A/N- Happy Valentines day! Very happy to finally finish this chapter, thought it'd be a nice present for you all! This one has taken me a while to get through as you all will know by my lack of updating. January has had a lot going on and it's finally over, so that's good! Just wanted to say a bit about the last review, about each chapter feeling like my last. Before writing, I would read fanfiction all the time- and it was the worst thing ever when the author would stop updating, or you'd read 10, 20 chapters and realise the last time they updated was 2 years ago lmao. So I completely get where you're coming from! I know my chapters are a bit sporadic, and nowadays I'm just updating whenever I want, but I can 100% promise that this story will be finished. I'm so nearly done, only a handful of chapters need to be written to wrap this one up! Which is kind of sad, but it will be good to focus on 'Eye of the Storm' and any new ideas I come up with! 'A Twist of Fate' will always be my number one priority, my favourite story! I've put so much time and imagination into this word and plot that there's no doubt in my mind that it'll be finished. Just hold on that bit longer! As always, thank you for the reviews, follows and faves! Each one means so much and puts a smile on my face, even if you guys just talk about your concerns! Let me know what you think about chap 31! Bethany x

Chapter 31.

Tris's POV- 1 day until the ball,

And then the Sun's setting again, and it's another day wasted.

"The ball's tomorrow, Four!" I exclaim, pacing back and forth, "we're no closer to that journal than I was back in Erudite!"

"So, our plans haven't worked, fine. We just need to change the way we're looking at this."

I stare at him blankly, having finally stopped moving. He's sitting on our lumpy bed, arms resting on his knees as he holds his head up to look at me. "You don't think I haven't tried to change my thinking? That advice is 2 days too late."

I take in a breath, rubbing my hands aggressively up and down my face. Why am I getting short with Tobias?

We tried his plans yesterday, to no avail. We had a go at picking the lock with an embedded hair pin that had been unknowingly stuck in my hair for the past few days. Embarrassingly for Tobias, who was certain he could pick the lock if he just had the right tool, failed.

We then tried going back through the hole in the wall, through Tori's room and tried to get through that door. I had gone along with him that time, again, but I don't know what kind of locks they're using in this place, but nothing Tobias did moved the door an inch. After that failed attempt, I let Lauren join him for his other stupid plans. He must have spent the whole of yesterday in that dark corridor, so sure of himself, sure he could find a fault in their supposedly poorly made walls.

They aren't poorly made, and turns out the corridor led us nowhere. Does it even matter that we found Tori, if she's still stuck in that room, and us in ours?

Tobias stands up abruptly, and I already know whats going to fall out of his mouth, "let me just go back in-"

"No." I cut him off, the pointlessness of going back in there having worn thin last night. "That dingy hallway is meaningless, Four. I don't know why it's there, but it's not leading us out."

I move to the window, glancing to the left, "besides," I turn back to him, "I'm positive they've got guards stationed at any exit these sets of buildings have. Even if you found a way out, you'd find yourself back here in no time."

And he knows this. He knows that there's guards lining the street. We tried to understand the changing of the guards, but there was no sequence to it. In the end, there was always some watchful gaze on this room.

With the sun setting just past the house in front, I know we're running out of time. Turning around, I face the one person who makes me want to rip my hair out and hold so close at the exact same time.

My one plan, the only plan that I was certain would get us somewhere, was shot down by him.

I open my mouth, but he begins to shake his head, "get that idea out of your head Tris."

My hands form fists at my sides, "I don't know why you're being so fucking dramatic? It's not like I'm volunteering to sleep with one of them."

I watch his mouth drop slightly, and usually I'd find it amusing rendering him speechless- but all I can focus on is pushing my ebbing anger down.

He stands up slowly, moving close enough that I have to bend my neck to look into his eyes. They're harsh and cold, but I don't let his severe look knock down my sturdy walls.

"I don't care if it's a measly amount of flirting, Tris. You're not leaving my side, and I'm not leaving yours- I thought that's what we agreed?"

I press my lips together harshly. When I said that, I wasn't thinking about him thinking that applied to me.

Gritting my teeth together, "it's the best way-"

He's turned away from me now, walking back across the small room, "you may as well stop talking, because I'm not listening."

Heat pools into my cheeks, simmering flames now drenched in gasoline. "You did not-"

But before I can get one more word out, the door besides me has slammed open, the wood aggressively hitting into my shoulder. I gasp, pain shooting up my arm.

My reaction is cut short by a guard pushing into the room, one hand pushing the door back towards the window again. I jump out of the way, the consistent throbbing hitting the back of my mind as I glimpse at the pool of guards beyond the exit.

It's not Charlie stomping into the room, but a dark haired stocky guard. He grabs onto my sore arm without giving me any time to think, dragging me out. It's only when I hear Tobias shouting behind me that I start putting two and two together.

I start yanking my arm back, but it feels ten times worse when I do resist. Hot burning pain embeds itself through my arm, and all it does is make the guard tighten his grip.

I'm pushed into a large group of other guards, staggering back before I hit a tall woman in front. She gives me a dirty look, then takes my arms as she turns me around.

Lauren, all of a sudden, is before me- her dark eyes wide, her body fighting against the restraints tightly wrapped around her wrists.

And then there's Tobais. So unlike himself, he walks calmly over, but is held back a few metres.

"Keep those two away from each other," a familiar voice says. He walks into the now prominent middle. A solid circle of guards surround us all, Charlie the odd one out as he walks closer. He looks over to Tobias, then a smirking face meets mine. "I don't want you two scaring my fellow colleagues' eyes."

My face scrunches in disgust, my body tensing with his lacklustre words.

"Now," he starts again, addressing the guards, "let's get a move on, before she has all of our heads."

...

A long, scenic walk through the slowly dimming forest, and we finally slow down as the trees begin enlarging and spreading out. From my past short visits, I know we're heading towards the lake.

The blistering pain in my shoulder has turned into a dull throb, my mind too caught up in knowing Tobias is somewhere behind me but not next to me enough to keep my attention off of my physical being.

By the time we come to a definitive stop, the sun has fully set. The stars shine brightly in the sky, the moon the only illuminating our surroundings. It's a pathetic light, one that hardly lets me see three feet beyond.

Looking over my shoulder, I try to spot Tobias, but with the crowd of guards and the little light, it's near impossible. There must be over half the village here, the line of people goes so far back that the trees begin to eat them hole.

Holding in a huff, I look to my right. There, standing relaxed as ever, is that guard- Charlie. I'm sure if there was a tree close by, he'd be lent against it.

We're standing at the front of the group, with nothing but empty space beyond. We had passed the lake around half an hour ago, now waiting in an opening in the forest. And that's where he's staring, that open space.

I squint, useless hope that it would help me see any better. But I see nothing, nothing but an oddly eerie blackness- not darkness but a pitch black hole.

"Is there something over there?" I hesitantly ask, my heart starting to beat a tad faster. It's almost like a void, ready to swallow me whole.

"I'm sure you'll find out soon," he replies smoothly, his attention now drawn to me. He hoists up the rope circularing his right shoulder as I think I see his lip pull upwards. But when my eyes meet back to his, they seem detached from the rest of him; "she'll be here in no time."

Slowly turning my head, I look back over my shoulder. If only his eyes weren't such a dark shade of blue- his hair such a deep brown, then maybe-

"There's the star of the show!" A chipper voice floats over the crowd. It's deceptively sweet, words flowing through her lips like flowers blooming on an early spring morning. I watch her move closer until she's standing in front of me. Being the same height, we lock eyes. Those deep blue ones make me itch, wanting to turn around and grab him and pull him far away from here- "let's hope you don't disappoint." But there's something else there- something hiding behind a mirror. Her eyes hang heavy on her petite face, the lighting having added a few years onto her from how I remembered her face the last time we met. That sweet voice cracks on her last word, age piling on. It takes me aback, my stomach dropping for a split second.

But then she's clearing her throat, and I start to question why I reacted in such a way. It's an easy wonder, one that doesn't quell my churning stomach.

"So, Beatrice…" I cringe at the choice of name, my buried memory of far away birth parents being chucked into my face. She smiles, and some weird energy radiates off of her. She bounces on her toes, vibrating the shared space we stand on. "I've heard you're a great swimmer."

My brows pull together, my eyes shifting from one person to the other, unsure if I should agree or not…

"I'm not sure why you'd care-"

"Oh, we all heard about your heroic feat, jumping into the northern ocean to save our beloved Prince." Her head tilts to the side, a thin smile sitting on her face, "I think he's always been my favourite- a bit of a loose cannon, but we all have our flaws, don't we?"

"It's unsurprising that Peter is your favourite Prince," I say back, deadpan. "He's also the one that's in the most dire need of some therapy sessions."

She takes a step back, her curls bouncing with her movements. "At the end of the day, don't we all?" She clicks her fingers, and the guards holding my arms begin moving forward. Leaving Charlie behind, I'm dragged ahead, watching Scarlets obnoxious self bounce. "But we're getting off topic, let's get back to swimming."

She's moving out of the way suddenly, and I'm being thrown forward. My knees hit the ground first, hard rock cutting through my thin cargos. And then my hands hit, and my balance fails. Heart leaping into my throat, I land on the edge of a jagged rock, the bottom of my palms just scraping the edge, my fingers desperately trying to grasp onto some sort of bottom. I push my palms blisteringly hard, hard enough to thankfully keep my body weight in the safety of solid ground.

My head whips around accusingly, only to be met with an extra shove to my skull. It smacks back, and I let it hang there heavy for a few seconds, trying to find some long gone composure.

"I was hoping from your past in cold water swimming that you'd be of help to me." Scarlet starts up again, her shoes just in my peripheral vision, "I'm assuming you would have been taught some sort of diving from your adoptive father?"

I look up to her without thought, and I watch her hand come up quickly. I flinch, my eyes squeezing shut as I wait for another blow. When it doesn't come, I gingerly open them, and see the pushy guard behind me to my right slowly lowering his own.

Looking back to Scarlet, my mind scrambles back to the disturbingly correct information she's just thrown up. "How do you know that?"

"It's not exactly a secret, Beatrice." She replies condescendingly, shaking her head as she looks down, "just because I live in the middle of nowhere doesn't mean I don't have my sources."

I don't even let myself worry about who these sources may be, not having the mental capacity for it. Instead, I stay on the basics, "you want me to dive into the lake?"

She crouches down, her head at a higher angle than mine, making me look up, "you're going to dive into the lake, and retrieve something for me."

I huff out a laugh, falling back onto my bent legs, "you think I'm going to help you? Why would I do that?"

Her eyes harden as she pushes up off her knees, standing, "I've been around long enough to know a young, love sick girl like you would say something on those lines."

I scramble up, my mind already on her path. Twisting around, I'm facing a sack of a body being dragged by two guards.

I almost choke on the breath I take in, my stomach dropping as my eyes rapidly glance over his burnt skin. Hand print after hand print litter Tobias's skin, so familiar yet so alien at the same time. Those aren't my hands.

Anger drenches me, the little life left in his body the only thing from keeping me from wrapping my hands around her throat.

When we lock eyes, they're sparkling, and it all makes sense. "What did you do."

"You're too smart for me to spell it out for you, Princess."

It should have been obvious to me the second he said how uncanny the resemblance is, nothing's sounded correct since the moment I stepped foot in that village. Those dates from my mothers, they actually mean something.

Taking a step towards him, my only thought is to get him away from her. Knowing from experience, she's going to do more harm than good. And she's already had a great go.

"Ah, ah, ah!" She chucks out the words so humorously, so lightheartedly- "one more step and I'll take those last breaths from him."

I breathe in deep, letting the anger flood my veins, letting that once distrustful tingle wash over my skin. "What do you want, Celia?"

She laughs, wrapping a curl around one finger, "ah! That name! It's been years since I heard it last," she steps closer to me, and I resist taking my own one back. "There's still so much you don't know, but I'll let you in on one little secret." Her eyes filter to the now obvious hole in the floor, "down there rests something lost." She looks back to me, the moon light hitting off of her eyes like the reflection on the ocean, "you're going to get it for me, otherwise my great grandson will be the first of many casualties."

"You'd kill your own blood?"

She shrugs, "what is blood if not family?" She takes a few steps back, missing every jagged rock like she's paced around this mysterious cavern a hundred times before, "I don't know the boy, so he will not be missed. Now," she smiles, "I would like your answer."

I glance back at my broken boy, hanging between two weights. Whatever is down there won't do anyone but Celia and her posse of factionless good- and I know he wouldn't want me to get it, but-

"You know I'll do it."

"Wonderful!" She sings, then motions to the opening, "it's all yours."

I hesitantly turn back towards the hole, taking a small step forward just to look over the side. It's so dark down there that it's useless trying to figure how deep the drop will be. Assuming there's water down there, it's going to hurt like hell jumping in if I make any mistake.

"How will I get back out?"

"Charlie will chuck a rope down," she says quickly, "now, if you don't mind-"

"Just-" I cut in, "wait a second." I grab Celia's attention, watching her anticipation get the better of her. "I'll heal Four, then I'll jump in."

She barks out a laugh, "you think I'm going to let you heal a Dauntless Prince?" She shakes her head, "I don't think so, Beatrice. You'll retrieve my item, then I'll heal him when I have it in my hands."

"And what's going to happen to us after?"

She huffs, her shoulders falling, "If you'd just get on with it, then you'd find out soon enough, wouldn't you?"

Knowing I'm just wasting time, I turn around. The faster I find the item, the faster I can heal Tobias.

I take a deep breath in, readying myself to push off. Closing my eyes, I think back to jumping into the chasm with my Dauntless friends. It's no different.

Taking a few steps back, I launch off, hoping I've given myself enough room to not scrape any part of me on the way down. The free fall is appreciated, the natural flipping of my stomach more welcome than the churning of thoughts that were bouncing through my head moments before.

And then I'm hitting it hard, and it's so obviously water. Even with my body as straight as I could position it, my skin still stings with pressure, the coldness of the lake tipping me upside down.

I resurface in no time, breathing through the panic taking over my body. I tread the water, hoping to acclimate as soon as possible. It must be around freezing, just like it was days, if not years ago with Eric and the brothers.

"Around 40ft there will be a piece of paper, to the north of the cave." Her voice booms through the hole. I look up, and see that I'm a good 20ft below. "Retrieve the paper, and we'll toss the rope down."

I begin shaking my head, then remember that they can't see down that far "No, no, I can't dive that deep- I'm a novice- I-"

She cuts off my budding panic, "you retrieve it or the boy dies, Princess."

That panic bursts open, filling every open door. My fight or flight switches on, my breathing becoming uncontrolled. The furthest I've ever dived is around 30ft. That extra 10ft could easily be the death of me. I don't know if I'm able to hold my breath to get to that depth, and then I have to find a loose piece of paper? I can't see myself holding onto consciousness that deep down?

It's sounding impossible, but if it's the only way to save Tobias…

I try to relax my body, needing to begging to float. It's hard for a handful of seconds, with myself weighed down by all the possibilities that will most likely happen. If I don't make it, what will she do with Tobias? Lauren? I can't see her sparing them…

Finally on my back, I take a deep breath in, pausing, then exhaling, making sure the exhale lasts longer than the inhale. I pause at the end of my exhale, trying to mimic the body during sleep. I do this over and over, giving myself two minutes to prepare. It's not enough time, not with the little rest I've had the past few days and the strain the long horse ride has done. Ignoring the hit to my shoulder, I decide that it'll have to be enough.

I let my legs sink down, preparing to take my final inhale. I breathe in, letting air fill every crevice of my chest. Just when I think it's as far as I can go, I hear commotion above.

My calm breathing forgotten, my head shoots up, my body a magnet to his voice. Sounding distressed, I hear him pleading. My head whips around the space, my reflexes in motion, I try to find any way out of here. But then I hear it. He's begging them; begging them to let me back up. They're not hurting him yet, not physically…

"This is for you, Tobias," I whisper to myself. I take in one final breath, then dive.