"You stupid she-cat!" Hazelstar spat, knocking Crystal over onto the floor of her den.
"What?! What's wrong?!" Crystal cried out.
"We're getting closer to the battle, and I need every single one of my warriors. It's not your job to mess with my plans and get pregnant along the way!" Hazelstar hissed, unsheathing her claws.
"I can still handle the rogues!" Crystal hissed.
"Yes, but when will your kits be due? Right at the battle, I presume. You've got guts, going against me, strategically avoiding battle to save your own skin," Hazelstar hissed.
"Fine! I can just leave if you want me too!" Crystal hissed back. "Then who will run the rogues?"
"RUN THE ROGUES! KEEP THEM IN LINE!" Hazelstar hissed back. "But...this isn't the end of this, Crystal. I would kill you now, but who else will get the rogues to cooperate. We'll talk after the battle."
Crystal nodded slowly, her eyes clouded with fear.
"What's going on?!" came Fire's growl as he raced into the den.
"FIRE, LEAVE!" Hazelstar hissed.
"What are you doing to her?!" Fire gasped.
"FIRE, LEAVE!" Hazelstar repeated.
Fire did not move.
"Walk out of this den now or she dies!" Hazelstar hissed.
Fire obeyed her.
Hazelstar slowly let Crystal up, pushing her out of the den.
"You better work hard!" she spat as Crystal ran off.
"Stupid she-cat," Hazelstar muttered to herself, leaning against the wall of her den. How dare her warriors think they can go against her?
I bet Crystal would've never said those things to Moonstar, Hazelstar thought. Her cursed mother, a real leader. How could she ever learn from her malicious mother?
Flashbacks crossed Hazelstar's mind as she remembered her mother's claws coming down on her, the scratches that burned across her pelt. They were faint memories, ones from when she was just a little kit. Maybe they weren't even real.
But of course they were. Hazelstar knew they were. Her mother had been abusive, cruel. That's why she and Chesnuttail had left in the first place.
But why had she returned? Some days, Hazelstar wasn't sure. Other days, she knew this was her path. Her mother had guided her down this path to lead MoonClan to victory. But what was in it for her? Sure, she got the entire forest, but that was it. There was nothing else that really excited her.
"My warriors will fear me!" she declared, stomping around her den. Wasn't fear the greatest reward of all? To be feared meant Hazelstar was powerful, just like her mother.
"Hazelstar?" called Fire.
"What?!" she snapped, her eyes wide. She was tired and sleep-deprived from nights where she tossed and turned. Some days, she thought she was losing it altogether.
"What will you do to Crystal?" he asked.
"The she-cat has my protection, so quit fussing," Hazelstar growled. "You're lucky I let her live. If it weren't for her dedication and leadership over the rogues, I would've killed her on the spot."
"She didn't mean any harm," Fire proposed.
"Don't argue for her!" Hazelstar spat. "If you were a good deputy, you wouldn't have gotten a mate in the first place. Your duties lie with me now, you hear? I don't want to see you anywhere near that she-cat until the kits are born."
"But—" Fire began.
"But nothing! You are deputy. You pledged yourself to Moonstar and the Dark Forest. They want us to lead, to take over. Crystal has gotten in the way of that. Do what I say!" Hazelstar spat.
"Very well, Hazelstar," Fire sighed, exiting the den.
"Fire, send my son over!" Hazelstar spat. "I want a word with him!"
"Yes, Hazelstar!" he called, rushing off.
Within minutes, guards carried Treestep to Hazelstar's den. He struggled in their grasp, though he was tired and exhausted from a day's worth of training, and he struggled to stand up to face his mother.
"Did you bring me here to kill me?" he asked.
Hazelstar laughed. "Why? Your training looks as if it's killing you anyway. I only wished to talk."
"About what? My fate?" Treestep growled.
"You better watch that tongue, son. Sit," she commanded.
Treestep obeyed, his green eyes watching his mother with caution.
"What makes a good mother, Treestep?"
"What are you babbling about this time? Have you officially lost it?" he asked.
"What makes a good mother?"
Silence.
"Answer me!" Hazelstar spat.
Treestep rolled his eyes. "A good mother cares for her kits, raises them to be good warriors. A good mother doesn't plan her kit's path, but encourages her kit to choose the path she wishes. A good mother doesn't abuse her kit. A good mother loves her kit. A good mother doesn't send out her kit on a suicide mission and then take her kit captive and try to kill her kit's entire family!"
"That's enough!" Hazelstar spat.
She knew Treestep was describing his relationship with Hazelstar, but the words he had said reminded Hazelstar so much of her relationship with Moonstar. She had never been the favorite. Leopardtail was the greatest she-cat out of the bunch, always praised by Moonstar. But after her death, Hazelstar was the only one left to lead. She wondered if her sister had even ended up in the Dark Forest.
"Take him away!" Hazelstar decided at last.
"You've lost it! You've gone crazy!" came Treestep's howls as he was led away.
Hazelstar curled up in her nest, confused, wondering what to do. Was this the right path? Could she truly be evil?
"Stop doubting yourself!" she hissed.
Maybe I have lost it, she thought.
She closed her eyes, falling into a restless sleep.
"Moonstar," Hazelstar breathed, immediately bowing to her mother. She was in the Dark Forest, as she was most nights. Her mother stood in front of her, her white teeth sharp and malicious.
Though her mother was smaller and more slender than Hazelstar, she was certainly more vicious and cunning.
"Hazelstar, why do you doubt yourself?" she asked.
"I-I don't, Mother," Hazelstar stammered.
"You can't even talk right," Moonstar hissed. "Why do you doubt yourself?"
"I do not. I am the leader of MoonClan. There is nothing to doubt," Hazelstar explained.
"But something's troubling you, isn't it? I see your thoughts and life, Hazelstar. You don't believe this is worth it. This is only a burden for you."
"No, this is all I've dreamed about," Hazelstar explained.
"LIAR!" Moonstar hissed. "Don't lie to me, daughter!"
"I'm carrying out your chore, that's what I'm doing!" she hissed.
Moonstar fell silent, which was even more deadly than her attacks.
"This is a chore for you, is it?" she asked, circling her daughter and laughing. "You were always to be the leader, Hazelstar. Not Tigerstripe, not Leopardtail, and certaintly not Chesnuttail. I gave this gift to you because I knew you'd do a good job."
"What does that have to do with anything? Why do you need the forest?"
"These cats have lost all hope," Moonstar explained. "The cats I grew up with were selfish and focused not on their warrior duties, but those around them. SnowClan and FoxClan have grown poisoned with selfishness. They are forgetting that to be a warrior means to be fierce. They have grown up worshipping soft-spot cats who live in the stars, while the true cats are here in the Dark Forest."
Her mother's words confused Hazelstar.
"What do you mean?" Hazelstar asked.
"Why do cats end up in the Dark Forest?"
"Because they're bad?"
Moonstar laughed.
"No, they swim against the tide. They are rebellious. They want to create a different world in the forest. A world based around ferocity and fear, not a world of love. We can survive without love, but it is impossible to live without fear."
"You're confusing me," Hazelstar admitted.
"You're leading MoonClan for the greater good. The Dark Forest is the true leader, my dear. Imagine all that these cats can give us. Why, I've certaintly visited you more than any StarClan cat, have I not? The Dark Forest continues to inspire us to battle hard and work hard. The entire forest will be yours to rule. You'll be well-fed, commanding these warriors around like slaves. Can you see it?"
"I-I guess," Hazelstar admitted. And she could see it. A world where she was leader, where cats bowed before her, where Dark Forest cats trained others. A world of darkness, a world of ferocity, a world of fear.
Pain shot through Hazelstar, and she wasn't sure why. It was as if the last of her doubts were exiting, and they were becoming more painful than ever.
Hazelstar stomped her paw down and unsheathed her long claws, baring her sharp teeth.
"I am a MoonClan leader, and I belong to the Dark Forest!" she declared.