Warriors: Shadows in the Light - Tainted Honey [Book Three]

Prologue

PROLOGUE

AQUA | WINDCLAN BORDER

It didn't feel a coincidence when Aqua showed up at the border that divided WindClan and ThunderClan. Something deep inside of her warned her something awful would happen. And her notion had been right. She had been forced to watch with wide eyes as Honeypool slammed his flank into Hazelpaw. The poor apprentice flew and smacked her head against a rock.

Honeypool's eyes watched the apprentice disappear under the surface of the water before turning to the rogue he had been fighting, starting a laidback conversation. Swiftly, Aqua followed where the river flowed, diving in once she couldn't see Honeypool. She opened her eyes, ignoring the sting of water rushing into them, desperately trying to find Hazelpaw. It was dark, but she saw a bundle of multi-colored fur heading her way. Aqua swam against the current, opening her jaws as the bundle got closer. Clasping her teeth around the fur, she pushed her way to the shore, losing breath quickly.

Despite the lack of oxygen and the screaming pain in her muscles, she was determined to make it. She had been taught to do this.

Her paws finally touched sand - or dirt, she couldn't tell, nor did she care - and she pulled Hazelpaw out of the water. Aqua took in several gulps of air while checking Hazelpaw, putting her ear against the tortoiseshell's chest.

Her heart was faintly beating. Fear raced through Aqua when she put her ear by Hazelpaw's nose; the she-cat wasn't breathing! Working quickly, Aqua did everything she possibly could.

After several minutes, Aqua sat back on her haunches, hoping Hazelpaw would recover.

***

A few days passed and Hazelpaw hadn't awoken. She was breathing, but she showed no sign of actual life. Aqua had carried-dragged her off of WindClan territory and now had her laying in a nest of feathers and fern.

While Aqua chewed absentmindedly on a mouse, the sound of a whimper honestly surprised Aqua. The blue-gray molly looked at Hazelpaw, hope flaring inside of her. Hazelpaw's green eyes opened, and the only emotion inside of them was confusion.

"Ha-" Hazelpaw cut her off.

"Who are you?" Hazelpaw asked tentatively, but what she said next broke Aqua's heart. "Who am I?"

Aqua's jaw dropped.

Hazelpaw shifted uncomfortably. "Who am I? Why does everything hurt?"

"I-I am Aqua, your mother." It felt like it was the only right thing to say. If Aqua was correct, Hazelpaw wouldn't remember any cat.

"And who am I? I don't seem to remember..." she trailed off.

It took some willpower to refrain from correcting Hazelpaw about abbreviating since she technically wasn't her kit. Aqua frowned at her paws. If she was going to take care of Hazelpaw, she should keep her Clan name.

"You are..." what about a true warrior name? Aqua gazed fondly at Hazelpaw, reminiscing when the she-cat named one of her kittens. "Hazelwillow." It was a way to honor Hazelpaw's - no, Hazelwillow's - true heritage and the name she had picked out for Willowkit.

"Hazelwillow." Hazelwillow repeated. "It's long. Why isn't short like yours?"

Aqua purred, stroking Hazelwillow's head with her paw. "No cat is the same, be it their name, personality, appearance... your name is as unique as you are."

"Okay," Hazelwillow accepted Aqua's embrace, nestling into Aqua's leg. "Why does everything hurt, Aqua?"

"You fell from a tree." Aqua winced inwardly. That was the way her mate had died. Plus, she never lied. It was the only way she could tell Hazelwillow without causing great confusion. How would she react if she said her murderous deputy pushed her into a raging river and banged her head against a rock, losing all of her memories?

Hazelwillow said nothing, but a growl from her stomach made her pipe up. "I'm hungry."

Aqua pushed her barely-eaten squirrel to Hazelwillow. "You can have my mouse."

Hazelwillow gratefully thanked her, devouring the mouse in seconds.

"I don't think I've ever been so hungry in my life." Hazelwillow tried getting to her paws, but her legs gave out. Aqua tensed, about to catch her head, but Hazelwillow lifted her head higher, making a face. "Goodness, what a terrible headache!"

Aqua shook her head, thinking to herself gravely. Clan cats didn't say 'goodness.' They said 'Great StarClan!' and phrases tied to their ancestors. Did Hazelwillow truly forget her ancestors?

Hazelwillow yawned loudly, breaking Aqua out of her worried thoughts.

"I'm tired..." the tortoiseshell murmured sleepily.

"Rest, Hazelwillow, rest..." Aqua ran her tail along Hazelwillow's cheek, watching with great sadness as she closed her eyes. She hadn't expected this to happen.

At least you do not have to remember what Honeypool can do - like what I have seen him do. Rootspeckle's frozen, horrified face was forever stuck in her head. A walk she had been dying to do for ages and she witnessed a murder, and the murderer had been none other than Honeypool and that cream rogue. She hated to admit it, but Honeypool's charm had blinded her up until that moment. Unfortunately, Honeypool had seen her, but she had darted away before he could catch her.

I left my kits in the paws of a dangerous Clan. Aqua hung her head, immense sorrow trembling through her. What will they grow up to be like?

---

hazelpaw/willow is alive!! sorry if any of you cried for nothing. hazelwillow has amnesia (memory loss - hitting her head against the rock injured her brain)

-artemis