Jade Aarden | District 2

If you were to describe my appearance in one word, “ordered” would be it. Nothing is out of place, and everything has a purpose. My dark brown hair is long, falls somewhere between my shoulder blades and the small of my back. It just depends on whether or not I’ve styled it that day. And when I say dark brown think that rich deep color of fresh coffee. That’s how dark. My dad’s got the same color, the same wavy texture.

I got a lot of my looks from him, unlike my brother. My dad and I have the same square face, the same almond eyes of honey brown. I even have his nose and that dimple in my left cheek that matches his. It seems the one of the only things I got from my mother was her skintone. It's a tanned olive, the same as my brother's. It's the only thing that we share and someone could pick out as us being related, let alone twins.

Recently, people have been telling me I got my mother’s figure too. I guess I’ve started filling out more. The Career training must be helping with that. I’m slim, but toned. Not the sickly underfed skinny you see in some of the reaped tributes from the lower districts. And apparently, I have “all the right curves in all the right places.” At least that’s what some guy told me. Right before I broke his wrist.

As for what I wear, that depends. Like I said, nothing out of place, everything with a purpose. I’ve got a full wardrobe and I’m not afraid to use it. If I need to impress some wannabe Capitolite, I’ve got flashy, bright clothes. If I’m training, I’ll wear my favorite tight grey pants, the one with all the pockets, and a white tank top. The only thing all my clothes have in common though is that they cover my left hip. I’ve got a nasty birthmark, all red and brown. I’m gonna get it removed before too much longer.

I'm calculating. Not cold. I just know how to act around different people. It's the Career training. They hammer into us that knowing how to swing a sword without cutting off something of your own is only half the equation. You have to make an impression, to make people like you. So I'm sociable, nice enough to people. I've gotten plenty of friends that way. But I’ve got my boundaries and I don’t let anyone cross them. Like that guy whose wrist I broke. Sure, we’re friends, polite and cheerful. That doesn’t mean he gets to touch me when I don’t wanna be touched. Maybe I should have given him a warning shot. Either way, it got the message across.

I like the Career training and I’m good at it. Really good. I’m fast, I’m quiet. My mentor calls me a shadow. Most people who do this are looking for riches or fame. Some are bored. Not me. I want something of my own. My money is my mother’s. My looks are my father’s. Everything else belongs to someone in some way. But not this. When I’m training, when I get praised for my prowess or shock someone because “I’m just a girl”, that’s me and me alone. I live for the look of awe and fear I see in some people’s eyes when they see me practice, when they think about me against live targets, against them maybe.

And I’ve had to smack down a person or two. Mostly because they mess with my brother. Yeah, he’s older than me by a few seconds, but that doesn't matter. I’ve taken care of him ever since I was old enough to. He’s quiet and a little fidgety, sometimes I wish he’d just hold still. But no one says a bad thing about him while I’m around. I know they still talk about him. I can see the glances when they think I’m not looking. But I am. I’m always looking.

Mom died when Jasper and I were two. She just went for a run one evening and fell. Or at least that was the ruling. My brother has some ideas he’s shared with me and it’s got me thinking. They don’t make sense, but it’s still just a little weird. Regardless, Jasper and I were left to be raised by a nanny. At least until we were old enough to take care of ourselves. I think maybe we scared her off more than anything.

When we were four we started Career training. At first, I didn’t know why Dad wanted us to learn this stuff, why he put us with these mentors who taught us how to sneak quietly or the proper way to hold a blade. Over time, I began to think it was to make him proud, to bring prestige to the Aarden name. Now, I’m not even sure. Maybe it’s the money. He does spend Mom’s money, our money, pretty freely. All I know is I’m not doing it for him anymore. I’m doing it for me.

Around the time we were eight, Dad started talking about sending Jasper off to be trained as a Peacemaker. It’s the only time in my life I’ve ever been even close to hitting my father. Jasper can’t leave, he needs me to look out for him. Luckily, he didn’t pass the screening. I’m not sure how I feel about that either. Was he not good enough? They’d be stupid to think they’re too good to take him. Regardless, we kept right on with our training.

Recently though, I’m starting to notice things about my brother, things that worry me a little. He’s a little more paranoid than usual. A healthy bit of paranoia will keep a person on their toes, especially as a Career. But he’s seeing connections and things that I can’t even fathom. Sometimes he just stares for a while. I’m usually able to snap him out of it though. Like I said, he needs me to look out for him.

I have Heartwood's permission to make the twin. In fact we came up with the characters together. I'm just slow in posting. >.<