Warriors The Next Chapter: Still Darkness - Book One (Completed)

Chapter Thirteen

Waterlily's ears pricked as she picked up a familiar scent. She followed Mudfur into RiverClan camp, keeping her eyes peeled on the warriors around her. All eyes turned to her and she felt like an outsider.

He led her through the clearing and to an abandoned den where an old friend lay. Shadowheart. Her heart began to race. Has he really came here for refuge, thinking he might be treated as a regular warrior? Her mind whirled with questions, but she kept silent as she neared Shadowheart.

"Shadowheart." She gasped as she got within ear shot of him. "What are you doing here?" Her voice became cold and heartless.

Shadowheart got to his paws and dipped his head as if he was greeting a friend. "Waterlily, I want to ask you.."

He was cut off by Waterlily's hiss, "Why do you have him here?" She turned to face Leopardstar, who was standing just a few tail-lengths from her. "Don't you know what he has done?"

Leopardstar nodded her head slowly. "I know exactly what he did." She spoke softly. "Perhaps listening to what he has to say may change your mind." She argued with a slight hiss. Her impatience with Waterlily was growing.

Waterlily looked down at her paws in embarrassment, then back up at Shadowheart. "Very well," She muttered, "what is it you wish to speak about it?" Her voice was still cold once she finally spoke towards Shadowheart.

Shadowheart sat down, hoping to imply he was no threat once more. "You once told me you had visions." He began, "correct?" Waterlily nodded, though she was still weary of him. Shadowheart continued, "Did you see the cat in your visions up close?" He chose his words carefully, thinking maybe she only saw the cat from a distance.

Waterlily nodded her head again. "I did." She sat down, and wrapped her tail over her front paws. "It was you, who I saw." She confessed. "There was no mistaking that." Her heart began to race as the vision she saw became clear in her mind once again. The collar with bones stuck to it made her eyes grow like saucers. "Except you had this collar..." She gulped for air as if she was telling a nightmare kind of story to the kits in the nursery. "It was lined with bones." She looked back up at Shadowheart.

Shadowheart showed no emotions as he spoke, "That is not me. It's another cat." He tried to reassure her, but he had no way of proving it.

"What do you mean, it wasn't you?" Waterlily's eyes narrowed with anger. She knew exactly who she saw. She wouldn't lie. 

Shadowheart looked down at his paws shuffled them, then closed his eyes tightly as if he was thinking on what to say next. "It was my father." He confessed.

Gasp of shock rose from the crowd of cats that stood around in camp. Waterlily glanced around her, realizing that almost every warrior in RiverClan was listening to his testimony. Her gaze then locked back to Shadowheart. "Your father?" Her voice was a mere whisper.

Shadowheart nodded. "Yes, he uh..." He paused for a moment, "he looks a lot like me." He confessed, "except he has blue eyes."

Waterlily lifted her muzzle as if she was studying him. Then she softly sighed. "In no way am I convinced, but I will go to the Moonstone tonight and speak with StarClan about this." 

Leopardstar rose to her paws. "We will keep him here as prisoner until further notice."

Waterlily dipped her head in acceptance then trekked quickly out of RiverClan camp. As she padded over the bridge, her mind began to swirl with worry. What would she tell Firestar? She trekked faster, not wanting to think about what he would say.

Once she got back to camp, Firestar was sitting just outside the medicine den as if he was waiting for her return. She padded up to him, her ears flat against her head. "Firestar, I must..."

She was caught off by him as he lifted his tail to silence her. "Spare me the details." He mewed softly, "I do not need to know RiverClan's troubles." He finished, letting his tail drop back down, hitting the small patch of grass that lay below his feet.

"You might want to know this one." She sat down and wrapped her fluffy tail neatly over her front paws.

Firestar mimicked her position and tilted his head to the side, "oh?" 

Waterlily took a small breath then began to whisper, hoping no one was within earshot of her, "Shadowheart has returned."

Firestar's eyes grew wide with alarm. "What do you mean?" His whisper was harsh, and it made Waterlily's fur bristle.

"RiverClan is keeping him as a prisoner until they know the truth." 

Firestar got to his paws. "We do know the truth!" He hissed, clearly no longer whispering. 

Waterlily glanced around the camp. Cats around them pricked their ears and all eyes turned to Firestar as they stopped in their tracks of duty. Waterlily then looked back at Firestar. She narrowed her eyes and flicked her tail. "We can't speak here."

Firestar shook his head. "I believe we all deserve to know." He quickly glanced toward the horizon, then back at Waterlily. "What does RiverClan know that we don't about Shadowheart?" His voice was stern.

Gasp of shock rose through the Clan like a wildfire. Waterlily kept her gaze with Firestar, then dipped her head. "Very well." She muffled under her breath, then headed toward the highrock. Firestar kept silent, watching her heave herself up to speak. Waterlily sat down and waited for the cats to gather around. Her heart began to race. She was no leader. She had no idea how to calm them down if things got too heated. She looked around the camp. Almost every cat was out now, including the elders and queens with their kits. She took a deep breath, then began to speak. "Shadowheart is back." She began.

Cats who haven't heard the gossip, gasped in shock. Waterlily raised her tail to silence them, just as she had seen Firestar do numerous times before while he was on the highrock. "He resides in RiverClan now. They are holding him hostage until they figure out the truth." She paused for a moment. "They believe that he might not have killed Whitestorm."

"Didn't we have proof?" Mewed Tawnypaw, taking a small step forward.

"We did. Or so we thought." Waterlily could see the fear in almost every cat. She wanted to tell them everything, but she decided to spare the one detail about this mysterious cat being his father. "He claims it was another cat. I had visions of a black cat with a purple collar, lined with bones as if he had killed not one, but many other cats." She paused again, glancing around to see the horror shot through the crowd of cats. 

"Do you believe him?" Hissed Dappletail, her eyes narrowed.

"No, but I am going to the Moonstone to speak with StarClan about it. We will have to see what they say." She answered her, shuffling her paws, hoping that was a satisfying answer. Dappletail dipped her head in respect, her eyes still blazing with anger.

Once Waterlily finished, the crowd of cats began to go back to their duties. Frostfur then caught her attention. She sat by the nursery with her head hung low. Waterlily suddenly felt shame wash over her. She was his adopted mother, and she loved him as if he was her own. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to be her. She jumped down from the highrock and padded over to her. "I wish I could change back time, but..."

"Don't worry about it." Hissed Frostfur, cutting Waterlily off, "Just see what StarClan has to say about all of this. We can talk about it then." Her voice grew softer as she spoke, then she turned and crouched down. "I believe he is good." She murmured, just before disappearing into the nursery.