A/N- Here's chapter 25 finally lol. I've kind of mapped out the rest of the fanfic, so hopefully I'll find it easier to write the chapters from now on. I'd estimate about another 10 or so chapters left? Hoping to have this fanfic finished by new years! I think I'll just upload when I finish a chapter from now on, so keep an eye out. Won't be long until Tris and Tobias reunite so look forward to that! Have a great rest of the week! Bethany x

Chapter 25

Tris POV

We travel in one of Erudite's cars for an hour or so, until we get to the forest boarding the faction.

"This is where I leave you." Jeanine says, a force smile on her lips. She talks like she's been helpful up until now, but she hasn't. Not even a map has been given over.

"What a loss that will be." I smile sarcastically back. I've decided to ditch the plan to make them think I'm on their side. It was a stupid idea anyway, and I haven't been given nearly enough time to try and make it work. I shift my gaze from Jeanine to Eric. He watches the older woman like he's ready to gobble up anything that leaves her mouth. Maybe I'll still be able to find a way to make him spill Arthur's plans? He is easily influenced, as shown by the woman in front of me.

"Your horses are to the right," Jeanine says blandly, shoving a bag into my hands, "clothes and supplies."

I peek into the bag as she, a lot more nicely, passes Eric his bag. "You have until Saturday to retrieve the journal." My mind filters back to Christina and Marlene. Can they really hold them over me? Say they'll hurt them if I don't find this stupid journal? But is it worth risking saying it's a bluff? For a useless book? "You'll meet us at the castle, before the ball begins. If it's not with Arthur by then, the girls will be your collateral."

"Yeah, we know." I reply, uninterested. I look over my shoulder for the horses. They're just out of sight, behind a cluster of trees. Why we couldn't have taken the train, I don't know.

"Keep off the tracks," I hear Jeanine say quietly, when I look back around, I see she's speaking to Eric directly. "The horses should help you stay under the cover of the forest. Be careful."

I move on before I hear anymore. It makes my stomach churn just listening to her talk sweetly to Eric, like she actually cares. She talks to him almost like a mother would. But no mother would ferry off their son for her own personal gain.

When I get to the horses, I realise they're from the stables back at home. Not surprisingly, Snow isn't here. Instead, Bess is bent over, eating some sort of vegetation off of the floor. The sight of Tobias's horse pulls at the never ending tightness in my stomach.

"I assume this one is yours?" I ask Eric as I hear him come up from behind. I point to the other one grazing, a large brown stallion. He's not as big as Bess, but is nonetheless huge. They seem to be different breeds, I'm sure the males are normally a bit larger than females.

He nods, moving closer to the beast and smoothes the coarse hair along its neck. "He's called Teddy."

I smile, looking up at the horse. He knocks his head against Eric's hand like a cat would rub against your leg. It's clear they have a strong bond. "I didn't realise you spent so much time down the stables."

He shrugs it off, "Let's get you up on Bess."

...

Not having a whole lot of experience riding, it's been hard, and uncomfortable travelling on such a large horse. When on the ground, I come up to Bess' midriff. Perfect for Tobias, not so much for me.

Eric's been holding Bess's reins for most of the ride. But when the trees start to space out, he lets go.

"Try to keep the correct tension in your reins," Eric says. I look over to him, seeing how comfortable he is up here. I try to mimic his hold, loosening up the reins when I feel Bess pull against me, "Good."

I manage to guide her through the field, then some closer together trees as we head back into a dense wood. I try to ignore the incessant rubbing of the saddle against my thighs, keeping focus on where I'm directing Bess. I would have thought the riding trousers would help with the chaffing.

"How do you even know where we're going?" I ask after a few hours of riding. We've stopped at a creak, letting the horses rest and have a drink. Eric's crouching down, filling up his flask with water. He turns his head towards me, looking up. "I've looked at the map."

"Do you have a photographic memory or something?" I jokingly ask.

And to my surprise, he nods.

"Oh," I pathetically laugh, "useful, I guess."

He stands, wiping his wet hands onto his riding trousers. "Yeah, useful to everyone but me."

He moves further away from the creek, sitting down on the small slope. I watch as he stares at the running water, arms resting on his knees. I open my mouth, then close it again. Should I even bother to ask him to elaborate?

I sit down too, closer to the river than him. "Have you been a map to a lot of people?"

He nods hesitantly, still gazing at the stream, "Four used to love making me tag along for his adventures." He shakes his head, "sad thing is, I actually thought he liked spending time with me."

An image of young Tobias comes to mind, riding on a younger Bess through the countryside, with Eric at his side being used as some kind of odd sidekick.

"Kids can be cruel." I remember when I ditched Caleb when Christina came to court. It lasted over a year, never making time to hang with him, always cancelling the plans he would make. In the end, Mum rightfully had a go at me. It took me a few months to fully grasp how mean I was being. My stomach still tightens with self loathing when it passes my mind. Who knows if Tobias feels the same when thinking of his younger days.

"He ditched me for his Dauntless friends as soon as he had memorised his routes." He shrugs, "I guess the resentment came easily when he was picked for the faction."

The boy's faction choices are picked from birth, by the Divinity. They're only disclosed with the Princes when the oldest turns 13. Tobias must have always been drawn to Dauntless, having made friends there before his choosing. Eric seems to be quite the anomaly, not being completely satisfied with his faction.

"Do you think you'd be happier in Dauntless?" I ask cautiously. It's not the type of conversation looked well upon back home, not being happy with the plate you were given. I doubt it's much different over here.

"The grass is greener…" he mumbles, more to himself. He stands, taking Teddy's reins, "We should try and make some more progress before it gets dark."

He walks off without waiting for an answer, making his ways into the denser bush. I go to grab Bess, but come face first with her chest when I turn around. I let out a shriek, not hearing her move. My hand flies to my chest, my heart almost beating out of it. "How are you so silent?"

All Bess does is bend her head down, eating something off of the floor. I grab her reins from below her, still attached from our shortstop. She lets me take them, bringing her head back up, but stops when she's at my eye level. I stare into her deep eyes, unsure if it's the right thing to do. Maybe I should have spent more time down at the stables.

I lift my hand slowly, resting it on her cheek. She's still for a few moments, and I'm just about to remove my hand when I feel her put her weight into it.

Tears spring into my eyes unexpectedly. I know she'd rather be with Tobias and not me, but this gesture, her acceptance of me is more than I could ask for. "I'll get you back to him, Bess. I promise." She makes a sort of snorting sound, and I take it as her being content with the plan. "Right," I start again, breathing through the mix of emotions, "let's get going."

...

We travel for a few more hours until sunset, coming across a small clearing in the woods Eric deems good enough for us to set up camp.

I just about finished lighting the fire when Eric asks, "where'd you learn to do that?"

Our bags must have been a rush job, not even leaving a lighter. "Dad enjoyed camping down south," I chuck the lit branch onto the mass of wood, keeping an eye on it to make sure it catches. "He also enjoyed forcing us along with him."

I smile softly to myself as I watch the scrawny twigs catch. Dad was always obsessed with us having skills not to do with the factions. That's probably why we were enrolled in cold swimming- he said it was a necessity, but I know he just loved to teach us the things he enjoyed. I used to hate doing it back then, taking for granted the time we spent together. I'd give almost anything to have that sort of time with my dad again.

I blink, bringing my attention back to the fire. When I'm certain the flame won't go out, I sit back, watching the flames dance around each other.

"Do you miss the cold?" Eric asks after a few silent seconds.

I look at him, trying to see if he's just trying to make small talk. Not being able to read anything, I nod. "When I got here it was a nice change, the heat. But the longer I've stayed the more it starts creeping up on you. I miss being able to put a fire on, or feel warm by wrapping yourself in a bunch of blankets." I feel my shoulders loosen, just thinking of Athua, "I think I miss the snow most of all." Our home is up North, meaning we would get snow year round. We'd make up our own games to keep us occupied. Forts, sledding, snow painting… One vivid memory happened annually. We would freeze water in containers, then make little dens with blankets and pillows out of the blocks. Xav, every year, used to sneakily put an ice block in front of the doorway, blocking the way out and trapping whoever it was inside. We would fall for it every time.

I twist my necklace around, feeling the coolness of the diamond against my skin. That coldness in my heart is slowly starting to thaw, and I don't know how to feel about it. All I do know is I can't have it all.

I pull the blue blanket around my body tighter, the night temperatures bringing a slight chill to the air. It's a pathetic chill, one the boys back home would tease me about if they saw me grab another layer.

Eric doesn't reply, which I'm grateful for. It's been a long time where I've had a chance to sit with my thoughts.

Those thoughts not surprisingly lead to Tobias. I rest my chin on my pulled up knees, wondering what he's doing right now. Reaching down into my trouser's pocket, I pull out the useless phone. There's no signal out here, hence why I'm sure Jeanine let me keep the device. I stare at the blank screen for a while, wishing that I had chosen to just follow him instead of going to Erudite. I wonder if he's, too, sat by a campfire, staring at his just as blank screen.

I wonder if Tobias has come across this village whilst out by the lake? Stumbled among it whilst scoping out the place?

"How far away is this village from the lake?"

Eric shrugs, "Not long on horseback. Maybe an hour or so on foot."

I nod, biting at one of my nails as I stare at the device. Would they have travelled a few miles past the lake to look for Tori? Or would they have gone back to Dauntless already? Thinking of a new plan?

"What does the village have to do with the lake?" He asks, a tightness in his voice.

I try to get a read on him again, any evidence that he knows something about Arthur's plan to mine the lake for sapphires. But to my disappointment, he seems to be doing the same thing to me. His dark eyes almost waiting for me to slip up.

"Just trying to work out which direction we're heading." He nods slowly. I'm not too sure if he buys it. But there's no way I can indulge Eric in my thoughts. I'd be blatantly telling him that Tobias and the others are searching for Tori. If Tobias does find Tori, then Erudite will no doubt target them for the journal.

Maybe if they're still at the lake, I can intersect them, create a new plan now that I'm sure Erudite doesn't have her. The woman in that picture has the book, which means she has Tori. I can only hope the people that took her have some humanity.

I grab the other blanket out of my bag, chucking it in Eric's direction. "I'll take first watch."

He grabs it gingerly, "thanks."

He lays down, his back to me.

"Any wildlife I should keep an eye out for?"

He doesn't turn around, his breaths already evening out. I huff, leaning back on the tree behind me. I put a hand on Bess's side, having her close to me bringing me just enough comfort that I can breathe a little easier. My eyes travel back over to Eric, my mind wondering what it would be like to be with Tobias out here; with him on Bess and me on Snow. Sighing, I grab my hair and begin trying to bide my time with learning a new braid.

Four's POV

I stand in the doorway, looking into the dim room. It's plain, with a desk in the middle, and some sort of cabinet in the far corner. The only decoration is the portrait of my great grandmother behind Scarlet. I try to keep my eyes off of it, Celia's dark blue eyes seeming to follow my every move.

"Just sit down, Tobias." She says. My eyes shift down to her, then back to the portrait. The resemblance is uncanny.

Ignoring her, I say, "are you going to explain how," motioning up and down, "this happened?" The old queen is dead, has been for over 80 years, dying some time after her fifth child was born. But how can I believe that, when her living reincarnation sits in front of me?

She motions to the seat. "I promise not to shut the door."

The chide in her tone is unignorable. "And why do you think I'd believe you?"

"Are you always so stubborn?" She says blandly. When I don't answer, she sighs. "I want to get to know you, Tobias. I'd thought you'd be smart enough to know it isn't in either of our best interest to forcibly keep you here."

I move into the room then, making sure I keep my eyes on her. "So I can leave whenever?" I quip back, putting my weight on the back of the wooden chair. "I can leave right now and you wouldn't send your guards after me?"

She leans comfortably back into her chair, nodding. "If that's what you wish." Tapping an ink cover pen on the side of the desk, she shrugs, "but we both know you won't."

Those Tosken curls bounce with the movement of her shoulders. Through the generations, they've loosened up. All of my brothers have some sort of variation, but it looks like she's been pretty undiluted.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I sit before her desk, perching on the end of the uncomfortable seat.

"So," she starts, grinning, "what do you want to know?"

Her demeanour almost makes me ignore her looks, making me believe she's around Tris and Peter's age. But when that smile disappears the years start piling on. She must be in her early thirties. It's almost dizzying how quickly her emotions can change.

I rub the loose fabric of my dark jeans between my thumb and forefinger. "You still haven't answered my first question."

She twirls her dark hair around a finger, not taking her eyes off of me. I don't know if looking at this girl is any better than staring at that portrait.

"Do I really need to explain how babies are born, Tobias?" The smile on her face widens when I don't reply. "I thought you and that new queen of yours would have had that down to a T by now."

"This has nothing to do with her."

Her eyes widen in innocence, "Nothing? But she's my queen, too? Isn't she?" She pouts, "or do you not want to share?"

My hands tighten into fists. I watch her eyes travel to them, then shakes her head. "Oh, come on Tobias! Have a bit of fun! This is a family reunion after all!"

"I'm not looking for any more relatives." I say harshly, "now answer my question."

"Ouch." She replies, but that eerie grin still plasters her face. She cocks her head to the side, "we'll have to work on that."

Getting up, she moves to a cabinet in the corner, just next to a wonky window. When she opens it, a glass falls out, smashing onto the wooden floor. "Oops." Ignoring the mess, she pulls out two mismatching glasses, and some old looking green bottle.

She pours the drink out, and I think it must be wine. She pushes one to me, whilst sipping her own. I leave it where it sits, watching her flop back into her seat. She points up behind her, where the painting lies above her head. "Granny didn't die."

I almost sigh in frustration, my body wanting to bend in on itself. Instead, I force out tightly, "I know that." I point at her, "you're stating the obvious."

"If you wouldn't interrupt me…"

I hold my hands up. She smiles.

"So what lies did your great grandfather feed to you lot?" She begins, tapping her forefinger on her lip, "she fell off a cliff, right? A cliff she grew up her whole life being told to stay away from?" She shakes her head, "making her look fucking dumb?"

She takes another sip of the dark wine, then swirls the liquid in the glass. "In reality," her gaze moves from the moving liquid, back to me, "the King would have been too embarrassed to indulge the family with the truth." Finishing off the wine, she places the empty glass back on the table. "An infidelity, one that led to a sixth child."

She tuts, smiling to herself as she moves the empty glass back and forth. "He should have killed her there and then. Maybe then that stupid lie would have been more believeable." Leaning forward, she places her chin on her fists, "did you know Queen Celia's origin faction was Dauntless?"

I nod slowly. Of course I know that. I know every Queen of Tosken's origin faction back to the start of written history.

"Stuipid, stupid story." She mutters to herself. "No wonder why her eyes wandered. What a man to be married to."

"So Celia cheated on Henry? Then got pregnant and was banished? Why did she pick Henry if she didn't love him?" I try to clarify her chatter, a lot of her sentences going off in weird tangents that don't mean much. Celia would have had five options, were they all so bad that Henry was the best of the bunch?

"The factions that year had produced pathetic princes." She grimaces, "just as pathetic as the institutions themselves." Her hand drums on the table, eyes staring just past me. When I look over my shoulder, nothing is there but the open door. Maybe she's just spacing out. I wonder if they get any running water out here, or if wine is the only thing they drink.

"The queen was told to leave the country, to never return. The media wasn't much of a thing back then, so there wasn't a fear of her being recognised outside of Tosken." She shakes her head, "the spineless king couldn't kill her, still completely in love with the woman. So he let her go, and all of his tabs vanished with her. He had no clue where she went after that day."

Her arms splay out, motioning to the room. "And that's where this comes into play. The Queen left with her lover and headed to the lake, unable to leave their homeland. They stumbled upon a small pocket of factionless, living off the land just a few miles from the water. Not having a clue who they were, they let them stay. They settled down here, and helped make something new. The baby came a few months later."

She rubs her forehead, almost like it's hard to recount the events, "I'm sure there's more to the story, but she didn't like talking about it much. Details get lost with time."

"So you grew up here? Who are your parents?"

"Parents are unimportant, dying a few years after my birth. My grandmother and grandfather died of the same fever, when I was around your age."

Her emotions seem to disappear when talking about her immediate family. She seems to only hold any affection for the old queen.

"So, what? An old woman brought you up?" How old must she have been 30 years ago? 70? "And what about the man she ran with? What happened to him?"

A shadow seems to pass over her face, her eyes darkening. Her mouth opens, but closes with the sound of a knock at the door.

Her gaze moves behind me. When I turn around Theresa is standing in the doorway. Without a word, she moves on.

I hear the chair scrape before I've even turned back around. Scarlet's up, clapping her hands together in front of her. "Charlie will take you to your friends. We'll meet up later for lighter conversation."

She moves around the desk without another word, not leaving me any room to reply. When I turn back to the doorway, a bulky blond stands in her place.

My eyes travel from his large boots up to his stoic face. I grin, raising my brows, "we could use someone like you in Dauntless."

...

"So we're not prisoners?" Uriah asks unsurely, sitting on the edge of a tatty single bunk.

Zeke, next to him, puts a hand on his shoulder, "of course not! We're obviously highly coveted guests! Why else would they have muscles over there blocking the doorway?" My eyes shift to the open door, still finding blondie standing blocking the only exit. Zeke leans around Uriah, waving at the guard. "Did you bring up the endless possibilities we could offer him in Dauntless, Four?"

I nod my head, my eyes moving to the bars on the window. I briefly hear Shauna mumble something about Zeke and I being 'fucking idiots' as I move closer to the frame.

"Must be some sort of holding room." I voice my thoughts out loud, pulling the bar just to see how it holds. For a pretty run down town, it's decently sturdy.

Lauren comes up next to me, leaning her shoulder on the wall before the window. "What do we do now?"

Her brown eyes hold mine for a beat, waiting expectantly for a plan to leave my mouth. I look around the room, and see the same expression on everyone's faces.

On the walk over here, it had crossed my mind what our next move should be. Should I be trying to find a way to get some of them out? Send them to Erudite?

My eyes shift to Bud. His head is in his hands, sitting on the furthest bunk from the rest of us.

It was stupid to bring everyone to the lake. I should have kept to the plan Tris and I came up with. I rub my forehead in frustration. If only she was here, she'd come up with a better plan than I could.

I grab my phone out of my pocket having useless hope that it would have some sort of signal. As expected, nothing. The relief I felt when it turned on was dampened when I seen the lack of bars at the top of my incredibly cracked screen. But even with no signal, I keep it out. My eyes stay glued onto my lockscreen, a picture of Tris crouching down looks back at me. She's holding the dog up, his two back feet still placed on the ground. She smiles just above the camera, her cloudy eyes sparkling back at me. When I look closer, I realise she's not looking at the camera, but just beyond it.

"Four?" Lauren pushes. I reluctantly put the phone away, knowing I don't need such a big distraction. It's good she's not here. She's safer at home.

Looking back to the door, I expect to see the guard standing there. Instead, the door's been closed.

Without prompting, Lynn gets up and peaks through one of the gaps in the wood. "He's not on the other side."

"Alright," I begin, moving back to the bunks, "huddle in."

...

By the end of the discussion, it's agreed that Will and Lynn will head to Erudite, under the same guise that they're scoping out potential advisors for the Princess. Uriah and Shauna will head back to the castle, and see what's up with the girls. Bud, Zeke and Lauren will stay with me, here, and figure out what's going on with this factionless community.

"But if you now think Tori's in Erudite-" Bud begins.

I cut him off quickly. "Will and Lynn are going. End of discussion." In hindsight, Bud should have never come. He's in no mental state to search logically for Tori. I understand that he would never let us go without him, so that's why he's staying with me. I need to keep an eye on him.

The plan isn't solid. I have no clue where Tori could be. We needed to expand our search around the lake, but our plans have been forcibly changed.

"And you don't think this community had anything to do with Erudite?" Shauna asks. She sits next to Zeke, hands clasped tightly, anchoring the two of them together.

"No," I reply, averting my eyes. "She's not a fan of the factions."

When I had been dropped off by that bulk of a man, I had tried to reiterate what Scarlet had told me. To say they were shocked that Celia hadn't actually died would be an understatement.

"I'm pretty sure she wants to talk some time later today. I'll make sure she's not affiliated with Erudite then." I lean back against the hard wall, the bunk looming over me, "we'll all stay here tonight, the ones leaving will go in the early hours." I wipe my brow, sweat beading. The room is stuffy and not built to keep out the heat. It's also pretty small, housing only 3 run down bunks.

I hear the creak of the door and twist my head to see who's opened the door. Almost like he's been summoned, the blond guard, Charlie, stands in the doorway.

"Scarlet's asked for your presence." He says with no emotion. His eyes lock onto mine.

Without making a fuss, I nod. Turning back to the group, I say, "figure out sleeping arrangements. Don't wait up for me, get some rest."

I leave then, letting the guard escort me to whatever Scarlet has got planned.