Additionally, Chapters one through eleven are all getting updated before I continue. I've taken a4-yearhiatus and came back to this as a fun thing to do with the little bit of free time I have while I finish mybachelor'sdegree.

I broke this chapter into 2 parts and the next chapter is in the works.

11: Dancing King Pt. 1

"Jake and Ren, you're up." Eric said from the side line of the huge open circle in the middle of the training area of The Pit. The practice mat that had been there was removed and now it was just a cold stone floor with the same white circle painted on it. All of the initiates were lined up around one half of the large circle some crowding behind others. On the other half of the circle were Eric, Four, and a few other Dauntless trainers.

Jessi squeezed my hand tightly and Alex patted me on the back. Jessi had already fought in her match and won. She took down an Erudite born girl named Carmen. Both of them were pretty beat up by the end of the fight, but Jessi powered through and was the last one standing. Her eye was swollen, and her face, neck, and chest had different shades of purple and blue. Blood matted in her hair and knuckles torn open. She looked a wreck, but the victory gave her a sense of pride. She really was meant to be here in Dauntless. Alex hadn't fought yet but I worried for him. He didn't pick up the training well and he was losing in all of the practice fights for the past few days.

Shit. I wasn't ready to fight yet. The very first day of training we learned how to fight and how to throw knifes. Then day two we learned to shoot guns. I was not very good at first but eventually I got the hang of it. I would say that I was average at best and for shooting, I was okay with that. Day three we practiced and trained physically, threw knives, and shot guns. Day four and day five were strictly physical combat days. We each had a trainer picked specifically for us and then Four or Eric worked with each of us for a couple hours. I was assigned Four.

~~XXX~~

"So, you look pretty muscly for an Amity kid." Four said poking at my solid biceps.

"Yeah, I am muscly." I responded aggravated by the Amity comment.

"What? That was a compliment." He said not understanding my aggravation.

"Just because I'm Amity, everyone here thinks I'll fail. Thinks that I'm weak or unable to hold my own." I said turning from him toward the practice mat with a punching bag in the center.

"Well, Dauntless has never had a kid from Amity succeed before. Can you blame anyone for second guessing you?"

"Yeah, I can. It's going to be a big fucking shock when I'm the number one initiate on that board!" I said throwing two punches at the bag.

Four didn't respond to that comment instead just sat while I took out some aggression on the bag. He stood by and made a few corrections to my form every now and again, but after about 10 minutes he interjected.

"Let's talk again Jake." I listened. Walking off the mat and toward the sideline where Four was. He asked "Why are you so muscled? What in Amity trained you like this?"

"I danced and did gymnastics for 13 years."

"Oh, you were a traveling troop member." Four commented. I guess he had never connected the dots. I mean it was also quite rare for a troop member to leave Amity, probably for Four, unheard of. The only one that I ever knew before me and Shaina was a girl named Cory who left for Erudite when I was 6. Besides her, I didn't know any others. "So, you are an athlete by trade. That's good. Can you show me some stuff?"

I was confused. He was supposed to be helping me with solidifying a way to win a fight, but instead he wanted to see me dance. "How is any of this relevant Four?" I asked coldly. I was still aggravated by the Amity comment.

"I want to see your range of movement. We could get some really good combat material out of your previous training or you can walk into the fight with the same material everyone else learned and no surprises up your sleeve. Whatever you think is going to give you an advantage." The statement was obviously backhanded without being petty like me. He was trying to help before and I tried to shut him down.

"I'm sorry. I would be glad to show you some of my art." Once I realized that I had an opportunity to just move and let him pick up on the combat pieces, I was ecstatic. My first-time dancing in 6 days and if you didn't count the Choosing Ceremony then it was 8 days. "Is there a way to get music?" I asked milking the situation for all it was worth.

Four touched the ear piece he had in and asked that someone bring in a music device. I walked over to the pully and raised the punching bag up about 10 feet, so the area was clear. Then I heard his voice. "What do you need music for?" Eric said. I turned seeing that he had the music device in hand.

As soon as I heard his voice a shiver ran down my spine. He had been very cold the last few days but continued to make eye contact specifically with me when he would say particular things.

"Jake has some hidden talents that we are going to work on adapting."

Eric walked up to me and handed me the device. "I'd like to stay and see what Amity's got in store for everyone."

I snatched the device and huffed, walking away. Stop calling me Amity.

Four didn't seem like he liked the idea of Eric staying but he didn't protest. Fuck. I didn't want to dance in front of Eric. This is my craft. My life. If he dislikes this or judges it, I will be hurt. I tried to focus and typed in some songs that I could think of off the top of my head.

"How much do you want to see?" I asked.

"Give me like 10 minutes of varied movement and we'll go from there." Four said. "Make sure you show me some heavy gymnastics."

I pressed play on the first song and handed the device to Four. I walked out onto the mat and let the music take me. Within seconds Four and Eric disappeared from my mind. I was just moving now.

After the first song ended, I took a deep breath. I didn't look around or break my focus this was my moment. I heard a few loud claps and instantly giggled as the next song started. Again, I lost myself in the feeling of the music. Finding each beat, interesting polyrhythms to incorporate, and as Four desired, I was doing large gymnastics passes. I would also throw out a random aerial or layout in between choreography. The second song ended, and I was close to both of them. I looked up and saw both of them with complete focus on me. Eric looked intently and Four nodded in an approving way. Thank god. The third song started, and I pulled out all the stops. This time I opened with a difficult pass and ended with a tilt. Eventually, I pulled out my turns. I did seven perfect pirouettes and dropped to my middle split on 8, staring directly at them and I could see the awe in both of their faces. Eventually, this song ended, and I was a sweaty mess, but I felt the closest thing to whole that I had since being here. God, I loved to dance.

I looked up at both of them and both clapped for me. I couldn't help but take a bow and laugh.

"Wow, Jake." Four was impressed and I was happy to see that Eric was too, even if he didn't say anything. "There is a lot of great material in there. We've got a lot of work to do."

For the next two hours, Four showed me exactly how to adapt my movements from dance and gymnastics to combat. Low swiping movements with arms and feet, use of kicks low, high, and jumping, some aerial dodges and attacks, some basic of the Brazilian martial art form capoeira, which I had actually used in a dance piece a few years back.

At the end of the training, Four told me that he looked forward to seeing what I brought to the fight. I thanked him for the personalized training and his patience with me. He smiled, and I felt a sense of honest warmth from him that made me smile. As he left, I felt Eric's heavy presence approach.

I turned to make eye contact and he looked at me with a sense of pride. "You're coming a long way Amity. Knew you were something special when you jumped off that building."

"Thank you, Eric. That means a lot coming from you." I meant it and I saw his discomfort in that comment. He didn't mention it, but I could tell his thoughts immediately went to our moment of intimacy.

"You really emit a sense of passion when you move." He said, getting away from those thoughts. It wasn't a compliment it was a statement and I knew advice was going to follow. "Before your fight, use that to fuel a fire inside of you." He made a fist placed the knuckles over the top of my belly button. "Right here. When you shake hands with your opponent, let that fire grow and when you start fighting, release it to every part of your body."

~~XXX~~

The fire was in my gut. That and a lot of butterflies. My nerves were more intense than anything I've ever experienced. It was not like stage fright in the least. I looked at my opponent. He was shorter than me, but he was made of pure muscle, more than me but not by much. He was a Dauntless born initiate and was most definitely knew how to fight. I was the unlucky transfer who had to face a Dauntless. Both Dauntless born and transfers had an odd number and I was chosen to face a Dauntless. That was scary. This kid had already been in many fights and I was just entering my first. Not to mention that he was willing to hurt people and I wasn't. Not yet.

In our grappling class he was a monster, so I knew I had to avoid him getting me to the ground. I could see that he was studying my body type, but he could never see that I was a dance and a gymnast. I had to make sure that I kept that a secret for as long as possible. No tricks until I know it's the right time.

His eyes were almost golden, and I focused on them. When we shook, I turned up that internal fire to max. I couldn't distinguish between the nerves or the adrenaline at this point. I was ready to fight. I didn't want to hit him, but I wanted to be the top of these boards and he was the first obstacle to get there.

"Go."

Boom. I felt the fire spread all the way down my figure tips and quickly Ren closed the distance between us. He went directly for a right punch to my face which I dodged with a compact chaîné to my left, a moving turn in dance that looks like a dodge that is used in tai chi. He was slow to regain his balance, as I had already dodged, and he was still composing himself by the time I was already prepared. I didn't take advantage of that opening but I should have. Once, he was composed he came back in with a right hook from the side. I leaned back and took my left foot back for stability. His left arm moved for a gut punch and it landed. I stumbled backwards with my breath lost. Ren came in again. He was persistent.

"Jake throw a fucking punch." I heard Jessi yell. I was caught off guard by her shout and was punched hard on the right side of my face. Fuck.I leaned to my left side because of the momentum of his fist and I felt an upper cut into my gut. God damn it.I needed to do something. I could taste blood in my mouth. I could feel pain in my stomach. I needed to create distance.

I felt his hand grab onto one of my wrists and I twisted, dropping to the floor to break the hold. I rolled back and stood immediately. He was surprised of how quickly I moved out of his grasp but quickly he was on top of me again. This time I kicked forward at the side of his leg and I connected. My first hit. His other knee buckled, and he reseeded as quickly as he could. I moved forward faster than he could regain composure. I landed two hits to his abdominals and he swung for my obliques. I ducked low and landed a strong punch to the inside of his right leg. As he swung downward toward my head, I did a Martelo de Negativa, which is a kick in Capoeira. It landed on Ren's head and he fell to the ground.

I stood and recovered faster than he did, and I made quite a bit of distance between us. Regroup, collect myself, and prepare for another onslaught of attacks. I reminded myself of Four's advice "Variation is key for a long fight. Never be predictable." I smiled and spit blood onto the floor.

I was actually doing this.