Warriors: From Terror to Torture

Chapter four- and what once was a fragile peace will be shattered again

Silentpaw followed the big tom into the undergrowth, heart thumping. Froststar stops at a relatively clear space in between all the trees. "This will do," he said. He turned to face her, blinking his lime-green eyes. "Now, you must do everything I say, if you want to become as strong and as skilled as I am," he told her. Silentpaw nodded vigorously. I'll do anything you want! I want to become great, just like you. "I might not know what it's like to be parentless, but I lost my father at a young age, and my mother took a new mate. I had kin, one sister, but she was from my mother's first litter, while I was from her second. She was older than me, and didn't really want anything to do with me. Do you know who my sister is?" he asked. Silentpaw slowly shook her head, as Froststar began to pace in a circle.

"Her name was Ivyclaw. She's dead now. Do you want to how she died?" he asked slowly. A chill went down Silentpaw's spine.

"How did she die?" Silentpaw asked. Froststar whipped her head back around to stare at her with his piercing gaze, making her jump.

"I killed her," he hissed. Silentpaw stared at him, shocked. Froststar turned his head away and spat onto the ground. "Do you want to know why, Silentpaw? Because she tried to kill me." Silentpaw's head was spinning. Ivyclaw tried to kill her own brother? Why would she do that? Froststar answered that question for her. "She was unhappy with my rule. She thought she could be a better leader. She convinced other cats she would be better, and made them attack me. But they failed, because after all, I am Froststar."

He stepped closer, and stood right in front of Silentpaw. He dipped his head down, and she could feel his breath on her muzzle. "Don't you see, Silentpaw? You can't trust anyone. You need to be ruthless. That's why I need your help. I need you to befriend all the apprentices, and find out who is loyal to me, and who is not. And when you become a warrior, you will find out what warriors are loyal to me, and which ones are not. Can you do that for me?" he asked.

Silentpaw stood up straight. "Yes, Froststar. I'll find out who's loyal, and I'll kill anyone who's not." The ThunderClan leader purred.

"Perfect. Now, I'm going to teach you exactly how to do that. Crouch," he commanded. As Silentpaw crouched, she thought about Oneflower. The queen might not have been her biological mother, but she had been fair, never treating Birchpaw or Heatherpaw like they were better than her, at least not when Silentpaw was around. But Seedpod was different, always claiming he didn't have time to play with her, despite always making time for his kits. Who needs a father like Seedpod, she thought. When I have Froststar.

*******

Froststar watched the little she-cat limp away. She was covered in scratched and had twisted her paw, but Froststar knew she would return to train with him again. The fact that he didn't actually kill Ivyclaw was irrelevant. Or, the fact that he wasn't even the one who had fought her off, that she had indeed been very close to killing him. The gray tabby had shown great promise. Once fully disciplined, she would be Froststar's to control. Froststar chuckled to himself. Here I have, Coldrose's daughter, the one who betrayed me, at my mercy. Froststar had seen the same behavior that Silentpaw demonstrated back when he had killed Splashstar and Hopelight. Their two kits, Quickpaw and Silverpaw, had found themselves orphans, and needed someone to latch on to. Froststar had been there, and turned them into loyal warriors, Quickflash and Silverspark. He would do the same thing to that treacherous cat's daughter. And oh, Dark Forest, did that feel good.

*******

Silentpaw finished licking the last tuft of fur into place. She had cleaned out the scratches that Froststar had made, and had tried her best to spread out her fur so that it covered the scratches. I hope Bloodfang doesn't notice. She'll be so mad at me. She can't know that I'm training with Froststar now. A shiver of excitement traveled down her spine just thinking about it. Me, an apprentice, training with the leader of ThunderClan! Silentpaw sniffed the air, parting her mouth to draw in the scents around her. Is the patrol back yet? Everything smelled like ThunderClan, it was hard to distinguish the scent of an individual cat.