A Ranger's Daughter

"Mongrel!"
"In-bred!"
"Disgusting!"
I bit my lip to hold my fury back as various insults spewed across the yard in my direction. A projectile was hurled at my head, but I grabbed it mid-air before it could actually hit me. I turned towards the person who threw it and glowered angrily at the person that always tried to make my life a living hell.
"Alda!" I barked.
"Aiden," he smirked.
His smirk made me want to rip his face off.
"Touch me again and I'll--"
"What, you'll set your daddy on me? Oh, that's right...you don't have one," Alda laughed cruelly, as my face flushed red.
"I DO SO HAVE A FATHER!" I shouted at him.
"Well produce him for me, get him to beat me down, make me scared, protect you!" Alda sneered at me.
I opened my mouth but I couldn't say anything in response because I didn't know what to say. My father issue is complicated.
Alda laughed doggedly as he closed in on me. I am proud to say as the huge older boy towered over me I did not show fear, even though I was internally shaking like a leaf.
"They didn't want you. They threw you out in the gutter like yesterday's garbage. They couldn't have cared less if you had died! Stupid, ignorant, ridiculous child!" Alda whispered in my ear, before shoving me to the ground and kicking me in the back.
I bit back a cry of pain and kicked out at Alda, striking him hard in the kneecap. He yelled out in pain and grabbed his knee. I scrambled away from him but I was blocked by Alda's best friends, Jerome and Bryn. My heart thudded in my chest as they glared at me. A big, meaty hand grabbed my shoulder and whipped me around so that I could see Alda's pain contorted, furious face.
"You ungrateful farm-girl!" he snarled at me, his hand smacking into my face.
I spun at the force, and fell into Bryn, who promptly dropped me and delivered a kick to my stomach. I coughed as the wind left me and curled up in a ball as kicks rained upon my small body.

When they stopped I immediately leapt up and my tiny fist smashed into Alda's face. He let out a howl as the cartilage crushed and I spun around to grab Jerome's hair and smack his face into Bryn's. I heard a scuffling sound behind me and I brought my elbow up and cracked it hard behind me, smacking into Alda's jaw. Bryn then grabbed me and holding my arms behind my back, spun me around so I was prone to Alda and Jerome.
Alda had blood going down his face which was adding to the pure fury on his face. I gulped and looked at Jerome, he was almost as angry as Alda and had a puffy lip from where he'd clonked Bryn.
"We're going to make you wish you'd never been born," Jerome hissed maliciously at me.
I just glared and held my chin up defiantly.
Jerome struck me hard in the stomach as Alda hit me in the face. I grunted and closed my eyes in pain. They struck several more times, and I could feel warm blood on my face but I still refused to cry out in pain.

"What do you think you're doing to my daughter?"
The blows stopped as I faintly made out the sound of my adoptive father.
"I-I...what?" Jerome replied uneasily.
I wasn't surprised, my father was quite an intimidating man.
"My daughter is in your friend's arms, she's the girl with blood on her face. What are you doing with her?" my father asked slowly.
I could hear the anger in his voice and I felt the death grip on my wrists loosen.
"I-We didn't realise," Bryn said, his voice shaking slightly.
I opened my eyes, barely able to see out of my right, and saw my father sitting on his horse with his longbow fully drawn.
"So that makes it alright then? The fact that you didn't know she was mine?" my father's voice was quieter now, but more outraged than before.
Bryn, Jerome and Alda were all staring at the longbow in fear.
"I-We-She.." Alda stuttered.
"I should put an arrow in all of you," my father contemptuously said.
"Dad...stop. We were just messing around," I said quietly.
I hated Alda, Bryn and Jerome, but I'd get it worse next time because of my father's intervention.
"Aiden, how much of a buffoon do you take me for?!" my father glared at me.
I glared right back. My father then turned to the boys and nodded for them to leave. They scurried off as fast as they could, but not before shooting me nasty looks.
"Get on, now. I'll talk to you when we get home," my father said, gesturing for me to jump behind him on his horse.
I gritted my teeth together and looked at the horse before asking,
"Permettez moi?"
Abelard snorted and I clambered up behind my father and clasped my hands around his small waist. My father then wheeled Abelard around and rode off at a canter towards Castle Redmont.

"What in the world were you thinking?! You were almost beaten to a pulp! What on Earth made you think you could go wandering by yourself?!" my father growled at me.
"I was doing just fine! You don't need to be so protective of me! I'm not a child! And you're the great Ranger Halt! You go 'wandering' all around the seas! I remember your stories of the Temujai! Skandians! Hiberneria! Don't you dare tell me not to wander around when you have been all around the world!" I yelled at my father, standing up and placing my hands on my hips.
"I am armed. I know what I'm doing. I'm getting on in my years, you are just a child. You aren't trained in anything," my father said quietly, looking at me intensely under the cowl of his cloak.
I gritted my teeth together.
"I saw the massacre of most of my family when I was six years old by the Scotti. I hid in rabbit holes, fox dens and abandoned boar dens for a year. I made weapons out of rocks and sticks. Don't you dare tell me I'm a child and I don't know what I'm doing," I snarled at Halt.
He looked at me evenly, the only expression was a faint pursing of the lips.
"I have to be somewhere important. I'll talk to you in the morning," Halt said before disappearing.
I let out a growl of anger before flopping on my bed and screaming into a pillow. I punched it a few times before simply sagging limply, tears leaking out of my eyes.

"Aiden?" a soft voice called.
I turned to see my adoptive mother, Lady Pauline, in the doorway. Her eyes softened when she saw the cuts, bruises and tear tracks on my face. She walked over and sat on the bed with me.
"Why won't he let me be free?" I asked quietly.
"He doesn't have many people in his life and he doesn't want them to get hurt," she replied quietly.
"But, he's so frustrating. I can take care of myself. What happened today doesn't happen usually. Usually I can at least out run them, but I was cornered," I explained.
My mother smiled sadly at me and touched my cheek lightly.
"You are his daughter, and he cares a lot for you. Please see it from his perspective. What if he were getting beaten bloody...would you try to stop it?" she asked.
I bit my lip.
"That's not the point, the point is he's a Ranger and he's trying to get me to stop from even walking outside? Isn't that the very definition of hypocritical?" I demanded.
"He's only trying to protect you sweetheart. He loves you and so he's trying to stop you from getting hurt," my mother said, kissing my forehead.
"But he's the one hurting me now...I can't live under his wing forever..." I said softly.
My mother chuckled.
"I'm pretty sure he'd find a way to do just that, but you're right. I'll talk to him about it when he gets back. For now, just go to sleep," my mother sighed.
I nodded and snuggled under my blanket.
"Night Mum," I yawned.
"Night Aiden, I love you."
"I love you too."