A/N- Here's Chapter 12! Thank you Ceciliahellis for the review! Hearing what you guys think of the chapters is one of my favourite things about writing this story! I'd love to hear what you guys think of this one. I'm thinking of doing another Four POV sometime in the next couple of chapters, let me know if that's something you'd like to read? Enjoy!x

Chapter 12.

We walk to the south side of the compound, taking an old elevator up a few flights of stairs. Uriah, wishing to prove he's faster than the lift, decides to race us up to the 50th floor. I laugh along with the others whilst Marlene and Will talk about the other things Uriah's done to show off to his friends. The one that stood out to me was when he pretended to push Marlene over the side of the pit path- which led to Lynn pushing him over the side instead. When the story gets brought up, I can see Lynn smirking to herself. "He deserved it." Was all she said when asked about it.

I look over to Christina on my right, squished up against my shoulder. She looks comfortable here, which is nice to see. I'd love to have a few minutes alone with her to fill each other in about our days away from the other.

She catches me looking over and grins, grabbing my hand. "This is so exciting, isn't it?"

Will, in front of her, leans in before I can answer, "You never been in a lift before, Christina?" He smiles cheekily at her, goading out a reply. She shoves him lightly on the shoulder.

"We actually don't have any elevators in the Palaces." I butt in.

Will's eyebrows scrunch, "Like, not in any of them? I thought it was just some weird historical tradition that the Tosken Palace did."

"They're all listed structures. The Palace cannot be touched. The only type of work allowed to be done is to preserve it."

Will nods his head, looking interested. "Makes sense." He turns to Christina, "I won't tease you about elevators anymore." Holding back a smile, he turns to face the doors.

Christina huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "I've been in an elevator, Will!" I chuckle as Christina looks more flustered. Will isn't too far off the mark, Christina and I haven't really been in many elevators.

The doors open, opening out into a wide hallway. There are only a few doors lining the walls, two on either side. We start to walk down to the door closest to us on the right, when there's a large bang behind us.

Spinning around, Uriah bursts through the stairwell doors, leaning over to catch his breath. "So-" he breathes, "close." Leaning on the wall for support, he slowly lowers himself to the floor, legs sprawled out in front of him. With a wave of his hand, he says, "Go on, I'll catch up."

Without asking twice, we turn right and step into the apartment door on the right side of the hall. Before I walk in, I turn back around to look at Uriah. I can see he's pouting. I grin and wave at him, walking into the apartment.

The apartment is a decent size. The living room sits just past the door, with two rooms off it and a hallway down the middle. It looks cosy and quaint, nothing extravagant about it. There's a couple comfy looking sofas and a recliner. In front of them is a black wood coffee table and an unlit fireplace. My eyes skim over the rest of the living room, coming to focus on the wall of windows. I see that there's a balcony outside and make my way over. I slide open the doors, getting hit with a wall of humidity. "Wow." I hear someone say. I'm unfocused on anything but the view. We're above the canopy of trees, and in the distance the blue of the southern sea is visible.

"If you look over to the left," Will says, suddenly beside me, "You can see the Silent Cliffs." I focus, looking out to the sea. When we first arrived, I didn't have time to think about what I wasn't seeing. Now, I can see the Cliffs are South East from the market. From all the way back here, they look docile. The waves crash over the edge every once in a while. "One of my extended family fell to the cliffs a few years ago doing research." Will speaks up, looking cautiously over to the cliffs. "Be vigilant if you're ever to go over there, Tris."

I nod whilst looking at him. "Your family come from Erudite?" I ask. I don't push any further about the tragedy. Even though he brought it up, I know it was only to warn me, not to divulge.

"Yeah." He breathes out, leaning on the balcony. "I didn't feel like I fit in very well in Erudite, not smart enough." He says with an eye roll, "You remember Harrison, from the meeting?" I nod my head, picturing the buff man downstairs. "He's my uncle, transferred here when he was 16. I was 12 when I started coming over here to visit. Harrison said that if I could enter through the member's entrance on my first visit, he'd talk to my parents about letting me transfer early."

Talk of a member's entrance peaks my interest. "Where is this member's entrance?" I ask, already knowing the answer he will give.

His eyes thin as he looks at me. "You don't really expect me to tell you that, do you?"

I laugh, shrugging my shoulders. "It was worth a try." I've heard of member's entrances all around the world in Dauntless compounds. All of them are kept top secret, even from the crown. The only way to find these entrances are to pledge yourself to Dauntless, then you will be led to said entrance. I've heard they push you to your limits, both mentally and physically. To say I'm intrigued would be an understatement.

"If it makes you feel any better, Tris," Marlene pops in, "you couldn't pay me all the money in the world to do it again." I see a few eyebrows lift. Marlene back tracks, "Well, maybe for all the world's money."

Just then I hear the door slide back open. I turn and see Uriah, accompanied by Four and his friends.

My eyes latch onto him like a magnet, Uriah's voice droned out as the others joined him. Four's dark blue eyes take in the surroundings, realisation breaking out onto his face. "Oh, yeah. The shared balcony." He catches my eye, and smiles, moving closer. The wind blows his brown waves across his face. He smiles freely, the warmth finally showing in his eyes. He's at home here. It shows. "How'd you like it?" His confidence in Dauntless is making my head spin. I liked the apartment just fine before. But there's something about sharing a space with Four that elevates that. I think I should keep that to myself.

"It's great," I say, "makes me feel like an adult." I wink over to him, laughing. He chuckles back, hopefully remembering our conversation on the train. I suddenly feel jittery now that the older lot have joined us.

I can see the others are further down the balcony, talking among themselves. Uriah seems animated whilst being the centre of attention, probably talking about his race against the lift. I can't help thinking how nice it would be to fit in with this group. To live in Dauntless and feel like I belong somewhere. To just be Tris, and not Beatrice.

Next to me, I feel Four lean down by my shoulder, "Can we speak in private, Tris?" He asks. I look at him in question, but nod my head.

"Are you going to ask them to leave?" I ask, feeling a bit disappointed.

He shakes his head, "No."

Taking my hand, he pulls me down the left side of the large balcony and pushes open another set of doors. I look back just in time to see Christina's head turning around, clogging on to me at the very last moment. I don't think I want to know the thoughts that are about to be swirling around in that girl's head. I feel my cheeks flush thinking about what could come with being alone with Four, speaking privately. Would I want something to happen? Am I ready for something like that?

The thoughts have been swirling around in my mind for the past few days. I know within the next two years I'm bound to pick one of them. If I'm thinking about it more logistically, who else would I pick?

I follow Four into a sparsely decorated apartment. It looks the same as mine, almost like he had just moved in too. There's little personality here, like he just uses it to rest.

I look to my left, seeing a door slightly open. A large bed sits in the middle, with a few clothes strewn across it. I quickly avert my eyes, feeling like I'm intruding on his privacy. He walks to the sofa in the middle of the room and sits down. He looks at me then, his brown waves falling over his forehead gently. I feel my breath hitch in my throat. and I see myself with my hands tangled in them. Get yourself together, Tris.

"You sitting down?"

Pushing the invading thoughts out of my mind, I move and sit next to him. I feel myself become more rigid as I sit, my hands squeezing each other in my lap. What would I do if he kissed me? Would I kiss him back?

His fingers click in front of my face. "Tris? Are you listening?"

"Hmm?" He's looking at me in question. "Oh yeah, no, I wasn't." Giving him a guilty smile, I force myself to relax. Leaning back into the sofa, I look up at him. "What did you want to speak privately about?"

He leans forward, his hand beginning to outstretch. For a split second, I think he's about to kiss me. It feels as if my heart is skipping an unnecessary beat, and I hold my breath.

Instead of leaning towards me, he goes forward. His objective was to grab something off the coffee table. I feel my face drop as I watch him pick up his phone.

"Tori called me a half hour ago." He begins, "She's confirmed it's from the lake. But there is no way to know how it was harvested without going there." I chew on my lip, trying to rid my mind of Four and his mouth. This is important, it needs my full attention.

"We'll have to make a plan to travel there at some time. Do you know your schedule for next week?"

Schedule? I don't even know what time I'm getting the train back to the Palace tomorrow, let alone my plans for next week. Maybe I should know about it? I've never even thought to ask anyone. Does that make me a bad person? I hope I'm not coming across as some sort of spoon-fed Princess. What if Four thinks of me as one?

"What's going on, Tris? You've been out of it since we were on the balcony?"

I stare at him blankly. It's not that obvious, is it? He's what's up. I haven't had control of one thought since he walked through those doors."It's just been a long week, that's all." I lie, trying to school my features. I just hope my readable face doesn't give too much away. I know he doesn't like me like that. Hell, I don't even know if I like him like that. Maybe I'm still reeling from leaving Athua and Xav and am just latching onto the first boy to give me an ounce of attention. What if he just sees me as someone he feels like he has to protect? Like a younger sister? The thought makes me feel a bit sick.

He looks as if he doesn't believe my excuse for a second. Great.

"Every time I talk to you, you blank out. It hasn't even been a week of royal duties, Princess."

My eyes thin as I stare up at him, feeling targeted. "Why'd you care so much, Four?" I don't know why I asked. I don't want to know.

He shrugs without a second thought. "It's my job to care, Tris." My mouth slams shut, the words dying on my lips. Of course that's why he's acting like he cares, he's duty bound to me, until I choose one of them as King. Feeling like I've just been punched, I stand up to leave.

"I'm sorry I've been making you work too hard, Your Highness." I go to leave out the front door, wanting to bypass his group of friends.

I hear him mutter behind me. "You know that's not what I meant."

I spin around, "It came out of your own mouth Four. You seem to have this dilemma a lot, saying things you don't actually mean."

Finally, it seems like I've said something to bring out some type of ugly emotion. "God, I can't do anything right around you, can I? Not without getting a scolding afterwards."

I try to calm myself, breathing roughly through my nose, "Do you not expect me to be upset? After you've just admitted you don't actually like me. You could have said that earlier today, Four. Would have put me in my place a lot cleaner than it has now." I feel my nails biting into my palms. I try to stop, but am unable to control myself. "You know? You boys are lucky. You only have a one in five chance of getting picked. I'm the one stuck with the bad choice, no matter what."

The door slams behind me before I can see his reaction. As soon as I'm on the other side, my anger diminishes quickly. I side down the door, now just feeling drained. I rub my hands up and down my face, regretting blowing up on Four. I laugh bitterly into my hands, knowing I didn't actually mean what I said. I know the mature thing to do would be to go in there and apologise, but I don't know if I'm able to force myself to do it.

I know what I said came from a semblance of the truth. Knowing that the brothers have a chance to get out of this arrangement and carry on with their own lives after this is done is maddening. It would be easy enough to become so dislikable that they know they'd never have a chance of getting picked. That's most likely why Peter and Eric are so standoffish and rude to me. Good for them. It worked.

I try to summon that anger I was reeling off just minutes ago. But it's no use. If I was in their situation I, too, would do whatever it took to take hold of my own destiny. Maybe they have a life of their own they want to follow. Sourness still fills my mouth, knowing they get the easy way out. I'm stuck in this role, picking one of these boys that I know won't actually love me.

The wall behind me gives out without a warning and suddenly I'm hitting the ground roughly, looking up at a surprised Four standing in the doorway. He smiles awkwardly down at me, "At least I don't have to go on a wild goose chase around the compound looking for you." Not knowing what to say, I just recovered my face with my hands. Maybe if I just ignore this situation it will just go away? As unluck will have it, Four doesn't leave. Instead, I feel him manoeuvre around me, grabbing onto my wrists. My hands are pulled away from my face, and I can see Four's face now parallel to mine. His feet are next to my hips. He pulls me up with ease.

"Before you say anything-" Four says, looking at me pointedly. "I just want to say that I understand where you are coming from. I know how it feels to not be in charge of your own life." I think back to us talking about his life before I came here, the version where Nita was going to pick him.

I look anywhere but him, feeling foolish. "I'm sorry." I say, looking at the floor. "I didn't realise how angry I was until I found someone to release it to." I look up at him, hoping he knows I'm being sincere. "I find it awkward talking about our situation, and I guess it's easier to be angry at it than accepting the loss of control I have."

He nods when I'm finished, giving me a shy smile, "Did you want to talk about our situation?"

I feel the blush start to creep back into my cheeks. Am I ready to discuss it? Do I want today to be the day that I'm let down? Who else am I supposed to pick? Robert? I'd be putting that poor boy in a prison if I picked him. I haven't had one full conversation with Al. The other two are already spoken for. I don't want to tell Four I'd only pick him because he's the best of the bunch. I know that's how he would take any declaration of my all over the place feelings. I decide it's too early to be telling him any of this. I want to wait.

"Tris!" Uriah, now in the hallway, runs up to me and Four, seemingly oblivious to the situation. "We all thought we could go down to the moon pool, you want to see it?"

I feel myself breathing a bit easier, knowing I can put off this conversation for another day. "Sure." Looking back up at Four, I give him my best apologetic face.

Only looking slightly annoyed, he rolls his eyes, "This conversation isn't over, Princess."

I smile boldly back, "Of course not, Your Highness." With that, I ran off with Uriah.

Instead of going straight to the Moon Pool, we took a diversion for some food. Marlene had pointed out that the experience would be a hundred times better if the moon was actually out when we go down there. They described it as a type of mini pit, but with water filling the cavernous hole. Marlene has said that at the right time of day and year, the moon fills the hole in the top of the rock. It sounds like nothing I've ever seen before. Dauntless has been one surprise after the other.

We make our way through the Pit, coming up to a gaping hole in the rock wall. Through it is a blast of artificial light, illuminating the bodies in the room. As we make our way in, I can tell it's the off hour for lunch. The abundance of long tables are not even a quarter full, the whole room uncharacteristically calm.

We take the one lone table at the front, the only table that is positioned horizontally instead of vertically. "One of the perks with hanging around with Four is that you're always guaranteed a seat." Lynn speaks up like she hasn't been silent for basically the whole day. I ignore it, knowing if I say anything it would probably give her the incentive to never speak again.

Nodding, I ask, "What's he like, when he's here?"

Lynn shrugs, "Like one of us, I guess."

Uriah, who had gone to the kitchen to grab us something to eat, comes back to the table with a tray full of food toppling in his arms. We all reach up to help him place the plates down.

Christina, next to me, uses the distraction to whisper into my ear, "What went on with you and Four? One minute you're standing around with us and the next I see you two heading off to his apartment together." When she says it so blatantly like that, I can see how bad it looks.

"Nothing happened." I say back, under my breath. "I'll tell you about it later. Sleepover at mine?" I bump my shoulder into hers, trying to change the subject.

She nods in agreement, looking like she's thinking. I let her think away, knowing it will be about me. I grab a plate of food, eating it as I listen to the others talk.

"Have you guys got your job assignments yet?" Will asks after taking a swig of his drink.

A collective of sighs and mutters are heard from the other three. Uriah, stabbing at the potatoes on his plate, speaks first, "They've shoved me in weaponry. And Mum said there's nothing she can do about it!" His now mashed potatoes sit helplessly on his plate. "What's the point in having family in important places when there's no benefits?"

Marlene rubs Uriah's back in comfort. He perks up as he looks at her, "Trade me with your kitchen job?"

Smiling sheepishly, Marlene shakes her head. "Sorry, Uri. You got the short straw."

Looking towards Lynn, his eyes widen and he pops his bottom lip out. "How about you, Lynn? We all know how much you love weapons! I've also heard being a guard gets really boring. Who really just wants to walk around the compound?"

"I may not want to be a guard, Uri, but I'd rather that than be stuck in a hot, stuffy weapons room any day."

He turns to Will then, but is cut off before he can say anything. "Not a chance. Out of all of us, the control room is the peak of job offers." Will looks apologetic, patting Uriah's arm. He slumps down in his seat, defeated.

"What would you guys have picked if you had any option?" I ask, curious to get to know them all better.

Uriah, in character, jumps in first. "I've always wanted to advise, like my brother. I think I have some valuable knowledge to share around." I smile at that, knowing that Uriah could be a great adviser, if someone would give him the chance. I see Lynn and Will nodding along, agreeing with Uriah.

"So you all would be interested in a government job?" Christina asks. They all say some sort of agreement, except for Marlene, who looks like she wants to speak up, but also doesn't. I feel Christina look at me, and I know what she's thinking. Nodding slightly, I see her grin.

I keep my thoughts to myself for the rest of lunch and the afternoon. They'll know soon enough where my mind is at.

We waste the rest of the day in the entertainment centre, playing pool and different card games. It's the most fun I've had since I came to Tosken. It's exciting, knowing there's so much more to explore here, with these people. I think I can call them my friends now, they've accepted me into their circle with open arms, even Lynn hasn't been too insufferable about my presence here so I'll take that as a go ahead.

When the clocks let us know it's dark, we head down into the iceberg of the mountain. There are no lifts this far down, so we have to take these tight, winding staircases all the way to the pool. Will says it's a put off to most people to come down here. Which is good for us, knowing that it shouldn't be busy down there.

The stairs start to get damper the further down we get, I start to step in water puddling in the footfall curves of the steps. We come to the end of the stairwell, it opens up to a small, stone corridor. At the end there's natural light shining into an open space. Walking to the edge, I peer over and see the mystical looking water, about a 20 metre drop down.

"Nice of you guys to mention the jump." Christina says, raising her brows at the others.

Lynn shrugs, "Who knows if you'd come down here if you knew about it?" I can see her point. I think I would have still come, though. Looking down to the right, I can see a flat piece of rock, following it back up the wall, there's a thin wire. It starts where we are and ends just above the flat stone.

"We'll get changed here." Marlene says.

Uriah tugs at the wire, "Then we'll send down our clothes on this."

Impressed at the simple, yet thoughtful piece of equipment, I turned to the bag of swimwear we brought down. I dump it out on the floor, knowing it will be impossible to pair them off in the bag. The mass of balck bikinis and trunks litter the floor. I let the girls pick theirs first, not bothered with what I wear. They all look the same to be honest.

Lynn holds up a towel as a barrier as we get changed. When we're all done, Uriah sends off the now overflowing bag of our clothes.

The cool air of the Dauntless compound pinches my skin. I cross my arms over my chest, trying to fend off some of the coolness.

"You'll be pleasantly surprised at the water temperature after standing around in the cool air." Marlene says, Uriah rubbing her upper arms to create some warmth.

"Newbies first!" Uriah says, pulling Marlene into his back. The two of them are so comfortable together, it opens up a small ache inside of me. I can't help but smile at the two of them, knowing they're not even together yet.

I move towards the edge, Christina just behind me. Nervous energy fills my body. The anticipation of jumping off is nearly too much to handle. I feel myself grinning uncontrollably as I look at Christina. I hold out my hand to her, knowing she may need that extra push. She grabs my hand without a second thought, smiling gratefully at me. Before she can think too hard about it, I jump off.