Yay! Now, I think there should only be two chapters after this, what do you think? Review! -Danielle
Fireheart lay beside Spottedleaf, feeling very content with his world. He could stay in the barn forever if it meant never leaving her or her kits. Together, they watched Larkkit and Ivykit roll around on the hay covered floor. Barley was hunting in the back corner, making a lot of noise.
"Come on Dears, it's time to sleep!" Spottedleaf meowed through a great big yawn. Fireheart purred as the sisters came bounding across the barn. They slid into her nest and immediately curled up tightly. "Goodnight Ivykit and Larkkit. Sleep tight" He said, laying down in his own nest.
"Don't let Shadowclan bite!" They mewed back. Barley appeared in a stack of hay, his eyes wide.
"Shadowclan? Where?" The old loner asked frantically, obviously just playing. This made the two kits purr with pleasure and amusement. It grew silent in the rusty barn, as Barley ate his catches and went to sleep. Fireheart lay awake, though, too happy to be calm. He had found love, finally. He often glanced at the sleeping tortoiseshell heap that was Spottedleaf and would fall head over heals in love with her again. Sometime later, Fireheart dozed, dreaming of Thunderclan and kits. A loud caterwaul awoke him.
"Spottedleaf? Barley?" Barley was still in his nest, snoring away, and so were the kits, but Spottedleaf was gone. Fireheart rose from the floor and raced out of the entrance, running head long into a group of cats.
"Well look who it is! If it isn't our old captive." Blackfoot growled. He stood over the bloody body of Spottedleaf. Her pretty colored fur was mangled and torn, evidence of a short battle hung over the whole yard. Two other Shadowclan cats slunk out of the darkness, accompanied by Longtail. He looked pleased for some reason.
Fireheart was furious and heart broken. He made a move to take Spottedleaf but was attacked by Blackfoot. They wrestled on the ground for a couple of minutes until Fireheart came out on top.
"You had no right to take her life, you should have let her live!" Anger pulsed through him as he went for the killing bite.
"No Fireheart...don't." It was the weak whisper of Spottedleaf that stopped him. Fireheart whipped his head around and stared at her body for some form of movement. Just the twitch of her tail told him she was alive...barely. "Go, now. This is not the will of Starclan. Tell Brokenst-" She burst into a fit of coughing, spitting up blood. "Tell Brokenstar he did not win. You murdered the wrong cat..." Fireheart clawed Blackfoot one last time before letting him go. It had been an odd fight considering none of the other cats had helped or even lifted a claw.
"Spottedleaf?" Fireheart whispered, stumbling towards her. "I love you...please don't leave me."
"I must, Fireheart, it is my time. My destiny. Don't worry, I was never the right 'Spotted' for the prophecy. Larkkit is. Train her, prepare her, and make her your deputy when the time comes. Love them just as you love them now, for the both of us. I love you Fireheart." He gently nuzzled her, feeling her last breath ease out of her dying body. It was over. Fireheart didn't move, he didn't want to. Not now...Spottedleaf was gone for good, and he still lived. She had been innocent all along, she had never deserved any of it.
"Intruder! Intruder!" Barley yowled from inside the barn. The kits! Fireheart thought. He hesitated, not wanting to leave Spottedleaf's side. But, she had made him promise to take care of her daughters, so he had to. Bounding into the dimly let den, Fireheart saw Longtail growling at Barley.
"They're my kits!" He hissed.
A wave of hatred hit him. He lunged at Longtail, knocking the cat into a bale of hay. "They aren't your kits. You lost that right when you murdered they're mother and your mate!" Fireheart growled. Longtail retaliated by scraping his stomach with his hind paws.
"She deserved it! I knew her belonging to your dumb prophecy would turn her loyalty!"
"You piece of foxdung! Do you care for anything except yourself?" Longtails reply was an attempt on Firehearts throat. He swung his head out of reach, knowing what he had to do. "Longtail, by the powers of Starclan, I banish you from Thunderclan! If I, or any member sees you on our territory by moonhigh tomorrow, they have permission to attack you." If he was destined to be leader, would it matter if he started now? Fireheart was worried that Longtail wouldn't listen to him, but the tabby tom's eyes widened. He squirmed, trying to get out from under Fireheart, so he let him up. Longtail burst through the barn entrance, kicking up dirt behind him. There was only silence in his wake.
Fireheart turned towards Larkkit and Ivykit, sheltered by Barley. Barley's fur stood on end, his lips stuck in an awful snarl. "He...he's gone. You don't have to worry. But..." Fireheart couldn't bring himself to say that Spottedleaf was dead. Not to her kits. "Just...get some rest. We're going home tomorrow."
"What about mother?" Ivykit whined. She glanced innocently at the crack in which Longtail had escaped.
Fireheart felt his heart break for the second time. "Your mother...won't be coming back. Remember the story I told you, about the clans? Well, a couple of cats from Shadowclan came and attacked her while she was outside. I got there just in time to keep them from finding you, but your mother didn't make it." Seeing their faces, even Barley's, stuck a lump in his throat. "Spottedleaf was a wonderful and brave mother, friend, and clanmate. She will be remembered as so. She died saving us all, and I think we should be grateful for that."
"C-Can we see her?" Larkkit mewed sadly.
"I'll go get her now, Barley would you help me?" Fireheart asked. The two cats trooped out into the barnyard and approached Spottedleaf. They carefully lifted her up and carried her into the barn to hold vigil. There, everyone laid next to their beloved she cat and gently groomed her fur until the sun came up. Fireheart wasn't surprised to see the sisters asleep, or that Barley was gone. He picked himself up, shaking the sticky hay off of his pelt. He decided he would hunt for the kits first then wake them up to leave.
The mice seemed to wait for him. Hunting was so simple, he barley had to think. The warm bodies in his paws were deliciously fat. When Fireheart had enough to feed the four of three of them, he gently nosed Larkkit awake. "Go on, pick your mouse. I'll get Ivykit." He watched her scamper over to the small pile before nudging Ivykit.
"Mother? Oh...Fireheart. I had the most wonderful dream! Mother came and walked me home. Our camp is surrounded by water!" Ivykit purred. She slunk over to her sister and poked through the mice for an extra plump one. Fireheart felt a sharp pain run down his body. The only camp that was naturally surrounded by water was...Riverclan. And Ivykit had expressed an interest to the water loving cats! Was Spottedleaf telling them that Ivykit would join Riverclan instead of Thunderclan? No...she wouldn't want her daughters to be split up. Then why would she lead Ivykit to the wrong camp? Fireheart mused this over while they ate, trying to to find something that wasn't there.
"Get ready to leave, we have a long way to travel and I would like to get home before dark so the clan can mourn." Fireheart meowed to the kits when they had finished. He slipped outside to find Barley. The old loner was sitting on a big rock overlooking the territories.
"You're so young...most of the new leaders have more experience." He murmured.
Fireheart wondered how much he knew. "I will try my best to be the best leader I can be, and I will have the guidance of the senior warriors."
"She was young too...not much older than yourself. Why was she murdered?"
This was a question Fireheart did not want to think of. "Longtail was angry. I bet he went straight to Shadowclan...you know the rest. Spottedleaf happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. She should have woken one of us up."
"Your leaving?" Barley asked, shaking out of his daze.
"Yes, the clan needs to know what happened. I don't want Longtail thinking he can run back to camp and no one will think anything of it." Fireheart replied.
The loner glanced at his home with sorrow. "Would you mind if I came too? I would like to see Bluestar again, plus, I want to help tell the story."
"Of course, Barley! I could never repay you enough for letting us stay here." He looked at his paws, feeling awkward. "Well...I should probably go get the kits and Spottedleaf." Fireheart trotted back to the barn, finding Ivykit and Larkkit sitting beside the body of Spottedleaf. "Are you ready to go? We need to leave."
"Ok Fireheart...but how will mother get to Thunderclan?" Ivykit asked, not moving her eyes from her mothers face.
"We'll have to carry her. It will make the trip longer so that's why we have to leave now!" The fact that no one was making a move to leave frustrated him. He picked Spottedleaf up by her scruff and dragged her out of the barn, followed by Larkkit and Ivykit. Barley took up her hind legs so she wasn't touching the ground anymore and the troop started down the hill and to the Thunderpath. Fireheart waited for an opening in the line of monsters, but it was a while before one came. He led the way across, trying to keep the pace quick so they wouldn't be crushed. Now, they were faced with the challenge of crossing Windclan territory without being caught. If a patrol did catch up with his group...he had no idea how he would explain Spottedleaf's body to them.
The tips of Fourtrees stuck out on the horizon, beckoning him home. Fireheart pushed on, making sure Larkkit and Ivykit were still behind him. It was beyond dark before they saw the first trees of Thunderclan. Even then it was a long and painful walk to the ravine. Everything was so familiar; every rock, every twig, every tree was his and he loved it all. "Just a little bit further Ivykit, come on!" He heard Larkkit wheeze. The poor things must have been starving and exhausted. He tried to keep them going so they could get to the nursery faster, but he was tired too. Spottedleaf was not a light she cat. Going down the steep, rocky hill was difficult. Fireheart went first, towing her dead body carefully from rock to rock. Then came Barley, holding Ivykit. Fireheart gently laid Spottedleaf at the bottom of the ravine before going back to get Larkkit. Finally, they had made it back to Thunderclan. Fireheart carried Spottedleaf into camp, thankful that no one was around to see them arrive. He didn't know what Redtail had told the clan, but it probably would have been bad to walk in unannounced.
"Come with me, we must speak to Bluestar first." Fireheart hissed. Barley nodded, pushing the kits in front of him. The high rock was standing proudly, just as he had left it. It was good to be back! "Bluestar?" He meowed quietly.
"Yes, who is it?" His leader replied. Fireheart pushed his way through the lichen, accompanied by his band. "Oh! Fireheart! You're, you're back. Why have you come...Spottedleaf...what happened?" That's when Fireheart told her about the fight with Shadowclan and Longtails banishment. She seemed not to care that he had chosen that punishment, even if he wasn't leader yet. Everyone put in their favorite details. Bluestar got up and walked out of her den when he finished, staring at the empty clearing. "The clan needs to mourn for Spottedleaf...but they already have. They think you are dead Fireheart. I haven't decided how to tell them I lied yet..."
"The clan doesn't have to know, but Ivykit and Larkkit have gone without a mother for almost two days now, they need to sleep." Before Bluestar could reply, the thorn tunnel shook again and the last patrol arrived. They stared at Firehearts ragged group in astonishment, not sure whether to believe their eyes or not.
"Fireheart...?" Goldenflower meowed, peeking out of the nursery to see what the noise was about.