Having finally escaped her personal nightmare at Amity, Lia has chosen Dauntless as her faction not knowing what awaits her. She soon catches the interest of a leader, an instructor and an initiate.
**Contains mature themes such as sexual content...
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The first few days of training was a blur. Four focused on conditioning exercises to build up our strength, we ran, and ran, and ran some more.
Archer had pushed Lia to run through the fields during their night training, so this was blissfully familiar for her. Four ran through basic kicks, punches and take downs to form a basis for the fights. Lia knew much more than the basics, but she was supposed to be a helpless farmer girl; so a helpless farmer girl is what she became to others around her. The rankings were based on the fighting more than anything in the first phase, so holding back in practice wouldn't harm her as long as she won the fights. Eric did not grace the initiates with his presence again until fight day, which was today.
Lias first fight was up against Molly. Molly was taller and much broader than her, but Lia had no doubts about her skills.
"You are graded on your fights, so fight well and fight hard" Four spoke across the training room.
The sparring ring buzzed with energy as Lia and Molly squared off, their fellow initiates forming a tight circle around them.
Lia's muscles tensed as she locked eyes with Molly. She bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, ready to pounce. Lia knew she had to tread carefully, her every move calculated to maintain the facade of a helpless Amity rather than someone who was trained ruthlessly. Eric walked into the training room and said something to Four which drew Lia's attention, what could he be whispering?
Noticing her distraction, Molly lunged forward with fists flying. Lia swiftly dodged each blow, her movements fluid and precise. She could hear Archers voice in the back of her head holding her back, restraining her from unleashing the full extent of her abilities. As Molly pressed on, Lia countered with measured strikes, each one carefully placed to match Molly's intensity without revealing her strength. Molly caught her off guard and Lia caught a swift punch to the jaw which knocked her sideways, she responded with a swift kick that sent Molly staggering backward, her defenses crumbling. But just as victory seemed within reach, Lia stopped herself from delivering the final blow. She had acted too rashly, and anyone with a trained eye would realize her response was too fast and too precise.
Eric watched from the sidelines, his gaze sharp and unyielding. Lia could feel his eyes boring into her, dissecting her every move with unwavering scrutiny. She knew she was walking a fine line, teetering on the edge of exposure.
Lia turned back to Molly and knew what she had to do, she sent a swift punch to her face which knocked her clean out. Lia was not one for kicking a man while they were down, but keeping her training a secret mattered more than her pride. Peter and Christina clapped whilst Molly was pulled off the mat, she locked eyes with Four. He gave her a smirk which she returned, then gestured for the next fighters to get onto the mat.
Lia walked over to the edge of the training room to grab water, but was stopped short when she felt a strong hand pull her arm away.
"Where did you learn to fight like that?"
Blue eyes bore into her. Eric stared at her, waiting for a response.
"I picked up some martial arts books left in Amity, taught myself" Lia responded.
Eric huffed, "Someone else may have believed that," he pulled her closer so their noses were almost touching, "but I can see right through your bullshit." Eric shoved her arm away and walked back towards the sparring ring, drawing a look from Four who was paying attention to them rather than the fight in front of him.
Lia took a few gulps of her water and steadied herself, she couldn't shake the feeling that her greatest battle had only just begun.
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After the fights ended they were released for the day, and all of the initiates filed into the dining hall completely starved. The food at Dauntless was completely different than Amity. Amitys dinners were full of vegetables and different kinds of bread. Amity was rumored to spike all their food with peace serum, which puts those who ingest it in a peaceful, almost giggly state. Lia knew that this was not necessarily a rumor, and often over ingested with Archer after a hard day of training.
Dauntless had vegetables, yes. But it was also full of meats and different types of carbs, along with the famous Dauntless chocolate cake. Lia filled up her plate with mash potatoes, some type of chicken, and a slice of the famous cake.
She sat down and started eating, but her peace was short lived when Peter came to join her.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked while already half into the seat.
"If I say yes will you leave?" Lia countered.
Peter smiled, "No, we're neighbors. You have to break bread with me" he said whilst stuffing his mouth with a roll.
A few others came to join them, Christina brought a group over and introduced her to Will and Tris. Another taller initiate came and sat the other side of Peter, who introduced himself as Edward. Lia stayed quiet and ate whilst the others shared stories of their fights and their previous factions. Lia listened while they spoke, and laughed when one side of the table started arguing with the other over who had the better food. Peter was overly confident, but he was funny. Lia found herself laughing at his jokes more often than not, which earned her a smile from him. Lia was sure he was trying to inch closer to her on the table, their thighs after a while touching under the table. She didn't mind, Peter was good looking, funny, and she was fine with the attention.
Christina lowered her head closer to the table and spoke softly to the table, "Why is our fearless and very intimidating leader glaring daggers at our table?"
Lia and Peter turned to look behind them at the same time, and noticed Eric staring at them from the second story over looking the dining hall. They locked eyes, and he wouldn't look away. He looked visibly irritated, but was this just regular Eric irritation? He pushed himself off the railing and walked away, Lia and Peter looked at each other and both shrugged and the table laughed it off.
It seemed she had drawn too much attention from Eric, and it left her with a pit in her stomach.
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