She was flying! Swirling around in the air. How is this possible? She wondered gleefully as she headed for a cloud. Suddenly, the cloud turned gray and solidified. Puzzled, she opened her mouth to yowl, but water flooded in.
Dovepaw wrenched her eyes open to find she was underwater, and the "cloud" had been a rock she was hurling toward in the current. I was dreaming! Panic clogged her throat as she struggled to return to the surface. Looking around wildly, she saw that the water was clear and she could see rocks overhanging the pond. I fell in the Moonpool! The realization hit her like blow in the stomach. That should have calmed her, but it made her flail her paws around even more, struggling to find air. Was this her punishment? Was StarClan that upset with her?
Suddenly, Dovepaw's movements stilled. It would be easy to just let go of her worries, of her will to live. Maybe Tigerheart had fallen in, too. Maybe he had given up already. No! You will live! Dovepaw flinched as the words were yowled into her brain. A cat appeared before her, swimming easily against the current. The water became still as the cat dug her teeth into Dovepaw's scruff and dragged her up, through the clear, calm water. Then, they were on the shore as air flooded into the apprentice's lungs. She gulped it in, knowing she could be on the bottom of the Moonpool right now.
"Did you thing we'd let you die in the place our word is heard most clearly?" Dovepaw whipped around at the mew of the blue-gray cat that had saved her. It drilled into her ears like a swarm of bees. The cat wrapped its tail around its paws and fixed the apprentice with her clear blue gaze. Dovepaw gasped, "Bluestar?" The ancient leader nodded. "I once made the same mistake as you," she mewed, her eyes full of wisdom and sorrow. Dovepaw tipped her head to the side. "What are you talking about?" she asked, though her stomach lurched as she realized what her ancestor meant.
"He's a fine young warrior," Bluestar continued as if Dovepaw hadn't spoken, "but he's from ShadowClan. You…you may have to fight him one day…or worse." Her eyes drilled into Dovepaw's and the apprentice had to look away. "But he went with us to find the beavers. He was loyal the whole time, and so brave…" Bluestar cuffed her gently over the ear to get her attention. "Dovepaw, you are part of a prophecy. You must fulfill your destiny, and your destiny is not him."
Suddenly, Dovepaw narrowed her eyes. "How do you know what my destiny is? If Jayfeather and Lionblaze are right, this prophecy is bigger than StarClan! Bigger than you." Bluestar lashed her tail. "Who do you think told them about the prophecy in the first place?" "That doesn't mean you made it!" Dovepaw dug her claws into the ground as she glared at ThunderClan's former leader. Finally, Bluestar looked away. "Fine. You'll find it out the hard way. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to convince you otherwise." The StarClan cat started to pad away, and before Dovepaw could blink, she was gone.