Claws flashed and fangs glowed in the early moonlight. Two groups stood opposite each other, their pelts bristled and eyes slitted. On one side stood a noble, trustworthy group, and on the other side stood their attackers; viscous, lawless cats that would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. SkyClan faced the Alley Cats.

   A tom stood at the front of each group. The one on the Clan's side was a long-legged, lithe black cat with bright green eyes. Ravenstar. On the other side was a sandy-colored tom whose pelt was covered in scars and dry blood. King Snake.

   "Get off our land, mange pelts!" Ravenstar hissed at the other group's leader.

   "It won't be your land for much longer," the sandy tom sneered back. "I'll give you a choice. You and your Clan could fight, and be completely wiped out, or you could leave and maybe we'd let you go without a fight."

   The she-cat standing directly behind and beside Ravenstar glanced at him. His face was hardened and his expression unreadable. How can you consider this? The tortoiseshell molly thought, urging him to make the right decision. We won't be run out of our home by a group of fox-hearted rubbish-munchers!

   The black tom suddenly opened his jaws to speak again, but King Snake cut him off. "Or perhaps there could be a third option."

   The she-cat shivered as his gaze rested on her. "I propose a trade."

   "A trade?" Ravenstar's ear tip twitched in confusion. "What's the catch."

   "No catch," the king replied, his voice now long and drawn out to sound innocent. "We give you rights to this territory for as long as I am king if—" he broke off suddenly with an evil smirk. "We can have that pretty lady."

   The she-cat's eyes widened as she realized he was talking about her. She gazed desperately at her mate. Ravenstar, you can't... you can't...

   The black tom turned his gaze to her and blinked sadly into her eyes. He looked so torn. "Flowerspots, would you consider?" He dropped his voice to a whisper and meowed, "I'm not sure we can win this battle."

   The tortoiseshell she-cat gulped. She realized her legs were trembling and tried to stop her voice from doing the same. "H-how long would I have to stay?"

   King Snake's eyes glittered with greed. "Forever. But we'd treat you very kindly, just like we'd treat a lost princess coming home for the first time."

   Flowerspots looked back to her mate and nodded. "I-I'll go. Just please don't forget about me."

   Her mate leaned down to brush his muzzle with hers. "Never."

『••✎••』

"Cats of the Alley, gather to hear me speak!"

Flowerspots glanced around wildly as cats began to stream out of makeshift dens around her. Their eyes flashed with curiosity as they surrounded her, and a few of the toms smirked and looked her up and down.

She looked back up at King Snake as he spoke again. "We have made an agreement with the Clans," he began. "We will not attack them while you are under my reign. This agreement was reached by a trade. Meet my new mate, Flower."

Mate? Flowerspot's eyes widened. Suddenly an indignant yowl sounded from the crowd. "Snake? Did you just dismiss me?"

"I did," the tom replied nonchalantly, drawing a paw over his ear.

The molly who spoke was shoving her way to the front of the crowd. Her eyes were wide with shock. "B-but we have kits still in the mothers' den! Y-you can't—"

"I can," King Snake growled. "And if you're going to keep talking back to me, I'll take the kits to the dogs and you can watch them die."

The she-cat's eyes widened and she gulped. She dipped her head, her chest shuddering as she cried. "Y-yes, King Snake. I'm sorry for interrupting."

Snake grunted before leaping down from his perch. He padded over to Flowerspots so that he was only a whisker away from her muzzle. "I rename you Flower, and you will be my mate. Do you accept?"

She gulped. "I-I do."

『••✎••』

"Hello, dear."

Flower looked up from grooming her pelt and glared into the beady black eyes of her mate. "Yes, King Snake?"

The sandy-furred tom leaned forward and sniffed her flank. "Well? Are you expecting yet? It's been a whole season."

"I-I don't think so," she stammered. Oh StarClan, I hope not. "But I've never had kits before so I'm not sure."

"Then let's go see the mothers," he meowed, nudging her up sharply. She winced, but padded after him obediently. "They should be able to check."

As they entered, a black molly lifted her head. Her eyes shone with exhaustion, and she let out a feeble cough. "K-King Snake, Queen Flower," she croaked, dipping her head. "What can I do for you?"

"I want you to check if Flower is expecting," he growled, shoving his mate forward. Flower stumbled, but managed to stay upright. She dipped her head to the mother and smiled a sad smile.

The black she-cat smiled back and sniffed at Flower's pelt. "Lay down," she instructed, and the tortoiseshell obeyed. The mother placed two paws firmly on her belly, then place her ear to her flank. She sat back, her eyes bright. "Congratulations! You've got moon-old kits in there, Queen Flower!"

Flower's heart sank down to her paws, but the king looked ecstatic. "Wonderful! My fourth litter. Hopefully they'll be better behaved than Poppy's."

She nodded, then turned back to the sick black she-cat. "Thank you, Night," she meowed softly, then followed her mate out of the den.

『••✎••』

"Three healthy kits, King Snake."

The guard stepped back, his eyes devoid of emotion. Flower was exhausted, and it took a lot of effort to raise her head to look at her children. There were two large toms, one sand colored with tortoiseshell patches and the other a pale brown tabby. The third kit was a small she-kit, her pelt a pretty ginger color with tabby stripes and black patches.

"This one will be Briar," the king meowed, pointing to the tom that looked like a clone of himself. "And the other tom will be Cobra. The she-kit can be Dapple."

Flower nodded, her heart twisted with grief. I'm sorry, Ravenstar. These kits should have been yours.

"Well?"

She blinked, realizing that her mate was staring at her. "S-sorry. Yes, they're lovely names for lovely kits."

"Yes." His eyes narrowed. "Let's hope they don't misbehave."

『••✎••』

"No!" Flower cried. Several moons had past, and Briar, Cobra, and Dapple were fully-grown cats. King Snake was murdered by his eldest son, Fox, and the ginger tom was an even more tyrannical leader than his father had been. Worst of all, he had declared war on SkyClan.

Now Flower watched as her sons dropped dead at the claws of her former Clanmates. She collapsed on the ground, sobbing. Suddenly, a shadow fell over her. She stiffened, but isn't try to stand. "Go on, kill me," she croaked. "There's no reason I should want to live anyways."

"Flowerspots?"

The tortoiseshell's eyes flashed with shock. She whipped around and felt her heart melt.
"R-ravenstar?"

   The black tom's eyes suddenly brightened, and he tackled her in the grass. They rolled over in the grass, giggling like kits. "You're ok! I was so worried!" He paused, eying her cautiously. "You are alright, aren't you?"

   "Yes!" She purred. "I'm fine. King Snake is dead. I can finally return home!"