Hey guys welcome to the next chapter of Legends of Duskclan! This chapter is about the real murder of those cats and is written by Amberstorm233. Hope you enjoy.
The spotted tom gazed around for him associate. As he did so, a golden tabby stalked out slowly, watching Bumblestep. The spotted tom dipped his head as the golden eyed cat nodded.
"So what do you want? It's bad enough Dawnfern woke me up from a comforting dream, but it's worse you decided to meet at this time of night," the tom grumbled. The cat didn't answer for a few moments making Bumblestep even more annoyed.
"Come on you wanted me out here for a reason. What is it," he pressed.
"Well I needed to go over the plan with you once more Bumblestep. First we'll lure Gorsestar into the forest. I'll tell him I needed to speak to him about something. After that you come out and we'll attack him. When that happens you become leader and I become deputy. Deal," the Duskclan cat asked. The gray tom heisted before replying.
"Well I've been thinking lately and I want to say the deal's off. I'm sorry, but I'm a father now and my kits don't need this! They don't need to know or live with the fact their father is some sort of murder. I-I suggest you find someone else. I'm sorry, but goodbye," the tom finished. As he turned the other cat growled and pounced on the tom. The cat had former training as a patroller and knew of many ways to kill. The golden cat sliced the tom's neck which killed him instantly.
"Perfect," the DuskClan cat whispered before padding back to camp and laying in their moss nest. What felt like only moments later was longer. Bumblestep was found. The cat padded out of the den and into the DuskClan clearing. Already other cats were out in the clearing mourning over the loss of their deputy. Brackenflight seemed the worse of all. The bracken colored tom was sobbing over his brother's body. All the golden cat could feel was pity for him. Padding up to the tom, the tabby guided Brackenflight to the herb cat den to have Leafpaw give him something to calm him. After everything had calmed down, the tabby went into the clearing. From the side of the buzzing camp, the golden cat sat in the shade while eating a mouse. From afar, she watched as Softpaw, her brother, Falconpaw, and Marshstrike spoke to each other with Kestrelheart not too far off. Close to them were Fernkit, her brother, Ferretkit, Dapplekit, Frostkit, and Mousekit, the kits of Mosspetal, and Snowkit, the daughter of Flowertail. Glancing away she watched the rest of the Clan wondering who the next deputy would be. As she finished up her mouse, Gorsestar called for a meeting.
"Those who can serve their Clan gather around the leader's den for a Clan meeting." As soon as everyone gathered, the tom continued on with the ceremony. "Today our trusted deputy has fallen," the tom began. "In their place, Dawnfern will serve in their place." The DuskClan cats cheered the name of their new deputy as the tabby smiled. Perfect. Now I have a fresh start on my plan, the golden eyed cat thought with a sickening glee. As the sun went down, the cat knew what they had to do. Plan harder. They'd start soon.
It was over seven sunrises after Dawnfern became deputy. The golden cat thought it was time to reveal her plan to the senior she-cat. The tabby padded up to Dawnfern quickly.
"Can you meet me out in the forest at Sunhigh," the cat asked. Dawnfern nodded before getting up to call patrols. As she did so, the tabby moved quietly out of camp to the meeting spot. When Sunhigh rolled in, the deputy had come to the meeting spot.
"What do you want," Dawnfern asked curiously.
"I just wanted to bring you an…opportunity," the she-cat began. "You see Dawnfern, you and I come from similar backgrounds. Both my parents were loners while yours was a loner while the other was a Clan cat. With that we weren't treated well. We were scorned our Clanmates just because of where we came from."
"Okay what does that have to do with anything? Our Clanmates mistrusted us for a while, but grew to realize we were good cats. We earned our ranks accordingly with loyalty, so what more is there," the former camp guard asked.
"Well remember that night when I told you to have Bumblestep meet me? Well I thank you for that," the she-cat purred icily. Dawnfern shrugged.
"So was that all, you just wanted to thank me for letting Bumblestep know you," the she-cat paused as a thought dawned on her.
"N-No i-i-it was you who killed him, wasn't it," she hissed. The tabby nodded slowly as Dawnfern stepped back.
"Listen it was for a good cause. I wanted to…dispose of Gorsestar and he said he'd help me. When he meted me, Bumblestep bailed so I had to get rid of him otherwise he'd tell our precious leader. Now that he's gone why don't you join me Dawnfern? Together you can become leader and me deputy. You can rule the Clan with my help and advice. What do you say," the tabby asked with a grin. Dawnfern stepped back with a growl.
"No I-I'll never join you! We…This was never meant to happen," she hissed. "You know what? I'm going back to camp to tell Gorsestar what you've done. You'll regret this," the deputy growled darkly. The golden she-cat laughed.
"Oh really? Well then I guess you're next," the golden cat purred with amusement.
"Wh-What are you…ahh," Dawnfern screamed as the golden tabby darted forward. Like she did with Bumblestep, she sliced the throat of the she-cat without a care. The deputy died almost instantly. As the tabby stood over the lifeless body, she heard a yell through the forest.
"Dawnfern," a Clan cat called. Knowing she had no time to stay, the golden cat darted from the scene and raced back to camp not looking back once. A couple of minutes later, Kestrelheart entered the camp with a limp Dawnfern by her side. Gasps and shocked meows erupted through the clearing as the brown tabby padded into camp. By that time, Gorsestar had padded out of his den and was addressing his Clan. At that moment, the tom was trying to figure out what happened to the former deputy. As the meeting went on, the golden she-cat realized what was going to happen. Kestrelehart was going to be exiled. Guilt instantly hit the tabby hard. The dark she-cat was going to be kicked out of the Clan and it'd be the tabby's fault. Finally the words had been uttered, "Kestrelheart the Clan has spoken. The evidence is obvious and there's no other way you can't have committed the crimes. Kestrelheart, I hereby exile from DuskClan. You are no longer welcomed here. If anyone sees you by sunset, they have every right to kill you." The tabby gasped with guilt, fear, and sorrow hitting her instantly. When she was close enough, she felt like her heart shattered even more.
"I-I didn't do it," Kestrelheart repeated. Mosspelt tried to comfort her sister while the golden cat did nothing, but look at her paws feeling guilty. Finally Gorsestar had enough of Kestrelheart and the tabby watched as the she-cat left.
It had been three moons after the exile of Kestrelheart. Everything was going great, but the tabby's health was detreating. Though the golden cats' murdering spree had stopped, the guilt had caught up with her. She watched as Lilyshine starved herself while growing distant from her kits. It was almost like the queen was slowly killing herself. That made the tabby feel worse. As the golden cat rested outside her den, the camp seemed to buzz to life. An out of breath Nightfeather entered camp with Softbreeze and Brackenflight not too far behind. At the center of camp, was the still body of Rowansong.
"What happened," Gorsestar demanded.
"We were hunting and decided to split up. We went our separate ways so we'd cover more ground. As I hunter however, I heart a scream and ran towards the sight. When I got there, s-she was dead," Softbreeze sighed shakily. Gorsestar nodded then turned to the herb cats.
"Can you prepare her for burial," he asked. The herb cats nodded and went to work. The tabby sighed after Rowansong was prepared. The she-cat had died too young and unfairly. As the golden she-cat ate a rabbit, she heard the queens talking.
"How could someone do that? Why? Who knows who will be next? Heck for all we know it could be my kits," Mosspelt meowed with worry. Flowertail sighed.
"I don't know, but we shouldn't worry. After all, how could someone break into camp? Not only are we protected, but so are out kits," the queen replied. The pale gray she-cat nodded, but was clearly unconvinced. As the Clan mourned the loss of the hunter, the golden tabby decided to check out the crime scene herself. Quickly, the she-cat rushed through the forest hoping to get any evidence from the scene. As she sniffed around, the she-cat caught a faint scent of an outsider, yet there was something all too familiar about it. As she searched through the scene, the golden cat found a brown tuft of fur. Instantly she knew who it belonged to. Fresh guilt crashed through her like a wave making her legs grow weak. The tabby quickly buried the tuft before heading back to camp. Whatever else happened would be the tabby's fault.
It was over five sunrises after the death of Rowansong. Another cat had died, this time it was Rabbitnose the former herb cat apprentice. Another death she blamed on herself. Soon after his death, Lilyshine passed on due to her eating little. It had been tough on the Clan losing two cats so soon, but when they were both the golden cats' fault, it made things worse. For the time being, the golden tabby didn't know what to do. As she rested outside the herb cat den, a cry split through the air. All eyes turned to the camp entrance where Mintnose and Ivyfoot with Fernkit and a limp Ferretkit. The cats of DuskClan rushed forward, each wondering what happened.
"What's going on," Gorsestar demanded as he glanced at the cats by the entrance. Before the older cats had a chance to speak, Fernkit stepped forward and faced the intimidating leader.
"F-Ferrtekit and I were board and we wanted to do something fun. He-He suggested we go out of camp, so we did. We decided to play hide-and-seek. While I'll hid in the bushes, Ferretkit was going to try and find me. As he tried to find me though, a strange cat came out. I-I watched her speak to Ferretkit before she-she…," the kit couldn't finish her sentence. Gorsestar nodded with a sigh. Yet another murder because of me, the she-cat thought with a shake of her head. Guilt once again pierced her heart. As she sat by her den, Gorsestar talked about the newest death.
"What will we do about this? We can't have our cats running around and getting killed," Minnowpelt, the deputy, stated. The tom nodded.
"From now on, no cat is to leave camp without at least three other cats. When hunting, there has to be three cats together with at least one of them being a patrol guard," the tom decided. The cats nodded. Before the meeting ended, a cat spoke up.
"Will Fernkit be punished for leaving?"
"No, she's suffered enough. Meeting dismissed," Gorsestar replied. As the cats began to disperse, the golden cat sighed. Already there were many deaths on her heart, how could she live on if more happened?
It had been about eight sunrises after the death of Ferretkit. Stremberry, an elder, and Flowertail had both been killed together when they went on a walk. Now in the center of camp was the body of the herb cat apprentice, Leafpaw. The pale brown tom had went out alone to pick herbs and didn't tell anyone. They found his mangled body and once again the golden cat felt immense guilt. Slowly the tabby couldn't take it any longer. With all the secrets, all the guilt, and all the failures, who knows how much longer she had.
It was only three days later that the murder was found. He brown tabby had called herself Bloodfang, but that was all the tabby knew.
"M-Mother you should've seen her. I-It was like she was Kestrelheart, but wasn't. Her brown fur was matted and unkempt, her paws had been lightly stained with blood, and her golden eyes were so dull. It was like the life from her was all gone," Mosspelt sighed as she relived the memory. The two she-cats sat in silence.
"Mother what's wrong," a kit asked. Turning around, Mosspelt's son, Kestrelkit, was stading by her side confused.
"O-Oh nothing Kestrelkit. Hey, why don't we check on your brother and sister," the queen asked. As they walked away, the golden eyed cat knew what she had to do. Padding into the herb cat den, the tabby prepared for a confession.
The dark tabby padded up to her leader. "Can I talk to you," the golden cat asked. Gorsestar nodded, following the she-cat into his den. When they entered, both cats sat down in the den.
"What do you want," the ginger tom asked. The golden cat didn't know how to start her confession because her mind was on her murders and lies.
"Gorsestar, as you know Kestrelheart killed many cats. The thing is though, all those deaths are my fault," she began. The large tabby gasped. "What do you mean," the tom asked.
"You see as you know I was a loner brought into the Clan. My father hated you Clan cats and wanted to kill every one of you. After we were separated, I wanted to fulfill his dreams, but I knew it'd take a while. Before Bumblestep's death, I was planning with him. Planning to kill and take you down. When he became leader, I'd be deputy, but I planned to kill Bumblestep before he'd get his lives. However he backed out and I-I killed him," the she-cat admitted. Before Gorsestar had a chance to say anything, the tabby moved on.
"After he was gone, I waited before I spoke to Dawnfern. I told her my plan to murder you and she didn't want any part with it, so I killed her as well. When Kestrelheart was blamed for it, I-I didn't know what to do. You see, because of my mistakes she went crazy and killed many cats. Because of me Lilyshine died. Because of me an elder and queen died. Because of me a kit was killed, even my own apprentice," the she-cat exclaimed. For a few moments, the DuskClan cats sat in a stunned silence. Shaking his head, Gorsestar finally was able to reply.
"You know, this will not go unpunished. I-I'm sorry, but after I make an announcement, you will be publically executed for your crimes," the ginger tom sighed. The tabby shook her head.
"Before I came to talk to you, I ate some water hemlock which we both know is poisonous. D-During our con-conversation, the herb was-was taking e-e-effect. There's nothing you can do now, it's only a m-matter of-of time before I-I," the she-cat stopped. Foam began to escape from her mouth as a violent shake erupted from her body. Slowly, the shakes only got more violent with her thrashing and foaming, but it quickly stopped and the tabby was still.
It was only seconds after she died. The tabby was in a dark, misty territory unknown to her. As she wandered around, the she-cat heard a crazed laugh from behind.
"Welcome Sunshade," Bloodfang greeted with a wicked grin. Sunshade backed away from her daughter, with fresh guilt tearing at her. She was with the cat who took her blame and now that cat would have her revenge.