Warriors | A Prophecy Reborn: Book 1. (The Legacy)

~The Legacy: Chapter 20~ (FLASHBACK)

Snow blinked and woke up to three other kittens around her. There was a pair of gray tabbies, who looked like toms, and, next to her, a small dark gray-blue she-kit.
"Wake up, Rose!" Snow giggled, jumping on her sister. "Moonie, Silver and mother are still asleep, which means we have time to play!"
Rose looked uncertain, her yellow eyes staring at Snow. "We should stay inside," she said, nodding wisely. She padded away off the bed, stretching, then walking to a bowl filled with food.
"Suit yourself then," Snow shrugged.
Rose looked back at her sister. She wanted to explore so badly!
But she didn't want to take the risk with that new dog at the house next to theirs.
No, she decided. I am staying here, and Snow will not move me!
Snow smirked, trotting away and hopping around the cat bed.
"Moonie! Silver! Wake up!"
Moonie grumbled angrily, staying in his spot.
Silver got up, yawning, walking off the cat bed. The young tom looked at his sisters. "What is it?"
"Do you want to play?" Snow asked him. "Mother didn't move everything away last night, and I still know where that piece of string is!"
Silver nodded, smiling, and ran off, following Snow.
Moonie glanced over his shoulder at Rose. "They're very noisy," he remarked, getting up and stretching. "Nosy, too."
"Are you going to play as well?" Rose said to her older brother, who shook his head.
"No," he laughed. "But I might go for a stroll outside. If Mother wakes up, let her know where I went and that I'm just out in the garden."
Rose nodded, going to clean her paw.
Her family was often very odd, but she would miss them if anything happened to them.
Rose's mother, Lily, opened one eye, looking at the small gray-blue she-kit. Her fur was identical to Lily's, but her eyes were that of her father's.
Lily had not seen the large gray tom for a time, and he had not been there during her kitting. Therefore, the kits had never known who their father was.
She knew that they would one day question it.
If they did, she would answer, and say, "He lives far away now. A place we can never follow."
This was not true, she knew. She just hoped that Rose, Snow, Moonie and Silver would stay safe.
They would never know their lost father and their lost littermate.
They would never know their disappearance.
They would never question anything Lily would say to them, and she would make sure of that.
Even if she had to lose a few kits to do so.

Moons later, as the she-cats had grown, their brothers were given to different housefolk.
Snow and Rose had stayed together ever since their brothers were taken away. Rose was still partly traumatized by Silver, his voice still echoing in her mind as he was shoved into the cat cage.
"No! Please!" he had cried. "Don't take me away! I want to stay! We have to stay!"
Silver had scratched at the cage, while Moonie had been placed in a separate one. Moonie had always been generally grumpy over many things, and this seemed of no change to him.
Moonie had looked sadly at Snow and Rose, knowing he was leaving for a long while. "We will meet again some day," their brother had said confidently before his new owners left the house.
Silver's cries could still be heard outside as their new owners drove off in their great metal beast.
Snow and Rose's mother padded sorrowfully over to the two sisters. "I did not want them to go," said Lily. "But our owners will not listen. They think two extra cats is too much, I assume."
Rose glared at her mother resentfully.
"You will see each other again, I promise," Lily said. "But today is not that day. Nor will it be tomorrow. Some time, in the future, you will be together again."
Lily walked off sadly to the cat bed while Rose sat by Snow, weeping.

A few short days after their brothers departed, Rose and Snow had stayed inside. They were older now, and knew it was probably more foolish to cry over their brothers rather than attempt to go after them and risk a gruesome death.
And Rose knew Lily would be heartbroken if she lost two of her kits.
Finally, Snow got up. "Let's go outside, Rose," she said softly. Rose got up, her eyes staring blankly ahead as she followed her sister.
The two sisters left through the door and sat in the sunny garden.
The birds chirped loudly in the trees, occasionally causing some leaves to fall. This season was warm. Only another few moons and everything would begin to get colder, and leaves would fall from the trees, staying all sorts of orange and brown.
"I miss them, too," Snow said sadly. "But we'll see them again. Don't worry."
Rose found this to be very unlikely. Silver, being his usually protective self, would probably try and find a way back and possibly die in the process.
Rose's mind had grown darker since their brothers had left, and had grown more and more resentful of Lily and her ridiculous excuses as to why Moonie and Silver had to leave.
Then, suddenly, she heard a noise. "Snow!" she said, making her sister jump. The white she-cat looked at Rose suspiciously.
"What?" Snow asked her, standing up.
"I hear something," Rose said, standing up, sniffing the air. "It's over there!"
Rose ran to the fence and jumped up, looking down upon the land.
"Rose, get down!" Snow demanded. "If Lily catches you, we'll be in trouble!"
Rose ignored her sister and gazed around. This was the first time she had seen anything beyond the fence. It was breath taking.
Then she saw a black flash running quickly along the fenceline.
Rose instinctively jumped down and ran after it.
"Rose!" she heard her sister call, but she ignored it. She ran quickly after the shadow.
They came to a halt at a large tree which had fallen during a storm. Rose panted and growled at the shadow cat. "Who are you and why are you near my home?" she growled.
The black cat turned around angrily. "I was hunting!" he hissed. "You scared away the vole I was going to catch!"
"Stay away from my home!" Rose grumbled.
"You ran all the way out here just to tell me that?" the black cat snorted. "Kittypets," he huffed.
"I don't know what that is, but you better leave, or else you can deal with me!"
"Be as menacing as you want, kittypet," the black cat spat scornfully. "You're weaker than a newborn kit, no matter how strong you think you are."
"Rose!" Snow said from behind. She looked at the black cat. "Who is this?"
"Nobody for you to worry about," the black cat hissed.
Snow looked slightly hurt. "Come back, Rose," she said, backing away.
Rose looked at her sister. "Snow, this cat intruded on our land! Why can't we do something about it?"
The black cat looked surprised. Then all three of them heard a harsh voice call from further away.
"Stonepaw!" the voice yelled. Stonepaw stared at Rose for a moment, and then darted off back the way he had come.
"Let's go now," Snow said, walking back home.
Rose gazed after the black cat.
She followed her sister, both of them speeding up.

Thankfully, throughout the entire time they had lived in the house, their owners had never taken them to the vet. Rose and Snow were never sick, and their owners didn't find it fit to relieve a cat of having more offspring.
Rose had briefly seen the black cat named Stonepaw a few times before today.
They had been meeting at night, when they knew everyone would most likely be asleep. She knew Snow probably suspected this, but Lily had no clue. Rose wanted to keep it that way.
That night, Rose snuck out again to meet Stonepaw. They always met just outside the fence.
Rose jumped up and over, landing lightly on her feet. She looked around the corner, where Stonepaw was sitting.
"What's happening in ThunderClan?" Rose asked after Stonepaw had shared his day.
"Nothing," he replied. "Well, nothing bad."
Rose's eyes widened as he spoke.
"One of our queens have kitted new possible warriors!" he exclaimed proudly before remembering they were supposed to be quiet. "Their names are Tigerkit, Creamkit and Pinekit," he whispered.
"That's great!" Rose said. "I wonder what it's like to live in a Clan," she muttered.
"It's really fun, actually," Stonepaw said. "We take care of our queens and elders, and we go on patrols for our leader so we can bring back food for our Clan."
Rose sighed reminiscently. "I wish I could join ThunderClan," she said.
"Maybe you can?" Stonepaw said slowly. "You could come back with me!"
"I really want to," Rose began, "but Snow would miss me."
"Snow can come, too," he offered.
"She wouldn't like it," Rose answered. "And one of us has to stay here if the other goes. Our owners would be devastated, and so would our mother."
Stonepaw's tail drooped. "I understand," he said. "I'll see if I can convince our leader, Leafstar, to let you in. And if he decides you can, you'll get your own Clan name, unless you want to keep your current one."
Rose thought about this, and she wouldn't deny a name-change. She liked her name, but it would be easier to pretend Rose was dead, to leave that identity behind, and gain a new one. That would make it harder for Lily to find her if she wanted to hide for good.
"How long have you been an apprentice?" Rose asked randomly, deciding it would be better to change the subject. She would deal with her name when the time came.
"Not long," Stonepaw replied. "When I first met you, I had only just become an apprentice."
"If I were to join a Clan, how long would I be an apprentice?"
"I think it depends on experience and blood," Stonepaw thought. "I did make a friend in RiverClan, though. She was really nice. She's a new apprentice, too. You two might get along!"
"How long do cats usually stay as apprentices?" Rose prodded.
"We usually stay as apprentices for six moons. When a kit turns six moons old, they can become an apprentice. After six moons of being an apprentice, you become a warrior, which is when you get your warrior name," he explained.
"What is your warrior name going to be?" she asked.
At this, Stonepaw shrugged. "The leader chooses our warrior names, so I don't know what mine might be."
The two young cats looked at the sky. Dawn was not far away.
"I should get back!" Stonepaw gasped. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Goodbye!" Rose called as she jumped up and over the fence.
As she landed, she was greeted to an angry Snow.
"You're leaving?" the white she-cat said, her ears flattened, tears forming in her eyes.
Rose didn't want to answer, but it would've made it worse if she didn't.
"I can't live with Lily any more, Snow," Rose said. "Not after she got rid of Moonie and Silver."
"She doesn't control our owners!" Snow sighed, a tear falling from her left eye.
"You can come with me, Snow!" Rose insisted. "We'd be able to live without Lily watching us, without the fear of being given away!"
"We would be giving ourselves away, though!" Snow yelled. Her teeth were bared now, and she looked like she wanted to shred the ground with her claws. "We would be risking our lives just to be away from Lily, and at what cost?!"
"I would rather live in a Clan than worry about being given off to other Twolegs!" Rose yelled back. "Lily doesn't want to keep us safe, she wants us to stay obedient to her!"
"Don't leave us," Snow sobbed. "Please stay."
Rose looked at her sister in regret. She knew it was a bad idea to leave Snow with Lily, but Rose couldn't handle more of Lily's excuses. And she didn't want to be the next one to go.
"I'm sorry, Snow," Rose said. "But tomorrow, I'm leaving with Stonepaw. You can try to stop me, but I can't stay here any longer."
Rose walked past Snow, her head down.
Snow's eyes were closed as she bent her head down, shaking and sobbing in her spot.

At last, Rose's final day came, and she decided she would tell Lily.
"I'm going to leave," Rose announced to her mother.
Lily looked bewildered, angered and amazed all at once. "Where will you be going?" she asked Rose.
"ThunderClan."
Lily closed her eyes in understanding. "You are going to your father's Clan."
Rose didn't believe this, and refused to think about it. Their father was dead.
"You may think me foolish for leaving, but I would rather take my chances with the wild cats rather than with you," Rose said.
Lily did not respond, though her eyes were focused on her kit.
"I wish you luck," Lily said after moments of silence. "And Snow," she said, turning to the white she-cat.
"I'm staying," Snow said sadly, looking sideways at Rose.
Lily nodded, and later that night, Rose said goodbye to Snow and Lily, leaving with Stonepaw, who was waiting behind the fence.
Snow watched sadly as Rose padded away quietly with the black cat.
She would see her sister again some day...