Dark-Hearted

Prologue - Shinepaw
There were no stars in the forest. Tall, gray trees reached out into the sky, blocking the light. Mist had fallen on the grass-less ground, covering the slow, lifeless river that flowed there. The forest was haunted by an echoing silence.

But a sound reached out and broke it; the sound of screeching, fighting cats. Shinepaw ran towards the sound, hoping with all of her heart that is wasn't what she thought it was. She poked her head around a tree, and nearly cried out in fear and shock.

In the middle of a small clearing, a small black shape was fighting with a nearly see through tortoiseshell. Darkpaw! she thought, full of fear for her brother. ''And... is that Mapleshade!?''

Suddenly, Shinepaw was thrust into the past. She fell to the ground, and into the past.

''Shinepaw opened her eyes. She was in a strange forest, devoid of light. She blinked. Where am I?, she thought, frightened.

A cat approached her. It was a scruffy looking tortoiseshell, with messy fur and a bleeding scratch here or there. Shinepaw shivered when she realized she could see the gray trees behind ghostly figure.

"Hello, Shinepaw," the cat meowed with a raspy voice. "Who are you, and how do you know my name?" Shinepaw responded. The strange cat chuckled. "I am Mapleshade."

Shinepaw crouched down low and slowly began to move backwards. Mapleshade laughed. "Don't be scared," she said in her raspy voice. "I was a clan cat, just like you, deary." How can I not be scared?, Shinepaw thought.'' You're terrifying!

''Mapleshade shrugged. "I get that a lot," she hissed. Shinepaw flattened her ears. "Did you read my mind?" she meowed timidly. Mapleshade shook her head. "No, I just get that a lot. I'm used to it."

Mapleshade padded closer, so close that Shinepaw could smell Mapleshade's hot, smelly breath. "Now, I have an offer for you." Shinepaw shivered. "What?" she asked. "I will train you battle training unlike any you have ever experienced before. If you accept, you will hold great power in the clan."

Shinepaw shook her head. "No," she said firmly. Mapleshade grinned and extended her claws. "Well," she began, "if you won't say yes, than you are simply a RiverClan cat. My worst enemy." Mapleshade leaped forward and slashed her throat.''

Shinepaw was jolted out of the memory. She remembered waking up in a clearing with a big rock in the middle and four large oak trees at the borders. She had been welcomed to StarClan by a ginger tom with green eyes. And now she was on a mission to find out what was happening in the Dark Forest.

Shinepaw stood up, to find that she was in the middle of the clearing. Both cats were staring at her; Mapleshade with a glare made of rage, and Darkpaw with a look of confusion.

Mapleshade turned to him. "Darkpaw, this is your final test. Kill this StarClan filth and you will be made a Dark Forest warrior!" Darkpaw turned to Shinepaw. "Sorry," he meowed. "but my loyalty is to the Dark Forest now." He ran towards her.

Shinepaw's last thought was to wonder why his eyes were black instead of the light blue they had once been, before Mapleshade had entered their dreams.

And the last thing she heard was Mapleshade saying, "Well done, Darkclaw."