A/N- Here it is! The End! Very bittersweet, but it's a huge weight off of my shoulders having finally finished this story! Just want to say a quick thanks to foreverhja and sososotired for the sweet reviews, I'm very thankful that you've stuck with me for so long! But I'm not going to ramble too much, as there's another authors note to please be read at the bottom. I'm just going to be talking about what my plan is from here, and I think some of you should be interested lol. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me, and enjoy chapter 42!

Chapter 42,

Tobias's POV,

"Give her some time, Princling. She will wake when she's ready."

I look up to Harriet from the old chair I've pushed tightly up to Tris's bed, the morning sun warming up the older woman's skin. "You're sure she'll be okay?" I ask hoarsely.

The doctor rolls her worn out eyes, "the only damage she's done was the spot she hit her head on the hall floor, and it hasn't even made a cut. She's just exhausted, like I told you last night." She begins to grab her things, packing them in her bag. "Now, I need to go and check on the rest of our casualties. It seems you have forgotten the Princess wasn't the only one hurt."

Her accusing eyes burn into mine, letting the guilt seep in without push back. It's not like I've forgotten what happened to the King, but it's easier to worry about one person than two. And right now, I want all my attention on Tris.

"Thank you, Harriet. For everything." Even just the thought of Tris being hurt and not knowing what to do tightens my chest.

She waves me off, "all I want from you is to make sure that girl doesn't get out of that bed for anything but the toilet, got it?"

I nod at the doctor, then watch as she pushes open the heavy doors leading to the spiralling stairs. She's gone in a flash, the door lagging to close behind her.

Letting go of deep breath, my palm finds my forehead as I lean back into the chair exhaustedly, listening to the doors click into place. I rub at the rough skin, trying to will away the events of the day. But as my eyes land back on her, the task is impossible.

She lays in the middle of her bed peacefully enough. The airy duvet encompasses her body whilst the feathered pillows cushion her heavy head. There's no movement behind her large eyes, and not one strand of honey hair out of place. I smile grimly, knowing it's a miracle that she's sleeping this soundly after the hell she's been through this past week.

Leaning over, I find her left hand beneath the blankets. It's warm as I wrap my own around it, bringing it over to me. With my elbows resting just before my knees, I comfortably bring the back of her palm to my lips.

Having her here, with me, should be enough reassurance that she's okay. She could have been taken by the rogue factionless left stuttering around the castle, or lost in the chaos of the aftermath. But she's with me, and I need to keep telling myself that her unusually still body doesn't mean anything but exhaustion.

Harriet has assured me multiple times that she's just asleep. But remembering her passing out in the hall last night hasn't sat well. One moment she's kneeling down in front of that godforsaken book, then the next my stomachs on the floor as she's on wobbly feet, knees collapsing beneath her.

And then there's Celia. Or what I've assumed was Celia. An ancient looking woman, more clothes than flesh.

Luckily, Eric had his head screwed on tighter than I did, and was able to cover her with a rogue tablecloth before anyone made a scene as I ran to grab Tris. I guess it was good timing for our princesses' collapse, as all attention, including mine, was on her.

Pressing her hand firmly against my skin, the overwhelming reality of what's to come creeps upon me. Even yesterday morning, I was thinking when this was all over, we'd all be able to go back to our everyday lives. I thought when the sun finally rose after the ball we'd all be able to finally relax.

But I still have no clue what went down after Tris knelt down next to that journal, nor do I know why Celia suddenly became bones.

And it's not just the mysteries that need to be filled. There's people clawing at the bars to see the Princess- people that deserve to see her more than I do right now. But I selfishly can't bear to ruin the one bit of peace I've found for myself, the moments of quiet I've grasped onto with her.

But peace never lasts long in this castle, as the harsh knock on Tris's locked door entails.

I shut my eyes, trying to hold on to the feeling, even just for a second more, of her and me, together. Then, with a hell of a lot of effort, I place her hand back onto her mattress. I take time to tuck her completely under the blankets, not wanting her to be cold. Then, begrudgingly, I make my way to the door. Taking one last glance of Tris still in her own little world, I allow mine to be broken.

"Your Highness," Edward acknowledges, bowing slightly. "We're finding it difficult to hold the others back."

The guard's stoic face leaves no room for my persistence. So I give in- to a point. "Allow her lady's maid, Christina, up. And her mother."

He nods once, then disappears down the stairs.

Nerves begin to form in the pit of my stomach as soon as he's gone. Christina I can deal with, but Queen Melanie? Can I take her being upset- or worse, disappointed that it's only now I've allowed her to see her daughter?

Moving back into the room, I pace at the bottom of Tris's bed. The movement doesn't last long though as I quickly hear fast paced footsteps climbing the steps.

Christina is through the door first, more or less stumbling over the entryway. I stop in my steps, just waiting for an explosion. Her baby pink dress juxtaposes the fire of her face.

"I'll deal with you later," she says harshly, knocking her shoulder into me as she pushes past. I watch as she bypasses my chair, shoving herself centimetres away from the Princess.

"Christ-"

Her volatile glare has me slamming my mouth shut.

"She's always been an emotive worrier," a soft voice says, coming from my right.

Taken off guard, my head twists towards Tris's mum. But she's not looking at me as she talks, her focus on the only important thing in the room.

"I'm really sorry about-"

She shakes her head, her once well kept ringlets frizzing. "She's safe, that's all that matters." Finally she looks over, tired eyes meeting mine, "Christina might not see it, but I understand why you secluded her up here." She huffs out a laugh, "if we were back home; if this happened in Athua- I'd have her locked in my room with me for the foreseeable future." Her gaze moves back to her adopted daughter as she moves some strands of her chocolate hair away from her face, and my uneasy stomach settles. "But this isn't Athua."

I nod hesitantly, turning back to look at the Princess. From the looks of it, Christina is giving her a pointless lecture.

"You know she can't hear you yet, right?" I say, not exactly thinking my words through.

"I don't even want to look at you right now, Four, let alone speak to you." She keeps her eyes on her best friend as she presses a loving hand across Tris's hair.

The Queen next to me laughs, a proper one. "Dramatic as always," Melanie says loud enough for the lady in wait to hear.

"I'm the only one that's not talking nonsense," Christina mutters back, eyes still glued on Tris.

At this point, Queen Melanie has moved away from me, making her way to Tris's other side. She perches on the side of her bed, back to me.

"She needed rest, Christina, Four knew that."

All Christina does is shake her head, acting insanely like a child.

But I let it pass, knowing she has every right to be mad at me.

"I think it's time to let the others up," I force out, beginning to feel a bit awkward, "can't put it off forever."

Christina's head shoots to me, her mouth opening with an oh so very obvious remark.

"Swallow it," Melanie cuts in sharply, which takes me aback. From the little I know about Tris's mother, I do know she's strong. Someone who's able to discipline with gentleness, a doting mother to all. But not someone who is cutting with their words.

And I'm sure Christina looks up to the Queen as some sort of mother figure, with her being at court mostly without her parents. Embarrassment soon fills her cheeks as Melanie finishes with, "I do not think Bea would be pleased with the way you are speaking to the Prince."

"I'm going to head downstairs," I say quickly, not wanting to be the subject of Tris's mothers lesson. "Let Edward know if anything changes?"

"Of course," the Queen replies softly, turning her head to mine, "thank you, Four. I think our family needs some time together also."

I don't know if her words were meant for me to feel slightly stung, but it's happened nonetheless. "We all deserve some time alone with the Princess, you and your family most of all." And knowing I could never be part of this specific dynamic, I open the door.

As I close it, I take in a controlled breath. I have all the time in the world with Tris; it's not necessary for me to be there when she wakes.

Then I'm standing in front of the large group on Tris's advisor's landing, letting them know it's a free for all. Within seconds, there's only a handful of us left.

"You do know that included you guys also?"

I look between the remaining four. An exhausted Zeke, Uri, Mar and Eric look confusingly back.

Zeke ends up raising his brows, "you said she was still knocked out." It's a statement, one that doesn't need anything to follow.

I look through the other three, and know they're doing this for me. A small smile pulls on one side of my mouth, "I was thinking of heading down to the beach?"

I'm met with nods of agreement, and I watch as the siblings and Mar lead the way.

Stuffing my hands into my jacket pocket, I follow slowly along.

"You doing okay?" Eric asks as we walk through the uninhabited palace. He slows down his pace to match mine, letting his feet drag on the marble floor.

I breathe through the truth, gaze glued to our moving feet. "Yeah, I'm okay."

We take the long way to the beach, not wanting to step foot through the ballroom. Passing the stables as we do so, I look in to see if Bess is back. I just see her black nose pop out when Eric says, "some of your dauntless lot brought them back this morning." He then laughs, "I've checked on Teddy, he's going to rival Tris for the longest nap."

What an odd sound, my older brothers laugh. "I don't know the last time I heard you do that." And then I do something I've never done before. I look at him, really look at him.

The crease between his brows have softened, as has the stiffness of his shoulders. With his dark hair messier than I've ever seen it, I find him somewhat of a stranger.

"What?" He asks, uncomfortable eyes shifting anywhere but my own.

Softly laughing to myself, I shake my head, "nothing." Nodding towards the waves, I say, "let's not keep them waiting."

Tris's POV,

Feeling groggy, it's hard to pry my eyes open. But with the loud chatter filling the space around me, it's also impossible to stay under the blanket of sleep.

"Hey! Quiet down! I think she's waking up…"

The sound of Christina's loud voice is both a comfort and an annoyance. "You're making it sound like I've been asleep for months," I mumble as I squint against the light shining into my eyes.

"Well, it's the early afternoon, so you've been out of it for over 12 hours." This response doesn't come from Christina.

I blink through the burning as I begin to push myself into a sitting position. But then there's suddenly commotion, and I've got multiple sets of hands helping me as I go.

Feeling absolutely fine, I'm biting back my tongue.

When I'm firmly pressed against pillows, and my eyes are finally working to a degree, I get a grasp on the situation.

I'm in my room, in my bed, with all of my family crammed in here with me.

"Never imagined this would happen in Tosken," I say under my breath.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Comes from Dad.

My brows pinch as I look between all of them.

Christina is glued to my left, with Mum to my right. Xav, Caleb, Callan, Gideon, Seb, Ash and Dad are all squished together on the bottom, barely making room for my squished feet.

And as I take in each and every one of them, it all comes back to me.

My friends, the journal, Ceila, the gods, and-

"Where's Four?"

I lean around Christina, and only find an empty chair. Then I look over my family again, waiting for a response.

But I don't get the one I want. "Shouldn't we be talking about what the hell went on at the ball last night?" It's Xavier responding, obviously.

Annoyance jumps into my chest at the same time as my disappointment. He's not here. My face scrunches as I try to fill the growing empty space. Why's he not here?

Ignoring Xavier's out of place curiosity, I start shimmying under the taunt duvet. But with the amount of people sitting on it, it leads me nowhere.

"I wouldn't do that, Bea," Caleb chimes in, "when you passed out your head hit the floor. Don't do more damage to your-"

"I wouldn't have to shimmy if you lot would just get off of my bed!" My annoyance is slowly growing into panic, the feeling of being held in this room, let alone being trapped under my duvet, not helping ease my pounding chest.

Then everyone starts looking at each other, which in turn kicks my nerves into overdrive. "You can tell me where he is or I can go find him myself!"

"Bea, he's okay," Mum finally relents, the once barely there wrinkles now the first thing I notice about her. "He's been here since last night, but left to give us some time with you."

I take in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "The last time I saw him he was being eaten up by a smoke cloud." This confuses them, which would then confuse me if I cared enough. "Now, please can either of you two," I look pointedly at Christina and Mum, "get off of my bed."

Maybe a bit taken aback, Christina mutters, 'smoke cloud?' as she slowly steps off of the mattress.

Moving quickly, I'm out of my crowded room. I can hear their concerns behind me, but don't think of it for long. I sprint down the stairs, feeling satisfied that the only person who knows their way around this castle is Christina; and I'm hoping she has enough common sense to leave me be.

The castle is eerily quiet as I move through the halls, taking my sprint down to an urgent walk. Glancing down every hallway and in every open room, I find him nowhere.

Anxious energy starts pumping through my system as more of the palace gets checked off of my list. And before I know it, I'm in front of an open arch.

A breathtaking courtyard stares back at me, one that I never even knew existed. A plethora of exotic plants fill the space, most shading the hot sun trying to scorch the ground.

But in parts of the garden, there's big enough gaps that a few rays burst through, lighting up a path.

Following it mindlessly, I know it's leading me to him. I'm unsure why I know for certain, but I don't dwell on the unknown. Instead, my bare feet pick up the pace through the large arch that leads out to another storybook area.

Bypassing the intricate fountain, and ignoring the secret paths, I run in the direction of the water.

When the soles of my feet finally meet sand, I breathe a bit easier. Quickly taking a scan of the expanse, I find the rocks that lead to all those rollercoaster memories to my left. But the sun's not shining back there, instead it lights where the waves meet the shoreline.

I feel him before I spot him. A warm sunrise crosses my chest, filling me with colour.

He stands alone before the waves, hands crossed against his chest as he looks out over the water. Still in his dress shirt and trousers, I can tell he's not slept.

I begin running again, feeling the sand kicking back up against my bare legs. I only begin to slow when I'm a few metres from him.

Then I come to a stop when I find him in his own little world, not hearing me approach.

Opening my mouth, I find no words to say. For a split second, something feels different, like the severity of our situation was the only thing that filled the space between us. And now that it's over? What's going to be left?

But then he looks over his shoulder, his body following nearly instantly, and my mind goes blank.

"You weren't there," I blurt out, boarding on child talk, "when I woke." I can feel my emotions resurfacing, my chest tightening, my heart overloading.

We both stay where we are, but the distance between us starts to feel wrong.

His arms drop to his sides as his eyes soften, "your family needed to be there."

His words hurt, and I know he doesn't mean for them to do so, but, "I didn't want them there." I push forward, taking my first confident step, "I only wanted you."

He seems to war with himself, which puts me on edge. Maybe things are different now. Could I really blame him if he didn't want to move forward with me? If his feelings got muddled up with our fast paced lives? As much as it hurts to think about, I could never hold that against him.

I press my lips together, feeling my throat tighten, "Tobias…"

But then he seems to come to a conclusion, and he's not stuck on the shoreline anymore.

Instead, he's right there before me, fingers digging into my hair as his lips slam against mine.

Relief sags through my body like a tsunami touching land. And like he knew my legs were about to give out, I'm lifted off of the ground. My shaky legs wrap around his midsection tightly, my palms locking themselves around the back of his neck, trying to control their own jitteriness.

The need to be as close as I can get to him has never felt so big. It fills my chest, fills every compartment of my mind.

Our lips leave each other for a moment as I gasp in a breath, my glazed eyes finding his.

They're darker than usual, and it's only then that I can feel him straining against me. With my breaths still coming out heavily, I start to ask, "is there-"

But he's on the same track, "there's a-"

A stupidly large smile overtakes my face as I watch, and feel, a laugh leave his chest.

Unwrapping my legs from his torso, I place my feet one by one back onto the soft sand. Grabbing a hold of his hand, I look up to him through heavy lashes, "show me?"

"You could ask me to start a war and I wouldn't hesitate to say yes."

Then he's pulling me along, to the cluster of rocks.

…

The sun begins to set before I even think about leaving the alcove. With my head resting against Tobias's bare chest, I could think of not one place I'd rather be.

His breaths come through deep and even, and as I reposition my head, I find him fast asleep. My hand reaches out, unable to help myself as I trail the tips of my fingers across his marble face. They end up landing on his lips, which bring forward those sweet memories made only hours ago. Smiling to myself as my cheeks heat up, I let my face fall back onto his chest.

We had just talked afterwards, about anything and everything. Having stayed off of the topic of last night, we still have a mammoth to discuss; but being in this little time capsule, it's easy enough to push it to the side.

And I would have stayed in the rocky opening for longer, if a chilly breeze didn't find its way in.

The hairs on my body stand to attention as a shiver rolls up my back. Pushing off Tobias, I twist to my left, grabbing the oversized t-shirt I woke up wearing this morning. With it most likely being Tobias's, it feels fitting to redress in it.

Just as I'm pulling my, probably knotted, hair out of the neck hole, I feel two palms grasp my waist.

I don't have time to turn before I'm pulled backwards and down. I laugh as I hit into his chest, my smile immovable as he brings his face just centimetres from my own.

His own lips carry a lazy smile as he presses me closer into him. With his top made for warm weather, I can feel every curve and contour.

"You're not running out on me, are you?" He asks huskily, tugging on the material.

I shake my head as the salty breeze blows over us once again, "time's moving quickly," I reply on a sigh. Looking down through the sand, and past the rock, the sun's about halfway down the sea.

Without the dimming light, I could get lost in time forever. "When'd you find this place, anyways?"

His brows pull together as he thinks for a second, "must have been in my early teens? I slipped on one of the rocks out the front, and the bushes were thinner down to the bottom. Seen this empty space and thought it was a cool place to get away from everything."

I glance over his shoulder. It's a small space, with the majority of sand under us. The clearing is surrounded by young junipers to mature acacias, as Tobias had pointed out.

"You seem to have been on a mission as a child to find seclusion." I say it as a joke, but it's not exactly far off.

He smiles as his forehead meets mine, "most people I need space from," his smile decreases, his ocean blue eyes latching onto mine, "others, though…"

This time, I pull him in. This kiss is softer than the ones we shared what only feels like moments ago. His soft lips move against mine slowly, like he's just soaking up the memory of them.

It's only when I feel the growing heat bloom between us again that I pull back. "We can't stay out here forever."

He sighs, falling back onto the sand, his head lulling to the side to keep me in his view. "Why do you have to talk logically?"

Rolling my eyes, I push off of the compact ground. Brushing the loose particles from my hand, I hold out the right one for him to grab.

We stay like that for a prolonged moment, just looking at the other. I start to feel my cheeks heat back up when I remember his zero clothing.

And that, of all things, seems to get him moving.

He's up in a flash, hands finding home on my warm cheeks. His smile starts out smug, but it softens the longer he stares. "I don't think I'll ever get bored of this."

"Of what?" I ask quietly, finding it hard to think clearly.

His godly face looses his easy smile, "of you."

…

The walk back up the beach is quiet, with both of us just enjoying the company. With the sun now fully set, the lamp light is the only thing showing the way.

We take the path passing the stables, still not crazily excited about entering the ballroom any time soon.

"I need to talk to Robert about Ari," I say, breaking our silence, "I didn't even think about what was going on with him when Robert was in Dauntless."

Tobias shakes his head as he finishes doing one of the buttons on his shirt, "when you find him, I also need to have a word about his lacklustre army."

I laugh as we take a right at the stables, making our way up the cobblestone path to the front of the palace. Without Tobias there to lead, his Dauntless army was pretty much useless to us last night. Entering the grounds with our Amity Prince around 2am, I'd say it's better for Robert to stick with the food production side of running a kingdom.

"Poor Lauren must have been going out of her mind," I say as we enter the wrap around drive. "Do you think he went all authoritarian on them?"

Tobias sighs as he wraps an arm around my shoulders, "I don't know. But I do know I'm in need of a big meeting with my advisors and the daily leaders- and I might need to invest some more time and money into the dealings of surprise attacks."

I lean into him as we walk up to the steps, "this feels good, talking boring stuff."

He huffs out a laugh, "thanks for thinking I'm boring."

I smile, shaking my head as I go to defend my statement, when the main doors pull open.

We both come to a stop, and watch as someone comes running down the steps.

But it's not just anyone.

Zeke comes to a clumsy halt as his eyes fall on us. Feeling Tobias's grip tighten, my stomach drops.

"I've been looking for the two of you everywhere!" It comes out in a mangle of words, all mushing together with his speed.

"What's wrong?" I ask hesitantly, taking a step towards him. Tobias isn't far behind, his hand now falling to the small of my back.

The usually composed advisor looks between the two of us, his brows raising, his tone bordering on disbelief, "they're here."

Confused, I look up to Tobias.

"Who's here?" The Prince asks, his own brows lowering.

Turning back to Zeke, I find my stomach flipping before the words even leave his mouth.

"The Divinity. All 6 members, they're here."

...

A/N- So... I've left it on a little cliff hanger. For the past few months I've been wondering if I wanted to write anything else in this universe, to expand on Tris and Tobias's story. I've come to a conclusion I definitely want to write more, but to focus on the character side of their story, and less focus on a time consuming plot. It's a bit like how I've been writing Eye of the Storm, where the plot line ends with the skiing competition, but it doesn't get in the way of the characters own arc. But saying all of this, nothing's going to be uploaded until Eye of the Storm is finished, so if any of you want to keep up to date with my writing, then go give that story a follow! It's my main priority now, as it's the only thing I've published and not finished. But say that story isn't your cup of tea, I'll do an update chapter on this story whenever I decide to do something about a sequel so you'll all know when to start looking out for it. I think that's all for now, once again thanks to everyone who's interacted with this story, and I want to say a special thank you to all the reviewers! I always look forward to seeing what you guys are thinking of all of my stories, just as every other author on this site does, so remember to review!

Hope you've all had a great weekend and I'll see you very soon with Eye of the Storm! Bethany x