Post by Ainsley MacKinnon on Feb 9, 2010 3:44:28 GMT -5
S O M E T H I N G S J U S T A B O U T T O B R E A K
i w i l l f i n d m y p l a c e
i w i l l f i n d m y p l a c e
Comfortable life. That was what Ainsley MacKinnon had. She cherished it most heartily. Though the daughter of the sister to the Chieftain's wife, it did not mean that they acted any different. Never had her Father, Hamish, longed to be Chieftain even having married Brighid, and so was content to act as an Advisor of sorts to his brother-in-law instead. This meant that Hamish and Brighid led a life of contentment in a cottage, that was slightly larger than most due to who he was, where they had a relatively large family. Ainsley was the oldest of nine children, but felt no less loved for it. Love could be found in abundance in the household of Brighid and Hamish MacKinnon. She spent most of her days either helping her Mother, attending classes with tutors as her parents would not see their children uneducated, or off romping with the boys. Ainsley was not much the girly-girl type. Oh, she had her moments and loved girlish clothing, but her passion was for what the boys did.
In this her Father spoiled her though her Mother was adamant that her daughter still learn the ways of a lady. Brighid felt that her daughter would never find one to someday marry if they saw her heathen ways. She rode upon a horse as if one with the beast, preferring never to use a saddle and to ride astride!, and her love of combat and weaponry was unheard of. Yet her true skill lied in the bow and arrow, and that was carried with her at all times. She practiced by posting targets to trees or hunting in the forests, or fields, around MacKinnon lands. Her constant companion in all of this was her brother Kendrick though he heartily disliked killing and was more fascinated with the herbs to be found.
This meant that most of her friendships were with those of the male gender- the ones who could tolerate the idea of a female being able to best them- and that most females spent their times dismissing her mere existence. There was a passion inside Ainsley that could not be contained though. She was not afraid of being shunned for being herself. Sometimes Hamish would tell friends that his wife had given him not only a daughter, but a son as well.
Whenever Hamish went into Turas Lan it could be guaranteed that his daughter would be at his side. There she'd watch the soldiers of Skye participate in combat training while her Father went about business. It was here that Ainsley knew what she wanted to some day be. Fascination showed in the way her fair face lit up and cadet blue eyes watched every movement upon the training field. From the moment on she began to focus more intensely on her practice with bow and arrow, and learned more about those women who were skilled with bow. Ainsley began to idolize both Kaelyn Urquhart-Raven and Danae Galanos, two well-known and highly skilled women, and took any opportunity to hear stories of their feats.
The older Ainsley got the more her Mother tried to insert her influence. The lessons took to some degree. She tried to be more well-mannered, worry more about her appearance, and to learn the softer arts. These things began to show in the graceful mannerisms of the girl who began to come into womanhood. Her beauty attracted many boys, but she was not intent upon marrying. While they sought to court her, and others just to bed her, Ainsley put them from her mind. Others turned away upon seeing that she wasn't the epitome of the soft and fragile damsel. Finally, her Mother accepted that marrying Ainsley off would be a task indeed...
Meanwhile Hamish saw that his daughter was meant for greater than just warming a man's bed and bearing his children. This was why, on her 17th birthday, Hamish drove Ainsley into Turas Lan for a meeting with the Lord General Maahes Asad-Aziem.
