CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

TRIS POV

I wake startled not knowing where I am. I can't here the normal noises that I would in the dormitory. Then I feel his warm arms enveloping me and I realise I must have fallen asleep at Tobias's. I look over and see that he is sleeping so peacefully. I look at the time and it is almost seven thirty. I need to be in the training room in just over half an hour.

I try to move but Tobias has a hold on me. I am going to have to wake him if I want to get out of his embrace. "Tobias," I whisper.

"Mmm," he says.

"I have to get up," I say. "I need to get to training."

"I can write you a note," he says. I know he is only joking because of the smile that is on his face.

"I don't think Eric would accept a note from you," I say.

"Probably not," he says. "Just a few more minutes Tris."

"Tobias I need to go and get something to eat," I say. I know I want to stay here all morning with him but I can't fail initiation either. That is exactly what Eric would do to me.

"Okay," he says. "But at least give me a kiss before you get up."

"That I can do," I say and he loosens his grip enough so that I can move over and give him a kiss. It isn't a long one. I need to leave this room now if I don't want to be late. I move off the bed and see our clothes all over the fall.

Then I remember what we did last night and I can't help but blush. I start to pick up my clothes and get dressed. I am just doing up my shoelaces when Tobias leans over and hugs me.

"Max and I will be coming to watch you fight today," he says.

"Oh, should I be worried?"

"No, Max is excited to see what Lynn has taught you," he says. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean with what we did last night?"

"I'm more than okay with that Tobias. I love you," I say.

He smiles. "I love you too, Tris."

"I better go, I don't want to be late," I say.

"I'll see you in a little bit. Good luck with your fight. But I don't think you will need it," he says.

I quickly get up and give him a kiss and then I am running out the door. I really want something on my stomach before I have to fight. Although there is a good probability that it could come back up during my fight. As long as I don't have to fight Edward then I should be able to win. I think there are a few people that would give me a good fight but I am sure that I can win. I also hope that I don't have to fight against Myra. I would hate to have to beat her, she is so nice and probably a little too delicate for Dauntless but I would hate to have to inflict pain on her.

I reach the training room with only seconds to spare. At least I got to eat something before I got here. I look around and see Christina, Will and Al standing together. I walk over and they all look nervous.

"Where were you yesterday?" Christina asks. "We didn't see you after your parents left."

"I spent some time with Four," I say.

"Oh, I suppose it must be good having a leader for a boyfriend," Christina says. "Does that mean you don't have to slum it in the dorms with us?"

"What's the hostility for Christina?" Will asks.

"Well it seems unfair that she can just go where ever she wants when we are stuck in the dorms," Christina says.

I really don't want to start an argument with Christina just before we all have to start fighting but I don't understand why she is so upset with me. Before I can answer Eric is calling out to us.

"Okay initiates, listen up. Today is the first day of fights. Over the next two weeks you will be fighting your fellow initiates. You will not fight every day but you will still be expected to come to training. Just because you won't be fighting doesn't mean you won't be working hard," Eric says.

"Because there is an odd number of you, one of you will get sit out. If that is you, it would be a good idea if you spent your time training. I don't want to see you sitting around. Now all fights will only end when one of you is unable to continue. So let's see who you are fighting today."

Eric turns the board around and the first thing I see is that Myra is sitting out today. I let out a sigh. This is good, it will give her a few more days to train. I start to scan the board again but Christina is nudging me with her elbow.

"This isn't good," she says. "Look I'm up against the tank."

"I think Tris has bigger worries than you do Christina," Al says.

"How?" she says.

"Tris is fighting Peter," Will says.

"How do you do it Tris?" Christina asks.

"What are you talking about Christina?" I ask her.

"Well you always seem to be able to get everyone's attention," she says.

I don't even know what to say to this. Is she joking? When have I ever tried to get attention? I hate having attention on me, I would much rather fade into the background. Instead of trying to answer her I walk over to talk to Myra.

"You must be glad you don't have to fight today?" I say.

"Hi Tris, yeah I am. I just hope I can get a little stronger over the next few days before I have to fight. I'm sure I'm not going to get the chance to sit out again," Myra says.

"Probably not. Don't worry we can practice at night. We will make you stronger," I say.

"Yes we will," says Edward, putting his arms around her waist.

"Ready for your fight Tris?" Edward asks.

"Yeah. I think I can beat him," I say.

"I'm sure you can. I think your greatest weapon today is shock. He is not going to know what hit him," Edward says.

"What about you Edward? You should be able to get rid of Drew pretty quickly," I say.

"Yeah he is strong but stupid. So I should be able to get this over with pretty quickly," Edward says.

"Edward, Drew get in the ring. Make it look good we have an audience today," Eric says.

Eric looks towards the door and we all follow to see that Tobias and Max have walked in. The fights are now feeling very real. I feel like I have been training for so long for this and it didn't seem like it was ever going to come around but it's here now. I need to win, Lynn has put so much time into helping me that I would hate to let her down. Tobias has faith in me even Max is looking forward to seeing me fight.

Edward walks into the ring with Drew following. Unless Drew gets a lucky shot in, I don't think he will have a chance against Edward. Edward has been training for this for six years, a lot longer than I have. I almost feel sorry for Drew, almost.

They get into their fighting stances and Eric yells, "Begin."

Edward starts to circle Drew; you can see that he is looking for any weaknesses. Edward has been having mock fights with Uriah the last few weeks and I'm sure he could probably take Uriah. Not every time but sometimes.

Drew is the one to throw the first punch it is sloppy and is blocked easily by Edward. You can see that he throws his whole body into the punch but then he leaves himself wide open as he gets back into his fighting stance. You can see the side of Edwards lips curl just a little. He has noticed what Drew does too.

Edward keeps moving but hasn't thrown a punch yet. You can see that he is waiting for Drew, I am sure he will attack as soon as he has blocked Drew's next punch. We don't have to wait long. Drew throws another punch at Edward and it is blocked quickly. Then Edward goes to work on Drew. He quickly punches Drew in the jaw and follows it up with quick jabs to Drew's stomach and ribs. As Drew tries to back away Edward kicks him in the side. Drew is completely off balance so Edward throws a final blow that hits Drew on the temple and he is out cold.

I see Myra relax next to me. "He won, there was never anything to worry about," I say.

"I know. I better go and start practicing. Eric will get angry if I don't. Good luck Tris, I know you can beat him," she says.

"Thanks," I say.

"Peter, Tris in the ring," Eric calls out.

I look over to Tobias and he gives me a small smile and nods. It feels like he is telling me that he knows I can win this.

I get into the ring and quickly put my arms up into my fighting stance. I am feeling really nervous right now. But it's not because I am fighting Peter it is for all the questions I am going to be asked once this is over. I did what Tobias told me and I've been acting like the weak Abnegation girl every time we were in training.

"You okay there, Stiff?" Peter says. "You look like you're about to cry. I might go easy on you if you cry."

Peter makes me sick. I hope that Max and Tobias can hear what he is saying. I can see them moving closer to the fighting ring for this fight. They are now standing with Eric.

Peter gets into his fighting stance but is still acting like this is a joke and that he will beat me. Not just beat me but he will enjoy doing it.

"Come on, Stiff," he says. "Just one little tear. Maybe some begging."

The more he talks the more I can study him. He is a lot weaker on his left side. He doesn't hold his left hand with the strength that he has in his right. Which means that he is less likely to use his left hand to punch. He does have a great height benefit on me. But Uriah and Edward have helped me with that over the last few days.

Peter is quick to throw a punch at me and as I thought he used his right arm. I block his punch and give him a quick kick to the side. His eyes flash with surprise. I must have kicked him harder than he thought I could.

The way that Peter is holding his left hand leaves his stomach open. I just need to watch for a bit longer, Peter has a lot longer reach than I do and I need to be smart about it. He throws another punch, aiming for my face. I see the opening and I quickly throw three quick jabs at his stomach. He doubles over at the force of my impact.

While he is still leaning over I hit him another three times but this time the hits are aimed at his head. I hit his jaw, then I hear the crack from his nose as I hit it. That sounds like I could have broken it; blood is starts to stream out of it. And the third hit is straight to his temple. I have to walk backwards quickly as Peter falls face first onto the mat, his unconscious.

I hear clapping and look over to see that Tobias and Max are both clapping, when I turn I also see the Edward and Myra are clapping as well. I can't help but smile, I didn't know I would ever feel this good for beating someone unconscious. But I do.

TOBIAS POV

I am so proud of Tris, all the hard work has paid off and she won her first fight. And she won it well.

"Your girl did good Four," Max says.

"She did," I say.

"You're a fucking cheat Four," Eric starts yelling at me. "You've been training her. Female initiates don't fight like that, ever."

"I would be very careful with what you say here Eric," Max says.

"Are you kidding, you are letting him get away with this?" Eric yells at Max.

"He isn't getting away with anything Eric. Four hasn't been training her. And your information is incorrect. Have you ever seen the Dauntless born girls fight?" Max says.

"This is complete bullshit, someone has been training her and I want to know who," Eric bellows.

"Well if you calm down a little and ask nicely, Tris might tell you," I say.

"As if she is going to tell me the truth," Eric says.

"Are you calling Tris a liar?" I ask.

"Of course she will protect you," he spits at me.

"The sooner you stop thinking that everyone is against you Eric, the sooner you may get some answers. When do you think I had time to train Tris? We were in different faction for goodness sake," I say.

"Tris, can you come over here please," Max calls out.

Tris comes over and I can see the rest of the initiates moving closer as well. The funniest thing about this situation is that Peter is still lying on the mat out cold.

"Tris, firstly great fight," Max says.

"Thank you," she says.

"Now do you think you could let Eric here know where you learnt to fight?" Max asks.

"Lynn," is all that Tris says.

"Are fucking joking?" Screams Eric. "She is probably the best female fighter in Dauntless. How did she do this? Did you put her up to it?" Eric points his finger at me.

"I didn't know about it until a few months ago," I say.

"A few months ago, how long was she helping her? This is bullshit. Tris should be fighting the Dauntless borns," Eric says.

"Really? So should Edward be fighting the Dauntless borns? He has had fight training before coming here too," I say.

"This is unacceptable," Eric says.

"Eric you need to calm down. I think your initiate needs to go to the infirmary," Max says pointing at Peter. "Four I think we should go and see how the Dauntless borns are going. And Eric make sure you dock that moron some points for the Stiff comments."

I walk over and give Tris a hug. "I'll see you at lunch, you did great. I'm really proud of you."

Max and I walk out the door and as soon as it closes Max starts laughing. "Did you see his face? That was hilarious. Tris is going to make a great Dauntless Four," he says.

TRIS POV

I walk over to the punching bags when Tobias and Max leave. I want to be as far from Eric as possible at the moment.

"Do you want me to hold the bag for you?" I ask Myra.

"Thanks Tris," she says.

We stay doing this while the fight between Al and Will is on. I occasionally look over just so I can see the way they fight. But I think Myra needs my help more than I need to watch the whole fight. Neither are great fighters and I don't think I would have any trouble against them.

"It was good to see you bring Peter down," Myra says.

"Can you imagine what his mood is going to be like when he wakes up and realises what happens," I say.

We both start laughing at this. Edward comes back from taking Peter to the infirmary. "What are you two laughing at?" he asks.

"Peter," Myra says.

Edward starts laughing too. "He is still out cold Tris. You did really well against him," he says.

"You did too Edward. I suppose Drew and Peter can lay in the infirmary together wondering what happened to themselves," I say.

This has us all laughing again. "Myra let's have a mock fight and Edward can stand with you and help you," I say. "We won't punch each other or anything, just it will help you when you are trying to see what weaknesses your opponent has."

"Good idea Tris," Edward says. "Let's begin."

We are about to start when we hear Eric screaming for someone to get Will of the mat. I'm a little surprised by this, I really thought that Will had a chance. Edward goes over and helps Al with Will.

"Christina, Molly get up here," Eric calls. He still sounds angry. I would guess the longer we stay here the angrier he is getting.

I'm really worried for Christina, her attitude about the fight is already putting her at a disadvantage. As we watch the fight I can see Molly getting the upper hand. Eric looks almost bored with what is happening. He is probably exhausted after his screaming fit with Tobias and Max.

"Stop!" Christina tries to yell as Molly pulls her foot back ready to kick Christina again. Christina is on the ground and is holding her hand out. "Stop, I'm done," she says.

Eric walks over to Christina. His movements are slow and controlled. Although he looks as though he could blow a gasket at any moment. "I'm sorry, did you say you were done?" he asks

Christina is trying to get onto her knees but is struggling. She nods her head to Eric admitting that she is conceding. I can't see this ending well. "Get up," he says. His voice is quiet but you can still here the malice in it. Christina hasn't moved so Eric bends down and grabs her around her arm and pulls her to her feet.

He doesn't let go of her arm and he turns to the rest of us and says, "Follow me."

We all follow as Eric drags Christina out of the training room. He was already angry before this and it seems we are all going to see just what happens when Eric is angry. We are all quiet as we follow Eric and Christina. We reach the chasm and I am wondering what Eric has install for Christina.

Eric shoves Christina against the railing.

"Climb over it," he says.

"What?" Christina cries out. Her eyes are wide and her face has paled.

"Climb over the railing," Eric says. "If you can hang over the chasm for five minutes, I will forget your cowardice. If you can't, I will make sure you are factionless."

I know he can't do that. But I don't think this is the time for me to stand up to him. Most of the anger he is feeling is probably because of me, I promised Tobias that I would be careful around Eric. If I say something now it will be me hanging over the chasm and I don't want to have Tobias angry with me as well.

I know how hard I have been working to make sure I get into Dauntless. Christina has been too busy shopping and hanging around with Will to take this all seriously. I don't agree with what Eric is doing but maybe it is the wakeup call that Christina needs.

"Fine," Christina says. Her voice is shaky and she is looking defeated. I don't even know if she is going to be able to last five minutes. As she swings her leg over the railing I can see her foot shaking. She quickly swings her other leg over and she is now facing us. She wipes her hands on her pants and lowers herself so she is hanging over the chasm.

Al starts the timer on his watch and we all stand to stunned to do anything. Maybe just a little scared to go against Eric. We watch as Christina struggles against the water spraying her back, we watch as she lets go with one hand. We just watch. I hear Al call out encouragement to her. At least until Eric's glare shuts him up.

I don't remember five minutes being this long before. I try to catch a look at Al's watch but I can't see it from here. I wish this was over, she must be nearly done. Another waves hits Christina and we all hear her cry out. Thankfully she is still holding strong.

"Five minutes is up," Al calls out.

I know Eric has heard him but he still waits a few extra seconds before even looking at his own watch. Hasn't she suffered enough I think. But Eric is going to make us wait just that little bit longer, proving that he is in control and that we need to follow his rules.

"You can get up now Christina," Eric says sounding bored. It makes me think he is disappointed that she actually lasted the five minutes.

Al moves towards the railing and helps Christina up. As he is pulling Christina over I try to help too, not that I can do much I'm just too short. Once Christina is over I try to console her but she pushes my hand away.

"Get away from me," she snaps.

I don't know what is going on. Why is she acting this way?

"Trainings over for the day," Eric says. Then he storms off.