The Kingdom of Eternal Winter (Divergent Fourtris Fanfiction)

Chapter 21

Beatrice woke up when the morning was still far with a gasp. She sat up in her bed, breathing heavily and rubbing her clammy hands over her face. What initially had been the sweetest dream of herself and the prince had turned into a nightmare that had shaken her awake.

They were in the ball room all alone, dancing in the middle of the dance floor to a song none of them was able to hear. It didn't matter as they swayed in their own rhythm and kissed in the semi-darkness that was lit only by a handful of candles on the empty tables around them. Tobias' soft lips melted against hers as she pulled him closer. But then the walls started to crumble around them until they collapsed, and they were surrounded by a large crowd of people staring at them and whispering to each other on the quiet.

Suddenly the queen emerged from the crowd and, with a dapper wave of her hand, magically separated her and the prince. Then she passed her a sphere that contained her next task.

"But that's impossible," she protested, yet the queen only laughed at her.

"You either do that, or you'll never see the prince again. Choose. Choose between him and your parents. It's up to you."

"But my brother has already left them," she said.

"It's up to you. Then you'll fail."

And the crowd joined in, their voices closing in on her.

"Then you'll fail. You'll fail. Fail. Fail..."

Then all the people disappeared, including Tobias, who just shrugged and turned away from her, and all that was left was the voices.

"Fail. Fail. Fail."

Beatrice desperately tried to remember what the assigned task had been, but she couldn't. The memories of the dream were too blurry, so all that was left from it was the despair and loneliness she had felt in it. Would she fail? How could she not? Her, Beatrice from Abnegation...

She looked over at Christina, who kept snoring peacefully in her bed. She had failed to complete the last task, but she didn't mind it much. Like she had said earlier, she was now going to be able to take the chance to reconcile with Will and live a happy life with him in Candor. She wouldn't have to complete any more tasks to make that true, whereas Beatrice didn't know what else she'd be facing. And this time, she'd be on her own. Sure, she would gladly take up on Christina's offer to go to Candor together and to stay with her family. But from then on out, she'd be in it alone. She had made sure to arrange another meeting with Marlene before their departure. She wanted to learn as much as possible if it helped to increase her chances at winning. Especially after last night...

Her determination was strong.

Slowly, her breathing went back to normal and the bitter aftertaste the dream had left vanished. In the need to occupy her hands and settle her thoughts, she fiddled for the Amity box in her bag. It was just within reach without having to actually get up. Her eyes grew wide as she found the fourth lock had opened. She squinted to be able to see the letters in the darkness: 'FRIEND'

Beatrice traced the word with her fingertips before it disappeared almost as soon as it had written itself underneath the open lock. So she had shown love to a friend... Considering what had happened since the last time she had taken a look at the box back home in Abnegation, there could only really be two people who that word could refer to. It had to be either Christina or Tobias.

But was friendship what she had with the prince? It felt different, deeper than that, although she wouldn't go as far as to call it love. Not yet. Maybe, in the future... Maybe friendship was a normal step on the way when falling in love? She didn't know about such things. She had always assumed love would come with a bang. The realization that it might be a process was new to her, as were the questions, doubts and nerves that appeared along with it.