Well hello all. So I left this cliff hanger longer than anticipated so for that I'm sorry. Life has been really, really busy but I haven't forgotten I promise! It's always nice to see a follow pop up in my emails now and again but please for god's sake people don't send me messages asking me to join in roleplay sessions, the answer is, and always will be no. I write creepy stories, not act them out. Anyway, I noticed a few issues with some of the timings of things so I should clear these up:
So two has been mute 8 years, she got kidnapped 8 years ago not 6, in the earlier chapters it was 6 years cuz the flashbacks were 2 years ago, I forgot to add it back on in the present so I should probably go fix that and she trained with blaze and flare about a year after she got kidnapped but she met them before they trained her, trust building is a thing. The age gap between her and the boys is still 2 years because I didn't wanna change that when it made sense so she's 18 and the boys are all 20.
Oh and I skipped over Edward but that happened much the same.
Now into the chapter!
Chapter 8 – the ruthless leader's tattoo
"huh, so she does speak. Im here for a tattoo"
"Hello Coulter. How nice of you to pop by, take a seat"
At this he looks a little surprised I didn't falter or deny him.
"What would the oh so powerful leader like me to tattoo him with?" Rather than scowling, he smirks evilly. "you are going to be tattooing my dick with this…" he says pulling one of my designs from his pocket. It's the toucan I designed inspired by a book I read many years ago. "sure, I'll get you prepped and we'll get going" which seems to confuse him a little more. Yes Coulter, your power move is really not working here.
Once the door is locked, the music is playing and one ruthless leader is prepped, I get to work free handing the design. Eric is surprisingly on edge while I'm happily tattooing away singing along to the songs on the speakers.
Here lies a lifeless bride and groom
Till death do us part came far too soon
Buildings burn and people die
All of the time
But I heard that you reap what you sow
So around and around we go
And when you see my face you'll know
You can't save yourself or save your soul
When you meet the man whose life you stole
With withered wings and broken bones
A flight for the fallen, flies the crow
Can't save yourself
These vengeful thoughts trapped underneath
Rage, scorn, misery
Payback for what you took from me
Hope, love, sanity
I heard that you reap what you sew
So here's to believing in ghosts
Now when you see my face you'll know
You can't save yourself or save your soul
When you meet the man whose life you stole
With withered wings and broken bones
A flight for the fallen, flies the crow
No forgiveness, just farewell
A match made in heaven
You sent straight to hell
No forgiveness, no escape
May you rest in pieces
For your grave mistake
For your grave mistake
You can't save yourself or save your soul
When you meet the man who's life you stole
With withered wings and broken bones
A flight for the fallen, flies the crow
You can't save yourself
No you can't save yourself
For your grave mistake
You can't save yourself
Aside from where the tattoo actually is, im quite enjoying this little session
You're a mess, tangled with your confidence
You think you haven't sinned
Well, you're unstoppable
Your walls are impassible
Oh, I think you're better off looking alone
Cause the boys that chase your hips can just go find their way home
And at the end of the day you think to yourself
"My body is a product being sold on a shelf."
Tell me I can change
Tell me I can change
Well I know you lay in bed
Contemplating your own death
Well, just look at what you've done
Don't you dare forget the sun, love
(Don't forget!)
Cold white walls, keep you from your pad and pen
You just wanna stab again
I can't believe it's half this hard
You never knew your mind was dark, no!
Well, I think you're better off looking alone
Cause the boys that chase your hips can just go find their way home
You can dig so deep for scars
You never knew your mind was dark
Come on and breathe with me, oh
Breathe with me, oh!
Well, I know you lay in bed
Contemplating your own death
Well, just look at what you've done
Don't you dare forget the sun, love!
You look down on, me so casually
In everything I know
You look down on me, but not right on me
Did I wreck this broken home?
Dear diary
Life is trying me
Can I get a sign?
Or a two of mine, a piece of mind
Can I get a sign? (a sign)
Can I get a sign? (I know)
Well, I know you lay in bed (in bed)
Contemplating your own death
Well, just look at what you've done
Don't you dare forget the sun, love!
You look down on me, so casually
In everything I know
You look down on me, but not right on me
Is it plain to see, that life is trying me?
Ohh, life is trying me!
Life is trying
Can I think of something?
Gotta' think of something!
Eventually Eric breaks the silence. "I know what you are" at this I laugh "what am I then, please do tell me" "you're a divergent" well yes that much is obvious but your lack of solid evidence is laughable. "sure, and pigs can fly now then? Please, do explain to me why you are accusing me of being a dangerous rebel with a lack of any solid evidence and while I'm tattooing the most sensitive part of your body." This catches him completely off guard. I know full well he expected me to panic or falter and that's probably what an ordinary person would do but I've had to hide this for years, I know exactly what I'm doing. "how do you know what a divergent is?" "if you think that information is privy to only the highest levels of government then you'd be correct but you've failed to acknowledge just who my father is. You've also failed to consider my past which you no doubt know about and hence the steps I took to defend myself in future, my aptitude for dauntless and the fact I hang out with an erudite who has a hatred for nonsense. I may be an anomaly but I am not a divergent so I suggest you are very careful with how to speak to me while I have your balls in my hand." And with that he stays silent with a look of fear in his eyes amplified by the fire in mine. He's not in control of this situation like he thought he'd be.
We continue in silence until I finally finish the tattoo. "how many credits do I owe you for this?" he asks, so I decide to cut off a few for my little outburst. "25 credits" he looks at me knowing full well what my rates are – I mean Tori doesn't make it a secret - but doesn't question it. Instead he writes me a cheque for 100 credits and disappears before I can question it. Huh, didn't take him for the generous type but obviously doesn't want me to say anything so aside from the fact he got a tattoo tonight, no one is gonna know a thing.
For the rest of the night I do a few smaller pieces at the parlour and get some very generous tips before stashing my cheques in the safe under the desk before leaving for the dorms. My mind finally satisfied by a few hours of designing and tattooing. On my way back, I decide to go to the fountain by the dorms for a quick drink as its late and hear some voices just beyond the lights of the caves.
"is she a divergent then?" that's Jeanine! What the hell is she doing here in the compound? "There's almost no chance two is a divergent, her aptitude is dauntless as you well know and her simulations while extremely fast, show no signs of manipulation or simulation awareness. Her behavioural qualities are most likely down to her past and the company she keeps. I will keep an eye on her to make sure this is the case. As for the other initiates, we are just moving into the next phase of training so were more likely to spot divergents among them than hoping for two to somehow develop divergence." "you better watch out, we wouldn't want you to have any trouble with your position, now would we? After all, I am the reason you are a leader and…"
Before I can hear what was said several pairs of hands all grab me at once quickly tying my hands and blindfolding me to keep me in this position of powerlessness. Before I can bite someone, my mouth is having a huge wad of fabric forced into it. I'm dragged through a few corridors before I start to hear rushing water. The chasm. At this I begin to fight harder and my captors are struggling to keep me moving. Eventually I'm slammed into the railing and a hand grabs my throat while another grabs my breast. "huh, still a child I see" oh shit, its Peter. "I thought we were just meant to scare her" a very nervous Al says "oh no, I'm gonna finish her once and for all" says peter with what I can only imagine is an evil grin. "hey let me have a go!" another voice responds. Drew. Of course it is. Before I let this go any further I kick Peter with all my might and a muffled scream, I mean it was stupid to stand directly in front of me without pinning my legs. He lets out an incredibly loud yell of pain which catches the attention of someone walking around in the pit. "What the hell are you doing?!" is yelled from the other end of the pit. Its Toby. Then all hell breaks loose. Someone runs, someone kicks the hell out of me and someone is getting the hell beaten out of them. I don't know how long it last but eventually whoever it was is pulled off me and beaten to hell. Toby doesn't stop but I feel so faint, tired and sick. I let out a groan, I really don't feel so good but this seems to pull toby out of his trance and he comes over to me and takes off the blindfold, unties me and takes the gag out of my mouth. I go to push myself up but my arms collapse underneath me and I feel even worse. My vision starts to get really fuzzy as toby scoops me up so I just let it take me over rather than fight it.
I wake up early the next morning in a very large soft bed. I don't think anything of it and burrow deeper into the covers bunching them up to hug. Slowly everything starts to come back to me while I start to notice the running water somewhere off into the apartment. Ah, that'll be Toby. I wanna get up but I'm comfy and god knows what damage was done. I'll just wait for him to come back. wait, is that an ice pack on my ribs? I reach down and find a fairly fresh ice pack on my ribs but when I look there's no bruising and feeling along each rib nothing is broken or out of place. That's strange, I could've sworn someone beat the hell out of me yesterday. I just give up working my brain and curl back into the covers that smell distinctly of toby.
Eventually the water stops running and a shirtless Tobias comes back into the room. Damn he looks good, those tight shirts really don't show off just how defined he really is now. "enjoying the view there?" he says with a smirk. I blush but respond "very much so, you could always come and join me under the covers." This time he blushes and I laugh but he walks over and gets into the bed on the other side and pulls my head onto his chest. I take the invite and snuggle up to him and we both relax.
"I have a friend working in the infirmary so I snuck you some healing serum normally reserved for the leaders so you should be okay. I didn't know how you'd react so we sedated you and kept you monitored because you'd had some odd reactions to some of the serums you've been given before. I hope you don't mind that I checked your records." "no, no, it's okay, thank you for helping me, not many people would." He pulls me tighter to his chest and leans down to kiss my forehead. "you don't have to worry about that now, I've got your back." at this I smile and relax into him further. I feel him get a little nervous so I look up at him. "hey, two?..." "Bea" "wait, Bea? Don't you hate that?" "oh no, I like it, I just don't like it used around other people" he smiles "well, I have a confession to make Bea. I always had a little crush on you…" I'm completely caught off guard, I thought I was the only one "…it was really hard to watch you become a shell of the person you used to be but I always caught glimpses of her in your eyes and sometimes I used to hear you sing to your sisters in the summer when you had the windows open. I suspected it was you who cleaned me up the night before my choosing ceremony 2 years ago but I could never confirm it. You didn't guess where I was that night did you? You knew exactly where to find me because Andrew and Marcus both beat you didn't they?" at this I nod slightly and he hugs me ever tighter. "I don't expect you to respond to any of this just yet, I just wanted you to know." I shuffle up the bed and lean over him so my face is directly above his. "you're not the only one who had a crush Toby." And with that I kiss him gently and I feel him smile into the kiss. When I pull away he says "I've never been called Toby, I quite like it." "good cuz you're gonna be hearing a it a lot more." I shuffle back down to his chest and curl back up and we stay there enjoying each other's company for a while.
"I hate to spoil this but what are we going to do about your attackers? We really should report it otherwise this could happen again. You already know what happened to Edward and now you. Whoever is next really will end up at the bottom of the chasm and we both already know who'd be next…" "Ems" "Exactly." I sigh. I don't want to but it's really gotta be done. "could you call one of the leaders here and I'm really gonna need some clothes so maybe Emily too." "I'll call Eric and Max and send Tori to get Emily." "do we really need Eric?" "unfortunately, yes" "fine"
A little later I'm sat on Toby's sofa with his shirt covering my ripped clothes and the soft dark grey rabbit fur throw covering my lower half. I might have to pinch it because its sooooo nice. Eventually they're all in the small apartment by 7:30am. "why the hell did you call us this early and what the hell is two doing here?" at this I look down shamefully. I should never be a bother and equally I should be able to protect myself. "Two got attacked last night. Drew, Al and Peter tried to throw her in the chasm and tried to violate her." "on what evidence? She looks absolutely fine!" at this Toby growls and throws a report at Eric. "if that's not enough then I pulled the footage from the Chasm last night and it's in both of your inboxes" while theyre distracted looking through the report I subtly squeeze Toby's hand quickly to calm him down.
"while they obviously tried to kill her, this is their first offence because we can't prove they attacked Edward. If she was a member of the faction this would be enough to make them factionless but because the initiates are not faction members they get two offences before they are made factionless. We can put this on record and we will prevent all of them from having any jobs that are worthwhile but that's all we can do by faction laws right now." I can tell toby is about to argue so I speak up. "thank you, please just don't let it happen again. Eric, you and I both know who the next target is. don't let them get hurt." I see the realisation in his face and I get a firm nod. Toby looks at me but I give him an icy glare telling him to keep quiet. "Max, I hope you know that this law is pretty stupid and I'd really like to have the opportunity to change it" "well my dear, I was going to tell you that your final exam would be tomorrow anyway, I wanted to offer you a leadership position afterwards and we'd get you training with Eric as soon as possible" I'm taken aback by this, they were gonna fast track me for leadership? I smile and respond "It would be an honour". "Excellent! We've extended the visiting day holiday so the faction will be coming to watch you and we'll make the announcement straight afterwards. We were actually going to be telling everyone at breakfast." "nice, I'll just get myself a change of clothes and I'll see you both down there then" I say with a smile. Just after Max and Eric leaves Toby is about to say something but we both hear a knock at the door. Toby goes to answer it and finds Emily on the other side.
So that's it for this chapter everyone! Ill be writing another chapter whenever I get another opportunity to and the two songs in this one are a grave mistake by ice nine kills and don't you dare forget the sun by get scared.