A/N: Happy Friday! Hope you've all had a great week and are looking froward to chapter 15! I enjoyed writing this one a lot, so hopefully you guys enjoy reading it. I would like to, once agin, say how greatful I am for the reviews and those of you who just enjoy to read my work! I definatley wouldn't finish this story without this audience. See you guys next week. Bethany x

Chapter 15.

Tris was quite all the way down to the stables, and still hasn't said a word. She's been sitting on the half door dividing her from her horse, Snow. It doesn't look like they've improved much in their relationship, as soon as Tris hopped up onto that door the horse bolted to the back. It's unsurprising, seeming Tris has bolted herself in her room for the past few days.

I walk up to the wall dividing the pens and lean against it, looking at her. She fidgets with her necklace, lost in thought. The white horse shifts uncomfortably, bringing Tris out of her trance. She jumps down and slides against the door, sitting on the floor. "You're not going to believe me when I tell you."

I sit next to her, Bess in my line of sight. She stomps on the ground at the sight of us. "You're going to have to take that risk."

Tris looks up at me, then brings her chin to rest upon her knees. "I haven't been ignoring everyone because of what you think happened back at the lake." She says. I'm silent, wanting her to elaborate. I was pretty sure I knew what happened at the lake, but I guess I didn't.

"He- he had his hand wrapped around my chin and-" she pauses and takes a breath. The memories from that day hit me hard. I remember the feeling, coming around the vehicle, knowing Tris was somewhere in the mass of those Erudite men. The anger resurfaces, and I wish I hadn't let Tris talk me out of not going back over.

"-his skin was peeling from his hands and he was accusing me of doing-"

"Wait, I'm sorry, what?"

She gives me a harsh glare. "I told you you wouldn't believe me Four; you're the one who was desperate for an answer."

"You just caught me off guard-" I reply, hoping I don't have to admit to blanking her out when- as she said perfectly- It's me desperate for some answers. "Just repeat the middle bit again?"

She looks annoyed as she huffs out- "That man grabbed me by the jaw and then my skin burnt his hand." Her head moves in an accusing gesture, "Understand?"

I ignore the insult, too caught up in what she's saying. She burnt him? My eyes darted around, trying to think of something to say. "You- you burnt him? Like with a lighter or-"

She doesn't speak, just stares blankly at me. I feel like she's had the one up in this conversation this whole time, even when she's the one talking nonsense.

"Okay? So no lighter." I don't know what else to say? She's saying that somehow she's burning people with her chin?

"Just leave me alone, Four." She says flatly, getting up to leave.

She's up in no time, stalking down the stable. I jumped up after her, grabbing her by the arm. "No, wait Tris." Her shoulders are still stiff, the lavender fabric of her dress bunching around her shoulder blades. "I just don't understand." She doesn't turn, her face hidden behind her sunny blonde hair. Grasping at thin air, I grab at something to say- "Do you know how this burn occurred? Like did something provoke you?"

I see her head tilt to the side slightly, then look down at my arm grasping hers. She lets out a breath. "Protection? I don't know, Four. You're making me feel stupid."

I let go of her arm and nod my head, knowing what I could try. "Yeah, to be honest Tris, I don't believe for a second that you burnt that man." Her jaw drops, her shock running so deep I can almost feel the vibrations. Resisting the urge to take my words back, I keep my expression neutral.

Tris's emotions, on the other hand, fill her whole body. She closes her mouth, then opens it again, like she's trying to think of something to say. I know she would have never expected me to say something so out of place. Anger soon floods her face and before she can say anything, she spins on her heels and storms off.

I know this is my only chance. I run up behind her, not bothered about her hearing, she'll be in her own stormy world at this moment. When I reach her, I kick her legs out. She gasps as she starts to fall forward, her arms leaving her body to cushion her fall. I grab her right arm and twist her around, holding the bottom of her neck to keep her steady. Just before she fully rests in my hand, a blistering hot burning travels through my palm. My reactions are quick, letting go of the heat source quickly. In the blinding pain, I forget it was Tris I was holding up. I hear her hit the ground just as I gaze upon the peeling skin on my palms, all the way up to my fingers-

"What the hell?" She's sitting up, legs sprawled out in front of her. I snap out of it when she lifts her hand to her head- my gut dropping. I kneel down, reaching my hand behind her head. She hisses in pain and I recoll, the throbbing in my own hand forgotten. I need to take her to the nurse, now.

"I am so sorry, Tris- I- someone needs to check you over-" I stop, taking a deep breath. "I didn't think I'd not catch-"

Her eyebrows pull in and I can't move. She's obviously angry and upset and hurt, which she has the right to be, but it being on her face is hard to watch. She grabs my wrists wordlessly and slowly flips my hands. Instead of the anger I was anticipating, she looks dazed, then disgusted. "I did that?"

I pull myself out of her grasp, grabbing her upper arms instead and bringing her to her feet. "My hands are none of your concern." The stiffness of my skin makes it hard to fully grasp her, the constant weeping of blood not helping my grip. The adrenaline seems to have kicked in, there only being a dull throb in my palms. I spin her around, pushing her forward.

We only make it a few steps before she stubbornly stops, again. "Stop touching me, Four!" She exclaims, looking bewildered. I dropped my hands immediately. I feel like a tight coil, ready to unravel at any moment. "You're doing more damage than any good." She says softly. I realise she's pointing at my fingers, and then at her dress sleeves. "You're making the wound deeper." I let out the ragged breath and nod. We walk forward in a tense silence. Her politeness is cutting through me. Can't she just explode and shout at me about how dangerous and disgusting and irredeemable I am and get it over with?

"Four?" She says quietly, and for a moment, I miss the sound of my name said aloud.

"Yeah?"

She's fidgeting with her necklace, her telltale sign that she's nervous. I almost blurt out that she needs to get on with it- but hold it back- knowing it won't help the situation.

We're nearly back at the Palace now, a large flowering shrub separating the manic energy of our home from the quiet gardens. She turns to look at me, her usually clear blue eyes covered in a storm. "I don't expect you to forgive me for what I've done, but I'm really sorry- I don't know where it came from but it won't happen again-"

"You're sorry?" I dragged out, unsure I heard her right. She nods hesitantly, her eyes meeting mine. "I just kicked you to the floor, Tris. I'm sorry."

She nods hesitantly as her hand touches the protruding bump at the back of her head. She winces, then grins. "I think we're pretty even."

I choke out a laugh, taken aback with her ease to let go. She starts moving towards the castle again, but stops when she senses I'm not following. How can I just forgive myself for letting her fall onto the concrete? That's the second time in a week she's opened up her skull- in the same spot I'm sure. "Come on, Four." She says impatiently. "If you're going to drown yourself in blame then I'll have to do the same." She stares at me hard, "I don't blame you for what you did, and I accept your apology. There was no way else I could have shown you what I could do- you were smart enough to connect the dots, I'm sure it's tied to heightened emotions." She walks back over, standing in front of me. I look down at her, the storm in her blue eyes slowly disappearing into a restful shore. I see her reach her hand up, pause for a moment, then rest it on my cheek. "No one should hold onto something that hurts them, Four."

I let her grab my arm, dragging me with her. I think about her last words. You don't have a clue how capable you are of hurting me, Tris.

"Easy!" I exclaim, shying away from Robert's unnecessarily hard grasp. He huffs in annoyance, an uncharacteristic emotion for my brother. He turns to the coffee table, searching around for something in his medical bag.

Tris, looking more at ease now she's taken some pain killers, leans forward. "Does Tosken's Erudite have any of that fast healing cream?" She asks.

Robert nods, picking back up Tris's ice pack and holding it to her head. "Stop removing it."

She replaces his hand with hers and leans back on the sofa opposite, looking at the ceiling. Robert picks up the salve and unscrews the lid.

"Let's hope they heal as fast as possible, the less people asking questions, the better." I say, thinking of the ways I could lie out of this. Maybe I fell into a fire pit? Or shoved my hands on a frying pan?

Robert mumbles under his breath, annoyed. "What's got your knickers in a twist?" I ask. What's up with his attitude?

His head flips up, our faces in line with one another. "What's twisting my knickers? Oh I don't know? Maybe it's you two waltzing into my room- drenched in blood may I add! Then you tell me Tris smashed her head open for the second time- this week. You look like you've fallen hands first into a volcano and I'm supposed to just get on with my day, after you expect me to patch you both up?"

My eyes meet Tris's and I question if I should tell him what's going on. I know that she's going to be cautious, especially after I didn't believe her from the start. She reluctantly nods, then lets the pillows swallow her.

"Fine, I'll tell you- but you can't tell a soul- not even Kai."

He looks between us suspiciously. "Is what you're about to say going to bring conflict between me and my faction? Because-"

I groan, fed up with his amity manners. "You were the one getting on our backs to share- and now you're rethinking?"

"Spill." He says, "Before I can change my mind."

When we finish explaining our whole ordeal- from Arthur giving Tris the Sapphire necklace- to Tris burning my hands, a few hours have passed. He took it surprisingly well, more worried about Tris's well being than her having the insane ability to burn people with her skin. We're still in Robert's lounge, Tris is sprawled on the sofa in front still, but has manoeuvred her head into the comfort of Robert's lap. She's facing me as he holds her new ice pack to her head- against her will, I will add. I had pulled back the ebbing jealousy before it could bloom. They seem so at ease with each other- even when they haven't spent nearly as much time as she and I have. I envy that easiness- but I know it's not in the way I'd like it to be. When Robert was forcing the ice pack to Tris's head, I could have sworn they were two siblings squabbling.

She's drifted off at the moment, her newly tan face relaxed. I remember when she was worried about getting burnt- being from Athua- but her skin has taken well to the hotter climate. I wonder if she can even get burnt- seeming she's the burner? Maybe the sun sees her as one of her own-

"She can't be left alone tonight." Robert says, out of nowhere.

"Huh?"

He looks at me dumbly, pointing down at Tris. "She's had her head smashed open twice- someones going to have to keep an eye on her."

I think about spending the night with Tris, and I feel my stomach flip. "She'll probably want Christina to do that."

He shrugs and removes the ice pack. "I guess we'll have to wait and see." He motions me to Tris. "I've got work to catch up on, you should take her back to her room." I get up without hesitation, lifting her up gently. She doesn't stir when she's moved- she must be out of it. Robert picks up the medical supplies scattered around his table as he says, "I'm in Amity tomorrow, so don't go magically hurting each other again." I feel myself nodding, knowing this will never happen again.

I try to rearrange my grip, the bandages on my hands an odd feeling. My palms are pretty numb, but I try to avoid putting too much pressure on them. "Thanks, Rob." I say, nearly out of the door.

He gives me a small smile. "Just be careful, okay?"

Nodding, I say goodbye and leave.

It's not a far walk from Robert's to Tris's quarters. There's a glass bridge connecting the two buildings, leading right outside Tris's staff rooms. I decide to drop her into her room before getting Christina, just so she doesn't freak out about her unconscious best friend in my arms.

I shift Tris to one arm, pushing the heavy doors open. Moving to the bed, I realise the sun's about to set. I place her on the bed, pulling a blanket over her. I watched her for a moment, now not sure if I should go get Christina. Could I tell her what happened? Maybe it's best that I do- she'd have no problem going in on me on what I did to Tris. But then she'd ask questions about my hands and that's definitely not up to me to tell.

I grab a comfortable looking chair, bring it close to her bed and sit. I'll just stay for a bit- then I'll call Christina up.

I grab one of her books off her nightstand and kick my shoes off. I resist closing my eyes as the day finally catches up with me. Once in a while, I'll look down on Tris when she shifts in her sleep. She usually gets back off quite quickly, her body relaxing again.

When I look up this time, I see that she's turned away from me. Without thinking, I nudge her with my foot, in an effort to wake her. I have to wake her up once in a while anyway, right? I nudged her a couple times more until her hand come up and bat me away. "Can you not?" She mumbles, moving her legs so they're out of reach.

I breathe slightly easier, knowing she's fine. "I need to make sure you're still mentally functional, Princess."

Having woken up more, she sits up. "How'd I get back here?" She reaches for the glass of water on her bedside table.

I point at myself. "Who else would be dumb enough to pick up a human bonfire in her sleep?"

She smiles lazily, then looks over at the clock, her expression clearing. "We're missing dinner." She starts to hurry off the bed, but I stop her.

"I've let them know that you're not feeling well and I'm being nurse. I thought we'd just eat up here."

She laughs at that, "They would never believe that! They definitely think we're doing something inappropriate now."

I raise my brows and I can see the heat fill her face. "What's inappropriate to you?"

Looking like she wants to fold in on herself, she stutters, "I- uh- well-"

There's a knock at the door and Tris slouches. I roll my eyes in amusement, going to get the food.

When I open the door, a small maid is there with a tray in one hand. Another boy stood behind her, eyes to the floor. "Oh!" The girl says, looking flushed. She curtsies, careful to not displace the food. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I was just expecting the Princess."

I look down at her uniform, reading the embroidered name on her breast pocket. Myra. I don't recognise her. Maybe she's new. I feel small hands on my waist, an electric current racing up my spine. I lift an arm and see Tris's head pop out. "Hi, Myra."

The maid smiles awkwardly, her eyes shifting between us. I feel Tris tug on my waist. "Out of the way." I move, and Tris goes with Myra, pointing over to the doors to the balcony. The boy follows quietly as the girls chatter. I've never made much of an effort with the staff at the palace. I've never felt the need to, not with my Dauntless friends with me most of the time. My parents have always treated the staff as just that. Their Abnegation background has slowly worn down to become something unrecognisable. I don't know the last time they visited their home faction by choice.

I follow Tris outside. She sits down as Myra turns to leave. "Uh, thanks, Myra." I say stiffly, the action foreign to me. I feel stupid, saying it and not saying it. She seems surprised, but tries to not show it. I give her a weak smile and sit down opposite Tris.

The two of them leave, and Tris finally breaks out a mocking grin. "That seemed difficult."

"I think we had two different childhoods." I tease back. By the looks of it, Tris's parents actually took the time out of their day to teach them manners. On the other hand, I had teachers and nannies doing that job- and they won't teach you to be polite to those deemed below us.

She nods, and looks like she's thinking. "Xav and Gideon were a bit like that. No matter how much Mum pushed for equality in the household, they'd say they forget or talk over you when you brought it up." She shrugs. "It's worse when you've been brought up with all the right tools, but choose not to use them." She goes on to eat, but I'm unable to move on. They way she's able to bring empathy to a situation I never thought could- and then knowing the exact words to say is more than enough to push me over.

"Four?" She asks.

"Don't call me that."

Her brows pull together as she says. "What should I call you then?"

I'm about to tell her- but there's something holding me back. "Nothing- yet."