Chapter 5
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 No War, One year after Tris' initiation.
A/N: Quick reminder that if you want to hear the playlist or message me personally with thoughts/ suggestions or requests then you can find the tumblr link in my profile.
Disclaimer: I do not own Divergent…what no amusing comment about owning Eric or Four? No immature voice in my head, I am over that now.
"It only burns for a few seconds, I swear!" Sophie begged with a large bottle of bleach clasped in one hand. She looked at Kaz imploringly, what was supposed to be a quick clothes trip had turned in to a very unwelcome makeover. "Absolutely not, that stuff doesn't come anywhere near my hair!" Kaz warned, backing away from the bottle and Sophie's hungry look.
She glanced desperately at the photos around her and grabbed one at random thrusting it in the pink haired girl's face. "That, I'll have that and we can leave it there, I have places to be."
Kaz marched over to a tall leather chair and sunk down in to it, staring at the mirror resolutely.
Sophie pursed her lips and considered the picture for a few moments before admitting defeat; she made her way over to the chair and rolled up her sleeves. The photo was of many that had been collected over the years as various Dauntless members posed with the latest hairstyles, tattoo's and piercings.
She winced as her hair was tugged and twisted into intricate braids, the end result left a majority of her thick pin straight locks flowing down to her hips, whilst a few choice pieces had been woven into dreads that gave her an altogether more wild look. Still unsatisfied, Sophie held up a black pencil in her hand, her lip wobbling as she gazed at Kaz hopefully. She rolled her eyes and nodded, "Fine, but make it quick".
She was alone with her thoughts as she gazed up at the ceiling whilst Sophie coloured in her waterline. One week had passed since the day Kazana fell in to the net and left her previous world behind. Despite the fact she was experiencing luxuries she had only ever dreamt about, her entire being brimmed with frustration as yet another day passed and what skills she had were locked away with great tenacity.
4 days earlier
"You've had three days to get accustomed with basic combat moves."
"It's time to put your practice to the test, I will be pairing you up at random and when it is your turn to fight you will enter the arena."
The quiet candor boy, Jared raised his hand tentatively to which Peter merely raised his eyebrow. "Surely not everyone fights each other, Fay's half the size of me I could-"
"Could what exactly? Get hurt? Did you think this was going to be easy?" Peter snorted and turned to address the entire group, his voice taking on a menacing edge. "When you all chose Dauntless you made the decision to become fearless, if you can't face your fears and fight, no matter the size of the opponent…" he directed his gaze to Jared who had now turned a sickly shade of grey, "then you don't belong here, simple as that. First fighters up."
Kaz turned to watch the first two fighters take to the arena, she could hear Fay address Jared behind her. "Next time you want to make a point, leave me out of it! Don't you dare make me look weak because of your own insecurities." The red haired girl's face almost matched her hair as she turned away from her supposed best friend and took to the ring. The fierce look on her face turned in to a smirk as she watched Harry take a ready fighting stance opposite her.
"Begin!" Peter barked and Fay immediately flew at the taller boy with a shriek, Harry looked alarmed as made her attack, hitting him square in the nose with her fist and proceeding to pummel him with fast but otherwise useless punches. The ex-Erudite looked around helplessly, his inner turmoil clear to the rest of the group as he watched the smaller girl waste away her energy.
Mia turned to Kaz with a clenched jaw and sighed impatiently before shouting out, "Do you want to get kicked out Harrison? Stop holding back and fight already!" Knowing the name would get a rise out of him, Kaz watched his eyes narrow as he sunk his fist into her jaw. Fay fell back with a cry holding her face in surprise, he seemed to back off then but defended her easily as she got back to her feet and continued her attack.
"Finish her." A voice spoke from behind Kazana, but it wasn't Peter, when had he got there? She turned to see Eric watching the fight with a bored look, his eyes flashed with a vicious sort of malice as he met her stared back for a few moments before glancing back at the arena. The boy hesitated; it took a few more jeers from Mia for him to knock the girl out with a clumsy but effective cross, hook and uppercut.
Mia turned to Jared who was staring at his friend's unconscious form with concern and slapped him on the back "point well made!" she grinned and followed the others out of the arena. It was as Kaz turned to leave that she caught the end of Peter's conversation.
"So it's not like I don't love your company but uh, I thought you were training the Dauntless borns?" Peter's voice was its usual whiny drawl but it had an undertone of fear there. Eric did not grace him with an answer as he simply quirked an eyebrow and swept out of the room.
The next few days carried on much in the same way, Kazana had settled in to a routine in which she made marginal improvements day by day but nothing impressive enough that it drew the other trainee's attentions. It bothered her though, that despite Peter's face being all she saw when she fired a gun, threw a punch, a kick, a knife, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.
Present
Kazana knew she should have resisted Sophie's charms the minute she was dragged in to the tattoo parlour, she had lost track of time and found herself stumbling through half lit hallways and down narrow staircases to reach her dorm in which everyone had already found their beds after an exhausting day in the arena. She was stopped in her tracks when the walls began to shake.
Kaz immediately backed against a wall as she immersed herself in to the darkness, a defence mechanism that had served her well through the years. Shuffling along the cool rock she moved from one hall way to the next until the sound grew louder, a tremendous beat seemed to be echoing off the walls. It occurred to her then that she was hearing music, the foreign sound unnerved her but she found herself drawn to it. There was a steady rhythm, something akin to the sound of Cain's chants.
Finally finding herself at the source of the sound she saw a door, riddled with curiosity she went to sneak a look. Thick smoke winded its way up to her, inhaling deeply she was surprised to find it tasted like sweet crisp apples, a violet purple light illuminated the room as shouts of laughter reached her ears. Black clad bodies filled the area, squinting in the darkness she saw the face of the boy she'd humiliated on the train. The Dauntless Borns.
Backing out of the doorway, Kaz made to run from the scene but was blocked by a girl with electric green eyes, her blood red lips curled in to a smile as she pulled Kaz further in to the room. "Leaving so soon?" she whispered in her ear, the scent of sweet alcohol tainted her breath. Kaz stiffened as the girl pulled her into a throng of swaying bodies, all moving to the beat of the music. "I haven't seen you around before" she shouted over the music "I'm Vesper."
Her words caught the attention of the very person Kaz has been trying to avoid. "Oh I think we all know who you are Vesper" he laughed, his mirth cut short as he spotted the black eyed girl who stared back at him in discomfort. "You" He narrowed his eyes and taking a step forward, but before he could do anything Kaz had already fled from the room, her hair whipped behind her as she ran full speed out of the strange, intoxicating room.
It was only when she felt sure she wasn't being followed that Kaz stopped for breath, she could still hear the bass rumbling through the walls, but the halls were empty. Scouring the darkness with her hands, it became clear to her then that she was standing directly in the centre of The Pit.
Light began to fill the area; Kaz figured there must have been built in sensors which had picked up on her presence. There was something different about standing there without the pressure of Peter or the other transfers. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the ropes which hung from the ceilings a few floors up. It's empty, she mused, she wouldn't be long…10 minutes at most, just time to clear her head.
Tentatively, she made her way forward and relished the feel of the yarn rough against her palms. Slipping out of her shoes she began to climb with ease, only when she was at the very top did she make the decision to look down.
Her heart raced with adrenaline as she looked over at the arena, the place which filled the initiates with such a dark sense of dread, appeared just an insignificant nothing.
Locking her legs in to place she slid down, building speed as she dropped towards the floor but stopping before her head could hit the ground. She climbed up one more, this time listening to the beat which echoed off the huge stone walls. It wasn't something that could be taught, it was just a feeling as she swung carelessly from one rope another, twisting and turning as she went. She felt like a wild creature, driven by instinct as the music picked up pace, a chaotic dance.
She closed her eyes and savoured the moment, allowing herself to fall to the ground and only tightening her legs at the last second. A small victorious grin lit Kaz's face as she felt the dangerous rush that she had so been craving.
"Boo."
Her eyes snapped open then and she fell unceremoniously on to the ground, shuffling away on her backside to make as much distance between her and the culprit as possible.
"You know I was starting to worry there little bat." Eric stalked towards her with slow threatening steps, only stopping when she felt her back hit the wall behind her. "All week I've been watching and waiting for something, something that would make you break and prove me right."
Kaz could only stare up at him in shock as she tried to come to terms with the fact that he'd seen everything, "about what?" her voice was barely audible as she struggled to find her words. Her throat felt heavy with fear, fear that she had failed, fear of him.
Eric held out his hand to her, she accepted it cautiously and it felt rough, calloused in her own. He was deceptively gentle as he pulled her to a stand and she felt barely a moment's relief before he had her backed up against the wall. "That you're hiding something" he chided, his body was like solid brick against her own and she felt impossibly small as he watched her draw in panicked breaths.
Feigning indifference, Kaz straightened and simply raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Rope Climbing? I grew up around a lot of trees Eric. Is it really that hard to suss out?" she spat, looking away now to gather her thoughts; if she didn't look at him he couldn't see through her, he could believe the lie.
He grabbed her chin and forced her to look once more at him, his cold calculating eyes burned into her own and his face was alight with bitter amusement. "Oh really little bat, you don't actually expect me to believe that do you?"
She scowled at him and tried to break free from his hold but he simply held her there, his other hand resting on the wall beside her head. "How many times do I have to tell you my name is-"
His large palm covered her mouth, muffling any further words. "I've been wondering" he started, his voice had taken on a strange sort of excitement "is the name a lie too? Who trained you to climb like that… was it someone from Dauntless?" he questioned, his hand moved down now coming to graze the air beside her before stopping on the other side of the wall.
Blocked in by his thick muscled arms, Kazana felt like a caged animal as he looked down at her. "You're mad" she murmured, her entire body trembled uncontrollably and she hoped that he could not feel it, despite his proximity. "Please move out of my way" she pleaded, feeling angry at the lack of conviction her voice held.
His eyes dropped down the length of her neck, the slight curve of her waist, her hips, her thighs and up again. The arm by her head pulled away but she surprised herself when she did not move instantly, instead sidling out she backed away from him warily. She noticed how cold the room suddenly felt without him near. He pushed away from the wall and his face became once again the composed mask that she had seen on her first day.
"I expect you here at the same time tomorrow night" he said, cold and assured. Kaz just stared at him in open mouthed confusion; he gave no explanation before turning to walk away.
"and if I don't want to see you tomorrow night?!" she demanded shakily. He only stopped walking to look over at her for a moment before continuing, his small smirk didn't reach the hardness in his eyes.
"Oh I don't think I gave you a choice." Then he was gone.