Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Twilight or Divergent. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and Veronica Roth.
Writer's note:Welcome to Bella Swan: A Dauntless Tale!
[Chicago: 2360]
A desolate world, once a beautiful landscape of humanity, only to be destroyed by the fall of humanity itself. Now three centuries into the future, the city of Chicago still stands, thanks to a faction system that has held together the harmony of the city for the last two centuries. Without the factions, society would descend into a chaotic mess like before.
Voice Over
It is said and believed that the war was terrible. So, because of the war, the remaining government placed us into groups. We call them factions.
The factions consist of Erudite, the bright and intelligent elite. The scientist of the faction system, and the ones to thank for all the technology advancements. They believe that they are the highest part of the faction system and should be the ones in charge of decision making.
Then there is Candor. The truthful faction, believing that the truth will set you free and they believe in order. They make up the judicial process of the faction system. Amity, the kind and harmonious faction group that takes on the jobs of farming and sustaining the faction system by providing the city with its resources.
Dauntless are the police force, maintaining the wall that surrounds the city for our protection, and to protect the society from the factionless and itself. I always thought Dauntless were amazing, so fearless and so free. Then you have Abnegation, the faction I belong to. We believe in "them before us." We spend our time putting everything else above ourselves, never believing in vanity. We feed the factionless and are the ones that make up a council that handles the administrative tasks of the faction system. The decision makers, the ones that helped create the laws. We are the civil servants, and it's been that way for as long as I can remember.
Every year, the faction system continues its tradition of the choosing ceremony. At the choosing ceremony, all the 18-year-olds choose the faction that they will be apart of for the rest of their lives. Before that, we take an aptitude test to help guide our way to the faction that we belong to. It is not required to choose the faction on your aptitude test, but it is strongly encouraged. This is to ensure that the faction system continues to operate at it's best. It's as if everyone knows exactly where they belong…everyone except me.
End Voice Over
[Choosing Ceremony]
The choosing ceremony brought everyone from all over the city to watch as their children became adults in society and made the first decision that would alter their lives forever.
Isabella Prior, once Isabella Swan but adopted by the Priors from an early age when she lost both her parents to a mysterious sickness that affected the factionless mostly, but because Abnegation helped the factionless, they encountered someone with this sickness and they too caught the sickness and succumbed to their illness, leaving Isabella as an orphan. Andrew and Natalie Prior were best friends of Charlie and Renee Swan and adopted Isabella into their family. They already had twins, Caleb and Beatrice Prior, who were the same age, so it wasn't a stretch for them to take on another little girl.
Isabella, Caleb, and Beatrice were 18 now, and were choosing today. The three had been nearly inseparable, and Isabella was sure that they would all remain in Abnegation, except Isabella wasn't sure about her aptitude test.
"What did my results show?"
The woman with dark braided hair with twists of blue, and dark makeup and tattoos, looked at Isabella nervously. "Abnegation…. Erudite…. Dauntless. Your test was inconclusive." She said and rushed, typing something on the computer.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're different and no one can ever know. Go now, if anyone asks, the serum made you sick. Don't discuss your results with anyone. Not even your family." She said and rushed Isabella out of the room.
"Wait no! What am I supposed to choose? This test was supposed to help me. What am I?" Isabella was confused, and frustrated. Caleb had told her that all she had to do was trust the test, and how could she trust a test.
The woman looked at Isabella. "Divergent. You can't tell anyone about this, if anyone askes you about your results, you are Abnegation because that is what I manually wrote in. No go, quickly!" She said and finished shoving Isabella out of the room.
Beatrice cleared her throat, snapping Isabella out of her flashback. "Are you okay?"
Isabella blinked a few times. "Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, what were you saying?" She said as they neared Candor, where the choosing ceremony was taking place.
"It wasn't me. It was Caleb." Beatrice said, nodding to her brother.
Caleb smiled at Isabella. "I said, no matter what, remember to think about yourself too today. The choosing ceremony is meant to be the path for the rest of our lives."
Isabella frowned. "But what about mom and dad?"
"Everything is going to work out the way it's meant to." Caleb said with a nod and then patted her on the back. They were entering Candor now, so Isabella didn't say anything back. They filed into the large auditorium into their assigned sections. It was like a wall of grey, as they took their seats in the row in front of their parents. Everyone in the entire faction was here, except for those that had duties to fulfil and couldn't be here. The large stage in front was bright, the Candor symbol embellished the white marble floor. There were bowls on pedestals that represented each faction. Erudite, Candor, Amity, Dauntless, and then Abnegation.
Isabella watched as a woman in Erudite blue took the stage. Her hair was blonde, cropped right above her shoulder. She was middle aged from what Isabella could tell. She looked out at everyone in the auditorium. Everyone was seated now, and so the choosing ceremony was to begin.
"Welcome everyone. My name is Jeanine Matthews in case no one knew who I was. Today is an important part of your young adult life. Today is the day that you choose your home. Where faction comes before blood. You'll part from here today, and if you change your faction, you will never see it again. You will go home to your new faction, with your new family." Jeanine said and then nodded to a man to the left of the stage.
Isabella knew who he was. He was Jack Kang, the leader of Candor. She had seen him in the communal library before, since it was technically part of Candor proper. He was usually quiet, and stoic. She didn't think she had ever seen him smile. Not even once. He took the stage now. He held strong Asian ancestry, his cheekbones high, his dark eyes slanted upwards, and his dark hair was neatly combed on his head. He wore the white and black Candor clothing, his white suit jacket was longer in the back than in the front, and he looked sharp, like Jeanine.
"When you hear your name, you will come up to the stage, and use the ceremonial knife to make a small cut in your hand before choosing the bowl that corresponds with the faction." Jack explained. He cleared his throat once, before he started reading off names.
Isabella sat there, as the entire auditorium stayed quiet, as people were called up, one by one to choose. When someone selected a faction, that faction would cheer and welcome them into their ranks. The colors were starting to mix. You could see blues mixing with the yellow of Amity, and the yellow of Amity mixing with Candor's white and black. Finally, she heard Caleb's name called and he stood up. Isabella watched as Caleb walked down to the stage. He picked up the knife and he cut his hand. He didn't hesitate to move his hand over the bowl that was meant to represent Erudite.
"Erudite." Jack said, and Erudite clapped and welcomed Caleb to their group.
Isabella was shocked, watching her brother for all intents and purposes, join the sea of blue.
"Beatrice Prior." Jack called, and Beatrice got to her feet and walked down to the stage. She picked up the knife, hesitating only for a second before selecting Dauntless.
"Isabella Prior." Jack called Isabella now, and she got up mechanically, walking down to the stage and picking up the knife. She stared at her hand only a moment before she drew the cool steel across her hand. The crimson blood pooled slowly, and she cupped her hand to keep the blood from spilling over the side. She felt her heart thunder in her chest as she moved towards the bowls. Her mind was racing as she thought about her aptitude test. Abnegation was so stifling, she felt that way for a while, but she had decided to stay for Beatrice and Caleb, and now they were gone. So she reached her hand out, turning her hand over and opening it, letting her blood drip down over the hot coals that represented Dauntless.
"Dauntless." Jack said, and Dauntless cheered for Bella as she moved down to the leather cladded citizens of Dauntless. She didn't dare look back at the parents that raised her. She knew that they were disappointed. No one ever left Abnegation. The last person to leave Abnegation, left four years ago. Isabella wasn't sure who had left, it was before she paid attention to the choosing ceremonies, but she remembered the harsh whispers and rumors that spread, that the father must have beat his son, for him to leave like that. Her parents were good parents. Leaving Abnegation didn't have anything to do with them, and everything to do with herself and partially Beatrice. But now, she felt a little freer, like a weight had lifted off her when she joined her sister, in Dauntless.
The rush of adrenaline ran through Isabella as her and Beatrice clasped hands and ran towards the train to jump on before it left them. It was exhilarating, lifting her heavy, grey skirts of her dress to jump up on the train car. It was like she was a little bird, and she was flying for the first time. She couldn't remember the last time she ran, and it felt great to have that freedom again. Like a little kid, with no worries.
Her and Beatrice laughed as they collapsed to the cool metal floor of the train car. They looked across to see a Candor girl, smiling at them.
"Hi, I'm Christina." She introduced.
"Isabella, and this is Beatrice." Isabella introduced, just as friendly.
Christina smiled and then glanced down the car and saw Dauntless jumping out of the car. "Oh no. We're jumping again."
"What?" Isabella said and clambered to her feet. "Oh god, they're trying to kill us." She said and then helped her sister up while Christina got to her feet. "Let's jump together." She suggested as they waited their turn to jump.
The three girls clasped hands and readied themselves. They leapt from the train onto the rooftop of the building the other Dauntless were leaping onto. They rolled when they hit the roof, and they laughed some more. Isabella's dark hair was loose from her bun now, and so was Beatrice's. Beatrice had light brown hair just as long as Isabella's, but her eyes were hazel compared to Isabella's chocolate brown ones. Christina was mixed race from the looks of her, but her dark hair came right above her shoulders, and her eyes were darker brown than Isabella's even.
The girls got to their feet, dusting themselves off, still smiling at one another before joining the group that gathered at one part of the roof. When everyone had made it off the train, a man, dressed in the dark clothing, his jacket hosting grey stripes on both arms showing off his Dauntless leadership status. His hair was blonde and shaved on the sides, leaving it long on top, and it was slick back neatly. His neck had detailed tribal lined tattoos on either side of his neck and his earlobes had dark studs in both ears, and his right brow was pierced. He was sturdy, Isabella could tell, and he looked serious.
"Listen up. I'm Eric, I'm one of your leaders here at Dauntless. There is only one way into Dauntless and that is to jump."
"Is there like a net at the bottom?" A boy asked.
Eric stared at him. "Do you, like, want to go first and find out?" He mocked.
The boy quickly shut up and looked away. Isabella looked around at everyone being quiet.
"Who wants to go first. If you don't volunteer, I will start throwing people over the side." He barked.
Isabella raised her hand. "I'll go." She surprised herself by speaking up.
Eric studied her as she walked forward. She could see that his eyes were a stone color now and his features were sharp as well, and she admitted, was an attractive quality. "Alright stiff, get up there." He said, using the nickname people used for Abnegation. It was an insult. Abnegation was stuffy and people lacked a level of vanity, making them "stiff" compared to the rest of the faction system.
Isabella got up on the ledge and glanced over the edge into pure darkness. She didn't hesitate before she just stepped off, the wind whipping up around her, making her skirts fly up around her. She felt light again, like an adrenaline rush, her heart beating fast in her chest. She felt like she fell forever before she hit something springy. Her hands reached out and curled around the rough ropes that were knitted together as a net. She smiled, looking up above her at the grey-blue sky. She had jumped without fear, and that was exhilarating. The net dipped and then she was face to face with someone with dark brown hair, cut neat on his head, and dark, doe brown eyes.
"What's your name?" His voice was gruff, which didn't match his features at all. She didn't respond at first. "Choose something, you don't get to choose again."
"Bella." She said, deciding that it was time for a change.
"First jumper, Bella." He announced and then he helped her out of the net, his hands on her hips and he lifted her with ease and set her down on her feet.
There were people there, cheering as she joined Dauntless. She waited as she saw Beatrice land in the net next, and she smiled. Her sister had made it, and she didn't scream either. The man announced the second jumper, and Beatrice decided to change her name to Tris.
Tris joined Bella and they hugged each other. "We did it." Tris said, smiling at Bella.
"We did." Bella smiled, nodding.
After the last of the jumpers made it to the bottom, screaming on the way down, his name was Al. They were gathered together and given clothes that were dark to match the other Dauntless. There were 33 of them, and only 13 of them were non-Dauntless born. They were ushered away to their sleep quarters. Bella looked around at the rows of cots. They would be living here in this open space together, without any privacy. There was a large bathroom, that had large shower stalls in rows that would be used for their showers, and nothing was divided. Girls and boys shared the entire area, which she knew Tris would have an issue with, since her sister was so modest.
Bella stripped fast, not taking time to worry about wandering eyes, to get dressed in her new clothing. Their clothes were tossed in an incinerator. This was to do away with their previous faction, and to start anew. Bella took her hair tie out, and she quickly braided her hair over her shoulder since she didn't have a brush to smooth anything out. Her hair was to her waist, and her braid was impressive as she lay it over her shoulder. Tris kept her hair tied back into a tight bun like they had in Abnegation, but Bella wanted the change. She wanted to break the chains of Abnegation and be different.
Once everyone was changed, they were gathered together again in what was referred to as the pit, with the other Dauntless born. Eric was there now, along with some other Dauntless who were part of his posse, Bella assumed.
"In case you missed the memo, I'm Four. Ordinarily I work intelligence, however, for the next 16 weeks, I will be your trainer. You'll be trained as warriors. You'll be trained separately from Dauntless born, but ranked together. These rankings determine your job once you leave training. Leadership, manning the fences and walls, or keeping the factionless from killing each other." Four spoke first this time.
"It also determines who will be cut." Eric added.
"Cut?" Christina asked frowning.
"For years we have chosen our paths when we came of age. Now that you have chosen Dauntless, we'll get to choose you. This board has 33 slots. Twelve of those slots are red. If you're in the red at the end of round one, you're out." Eric said, his voice booming in the room.
"Out?"
"Well, you can't go home, so you'll have to live factionless." Eric elaborated.
There were some whispers then and someone spoke up now. "Why weren't we told about this?"
"Does it matter? Did you choose Dauntless on a whim? Did you think, this was going to be Amity easy?" Eric barked. "Dauntless are soldiers. We only want the best, so if you're not the best, we don't want you. Now, there's the door if you're not up for the task, but remember, you can't go back to your old factions."
No one made a move, and it got quiet.
"Alright. First things first. I'm taking the Dauntless born to go through some exercises, test you, so you can be placed on the board. Four," he motioned a hand to Four. "He's going to take the newbies. I don't want to hear any bitching or complaining. This is a point system. You can lose and gain points all at the same time." He said and then whistled sharply to the Dauntless born, before taking them across a metal catwalk over a deep chasm in another room.
Bella looked at Tris, she felt like they were in for a harsh change. Bella knew that Dauntless would be challenging. According to the books in the communal library, Dauntless were fearless. They showed no mercy, and they were tough. They were soldiers, and the training for that would be hard. People in Abnegation weren't strong physically, but it was clear that here in Dauntless, you had to get strong fast, or already be strong.
"Alright, Dauntless born are going to be naturally stronger and faster than all of you. They have lived in Dauntless their entire lives. You will have to work hard. Odds are half of you or more will be below that line. My job is to make sure you get above that line if you are below it. It will be hard, but I promise you I will dedicate myself to you as much as you dedicate, meaning, if you don't show dedication, I will look you over and move on to someone else who is." Four said.
Bella stood quietly as she listened to Four. She knew that this would be a hard adjustment. He got them lined up and they started running, doing exercises that was meant to wear them out.