Kazana has lived factionless her entire life, having been found by the rebels who strive to live without the faction system she becomes their new secret weapon. The plan is clear, choose dauntless, pass initiation, infiltrate the system, but what can she do when a certain leader sees through her façade? AU/One year after Tris' initiation.

Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent; I also do not own Eric which pains me deeply.

"Checkmate," Kazana announced with a grin, allowing the yawn she had been supressing to finally take control, hearing a satisfying click as she rolled her head back and forth and lightly kneaded her shoulders with her fingertips. Working in the field all day had been tiresome and though she grimaced at the idea of another day's work she knew it was trivial in comparison to the challenges that she'd be facing after tomorrow, the choosing ceremony.

"Well played," her father, Matthew Thomas smiled warmly at her and stood to join his wife in drying the plates.

"The student has surpassed the master," he cried in mock despair, clinging to his wife and holding a dramatic hand to his forehead. Kazana would usually have rolled her eyes and left them to their own devices, the desperate yearning to leave had grown stronger in recent months and her aptitude test had only confirmed that. Tonight however, was her last night, and she couldn't give that up to childish mood swings.

Method Acting, she'd made a habit of breaking and entering which meant the extensive library in Erudite Headquarters had once been a favourite haunt of hers. Few books existed from before the faction system had been put in to place; those that did Kazana had made a habit of 'borrowing' on frequent occasions.

"Method acting is a group of techniques actors use to create in themselves the thoughts and feelings of their characters" her eyes scanned the words greedily; apparently the cameras that were now used to survey those in the different factions, to control them, had once been used to tell stories.

Kazana would never be an actress, but the next few months perhaps even years of her life would be one be one big act and for that she needed all the help she could get. She envisioned the smell of Phoebe Thomas' hair as she enveloped Kazana in her wiry but strong arms, freshly cut grass and butterscotch.

A bulbous rain drop fell on to her nose, alerting her to the heavy showers to come. Kazana had always thought that rain seemed full of contempt, gleeful when the extent of its hatred bubbled up from the clouds and fell to the world below. She could hardly be blamed for feeling so, she'd experienced many a sleepless night in the rain. The icy wind chased her with harsh screams as she made her way into the warehouse for the second time that night, sleep would be essential for the day ahead.

The Factionless could hardly be possessive in such a desolate position, it was necessary to stick together and share supplies to survive. Kazana made her way in to the Night Room; it was the warmest floor in the building as what little insulation it had was still intact. The ground was covered in sleeping forms and she struggled to step over them in the pitch black darkness, a hand wrapped around her ankle, dragging her down.

She yelped in surprise, crashing to the floor and a few surrounding people groaned their complaints before settling back down in to sleep. Kazana was poised to attack but when she heard Ed's familiar chuckle she instantly relaxed, he covered her in an extra blanket and huddled in close.

"That wasn't funny," Kazana hissed in the darkness, she pinched what skin she could find, hard.

"Oww ouch ouch okay I'm sorry, I SURRENDER!" He shouted the last part on purpose and she let go immediately, her eyes darting around to make sure everyone was still asleep.

Kazana wanted to ask Edward everything, know every detail of what had happened at Erudite that day but fatigue was a powerful opponent and her body would soon give out. Edward had become her best friend when she never thought that possible and what fleeting time they had could not be wasted.

"I'm scared Ed," she whispered shakily into his ear, careful not to let the others hear such confessions. Kazana was vigilant never to show weakness, never to be intimidated by another. It was crucial that she adopt such sensibilities for the mission, but it was more than that to her, it was a defence mechanism; she had been hurt too many times in her life. So Edward just pulled her in tighter and rested his forehead against hers.

She was bathing in warm sunlight; the sheets pooled around her waist as she sighed contentedly and slowly opened her eyes. Her Amity uniform was the first thing she saw, folded on the chair beside her. Kazana was slow to dress; a comfortable ache in her muscles had her appreciating for one last time, the merits of the gentle. Tonight, she would not feel the soft red fabric caress her skin as she swayed from one field to the next, but something altogether more harsh, more heavy and black.

Unsure of the material she pondered this as she made her way to the kitchen where her mother and father were waiting for her, leather? "Ah, her majesty has awoken!" her father winked, but her mother looked altogether more distressed, she was pulled into a fierce embrace by the two of them, her dad rested his chin on her head as she buried her face into the collar of her mother's tunic. One word came to mind, Safe.

"RISE AND SHINE SWEETHEART!" Cain's obnoxious voice crowed in her ears as she blinked rapidly, the rotting wood on the windows blocked out a majority of the day's light. She'd been training for years but time could not erase the violent pain that resided in her limbs on a cold morning, a result of severe malnourishment. She knew one thing was for sure, she was going to eat the Dauntless out of Camp and Compound.

"Alright, I'm up, I'm up," she groaned as he repeatedly clicked his fingers in her face.

Looking around she noticed Edward was nowhere to be seen and frowned at the idea of leaving without saying goodbye. There were no clothes for her to dress into, she was to arrive at the fence in her current clothing and change there, and she allowed herself for a moment, to feel an intense excitement at the indefinite but improved future, to finally belong somewhere.

Such thoughts could only be fleeting however as she reminded herself of the plan. Belonging to Dauntless was just a falsity, a pretence designed to fool them into trusting her when the uprising began.

Kazana didn't really have many things in life to appreciate, or at least she never had before so she liked to think that what she did have, she understood and acknowledged. Appreciation is never so strong however as when it is living on transient time. Edward was waiting outside for her when she and Cain left the warehouse. His hair looked the same as always, golden, shaggy and in need of a good wash. He grinned when he saw her, but the smile didn't reach his eyes and she felt no shame in throwing her arms around his waist.

At 5'4 she barely reached his shoulder but he lifted her off the ground for a few moments before setting her back down. It had occurred to her before, a curiosity as to why what she had with Edward wasn't something more. He was handsome, or at least he had been before hunger and poverty had taken him for its own and she adored him even when he angered her to no end.

Years of hiding made them unnoticeable to the early birds of Candor as they made their way to Amity on foot. It took a good two hours as they finally saw the haze of red coming and going from the fields, Kazana had only even read about the Amity faction, she had only ever heard stories so when the smell of fresh grass finally came to her on the gentle breeze she closed her eyes for a moment to savour it.

Needless to say, the Amity existed to keep the peace and a group of rebels travelling down to disrupt that would be little welcome to their comfortable society. As such, the three of them worked their way around the faction, darting through fields that were not in use at the time, Evelyn had certainly done her research, Kazana mused.

They reached a small house, she'd read they were once referred to as cottages, with wooden panels and a straw thatched roof; it hit Kazana that this was the ultimate definition of a home. The girl in her fantasies, the one she was to become, lived in this very house. Cain was the first to approach the door and a plump woman who looked to be in her forties came running out to embrace him. "My baby!" she cried as she rocked him back and forth.

Kazana and Ed exchanged raised brows but readily received hugs from the woman who didn't seem the least bit bothered by their pungent smell. She did however, usher them in to the house with cries of, "You'll catch the death of cold standing out here any longer in those clothes."

The smell of freshly baked bread filled the house and Kazana had never felt such conflict as she looked between the breakfast table and the bathroom. She had gone hungry for 16 years, she could wait one more hour, moving into the bathroom she peeled off her filthy tunic and trousers. She stared at the bath for a long time, willing it to fill with fresh hot water before giving up and asking the older woman for assistance.

The lady, whose name she now learnt was Sylvia, bustled into the room taking no notice of her nudity and twisted various knobs to get the bath going. "Your clothes are here, I assumed you'd be small but my goodness girl..." she tutted and looked at Kazana pitifully before pointing to a towel, turning off the water flow and waddling out of the room.

Silk, that is what the water felt like, cool woven silk embracing her body and adoring it as she lowered her head in to the water and felt the strands release, months of filth gone, in such a short space of time. Mimicking Sylvia's movements, she emptied and filled the bath again as the water had turned a revolting shade of brown.

Washing her hair with lavender soap, she wanted to stay bathed in this luxury forever but Cain knocked on her door vigorously "Hurry up would you? We have an hour till the ceremony and you still have to eat!"

He was pulled away from the door by a very cross Sylvia. "That young lady needs time to clean and nourish herself and don't you dare rush her!" Kazana dried and dressed quickly, the clothes felt heavier than she imagined in her dreams.

Breakfast was an occasion she would not soon forget in all her years, having lived off the scraps of whatever she could find she had to restrain herself from consuming everything that lay before her lest she get severely sick. As she shovelled one last wad honey lathered waffle, she moaned and let the sticky sweet sensation imprint itself in to her memory.

She did not linger on goodbyes to Edward and Cain as she was guided into a car that she could only assume had been arranged by Evelyn and Sylvia. It would only have hurt more, so she settled for a gentle hand squeeze, and a bumping of fists with Cain.

"I know you'll do well kid," he assured her with such ease that she almost believed it. The man driving the car didn't say anything and Kazana was glad for it, they made their way to The Hub in silence, it gave her more time to ponder on her thoughts.

8 hours earlier

Evelyn nodded and Kazana could have sworn she saw a hint of pride in the older woman's eye, when she was pleased she was not obvious in showing it.

"You understand the entire mission rests on what you do now, I have had everything prepared for tomorrow as there are people we can trust in Amity but you know we have no eyes in Dauntless, we have taught you everything we could Kazana but your main priority is to blend in there, pass yes, but do not, whatever you do, draw attention to yourself, is that clear?"

Kazana wasn't sure why Evelyn was telling her this, the plan has been clear for three years to her now, everything she did she had done for the good of the mission and nothing would change that now.

"Yes."

Present

The driver pulled in to a side street in the centre of the city, Kazana could only give him a swift nod as she made her way out of the empty street and in to the busy Hub, her stomach groaned happily from her meal and she wondered if she had ever felt so strong, undoubtedly no.

A flurry of red swept before her and she recognized it was a group of Amity students ready for initiation; they gave her curious glances as she followed them into the building before them but said nothing, anything to avoid conflict.

The noise was deafening as she walked into the auditorium, it was so large she could not even see the corners of the room as each student took their place in their original factions. Everyone's eyes fell on to the five bowls in the centre of the room, a sight Kazana was not unfamiliar with, she had been told about this process in full detail but still struggled to keep a straight face as it dawned on her that she was really there.

She wasn't just a Factionless nobody, it was a fresh start for them all but for her more than anybody. Taking one of the last remaining seats in the Amity section she got a couple of odd looks from the people around her, it was rare but not unheard of to attend the choosing ceremony without one's parents. Kazana's story had her parents busy in the fields, sorrowfully unable to be a part of their baby girl's big day. The noise died down as a man with greying hair and mischievous eyes took to the microphone, he welcomed everyone to the choosing ceremony and spouted some nonsense about belonging and faction before blood.

Kazana tuned it out as she knew the speech well, she had once clung to the words that featured in every book and on every wall but since joining the rebellion they had lost their power over her and she only perked up once the names were read out. It felt like an age had passed before her name was finally called. Edward was careful not to put her name towards the end as there needed to be little attention drawn to her transfer.

"Kazana Thomas."

She had stood up too fast; her vision went black for all of a moment before she shook her head and made her way to the bowls before her. All eyes were on her. She may have been transferring but she was playing the part of an Amity and as such walked with a bounce in her step, twisting a lock of her hair in her fingers as she went, she tried to mimic the dreamy look that had graced the other girls faces in the fields. The. performance earned a few sniggers from the Candor faction.

Picking up the knife, Kazana made a show of nervously slicing her palm and holding it over the Amity bowl, it was only at the last second that she saw her blood sizzling over hot coals. There was a momentary silence before cheers erupted from the Dauntless, she could not contain her grin as she saw the infectious smiles on their faces, her first slip. She had to keep her emotions in check.

The rest of the ceremony passed in a flash. Kazana felt her legs moving before she even noticed what was happening, she'd known this was coming yet her body proved more apt than her mind as she sprinted careful not to get ahead of her peers.

She had been running all her life, but never had it felt so free. A small weight formed in her stomach as she knew strict control would be necessary for many months in Dauntless, if she was to blend in, she could not excel and she knew deep down that was unbearable.

She looked nervously at her fellow transfers before climbing up to the train tracks, one of the Dauntless born boys looked down at her as she stumbled purposely on each railing. "Suddenly not so appealing, is it?" He laughed and continued upwards. Kazana was well aware she could not stand out in the compound, but what they didn't know couldn't hurt them.

Tasking a pocket knife out from the deep pockets in her trousers, she made small barely there incisions in his clothing. Speeding up she jumped up onto the tracks, and looked down just in time to watch the boy leap on after her. His cocky smile lasted all of ten seconds as the train began to approach and his trousers pooled around his ankles, a look of pure mortification darkened his face as everyone around her roared with laughter.

Kazana did not turn to see what he did next, focusing on the approaching train she threw herself on and made sure to grasp the door's handle only at the last moment, stumbling around she let out a high yelp and was pulled in by large hand. The force of his pull knocked her off her feet as she smashed into her supposed saviour, it took only a few moments to straighten up before she took a good look around her at the other initiates.

"That's a strong grip you have there Amity, didn't think you'd make it this far you're so small."

Kazana looked up to see that the boy who had pulled her, an Erudite transfer. He was broadly built, chubby around the edges, he had a kind smile but sharp eyes and with such a conflict of character she couldn't be surprised at his change of lifestyle.

He was joined by a petite girl who ruffled his hair with a pale hand; she had a platinum blonde bob, the style worn by most Erudite girls, and curious blue eyes.

"You should know by now, Harrison," Kazana suspected she used that word to get a rise out of him, and judging by the pursing of his lips, she was right. "That size doesn't determine anything." The girl punctuated this will an elbow to his ribs and then turned to Kazana with a beaming smile.

"Mia," she announced holding out a confident hand. Accepting the hand she tried to mould her face into something equally as charming but found it came out as more of a strange wince. Mia stared at her expectantly but simply relieved a blank look in return. Pleasantries, Kazana wasn't all that accustomed with them. They dropped hands awkwardly.

Looking around she noticed that they were the only two Erudite transfers in the carriage, 6 of the transfers were Candor and one had come from Abnegation.

9 Transfers, 12 Dauntless borns. From what Edward had told her, that was an unusually low number and Kazana could only guess it had something to do with the tension in the city, the tangible unspoken word on everyone's lips. Rebellion.

Neon green mullets and inked limbs whirred past the two girls as they threw themselves on to the oncoming roof. Mia's eyes were wide with horror as she looked to Kazana, her hand outstretched.

"...Together?"

Taking the smaller girl's hand she tried not to let herself feel the strong sensation of happiness that somebody needed her, even in that brief moment.

Kazana would have landed on both feet had it not been for the small, unsteady weight attached to her hand, she laughed it off as they rolled on to the cement. Her amusement was short lived however as she heard the screams of a Candor girl behind her, one of the boys clearly hadn't made it. She didn't have time to dwell but 16 years of pain and suffering didn't make her immune, despite Evelyn's wishes, she cared.

Kazana had expected everyone to crowd round just a little bit longer, mourn for just a second more. It was clear however, in the hardening of her peers' expressions and the speed in which they made their way across the rooftop, that the boy's death meant nothing. Why did she feel like it wouldn't be the first time?

"Initiates."

His voice was like a low growl, Kazana thought back to the big cats she had read about in those many books. "The growl is a sound of aggression, the sound of a predator; it is seen as a warning to others."

He stood elevated on the rooftop, looking down at them, his cold grey eyes surveying the people around her, sweeping over her without a second glance. Looking up Kazana saw dark shards of steel in his ears and upper brow, fair hair cut short so as to make his jawline more pronounced, chiseled.

Crossed arms belied an incredibly muscular physique, the body of a warrior. The black vest and pants he wore, akin to those Cain were sporting when she had found him all those years ago, made his entire appearance all the harsher.

Kazana had promised Evelyn that she was ready for her mission, that no matter what was thrown at her in the Dauntless Compound she would keep a clear head. But the warning bells rang out, far in to the recesses of her psyche a voice called, danger.

"My name's Eric, I'll be overseeing your initiation process for the next four weeks." He continued to look around him before beckoning them closer.

"But you're not Dauntless yet, you all have to learn what it is to face your fears, overcome cowardice." He looked over his shoulder and then back at the people below him, a menacing smile touched his lips, "Time to jump."

Kazana watched as realization dawned on the faces around her. There was no need for her to act, she felt shaken up already. "They really are trying to kill us," Mia muttered in her ear, Eric zeroed in on the interaction like a hawk.

"Something to say, initiate?" He enquired softly, but there was a dangerous lilt to his voice and his face returned to the same imperturbable mask as she shook her head tersely. "So who is it going to be?"

She stood back and watched as a Dauntless born took the first plunge, followed by the Candor girl who had witnessed her friend's passing. There was a stony look in her eye as she dived off the roof's edge.

One followed the next until Kazana was the last one standing, it had seemed like the best idea at the time but as Eric's eyed followed her every movement on to the roof's edge, she suddenly felt more vulnerable than ever. Her heart was pounding faster than it had as she ran books in hand, from the Erudite guards, than when she'd stumbled from the Factionless men, falling multiple times on to her knees as she went. Closing her eyes, Kazana took a deep breath and tried to remember the mission at hand, Focus.

All of this and Eric hadn't said a word, he was closer when she opened her eyes, dangerously close. It seemed impossible that someone so cold could radiate such warmth. Kazana was careful not to look him in the eye as she stared at the infinite darkness below, her chest was rising and falling with such pace she could not understand her body's reaction, she just hoped he took it for fear of the fall.

He leaned in; his cool breath tickled her ear as he spoke. "Today, initiate."

She could not resist a look then with his face inches from hers.

Kazana could have sworn she saw it, Recognition. Terror clawed viciously within under the scrutiny of his impervious gaze. It opened her up, a slow reveal like he could see right through her.

A slow smirk graced his features when he pulled away. Her intake of breath was sharp and shaky, one last glimpse to the city around her, to the world she would leave behind. She exhaled, and jumped.