"You disobeyed my orders," Flamenose growled. Longdrop looked nonchalant and replied, "Why should I follow your orders? I shall seek my own ambition, without your interference."

Frostleaf felt stunned and surprised as she watched them talk. Beside her, Brownstar began to stir.

"I raised you, saved you, and you decided to do your own things?" she snarled. "You ungrateful cat!" Longdrop just snorted and pounced onto his mother.

"You shall pay for what you tried to do to be," he growled. He swiped at her as fast as lightning and she fell with a deep gash in her throat.

"I should have known that you are a traitor," Flamenose snarled, her voice getting weaker with the lost of blood.

"How could you do that to your mother?" Frostleaf yowled. Longdrop turned to look at her and replied with a smirk, "She deserves it."

Before she could snarl something in reply, a cat brust out of the bushes. The amber eyes and flame coloured pelt is unmistakable.

"Russeteyes," Brownstar groaned, trying to get up. The elder's eyes turned to her sister and she gasped.

"Flamenose!" she mewed happily. Longdrop caught her happy reply and he smirked. "Littermates? Oh, what a shame if one died before the other's eyes."

He pounced onto Flamenose and opened a deeper wound on her. She screeched in pain and withered around.

Russeteyes glared at him and yowled, "You monster!" She turned to her dying sister and she mewed frantically, "I will get our medicine cat."

Flamenose shook her head and could only gasp out, "I'm... sorry." Sudden grief pounded Frostleaf's heart. She may have killed my father, but Longdrop is even worse, she thought, fury rising.

Russeteyes had tears in her eyes as she licked her sister's fur while Brownstar looked too shocked to do anything.

It is up to me, she thought decisively.

"Come and get me, you traitor!" she snarled. Longdrop looked bored and he yawned.

"Little Frostkit wants to fight a real warrior," he snorted. "Oh, I suddenly remember. That kit's name, what was it?"

He pretended to think and his amber eyes gleamed when he seemed to know the answer.

"Poor old Ravenkit, isn't it?" he purred mockingly. "The Dark Forest decided to give him a little sickness, so that he can die a painful death. Perfect way to crush Frostkit's spirit."

"Who do you know that?" Frostleaf demanded angrily.

Longdrop ignored her and mewed in a silky voice, "But a warrior made his suffering stop. What a pity." He sighed dramatically.

With a yowl of fury, Frostleaf pounced onto him. He dived under her and swiped at her belly, and she managed to dodge most of the swipes.

He twisted to face her and ramed Frostleaf into a nearby tree, knocking all the breath out of her.

As she gasped for breath, Longdrop put his paws at her throat, suffocating her. "Look who is going to die," he sneered. "But let me tell you some things before you die."

"What is it?" she growled. "Do you think those attacks are just attacks?" he laughed. "I lured the foxes to the ThunderClan camp as a little warning. Then, I angered a badger while I was in a patrol near the patrol Grayclaw was in. Knowing that Grayclaw will try to save the rest of you and take on the badger himself, I came and helped the badger... finish his job."

"How could you?" she snarled, struggling viciously. Her heartbeat seemed to go twice as fast, but a strange calmness washed over her. She suddenly felt strength, more than any cat could feel.

Longdrop's tight grip became nothing but weak leaf branches. She threw him away from her, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

"What?" he growled, clearly surprised at Frostleaf's sudden strength.

She didn't waste time in replying and jumped, twisting so that Longdrop thinks that she is aiming wrong.

She timed it right and slammed his flank, pinning him down. As he tried to tear away from her grip, Brownstar seemed to have 'woken up' from his grief.

"Bring him back to camp," the ThunderClan leader ordered, glaring at Longdrop dangerously.

Russeteyes only sighed sadly. "Flamenose can't get a proper warrior's burial. I will stay here."

They nodded, heading back to camp.

~~~~

When they are back at camp, Frostleaf realised that the clan has already chased out the rogues, and they were waiting for Brownstar.

"Brownstar! What happened?" Stagwind asked. "The clan was worried about you."

Brownstar nodded tiredly and jumped up Highledge.

"Let all cats who are old enough to catch their own prey to gather at Highledge for a clan meeting!" he shouted.

The cats who are not gathered earlier came out of their dens. Goldenfeather peaked through the entrance of the nursery while her kits tried to look.

"Watch it mousebrain!" Rockkit squealed when Sunkit accidentally poked his eye. Honeykit cuffed her brother over his ears and whispered, "Hush! Brownstar is talking!"

"While in the middle of the battle," Brownstar announced. "Frostleaf, Longdrop, Silverpaw and I were chasing the retreating rogues." He glared at Longdrop as he spoke, obvious hatred in both tom's eyes.

"I followed Longdrop to attack the rogues attempting to get back in the camp while Frostleaf and Silverpaw went to chase away the ones who are really retreating," the leader paused.

"Then," he continued bitterly. "Longdrop attacked me." Yowls of anger arose from the clan. "Traitor!" a cat yowled.

Brownstar waved his tail in silence and they quieted down. Longdrop only glanced at them with a steady look, as if he didn't care about what they thought of him.

"He took one of my lives but before he could take the rest my my lives, Frostleaf came and attacked him. She managed to defeat him and now I shall announce his punishment," Brownstar growled.

As Stagwind dripped some marigold juice on Frostleaf, she noticed that Brownstar left out the part with Flamenose in it. Longdrop also didn't point it out.

"I sentence you to exile," Brownstar mewed. "Leave ThunderClan before sunset and we will treat you like any enemy."

Longdrop remained in his angry stare longer before he limped towards the thorn barrier. He smirked and yowled, "I will have my revenge."

He stared in Frostleaf's direction before padding away. When he gave one last glance at her, Frostleaf thought that his amber eyes had a glimpse of red in it.

~~~~

When it was almost moonhigh, Brownstar padded out of his den. The clan was expecting him, so that they gathered in front of Highledge.

The ThunderClan leader looked more like himself as he mewed, "We will grief for Grayclaw, as he had served us with fairness and wisdom. But it is time to choose a new deputy."

The clan looked up, eager to find out who is the new deputy.

"I say these words before the body of Grayclaw, so that he can hear and approve of my choice," Brownstar said, pausing.

The air seemed to grow thicker with each tense moment, and even the birds stopped tweeting to listen. Brownstar paused for so long that Frostleaf wondered if he forgotten who he wanted to pick.

"The new deputy of ThunderClan will be Frostleaf," he mewed clearly.

Silence struck his words. Specklebreeze broke the slience and called out, "Frostleaf! Frostleaf!"

Then Goldenfeather, Grassheart, Patchheart and Silverpaw began to call out the new deputy's name, followed by the rest of the clan.

Frostleaf felt shocked at her being chosen as the deputy. She turned to the rest of the clan and announced, "I am honoured to be deputy and I never expected myself to be chosen. I will serve the clan the best I could."

As the calls rang out in the night sky, a voice whispered in Frostleaf's ear. Treachery is not over.

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A/N: There will be an epilogue, as I had said in an earlier chapter. This is the last chapter (excluding the epilogue) of book 2, and for the ones sticking to my series so far, thank you. :)