Alright guys, here's the deal. I didn't expect such a huge response to this story since I was just trying it out so now I have to make it one of my main projects. So that means that this will probably be updated more than the rest of my stories but just remember that if it takes a long time for me to update its because I'm working on more than one story at a time right now so please bear with me.
I'm jumping ahead three years so don't judge me. If you want more interaction between Eric and Trixie while they were younger then put it in a review or message me; I'll put it in there somewhere.
Also, I'm not too knowledgeable on the Choosing Ceremony and while I did my research I changed it a bit. They go through the initiates in reverse alphabetical however I had them just go faction by faction.
I fucked with the timeline but remember I'm not going exactly by the books or the story because I haven't read the books themselves; remember I've only seen the movies.
Thank you all who reviewed my story and followed it! You are the reason this update happened.
WARNING! Attempted rape and abuse in this chapter! If you don't like it then skip it but it's actually critical to the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Divergent series, only my OCs (p.s. the Dauntless brunette I mention actually belongs to ChaosChick12. Thanks for letting me use her chica!)
Enjoy!
Chapter 2) Weakness
3 Years Later...
At the age of fifteen, Trixie had changed quite a bit. She now stood around 5'3, the tips of her hair now brushing the top of her tailbone whenever she had it out of its usual ponytail, and her bangs had gone too long so she had them cut to reach the bottom of her chin in length. While it looked a little odd with hair that long only framing one side of her face, it allowed her to tuck it behind her ear every now and then when she was focused on something. Her petite body was changing constantly, not only from teenage hormones but also from the new routine her uncle had on.
Wanting her to fit in with the rest of the Dauntless-born kids, he had started to give her small training sessions about a year ago to at least give her some knowledge on being a soldier, but he had increased they're length and difficulty when she had returned from the mess hall and was sporting a black eye and a busted lip from one of the other Dauntless-born teenagers. Yeah, her uncle had not been happy about that. The only reason it hadn't gotten worse was because Tobias, now known as Four, had been passing by and had managed to stop the fight; however he was a second too late to keep Trixie from getting hit one more time and receiving a split lip for it.
Four had passed his initiation years ago with flying colors, coming in first out of the ten that were allowed to stay. He had a little help from his mentor, Amar, but most of it had been Four himself.
And right behind him in second place had been Eric, who had not been happy about it in the least. While he had passed the physical part of initiation, it was the second part where he had a little trouble, and that led to his score lowering below Four's. In the end, no matter how fast he regained the points he'd lost, the scores revealed he was one point short of being at a tie with Four.
But despite Four being in first, it was Eric who took the offer to become a leader; however he had to prove himself worthy and serve under a leader, being Max, before he could.
So imagine everyone's surprise when only a year had passed when Eric was elected as a new leader. Everyone had been skeptical. Becoming a leader at the age of seventeen?
The other leader's didn't respect him as a leader right away but that didn't last long.
Now, at the age of nineteen, he was the most feared leader, and stood head-to-head with Max. Everyone respected him and his authority.
Trixie, however, was not so lucky. At the age of fifteen, every still treated Trixie like she was the twelve year old Abnegation that walked in three years ago.
"Come on, just a little one! I promise you can put it in a place that I can hide it easily!"
The tattoo artist shook his head, "Not happening sugar; not unless I want your uncle putting a knife between my shoulder blades. Now beat it before he catches you here."
Trixie's nostrils flared in anger but she didn't say a word as she stormed out of the tattoo parlor, her hands clenched at her sides as she walked down the hall at a brisk pace.
Unbelievable. Totally and absolutely unbelievable.
After living with these people for three years, almost four, and she still couldn't get something as simple as a tattoo. And what made it sting even more was that it was her fifteenth birthday. She had seen some other Dauntless born kids who were fourteen and thirteen and most of them had at least one tattoo.
Yes, she had gotten new clothes from her uncle, and Four was nice enough to sneak her a mini chocolate cake, but the only thing she really wanted she could not get and she knew exactly why. It wasn't just her intimidating uncle that everyone seemed to fear more than usual nowadays, it was because she technically still wasn't a Dauntless. They all still saw her as the orphan Abnegation child. And Trixie was tired of it. All she wanted to do was be treated the same. Was that too much to ask?
Trixie moved through the Dauntless compound to where her balcony was perched above the Pit, leaning forward against the bars on her forearms and clasped her hands together. Looking down, she could see some members dancing and drinking as they celebrated the death of one of their members who had passed the day before.
That was becoming a regular occurrence lately. The death of an initiate was no surprise, after all the pressure was too much sometimes, but the death of a full-fledged Dauntless member did raise some questions.
Trixie stared down at the mass of bodies dancing in a close group for a few moments before moving her gaze over to the bar area. Four was there, sitting on a stool next to a woman with light brunette hair, and Trixie felt her mood worsen. While Trixie was happy that Four had found someone he loved, it put Trixie in an awkward position.
Tris, if she remembered correctly, did not like Trixie that much since she knew Four so well, and that usually resulted in receiving some ugly glares from the female whenever Four hugged Trixie or showed her affection.
Tris was from Abnegation like they were, but it was clear she was more at home in Dauntless than her home faction.
Turning around to leave the balcony, Trixie jumped a little when she saw Eric standing at the archway of the tunnel she had come from, his hands behind his back as he stared at her with hard eyes. Despite the seriousness of his expression, the corner of his lip turned up in a smirk at seeing her surprised expression.
She gave a small blush as she cleared her throat, "Eric."
He nodded his head, "Trickster."
Since initiation, Eric had trained ruthlessly to meet the standards of a leader, and it had paid off in the end. He was a foot higher than her, maybe a bit more, his figure was broad and structured with all the new muscle he had attained from his training, and his entire stature oozed with confidence and power. His face had filled out in all the right places, giving a sharper edge to all his features, and while the sides of his hair were shaved, what was left on the top was swept back neatly out of his face. In addition to the piercings he had, Eric had gotten a new tattoo. Two lines running up and down the length of his neck, disappearing beneath the high collar of his jacket.
To sum it up, he had gone from the skinny Erudite transfer to…well…the frighteningly powerful man before her. And to make it worse, he knew that people were scared of him, and he liked it.
It was that confidence that was going to be the death of her.
She shuffled her feet under the intensity of his gaze, still unable to figure out why he stared at her whenever he saw her.
"I-Is there something you need?" She asked nervously, scratching her forearm as she looked up at him, trying not to let any more heat rise up to her face.
His smirk only got bigger as he held an arm towards her, "Walk with me."
She forced her arms to stay at her sides as she walked over to where he stood. His outstretched arm bent as his hand fell to her lower back, guiding her through the halls as they walked. Trixie felt a shiver move up her spine from his hand. She barely had any physical contact people other than Four so she was overly aware of how large his hand was against the span of her back and the pressure of each and every light push he gave her whenever he turned them down another hall. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye every now and then but each time she looked he was always facing forward, his eyes straight. So she did the same.
A few minutes later, they were making their way through the Pit. A few people were staring at them as they passed yet how could they not; Eric, the most feared leader of Dauntless walking with Trixie. But for those who didn't know who she was, well questions would certainly follow. She felt herself falter in her steps at all the attention but Eric's hand remained strong on her back as he pressed her forward, his gaze ahead of them like it always had been as he paid no attention to those around them.
Eric directed her to the entrance of the tattoo parlor and when he went to lead them inside, she pulled away from him and stopped outside, which caused him to turn towards her with a quirked brow.
"What are we doing here?" She asked hesitantly, thinking it strange how she was being brought back after being kicked out.
"I'm getting a touch-up done on my arms," He stated in a matter-of-fact tone as he gestured to his covered arms before moving them behind him back once again. "You're going to keep me company."
There was nothing in his tone that insinuated she had no option; his voice was casual as if this entire situation was normal but his words left no room for argument. She was going in with him. End of story.
Swallowing nervously, she nodded before moving to walk beside him into the parlor, the smirk evident on his lips at her obedience.
Trixie walked a step behind him as he made his way through the parlor with ease, finding his tattoo artist near the back where his station sat. Despite the large size of the cubicle that could easily fit two stations, the man sat alone as he prepped an assortment of needles, and this time Trixie knew Eric had to be up to something. The tattoo artist that was scheduled to work on Eric was the same one that had refused to work on Trixie earlier.
Resting a hand on top of the wall surrounding the man's station, Eric cleared his throat loud enough for the other to hear him. The artist turned around but saw Trixie first as he did and frowned. "How many times do I have to tell you kid? I'm not doing it so turn your ass around and get-"
Eric cleared his throat again and this time the tattoo artist took notice of him, his eyes widening and the color draining from his face.
Raising his chin a little higher, Eric addressed him, "I'm here for that touch-up we scheduled."
Time appeared to freeze for a moment before wordlessly, the artist nodded and glanced between Eric and Trixie, his posture stiff as he patted the leather chair next to him. Trixie watched as Eric gave a smile to the artist which looked out of place on his usually hardened face and walked around Trixie to enter the space. He removed his jacket and set it on the back of the chair before sitting down and putting his arms on the rests. In awe, Trixie leaned on her arms against the mini wall that came up to her chest and looked at the black artwork covering the entirety of his forearms. Thick black lines that curved like a maze took up the majority of the piece while a smaller pattern similar to a chain link covered any open space around the edges. The only thing that looked out of place were the blank circles in the middle of each the tattoos on his arms.
"You wanted the Dauntless symbol here...right?" The artist asked hesitantly, his pointer finger resting on the blank circle on Eric's left arm.
Eric gave the man a nod and the other immediately got to work on prepping one of the gel pads and a needle just incase he needed to do some detailing. Eric looked up at Trixie, catching the girl in mid-stare, and the corner of his mouth curved up into a cocky grin. She looked away in embarrassment and immediately made herself busy by looking at a wall nearby with small design plaques hanging up.
...
Eric
The time passed like this in silence; Trixie walking around the parlor but never walking away too far from the artist's station and, without her noticing, Eric went back and forth between watching the artist working the gel pads on his arms to staring at Trixie as she wandered aimlessly through the parlor. She reminded him of a small mouse wandering through a house looking for cheese.
Eric hissed through his teeth when the needle first penetrated his skin and sent the artist a glare but the other man ignored it in hopes of focusing on his work and nothing else but Eric could practically feel the nervousness coming off the guy in waves. Apparently working with a needle on the small details was unavoidable.
He quickly adjusted to the sting and listened to the hum of the needle, once again finding Trixie with his gaze. She was a few yards away looking at a column with the more larger design plates and saw her eyeing a medium sized plaque with an interesting picture of black hoops hanging off one another, the circles getting smaller in size as they descended down the sheet of glass. With the way it was designed, the tattoo would start up the back between the shoulder blades and end down near a person's tailbone depending on the stranger's body size.
After a few more minutes, Trixie wandered back over to the work station Eric was at, leaning on the wall of the cubicle as she watched the artist work on his arms. No words were exchanged but Eric couldn't stop himself from staring at her. She was a curious one, that was for sure, however that wasn't always a good thing. From her previous 'record' of getting into trouble, most of the time curiosity was what got her into certain situations.
The first one, jumping of the roof with an initiate three years ago.
The other time, sneaking outside to watch some other initiates fire rounds. That was a good one.
Going out during a rainstorm to 'explore', as Max had put it, which caused a small group of Dauntless members to form a search party to find her. He had been a part of that group and he'd be lying if walking around in the rain for hours hadn't ticked him off that day.
But his most favorite had to be the food fight. Oh yes, that day had been one of the few days he had actually enjoyed as an initiate.
When Eric had still been an initiate, there had been one time when Trixie had actually stayed in the mess hall to eat her dinner instead of taking food and eating it somewhere else. The older man she had been with, who Eric later discovered was her uncle, had left her there when he had finished first, going off with Max who had come for him minutes before. That turned out to be a fatal mistake when not long after her uncle had left, three other initiates who had been Candor, came up and had dumped a huge pitcher of ice cold water on her head and one of them proceeded to make jokes towards her and her home faction Abnegation. Trixie had not made a sound when the water had been dumped on her or when they were saying horrible things about her and Abnegation; she continued to remain silent even after they left and Four had come to check on her. Instead, after a few minutes had gone by and the whole incident had seemed to be forgotten, Trixie had gotten up from her seat, threw her trash away, and was heading out when she had happened to pass by the same initiate from before and pushed his tray of food, which consisted of a white sauced pasta and water, into his lap. The boy had screamed in surprise and jumped out of his seat to wipe the food away but it had been too late. The middle of his shirt was covered in the pasta sauce and the crouch of his pants was wet from the water that had spilled on him.
And after that...well let's just say that one wrong throw made by the very same initiate was all it took for everyone to start throwing food at each other. Eric himself took part in the war when one boy had thrown a spoon full of mash potatoes, trying to hit the guy Eric had been sitting across from, and it struck Eric on the back of the head and gravy immediately slithered down the back of his neck and into his jacket. To say that the boy regretted his throw wasn't enough; after Eric had been done with him, the kid had probably regretted every bad thing he'd done in his life.
Max had guards stationed in the corners of the mess hall to prevent anything like that from happening again. And Trixie was no longer allowed to eat in the mess hall with everyone else. Even now, Eric never saw her in the room ever since that incident.
"Alright, you're all set." The artist's statement brought Eric from his thoughts and he looked down at his arms to see the completed pieces. The blank circles that had been in the middle of his arms were now filled in the with symbol of Dauntless, the ink slightly shining like glaze against the skin of his arm. It would fade after some time, leaving only the black imprint of a flame to blend in with the rest of the art.
Eric nodded at the artist, coming to a stand from the station's chair and grabbing his jacket off the back of it, opting to hold onto it for now and let the ink settle into his skin more. He looked around and realized Trixie had wandered off again, only this time she stood a bit aways looking at a glass case with an assortment of piercings.
The artist stood as well, planning on going over to the register machine so he could take Eric's points for payment, however the Dauntless leader held up his hand to stop him and ordered "wait here" before going over to where Trixie stood.
...
She was so absorbed in the different pieces of metal that she failed to notice Eric beside her until he spoke next to her ear, "See something you like?"
Eric gave her credit for not jumping when he made his presence known, however he was amused by the reddening of her ears as she continued to stare down at the case, shrugging her shoulders instead of replying.
Eric stared at her for a moment longer before looking down at the case as well, his eyes not taking long to find something that caught his attention. He moved to stand more in front of her, shoving his jacket into her arms so he could use both hands to open the glass box. Using one hand to keep it open, Eric reached inside and pulled the piercing out, holding it up to his face to inspect it closely. It wasn't too bad.
Behind him, Trixie was staring at his arms, the muscles slightly straining to keep the thick sheet of glass open, but his face showed no sign of struggle. He really had become a different person since joining Dauntless but she didn't think that in a bad way. Eric seemed to fit here in black clothes than the blue of Erudite.
Satisfied with his pick, Eric closed the case carefully before turning to Trixie, taking his jacket back from her before ushering her back towards the artist, who still stood motionless at his station where Eric had left him. He pushed Trixie roughly into the seat but she made no sound of protest, only staring up at him curiously as he addressed the tattoo artist. He held up the silver piercing he had taken from the case out to the other man, "She'll take this one."
The artist took the piercing from Eric and stared at it for a few seconds before looking back to Eric, "Sir, I can't-...She's not-..."
The man struggled to find the right words but Eric raised a brow and asked, "Is there a problem?"
There was something in his tone that Trixie couldn't identify but the artist apparently could when he swallowed nervously before shaking his head and replying, "No sir...no problem at all."
Eric gave the man a fake smile and nodded. "Good."
The two stared at each other for a moment before the artist looked away, sitting down in his chair and started prepping the needle he would use to pierce Trixie's ear.
Eric stared at the back of the man's head for a minute longer before going to grab a spare chair from the neighboring work station, dragging it over next to where Trixie sat.
The said girl sat with her hands in her lap, looking down at nothing in particular but looked up to meet Eric's stare. She fought the sudden rush of heat to her face and cleared her throat before asking, "Is this really okay? I don't want anyone to get in trouble."
Eric waved her off. "Not your concern."
She stared at him for a moment longer before turning to the tattoo artist who had swiveled around in his chair to face her, the needle puncher in one hand and the small piercing in the other. Trixie eyed the small contraption nervously, taking her bottom lip between her teeth, but kept silent as the artist scooted his chair closer until he was right next to her. He loaded the piercing into the needle puncher and reached to take her ear in his hand. However Trixie was surprised when instead of grabbing her earlobe, he grabbed the upper part of her ear gently between two fingers, and placed the puncher where the metal earring was made to go.
"Alright I'm gonna pierce your ear in three, two-"
Trixie made a small noise of surprise when he suddenly pierced her ear without finishing the countdown, pulling away from him and reaching up to feel her ear for blood. But instead of the warm skin she was expecting, her fingers met the cold metal of the earring that was now in the upper part of her ear.
"Hold still, I'm not done." The artist told her with a frustrated sigh, annoyed by her childish reaction as she continued to lean away from him. When she wouldn't comply, he reached towards her in attempt to finish securing the piercing on her ear, but Eric suddenly leaned forward in his chair, grabbing the man's wrist and pushing it away harshly.
"Start the transaction for the payment." He ordered, cutting off any protests the man was about to give with a cold stare.
The artist looked between Trixie and Eric, hesitating in whether or not he should listen to Eric, but he must have realized the smarter decision and gave a small sigh before standing up and exiting the cubicle, heading straight for the register to start the transaction like Eric had said.
When he was a good distance away, Eric moved his chair to the right so he could sit directly across from Trixie, and pulled her forward to sit on the edge of her chair. He grabbed her by her chin and turned her face roughly to the side, examining the new earring and noticed a small bit of blood was welling up where she was pierced. Breathing out through his nose, he kept a firm grip on her chin and reached for the box of tissues on the work table next to him. Grabbing one, he pressed it to her ear so it could absorb what blood it could before pulling it away, wiping any excess blood he might have missed.
After a few seconds, the blood had stopped coming and Eric threw the bloody tissue away in a trash bin underneath the table. "Lean forward." He ordered her and she did as she was told; leaning forward as far as she could go but not so much that it was uncomfortable.
She couldn't see what he was doing as he finished what the artist hadn't, but she heard a small click before he pulled away and let go of her ear. He leaned back in his chair and stared at her. Seconds passed and neither one of them spoke. Trixie forced herself to keep her eyes down and stare at her lap, ignoring his sharp gaze as he continued to openly stare.
Without looking away, he reached for the small mirror behind him further back on the table and grabbed it, holding it out for her to take.
She hesitated for a moment mid-reach before taking it from him, holding it up at the right angle to get a good look at her ear.
On the upper part of her ear was a small, silver earring that wrapped around her ear like a cuff and was bare of any designs except for the symbol of Dauntless branded right in the middle of it.
It wasn't flashy, just small and very simple, yet Trixie couldn't help but instantly become attached. She loved it. It stood out against her black hair and she unconsciously tucked a few strands behind her ear to get a better view of it.
As she continued to stare at it, she had this overwhelming urge to jump up, run out of the parlor, and find Four so she could show him her new earring. She could already imagine some of the looks she would get when people would see-
Uh oh.
Her uncle would see it.
Trixie's entire frame froze as held the small mirror, her grip on the object made her knuckles turn white, and Eric noticed this change immediately.
What is it?" He asked, trying to keep his frustration out of his voice.
She swallowed slowly, her grip loosening only a little as she lowered the mirror away from her face, "It's nothing."
Eric exhaled sharply through his nose and crossed his arms at his chest. "You don't like it." He stated bluntly.
Her head whipped up and Trixie exclaimed, "No I love it!"
Realizing she was being extremely loud, heat flooded her cheeks and she looked down again in hopes he wouldn't see her blush. Which he did, however he found no amusement in it at the moment. "It's just..." She trailed off as she moved her thumbs across the edge of the mirror, not knowing what to say. While Trixie didn't want to lie to Eric, she also didn't want to flat out express her fear of her uncle's wrath. That was a private matter.
She looked up and met his hard, questioning gaze and repeated, "I love it."
Eric stared at her, knowing that there was more than what she was saying, but he chose not to push the subject further. It was none of his business and it wasn't like he was dying to know what she was going to say.
"Good."
Standing up, he grabbed his jacket off the table where he had set it, moving to exit the cubicle, and headed straight for the register where the artist stood patiently. He heard Trixie follow him after a second and didn't bother turning around to see how close she was.
After the transaction was complete, the two walked out of the parlor side by side, pausing at the entrance for only a moment before Eric turned to the left and started walking down the hall. Trixie stared after him, remaining rooted to the spot as she watched him move further and further away. After about a dozen steps however, he paused and turned just enough to look at her over his shoulder, one brow raised. When nothing happened, he jerked his head to the side gesturing towards the hall he was going down, and it dawned on Trixie that he expected her to follow.
She ran a for a moment to catch up before slowing down to a walk before stopping completely next to him. The two stared at each other, Eric opening his mouth to say something before closing it right after, deciding against it. Trixie waited for him to say something, anything to fill the silence, however he simply exhaled through his nose and shook his head before continuing down the hall; this time Trixie followed closely behind him.
What did he want to say?
They continued walking down the empty halls, their footsteps echoing as they went. They passed by one to two people, both promptly staring at the pair as they went. Trixie didn't blame them. The feared Dauntless leader Eric walking with the Abnegation orphan twice in one day?
Her uncle was going to throw a fit.
When they came upon intersecting tunnels, Trixie looked up to see three initiates heading their way. By the way they were laughing and and goofing off, they must have finished their training for the day. The trio seemed to notice they were no longer the only ones in the tunnels and grew somewhat silent, but Trixie felt herself move slightly closer to Eric when she saw they were leering at her in a way that made her cheeks grow red; one of them was even brave enough to cat-call at her.
Eric noticed the sudden closeness of the small girl next to him and could feel how uncomfortable she was so he sent a cold glare at the trio as they passed, silencing them completely after the one had whistled at her.
Dauntless had received a good batch of initiates this year, most of them Dauntless-born, but no one really looked at that due to the large number. But Eric would be lying if he claimed he wasn't...worried about this year's batch. While most showed promise, there were a few that seemed a little too arrogant for his liking, and it showed in their training. They had a wild energy about them, making them careless and unaware of the consequences their actions held. Not exactly the kind of person Eric would want watching his back.
The two came upon another intersection not much later. One way led to the Pit where a party was going on, the other heading straight for the elevator that would take them to the living quarters.
He took a step in the direction of the Pit but stopped and turned to Trixie who stood with her arms crossed behind her, a look of hesitance on her face that showed him exactly what she was thinking. She didn't think going to the Pit was a good idea and he agreed whole-heartedly. However the image of those three initiates burned in the forefront of his mind and his nostrils flared at the thought of her being approached by them again but this time she would be alone. With that, he straightened his stance as he stood erect before ordering, "Go straight to your quarters. Don't talk to anyone."
At first, Trixie wanted to protest, believing he had no right to order her around since she wasn't technically a Dauntless, but the hard look in his eyes told her that if she even tried defying him at that point then he would throw her over his shoulder and take her up himself. So Trixie gave him a nod and she saw his hard look lessen a little at her agreement.
Without saying anything else, He turned his back to her and headed straight for the Pit, Trixie staring after him until he was out of sight.
...
Two Weeks Later...
Initiation was coming to a close, the initiates who had managed to make it through the second phase were going through their final simulation in a couple of days. Soon, the Dauntless family would get bigger, and with the new people were possible friends Trixie hoped to make. Not all the initiates knew her Abnegation past, so hopefully this year she would get the opportunity to make new friends.
While Four was her best friend, he had Tris and his job to juggle, and she didn't want to get in between that. They weren't kids anymore, so she couldn't depend on him for everything without getting him into trouble along the way.
But maybe...now she would be able to change that.
She was trying to locate the man himself who was supposed to be by the bar area tonight with Tris. But from her perch on her balcony, he was nowhere in sight of the bar area and he wasn't in the mass of dancing bodies either. So where was he?
He had asked to meet with her briefly to discuss whether or not she would choose to stay in Dauntless next year for the Choosing, which was what Trixie wanted to do, however she also had to keep in mind what her test would also say about where she belonged. And she really really hoped it would tell her that she was meant for Dauntless because even though she didn't want to admit it, she was terrified of leaving, and that was because leaving Dauntless for another faction meant she would have to start over again. She didn't want to do that.
After waiting a few minutes and still no sign of Four in the Pit, she sighed in defeat and decided she would just talk to him tomorrow before he left for breakfast. She went to turn and leave when she happened to glance down at one of the tunnel entrances and saw a familiar figure that she hadn't seen in a few days. Eric's back was to her as he walked down the tunnel and out of sight, the direction he was going indicated that he was heading for the front entrance of the compound, and she found herself turning around to head into the tunnel behind her. Going in a slow jog, she headed in the same direction in hopes of catching him before he left, wanting to thank him properly for the piercing since she technically didn't say the words at the time he had gotten it for her.
The tunnels were surprisingly empty, Trixie's footsteps echoing off the walls as she jogged towards her destination, and she couldn't fight the small smile on her lips at the thought of seeing Eric. Yes, he was a leader and she wasn't even a part of his faction, but that didn't seem to change how he acted around her. The Eric she knew was the exact same one the Dauntless members knew. Intimidating, arrogant, strict, and even cruel at times. It didn't bother her though. He was the same person all the time.
She took a sharp right at a four way intersection and could see the bridge over the Chasm that was a sign that she was close to the front of the compound, but found herself sliding to a stop when three figures suddenly stepped out in front of the bridge from around the corner.
The one standing in the middle looked her up and down in a way that made her stomach churn and the hairs on the back of her neck raise in apprehension.
And she immediately knew something was wrong.
...
The kick to her middle sent her rolling across the floor, gasping for air as she forced the contents of her stomach not to come up, and came to rest on her hands and knees when another kick was delivered straight to her face. Blinded by pain and unable to find the strength to even sit up, Trixie cradled her head in her arms, curling into a ball hoping it to make her head stop throbbing.
Someone stomped on one of her ankles but she was unable to find the breath to cry out when another person stomped on her side knocking the air from her lungs.
How had it gotten this bad?
Trixie's body was so focused on the pain that she didn't stop them from rolling her onto her back, her vision blurred as she stared at the ceiling. She could feel the weight of one of the initiates as he straddled her, grabbed the neckline of her tank top, and pulled her closer to him before landing another punch to her face; blood spewing from her mouth onto the tile floor. She could hear him snarl hateful words to her about her Abnegation background but couldn't focus on what it was he was said since her head hurt too much to try.
Her mind managed to clear up a bit when she heard the sound of ripping fabric and her stomach was exposed to cool air. Fear burned through most of the pain Trixie was feeling and she grabbed the man on top of her by his wrists. She pushed down on a pressure point her uncle had showed her not too long ago and the man cried out in pain, cradling his hands to his chest as he rolled off of her, but her luck ran quickly out when another one came over and grabbed her by her hair, lifting her face high enough for him to land a punch that almost knocked her out cold.
Her body was in so much pain. She could feel the blood dripping down her face from her nose in a steady flow and the stinging of her bottom lip told her it was split. Her whole body ached and stung with from the blows she took and her consciousness was slowing slipping from her. But she didn't want to close her eyes. Trixie knew what would happen if she did.
Her body was rolled onto her back once more but this time she felt her pants being tugged off and sliding down her legs. Her hands get pinned on either side of her head by one man while another worked on removing her shoes since her pants were stuck on them. Trixie's head rolled over to the side to see the third one working on his own pants, his belt clinking as he tried to roll the zipper down.
Suddenly her shoes were gone as well as her pants and her legs were forced apart, the grip on her ankles painfully tight, and with what strength she had left she thrashed her legs so hard the man actually failed to hold on and her foot caught him in the chin so hard he bit his tongue. His head went back and he cupped his chin which was now covered in blood coming from his mouth.
The man that was working on his pants moved towards his friend to check how bad it was but got roughly pushed aside and suddenly Trixie was being straddled by the same man she kicked; only this time his hands went to her throat and squeezed.
Someone...help me...
Someone…make it stop...
Trixie's vision started to turn black and she barely managed to keep her eyes open long enough to see a hand fly in from the corner of her vision; grabbing the guy from the back of his shirt and ripping him off her. A second later, a foot swung in right above her face and kicked the man by her head holding down her hands, and she found herself free.
Letting out a series of horrid coughs, Trixie rolled onto her side back into a ball, and saw the back of the man standing between her and the other three. She caught the sight of one of the three lying on the ground completely still before her eyes close.
Right as she lost consciousness, she heard a cry of surprise, and then a loud snap followed by a thud.
Then, everything went silent.
...
She had been assaulted. Almost raped.
The three that had attacked her were three initiates who had failed the final phase and were going to become Factionless. They were also the same one's who she had passed by in the tunnel with Eric.
Two of them were dead. One with a knife in his chest and the other with a broken neck. The third one got away. No one had been able to find him.
Trixie had been saved at the last second but she didn't know who by. And the doctor who had been treating her wouldn't say.
A few days had passed before she was allowed to leave to medical area but with one sprained ankle and the second one severely bruised, she was going to be forced to use a wheelchair; however Four had decided to embarrass Trixie by carrying her back to her apartment himself. From there she was forced to stay in bed for a couple of weeks before her ankles were deemed healed enough for her to walk around with only a little discomfort but weeks longer before the rest of her body was healed enough for her to get off the pain medication they had given her.
And during the entire time she was healing, her uncle Johnathan had Four stay with her during the day before returning in the evening, and then he would stay awake for most of the night to watch over her and wake up her in case she had a nightmare. Anything he had said was about how weak she was and that weakness was the reason she became as injured as she was but his eye's told her how sad he had been to see her in such a state; it also showed how angry he was as well. Anything he had taught her on how to defend herself did nothing to lessen the damage done to her so Johnathan had decided that he would train her more vigorously when she was fully healed and able.
But there was another reason why he had stayed awake during the night while she was healing.
The third culprit was still nowhere to be found.
Not once had she seen Eric during the time she was healing and in all honesty, he was the one she wanted to see most. But why would he come to see her?
...
Months Later...
This was it. The time had finally come.
It was the day for her Aptitude Test.
Trixie sat in a small room with three others her age; two of them wearing the blue of Erudite and the other wearing the soft red and yellow of Amity. Trixie herself was wearing a grey dress from Abnegation; long sleeves that extended to her knuckles with a square neck line in the front, the bottom covering her black boots. Her hair was in a traditional bun with and any strands that managed to fall loose were tucked behind her ear.
It felt weird being there, waiting to see what her test results would be, and tell her what her future might be. While she knew the tests would tell her what faction she would excel at, she also remembered that the choice was entirely up to her.
Time passed and each initiate waiting in the room with her would go into the testing room and come out a few minutes later, their expressions unreadable; though one could tell that the effects of the serum lingered as they walked out as if in a daze.
By the time it was her turn, Trixie's hands were gripping the sides of her dress tightly from how nervous she was, and she was hesitant to go inside. If she went inside there was a good chance that everything could change when she came back out.
A door opened behind her and Trixie turned to see Four entering the waiting room. His eyes widened when he saw her but it only lasted for a second before his expression turned neutral. He walked past her going to the Dauntless woman overseeing the results of the others who had taken their aptitude test before Trixie. He whispered something in her ear and she nodded in understanding before switching out with him and leaving the room. Why they switched Trixie didn't know but she was extremely grateful for it. The nervous feeling in her stomach settled a small bit and she didn't hesitate to enter the room when Four silently ushered her inside.
Four closed the door behind him while Trixie took a moment to take in the small room. All the walls were mirrors and right smack in the middle was a metal chair that reminded her of what was in a dentist's office; just looking at it was intimidating.
"It's been awhile since I've seen you wear Abnegation clothes." Four commented as he walked over to the monitor next to the metal chair and began typing something into the screen.
Trixie looked at his reflection on the mirror and caught his eye for a moment before he went back to the monitor but the small smirk on his lips didn't escape her attention.
She managed to give him a small smile in return and confessed, "It feels weird wearing them; even if it is my home faction."
Her arms came up to wrap around her torso and she breathed deeply through her nose to calm herself. Trixie wasn't going to admit that she was nervous. Four could probably tell just by look at her but he had no idea just how nervous she was.
"Alright we're all set," He told her before holding a hand out for for and gestured for her to come closer. "Just take a seat and we can begin."
Trixie turned away from the mirrored wall and walked over to where Four stood next to the metal chair. Taking his hand, she used it as leverage to push herself onto the metal chair which was more intimidating up close than she imagined. She quickly settled herself into the chair and leaned her head back, keeping still as Four hooked her up to the monitor, and took the small vial filled with blue liquid when he offered it to her. The taste was something she couldn't compare with anything she had before but she forced herself to swallow before handing the glass back to Four. He took it from her a second later before ordering her to close her eyes and relax, telling her that the serum would take effect any moment, and wishing her good luck.
She blinked once and she stared at the ceiling. Nothing happened.
She blinked again.
The ceiling was gone.
She was staring at the night sky.
...
Four
When Trixie fell unconscious after drinking the serum, Four only watched her still form for a few moments before turning his attention to the monitor, and waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
But nothing was happening. The monitor remained blank.
The only thing he could watch at this point was her heart rate in the corner of the screen but even that remained unchanging. Normally while an initiate was taking their test, their heart rate would have spiked by now even if it was a little when adjusting to whatever surroundings they were in, but the lack of reaction made Four's brow crease with confusion and worry. What was happening?
He turned to face her body lying on the chair and called her names a couple of times, even snapping his fingers an inch or two away from her face for some kind of reaction in case she was faking it, but her eyes remained closed and her body unmoving. For extra precaution, he lightly tapped her cheek with a finger only for her head to roll to the side. Nope, she wasn't faking it. Then what was happening?
Four head snapped to the monitor with wide eyes. Did...did the screen just glitch? From the corner of his eye, he could have sworn that he saw a different picture on the screen of the monitor, but looking at it now it was still blank. He stared at the monitor for a couple of minutes and went to pass it off as him seeing things when the screen changed again.
The screen turned white and the monitor gave off a high pitched noise that made Four flinch and wanting him to cover his ears.
With the intent to pull Trixie out of the test and turning off the system, Four gripped either side of the monitor to look for the manual power button since the screen wouldn't work, but it short circuited and gave him a small shock that had him ripping his hands off the device and backing away. Sparks flew out from the sides before the screen turned black.
The lights went out, covering them in total darkness.
Little did he know that the entire Dauntless compound had lost power.
...
Sitting with the Abnegation faction felt more foreign to Trixie than it had in her entire life. Even though she was from there she couldn't help but feel more at home with those of Dauntless who were all sitting together in a group on the other side of the room.
It was time. It was her Choosing Day.
Though she wasn't supposed to, she couldn't help but look around at the faces of all the other initiates there with her. They were all facing forward, maybe two or three staring down at their laps. When her eyes locked with her uncle Johnathan who was standing along the wall as security detail, his narrow glare had her looking down at her lap as well, feeling like a child being caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but the feeling didn't last long when someone walked up on stage at the front of the room.
This year, they had Dauntless representative leading the Choosing Ceremony, and Trixie felt her heart speed up at the sight of Eric standing on the stage.
Wearing a black high collared jacket that went to his knees and a tight shirt with pants and boots, Eric's presence dominated the stage and stole everyone's attention as he looked over the batch of initiates from each section. When his eyes fell over Abnegation, she hoped his eyes would find her to see that she was an initiate as well, but was met with disappointment when his eyes merely passed over her with little to no interest or recognition.
His voice was strong and firm as he began the same speech given every year when it was Choosing Day; she had never heard it herself but Four had given her a condensed version of what was said when someone gave it.
As he was speaking about initiates choosing a Faction, Trixie couldn't help but think about her Aptitude Test.
There had been a power outage and the entire compound lost power for a full thirty six hours. Only a handful of the back up generators came on, the majority of them refusing to do the same, and her uncle had told her that the cause was still unknown. Because of the power outage, Trixie hadn't gotten the results of her test; even Four was at a loss for words as to what she should do and denied her the option to take the test again and he wouldn't tell her why.
Before long, Eric had gestured to the bowls that represented each faction behind him and gave a small description for each one before telling him before telling them the decision was theirs and began calling names.
They started with Dauntless, each initiate coming up and slicing their palm with the knife Eric offered to them, and surprisingly the majority of them left their home faction to join another. When Trixie looked at her uncle to gauge his reaction, he didn't seem too happy, but when she looked at Eric it was almost impossible to see what he was thinking. The few that did stay looked like they belonged there; one female initiate specifically stood out. Trixie didn't catch her name when she was called but she walked onto the stage with her head held high and a confidence in her walk that only belonged to those of Dauntless. Her brunette hair was in a high ponytail flipped over her right shoulder, her skin lightly tanned making Trixie believe she had spent a decent amount of time outdoors, and her eyes were a vivid violet that Trixie had never seen before. She wore a black leather jacket that was only zipped up a few inches, showing off the low cut tank top beneath, and a pair of cargo pants that were tucked into snug combat boots similar to what Eric had on. When Eric handed her the knife, she made the display of flipping it effortlessly in her hand a few times before cutting her own palm and letting the blood drip onto the hot coals of Dauntless.
The shouts and cheers of welcoming one of their own back seemed more out of relief than excitement as the young female tossed the knife lazily back to Eric who caught it with ease before wiping the blood off and holding it behind his back.
The next faction to go up was Candor and everyone was surprised when every initiate choose to go to a different faction rather than stay in their home faction. Even Eric seemed skeptical about the new development as he eyed the three new initiates from Candor.
After that was Erudite and most people weren't as shocked when most of the initiates choose to remain in their home faction, maybe two of them going to another faction. Trixie glanced at their leader, Jeanine, and found her expression to be rather blank but her eyes hinted that she was unhappy at losing two of their members to another faction.
Amity was next after Erudite and two of their members joined Dauntless, the cheers of the current members echoing throughout the entire room at getting even more possible members added to their faction. The second one, a petite little thing that was even shorter than Trixie, had tripped on her way up the stairs and flushed red with embarrassment from everyone witnessing it. Trixie gave her credit though when she accepted the blade and sliced her palm without even flinching, letting the blood drop onto the hot coals before handing the knife back to Eric and making her way over to her new faction.
Now it was time for Abnegation. Trixie couldn't help but feel nervous at the fact that after today her life would either continue on as normal or change entirely. Even though she already knew what her choice was, she didn't know what other people might think, and that included Eric who was calling name after name on the list.
When she heard her name being called, Trixie rose from her chair and made her way down from the row she was sitting in, and walked up the small set of stairs on the side of the stage that led up to where Eric stood waiting.
However once she stood on the stage itself, only needing to take a few steps forward, she found herself rooted to the spot, and her fear made itself known.
Murmurs spread across the room, most wondering why she wasn't moving while a few recognized her as the orphan of Abnegation, but the rest of them could guess why she was frozen. She was afraid. And they were right.
Trixie was terrified of making this decision because it was obvious to her now that her life was going to change no matter what she chose. If she went back to Abnegation, her life would be peaceful and quiet, but everyone in the faction would always pity her and feel sorry for what happened to her parents. If she went to Dauntless, she had a chance of proving that she had overcome the sadness left behind with the passing of her parents and showing how strong she was, but to become Dauntless meant she would have to face her fears and become someone different than who she was now.
She was gripping the sides of her dress as she struggled through her thoughts but brought herself back to the present when she noticed that everything had gone completely quiet. She looked up to find Eric standing three feet away from her with an expression somewhere between recognition and a bit of surprise but the latter was gone a second later.
He remembered her.
He knew her.
The little girl who had helped him as an initiate.
The one he had bought a piercing for on her fifteenth birthday.
If he was honest he had to admit that when he'd first seen her sitting with Abnegation, he didn't recognize her right away because of her hair being in a bun out of her face and the grey dress that much different from the black clothes he had last seen her in. But up close he could see it was her, the 'trickster'.
His expression remained blank as he studied her panicked face; it was clear in her eyes that she was somewhat torn.
Without another word, Eric lifted a hand from behind his back and stood to the side as he swung it out as a gesture for her to move forward towards the table.
Trixie hesitated for a moment longer before taking a slow step forward followed by another and another.
Eric moved forward with her, his hand going to rest on the low area of her back like the time when they had walked to the tattoo parlor together, leading her towards the table and urging her closer to it. Instead of let her thoughts wander towards the fact that everyone was most likely confused by the display she and Eric were showing, Trixie focused on the feeling of his hand on her lower back, and the heat his body was giving her from how close he was.
Eric immediately removed his hand once she stood before table and held the knife out for her to take before moving a step back to observe.
Trixie stared at the knife in her hand, noticing that it was rather heavy despite it's small size. Turning her hand palm up, she pressed the blade into the skin and sliced a little deeper than intended which made her flinch, but she closed her hand into a fist to keep it from bleeding over for the moment as she looked between the grey stones of Abnegation and the hot coals of Dauntless. One was a life she knew and loved, the life her parents taught her, and the other was the life she wanted but her doubts told her there was no telling if it was meant to be.
Eric's presence invaded her thoughts and she realized that he had moved closer to her again and was now standing behind her right shoulder.
She kept her head bowed to not give her awareness away but even then Eric could tell she knew he was there. Her shoulders had tensed for a moment before relaxing, which was interesting to Eric since most people knew better than to let their guard down around him. It was a sign of trust and it was strange to him how they barely knew each other yet she seemed to trust him completely.
Only time would tell if it was a mistake or not.
"I hope you have chosen wisely initiates," Eric yelled as he turned away to face the factions, "Because they choice you make today will define who you are and what you want to be."
There was silence as the audience seemed to contemplate his words but for Trixie it was something else.
She knew who she wanted to be.
Without hesitating this time, Trixie held her palm over the bowl and let her blood drip onto the hot coals of Dauntless with a hiss.
Eric announced her decision to the crowd and a second later the members of Dauntless broke out into a cheer and clapped as a welcome to their newest member.
Trixie set the knife on the table before turning and was met with the sight of Eric smirking at her and saying, "Welcome to Dauntless Trickster, I hope you won't disappoint."
He grabbed her wrist and pushed a white cloth into her hand against the bloody cut, her nose scrunching up in discomfort but she gripped the cloth tightly as he led her off to the other side of the stage where the second pair of stairs were. Trixie sat with Dauntless and was greeted with more cheers and pats on the back welcoming her to the family. She smiled and nodded in thanks before turning back to the stage to find Eric staring at her with an expression like he had won a war.
However, for Trixie, the war had just begun.
...
Alright guys, that's the end of Chapter 2! I hope you guys liked it because I actually struggled with this chapter more than you realize.
Yes, Tris is gonna be in this, there will be no love triangle so don't get your hopes up, but Four and Trixie will be close throughout the story and they will share moments that would make any female jealous *wink wink* LOL
Anyways, tell me what you think by reviewing. Those are key to getting the next update...well that and Following my story if you haven't LOL
Thanks again for the love guys and I can't wait to see what you have to say!
~CoolCat0720
