Disclaimer- I don't own anything!
Mix- Well, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Not Another Forbidden Love Story!! (yes, I changed the title) I'm sorry it took so long to get uploaded!

Mousefur- You better be sorry! You kept the readers waiting for 9 sunrises!

Mix- Mousefur…? Why are you commenting in my author's note?

Mousefur- Because Crowfeather couldn't be here. Why would you want him here anyways? I'm so much smarter and prettier and wiser than that WindClanner!

Mix- As true as that may be, I think the viewers would much rather see Crowy than you… No offense. But you have fans! You're my favorite ThunderClanner!

Mousefur- As long as I'm someone's favorite… Anyways, on behalf of Mixstar, on with the chapter!

Mix- Hey, that's my line!

:.:Chapter One:.:
The Dream

Mist hung in the air and dew clung to crisp blades of grass. It was not yet sunrise, but it was humid enough to make any cat pant. Somewhere in the distance, most likely near ThunderClan's territory, a bird called out. Besides that, everything was quiet.

All of a sudden there was a splash. A frog jumped out of the reeds, clearly trying to get away from something, or someone. Moments after the frog had appeared a small sleek she-cat came running after it. Her clear blue eyes were wide with excitement and glee. "Ha, now I've got you!" She purred as she struck out her paw. The frog looked up at the looming shape above it, its eyes large with fear.

In one quick movement, the frog dove under the ginger patched cat. Surprised, she reared back.

"Mouse dung!" She spat when the sound of a small body hitting the water's surface reached her ears. With a sigh, Icepaw hurried out of the chilly lake, shaking drops from her pelt. When she got to dry land, a scent hit her. "What the?" She murmured to herself, inhaling deeply. The air smelled of cat, though vaguely familiar. It had the same fishy RiverClan scent as Icepaw, though the other elements that made it up smelled of brooks and forest.

"Who's there?" The apprentice tried to sound harsh, but her mew came out as a squeak.

"No one to be afraid of, I assure you." A large tom came walking from behind a small group of boulders. Icepaw jumped back, hackles raised. His tabby markings were dark, but his amber eyes showed warmth.

"Who are you?" The she-cat growled, unsheathing her claws. The tom laughed, though it was a bit rusty, as if he hadn't laughed in moons. His crooked jaw caught her attention, and her glare traveled from it up to the stranger's eyes, then back to his jaw.

"I come in peace, Icepaw. Now lay your fur. You should show no hostility to a former leader; it's disrespectful." Leader…? He had also said something about being a former leader. If that was true, he would have to be… "Dead." The tabby finished her thought. "You are a fairly bright apprentice." Icepaw felt the ground beneath her paws tremble, and her vision became blurry.
"Whoa, careful." The leader said softly as he steadied her with his nose.

"How can I be dead? This isn't fair! I was fine when I fell asleep… StarClan couldn't have been so horrible to let me die in my sleep!" The white apprentice wailed. The tom looked at her waiting, hard amusement in his eyes. "Wait… I fell asleep… So, I'm not dead! I must be dreaming!" Icepaw beamed. The tom also smiled, nodding.

"Then… Who are you? And if you are a former leader, then why have I never heard of you? And if I'm not dead, why are you here visiting me?"

"I am Crookedstar, past leader of RiverClan." Crookedstar stood tall, confidence and leadership rolling off of him in waves. "It has been many, many seasons since I have led my Clan. Not even the elders in RiverClan now would remember me." Grief clouded his eyes for a few heartbeats, but then kindness returned to his eyes.

"I am visiting you to talk to you about your choices in the near future." When Icepaw looked at him confused, the tom held up his tail for silence. "As I have said before you are a very bright apprentice. Do you know what the Warrior Code says about being in love with a cat from another Clan?"

"It says it is dishonorable and wrong." Icepaw wasn't that sure whether or not that was right or not, but it only seemed common sense that you find a mate within your Clan.

Crookedstar nodded. "Very good." All of a sudden, a gust of wind buffeted the two cats' fur. Icepaw shivered, while Crookedstar just looked annoyed. "I must go. StarClan is calling." He turned away from the apprentice and bounded off.

"Wait, why did you ask me that?" The she-cat called after him, surprised when the leader left so quickly. The tom looked over his shoulder, and in what sounded like a threat, he growled, "Just remember that it is forbidden!" And with that, Crookedstar vanished into the mist.

~-~-~

"Icepaw!" The apprentice opened her eyes groggily, aggravated that someone had woken her from her dreams. "Icepaw, wake up you snoring badger!" She felt a paw jab her side, and jumped up. "Crookedstar!" She exclaimed. Had the former leader followed her into the waking world?

A small tabby she-cat looked at her friend, her green eyes questioning. "Crookedstar? Who's that? Did you hit your head or something while you were asleep?" Icepaw's breathing slowed and she smiled reassuringly to Fernpaw.

"Um, no one... And no, I didn't hit my head!" She playfully batted at the other apprentice, and soon they were a tumbling ball of fur that flew out of the apprentice's den.

"Well, I see that you have time to play, but no time for training." Meowed a familiar voice. The two broke apart immediately. Icepaw looked down at her paws,

"Sorry, Nightwhisker." Her mentor gave her a hard look, and then sighed. "I told you yesterday that were going to go practice battle moves at the Reedy Brook at sunhigh. Where is the sun?"

"In the middle of the sky." Icepaw mumbled.

"Precisely. So, instead of going to have fun outside of camp, you are to stay inside camp and get new moss for the elders bedding." The she-cat groaned.

"Stop complaining and get to it. You know how grouchy they get when they haven't had their bedding changed." Nightwhisker glanced at the other apprentice. "Breezepelt was also looking for you, Fernpaw. He wants you to meet him at the Reedy Brook to train." Icepaw felt her face grow hot in embarrassment and anger. Her mentor always expected so much from her! This was only her second time being late for training! The first was when she had just become an apprentice, nine moons ago. It's just because Brookstar is my father! She thought bitterly. She loved her father dearly but the cats in the Clan either feared her, thinking if they made her mad she would tell Brookstar, or thought that she just had to be perfect because she was the leader's daughter. Fernpaw isn't like that! Icepaw reminded herself. Then, there were cats like Fernpaw. Icepaw have a tendency to like those types of cats more than others just because they treated her like any other cat.

As she made her way to the elder's den, Brookstar yowled, "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather under the Cracking Boulder for a Clan meeting!" As warriors and apprentices made their way to sit under the Cracking Boulder, the elderly leader started talking.

"As you all know, the full moon is upon us and the four Clans are meeting tonight. It is my duty as RiverClan leader to let you all know who will be attending the Gathering." He scanned the crowd of cats, leadership and strength warming his amber eyes.

"Swiftbird, Leopardtail and I will of course, attend the Gathering." He nodded to his deputy and medicine cat before continuing, "Swiftstep, Eagleclaw, Berryheart and Breezepelt will be going. Also coming will be Nightwhisker and Adderstrike who bravely chased that fox out of our territory." Icepaw looked above a few heads and saw her mentor smiling and dipping his head respectfully.

Right next to him was Adderstrike, a dark brown tom with lantern yellow eyes. He fluffed out his chest and smiled. He gave a curt nod to Brookstar then turned his head so that he caught eyes with Icepaw. He smiled at her, fluffing his chest fur even more. The she-cat rolled her eyes. Adderstrike was only a few moons older than her, and Icepaw had to admit he was handsome; it was just when he opened his mouth that all attraction towards him vanished. Even if he hadn't help Nightwhisker chase that fox from RiverClan territory, Brookstar would still invite him to the Gathering. He thought Adderstrike was a gift from StarClan, and that he made the perfect match for Icepaw. So, now, Icepaw could no longer choose her mate, and when she was old enough to have a mate, Adderstrike would be hers. Lucky me, the she-cat thought with distaste.

"Now, which apprentices shall be going…?" When Brookstar asked this aloud, all the apprentices leaned forward, anticipating his answer. The tom chuckled before continuing.

"Fernpaw, you'll be coming along with your mentor. Reedpaw, Berryheart has told me your training is going well. For doing so well, you'll be joining your Clanmates at the Gathering. And finally, Icepaw." The leader smiled down at his daughter, which to much of her embarrassment, caused the rest of the Clan to turn her way. She dipped her head and shuffled her paws, waiting for everyone's attention to return to Brookstar.

"With that being said, this Clan meeting has been adjourned." The Clan soon dispersed meowing excitedly to one another. When Icepaw saw Adderstrike making his way to her, she hurriedly made her way to the elder's den.

~-~-~

"Let's go! We don't want to be the last Clan at the Gathering!" Swiftbird meowed grumpily. He sometimes got like that when he was worried or annoyed. He was kneading the ground with his paws, while Brookstar and Leopardtail talked quietly. Warriors and apprentices all lined up, followed by the elders.

Icepaw stood next to Fernpaw, both apprentices looking at Brookstar.

"Who are we waiting on?" Icepaw asked, annoyed. She had been to a few Gatherings before, obviously her being the leader's daughter, but there was just something daring about them. Maybe the thought of being able to talk to rival Clans without them attacking you.

"Adderstrike, who else? He thinks that just because he's your father's favorite he can do what he pleases and be the cause of RiverClan's absence at the Gathering!" Fernpaw grumbled, but nudged her friend. "Don't get your fur all in a bunch. If he makes us late we'll trip into the lake."

Icepaw let out an mrrow of laughter. She had to admit, that did sound appealing.

"Sorry I'm late! I was helping Goldencloud with her kits." Adderstrike came trotting, apology in his eyes.

Brookstar's eyes narrowed but relaxed when the warrior mentioned his mate.
"Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

Swiftbird sighed, "Can we go now?"

Brookstar smiled at his deputy. "Yes, we can go. Thank you for being so patient, Swiftbird." He stood and, signaling with his tail, led the group out of camp.

It wasn't a long trip from the RiverClan camp to the Island where Gatherings were held. The cats were quiet as they made the trek, a few murmuring to the cat next to them. Icepaw was just about to comment to Fernpaw on how bright the full moon was when a peculiar drifted to her nose. Trees…? She glanced at Fernpaw then to Reedpaw who was pacing in front of them. They didn't show any sign of smelling anything out of place. Maybe the breeze carried ThunderClan's tree scent over the lake…

"Icepaw…" Instinctively the ginger patched apprentice turned her head to the sound of her name being called. Sitting not far on a boulder was a large tabby tom. His amber eyes were hard as stones and he seemed to be glaring at her. Icepaw was taken aback by the obvious hostility. Her eyes traveled to his crooked jaw. Suddenly, her dream came rushing back to her. Crookedstar! She gaped at the leader, and her vision got blurry. What was happening to her? She had dreams of dead leaders and now she saw them when she was awake?

"Remember what we discussed… Falling in love with a cat outside your Clan is forbidden… It only leads to death…" Crookedstar said, a hint of warning in his voice. When Icepaw felt someone butt her shoulder, she snapped her head to the other side.

"You okay, Icepaw? You look ill. Should I go get Leopardtail?" Fernpaw's green eyes were full of worry.

"W-what? Uh, no, I'm fine. I was, um, just thinking. Thank you though, Fernpaw." Icepaw smiled reassuringly; well at least tried. It looked more like a grimace than anything. Worry was replaced by hurt as Fernpaw looked back at Icepaw. She must think I'm hiding something… But if I told her that I'm seeing some past leader, she would think I was crazy!

When Fernpaw turned her gaze from Icepaw, she snuck a glance over her shoulder to see if Crookedstar was still sitting on the boulder. He wasn't.

Mousefur- What do you mean elders get grumpy when our beddings old? We have a right to be! There's ticks and twigs and-

Mix- Of course, of course.

Well, how was the first chapter? I wanted to introduce the cat playing Romeo in this chapter, but Icepaw's chapter was a little bit too long. I would personally like to thank xLeafheartx for providing cat names and bios, and I would like to give credit to Glass Silhouette, whose wonderful Warriors name guide helped me create a few names! –Crowfeather lovers unite! xD- Thank you for those who reviewed!

Tell me what you think, and what I could improve. I think I may have used too many commas and maybe made the chapter a bit dull… But that is why I need your reviews! To tell me to 'stop using so many commas!' or '*snore* this was utterly boring!'… Perhaps that a little too dramatic. Read and review!

P.S.: Should I put up a list of all the cats in the Clans? I don't know if you guys can live with or without one, so just reply!