Rising from the Ground/Fourteen

FOURTEEN. GWYN

 Like a skyscraper

The next time Enero walks into the den, I demand to talk to him separately. He seems reluctant at first but orders a guard to take me to a separate den so he can talk to me alone.

“Well,” he seats himself comfortably and watches me warily, “what did you want to talk to me about, Gwyn?”

“Your offer.”

His eyes light up with a cruel sort of malevolence. I want to take back what I’m about to say but Artic’s words remind me why I’m doing this.

“You want to murder your love?” He sneers, “Just like you did with Artic?”

I stiffen slightly. “No, I don’t want to kill Stormshadow.” Enero’s eyes darken but I hurry on before he could cut off the deal. “But I promise to kill whoever else you name.”

Enero look surprised by this addition to the deal. “Anyone?” He smirks, “Well, alright, I suppose that will count.”

I let out a tiny breath. “And you have to promise to release Stormshadow.”

“Not until you kill whoever I name,” he swishes his tail. “After that, you can release Stormshadow yourself.”

“Deal,” I find myself saying.

Enero’s sly smile almost makes me take back my offer. But I know it’s the best I can get. “Name your cat,” I snap.

“Ravenflight.”

My eyes widen slightly but I know Enero’s waiting for my reaction. I take a deep breath and nod tersely. “Consider it done,” I mutter grimly. The white tom lets out a short laugh before untying my brambles.

“Better get going then,” he purrs nastily, “I’ll be waiting. I expect to see proof that you killed Ravenflight.”

“You’ll get it,” I reply darkly.

I’m escorted to the IceClan border where I step over unsteadily. I set my paws towards main camp, a story forming in my head.

Ravenflight, not surprisingly enough, is the first cat to notice my return. “Gwyn!” She gasps, rushing to my side, “How did you get here? Where’s Stormshadow?”

I grimace. “I escaped,” I rasp, “but I couldn’t get Stormshadow out with me. They caught him again.”

The black she-cat’s eyes fill with worry and anguish but she nudges me towards Pineshadow’s den. “Come on, let’s get you fixed first. We’ll find a plan to get Stormshadow back.”

“Not yet,” I murmur, trying to keep my balance. I couldn’t allow them to head for Raider territory or else Enero will think that I’m backstabbing him and he’ll probably kill Stormshadow. I couldn’t risk him. “Stormshadow will still be there in a few days.”

Ravenflight gives me a funny look but she helps me into Pineshadow’s den before heads back out (presumably to talk this over with Blackthorn).

Stars, I hope I’m making the right choice.

~

Morning comes and I try to gather my thoughts. I have to make my move now or else Enero will suspect something.

I struggle to my paws. Pineshadow looks me over, but being a typical IceClan cat who hates Raiders, he lets me go without a word. Ravenflight rushes over immediately. “Gwyn!” She gasps, her eyes wide with worry, “What are you doing out of your nest? You’re too injured to go anywhere.”

“No…” I grunt, “Please let me go outside of this camp. It’s too...suffocating.”

“Gwyn,” Ravenflight looks serious, “you’re in no condition to go anywhere. I know you’re worried about Stormshadow but please. You need to stay in your nest.”

Before I can protest, the black fly warrior leads me back into the medicine cat’s den. I crumple on the nest and just as the world begins to fade away, I can only think about how I will fail Stormshadow and be unable to fulfill what Artic had told me.

~

“Gwyn!” Someone prods me awake. I blink my eyes blearily as I try to make out my surroundings. I recognize the starry forests and I stand warily.

“Artic,” I eye the tom.

His blue eyes, normally warm and kind, are filled with cold anger. “I can’t believe you’ve agreed to Enero’s deal!” He snaps, “What are you trying to do?”

I flatten my ears, “This is what you told me to do!” I retort, “You told me I should return to the Raiders. The only way for me to do that is to kill Ravenflight!”

Artic flinches. I vaguely remember Ravenflight spitting out that Artic would have never forgiven me had I succeeded in killing his mate-to-be.

“I told you no such thing,” Artic hisses, “but if you don’t change the way you look at things, perhaps you will never achieve a status that will suit you.”

I gape at him. The tom I once knew as my best friend stares back with his icy blue eyes. “You murdered two of IceClan’st most valuable assets-”

“Well don’t flatter yourself,” I mutter.

“-And you’ll just have to deal with it!” Artic takes a deep breath and exhales, “If you’re not ready to do that, fine. So be it. But don’t think that murdering Ravenflight will solve all your problems.”

“I don’t care anymore,” I whisper fiercely, “I don’t care what you think anymore.”

Artic gives me a sad smile and just like that, I wake up. I stare into the darkness, trying to comprehend what Artic had just told me.

“It doesn’t matter,” I murmur to myself quietly, “it doesn’t matter what he thinks. This is your choice, and your choice alone.”

 Like a skyscraper