Twenty Five
The plan was working better than she could have imagined. Her own daughter fought for her role as leader. By the time everyone came to realize what just happened, it was too late. The fate of the Clan now rested on her claws. She had been working with Redwillow and Scorchfur for some time now. The plan was to get Dovestar exiled and slowly gain the trust of her Clanmates. It worked beautifully, with Stoneclaw and Mintwhisker taking the helm. Mintwhisker had been doubtful at first when she started executing said plan, but eventually he fell in line after she killed Snowpaw.
She felt no pain or anger over killing her own daughter. It had to be done in order to gain the Clan's trust and confidence. Snowpaw's loss wouldn't affect the Clan too heavily, nor would the loss of it's most senior warriors. The time to lose HalfClan cats had finally begun. Now there was only LakeClan, and she planned on keeping it that way.
"She's now our prisoner," Redwillow purred in amusement when they finally met up. It had only been a couple of days since her coup. In that short time, she named Stoneclaw as her deputy and had Rainpaw become a full medicine cat. Rainpaw was now known as Rainleaf. "Imagine the Clan's surprise if they found out the truth."
"You should have stripped her of her lives when you had the chance," she snapped.
If that rat was left to live, then it could ruin whatever chances they had at fulfilling the Dark Forest's plan.
"Oh, trust me, we will have her killed the moment we see fit," Redwillow replied without hesitation. "Scorchfur is having some fun with her though. She's so weak that she can barely lift her head now; I'm surprised she lasted this long."
Amusement swept through her at that. When the five original cats came together after the battle, she had seen how weak Dovestar was. Not just physically but mentally as well. That made her task much easier in the long-run. Dovestar lacked the confidence she needed as leader. She was constantly making second choices and debating whether or not she made the right decision. Then to make matters worse, she made mistakes during ceremonies. She certainly wasn't leader material. Minnowtail never understood why StarClan chose her of all cats. Then again, StarClan could rot in the Dark Forest for all she cared.
"Let her suffer a few more days," she resigned herself into saying. "It will be fun to watch her suffer before she finally dies." Scorchfur purred in agreement. "There is one other task I want you to do. Lightning hasn't met our end of the deal, and it's high time we met up. I want our group to combine forces."
The dark gray tom hardly looked surprised at that. He merely bowed his head before slipping off into the undergrowth. Once he was gone, Minnowtail let out a sigh of relief.
The plan finally succeeded. Now she just had to bide her time and wait for the right opportunity to gain her nine lives. She wasn't sure if StarClan would approve of it, and she didn't care. If StarClan didn't provide her with nine lives, then the Dark Forest surely would. After all, Hawkfrost promised that he would provide if she pulled through. She planned on holding him accountable until the bitter end.
...
No one was sure what to say as they dragged themselves to the nearest shelter. Tigerheart couldn't even look at his kits as he pictured Hollyleaf's body being dragged away. The shock of what happened was too much. The kits had been subdued ever since their mother was exiled, but this made it worse. He finally glanced at Mothwing, not missing the fury written across her face.
"We have to stop," he let out a sigh when they finally reached the edge of the forest. He hadn't noticed until then that the trees were starting to thin out. Grass soon replaced the ferns that normally surrounded them. He could see Twoleg nests in the distance, telling him that they were getting closer to Twolegplace. "We're exhausted and we won't survive the night if we don't."
"We should be safe from them here."
His heart wrenched at the sound of Mothwing's voice. It was filled with bitter defeat and anger towards Minnowtail. Or maybe the rest of the Clan for turning on them.
"I miss Mamma," Leafpaw let out a tired sigh as she sank to the ground.
"I miss the way things were before she left," Mudpaw put in.
Guilt stabbed him in the chest when the two of them curled up beside him. Only Whitepaw stood alone. His heart wrenched once again when he realized how shaken she was from the other day. It was bad enough she had to watch her own mother flee the Clan. Then to watch Hollyleaf die in front of her, along with being exiled herself, made it that much worse.
"We're going to find a way through this," he reassured them.
He didn't want to admit that finding Dovestar was a hopeless cause. She was likely long gone after losing what little confidence she had in the Clan. He shared a look of concern with Mothwing, not missing the fact that she hadn't said anything to interject. She was clearly trying to comprehend what just happened.
"She planned everything to the point, even going as far as suggesting we were Tigerstar's kin," she growled under her breath. "I never thought I would have to look at myself that way again."
A shudder ran through Tigerheart as he recalled how his own mother fled ThunderClan for similar reasons. Tawnypelt never felt as if she belonged in ThunderClan because everyone looked at her as if she was about to betray them. At the end of the day, she fought for ShadowClan when a cat named Scourge tried taking over the Clans. She never once turned her back on ShadowClan or the warrior code, unlike his grandfather.
"You're nothing like him," he reminded her with a pointed look. He surprised himself by saying that out loud. It had taken time for him to accept that truth, and even then, he was constantly doubting himself. "Neither of us are like him, and we never will be. Minnowtail played them all like fools, and we have to find a way to stop her."
"And exactly how are we going to stop her along with half of the Clan?" she demanded. "We don't have a leader on our side. We have three apprentices that barely had a moon's worth of training!"
Tigerheart's ears flattened when he realized she made a valid point. Without proper training, his kits would never fight a proper battle. Leafpaw had already shown some fighting skills, but Mudpaw and Whitepaw were behind in their training. It didn't help that this mess affected them at the worst possible time. He tried pushing those thoughts aside, knowing full-well that hope was what had gotten them this far.
"Even if it seems hopeless, we'll find a way through this mess," he murmured softly.
He looked down at his kits, suddenly aware that they were all that he had left, aside from Mothwing. She was technically his only kin aside from the kits. He hoped that they could work together and find a way to stop these cats from endangering the Clan. Otherwise, they weren't fighting for anything, and it also meant that StarClan wasn't on their side.
...
"Those heartless mousebrains don't know what they're talking about," Ivypool meowed as she sat down beside Dovestar. She had been visiting her more frequently over the last couple of days. Or at least, she was certain it had been a couple of days since she was captured. It was getting harder to keep track of how long it had been since that mess started. "You're going to find a way out of this mess one way or another."
She closed her eyes as hunger clawed away at her. Ever since she was taken in as their prisoner, Lightning and his gang hardly fed her. When they did, she often refused to eat out of defiance. Water was just as difficult to come by. The few times she was able to sustain herself was when it rained, and even then she had to worry about poisoning herself.
"What's the point of leaving if there's nothing to go back to?" she muttered crossly. She was fairly certain at one point that she lost her mind when she was on her own. Ever since she was on her own, Ivypool started visiting her. Sometimes Whitewing or Birchfall would be there with them to provide some form of comfort. She knew they were just visions or hallucinations. None of it was real, and this moment wasn't either. She knew her sister wouldn't visit her in this condition, and more than likely, Ivypool would've flayed her for acting so mousebrained. "It isn't as if they would want anything to do with me in the first place."
"You seriously need to stop the 'woe is me' act," Ivypool scoffed. That was enough to catch her attention. Dovestar looked at her sister incredulously, and Ivypool merely smirked in amusement. "Look, I get that a lot has happened over the past moon, but that's no excuse to neglect yourself. You still have a family to go back to, regardless of what those mousebrains think. You're still their leader, despite what they've been told." For a moment, Dovestar wasn't sure what to say. Her sister closed the distance between them, and she felt her muzzle lean into her forehead. "You're stronger than you think you are, sister. It's time you started embracing that strength."
Her heart nearly skipped a beat when she realized that this was real. She could feel the warmth emanating from Ivypool. Even though she was faded through the structures surrounding them, Dovestar could actually feel her presence. It took a few heartbeats for her to register the fact that this was actually happening, and maybe all those other moments had been real as well.
"I've missed you," she whispered when Ivypool reluctantly pulled away. "I've missed you so much."
"I know," Ivypool let out a quiet sigh. She sat down and wrapped her tail around her paws. "Mother and father were also visiting you as well. They're worried about you, to the point where they have been breaking the rules." Dovestar stifled a purr when she realized what her sister was implying. "I know StarClan would never approve of us visiting the living world, but it's desperately needed now more than ever."
"She's finally won," she guessed as she understood the severity of the situation.
"Not yet, but she's close," Ivypool meowed. Dovestar's heart sank when she guessed where Ivypool was headed with this warning. "There are some cats that don't believe her, but not enough to make a difference."
"How am I supposed to find them?" she demanded.
If there were cats that didn't believe Minnowtail, then why hadn't they spoken up sooner? Maybe this mess could have been avoided in the first place.
Then she realized that they were horribly outnumbered even if they didn't believe her. Dovestar knew somewhere deep down that the few cats who believed in her wouldn't want to risk their lives. She couldn't blame them for wanting to avoid that risk.
"Sometimes that help can come from the most unexpected place," Ivypool replied with a wave of her tail. Dovestar nearly rolled her eyes when Ivypool let out a sigh of frustration. "Don't look at me that way. StarClan still expects us to speak in riddles to confuse everyone and make it impossible to understand the actual threat or promise."
Dovestar stifled a purr at her sister's sense of humor. She could always rely on Ivypool to try and lift her spirit, both figuratively and literally.
"Thank you," she let out a sigh of her own when she reached Ivypool. Her sister merely brushed muzzles with her. Once again, Dovestar was taken aback by the warmth that spread through her. "I'll do my best to restore the Clan and bring peace back to the lake, even if it costs my lives."
"Now there's the confident sister I was looking for," Ivypool purred in response.
Their eyes met for a brief moment, and she saw the glow within Ivypool's dark blue eyes. Not for the first time, she found herself wondering how she had gotten so lucky to have had her as a sister. Ivypool was still trying to save her sorry tail even after all this time. She knew she couldn't bring her sister back from StarClan, but at least they were looking out for each other. That was the best possible situation they could ask for.
"It's cute how hopeless she looks." Dovestar stiffened at the sound of Redwillow's voice. She turned in time to see him and Scorchfur looming over the entry to her prison. Both huge toms were more than capable of inflicting serious damage. Neither of them hesitated in doing so, though Scorchfur was by far the worst cat she had to deal with in this prison. "I wonder how long it'll be until she goes mad from thirst or hunger?"
How sad that these cats lost their ways, she thought bitterly.
They were once proud ShadowClan warriors who happily fought for their Clan. Now their lives suddenly turned upside down when the Clans were destroyed. She often found herself wondering if there had been any survivors that fought alongside the Dark Forest. Most of the cats fighting for the Dark Forest fled the scene after they realized everyone was gone. She doubted these foxhearts cared about the fact that everyone they knew were killed in the heat of battle. Though an idea popped to her mind, one that might send a terrible message to any survivor that fought against the Clans.
"Did you enjoy watching your Clanmates die at the claws of the Dark Forest?" she asked warily. "Olivenose wasn't alone at least when she died. Tigerheart was kind enough to stay by her side and even provide her a proper burial."
Olivenose had been Redwillow's sister, so she knew that would hit him harder. Sure enough, his hackles rose with fury when he realized his sister was dead. Scorchfur merely scoffed in annoyance when he saw what she was trying.
"We knew the risks going into this war," he snapped while shooting Redwillow a warning glare. "I lost family too, but do you see me mourning their deaths?"
"You will when you realize that you won't ever see them again," she retorted. She didn't miss the fear sweeping across Redwillow's face. "Do you honestly think that you'll be accepted into StarClan when this is over, where your family is?"
Scorchfur hesitated for a moment in responding, while Redwillow shook with anger. She was suddenly grateful that Ivypool had given her an effective tool against these mousebrains. She suspected the only reason they really fought alongside the Dark Forest was because they felt as if they had to. Rowanstar likely saw their betrayal as a sign of exile or even death. She had little doubt that Rowanstar would've flayed them on the spot if he was still alive to this day.
"It doesn't matter where we end up when we die," Scorchfur finally snarled. "We've accomplished more than you can imagine since the Clans were destroyed. And once Minnowtail has finished her end of the deal, we'll also have Twolegplace to control."
Like Lightning would ever let that happen, she nearly scoffed out loud.
"Kits died," she reminded them with a pointed glare. "Elders, queens and apprentices died in that battle. Are you really happy knowing that you're known as kit-killers?"
Redwillow looked even more uncomfortable when he realized what she was implying. It seemed as if he was starting to have second thoughts on his life's choices. She doubted she could get through to Scorchfur, but maybe his companion was a different story. She saw the hesitation in his eyes, and the way his body stiffened the moment elders and kits were mentioned.
"The only reason I ever went along with the plan was because I felt like I had to," he admitted guiltily. Scorchfur just stared at him in disbelief as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. "I never wanted my family to die, or to leave our lives behind."
"You frogbrain!" Dovestar winced when Scorchfur suddenly lashed out at Redwillow. Surprisingly, the mottled tom was faster. Scorchfur barely had the chance to strike again when Redwillow scored his claws across his flank. "I should've let you die with them! Hawkfrost was right about you being nothing more than a coward!"
"I only trained because I wanted to get stronger!" Redwillow spat out fur after clamping his jaw around Scorchfur's tail. Scorchfur screeched with fury and tried fighting back, but Redwillow held him down with all his strength. "And it paid off in the end. If I'd known what they were going to do to the Clans, I would've never gone along with this scheme!"
You were all too willing to torture me not that long ago, she wanted to point out. She was only just beginning to understand what Ivypool meant when she said help came from unexpected places.
"Go, now!" Dovestar stiffened in surprise when Redwillow snapped at her. She blinked in confusion until she saw what he was doing. He slammed his paws into Scorchfur before the dark gray warrior could sprang free from his grip. "I know it isn't going to make up for my involvement in this mess, but at least the Clans have a chance to survive with you."
She stared at him for a few more heartbeats before taking the chance to flee.
Everything still hurt inside as she ran. Her sides were starting to ache from hunger. Her senses were also starting to overwhelm her as she tried listening for ways out of this strange camp. There were Twoleg structures everywhere she could see, with no signs of a forest anywhere. Twoleg objects were scattered around a flat-surfaced clearing. She hadn't missed the cats lounging about the clearing, or others practicing their fighting skills.
She would have to skirt around the clearing carefully if she wanted to leave undetected. Thankfully, Lightning wasn't among the group, nor were some of his closest companions. She used that to her advantage, knowing full-well she wouldn't have another chance like this again. If Scorchfur won that fight, he wouldn't hesitate to hunt her down and put an end to her escape. He would make her life that much worse now that he lost a valuable ally.
She tried pushing those thoughts aside. When she found an opening, she took it without hesitation. The few cats that were outside didn't bother with her escape. If they noticed she was gone, they didn't bother sounding an alarm. She was suddenly grateful for that notion, because by the time she put enough distance between herself and that camp, she was exhausted. A combination of hunger, thirst and lack of sleep started clawing away at her.
I have to keep going, she told herself. I won't let him die in vain.
Eventually though it was too much. Her body was trembling by the time she reached her first Thunderpath. She wasn't even sure where to go. Since her senses were overwhelmed by the loud noises of Twolegplace, it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where the lake was. Her legs suddenly buckled underneath her when she took a misstep. The last thing she saw before passing out was a flash of russet, then, the world went dark.
