A/N- STORY UPDATE! I'm having an op next Wednesday so will be in hospital hopefully only until Monday, so no chapter next week. If anything changed, I'll let you guys know. Fun fact, the last time I stopped posting for a year was because I went into hospital and it brought me out of the flow of writing lol. Anyway, I'm too deep in this story to just leave it, so no need to worry about that, just thought it was funny.

Sensitivity8- It's the Divinities job to choose each boy's faction, just like it's their job to choose the Princess for each country. The Divinity are a sort of higher power, basically rich men from years before thinking they deserve to have this godly hold over the world. In the last chapter, Robert brought up an 'old wives tale' about true Gods. We'll find out later on if it's just a story or not! Enjoy reading! Bethany x

Chapter 22

I hold onto my shaking hands, squeezing them together in front of me. As I walk towards the place, my anxiousness is harder to ignore. I've been able to avoid them for this long, and now I'm just going to talk to them? I had hoped to put this off for a bit longer.

I pull a staff member over, asking for them to find the couple. I let him know it is important, and send him off.

Before I even think about carrying on to my office, Camila, our vet, is walking towards me, and a bouncy Ari is just behind her.

"I'll meet you two in my office," I point to the left hallway, "take a left at the end, it's the last room." I walk over to her. I smile, crouching down to greet the dog. He clambers up, knocking my balance. I topple backwards, Ari clambering all over my lap.

She laughs as she looks down on me on the floor, "As you can see, he's perfectly fine."

I scratch his ears, letting him lick my chin. "No signs he ingested it?"

She shakes her head, coming to crouch on the floor with us. She scratches his head with her nails, and Ari's eyes start to close. "His GI tract is healthy, no burns or blisters visible. It looks like he was found in the nick of time." Pushing a loose piece of red hair behind her ear, she pushes herself up. I follow, leaving the puppy by our feet.

"Thank you, Camila. I was really worried."

She smiles kindly, shaking her head, "It's no problem at all."

I quickly say goodbye, then speed walk out of the entryway. I pat my leg for the dog to follow. He pads along, seeming happy to be involved.

When I turn the corner, I see Christina and Marlene, waiting outside my office. I look between them, unsure why they're here. I haven't told Mar about Natalie and Andrew yet.

"5 minutes?" Christina asks when I get close.

I shake my head, "I'm already behind."

"We just want to know what the plan is, Tris." Mar says, voice strong. "We want to know if we're going to Erudite, if you think they're in Erudite." I know who she's really asking after, and I don't know.

"I don't know yet." I reluctantly tell her, walking through them to the door to my office, with my birth parents waiting inside. "The plan was for Will, Uriah and Lynn to be there, but I don't know if that plan had changed." Maybe it's better if they're not there. Erudite seems to be the most dangerous place to be at the moment. I turn to them, Marlene's hands restlessly rubbing together. "I'll be 10 minutes max, okay? Go get Robert and meet me in my room." I start to walk into my office, then remember, "Oh! And take the dog, please." I carry on into the office, not having a moment to gather myself. When I see the two sitting at the table, I feel my breath hitch in my throat. Heads turn as I reluctantly push the door closed behind me, and all I can see is Natalie's vibrant green eyes morphing into Caleb. Not now.

The atmosphere is tense, and when I look at Caleb, I see that he's at the furthest point away from the couple at the table. Xav, looking awkward as ever, sits next to my brother, smiling thinly at me.

I take a step forward, but don't take a seat. "I've got 10 minutes, so I need you both to get to the point."

I catch Andrew's eyebrows rise, and think I see Natalie's hand squeeze his arm. I walk to my desk and sift around in the drawer for a pen and some paper. When I grab them, I bring them over to Xav and place them in front of him. He takes them without question, popping the lid off the pen.

"I need to know why you left us with the Athuan Royals." I stand behind the boys, gaze sharp. Andrew shifts in his seat, side eyeing Natalie. Natalie, on the other hand, looks as if she's seen this coming from the beginning.

"Bea!" Caleb whispers in shock, his eyes like saucers. I look away, not needing his scolding right now.

Andrew says something into Natalie's ear. Her eyebrows come together, and she shakes her head.

My foot taps on the floor impatiently, and I glance at the door. I don't have time for this. "Please," I start, getting their attention, "Haven't you had enough time for discussion?"

"I am so sorry." Caleb blurts out, giving me a pinch on my arm. I gasp, pulling it back to me. "She's not usually this rude." He chuckles awkwardly, and I see Xav doing the same.

Andrew looks like he wants to say something. His ears are red, and he looks rigid in his seat. When he opens his mouth, I hear a stamp on the floor. Natalie, clearing her throat, takes the lead. "I don't know how much you know- how much Queen Melanie has told you."

You mean my mother. I almost say. If I had more time, maybe I would have.

Her eyes sadden, almost as if I did say it. "When you two were born, your father was close to Prince Arthur."

"I was going to be an advisor to him, I grew up in Erudite. We were friends as teenagers." Andrew says, looking between me and Caleb. "He was a close friend, someone I thought I could trust." Shame ripples through his voice.

"He was the first to know about the red ring around your ankle." At the mention of my birthmark, my ankle burns. Each chosen Princess is born with a circle of red around their lower leg. It's the only way to see if a Princess has been chosen. The divinity don't like to dwell with their human subjects, so instead of choosing one in person, a mark is left. "He came over straight away, doting over you. It wasn't until he started pushing a burning sapphire into your skin, Beatrice, that I became worried."

My hand travels to my neck, feeling the cool diamond against my skin. "What did he think was going to happen?" I play dumb, unsure they know what I'm able to do with the gems.

"Arthur believes," Andrew says, "that once every generation of Princesses, the one born at the winter solstice holds some kind of power, something that is energised by the gems." He shakes his head in disgust. "He had no idea what he was doing, and Natalie pulled you away before he went too far."

I imagine myself in that quiet bedroom, held tightly in Natalie's arms. I bite the inside of my cheek.

Natalie looks far away, like she's reliving the night. "He was certain it had to be you, that it had to be a Tosken Princess. He was adamant that you would show these gifts as you aged- that he would mentor you in them." A shiver runs up my spine, despite the warm day. I didn't have a pleasant meeting with the man the last time we met. "He wouldn't leave, no matter what we did. He wanted to take you with him, Beatrice."

I cringe away at the use of my full name coming out of her mouth. I know I shouldn't- that name is more her's than it is mine.

"But that isn't allowed," Xav points out, tapping the pen onto the pad of paper, "Princesses live close to the Palace, with their parents. No one would have allowed him to get away with that."

"The new king was weak. He still is." Natalie states, maintaining eye contact with me. I scan her face for any resemblance of me, but find little. I don't dare look at Andrew. "The Queen was out of service whilst she raised her children, leaving the running of the country to Marcus alone. Maybe he would have sent all of us to Erudite, relegating a big responsibility to Arthur, to get it off his hands."

"And you think he would have gotten rid of you in the process, to get me under his control." I don't want to think about a world where I grew up with Prince Arthur of Erudite as my main parental figure. I wouldn't even be able to imagine who I would be right now.

"He was a friend," Andrew repeats again, "but as soon as he saw that ring around your ankle, all loyalties went out the window." He heaves a sigh, slouching in his chair. "I can't even imagine what he would have done to you, Caleb."

I place my hands on my brother's shoulder, squeezing hard. Picturing Caleb's fate if things had gone that way is painful, and I'm glad for the distraction when he speaks up.

"How did we end up in Athua, then?" Caleb asks, sounding weary. He runs a hand through his now messy brown hair.

"There was a knock at the door," Natalie replies, clasping her hands in her lap. "Andrew had promised Arthur that we would meet at the train station, ready to make the switch and move back to Erudite." Natalie rolls her eyes. My lips twitch. "He was delusional, not thinking Andrew could be lying. He left as we opened the door to the stranger. Walked straight past them, high on his prize. They were hooded, wearing a long cloak that masked them from head to toe. When they pulled down their hood, I couldn't believe that the young queen of Athua was at our doorstep."

Our mother, here? "She mentioned that her husband's mother, before her death, had written something down for her." Natalie reaches into her pocket, pulling out a very old looking paper. She pushes it across the table, and Caleb opens it up. I lean over his shoulder and feel Xav pull in too. I can just about make out the faded cursive writing. They're dates.

15/12/5000

18/12/5020

11/12/5041

17/12/5062

The only date sticking out to me is the last one. That's Caleb and I's birthday.

"The others, she explained to us, were birthdays of other Princesses, around the world, born on the winter solstice. One was your grandmother." She averts her eyes to Xavier. I feel a hand on my arm before I can even open my mouth.

"We never knew our grandmother." Xav says, looking up at me and across to Caleb. Dad used to talk about his mother all the time, telling us stories our Grandfather had told him. She was a kind and generous woman, and she was a just ruler. She was very popular with the people, and was grieved heavily when she passed just after her last child was born.

"That's where these dates start to have things in common," Andrew points out, leaning over and pointing a finger at the second date on the list. "This one here is King Marcus's great grandmother." He looks up at me, his stormy blue eyes making me feel uneasy. I knew it. "It's said that she died in a freak storm, falling off the Dauntless cliffs."

For someone who grew up here, why would she get so close to the cliffs that a storm pushed her over? "You think these all weren't coincidences?" I confirm.

"Queen Charlotte did, yes." Natalie answers, her restless hands now clasped on the table. "She expressed her worries for you, and we told her the very little that we knew. We all agreed we wouldn't let that happen to you." She smiles sadly at me. "We knew the only way you'd both be safe was to not have you in Tosken anymore."

I shake my head in disbelief, "And you didn't think to just come with us? Raise us in Athua?"

"Of course we thought of that, Beatrice." Andrew exclaims, frustration evident in his voice. "Arthur would have followed us, knowing you were still out there somewhere. He would have got the Divinity involved. If he did that, there would be nothing we could have done." He pauses, his face pinching like he's thinking of a painful memory. "The only way to get him off of our trail, was to fake your deaths."

Natalie nods absentmindedly, rubbing her fingers across her lips in reflection. Andrew runs a hand down her back, and she visibly relaxes. "We had said you both had passed out of nowhere, and we had gotten you cremated as soon as possible as is tradition in Abnegation." She takes a shaky breath in, entering the room again. "He was furious. He has blamed us for his failure ever since."

"We kept up public appearances, as Queen Charlotte took you back with her. It was easy to fool everyone, to make them believe I had just lost my twins." I can hear my pulse in my ears, beating hard enough that it has the chance to actually break my eardrum. My heart feels like it's about to beat its way out of my chest. "You were both gone, our whole world had shattered in a night." A lone tear escapes her eye, slowly falling down her cheek. She wipes it away hastily.

"Right." I whisper to myself, my mind whirling with information. I hold on tightly to the words scattered in my head, willing them to stick. "And how does Princess Nita fit into all of this?" It's been bugging me since all of this started up. From the corner of my eye, I see Xav's grip on the pen tighten.

"You'd have to ask your, uh, your mother," Andrew forces out, looking anywhere but at us, "she just let us know she would handle it, and she did." His fingers tap incessantly on the table, bringing attention to his bitten nails. I look at his face, and see the young boy who had to make the toughest decision of his life.

"How old were you two?" I ask.

"Your- Andrew had just turned 19, I was a couple months off." So they were just children, thrust into this cruel power struggle.

I nod, glancing around the room to the window. The sun has set, the evening light slowly dimming. I look at the clock, and see it's been well past 10 minutes.

I grab the notepad from Xav, giving his hand a pat in thanks. "I'll meet you two at the gates at sunrise, okay? I'll have a car ready to take you to the port."

Caleb looks at me, his eyes wide. "You're just going to leave? We haven't even hit the iceberg yet, Bea."

I glance over to the couple, seeing Natalie's eyes plead with me.

"I'm sorry," I tell Caleb, feeling bad for him, "but this is more important." I don't look back at Natalie and Andrew, not wanting to see their reaction. "Stay and talk, I'll leave the key with you." I toss the office key to my brother, then hurry out the door. I hear Natalie start to call for me, but it cuts off as the door closes. Finally being able to breathe easier, I make my way up to my bedroom.

Robert, Christina and Marlene lounge on my bed, chatting away. The puppy clambers over them, searching for attention. Marlene reluctantly gives in, letting him use her as a chew toy.

I chuck my phone into the depths of my room and join them on the bed, laying into the mass of pillows behind me. I look up at the clear sky. Stars shine through the darkness, the moon bringing a soft glow into the room. When I had finished going over the plan for tomorrow, I had turned off the lights. I needed time to think, but didn't want my friends to leave yet. The darkness gives me enough privacy to do just that. I haven't told them what was discussed before I came up here. It feels too raw to gossip about.

As I gaze at the stars, Tobias enters my mind. I've had him pushed into a corner, hidden away since he left this afternoon. Sometimes it's easier to push away the things that are hurting you, and come back for them when you feel ready. I know I would have slowed them down, I know I wasn't fit for travel, but it still hurt. What hurt the most was being shut out, not worth the hassle of being told his plan. No matter how many times I tell myself it was a spur of the moment decision, it still feels like a stab in the chest.

I wonder if he's looking up at the same stars tonight, thinking of me, wondering if he regrets any of his actions now the adrenaline has left his system. Probably not. I've found we are similar in the way we deal with stress and terror. We shut off our emotions, letting our minds think straight, without the unreliability of feelings plaguing our decisions.

I didn't realise how much it could hurt someone, until he did it to me. I shift uncomfortably, knowing I had just done the same to Natalie and Andrew, even after they explained why they had to give us up. How can I be bitter towards them when everything they did was done for Caleb and my safety? I feel disgusted with myself, knowing that resentment still infects my heart.

"I'm not going, tomorrow," Robert blurts out, sounding guilty. I sit up slowly, but I'm not unsurprised. " Amity's my faction, it would be against what we stand for to make this decision by myself." He looks to the three of us, his eyes ending up locked on mine. "My support hasn't changed, I don't want you thinking it has. I just have to put my faction first."

"It's okay, Robert, I wasn't really expecting you to join us." I throw him a grin, trying to bring up his mood. "You'd be a bit out of your depth, infiltrating Erudite."

Christina leans into him, ruffling his hair. "Some people aren't cut out for this type of thing and it's okay." Robert bats her hand away, smiling slightly.

"You don't mind taking the dog with you then, Robert?" Mar asks, practically. She scratches behind Ari's ears, the puppy laid out before her.

"Not at all," Robert replies, "best I do it, who knows when he's going to start glowing green."

I force out a laugh, but in the back of my mind it seems like a possibility. These powers are new - who knows what the side effects could be? Natalie enters my mind, but I only healed her. The puppy? I brought him back to life. I'd love to take this gem off of me. The longer I have it, the more of a freak I feel.

"You guys better get to bed," I announce, switching on my lamp so they can see where they're going. "Big day tomorrow."

The girl's faces tighten, but they nod.

"I'll come to see you three off," Robert says, walking backwards to the door. I give him a little wave, then he shuts the door. The girls, on the other hand, are still sitting on my bed, watching me.

"What?"

"You've been out of it ever since you finished explaining the plan. Tell us what's bothering you," Christina orders, her eyes staring steadily into mine. Sat next to her, Marlene, so different in every way to Christina, looks to me with empathy.

"What's not been bothering me?" I counteract.

She doesn't let go, her brows raising instead, waiting.

I squirm under her pressure, feeling awkward talking about Tobias. I've never talked about my relationships with anyone before. No one questioned mine and Xav's feelings, having watched them blossom. Everything that has happened with Tobais and me, it's happened behind closed doors- the only information Christina has gotten has been from me talking about it. Marlene's heard even less.

"We kissed. Tobias and I. After he pulled me up from the rock." My nails dig into my palm as I await their reaction. Marlene smiles toothily at me, and I can feel my cheeks warm. When I look at Christina, she looks like she's about to explode.

"I'm not giving details!" I say, before she asks. "If you want details, kiss someone yourself."

She pouts, but gives in. "Fine. But you know how big this news is, right? Do you think this is it then? He's your choice?"

I swallow, my stomach turning over. What a place to be in, picking the man you're going to spend the rest of your life with, at sixteen.

"It was just a kiss, Christina. I'm not answering that."

"Does anyone else know?" Marlene asks, getting comfortable on her stomach.

"You're the only two I've told." Xav may have guessed? "Who knows who To- Four's told." I almost slip up, again. It's not easy, speaking freely, trying to remember to use his chosen name.

Marlene sits up, her jaw dropping, eyes wide, "You know his real name, don't you?"

I'm shaking my head before she even finishes, "No, no- I don't know- he hasn't told me anything! Is Four not his real name?" I finish weakly, trying to look innocent.

She points at me, giddy. "I knew it! This is huge, Tris! He's so in love with you." She shakes my knee, excitement exploding out of her every move.

"No," I deny, shaking my head in disbelief. "He may like me, but he's not in love with me, not yet." No one falls in love that fast. Not me, not him.

"Not yet?" Christina teases, then falls onto her back, fanning herself dramatically. "Ahh, young love! What would we do without it?"

I bring an end to her swooning, grabbing my pillow and hitting her with it. She curls in on herself, batting her limbs around her in defence. "Okay, okay!" She laughs, and I retreat. She sits up breathing heavily, and starts patting down her now wild, dark hair.

"I'm going to get ready for bed." I pop up, grabbing my silent phone, and walk to my door. "You two should do the same." The moon is high in the sky now. I know Christina is going to be crabby tomorrow morning.

I walk past Edward, who's on the night shift. I make a bit of small talk, asking him if he's had a chance to talk to Caleb and Xavier yet. He says that he bumped into Xavier early this afternoon. I excuse myself soon after, hurrying to the bathroom. It crosses my mind to ask Edward to accompany us on our trip to Erudite, but I shut it down quickly. I don't want to bring too much attention to our reasoning to go to the faction. All they need to know is that I'm there to scout out new advisors, not trying to figure out what Arthur is trying to use the stones- and me - for. I think I could get something out of Eric, seeming he was being so friendly with me the other day. Lynn's ominous warning enters my mind. He's definitely up to something. If so, then who better to weasel my way into?

I hear giggling outside the bathroom door, but it moves so fast that I'm unsure of who it was.

I get ready quickly, having a shower now so I don't have to worry about it in the morning. When I get dressed for bed, I chuck on the top I was wearing, Tobias's t-shirt. I glance at my phone on the vanity, screen blank. I try to think back to the lake, wondering if I used my phone at any point. I don't think I did- but you'd think with Erudite stationing workers there, there would be some sort of connection.

I snatch my phone up, pushing it into the pocket of my too long pyjamas. I run up the stairs, only tripping once, and burst into the room. Unsurprisingly, Marlene and Christina are still here- or are back. They've changed into bed clothes and are sprawled out on the large bed, with the dog and all.

"Sleepover?" Christina more or less states. I grudgingly move towards them, climbing in the spot they left for me in the middle. Ari pops up from his position at the end of bed, and settles in between me and Mar.

"This was your idea, wasn't it?" I accuse Christina, grabbing more of the duvet off of her.

"Group decision," She says innocently, closing her eyes.

I lean over her, peeling one open. "If I wake up to the duvet being completely missing, you're on the sofa." She swats me away, pushing me back into the mattress.

"I don't steal duvets, you kick them to me."

"Great," Marlene heaves, sighing for extra effect, "looks like I'm the true victim."

I laugh softly, nudging her on my right, "Turn off the lamp?" She leans over and pulls the switch. She settles back in, and closes her eyes, too.

I force mine shut, trying to fall asleep. But my brain is wired on. God. I can't get Tobias off my mind. I have no idea what his plan is, if he even has one. I didn't even tell him to be safe before he left. My fault or his? Is he regretting the way he left? Does he see anything wrong with it? Could I live my whole life with someone who doesn't have a single thought about anyone else? Okay, so I'm definitely going too far there, but to my credit-

An incessant buzzing cuts through the rambling in my head. I bolt upright and clamber out of the duvet, ignoring Marlene's protests to the cold air. I scramble over the bed, my hands searching around for the phone I thought I dropped. I hear it hit the floor as I shake out some blankets, so I jump off the bed, and see the bright screen lighting up the room. I squinted against the light, and read his name. I almost dropped it with relief, and ran to the balcony door.

"Who is it?" Christina grumbles.

Mar laughs, "Who do you think-" I shut the door, glad the blinds have been pulled. I stare at the bright device, watching his picture light up the screen. I had taken it on the train ride back from the lake. He was hanging out of the train door, trying to figure out how far away Dauntless was. His face is turned slightly away unknowingly from the camera, but the slight side view is captivating enough that I put it for his caller ID.

I press the green accept button before it disappears, and shove it to my ear. "Hello?" I say, bringing my necklace up to my lip, moving the gem from left to right.

"Tris?" He sounds panicked, which in turn makes my heart beat widely in my chest.

"What's wrong?" I press.

I hear his deep exhale through the phone, "Nothing, now," he pauses, sounding relieved. "I've been trying to get in contact with you since I got onto the train- you haven't picked up."

He's been trying to contact me? "I haven't had any calls all afternoon, my phone has been disappointingly blank." I confess, leaning my elbows on the railing. "Your signal's probably no good out there."

"No- we had to stop at Dauntless for supplies- we're going to the lake tomorrow. Just- it doesn't matter about our phones- just tell me you're okay, that you're still at home?" His voice sounds raw.

"I'm fine, Tobias. Marlene and Christina have taken over my room for a sleepover, I couldn't be more at the Palace." It's the truth, even if I don't plan on staying here. If he knew, he'd come running back, and that would do us both no favours.

"Good," he says. "And your leg? How's it doing?"

I look down at where the gash should be. Instead, there's healthy pink skin hidden by my pyjamas. It's doing great. Like I never cut myself. "It's… okay," I drag out, "the Erudite cream is working wonders." More like miracles.

"You need to take it easy, Tris. I don't want you reopening the wound- it was deep."

I nod, then remember he can't see me. "Will do."

"And remember that Harriet is going to check on you in the morning- someone's going to have to let her know that you're back in your room or she's going to go mental-"

I chuckle at his unnecessary concern. "I've got it, okay? Don't worry about me."

He's quiet for a second. "I'm always going to worry about you."

I press my lips together, squeezing the metal railing tightly with my free hand. "I wish I was with you," I whisper into the phone, reality hitting home. How long is it going to be until we see each other? I'm sure he only thinks it will be days. I can't guarantee that.

"I'll sleep better tonight knowing you're not," He says softly. He pauses. "Although, being away from you is a different kind of torture."

The grin that splits my face is almost painful. I'm suddenly very intensely glad no-one is around to see me acting like a love-sick fool. "I'll speak with you in the morning, okay?"

"I'll call you first thing," he promises. "Goodnight, Tris."

"Night, Tobias." My voice wavers before I end the call. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?