A/N- Finally finished Chapter 23 lol. Been in and out of hospital since my op in March and am actually writing this in my hospital room with a central line infection. It's been hard to get in the mood to write but I'm glad I've finally finished this chapter. Going to try and upload every other week, and try and do the same with Eye of the Storm. I've been reading back some chapters and have realised that my page breaks haven't been transferring over so sorry about that! It makes my chapters read sloppily. I may go back and put them in, it would be a good refresher for me so that my story doesn't get jumbled in my head.

Chapter 23

"These things are huge!" I look behind me, seeing Zeke lag as he gapes at the large machines. We've finally made it to the lake, with enough supplies to last us a week. I can't see us being out here that long, but if there's any clue to Tori's whereabouts, then I doubt Bud will let us move on.

"I know," I reply, looking up at them. How did they build these without anyone noticing?

The lake is empty again today, making me wonder if they're still on that holiday I told them to go on? If not, it means Arthur and Eric know that Tris and I had been here.

"How did they transport these things? You'd think someone would have seen them?" Zeke comes up next to me, and I can see him trying to wrap his head around this.

How did they get here without notice? Has Erudite been setting up shop here for longer than I thought? Were they built here?

"Does the lake look any different to you?" Zeke asks, walking around the machine, closer to the still water. I follow, scanning the blue expanse.

"I don't think so," I let go of a defeated breath, "I've only been here twice. One was when I was 6." Who knows if the lake looks any different now than it did 12 years ago. "I doubt the lake is going to give us answers to where Tori is, Zeke. I think we should re-group, let them know the workers are still gone."

He nods, and we move back towards the woods, hugging the water to keep us from losing direction.

It's midday, so the canopy of trees brings welcome shade. We walk further in, and after a while, see the other gathered in a small opening. Shauna and Lauren get up when we come into view. Anxiousness rolls of the two.

"Anything?" Lauren asks.

I shake my head. I can only assume they found no sign of Tori, either.

I see the hope drain from Lauren's face. "Bud's still out there, I told him to come back before the midday heat, but I can't be certain he was listening."

Tori and Bud have been together since before I can remember. It makes me think of Tris. I've known her not even two months and I've had feelings for her even less. No one could stop me from searching for the girl if she went missing.

I make my way into our makeshift camp, sitting down slightly away from the others. I called Tris this morning. The signal was good, the call went through, but no answer. I tried a few more times before boarding the train, but nothing. I've been obsessively checking my phone ever since, hoping for something to pop up.

I grab my blank phone, and scroll through all the messages I've sent, hoping I've missed something. I haven't. All that's staring back at me is my own desperate words.

I shove my phone back into my pocket. She's injured, so that leaves me two options. One, she's injured! She can't walk anywhere! Two, she's injured. She's got an infection and is deathly ill.

I think back to the way I left her, angry, upset, locked in my bedroom. I know I shouldn't have gone so abruptly, seeming we had to stop in Dauntless anyways. I wouldn't have been surprised if she had been furious with me on the phone last night. But she hadn't. And I don't know if that should bring me more fear.

I pull my hands down my face. This, whatever this is between us, it's easier when we're together.

"Hey, Four?" Will calls. I force myself up, and go and sit with the others. Uriah passes me a bottle of water as I lower myself down. Thanking him, I take a gulp.

"You need something?" I ask Will. He looks troubled.

"Have you been able to get in contact with any of the girls? I've been trying all of their phones, it's like they've got them on silent."

Hearing that all the girl's phones are unreachable isn't what I wanted him to say. "The last time I talked to Tris was last night. I said I'd call in the morning, but she hasn't answered."

I grab the phone again, this time bypassing her number. I ring the one person who will know what they're doing.

He picks up on the third ring. "Hey, Four." There's an edge to his voice. I wouldn't have picked it up if he wasn't my brother.

"What are you keeping from me, Robert?"

"Keeping from you?" He laughs forcefully. "Why would you think that?" I hear some background noise, a slight whirling.

"You're on a train? Is Tris with you?" There's a yap. The dog's there. "Don't lie to me."

"No, they're not with me. Ari's is, though. I'm going to Amity, thought it would be nice for Joahanna to see him again."

Ari? "Tris named the dog after the god of death?" Robert must have told her the tale. It's an old Tosken story, one that isn't very popular anymore.

He laughs, "Yeah, I told her the story thinking she was going to call him Asher. I guess it's unsurprising that she did the opposite."

I stand up, moving away from the group again. I can feel the three younger one's eyes on my back as I move away. I know they're worried about their friends, but I'd rather them not try and overhear everything Robert is saying.

"Just- tell me when you last saw her. She's not picking up any calls. I just need to know that she's okay." I resort to begging.

"The last I saw the three of them was at the palace. Tris is fine, her leg is- her leg is doing fine."

"Why don't I believe you?" I prod. Why's he stuttering? "Where do your loyalties lie, brother?"

"I'd like to know the same thing." Not Robert's voice. Something cold and sharp is being pressed into the base of my skull. I freeze, feeling the blade breaking skin. "Drop the phone."

"Four? What's going on? Are you okay?" Robert demands down the phone. I slowly take it away from my ear, letting it fall out of my hand and onto the floor.

I see a foot come down on it, and hear as the screen cracks. I involuntarily wince. I watch as feet move around me, the knife dragging around my throat as the person comes to stand in front of me. I bring my head up, my eyes meeting theirs. A boy, maybe around Tris's age, stares at me with wide eyes, trying to shake his bright orange hair out of his face. My eyes move down the rest of him, and see he's not wearing just one faction colour.

"Which faction are you from?"

"Faction?" He spits, "I would never lower myself to a faction." I watch as the hand holding his knife begins to shake, his knuckles whitening from the strain.

"Okay." I look over his shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of our camp. I can't see my friends due to the mass of trees between us. "What do you want."

"I want nothing from faction scum like you." He twists his finger, "Get moving."

He reposition himself back behind me, pressing the knife back into my neck to get me moving.

We come back into the clearing and I see that the whole camp has been ransacked. Lynn and Uriah are back to back, holding their guns outwards. Shauna is still sitting on the floor, a large woman above her, keeping her from moving. Zeke, Lauren and Will have their hands held behind them.

"Well isn't this embarrassing. What do they train you Dauntless in?" A greasy looking girl chuckles. "And to think even our Dauntless Prince can't even defend himself."

I look at Zeke, and find him looking back. Without a word said, he nods. I look at the others, making sure I catch each of their eyes.

"You should have seen him when I had the knife to his throat, Molly. I'm sure he wet himself."

Her eyes roam my body, and I feel my throat fill with vomit. Her eyes linger between my hips. "Maybe he should take them off then." I watch her face morph into a hungry smile. As she does, I feel the boy's grip on his knife weaken ever so slightly.

I take the opening, swinging my elbow into the side of his head. He wails, and staggers back. Before he gets too far away, I grab him by his shirt, tug the now loose knife out of his grip, and hold him in front of me. I place the knife to his throat harshly, letting it dig in a few inches. He starts to become erratic, his limbs trying to disconnect himself. "One more move," I say quietly into his ear, "and I jam this knife into your throat." I press the knife in for good measure.

Some animalistic sound comes from the back of his throat. I take it as an understanding.

I kick his ankle, making him move forward slowly. I can feel every muscle contracting through his back. His breathing is laboured and I know he understands the situation he's put himself in. Good.

I look past him and see the others have taken advantage of our ambusher's brashness. The large mouthy girl- Molly- is now on the floor, with Shauna pointing her gun at her head. Lauren's knife is being pressed into a small blonde boy's back. The others have control over their situations. I couldn't say I was worried for any of them, this is what we train for. The amount of arrogance these people had is impressive, knowing we are Dauntless and still thinking they would win.

"What happened to that loud mouth of yours, huh, Molly?" Zeke calls over, grinning.

I look over to Shauna and Molly. The girl on the floor looks angry. Her face is bright red, her eyes darting from one side to the other. I'm about to call out to Shauna to be careful when I watch Molly's hand fling to her side. I barely take a step forward before Shauna's foot slams down on her moving hand, bringing it down to the forest floor. Molly lets out a gasp, from pain and surprise, I'm sure. Shauna lowers herself slowly, her gaze and gun never leaving Molly's head. She reaches into a pocket in the girl's trousers, and pulls out a pathetic looking kitchen knife. Even where I'm standing, I can see that it's blunt.

"I wouldn't pull that trick again if I was you," Shauna warns, pocketing the dull knife.

I push the boy forward so that I can grab the rope that's somewhere in my bag. I'd rather not stand with a sweaty teen pressed against me for hours on end, trying to figure out what to do.

I'm just about there when- "Not another move, Tobias."

The use of my given name catches me off guard. I forget about the rope, and nearly lose my hold on the boy in front of me. I look over to the direction the voice came from, and make eye contact with an older looking woman. She stands tall with her hands clasped behind her back. Like the people who ambushed us, she wears a mixture of faction colours. But instead of looking mixed matched and scruffy, she looks well put together. Candor trousers, an Erudite blouse and a Dauntless jacket.

"How'd you know that name?" I question. The name has never been spoken, not since I was given my Dauntless name at birth. Once I became Four, Tobias had long disappeared. Well, until a certain blonde crashed into my life.

I watch as the smile she plasters on her face doesn't reach her eyes, "We all know you as Tobias."

I look over to Zeke, seeing the apprehension that I'm feeling in his expression.

Before I can question her further, she's grasping her hands at her front, and stepping towards us, "Your questions can be answered later. First things first, I'm going to need you to release my pathetic excuse of a team."

I choke out an incredulous laugh, "You have to be joking." I watch as her composed face twitches, "Why would we give up our one bit of leeway?"

"Because," she begins, her voice smooth and clear, "I have someone that I'm sure you'd like back in one piece."

Chills spill down my spine and the first thought that crosses my mind is Tris.

She looks over her shoulder, her greying ponytail moving with her. From behind a mass of densely clumped trees comes three people. Two hold up one much larger body. Shamefully, I feel myself relaxing slightly.

"He is one of yours, correct?"

No one answers, but we're all looking at Bud's lifeless body. His legs are bent behind him, and his head hangs loose on his shoulders.

"He's only unconscious," their unofficial leader confirms, "but if you don't comply with me, I can't promise that will be how he stays." She shrugs, like it's a menial task.

I find her continuing to stare at me, waiting for my response. "And what is there to comply with? Your team ambushed us. You want us to allow that to happen again?"

"What I want is for you and your friends to come with us willingly. But I know you Dauntless. That's why it was so useful to find this one," she points at Bud, "walking in the woods on his own. In his own little world. You'd think they'd train you better in the warrior faction."

I hold my tongue, knowing she's just trying to get a rise out of me. I think over our options, which are few and far between. We could fight them off, it would be pretty easy. But I'm certain Bud would be a casualty; this woman doesn't seem like she has much humanity left in her. The other option is to surrender to this oddly dressed group. This seems to be our only lead at the moment to where Tori could be. Our only other lead is Erudite, and we're hundreds of miles away from there.

"Tell your group to stand down and we'll come with you." I can feel a few uncertain eyes burn into me.

The older woman nods, looking content. "Good choice, I know that she'll be pleased to see you unharmed."

Tris's POV

"Remember-" I start, looking at Christina and Marlene firmly, "we're here scouting a new advisor."

Christina, on the train seat in front of me, rolls her eyes. "Yes, Tris. This plan isn't as complicated as you seem to think it is."

Marlene leans forward instead, taking my hands in hers, "It's okay to be nervous, I'm nervous too."

Her sweet brown eyes look into mine, and I feel some of the tension hauled up inside of me seep away. The whole train ride I've been trapped in my own head, unable to stop myself from falling down different avenues of this plan turning into a disaster. Do I have it in me to pull this off? Can I make them believe that I'm interested in their cause? That I want to help them with whatever they think me and these gems can do for them? I don't know if I'm ready for this, but I do know that I'm the only one who is capable of doing it.

"Thanks, Mar." I smile back at her, giving her hand a squeeze before removing my own. "I'm going to need you two to attach yourselves to Eric's advisors." Christina makes a face that I ignore, "One of them has to have some insight on Arthur and Jeanine's plans." I think back to meeting the 3 Erudites. Matthew and Cara seemed out of the book noses, but Ferdinand? "Zone in on Ferdinand. I think he'll be the weakest of the three."

The girls nod, and I feel better knowing one task is off my hands. I lean back into my seat, and watch as the Athuan countryside suddenly morphs into Erudite's concrete jungle.

The train comes to a stop not too long later, and soon enough we're off and are being escorted to the car that takes us to our accommodation. There was no crowd this time, which I was glad for. This is no arranged state visit. The only person that I told that we were coming was Eric. It was only this morning that I had called him. His tone told me that he wasn't too thrilled, but he tried his best to pretend he was. I can only assume Arthur or Jeanine have told him to make a better effort with me- for what gain? So he has a chance to take the throne? Most likely. Lets hope I'm a better actor.

"This feels like a hospital," Christina complains, making herself as comfortable as possible on my single bed.

"You'd think they'd put the future Queen of Athua in better accommodation than this," Marlene carries on, eyeing the room.

I shut the wardrobe, having put the last of my clothes away. I packed for a week. I don't know if that's wishful thinking.

"Hopefully we won't be here long enough to get too fed up with it." As I finish, there's a knock at the door. "Come in!"

The white door opens, and on the other side of it stands a very blue looking Eric. He looks between me and the girls further in the room. "Sorry if I'm interrupting," He apologises. He stands in the doorway, hands in his suit pockets.

Christina, being the loud mouth that she is, says, "We were just discussing the generosity of Erudite. You know, I've always wanted to experience how it felt to be an inpatient." Her face stays unmoved, not giving Eric any hint that she's being sarcastic.

I hear Mar giggle for a second behind me. But when I look around at her, her mouth is covered by her hand.

I press my own lips together, faintly shaking my head at Christina. It was funny, sure, but I need to make Eric like me enough for him to tell me what's going on in Erudite. My Ladies are an extension of myself, whatever they do, good or bad, is brought back on me.

Christina falls back into my pillow dramatically, then mimes zipping her mouth shut.

"She's just trying to be funny," I try to explain to Eric, whose brows have pulled together. I move closer to him, the door width separating us. "Did you need something?"

"Just a world in private."

I'm nodding my head before he finishes. "Sure." I turn to the girls, "Why don't you two go make friends with Eric's advisors. Get an insider view on the candidates."

They nod at me without hesitation, then move past us and exit through the door.

Turning back to the Prince, I gesture to the door, "Know anywhere a bit less…" I search my mind for the right word, "clinical?"

A small smile graces his face, "I know a place."

PAGE BREAK

"I'm sorry for all the steps," Eric breaths over his shoulder, looking down at me. "But the end result is worth it."

I nod at him, trying to control my shaking inhale. Just ahead of us is a door, with light peeking out. "Please tell me that's it?"

He nods, and precedes to open the door.

On the other side is a garden, with raised beds lined up in neat rows across a flat roof. A rainbow of flowers sit in the beds, many of which I couldn't name.

"Hybrids," Eric says, seeming to read my mind. He looks over the structured field, "We have a few scientists dedicated to it. It'll probably get pulled in the next few years, Uncle doesn't see the point in it." He walks forward and plucks a black rose from the soil.

"And what do you think?" I ask, taking a tentative step towards him.

He shrugs, his attention still on the abnormal flower. "Doesn't matter." He places the flower back down, next to the still growing black bunch. "There's a bench over here."

We walk past a few rows of flowers and come across a metal bench. "Did your faction have a lapse in judgement when choosing seating materials?" I place a hand on the bench, and pull it away swiftly due to the concentrated heat.

He goes to sit down, taking off his blue jacket. He places it down onto the hot metal, then sits next to it. He looks up at me expectantly. "The cloth should take most of the heat."

I nod as I lower myself down. I turn to him, ready to lead the conversation in the direction I want it to go. I just need a smooth entryway.

"This is why I wanted to talk with you," he says before I have a chance to talk. He rummages in his trouser pocket, then pulls out an opened envelope. "It just came in this morning, so I don't know if you're up to date." He passes it to me, and I catch the royal stamp on the front. I flip it over, taking out the letter inside.

"A ball?"

"Not just any ball," Eric began, "It's for the summer solstice, one of the biggest events of the year." He looks at me, his expression full of excitement. "A lot of the factions don't take it as seriously as we do here. Ever since I can remember, Uncle's been obsessed with the solstices."

"Do you know why?" I prod. I wonder if Arthur has indulged him with any information.

His eyes flicker back and forth uncertainly. "I'm sure there's a good reason."

Knowing I shouldn't push too far so early on, I change the direction of the conversation. "So when is the summer solstice?"

"This Saturday." He answers. "I was hoping- I know you and my brother have something going on but-"

"Four and I?" Here we go.

He looks down at me, confused. "Yes?"

I heave out a sigh, falling into the hot bench. "There's nothing between me and Four. There may have been potential at the beginning, sure. But over the past few weeks, that spark has fizzled out. I guess that's the way of the flame" I look at him, shrugging my shoulders. "It dies out just as quickly as it ignites."

"Really? You two have been connected at the hip for the past month."

I roll my eyes, "It's hard not to entertain him. I may not be interested in Four like that, but I don't want to be rude."

"Alright," he says after a few silent moments, "so you won't mind me asking for you to be my date to the solstice?" He still sounds slightly dubious, but I can work with it.

"There's no one else I'd rather go with."