The Kingdom of Eternal Winter (Divergent Fourtris Fanfiction)

Chapter 5

Thanks to everyone who has read this story so far and for your feedback and encouragement. ❤

This chapter will have the prince and the girl from Abnegation finally meet. About time! ;-)

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The last items Tobias put on before leaving for the ballroom were his sash and the emblem with his family crest, a black bird taking flight over a navy blue sky.

On his way downstairs, he made a short detour to visit his father who was still too weak to get up. However, right when the prince was about to leave again, the king uttered his name and made him turn around in the door frame.

"Yes, father?"

"Choose wisely."

Tobias only huffed. What kind of advice was this?

"It is not my choice. I've already explained this to you twice. And honestly, I don't really care."

"But you should."

"I can't."

"Choose wisely, son."

With that, the king let himself sink back into the pillows and closed his eyes. He was too weak to elaborate further on the issue.

Tobias on the other hand wondered if his father was slowly loosing his mind and becoming forgetful, as it had only been the very same morning that he'd sat down on the edge of his bed to tell him about the ball, just like he had done the day before.

He descended the stairs to the ballroom and halted in front of the closed backdoor to collect himself. He would only be allowed inside when the music started anyway, and then all eyes would be on him. He dreaded this moment on every official occasion that he had to do this, hating the attention on himself. He'd rather be invisible in those moments. But, like with so many other things, the choice wasn't his.

Waiting and walking up and down the corridor, he could hear the mumble of hundreds of voices from inside, the clatter of shoes on the tiles and the scratching of chairs being drawn. He only stopped pacing when silence fell. Now it was a matter of heartbeats before he had to go out there and enter the podium. He counted backwards from ten as he straightened his uniform and his back.

Then the music started to play and the heavy wooden doors swung open for him to enter the ballroom. It was crowded with people, every single chair occupied. His stepmother was already waiting for him on the podium, reaching for his hand, and together they stood up there until the applause of their subjects had faded, and they sat down on their respective thrones, with Jeanine occupying the one that usually belonged to the king.

Tobias felt exposed up there, with too many eyes cast on him, and he wished the music ensemble would hurry to end the piece they were playing, so they could continue with the ceremony. The sooner they got started, the sooner it would all be over and he would be released from his royal duties, free to go up to his bedchamber and enjoy its silence and loneliness. It surely would be a long night until then.

After the last tunes of the song had finally faded and excited silence had fallen over the many people attending the ball, the queen stood to officially welcome the guests and especially the girls participating in the competition. Tobias listened only halfheartedly as his gaze wandered over the eager faces of said girls, looking up at him with awe and admiration in their eyes. Why they would do that, he had no idea. Apparently they strived for the power that came with a position in the royal family, but all they would gain was a cursed kingdom.

He noticed that Jeanine's speech was over when the girls suddenly got up and stepped forward almost in unison. Strange. They curtsied in greeting and then stood waiting for whatever was coming next. Tobias didn't know the exact procedure. He had agreed to the plan, but had assigned the whole organization to his stepmother. She took more of an interest in this than he did, like she always did when it came to carrying out royal duties.