Froststar's Destiny

Chapter Ten

Frostheart stared at Turtleleaf, her heart pumping ten times as fast as it should be. She couldn't kill Turtleleaf because she was part of the prophecy, but apparently, that wasn't going to stop Turtleleaf from killing her. Was this tortoiseshell she-cat, who looked gentle on the outside, really a monster on the inside? Then, could it be the same for Flamewing? Perhaps there was more to them than met the eye. Frostheart stared at Turtleleaf, and slowly her expression, which had been a mixture of fear and anger, slowly melted into confidence.

"But you won't kill me," she meowed simply, and she knew it was true. Turtleleaf hadn't killed anyone in her life, she definitely wouldn't be able to bring herself to kill a cat who wasn't fighting back. "Try it, won't you? You can't kill me. You're too weak."

Turtleleaf reached out with her claws, swiping in the same fluid motion Frostheart had used so many times to slit necks, but sure enough, her paw faltered, and dropped like a cold stone. She couldn't kill, despite her threats. She was too weak, and she couldn't bring herself to kill any cat.

That's where I was, moons ago, before my conscience left me, Frostheart thought. True, she hadn't missed her conscience very much. If not, today, she'd have faltered so much all her Clanmates would have died. She would kill if she had to. But this time, she didn't have to. Because Turtleleaf wasn't threatening her life.

"We're prophecy cats, Turtleleaf," Frostheart meowed simply. "I don't know if your part is good or bad, but we should be friends, and we have to stick together."

Turtleleaf stared weakly back at Frostheart. "That's not how this kind of thing works! I'll bring the flames. We all thought that referred to Flamewing, but what if it's actual flames?"

Realization dawned on Frostheart. Why had Turtleleaf appeared once at the start and then disappeared? Unless she was setting fire to the forest? "What? How could you! What did we ever do to you?" she growled.

Turtleleaf shrugged. "I knew about my problem, that I could never kill a cat flailing beneath my claws. But burning up your forest? Oh, that won't kill anybody. You'll just run out of food, and then you'll starve." A sly smile crept onto her face.

"Well, if that's it!" Frostheart snarled. "If that's your part of the prophecy, and there's nothing more to it, then what reason do I have not to kill you?"

"Didn't you say the same thing? We're prophecy cats! We should be friends and stick together," Turtleleaf mimicked Frostheart's voice, and Frostheart realized Turtleleaf was turning her words against her.

"Sure, I did say that. But your part of the prophecy is over. That means you aren't important any longer." Frostheart lunged straight for Turtleleaf, but the wily tortoiseshell dodged. 

Turtleleaf looked back and said few words before she left. "I'll bring the flames, remember? No cat said how many!" She turned tail and ran.

Stonestar had battled off Mousestar too. He looked like he had died, because he was perfectly unharmed, only his pelt was a little ruffled. "What has happened to the Clan outside?" he asked, his voice hollow.

"That doesn't matter," Frostheart meowed. "I believe the forest may be on fire."

***

Turtleleaf's plan was successfully foiled. She had told Frostheart about the fire too early on, and had given her and the Clan time to put it out. Still, it ruined Dark Rocks, which were always cool and shrouded in shade. Now they were burning hot, the cool grass beside it charred and blackened. The fire had ruined only a certain part of their forest, but they could only imagine what it would've been like if Turtleleaf hadn't been kind enough to warn them.

"This is catastrophic!" Stonestar breathed. "Every cat sick! Every other cat injured! Sick cats injured!" 

"Yeah, well, what did you do?" Frostheart challenged. "I killed a lot of AutumnClan warriors while you moped in your den until Mousestar came! What kind of leader are you?"