A/N: Updates weekly, probably Saturdays, if not Sundays. Happy reading everyone!
Chapter 2
For an entire week after the infamous dinner in which I learnt I was to be engaged to Tobias Eaton, my parents saw a side of me they've never even suspected existed. I stopped doing my chores, and while my father punished me by sending me upstairs to my room without dinner, I had already planned ahead. I knew that dad would never physically punish me, and I took advantage of that. I hid food in my room in places where my parents would never find it. I always waited until it was quiet in the house before I even dared to eat something.
I started skipping school, which then prompted my teachers to call my parents to school to talk about my odd behavior. The night after they got called in by one of my teachers, my dad had yelled at me that he didn't raise his daughter to act like a hellion. That was the first time he cussed or at least the first time I heard him. But it was also the first time I considered a faction other than Abnegation.
Dauntless.
I always admired and envied the Dauntless. They were free. And I longed to be free. If my life was that of a caged bird before, it had definitely turned into a living hell. Perhaps this whole situation would give me clarity regarding my future. I always knew I didn't quite belong here in Abnegation. Maybe I belonged somewhere else. Maybe even in Dauntless. I made up my mind to at least explore the possibility. But first, I had to deal with the situation at hand.
"Beatrice, are you ready?" my mother asks, as she steps into my room.
"For what?" I ask her, not even looking up from the homework in front of me. I hate that I am behaving like this. I know she is only doing this to make dad happy. But isn't my happiness just as important as my father's? Or maybe she really believes that this fucked up situation is justified, that I really should marry Tobias Eaton.
"You know for what, honey. Tonight Tobias will officially ask for your hand in marriage," she says, and I cringe.
"I completely forgot," I tell her dismissively. She doesn't move, and I get annoyed. "Can you please leave me now? I have homework," I add sharply. I hear her sigh, but she still doesn't move from her spot behind me. The next thing I know, she embraces me from behind, and kisses my head.
"You are so stubborn, my sweet girl." I don't say anything. I feel angry; angry at my father for even wanting to marry me off; angry at my mother for allowing him to do that; angry at Marcus for forcing me to do this; angry at Tobias for going along with this. I know he said he didn't like this any more than I did, but I haven't heard about him going nuts. It seems I am the only one who is acting out.
"But we have to go. Come on," she urges. I stand up abruptly, and walk past her. I don't even spare her a second glance as I rush downstairs to where my brother and father are already waiting. I can see how pleased my father looks, while Caleb looks mortified. He had tried to talk to me, and despite of what I thought he would say, he surprised me by saying that he completely disagreed with dad. That gave me some hope that at least a small part of my family cared more about me than whatever social status Marcus and my dad hoped to achieve by this marriage.
"Are you ready, Beatrice?" my dad asks smiling.
"To be sold? Yeah, sure," I spit. My dad frowns, but doesn't say anything. Didn't think so!
I already know we are meeting at the Abnegation headquarters where Marcus has prepared a little gathering that is going to be attended by everyone important in our faction.
A few years ago, the City Council changed a few rules. It happened after a failed attempt of the Erudite to discredit the Abnegation, and seize power for themselves. It was then decided that the old laws should be revised. This was mainly possible at the insistence of the Candor, who knew everything about our laws. At the moment the conflict happened, the rules had become so restrictive that people got too anxious. There were so many rumors going around, so many misconceptions about what each faction did, that Candor decided to urge the City Council to loosen a few of these rules.
Up until now, each sixteen-year-old would choose a faction to live in. That was changed to eighteen years. It was considered that at sixteen we weren't mature enough, and couldn't make educated decisions as to where we wanted to spend the rest of our lives. Another rule that was changed, and probably would be best to erase completely, is Faction before Blood. It simply stated that once you leave your faction of origin you can never return, and not even have contact with your family, unless on visiting day. That always seemed like a stupid rule. How can meeting my family make me a faction traitor? It was then decided that fraternization among the factions should be allowed, and even encouraged. The more we knew about the faction we wanted to choose, the more chances there were to actually be happy and be a productive member of said faction.
Before these rules changed, one of the former Erudite leaders, Jeanine Matthews, was on the hunt for Divergents. I barely knew what that meant when I first heard it, but my mother explained it to me. In simple terms, you can have aptitude for more than one faction, and that scared people like Jeanine who wanted to be in absolute control. Thanks to some brave Erudites and a few Dauntless, Jeanine was stopped. It was discovered during her trial that she planned on killing all the Divergents in the city. Up until then, no one knew how common divergence really was, and yet it turned out, that more people than not were, at least to a certain degree, divergent.
Candor, backed by the other factions, came up with a law that made the killing of divergents one of the highest forms of treason. Jeanine and her co-conspirators were executed, and henceforth the City Council had to accept two representatives from each faction to be part of the government.
In my opinion, even the selfless Abnegation need to be watched closely. If this deal between my father and Marcus is any indication, I wouldn't be surprised if they pushed the envelope in other areas as well.
My train of thought is interrupted once we reach our destination. We enter the gray Abnegation building, and are soon greeted by a small group of our faction officials. This is odd. They shouldn't be here. I mean, I know mom said that some of dad's colleagues would be, but this is ridiculous. There are at least twenty people here. Not even during a wedding are there so many people present. What the fuck is going on?
"Beatrice, how lovely to see you again," Marcus says. Yeah, right, I think to myself. Marcus then goes to greet my parents. He ignores my brother, but Caleb doesn't seem to mind though. Instead, he glares at Tobias.
"Why aren't you fighting this?" Caleb asks Tobias, who just looks taken aback. A flash of anger, guilt, and irritation crosses Tobias's face all in a second, but he composes himself quickly, remaining calm. Something tells me he did. Something also tells me it didn't matter. I don't have time to explore my theory, because I then feel a slight push against my back. I look over my shoulder, and see Marcus smirking. I so wish I could wipe that off of his face.
We walk into a small reception room, where there are two chairs facing each other. Marcus directs Tobias to sit on one, while I have to take the one opposite of him. I want to protest, but a stern look from my mother makes me reconsider. However, I won't give in so easily.
After we are both seated, Tobias stretches out his hands, palms facing the ceiling. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, so I look toward my mother. She shows me her own hands facing the ground, and I understand. I have to put my hands in his. I roll my eyes, and let everyone see my annoyance.
Marcus gives another one of his famous speeches that I really don't care about, and then instructs Tobias to proceed. From the corner of my eye, I see dad approaching, to stand next to us. Tobias averts his gaze from mine, and looks up at my father, without letting go of my hands. He isn't really holding them, but it feels a little comfortable to me. I guess, it's because we are basically in the same boat.
Even if we get engaged right now, Tobias and I won't be able to get married for another two years. I have to be a full-fledged member of our faction to be able to marry another member. But by then, I will be gone. I can't stay here. Even if my parents will hate me, I can't stay here and let them ruin my life. I'd rather make my own decisions, my own mistakes. I'd rather live with the knowledge that I've failed in my pursuit of freedom, than watch life pass me by as I wither in a typical Abnegation home, with a typical Abnegation husband. Tobias will choose in four months from now, and I will choose two years later. Whatever he chooses, I don't care. He is nothing to me, and I am nothing to him.
"Mr. Prior, I would like to ask you for your permission to make your daughter, Beatrice, my wife," Tobias says, his voice is clear, and gentle.
"I give you my blessing, son."
The crowd starts to applaud, not loud, but enough to be an awkward sound in the otherwise silent room. Wait! That's it?
"What about me?" I ask before I can stop myself.
"What about you, Beatrice?" my dad asks, staring intently at me.
"Shouldn't I be the one to be asked to get married?" I ask, and start to feel rage bubbling underneath the surface.
"It is customary for the groom to ask the bride's father, and not the bride," Marcus explains smugly.
"That's stupid," I exclaim outraged, and stand up, the chair I was sitting on scraping the floor, and falling over. Silence falls as I glare from Marcus to my father.
"Beatrice, behave yourself," my dad chastises.
"You expect me to just accept this ridiculous charade?" I ask dumbfounded by his inability to see the insanity of what he is asking from me.
"It is not a charade, my dear Beatrice. This is just a formality. You will be able to state your consent when we go into the other room to sign the marriage license," Marcus tells me matter-of-factly. Marriage license? I look from Marcus to my father, and then to my mother. She looks away ashamed. My brother just looks on incredulous at the scene before him, as I am. I turn my gaze to Tobias who seems ashamed, but keeps his eyes on me. He is still sitting, as if standing up would be a crime against humanity. This guy frustrates me to no end. He tells me he isn't looking forward to this marriage deal, yet he keeps awfully quiet about it.
"Are you out of your fucking minds?" I yell. "I'm sixteen!" I scream, getting angrier. "I am not marrying anyone!" I shriek so loudly, I think I might have been heard in Amity. I shove past my father, and before anyone realizes what is going on, I run out of the building, and dash as far away from Abnegation as I possibly can.
A/N: Ugh! The anger! The outrage! The frustration! What will Tris do? Where will she go? How can she escape this deal? She can choose a new faction only in two years from now. How will she manage to escape this unwanted marriage for that long?
Let me know what you think. Better yet, tell me what you would do in Tris's shoes.
Special thanks to Daydreamerdb, badass4ever, and ItsHardIKnow.