AN: Fast update today! Thanks everyone for your reviews, they're greatly appreciated. Also, I'm thinking of starting a new FF sometime soon. Not sure when it'll get posted, probably after Legacy of Rain is finished, but it will be posted :)
Chapter 11
The black and white apprentice stalked warily towards the apprentice's den. She was still exhausted from not only hunting, but almost falling off a tree as well. Fallenstar's words still churned in her mind, and she knew that they would never go away.
What Fallenstar said is true, she thought as she retired to her nest. I need to forgive StarClan for what has happened. They aren't the ones who caused this Clan's birth.
A sudden rage coursed through her as she thought of the real reason behind LeafClan's existence. The original leaders were the ones who had started the rules. And Icepaw knew that the only way the rules could be stopped was by convincing all of the Clans to put an end to them.
. . .
Rosefall listened with little interest as the leaders explained what had happened to their Clans. Her announcement wouldn't come until they were finished. Knowing that this was about to happen sent shivers of excitement down her spine. She and the other queens were about to set their pawprints on Clan history.
Finally, Sagestar finished speaking. His amber eyes gleamed with anger when he looked at Hazelstar, who seemed oblivious. Sagestar had once again threatened Hazelstar for sending warriors across the border. The pair were constantly threatening each other, but it never came to a bloody battle.
She took a deep breath and stood up. Mistcloud and Creekfeather looked at her in surprise, while Birdsong simply gave her a nod of encouragement. Hazelstar's eyes narrowed into tiny slits when Rosefall padded through the gathered crowd of startled warriors.
"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded when Rosefall stood in front of her.
"I speak for the sake of the future queens and kits of every Clan," Rosefall meowed. She kept her voice calm and steady, but her legs were starting to tremble as Sagestar and Sparrowstar looked at her in surprise. Only Graystar seemed unnerved by her sudden outburst.
"You are only a warrior," Sagestar snapped. "Get back to your Clanmates and show some respect."
"Let her speak." Graystar's statement made everyone look at him in disbelief.
She looked over her shoulder to look at the gathered warriors. A few were bristling with disbelief, while others whispered to one another as they wondered where this was going.
"What we do to the kits is wrong!" she cried out.
More than one cat leaped to their paws, and she didn't miss the look of anger in Hazelstar's eyes. Sagestar and Sparrowstar shot Graystar cold looks before Mossfire, the queen that had treated her son so cruelly, stepped forward.
"We have done nothing wrong to our kits," she snarled. "All of our kits are safe and well."
The glare Rosefall sent Mossfire actually made her flinch.
"I cannot sit here and watch as more innocent kits are 'Chosen' to be sacrificed to StarClan for something that doesn't even happen," Rosefall continued speaking above the hisses and snarls that followed. "You know as well as I do that the sacrifice we makes has no effect on the peace around the forest."
Anger gleamed within Sparrowstar's eyes, and he was about to open his mouth when Sagestar's tail lashed for silence. The pale gray tom's expression was unreadable. Rosefall knew that he was angry with her sudden outburst. But he had no right to put her in her place - that was Graystar's job.
"You suggest that we are kit-killers?" Sagestar demanded.
Rosefall remained icily silent and held his glare. Mistcloud, Creekfeather and Birdsong stood up and approached them. Sagestar's eyes narrowed into tiny slits when he saw that his own Clanmate stood beside Rosefall.
"Sagestar, too many innocent kits have been killed since the dawn of the Clans," Birdsong meowed. "The rule was created out of fear. We have the power to end it."
"How many other queens agree with this law?" Hazelstar's voice rose above the questioning murmurs that rippled through the crowd.
Surprise flared within Rosefall's chest when Cherryfoot, VineClan's deputy, stood up. Even Duskstorm and Mallowfall were standing up. An awkward silence filled the hollow as Hazelstar studied her Clan. Sparrowstar suddenly thrust his muzzle forward and bared his teeth.
"You all have no right to fight against this rule!" he hissed.
"The rule was set down by StarClan themselves," Hazelstar added.
"The original leaders of the Clan set up the rule out of fear!" Duskstorm yowled back.
This isn't going to end well, Rosefall realized when she noticed that other cats were siding with their leaders.
"The leader's word is law, is it not?" Blackstripe of NightClan demanded.
"The Clans have made a mistake that should never have happened!" Mistcloud shot back. "I don't care what you or anyone else says, this must end now!"
"You're right, it must." Horror coursed through Rosefall when Hazelstar launched herself at Mistcloud. The younger she-cat let out a cry of shock and pain when Hazelstar pinned her down. "Stop this mousebrained nonsense now, Mistcloud," Hazelstar sneered.
Before Mistcloud could get a word in, Hazelstar was pried off. Creekfeather was circling her now, tail lashing from side to side as they looked at one another in shock.
"I won't let you hurt my sister," Creekfeather spat.
Anger gleamed within Hazelstar's eyes, and Harewhisker wasted no time in following her into the crowd of scrambling cats. Rosefall dropped to a crouch as the Gathering spun out of control. The elders were cowering in fear while they were pushed aside, and the apprentices were having a difficult time figuring out who they should fight alongside.
All the while Rosefall had no idea what to do. She didn't expect things to go terribly wrong. She knew the leaders would have a difficult time understanding where this was leading to. But this... cats were turning on their own Clanmates during a time of peace. And it was all her fault.