Chapter Text
Prologue
She woke up with a start, she had been drowning in Jeanine’s water tank and that was the last thing she remembered.
Tris stood up and she realised that she was in her bed in her old Abnegation room. Looking down she noticed that her tattoo and her muscles had disappeared. Had she dreamt it all? Was it possible that Tobias and her being divergent and the war were just a bad dream?
She shook her head and exited her room to go to the bathroom. Her mother was getting out of her bedroom and Tris stopped dead in her track.Natalie Prior, her Dauntless mother, who had sacrificed her faction for love and her life for her, was there smiling and alive. “Beatrice, you are up early. I know that in a week's time you will have your aptitude test, but you shouldn’t stress too much over it.”
Tris’ eyes watered and only her iron will prevented her to run and hold her mother in her arms. “You know me mom, I always stress myself over something.” She kept walking and then entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
She grabbed the sink and stood there for the longest time, thinking that perhaps it had only been a very realistic dream.
But what if it wasn't? What if she had a chance to change the outcome of what was to happen in two month’s time?
What if this advantage gave her the chance to save her parents and all those innocent lives?
What if she chose Dauntless again and brought Jeanine down without a war? What if she could save Will and Al?
The aptitude test was in a week, she had time to build her muscle up, she had the memory of it all. She now had the advantage to know how to trick the system. She could have her Dauntless’ results without being noticed and then she had time to think of a plan to bring Jeanine down.
She sighed and bit her lip, if she really was planning to do all that, she needed to focus on the key players. She needed to get help from someone from Jeanine’s side.
Her mind brought forward hard grey eyes and strong features. Eric. He was the key, the youngest and most brutal Dauntless leader would be the asset to change it all. He was an Erudite transfer so he probably knew Jeanine from before, he had an insight in her mind that Tris needed if she wanted to beat the heartless woman at her own game.
But what of Tobias? Tobias and Eric hated each other and she couldn’t be involved with one if she wanted the help of the other. Only thinking about giving up Tobias brought her to her knees, but what options did she have?
If she gave him up she could save so many people. Tris knew that she wasn’t selfless enough to stay in Abnegation, but she loved her parents and she wanted to save the other divergents. Her mind was then made up. She was going to choose Dauntless and get close to Eric and together they were going to bring down that Erudite’s bitch.
During breakfast Tris watched her brother Caleb and felt the burning anger for his betrayal. He had behaved like the perfect son and then went and turned his back on their parents’ teachings. He was lucky that she didn’t have time to make him pay for his betrayal. She had a week to get some muscles so that she could pass the first stage of the Dauntless initiation program, plus she needed time to think how to get Eric attention. She needed to remember all their interactions and analyse everything they had said to each other so that she could reach his heart. Did he have one? She shrugged, only one way to find out.
The following week Tris trained in secret, push-ups, squats and when nobody saw her she ran for endurance. Then she practised all the fists, kicks and defensive moves from stage one. Luckily her clothes hid the changes that were going on in her body, she mentally trained herself to react like a Dauntless to situations that she would have approached as divergent. She could feel her strength raising, she was going to make it.
Her family didn’t suspect anything. In that week Tris cherished every moment she shared with her father and mother, she made memories to bring her comfort when she would be alone and quite possibly discouraged.
She tried to distance herself from her love for Tobias, he needed to be only her trainer during initiation. That week she mourned the death of her relationship, she only hoped that her sacrifice would be enough to bring peace to Chicago.
The day of the aptitude test arrived sooner than she imagined and while waiting outside the room for her test she reviewed all she needed to do to not fail this test.
The door opened and she entered inside confidently, she looked at Tori and smiled. Her tattoo of the hawk was very visible on her neck. “Your tattoo is beautiful.” She whispered softly.
Tori looked up and smiled back. “Thank you. I’m surprised that an Abnegation girl compliments me on something forbidden in her faction.”
Tris shrugged her shoulders. “Perhaps I’m not meant for my faction.”
“Only one way to find out Beatrice, please take a seat and let’s see how your test goes.” Tori said and then injected her with the serum.
A moment passed, and Tris stood for the second time in the school cafeteria, in front of a table in which she saw the two baskets. One basket had a chunk of cheese, the other a long knife. A woman's voice told her she must choose one.
Tris picked quickly the knife and suddenly the baskets disappeared and a massive dog started growling at her, teeth bared, and advancing menacingly. She had prepared herself for that moment for the whole week, before she lost her courage she jumped on the dog and cut his throat. The dog suddenly disappeared.
Tris found herself again on a bus, with all the seats taken. A man with a newspaper spoke to her, pointing to a headline of a newspaper and asked her if she knew the man in the photo. Tris shook her head and kept lying despite the man's insistence that she should tell the truth.
After a moment she opened her eyes and she was back in the test room.
Tori was looking at her seriously, for a moment Tris’ heart stopped, had she done something wrong? “What… what… what is my result?” She stuttered out.
“Dauntless. I find it hard to believe it, but that’s your result. If you choose my faction, come and visit me. I work at the tattoo’s shop.” Tori said and dismissed her.
Tris after thanking her she left, she decided not to wait for Caleb and for training she ran all her way home. She couldn’t believe that she had passed her first test and that she wasn’t risking to be found out as divergent.
One down and many more to go. Now she just had to pick Dauntless the next day and start befriending Eric.
Only thinking about him she felt her blood turn cold, he was scary and ruthless, he seemed made of stone but at the same time in his eyes she could see a burning passion. He didn’t like stupidity, insubordinates or cowards and he usually didn’t like to be challenged. Tris had challenged him many times and she had noticed that he had snarled and growled at her but he had never hurt her physically until the scuffle during the attack in Abnegation.
She admitted only then that had she not been fascinated with Tobias, she would have found Eric very attractive and more suited to her Dauntless and Erudite sides. She liked his strength and dedication to his role as a leader and she had even to admit that he had a really impressive body. She blushed then, now was not the time to develop a crush on Eric, she needed her mind to be focused on the endgame. Although if her only chance to get Eric's attention was to seduce him, she was not that adverse to the idea.