PROLOGUE
"Are you sure about this, Hollowstar?"
Hollowstar glanced at her deputy, her gold-hazel eyes shining in the moonlight.
"I think she has learnt her lesson. She's not a bad cat, Mapleseed. You can't blame her for what she did," she replied softly.
"I know but..."
"Mapleseed, her father was murdered by one of our clan. We owe her this," Hollowstar interupted.
Mapleseed sighed, "Alright. I'm just not sure how the rest of SwampClan will react."
"It will be fine. They all hate-" Hollowstar paused, "-him, anyway." she finished.
"That's exactly what I mean," Mapleseed responded nervously.
They stared at eachother for a moment.
"Go ahead," purred Hollowstar.
The honey-coloured deputy shuffled her paws and stared at the ground. Hollowstar nodded reassuringly.
"Just, Fawntail... sort of... did what the unspoken one did," Mapleseed said, avoiding eye contact with her leader.
"I understand. You have every right to be worried, I am too," the brown cat remarked calmly.
Finally Mapleseed found the courage to look her leader in the eyes.
"Then why are you letting her join SwampClan?"
This was the first time Mapleseed had questioned her leader since she became deputy. Hollowstar narrowed her eyes.
"I already told you. We owe this to her. Besides, we lost a lot of kits and apprentices. We need a strong fighter like Fawntail," Hollowstar answered, with a hint of anger in her voice.
Mapleseed dipped her head, and slowly padded away to the warriors den, leaving Hollowstar staring into the starry sky above.