[Mapleshade lying down as she bleeds from a wound, saying "Leave me alone. I don't need anyone."]

Why Did Frecklewish Go to the Dark Forest? by Brambleheart

Art by Mizu-no-Akira

Brambleheart analyses Frecklewish – did she deserve the Dark Forest?

Hey everyone! This article is speculation on an interesting topic. Frecklewish of ThunderClan was one of the victims killed my Mapleshade in her novella. But unlike any of the other cats that were killed, Frecklewish went to the Place of No Stars, as confirmed on the wiki. So, what gives?

Note: I am NOT a Mapleshade supporter. This article is my objective, non-biased opinion. Also I had the idea for this well before the Moonkitti video, and the fact that it had been published sparked me to write the article BEFORE I WATCHED IT. So I didn’t plagiarize.

We need to start by analysing Frecklewish’s actions. At the start of the novella, she is kind and supportive of Mapleshade almost like a sister/best friend would be. Makes sense, because at the time Frecklewish thought that Mapleshade was her sister-in-law. Frecklewish was reasonably upset when she found out that Mapleshade was manipulating the Clan and using her brother’s name to blackmail the Clan.

When Mapleshade is exiled, Frecklewish is angry. She is making sure Mapleshade leaves when she sees the kits drowning in the river. She is still in an emotional state and sees RiverClan cats trying to step in. So she doesn’t do anything. The kits die because there wasn’t enough help. Mapleshade gets mad and kills Frecklewish with an adder.

So, surprisingly enough, I think Mapleshade did have a point in Frecklewish being INDIRECTLY responsible for the kits dying. And I believe StarClan saw it too.

You see, Frecklewish was still in a position to help. Yes she was ThunderClan and couldn’t swim, but neither could Mapleshade. At the very least she could have directed the RiverClan cats to go where the kits were. But Frecklewish let her emotions cloud her judgement, and allowed herself to be ignorant. It’s understnbdable since she had been lied to by the cat whose kits were drowning, but it was still morally wrong in the eyes of StarClan.

The Warrior Code states that no kit should be left in danger, regardless of their Clan status. Frecklewish inadvertently broke the code by refusing to act. Seeing how harsh StarClan is with codebreaking, even if there was an understandable reason for the action or lack of it, they most definitely saw that as a major violation. And seeing how the only reason Squirrelflight and Leafpool made it to StarClan was due to the rare occurrence of them being present at their trial, Frecklewish was most likely rejected due to her codebreaking.

I’m not saying Frecklewish is a bad cat. I think she is a good cat deep inside who cares for her family, friends and Clan. But she made a mistake. A big one. And by allowing her emotions to get the best of her, Frecklewish now has to spend eternity rotting in the Dark Forest.

That’s all for this article. I hope you enjoy! What are your thoughts on this speculation? See you around, and may StarClan light your path!

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