Chapter 1

There were four of them in total. Carmen, her sister Maple, and their brothers, Rusty and Wick. They were peak specimens of the Abyssinian breed. Their ancestors were meticulously arranged; there wasn't a flaw to be found in anyone she knew.

Night had fallen. Wick yawned beside her. Before they were to sleep, however, their mother had an important announcement to make. She'd had them all line up before the huge window in the living room. Her bejeweled collar glinted as the slender feline paced about. Duchess took her time to collect her thoughts and get them all in order before she at last came to a halt. She sat with tail resting gracefully atop her forepaws. She regarded each of her kits fondly, and Carmen tried to mimic her immaculate posture.

"You've all grown so much in the past six months, and I have loved every moment of our time together. You know what comes next. Tomorrow, Sophie will be choosing one of you to keep, and the rest of you will be going to new homes over the next couple of weeks."

"Finally!" cried Maple. "I'm gonna get a special collar of my very own, with all the sparkly bits, and my name on it!"

"Why do you care?" asked Wick. "We can't read those weird squiggles human use."

"It doesn't matter because it'll be made specially for me."

Carmen laughed. "No, I'm the one that's getting the collar."

"Can we go to bed yet?" asked Rusty.

"That's quite enough. Whoever our human chooses, it doesn't mean the rest of you are any less. It simply means that one of you is the best fit for Shows." Duchess gave them a stern look. "You're not kits anymore. I don't want to see any petty rivalry between you. These are the last days you will spend living under the same roof with each other and I want you to cherish them."

"But… But Show Cats are more important though, right?" asked Maple. "We're special and our blood is pure and the humans like us best."

"Humans are very wise," said Duchess, giving her kit a lick on the head. "Show Cats are important. That doesn't mean that any other purebred is not. You are all gorgeous little cats, but there's not enough room in Shows for everyone."

"The three of you to find new homes are just as special. After all, the humans wanted you so much that they arranged for your father and I to meet, as well as all those who came before us. You are royalty, little ones. Take pride in that no matter what."

#

Carmen didn't sleep well. Worries plagued her mind of their human making the wrong choice. She tossed and turned and couldn't decide which was the most elegant position to rest in. She tidied her fur over and over. She tried to make her claws shine. She crept out of bed long after everyone was asleep to practice perfect posture.

She was important.

She practiced walking just right, trying out different styles and gaits to find the one. She stood tall. She sat cutely. Carmen washed her ears and tried to straighten her whiskers.

She was special.

Carmen stood before her mother's collection of ribbons. She examined the pictures and endeavored to clone every aspect of Duchess in the moments of her wins. She cleaned her eyes and made her amber gaze gleam as much as possible. She learned the exact way light needed to hit them to make them sparkle.

She was royalty.

She smoothed her pelt until it was too flat for her liking, then shook herself off to fluff it back up. She hissed when she saw her reflection in the mirror. Oh no, that only made it worse! She worked on fixing her mistake.

Carmen was beautiful no matter what. Nevertheless, she wanted to be chosen. She wanted to stand among the elite. She wanted to take first place every time. She longed for the thrill of the competition, and the excitement of a victory well earned. Carmen stood at the precipice of a new beginning. Her whole life was ahead of her, and she practiced all night to ensure that it was bright with camera flashes.

#

When Sophie chose Wick, donning him with a strip of black leather that shone with mimic stars, the whole world fell silent. Carmen watched her mother congratulate him with endless loving kisses. She watched Maple complain, and watched as Rusty went back to his toy.

She spent that day in a haze. The sun didn't feel so warm. The beds weren't as soft as before, and even her favorite flavor of canned food seemed to carry no taste at all. When she came to enough to speak, she gave Wick some halfhearted well wishes and found a corner to hide in.

It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. She'd wanted it more than any of her littermates, so why did the human have to do this to her? Was she truly not good enough? Why did her brother get the life she'd looked forward to for so long? Why did Carmen have to go away? Why was she destined to a boring domestic life while Wick laid claim to everything she'd ever wanted?

"It's alright, my love," Duchess told her. "You are a wonderful, wonderful little cat and I know that you will live a good life."

"Not the life I wanted."

"I know it's disappointing, but you will walk a journey all your own, and I'm sure that you'll find happiness all the same."

#

When the dreams began, Carmen was quick to dismiss them. She had more than enough to worry with and dreams never meant a thing. It was odd though, how she dreamt of the same things over and again.

There were tiny lights in the sky. There was still water all around. The moon was full, and she sat atop a smooth stone. There was always someone there, facing her from the stone's opposing edge. Carmen didn't catch the details of their form.

She watched Maple greet her new human, and they quickly earned her sister's approval. Everyone said their goodbyes and Carmen watched them carry Maple away. She wondered if she would be next.

Three days passed of the same dream. Three days passed in growing misery. Their mother was spending more and more time with Wick to prepare him for his career. Carmen felt that she was already beginning to forget her other kits.

She ignored Rusty and all his attempts to cheer her up. No, she wanted nothing to do with games. She sat for hours and looked at all the ribbons and pictures that Duchess had earned. She only did the bare minimum to maintain her looks. Even Sophie was paying her less attention.

After one particularly rough night, Carmen awoke with the inkling that this dream would not let her be. Not until she gave in and decided to indulge it. It was silly to think that dreams had any sort of purpose, but she decided she'd play along regardless. Maybe it would finally get these annoying visions to stop.

When the human took Rusty that evening, the door to their apartment didn't fully shut. She waited for someone to notice it, but both Sophie and Duchess were far too preoccupied with Wick.

That night, Carmen collapsed onto a thick bed by herself and welcomed the dream into her mind.

It was instantaneous. Carmen sat on the pale stone facing a stranger. The moon shone brilliantly in the heavens above, and stars stretched endlessly across the sky. Their platform rested in the middle of a grand lake, still as could be, and countless glittering eyes looked on from the distant line of trees.

The figure was barely visible. They were an odd-looking cat to be sure. It took Carmen a few heartbeats to recognize her as a mongrel. The silver tabby and white pelt was hard to make out, but there was no doubt about it. A mongrel. Mixed breed. A sloppy melting pot of a feline like those wandering the streets. Despite this, there was starlight in her pelt, and Carmen thought that it was lovely.

"Hello, kittypet," said the phantom, blinking her yellow eyes. "Welcome."

"What is this place?" she asked, looking around in awe. "It's beautiful."

"It certainly is." She gestured at the breathtaking scene they found themselves a part of. "This is StarClan territory, Carmen. We are at the heart of all that is left of it."

Carmen blinked, wondering where this cat learned her name.

"Many moons ago, StarClan was brighter than the sun, and stronger than any worldly army. We embody many generations of warrior cats, and for a time, the earthly Clans honored us for this."

"Not sure I understand," said Carmen, beginning to wonder if this dream was something more after all.

"There once was a collection of five Clans. Clans who followed the Warrior Code with their every breath. These were cats who lived wild and free, unbound by Twoleg rule." The phantom paused to take a long look at Carmen. She said gravely, "But they began to stray."

Whispers filled the air: "Five became four, became three, became two…"

"Until only one remained. StarClan fractured. Our light is dying out. Tell me, kittypet, do you wish to carve out a path separate from your littermates? Do you wish to gain a freedom you've never known? Do you want to see your destiny through, or will you let it slip from your paws?"

"My destiny? You mean I can be a Show Cat?" Carmen asked with a hopeful vigor rising in her voice. "I can still be a Show Cat and win competitions?"

"Follow our light, and you will have more than you ever dreamed of."

"The guiding light, the brightest star you see…"

"It will lead the way. The Path of Starlight is long and wrought with danger, but you will find at its end, a happiness that few cats will ever have."

Carmen gazed across the water at the souls blinking in and out of view. "I… I don't really understand all of this, but you're saying I can have everything I want? All I have to do is follow a star?"

"Follow the Path of Starlight, kittypet. You will be glad you did."

Carmen's jaws parted to spill forth a fresh slew of questions, but she was awake before she knew it, and her voice caught in her throat. She sat up, blinking at the rush of energy running through her veins. It was as though she'd never gone to sleep at all.

It was silly to think that dreams had any meaning. It was silly to give them any serious consideration. Silliest of all was to think that she knew better than a human. Even so, she trotted over to the nearest window. She spotted something that'd not been there before.

Stars were hardly ever visible from their cozy den overlooking the City. In fact, Carmen hadn't known the sight of them until a couple of months prior. She'd spent more hours in this window than she could count and never glimpsed a light such as this. It was strange; it was downright bizarre. But here it was.

Carmen's heart pounded in her chest so loud that she feared it would wake someone. She stared at the sparkle in the sky for a long while. When at last she dragged her gaze away, it darted swiftly toward the door. The door that hadn't fully closed today, for the first time.

Destiny indeed.

She made her way over to the door and tested it. Pushing it open was no easy task, and she had to be careful not to lock herself inside. Carmen looked back and forth between her home and the dim corridors beyond it. Her fur stood on end. She set a single paw on the cold tile outside.

"Carmen? What are you doing?" asked Wick in a frantic whisper.

She gave him a long look. "I don't know. Just tell Mom I said goodbye, okay?"

"Wha- But where are you going?"

"I don't know, okay? I don't know."

And something about that made the whole thing more exciting. Made her paws itch more. Made her legs long to run.

She pushed the door and slipped through. Wick called for her, and she watched as his bewildered face disappeared with a quiet click.