The Elementals Trilogy [REWRITING]

Chapter 14

(Golden's POV)

"Here," the healer curtly spoke before turning away and fleeing to 'tend to the kit mothers' or something along those lines. Golden sighed as she chewed the bitter leaves into a paste and smeared it onto her right hind leg, consuming the remainder that was not a goopy paste on her fur. Venom's poison was only temporarily counteracted by consuming the herbs and smearing them onto her leg as well. Twice a day. Otherwise her leg would decay and shrivel and the poison would travel to every other place in her body with a hateful vengeance. It would not rest until she died.

Golden flinched as she remembered about yesterday's battle. To be precise, it wasn't a battle...it was more that BreezeClan sat there, stupefied by either shock, fear or astonishment and allowed for Venom to kill...

"I have been lenient this time. You have all been spared save for your Heir and Queen. This is only the tip of the iceberg for me, I can massacre all of you. Take this as a lesson to leave me and my clan alone, otherwise BreezeClan will be wiped out as though it never even existed in the first place."

Golden could still remember the dignity and harshness that radiated from Venom's being. She was no longer the small, cheerful and naive kit of BreezeClan, but a powerful asset and member of the Skulls of Death. She cursed herself for not eliminating the source of her downfall, even though it was so obvious; so stark that she could've seen it from a hundred fox-lengths away. However, the sheer presence that the yellow-eyed black and white she-cat held and exuded from the centre of the camp, standing on the sacred place where only the King and Queen were allowed to set their paws on, sent shivers down her spine.

She dragged herself to the edge of the clan camp, the well-educated part of her still wanting to ask permission to leave, however, just a single thought back to yesterday, the complete and pure demolition of her dignity and status was enough for Golden to take the first unauthorised step out of camp.

Thankfully Golden's hindlegs made up their mind to assist and cooperate with her today as she strolled through BreezeClan's moors. Every single time she'd been allowed out into the forest instilled great awe and respect within her. Golden loved the untamed wilderness of the moors, a place where not even Elementals or Royals could tame and bring to attention.

She flicked her bushy tail before standing on the edge of her clan's border with OakClan. Sure enough, as though the plants themselves were teasing her existence, they lay just out of reach on OakClan's territory.

Golden took a deep breath before she managed to gain the courage to trespass onto another clan's territory, something that would not bode well for her if either clan, or if both clans discovered.

"Halt!" a sharp voice shook Golden out of her own fur as she swore she felt her soul momentarily depart from her body. And with impeccable timing, her hind legs collapsed, almost sending her face-planting onto the ground. "What are you doing on OakClan's territory, BreezeClanner?"

"My deepest apologies," Golden meowed, tossing the meagre herbs she'd gathered to the side, her voice small and constricted as she bowed to the best of her ability, "Heir Hazelpaw. I was going to collect some of the herbs that grow along our borders...for my clanmates, after the event from yesterday."

A little white lie wouldn't hurt anyone, so Golden saw minimal harm in departing it to the Heir.

"Oh, those things? Hanging from the trees?" Hazelpaw jerked her head to the herbs that Golden had formerly been collecting. "Of course, help yourself. I'll just mark the border again once you're gone and no one will know what happened. Oh and uh, I'm Hazelshine now and my sister is Cherryspark. We earned our warrior names a short time ago."

Golden dipped her head in acknowledgement as she scrabbled up the tree, jaws latching on a few vines before she tumbled to the ground.

"Are you alright?" Hazelshine rushed forward, concern laced in both voice and her posture.

"Yeah, I'm all good," Golden meowed, surprised that the Heir was showing so much kindness and tolerance for another clan's member. Heirs usually never showed regard to anyone in their own clans, never mind individuals from other clans. "Happens rather frequently. It's a condition, according to the healers."

"Let me help you then, in that case," the Heir said, striding over to the tree, but not after giving Golden a concerned sniff.

The Heir worked efficiently, stripping the tree of most of the vines and herbs within mere minutes as she walked towards Golden again, her mouth full of them.

"Bleurgh," Hazelshine spat the herbs out. "They're so bitter than you could kill a cat with them."

"Thank you, Heir Hazelshine," Golden dipped her head respectfully before taking the bundle in her mouth and dragging herself away from the border.

"Oh," her voice called from behind. "I never quite caught your name?"

Golden stiffened before delicately placing the herbs on the ground and spoke without turning around,

"It'd be better for both of us if I left it unsaid."