aspen peake, district seven | finished

i am all blade ;

She tries not to think about who she could have been — had her grandmother not chosen to become a peacekeeper, stationed in Seven and eventually losing her badge to the mistake that shamed her once good name. Her beauty faded, her income was cut, and she settled for the first woodcutter that offered her his hand. Just because she was hungry. It didn't matter that his eyes were kind, or that he truly cared for her.

Aspen's mother swears that the two of them learned to love each other, but the girl has her doubts. ( Who ever loves the medicine they're forced to take in order to stay alive? ) The Peake family carries the blood of a golden place, worn like a crown by the only daughter of its second generation, but it's just a shadow in their memory. All starving dogs can claim a wolf as their first ancestor. What does it matter?

There are times when Aspen wonders if she should have been more rose than thorns, like the other girls of her district. Soft hands and gentle smiles, petals in their hair — but her teeth have always been sharp and her palms calloused, wild curls rushing down bruised shoulders. What if she had been born in One? An heiress with diamonds around her throat and an evening gown clinging to her curves?

She's all coal; a black tongue and tendrils of smoke rising in the air, a body made only of straight lines. Torn jeans and combat boots. She'll never know wealth, she'll never sit at her vanity and paint her lips red and call herself beautiful, but neither will she endure hunger. Not like her parents and grandparents before her, not like her brothers now. Her stomach is not meant to growl. That's for her mouth.

It had been no surprise that the Peacekeeper Training Academy accepted her application — not because of her skills, or because she actually showed genuine promise as a peacekeeper — but because in a district like Seven, you trained whoever was willing to learn and disowned the weak when it was time to graduate. Trial by combat, one could say. Killing yourself to save the world. Such a humble sacrifice to be good.

No one could deny that Aspen was strong, albeit reckless and aggressive, and she clawed her way to the top ten of her class. For a time, she kept the first spot without challenge. Then Nico Davenport came, and he challenged her brawn with his brains. She had thought that they were the perfect team; both on and off the field. Maybe it was foolish to try to be lovers after succeeding as companions, but who's surprised that her arrogance got the best of her?

Still, a matchstick isn't meant to love a wildfire. She can't blame him for calling off their relationship. She knew it was ending, too, and at least they got to keep their friendship. It was a story to tell. One day they'd graduate and start making their patrols and Seven would be theirs to claim. Just like they always wanted. Except there's always a chapter that follows the best one, and it's always the worst. Shame on her for trusting a hawk to stay in one place. She hadn't been worth enough for him to remain.

Now he's gone, and she's still here

— and being number one?

Being a machine? So hardened?

Maybe it's not worth it. All of this. Fuck princesses and fuck knights and fuck dragons. Fairy tales are nothing but a scam. She's starting to understand why her grandmother had fallen so hard. She throws the book of them in a lake and watches the pages drown — and a boy with coppery hair and a crooked smile sits down beside her and she clenches her jaw. 'Don't love a stone. You can't get through to me.' Nico should have warned his best friend about her. Maybe the both of them would have been safe from themselves had Nico bothered to say goodbye.

Too late for that, huh?

——————

[ dars ]