A Ceremony Of Keys

I slept fitfully, anxious that something would go amiss with my plan. Honestly, I was also disgusted with myself for forcing Teegan to go against his nature, by coming with me. No matter how much he protested otherwise, it was because of me that he would hurt himself by transferring to Erudite.

As the sun began to rise, I wondered if maybe Teegan wouldn't be happier in Amity. Of course he would. It was where he belonged. It might be handy to have contacts in multiple factions. Teegan might be able to hear things the younger generation said that my grandfather couldn't. But I wanted him with me. They say if you truly love someone, then you'll let them go, but I just couldn't. I was too selfish. I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was hurting him. But I kept asking him to come with me anyways.

I finally gave up on sleep and began to dress. He knows what he's doing, I told myself. He's old enough to make choices on his own. I really needed to stop fretting. Doubts and worries swirled endlessly through my mind until a sharp plink sounded at my window. I whipped around towards the sound, the muscles I'd trained so carefully acting instinctually. My heart was pounding and I remembered my encounter with Eric. What if he'd discovered who I was, and had come to finish me off? And what about Teegan? I slunk around the edge of my room, coming parallel with the window so I could peer out of it at an angle, but not am in firing range of anyone dangerous. I gulped, and looked out.

I saw a mop of black hair and a grinning face and relaxed against the wall. Teegan gestured towards the pavilion, raising his eyebrows. I shot him thumbs up, and quietly ran out of the house. I ran up the steps and into his arms. "You couldn't sleep either?" he asked.

"No," I whispered, then voiced my fears, "I don't want to pull you away from where you should be. You should go to Amity. Besides-" He cut me off with a finger to my lips.

"Shh," he murmured, caressing my hair. He kissed my forehead and continued, "Ava, I'm going to Erudite to protect you. That's a given. It's already decided. Nothing will change that. Besides, it's also my duty, as one of the Founding Families to help out in this time of emergency. We need to find out what's in that book, Ava,"

I nodded and pulled away. "I'll go get it," I said. I doubted we'd have any more luck than usual, opening the mysterious lock, but if I stayed, I would've started crying from love. I loved how he'd do anything for me. I loved how he could put my fears to rest, and always cheer me up. I loved how he was always honorable and honest. Oh God, I loved him so much, and I didn't think I could bear it if he got hurt.

But he made his choice, a voice in my head whispered. And he chose you. I snatched the book from its hiding place under my mattress. I grabbed a scarf and tied it around my waist, holding the book to me under my baggy white t-shirt. I figured I'd need some way to take it with me to Erudite without anyone knowing. I ran down the stairs in black denim cutoff short shorts and my favorite shoes from my fifteenth birthday. They didn't make a sound on the creaky old wood.

When I got back to the pavilion, Teegan was sitting down, fiddling with something in his left hand. I walked up and as he lifted his head to say something, I lifted my shirt and pulled the book from the scarf, which slid down around my hips. He blushed and glanced away. I chuckled and kissed his cheek. "You're my boyfriend. You don't have to act modest all the time, promise!" I plopped down beside him as he turned his burning gaze to mine.

"You're so smart, to hide the book like that. I… I was thinking how to get Candor's item out, and I thought you should wear it," He grinned shyly at me and held out his hand. In his open palm was the beautiful diamond earring. My heart filled.

"Of course, here-" I reached out to take it, and he dropped it into my hand. I fumbled it a bit and it slipped from my hand. I gasped involuntarily as it fell through the air. Luckily, it landed on the book, placed sideways in my lap.

"I'm sorry, I-" I began but Teegan gasped.

"Ava, look!" he exclaimed, pointing down to the book. The earring had fallen diamonds down, fitting perfectly in the diamond shaped keyhole. My jaw dropped and I looked up at him.

"Of course! Five factions, one book, four keys! The Founding Families have to work together to open the book! The circle is obviously a ring, and the triangle and square could be pendants!" I exclaimed.

"So all we have to do is find the other items! The other keys!" Teegan said excitedly.

My excitement drained when I realized something. "Teegan," I said breathlessly, "didn't they mention something about enacting their plan just after this year's initiation? That means we have to find those keys, read the book, find a way to stop them, not fail initiation, all without attracting notice, within about a month!"

Teegan's eyes widened with shock as he whispered passionately, "We will, Ava. We'll find away. No one better could have gotten this task," I wasn't so sure of that, but I said nothing as he hugged me.

As the elevator crept up the floors I glanced around at my parents, and then at Teegan's family. Luckily, no one else was in the elevator, because his mother said, "Are you sure you want to go through with this? You can't go back on it!" I could tell she was freaking out at loosing her son. My dad placed a hand on my shoulder and another on Teegan's. They've made their choice. And they have a darn good reason for it, too," he said firmly.

Teegan added gently, "Besides, mother, there's no guarantee we could've stayed together if whatever they're planning did go through, and we'd stayed in Candor," He hugged his parents. I turned away to give them privacy, and was immediately hugged tightly by my mother. Surprised, I looked at my father. He wore a bittersweet smile and said, "Dear, do us proud. I believe in you, Ava. I always will," he pulled my mother back as my heart clenched, and I knew I was about to cry. The elevator doors opened, and we stepped into the crowd of people.

I sniffed, knowing I couldn't afford to break down here. I'd trained my body physically, but I'd forgotten to practice lying without flinching, or hiding my feelings. I knew a bit from Candor's lessons on how to ferret out lies, but not nearly enough, I thought as I walked confidently across the room. Only once I found my place in the line, near the middle, and I turned to smile back at my parents. Teegan took his place at the front of the line.

I felt as if I were standing on the edge of a cliff, balanced on the very edge, leaning forward, enjoying the thrill of being so close to what could only be death. That thrill was tainted by fear, though. Someone might see the outline of the book under my t-shirt. I took a shaky deep breath and forced a bland smile onto my face.

If I couldn't learn to work through fear, I was dead. I set my jaw and looked around for signs of a ring or necklace pendants. I was subtly eyeing the Dauntless, trying to see, but they shifted around too much for me to get a really good glimpse. I didn't see much that looked promising, though.

I began to look at the hands and necks of the people from Abnegation, when I realized, they wouldn't wear jewelry, so maybe their item wasn't one of the keys. But the numbers made sense for them to have one. As I considered this new dilemma, people began to be called forward. I came to the conclusion that the Founding Family must own it, because protecting the peace was selfless. And if their kids had seen it, they wouldn't ask. The abnegation never do.

Just as I thought that, a boy from Abnigation was called forward. To my immense surprise, he let his blood drip into the Erudite bowl. My gasp wasn't the only one. I glanced down the line to see the next sixteen-year-old, an Abnegation girl, who I vaguely remembered was his sister. She looked betrayed, and confused as she watched her brother walk to the Erudites. I sympathized with her; it would be an awful shock to have your own brother choose a faction that hated yours.

Then, to my increasing surprise, she hesitated by the Abnegation bowl. I watched with interest as she suddenly swung towards another bowl, and let her blood drop into the Dauntless bowl. Another series of murmurs went around the room. This time, I didn't join in as I saw the girl pull her chin up and her shoulders back, walking confidently towards the Dauntless. I would have believed her self-confidence if she hadn't been shaking slightly the entire way.

As more names were called, I snuck a glance at the girl, who somehow looked both dumbstruck and worried, and like she was trying desperately to hide it. Interesting, I thought. I glanced at her brother, looking slightly uncomfortable, but very determined and slightly arrogant. My eyes caught motion, and I noticed he was playing with something in his pocket. My eyes scanned over the rest of the Erudite crowd, my eyes finally resting on Jeanine Matthews. Standing right behind her was a burly man whose muscles were oddly large for a workaholic bookworm.

For some reason, that stuck a cord in my brain, and a voice from my memory spoke up, "I'm sure you have things to research. Books to stuff your noses into," that's what Eric had said that day at the tree. And there'd been a bossy woman and another man. Could Jeanine Matthews be- no. She was too smart to risk revolution. But as I looked at her again, she turned, smirking towards the man behind her. As she moved, a light blue pendant on a necklace swung across her collarbone. The pendant was square, and very small. Small enough to possibly fit the lock. I gasped.

The girl next to me, from Dauntless, elbowed me and jerked her chin at the bowls. I frowned at her, then looked to my right. No one stood there. It was my turn before I'd realized it. I gulped, unprepared. I stepped forward and accepted a knife from the Abnigation man who'd been reading the names and had read the speech I hadn't been listening to.

I carefully gripped the knife the wrong way, my hand too low and too tight, so no one would suspect I knew more than I did. I took a calming breath and walked over to the bowl of water. I placed my soon-to-be-cut hand against my lips and turned, blowing a kiss towards my parents, smiling sadly. My eyes locked on theirs, I slid the blade through my flesh and moved my eyes to Teegan's as I extended my arm over the bowl of crimson-tinted water. I could see the disapproving looks all around me, because of my obvious show of affection for my parents. I looked at Jeanine Matthews, and the cold, calculating look in her eyes suddenly convinced me she would start a rebellion. She might even do it just to see what would happen.

Keeping my face expressionless, I nodded to her then walked with a smooth confidence I only half felt, to stand beside the Abnegation boy. My mind seemed empty as I watched my former classmates chose their future. My thoughtless raw anxiety grew as the line dwindled towards Teegan. His wide blue eyes met mine, and he smiled. Yet, I couldn't help but notice how his gaze dropped to the cowl of water, flicking over to the bowl filled with soil. Erudite vs. Amity. He said he'd come with me, but would he really?

My mind regained the ability to think with a storm of worries. When the man on the podium said his name I saw Teegans jaw tighten. The muscles of his neck stood out slightly with his tension. His fists clenched briefly then he strode forward, power and determination seeming to radiate off of him. He took the knife and strode without hesitation to the bowl filled with water. Muscles in his jaw twitched, and he glanced at the bowl of soil, before he slit his palm, holding his palm over the bowl in front of him.

Relief hit my like a bus, taking weight off my shoulders and sending a wave of exhaustion through me. I glanced at Jeanine. Frowning slightly, her eyes watched Teegan carefully, with far too much interest for my comfort. My relief disappeared instantaneously as I realized she might knew Teegan had gotten Amity on his aptitude test. I quickly looked away, hoping she wouldn't take too much interest in Teegan or I.

He walked up to me and slid his hand into mine. As the ceremony came to a close, my emotions were all over the place, my mind working overtime trying to make sense of my hysterical worries. "What's wrong?" Teegan whispered in my ear the second the thudding of feet was loud enough to cover his voice.

"There's a lot I have to tell you. Really important stuff I realized, but I can't tell you here. Later, when we have a bit of privacy," and he bit his lip then nodded, acknowledging the danger.

Someone shoved into me, and Teegan caught me. Turning to berate the rude person, I looked into the blushing face of the boy from Abnigation. "Sorry," he mumbled quietly, "I tripped," he gestured to the rug on the floor.

My mouth quirked up into a grin as I said, "Yeah, I don't know why they even bother putting rugs here," and his eyes took on a new light. As he opened his mouth I knew he was going to impart us with some knowledge we really didn't need, or particularly want. But that was Erudite, for you.

"I'm Caleb," he said, extending his hand. "Rugs are here because they help to keep damage to arch support low from long periods of standing on fancy shoes with no support lots of women wear for the Choosing Ceremony each year," he explained as Teegan and I shook his hand.

"I see," I said, trying not to sound bored, "I'm Ava, and this is my boyfriend Teegan," I always got a little thrill from referring to him as my boyfriend. Hopefully, it would get any ideas Caleb might be having about a relationship with me ever happening out of his head. Though, given his utterly neutral look, I doubted he'd thought of anything like that yet.

"Cool. Nice meeting fellow transfer students." He hesitated, then continued, "Why'd you go to the trouble of showing affection for your parents before you chose another faction? Faction before blood. Some of the higher ups here aren't going to like you already,"

I frowned at him, annoyed. "Because, Caleb, I love my parents. I'll never think of that as wrong." I pulled on Teegan's hand, and we walked quickly away from the nosy boy from Abnegation. But I could feel his eyes on my retreating back. He could cause real trouble for us if he wanted to. By the way his eyes followed us all the way to the Erudite compound, I knew his forgetting us wasn't an option. In that case, we'd just have to befriend him and trust that he'd stay quiet about anything he was bound to notice. The real question was, just how much could we trust him?