rosestar saw black marks on the page. She didn't think they were dirt, as they were perfectly aligned across the leaves. She got closer, and nothing happened. She picked it up, noticing that it was heavy, and dragged it back to camp.
"Jayfeather!" she called. The elderly Medicine Cat lugged out of his den. "Yes, Rosestar," he replied. He saw the white leaves on the hard surface, and his face contracted in recognition. "You found this?" he asked. Rosestar nodded. "I know what it is, it's just...These things are only used by Twolegs!"
"Yes, but what is it?" she asked.
"It is a source of learning for Twolegs. It tells stories about heroes from Twoleg past. But some are made up," he explained. "Some of the stories have names. But all the contraptions are called books." Rosestar wondered what a "book" was. "How do you access the knowledge?" she asked. "All I see are spots." Jayfeather put his stiff paw on the book, stopping its movement. Rosestar saw illustrations of leaves and animals. She saw some Twoleg nests and Twolegs in beautiful clothing. Some of the spots in the leaves were on the pictures. Jayfeather interrupted her reverie.
"The spots inside are a language that only Twolegs can read," he said. "Only kittypets know the language, as they see and hear it all around them." Rosestar decided that she must learn this knowledge. "I must find cats to help us access this book," she said. "I must go to Twoleg territory." Jayfeather nodded. "I will tell Skyflower to organize a party at once.
Rosestar looked over her group of cats: Skyflower, Darkshade, Maplewind, and Moondawn. "Cats of Skyclan," she said. "You are aware of the object of the Twolegs we found?" Her group nodded. "We must find a kittypet that knows the language of this book," she continued. "We go now." She turned around and ran into the brush. The group followed her. They went down the hilly land and to the landscape that spirals around the plateau. They carefully descended down the thin slope, and reached the bottom. Rosestar looked into the sky to see where the sun was. She blinked, and went east to Leafclan borders. "We must caution," she said. "We cannot cross the border." Darkshade mapped quickly where the scent of the border was. "Twelve rabbit leaps away is the eastern border," he stated, and Rosestar led her part around it. They reached a high, square row of shrubs that the Twolegs control to keep animals of the forest away. They scrambled under the thick hedge, and onto a thin strand of grass that ended at a thunderpath. They crept back as a Monster rushed across it. Then another, and another. Endless Monsters ran across their black paths, and it was impossible to go across. "How are we to cross it, Rosestar?" asked Maplewind. Rosestar looked across. She saw a large squirrel run across the path. She expected it to be launched at by a Monster, but then the raging creature stopped with a howl.
She saw that Twolegs climbed out of the ears of the Monster, and shooed the squirrel away. They climbed back in, and onto a rough path by a Twoleg nest. "I know how we'll get through," she said, and walked across the path. The cats looked at each other, and reluctantly followed. Then, a Monster with a long, square tail came rushing at them. They all screamed, expecting to die. Then, they heard a howl. The Monster had stopped, and a Twoleg came out of its ears. It said a sort of language in a loud voice and kicked at them. They ran off and onto a smaller path that Twolegs walked on. They saw female Twolegs cooing at them, and crouching down to touch them. They ran out from the long, toed paws of the Twolegs and into the small territory of a Twoleg nest. "This is where I know Sissy lives," said Rosestar. They all thought about how a non ceremonial name she had, and followed their leader into the back parts of the nest's territory. They saw a brown calico pushing a fake mouse around.
Sissy saw them, and recognized Rosestar. "Rosepaw!" she cried. "How are you? I haven't seen you since I wondered out of my Twoleg nest," she said. Rosestar purred. "Thanks, Sissy, but I'm Rosestar, now!" Sissy laughed. "Oh," she said. "Um, that means your a leader now, right?" she asked. Rosestar smiled. She remembered telling Sissy as much as she could in the hour she met with her. "Okay, Sissy," she said. "I need your help. My Clan has found a book, which is by your Twolegs. We want to learn the language that is used in this book." Sissy's eyes narrowed. "I have a feeling you don't have it here. I know most of the language of Twolegs," she said. "I will come with you." She looked into a blocked hole in the walls of the Twoleg nest, and ran into Rosestar's group.
"I'm hating this kittypet food." Rosestar had a nagging hope that Sissy could be part of her clan, but another thought said that Sissy was too old. She hadn't been to the cutter, but was still too old.
Sissy was amazed when she saw the dens and brush in the camp. She was almost unhappy that she was interrupted to read the book. "Okay," she said. "First things first! The words on the cover is "Cinderella"." Rosestar thought again that this was a very unceremonious name, also. But was still beautiful. "Once upon a time," started Sissy. Rosestar noted that these were the words used by elders to begin stories. "There was once a beautiful maiden named Ella. She lived with her good father, her evil stepmother, and her spoiled stepsisters. One day, her kind father died, and she was left with her evil stepkin. They forced to her to work everything for them. Including food, chores, and cleaning. They nicknamed her Cinderella, because she always went to bed dusty with cinders from the fireplace.
One day, an invitation came from the castle. It was a ball, hosted by the monarch's son. There were four: one for her, one for her stepmother, and one for each of her stepsisters. "You can come to the ball, Cinderelly," said her stepmother. "If, you finish all your chores first." Cinderella looked at her list of chores. It was too long to be done before the ball. When her stepkin left, her animal friends gathered around her. Cinderella was so sweet and kind, that all the animals befriended her. Especially the mice, who she saved from the family cat.
"Oh, Cinderelly," said a small female mouse named Isabelle. "Poor, poor, Cinderelly." Cinderella wiped her tears, and quickly set off toward her first chore. "What shall we do to help?" said Isabelle to the other mice. Isabelle was the only one of them with a name she remembered. They all just called her Issy. (Sissy noted that it rhymed with her name) "We could help Cinderelly with her chores," said a smaller, yet fat, male mouse. "No, no, no!" said Issy. "We cannot do that. We'll all be crushed. We must cheer her up!" The little mice all put their heads together. "I know!" said a big, skinny mouse, who was actually a friendly rat. "We can make her a dress for the ball!" All the mice agreed to this, and went into the mean stepsister's room. They found a frilly dress and jewelry. They set to work for hours as Cinderella worked on her chores.
Cinderella stepped up off the stairs. Done. She was done with the chores! "Oh dear!" she said, noting her red knees and sore hands. It was the day of the ball, and they all were excited. She was pushed aside when her stepmother and stepsisters ran down the stairs. "Oh, Cinderella!" said her stepmother. "I see that you are done! Now, all you need is a dress." Cinderella's eyes drooped. She didn't have a dress to wear. Then, the mice and birds scurried in, carrying a pink cloth. "Oh, thank you, everyone!" she whispered, keen not to let her stepkin hear. She took the dress, caught two mice who were trapped inside, and ran to her room. She came out in her dress. She swirled around the room.
"Stepmother!" she cried. She watched as her evil stepmother and her daughters came into the room. "I have a dress!" Then, her stepsisters screamed. "That is my dress!" said one. "And my jewelry!" said the next. They ripped the jewelry off her, and told her to take the dress off. Cinderella lugged out of her room, back into her work dress, and handed her stepsister the dress. She was not mad at the mice and birds. Only sad. She started crying, and ran into the garden away from her house. As she was crying, a voice came through her sorrow. "My dear, don't cry," it said, and an elderly woman in robes appeared. "Who are you?" said Cinderella, wiping the tears off her eyes. "I am your fairy Godmother!" exclaimed the woman, then asked why she was crying. Cinderella told her story, and Godmother nodded. "Well," she said. "We'll just have to take you to the ball ourselves!" Before Cinderella could ask, Godmother summoned all the animals in the garden. With a few magic words, the mice turned to elegant horses. The family cat turned into a handsome coachman, and a pumpkin that was trapped between the flowers turned into a beautiful carriage.
Then, Cinderella's work dress glowed silver and blue. Her hair was into a shining bow, and her feet bared glass slippers. She climbed into the carriage and thanked her Godmother. "Now, dear," she said. "You must remember. You must be back before midnight!" Cinderella noted this, and the carriage set off. It arrived to the castle in a matter of minutes.
Cinderella excitedly ran into the castle to the presents of many people. On the other end of the ballroom, the prince and his father sat on their thrones. Many young maidens were lined up, ready to be judged if they would wed the prince. In the line was Cinderella's stepkin. Cinderella walked closer to the end of the line, not keeping her eye off the prince. Then, the prince saw her. He got off of his throne, and walked over to her. "May I have a dance?" he proclaimed. Cinderella took his hand and his shoulder, and waltzed with the prince. None of them counted the time, and before Cinderella knew it, the clock stroke twelve midnight. Cinderella panicked. "I must go!" she cried, hearing the second bong.
"Don't go, yet!" replied the prince, but she was already gone. Cinderella ran out of the castle, dropping one of her slippers. She climbed into the carriage, which poofed back after they went down a hill, where no one could see them. Cinderella ran back to her house, and into bed right before her stepkin came back. "Hope you had fun home alone, Cinderelly!" taunted her stepmother. Her daughters laughed, and Cinderella acted sorrowful. The next morning, a knock came onto the door. It was the king's harold. "The prince has executed a party to find the princess that danced with him the night of the ball," he stated, and walked in. The harold brought out a glass slipper, which Cinderella recognized. The harold first tried the slipper onto Cinderella's stepmother. The slipper hung on her too-small foot. As she scowled, the harold tried to put it on the two stepsisters. The first one almost broke the slipper, as it was too big. The other fit good, but the shape of the foot did not match the slipper, and cut into her foot. The harold started toward Cinderella, but her stepmother stopped him. "Do not do her! She wasn't at the ball, so you're just wasting your time," The harold shook his head. "No, the prince said to try every maiden in the land!" he said. He walked to Cinderella, who sat down onto the nearest stool. She harold gently put the shoe on. He stared at Cinderella, and smiled. "It fits!" he exclaimed, and took her hand. "We must go now!" he said, and led her to his carriage.
Cinderella sat in the carriage, happy that finally she would leave her stepkin. She was taken to the prince. "It is you!" he exclaimed. They were so happy together. Now, the son could take over the kingdom when he grew of age. The two wed on a beautiful day when blossoms of the trees rained down, and they lived happily ever after. The end."
"So," said Sissy. "I hope you are satisfied." Rosestar nodded. She noticed that the other cats were hypnotized by the story, and all the kits and most apprentices had gathered around as well. They all asked Sissy what things were, such as a carriage or a castle. Sissy, surprisingly, was able to answer all the questions. "Thank you, Sissy," said Skyflower. Darkshade smiled at her and Maplewind took her kits back to the nursery. "Thank you, also, Sissy," said Rosestar. Sissy smiled, then purred. "Rosepaw-I mean-Rosestar, I am wondering," she said. "I am considering joining Skyclan." Rosestar suddenly felt great delight, then remembered that she never trained. "You were not born here, Sissy," she said. "And you cannot train because you are too old." Sissy smiled, surprisingly. "Oh, but I have trained," she said. "I train every day. I battle with Franky and Donn every day. I hunt mice instead of that disgusting food, and I take what remains to my mother." Rosestar knew that this was all that her clan did, only in a different way. Sissy continued, "I must fight to keep away from the dog! I've dreamed of Starclan since you've told me about it! And my kits from last year. My Twolegs called them Kiss, Ted, and Baby. But I named Kiss, Sunheart. Ted, Dustfur. And Baby, Browntail." Rosestar knew that Sissy was devoted to being in a Clan, and dreamed of it. "Well, Sissy," said Rosestar. "All you need is a name." Sissy smiled, clearly delighted. Rosestar climbed up the tree that was used by all the history of leaders.
"Let all cats old enough to hunt for themselves gather beneath this tree," she yowled. All the older cats gathered around, eagr to listen to the news. Rosestar motioned for Sissy to climb up with her. "Cats of Skyclan. Sissy, a kittypet, has dreamed of joining our clan for many moons," she said. "She has devoted her life preparing for this moment, and I am glad to reward her. Sissy is warrior age, so she must have a warrior name. Sissy, by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior name, Braveheart. Not many cats have had this name, as it is given to the truly loyal. I am proud to give it to you, Braveheart." The cats below chanted Braveheart's new name, relishing the moment. "I believe, though, that you should catch up and to the vagil of silence. You shall guard our camp, without saying a single word, while we sleep. But before then, we shall feast!" Rosestar asked for the hunting patrol to bring in all they have for a meal. The meal was large, and Rosestar and Braveheart talked about what went on after their meeting as kits. "YOU killed Blackstar? That evil leader? Wow," said Braveheart.
It was now night. Braveheart sat outside the dens, silently taking her vagil. Rosestar dreamed of her life. Everything. She smiled and purred in her sleep, knowing that everything that had happened had come for the greater good. She still struggled when the part came of the death of Wildstar and Crackedfang. When she woke up, she saw Bravehearts face over her. "Wake up, sleepy head!" she called. Rosestar noticed that it was sunhigh. "Man," she said. "I slept long! I'll organize a hunting party and a patrol and then we can get going." They were planning to travel to the lake today. It was far, and would take the rest of the day. "Let's go!" she said, and ran down the plateau's slide down. "Which way is west?" asked Braveheart. Rosestar quickly taught her how to map where directions are by the sun. It only took a minute. "Okay, the lake is northwest, and we are going west. If we turn a little to the right, then we'll be on course," said Braveheart. Rosestar knew that this was right, and ran a little to the left. After many hours, they smelled fish and the foggy scent of the water plants. Rosestar checked the sky: twilight. Pinks, purples, and greens danced in the sky as they came closer to the lake. "Wow!" cried Braveheart. And she had every right to. As the greens and pinks danced, the purples swirled. The water glistened as the butterflies and dragonflies flew in the painted sky. Faint stars sparkled lightly as the full moon was creeping. The sun was almost gone when the most amazing thing happened.
Cats with starry fur flew in the sky as well. Their fur rustling, their ears blew back. They sang a happy, yet slow, song. It enchanted them. It was a song that promised a great future. Rosestar looked at the Starclan cats. They were beautiful, wonderful, spirits of the stars. They flew out of the just-appearing Silverpelt like petals off an apple tree getting ready to bud their deliceous fruit. Then, five cats landed on the ground, their pelts glowing, and their smiles elegant. Rosestar recognized three of them as Daisyfur, Crackedfang, and dearest Wildstar. The other two, presumably, were relations to Braveheart. "We are glad you came," said Wildstar in a voice that seemed out of nowhere. "Rosestar," said Daisyfur. "You do not know these two cats. This is Greystar and Bramblefur. They are your grandmother and grandfather." Rosestar no longer thought they were Braveheart's relations. "Cats of Starclan," said Braveheart. "I hope you except me as a Clan cat." The cats looked at each other, and smiled at her. "Every Clan cat is accepted, Braveheart," said Crackedfang. "Now, Rosestar. We have a message from the Great Cat." he continued. "He says that you have set a prophecy." Rosestar was puzzled. "A prophecy? What, and to whom?" Wildstar stepped forward.
"A cat of white shall be part of a horrific event of war, yet peace. It is talking of Rosekit, Rosestar. The land shall be quiet, but tensions may arise. Blackstar didn't end the turmiol at his death. He son is a problem. His son will do no wrong, but there is a problem. His son, Blackpaw, is half Skyclan." Rosestar listened to this. "Well," she said. "The way I think of this, it does not matter if he is Skyclan, Leafclan, or Dungclan! We do not intend on trying to take poor Blackpaw, let Leafclan take him. Now, what does Rosekit have to do with this?" Crackedfang took over this time. "Rosekit thinks that Blackpaw should be in this clan. They may become friends, and he will join. It's Leafclan we are worried about.
Rosestar pondered this. "Now, there is peace. Later, we shall worry about turmoil. Thank you, all of you," she said, and the cats faded away as the sun disappeared. "Wow," said Braveheart. "Cool!" Rosestar didn't quite know what a cool was, but thought it ment good. "Let us stay here overnight, Braveheart," she said. "All is well, now." They found an abandoned badger nest, and fell asleep. They didn't worry about any turmoil in their dreams, and knew that peace is now, and war was delayed. They purred all night, and awakened to a promising morning with no war, turmoil, or blended kits. Not yet, though. Not yet.