✧ Devious Fates ✧ | COMPLETE WARRIOR CATS FANFICTION STORY |

// Prologue

Pine trees swayed left and right at the grip of the pulsing breeze which chilled them to their roots. It was not a gentle night, proven by the howling wind that disturbed the sleep of many creatures seeking shelter in the dark glade; which was unusual during the evenings of greenleaf. The moon, which normally shed light onto the pine forest's darkness during even the most uneasy nights, was obscured by clouds, as if accepting the grim truth of trouble that sat below the sky. A terrified she-cat hurled out of the shadowed thickets, practically tripping over herself from being set clumsy by the fear inside her.

The she-cat's pupils were shrunken in terror, her orange pelt lifted around her neck and along her spine. Her ears started to fall closer onto her skull as she warily slunk closer towards the riverbank, a small shape whimpering in her jaws. The ash, light and dark grey shape writhed around, squealing and straining to escape from the apricot feline's hold.

The golden she-cat lowered her head, carefully setting the figure on a nest of bracken. As her anxious yellow eyes stayed fixed on the newborn kit, she looked as if deadly futures were amplifying inside of her mind. She was stiff to the ground, struggling to resist the urge to screech her misery to the stars. Unusually, the kit started to slightly relax, listening to the tune of water gushing against the rocks, oblivious to the orange feline's worry.

The she-cat's tail quivered uneasily and even impatiently. She buried her face in the kit's fur, grateful for its tranquility that she wished would spread onto her. The wind continued to howl menacingly as the full moon hung high in the sky, turning scarlet red behind the clouds as dawn approached. Dew sprouted on reeds around the river, filling the air with lush, watery scents.

An abrupt rustle of bushes set the tangerine she-cat to crane her head to the side. She fearfully gazed across the brook, her ears swiveling here and there. A moon-like tom with sleek fur appeared on the opposing side. Grey spots were dispersed all over his body. His fur bristled defensively and he set an intimidating paw forward.

As the tom was about to interrogate the trespasser, his hostile expression suddenly softened. "G-Goldenheart?" he gasped, his voice stuttering with bewilderment. His tail slightly lifted, floating in the air before he sent a glance to the ground, embarrassed.

"I thought you'd be expecting me," Goldenheart mewed, narrowing her eyes. She sat up from the undergrowth, shaking off pine straw and pine needles that were snagging to her pelt. She stepped beside the thick pelt of the kit.

"I.." the tom started, gulping. His gaze flashed with realization as he noticed the kit that comfortably rested in the bracken. "Is that..?"

"Yes," Goldenheart sighed. Her optics gleamed with admiration for the tom, but the rest of her face signaled tension and uneasiness. "It's Moonkit."

"What about Shimmerkit?" the tom asked, concerned. He padded closer to the bank. Love sparkled in his eyes as he measured the resemblance in the she-kit's markings. She was light grey, with a few darker stripes and the white chest of her mother.

"I think ShadowClan can defend her.. I-I didn't have time to get her." The tom's ear twitched at her response, and he nervously kneaded his paws in the undergrowth across the river. "Sharpclaw," Goldenheart addressed, her tone earnest. "You must take Moonkit to RiverClan."

"I.." Sharpclaw choked. He sucked in a large breath.

"I need you to. She needs you to," Goldenheart reaffirmed, lifting her chin. She glimpsed back at Moonkit, who's head rested on her tired paw before lifting, her nose twitching curiously as it took in large whiffs of the moist scent. "You know what Vinestar threatened." Goldenheart's eyes darkened in dread, and desperation pulsed from her in violent waves. "H-he'll attack, at dawn.." the golden she-cat whisked her head up to gaze at the sky. To her, it looked like the horizon would drape strands of vines to strangle her. "Bringing Moonkit to RiverClan will help us all."

"We can't keep having these meetings, Goldenheart," Sharpclaw puffed after a few heartbeats, almost dismissing Goldenheart's prior statement. Anger burned in Goldenheart's throat at his response. "We'll be caught! If Whitestar and Lightstar figure out about our meetings.." he paused as situations flashed through his mind. "Only StarClan knows what they'll do to us!"

Goldenheart tried to calm herself, but it didn't work. She shook her head. "We are taking a risk," she meowed, fixing her gaze boldly on the grey figure. "But I request you to do this for me." Goldenheart beckoned Moonkit ahead with a nudge. The grey she-kit stumbled, almost tripping into the hungry brook.

Sharpclaw shot a helpless glance to the scrap of fur, before hastily glimpsing away. "I.." he gulped. Goldenheart held her breath. "We have to stop, Goldenheart," he meowed firmly, straightening his posture.

Goldenheart's pupils grew huge. A lump formed in her throat as past memories jolted through her mind. Feelings of betrayal had been tugging at her heart in a mix of fury. A dark grey figure gave her a bitter expression, its amber eyes glowing in vengeful wrath. A brown and black she-cat caressed her tongue across the dark figure and separated her jaws in a vicious hiss, her tail protectively layed on the dark grey figure's back. She unsheathed her claws into the ground, baring her teeth.

"You're just like Jayheart," Goldenheart retorted, shuttering. "Aren't you?"

Sharpclaw's eyes flashed in fear. "No!" he protested with frantic, his jaws staying agaped with shock.

"Aren't you?" Goldenheart repeated dryly. She thirsted for an answer, staring deeply into Sharpclaw's gaze; which stood unreadable as his head cocked to the side fearfully as he shut his eyes in a small prayer to StarClan. It was what Sharpclaw deserved, wasn't it? He had abandoned the warrior code.

"We'll always be together!" Sharpclaw begged after contemplating his words, his voice hoarse. "Goldenheart.. please."

Goldenheart tried to resist Sharpclaw's pleads. She tried to ignore them. She tried to convince herself that he was just a faux; that he was just a leaf that had fallen at her paws from the same tree as Jayheart. The orange she-cat started picking up her pace in a dash for safety, the ashen-like she-kit dangling from fastened jaws and mewling with distress. Sharpclaw started bounding across the stones so that his calls could just about reach Goldenheart's ears.

Sharpclaw hit a nerve. "I'll take her!" he yowled frantically. His voice echoed around the whole forest, so much every Clan could probably hear it. It set Goldenheart to pause in her tracks. Sharpclaw couldn't read her expression, but after a few heartbeats, he saw that her fur almost went completely flat. Goldenheart reluctantly turned around, wet tears placed under her eyelids.

It felt like water had splashed over her; the water of relief. She seemed to admit in her heart that Sharpclaw was honest and reliable. Her relief was soon replaced with sorrow as she gazed back down at the light grey kit. "This is for the best, Moonkit," Goldenheart murmured. "I won't forget you, I promise." She gently stroked the kit's shoulder with her tongue, whispering a goodbye.

"The only thing is," Sharpclaw meowed weakly. "We have to stop our meetings, Goldenheart. It'll be best for us.. for Moonkit." Goldenheart's eyes flashed with pain, the breath being torn from her lungs.

However, she didn't have to utter a word. All of her feelings were already radiating off of her like the sun's rays. She wrapped her jaws gently around Moonkit's scruff, quietly hauling her up off of the ground and handing the light grey she-kit into Sharpclaw's grasp. Moonkit stayed silent and didn't resist a heartbeat, as if abiding to the devious fate she had; a burden that had been placed upon her with the strictness of the warrior code itself that her mother had vague knowledge of. Goldenheart watched lovingly, yet sorrowfully as Moonkit became a blur and slowly exited her vision. She was glad Moonkit would be safe in Sharpclaw's Clan, but the fact that she may have to fight her own kit haunted her; the fact that she may never share many words with her at all; the fact that Moonkit may not even know Goldenheart was her mother.