Chapter Thirty-Six
Felicity had always been curious about what Dauntless looked like, no she knew had ever been inside and at school the Dauntless born rarely mingled with the other factions, well no one really went beyond their own faction. Locked up in Max's quarters she hadn't seen anything but the concrete walls that made up the room, she had heard so many rumours and story's that Dauntless threw endless parties and rarely slept but so far she hadn't seen any of that. When Liv had first left Erudite to join Dauntless she had imagined all the different things her sister would be doing; getting tattoo's and piercings, going to wild parties, she had never once imagined that the people that Liv had chosen to live with were capable of the things she had seen.
"Felicity, I need you with me sweetheart." Max called from the doorway, his left arm propping it open for her to walk through. "You're my special girl, you know that right?" He didn't wait for her to answer as he streered her down the long corridor towards an elevator. "Well I have a special job for my special girl."
The elevator doors slid shut behind them and began it's steady decent, it was the first time Felicity had been outside her prison apart from the group visit to the mess hall and something in her gut told her this was not a good sign. Just as the doors re-opened she plucked up the courage to speak. "Sir, may I speak?" Once Max nodded his agreeance Felicity continued. "I-I thought my job was...well...what it is." She could feel her cheeks turning a warm pink, even though she'd been stuck in the harem for what felt like years, Felicity still couldn't utter the words of what she was.
"See this is why so many people love you Felicity," Max laughed, steering the young girl out of the elevator and towards The Pit. "You're so innocent, so angelic. We don't have any women like that here in Dauntless, some of the women here make the men look like little girls."
Surveying The Pit Felicity could see exactly what Max meant. It was buzzing with Dauntless men and women, all of them intimidating in their own right. Erudite was never loud, everyone worked quietly and efficiently, shuffling past a huddle of people cheering on two fighting women Felicity found herself clinging to Max's arm subconciously earning another laugh from him.
"Little bit different to what you Erudite are used to huh?"
It was shocking to Felicity that the army of the city was this unruly, it was like organised chaos, how did they ever get anything done? No wonder the life expectancy in Dauntless was so low. "Sir, is my job...in here?" God she prayed it wasn't, Felicity was under no illusion she would get eaten alive if left alone in the madness they called The Pit.
"No, you wouldn't last five minutes in here my little bird. These depraved souls would destroy you in the blink of an eye, Divergent or not my sweet you are not Dauntless."
Up until that moment Felicity had never desired to be anything like Dauntless, but had she have been maybe she wouldn't be a slave? Four and Tris escaped because they were Dauntless, they had it within them to escape unlike her, she was just a simple Erudite with no particular skills. Liv had gone above and beyond to try and rescue her, she was brave and fearless, and what was she? Useless. Liv had all but thrown an escape at Felicity but still she had failed to achieve that, and Liv wasn't even Divergent as far as Felicity was aware.
"In here sweetheart."
Max's instruction interputed Felicity's musings as he steered her into another elevator, this one taking them up. How did people ever find their way around Dauntless? It was like a concrete warren with no real sense of direction, did people just wonder around aimlessly until they eventually reached their destination? The metal elevator dinged to a stop, the doors sliding open to reveal a nicely decorated foyer with several doors leading off of the large space. Behind a solid, dark wood desk was a blonde woman her long legs crossed neatly and a seductive smile on her cherry red lips.
"Good afternoon Max," She purred, fluttering her thick lashes. "I'll let him know you're here." Rising from her chair, the woman sasheyed to the double door opposite the desk, her shapely hips swaying in her tight leather skirt.
"You see Felicity, that it the type of woman we have here." Max whispered, his eyes following the blonde until she disappeared behind the door. "Women here are so overly sexual, I mean it's great but there is a lack of diversity. You," Turning to Felicity, he brushed her hair behind her ear softly and trailed his fingers down her neck until her reached her shoulder. "Are like a rare jewel, with all your virginal, angelic beauty. You're like water in a vast desert to the men here. And it seems that one man in particular can't sate his thrist."
Felicity had no idea what Max was talking about, she had lost count of the different men that would come to the harem and ask for her, no one individual stood out.
The blonde woman returned shortly through the double doors, the seductive smile quickly returning to her face when she eyed Max. "He's ready for you."
No one in Erudite was this overtly sexual, in fact Felicity didn't think she had ever seen anyone remotely show a flicker of romantic feelings to another member. Even her own parents would only show affection when they were in their own home and they had been married since they were eighteen. It was relieving to Felicity when she finally entered the room behind Max, escaping what ever was going on between him and the blonde woman, but her relief was soon replaced by surprise.
"Sit." Eric commanded, pointing at a small desk by the door but his eyes remaining fixed on the papers on his own desk. "Max if you could make it quick with Roxi I would appreciate it, although she seems to think her job is sitting pretty at a desk all day re-applying lipstick it actually isn't."
A deep laugh rumbled out of Max at Eric's words. "Oh Eric, you never change. I'll give her a little reminder about her job description." With a quick wink at Eric, Max turned to the small desk behind him and gently cupped Felicity's chin. "Be a good girl while Daddy's gone. I'm expecting a glowing report." Placing a chaste kiss on Felicty's lips, he left Eric's office leaving her alone.
The oversized digital clock above Eric's desk changed numbers several times before Felicity half-heartidly cleared her throat to gain his attention.
"You're even less patient that your sister Felicity, she didn't need my attention for atleast another ten minutes. Is that what they teach you in Erudite? To test a man's temper by being impatient?" His cold eyes lifted from the report and locked onto Felicity's, waiting to see is she dared to answer him. He watched with amusement as her brow furrowed in confusion, and she nibbled her lip to assess whether anwering him was the correct thing to do.
"I'm confused." Felicity finally said, deciding that her curiosity out weighed the consequences of speaking out of turn. "I don't understand why I'm here, why you need me. So far you've looked out for me, made sure I got food and water and now whatever this is. What I can't work out is what's in it for you, no one does anything for free."
It was like looking at a mini Liv, as different as the two were Eric could see the similarities blaringly obviously. When he had last seen Felicity before the take over she had been only eight; a skinny, all limbs girl who, despite her age, had the authourity about her that she knew her own mind and there was no one who could change it. "I require an assistant, and seeing as my previous one keeps going around killing random people I can't exactly use her anymore." Picking up a pen he scribbled down some quick notes before pointing it at Felicity. "You are here to replace her. As Erudite you should be smart enough to keep up with my high demands, fail and you can go back to being fucked all day. Understood?"
"I'm sure I'll be more than capable." Replied Felicity matter of factly, straightening her back defensively. She might be a slave but that didn't mean her IQ had suddenly nose dived and all her intelligance and capabilities vanished into thin air. "And it isn't all day." She corrected defiantly.
A small smile tugged at the corners of Eric's lips, the girl had some fire in her which he hadn't expected. She was more like Liv than he had ever expected, although Felicity would be an easier to control version of Liv. For the past few days the tiny brunette had been like an unrelenting migraine, causing fights and arguments with him just for the fuck of it. His disappearances to Max's were clearly getting to her and she thought he was oblivious to her little plan to make him want to get rid of her, she really didn't give him enough credit. But their fights were like foreplay, true they hadn't fucked since The Chasm but Eric knew how Liv ticked better than she did, the more he ignored her the angrier she got and the more she wanted him. He had done it enough times to know the outcome would be more than worth it, and the plus side was it kept her in line. Although Liv would never admit it she needed him, needed him more than ever; her hallucinations were getting worse everyday, with her confined to his apartment he was able to do damage control, ake sure she didn't have any more violent accidents. Despite himself, Eric worried about Liv more than he wanted to, she was getting to the point where she didn't even remember her hallucinations had happened and he was smart enough to know it was only going to get worse. In many ways the young girl sat obediently at Liv's desk was his safety net, because inevitably Liv's future was going only one way and when that day came Eric would need something. Memories weren't enough, he needed a living reminder of what Liv was and the more he saw of Felicity the more Liv he saw. "Is he feeding you enough?"
Felicity jumped in her seat at Eric's deep voice, he had been silent for so long the sudden rise in volume startled her. "I have enough to survive, yes." Max fed all of them just enough to get them through each day, barely, Felicity was sure he was planning to use food as another form of control to with hold it so they jumped to his desires even more.
"You will come to lunch with me each day you work here." Pushing out of his chair Eric moved across his large office until he stood directly in front of the small desk by the door and placed a tablet down. "This is for you to work from, I can see everything you do on it, so I would really advise not doing anything...suspicious" Leaning on his knuckes, Eric moved closer to Felicity's face a cruel sneer creasing his features. "Otherwise you will find out exactly what kind of man I am-" The office door flying open with a loud crash cut Eric off and made Felicity jump.
"Eric that blonde bitch outside told me not to disturb you, so naturally I assume you have your latest play thing in he-" Liv stopped her tirade short, her dark eyes flicking rapidly between Eric and her younger sister. "What is going on?"
A/N/ Another update! Woo! And this one is so much longer than the last, thank you Ariwolff14 for your review :)