Aine Hayes, District One (Finished)

Aine Ember Hayes

perfect by nature
icons of self-indulgence
just what we all need

basic information
more lies about a world that
never was and never will be
have you no shame? don't you see me?
you know you've got everybody fooled

She was born of autumn winds and broken mirrors. Of burning houses and icy steel. Of sharp blades and crooked crowns. She likes to acts as if she is a queen, and people obey her because of how rich her family is and how powerful her father is in the underworld. She belongs in District One, really, for she is spoiled endlessly and yet somehow tough as nails and more clever than anyone could ever imagine. She has to be, with four other siblings to compete against for the attention of her father. But she's Daddy's little girl and she knows it. She knows he loves her best because she's so much better than the rest of them. She knows that someday she'll grow into his position of power, and then she truly will be the queen of all dark, broken things.


appearance
look here she comes now
bow down and stare in wonder
oh how we love you
no flaws when you're pretending

The clang of metal on metal echos throughout the training center, a concentrated series of sharp, ringing taps going so fast they are almost indistinguishable from each other. Small lips tilt upward into a smile when she spots an opening in her opponent's defenses - quick as lightly she has lunged, the edge of her blade slamming against his armor with such force that he stumbles back, thrown off balance. Bright, ice-blue eyes flash in victory and she quickly lands the final blow, striking him down and daintily setting her foot atop his chest, gazing down at him mockingly. "I would have hoped for a bit more of a challenge, brother. You've been practicing so hard these days."

The older boy shoves her foot off and stands again, brushing himself off and looking irritated. "Shut up, Aine. I'm not in the mood." She watches him retreat with his sword over to a dummy in the corner of the room and rolls her eyes, round face still wearing an arrogantly triumphant expression as she makes her way over to the spears. Quite a few eyes in the room follow her movements, and why shouldn't they? She's beautiful, after all. With a fiery mane that captures one's attention and a slender, curving figure and delicate features to hold it, it's no wonder she wins her fights against male opponents with such ease.

She tries to hide the majority of her flaws - acne along her hairline, a birthmark under her right eye - beneath large amounts of make-up, but her low eyebrows and round nose are impossible to hide, and she can't seem to get her milky skin to tan, no matter how hard she tries. It's of no matter, though. She carries about her an air of perfection, and so perfection is what people see.

Long, thin fingers wrap around the shaft of a spear and she considers her target for a moment, hefting it up. Her limbs are willowy, revealing the fact that perhaps she's not the strongest person, but she somehow manages to pull it up and throw it with a small grunt of effort. It hits the dummy square in the chest and she grins, flashing bright white teeth. Somehow, that grin never reaches her eyes - it's always cold and calculating, twisted into a smirk at the last second, as if she doesn't know what it truly means to smile. Who knows? Maybe she doesn't.



personality
but now i know she
never was and never will be
you don't know how you've betrayed me
and somehow you've got everybody fooled

She yanks the spear out of the target harshly, fingering the hole it left behind for a moment before replacing the weapon on the rack and moving onto the next station. Being deadly is one of the many things she's good at - every blade finds its mark perfectly. She amazes her trainers, infuriates her brother, wins the admiration of her sisters, and receives the approval of her father all at once, and it delights her. She loves attention, and yet she doesn't need it. Pleasing herself is enough for the queen.

Aine considers herself to be flawless in all ways - as arrogant as she can get, and proud of it. Perhaps she would be a bit of a perfectionist if she had any areas in which she thought she was lacking, but the truth is, she excels in all areas of importance. She's even taught her younger sisters to believe that she is the very incarnation of perfection and that they must constantly strive to be like her, because she truly is the best.

She approaches one of her sisters now, Jessalyn, and the younger girl smiles widely. She had been talking with a young man about her age just moments before, but he hastily moved away upon Aine's arrival - the queen's eyes dart after him, slightly irritated. Surely, Jessalyn is a very pretty girl, but Aine is beautiful. And yet, as much as guys will admire her from a distance, up close she's intimidating and ruthless. She'd never consider herself socially awkward - she's just so above everyone else that she could never bear to stoop to their level. (She's never told anyone of the times she's actually tried talking to boys, watching them squirm under her cold gaze and being unable to relate to the complexity of her life.)

"Aine!" Jessalyn's face lights up in delight, as if she is honored to be in the presence of someone so great. And she should be. Aine smirks back. "Mind if I join you?"

Jessalyn's eyes become round. "You join me? Of course I don't mind!"

Aine selects a thin knife from the table nearby, feeling its weight and examining the dummy a distance away. The blade zips through the air and slams into the eye of it with such force that the post on which it is standing wobbles ever so slightly. Jessalyn squints and throws, but her aim is off and she ends up hitting it in the shoulder instead. Aine feels a bubble of satisfaction - she loves it when she does better than others. Even as Jessalyn's face falls, she feels nothing but cold, hard satisfaction. She rarely takes into account the feelings of others - no one's happiness matters to her except for her own, and her father's, of course.

She's endlessly devoted to her father, a perfect little daughter who does everything he says. She values his love of her above all else. It's why she strives to be flawless - he settled for nothing less, so why should she? She wants to please him, doesn't she? She'll be the best if that's what it takes to earn his approval. To earn his attention. To know with absolute certainty that Daddy loves her best.

Jessalyn's next throw hits the chest, and Aine nods in approval. She only keeps the very best of company, also known as two of her younger sisters. She's trained them to be excellent, almost as perfect as she is. The third she didn't bother with - Clare's blindness renders her useless, and Aine wants nothing to do with something so flawed. It may be hard to earn Aine's companionship and trust, but once you have you're stuck with her - she trusts completely or not at all. Jessalyn's eyes lights up in delight, picking up another knife. Aine has left before she can really impress her, though, already on her way to flails with that cold smile twitching on her lips.

Not too far away, Leo's begun practicing with the swords again. Aine rolls her eyes slightly. Leo is strong, at least, and is determined - while their father may see him as a complete failure, she sees some potential. He's at least fun to manipulate. She uses him, as well as a lot of other people, to her advantage when she needs it, molding a perfect world for herself out of lies and blackmail. She's really beneath nothing, completely willing to betray anyone in an instant if it suits her. And yet, she seems to have no regrets. She's cruel, she's smart, and she's clever, and she loves herself for it.



history
without the mask where will you hide?
can't find yourself lost in your lie
i know the truth now
i know who you are

She approaches her brother quietly, but he still somehow senses her presence, turning around and narrowing his eyes. "What do you want, Aine?"

"Just wanted to talk," she shrugs, picking up a sword and then looking over at him and deciding to be a bit patronizing, just this once. Normally, she'd just flat out insult him, but she'd already beaten him once today and she knew that if she added insult to injury she'd never get a proper conversation started. "I'll go slow this time, I promise."

He narrowed his eyes at her but lifted his blade, gently tapping hers and then going into a defensive position. She struck back lightly and then continued like that, back and forth, as easily as if they had done this a million times. Which makes sense, seeing as they have.

She doesn't think about it often - the summer days spent chasing each other out in the great meadow near their second home, or splashing within the water of the cool lake, and practicing combat back and forth as they do right now. It was a long time ago, after all. She and her brother had been a lot closer back then, though she oftentimes plotted with Jessalyn and Bridget to embarrass him. It was easy, seeing as some girl he seemed to like lived nearby and was always over to play with them. Frowning, Aine feels slight annoyance at the fact that she can't remember the name attached to the pretty face.

"Leo," she says, slapping her blade up high against his before swooping down to block an attack, "what was the name of your girlfriend down by the lake?"

"She wasn't my girlfriend," Leo's voice is irritated as he maneuvers his blade beneath hers and draws them both up - she releases it just in time to defend herself against his next lunge. "And her name was Joy."

"It's a shame you don't get to see her anymore," Aine continues, hoping to distract him so she can break through his defenses. It works somewhat - he hesitates slightly, but still manages to block her next attack.

"You know we're never going back to that place," he says, his voice low as the blade of his sword flashes before him. "Not after what happened."

She remembers just as well as she does waking up that morning to see their father bending near the lake, staring at his reflection hollowly. And where was their mother? Not in the kitchen, making breakfast, or reading in the den. Not out in the meadows picking flowers, or sweeping the living room floor. Gone, and no one knew where to.

It wasn't like it mattered to Aine, though. Their mother had never really liked her, anyway. She always loved Leo best, and treated Aine as if she was a problem child, a little monster. In a way, it was good for the young girl - the only person who had ever denied her perfection was out of her life, hopefully forever. People found it almost disturbing, how well she took it. Leo accused her of having never loved their mother at all, and even her sisters were a bit stiff around her for a few days. They didn't seem to understand that all Aine ever heard from the woman were scoldings about how she shouldn't talk behind other peoples' backs, she shouldn't smile at the pain of those less fortunate than her, she shouldn't think herself above others.

Aine was annoyed now, as she always became when she thought about her mother. Drawing back, she lowered her sword and frowned. "Okay, stop. That's enough." Raising her voice, she called to their younger sisters. "Jessalyn! Bridget! Come on! We're going home."

Leo doesn't take his eyes off of her, and she glances at him in irritation. "What do you want?"

"She loved you, you know."

Aine's eyes narrow and she turns away, trying to decide exactly how many secrets of his she should tell father in order to get back at him for that sentence. "No, Leo. You know as well as I do that she never did."



codeword / other
it never was and never will be
you're not real and you can't save me
somehow now you're everybody's fool

odair

Everybody's Fool, by Evanescence

Based off the character Azula, from Avatar: The Last Airbender