(E) 06/11/22 Original A/N- Hope everyone's had a nice week! Just wanted to put a small TRIGGER WARNING for predatory behaviour. It's nothing too far, but I know it's best to be transparent before you all read it! I'll also start bunching the other factions together so we can get to Dauntless quicker lol. Additionally, if there's any tropes you'd like to see in future chapters, just leave them in the reviews if you think of any and I'll see where they fit in best! And lastly, a big thank you to Sensitivity 8 who always leaves a review! I'm very appreciative for them! Enjoy chapter 8!

Chapter 8

"Eric. It would be the polite thing to speak to your travel companion."

He sinks further into his seat.

I stare at him, unimpressed. "You can't ignore me all day." He grunts in response and I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

The train moves through the green hills of the Tosken countryside at an abnormally fast speed. We had passed the border into Erudite an hour or so ago, our chaperone, Andrew surprisingly, had said we have a half hour left to get to Erudite's capital. Andrew himself looks distracted, his body positioned against me, his focus on the passing landscape. I wish Christina had been permitted to join me for this trip; a week without her isn't going to be easy.

My focus turns back to Eric as he shifts positions. "Can you just let me know what I've done to offend you? I really have no idea why you won't converse politely with me."

He looks annoyed but answers me anyway, "I am able to be polite with you, I just don't care to do it."

I tilt my head quizzically, knowing he's just dodged my question.

"Can you at least give me a run down on the people I should know about in Erudite?" I can tell he doesn't want to, so I push a bit harder. "Look. I doubt your faction wants you coming across as uninterested in the new Princess. I'm sure they are wanting an Erudite King next?" Indecision is plastered on his face, so I let him think about the roads he can take.

I pick back up my book, pretending to be indifferent to the outcome. I try to read, but I know how important it is for me to make a good impression on the influential people in each faction, being new isn't helpful.

Eric ends up puffing out a sigh. My eyes raise to him as he leans his elbows onto the table. "Fine. I'll tell you the basics, but don't expect anything else."

I give him a crooked smile, unable to muster anything better. "I'm all ears."

Nodding his head reluctantly, he begins. "There are only a few people that feel it's a personal attack if you don't know of them. The biggest is my uncle, Prince Arthur. You know how the factions run, with the Princes not chosen to be King having power delegated to them from the monarchs. He governed Erudite until I was 12, now he is advising me. He is my most important advisor, and governs in my place when I'm not there. He is the epitome of an Erudite and likes doing things by the book. He won't bend any rules for anyone and is very structured. He was a great leader, and would have been an even better King." He says the last bit under his breath. I ignore it, I'm sure every faction thinks their Prince would have been a better King.

"Under him is Jeanine. She is one of the higher ranked officials in our system, dealing with faction relations and misconduct within Erudite. She is a well respected member of our society, make a good impression on her and you'll make a good impression on the people of my faction."

He doesn't go into much more detail about Jeanine, leaving me to wonder what the lady is like. Must be decent enough if she's liked throughout the faction.

"The last people you should know are my own advisors. Cara, Fernando and Matthew. They're all still in training, so at the moment I do take advice from my uncle's team"

"Are they all around your age?" I ask, knowing the brothers from Athua all chose close friends as advisors- not the smartest move, I know.

"Matthew is 20, the same as me. Cara and Fernando are a year younger."

I can see he's wanting to finish up the conversation, so I decide not to push any more. Maybe it's slow and steady with this Prince.

I look back out the window. Up ahead is a concrete jungle, standing out against the natural scenery we're ploughing through. Having never gone to Athua's Erudite, I've never seen what it looks like. Gideon has described it before and I've even seen pictures. But the sheer mass of buildings looming ahead is staggering. I try to look up at the tops of some of the glassy buildings, but the lower hanging clouds camouflage them. Seems excessive to have buildings so tall. The structures lose height as they taper off from the middle. As the train gets closer to the centre, we start to pass town houses and flats. Small parks dot the area, probably due to some scientific research about the need for green spaces for productivity.

We come into the large train station, packed to the brim with people clad in navy blue. My nerves fly in and hit me like a ton of bricks. The few Erudite I had met before in Athua had always made me feel inadequate and small. No matter who you are in this world, the Erudite will always believe they are that bit better.

Andrew gets up and out of his seat. Looking at the two of us as he speaks. "I'm going to do, uh, a check in with the guards. I'll be back shortly." Seeming more than ready to leave the carriage, he hurries out of the door.

I turned back to Eric. "Is he always so flustered?

Looking like it pains him to talk to me, he shakes his head. "It's a stressful time."

I lean back, my fingers playing ideally with the pages of my book sitting in my lap. Running my thumb back and forth over the collection of pages is slightly calming, my mind focusing on the feel of the paper making contact with the skin of my thumb.

I'm broken out of my thoughts some time later with a couple guards dressed in the blue. They bow, and gesture for us to leave the carriage. Eric leaves first, with me not far behind.

I step out of the train and am met with artificial white light glaring down at me. Without hesitation I stare up at the ceiling, where windows should be, but am met with a fully panelled roof. How welcoming.

Eric is already a few feet ahead, greeting some people I don't recognise. I catch up to him, standing at his side. When his companions realise I'm there, they commence their talking, going down in bows and a curtsy. There's quite a few people in the group, but only three seemed animated in that small conversation. These must be Eric's chosen advisors.

I put my hand out to the boy in front of me to shake, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Tris." I see the brown haired boy in front of me look cautiously at my hand. "I won't bite." I tease, my hand still held out.

Eric nudges me, "That's more of a Dauntless greeting."

I look at him. "Really? It just feels like the most natural thing to do."

He rolls his eyes. "You forget that you've been coddled. Of course you don't know how to greet the different factions."

My eyes thin as I glare at him, "You talk like I don't know a thing. I learnt all about the factions in my schooling for the past 10 years."

Looking bored, he replies, "There's a difference between learning about the customs and basics of a faction and actually knowing the people and what makes them unique."

I'm unable to think of anything to say back, knowing he's completely right. I'm more than surprised such down to earth knowledge could come out of the stoic Prince.

The trio look slightly uncomfortable whilst Eric and I talked. I decided to forgo the greeting gestures. "Would you be able to introduce yourselves?" I ask instead.

They look at Eric before glancing back at me, acting like a dog to its master. The blonde haired girl speaks up first. "I'm Cara." Cara's a pretty girl, with hair a couple shades lighter than mine. She's tall, coming in at the same height as the two other boys. She stands to her full height, proudness radiating off of her. She looks me straight in the eye as she introduces herself.

My attention is drawn back to the brown haired boy when he speaks. "My name's Fernando, it's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness." A small, cheeky smile crests his lips. He seems the friendliest out of all three of them, with the blonde haired boy to Fernando's left still in silence. I look over to him, waiting for an introduction. He seems in his own world, staring straight past me. Fernando elbows him in his side, and it seems to be enough to break him out of his daydreams. I raise my eyebrows. He seems flustered for a second. "Oh! Sorry! I'm Matthew." I smile at them all, trying to come across as friendly as possible.

Before I can say anything else, I hear some commotion behind me. I had forgotten that the Erudite public have come to greet their Prince and gawk at the new Princess. I turn and see an older woman getting manhandled by two guards. Two guards for one elderly lady? I'm moving forward, unable to stop myself. I don't stop to think about what the faction will think of my actions, moving swiftly towards the restless lady.

The crowd starts to quiet down when they see me approach. I'm glad to see them also disgusted by the treatment of this woman. I approach the guards blocking the barriers.

"Good morning, Your Highness." The one on the right says.

"It was a nice morning, it's not so much now."

Looking confused, he faces back into the crowd. "The woman being held by force was trying to break through the barricades. We're holding her for yours and the Prince's safety."

I shake off his excuses, waving my hand over to the guards holding the distressed woman. "Bring her to me."

The crowd parts before the guards have even made up their minds. I look at them expectantly, knowing that they know not to undermine palace orders.

They don't let go of their tight grip on her forearms as they pull her down the human walkway. The lady seems to have stopped resisting, catching my eye. She gets to the front of the barricade when the guard in front of me puts an arm out. "This is as far as she goes. I won't undermine my orders to keep you two safe just so you can talk to some old hag."

Ignoring his blatant disrespect towards the older woman, I move to the barrier. Her worn face lights up when she sees me nearing. Her hands reach out towards me but are slammed back into her body by the guard. I scowl at him before taking the woman's hands in my own.

"Are you okay?" I ask her, knowing her frail body had been through a lot in these past moments.

She nods quickly, looking eager to speak. "Yes, yes! Very well! Especially now that you're here!" I smile at that.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Maybe that's why she is so happy to see me?

"No, no, not now, anyways! I just wanted to get a look at you myself." I try not to appear uncomfortable, but the way she speaks about me is odd. It's like she's been waiting for me.

Her hand tightened on my own and before I know it, she's close enough to whisper in my ear. I resist the urge to pull away. From the corner of my eye I can see the guard stiffen.

"Welcome home, our lost Princess."

...

Walking to the meeting room, I'm unable to think clearly. Lost Princess? I know I shouldn't take what she was saying too seriously, people come up with all kinds of things when in high intensity situations. But her words are haunting me. It would make sense that I was born in Tosken. There's never been a case like mine and Nita's. But what would the need be to move me to Athua? There doesn't seem to be any obvious answer. My mind had blanked after our conversation so I couldn't ask her any questions- that, and she was pulled away by the guards again. I, too, was whisked away to the car waiting outside the train station. Eric said we were going to Erudite headquarters. It was just me and Eric in the car, and for once I was glad for his reluctance to make small talk; I wasn't in the mood to converse.

We now walk through one of the tallest buildings in the country, our escort informs us, unable to walk in silence. I look out the floor length window to my left and feel a bit uneasy. There's no hiding from the height here, with the floor meeting the glass.

We get to the end of the hall and walk into a large meeting room. There's a big oval glass table in the centre, with refreshments to the side.

I had forgotten to eat breakfast this morning, and my stomach is now reminding me. I feel slightly sick, the thought of food just out of reach not helping.

Sitting around the table are Eric's three young advisors, a middle aged woman, a few older men, and at the top of the table, is Prince Arthur. He stands out amongst the rest. His blue velvet suit emits wealth, dark blonde hair neatly slicked back with gel. He sees us walk in and stands in a greeting. I get a proper look at him. He's uncharacteristically muscular. The Erudite don't normally work on physical muscle, so it's quite the shock. His muscles look like they're almost bursting the seams of his suit, which is odd, seeming I know he could get a new tailored suit whenever he wants. The rest of the room sees the older Prince standing and follows suit. Soon, we have everyone's attention.

Prince Arthur walks around the table, stopping in front of me and Eric. Eric looks smaller than I've ever seen him, his uncle dwarfing him. Just the aura the older Prince gives off is enough to shrink anyone.

Nodding his head at Eric in greeting, he looks at me. "So," he starts, "this is our new Princess."

Amusement flashes across his face, instantly making me self conscious. I step back slightly, looking at him in his eyes. I thrust my hand out, not caring that it isn't custom here. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Arthur." He looks at my hand with trepidation, before slowly accepting my greeting. "I'm Tris."

Hand still in mine, he looks down at me. "Not a very royal name."

Removing my hand, I shrug. Leaving the conversation half open, I change the subject. "Your faction is very impressive." I leave out that it makes me feel like I'm about to morph into concrete with it.

He seems pleased with my flattery. "You won't be impressed by any of the other factions now that you've seen Erudite. Unfair, perhaps." He laughs to himself, the whole room joining in like puppets. I force out an unstable smile, my eyes averting uncomfortably away from the older Prince. My sight lands on the only woman in the room, bar Cara. She's staring straight at me, her eyes hardening when our gazes meet.

She's scary looking, her short, harsh, blonde bob sharpens each of her features. She has unnaturally piercing blue eyes that feel as if they're penetrating through me.

I'm brought out of, what seems to be, a staring competition, by Eric. He speaks for the first time since we arrived. "We don't plan to stay long, I know how busy you are." He speaks directly to Prince Arthur. His uncle walks back to his seat, acting as if his nephew hadn't said a word. I can see Eric falter slightly, but cover it quickly before anyone notices. Prince Arthur doesn't really seem too interested in his nephew. Jeanine gets up as the older Prince sits down. The room seems to ignore Jeanine's movement, all their eyes unconvincingly focused on the papers strewn across the table.

Jeanine comes up to Eric, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Can I have a word outside, Your Highness?" Smiling tightly, her question seems optional. But her tone is final. I look between the two, unsure why Eric would let anyone tell him what to do. He hasn't come across as a push over back at the palace. Nodding his head at his uncle's advisor, he turns to me.

"The guards will walk you out. I'll meet you at the car." Before I'm able to reply, Jeanine is pushing him out the door.

Even though Eric and I are in no shape or form in each other's good books, when he leaves the room I can feel it. He was my only comfort here, and that's really saying something. I look around, anxiously. Now Jeanine has left, the whispering has started up again. They look at me and back to one another, saying things too quiet for me to make out. I push down the urge to raise my voice, I know the Erudites don't appreciate being told what they're doing is wrong.

Prince Arthur's hand gestures me closer, his gaze also telling me it's not optional. I force my legs to move, each step harder than the last. I finally stand in front of him, a good space between us. There's something off about this man. He's nothing like King Marcus.

Not satisfied with where I'm standing, he pulls on my wrist, bringing me closer. Chills sweep through my body, making me go rigid. I look around at the rest of the room, but all is quiet again. All eyes are facing downwards. I look towards Cara and the boys, but they seem to have left the room without me noticing. Feeling truly alone, I push down my fight or flight response. I'm supposed to be making a good impression; punching the Prince of Erudite won't be beneficial to me.

His face turns up to mine, his smile deepening the small wrinkles on his face. He flips my hand over, palm facing upwards. Something cool is placed inside, my fingers closing over it. I don't look, not wanting to pull my attention off of him.

"A gift." He says, "So that you can always have a piece of Erudite with you." I let my guard down for a few seconds, curiosity getting the better of me. His huge hand still engulfs mine, my own hands becoming clammier by the second. His obnoxious ring glares out at me straight away; a carved eye with a blue sapphire place in the middle. He doesn't move his hand away as I stare at the illegal gem. It's common knowledge that the only way to retrieve one is by diving into the forbidden lake. Only the chosen Prince is permitted to retrieve one. His finger is banded in a bloody red, looking like it's about to blister.

My hand opens hesitantly already having an idea about what is going to be cupped in my palm. A silver bracelet sits in the centre of my hand, a small blue gemstone clasped in the middle. I shut my palm quickly. The jewellery feels freezing cold, almost on the edge of burning into my skin. I drop it into my pocket, unable to deal with the pain anymore.

Deciding to play dumb, I force out a smile. "It's beautiful." My mind starts to whirl with ways to get out of this room, but I'm so unfocused I'm unable to think straight.

I pull on my arm slightly, hoping he would unconsciously loosen his grip. It doesn't falter. His expression becomes unreadable and my heart starts to beat out of control. "Think of it as a welcome home present." He turns to the rest of the room. "Leave us."

My brain finally kicks in, words flying out of my mouth without a second thought. "You don't have to do that! I really must meet Eric, I'm sure he's wondering where I am." Arthur's people don't stop moving, my words a whisper on a gush of wind. My hand quickly palms my dress pocket, but comes up empty. I really shouldn't have left the Palace without a phone. Trying to push the panic down, I try to think strategically. My head is empty with panic, my thoughts just a jumble of screams and shouts.

The Prince starts to speak again, and my body subconsciously tries to shrink away. "You know I can change your schedule whilst you're in the vicinity of Erudite."

My mouth opens and closes, at a loss at what to say back. Knowing the only way to get out of this situation will get me in big trouble with the faction, I decide it needs to be done. I won't let him think his position means he can have anything he wants. I try to push the fear down, finding my voice. I get the guts to pull on my hand when there's a loud bang from the other side of the room.

I nearly jump out of my skin. I hadn't realised the tension in the room was so thick; it was impossible to focus on anything else. I see that Arthur was also not expecting anyone entering, his grip faltering on my hand. I rip it out.

My head whips to the door, saying silent thanks to their fanatic entrance. I expected maybe Eric or one of his advisors, but instead I'm staring straight at Four. Relief floods through me so suddenly I almost feel like I'm about to fall over. I back away slowly, unable to go far with my legs feeling like jelly. My eyes haven't moved off of Four since he bounded in. He stares back at me for a spilt second, his gaze intense. He looks between the two of us, his features schooling, a smile taking over his face.

"Uncle!" Four exclaims, moving closer to the table. "It's been too long." He comes around the side, coming to stand next to me. He opens his arms out to his uncle, which Prince Arthur ignores.

Looking annoyed, Arthur sighs. "What are you doing in Erudite, boy?"

Four, looking like his smile is taking all of his energy, shrugs. "I had a couple errands I needed to do that only an Erudite could handle." He winks towards Arthur.

Not falling for his flattery, Arthur replies. "I was in the middle of something. You know not to interrupt me."

The Dauntless Prince nods. "Yes, I know. But this is important." He finally looks down at me. "Eric's been waiting for the Princess by the car, they're going to be late for their next engagement."

Arthur shakes his head, "I was about to cancel that-"

I feel Four tense slightly, his arm pressed against my shoulder. His smile vanishes, he speaks to me whilst staring at Arthur. "Wait for me outside, Tris." I move without hesitation.

"You, girl, wait." I pause, but turn around slowly. I've calmed down a bit, the distance between us is more than welcome. Anger radiates out of his face. He stares back at Four, standing up out of his seat. "You have no authority in Erudite."

Not looking shaken, Four replies. "I have more authority here than you do, Uncle. Your reign ended when Eric turned 12. We all have more authority than you and you know it."

They stare each other down for what feels like an eternity. Arthur breaks, looking between the two of us. "Get out of my office."

Four nods, going down in a mock bow, before walking towards me. He takes my arm gently, directing me to the door. We walk out of the office and down the hall. He doesn't say anything until we're inside the lift, heading downwards.

"You're okay, right? He didn't do anything?" It sounds as if he's trying to reassure himself instead of me. His cage of anger looks to be shaking, steps away from flying open.

Finding my voice, I shake my head. "No, he didn't do anything." I open my mouth to explain further, but the words get stuck in my throat.

He starts speaking again, his anger seeping out. "I told Eric not to leave you alone here and there he goes! Leaving you alone. We all know what Arthur's like. And then that woman gets into his head and all common sense goes out the window. And even when he knew you were still up there he just shrugs and gets into the car? He wouldn't be so comfortable in that car if I didn't need to come up here!" He's rambling now, the conversation no longer directed at me. I listen whilst he goes off on a tangent. He tapers off after a couple swears at Eric, looking down at me.

"Sorry." He ends up saying. His features finally softening.

Laughing softly, I tease, "sounds like you care about someone…"

Looking taken aback, he backtracks. "Hey, no. There's a difference between caring for someone and not wanting my predatory uncle getting his hands on them."

I ignore the words he uses, fearful if I take this too seriously it will become all too real. "Yeah, yeah. Tell yourself what you like."

He chuckles under his breath. I'm able to force out a smile, hoping he knows how grateful I am that he was there. That brings the question, "Why are you in Erudite?"

The lift doors open and we walk out into the main lobby. The front doors are wide open, warm air seeping into the cool building. Walking out of the building, he reaches into his pocket. Smiling shyly, he opens his palm. My phone and necklace rest there, both looking brand new.

My eyes widen as I look back at him. The soft wind blows his dark curls around his face, softening his features completely. He's looking anywhere but at me.

I reach out with trepidation. My fingers brush his palm as I scoop up the items. I feel his gaze move to my hand when they touch. Something flips inside of me, my stomach feeling like it's just dropped a mile. I remove my fingers, looking up at him. Placing my palm out this time, I ask, "Could you?" He freezes for a split second before nodding to himself. He takes the necklace back, and I turn around, holding my hair up. I can feel the warm breeze more as my neck becomes exposed. I feel him move closer, his arms circling my neck for a second. His knuckles brush the stray strands of hair back, causing my body to shiver. He seems to take his time clasping the necklace, keeping me on edge. He finishes up and I turn.

"You ever clasped a necklace before?"

Rolling his eyes, he nods. "Obviously. But your dainty little necklace was made for dainty little hands. I could barely hold it between my fingers."

Grinning at him, I go to place my phone in my pocket. I touch the bottom of the pouch and freeze, my fingers touching cool metal. Letting my phone drop in, I pick it up, holding it out in front of me by the chain. Four looks confused at my sudden shift of mood before looking back down at my open palm.

He reaches out, touching the gemstone, hissing slightly as his skin comes into contact with the metal. "Did he give you this?" His voice is low.

Nodding, I twist his hand around, placing the jewellery in his palm. "He said it was a gift to remind me of Erudite, he wears a matching stone in a ring. But they burn, Four." I leave him with the bracelet, a small weight lifted off my shoulders now that I don't have any part of Prince Arthur on me. Four pockets the jewel quickly.

A car horn blares, breaking us out of our joint stupor. I turn to look at the dark blue car waiting outside the building. The back window goes down and Eric's face comes into view. "We're late. Hurry up." The window goes back up, leaving me and Four alone again. I start feeling awkward, knowing Eric has been watching us the whole time.

Four looks around, taking into account the people surrounding us. "Do you mind keeping this between you and I for the moment? I want to look into this more privately."

Trusting him, I nod, not having the time to ask any more questions. "I guess I'll see you in Dauntless?"

Looking unfocused, he nods his head. "Looking forward to it."

Waving slightly, I move towards the car. His attention is elsewhere, not even looking up as the car rushes off.