CHAPTER 3: The Ceremony

A/N: To the Guest who said "ended too early" don't worry, there's more to come. In this book, FOUR'S INITIATES ARE NOT THE SAME AS THE FOUR BOOKS, I tried my best reading through it but I couldn't find all the names. Also, this was inspired by the story "Unexpectedly Dauntless."

TOBIAS POV:

My palms are sweaty. The ceremony isn't for two more hours, and I'm already breaking into a sweat. I get to see Beatrice for an hour, before I have to head home and leave. She's the one person I was allowed to be friends with, the one person Marcus wouldn't beat me for seeing. Either way, she's the only person I'd want to see. I'm wearing my regular grey clothes, which will soon be replaced with black ones. I've known I wanted to go to Dauntless for a while now, but now that the time is here it seems so much scarier.

I leave the house quickly. Marcus is in his room, and doesn't notice me slip out the door. Gone, that easily. I walk next door, and knock. I stand straight, knowing Andrew will probably answer. And as expected, he does. "Good afternoon, Tobias. Come to see Beatrice?" He asks, and I reply with a simple nod. He opens the door wider for me to step in. Beatrice is in the kitchen, preparing a meal. There's chicken, green peas and some bread.

"To add on to the list of things I won't miss, I will definitely not miss the food." I whisper in her ear, and she giggles. I take the knife, and help her with slicing the bread. Natural selflessness, I'm a waste of a good Abnegation boy. I look behind me, clearing the room, and I kiss her. Every kiss we have feels as powerful as the first. I continue slicing, and my mind wanders off to Dauntless. I know initiation is brutal, but how brutal? Will I use knives? Guns? Fight other people? I'm woken out of my haze by Beatrice.

"Tobias!" She says, her voice sounding loud. "Hmmm?" I mutter, turning my attention her. She sighs.

"I was saying, I was thinking about shortening my name to Tris, It sounds nicer. Like it?" She says, and I smile. Tris. It sounds amazing, and I tell her that I like it. She goes to set the table, and I place down the food. "Eat with us." Tris suggests. I sigh, wishing I could. Somewhat wishing tonight was any normal night. "I can't, I have to get ready for the ceremony and head down with Marcus." I respond

Tris' face shrivels at the name. She never liked him, even before she knew what he did to me. "Ok, I'll see you up there." She says. And we kiss, again. It's a long and passionate kiss. A kiss of true love, a kiss I want everyday. It ends too soon, and I leave the house.

-TIMESKIP TO CHOOSING CEREMONY-

3:45

I'm early, Tris isn't even here yet, or barely anyone. I'm alone, with Marcus and some members of other factions sitting in their respective sections

3:51

Almost everyone is here, except Tris.

3:56

Tris is here, and the ceremony is about to begin

4:00

Let the fun begin.

Tris sits behind me, and I can feel her shifting behind me, fidgeting. She's scared, I can sense it. This year, Max is leading the ceremony. He does the natural introduction, and reads all the faction manifestos. I only pay attention to the Dauntless manifesto;

We believe that cowardice is to blame for the world's injustices.

We believe that peace is hard-won, that sometimes it is necessary to fight for peace. But more than that: We believe that justice is more important than peace.

We believe in freedom from fear, in denying fear the power to influence our decisions. We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.

We believe in acknowledging fear and the extent to which it rules us. We believe in facing that fear no matter what the cost to our comfort, our happiness, or even our sanity.

We believe in shouting for those who can only whisper, in defending those who cannot defend themselves.

We believe, not just in bold words but in bold deeds to match them. We believe that pain and death are better than cowardice and inaction because we believe in action.

We do not believe in living comfortable lives. We do not believe that silence is useful.

We do not believe in good manners.

We do not believe in empty heads, empty mouths, or empty hands.

We do not believe that learning to master violence encourages unnecessary violence.

We do not believe that we should be allowed to stand idly by. We do not believe that any other virtue is more important than bravery.

Once the introduction ends, the ceremony begins. Max calls name by name. There is an amity girl, and two candor. Finally, my name.

"Tobias Eaton. Max calls. Marcus pats my back. I stand up, my palms sweaty. I feel Tris' hand brush against my back. I walk over to the podium, and analyze the contents of the bowls. Soil, water, grey stones, glass, and finally the burning coals. I take the knife, and cut my palm a bit too deeply. I look back, and see Marcus smiling, almost as if hes proud of me. Behind him, sits Tris, holding back tears. Abnegation is like a nice, soft blanket. It's welcoming, and familiar. Dauntless is like the sea, and you don't know what it holds inside. I've made my decision. I take a look at the bowls and holding my palm over the coals.

A sizzle, then the ringing silence. The room is silent for what feels like forever, before Dauntless starts whooping. This causes Marcus to roar with anger. I can't even make out what he's saying, and I don't really care. I take a seat in front and take off my grey sweater, I rip a piece off to wrap around my cut on my palm. I won't need these anymore. "Welcome to Dauntless." A man next to me pats my back and I nod. The last of my peers choose, and the ceremony ceases. Normally, we wait, but this time we rush out. I follow suit.

I'm free.

A/N: Please tell me if I should show a bit of Four's initiation or speed up the two years a bit and jump around? So review and let me know to either talk more about Four's initiation or talk more about how Tris felt, then time-skip to like two years, when Tris' ceremony comes around