A/N: This idea just popped into my head out of nowhere, so I wrote it out. It's mostly Swiftpaw's feelings for Cloudtail and Brightheart being together. And it's also my feeble attempt to write something deep, which I've never tried before. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. Erin Hunter does. SO DON'T SUE ME!

The Prize

They both loved her with all their hearts.

But Cloudtail had won the prize.

The prize, of course, was Brightheart's love.

Sure, maybe Brightheart had had a little crush on Swiftpaw when they were apprentices. But what was a small crush on a friend, compared to feeling true love toward her life-long mate, Cloudtail?

That minuscule crush would only disappear over the moons, and be nothing more than a distant memory to Brightheart; a cute, foolish memory to laugh at. All her love would always be for Cloudtail, and she would soon forget her past feelings for Swiftpaw.

If only Swiftpaw hadn't been so reckless... If only he hadn't gone looking for trouble, and had just waited until Bluestar made him a warrior.

If only he had lived.

But what hurt him even more than the pain of death was the fact that he had not only gotten himself attacked, but Brightheart as well.

Swifpaw had done everything he could to defend his love when they were attacked by the pack, and fought back viciously, but in the end it was no use.

The dogs had quickly overpowered him and killed him with ease, chanting, "Pack, pack! Kill, kill!"

The last thing Swiftpaw heard as pain throbbed through his body were those words, and the last thing he saw were the dogs' teeth, tearing at Brightheart's bloody face and body.

Brightheart had barely survived the attack, and with Swiftpaw's death, Cloudtail immediately stepped up and claimed her as his love. And with Swiftpaw, her crush, out of the picture, Brightheart easily loved Cloudtail back.

And to this day, as Swiftpaw looks down at the two from StarClan, he doesn't know what to feel. He's happy because Brightheart is happy, but jealous because that happiness is caused by and shared with Cloudtail. He also remains angry at himself for being responsible for Brightheart's injuries.

He didn't even realize that he loved her until he was already dead. He had always wondered why he felt so defensive of her...

If he hadn't been so impatient, he never would have died, Brightheart never would have been hurt, and Cloudtail probably never would have made his move for her.

If he hadn't been so stupid, he and Brightheart would be mates and have kits together, and Cloudtail would be happy with someone else.

But it was too late.

He had already made his mistakes, and died because of them.

He had already made his mistakes, and because of them, Cloudtail had won the prize.

A/N: Aw... I love Swiftpaw... Thanks for reading. Was it good? Bad? Let me know! :)

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~Blazingstar