Bite Me || Eric Coulter Fanfic - Divergent

2. Faction over blood

The next morning I woke up even earlier than usual, which is quite problematic considering the stress that today is bound to bring. The Choosing Ceremomy; also known as one of the most important days of any young adult's life. It's supposed to be easy; the Test tells you where to go and you do it. Most people end up staying in their home factions all their life anyway. But I just had to be different didn't I?

Going downstairs for breakfast seemed more of a struggle than usual. My hands were shaking and I was walking as if I became a split-brain patient overnight; corpus callosum gone. There was a constant ringing in my head combined with a feeling of a thousand tiny needles skewering my brain. All in all, I was a bit of a mess. My aunt must have noticed because she pulled me aside right as I was about to walk out the door.

"Irida" she called my name, placing a warm, reassuring hand on my arm. "I understand this is difficult, but if it's any consolation, your uncle and I fully support any decision you make" she said, giving me a knowing look. But how could she know?
She must have seen the doubt written all over my face, because she sighed, rubbing her palm up and down my back.
"If you want to leave, you should. I remember my Choosing Day and how mortified I was to leave all i had ever known. But you will thrive where your soul belongs" she said, looking at me with so much love, it was unbearable. I didn't deserve all this kindness, not after the trouble I have put her and my uncle through.
"Irida, your mother told me these exact words when I left Dauntless to join Amity and I will never forget them. If you're worried about how your decision will affect the people you love, just know that you being happy is more than they could ever ask for. There's no point being miserable just to see someone else happy" she said with a kind smile, the same as my mother's. At that moment, it was as if my mum was in that room with me. Even though, I never got the chance to properly meet her, I imagined her saying those words to me, giving me that smile and rubbing my back.

As I walked to the amphitheater where the Ceremony takes place every year, I thought about my aunt's words. No, it's not her I'm worried about, nor my uncle. It's Callum Morgenstern; my uncle's brother and prominent member of the Amity council. While my aunt and uncle are the current leaders of the council, and thus decide most of the important matters in Amity, Callum Morgenstern is right behind them. Always breathing down our necks, waiting for us to make a mistake, so that he can prove we're not fit to preside over the council. I don't know when or why the animosity between us started, but it has been omnipresent for as long as I can remember. Now however, as my family's tenure in the council is coming to an end, his antagonistic behavior seems to be getting worse. Perhaps he's trying to find the needle in the haystack he needs to discredit us and earn the right to choose the next family that will ascend as leaders of the council, possibly choosing some of his buddies instead of credible people.

Speaking of the devil, there Callum was; front row in the Amity section, next to my uncle and aunt along with the rest of the council members. I took the only available seat, which happened to be between my uncle and his brother. Oh goodie...

I sat there, trying to ignore the palpable tension in our row that was bound to suffocate us if no one interrupted. My saving grace came, not exactly from the sky, but jumping out of a moving train, running freely and screaming with elation. Dauntless. The faction of the brave and the free. As I watched them from one of the tall, glass windows of the amphitheater, black-clad figures mingling amongst the sea of people, shoving and pushing and laughing, a small smile formed on my lips. I must have been staring for longer than I thought because when I looked back at my aunt and uncle, they were staring at me with kind eyes.

"You know we love you, right?" my uncle said gently.

"And we want you to be happy. Your parents would have wanted that for you too" my aunt said, completing his sentence.

"I know. Thank you" I said, trying hard to concentrate on my breathing so that I don't start tearing up. "For everything. And I love you, always have and always will" I said, knowing that this might be the last thing I say to them for a while. They seemed to understand that as well, because unlike me, they didn't fight the tears that were freely flowing down their faces. Sometimes, I wish I was brave enough to cry without caring who sees or who will use it against me.

The Ceremony had started, but nothing particularly interesting had happened so far. A few gasps here and there, some tears, etc etc.

And then my name was called.
"Irida Morgenstern"

Taking a deep breath and once last look at my two favorite people, I began to stand up. But no, he had to go and ruin it. Callum grabbed my arm, tightly squeezing as if to assert his nonexistent dominance.
"You will choose Amity. Anything else and you're dead to the whole faction, do I make myself clear? I will not be made a fool of in front of my subjects because of you." he said, dropping my arm violently.

Looking into his eyes, I hoped it would be the last time I would see him, and said: " I know"
Two words that I have got used to saying in his and his friends' presence. I was sick of it.

Flipping my hair behind my shoulder, and hoping it had hit him in the process, I walked to the stage. Shoulders back, body straight. I took the knife offered to me and in one swift, bold move, cut my palm deep enough to draw a bit of blood. I looked at the five bowls that represent the five factions and hesitated. I thought of my uncle, my aunt, Callum, my parents and lastly, I thought of my self, for the first time. I swiftly move my hand over the sizzling coals and let a drop of blood fall into them.

"Dauntless!" reverberated around the amphitheater and immeadiately cheers erupted from the Dauntless side.

Taking one last look at my aunt and uncle and throwing a cheeky wink at Callum, I joined my new faction.