A Forbidden Love

## Prologue

*Welcome back to StarClan*, whispered a voice from the endless blackness. Milkwhisker's eyes looked around her, but all she could see was blackness.

Suddenly, the blackness melded into a small clearing in the middle of a forest. It was more majestic than the ThunderClan clearings, yet it was just a normal clearing.

A starry cat's shape formed in the shadows. Milkwhisker craned her neck to get a better view of the starry shape, yet she needed naught. The figure got more detailed and even more, and the eyes turned from turquoise stars into beautiful sky blue eyes. The figure had a white pelt.

"Whitesky? My sister?" Milkwhisker gasped, nearly inaudible.

"I've missed you, my sister," Whitesky laughed. "I knew you were going to have a path intertwining with StarClan from the moment you became Hawkberry's apprentice, but I didn't think I would die in the battle against ShadowClan. Why, my sister, did I die from the wounds Falcontalon gave me? StarClan willed him so that I could be ever so close to you. I will walk with you forever, Milkpaw."

"Milkpaw?" Milkwhisker snorted. "Perhaps you weren't the one who

came to me when I received my full name. Oh, I remember

you were!"

"I will walk with you forever, Milk*whisker*," Whitesky said sarcastically. "Anyways, I have come to warn you. A cat will come, and will have a forbidden love, whether inside the Clan as a medicine cat, or inter-Clan, or both, there will be a forbidden love which will cause havoc in the Clans for a while."

"But White*paw*, who is this cat?" Milkwhisker asked. "White*sky*, please!"

"My elders in StarClan

have chosen not to share every bit of the info with me," Whitesky lowered her head regretfully. "But I do know that this cat will be a she-cat."

With that, Whitesky walked back into the forest, and soon the star at the tip of her tail disappeared. Then the clearing and forest started dissolving.

"Whitesky! Wait!" Milkwhisker yowled.

*I will always be with you*, whispered the voice that had come to her at the start of her visit.

*In both StarClan and the physical world. You will meet the cat!*

"Whitesky." Her lips moved, yet the syllables never came out.

*I will!*

Milkwhisker's eyes opened, but this time she saw no blackness, no Whitesky. She was back in ThunderClan.

"Milkwhisker, are you all right?" asked Creampaw, a sympathetic young she-cat.

"Yes," Milkwhisker stammered. "Yes, yes I am.".

## Chapter One

*Sixteen moons later*

"Creamfur!"

*What, ANOTHER beckoning? What am I, a kittypet?* Creamfur thought, stomping over to her mentor, Milkwhisker. When Creamfur had seen her brother-from-another-litter Kinktail killed in battle, she had given up her apprenticeship under Swiftferret and become a medicine cat like Milkwhisker. *No, I'm a medicine cat! I may still only be a medicine cat APPRENTICE, 'cause my mentor isn't dead yet, but I'm a medicine cat, not some petty kittypet to be ordered around!* "Yes, Oh Great One?" Creamfur replied to Milkwhisker sarcastically. "What do you need from your worn-out deputy here?"

"Haha!" Milkwhisker chuckled. "Okay, get serious, Creamfur. The path of a medicine cat isn't one for you to laugh about. One wrong herb, one ignorance, one mistake may cause a death."

"Fine," Creamfur sighed.

"Creamfur, I'm running low on tansy because of the sever greencough Dreamwillow had in leaf-bare," Milkwhisker said, rummaging in the hollows. "Oh, and can you get some willow leaves in case Firekit vomits again?"

Creamfur left the medicine cat den and entered the warriors den.

"Hey, Snowpelt, do you want to come with me to gather herbs?" Creamfur asked.

"But Creamfur, that's an apprentice task!" Snowpelt wailed.

"Snowpelt, I was Creampaw the medicine cat apprentice when you were born," Creamfur snapped. "I was once a warrior, but I didn't finish my warrior training. Snowpelt, you've been a warrior for *one moon*. And besides, I can't fight *and* defeat a badger or a fox. Snowpelt, do *you* want Milkwhisker to get a new apprentice when I'm dead?"

"In that case, I'm totally ready!" Snowpelt exclaimed, jumping to her paws.

"Then let's head out," Creamfur headed out of the camp entrance. "We need tansy and willow leaves. Tansy is round and we'll be going to Twolegplace where it is most common, and willow trees are also near Twolegplace. Willow leaves are pointy on both ends, in a similar shape to Twoleg whaddayacallems? Oh yeah, hammocks, but only in one color, green."

"Gotcha," Snowpelt laughed.