Dark Before The Dawn

Chapter 1 - New Thoughts

I don't exactly remember much of the time between when I was born and when the royal family would welcome their newest addition. I still always remember my Mom's soothing lullaby she sang to me every time she put me to bed, her and Dad playing with me, Richard seeming boring whenever he wasn't directly focused on me, me learning to walk, and then to talk, and the possibly depressed Tigermoth refusing any comfort Lynxion attempted to offer her. Even that memory of mine is very vague, because I was so young. I do remember being exited when I was told Mom was having another baby, and I didn't care whether it was a boy or a girl. I believe I was quite smart even as such a tiny kitten, as I already believed that boys and girls were equal. I remember Mom for some reason getting quite emotional whenever she was overwhelmed, and Dad telling me that it was because of what she was going through. I remember me and Dad supporting her until the big day arrived. Lynxion and Tigermoth weren't involved because she joined him on his bodyguard patrol, and both of my parents left me with Rick.

"I'll call you when it's time to meet Unikitty's new sibling.", my Dad told Richard before he walked over to the couch, where my Mom, now with a very swollen belly, lay, and was breathing very heavily. "Are you okay, my love?", he asked her in a reassuring tone. "Er....yeah. I doubt this'll be as tiring as last time. We're more prepared now.", she responded. "Are you going to be okay, mommy?", I asked as I daintily trotted over to her. "I will. I'm probably just gonna be a bit tired afterwards. I sure hope you're as excited to see the baby as I am." "Caticorn, I really think we should go now. Bye, Unikitty.", Dad intervened. Mom slowly got up from the couch, still breathing heavily. "Okay, Unikitty, be good for Rick." "Don't worry; I will! Bye, mommy and daddy!", I squealed. Mom met me with "Bye, sweetie.", followed by her and Dad walking out the doors. I did, in fact, be good for Richard, even though he was pretty boring, to be honest, whenever his focus wasn't on me. He just played with me the entire time, told me stories, and so on. He seemed really good with young children, like me.

We finally got the call after many hours. Dad told us that I had a new baby brother, and all I could feel was glee. Once me and Richard arrived at the hospital, Dad guided us to Mom's room. I was extremely excited to see my new brother. "Oh, I can't wait to see him!", I squealed at some point. Dad laughed and told me, "I figure. And you will." When we arrived, we saw Mom, who lay on a bed, cuddling this little blue unicorn-horned puppy, who was sleeping soundly. "There you are.", she said to us. I was still focused on my new brother. I quickly ran up to them. "Careful not to overwhelm him.", Mom gently stopped me. "Oh. Sorry, mommy.", I said as I backed away. "It's okay. I know you're overexcited about him." "What's his name?!", I asked with glee. "This is Puppycorn.", she finally replied. "Want to come up here with us?", she also asked me. I stood there for a minute, definitely wanting to come up there with them.

"Looks like the little pup is gonna be a lot like his father when he grows up. In fact, I know he is.", I was able to catch Dad say clearly, despite the calm tone he always spoke with. And, now that I know more about him, I would most certainly agree with his statement. Puppycorn would definitely follow in his paw prints; there's nothing that would convince us otherwise. I soon felt a new thought creep over me: "I'm his big sister now. I need to not let anything bad happen to him. I need to be there for him when he needs me, to play with him when he's happy, to comfort him when he's lonely, to protect him when he's in danger. He and I, I know we'll become very close." I knew that what I was thinking would come true. I remember climbing onto the bed with him and Mom. I was still learning to speak at the time, but I still knew how to say simple things. I turned my gaze Puppycorn, and our mother looked down at us, clearly in awe. I finally brought myself to whisper: "Hi...Puppycorn." He didn't know how to respond. I mean, he was only a few hours old, so it made sense. The most he could do is coo at me and touch my face with his paw, and, judging by his expression, it was clear that he already loved me back. I only felt this protective instinct become stronger with this.