Chapter One.

The moon was shining brightly over the forest. A cool autumn chill bit the air and ruffled the fur of the patrol of cats that crossed the moors on their way to the island. It was a small group, and unusually so. But Bramblestar had decided to leave more cats behind at the camp, just in case the rogues came back. A few moons ago, the ThunderClan camp had been attacked by a group of rogues. No cat knew who they were, and what they wanted. Either way, their attack had resulted in several deaths- Sandstorm and Bumblestripe were no longer with them. It was strange, and unnerving, and Firestar lost his last life soon after the attack. Most cats thought that the loss of Sandstorm had caused the legendary leader to give up on life. It was a tumultuous time for ThunderClan, and the cats going to the Gathering were filled with suspicion, grief, and even fear.

But Dovewings's thoughts were not on the troubles of the Clan. As she crossed the fallen tree that led to the island, her thoughts were on how to tell Tigerheart...

What will he say? She thought. Will he be surprised? Happy? But what if he's not? What if he-

"Hello, Dovewing, are you home?"

The fluffy grey shecat blinked, and saw Jayfeather standing in front of her with a smug expression on his face.

"Oh, hi, Jayfeather, I didn't see you there," she mewed, a little uneasy at the expression on the medicine cat's face. Had he been reading her thoughts?

"Hmm, 'course you didn't." he mewed back, leaning towards her. "Looking for someone?" he whispered.

Dovewing felt her fur grow hot in spite of herself. Jayfeather was the only cat who knew that she and Tigerheart met every half and quarter moon, and he never missed a chance to tease her. When he had found out, at first Dovewing feared that he would tell. But then, she found out by listening to some cat's conversations that Cinderheart's kits were not Lionblaze's-they were Jayfeather's. So now they both kept each other's secret, and they both knew that if they told the other's secret, their secret would be out in a millisecond. The peace was held by mutual destruction.

"No, and would you just leave me alone? You know what I know about you..."

Jayfeather sighed, closing his blind eyes in mock exasperation. "I miss the days when you were this honest apprentice who would rather die than go against the rules. You would never have thought of blackmailing me. Well, go on, then. But you won't be able to find him; ShadowClan hasn't arrived yet. I think."

And with that he stalked away, towards the other medicine cats. Dovewing breathed out in relief. What if someone had heard them? Then everything would be a complete disaster...

"Dovewing!"

Dovewing turned around and saw, to her horror, a dark tabby leaping off of the log and hurdling towards her. His amber eyes were bright with happiness, but Dovewing's leaf-green ones were dark with fear.

Oh no...

She turned around, and tried to walk into the flood of cats as if no one had ever called her name, and no one was running at her as if their life depended on it...maybe he would take the hint and pretend as if he made a mistake and was actually looking for someone else...but no, he had to come running up to her.

"Dovewing!" Tigerheart murmured, nudging her ear affectionately. Dovewing cringed, not wanting to flinch away and look at him as if he were insane but at the same time wanting to. She looked around. Had anyone seen...?No, but wait...Mouse whisker was looking at her with the most shocked and saddened expression on his face. His dark green eyes were wide, and he nodded once, and walked away, his tail and ears drooping sadly. She had thought that they were just friends, but she guessed that she was a little more than that to Mousewhisker. Poor cat, she wished she had been able to tell him, or at least hint that she was already with someone else...he looked so crushed!

"Tigerheart!" she hissed, wheeling around to face him. "Have you gone mad? We're at the gathering!"

"So?" he whispered back, and grinned at Dovewing's horrified expression. "Look, it'll all make sense during the gathering. Now I've got to get up to the high-tree-"

"What in StarClan for?"

He looked around, as if to make sure that they were out of hearing range of everyone else (which they weren't).

"A little after the last gathering, Rowenclaw was found dead by the twoleg's nest on our territory. We think that the kittypets who lived there killed him, but anyway, I've been made the new deputy! Isn't it awesome!"

Dovewing stared open mouthed at him, feeling a wave of pride wash over her.

"Tigerheart, this is great!" she squeaked.

He nodded, seeming pleased by her reaction. "Yes, isn't it? Now, during the gathering, you need to keep calm. There might be some...trouble, but you'll be safe. Just head over to the high-tree and I'll find you."

Before she had a chance to ask what this 'trouble' was, he dashed away. Her stomach clenched with unease. This was getting...strange. She looked around, and saw Ivypool chatting with some RiverClanners. She started to go and join her sister, but the gathering began.

"Nothing much as occurred in WindClan," yowled Onestar from his branch on the tree. He was so high up that Dovewing had to crane her neck to see him. "The prey is running well, and our Clan is healthy. That is all."

It was unlike Onestar to leave out a veiled threat in his message, but it was nice to have a change. Dovewing could see Tigerheart at the base of the tree. She could hear him saying something to Ashfoot, but she couldn't quite make most of it out...

"RiverClan is doing well this leaf-fall," Mistystar said. "One of our queens, Petalfur, has given birth to three kits, Streamkit, Poolkit, and Ripplekit."

The cats in the clearing murmured their congratulations, and Dovewing was filled with a bittersweet feeling. It was wonderful that her friend's kits had finally been born, but the memory of Rippleclaw was still fresh in her mind, bringing back sad memories. She wondered what the kits looked like. Then, her eyes widened as she remembered. She had forgotten to tell Tigerheart her news!

Maybe there'll be some time after it's over, she thought to herself as she looked back up at Mistystar. The blue grey shecat was about to speak again.

"But, our patrols have found a nest of foxes on our territory. We were able to chase them out, but I'm afraid they escaped into ShadowClan territory." she looked apologetically at Blackstar, who lurked in the shadows of the trees. His gold eyes blinked in acceptance.

Bramblestar stood forwards, and mewed, "ThunderClan is doing fine, despite the recent losses that we have suffered. Our claws are still sharp, and our fangs are still ready. We have two new warriors, Cherryfrost and Molestep."

Everyone in the clearing chanted the new warrior's names,

"Cherryfrost! Molestep!" cheered Dovewing, glancing over at the two cats in question and grinning at them. Molestep ducked his brown and cream head, embarrassed, but Cherryfrost grinned back and nodded her thanks.

After the cheering has died down, Bramblestar started to speak again. "We have also detected some cat-scents along the ShadowClan side of our borders, near the old twoleg place. We haven't been able to recognize them, but we know that one of them is definitely a ShadowClan cat. Blackstar, if you continue to let one of your warriors trespass, we will have to take action."

Dovewing visibly cringed. She knew who those cats were...

Blackstar stood forwards, and rasped, "None of our warriors have been trespassing and you know it, Bramblestar. We will-" he broke off in a fit of coughing. Dovewing saw Jayfeather wince, as if he knew what might be ailing the ShadowClan leader. "We will fight you to the death if any of you set paw in our territory, as you have threatened." he stepped out of the shadows, and Dovewing gasped. He looked so...frail. Almost all of his ribs were visible, and his fur was dull and matted. Dovewing could hear his breathing, it was unsteady and wheezing.

"Our deputy, Rowenclaw, has died."

Gasps of shock greeted his blunt announcement. Rowenclaw, even if he was a bit odd, had been respected throughout the Clans.

"And Flametail, our medicine cat, has received a message from StarClan, telling me to make Tigerheart deputy, which I have."

He paused to cough and let everyone chant Tigerheart's name.

Dovewing cheered even louder than she had for Cherryfrost and Molestep, but on the inside she was filled with doubt. Flametail had received a message, and not his mentor Littlecloud? How odd, seeing that he was less experienced and that he was Tigerheart's brother...

"We also have detected-" said Blackstar, but suddenly, he coughed again, and seemed to have fainted. As the crowd beneath him gasped, he fell from the tree and hit the ground with a sickening thud.

"Blackstar!" screeched someone at the front of the group. Dovewing casted her senses out and saw that Blackstar was slumped on the ground. He did not move. He was not breathing.

As Littlecloud ran forwards to see what had happened, Dovewing was startled by a loud caterwauling sound.

She, along with everyone else in the clearing, turned towards the sound and saw a mass of rogues pour out of the bushes and towards the cats in the clearing.

They're back! was her horrorstruck thought. Then, she remembered Tigerheart's warning. No, Tigerheart, you didn't...

Before she could stop herself, she raced around the now fighting cats towards the high-tree. She could see Tigerheart at its base, and she sped towards him. Suddenly, a weight landed on her back and she fell to the ground, the wind knocked out of her. She twisted around and dug her claws into the large tortoiseshell cat who was pinning her down.

"Hello," he whispered, as he dodged her blow and got a firmer grip on her shoulders. "I've heard quite a lot about you."

"Get off!" Dovewing snarled, cuffing his tufted ears.

"There's no use in fighting." he growled in return, and grabbed the scruff of her neck with his teeth. As she shrieked in protest, he pulled her to the sidelines of the battle.

"Help!" she yowled, thrashing in an attempt to escape, but no one heard her. She had hoped that her former mentor Lionblaze would be able to see her, but he was too busy defending Icecloud, who was on the ground, bleeding heavily.

The cat dropped her in a swath of ferns, and she swiped at him with unsheathed claws. He dodged her attack again, and blocked the way back to the battle.

"There you are!" called out a familiar voice, and Dovewing's heart leapt. Tigerheart came running out of the battle towards her. He stopped and nodded at the strange cat. "Thanks, Sol. I was worried that she wouldn't be able to find me."

"It was just a part of our agreement, nothing else." Sol said. Dovewing was now completely in shock.

"Tigerheart...?" she mewed in a quavering voice. She looked up at him with wide green eyes, disbelieving.

"Shh," he said. "We've got to stay here until the battle has been won. You'll be safe, I promise."

Dovewing opened her mouth to say something, but she forgot what it was. She settled down in the ferns, and listened to the battle that raged right in front of her. The powdery-grey shecat was worried, especially for her friends. She caught a glimpse of Lionblaze again; he was fighting alongside Dustpelt and Ferncloud, who was trying to drag Icecloud to the sidelines where she wouldn't get hurt. Jayfeather was by the high-tree, and was acting quite oddly. He seemed to be fighting, but there was no one near him. He slashed out with a paw, but then grimaced, as if he had been hit. A trail of blood curled its way around his flank, and Dovewing's eyes widened. She saw Bramblestar and Cloudtail—the deputy—fighting with several cats at once. She saw some others, and they all seemed to be tiring quickly. She knew that the battle was not going well for the Clans, and soon, it seemed to have ended.

Tigerheart stood up, and began to pad out into the clearing. He stopped as soon as he realized that Dovewing was not following.

"Come on," he mewed.

Dovewing shook her head. She did not want to go with Tigerheart in front of everyone, safe and unharmed. Tigerheart's eyes narrowed slightly, but he sighed and murmured to Sol, "Keep an eye on her. Please?"

As he walked away, Dovewing pricked her ears. She could hear someone (though no one was there) saying something, very quietly...

"...well done...worked out wonderfully...better than Hawkfrost's...go and make your announcement...brush the moss off your fur, for Tigerstar's sake! ...don't embarrass him..."

Tigerstar? Hawkfrost? She remembered the nursery tales about them, and what Jayfeather and Lionblaze had told her, that they manipulated cats to get their own goals accomplished, and how they were beginning to suspect that they were planning to take over the forest again. Then, it hit her. Tigerheart is under their influence...this is why he's been acting so oddly!

She heard another voice, Tigerheart's, ring out in the clearing. His voice was changed, it was harder and colder, and had this air of authority that she had never heard before. It turned her blood to ice.

"The rest of you who are still fighting would do well to stop immediately. Resistance to the new reign of the Clans is futile and is quite fatal."