The Prince of Aurelia Leon

Ummmm, I'm new here, so I would really appreciate your opinions and wouldn't mind the criticisms when you've read the chapters I've written so far. :)

By: Candyrose

~ Prologue
A large forest with dense undergrowth and all the small details like prey, herbs, streams, a river, and other materials; belonged to a single cat, a royal queen to be exact. This particular royal-blooded she-cat ruled a kingdom called Aurelia Leon, or Golden Lion. Her paw was on the throne since her father died of sickness and her mother disappeared when she was a young cat. Aurelia Leon isn't the only kingdom around, there are two others: Piceus Tigri, Black Tiger, and Aqua Leopardus, Water Leopard. The three kingdoms have ruled near each other for as long as the first cats have divided into three different empires. Aurelia Leon dominated the forest land and everything in it, Piceus Tigri reigned the dark and shadowy pine forests with a mystical cave at its center, and Aqua Leopardus ruled over the wide marshy area with the mirror-like lake with streams that flowed at every direction.

Piceus Tigri has been archenemies with Aurelia Leon since the founders waged war between their growing kingdoms. Queen Falona despised King Stefano for his dark, vile, and cunning ways, she sees him as a suspicious and wicked cat. Not trusting him one bit, Queen Falona commanded to her guards that they patrol their whole forest for signs of Stefano's tomcats that stir up trouble for everyone. Her general, Gordon, reported that some of Stefano's tomcats were seen lurking around the abandon bear den where the burials of her deceased subjects lay. The dark golden she-cat called for her most trusted and skilled guards and her loyal advisor, Mantella, to accompany her to have a little visit to the Piceus Tigri kingdom.

After half a day's trip, they finally reached the edge of Stefano's kingdom. Queen Falona signaled for her guards to form a line in front of her and point their tails straight up to signify that they come in peace and mean no harm. Four of King Stefano's tomcats appeared from the shadows of the pine trees with their tails half raised, meaning that they were going to attack if they did any funny things. Queen Falona's guards did the same and snarled for good measure; Mantella padded toward Stefano's advisor, Snivel, and they exchanged brief words. Once they were given permission, the Golden Lion guards made a circular barrier around Queen Falona as they advanced to the mystical cave in the heart of Piceus Tigri.

Everyone that knew about the cave and its past called it the Cave of Enchantment, they called it that because anyone who first comes there, sees or senses the thing they most desire and walk into it in a trance-like state. If you kept on going, the cave swerves down and leads you to an underground grotto until you fall over a cliff to your death with jagged, thorn-sharp stalagmites piercing your body.

Queen Falona hissed in irritation as one of Stefano's clawers snagged her tail and pulled her slightly back, before her guards could attack the elderly clawer, she mrrowed for them to stop. The queen looked at the clawer and saw that his life was flickering off in his eyes and before his heart stopped beating, he whispered into the queen's ear and grinned when he took his last breath. Queen Falona could barely hear the old clawer's words, but  she knew what it was: a prophecy. If she was in her kingdom and if the old tomcat was one of her loyal clawers, she would have arranged a special ceremony burial for him, but alas he wasn't. Calling one of Stefano's tomcats over, she indicated the corpse of the clawer and saw disgust in Stefano's subject as he dragged the body to be buried. Mantella urged Queen Falona to keep on going until they reached King Stefano's sleeping quarters.

He was laying down on his belly watching Queen Falona with fake curiousity in his amber eyes from his nest on a wide ledge jutting out of the side of the enlarging cave. There were feathers strewn about in piles and young she-cats were bringing in mouthfuls of it. Queen Falona hissed angrily at King Stefano and told him about his tomcats trespassing on Aurelia Leon land. She threatened to allow her guards to kill any Piceus Tigri cats they see trespassing and feed their corpses to rabid bears, then she shall lead the rabid bears onto Piceus Tigri to destroy his subjects. King Stefano stared at Falona and burst into a fit of laughing, Stefano kept on laughing until tears streamed down his face and he had to close his eyes and take deep breaths. He smirked at her and padded up towards her face.

"You call that a threat?" King Stefano scoffed and sniffed daintily at her. "Ahh! No wonder you don't have that so called 'golden fire' in your threat! You're carrying my dear brother's kits, tell me, how is Reginald?"

Falona swiped at Stefano, who dodged it easily, and her fur stood on end. She unsheathed her paws to rake it across his sneering face, but Stefano's tomcats hissed a warning and she gained posture again.

"He died in that petty war you brew up last moon ago, remember Stefano? Now our kits will never get to meet their father...thanks to you!" The mother-to-be said through gritted teeth. "And you have no right to address him in an affectionate way after all the horrendous things you've done to him to make him lose his position as king of this kingdom and flee. Luckily, we feel in love and he was able to reign as my king for several seasons until that war destroyed him!"

Stefano showed fake shame and apologized to Falona in a mocking way, it seemed that he intended to make the queen burst and attack him in his own kingdom, whereas his tomcats had the right to attack her and possibly kill too.

Queen Falona snarled at Stefano and he could see the so called 'golden light' flaming in her green eyes. Mantella murmured words to Snivel and they left the Cave of Enchantment. By orders, Stefano's tomcats trailed the Aurelia Leon patrol until they were out of their kingdom.

It was the middle of the night when Queen Falona finally reached her kingdom and slept soundly in her den with her loyal guards on watch. The words of the old Piceus Tigri clawer swirled in her mind even in her sleep. ''The darkness shall prevail, if the kit of gold and shadow does not follow its destined trail. That half-blood kit must not be raised in its kingdom, to show its worth; The helpers of darkness will seek and destroy, even if it takes to perish one's joy.''

~ Chapter 1 - The Clawer's Words
It was an early spring morning when the guards and servants heard Queen Falona's pained shriek ripple through the kingdom and echo. They thought she was being murdered gruesomely until they saw the spasms contracting across her large belly. Mantella, her royal advisor called for an experienced queen to help deliver the kits. The news of Queen Falona birthing her kits spread through the kingdom like wild fire on a dry green-leaf day; the hunters were informed to catch prey for a feast to celebrate the new princes or princesses of Aurelia Leon; the guards were on high alert for the rivaling kingdoms' skilled assassins who might have been ordered to kill the next king or queen-to-bes.

Falona's best friend handed her a stick for her to clamp on, after brief moments, a bundle of mewling fur arrived. Falona was focused on birthing her other kits, so Mantella took the honor of licking the newborn dry. Juniper -which was Falona's best friend's name- licked the second kit's fur dry and it gulped air into its tiny, gaping mouth. The experienced queen bowed gracefully to the new mother and left her den.

"They're so beautiful, a tomcat and a she-cat! They are a blessing from Caelis Regnum." Falona murmured and swept her kits closer with her tail. "The light brown tomcat will be Prince Reggio and the pale golden she-cat shall be Princess Sunny."

Mantella agreed happily and purred that the kits were finally born. The exhausted queen dismissed everyone and closed her eyes, she was tired and almost fell asleep when two yellow eyes appeared in the shadow of her den. The queen's heartbeat went faster and when she saw who it was, it slowed down. It was just one of her clawers, Tansy!

Before Queen Falona could speak, Tansy growled at her in a raspy voice, "You must take that one away from here! He is in grave danger and his siblings are too. The darkness will prevail, if the kit of gold and shadow does not follow its destined trail..." Tansy narrowed her eyes at the surprised she-cat and slipped silently out of her den.

Falona felt spasms again, but she could not cry out in pain. It was as if someone had taken away her scream and wanted the third kit to be a secret. A smaller bundle of fur slide out from under her tail and Falona licked it dry. The smallest kit of its litter squirmed around and found Falona's belly where it peacefully drank milk next to its siblings.

"You're a tomcat like your brother Reggio! Hmmm, you will hereby hold the name, Prince Solomon! After the first Solomon, who had the same colors as your pelt." Falona meowed and nudged Solomon closer, his pelt was gold mingling with black. Like the sun and the night mixed together!

A sudden heavy feeling weighed down Falona's heart as she recalled the prophecy the Piceus Tigri clawer told her a moon ago, which seemed like a season. She looked at Solomon's gold and black fur and dread engulfed her like drowning in the river, he was the kit in the prophecy and it looks like Solomon will have a new family.

"Willow!" Falona called and a lithe, black she-cat came in.

"Yes, your majesty?" Willow bowed and asked in submission. "Do you need anything?"

Falona wiped a tear from her eye with her paw and nudged Solomon. "Take Solomon to one of those clans you encountered on your journey last season. I fear that a clawer's words are starting to come true and Solomon must not die soon for our kingdom will need him."

Willow gasped seeing that there were three kits instead of two! She nodded solemnly at the brokenhearted queen and let Falona nuzzle Solomon, her scent wrapping him up like his own fur and licked him affectionately between his little ears. She sniffled quietly as Willow held Solomon in her mouth by the scruff and was about to leave until Falona stopped her.

"Wait! Willow, make sure no one detects you leaving with Solomon at all. Not even our own kingdom can know for the well being of my son, take him to a clan where he will be taken care of, please." Falona nuzzled her son more time and nodded for Willow to depart. "Thank you for doing this, Willow. May the Kingdom in the Sky bless your journey."

The black she-cat waved a good bye with her tail and stealthily skirted around the guards. She was a skilled and great assassin, but thankfully she never had to actually kill anyone, just give them a 'warning'. Queen Falona was not a fiend out for power and the death of others, she was a cat with a heart of gold and a spirit as bright as the sun! Willow felt her heart thumping in her chest as she carried the little gold and black kit, who was helping her by staying quiet. ''Poor Solomon, you have to leave your family just because a clawer's words are coming true. Why must we have sorrowful prophecies?'' The black she-cat thought and blinked away a tear.

"Hey, Liam, I heard someone's footsteps over there!" A tomcat's voice said and Willow shrank back against the shadows and hid under a hazel bush.

"What?! I don't hear anything. Are you trying to trick me, Storme?" Another tomcat, whose voice was deeper than the first, said and Willow could hear them walking away in an argument.

Her heart was now beating as fast as a hummingbird's wing, she slunk past a dead oak tree which meant she was near the edge of Aurelia Leon land. The quickest way to get to the clans was to cut through Aqua Leopardus territory and keep on going until she reached the moorlands. Solomon squeaked as Willow nearly tumbled over a stone on the shore's of the Mirror Lake, she was already in Aqua Leopardus land and she didn't even notice!

"Wow, no wonder Queen Falona called for me! I am a pretty fast runner." Willow mumbled to herself and spotted  Aqua Leopardus guards patrolling in the distance.

Before they could see her, she scampered like a kit and hid behind a boulder. Solomon squirmed in her mouth and his paws batted around, his tiny claws scratched her nose and a drop of blood splattered on the ground. Willow scraped dirt on the drop of blood, King Rexel -the ruler of Aqua Leopardus- had guards that might smell the scent and suspect Aurelia Leon spies sent by Queen Falona. Her muscles tensed when she heard a cat approach on the other side of the boulder and she prayed for them not to find her and Solomon. ''Please don't find me! Please don't find me!''

"Brackle, was there a scuffle here on the shore?" A voice croaked and the cat's footsteps was getting closer to Willow.

"Why're you asking?" Someone replied, who was probably Brackle.

"I just smell a faint trace of blood thats all. Probably I'm smelling the blood of trout the hunters caught a couple sunrises." Willow's ears twitched as the two Aqua Leopardus guards walked away from the boulder, when she knew that they were gone, she dashed for the edge of Aqua Leopardus land.

Leaving marshy terrain, it turned into a small forest and then moorlands! As Willow climbed over a bluff, she saw a pool and deep paw prints near it, she heard three voices and hid behind a shrub thick enough to hide her black pelt.

"Where is Lilyfall? She's going to miss our meeting if she doesn't come soon!" A dark gray tomcat said and twitched his tail-tip.

The cat next to him gave him an icy glare and hissed, "Shut up, Stormblaze. Lilyfall will get here, she probably has an emergency in ThunderClan."

Willow saw the tomcat named Stormblaze unsheathed his claws, she closed her eyes waiting to hear the pain shrieking out of the cat next to him, but there was only utter silence. She opened her eyes and saw why the three cats were silent, a bedraggled light brown she-cat came limping towards the group and fell on her belly.

"Sorry...I'm late, Stormblaze, Appleleaf, and Cloudwhisker. There was a badger attack in ThunderClan and the badger attacked me first when I was collecting marigold." She croaked. "Let's go visit StarClan shall we?"

The three cats nodded and all of them drank or placed their noses on the cool water of the pool. Several moments passed and the four cats were asleep and twitching in their dreams. Willow ran around them and followed a stream, on one side was more moorlands and on the other, a dense forest. The black she-cat decided to go to the forest and cautiously walked through the trees and undergrowth. Her paw almost stepped on a twig and Solomon batted at her nose again, she saw a thorn barrier and a white she-cat sitting on guard. How do I get that she-cat away? Willow thought and a plan formed in her head.

She firmly held Solomon in her jaws and started to climb the trees. Willow lifted herself up on a branch and climbed higher, she saw the branch of a neighboring tree and leaped on to it. When she was certain she was perched on an oak tree several bear-lengths away from the thorn barrier, she jumped up and down on the branch and heard the white she-cat leaving her post. Seizing her chance, Willow quickly leaped gracefully away from the oak tree and ran for the thorn barrier.

"Goodbye, Prince Solomon!" Willow whispered and disappeared into the shadows as the white she-cat returned.

"A kit?! What is a kit doing here?" The white she-kit asked and grabbed Solomon by the scruff. Willow watched him being taken inside -surely a clan's camp- and made her way back to Aurelia Leon. Prince Solomon has found his new family amongst the Clan cats.

~ Chapter 2 - A Bloodlusted Cat
Three kits snuggled closer to the warm belly of a ginger she-cat in a cool, and shady hazel bush. It was almost dawn and the queen and her kits were soundly sleeping in their feather-lined nest. The two other queens near her -a silver she-cat and a calico- twitched in their sleep, their kits all shifted and yawned as a ray of sunshine poked through the tiny gaps of the  hazel bush. The ginger she-cat opened an eye lazily and nudged the silver she-cat near her.

"Runningmist, can you watch my kits while I take a quick trip to the dirtplace?"

Runningmist opened her eyes slowly and nodded, she yawned loudly and her own kits started to stir. "Don't worry about your kits, Emberheart. Just go to the dirtplace! I'm here to watch them."

Emberheart padded out of the nursery and went to the dirtplace. Once she was finished, she picked a plump mouse and returned to her kits. They were still sleeping in their nest, so she started to eat her mouse. A thick ray of sunshine hit one of her kits and Emberheart saw how his pelt glowed and shined. But under the ray of sunshine, you could obviously see the black fur standing out of the gold. Why couldn't you been full gold? She thought and discarded the remains of her mouse in the dirtplace.

"Wake up, Honeykit! Wake up!" Emberheart recognized one of her kits' voice and hurried into the nursery. A dark gray and ginger kit was batting his sibling's ear and nipped her flank.

"Hey! You bit me, Ashkit!" Honeykit shrieked and slashed out angrily at her brother, who snickered and dodged her paw. "I'm going to get you furball!"

Honeykit leaped at Ashkit and landed on his back, Ashkit hissed angrily as Honeykit nipped the back of his ears. He dashed out of the nursery and scampered around the clearing of he camp. The little light ginger kit ran after her brother and both of them pretended to fight with their paws unsheathed. Ashkit got Honeykit pinned down and pretended to slash her soft, exposed belly. Emberheart grinned at her two kits and remembered about her third one. She always forgot about him when her other kits were already awake while he was still sleeping.

"Goldenkit! Wake up now, sweetie, your siblings are already up and you're still sleeping!" She exclaimed and nuzzled him. "Warriors have to get up early so they can be in patrols and not stay in camp all day."

Goldenkit yawned, his ears laying flat against his head and his mouth open wide. He stretched his body and flexed his tiny claws, Emberheart ushered him out of the nursery to join his brother and sister. She gave Goldenkit a quick groom with her rough, pink tongue, and he purred.

They suddenly heard a wail and blood was running down Ashkit's leg, Emberheart and Runningmist gasped when they saw Honeykit with blood on her paws. She was shaking and her eyes were wide, she stared at her brother's blood as if she hasn't realized what she just did. Ashkit continued to wail in pain and the clan's leader came out of his den to see what the commotion is.

"What in StarClan is going on?" Foxstar, a reddish-brown tomcat, asked with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. He lashed his tail waiting for an answer and he saw Ashkit's bleeding leg and Honeykit's bloodstained paws.

"Lilyfall! Lilyfall, come out!" The clan leader poked his head into the medicine cat's den and Lilyfall came out.

Her fur was untidy and messy, and sleep was still in her eyes. She heaved a big yawn and gently held Ashkit by the scruff and brought him into her den. Emberheart went to her daughter and demanded to know what happened, there was anger flaming in her eyes and Honeykit shrank in fear. A dark gray tomcat burst out of the warriors' den and stepped protectively in front of Honeykit.

"Emberheart! Stop shouting at Honeykit, you're frightening her!" The dark gray tomcat hissed, his fur was standing on end. "Honeykit is still young, so no need to shout."

"She hurt Ashkit and I want to know exactly what happened, Stonefrost! I'm her mother and if she deliberately hurt Ashkit, she deserves to get scolded!" Emberheart curled her lip into a snarl and turned to Honeykit. "Honeykit! Tell me what happened and how Ashkit got hurt!"

Honeykit stared at the blood on her paws and her voice quivered as she explained. Ashkit was taunting at her for being terrible at aiming blows at him. She got annoyed and sprang on him, they rolled around play-fighting until she had a strange yearning to hurt Ashkit. Honeykit stopped for a moment and Ashkit continued to make endless fun of her. What seemed like a blink of an eye, Honeykit had her claws scraped against his leg and felt anger steaming out of her ears as blood soaked her paws.

"Am I in big trouble?" Honeykit mewed shamefully and looked at her parents.

Emberheart avoided her daughter's gaze and stalked off, she didn't say a single word to her and carried Goldenkit by the scruff. Goldenkit asked what happened to his mother, but she didn't reply and brought him into the elders' den. Stonefrost glared at his mate and got Honeykit by the scruff and entered the medicine cat's den, he nodded toward the pool of water coming from the wall of the den.

"Wash the blood off, Honeykit, then go apologize to your brother." Stonefrost said.

Honeykit dipped her paws in the cool water and got the blood off, but the scent of it still lingered. Lilyfall, who finished dressing Ashkit's wound with cobwebs, saw Honeykit's problem.

"Rub your paws on this mint sprig, so the scent of blood won't attract foxes to you." Lilyfall gave her some mint and Honeykit rubbed it around on her paws. "Ummm, Stonefrost, may I speak with you- alone."

Stonefrost nudged his two kits out and turned to Lilyfall, he could feel what was coming. He couldn't explain it, but a wave of worry, dread, and nausea overwhelmed him. He twitched his tail and flicked his ears nervously, Lilyfall took a deep breath and touched the tomcat's shoulder with her paw.

"It's about what StarClan told me- and I fear Honeykit is whom they spoke of." The medicine cat murmured.

Three moons earlier, when Goldenkit was found by Harespring, Lilyfall was at the Moonpool with her fellow medicine cats for their annual meetings. Delayed by a badger attack, Lilyfall limped to the Moonpool and the four medicine cats entered StarClan's territory in their dreams. A young, brown tabby she-cat met up with Lilyfall at an oak tree and gave her a "warm" greeting.

"Hello Lilyfall, how is ThunderClan doing in your paws?" The brown tabby asked coldly. "Did they get destroyed by those badgers you led to camp?"

Lilyfall snarled at the StarClan warrior and hissed, "As if you didn't see that, Kestreltail! I didn't mean to lead those fox-dung badgers to camp, they followed me! It's like they got smarter now."

Kestreltail tutted, shaking her head. "Excuses! Excuses! That's the only thing you tell me." Kestreltail leaped from the branch she was perching and squarely landed near Lilyfall. "No matter, we have more important things to discuss. The badgers are gone and you're here to hear what you need to hear."

Kestreltail led the ThunderClan medicine cat through a meandering path through the forest. Sun blazed down on the canopy of leaves above, the canopy provided the she-cats shade from the hot, green-leaf sun. Birds chirped to each other among the highest branches, squirrels leaping from tree to tree with cheeks stuffed with nuts. Small rodents scurried away as they heard the thump, thump of the two feline's paws on the leafmold floor. Lilyfall saw faint, transparent cats aimlessly walking around through the forest with no exact destination. ''They're almost forgotten from everyone's memories. I wonder if that'll happen to me too."

Lost in thought, Lilyfall bumped into Kestreltail's rear end and a hiss of annoyance emitted out of the former ThunderClan medicine cat's mouth, "Watch where you're going, furball!"

Kestreltail was unusually mean and edgy, Lilyfall observed, as they passed by RiverClan cats who offered to share some fresh salmon and Kestreltail told them off with offensive words. The light brown she-cat wondered if Kestreltail was thinking about something that really spooked her and was going to consult it to Lilyfall. They past by a stream and went through a small ravine, Lilyfall saw ThunderClan cats perched on ledges jutting out of the side of the rock face. Many cats meowed friendly greetings to them, a couple completely ignored them, and some crazy-looking elderly cats gave them the evil eye. Lilyfall shuddered as she felt the elderly cats' stare bore into her fur and felt as if they were looking at her soul. Kestreltail felt Lilyfall's anxiousness and meowed reassuringly, "Don't mind those mouse-brains, they're a superstitious bunch. We're almost there."

Sounds of crashing water met Lilyfall's ears and the scent of moisture clung to the air, she suddenly felt calmed by the rhythmic sound of water crashing. She felt at peace and wanted to take a nice, perfect nap in a patch of warm sunlight, but Kestreltail snapped her out of her daydream.

"Come on Lilyfall, follow me and the others and I will talk to you about something." The StarClan warrior sprinted across the rocky shore of the river flowing from the waterfall and she just ran through it, disappearing from sight.

Lilyfall took a deep breath and followed, she squinted her eyes as the waterfall beat down on her as she went through and discovered there was a cave behind it! She cautiously walked into the cave and realized it was bright instead of dark as a typical cave should have been. The faint scent of smoke made her fur rise and as she walked deeper into the cave, the smell got stronger.

"You're faster than that! Hurry up, Lilyfall!" A gentle, familiar voice called and Lilyfall ran to the cat. It was her beloved kin, Speckledust!

Lilyfall was distractedly happy to see Speckledust that she didn't notice a fire burning in front of her, embers flew up as the fire crackled and flamed. The smoke drifted up to an opening in the ceiling of the cave, so the cats gathered around it weren't suffocated. A tabby tomcat sitting behind Lilyfall nipped her tail-tip.

"Wake up, she-cat!" He nipped her again and Lilyfall mrrowed in pain. "Stop starin' at Speckledust and prick your ears. There is something very important and  you need to hear it, so you'll save ThunderClan."

Lilyfall glared at the tomcat and nodded her head meekly, she layed down on her belly, her paws tucked under her chest. Kestreltail looked nervously at the three cats -Speckledust, Beestripe, and Cinderpaws- and turned to Lilyfall.

"We have seen fragments of a cruel, bloodlusted cat in your clan. He or she is hungry for power and blood soaked into his or her paws, and that hunger is growing every sunrise until it becomes irresistible," Kestreltail explained, nervousness was visible in her pale blue eyes and the shape of a cat formed in the flames of the fire. "And we've glimpse the fate of ThunderClan if that cat succeeds on becoming leader. There will bloodshed for all the clans and death will be like a plague."

Kestreltail didn't continue, so Speckledust took her place. "We saw this cat standing on the branches of the Sky Tree, looking satisfied at the massacre scene presented below it. The cat was faceless and blurry to us, and the only clue we have is that it's pelt was light ginger."

The words 'light ginger' hit Lilyfall's ear so suddenly that she keeled over in shock and surprise. She uttered some words, but the others couldn't hear her.

"There is only one cat that has light ginger fur," She whispered, her voice trembling. "It's Honeykit."

~ Chapter 3 - Prince Reggio and Princess Sunny
Birds flew off the branch they were perching on as two  young kits scampered out of their den, and began to tussle around a small clearing lined with the softest moss. The bigger kit, a light brown tom was pinning down his sister, forcing her to try and escape his paws. The smaller she-cat raked her sheathed paws across her brother's belly, but he just laughed at her effort.

"Ugh, just get off of me, Reggio." The she-cat huffed and wriggled out of his paws. "I'm hungry and thirsty."

Reggio shook out his pelt and nodded, "Yeah, me too, Sunny. I'll call, Blackie. Blackie!" Instantly, a pale black tomcat arrived in front of the two kits and bowed.

"Yes, young Majesties, is there anything you need?" He asked submissively and lowered his eyes.

Reggio got annoyed when the servants didn't look him in the eye and act too submissive, as if they couldn't live on with him, his sister, and mother. "Blackie, stop avoiding eye contact when you speak to me. You know how much I hate that."

Sunny cleared her throat and meowed, "We're both hungry and thirsty, will you please give us fresh-kill? I would like a shrew stuffed with raspberries and Reggio would like-?"

"A thrush would fine and water too, no berry juice today." Reggio waved his tail and Blackie left to get the young prince and princess' food.

The two watched the servant leave and Sunny sneak attacked her brother when he was looking the other way. They both laughed at each other and ran around the clearing, their paws flattening the soft green moss. A shadow fell on them and they looked up to see a cat's silhouette on the branch of a tree. They saw two green eyes appear and yelped as the cat leaped in front of them.

"Mom! You're back!" Sunny cried as she recognized her mother's dark golden pelt. "What did you do in the Roaring Lion Council? Did the elders vote to exile, behead, or allow someone to live in Aurelia Leon? Is someone getting exiled for evil doing? What happened?"

Queen Falona purred at her two kits and brought them closer with her tail, she tickled them with the tip of her tail and they giggled and squirmed. "You're still too young to know and it's none of your business yet. Enjoy being a kit before you have responsibilities placed on your shoulders, it isn't much fun when you're a ruler of a great kingdom." Their mother had a distant look in her eyes, as if she was revisiting a memory.

Blackie arrived back with a young she-cat at his side, he presented a shrew and thrush at Reggio and Sunny, and the young she-cat gave them bowl-shaped rocks filled with water. Sunny looked wide-eyed at how the she-cat balanced the water bowls on her head and how she gracefully placed it on the ground- not a drop spilled.

"Wow! How do you do that?" Sunny asked, her amber eyes were impressed at the she-cat's skill and balance.

The young she-cat did an awkward bow and replied shyly, "Practice. Practice makes perfect, Your Highness."

Sunny nodded and the young she-cat left with Blackie, Reggio began to eat his thrush. His sharp teeth tearing the flesh and crunching the bird's bones, he sighed contentedly and burped as he finished. Sunny glared at him and bit into her shrew, a dribble of raspberry juice dripped down the side of her mouth and she wiped it with a paw. The siblings lapped up their water and Queen Falona began to groom them thoroughly with her tongue. Reggio made faces as his mother smoothed at his messy fur and untangled the knots, he dashed away from his mother's tongue the moment she stopped. Sunny layed down on her belly as Falona started on her, a couple moments later, she was clean and well-groomed!

The sun began to set and four Aurelia Leon guards appeared and sat down near the entrance of Queen Falona and her kits' den. They bowed at Queen Falona as she entered their den with her kits following and meowed a good night to the guards. Night quickly engulfed the forest and Aurelia Leon land was silent except for the occasional whispers of warm breezes, and rustling of swaying tree branches; All the cats except for the guards on duty were fast asleep, enjoying the wonderful dreams that conjure up in their minds or nightmares that reflect horrible experiences or tragedies.

About half a day's travel away, another ruler of a neighboring kingdom listened intently to one of his clawers rasping words in a trance-like state, what this clawer was telling interested him. He yowled for someone and a battle-scarred, muscular black tabby tomcat came trudging in.

"Yes, My Lord?" The tomcat asked in a submissive voice. "Is there any service I may perform for you?"

King Stefano bounded down from his perch in the cave and stood in front of the black tabby, pride and power gleaming in his dark, cruel eyes. He smiled malevolently and the black tabby did the same, he know what his mission was.

"There is a cat, or rather a kit right now, that must be...erased. He or she may foil my plans as Gunthor just told me," King Stefano narrowed his eyes into slits and rested his gaze on the tomcat. "And I suspect Queen Falona must have sent off her offspring to the clans for safety, Tulio. I want you to track down a kit with 'gold' and 'shadow' on its pelt. Understand?"

Tulio smacked his lips, imagining the taste of Aurelia Leon blood in his mouth when he kills the targeted kit. He couldn't wait to feel the crunch of bones and hear the scream of agony when he gives the bite. But there was one problem, where are the clans?

As if he read Tulio's mind, King Stefano tossed him a dried, sheet of birch tree bark and Tulio realized it was a map to the clans. He reached out a paw slowly and was about to grab it when an usual, strong gust of wind blew into the cave and made the map fly out, forever gone in the wind.

King Stefano cursed under his breath and muttered something in Ancient Cat, a laungage that everyone used to speak in the beginning of the kingdoms. Tulio didn't know Ancient Cat well, but he caught some words, "Cursed...Ancestors...Wind...Protect...Gold Kit."

Tulio slightly coughed and King Stefano turned his menacing glare to him. He felt himself waver under his master's unblinking eyes and silently sighed in relief as King Stefano looked away.

"Gunthor can't draw the map anymore, the picture has  simply 'vanished' from his memory." An aura of anger and irritation lingered on Stefano. "So, you're on your own Tulio. You and your helpers must find the clans with your wits, I can't help you, unless Gunthor remembers."

Tulio shifted nervously and quietly said, "Why can't we ask the other kingdoms? They had expeditions and they know where the clans are. We should-"

"No! We will not ask the other kingdoms!" King Stefano hissed. "They will wonder why we want to know and suspect something. How will I conquer Aurelia Leon and Aqua Leopardus if they are aware of my plans?!"

"But-" Tulio started.

"NO! I said no and you must oblige to my order!" Stefano yowled. "I don't care if it takes a couple more moons! Just find the pest and squash it with your paw!"

The black tabby shrank back and reluctantly nodded, he left the cave and told his fellow comrades about the mission and they all began their own expedition to find the clans- and hopefully the half-blooded prince or princess.

~ Chapter 4 - Nearly An Apprentice
Battle cries echoed in the ThunderClan camp, a pack of vicious rogues were attacking! Emberheart quickly brought her kits in the elders' den with Fernsong and Runningmist's. They stood in front of the entrance of the big, elder bush ready to defend. Goldenkit peered through the furry limbs of his mother, Fernsong, and Runningmist to see the battle raging in the clearing, he saw Foxstar thrashing with a white tomcat, the leader of the rogues perhaps. He felt a tingle of excitement course through his body, he realized he was going to be an apprentice soon!

The two elders, Marigold and Hawkthorn, peacefully slept, ignoring the battle or they were oblivious to it, being almost completely blind and deaf. Ashkit, Goldenkit's brother, discovered a little gap in the den big enough for a kit to squeeze through and adventure shined in his eyes. The dark gray and ginger tomcat motioned for Goldenkit to follow and wriggled through the hole. Before Goldenkit went through, he felt a strange aura in the den, it felt as of someone was hungry for...for death or blood. He looked around the den, seeing the two elders napping, Runnigmist's three kits and Fernsong's son distracted by the fight, and Honeykit; she was sitting in the corner alone and bored, ever since she injured her brother Ashkit, Emberheart had been distant and ignored her. Her heart had hardened and almost became like stone, but only a small part still remained the same: loving, caring, and kind.

Goldenkit was about to call to his sister when a voice boomed in his head, "No! Stop, do not call her! You and your brother will be in grave danger if she comes! STOP!" Obeying the voice, Goldenkit hurriedly went through the gap and found Ashkit with a face of annoyance.

"What took you so long, Goldenkit?" He asked.

"Uhhh, Marigold almost caught me and I had to make a dumb excuse, then she fell asleep again." Goldenkit stammered and gained composure. "So, what are we going to do now?"

Ashkit thought for a moment and the familiar shine twinkled in his eyes, "We help by fighting the rogues!"

"What?! We'll get killed! Are you mouse-brained, Ashkit? Do you want to die?!" Goldenkit hissed and started to back out, but Ashkit blocked him.

"If we help them fight the rogues, we might be made into apprentices sooner!" Goldenkit looked at his brother's eyes and sighed, giving in.

They saw a small black she-cat and both of them sprang at her in a blink of an eye, she yowled in surprise and landed on her belly with a thud. Ashkit bit her ears and Goldenkit scraped his paws against her back, her black fur being ripped off, revealing pinkish skin. She shook them off and pinned the brothers down with her paws, they were nearly the same size as her, but she had greater strength and experience.

"Foolish kits! Do you want to die?!" She screeched, her breath stank of disgusting crowfood.

Ashkit poked her dark eyes with his claws and she fell over and writhed in pain, howling, "My eye! My eye!" Goldenkit gave his brother a nod and they both grinned, but their victory lasted only a few moments. The black she-cat crept up behind Ashkit after she recovered and she grabbed him by the scruff and flung him against a tree. The little kit was motionless and blood pooled around his head, the impact nearly killed him.

"See? Your brother is dead and that's what you get for messing with a rogue!" The black she-cat cackled and smirked at the gold and black kit. "Pity, I have to kill you now!"

She lunged at him with her jaws aiming for his neck, but Goldenkit felt a strange, warm feeling on his paw and saw that on his pad was a sun-shaped mark! He suddenly had new strength flowing through him and stood up on his hind legs and swiped at the rogue she-cat at the last moment. She cried in pain and blood dripped from her crooked jaw as she staggered onto her legs from Goldenkit's strong hit. The ThunderClan warriors and rogues paused from their fight and saw Ashkit unconscious near a tree and Goldenkit with blood on his paws! They saw the black she-cat Goldenkit fought and terror flooded her eyes when her gaze came upon him.

"Frost, we must leave! This clan has a creature from another world among them!" The black she-cat yowled at the white tomcat Foxstar was fighting against. "That kit is a fiend from the Dark World! He has done this to me!" She frantically pointed at her crooked jaw and quickly ran away from Goldenkit.

Everyone gasped and Foxstar took his chance, he knocked over the white tomcat and bit partially into his throat, deep enough for a minor injury. The white tomcat hissed angrily at the ThunderClan leader and roared, "Retreat!" to his followers. All the rogues fled from the camp and sneaked fearful glances at Goldenkit, who was nudging his unconscious brother. Lilyfall, Emberheart, and Stonefrost rushed to Ashkit and swarmed around him.

"Oh my kit, my kit! Is he dying Lilyfall, is he?!" Emberheart sobbed and tears streamed down her face. "StarClan, please don't let Ashkit die so soon."

Stonefrost nuzzled his mate and murmured gently, "StarClan will not take our son away, they will let him live. I can feel it in my heart."

Lilyfall carefully carried Ashkit to the medicine cat's den and began to place chewed herbs on his head wound, she skillfully dressed it with strong, thick cobwebs to help stop the bleeding. Emberheart layed next to her son and wrapped him close with her tail, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Outside of the medicine cat's den, Stonefrost gave Goldenkit a stern look and gently nipped him.

"Goldenkit, why did you and Ashkit decide to go fight rogues? You should know better," He said and sighed. "What puzzles me is how you gave that rogue she-cat a crooked jaw! You'd have to be a very strong cat to be able to, but you're still a kit!"

Goldenkit stared at the mark on his paw pad and the warm feeling began to fade away, he looked into his father's eyes and he returned his gaze. The dark gray warrior padded away from his son to help rebuild the thorn barrier and Goldenkit saw Foxstar stalked towards him.

"Goldenkit, I should be giving you a punishment for interfering with a battle, but for the brave thing you did, I would let it slide." Foxstar meowed and his dark blue eyes had a glimmer of proudness and slight fear in them. "If another kit was in your situation, I know he'd be cowering in a corner instead of fighting back like you. Courage and bravery is what every warrior needs in battle."

Goldenkit smiled at the leader's praise and instinctively bowed, "Ummm, Foxstar, can I be an apprentice yet?"

Foxstar stared at Goldenkit for a moment and walked away, his words thrown over his shoulder, "Not yet, Goldenkit, not yet."

The gold and black kit was crestfallen and he perked up as Runningmist's daughter, Cloverkit, came dashing towards him from the elders' den.

"Hey Goldenkit, I saw how you fought that rogue and I'm so impressed! I can't believe you gave her a crooked jaw!" She exclaimed and saw Goldenkit's face. "Don't worry, Goldenkit, I don't think you're a fiend." She paused and nuzzled his face. "I think you're going to be a great ThunderClan warrior!"

~ Chapter 5 - New Royal Advisors
Queen Falona sat on top of the Great Boulder looking down on her subjects, she proudly held her head and nodded to her royal advisor, Mantella, to bring her two kits. Prince Reggio and Princess Sunny padded up to their mother and stood next to her on the large, wide boulder. The boulder had colorful minerals and crystals etched all over the worn down surface that generations of kings, queens, princes, and princesses have stepped on. The light was caught by the minerals and crystals and radiated calming, soft light on everyone surrounding it.

"My subjects! It is the day of my son and daughter's royal ceremony where they will meet their royal advisors!" Queen Falona yowled, her voice sounding sweet and soothing as honey rolling down your throat. "My children, your royal advisors are also your ambassadors when the day you have your paw on the throne. But for now, they are your loyal companions and you have plenty of time to bond and give your trust to them."

The dark golden she-cat acknowledged a sleek white tomcat being trailed by two young cats, a tomcat and she-cat. He bowed to Queen Falona and indicated the two young cats behind him with a sweep of a tail.

"Your Highness, this is Devon and Violet, since they were six moons of age they have been training as advisors and ambassadors." Sir Albus the white tomcat said, he was the head cat of training youngsters to know the ways of royal advisors to serve for the queen or king-to-be's. "Being loyal companions is no problem for them, so there was no training for that." He smiled and nudged the two cats. "Go on, remember your manners."

The two cats got up suddenly and bowed gracefully to Queen Falona and her kits, you could tell by their perfect balance that they have practiced bowing before.

"Good morning, Your Majesties," Violet, a silver tabby she-cat with warm brown eyes meowed.

"Good morning," Devon echoed and smiled a crooked, friendly smile. "You're looking beautiful today, Your Highness."

Queen Falona nodded politely and beckoned the two young cats to come on top of the Great Boulder. She told them to sit and place their paw on hers, and they did so.

"Devon, son of General Gordon and Lady Karly, do you, by the blessing of Caelis Regnum, promise to serve, guide, and protect Prince Reggio and risk your life for his in times of danger for as long as eternity?" Queen Falona asked and a flash of flame glinted in her dark green eyes.

"I do, Your Highness. I promise to risk my life for his in anytime of danger." Devon replied solemnly and Queen Falona licked his paw, he touched noses with her and then Prince Reggio.

Taking his paw off of Queen Falona's, she turned to Violet and repeated the ancient words spoken by kings and queens that ruled before to her also. Violet accepted and bowed, she grinned at Princess Sunny, whom she'll be with until her last breath.

"Briar, take your hunters and go hunt some pheasants!" Queen Falona ordered and added with a wide smile. "We have a feast to prepare!"

Aurelia Leon had three villages in its land: The Mane of the Lion, The Lioness Eyes, and The Roar of the Pride. All the cats that lived there traveled to the heart of Aurelia Leon, to attend the feast celebrating the young majesties' royal advisor ceremony. Many cats that had tabby stripes, splotches, spotted, or solid pelts came streaming in a river of fur and warm, breathing bodies. They were traveling to a gorge with a crystal-clear stream right through it and trees with leaves turning into different shades of yellow, red, and brown. The Aurelia Leon guards were patrolling everywhere and had a keen eye out for suspicious characters, especially a Piceus Tigri spy or assassin. Queen Falona always was wary with the Piceus Tigri kingdom, but never Aqua Leopardus because King Rex was a frail, aging tomcat and their two kingdoms had a truce sealed by the previous rulers' blood.

The Hunters had mouthfuls of prey like mice, crows, pheasants, wood pigeon, and many more. The citizens of the three villages eagerly picked the fresh-kill they wanted and sat everywhere to eat their meal.

Suddenly, a cry echoed through the gorge and Queen Falona and her two kits appeared and the whole kingdom cheered for the two kits. They cheered and mrrowed joyfully, throwing rose petals, sage, soft feathers, and daisies at the royal family.

Perched upon Queen Falona's head was a golden crown, etched on its surface where details of how Aurelia Leon was founded and the first five rulers' names: King Leon, Queen Lelana, Queen Iris, King Winston, and King Solomon. Right smack on the middle was the royal family seal, a sun. Queen Falona smiled proudly, authority and kindness radiated around her like a thick fog. Mantella, Devon, and Violet trailed behind them and a flurry of sage, feathers, and flowers rained down on them. Around each of the three royal advisors necks were a necklace with bones painted goldish-yellow, red, and green, and right at the center was their symbol of a royal advisor. The skull bone of the first advisor's prey, a hawk.

"Queen Falona!" An Aurelia Leon guard called. "This clawer has brought something from King Stefano for you."

Queen Falona tensed and all the cats of Aurelia Leon seemed to be holding their breaths, wondering what gift King Stefano has sent for their beloved queen.

"Clawer of Piceus Tigri, give me...this gift." Queen Falona commanded and her dark green eyes were flaming with distrust.

The clawer was a young, gray tomcat and he dropped something wrapped in fern leaves by Falona's feet, and bowed. Queen Falona sliced the ferns in half with her claws and gasped as a foul smell met her nose.

"What is this?! A joke from King Stefano?!" Queen Falona screeched and kicked a rotten, dead rat for everyone to see. "That lowlife, has he no respect for other felines?!"

Mantella hurriedly ordered the guard to discard the rat and nudged Queen Falona. "Your Highness, I think it's time to go back home. Let's not visit King Stefano."

"No, we will pay a visit to Stefano." Queen Falona snarled, her body tense and thorn-sharp claws unsheathed, glinting in the dying sunlight.

~ Chapter 6 - The Poisonous Honey
Goldenpaw hissed in frustration as brambles snagged his pelt and tufts of gold and black fur were stuck to it. He was made an apprentice about a quarter moon ago with his brother, Ashpaw, and sister, Honeypaw. The young apprentice was thrilled to finally be an apprentice and his mentor, Dapplesky, couldn't suppress her amusement of her apprentice's eagerness.

"Goldenpaw, slow down, the Mossy Clearing isn't going anywhere!" Dapplesky chided gently and her tail disappeared in a bush of ferns.

Goldenpaw muttered under his breath and followed Dapplesky, his paw steps brisk and purposeful. He wanted to go to the Mossy Clearing and train battle moves with Ashpaw or Thrushpaw right away. The young cat paused and lifted up his front paw, right on his pawpad was a mark distinctively shaped like a sun. Ever since the rogues attacked and he fought the small black she-cat, Goldenpaw kept on glancing back at his paw, wondering how it gave him strength that time and if it meant anything.

"Goldenpaw! Goldenpaw, you're as slow as a snail! Hurry up!" Dapplesky called and he ran towards her voice.

Goldenpaw shook off a stray leaf that was clinging to his fur and saw Thrushpaw with his mentor, Suncloud, grinning at him devilishly. Suncloud whispered something to Thrushpaw and he quickly leapt towards Goldenpaw. Before he could react, Thrushpaw knocked over Goldenpaw and swiped at his face. The gold and black apprentice wriggled from his clanmate's grip and unbalanced him with a blow of his hind leg. Thrushpaw angrily hissed at him and bowled him over, they threw up dust and dirt as they fought and when it cleared, Goldenpaw was victoriously pinning down Thrushpaw.

"Not bad, Goldenpaw. But you should have reacted faster and Thrushpaw, expect to be tripped." Suncloud said and Goldenpaw cringed at his smile, it really disturbed him.

Dapplesky nodded her agreement and beckoned Goldenpaw with a flick of her tail. "Let's go to the Sky Oak and practice your climbing skills."

"But-..." Goldenpaw began and abruptly shut his mouth, it was no use arguing with his mentor because she'll just make him go anyway.

They padded over to the ancient, tall oak tree looming over them and its leaves were turning different shades of red, brown, and yellow. As Dapplesky turned away to investigate a suspicious noise, a fazing wind blew through the trees and one leaf from the Sky Oak broke off from the highest branch and gracefully floated down to Goldenpaw. The leaf was goldish-yellow with smudges of black and Goldenpaw gasped at the familiar sun mark on it. It flew around him in a curvy spiral as another breeze blew the leaf and it drifted away quickly as if it never showed itself to Goldenpaw.

"There are foxes near the WindClan border! Goldenpaw, go tell the clan!" Dapplesky's voice suddenly shouted, making Goldenpaw jump and he heard the barks of aggressive foxes. He glanced at his mentor and she raced off without even seeing if Goldenpaw was already running.

He hurriedly ran in the direction of the camp and burst through the thorn barrier. The warriors that were sleeping, sharing tongues, or eating were suddenly up on their feet. Goldenpaw told them that Dapplesky needed help and that there were foxes near the WindClan border. Foxstar quickly rounded up two patrols and they raced off to aid Dapplesky.

"Berrythorn, go the other way and we'll close in on the foxes!" Foxstar shouted and Goldenpaw saw something flicker across his face, only briefly.

''I wonder if Foxstar has some history with foxes," Goldenpaw thought as he followed Foxstar and his patrol.

Foxstar's reddish-brown pelt was a blur as he ran ahead of his patrol and slowed to a walk, his body tensed as they saw four male foxes and one of them obviously was the leader for he was the biggest and fiercest one.

"Fox-starr! Fox-starr! Fox-starr!" It growled softly for anyone else to hear as it spotted the ThunderClan leader, it bared its teeth and lunged at him.

The fox and the cat were a blur of red fur and glinting claws and teeth, as the other warriors dealt with the other three foxes, Goldenpaw leaped between the battle of the lead fox and Foxstar. He felt his own fur being ripped off and snapped at the fox's leg, Foxstar nodded at the ThunderClan apprentice and they both charged at the same time. The leader fox was overwhelmed and Foxstar tore its throat open, its lifeblood pooling around its twitching body.

Goldenpaw thought the whole forest was holding its breath as Foxstar looked into the dying fox's eyes, the light in it fading away until it was gone. Foxstar dipped his head and glared at the three other foxes, he barked furiously like a fox and they all ran away, their bushy tail tightly tucked between their legs.

"Foxstar...you speak fox?!" Goldenpaw asked, surprised at his leader's special ability.

"Why do you think my name is Foxstar?" He answered with a question and winked at Goldenpaw.

"Because of the color of your pelt," Goldenpaw thought as they all returned to camp.

"Wha...What have I done?!" Honeypaw whispered, she flexed her claws and felt the dampness of blood on her paws and fur. "I've killed again! I killed an innocent cat!"

Goldenpaw turned to the voice of his sister as he took a stroll through the forest and saw her crouched over a cat, bloodstained and shaking. He could hear her whispering regretfully over and over, but bloodlust was bright in her dark green eyes. She dragged the cat near the stream dividing the ThunderClan and WindClan border, and pushed the lifeless body in. Honeypaw quickly wadded in it and washed the stain and scent of blood on her light ginger fur.

"No one will know," She said firmly to herself as she watched the body being carried down to the lake by the current, the bloodlustness glint in her eyes disappeared and was replaced by regret and anger.

"I am a monster," She cried and ran back to the camp, oblivious to her brother, who was the eyewitness of her crime.