Okay, my guess is 75% of you will hate me after this chapter, and the other 25% just won't care! Sorry if you think I am evil to cats!
Chapter 7: Freedom... At a Price
Petaldawn's POV
I opened my eyes. The clearing was foggy, almost like it was wrapped in mist. Then I looked at the dead cat next to my feet. It was... me!
"Petaldawn," someone mewed. A familiar scent wafted over me.
"Mom!" I exclaimed and whirled around. "Why are you here, Flowerheart? What's going on?"
My mother bowed her head sadly. "You are dead, Petaldawn."
"What are you talking about?!" I exclaimed. "I'm fine!" Then I froze. "I remember what happened," I whispered. "I'm dead."
"Come, and I will take you to StarClan," Flowerheart said. "You will be able to protect Sweettail there, and we can be together."
I nodded solemnly. Flowerheart slowly led me up into Silverpelt. There was a blinding light, and I found myself in StarClan.
"Is Mintmist here? Is Dad?" I asked. "Where are we going?"
Flowerheart didn't answer. She led me to a nest of soft, springy moss. Her icy blue eyes were full of love.
"Go ahead and get some sleep," she said. "I'll show you StarClan tomorrow."
I obediently curled up on the moss. What do StarClan cats dream of? I wondered. I guess I'll find out. I closed my eyes and immediately dropped off to sleep.
In Petaldawn's dream (all in italics)
I silently crept toward the thrush. It was as big as a deer, and I was sure I could feed my Clan with it. Closer, closer, and-
I was suddenly in the battle with ShadowClan. All around me cats fought, but this time WindClan was losing terribly. Cats lay dead on the ground, but no ShadowClan cats were wounded.
Suddenly, I realized that Mintmist was helping Clawthorn fight Sweettail, or Sweetpaw at the time. I was about to go help Sweettail when the battle froze and Waspstar appeared in my dream.
"Petaldawn," he mewed, "this is what would have happened if a confused ShadowClan apprentice hadn't killed Mintmist. He was a traitor, almost like Sleetpelt, only Sleetpelt was a traitor to ShadowClan. You must tell Honeystar this. She will understand."
"But why?" Petaldawn asked. "Why was he a traitor?"
"You will find out in time," Waspstar whispered, then faded away. "Everything will become clear in time."
Third Person
Petaldawn woke, breathing heavily. That was a lot different than what she expected to dream! She turned and saw Flowerheart with a sad look on her face.
"What's wrong?" Petaldawn asked.
"You're going home," Flowerheart answered. "Back to WindClan."
"But how?" Petaldawn was confused. "That's not how it works!"
"Well," Flowerheart began, "In extremely rare cases, a cat is allowed to, should I say, replace, a StarClan cat. It was not your time to die, Petaldawn. You need to survive, the Clans depend on it."
"Who will replace me?" Petaldawn asked. "This is confusing!"
"I will." A female cat stepped out of the shadows.
Petaldawn blinked. The cat was still there. No! "Sweettail, don't! I don't want you to die!"
"It is my destiny," was all her sister mewed.
"StarClan will allow you to have a few minutes alone together," Flowerheart said. "Goodbye and good luck."
As soon as Flowerheart left, Petaldawn asked, "What is going on?"
"You know how you died, right?" Petaldawn nodded. "Well, after you did die, Waspstar appeared in the clearing. He said, 'One cat must come to StarClan so Petaldawn may come home.' There was a lot of arguing. Seedpelt wanted to come, but I knew this was my destiny."
"I'll miss you, Sweettail," Petaldawn mewed. "I love you."
"I will wait for you," Sweettail mewed sadly. "I only wish we could all live, me, you and Seedpelt, but that is not meant to be."
As if on cue, Flowerheart appeared. "It is time."
Flowerheart padded up to Sweettail and touched noses with her. A silvery glow surrounded Sweettail, the mark of a true, loyal StarClan warrior.
Next, Flowerheart moved to Petaldawn. "Good luck, my kit." They touched noses. Petaldawn felt a tingling sensation. She closed her eyes.
Seedpelt's POV
I lay next to Petaldawn. Her body was cold and lifeless.
"What if she doesn't come back?" I fretted. "What if Sweettail dies as well?"
Nobody answered, so I pushed my nose into Petaldawn's fur.
Suddenly, she woke up. Her pelt was warm again and her eyes no longer glassy.
"Seedpelt?" she croaked. "Are you there?"
I sprung up. "Petaldawn! You're back!"
She stood as well and our tails twined. "I missed you! It's boring in StarClan! All you do other than watch your Clan is eat, sleep, and hunt!" Then she saw Mothstorm. She shrank back.
"What's wrong, Petaldawn?" I asked. "Is something wrong with Mothstorm? Did something happen?"
"Oh, something happened, all right," she growled and stood tall. "She is the one who killed me!"
I gasped, along with all of the other cats. "Mothstorm!" I turned on her. "You traitor! Why did you do this?"
"I did it for you," she growled back. "Because I love you. With her out of the way, I would've had a shot at being your mate!"
Honeystar shot to her paws. "I'll exile her for killing an innocent cat to be someone's mate!"
"No," Petaldawn mewed. "That would be too kind. She would gather up rouges and Clan cats to battle us. She would be happy. You know I hate killing, even for good reason. But this is our best and only option: We must kill Mothstorm."
Mothstorm opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She ran for the exit, but I stopped her with a bite to the neck and she fell.
Nightbird walked up to the body. "You mouse brain!" she hissed. "Only cowards run from a fight! What have I taught you?! Petaldawn was supposed to die and you to live, not the other way around!"
"Nightbird." I hissed. "Did you tell Mothstorm to kill Petaldawn?"
"Of course!" She sneered. "It was supposed to be easy! Mothstorm kills Petaldawn, I kill Mothstorm, and TADA! We're mates!"
"That will never happen!" I yowled. "Honeystar, let's kill her!"
Honeystar had a sly smile on her face. "No. I have a special punishment for her."
"What is it?" I asked.
"She will have to watch you and Petaldawn become mates and have kits," she proclaimed.
So, do you hate me? I killed Sweettail! Mintmist is a traitor! AAAAHH!
Thanks to Born of True Destiny, Brightstar678, shadeflower927, and gingerkit for reviewing!
Born of True Destiny: Thank you and you'll figure it out!
Brightstar678: I'm evil,yes, and you'll figure it out
shadeflower927: I'm so EVIL!
gingerkit: I'll make her in a later chapter
"The forest will fall...
The forest will fall..."
Raggedstar, Runningnose, and Jaypaw in Long Shadows
See ya!
