A little under two months have passed since the Erudite tried to wipe out Abnegation. Now, we're slowly rebuilding what was broken and fixing our city. The city council has also been changed. It is no longer just fifty Abnegation members. It is now two houses: the lower house run by the leaders of the factions and the upper house of Abnegation; that was the one thing the other factions demanded that coincided with the Erudite's philosophy. The Abnegation were reluctant, but gave in. Now, I have to go to one of the meetings and I sincerely don't want to; staying in bed right now seems so enticing. The very thought of them, bringing about a feeling of queasiness I've become familiar with since they've begun. But I know I have to get up or else I won't make it there on time. I start to move out of the bed, removing Eric's arm from around my waist. He stirs a bit.

"Morning," I say, giving him a kiss. He takes the opportunity to wrap me in his arms all over again.

"Morning Audrey," he says, "Do you have to get up so early?" He should know better than me about having to get up early, having been a leader. But that's not his life anymore, now he's up early only to go run and train for an upcoming fight.

"Yes, I do. And you should, too." He sighs and rolls out of bed and we both get ready for the day. I head over to the kitchen and start up breakfast; it's nice to cook every once in a while.

"Like I said before, perfect maid," Eric says, coming up behind me and kissing me.

"Shut up before I burn yours," I say, placing some bacon on a plate. I bring some bacon, eggs, and toast over to the table. I don't know why, but there's a sort of satisfaction I get when I see him eat my food and love it. Like it's some sort of personal victory. But as I eat, I can't help but feel that there's something wrong with the food; it doesn't taste right.

"Does the food taste okay?"

"I'm eating as much as I can, aren't I?" Well, he is grabbing all the food.

"It doesn't taste right…" I wonder if it's past the date.

"Well, I just bought it and you're a great cook. Maybe your taste buds are messed up." I eat as much as I can make myself and Eric clears up the dishes afterwards.

"Who should be a maid?" I give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Be quiet," he says before kissing me back. We both head to the door.

"I'll see you tonight," Eric says. I refuse to miss any of his fights, so it would look bad if I missed the first.

"Of course," I say and kiss him one last time before heading to the trains to get to the meeting. They're held in the Hub. I jump from the train in front of the towering structure and head up the elevator; the stairs are only fun when you're running down them.

"So, has anyone come up with a new idea to deal with our little problem with the factionless," I say, opening the topic for what feels like the thousandth time. We've been bickering for an eternity; no wonder I've grown physically ill from these things. I never expected being a Dauntless leader to come with so much arguing; at least with words, fists I would welcome at this point.

"I wouldn't call the problem little," Jack Kang says, "They've been extremely vocal and harassing citizens."

"They wouldn't be like this if we treated them better; gave them more opportunity," Andrew Prior says.

"I agree," Johanna says, "If we want peace, we have to reach terms with them. A better place in society isn't so hard."

"But it's difficult to put into practice," Cara says, "How will we provide for all of them? Where will we draw our lines in the sand?"

"Given the recent upheavals, I think at least restoring the police force is necessary," I say, "If they're causing problems, we can't just stand by."

"They are people, too," Andrew says, "We can't treat them like animals."

"We won't be," I say, "This won't be like before; we won't punish them for existing. But if people really are being attacked on the street, factionless or not, we need to make it stop."

"Seems reasonable," Cara says, "It certainly wouldn't hurt."

"If it'll help prevent the fighting, I see no reason to stand in the way," Johanna says.

"Well, that's already a majority, but I'll give my agreement," Jack says.

"Fine," Andrew says, "We'll raise the motion to the Upper House." That means that it is basically passed. The Abnegation seldom say no to what we propose.

"Can we come to any other agreements?" Johanna asks.

"I think we can consider one of their demands," I say, "The one about including factionless children in schooling and the Choosing Ceremony. They should not be forgotten just because of their birth."

"That's the minority," Jack says, "The rest want to split from us completely."

"Well, we can't lose them as citizens, but they won't stay if we continue to treat them like we do," I say, "We can give in to the small stuff; plus, the section lobbying for it has been peaceful so far."

"Knowledge should be spread," Cara says, "I approve. But it will be difficult to get any to attend."

"We can leave it up to the parents," Johanna says, "They can decide whether or not their child goes."

"We've lost sight of the main issue," Jack says, "But it's obvious all of you would rather avoid it. I agree, then. Give the factionless children an education and let them take part in the Choosing Ceremony. No one cares where someone came from once they join a faction, anyway."

"I'll be glad to approve this as well," Andrew says, "We'll get the other house's approval. Otherwise, it's growing late. The meeting will be adjourned. Until next week." We all get up and I head straight for the stairs. I fly down them and find that I feel winded at the bottom; I wonder if I've just been sitting for too long. I haven't had a chance to work out as much either; being a leader uses up so much time, I can't go to the training room as often as I did during Initiation. I'm still trimmed, but I've begun to gain a little weight. It's currently unnoticeable, but if I keep this up, it will be. I'm paying through tighter pants, now, I don't want to know what will happen later. I sprint over to the train; if I'm going to start working out more, now's as good a time to start as any. After hopping off, I run to the apartment and find it empty. Of course it would be; Eric must be preparing for the fight tonight. I change into shorts and a sports bra and go over to the Training Room. I still have quite a bit of time before the fight this evening and I intend to use it well.

Satisfied with the sweat pouring down my face, I go back to the apartment to change. I'm still a little disappointed though, my stamina has decreased recently. Then again, not working out for ten hours a day anymore must have something to do with it. I just shower and change into my favorite dress. It was a gift from Eric; a strapless black dress, tight with lace accents and a tulle accented skirt. I throw on a pair of lace tights and pumps to go with it. My make-up is a little simpler than Christina's work, but still endows my eyes with some flame; a combination of orange and yellow, the same as my lips. Tonight may be Eric's fight, but each fighter's women have their own against each other; each is a representative of her man's pride and she makes sure to show it. I head over to the Dining Hall; I should grab something small. I'll grow weak if I don't eat at all. I grab the lightest foods I can and head over to the table. I sit and immediately, Christina turns to me.

"Notice anything different," she says, adjusting her hair with her left hand. I notice a silver ring with a large diamond and I'm filled with delight. But across the table, I can see Uriah shake his head and put a finger to his lips as everyone else smirks.

"No, I'm not sure." Christina pouts and makes a show of passing me salt with her left hand.

"Are you sure?" She leans on her left hand, so the ring is facing me. Suddenly, Coraline sits down.

"Hey, what're we—OH MY GOD! Christina, is that what I think it is?!" Christina shrieks with happiness and everyone else starts laughing.

"You ruined it!" Uriah shouts, through his laughter.

"You guys are terrible!" Christina yells, "I'm putting all of you at the back of the wedding."

"Even me?" Tris asks with a playful pout.

"No, it's too late for me to find another best friend to be the maid of honor," Christina says with a smile.

"How'd he ask?" I want all the details.

"He asked me this morning," Christina says, "He had me go with him to the train tracks, because he said he had to leave early for ambassador stuff and wanted to have me see him off. He actually set up a picnic where we had our first kiss. It was so wonderful, he even had rose petals there! I don't even know how he got those! So, after we ate, he talked about how much we've been through, both during initiation and with the war. And how he realized during both that he never wants to lose me, so he brought out the ring and I said yes." Christina is positively glowing with happiness at this point.

"And where's the lucky guy?" Marlene asks.

"He really did have ambassador stuff," Christina says with a laugh.

"Then we'll have to celebrate when he gets back," Uriah says.

"I'm really happy for you two," I say, "But I'm going to go now. The fight and all."

"Thanks," Christina says, "And you know, we'll need a DJ for the wedding." She grins and laughs.

"I'd be honored to spin for you guys." And I stand and head over to the glass room where the fights are held. I can't help but think about the topic of marriage. It's never really come up with Eric and I. We're already living together, sleeping together, and just being together. But having something to solidify it seems so enticing. I wonder if he'd agree. He doesn't really like labels, but I want something that says we're together. And maybe someday, we can make it an official family. But he's never shown any proximity towards those things; I wonder how exactly he feels about them.

I try to push these thoughts from my mind as I head ever higher along with a bunch of other Dauntless who are heading up as well. Once I'm in the glass room, I head over to my reserved seat right by Eric's corner. The ring is an octagon-shaped cage; something our ancestors designed long ago. But their fights were different; divided by weight-class. We don't anymore; anyone has a chance against anyone else. But we still use tiers; a fighter can challenge to a higher tier or challenge on their same level. Otherwise, the rules are mostly the same as those our ancestors used. To keep it short, no dirty fighting and protection for the hands, mouth, and groin is required to prevent injury to yourself and your opponent.

Today, Eric's fight is to move into the highest tier, which is why it's last. He may have only just started, but with the skill he came in with, he was placed high. I watch as the fight before his wraps up. It's a female fighter who's been moving up very quickly; Jaya I think her name was. Her opponent is Quill, a male who's bigger than her, but to his disadvantage it seems. He can't catch Jaya at all as she dances around him throwing hits. Eventually, he lunges at her and she jumps and kicks his head; he falls forward and doesn't get up. The referee calls the fight and Jaya is victorious. She lifts her arms, her dark skin bathed in sweat, taking in the roar of the crowd that is building. She exits and Quill is carried out of the ring, to be transported to the hospital. The matt is cleaned and I lean forward in anticipation of the fight I've been waiting for. I hear Eric's music play and out he strides, as confident as ever into the ring. The crowd roars their approval. Then, the music switches and his opponent, Orion, comes out and goes into the ring. He's a head taller than Eric and very muscular; he'll have more power, but Eric will be faster. The announcer raises his hands for everyone to settle down.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the fight everyone's been waiting for. In the blue corner, with a background in muay thai and BJJ, he stands 6'1", weighing in at 165lbs, in his debut match, our challenger, Eric!" Eric smirks and waves to the crowd; their dislike has turned into respect and even admiration after his Punishment.

"And in the red corner, with a background in kickboxing, BJJ, and wrestling, he stands at a towering 6'8", weighing in at 215lbs, with a record of 7-3, the Warrior himself, Orion!" The crowd screams his name and Orion smiles to them all.

"Referee in charge, Rick!" The referee turns to Eric and Orion in turn and they each nod to show they're ready. The bell rings and they both start to circle each other. We don't stop for rounds; the only way there'll be a pause is if the referee decides a rule has been broken.

Eric throws the first hit, but Orion is able to stop it well before it reaches him. Orion is going to have the advantage when it comes to distance; Eric will have to find some way to close the gap. Orion starts throwing kick, which Eric deflects, when Orion comes in and throws a punch. Eric moves out of the way and throws an elbow to Orion, which catches him in the jaw. The crowd screams as Orion backs up and smiles a bloody smile. He comes in throwing punches as Eric dodges until one catches his cheek and he's knocked backward into the cage. Orion closes in, lifts Eric, and slams him backwards, but Eric pulls up his legs and uses both of them to kick Orion in the chest, forcing him back as Eric darts from the cage. The two start circling again when Orion rushes in with another punch. Eric rushes in as well, going to Orion's center, and throwing a wound-up right straight into Orion's stomach. Eric uses Orion's forward momentum to pull him down for a knee. But Orion seems to still have most of his senses; he grabs hold of Eric and throws him onto the ground, taking mount. He begins throwing punches to Eric's head, but he doesn't pay enough attention to his posture. Orion starts leaning and Eric flips him over so he's in Orion's guard instead. Eric doesn't make the mistake of pressing the attack; he focuses on leaving the guard instead. Orion doesn't seem to like the position either, because he drops his legs, pushes them against Eric to gain distance, and stands up. Orion and Eric are both on their feet again and the dance continues. They both come at each other, throwing punches, until Eric manages to move around Orion and take his back. Eric trips Orion forward and hops on his back, breaking Orion to the floor and working on a rear naked choke while throwing punches to the back of Orion's head. Orion tries to posture up, but Eric's vined his legs; he won't have enough mobility. He eventually collapses, succumbing to the choke. The fight ends and Eric is up while the referee wakes up Orion. He stands and shakes hands with Eric before they both go to the center of the ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it one more time for this pair of astounding warriors! Now, your winner by submission, Eric!" The ref lifts Eric's arm and Eric just smiles the whole time as the crowd cheers for him. It takes a while before Eric is finally able to leave the ring and go to me. He kisses me, lifting me in a sweaty embrace, which I don't mind; I actually like seeing him like this. Shirtless and smelling of guy.

"What'd you think?" he asks, still holding me up.

"That I hope you're not too tired." I say smirking. He just smiles back and kisses me again as we head out of the Pit and over to our apartment. We're both young, we have plenty of time for things like marriage and families. I don't need to bring it up just yet. I'd rather relish in the joys of now.

A/N: Alright, first chapter is up! It's long since I've been writing it since yesterday. I'll try to do daily updates like I did before, but I am back at university now, so it may sometimes be difficult. However, I will persevere! Hope everyone enjoys it ^_^