Chapter Text
Chapter One
Beatrice sat in front of a mirror as her mother cut her hair. Their faction, Abnegation, only allows her to stand in front of it on the second day of every third month. It was the only mirror in the house, normally kept hidden behind a sliding panel in the hallway on the second floor of their home, only taken out the day they cut their hair.
Abnegation is the faction for the selfless, people who always thought of others and did their best to help people around them. Through hiding mirrors, Abnegation believed that this will ward off the temptation of thinking of themselves and deter them from being selfish.
Her mother stood behind her holding a pair of scissors, focused and calmly trimming the ends of her blonde hair as she sat on a stool. When she finished, she began pulling Beatrice's hair from her face, expertly twisting it into a simple neat bun at the back of her head, a style commonly worn by Abnegation women.
Sneaking a look in the mirror while her mother wasn't looking, not out of vanity, but out of curiosity, she saw a narrow face, wide, round eyes, and a long thin nose. She still looked like a little girl, she thought, despite turning sixteen the last few months. Other factions celebrate birthdays, but her faction doesn't. It would be self-indulgent
"There," her mother said as she pinned the knot in place. Eyes catching Beatrice's in the mirror, she smiled instead of reprimanding her. Beatrice frowned, 'Why doesn't she scold me for staring at myself?' she wondered.
"So, today is the day." her mother states.
"Yes," Beatrice replied. Today was a special day. The day of the aptitude test where every sixteen year old in all factions will learn which of the five factions will suit them best. It would be the last day where they are fully dependents of their faction. The day following that was the choosing ceremony, where they would make the most crucial decision of their lives, and choose a faction where they would belong to until they die. First becoming initiates of whichever faction they choose, and if they pass, become full fledged members of their society.
It would be the day where Beatrice will have to make the choice to either stay or leave her faction of origin.
"Are you nervous?" her mother asked.
Beatrice stared into her own eyes for a moment.
"No." Beatrice decided after a short pause. Before asking, curious, "Were you? On your test?"
"No," her mother answered seriously, before smiling, "I was terrified." she admitted, her smile turning wistful for a moment, remembering her own test and choosing ceremony.
"The test can't change our choices," Beatrice looked at her mother for reassurance.
Her mother smiled, but said nothing in reply.
As she stood, Beatrice thanked her mother for doing her hair as she once more hid the mirror behind the panel, until it would be taken out and used again in three months' time.
.
They both head into the kitchen where both of Beatrice's siblings were making breakfast. It was supposed to be Kendall's turn today, but Caleb, as usual, volunteered to help whenever he could. As she watched them both as they danced around in the kitchen getting things done, not even needing to talk to know what the other needed.
She had always longed for the special bond that they share with each other. The melodious way they work as if they could read each other's minds and understand what each other wanted instinctively. They even often think alike without meaning to, they were twins after all.
Her father's hand skimmed her hair as he read the newspaper, and her mother hummed as she cleared the table. It is on these mornings that Beatrice felt guiltiest for wanting to leave them.
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The bus stunk of exhaust. Every time it hit a patch of uneven pavement, it jostled Beatrice from side to side, even though she's gripping the seat hard to keep herself still.
Her older siblings, Caleb and Kendall, stood in the aisle, holding the railing above their heads to keep themselves steady. After giving up their seats to a surly Candor man and his wife without a second thought. Inheriting their mother's talent for selflessness.
The Candor man wore a black suit with a white tie and the woman wore a black collared shirt and a white overcoat- Candor standard uniform. Their faction valued honesty and sees the truth as black and white, so that's what they wear.
"I never thought that I'd see a handsome and beautiful Abnegation," the woman said, winking at them as Beatrice watched in the background, the woman obviously mistaking them for a young couple.
Beatrice didn't blame her, there is little to no resemblance between the three of them. Even despite Caleb and Kendall being twins.
Caleb inherited their father's dark hair and hooked nose, with their mother's green eyes and dimpled cheeks. When he was younger, that collection of features looked strange, but now it suited him. If he wasn't in Abnegation, Beatrice was sure girls at school would stare at him.
Kendall, similar to Caleb, has their father's dark hair, but a few shades darker than her twin. She also inherited their mother's waves, which cascades down her back in silky waves when she puts it down at night. But unlike Caleb, she also got their father's blue eyes like Beatrice, though hers looks a lot bluer than Beatrice's own greyish blue. She also inherited their mother's best features, her dimpled cheeks, delicate nose, long lashes and high cheekbones. Out of the three of them, Kendall looks like their mother the most, just with their father's coloring.
They were both good looking and easily noticeable, even whilst wearing drab abnegation clothes.
Unlike Beatrice.
Compared to her siblings, she looked absolutely plain and boring looking, she thought morosely.
Her siblings merely smiled and bowed their heads in response. A slight blush lighting their cheeks. Not bothering to correct the woman in hopes of avoiding any more added attention.
Saying thank you in response would be considered self-indulgent in Abnegation standards when it came to these situations. It would mean that her siblings acknowledge that they are indeed handsome and beautiful. So, their lack of verbal response was the correct thing to do, since they were supposed to reject vanity.
Gaining attention was also considered as self-indulgent in their faction. That is why their faction always wore grey- a color chosen to divert as much attention away from them as possible. But, nowadays, grey just painted a large target on their backs as Erudite published more discrediting news against them.
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The school was overflowing with students waving around searching for their friends, probably going to talk about the test that they were gonna take later this afternoon.
An Erudite shouted by Beatrice's ear as she waved wildly to her friend on the other side of the room. Kendall got separated from her and Caleb early on when they first pursued the crowd.
Beatrice was still looking around in the crowd for her when she was shoved down to the ground. "Watch where you're going, stiff." an Erudite boy sneered. Despite the fact that he was the one who pushed her.
The bullying of Abnegation was getting frequent, stemming from attacks that Erudite had been releasing through the newspaper.
Caleb helped her up, asking if she was alright in a soft voice. I turned to him and nodded "Yes," Beatrice said in a low voice and smiled to let him see that she's alright, before both of them continued walking to their specific classes.
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Beatrice looked out of the glass windows that lined the corridor on her way to her first class, Faction History. Caleb had already left for maths a while ago, moving to the corridor opposite from hers. And Kendall was probably already in her Science class by now, which was located in a completely different building from theirs.
Stopping in front of one of the glass panes and waiting. She looked down at her wrist, watching as the grey hand of her watch moved to point at exactly 7:25, just as she heard a faint sound of a train in the distance. She looked up just in time to witness the first Dauntless to jump out whooping, doing a flip in mid air for the fun of it and effortlessly landing on his feet.
She loved watching them.
The way they act. The way they walk, talk, sit, stand, and even eat without care in the world. The freedom they have, to do whatever they want whenever they want, without any constraints of being reprimanded or looked on with disapproval for the inappropriate behavior.
She envies them, their freedom.
And she can't help but want to be like them. To become Dauntless.
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.
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