Rose went through the so-familiar forest that she thought she had left behind forever. Old memories of her old life stirred up, and it was almost like she never left, except now she wasn't following her Clanmates as a member of ShadowClan, but as a prisoner.
There was where she had caught a raven big enough to feed half the Clan.
There was where she went on her first patrol.
All the places were so familiar.
"I bet you are surprised to see the camp," Meadowstar meowed. "After sleeping in abandoned twoleg nests for so long, you probably forgot what a civilized Clan is like."
Rose said nothing, and paused at the camp entrance. If there was a way she could disappear right now and never face her past, she would have done it. Her Clan could never see her again. Not like this.
"Move." Meadowstar led the way into camp, and Mallowfur brushed past Rose in a comforting gesture.
The camp was just as Rose remembered. She looked around and saw everything was the same. There was the warriors den, the nursery…it was all here. There was even a new litter of kits peeking out of the nursery.
Riverclaw, the deputy, looked on at Rose with surprise. "What is going on?"
Meadowstar's gaze passed over Rose with scorn. "An old visitor has come back to visit us."
"But she was banished forever. She is supposed to be dead," Riverclaw objected. "Why has she been brought back here?"
"For her trial," Mallowfur added.
Rose was daunted by the unfriendly greetings, but she didn't expect anyone to wish her back. After what she did to be exiled, everyone scorned her now.
Soon she was surrounded by a mob of cats, most murmuring with disbelief, and Rose noticed the hostile glances they gave her. They were all her friends at one point…
She gasped when she saw a gray tabby streak across the clearing, fur bristled, and claws extended. He looked hungry with battle, and he pounced toward Rose.
She crouched to the ground, prepared to defend herself from the sudden attack when Meadowstar plucked him out of the air by the scruff and he thudded on the ground. "No touching the prisoner. I will not allow this in my camp."
She was horrified. She grew up with this cat, and now he was trying to personally attack her. How many more cats wanted to do this to her?
"Are we having the trial right away?" Riverclaw asked.
Meadowstar cocked her head in thought. "You know, we will have the trial at sunset. I will have to think about this. There are plenty of old memories your presence has stirred up; memories I have wanted to forget, but have been forced to reconsider because of you," she decided. "Riverclaw, take Rose to the prison hold."
Meadowstar left, leaving Rose more exposed to the cats, and she followed behind Riverclaw closely to escape the hatred.
The dark prison hold was not the most pleasant place in the camp. In Rose's life in the ShadowClan camp, there never were any prisoners, and she didn't know what would await her. She was shoved inside, and automatically the darkness enveloped her. She couldn't even see the outline of her paws.
Riverclaw was guarding the entrance. Rose was trapped in the darkness with no way out. Even if she could escape, there was no way she could get through the exit on the other side of the camp without getting caught. She was forced to stay here to face the justice she had been evading for so long.