Tobias was annoyed. He had been looking forward to this day all week, had been counting down the days until Beatrice's return, only to find himself constantly being watched by Jeanine. She hadn't let him out of her sight since breakfast and insisted that he should join her in the front court to welcome the returning contestants. It made him wonder what had changed since last Saturday, when he had been able to secretly watch from inside.

But there was no use in objecting against her will. The few times he had tried during the years she'd been married to his father had never worked. She had always found a way to make him follow her commands, regardless of his own volition. There was just something about her that made him unable to ignore her commands.

That had led to him sitting in a wooden chair with a high back next to the queen. Every time he heard footsteps drawing closer from outside the gate, he looked up, hoping to see Beatrice, but so far, it had never been her. Some girls grabbed a gemstone out of one of the bowls and proudly attached it to their belts that showed their progress in the competition. Others received a piece of charcoal and Jeanine sent them right back down the path they'd walked here. And then there were the ones that stepped in front of the Amity bowl and got nothing, but were still allowed inside the castle. What was it about the Amity task that made it different from those in the other provinces?

Tobias put up a mask of indifference and arrogance, so that neither the queen nor anyone else would be able to read his emotions. All his excitement, his anxiety, his nervousness was hidden behind it, and it seemed to be working. In fact, the way that most girls looked at Jeanine's reaction and her approval before they even turned their attention to him was probably telling of how he usually came across as cold and inapproachable. What if that was still who he was, and what he felt for Beatrice was nothing but an illusion? What if he was lying to himself about her all the time, so desperate to feel anything again that his brain made it all up?

But that couldn't be true, could it? It seemed so real, and the way his heart sped up when she finally appeared in the archway that led to the patio, his doubts about the genuineness of his feelings vanished. He couldn't think of anyone else that ever had affected him like she did, and if he hadn't been pretending not to care all morning, he was sure his features would have slipped. But as it was, everything he did was clench his teeth harder to prevent any emotion from crossing his face and just stared at Beatrice like he had stared at all the others.

She looked pale and tired, and a bruise was visible on the left side of her face. What had happened to her?

She didn't look at him as she stepped in front of the Candor bowl, pulled a bottle out of her pocket and exchanged it for a purple gemstone that she put on her belt. Only after that, when she turned around, did their eyes briefly meet. But there was no sign of affection in hers, not even one of recognition, nothing.

Technically, Tobias knew that she was probably just as good at acting as he was, maybe even better than him, because for a second, the corner of his mouth had definitely twitched upwards without his permission. Still, it left him uneasy and nervous, and he had no choice but to stay outside with the queen, when all he yearned for on the inside was to follow Beatrice and ask her if they were alright. He would do that as soon as Jeanine would release him from her grasp.

But she never did. It was early afternoon by the time all girls had returned, and probably more than half of them had left again due to failing their task. Tobias was anything but sorry for them, as it only meant less competition for Beatrice. There were only around twenty girls left now, and one hadn't even made her way back to the castle at all. If he had been a better man, he'd have asked himself if she was alright, if she needed help of any kind, but he supposed he wasn't.

Right after lunch, which they had had later than usual anyway, Jeanine made him come to visit Marcus with her. The doctor she had sent for had arrived the day before and was still trying to figure out what was wrong with the king. He had asked them to spend at least an hour a day by his side, cause it might help him to recover, even if he was sleeping and didn't visibly take notice of their presence. Tobias would have preferred to spend said hour alone with his father, but Jeanine insisted they'd go together.

After that, when he thought he was free to go to look for Beatrice, she ordered him to come down with her into the throne room.

"But the ball is not supposed to start until in a few hours, what do you want to do there?" Tobias asked while secretly cursing inside. Was she keeping him busy on purpose? He had been suspicious about her ever since Zeke had warned him and he'd found the mysterious vial.

"Don't you talk to me like that! I say you come down there with me, and that's what you'll do. Besides, this concerns you, too. I have to interrogate one of the contestants about the girl that went missing. I sent Shauna to bring her to the throne room earlier."

Great, that was all he needed today. He was caught between anger and disappointment. There was only so little time he could potentially spend with Beatrice, and he hated that it got wasted like this. All he could hope for was for Jeanine to make it quick, or otherwise he'd have no opportunity to talk to Beatrice before the ball. He longed to see her, and maybe talking was not all he had in mind when it came to her.

It was all the more surprising to find Beatrice being the girl that Jeanine wanted to interrogate. He looked up as he heard the high wooden door squeak open and watched her take in the palatial interior of the long room. She looked shy, intimidated even, as she slowly walked towards where he and Jeanine were sitting on their thrones. He couldn't blame her, for the whole room was designed to show the subjects their place in the kingdom, and that was below the royal family. He'd have preferred her sitting by his side as his equal instead of Jeanine.

Beatrice stopped as she reached the steps that led up to the pedestal the thrones were placed upon and made a curtsy.

"I've been told you wanted to see me, your Majesty," she said and somehow managed to look directly into Jeanine's eyes. It made Tobias oddly proud of her, which maybe was stupid, because the obstacles she faced in the competition were certainly harder to overcome than the queen's icy stare.

"That's true. There are a few questions I need to ask you. My son is only here as a witness, he won't ask you anything."

She said it to Beatrice, but it was obvious she adressed him, too. He wasn't supposed to talk to her. And now, surprise and pride made room for concern. What was Jeanine up to?

She stood and strode over to a table that was placed underneath one of the huge rectangular windows. He hadn't noticed that she had placed something there before. She uncorked a small bottle and poured water from it into a chalice that she offered Beatrice.

"Drink this. We don't want you to get a dry throat."

Beatrice eyed the chalice suspiciously and looked up at Tobias as if asking for help, or forgiveness, or support. Was he missing anything? She simply had to be nervous. He'd be nervous as well if the queen had ordered him here this formally to interrogate him. He nodded slightly towards her, hoping she'd feel the encouragement he wanted to give her. And so she drank.

Jeanine took the empty chalice from her and put it back onto the table, then ascended the steps to resume her place on the throne. Tobias only saw her move out of the corner of his eye, for his focus was on the girl that stood below him on the tiled floor. There was something about her eyes that was strange. Her pupils dilated and her gaze turned empty, as if there were clouds pushing their way into the space between them. It was unsettling to watch, but he couldn't look away either. Not until Jeanine began her interview.

"So, what's the name you go by?"

"Tris."

Wait, what? Since when was her name Tris? What about Beatrice? Had she lied to him about who she was right from the start?

"Which province did you go last week?"

"Candor."

"Interesting. Do you know you are the only one who managed to accomplish the task there?"

"No, I didn't know that."

"Now you do. Two girls failed while another never made it back to the castle. Did you meet any of them?"

"Only Molly."

"That's interesting, cause that's the one who went missing. Did you fight with her, yes or no?"

"Yes."

"Is that how you bruised your face?"

"Yes."

"How did you hurt Molly?"

"I made her trip on the ice, so she fell."

Tobias couldn't have interfered even if he had wanted to. He was stunned into silence by these new revelations. He would never have thought that Beatrice would go this far to win the competition. She looked as if she wanted to add something, but she seemed to choke on the words. Of course, who would like to admit to deliberately have hurt another person?

"Did you see Molly after that encounter?"

"No."

"And you were happy about that?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where she went or where she is now?"

"No, I have no idea."

"I see."

Jeanine took a break from questioning and got up. She gazed down at Beatrice — or was it Tris? — and slowly descended the stairs until she stood right in front of her. Tobias didn't want to witness more of this interrogation, yet he couldn't look away either.

"So one last question: Tell us in one word, what was your initial reason for joining this competition?"

"Money."

"Money - I see. Well, that's it, you can go."

Tobias' heart hurt as he understood that he had been mistaken assuming he knew who this girl was. She was like all the others. She had never been here for him. It had been for money. She was in no way better than those striving for the power that came with the position as his wife. How could he have been so blind not to see it?

And now she had the nerve to look at him apologetically after Jeanine had turned away from her. There was no way he'd fall for her charade again. She didn't say anything else, and she didn't have to. He wouldn't have wanted to hear it anyway. He had heard enough.

"You heard the queen. You can go."