Warriors: Shadestar's Agony

Prologue

Prologue

                “We may have been defeated but we mustn’t give up,” Shadestar growled fiercely. “Now it is time! We will once more attempt to take to RiverClan territory that should be ours in two days! And this time, we won’t lose!”

                Lilyheart came up to him as he ended the meeting. “Why do you insist on trying to take that RiverClan territory? Half of the time, I feel like I don’t even know who you are anymore!” she meowed.

                “It never hurts to have more territory,” he replied. “Besides, that’s Troutstar’s Clan. You know just as well as I do that she killed Cloudfrost.”

                “It’s not a pine forest! You’d never even use the territory!” Lilyheart retorted. “Troutstar is a noble cat with honor, unlike you. I would bet she didn’t kill your mother intentionally!”

                “Leave me alone! It’s my decision and I will not change my mind!” he snapped.

***

                The next morning, Shadestar woke up early and trotted out of camp, planning on hunting. Close to the RiverClan border, he spotted a frog and paused, only to hear soft pawsteps on the marshy ground somewhere nearby. The ShadowClan leader abandoned the potential fresh-kill to investigate who the pawsteps belonged to. He found himself face-to-face with a light brown she-cat with patches of white fur. “Lilyheart!” he shouted and she spun around in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

                Shadestar thought he saw fear flash in her blue eyes but it quickly was replaced by a defiant gleam. “I’m going to tell Troutstar your plans,” Lilyheart answered. “You’ve turned ShadowClan into a Clan that is hated by everyone and I do not wish for all of us to be seen that way anymore.”

                Shadestar knocked her to the ground and planted a paw on her chest. “You apparently have no understanding of the warrior code,” he hissed. “If you did, you would know better than to disobey your leader. I am afraid I must teach you a lesson.”

                Shadestar unsheathed his claws, intending to rake them across her muzzle. But she resumed her fruitless attempts to escape just as the ShadowClan leader brought his paw down towards her face. He gasped in horror as his claws struck Lilyheart’s neck and almost instantly, her breathing abruptly halted and her eyes closed. No! Oh StarClan, please forgive me! I swear, I didn’t mean to kill her! I was only trying to punish her for betraying ShadowClan! You should know I would never do that to my own mate on purpose…

                Shadestar walked slowly back to camp, her words echoing in his mind the whole time. What have I become…no, I’ve become a good leader who tries to prosper his Clan even at the cost of the other Clans. Don’t listen to Lilyheart. She’s wrong. Totally wrong. She was a traitor, she deserved to die…

                The ShadowClan leader carefully washed the blood off of his claws in the small puddle just outside of camp and numbly padded back in through the thorn tunnel.

A/N: This is literally the 4th prologue I've written, I wanted this book to start out with something different than any other Warriors fanfic I've written before..anyhow, hope you enjoyed and please comment!