Chapter 11 The Trial
Star council
Leader- Moon- white she-cat with a silver crescent moon mark on her forehead, silver chest, paws and blue eyes
Second in command- Lunar- dark maroon tom with orange eyes
Members- Leaf- light brown she-cat with white belly, paws, tailtip, muzzle, and yellow eyes
Thistle- dark grey tom with white paws, belly, muzzle and amber eyes
Sun- small ginger tom with brown paws and green eyes
Star- half black and half white she-cat with a orange eye(on the left) and a blue eye (on the right)
Aries- dark violet tom with a white chin, chest, belly, green eyes and thick, dark brown, and curling horns
Taurus- dark brown she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye
Gemini- conjoined twins, one she-cat and one tom. Both golden with light brown stripes and lavender eyes
Cancer- dark red tom with brown eyes
Leo- golden she-cat with a white chin, chest and green eyes
Virgo- light grey she-cat with grey stripes and sapphire eyes
Libra- golden tom with bronze stripes, eartips and purple eyes
Scorpio- red tom with a barbed, curling tail, dark brown tailtip and yellow eyes
Sagittarius- golden tan she-cat with brown paws, eartips, chest, tailtip, swirling stripes and blue eyes
Capricorn- grey tom with dark red eyes
Aquarius- dark blue-grey she-cat with dark purple eyes
Pisces- little white tom with black patches and light blue eyes
Lightpaw carried Darkpaw through the tunnal with the clan behind their tails. Fear raced through Lightpaw's thoughts as they exited the tunnal and entered a large cave. The cave was very pretty; the crystals and the sparkling water shined throughout the caven like starlight glimmering over the night sky. In the cave though, Lightpaw could see rocks that were well suited enough to sit by or on them. They were almost like rank rocks for both warrior and slave alike. Lightpaw could see starry cats sharing tongues with each other or waiting for Lightclan to arrive.
"That must be the Star Council." he thought.
Flashback
Lightpaw paced back and forth in the medicine cats den figuring out a way to get out of this. If Darkpaw was found guilty, would there be a chance that they could make a run for it? But if Darkpaw was found not guilty, what would Lightpaw do if he couldn't walk? Perhaps a few moons off? In Darkpaw's condition, it seemed like the best option. Cloudberry and Doespring were widely amused with Lightpaw pacing back and forth like a father worried about his mate's kitting.
"Lightpaw everything's going to be fine the Star Council will understand." Cloudberry assured.
"How do you know?! We don't even know if they'll agree with us!". he yowled.
"Lightpaw, the Star Council are not the type of cats to simply judge a cat by its pelt. They look at the facts and they vote on their decision. If there is a tie, than the leader breaks the tie with her vote." Cloudberry meowed calmly.
"But I've heard stories from the elders and they've told me told that the Star Council has never taken sides with a slave before." Darkpaw protested.
"Trust me Darkpaw they will. Now listen up you two. You have to be respectful during the trial. Otherwise, you'll have to endure a trial as well, got it?" Cloudberry said firmly.
"Yes Cloudberry." both apprentices meowed.
"Good." she meowed.
"Um excuse me Cloudberry can we come in?" a voice asked.
Cloudberry, Doespring, Lightpaw, and Darkpaw turned to see Flowerpaw, Archwillow, Tinydawn, and Blackfur waiting outside the medicine cat's den. Lightpaw figured they were here to give Darkpaw advice and encouragement. Cloudberry nodded and allowed them to enter. Lightpaw left the medicine cats den and sat on the ground; looking up at the stars and prayed to Starclan that Darkpaw was found not guilty.
Back to the present
Whitestar, Cloudberry, Daisypetal, and the clan walked pass Lightpaw and Darkpaw and sat down in their seats. The Star Council stood in attention as the leader came out of her den and sat down on the higher stone. She was a white she-cat with a silver crescent moon mark on her forehead, paws, chest and blue eyes. Lightpaw looked at the leader as if he had seen her before.
"She looks familiar." he thought.
"Welcome Whitestar, Daisypetal, and Cloudberry take your seats." the leader purred.
Her gaze hardened when she saw Lightpaw holding Darkpaw by the scruff.
"And as for the slave, the filth can sit over there while the other apprentice can sit with his clan." the leader growled.
She pointed with her tail to a pointy rock at the eastern wall of the cave. Lightpaw carried Darkpaw over there while feeling angry and concerned that there might not be a fair trial. Lightpaw setted Darkpaw down gently and sat right next to him. A small ginger tom with brown paws and green eyes stepped forward and looked down at two apprentices.
"State your name please." he meowed.
"I'm Darkpaw." he meowed.
The ginger tom nodded and stepped back. The leader flickered her tail as she looked down at Lightpaw and Darkpaw.
"Address the Star Council by name." she ordered.
Lightpaw's pelt bristled in alarm. He and Darkpaw didn't know any of the Star Council names. However Lightpaw could recall a certain conversation with the elders and the dark-pelt kits.
Flashback
Lightpaw was laying down while bathing in the sunlight. The air was cool and nice and everyone was either out on patrol or in their dens resting. Lightpaw could hear paw steps quickly approaching him.
"Watch out!" Dustfoot shouted.
It was too late. Lightpaw felt a bit of fur hit his side and though he was not hurt, Lightpaw stood up to see that he was towering over Duskkit. She was shaking in fear when she saw that she had ran into Lightpaw.
"S-Sorry Lightpaw." Duskkit squeaked.
Dustfoot rushed over with Applekit, Gingerkit, Shadowkit, Nightkit, and Mistykit behind her feeling horrible and guilty when it was too late to stop Duskkit from running too fast.
"I'm so sorry Lightpaw. Duskkit can be a pawful sometimes." Dustfoot meowed apologetically.
"It's alright Dustfoot. I remember being this energetic as a kit and besides that didn't hurt at all." he meowed smiling.
Lightpaw looked over at Duskkit still feeling guilty and had her ears flattened when she looked at Lightpaw.
"Duskkit you have to be more careful. Some of these cats won't give you the same emotions or idea as I did, so next time just be a bit more careful alright." he meowed calmly.
"Okay!" Duskkit beamed.
She ran away to join the other kits. When the kits were far away from Dustfoot and Lightpaw, they looked at each other with the same feelings of worry and seriousness.
"Has Mistykit asked about why her pelt color is different from the other kits?" Lightpaw asked.
"No thankfully, but Duskkit, Nightkit, and Shadowkit have asked." Dustfoot meowed softly.
"What did you tell them?" Lightpaw asked.
"I told them that Mistykit got her silver fur from their grandmother Archwillow. You know, because she has those silver swirls on her pelt." Dustfoot meowed.
"Okay good. I'm sorry I have to put you in this position Dustfoot." Lightpaw apologized.
"Its alright Lightpaw. I'm glad I get to raise Mistykit. She's so sweet and beautiful. I wouldn't have it any other way." she purred.
Lightpaw smiled and nodded at Dustfoot. He looked over at the slave kits and saw them playing mossball. Than he noticed that Stormkit wasn't playing with his brother Blizzardkit, Glimmerkit, or Shimmerkit. He was just staring at the slave kits wanting to play with them. Lightpaw flickered his tail for Stormkit to come over. He beamed with delight and approached Lightpaw.
"Do you wanna play with the slave kits Stormkit? Lightpaw asked.
He nodded excitedly and his eyes were beaming with delight. Lightpaw chuckled in amusement.
"Alright, but only if it's okay with Dustfoot." he purred.
Stormkit looked at Dustfoot pleading to let him play with her kits. After some consideration, she smiled at him.
"Why not? Of course you can play with them." Dustfoot purred.
Stormkit bounced with joy and ran over to the slave kits. They stopped playing when he approached them. Stormkit smiled and his eyes gleamed with delight.
"Can I play with you guys?" he asked.
The slave kits looked at each other, than they smiled and gave Stormkit the ball.
"Sure." Duskkit said.
Stormkit swiped the ball to Applekit and soon the kits started chasing him throughout the slave camp. Lightpaw and Dustfoot chuckled in amusement. After a while, Lightpaw looked Dustfoot troubled and worried. She looked at him.
"Lightpaw I need you to watch my kits please and Berryspot's." Dustfoot pleaded.
"What? Why?" he asked.
"I promised Tinydawn that I would go with her on a hunting patrol with Glowfur." Dustfoot explained.
"So why are you watching Berryspot's kits if you knew that you were gonna be on a hunting patrol?" Lightpaw asked.
"Berryspot is out with Feathershine and a few other cats on patrol." Dustfoot signed.
"Well okay than. I'll take care of the kits." Lightpaw meowed.
"Thank you Lightpaw. I'll be back soon I promise." Dustfoot meowed.
She padded away to join Glowfur's hunting patrol, than she left the camp. Lightpaw glared down, angry at the fact that slave queens still had to perform their basic duties even after they have their kits. Regardless if it was part of the slave law, Lightpaw vowed to make sure that every part of it would change, but for now, he would have to endure the torture they would go through. Lightpaw looked over at the kits. They were still playing mossball until they decided to play warrior. Lightpaw smiled and looked over at the elder's den and thought of a idea to keep an eye on each of the kits. He padded over to them and the kits stopped playing when he approached them, but they noticed that their mother (and Dustfoot in Applekit and Gingerkit's case) wasn't with them. Duskkit released herself from the group approached Lightpaw with delight.
"Hey Lightpaw, where's mamma?" she asked.
"Your mother is out on a hunting patrol, but don't worry, she'll be back. In the meantime, your mother has asked me to keep an eye on you and your friends, so do you guys wanna go to the elder's den?" he meowed.
"YEAH!" the kits squeaked gleefully.
"Alright than, lets go!" Lightpaw chuckled in amusement.
The kits raced ahead to the elder's den with Lightpaw behind their tails. When they entered the den, Patchtuft and Poppycloud were sharing tongues while Archwillow was laying in her nest about to dose off. Patchtuft and Poppycloud noticed the 7 kits and gave a gentle, welcoming smile. Archwillow opened one of her eyes and saw the kits approaching her. She smiled and got up a bit from her nest with both eyes open.
"Are these my grandkits." Archwillow purred.
"Just the four kits in front of you." Lightpaw purred.
Nightkit, Shadowkit, Duskkit, and Mistykit looked up with pride at Archwillow.
"Hi Grandma!" all four kits squeaked.
"Hello there little ones. What brings you into the elders den?" Poppycloud asked.
"We wanna hear a story from Archwillow please." Stormkit meowed.
"Well than, what kind of story do you wanna hear kits?" she asked.
Duskkit, Shadowkit, and Mistykit looked at Nightkit with worry and concern, but Nightkit looked at Archwillow with a smile of curiosity and excitement.
"We wanna hear the story about aunt Flowerpaw please." she squeaked.
Lightpaw gasped when he heard that. He had heard of Flowerpaw the young, black tortoiseshell apprentice that ate a rabbit when she was suppose to give it to Moonsong. She was found guilty and was placed in a den when the punishment den was damaged by a storm. Flowerpaw escaped along with a warrior name Birchheart and another slave apprentice name Petalpaw. Poppycloud and Patchtuft stared in shock at Nightkit, but Archwillow had a deep sadness and sorrow in her eyes.
"What did your father tell you?" she asked.
Duskkit, Mistykit, Shadowkit, and Nightkit looked at each other unsure about to tell her. After a few moments, they looked back at Archwillow.
"He told us that aunt Flowerpaw was caught eating a warrior's prey, she was taken to the Star Council, she was found guilty and she was never seen again." Nightkit explained.
"Did he say that she was killed?" Archwillow asked.
"He hinted it." Nightkit shrugged.
Archwillow signed and looked down at the ground. Lightpaw was confused; didn't Nettlespring know that Flowerpaw had escaped from Lightclan?
"That's not true." Archwillow meowed.
The kits looked at her confused, Poppycloud and Patchtuft looked away in silence, and Lightpaw stared at Archwillow curious and confused.
"What do you mean?" Applekit asked confused.
"I mean that Flowerpaw isn't dead. Whitestar, Riverstripe, Cloudberry, and Blossomsnow helped her escape from Lightclan along with Birchheart and Petalpaw a season ago when the punishment den was damaged by a storm." Archwillow explained.
The kits stared in disbelief while Mistykit gave a weird look.
"So she's alive?...Why doesn't dad know about this?" she asked.
Archwillow looked at her with a straight face meanwhile Lightpaw looked at Mistykit with sympathy; knowing that he was keeping a secret from Mistykit.
"Your father has always been the determined type. He and Flowerpaw were close and when she and the others escaped, it was a full scale manhunt. I was worried that your father would go after her and risk getting caught by a patrol." Archwillow explained.
The kits nodded, but Lightpaw was still confused and a bit frustrated. He walked towards Archwillow, but turned his head at the kits.
"Kits, I have to speak to Archwillow. Can you wait outside for a moment please?" Lightpaw asked.
"Sure!" they answered
The kits turned and ran outside. When they were gone, Lightpaw turned his head back to Archwillow and Poppycloud and Patchtuft looked at Lightpaw."Archwillow...shouldn't Nettlespring know the truth?" Lightpaw asked.
"True, but I don't want him to risk getting caught by a patrol." she meowed.
"But how did you manage to keep all of this from Nettlespring, wasn't this a well talked about thing?" Lightpaw asked.
"Actually it wasn't." Poppycloud meowed.
"What do you mean?" Lightpaw asked.
"Cats were ashamed when the prisoners escaped. In fact, they were so ashamed, that they told their apprentices and kits that they were actually executed." Poppycloud explained.
"But when things started to die down, cats started to pretend that the prisoners were actually executed and that the escape was to give slaves false hope. They never told kits or apprentices any of this after all that." Patchtuft finished.
"But what about the slaves, what did they say?" Lightpaw asked.
"They whispered about the escape to anti-slave cats, slave kits and apprentices. The queens tell this story still to this day as a proud reminder that a kind-hearted warrior and two brave slave apprentices had escaped such a treacherous place." Archwillow meowed.
Lightpaw nodded. Through all the times he had heard stories from Rivershimmer and Shinefur, they had been stories about how Lightclan and Darkclan was formed, how Darkclan was destroyed and dark-pelt cats became slaves, fun stories of the days when Shinefur and Rivershimmer were apprentices, the stories of his mother and father, some fun stories of other cats, and the story of the Star Council, but even then, Lightpaw realized that most he heard were from Rivershimmer. He wouldn't be surprised if she didn't tell him this, mostly because, Rivershimmer was a supporter of the slave law and like many other cats, she was just as ashamed as others. Lightpaw nodded a thank you to Archwillow and turned his head to the enterance of the elders den
"Alright kits you can come in!" he yowled.
"Coming!" they squeaked.
The kits ran into the nursery and sat in front of the elders. Lightpaw stepped back and sat behind the seven kits. The kits stared gleefully at Archwillow with a hint of curiosity and wonder. Archwillow gave a pleading look at the kits; mostly at Duskkit, Nightkit, Shadowkit, and Mistykit.
"Please... don't tell your father about this kits especially you Applekit, Gingerkit, and Stormkit alright? I don't want Nettlespring to run out of camp and risk getting caught by a patrol, so promise me that you won't tell him okay?" Archwillow meowed sternly.
"Okay." the kits promised.
Archwillow nodded and soon, changed her expression to a sweet and warm smile with her eyes glowing with delight.
"So...what other story do you wanna hear kits? she asked.
"I wanna hear the story about the Star Council please." Stormkit meowed.
"Well then, I suppose I can tell you a bit about them. The Star Council is a group of starry cats that work and live in Starclan. They are the ones responsible for the trials of every warrior/slave in Lightclan and are the ones you gain approval for if you want to pass a new law. There's a leader, a second in command, and 16 members in the Council plus the has only two lives, so if she dies, then the second in command takes over. So tell me, do you wanna know how you can tell them apart?" Archwillow meowed.
"Yes please." the kits squeaked.
"Alright well the leader's name is Moon. She's a white she-cat with a silver moon crescent mark on her forehead, silver chest, paws, and blue eyes." Archwillow explained.
"She sounds familiar." Lightpaw thought.
"Then there's Lunar, he's the second in command of the Star Council. He's a dark maroon tom with orange eyes; he's Moon's son and is the brother of Pisces. Now i'll get on with him later,but for now I want to tell you about the cats you can tell apart. There's Star; she's a half black, half white she-cat with a orange eye on the left and a blue eye on the right. Then there's Aries, he's a dark violet tom with a white chin, chest, belly, green eyes, and thick and dark brown curly horns. The next one is Taurus; she's a dark brown she-cat with a green eye and a blue eye. Then there's Gemini; they're conjoined twins. There is one tom and a she-cat, they're golden with light brown stripes and lavender eyes. The last one is Scorpio; he's a red tom with a barbed, curling tail, a dark brown tailtip and yellow eyes." Archwillow finished.
Back to the present
Lightpaw remembered the names of each cat and he leaned into Darkpaw's ear to give advice.
"Okay so the white she-cat is Moon and the maroon tom is..." Lightpaw whispered.
"Don't worry Lightpaw, I know what to do." Darkpaw meowed.
He stood up and looked at the leader with unfazed eyes.
"That's easy you're Moon, you're Lunar, you're Leaf, Thistle, Sun, Star, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and you're Pisces." Darkpaw meowed.
Lightpaw stared at him surprised and shocked. He didn't think Darkpaw could know any of these names especially the ones Lightpaw never learned from. He stared at Darkpaw confused.
"How did you know all those names?" Lightpaw asked.
Darkpaw sat down and looked at Lightpaw with a smile.
"Flowerpaw gave me advice while you were gone. She told me all about the Star Council and what they look like. You do remember the time you saved her from certain death right?" he meowed.
"Of course. Its just... I didn't think you could remember all those names in a matter of minutes." Lightpaw meowed.
"Huh you really don't know me well now do you?" Darkpaw teased.
"Eh I guess not." Lightpaw shrugged gleefully.
Moon nodded her head and sat down along with the rest of the Star Council. Then she raised her head proudly to the Lightclan cats.
"LET THE TRIAL BEGIN!" Moon yowled.