Warriors #2: Warrior Rising

Chapter 17

Lilypetal's POV

I couldn't suppress a startled hiss as yowls of shock rippled among the Clan cats. "Oh, no no no..." I muttered just loudly enough for myself to hear. This secret was supposed to stay with me, Leafpool, and Squirrelflight! Now all four Clans know that these ThunderClan cats have been living a lie.

I then whipped my head quickly over to Hollyleaf, who was simply watching the reactions unfolding in front of her. Why did you do this? What did you expect to happen?

Among all of the voices merging together on the island, one stuck out more than the others. My heart sank as I caught Brambleclaw's voice come from bottom of the tree where the deputies sat.

"What?" He meowed sharply, getting up to his paws. "Squirrelflight, why is she talking such nonsense?"

I let out a sigh, looking down to the ground and shaking my head. I figured that Brambleclaw would find out about this at some point, or Squirrelflight would decide to tell him, I admitted to myself. But I didn't want it to happen this way...

I then looked over to Squirrelflight, who was quite a few tail-lengths from me. She looked as if four badgers were standing right in front of her. Then, her gaze softened, and her green eyes seemed to be filled with nothing but sadness.

Is she going to admit it? I wondered, my tail twitching anxiously.

"I'm sorry, Brambleclaw, but it's true," the dark ginger she-cat forced out. "I'm not their mother, and you are not their father."

My stomach twisted as I then looked back at Brambleclaw. His amber gaze was burning into Squirrelflight's. "Then who is?" He demanded.

I suddenly felt the impulse to run up to Squirrelflight and stand at her side. I was too nervous to look directly into her gaze, but I simply padded up to stand beside her, my fur lightly brushing against hers.

I watched as Squirrelflight turned to face Hollyleaf, whose green eyes were glittering with pride.

"Tell them, Hollyleaf," she meowed clearly to the cat that she had claimed as her daughter for moons and moons. "I kept the secret for seasons; I'm not going to reveal it now."

"Coward!" Hollyleaf barked back at Squirrelflight before sweeping her gaze around the clearing once again. I unsheathed my claws and dug them into the ground. As much as I wanted to stop Hollyleaf from causing more harm than she already had, I knew that the damage was already done.

"I'm not afraid of the truth!" Hollyleaf went on. "Leafpool is our mother, and Crowfeather - yes, Crowfeather of WindClan - is our father."

I let out a gasp and shut my eyes. Well... that's that.

As Hollyleaf shouted these words, more yowls of surprise rose up in the clearing. "These cats were so ashamed of us that they gave us away and lied to every single one of you to hide the fact that they had broken the warrior code." I then felt another pang in my stomach as Hollyleaf lashed her tail over to where Leafpool was sitting with the medicine cats. "It's all her fault. How can the Clans survive when there are cowards and liars at the very heart of them?"

I didn't think that it was possible, but the yowls and gasps among the Clans managed to grow even louder. I found that my heart felt as if it was almost physically in pain. It was hurting for Squirrelflight and Leafpool, and although it had been their choice to keep this secret for so long, I couldn't imagine the amount of loss and grief they were feeling at the moment.

A new voice was able to make itself heard among the crowd, and I almost immediately recognized Crowfeather. Great StarClan, what will he have to say about this?