Warrior Cats: Rainfall

Chapter Ten

   Ashfrost yelped and flailed around helplessly. She started tossing around lies to protect herself from being imprisoned. But Brackenstep was a strong, young tom, and his grip seemed like iron claws on her scruff. Wailing, she kept throwing the argument that she was a lost queen at the warrior. Maybe he'd falter and she could bolt away. However, running would be hard with a belly full of kits.

   "Shut up!" Brackenstep threw her on the ground once they reached the middle of the camp. She huffed and stood up, doing her best not to cower in fear.

   Crashclaw looked at her from paw to ear-tip and sniffed, "A queen? What are you doing here, roaming around our territory?"

   Ashfrost threw on a confused and fearful look to seem believable, "I'm really not sure how I got here. I was just walking around the river and. . ."

   "Enough," he snorted. "Just tell me the truth and get it over with, you'll be kept here anyways."

   She sighed and felt her face grow hot with embarrassment, "I was wandering around."

   The deputy looked at her again, "Without your mentor, or another warrior?"

   Ashfrost felt like she was stabbed in the heart. Her own father didn't recognize her, let alone he thought she was an apprentice! "I'm a warrior," she tried not to snarl, but a small hint of it appeared in her tone.

   He whisked his tail and muttered under his breath, "You look like her."

   He folded his ears against his head, "I know you! You're Ashfrost, you went on the journey to find CloudClan."

   She sighed and stared at the ground.

   "Just getting yourself mixed up in a bunch of stuff that isn't your problem, huh?" He growled and nodded to Brackenstep. "Keep her by the elder's den while I lead a patrol to LightningClan to inform Stonestar."

   Ashfrost didn't take another moment to hesitate. She spun around and ran as fast as she could, her belly like another twenty pounds, slowing her down.

   "Come back!" Brackenstep hissed. From the rather audible tone of his voice, Ashfrost guessed he wasn't far behind.

   She jumped as far as she could into the river, only a couple tail-lengths away from the bank. She crawled up and sprinted straight past Four Stars, her flanks heaving painfully as she fought for breath. She halted as she reached the river once more and looked behind her, Brackenstep pounding towards her. 

   He can't climb, she thought.

   Ashfrost didn't dare waste time as she ran back to Four Stars and leaped onto RainClan's Tree, scrabbling up it as high as she dared.

   "LightningClan will pay for this!" Brackenstep snarled as he pawed hopelessly against the tree bark. "We don't need naughty apprentices like you wandering around!"

   "Ashfrost?" She recognized Mousefoot's voice. She gulped and saw a small LightningClan patrol emerge from the waters.

   Stonestar was in the lead, Mousefoot and Snowberry behind him, plus Fernpaw.

   "Ashfrost what is the meaning of this?" Stonestar seemed to be asking her, but he was looking at Brackenstep.

   "She was eavesdropping on our camp!" Brackenstep growled.

   The LightningClan leader seemed taken back, "Excuse me?"

   Ashfrost slowly climbed down the tree. As soon as she touched the ground, she felt small droplets of rain on her pelt.