A/N: For this story I changed up quite a few things. There have been so many Divergent stories I figured a different spin would be interesting. There are elements involved with each faction as well, except for one of them. I have also changed some of the details about the original story around, and the ending will be different from the original divergent. The first chapter is introducing her life before anything happens. If you have any questions feel free to ask. :)
Juice dripped across Brialla's cheek and down her neck. She let out a carefree laugh, wiping it with the back of her hand and then rubbing it on her worn-out farm jeans. They had been passed onto her from her older sister who had gotten them from a friend, and that friend her mother. It's history was perhaps longer than Brialla's eighteen years. Such was the norm in Amity where there were more people than resources. She fisted her hand, rubbing the digits together. Her fingers were still sticky.
"Why are you always so messy?" her friend sighed, pulling a towel from beneath her belt and wiping the mess away. Brialla stood still, waiting to pull away before taking another bite that had Lacy groaning.
"Just let her keep the towel," Joy giggled, enjoying a peach of her own. Unlike Brialla, it wasn't on everything she owned.
"You know she's hopeless." Lacy picked up the last box of peaches and loaded it into the truck. "It's a good thing you're her betrothed, Kris. She needs a guiding hand in her life."
Both flushed, Brialla dropping her pit to the ground as the light-hearted mood evaporated. Kris glanced at her from the corner of his eyes before staring straight ahead as if she did not exist. Only Lacy and Joy continued to speak as they loaded up in the truck, oblivious to the awkwardness permeating the air. Kris and Brialla were squished in the back seat struggling to ignore the warmth of the other pressed against them. Pretending this awkwardness didn't entomb them when once they had been as close as the knots on a thread.
Joy cleared her throat. "Do you all think we will get Amity?"
Kris groaned, rolling his eyes as Joy let out another nervous giggle. "I think you've only asked that about-" His eyes squinted, ticking off checks in the air as he did the math. "One hundred and seventy-eight times."
"I know," Joy moaned, kicking her feet. "I'm just worried. I don't want to get separated from you guys or my family. I really like it here. It's not all fancy and posh like the Erudite, or super intense and scary like Dauntless. It's simple. We're simple. I like it."
Joy reached over and grasped Lacy's shoulder giving it a light squeeze. "I like it here too. All of you are here. What would I do without you guys?"
Lacy cooed over Joy and they both let out a light-hearted laugh, Lacy continuing, "So you all think you will get earth?"
All of the different factions had elements associated with them. Except abnegation, that was. The people who had no gifts went there.
"I think I will," Kris admitted. "I don't know what else I would get."
"I hope I get Amity," Joy hummed. "But once in seventh grade my teacher said I acted too much like water."
It was an element associated with Candor. Brialla kept her silence, watching her friends and feeling happy just to be with them. She had always enjoyed listening more than speaking. She learned so much more that way, able to catch little nuances she might have missed otherwise.
"Joy, you could worry a saint out of their clothes," Kris snorted, making Lacy and Brialla burst into giggles. The strangeness between Kris and Brialla was forgotten. At least, for the moment.
"Kris! It's not funny! I'm really worried." Joy nibbled her bottom lip, playing with the ends of her hair.
"You'll get earth, Joy. Don't worry."
"I really hope so."
Lacy twisted to her curious. "What about you, Brialla?"
Before she could so much as open her mouth Kris answered for her.
"Brialla is as earth as they come. She's not going anywhere."
People had always said that about her. She had a calm nature. Sturdy and dependable, and did not get worked up easily. There were no doubts about her future faction.
They began the tedious chore of unloading the truck. Amity made food for all of the factions. They had the most land and the most people. Every single person was needed for the task.
"Do you think it will hurt?" Lacy whispered. "People are always so out of it when they come out the room."
"No one knows until they take the serum themselves."
No one knew the contents of the serum that awakened their latent powers that lay dormant. Brialla had watched all the ceremonies before and still had no clue what to expect. Sometimes they were blank. Other times they were barely able to stand. A few screamed after taking it, and once she had seen a boy pass out.
"They say 90% of people stay in the faction they were born in. The odds are in our favor." Lacy hesitated, tossing her hair out of her face. "If one of us does manage to get another faction let's make a vow." She dropped the box of peaches on the ground and the dust scattered, holding her pinky out waiting for everyone to do the same. "I promise to always write no matter what happens."
They mumbled the words and Brialla swallowed, jaw clenched as the memories assaulted her. She had already done a vow like this before. It was broken all too easily, Brialla left forgotten and never learning what happened to the boy who abandoned her without a second thought.
"Brialla, say it. I'm watching you," Lacy demanded, her lip jutting out the slightest.
"I promise," she whispered.
The words felt like lead on her tongue.
Brialla leaned her head against her hands. She stared at the mound of peas shoved to the corner of her plate, zoning out from whatever mundane thing her parents were discussing. Her father was a farmer just like Brialla would be. Her mother taught the elementary students in their area. She had taught Brialla until she reached high school. At that age, they send an Erudite over to teach them. The group did love their knowledge so much.
"Did you hear me, Brialla?"
She blinked dazed, pulling herself out of her reverie. "What?"
Her parents shared a look. "I said how do you like Kris?"
Brialla shrugged, no longer interested in the subject. "I've known him my whole life." From when they were little critters playing hide and seek in the fields. All knobby-kneed and missing teeth.
"I think he's a fine match. Don't you think?" her mother pressed.
Only a few months ago it was announced Kris and Brialla were betrothed and set to be married in the coming years. A tradition only Amity sometimes partook in. The elders had announced it with smiles on their faces, pleased grins tugging at their wrinkled cheeks. Johanna appeared ambivalent about the match, although a frown appeared to tug her lips at times when staring at the two.
"You act like something is wrong with him," her father grunted.
Brialla straightened her back. "Nothing is wrong with him. The match is fine."
"Do you think he's ugly?"
"What? No."
"His personality?"
"Oh," her mother sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Sometimes he can be a bit insipid."
"I-Kris isn't boring, or simple or anything," she denied. Kris was a sweet guy, always willing to give a kind word. They had been friends for a long time. It was this betrothal that had made things so strange for them.
"What's wrong with him then?"
"Nothing!"
"Then what is the problem?"
Brialla groaned, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hand. She hated when his parents got like this. Sometimes it was so stressful.
"You're not still hung up on that boy, are you?"
Brialla froze, staring across the oak table at her father who continued to eat his meal. Brialla's breath went shallow, eyes darting back and forth between the two.
"Surely not," her mother brushed off, picking up a plate. "It's been two years."
Her father pointed his fork at her. "No, look at her face, dear. I'll bet my prized apples our girl still has feelings for him."
Her mother paused long enough to look at Brialla's face before letting out a sigh. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry you lost your first love. It can be tough. But he's in another faction now. He's gone."
As if that wasn't clear enough. Brialla didn't get a letter after he left. Not even something to officially end their relationship. She had waited nearly a whole year before realizing it would never come and spent the past year feeling stupid for playing such a fool.
"Your mother and I were arranged by the elders and we worked out just fine."
"I think it was better for that poor boy to leave," her mother fretted. "I know you don't want to hear that, but that's boy's father was a menace."
"They say he killed his wife," his father added.
"Dear! Don't spread rumors!" She finished shoving the leftovers in the fridge and headed over to the sink. "No one knows what happened. Only him and the elders."
Brialla gulped down some water not enjoying the direction this conversation was going. "When am I getting married?"
"In a few years. No need to rush into things."
"The elders want you to try to start living with each other next year though," father added.
Brialla hummed. It could have been worse. She could have gotten matched with someone she hated or didn't know at all. She had a friendship with Kris. There was something in that.
She placed her dish in the sink, washing it off before setting it to dry. "I'm going to bed early. The ceremony is tomorrow."
As she laid in bed she knew what it was that bothered her so much about the match. Brialla's heart never moved for Kris like it had for his.
