If Tris had one trait that wasn't honored at all in Abnegation, it was stubbornness. It was frowned upon there, where a girl was expected to be calm and polite and as busy as a bee, where parents complimented each other on how well-behaved and selfless their daughters were, and where the proclaimed educational goal was to blend in with society and not call attention to oneself. Yet in a kingdom-wide competition, it was a treasure to possess, one that couldn't be seen at first glance and that was impossible to be snatched away in an inattentive moment due to the sheer nature of said feature.

That was why Tris found herself knocking on the glass door of the Candor library again the next day. She had refused to take a day to rest, for her mind had already moved on from the attack, though her body had not. While the side of her face was bruised, her knees hurt with every step and her left ankle was bandaged, her spirits were still high. She had made it this far, now she wouldn't let the opportunity slip to find out what Jack had meant when he had told her about the Book of the Future. It could only be useful to know what was going to happen next in her life, couldn't it?

Jack didn't seem to be surprised by her reappearance.

"I assume you're here because you want to take a glimpse at your future?" he said as he let her inside.

"Yes, if that's possible."

"We can try. You have to know that there hasn't been an accurate prediction about the kingdom as a whole in a while now, since winter came to be precise. The first pages that used to contain these predictions have disappeared. However, personal predictions still used to work the last times people came to collect them," Jack explained as he led Tris into another part of the library she hadn't visited the last time, through several glass doors and along corridors lined with shelves. He stopped as they reached a flight of stairs that led below the library.

"Are you certain you want to know your future? It can be difficult knowledge to deal with."

"Yes, I do."

"Good, then follow me, please."

Tris was nervous as she carefully followed Jack down the uneven steps into a labyrinth of corridors carved into the stone. The contrast to the light-flooded upper part of the library was striking. The darkness that was only challenged by the torch Jack carried and the musty air added to the mysterious atmosphere of the place. Tris had no idea how Jack still knew where they were going, since all the corridors looked the same to her. But not to him, apparently. He never hesitated when they reached a bifurcation or an intersection with even more pathways that led them deeper into this branched underground system. If she lost him now, she'd never be able to get out of here again, she thought with a shiver.

Finally, they walked down a corridor that ended at a wooden door. It looked old, yet indestructible. This had to be their destination. Jack turned around.

"Do you have your vial?"

Tris nodded and fished it out of her pocket to show him.

"Good. Now give three drops onto the doorknob, put your hand on it and say your name. But three drops only, remember? You'll need the rest for the book."

"Alright."

At least, this was easy. Tris did as she was told. As soon as the words 'Tris Prior' had left her lips, the door started to vibrate and the knob turned of its own accord before the heavy door opened just a tiny crack. Hesitantly, Tris pushed it open further. She looked back at Jack over her shoulder, and he signalled for her to go ahead.

The door led into a vaulted cellar, the ceiling forming a large arch and giving the impression that the place was more spacious than it actually was. The cellar was empty except for a wooden table, edge and legs artfully carved, that stood close to the opposite wall. There were only two things on top of it: a book and a candelabra.

Jack lighted the three black candle stumps, and only then could Tris see that the wax was white on the inside. Candor candles, she thought.

After Jack had blown out the torch, he walked around the table to stand opposite Tris.

"For you to read the prediction about yourself, you'll have to sprinkle the rest of the Water of Truth from your vial on the pages once I've opened the book. It'll then reveal what is known about your future. So, are you ready?"

"As much as I'll ever be."

Jack pulled a small golden key somewhere out of his pocket and inserted it into the lock. He turned it sideways until the little lock clicked with an elegant sound. He then carefully opened the book. Tris stared at the empty pages that once must have contained words about the kingdom, predictions that had gone missing along with the sun. She had no idea how Jack knew which page he had to turn to, but eventually he took his hands away and looked at her expectantly. This had to be the moment in which she had to take action.

With shaky hands, she emptied the Water of Truth onto the pages. It was against all the rules she had grown up with when it came to books. They were precious and expensive and had to be treated accordingly. Never in her life had she done anything to harm one, yet alone willingly. But here she was, sprinkling liquid over a book that looked as old as time. It hurt her to see the water soak the yellowish paper, but then, suddenly, it was absorbed and the stains melted away. For a moment, nothing happened, but then Tris gasped as the pages began to turn themselves, as if looking for a page that only the book itself knew where to find. It was fascinating to watch, the rustling of paper filling the cellar and echoing from walls, floor and ceiling alike.

And then it stopped.

Tris read her very own name at the top of the page, written in neat black letters.

But beneath her name was a conglomeration of single letters in equally artful handwriting, yet none of them was connected to another. Each one occupied its own space on the paper without being part of a word, let alone a sentence. None of it was readable, no matter how hard Tris tried to find a way to make sense of them. Was it a riddle, designed especially for her to solve? All she saw remained the pretty letters randomly scattered all over the page.

As she looked up at Jack, she literally jumped at finding him stare at her intently. She didn't know how long she had spent trying to find the message on her page and had momentarily forgotten that she wasn't alone.

"What does it mean?" she muttered quietly. Somehow, the place and the ancient book that rested open on the table between them made her wary of raising her voice. This cellar wasn't made for noise.

"I have seen empty pages and pages offering detailed predictions, but I've never seen this." Jack gestured to the open book in confusion. "I don't know what the book wants to tell you."

"So that's a bad thing?"

Tris was equally baffled. What was she supposed to make of this if even Jack, who so far had seemed both calm and wise, appeared to find this unsettling? Had she done anything wrong? Was it a bad omen? She alternately glanced between the book that remained unchanging and Jack, who was deep in thought. He had his eyes closed as if trying to remember something, and she didn't dare interrupt him.

When he finally reopened his eyes and met her gaze, he sighed.

"There's only one explanation I can come up with. My father told me this could happen, and he had heard it from his father. This", he indicated the book between them, "can only mean that your future is being rewritten."

Tris grasped the table for support as her knees turned weak.

"But what does that imply? For me, I mean?"

"It means that something in your life has changed, or rather, is changing. Something that changes the way your life goes into a thoroughly different direction. That rarely happens, because we are all creatures of habit. Change, real change, is exhausting, and we usually make decisions in life that seem logical and comfortable for us. But that alone won't explain this messed up prediction. There has to be more to it. A lot of things have to be radically affecting your journey through life at the same time to confuse the Book of the Future like this. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't tell you what to do with that. It's your decision alone. The truth lies within yourself."

Tris' head was spinning as she stared back down at the letters that were supposed to tell her what life had in store for her, or at least offer some kind of advice. Instead, this was what she got. More confusion. What was wrong with her?

"What if I come back later, will it be able to tell me more then?"

It was the last hope she had for this to turn into something good, to get out of this like anyone else, to be normal. It was deeply unnerving to find that her future could go any direction from here.

"That won't be possible. Everyone can only consult the book once. Otherwise, people might become obsessed with it and forget to live their life the way they're supposed to. But what I can do is make an exception and give you the letters to take with you. Maybe one day they'll make sense. And even if they don't, let them be your reminder that not everything in life is predictable."

"Excuse me, Jack, but I don't understand. How can I take letters with me?"

"Do you have some paper in your bag? It doesn't have to be a whole role of parchment, just enough for all the letters to fit on."

"No, I don't have... no, wait. I do have something."

Finally, breaking out of her state of shock, Tris knelt down with the bag in front of her and started looking for the small present that her father had given her right before she had left Abnegation. She hadn't used it since, had even wondered if she'd ever need it or if it was just more useless weight she had to carry around with her. But since it was a present, she hadn't had the heart to sell it.

"Here, I've got this. It's small, but it has a lot of pages," she said and offered Jack the simple notebook with the pressed leaf on the binding.

"I think that will do. And it is yours, right? You didn't borrow it from anyone?"

"My father gave it to me, as a present. I doubt he expects me to return it unused."

"Good. Now, please open it and hold it close to the bottom of the Book of the Future."

"How do I know which page to open?"

"Any page you feel is right will be right."

Tris closed her eyes and ran her thumb over the side of the book. How would she know? What did feel right? If she was honest, and that was what Candor were all about, weren't they, none of this felt right. But it didn't feel wrong either. It was just weird. Yes, weird. And maybe, it wasn't even important which page she chose. Maybe it was all random. Her life, her home, the competition, her feelings for Tobias. Did any of it make sense?

She pushed her thumb between two pages and opened the notebook, then held it below the bigger book resting on the table. Jack reached for the Book of the Future and lifted it. The bottom of its pages touched the top of Tris' notebook, and as he shook it, the letters started to shake. Tris stared at them, mesmerized, as they started to move down the page and fell down the spine of the book and into hers like sand in an hourglass. She couldn't take her eyes away until all the letters had found a new place in a new book. They still didn't form even a single word, but they were hers to keep now. Strangely, it did make her feel better about it all.

Jack put the big book down, closed and locked it. Then he lit the torch again and blew out the candles.

"I guess we're done here. Let's go upstairs."

He didn't need to encourage Tris to leave. She was craving to be back in the daylight again, even if it was dull. As they left the cellar, she spotted a second wooden door at her left that she hadn't noticed earlier.

"Where does this door lead?" she asked.

"Ah, that one leads to a similar cellar that looks exactly like the one we've just been in. The only difference is it guards another book. Surely you must have heard of the Book of Laws?"

"Yes, sure. It contains all the rules and laws that the kingdom is based on as a whole, and also special rules for each province."

Its existence was no secret, although it wasn't actively used. There were partial copies of it in the Erudite library, but they were placed in the section that only people from Erudite could consult.

"Well, we guard the original book here. The Erudite envy us for it. Anyway, we can open it, but we can't change it. The rules are the rules."

Tris thought about that as she followed Jack through the seemingly endless labyrinth that led them back to the flight of stairs. The sky seemed brighter as she looked up out of the darkness.

"This is usually the part where I say something about bringing the truth to light, but in this case, it doesn't really fit," Jack stated somewhat dryly as he began to ascend the stairs.