It was 5 am the following Saturday and Beatrice was stood on the steps by the main entrance to Erudite shivering in the crisp morning air. For a change, she was the one who was on time.
She looked over the still sleepy Chicago like she was the only person in the whole city who was awake. It was freezing. She shivered again and tugged her Erudite-blue pea coat further around her waist in an attempt to encourage it to keep her warm. The sun threatened to rise on the horizon and she remembered what it was like to see a sunrise from Abnegation, to see it bathe the cement roofs and cast rows of identical shadows between the rows of identical buildings, and thought about what her parents might be doing there now. They'd be asleep if all was well. She hadn't been able to send a note but knew her family wouldn't mind being woken up for such an important reason. Jeanine had wanted to go as early as possible so they could be relatively undetected and leaving this early was sure to achieve that.
That was if her partner ever showed up.
It was ten past when she heard the tell-tale clip clap of heels against marble.
"Sorry! Sorry! I've no excuse." Jeanine panted as she approached.
"That's right you haven't!" The words caught in her throat as she spun around to mockingly chastise her soulmate. It was practically the middle of the night and Jeanine still looked like that.
"Let me just catch my breath and we'll be on our way," she gasped and her lips soon turned a bright shade of red in the cold as she breathed an irregular rhythm of steam puffs into the freezing air. She waved a file folder out in front of her proudly. It matched with her blue and white outfit, a white folder with a navy blue clasp. It also, Beatrice hoped, contained all the information they needed for the day ahead.
She had expected Jeanine might put in some effort to blend in but realised her whole wardrobe must be designed to make her stand out. It was hard sometimes to remember that this woman she was growing to know was also a formidable leader with a public image to maintain. Her ivory skin looked almost snow-white against the royal blue wool coat that was tied tightly at her waist. It covered what looked like a new dress, Beatrice had certainly not seen it before. Was this a special occasion? She knew she was staring but moments like this were rare and she couldn't help her eyes lingering a little.
The rise and fall of Jeanine's chest returned to a more regular rhythm and she began to squirm under Beatrice's gaze. She stuttered an apology but was promptly shushed by Jeanine who insisted she was merely uncomfortable in her outfit and pointlessly adjusted the already perfect fit of her coat. Her hair held its usual wave at her shoulders, that one strand on the left side that always draped further back so perfectly in place it was like the frost on the ground had reached up to hold it there. Of course, she made sure to check with a leather glove covered hand before they set off on their journey.
It was strange to see the city so empty. The lack of colour-coordinated crowds did a lot to emphasise the still war-damaged structures that dotted their city. It was frightening to think about how close they were to another if they were unable to succeed. As the sun finally rose it cast a faint amber light on the treetops of the long dried up river and then onto the glass facades of the skyscrapers which reflected it back in a sort of greeting. Beatrice smiled her own hello, enjoying the warmth it injected back into her body. The only sound as they walked was Jeanine's shoes tapping different sounds as they moved from marble to pavement and then to the dirt ground where Abnegation stood.
After that night in Jeanine's apartment spent discussing the plan, they'd barely seen each other again. It had been an intense few hours allocating tasks and designing fail-safes until 2 am when they'd finally collapsed asleep. She'd left later that morning with a list of instructions from Jeanine and that was the last time they'd been alone. It was an unspoken agreement that today they would also tell her family about their relationship. Explaining the rest of the situation would only be harder if they didn't and Beatrice knew they'd never be anything but supportive, though that didn't stop her from being nervous. Just as they arrived on the outskirts of her old faction, she put a hand out in front of her to stop them both walking and turned back, taking a deep breath and she looked to the sky through her eyelashes.
"Tris?" Jeanine probed, her face painted with concern and hands instinctively squeezing her shoulders. If Beatrice hadn't warmed up already, that was sure to do it. It dawned on her that Jeanine must be feeling the same anxiety, maybe more so.
Her parents had known Jeanine for years and the relationship hadn't been what you would call amicable. The pursuit of knowledge breeds greed and that is against the very core values of Abnegation, at least that's what she used to believe when she still spent her evenings listening to her father. She was asking this woman to walk into a house of some of her harshest critics and lay claim to their daughter's heart.
"I'm fine." She smiled, and it was the truth. She might not buy into her father's ideas about Jeanine anymore but she hadn't had the selflessness knocked out of her yet. This was bigger than them.
They finished their journey to her old house and Beatrice caught Jeanine's hand just as she was about to knock on the front door.
"No, they'll never hear us. We'll wake Caleb."
She led Jeanine around the house to where she knew her brother would be sleeping above and started throwing stones at his window. The fourth one had already left her hand when Caleb opened the window in an only half-awake daze. It narrowly avoided hitting him on the nose and Jeanine turned away to hide her giggle.
"Beatrice?" His dark eyebrows knotted together as he fought to see through the sleep in his eyes.
"Hi bro. Can you wake up mum and dad and let us in please?" Beatrice coaxed Jeanine back around so her brother understood the urgency and he ran from the window and then re-emerged around the front of the house a few moments later, still looking as though he thought he was dreaming.
Jeanine tried to fight the urge to appear professional as she greeted him.
"Caleb, it's lovely to meet you again."
He made a wild-eyed look at his sister but she just shook her head and forced them all inside before they were spotted.
"I-I'll get mum and dad."
Once he was gone, Jeanine chuckled.
"I feel as though I've given him quite a shock."
"It's okay we can explain."
"You're ready to tell them?" Jeanine helped Beatrice out of her coat and let her touch linger over Tris' collarbone, she didn't need to ask what she was referring to.
Beatrice nodded.
"Are you?"
They were interrupted by the arrival downstairs of Natalie Prior who began to run as she saw them.
"Beatrice! It's great to see you!" She pulled her daughter into a brief hug before turning to Jeanine, more expertly schooling her surprised expression than her son.
"Ms Matthews. What can we do for you? Has Beatrice done something wrong?" Her voice was curt but polite.
"Call me Jeanine, please. If I may suggest we sit?" Jeanine nodded a hello to Andrew and ushered everyone to sit in the Prior's living room, quickly reminding them that what they were about to discuss was strictly confidential. Giving everyone a second to find them all a place to sit on the sparse furniture, she squeezed Beatrice's hand and gave her a small nod. I'm ready.
Jeanine felt her take a deep breath before she started, "Mum, Dad, Caleb," she looked at each of them in turn, "I'd like you to meet my soulmate."
Caleb laughed, Natalie let out a small yelp and Andrew gasped, shaking his head in obvious disbelief. "You're sure?" Beatrice's mother probed after a few moments.
She laughed heartily and directed her reply to Jeanine. "I'd say I'm pretty sure." They exchanged a smile that lit up her eyes and felt the bewilderment in everyone else's as they watched.
Over the past days, she and Jeanine had decided that they ought to offer some concrete proof to her family and show them her tattoo. Beatrice had planned her outfit well. She removed her overshirt to reveal her off-the-shoulder top that showcased her words perfectly.
"It's the first thing she said to me at the Choosing Ceremony." They nodded, remembering the conversation they were all present for and suddenly realising why she had acted strangely that day.
"I'll save you the embarrassment of seeing mine but I can confirm that it too is from our first conversation." Jeanine hummed and once again the two exchanged another secret smile whilst Beatrice's family sat in confusion.
"And this is what you've come to say?" Mrs Prior was again first to recover.
"Yes. And no. There are some things you need to know and some things we need your assistance with." Jeanine took the lead of the conversation again and tried to work out how to break so many important pieces of information about their daughter to them in such a short amount of time.
She started at the beginning. "My tattoo, it's written in silver." She went on to explain the situation in Erudite before the arrival of Tris and how things had progressed since. She was right about the tattoos, they had wanted to see hers yesterday but she managed to hold them off for now.
Tris took over to explain their plan from here on out. They were to hand over the collected evidence to the Prior's and they were to act in their capacity as senior members of Abnegation and present it to Jack Chang. Hopefully, after a meeting with Beatrice and Jeanine, he would agree to help and then it was over to Candor to hold the trials and get the relevant parties sentenced.
It seemed like a big fuss to Jeanine, involving two other factions like this. Beatrice had been sensing her growing unease and placed a hand on her knee, using her other to force Jeanine to meet her eyes. "This is bigger than you Jeanine. It is too risky to try and handle by yourself, especially now you're tangled up in it too. You need to accept help."
"And we're willing to provide that help." Natalie spoke with calm certainty and Jeanine did a double-take as she realised the voice wasn't Tris' any more. The resemblance was uncanny.
"What they're wanting to do is incite a war. They're monsters!"
Everyone turned in the direction of the venomous words, shocked to see Caleb. "I- I mean you're right to be reacting so radically. So decidedly I mean..." He trailed off, obviously as surprised at his sudden passion as the rest of the room.
Jeanine smiled with a newfound respect for her soulmate's family.
"Thank you all. We'd best get out of your way."
"You won't stay for breakfast?"
Jeanine checked her watch, it would be 6 by the time they got back to Erudite if they left now. She looked to Tris and was met with a shrug.
"Sorry, no. We need to be getting back. Thank you again and best of luck."
The Priors were understanding and let them go, probably still reeling from the revelations that had just unfolded. They redressed in their winter clothes and began their journey back to Erudite, only remembering just in time to let go of each other's hands before they stepped out through the front door.