AN: Yes, I know it's been a while. I've been busy and very distracted lately. So here's the next chapter! Only two more chapters left after this.

Chapter 21

Tonight there would be a Gathering. LeafClan and DayClan sat together as if they were one. But Icepaw could see the tension between cats as Flarestar tried to keep them calm. She had reassured everyone that they would leave as soon as the Gathering was over. But to Icepaw it felt like this would never end.

She grabbed a sparrow from the fresh-kill pile before returning to her usual spot. Rosefall and Seawhisker were acting like long-lost friends. Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she watched them talk. How her own mentor could forgive so easily was beyond her.

Rosefall doesn't care about me, she thought angrily. She wouldn't have given me up in the first place!

"Are you really going with your mother?" Stormpaw looked down at his paws while Brightpaw stared at him in dismay.

"I know it sounds selfish, but I miss her," he admitted. "It'll be nice to be a family again."

"You're just about to become a warrior!" Brightpaw protested. "You'll have to wait even longer if you leave."

Icepaw could sense the desperation in her voice. She had never thought of Brightpaw ever loving another cat. But as she watched their exchange she could see how sad Brightpaw really was. Couldn't Flarestar see how this was tearing the Clan apart?

"Let all cats old enough gather around the Fallen Oak for a Clan meeting!" Swampstar's yowl drew back Icepaw's attention. Flarestar stood beside him, tail flicking from side to side as her own Clanmates gathered around her. He glanced at Flarestar, giving her a chance to speak.

"I know that this has been difficult for my cats as well as yours," she began. "Which is why by tonight we will be returning to our home. We have no need to claim territory here, and being here only causes us more pain."

She looked at some of the few cats that had been complaining pointedly. Icepaw felt a shiver run down her spine as she wondered just how much Flarestar knew about the spreading rumors. A few cats had already decided to join their old Clanmates. But most had refused to forgive them for what had happened to them.

"I respect your decision to leave, and I hope you have moons of peace after tonight," Swampstar meowed. He dipped his head respectfully. Flarestar returned the exchange and jumped off of the Fallen Oak. She was joined shortly after by Reedshine, who shot Swampstar a hostile glare.

It felt like moons had passed before the time finally arrived. Icepaw rose to her paws and followed the other apprentices towards the camp's entrance. Flarestar was once again at Swampstar's side. Reedshine and Ravenfeather were close by. Both cats watched their leaders closely, as if waiting for signs of hostility.

A warm breeze ruffled the back of Icepaw's fur as she followed the cats across the undergrowth. There were fewer DayClan cats than usual. Icepaw only assumed this was because Swampstar didn't want the other Clans to get suspicious. Flarestar's arrival and announcement would be enough of a shock.

"And now we must leave for the Gathering," Swampstar added after an uneasy silence filled the clearing.

The group to leave was already at the camp's entrance. Icepaw followed Brightpaw and Bramblepaw. Reedshine's tail was flicking irritably as she watched the DayClan cats. The tension from earlier had never left her, and Icepaw doubted it ever would. She knew that she could never forgive the Clans for what they had done to her, or the other Chosen for that matter.

Swampstar led the way through the undergrowth as the Clans became one. Memories of her first run through the forest coursed through Icepaw. This was where she had learned her fate. Rosefall had told her what would happen at the Meeting Hollow. That was why Whiteclaw had refused to visit her. He knew that she would become the Clan's next Chosen.

Bitter sorrow clenched at Icepaw's heart as she followed the group. None of this would have happened in the first place. Part of her wanted to blame StarClan for everything. But she knew it wasn't their fault. The Clans had feared StarClan's wrath. It turned them into mousebrains. It made them make stupid decisions.

"We're here." Shadefrost's mew broke Icepaw from her thoughts. She glanced at the senior warrior and saw worry in her eyes. This would be Shadefrost's first time at the Meeting Hollow since she was marked as her Clan's Chosen.

"Hopefully the Gathering won't be too long," Sootpelt sniffed. "I'd like to be back in my nest at home."

Brokensong nodded in agreement. Her claws sheathed and unsheathed as she followed the rest of the group into the hollow.

Icepaw recognized the stench of WoodClan almost instantly. She remembered it from her days as a kit. Hazelstar had spent the day with Graystar discussing border issues one time. Those issues had never really been resolved as far as Icepaw could tell. Hazelstar was still glaring at Swampstar as he jumped onto the tallest root. Sparrowstar was with them. He watched the LeafClan cats with keen interest.

"What is this?" Hazelstar spat. "Who are all these cats?" She glared at Swampstar, who seemed unafraid of the look.

"You will find out soon enough," Flarestar snarled. The venom in her voice seemed to make the ground tremble. Hazelstar flinched as though she recognized Flarestar.

Than it hit Icepaw like a claw. Hazelstar was Flarestar's mother! She could see the similarities between the pair. Flarestar had Hazelstar's short fur. She was small unlike the rest of her Clanmates. Icepaw could even see faint patches of brown in Flarestar's fur.

No wonder they hate each other so much, Icepaw realized.

Soon Sagestar arrived with his group of cats. He didn't seem as surprised as Hazelstar had. In fact, his face was a mask of eerie calmness. Icepaw wondered if he knew more about this than he'd let on. Icepaw recognized Birdsong among the VineClan cats.

"Now that we are all here, why don't you explain why all of the Chosen are here," Sagestar suggested after a hushed, almost eerie silence filled the air. Hisses of surprise and anger filled the clearing once the other cats realized who the LeafClan cats were.

"We had a battle," Swampstar explained. "Flarestar has agreed to leave us in peace, if we take away part of the warrior code."

Again more yowls of outrage filled the air. Icepaw held her breath as she waited for claws to be unsheathed. She half expected Hazelstar to dig her claws right into Flarestar's throat. The small brown she-cat was glaring at Flarestar with boiling hatred.

"And what part of the warrior code would that be?" Sparrowstar tilted his head to one side as the yowls died down.

"The part that says a kit must be chosen from each Clan to be sacrificed to StarClan!" Flarestar spat. "It's a pointless law. All we do is end up in a different part of the forest if we're lucky."

"The law was created for a reason," Hazelstar snapped.

"So that you could get rid of your only kit?" Flarestar glared at Hazelstar, fur bristling with outrage. And at once Hazelstar flinched. Icepaw's tail flicked from side to side as she waited for fur to fly. One way or another a battle would break out. "You told Toadstar to choose me as the next Chosen," Flarestar went on. "You said I wasn't strong enough to become a warrior. You said I would be dead as soon as I became an apprentice. Well look at me now! Do I look dead?"

By now her voice had risen to a yowl. Icepaw kept her eyes on Hazelstar. The older leader looked like she was ready to burst.

"No, but you will be dead!" Hazelstar was about to leap at her when Swampstar stopped her. The WoodClan leader glared at him as he held her pinned to the ground.

"Enough!" he hissed. "Look at what you have become! Is this what StarClan wanted?"

As he said those words, clouds began to cover the moon. Blood roared in Icepaw's ears as she waited for Hazelstar's response.

"Swampstar is right," Sagestar meowed. "All of these moons we have lived under fear. It is time to put away the past and look to the future. The kits of our Clans are the future, and we must protect them at all cost."

Murmurs of agreement swept through the crowd. Icepaw bowed her head as she realized that it was over. Hazelstar had calmed down enough to realize what she was about to do. Her eyes were wide with terror as she looked between Flarestar and Swampstar.

"Then have we come to an agreement?" Swampstar glanced at the other two leaders. Hazelstar looked away. Her fur was still bristling until she finally nodded in agreement. Sparrowstar simply flicked his tail in response.

"The law must be changed," he replied.

"Then by the power of StarClan, we have decided to take away part of the warrior code. Kits should be protected, not treated as sacrifice," Sagestar announced.

Icepaw noticed how he had left out the term 'chosen'. She felt a shiver run down her spine as she imagined why he would do that.

Finally, the law had been changed. Finally, the Clans didn't need to live in fear. And finally, LeafClan could return home without having to fight the other Clans. Icepaw let out a sigh of relief she didn't realize she was holding. For the first time in her life, Icepaw felt at peace. She could live to become a warrior at last.

AN: So you get to learn more about Flarestar's past. She's Hazelstar's daughter, and part of the reason Hazelstar hates the Chosen so much. But aside from that, the chapter has come to an end. And Icepaw's story is almost finished. So please let me know what you thought of this chapter. I'd love to hear your feedback!