Chapter two

Once the ground began to rise below her

Feet, she felt comfy to take off her hood

And walked confidently into the Dauntless

Mountains. It used to be known how humans would

Rather die than enter the Dauntless, said to

Be cursed by means of the gods. Filled with stacks of

Treacherous, rocky mountains, mirroring one

Another to the point of sending one walking

In circles, it used to be recognised to have magic still

Lingering deep in its roots. But for someone

Who grew up in these mountains, she knew

Exactly the place to go and the dangers to look

Out for.

Checking for not likely followers or straggling

Members of her family, she entered a hidden

Cave draped with curtains of yellow flowered

Vines. A darkish and dry tunnel scaled through

The mountains where she let her feet guide

Her under acquainted archways and turns until

She spotted mild ahead.

Mageia halted and gave a short whistle

Sequence. She waited, ears straining for

The callback signal to enter. An owl's hoot

Responded. She smirked and continued

Towards the give up of the tunnel to a gated entry

And entered her domestic with a tacky smile.

"Hala, Dean," she said, sensing he was once nearby.

Indeed, the 17-year-old younger man gave a

Low snort from his perch on a boulder. He

Flapped his auburn hair out of his green eyes

Exposing a pink birthmark trailing the right

Side of his face like a everlasting blush. He

Lowered his spear and the three elders with

Him did the same.

"Lady Mageia, fine day?"

"It was indeed a fine day," she said, throwing

To him the silver timepiece she stole from the

Man she spooked. He caught it and grinned at

Its tricky designs.

She heard him scramble off the boulder and

Fall on her trail.

"Yer returned early," he stated in the unknown

Foreign accent she'd grown accustomed to.

Uh oh, she thought, a knot forming in her

Throat.

"Yeah, I know."

"Geia... Did'ju get spotted?" he stated with a

Hard pressure in his voice.

"Uh..." she said, already feeling her friend's

Face twist hard.

"Wait," he said, stepping in front of her with a

Hand raised. "Yeh got spotted, didn't yuh?"

"Uh...Yeah," she said with a shrug, slipping

Around him. She bit challenging into her backside lip

Knowing precisely where this dialog was

Heading.

Dean Unknown gawked, unable to get a

Single phrase out. He followed her beneath the

Drape of colorful vines into the heart of the

Encampment. A region she has called home

For seven years. Huts made of nature's debris

Covered with stolen or handmade blankets

Sat scattered about. Clothing hung along

Vines, ropes, and tree branches, drying under

The midday day sun. Handmade decorations

And art work from the young people dangled in the

Breeze across the pathway and anywhere

Needing the colour of life.

The smell of venison and vegetables lingered

In the air making her belly grumble. She

Unlatched her cloak and exited the pathway

Into a circular clearing. A large firepit sat at

The core with a lit flame within. Strange

Children ran around enjoying tag and when they

Saw her, they cheered, ran to her, and clung

Onto her waist.

"Hala, younger ones," she chuckled.

"Hala! What did you carry us this time?" a boy

Said, peering up at her with crooked eyes.

"Hopefully, ample valuables to convey in more

Delicious sweets," she said, scuffing his hair.

They cheered with pleasure and ran off careless of their a number deformities and illnesses.

"This is yer first spotting in what? Five

Months?" Dean picked up the troublesome

Topic and Mageia gave an irritable sigh. "What

Happened?"

"I'll give my report all through the meeting," she

Said.

She persisted across the Pit into a smaller

Trail main to greater huts. The biggest one

Sat in the direction of the cease of the trail, nearly in the

Shape of a cottage, with a window and a door

Made of timber planks. This one belonged to

Her.

"This is terrible, Geia," he said, hand clawing

Into his hair. "Yer the Chief of the Lost Ones.

Yer the position model fer everyone."

"I be aware of Dean," she grumbled untying the sack

Of stolen items from her waist and plopping it

Into the Dean's hands.

"Yeh do not act like it," he said, eyes wide

And firm. Her first-rate pal in the entire world

Had misplaced his feel of humor. And she knew

Why however facing the truth would bring the

Waterfalls.

"But I'm fine, Dean. I made it out of the

Grounds with my head still on my shoulders."

The indignant boy's face flushed purple and the

Muscles in his palms flexed. She averted her

Eyes to the floor and tapped her boot into the stones. Guilt and regret washed its way

Into her soul. Her bottom lip curled between

Her teeth, and she fumbled with the buttons

On her cloak.

Here comes the lecture.

"Yeah, thank the gods yer head is still

There," he said, voice elevating which only

Strengthened his accent. "I instructed yuh the other

Day y'shouldn't be a Collect'r. Yuh have purple

Eyes and there's no longer tons yuh can do to

Conceal 'em. If yuh get caught what're we

Supposed to do? It's too unstable for yuh to be out

There, but you insist. There're different things you

Can do round here, like looking or teaching

Combat to the children."

"But you be aware of staying inside this woodland will

Drive me insane," she said. "Slipping through

The cities is where I feel free."

"Yer now not a slave, yer now not in the Dungeons or

The Runes with shackles on yuh wrists and

Feet and guys barkin' crap at yuh. You are free,

Geia!" He then became in the direction of the bushes and

Shouted, "We are free!"

"Dean!"

She sighed and scrunched her nose, knowing

He was right. But it felt suitable to steal from the

Fairs. But she had a family. They had a family.

One they created over their eight years of

Scavenging the cities to survive. He was once her

Strength when hers failed, and vice versa, and

She knew he cared a million moons for her.

He jabbed a finger in her face, and she

Slapped it away. "The cities name yuh the Purple

Thief because yuh stand out."

"I am rapid on my feet-,"

"It would not rely when the archers pop from

The ground," he said, gesturing with his hands.

"Dean!"

"Don't be ungrateful. Yuh have a household here

That loves yuh. I love you," he said through

Clenched teeth, poking himself in the chest.

The again of Mageia's throat stung suddenly

And she sucked in the sparkling air to clear it up.

She grabbed onto his shoulders and peered

Into his face. His stern inexperienced eyes like the

Fresh grass of spring wavered with damage and

Disappointment. She in no way wanted to make

Him upset or worried.

"Dean. I hear you. I am so sorry. It was once an

Accident."

"I cannot lose you, Geia," he said but this time

Low and heavy to her heart.

She wrapped her arms about his neck and

Pulled him in for a hug. His embody about

Her waist tightened and she sucked in the

Scent of leaves on his skin.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

Dean sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Now let me go. I need to return to my post."

Mageia laughed and shoved him away. He

Indicated the sack in his hand. His cheeks

Deepened pink, and his chest puffed up.

"I'll take these to the series basket," he

Said.

"I'm going to freshen up and do my rounds

Of the perimeter," she said, backing up to the

Door.

"I'll let yuh know when everyone's back for the

Meeting," Dean said, eyes jumping from the

Ground to her face.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay," he repeated and grew to become away stiff

And awkward. She watched him stroll away,

Scratching the again of his neck.

Mageia wished she should provide Dean the

World. He deserved it. Everyone in her family

Deserved greater than snoozing in huts and

Depending on stolen valuables for meals and

Necessities. But the world they lived in was

Unfair. And any slave and Strange in the

Kingdom would die simply to have the freedom

They had.

Heart now heavy with reality, she entered her

Hut, scented with bundles of lavenders tied to

The walls. The lovely red flower not only

Reminded her of her eyes, however they were her

Mother's favorite. It brought alleviation to her soul to believe her mother watched over her

Every day.

She took off the cloak and her sweaty tunic

Into a basket of soiled clothing. Everyone

Was responsible for their very own laundry, so

She noted to do it sometime tomorrow.

The breeze from the window cooled her

Hot dark-brown skin as she peered at her

Reflection in a replicate with copper trims.

Stolen, of course. She constant her lengthy hair of

Tight curls into a ponytail, solely to enable her

Fingers to slide down the returned of her neck to

Her birthmark.

Plumpy and odd, in the shape of a hexagon

With a diamond in its center, the birthmark

Could be wrong as a company by way of warm iron,

But her parents instructed her she was born with

It. Sometimes she determined it hard to believe

And figured her mother and father did not favor to openly

Admit they branded their very own baby. Either

Way, her father had one too, but his had

Eventually flattened as he grew older. Though

They made her promise not to show or tell

Anyone, they by no means got the possibility to give

Their reasons and the truth. It did bother her

At one point, however now it was once just a reminder

Of where she never wanted to stop up again.

Caged.