Kayden stares at each of them in turn, lingering slightly longer on Lilah, causing the young Leader to smirk and nod firmly. The action has Issy narrowing her eyes, deeply confused.
"So, uh," Kayden clears his throat. "I had a meeting with Max..." He says the Head Leader's name slowly, dragging it out. Issy's confusion only deepens as she tries to connect the dots of possible scenarios that could make sense. Kayden clears his throat again. A small smile twitches at his lips and his voices become firmer, nodding back to Lilah. "He offered me Leadership, and I accepted."
There was a long moment of silence.
A very, very long moment of silence.
Lilah was sat on the side-lines of it all smirking and looking ridiculously pleased with herself.
The others stared at Kayden, and Kayden stared back with a cautious expression on his face.
Mouths were opening and closing, fingers were being pointed, and heads snapped in every direction to gauge the reactions of others around them.
Then, collectively, they all shouted at Kayden.
"WHAT?"
Kayden chuckled weakly. "I accepted the position in Leadership." He turned and winked at Lilah. "Thanks for the support by the way."
"No problem." Lilah grinned back.
"Wait, wait, wait." Issy held up her hands, causing everyone to look at her and Issy looked to Lilah. "You mean you knew about this?"
Lilah shrugged. "What can I say? What you discuss in Leadership, stays in Leadership."
Issy shifts slightly, dropping her gaze. While she knows Lilah was simply answering her question, Issy is affected by the answer more than she thought. It made her realise something that's taken her a lot longer to work out than Issy work have ever guessed. What you discuss in Leadership, stays in Leadership. By the sounds of it from Dec and Josh and all most of their friends, Eric's decisions weren't his to discuss with Issy. They were decisions made by Leadership and if Issy had chosen Leadership two years ago when it was offered to her, she'd be in the loop too… But Issy wasn't a Leader and she had no right to know the inner workings of the Leaders. She had judged Eric too harshly because she didn't like not knowing what was going on. For that, Issy felt guilty.
She frowned, even as the group hugged and congratulated Kayden. A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked to see Alec frowning at her. He raised an eyebrow at her and Issy lowered her head.
"You okay?" Alec finally asked aloud.
Issy wiped at her eyes, catching the tears before they could fall. "I've been ignorant and rude, and I didn't realise."
Alec's mouth twitched up at the sides and without Issy having to explain further, he knew exactly what she was talking about. He stared at her with the same golden eyes that stared back at him. "Took you long enough."
"Ouch." Issy grinned a little. "No comforting words?"
"Nah," Alec grinned as he slipped his arm across Issy's shoulders and pulled her towards their friends, who were now crowding around Kayden. "I think you need to suffer a bit longer for your stupidity."
She knew Alec was only joking but that didn't stop her from elbowing his side sharply. "Dick."
"Bitch."
The twins grinned at each other before tuning into what Kayden was saying.
"– Max said that he wants to start my training immediately. There's a Leadership meeting tomorrow –" Kayden nods to Lilah and she nods back. "– But the day after that will be my trial as part of the training."
"Who would have thought it huh?" Issy grins as she and Alec enter the circle of people standing around Kayden. "From our little initiation class, we have two Leaders!" They all yell and clap Kayden and Lilah on the back. "To you," Issy says, placing her hand on Kayden's shoulder. "Our brother, our friend, our Leader. We put our faith and love in you to lead and defend this Faction –"
"– For when you fall," Alec starts as he stares at Kayden, copying Issy as he places his own hand on Kayden's upper arm. "We will be here to catch you and defend you –"
"– When you feel lost," Lilah picks up, nodding firmly to her newest fellow Leader, gripping his other shoulder. "We will be here to help you and guide you –"
"– And when you rally this Faction to protect this city," Hec places his hand onto Kayden's back. "We will stand by you, ready to protect you and follow your orders –"
"– As our Leader," Flare steps up and cups Kayden's face with both of her hands. "We put our trust in you, as we have trusted you for all these years."
As their friends all place their hands on him, Kayden stands in the centre quietly crying. He blinks rapidly for a moment and sniffles. "As your Leader," Kayden begins, placing a hand on Flare's wrist and his other on top of Alec's hand. "I will do my best to uphold the ideals of Dauntless in my work and the decisions I make. I will carry your support, your faith, your love and your trust in my heart, and I will forever know that each of you have my back, just like I hope that you all know I have yours."
xXx
Two days later and Issy stands with the rest of her initiation class on the ledge overlooking the Pit. They grip each other's hands, arms thrown across shoulders nd they all stand together as a unit in support of their friend.
Issy's family stand behind them, standing in silent support of one of their own. The older members had found out on the day of the new Leader's trial that it was Kayden who had accepted the position. There was shock, surprise and disbelief but most importantly there was support.
Four's absence was very noticeable to the others and some asked questions regarding his whereabouts. Tris, Issy, Luke and Uriah all shared a meaningful glance, before looking down to the floor of the Pit.
In the centre of the floor stands Kayden, and around him stand the other Leaders.
Jason is grinning at Kayden, though Kayden's hard eyes are settled on Eric instead.
Despite how happy Issy is for her brother, she isn't envious of him at all. She and Kayden still both share the same fear of needles and she can't help but think how brave he is having to face that fear to prove himself to the rest of the Faction.
Max steps towards Kayden, nodding once to him, before looking up to the rest of Dauntless. "Today marks a new start in Dauntless. Kayden has accepted the open position of Dauntless Leadership! But as new training states, he must first be trialled by truth serum to see if he is worthy of Leadership. Jason, you may begin." Max steps away and re-joins the other Leaders.
Jason picks up the needle and the shudder that runs through Kayden's body is very visible. Jason pauses ad only steps further when Kayden nods once. While Jason moves closer to Kayden, Issy looks to the other Leaders. Max, Harrison, Liam and Eric are all focused on Kayden, standing ready to move forward to restrain Kayden if necessary. Even from such a height that Issy and her family stand at, she can see Kayden tense up. Jason quickly stabs the needle into Kayden's neck, causing him to flinch.
Issy was impressed at Kayden's own restraint. Other than the flinch, he hardly moved.
"Leader in training of Dauntless," Jason started. "What is your full name?"
"Kayden Stone."
"What is your Faction of origin?"
"Amity."
"And to which Faction does your allegiance lie?"
"Dauntless."
Jason nods. "By your reaction, is it true that needles are one of your fears?"
"Yes."
"Then why accept the Leadership position if you knew you would have to be injected?
"Because Dauntless believes in freedom from fear, in denying fear the power to influence our decisions." Kayden pauses to lick his lips. "I believe that I can help right the wrongs Kim delivered to this Faction and what was her department, even if it means sacrificing my comfort to prove myself to the members of Dauntless."
There are a few murmurs amongst the other members and the Leaders hold nothing but proud expressions on their faces.
"Do you think you are best suited to the role as Leader of Dauntless?"
Kayden Takes a moment to answer but his posture gives away no pain in this moment, showing the Faction that he's not fighting to hide the truth. "Truthfully no, I don't think I'm best suited for this role. I think there are many people in this Faction that are better qualified for this role that have more experience than I. This role isn't just a job, it's so much more important than that. As a Leader I will have people looking to me for orders, people trusting my word to help this faction and people trusting that their lives will be safe in my hands. Honestly, that scares me, but I can only give all of myself to try and support this Faction, to try to keep its members safe."
Jason grins at Kayden's answer. He glances to Max and the Head Leader nods once. "Before we finish up Kayden, if there anything you would like to admit that could affect your role as Leader in training?"
Kayden opens his mouth and closes it again. A wave of pain crosses his face before Kayden speaks again. The Pit is deadly silent. So far Kayden's trial was going very well in Issy's opinion until now. The Leaders stare at Kayden in confusion and the Faction holds their breath, waiting for what Kayden will say. "I – I'm scared that my limp will affect my future in Dauntless and that its members will dishonour me for an injury I can't help."
The breath of relief from the Leaders and the Faction members was almost audible throughout the Pit. Max shook his head and chuckled.
Jason grinned too. "Thank you for your honesty." Jason turns to the rest of the Faction. "Dauntless, do you accept Kayden as your new Leader in training and the person ready to take over Kim's department?"
"YES!"
Kayden laughs as the Faction yells its answer as one. He looks to the other Leaders, who all come forward and congratulate him.
Issy laughs and hugs her twin.
She grins gleefully, whooping with the rest of her family and Faction.
Though, there's a sinking feeling in her stomach that these emotions are all about to change…
