Author's Note: Oh god I hate Writers' Block so so much! And I have to thank you guys for helping me get inspiration to get this chapter up. Especially Darkfur0211. You made me feel terrible about myself for not updating.
Emerald Flashes- Yep: as I've said before, they really are annoying aren't they. Thanks a lot for your review!
Darkfur0211- I've already given you special thanks, but I'll say it again. Your review was the main reason I got a lot of inspiration back. Thanks so so so much!
Flashingthunder- Thanks a lot! It's a really great feeling when someone says they like your story. :D Please review again.
Starriewonders317- Yeah (purrfect review XD) Thanks. Yep. I was hoping I could continue this without getting Writers' Block for awhile, but obviously it didn't happen.
CuteCat13- Yeah thanks for the advice. XD I've contacted two betas, and it's kind've of annoying cause none of them have replied yet. Hopefully one of them will get in contact soon. And thanks!
Emberclaw- Yeah! When I was writing Chapter Two I just wanted to reach forward and hug both of my main characters.
Eaglehaze- Uh huh. Yeah, I suppose I was trying for originality quite a lot, so glad to know I succeeded. :)
Keeralie- Yep. Toadclaw should definitely go rot in the Dark Forest!
Guest- Thanks! Yeah. You hardly ever see slash couples in this archive.
Allison Jalexa- If I was Toadclaw, I'd watch out for making Redpelt angry especially in this chapter.
DarkFang0211- Thanks for your suggestions. I'll take into consider all three of them, especially the one about Rootstar dying in a car accident. XDXDXD
Splashpaw- … *nods vigorously* I'm really unkind to Shadepetal aren't I?
Amberstrike 33- Ahh but you see, that was what made it such a great fanfiction! By the end of it, I generally truly believed that it was a perfectly canon couple. Yeah it's quite awkward for Redpelt, since she hasn't realised that she has feelings for Shadepetal- plus that fact she's jealous of her will complicate it even more.
catsandcoffee- Thanks! Yeah, I was hoping people would find that line funny. :)
So yeah! Please carry on telling me your thoughts. Oh yes, and I hope you like the longest chapter of the story yet.
The Curse of Beauty
Chapter Three:
The full moon shone high in the sky. Redpelt's whiskers bristled in annoyance and she looked away- every time she looked up, she was instantly reminded that it was the gathering and that she wasn't going. Usually it would've have just been an annoyance, but tonight, it scared her.
She picked at the mouse unhappily. To be perfectly honest she wasn't hungry, but she swallowed down the prey nonetheless. She wasn't sharing with anyone. Shadepetal was out of camp, trying to get away from Toadclaw.
And Redpelt wasn't exaggerating. Shadepetal was generally out in the forest, trying to get away from Toadclaw… it had got that bad.
Ever since Rootstar had declared that Shadepetal was Toadclaw's mate, he had convinced several of the apprentices, unintentionally, that love was keeping tabs on each other in every, waking, moment. Redpelt had hardly seen Shadepetal without Toadclaw standing uncomfortably close to her. Normally, she would've have darted over and separated the two of them, but since Rootstar also seemed to be watching her to make sure that she didn't do anything to get in the way of the "happy" couple, Redpelt hadn't been able to intervene.
She snorted in anger as she saw Rootstar organising a patrol with Toadclaw pacing around frantically beside him. It was the second search party this week. Shadepetal's walks in the forest had grown more frequent over the past moon, since she couldn't relax in the camp. Redpelt also found that she was feeling the same thing. She felt trapped, being confined to the camp. Not only that, but Redpelt had been feeling terrible for awhile now.
The she-cat shook her head. I don't know why I feel so… pathetic at the moment. Usually, Redpelt was very fiery and open, but at the moment (more precisely, whenever Toadclaw was chasing Shadepetal around) she felt detached and melancholy. Not only that, she worried about Shadepetal. She was very aware that Rootstar was planning to announce that Shadepetal was his mouse brained excuse for son's mate at the gathering. She knew there would be an uproar, plus half the toms of the Clans complaining and being difficult.
She wasn't sure that she wanted to leave Shadepetal alone with Aspenheart either.
Aspenheart was a RiverClan warrior. He had grown up un-popular within his Clan, and had always seemed to have his head down. Redpelt had briefly been friends with him, but after awhile the friendship had faded away… mostly because of an event that had taken place several moons ago.
At a gathering, a young female apprentice of WindClan had disappeared. Naturally, WindClan had panicked, and because of a substantial amount of evidence that the apprentice had been kidnapped by a RiverClan cat, WindClan accused their neighbours. But, at the same time, Aspenheart had disappeared, so RiverClan accused WindClan of kindapping their warrior. Redpelt remembered it well. She had only been an apprentice, but she understood that all of the Clans were going through a stressful time. Both ShadowClan and ThunderClan were anxious that they were going to be asked to choose a side as well.
And then, suddenly, both of the cats had reappeared. Aspenheart had simply strolled back into the RiverClan camp, looking extremely pleased with himself, as if he had just done something he had intended to do a long time ago. The apprentice of WindClan, however, hadn't reappeared the same way.
They had found her body floating in the lake. She had been covered in cats and bite marks, and her neck had been snapped. Not only that, but apparently, after inspection, the medicine cat had come to the conclusion that the apprentice had been attacked in more ways than one.
Obviously, accusing eyes turned to Aspenheart. He simply said that he had had no idea that the WindClan apprentice had disappeared, though he didn't explain why he had had disappeared as well, and since there was no real evidence to convict Aspenheart, life had carried on as usual.
Though, after the whole incident had ended, Redpelt heard rumours that several cats in RiverClan had caught Aspenheart staring at the WindClan apprentice in a strange way in more than one gathering. Redpelt herself had noticed this. No one had the guts to stand up and accuse him again, so in the end, everyone had just forgotten it. Aspenheart's life had changed for the better; now, he was a respected warrior of RiverClan, despite old suspicions.
But recently, Redpelt had noticed him staring at Shadepetal in the same way that he had looked at that poor WindClan apprentice all those moons ago.
Redpelt finished her mouse and padded away from the fresh-kill pile. She stared out into the forest longingly. She could see the highest tree top in the forest, that of the Ancient Oak, just in the distance. She knew that was where Shadepetal was. At that moment, she longed to be with her all the more.
The night was peaceful and calm. Shadepetal's jet black fur blended in with the pitch black sky, and the bright, silent moonlight caught in her fur. It looked like she was sparkling. Toms had always told her how she looked most beautiful in the night.
The she-cat closed her eyes and looked up at the heavens, searching the twinkling stars for movement. StarClan? She thought, silently. Are you up there? If so… why are you putting me through all this pain?
As usual, the twinkling stars gave her no answer.
Shadepetal shook her head. For the past moon, all she had felt was a desperate longing to be with her best friend, Redpelt again. Every moment that she spent away from Redpelt was like her heart being ripped out of her chest, and it hurt more than any wound she had ever known. Why had StarClan had to make things so complicated? All she wanted was to be happy with Redpelt; she knew both of them were she-cats, but was that such a bad thing? Was that so terrible that StarClan had to completely distance the two cats from each other?
The time Toadclaw spent in her company was almost as bad. At every second, the handsome son of Rootstar was at her side, licking her pelt and grooming her. To be honest, Toadclaw's devotion towards her touched her a little- but she wished that the tom would back off to give her time to breath. As much as she hated the attention, she had also noticed how Toadclaw's attitude towards her had changed. Beforehand, he had always been very seductive and arrogant, but over the past few days he had shown a different side to her. She had noticed how his eyes lit up with delight whenever he saw her. She noticed how he always brought her a piece of prey at dawn. She noticed how he always curled up around her at night, (much to her distaste) like she as the most precious thing in the world.
If anything, it made her hate him all the more.
She smiled sadly. Shadepetal was the most beautiful she-cat that ever existed, yet all she wanted to be was normal.
She sighed, before turning away and leaping down the branches of the tree. She touched down onto the ground softly and expertly: the act of climbing down the Ancient Oak had been performed many times. She sniffed the air, expecting to scent a search party heading towards her direction. Instead of group of cats, all she smelt was Toadclaw. Obviously the party had decided to split up.
To make things easier, Shadepetal headed through the clearing and on the undergrowth of the forest, moving swirly towards Toadclaw's smell. Soon enough, the tom appeared. Relief filled his gaze, and he dashed over to her. 'Shadepetal!' He said, quickly running his ear down her ear. 'Are you okay?'
'Yeah.' Shadepetal said slowly, drawing away her ear. 'I'm fine.'
Toadclaw had got used to this gesture, and what it meant to Shadepetal. Quickly, he drew away, knowing that if she drew away, she wanted him to do the same. 'Why do you always have to run off?' He purred. His tone was half questioning.
Shadepetal shrugged, staring at the ground. She didn't meet his gaze… she found hat it made her feel somewhat guilty. 'I dunno.' She shrugged. 'I guess that I like getting out.'
Toadclaw tilted his head to onside, confused, but he didn't press the matter any further. He looked up at the sky, taking note of how night was drawing in. 'Come on.' He murmured. 'We should probably be getting back to camp.'
Shadepetal nodded and fell into step beside Toadclaw. She posed her eyes and felt a pang at her heart as she remembered all the times she and Redpelt had walked together in the forest like this. She hoped that her best friend would be allowed to go to the gathering.
Almost as if on queue, Toadlcaw opened his mouth to speak. 'My father elected me and you to go the gathering, by the way.' He said.
Redpelt was surprised when she didn't see the usual arrogant smirk on his face as he talked about his father. She shrugged. 'Okay.' An idea sparked in her mind. Rootstar tells Toadclaw everything! Will he know whether Redpelt is going?
He repeated the question to Toadclaw, and he stayed silent for a moment. 'No.' Shadepetal hardly had time to sigh in despair before Toadclaw continued. 'I know you must feel… separated… from her.' He added, cautiously.
At this comment, Shadepetal had had enough. Everything she had felt over the past moon, and kept bottled up, suddenly seemed to the rise to the surface. Fury contorted her expression, and she turned on Toadclaw, her claws unsheathed. 'You know how I must feel?' She hissed in anger. Toadclaw immediately took a step back. 'You don't know how I feel at all! Have you ever been taken away from your best friend? Have you ever been taken away from the cat that-' She paused when she realised how she had been about to end that sentence. She finished instead with, 'that you care most about about? You know nothing! Stop pretending that you understand me, when you don't!'
Toadclaw just stared at Shadepetal, dumbfounded for a moment, before he closed his eyes and turned away. 'Yeah.' He mumbled. 'Right.'
Suddenly, Shadepetal felt her anger ebb away. She had never been the type of cat to stay angry for very long. Instead, she felt a burning guilt. Quickly, she moved to apologise. 'Look, Toadclaw,' she murmured, awkwardly, 'I'm sorry, it's just-'
But Toadclaw had already disappeared into the undergrowth. Shadepetal let out a little yelp, before dashing after him, her pelt prickling. She caught up with the tomcat pretty quickly, but they didn't speak until they got back to camp.
The ThunderClan camp was crowded, and the group of cats chosen to go to the gathering were assembling by the entrance. Toadclaw went to speak to Whisperfeather, whereas Shadepetal instinctively craned her neck to try and catch a glimpse of Redpelt. When she noticed the ginger she-cat by the fresh kill pile, she dashed over just as the patrol was about to leave.
Redpelt's eyes brightened a little when she caught sight of Shadepetal dashing over to her. 'Shadepetal.' She murmured. The two hardly spoke before the two of them had reached out their paws and interlinked them together, creating the Red Petal. Shadepetal suddenly found herself brimming with emotion at the contact between the two of them. It was like being reunited with her mother after thinking she was dead. The happiness that ripped through her as she felt Redpelt's claws curl around her's was a beautiful sensation.
Suddenly, and almost abruptly, Redpelt drew away. Shadepetal felt confusion form a knot in her belly, and she stared at her friend in confusion. The dark red she-cat's eyes were filled with an emotion she couldn't recognise, nor understand. 'Huh, that was, um, kind've emotional, uh?' Redpelt joked, awkwardly. Shadepetal caught the blush, barely visible because of the colour of pelt, beneath her fur.
Shadepetal barely had time to reply, when she felt a paw press down upon her shoulder. She spun around to see Toadclaw's apprentice, Flowerpaw, among other toms, behind her. 'Come on.' He squeaked. 'Rootstar says it's time to leave.'
The beautiful she-cat turned her head, desperately trying to catch one last glimpse at Redpelt's face, before she was pulled away by the massing crowd. Shadepetal closed her eyes. For a few moments, the she-cat had been given water to quench her thirst, but it had been ripped away almost as fast as it had appeared.
Shadepetal found herself in the centre of the party, and once again she was shoved to stand beside Toadclaw. The tom seemed to notice her almost despairing gaze, and he rested his tail, somewhat hesitantly, upon her paws.
And for once, the she-cat didn't care.
The ThunderClan cats began the journey to the island swiftly. They knew they were late. Rootstar lead the group, whereas Toadclaw and Shadepetal dropped behind so they were trailing behind the group. Shadepetal kept her eyes firmly on the ground, not wanting to face Toadclaw after how she had snapped at him earlier.
'Look,' Toadclaw said finally, after what seemed like hours of silence. Shadepetal refused to allow herself to look at him. 'I'm… sorry about… what I said earlier.'
This remarkable comment forced Shadepetal to raise her head and stare at her. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Is, is Toadclaw apologising?! Is the arrogant son of the leader, the one who sexually harassed me in camp, actually apologising for something?
Shadepetal wasn't given enough time to register this shock, for Toadclaw swiftly continued. 'I was wrong to pretend that I understood how you were feeling, because I don't.' He sighed. 'I, think that- maybe I don't understand you at all, or how you feel.' He shuffled his paws, before turning his head. 'I hope you can forgive me.'
Shadepetal felt some much inside her at that moment. So many new thoughts on the matter of Toadclaw. At first, she felt awful, because she knew that he really shouldn't be the one who was apologising, and truly, she should be apologising to him. But not only that, she felt like the apology was a lot larger than it seemed at first. For some reason, Shadepetal felt like he was apologising for a lot more than just saying that he understood her. She felt like he was apologising for every time he had done something that made her feel trapped. As if by magic, Shadepetal found she was seeing a completely different cat to the one saw one moon ago.
Toadclaw shook his head and stood a little higher. 'Come he!' He called, hastening his pace. 'We should probably catch up with Rootstar.'
Shadepetal quickly scrambled after him, feeling determined she wasn't going to let the apology go. 'It doesn't matter, Toadclaw!' She said, calling after him as he sped off ahead. 'I'm sorry for snapping at you too.'
Toadclaw turned his head and met her gaze, a glimmer of surprise in his face too. 'Apology accepted.' He replied, slightly modestly. The tom slowed down so that Shadepetal could fall into step beside him, now in the middle of the group of ThunderClan cats.
Soon, the cats chosen reached the gathering island. Shadeptal felt her breath quicken with excitement at going to the gathering as it neared her turn to cross the log-bridge: then she remembered what Rootstar was probably planning to do this gathering. Oh StarClan. She thought. I hope there isn't a riot from the other toms.
Shadepetal practically danced over the bridge, her paws balancing precariously yet elegantly upon the bark. Toadclaw had already crossed and was waiting for her on the other side. He nodded at her, as if signalling that she was ready. 'By the way, Shadepetal,' he shuffled his paws, 'you should probably get ready for an uproar from the other Clans. My father is-'
'Going to announce that I'm your "mate",' she finished calmly, though nerves were tight in her body. 'I guessed as much.'
Toadclaw blinked, as if waiting for a sarcastic comment on how Shadepetal didn't love him, but when it didn't come, he just lead the way into the RiverClan, ShadowClan and WindClan cats that had already arrived.
Despite the fact that she loved Redpelt, Shadepetal found that she stuck unusually close to Toadclaw as they made there way through the mass. At least he was a familiar face compared to all the other tomcats who stared at her as if she was prey. Eventually, the two of them settled down by a hawthorn bush, a good fox length away from the nearest tom. She still felt several eyes strained upon her and how close Toadclaw was sitting, but she tried to heed them no notice.
Suddenly, she felt something brush against her side. She looked around to see a RiverClan tomcat with deep amber eyes standing beside her. Toadclaw noticed the contact too, and he turned to face the tom. He smelled deeply of fish and reeds.
'Hello Shadepetal.' He said, his voice as smooth and silky as milk. He gestured with his tail in greeting to Toadclaw as well, but his gaze never left Shadepetal's.
Shadepetal didn't recognise the tom. He seemed like a fairly experienced warrior- older than she was anyway. For the first time she felt Toadclaw stiffen uncomfortably beside her. This show of insecurity from her usually confident companion made her feel uncomfortable too.
Shadepetal opened her mouth to reply, but Toadclaw got there first. 'Aspenheart.' He said. Shadepetal could practically smell the tension in his voice.
He sat down without asking for permission, and began to groom his sleek tabby brown pelt. Shadepetal gazed into his eyes. They were a deep shade of amber, like the rising sun, that seemed quite welcoming and friendly at first, but when she took another look… she thought she could see malice in there, and lust. She shivered a little.
'I just thought I'd say hello to Shadepetal.' He stated, addressing Toadclaw, but again his piercing eyes never left her's. 'After all, I have heard so much about you from some of my friends and family.' He leaned in a bit. 'They say you are extremely attractive.'
Toadclaw was just about to respond but Shadepetal cut in. 'Well I hope you aren't disappointed.' She growled, a hint of a challenge in her voice. She didn't like this tom. It was something in his calm and cool demeanour. Perhaps it was the way he stared at her. Whatever it was, she didn't like it. Not one bit.
There were a few moments of silence. 'No.' Aspenheart retorted, his eyes contracting a little. 'I am most certainly not disappointed.'
Silence.
Toadclaw coughed. 'Well, I'm sure that you're not disappointed.' He added. Shadepetal frowned when she noticed how his claws were sheathing and unsheathing themselves. 'Most toms tend not to be.'
Finally Aspenheart broke the eye contact between him and Shadepetal. Instead, he turned to Toadclaw. 'And I can certainly see why.' He replied, before getting back to his paws and flicking his tail. 'Well thanks for your time.'
As the tom disappeared into the crowd of cats, Toadclaw put his full attention into Shadepetal. The she-cat was surprised at the intensity in his face. 'Stay away from Aspenheart.' He hissed, his voice laced with anger. Shadepetal wasn't certain if she was angry at her and him.
Shadepetal didn't back down. 'Oh please. I wasn't planning on getting anywhere near him.' She cast a glance back in the direction he had left, and shuddered. 'He creeped me out.'
Toadclaw nodded vigorously. 'He creeps everyone out...' The tom sighed. 'Everyone knows to avoid him.'
Curiosity sparked inside her. 'Why?' She asked. 'Why should everyone avoid him?'
Instantly, Toadclaw's face became monotone. 'It doesn't matter.'
Shadepetal felt somehwat rejected. She wanted to press the matter further, but the oppurtunity didn't come. A large yowl echoed across the island, and both of the cats turned to look at the sound. Rootstar sat with the other leader's, (Pebblestar of RiverClan, Heatherstar of WindClan and Pinestar of ShadowClan) on the highest branch of the tree. Pinestar was the one who had yowled.
'If you are all quite finished,' he shouted to all the chatting cats, 'we'll begin the gathering.'
As if they had been put under a spell, all the cats fell eerily silent.
'Good.' Pinestar nodded. He turned to Pebblestar, who stepped forward beside him. 'Pebblestar will give her report first.'
The report was quite the uneventful one. Apparently, all the Clans had been thriving because of good weather and very plentiful prey. Shadepetal and Toadc;aw hadn't been so sure about ShadowClan: they had looked extremely scrawny. Nevertheless, everything was going very smoothly, until Rootstar stepped up at least to make his report.
Shadepetal had been mentally preparing herself for this moment. She knew there was going to be a lot of noise, so she had been ready for that. However, she could never have been prepared for what truly took place.
Roostar opened his mouth to speak. 'ThunderClan have, like the other Clans, been thriving. StarClan has blessed us.' He curled his tail over his paws neatly. 'There is not much to report on the matter of ThunderClan's survival, for I believe that it is in safe paws. There is, however, something that I believe is in order to celebrate.'
Shadepetal breathed in deeply, and stole a glance at Toadclaw. She saw to her confusion that there was a flicker of doubt in his eyes, as well as regret.
Rootstar smiled warmly, and raised his voice considerably. 'Shadepetal has finally taken a mate!'
Wahey! Chapter complete!
Hope you enjoyed it. Please RR...