Chapter Fifty-Two

It was late in the day when Four finally returned; Liv and Ivy had been alternating pacing around his small room while they awaited his return, too on edge to sit still and wait it out. When he had stepped into his tiny compartment, both girls had practically leapt on him, eager to hear what it was Evelyn had required him for.

"It was just standard scouting out areas. Nothing major," He explained, after Ivy and Liv had finished bulldozing him with questions. "But, one of Evelyn's people has some intel...on a certain situation back in Dauntless."

"Well?" Ivy exclaimed, unhappy with the dramatic pause that Four was giving. "Has Eric put a bounty on our heads?" It was only particially a joke, any loyalty that Eric had once had for her disappeared the second she and Liv did a runner. So the idea of his offering points for their return dead or alive wasn't out of the realms of possibilities.

Four's face dead panned. "No. According to Evelyn's insider, Eric has taken a young, brown haired Divergent slave as his own and is training her one on one. Preparing her would be more accurate."

Liv's blood ran cold. When she had asked Eric to look after Felicity she hadn't expected him to start training her like she was Dauntless. Had she expected him to move Felicity into his apartment? Yes. But if he was indeed training her it meant that he knew about the things that the Factionless were up to.

"Why would he train a Divergent slave?" Asked Ivy. "No offence Liv, I know she's your sister, but the last thing The Council would want is combat trained Divergent's. Unless..." Ivy trailed off, her eyes locking onto Liv's as both women shared the same thought. "He knows something is going on here. He's training her up so she can defend herself, so when the time comes he doesn't have to worry about her but can keep his promise to Liv." Whipping back round to face Four, her red hair swinging wildly around her shoulders, Ivy grasped onto his jacket and gave him a sharp tug as if to emphasize her point. "It is not safe here. He'll know Four, he'll know where the Factionless live and he'll hit it hard before any of these idiots even know what's going on. We need to leave, Liv, me, you and Tris. We need to leave before he leaves this place a pile of rubble. I am not dying for your bitch of a mother Four."

All Liv could do was watch on as Ivy began manically packing up a duffle bag with the few belongings they had collected since they arrived at The Factionless. It wasn't that Liv disagreed with Ivy, but where would they go? They had no where to go. Dauntless wasn't an option and with The Factionless ruled out there really was no where for them to go.

As if reading her mind, Four snatched the bag from Ivy and held it from her reach. "We can't leave, and I know Eric. He'll be waiting for us to make the first move, to get us out of familiar territory. So, for the time being we're safe here Ivy."

"That is bullshit and you know it!" Ivy shouted, no longer able to control her emotions. With a shaking arm she pointed at Liv. "Evelyn has something he wants, that changes everything! You don't know what you're up against anymore Four, he's incharge now. He answers to no one." Again Ivy's voice increased in volume. "I fucking moved a dead body with him! He covered up a murder for Liv! Max's fucking murder! That's not some random member of Dauntless Four and you know that. If he's willing do that, you don't think he's likely to pull this place apart brick by brick to get to her?"

Behind the trio, the curtain to the compartment was pulled open to reveal a smug looking Evelyn and her second in command. "I was informed that there was an altercation at my sons compartment. Why am I not surprised it involves you two?"

Liv could practically feel the waves of anger pulsing off of Ivy, the last thing the already inflamed situation needed was Evelyn. "We're fine, can you just leave us to i-"

"No Liv, she should hear this." Interupted Ivy, moving to stand infront of The Factionless leader. "You are going to get all these people killed, every last one of them will die because you want to crawl up the social ladder." Her voice dropped dangerously as she pointed a finger in the older womans face. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to here with Liv." Yanking the duffle out of Four's hands, Ivy threw it back onto the bed and made to storm from the cramped room. But before she did, she stopped beside Evelyn and hissed closely in her ear. "I won't die for you old woman."

The rest of the day passed without any drama, much to Liv's relief. Ivy had seemed to calm down and was keeping to herself, her anger festering into stewing silently in isolation. It was because of that Liv found herself sitting with Tris alone at dinner. It had never been awkward between the two, in fact Liv rather liked Tris, but since arriving at The Factionless Liv had noticed an air of distrust emitting from Tris and she was almost certain that was down to Evelyn. Despite Ivy's ranting and raving, Liv wasn't stupid and knew that older woman was desperate to get between them all and seperate them so that they were easier to control. But unlike her fiery headed friend, Liv liked to keep her knowledge on the situation quiet. "You think something is going on between me and Four right?"

"No!" Tris replied immediately, but after moment her ficade broke down. "I know he loves me. It's just you two have history and I know he trusts you above anyone else Liv, how am I supposed to compete with that?"

"It's simple you don't. There is no competion between you and me Tris, it's as simple as that. Don't let Evelyn poison your mind against Four, or me, we're all in this together. Ivy too."

"I'm sorry, I just don't know how to handle this situation. You and Four...it happened when you were an Initiate and then with me too-"

Liv raised a hand stopping Tris from finishing. "There never was a Four and I, what you two have is special. If anything Four is like a brother to me, he'll always be special to me too but not in anyway the same way he is to you."

"Can I ask you a question?" When Liv nodded her agreeance, Tris continued. "How are you and Ivy friends? I mean, you both have something with Eric but still you both seem so close."

While Liv pondered how to answer Tris' question, her chocolate eyes flickered over to where Ivy was sat alone. The truth was they hadn't been close, nothing more than colleagues, but after everything that had gone on Ivy had really pulled through for Liv and that wasn't something Eric was going to get in the way of. "She's so beautiful isn't she?"

Tris' looked over to Ivy, following Liv's line of sight. Sat on her own at another table, Ivy seemed engrossed in picking at the small amount of food left on her plate. Her long red hair hung in loose curls over her shoulder, shining even brighter under the incandescent lights. "So are you though."

No one held a torch to Ivy though, she was by far the most beautiful woman in Dauntless maybe even Chicago, no one would disagree with Liv on that one. "She's not only beautiful though. When she said she could kill Evelyn before anyone could stop her that wasn't her ego speaking. Ivy was one of the best fighters Dauntless had, she came top her year and she's Dauntless born. Don't let her appearances fool you, I've seen her in action and it's like something you've never seen before."

"You think that's why Eric was interested in her?"

Liv could see it being one of the many contributing factors that would be attract Eric to Ivy, but she didn't think it was the driving force. "Beautiful, lethal, she's everything ever man back in Dauntless wants. And that Tris Prior is why he was so attracted to her. He wanted to have the thing everyone else craved so badly, she unknowingly gave him power." It was sad when she though about it; Ivy was in love with Eric, there was no two ways about it, but he had seen her as a prize that he deserved above all others. And Ivy had never seen it.

Tris shook her head in disbelief, dumbfounded how Eric could even have two women wanting him so badly. "That's terrible, to treat someone like they're not even human, as if they have no real worth. What do you both see in him?"

It was a question Liv had been asking herself over and over since her relationship with Eric got complicated. For every good quality Eric had, there was atleast five bad things to counter balance them. So why did she love him? Under it all Liv still could see the boy she had grown up with all those years ago, and it wasn't something she could just forget or wanted to. Eric hadn't always been the cold, cruel man that everyone knew so well, once he had been a sweet boy who had been her bestfriend.

"You're different to him though, even I know that. If he didn't care about you, why would he be looking after your sister who's Divergent? Aren't you worried that he'll...with her?"

"No, he's not like that. He saw Flick the day she was born, saw her grow up, there's no way he'd sleep with her." It was the one thing Liv was positive Eric would never do to hurt her, he'd had ample oppurtunities to bed Felicity but he never had. Instead choicing to watch over her, and protect her.

Beside Liv the weight of a body dropping into the seat beside her, stole her attention away from Tris. "I don't mean to interupt this very intense conversation but Four's bitch mother apparently requires all us in her quarters. That idiotic mass of muscle," Ivy explained, pointing to a well muscled bald man. "Just informed me it's of the upmost importance." She turned her attention solely to Liv. "I smell a fucking rat."

A/N/ Thank you and Ariwolff14 for your reviews :)