I'm back! And I've got the second chapter up now! Thank you to MillyKitty101 and Birdflame for reviewing and following the story! It means a lot to me, I swear.
I have questions for you guys! First, I am deciding on whether to end the story after chapter 2, or to continue. I could do either or, but I wanted to see what you guys think. I originally planned to end it here, but if I did continue, it would show how Mapleshade got her revenge, how she got in the Place of No Stars/Dark Forest, and what led up to her meeting Crookedstar.
Also, if you guys notice mistakes, grammatically or consistency wise, tell me please!
Birdflame- I don't agree with Oakstar's decision either, but he was following the warrior code and trying to make a tough decision. It's not completely his fault (just partially).
MillyKitty101- Mapleshade's Vengeance isn't out yet; Erin Hunter is currently writing it, and I believe it is coming out in the spring as an e-book.
Once again, I do not own the Warrior series or any canon characters, Erin Hunter does. This story is strictly for entertainment purposes.
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Mapleshade relaxed her position as the RiverClan tom bounded over to her. She leapt forward.
"Appledusk-" she rasped before being cut off by a hiss.
"Shut it ThunderClan scum! You're on RiverClan territory and-" Appledusk's snarl softened and he took a pawstep back. "Mapleshade?"
"Yes." breathed Mapleshade, struggling to remain calm and not throw herself at Appledusk, both with joy and grief.
"What are you doing on our territory Mapleshade? We haven't met in days." Appledusk meowed in confusion. "And why do you smell odd? Did you swim across the river to get here?" Mapleshade's grief and impatience grew and she hissed in sudden frustration.
"Of course I swam across the river! It's the only way across, and I'm soaked from head to toe!" Mapleshade growled impatiently with a lash of her tail. Appledusk padded over to her and touched his muzzle to hers.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to agitate you." he murmured. "I was just surprised, that's all." Mapleshade's heart sunk, and she knew she had to tell him.
"Appledusk, I-i was banished from ThunderClan. They found out we had been meeting, and they banished me from ThunderClan. I can't even take a pawstep on the territory." she whispered. "And the kits-"
"The kits? We have kits?!" Appledusk asked excitedly jumping back and gazing at Mapleshade in wonder. "Where are they?"
"They-"Mapleshade swallowed. "I had to get across the river, to get to you. I knew we'd be safe here. I tried to help the kits and carry them but the river was so strong, and I was swept away, and I lost the kits! I almost drowned myself, but I just barely managed to drag myself to shore. The kits are gone! I did everything I could to save them, but the river was just too strong!" Mapleshade's voice had reached a loud wail and she stared down at her paws, sorrow for her kits growing inside of her. Appledusk's face went completely still, shock etched upon it.
"They're gone? How?" he sputtered, unable to comprehend what Mapleshade had just told him. He took a step back from the she-cat, shaking his head. Mapleshade inched towards him, eyes filled with grief.
"I'm sorry. I tried!" she whispered again. "I couldn't save them." Appledusk shook his head again before turning to stare at Mapleshade.
Our kits…" he whispered. "They shouldn't have died! They didn't deserve this! You shouldn't have brought them here!" Mapleshade flinched and took a step back.
"I thought you could help us. We could become RiverClan cats. Alls we needed to do was cross the river." she muttered.
"They didn't deserve to die! My kits!" Appledusk hissed suddenly, facing Mapleshade with his lips pulled into a snarl. "How could you do this! If you hadn't tried to cross the river, our kits would still be alive!" Mapleshade's jaw gaped open, shocked at the change in Appledusk's behavior.
"You were their father! Because of what we did, my kits and I were banished from ThunderClan!" she cried, sadness mixing with anger. "You said you would take care of us!"
"They were my kits too! I deserved to have a say in their life! Because of you, they're gone! You shouldn't have tried to swim across the river when it was like this! Our kit's deaths are your fault!" Appledusk snarled.
"Please!" rasped Mapleshade, unable to believe what Appledusk was saying was true. "I tried to save them! I almost died! Please Appledusk, I-i wanted us to live in RiverClan together!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I was hoping, after all I've been through, that could still happen." Mapleshade stared at Appledusk, hoping he would forgive and accept her, but to her shock and dismay, the RiverClan warrior only growled at her.
"No Mapleshade. Things cannot be the same, not now. We can no longer be together. I can't stay with you. You should leave RiverClan territory before a patrol finds you." Appledusk told her coldly. Mapleshade blinked. He didn't want her. He blamed her for everything that had happened. That foxheart! He said he loved me, that we would be mates, that he would only ever love me! He promised that he would take care of me!" Mapleshade stood up straighter, trying to regain her composure.
"It is not solely my fault!" she hissed back at him. "I tried to save our kits from drowning! I loved them! I had your kits! You promised you loved me! How can you blame me for all that's happened, when you were just as much a part of it?" Appledusk growled.
"Because it was your fault our kits died! How could you just take kits across the river like that? The kits shouldn't have died, but they did Mapleshade. Because of you!" Mapleshade refused to shrink away from her former mate, though her heart was breaking on the inside and she wanted to screech at him. Instead she lashed her tail and stared Appledusk straight in the eye.
"You might deny me Appledusk, but Riverclan has not!" she stated, trying one last attempt to remain within the Clans and with her mate. "I wish to speak with the RiverClan leader, Pikestar, and ask if I can stay with RiverClan." Appledusk snarled and paced back and forth in front of Mapleshade, clearly furious and upset at her request.
"Fine! I'll take you to Pikestar!" he snapped. "But don't expect anything from him. Or me! You're a traitor through and through, and our kits are gone thanks to you! You think RiverClan will accept you where i haven't?" He hissed the last part before stalking towards camp, a heavily grieved and bedraggled Mapleshade slowly trailing behind him. Appledusk didn't say one word the whole way to his camp, and Mapleshade's sense of betrayal grew within her. As they entered camp, RiverClan cats turned their heads her way, staring at her as if she were a badger. A queen poked her head out of the nursery, only to squeak with alarm and duck back inside. Whispers echoed around Mapleshade, and her fur bristled more, spiking her pelt.
"Who is that, and why is she with Appledusk?"
"A ThunderClan warrior! In our camp!"
"What's a ThunderClan warrior doing here?"
Two kits rushed out of the nursery, staring across the camp at Mapleshade.
"ThunderClan is attacking!" one squealed.
"No fish-brain, Appledusk obviously captured a ThunderClan warrior!" the other kit corrected its littermate.
"Looks like the ThunderClan apprentice took a swim in the river!" one of the RiverClan cats mocked, resulting in a chorus of snickers from some of the warriors. Mapleshade's pelt burned and she flashbacked to her near death experience, attempting to swim across the river with her kits. My kits! How dare these RiverClan mousebrains make fun of me!
The den on the other side of the camp trembled and a large tabby tom stepped out of it. The tom caught sight of Mapleshade and narrowed his eyes, padding over to where Mapleshade and Appledusk stood.
"What is the meaning of this Appledusk." the tom's voice rumbled.
"This ThunderClan warrior wanted to speak with you Pikestar." he mewed coldly, ignoring Mapleshade and refusing to look at her. Mapleshade stared at the RiverClan leader, drawing herself to her full height.
"What do you want, ThunderClan cat?" he asked with an edge in his meow.
"Pikestar, I...I wish to join your Clan." Mapleshade heard the rest of the RiverClan cats gasp, and she continued. "ThunderClan has rejected me and banished me from their territory. My own Clan turned its back on me, but I was a loyal warrior and had sacrificed everything to my Clan." A growl rumbled in Appledusk's throat when she said that, but Mapleshade decided to ignore him this once. "I would like to ask to become part of RiverClan." Mapleshade bowed her head. All around her, RiverClan cats murmured excitedly, and a few began yowling.
"How can a ThunderClan cat join RiverClan? She may be soaked, but I bet she couldn't swim for the life of her!"
"How does a tree climber and squirrel chaser expect to survive on fish and hunt in water?"
"How can we be sure this isn't a ThunderClan trick?"
"How can we trust her? Even ThunderClan didn't want her!" Mapleshade spun around and hissed at the warrior who had spoken, a pale, lithe tom who narrowed his eyes at Mapleshade. Pikestar waved his tail, and the clearing fell silent. He gazed down suspiciously at Mapleshade with amber eyes.
"Why do you want to join our Clan? How did ThunderClan come to banish you?" he asked gravely. Mapleshade gazed at her paws, trying not to snarl at the RiverClan leader. She didn't know how to answer his question, so she snuck a gaze at Appledusk. He was staring at her, his expression unreadable, until he stepped forward.
"Pikestar, I must tell you something." he announced, every RiverClan cat's head turning towards him. "I have met with Mapleshade before. We would meet at night along the border. And she came here because she bore my kits." The whole Clan gasped. One of the queens ushered her kits back inside the nursery. Warriors stared at Mapleshade and she could almost feel the hostility from the cats. Pikestar had narrowed his gaze, eyes darting between Appledusk and Mapleshade, as if he were searching for something.
"I see no kits." he said with an edge in his voice. Mapleshade ducked her head.
"They-they drowned." she whispered. Appledusk lashed his tail angrily, but when Mapleshade looked at him, his eyes were filled with sorrow. More whispers came from the surrounding cats.
"Oh, poor thing!" one she cat cried.
"How'd they drown? What happened?" another questioned.
"Bet she drowned them herself." one muttered, so low Mapleshade almost didn't catch what he had said. She spun around, hackles raised and lips curled into a snarl.
"I would never hurt my kits! How dare you!" she hissed in outrage, fur spiking to double its usual size. Her claws unsheathed and she crouched down, ready to claw the cat's face.
"Mapleshade!" Appledusk interrupted sternly, moving so he was in between her and the RiverClan warrior she had nearly attacked. Both cats were glaring at each other, fur bristling and claws out.
"Silence, everyone! No cats will fight here tonight!" Pikestar ordered before turning his attention back to Mapleshade. "I don't believe any mother could harm her cats. Yet I don't know exactly why they aren't here. It does look a little suspicious." He stared at Mapleshade with bright yellow eyes and Mapleshade let her fur fall flat again.
"Mapleshade tried to swim with them across the river. They were lost in the current." Appledusk explained, glaring at Mapleshade, his voice thick with grief and disgust. Horrified gasps filled the camp, and for once in her life, Mapleshade did not feel like one of the strongest and bravest warriors of the Clan; she felt like a tiny kit again, small and unable to defend herself. "The river was extremely swollen," Appledusk continued. "Even a RiverClan cat would have difficulty."
"Oh those poor kits!" a ginger she cat cried out. Mapleshade glanced at her. It was a young, pretty she-cat, probably too young to have had any kits yet. Don't act like you felt their pain! Mapleshade want to snarl at her. They were my kits and I lost them! You were not their mother!
"That is...very unfortunate." Pikestar mewed, bowing his head. "It is always a shame when young cats, especially kits, must enter StarClan. May our ancestors watch over them now." The Clan remained silent, watching Pikestar as he kept his head lowered for a few moments, then raising it to look at Appledusk. "These were your kits too then."
"Yes." Appledusk said, back to ignoring Mapleshade, his chin raised and eyes bright.
"You know that both of you have broken the warrior code then." Pikestar added.
"I have not seen Mapleshade in a moon! I have always been a loyal RiverClan cat! I was never going to leave my Clan, or become loyal to another one!" Appledusk interjected. "Is it wrong for me to care about my kits, my own blood? I grieve for them too! I had not even had the chance to meet them!" Appledusk sounded heartbroken and Mapleshade wanted to cry out to StarClan. Appledusk would have been the perfect father. He would have loved our kits just as much as I did. Why did everything have to change? Is this my punishment for falling in love?
"I am sorry for you and your kits Appledusk." Pikestar nodded at the warrior. "Are you then mates with Mapleshade?"
"No." he replied, and Mapleshade flinched. "When I found out she had tried to swim across the swollen river, which ended up killing our kits, I told her I could no longer be her mate." Mapleshade stared at Appledusk longingly. But you said you loved me! Will no one help me? Have I really lost everything, even my mate?
"Do you wish for her to be in RiverClan?" Pikestar asked. Mapleshade stiffened and Appledusk sent a quick glance her way before returning his gaze to his leader.
"It is your decision Pikestar. I just want you to know that we are no longer mates and that I am a loyal Riverclan cat! I would never betray my Clan. I won't make the same mistake of breaking the warrior code again." Mapleshade winced again. That's what he considered her; a mistake. Gone was the loving gaze he would give her, the warmth of his pelt against hers. He had truly given up on her, deserted her when she needed him most. Is it even worth trying to join RiverClan? Could I make Appledusk love me again?
Pikestar shook his head, staring at the ThunderClan queen. "Mapleshade, I am sorry for the loss of your kits. But I do not think you belong in RiverClan." Mapleshade stared back in shock, her whiskers quivering.
"But you must help me!" she cried. "My Clan has turned against me, I have lost my kits! My kits were part RiverClan!"
"You're kits are sadly not here. They will not have the chance to be raised as RiverClan warriors because of your decisions."
"Pikestar, are you sure on your decision? I mean no disrespect, but won't we let her stay the night?" the ginger she-cat spoke up again.
"Reedshine, no, I am sorry. Mapleshade, you must leave tonight. RiverClan cannot afford to shelter a cat such as yourself."
"I can't leave the Clans! Please!" Mapleshade pleaded, trying one last time to persuade the RiverClan leader. But alls he did was shake his head.
"You are not a RiverClan cat, nor do I think you ever could be. You would not be accepted here, by RiverClan itself or the other Clans. You still consider ThunderClan your home; I can see it now, the way you speak of your former Clan. Perhaps your kits would have been great RiverClan warriors, but for now I must ask you to leave." Pikestar nodded at a group of warriors. "My warriors will escort you out of our territory." he told her, before padding back into his den and disappearing. Mapleshade felt blindsided by the entire ordeal; even RiverClan had not accepted her. She felt something nudge her side and turned to see a RiverClan looking at her with a displeased look on his face.
"Come with us. We'll escort you out." he mewed. Mapleshade's tail drooped and she began to follow him. He led the way past the nursery, another warrior beside him, and one behind Mapleshade. They paused once beside Appledusk, glaring at him. Mapleshade looked up at him.
"Can I talk to you quickly?" she asked. Appledusk paused for a moment, then nodded silently, flicking his tail at the other warriors. She waited until they were out of earshot before she began speaking. "I-i am so sorry I could not bring you our kits safely-"
"Make this quick Mapleshade. I don't want your apologies, and I have a Clan to get back to." Appledusk stated coldly. Mapleshade recoiled.
"You-you really don't love me anymore?" she asked incredously. "After all you said, all you promised. I loved you! You said you would always love me! We could be together! You threw away everything! You broke your promise! You go around prancing in your Clan now, but you broke the code just as I did, yet I am treated as the outcast!" Mapleshade's voice rose to a loud hiss and her lips curled in anger. "What true, loyal warrior breaks a promise to his mate? What warrior breaks a promise that he said he would keep with his whole heart?!"
"Enough Mapleshade!" Appledusk ordered, growling softly. "This won't change anything! I am a RiverClan cat. I belong here. We change as the river does. Sometimes promises can't be kept. You don't belong in RiverClan Mapleshade. Perhaps things could have been different. But your actions created this mess. This is the only way to fix it." He glared at her with a harsh look in his eyes, and Mapleshade knew she could never be mates with Appledusk; he would never accept her for who she was. She unsheathed her claws.
"At least I'm not a fox-hearted traitor who turned his back on the cat he promised to love!" she snarled. "Our promise should have meant everything to you, but apparently it meant nothing! That's all you are, a bunch of empty promises!" Mapleshade felt something stir inside of her. "Thats all any Clan cat is, empty promises! Every Clan cat I knew betrayed me when they were supposed to stand beside me, their Clanmate! They all broke the warrior code, just as much as I did!" She shoved her face close to Appledusk, standing less than a pawstep away from his muzzle. "You're wrong Appledusk. Promises should always be kept! Every Clan cat should know that. You're going to realize one day that you should have kept your promise! Promises are what makes us strong!" Mapleshade's eyes glitttered but before she could say anything else, the ginger she-cat from before bounded over, glancing at Mapleshade with a wary look and brushing against Appledusk.
"Is everything alright?" she asked him.
"Everything's fine Reedshine. I was just escorting her out of camp." he said stiffly. Reedshine looked a little dubious but she nodded and padded away. Appledusk glared at Mapleshade then stalked out of camp, motioning for her to follow. With no other choice, Mapleshade growled and followed, staring at him silently the whole time. When they reached the border of RiverClan, Appledusk turned to her.
"This is it. Back that way is an old Twoleg place. Perhaps you can go there, become a kittypet or a loner or something." Appledusk muttered before beginning to pad away.
"I can't be a Clan cat." Mapleshade whispered, the horrible reality of it seeping in. Appledusk glanced back at her, eyes filled with sadness.
"Goodbye Mapleshade." he murmured, bounding off back into Clan territory. Mapleshade stared after him, tail around her paws.
"Goodbye Appledusk." she whispered.
XXX
Mapleshade crouched down, eyes perfectly focused on a thrush only a few mouselengths away. She padded closer slowly, careful not to step on any twigs. When she was close enough to reach out with her paw and grab it, she lunged forward, claws unsheathed as she pounced on the thrush and killed it in one short blow. It had been a couple moons since her banishment from the Clans. She had become a loner, refusing to become a lowly kittypet who depended on Twolegs for food. She in a patch of woods outside of the Clan territories-but that didn't mean she kept a watch on her former home.
A moon or so ago, she had snuck down the borders to Fourtrees. The moon was full, which meant a Gathering would be taking place. She had climbed a nearby tree to watch the Clans meet as she had once done not so long ago. Her fur was covered in mud to cover her scent, not that it mattered so much. She had lost most of the ThunderClan scent which had once clung to her fur like a burr. She watched silently from her place in the tree, peering through the leaves. She took notice that Appledusk had not attended this Gathering, most likely as punishment. She watched as her former Clanmates excitedly talked with other Clan cats, as the apprentices showed off their battle moves to each other, as Leafdawn's kits were announced. She hissed soflty when the Gathering had finished, neither RiverClan or ThunderClan making any mention of her at all. It was as if every cat had forgotten her. Mapleshade dug her claws into the tree's bark, waiting for every Clan cat to leave before she climbed down and ran back towards the forest she had come from. She stopped at the edge of ThunderClan and RiverClan's border along the river, on the RiverClan side, pricking her ears.
"Do you smell that? I think I've picked up a scent!" an excited mew came through the reeds. Mapleshade hissed in annoyance and leapt out of the territory, hiding in a small shrub nearby. Just a few fox-lengths away from where she had been, a RiverClan patrol appeared, two warriors and a tiny apprentice sniffing around the reedbed.
"Of course you've picked up a scent!" One of the warriors scoffed. "Any kit can pick up a scent!"
"It smelled different though!" protested the apprentice.
"We're across the river from ThunderClan. Perhaps you're just picking up scents from there." the other warrior said, turning his head. Mapleshade's heart stopped for a moment. Appledusk! It's him! A mixture of love and anger welled inside of her; she didn't know whether she should still love him or hate him for breaking his promise.
"I smelled something new and different! I bet it was a rogue!" the apprentice insisted.
"Come on Duskpaw. We have to patrol more than just this part of RiverClan's territory." the first warrior said, padding away with the disgruntled apprentice trailing after him, clearly unhappy that her find had turned out to be nothing. Appledusk turned to follow them, but then stopped, whiskers twitching and nose scenting the air. He turned back toward the reedbed, looking around quickly. Mapleshade crouched lower, knowing he had picked up her scent. She wondered if he knew that it was she who had walked on his territory, who was watching that very moment. He kept looking around for a few moments, and for a split second he caught Mapleshade's eye and held it, despite her being covered by the bushes. He took a step forward, stopped, then turned around and ran after the patrol. Mapleshade gazed after him, disappointed.
That had been a moon ago. As Mapleshade fiercely bit into her thrush, she realized that it was time for another Gathering. Should she go? I told myself I wouldn't go back, that I would turn my back on them just as they had done to me. I can't live the rest of my life spying on the Clans and wishing I had been a part of them. But Mapleshade's paws itched just thinking about the Gathering. Once more. I'll go one more time. She finished her thrush, and then waited until moonhigh before sneaking back down the river and finding the same tree she had snuck into before.
It wasn't long before the Clans had gathered. Pikestar and Oakstar nodded at each other before climbing up Fourtrees. This time, Appledusk was with the RiverClan warriors, and Mapleshade's eyes glittered as she watched him speaking with a large white tom and a ginger she-cat.
"Let the Gathering begin!" Oakstar announced, and the clearing went silent. "ThunderClan brings good news. We have two new warriors, Robinfeather and Blackfoot!" the Clans cheered their names and Mapleshade spotted the two new warriors with their chests puffed out proudly, remembering when they had been apprentices play fighting outside of her den. "Prey has been running well, and no kittypets have strayed onto our territory in a long time." ThunderClan cheered loudly and Oakstar bowed his head, allowing Pikestar to speak. The RiverClan warrior gazed out at the Clans.
"RiverClan has also been doing well this past moon!" he called. "We have a new apprentice, Duskpaw!" Duskpaw's name was cheered and Mapleshade saw the slight blue-grey she cat looking embarassed yet proud as her Clanmates around her called her new name. "And we will soon have new kits in the Clan as well! Reedshine is expecting Appledusk's kits!" Mapleshade felt her heart drop and her breathing quicken. The Clans cheered, Appledusk looking proud, but alls Mapleshade felt was hurt, pain, anger, and betrayal. "Our medicine cat says it will be about a moon until the kits come. We thank StarClan for new kits for our Clan, and our new apprentice Duskpaw!" The RiverClan leader became quiet, allowing the ShadowClan leader to step forward, but Mapleshade didn't focus on what the leader was saying. She quickly climbed down the tree and bounded away from the group of cats, panting hard. She couldn't believe it was possible; Appledusk couldn't have just found another mate so quickly!
He can't be having another litter of kits! Especially with some RiverClan mange-pelt! Mapleshade stopped to catch her breath, glaring angrily at her paws as she unsheathed her claws and dug into the ground. He promised to only love me! He promised! And now he's forgotten about me, taken another mate, and is having kits with her! That should be me by his side as his mate! Our kits should be growing up, ready to become apprentices soon! Mapleshade let out a loud yowl. She glared at RiverClan's territory, thinking of Appledusk and his new mate, Reedshine, the ginger she-cat who had annoyed Mapleshade when she had been in their Clan. And out of every cat, he picked her! Mapleshade growled loudly. Now she knew; Appledusk no longer cared for her at all and she, Mapleshade, had been completely forgotten by the Clans she had dedicated her life to. She stared out at the Clan territories, lifting her muzzle into the air and curling her lips into a snarl.
"The Clans won't forget me so easily!" she snarled loudly, no longer caring if any patrol spotted her or heard her. "I'll make them regret they so easily turned me away! I promise this isn't the last time I will see the Clans! I promise that I will bring destruction to the Clans that wronged me!" Her eyes glittered. "And I always keep my promises!"