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Twenty-Eight

Zella comes to our accommodation to change with us, and therefore, that's how I end zipping up the back of her dress.

She's singing happily and I laugh, listening away. I finally join as soon as I catch onto the words, "Baby sell that soul, serve heaven well. Somebody's gotta raise a little hell!" I belt out, rocking my hips in my dress, and Zella laughs once I'm done.

We twirl each other around, repeating raise hell at the tops of our lungs, giggling when Mason comes out in a button-up black dress shirt and black jeans, wear in a clean pair of boots.

I whistle, smiling, "Looking sharp." He chuckles and watches as I slip on my heels, and fix my necklace. I take off my locket and put it under my pillow for the first time.

I feel a lightness on my shoulders, figuring out that seeing my mother in my landscape and facing her, was much-needed closure for both my father and I.

I could only relax and take a deep breath, before I run a hand through my hair, looking at my bob.

I smile, wiping a little bit of lipstick from my mouth.

"Ready?" Mason asks, and we nod.

He wraps his arms around our shoulders, escorting us to the dining hall.

"I am so lucky, despite the losses we've suffered from. I have an amazing best friend," He winked at me, " and a beautiful girlfriend." He kissed Zella's head.

"And you know what? We're a small family," Zella said, sniffling.

I felt my eyes actually water up as I wiped my eyes, sending away tears. We were like a family.

We walk into the dining hall, and we scramble to the table in the center of the room, all of us crowding on the table. I look at the transfers, chuckling because they look so nervous.

"I'm sure you all did fine," I comment, and they nod, still shaking. We murmur for a while, until the screech of a microphone stops all conversation and I turn around.

My father stands on a table, microphone in hand while the other four leaders stand beside the table.

"Can they hear me?" My dad asks, intending to whisper, but the microphone is on, and we break into laughter.

Katherine nods, smiling as she smooths out her dress.

"I'll say that's a yes," He replies, chuckling.

The Dauntless cheer and laugh, clapping our hands on the table.

He waits until the noise dies down, and begins to speak.

"Speeches aren't really a Dauntless thing, they are real an Erudite thing. So I'm not going to be before you long. A few months ago we had a new pack of Initiates, and after working their backsides off, we have a new pack of Dauntless. We faced them with a challenge, they met it and even exceeded it. But, how about we hear those words from someone who knows best?" He chuckles and smiles.

"Lian, if you would," he says, catching me by surprise.

I blink twice, and it isn't until Nikki comes from the crowd and stands me to my feet.

I chuckle nervously as I walk over to the table, smoothing out my jacket. My dad holds out his hand, helping me to stand on the table.

"Ah... god." I laugh, "Well, my dad caught me by surprise for once."

The Dauntless hoot and laugh, cheering and I even hear someone yell, "That's alright, girl!"

I swallow and laugh, "Bare with me. A few months ago, I was presented with the challenge of following the Dauntless manifesto, the Dauntless way. Our bodies toiled, fought, broken, and bent during physical training, and our minds did the same during the last two stages of Initiation. And our work has paid off because here we are. We have loved, and we have lost, we have developed relationships and mourned together like family. We have cared for each other and shed tears for each other. We've stood together to become more than the initiates we were when we entered the compound. This is what makes us Dauntless. More importantly, this is what makes us family. We choose bravery, we choose justice, we choose this over anything else. And that is what makes us Dauntless."