The sun had fully risen by the time Ivyfrost woke again. A soft breeze had carried with it the scent of fresh prey and had stirred up movement within Ivyfrost's belly. Her kits were hungry and so was she; it was sort of a package deal that went with carrying life inside of you. When they were hungry they made sure you were too. When they were hurting so were you.

She rolled over with a grunt, eyes blinking sleepily as they tried to focus on the hazy world around her. All too soon the memories of being practically locked up in the medicine den as a prisoner came rushing back and pushed Ivyfrost into a bitter mood. She was not looking forward to having to bargain with whoever was guarding her for some food, water and sunshine. As she struggled to get to her paws a shadow fell over the den entrance and Poolfur wandered in, herbs clamped tight in his jaws.

"Glad to see you awake," the tom rumbled around his mouthful of herbs. He set them down and then padded stiffly to Ivyfrost's side to aid the large queen to her paws, "I was just about to wake you myself. Figured you might be wanting some food." He gestured to a squirrel near the entrance of the den. "Flowerpaw brought it for you earlier on, apparently someone had spread the rumour that you had died and that your body was in here. Cats these days," the medicine cat muttered as he ambled off, tail lashing.

Ivyfrost rolled her eyes before she walked over to the squirrel. Before she even touched it with her nose she dabbed it a couple of times with her paw. There had been one apprentice, who was now a warrior, that had snuck a few worms into a mouse Ivyfrost had nearly eaten once. Of course all she could do was pull the worms out and eat the mouse anyway. If she had of put it back then the other warriors would have shoved her angrily away from the pile stating that she'd have what she was given or go without. Once she was certain that there was nothing hidden within the squirrel Ivyfrost took a bite of it, enjoying the taste of freshly caught prey.

Being so close to the den exit she could see the cat that was guarding her and she was more than surprised to see the elder Darkwing. Curious, she stuck her head out of the den and cleared her throat to catch the attention of the elder. "Are you okay, Darkwing? Not sick are you?"

"No," Darkwing replied gruffly. "I'm guarding you."

Ivyfrost arched her eyebrows in surprise, "Shouldn't one of the warriors be guarding me?"

"Aren't enough cats. Surely you know that, Ivyfrost weren't you part of that large group of cats Splashstar took to fend off those rogues?" Darkwing growled. "Lost too many cats that day and there aren't enough she-cats to give us more kits. Going to be a long time till ShineClan's as big as it once was."

"Oh, yeah. That was a tough day," Ivyfrost replied quietly. She remembered that day very well. A large group of rogues had been loitering around ShineClan territory for days, stealing prey and attacking any patrol that came near. Splashstar had decided that enough was enough and had taken most of the Clan – save for the pregnant queens, elders and a few warriors – out to attack them. The attack had not gone well despite the fact that they had one. Most of ShineClan's cats had been killed and only a few left, leaving the Clan in its small and shattered state.

Darkwing suddenly hissed and Ivyfrost was pulled from her dreamy state. She pricked her ears in curiosity and leant a little further out from the den, only to feel Darkwing trying to push her back in the den. "Get off," she hissed. "I have a right to see what's going on!" Already she could smell the foul scent of RobinClan. The tom growled but moved away allowing Ivyfrost to slink entirely out of the den to stare at the RobinClan cats that had invaded the camp.

Standing near the camp exit, lips curled and fur fluffed up, was Smallstar and Nettletail, the leader and deputy of RobinClan. A few more of their warriors stood beside them tails flicking warily as they gazed around at the gathering cats of ShineClan.

Splashstar appeared out from behind High Oak, eyes narrowed in confusion. "Greetings, Smallstar," she meowed. "May I ask what you, your deputy and warriors are doing in my camp?"

"You may indeed," Smallstar responded, "recently we found the body of our warrior, Panicshade, on our border with your Clan. We also found that his body was stinking with your scent. So I have come here to ask you in person, which one of your cats murdered Panicshade?"

The Clan went silent, each cat staring at Smallstar as if he had grown a second head. The RobinClan cats drew closer together, suddenly wary that the Clan they had intruded upon would turn on them and try to kill them. Splashstar finally answered, voice cold, "How dare you enter my camp and accuse my cats of murder! Not one of my cats would even dare attack Panicshade on the border, let alone kill him!"

"Ah, but surely you too have heard the rumours about one of your queens," Smallstar retorted smugly. All eyes were immediately focused on Ivyfrost who contemplated ducking back into the medicine cat. But she stopped herself from doing that and stood tall knowing that her Clan was watching her just as closely as the RobinClan cats.

"I would never kill a cat," Ivyfrost snarled. "I'm heavily pregnant but you should be able to see that, unless you've suddenly become blind. I can hardly walk let alone attack, subdue and then kill a fully grown warrior!"

Poolfur nosed his way out of the medicine den, fur brushing against Ivyfrost's as he walked past, "I have to agree with her, she is hardly in the shape to kill a male warrior. She can hardly get to her own paws; in fact earlier on she needed my help. Smallstar you are wrong to accuse a she-cat days away from her birth of murder."

The RobinClan leader lashed his white tail and curled his lip. "Then what other cat from ShineClan would be able to murder one of my cats?"

"None of them," Splashstar spat back. "Now get out before we chase you out."

One of the RobinClan's warriors laughed loudly and stepped forwards, pale green eyes narrowed in amusement. Her golden tabby pelt was smeared with blood, probably from carrying Panicshade's body back to camp. "You couldn't chase us out even if you tried! This Clan may just be bigger than FeatherClan but it's defiantly the weakest!"

"Shut up, Birdflight!" Nettletail snapped angrily. He flattened his ears and nodded at Smallstar. It was time for the RobinClan cats to leave before things got ugly.

"We shall leave peacefully but I vow that I will find out who killed Panicshade even if I have to tear this Clan apart!" Smallstar growled. He then lashed his tail, turned and trotted easily out of camp with his warriors following him. ShineClan was left alone and in silence each cat staring at the hole in their bramble barrier in shock and surprise. None could really comprehend what had just happened.

Splashstar curled her lip and made her way to High Oak. She sat on the large root that broke out from the ground, the root that all leaders stood on to address their Clan. There was no need for her to summon her Clan with a yowl for they were already gathered around her. Ivyfrost was not among the group, she instead was sitting towards the back close to the medicine den. Beside her sat Poolfur, his tail curled up over his paws.

"Yet again we have had our peace interrupted by RobinClan. As you all heard this time they have decided to accuse us of the murder of their warrior, Panicshade. I do hope that none of you had anything to do with this, however if you did I am begging you to step forward now so that we can assess the situation and figure out what to do." No cat stepped forward. The murderer was not a cat from ShineClan, or at least it was a cat that was not ready to give themselves up. "I see," Splashstar murmured. "Very well, it is within my right to assume that the murderer is not a cat from ShineClan so it must have been a rather smart passing rogue. This meeting is over."

Ivyfrost grunted as the Clan broke apart and went back to their duties. She wasn't offended when Darkwing stalked over and shoved her roughly towards the medicine den. She'd gotten used to the rough treatment and had just begun to ignore it. "I'm going," she hissed after Darkwing nearly knocked her into the den. "I'm not going to suddenly run off and kill someone."

"Ignore him," Poolfur muttered as he entered the den. He went straight over to his herb store, a separate den built into the bramble barrier where the herbs were kept. From within Ivyfrost could hear him grumbling things under his breath. She shrugged and curled up in her nest, sighing loudly as her legs were finally given some time to relax. Before she could slip into a deep sleep there was a sudden pain in her stomach. She gasped slightly and then shrieked as a spasm of pain ripped through her body.

Poolfur stumbled back into the main den, eyes wide. "What?" he asked himself and then stared at Ivyfrost with knowing eyes. "Stay in your nest, I need to get some borage, juniper berries and a stick."

"Huh? Why?" she screeched back as another wave of pain washed over her. "What's going on!?

The medicine cat returned with a mouth full of herbs and placed them by the writhing queen. "Your kits are coming."

An: Yay! Another chapter by Huntress of Sacred Dreams! And a cliffhanger too! Yet always remember more reviews= faster updates, most of the time! :D Please Review!