The Shattered Kingdom: A Rebellion Arises

Prologue

A Shattered Kingdom
Book 1: A Rebellion Arises
By: Anastasia Grace
Prologue
A young grey cat jerked up her head. She pricked her keen ears to the sound of an agonized screech. She ran straight to where her sister was sleeping, but the sound came from the other direction, she turned sharply and ran to her father's nest. But she didn't see her father standing in the light of the full moon, what she saw was a black wolf, blood staining his muzzle and his long fangs shining.
"D....Dark?" the young she-cat gulped.
"Oh... sweet little Saroon..." Dark sneered.
Saroon ignored his mocking tone and bolted to the window, she watched, horrified, as his limp body of her father floated over the waterfall.
A few short moments later, Saroon was sprinting full speed away from her father's chamber, but it was in vain. Dark's brother, Night stopped her. He was larger than Dark, but he talked less, and had never lost a fight... .
The two black wolves began to circle Saroon, large, strong muscles showing through their sleek pelts. Dark lashed out to attack Sarron, aiming for her throat, but that left an opening, and Saroon took it.
"Mistake!" she hissed softly as she ran through the gap. With one last triumphant glance at the brothers, she ran to find her sister, one thought in her mind,
'I must get her to safety... she's special... i don't know how, but she is....'
Once she had lost her pursuers, Saroon slowed down to glance at her surroundings. For years, her family had lived here. A huge stone den. She had been taught that strange creatures that walked on two legs had built it. They called it a 'castle'. Colorful cloths were draped all over the walls. They had pictures of strange creatures, huge cats with fur around their necks, giant winged lizards that breathed fire, and horses with horns on their foreheads. The walls were high and thick, but some walls were torn apart, or had fallen down.
Saroon shook her head to clear it.
"Focus!" she hissed to herself. For a while, Saroon walked silently. She pricked her ears for any hint of movement around her. The pitch black darkness seemed to blind her, and the silence to make her deaf. She suddenly noticed that she was shaking, hard. She shook in fear. Saroon tried to think only of her sister. Her sister had been named Dara. She was small, and was born with odd blue fur. Saroon felt that the blue fur ment her sister was special, as if she had been born to do something, something that would affect the whole kingdom, but she knew that idea was ridiculous.
Finally, Saroon reached her target location. She swiftly bounded to her sister's nest and nudged her awake. Dara woke up grudgingly and opened her jaw to protest, but before she could, Saroon shoved Dara and herself into a crack in the stone wall.
"Dara," she began, "Those...those wolves.... D...Dark... and... and Night....they.... they killed him...." she choked up with tears.
"Killed who?" Dara squeaked, a hint of fear in her voice.
"Father.... and nearly me... but I got away, and we have to leave... at least, you have to..."
Before Dara could reply, Saroon continued to speak,
"Take this, my necklace, it was from father, but.... he never should have given it to me, it really belongs to you..."
"But... Saroon...." Dara argued. "Its yours!"
Saroon only shook her head as she gave up the precious jewel to her sister. She slipped out of their hiding place, Dara right behind her, carrying the necklace in her mouth carefully.
"Dara, you need to run, as fast as you can. Don't worry about me, all that matters is that you get to safety." Saroon instructed, "But promise me one thing, if anyone.... anyone like you, ever finds you, trust them."
"I will" Dara promised, and took off running. She didn't look back.
At that moment, Dark and Night came up behind Saroon. They snarled menacingly.
"Oh, poor little kitten..." one growled evilly.
"So young.... what a shame..." the other finished.
Saroon tried to run, but her exhausted muscles screamed in pain. She couldn't run, or fight, it was over for her. She felt teeth clamp down on her tail, dragging her back. She relaxed as darkness filled her vision and a heavy paw slammed down on her chest, but as she took her last breath, she had hope. Dara had escaped.. Saroon trusted her sister could find the strength to save this shattered kingdom.