Chapter 3, Icy Curse

Nightrose sat down heavily in the nursery. The sun shone in through the green, pine roof. Shadefrost was playing with 'his kits'. Icepaw kept pouncing on his tail when Snowpaw was trying to tell him something. Shadefrost stopped for a moment and looked right into Nightrose's eyes. His eyes hid a dark promise - I will know your secret. Nightrose shook herself, and tried to tell herself she was imagining it. For all the warm looks of the day, it was frosty cold. Finally Snowpaw gave up on trying to say whatever she was trying to say and started wandering off into the cold leafbare air. Lavenderstar leapt up onto the High Rock. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the high rock!" she called, her voice resounding more than usual in the crispy air.
Snowpaw bounded back to the nursery, brown leaves flying up in the air as she skidded through them. "Icekit! Do you think we're coming apprentices?"
Icekit rolled her eyes, licking her hind leg as she did so. "Snowkit, we're three moons old. Do you honestly think - wait..."
"What? You think we are becoming apprentices?" Snowkit asked eagerly, tail twitching.
"No!" Icekit lashed her tail. "I was just thinking about the summons. If only the cats that are old enough to catch their own prey then doesn't that mean that the kits that were about to be made apprentices couldn't come?"
Snowkit payed no attention. The details of Clan meetings were of no interest to her. "Whatever," she mewed. "Let's go see what it's about!"
"Did you just listen to anything I just said? We're not old enough to catch our own prey!"
Snowkit twitched her ears. "Do you think Forestpaw is cute?"
Icekit shrugged, then squawked incredulously, "What? Snowkit, we're, like, three moons old!"
"So?"
Icekit rolled her eyes and looked up. A robin flew across her field of vision. The sky was blue, but it was cold and the sun seemed weak. It was beautiful, though. Blue sky turned hazy pink towards the sun, and the only clouds that dotted the sky were white and fluffy. She scanned around the clearing to see where Snowpaw had gone.

Something caught her notice, though.

Why were Shadefrost and Nightrose leaving camp?

The Clan meeting didn't matter. She wasn't theoretically old enough to attend, anyways. She slipped through the tunnel, inhaling the scent of moss as she went. She looked around the leafy trees for them. Brown leaves crunched under her untrained paws as she crackled through the undergrowth. Amazingly, neither Nightrose nor Shadefrost heard her. "You've got a secret, Nightrose. Tell me." Shadefrost's blue eyes flashed with something that was almost anger.
Nightrose's voice shook, high and thin. "Shadefrost, you were very kind to tell everyone that these were your kits."
"I'll take it back if I have to, Nightrose."
"You would do that?" her voice betrayed surprise. "But my kits, Shadefrost. They adore you! Would you do that to innocent kits?"
Icekit shrunk back. What was going on? Shadefrost wasn't her father? What were they talking about? Of course Shadefrost was her father!
Shadefrost growled and spun off into the trees. Nightrose closed her eyes. Icekit hesitantly stepped through the leaves that all but covered her legs. "Mom? What's Dad talking about?"
Nightrose shut her eyes at the terms of endearment. She didn't deserve them. "It doesn't matter, Icekit. Shadefrost wasn't thinking, that's all."
"But Mom, that wasn't what I hea-"
Nightrose spun around, black tail dragging in the leaves. Her eyes were sad. "Sit down, little one, and I'll tell you a story." Then she begun the lie that would haunt Icekit's life forever.
"Shadefrost loves you, Icekit. And... he loves Snowkit, and he loves me. But sometimes he forgets things, and... he's not entirely right in the head. He makes up alternate versions of things sometimes. I love him very much, and sometimes you have to play along with his alternate versions of things."
Icekit nodded, taking it very seriously. After all, why would her mother lie? "Thank you for telling me, Nightrose."

As Icekit padded back to camp in the cold air, cold tears ran down Nightrose's face. It seemed like any love she had was cursed. Her love for her Clan had been destroyed when she fell in love with Maskface. Her love for Maskface had been sucked into a black hole when he rejected her. And last and most painfully of all, her love for her kits had been destroyed when she had been forced to tell one of them a lie.

All because of one, stupid, mistake. And by the time Nightrose arrived back at camp, clouds had covered the sky, and cold icy snowflakes began to fall.

Ok, I'm done! About the title of this chapter: There were so many different versions! First it was Dangerous Love, then it was Dangerous Secrets, then it was Rotten Secrets, then it turned into Cursed Love, and then Icy Love, and then Melted Snowflakes, and finally, Icy Curse. Icy is from me (Icekit) and the snow, and curse is from... well, when she's thinking about her love being cursed. In response to reviews:
Amber342: Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it. And sorry about Sleetflash, I made a mistake - her eyes are deep blue, not amber. Thank you for continueing to review!
Hawkpath of RiverClan: I know... it was almost painful to write.
TabbyCat47: Thank you! I know Sleetflash is a little harder to love, but at the same time it's more interesting to have a medicine cat that isn't all perfect and caring. And she's basically what you guys think of as typical shadowclan... what i mean by that is I think ShadowClan is heavily influenced by Brokenstar, who wasn't ShadowClan's only leader. Just cuz we're kinda greedy doesn't mean we're necessarily EVIL... I'll stop trying to convince you now... but I really think that ShadowClan isn't as bad as they're made out to be.
SnowstarX: Thank you is really all I can say - constructive criticism helps me. I love positive reviews, and I also love helpful suggestions! I will promise to try to keep what you said in mind.

Thanks to all that reviewed!
~Iceshadow