I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the fact that a poet cannot help the fact to sing. I was born with the evil one standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered into this world, and he has been with me since.

━─┉┈┈◈❖◈┈┈┉─━

Maplepaw's elated feeling didn't last for long, however. Soon, she saw Honeypaw being lifted into the medicine den, blood staining the paws of fur of both Ashpool and Ghostwhisper. She heard a gasp sound behind her and turned around to see the horrified face of Silentpaw as she whispered,

"You...did...this?"

Maplepaw gave a subtle nod, her heart in her throat. If anything, it seemed that Honeypaw's condition was getting worse by the minute.

"Will she survive?" Maplepaw asked, her voice stressed. As much as she hated the golden she-cat she didn't want to have a death on her conscience.

"We hope so. We aren't too sure about how much blood she lost and how deep her wounds are. Right now, we're just trying cleanse her wounds and patch them up to prevent more bleeding. We hope that there aren't any ruptured organs or internal bleeding. If there are...we hope that she spends a good life in StarClan," Ghostwhisper sighed, dropping his head before calling,

"Silentpaw, come here. We need you to patch up this part."

Maplepaw saw Cloudpaw leaning over Honeypaw, their noses touching. Honeypaw was barely breathing, her chest faintly rising and falling, but apart from that, you couldn't tell if she was alive or not.

Cloudpaw turned to look at Maplepaw, his eyes flooded with grief and anger, as he hissed at Maplepaw,

"You really are a monster! No wonder why your father abandoned you! You are nothing."

Maplepaw stared back at Cloudpaw, not flinching, not even blinking. 

So what if he calls you a monster? Be yourself; everyone else is taken.

Maplepaw sat up straighter and tilted her chin up proudly at Cloudpaw who growled ferociously before turning back to Honeypaw.

"I think you should leave, Maplepaw. You staying here will only make Cloudpaw more angry and irritated and would probably make him attack you. Something I don't think is needed in here," Silentpaw whispered, her tail tip gently resting across Maplepaw's shoulders.

Maplepaw nodded before she quickly left the medicine cats' den. The darkness, the part of her which was rising fast, wanted Honeypaw to die, as slowly as possible. She unsheathed her claws, and her tongue touched a bit of half-dried blood in her mouth and her lips curled up into a smile. Seeing her enemies suffer was something that Maplepaw found surprisingly amusing.

She saw a shadow loom over her and flinched.

Steady now darling. There's nothing to be afraid of, the voice reassured her.

"Maplepaw!" Heatherstalk yowled in her face before roughly grabbing her scruff and carrying, no wait, hauling her over to the other side of the MistClan clearing.

"What were you thinking, young cat?" Heatherstalk snapped in her face, spittle flying from her mouth. "Do you want to be known as a murderer?! I didn't raise you to have a murder on your conscience!"

Maplepaw flinched and drew her ears back in fright as she cowered from her foster mother. She had never seen Heatherstalk this incandescent before. The worst, well now second-to-worst, thing she had been in was giving her a light whack on the head or a cuff over her ears.

Maplepaw knew that Heatherstalk must've seen Maplepaw's fright and took a deep breath before saying,

"I'm sorry Maplepaw. I never...but please, could you promise me something?"

Maplepaw shivered before she replied,

"Yes, w-what?"

Heatherstalk sighed and said,

"Don't take things too seriously...Maplepaw. You only get to live once, but if you do things right, then once is enough."

Maplepaw loosened slightly and replied,

"I promise I will not take things too seriously, Heatherstalk."

"Good. But remember, your clanmates won't think of you so lightly if Honeypaw does die. Let's just hope she doesn't," Heatherstalk meowed, voice faltering slightly. "Don't forgive enemies for their sake - do it for your sake, Maplepaw."

Maplepaw, my darling sweetheart, there's no use to forgive that piece of fox-dung. 

Maplepaw blinked rapidly and nodded before leaving and wincing slightly from the throbbing pain in her scruff.

[TIMESKIP]

It was just after sun-high and Maplepaw saw Cloudpaw walk out of the den, looking extremely bedraggled. But the most prominent feature was how his tail was not stuck proudly up in the air and his entire body seemed to be close to the ground.

When Maplepaw's eyes connected with his, Cloudpaw hissed furiously at her and spat,

"HOW COULD YOU, YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER!"

Maplepaw watched him drag himself away before the dread began building up in her chest again.

It was as if a stone was dropped on top of her when Cinderstar leaped on the High-ledge and called, her voice quivering heavily,

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey, please gather under the High-ledge for a clan meeting!"

Cats began swarming towards the High-ledge, many casting worried and scared glances at Maplepaw. Silentpaw stuck closely towards Ghostwhisper, almost looking like an extension of the bulky white tom himself. Ghostwhisper was nuzzling her and whispering something in her ear.

"One of our most talented apprentices, Honeypaw, has...has...passed away. However, she will forever be remembered as one of the greatest that MistClan has ever seen. Even though she didn't become a warrior, we will forever honour her!" Cinderstar called, shaking heavily.

"Who killed my daughter?! I will find them and rip them into shreds!" Blackcloud roared, his voice echoing through the clearing.

"Maplepaw did!" Shadepaw piped up, gleeful.

"How dare you!" Blackcloud snarled, lunging forwards and backing her up against a tree.

Almost instantly, Maplepaw saw blood seeping from Blackcloud's muzzle as he staggered backwards and hissed at her, 

"You are a murderer, young cat! And you will become nothing. You will join the Dark Forest for your evil deeds and crimes!" 

Cinderstar yowled, cutting everyone off, 

"Silence! I will decide what to do with her! Meanwhile, everyone, get back to your duties. Medicine cats, prepare for Honeypaw's burial." 

Once everyone departed, Cinderstar leaped off the High-ledge and walked towards Maplepaw. 

"Come and meet me in my den," she said in a solemn voice, her eyes dark, before bounding away, into the dark leader's den. 

Maplepaw trudged up the sloping path, wondering what Cinderstar would do to her. Would she kill her? Blind her? Banish her from the clan forever? Torture her for entertainment? No, Cinderstar was honourable, even if Maplepaw's father wasn't. And Maplepaw was quite confident on that. 

When she reached the leader's den, Maplepaw saw Cinderstar's head bowed and after a few seconds, Cinderstar lifted her head and said in a raspy voice, her eyes glassed over, 

"She was my daughter, you know." 

Maplepaw was stunned, but not that surprised at the same time. Honeypaw was snooty. And that was probably derived from the fact that she was the leader's daughter. 

"Well, I'm sorry. She was going to kill me-" Maplepaw began, her voice surprisingly steady. 

"But you killed her instead!" Cinderstar screeched, spittle flying from her muzzle. 

"I'm sorry. I told you. Now what is my punishment?" Maplepaw snapped, a growl lacing her words. 

"You will be exiled from the clan for one moon. And that will teach you the hardships of not living in a clan and making decisions for yourself," Cinderstar snapped back. "Now go, and get out of my sight." 

Maplepaw snorted as she almost flew out of the den and  tumbled down the slope before quickly ran out of the camp. 

When she was at the edge of her clan's territory, Maplepaw smirked. If anything she was thrilled to finally escape the confines of her clan. To not be judged for whenever she took a step somewhere. 

Maplepaw was bathed in a single ray of light and her fur was tinted gold. She looked almost majestic as she walked towards the setting sun. 

━─┉┈┈◈❖◈┈┈┉─━

Inside each of us, there is a seed of good and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which one will win and they cannot exist without each other.