Chapter 2 - Welcome To Dauntless


On the morning of the 31st of October, I find myself awake much earlier than usual. It was mostly due to my nerves, I found, as I threw the covers off my bed and made it before getting myself ready in the bathroom.

It felt odd to put all of the items I used into a bathroom bag, which I eventually placed in my suitcase. I'd managed to fit everything I needed into one single suitcase and was glad about that. I didn't want to be judged for arriving to Dauntless carrying more bags than necessary. '

All that the suitcase carried was the essentials - clothing, undergarments, my bathroom items and small trinkets that I wanted to have with me. I found myself becoming extremely nervous as the clock ticked closer to 9am. My mother, having woken up early too, had cooked eggs for the family and I was glad that she'd done so. Her cooking was something I was surely going to miss.

Jack Kang knocked on my door five minutes before 9am and I sighed, turning to hug my family. I didn't think I'd see them for a while. Jack spoke with my father as Ipulled my mother close to me. She smiled.

"You're going do do well, Violet. I'm not a liar, and you know that more than anyone. This job is perfect for you. We're always here for you, darling," she murmured into my ear. I hugged her tighter.

Usually, Rosaline and I weren't big huggers, but I felt like I'd never been hugged tighter than when she hugged me before I left. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her. "Good luck, little sister," she whispered into my ear and I chuckled at the fact that her and mom had basically done the same thing.

Henry was the tightest hugger though. He pulled me close as if he was never going to let me go. Mom had to pull him away from me by the time it happened and I chuckled. He was 16, but he still seemed 11. I pressed a kiss to his forehead like I'd done at the choosing ceremony. "I'll see you in a bit, okay, little guy?" I grinned at him and he nodded back at me.

"Good luck, Vi."

Finally, I was pulled into the arms of my father and he chuckled at me as we hugged. My father wasn't a very big hugger and I was glad that he'd allowed for us to hug today. When it was time for me to leave, I wheeled my suitcase out after me and followed Jack into the elevator, taking us to the ground floor.

Max looked out of place in the cleanliness of the Candor lobby. I held back a small laugh as Jack and I walked towards him.

"Good morning, sir," I spoke as I stopped in front of him. He smiled back at me, motioning for his assistant to take my suitcase and put it in the car. I let him do so and stood with Jack and Max.

"Are you all ready to go?" Max asked me, and I nodded simply. I was ready.

Max nodded back at me. "I'll be out at the car, say your final goodbye and join me in a few moments." He turned and walked away from the lobby quickly and stood at the door of a black car.

I turned to Jack, who smiled sweetly at me and pulled me in for a quick hug. When he pulled away, he began to speak. "You're going to excel at Dauntless, Violet. I don't doubt it for a second. You're one of the mentally and physically stronger members of Candor and this is a wonderful opportunity for you. I do hope you embrace it."


The car was fancy, but not as fancy as the Candor cars I'd been in before. I think that Max pulled out his finger and got a better car just to transport me back and I silently thanked him.

The car ride to Dauntless didn't take too long and by 9:30 we'd already reached the compound. It was shorter and wider than Candor was and I was becoming increasingly nervous about what was going to happen when I was inside. I was a 20 year old leader of Candor. I didn't know what the rest would think of me. I could only believe it would be good.

Max assured me that his assistant would take my suitcase up to my apartment while he took me to meet the other leaders of the faction before I settled in. As we walked he told me about what my day would contain.

"We're going upstairs now to the control rooms where I'll introduce you to the rest of the leaders. We make up five. There's me, Eric, Tori, Four and Harrison. Afterwards, I'll allow one of the leaders to escort you to your apartment. Then, Tori will accompany you to the stores and you will purchase appropriate training items. Tori will let you know about what you need to purchase. I'll let the leader who escorts you to your apartment tell you about dinner and other items."

I nodded at him, following him inside the compound. It was much darker and colder in here than in Candor, and I immediately found myself missing the warm and lightness of the offices in which I had previously spent my time. We took the stairs up to the control room and I was glad that I hadn't worn too many fancy clothes today - I'd put on a simple pair of black jeans and a white button-up shirt with a pair of black shoes. I didn't think I looked too fancy, but I certainly looked like a Candor.

Max opened the main door to the control room for me and I followed him through. "This is the control room. Here we control most of the cameras in the compound. It also contains the offices of each of the leaders. We'll give you a temporary one during your time here."

"That's very kind of you, thank you, sir," I smiled, following him through. He stopped in front of a large black door and looked at me.

"There's no need to be nervous, Miss Windsor. Inside, you will meet each of the leaders. While some of them may take to you better than others, you will ultimately only be trained by two of them. I will choose both of these people to train you during your time here in which you will focus on combat, defense and also work in the control room here."

I nodded at him and Max pushed the door open, allowing me to follow in after him. I looked around the room immediately as I stepped inside, my eyes scanning each of the people standing inside. There was only one girl, who looked much tougher than I was and I hoped that there were other girls around here who looked more friendly. I silently noted that this girl must be Tori, the one who Max told me will help me purchase training clothes. She stands next to two men, one who reminds me a lot of Marcus Eaton from Abnegation, though younger and fresher looking, and another who is tall with long blonde hair.

Max looks at the three of them, confused. "Where is Eric?" He asked.

"He's running late, Max. A couple of initiates got into a pretty bad fight during the training this morning and he's going to be up here as soon as possible." Tori speaks, and I am shocked at how different and sweet sounding her voice is against her look.

Max nods and moves toward the round table in the centre of the room, just like the one in Candor. I take a seat between him and the boy who looks like Marcus. He sends me what I hope is a friendly smile before Max begins speaking.

"We'll start without Eric and fill him in when he arrives," he said. "This is Violet Windsor, Leader for the Interfactional Dialogue Committee. She's 20 years old from Candor. She's going to be training here with us until she is completely aware of the way in which our system runs. It's incredibly important you push her as much as possible."

The three of them nod. "This is Four, Tori and Harrison, Violet," he explained. "Four mainly works with the initiates. Tori works in the tattoo parlor and also here in the control room. Harrison works up here too. Eric, when he arrives, helps Four with the initiates and works closely with Erudite and the other factions to ensure our relationships remain strong with them. I think it would be beneficial to spend time with him. I'll have him take you back to your apartment," he said. "If he ever arrives."

I nod at the three of them and smile before turning back to Max. "When does training begin?" I asked him.

"Tomorrow morning, 8am." He is interrupted by someone walking inside, closing the door behind them and silently taking the seat next to him at the table. My eyes widen when I realise who he is - he's the one I stared at for a little too long at Henry's choosing ceremony. I look away suddenly, realising this is Eric.

"Eric, nice of you to join us," Max said, gruffly. Eric's face doesn't change. He still stares blankly around the room. "Meet Violet Windsor. She's Candor and Leader for the Interfactional Dialogue Committee. She's going to be working and training here for a few months with us."

I can almost hear Eric groan at the fact, the look on his face. He looked different when at the choosing ceremony. Calmer, yet stronger, and I wonder what I've done to annoy him so much.


Max has made Eric walk me back to my apartment. He doesn't look too thrilled at the idea, and I don't really blame him. He's probably got work to do, yet Max has given him the job of looking after me. As we step out of the elevator on to the leaders floor he begins to speak.

"This is the floor where all of the leaders live. Apartment 1 is Max, 2 is Tori, 3 is Four, 4 is Harrison, 5 is you and 6 is mine. You've got your own key, you can let yourself in and get settled in or do whatever you want. Tori said she'll be up in around half an hour to take you to buy stuff," he looks me up and down. "And by the looks of you, you're no Dauntless."

I frown at him. "Obviously I'm not, right? I'm Candor, through and through. I'm here because of my job and I'm happy to be. So don't go making it difficult for me. I'm here to work and you're here to help me out."

He chuckles at me. "Watch yourself, Candor. I don't tolerate smart mouths and you're one of the worst we've had. I've known my fair share of Candor smart mouths. Don't make yourself known for being one."

We stop outside my apartment and I narrow my eyes at him before slipping the key card into the hole on the door and stepping inside. Before I close it, I look at him again. He's still standing outside my door watching me. "I'd rather be a Candor smart mouth than a Dauntless asshole any day."

I close the door before he can retaliate and turn to take in my apartment. It's small, but it's a good enough size for my liking. There's a kitchen to the left of me and a dining table near it. On the right is the living room, containing only a small coffee table and some lounges.

I walk further into the room and take it all in. It's not too different from Candor, yet there is less white colouring and more black. I walk into the room just next to the living room and enter what I believe is my bedroom. It's simple and small with a double bed in the middle, a set of drawers on the right of it and another door on the left hand side of the bed which I assume leads into a bathroom.

My suitcase is sitting at the foot of my bed and before Tori arrives I begin to unpack it. It doesn't take me long to hang up my t-shirts and dress pants on the bar that is installed just next to the dresser. I set up my undergarments and casual clothing into the drawers and head into the bathroom with my bathroom bag. It's a small bathroom, but is surprisingly mostly white. The shower looks large and next to it is a bath. I place everything from my bag into the cabinet and around the sink before heading back to the bedroom and placing the other small items around my room - in the bedside table, on it, on the window-sill - wherever they fit.

It doesn't seem long until a knock sounds on my door and I slide my suitcase into a corner before heading to the door and unlocking it, smiling at Tori when I find her outside. She is leaning against my door frame. Her long black and grey hair was striking on her, and unlike any hair I'd seen before. Candor kept it natural.

I close the door behind me and followed her silently to the elevator. "There are a set of stores upstairs. We'll look around and buy you some new casual clothes. Max has made it clear to me that you'll use his card to buy whatever you want. I'm here to instruct you on what's necessary for training and what isn't."

I nod at her. "Okay, that sounds simple," I step into the elevator after her and let it take us up a level. "What am I going to need, exactly, for training?"

Tori waits until we leave the elevator to speak again. "Singlet tops, leggings, black pants, boots, jackets, Dauntless shirts. You've got to look the part if you want to understand Dauntless."

We walk through to one of the first stores and I wander behind Tori. She picks up items of clothing as we walk through, handing them all to me eventually before shoving me into a changing room. I embarrassingly change out of my jeans and dress shirt and into the tight black pants and black singlet top and frown. I'm much more comfortable in the Candor clothes, but I know that if I want to truly succeed here, I have to dress like Dauntless do as well. I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb.

After trying on the jackets, leggings and a few burnt orange singlet shirts I change back into my original outfit and head back out to Tori who eyes me. I nod at her. "These are all fine. What else do we need?" I ask her and she shrugs at me.

"Suppose we should go and buy you some boots," she stands and walks me to the counter where she hands over Max's card and we purchase my items in a large black bag. Tori drags me to a store a few away from the one we were just in and shoves me toward one of the men there, taking my bags.

It isn't long before I'm having my feet measured and fitted for the perfect pair of boots. It all feels a little extreme. I'm used to comfort clothes, not tight pants and shirts and fitted boots. I frown as I stand in the large and bulky boots. They're the right size and I imagine it's just me telling myself that the boots are bigger then they actually are.

I leave the store with Tori with a new pair of boots and she walks me back to the elevator. "Dinner is at 7, you've still got a few hours until then. Eric should come to your apartment and take you down so you don't get lost. I've got to get back to work, but I'll see you later."

I nod at her and step back into the elevator, dropping down a level and soon arriving back in my apartment. It only takes me a few minutes to fold the new clothes and place the boots on the floor next to the dresser. These items are less easily creased than what I wore at Candor, and I'm silently glad that I don't need to hang these up like I do with my pants and dress shirts.


Eric doesn't come to get me for dinner.

I'm not surprised when the clock hits 7:05 and he still isn't here, so I attempt to make my way down on my own. I've changed into what I deem more Dauntless attire, keeping my black jeans and shoes on and changing into one of the grey singlets we bought, pulling one of the black jackets over the top of it. I brush my hair before I leave and shove the key card into my pocket before heading toward the elevator. I try to remember where I've been and try to figure out where it is.

I decide to start from the bottom and let the elevator take me to the ground floor before wandering around. It doesn't take me long to hear the noise that ought to be coming from rowdy Dauntless dining and I walk through an empty room with a large sign reading 'The Pit' and into a room that must be the Dining Hall.

I smile to myself as I walk in, wandering around in an attempt to find a seat. I see Max and begin to make my way over to him. He's the one I'm most acquainted to right now. He smiles at me and moves up the bench so there's a space next to him for me. I sit down and look at the foods on the table. It all looks much unhealthier than in Candor and I feel reluctant to eat it. I see something familiar - a hamburger - and take one to my plate before looking up and seeing who is around the table.

My eyes settle on Eric who is drinking something from one of the cups on the table. When his eyes meet mine, I simply smile at him. He'd known he had to pick me up for dinner, and yet, I've made it here on my own.

He narrows his eyes at me when he notices my smile, yet it only makes me smile wider at him as I look away and take a bite into my hamburger. It isn't as bad as it looks, and after ten minutes, it's finished.