The Loner's Trial (A Shrouded Path book 2) {COMPLETE}

Chapter 25

Why am I in StarClan? She thought angrily. Had she died trying to save Apollo? Even if she had, hadn't he been condemned to not walk in StarClan because of her curse? Minnow looked into the distance, towards the eerie shadowy forest that she knew as the Place of No Stars. If she were truly dead, wouldn't that be her destination?

And still Minnow was alone. She couldn't see any other cat around her. "Hello?" She called out tentatively. "Is anyone there?"

As if her words were a cue, Minnow heard soft pawsteps approaching her from behind, and she spun to see a small group of cats padding towards her. Immediately she recognized them: Frostfoot, Hawkshade, Ivyclaw, Maplefur, and Sunheart, the cats she'd spoken to before. When she had gone to the Moonstone to seek answers about her curse, these were the cats she had seen. She had only spoken to Hawkshade and Frostfoot, but she knew all five of them had been involved in the decision to send her back to RiverClan after her accident in the river; they had caused her curse. And now she was seeing them again, and she drew her claws out with a growl.

"Hello, Minnow." Frostfoot was the first to speak, sitting calmly on the grass. Her pale fur glittered with stars.

Minnow couldn't match the StarClan cat's gentle attitude, even though she knew Frostfoot was kind. "Why am I here?" She demanded. She raked her claws on the grass. "I want nothing to do with StarClan! You threw me out of the forest, you gave up on me and cursed me, and now you have the nerve to bring me here! How dare you show your faces to me!" She growled again, and once more wondered if she was dead. She didn't want to be; she wanted to be back by the river with Apollo, to know he was okay, and that she hadn't caused his death like she'd caused the others. "Just let me go! Dead or alive, I want out of here! I'm not a Clan cat anymore."

Despite her words and her anger, the StarClan cats' expressions were calm, even the foul-tempered Hawkshade, as they looked at her. Frostfoot stepped forward, pride glittering in her eyes, and the others followed. "You've always been a Clan cat, Minnow," Frostfoot purred.

Sunheart spoke next, his flame-colored fur lit up like the entire night sky. "You gave up everything to save your Clan from the curse," he meowed. "You gave up your entire life and left them, knowing that remaining in RiverClan would destroy everything you loved."

"And in the end, you still returned," Maplefur added. "Despite the curse and what harm it could do, you went back, risking it all to once again save your Clan."

The small dark form of Ivyclaw stood. "That is what it means to be a Clan cat, Minnow. That's what it means to be a warrior."

Minnow didn't know what to make of their words, but in the calm setting of StarClan, she found it hard to hold on to her anger. "What are you talking about?" She snapped. "I'm cursed. Or did you forget what you did to me? I knew I shouldn't have come back, but I did anyway, and I almost lost Apollo! I don't even know if he's okay!" Her heart raced, and the fear that Apollo might be dead hung thickly over her.

"He's alive," Frostfoot said calmly. "You saved him, Minnow. But not without a great cost of your own."

The StarClan warrior's eyes were shadowed with sadness and her words sunk in, and Minnow met her gaze. "So I'm dead?" She said weakly, feeling defeated.

Finally, Hawkshade spoke up, having been silent this whole time. "Normally this would be where we would collect your spirit, to join StarClan," he said, his voice gruff. Then his gaze softened, and the slightest purr escaped him. "But StarClan isn't ready for you yet, young warrior. I'm afraid we'll have to send you back again."

Minnow's eyes flew open, so wide that she thought they might pop out. "No!" She screeched. "Not after what happened before! I was cursed before; who knows what could happen this time?" Her heart raced and she began to panic. "I've already put RiverClan in danger; I can't do the same to Jay and Smokey and Apollo!" Her tail lashed, fluffed out with fear behind her.

Sunheart flicked his tail. "Calm down," he coaxed. "You won't be cursed again. Sending you back isn't what caused the curse in the first place."

Minnow snapped her head towards the ginger StarClan tom. What did he mean by that? "What are you talking about?" She asked, nearly breathless as her mind raced.

Frostfoot spoke again. "We were wrong, Minnow," she said slowly. "It has only been recently that StarClan has become aware of the true cause of your curse. You were always meant to return to your Clan; you have a great deal left to do to serve them. Sending you back wasn't a mistake."

Minnow could barely think. "Then why was I cursed?" She asked, almost frantically. "Why has all of this happened?" Her words were nearly a sob.

Hawkshade's eyes grew dark and his gaze ominous as he met Minnow's. "It was our fault," he murmured. Louder, he added, "I'm sure you remember what Frostfoot showed you, and how divided we were on the decision?"

Minnow thought back to her previous visit with StarClan, when Frostfoot showed her the memory of her warrior ancestors voting on her fate. They had all been either strongly for or against sending her back to RiverClan, and Hawkshade had cursed his companions for wanting to save her life. She nodded.

Hawkshade went on. "Our division is what caused your curse," he meowed, then sighed. It was followed by a long pause before he added darkly, "Bad things happen when StarClan isn't unified. I'm afraid we'll never understand just why we had to decide your fate, but it tested us. And we've learned the kind of destruction that can befall the Clans when their ancestors are divided amongst themselves."

"In the coming moons," Maplefur said, "StarClan will need to be unified more than ever. The Clans are shifting and changing, and they need us to be strong so that they can be strong. You may have won the battle today, Minnow, but it is not over."

"But if there's one thing that StarClan agrees on, it's that it's not your time to die," Ivyclaw said warmly. "We'll be sending you back to the forest again, curse-free." Her normally shy eyes glittered with warmth and a tinge of humor.

A great weight fell off of Minnow in that moment. Not only was she alive, but she wouldn't have to live under the threat of the curse anymore! RiverClan would be safe with her around! She could hardly believe the news and she tried to wrap her mind around what that could mean for her.

But then her heart sank; she could return to RiverClan now, but that would mean saying goodbye to the other barn cats. Suddenly her heart was torn in two. It wouldn't be fair to them, and she would miss them so much. But at the same time, she couldn't ignore the tug she'd been feeling for moons calling her back to the reeds and the river. How could she make such a choice?

"Minnow?" Frostfoot's soft voice interrupted Minnow's thoughts. The StarClan cats were still watching her. "What's wrong?"

Minnow sighed. "Where am I supposed to go?" She asked. It would make her feel a little better about whatever decision she made if StarClan would point her in the right direction.

Frostfoot purred. "That is for you to decide," she meowed, which didn't make Minnow feel any better. "In your heart you are a RiverClan warrior, but you've built a life for yourself outside Clan territories. We can't tell you where to go, but just know that whatever you do, RiverClan will still need you. All the Clans will. In the days coming, all four Clans will need your wisdom and fairness, your compassion and courage. You mean more to the forest than you know, and we will be with you, watching over you, every step of the way."

Minnow's heart lifted a bit. "I suppose I have to go now," she said.

"Not just yet," Frostfoot purred again. "There's someone I think you'd like to see." The five StarClan cats turned and padded away, and as they walked into the distance they passed another cat moving towards Minnow. His achingly familiar pelt flowed like a flaming sunset, glittering with countless stars, eyes as green as newleaf grass, and Minnow's heart caught in her throat.

"Flamepelt!"