(E) 06/11/22 Original A/N- Thanks so much for the reviews! They really motivate me to continue this story! I do really enjoy writing it and am determined to finish. I'm planning on uploading once a week on a Friday as I know that uploading multiple times in a week was my downfall last time! I'm halfway through the next chapter where we'll meet some more popular characters! Hope you all enjoy the chapter! Beth x

Chapter 5

I rush to the edge, slamming into the barrier and shove my head over the side. All I can see is the displacement of water where he jumped in. A million thoughts rush through my head, but the only one that stands out is, how can he survive this?

"Stupid, stupid boy." I mutter to myself, starting to remove my dress. I've learnt the hard way never to wear complex garments when jumping into bodies of water. My slip should be fine, hopefully.

I climb the railing just as I see the other boys racing down the aisle. Christina, to my left, starts muttering to herself. Catching her eye, I just note the nod of her head. Before I can think too hard about what I'm doing, I push off.

The free fall only lasts a few seconds before I hit the freezing water. The shock hits me straight away. I suppress my gasp reflex, knowing that swallowing the salty liquid would be detrimental. I feel my heart racing unbearably fast, the freezing water already burning my skin. I race to the surface, glad to still have my sense of direction. I break through and gasp, gulping in the fresh air. I tread the water as I start taking in deep, slow breaths, willing my heart rate to start to slow. Within 30 seconds, I'm back under, mentally and physically prepared to drag that boy back to the ship.

I can see him to my right, below me by a couple metres. I swim towards him, having trouble keeping my eyes open. I feel my fingers start to lock up and kick faster, knowing I don't have much time. When I reach him he's unresponsive, slowly sinking. I start to panic, wondering if I'm already too late. Stop. Time is a luxury I don't have. I can worry about carrying a dead body when he's on the ship. I lock my arm around his waist, hoping I have enough strength to pull us both back up. There's a difference between cold water swimming and jumping into freezing waters to pull out dead weight.

My lungs start to feel tight and my legs tired. I push through the searing in my chest, kicking my legs harder. Nearly there, just a couple more kicks. My one arm pushes erratically, my fingers no use.

I break the surface with a gasp, hauling Peter's head out of the water. I use the last of my strength to swim back to the now stationary ship. Thank god they anchored it.

I see the door closest to the water haul open, Christina and the boys standing at the entrance. I can hear shouting and arguing, but I can't think hard enough to make out what they're saying. I make it to the ladder as Peter starts violently coughing. I feel relief knock through me, knowing I didn't do this for nothing.

I use the last of my strength to push Peter up to the open arms, using the ladder to steady one foot. I fall back into the water when his body weight has been taken care of. Pressure alleviates me. Now just to get myself out.

I try to swim back closer to the ship, but my legs and arms have finally locked up, moving them to keep the blood flowing becoming impossible. My heart beat starts to fasten and panic begins to set in once again. My head goes under and no matter how hard I try to stay afloat, I continue to sink. I try to open my eyes, but the stinging sea water makes it difficult. Before true terror consumes me, I see someone enter the water. A figure in a slip dress makes their way towards me. Christina. When she reaches me she halls me into her arms, pulling the both of us back up. I gasp in the salty air, trying to fill my lungs with it. Feeling like my body is about to shut down, I lean my head on her shoulder, letting all the tension leave my muscles. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around." I try to joke weakly.

Christina laughs breathlessly before pushing me up the steps. Strong arms pull me up and wrap me in some sort of material. I will it to warm me up, my shivering the most intense thing I have ever felt. If this is supposed to be warming me, it's failing miserably. I see Christina emerge from the opening, with Robert there putting that material around her, too. She pushed it off her, turning to the boys. "What do you all think you're doing? She needs those wet clothes off, now." I see her begging to remove her own wet clothes, discarding them in a pile.

My mind feels nearly as numb as my body, not registering that I'm not holding my own weight up. I look up and see a pair of dark blue eyes staring down at me. My forehead falls against his hard chest, and I find enough energy to mutter, "this doesn't mean I like you."

His chest vibrates, and I'm sure I can hear the smile through his voice, "sure it doesn't, Princess." I feel the blanket get removed as I hear Christina call out orders for the other boys. My eyes start to feel heavy as he hikes up my dress, slowly setting me down. "This is harder than it looks." I hear him mumble. I would have laughed if it took less energy. My arms are lifted up over my head and I open my eyes slightly, looking up at Four. His eyes never stray from mine as he lifts the dress off of me. I wait for the uncomfortable feeling to overtake me, being only in my pants in front of a boy I don't know, but I'm either too cold or too exhausted to care.

My gaze shifts to my right. Christina makes her way over to me, her blanket wrapped around her like a towel. "I'll do the rest." She says. I see Four nod from the corner of my eye, then turn his back to us. Christina hauls me up wrapping the blanket around me. Holding one arm around my waist she leans down and takes the last piece of wet clothing off. I see her motion behind me.

Before I can question anything, my feet are lifted off the ground. I start to feel a swaying motion. When I look up, I can see Four's face, his body walking away from the open sea door. My protestation dies on my lips as exhaustion finally overcomes me. My eyes close.

...

When I wake I find myself in my spacious cabin. Blankets upon blankets are swaddling me up to my neck, fighting to keep in the warmth. They're not doing much, seeming I can still feel the icy sea seeping into my bones. I contract my fingers, finding that I can move them again. At least that's one positive. I press my fingertips to my legs and flinch, finding that they are still freezing.

My shivering starts up again, getting bad enough that I start to grind my teeth together. I see hot water bottles placed around me, not doing much outside of all these blankets. I fight with myself whether it's worth exposing my arms to the coldness of the room to bring one of the water bottles under the blankets. I figure if I do it quickly the good will outweigh the bad. I struggle to release my arm from its confines, muttering to myself about how unnecessarily tight these blankets are.

"Beatrice?" A familiar voice says. I slowly turn my head, already recognising the voice. Four's gaze meets mine from the corner of the room, a couple metres from the bed. He sits in an armchair next to the glass doors, a book in hand. He shuts it gently, placing it on the nightstand. I realise it's one of mine.

"Please don't call me Beatrice," I moan, unable to help my frustration, "no one has called me that.

"Okay." He replies, "What do you want to be called? Can't imagine you want me calling you Bea?"

I shake my head. No way is he calling me Bea. That name coming from his mouth makes me feel like a child. I pause, trying to think of different ways to shorten my name. The only thing that comes to mind is Tris. Good enough.

"You can call me Tris." I say confidently. I like the way it sounds out loud, it sounds older than Bea.

I look over at him and see his lips are pulled up slightly. He inclines his head toward me, "Alright, Tris." He stands and starts moving towards the door, he stops with his hand on the handle. "I'll tell the nurse you're awake. I'm sure they'll want a look over you." He opens the door, but before going says, "Check the nightstand."

The door closes, and without noticing, my shivering has commenced. I sit up after pulling my arms out of the cocoon of blankets and roll over to look at what could be on the nightstand. My eyes land on my mother's necklace.

...

The nurse finally leaves after giving me a full body check, blood pressure; temperature; oxygen levels and a very extensive reflex exam. After all of that, she deemed me well enough that she felt comfortable leaving. My hand finds its way to my necklace still sitting on the nightstand. The clasp is broken, so is unwearable at the moment, but the rest of it is intact. I pick it up and move over to my bag on the desk on the other side of the room. Opening the zip pocket, I drop it inside. I'll get it fixed when we arrive in Tosken. I wonder how Four realised that Peter had my necklace?

Once I'm sure the necklace isn't going anywhere, I leave my room. I walk around for a while, trying to figure out where everyone is. Walking around the ship with Christina this morning has not helped me understand the layout.

I finally come across a large meeting room with a few sofas, a couple drinks machines, a T.V and a pool table. Everyone but Peter are scattered around the room. My attention falls on Robert and Christina chatting animatedly. I pull my cotton shawl closer around my body and walk towards the two. Before I make it more than three steps, the Queen's attention falls to me. I watch her eyes light up as she rushes over.

"Beatrice! You're awake!" She pulls me into a warm hug, holding tight. I slowly put my arms around her, a bit uncomfortable with how comfortable she is with hugging a near stranger. She pulls back and tucks a stand of my hair behind my ear, "That was a very brave thing to do this morning. Very brave, but very stupid." She gives me one of those stern looks only mothers have the ability to give.

I nod my head, knowing that it was a rash decision on my part to jump in after him. I don't even hold any warm feelings towards Peter and I would never have risked my life for a piece of jewellery, no matter its value to me. "I know you think it was a very impulsive decision- I mean- it was, but I only jumped in because I knew no one else would be able to survive those waters-" I hear Christina clear her throat, looking pointedly at me. I roll my eyes, knowing she knows I didn't mean her. "I hardly made it out, and I'm used to cold water swimming. He may be reckless, but for my own selfish reasons I couldn't watch someone die just because I didn't want to get wet."

"That's downplaying it quite a bit, Beatrice." I look over, shocked. Al puts his head back down, probably now regretting speaking up. I meet his eyes when they look up timidly and give him a tight smile.

"I'm wanting to go by Tris from now on." I begin, trying to change the subject, "I'd like it if you'd all be able to call me that." I look around and see everyone nod their heads, except Eric, who has been completely ignoring my presence since I walked into the room. And there was me thinking we had some sort of common ground.

After I've sorted that out, I go over to sit next to Christina. I rest my head on her shoulder and I feel her resting her head on top of mine. "You don't mean me, right?" She says quietly.

"Of course not." I replied. Christina comes from my past, my life in Athua, it seems fitting to have a bit of differentiation.

My eyes close, emotions suddenly rushing through me. I try to shut them out, before they become overwhelming. With my eyes shut, I can almost pretend I'm on my swing seat with Christina. My Athuan boys' mindless chatter in the background. My throat starts to burn the longer I think of my old life, the happy memories bringing waves of grief instead of joy. I feel Christina slowly putting her arm around my shoulders, and squeezing gently.

When I open my eyes, my gaze falls on Four. He's sitting in another armchair, thrumming through a different book. He doesn't seem like he's focused on it at all. He looks like he's reading the same passage over and over again. The longer I stare, the harder it is to pull my eyes away. He looks up in that moment, like he could feel my eyes boring into him. He raises an eyebrow- wait. One eyebrow? Jealous. I shrug back in response, not having a good reason to be staring.

I turn my attention on Christina, who's been sitting quietly above me. "What's the time?" I ask, just now thinking that no one has told me how many hours I've been sleeping for.

"It's nearly 5," she replies, "did you want to get an early dinner and we can go back to my room and watch a movie?"

I was nodding my head before she even finished, sleeping through lunch has left me feeling empty and nauseous.

We say our goodbyes and goodnights, knowing we won't see them all again tonight. We walk to the door, my eyes unconsciously sliding back to Four. I see he's gone back to his book, reading that one page over again.

...

The last three days of the trip come and go with no more issues. Peter was finally able to leave his room yesterday. Having a mild case of hypothermia meant he was a bit sluggish and confused for a day or so, then he slept the rest of the time. I visited his room only once, but didn't stay long as he was still asleep. I don't know what made me want to visit him, maybe I didn't believe that he actually made it through. I haven't seen him all that much since, he comes to meals in the dining hall but won't speak to anyone. I can only assume his failed attempt of being dauntless has left his pride in tatters.

We've finally made it to Tosken, the crew just finishing off anchoring. I sigh as I look over my room. I've just finished packing my winter items away, feeling more upset than I have in days. Watching my clothing get packed up, knowing I will never live in them again is hard to think about. They're just clothes, Bea. You shouldn't be getting so upset over pieces of fabric. My harsh words do nothing for the feeling that I have well and truly left Athua behind.

The last piece to be packed is my white, fur lined cloak. I hold it to my chest, letting the memories flood in for the last time. My mother gifted me this cloak on my 12th birthday. It was beyond huge, but I knew with time it would be perfect. She said she had a seamstress in Amity create it; she made sure Athua's crest, the Thalren mountain range, was embroidered onto the right breast pocket. For each of the brother's birthdays, they got a matching coat.

A silent tear rolls down my cheek as I gently set the cloak into my suitcase and slowly shut the lid, zipping it up. I stand up gradually, saying one final goodbye. My hands run over my airy, light blue dress, smoothing out any wrinkles. They grasp at the material, trying to find the comforting weight of the garment. A sigh leaves my lips as I trudge to the door. I rest my forehead on the wood, not having the guts to open it and face my new future.

My face turns slightly and finds the long mirror to my right. I've been trying to avoid it all trip. There's something about looking at yourself, really looking at yourself. Reality really just slaps you in the face.

I seem older. My eyes look as if they've witnessed more than my lifetime, their usual spark missing. My familiar downturned mouth is set in a small frown and a crease is forming between my eyebrows.

My pretty dress hugs my body, the fabric billowing out here and there up the skirt. The extra layers are sheer and dance angelically when I move. It's pretty in its own warm summer morning way, just like my Athuan clothes are pretty in their dark, cold nights way.

It's odd looking at myself, I've never shown so much skin. This is one of only a couple warm weather dresses I do have, but I never got to wear them. Holidays aren't for growing royals. My first holiday would be after the choosing; a gift from the King and Queen to officially welcome you into the family.

My sleeves cuff my upper arm in sheer fabric, just as loose as the rest of my dress. My arms are exposed, leaving me feeling just as. My usually straight hair has started to curl the further south we've gone, due to the humidity. I find it hard to recognise this girl in the mirror, she seems so different from who I know.

Taking one final deep breath, I open the door. Edward stands on the other side. He's been taking some time off whilst we've been on the ship, mainly guarding my room at night and when I traverse the ship alone. He's so quiet most of the time I always forget my shadow.

"Good morning, Edward." I say with a forced smile.

He gives me a small smile back and inclines his head, "Good morning, Your Highness."

I start to walk down the hall, coming to a stop at the lift. I turn to Edward, a question coming to mind. "Why'd you choose the position, Edward? It's a big ask to up and move your whole life on a day's notice."

I can see conflicting thoughts running through his mind, his eyes flashing around. For a guard, he's very readable. He seems to have come to a conclusion, turning to face me. "I don't have anyone back in Athua. Thought this was a good way for a fresh start."

I nod my head whilst he speaks, thinking it's very brave of him to know when to accept change. Maybe you should take a leaf out of Edwards book. I push the thought away. It's not the same.

The door to the lift finally opens. We walk in, Edward pressing the button for the main deck.

"I know we didn't see each other much in Athua, with the guard changes and all, but I'm glad to have a familiar face with me. It's daunting to be thrown into an alien world." I smile up at him, this time meaning it. He smiles back down at me, a silent agreement.

I take a deep breath, going over what I'm about to say next. It needs to come across with feigned authority for him to believe me. "I'm going to change your schedule." I start. I can see his brows pull together, probably wondering where I'm going with this. "If I'm going to have a fresh start too, I can't be followed for the rest of my life. You're going to guard my room when I sleep and you will accompany me on solo trips. If I think you're necessary for anything else, I'll call. You'll be paid the same as if you were doing a full day's work."

I hold my breath, waiting for an answer. He nods his head slowly, tuning to look at me.

"Thanks." I nod my own head, glad he could see that this will benefit both of us. Running on a few hours of sleep and one day off a week is not healthy. It's also not healthy for both of us to barely have any privacy.

I keep to myself that I don't actually have the authority to change his schedule as it is my parents who are paying him to guard me. What they don't know won't hurt them.

The lift doors open to the upper deck where everyone is gathered. The King and Queen are conversing quietly with the captain over by the railing; whilst the boys and Christina are standing in a circle, listening to Peter speak. I make my way over and stand between Christina and Four.

"-and once we're back I'll go to Dauntless and they'll vote me in because they all know I'm more suited for it than Four- he does nothing Dauntless! I'll tell them all about how I rescued Beatrice's necklace and then rescued the Princess too." I look around when he finishes rambling, watching the other boy's faces. No one seems a bit surprised that Peter is trying to overthrow Four's hold on Dauntless. They also don't react to him lying about the event that took place. Interesting, must happen a lot.

I lower my voice and incline my head towards Four, "What's he going on about?"

He shakes his head, following suit, "No one ever has any idea." I nod back, making a mental note that I should be keeping an eye out for Peter, out of them all he seems to be the most unstable.

I see Four open his mouth to speak again, but is cut off by King Marcus announcing that it's time to leave. I make my way over to the barrier, finally looking down at Tosken. When I do I'm in utter shock. The docks are filled to the brim with people. I'm even more surprised to see the array of colours. It's the most unusual thing I've ever seen. The public never mixes factions. Another creepy thing is that they're all dead quite, odd for a welcome home.

I continue to scan the mass of people when I feel a presence next to me. I look up and see Four.

"I've never seen the factions mix like this before." He says as I look back out at the enormous crowd. "Don't let it go to your head, Princess."

I suppress an eye roll, turning to look at him. "You're allowed to be jealous, Four. Just admit it and you'll feel better."

Laughter bursts from him, "Jealous? Of you? You have to be joking." His eyes spark with amusement.

I try to hide my grin, but I'm sure my eyes deceive me anyway, "Careful, Four. One more insult and you'll lose your chance of becoming King." I leave it at that, unable to not have the last word. I move towards the stairs where the King and Queen are waiting. They smile warmly at me.

King Marcus puts his hand on my back, pushing me forward gently. "The people are here to see you, Tris." I grin slightly, unable to stop myself from looking back towards Four. He's still leaning against the railings, looking over to me.

"Hear that?" I ask.

"Whatever." He replies.

I turn back to the stairs and take a deep breath before finally making my way down the ramp.