Akira Rises (9 page)

Akira forced her attention to Benjamin and Edgar.
What plan do you have to protect me from our father? Where can I go? Why have you not confided in me?
Edgar and Ben did not look happy to be hunting the serf on the morrow. When would Marcus return? He usually managed to calm troubled waters. Poor Edgar and Ben. It was expected of them to put on a show of force with their father. She wondered if their father suspected he could be losing his hold over them. Akira suspected her brothers were conspiring against their father. Could they usurp him with the king’s backing? Duty had been pounded into them from the time they were born. Her mother had taught her about duty. Duty to family was not duty to just the head of a family. It was to the family itself. She hoped her mother’s influence over her brothers was stronger than Aunt Violet's.

At mention of the hunt going east, Akira’s attention was immediately riveted to the voice she had been ignoring. Her heart thumped harder in her chest. She could hear her heart beat in her ears. She listened attentively, without looking as if she was paying any attention to the conversation. The words made her sad and disgusted at the same time. It was reported that the young man about to be hunted was headed east, running for the nearest city, trying to disappear among many. If he could escape Baron Rolfes' clutches for a year, he would be considered a free man. Akira wished him well. The serf was running east. Akira longed to go west. Her mind was quickly planning.
No better time to run than when a hunter is going in the opposite direction. Here is my opportunity!
Her heart pounded. Her face flushed. If she told her brothers of her plan to run, they would most likely try stop her.
If only you had confided in me, I’d confide in you. I can’t sleep without thinking of Anne. We should have done more. I will go to the mountain and get help for Anne. No! I must do what I should have done before. I will free Anne before I run away.

She tried to contain her excitement. It was imperative to learn of every detail of who would be where and when for tomorrow. An early morning start was planned. It occurred to her one of the hunting party might choose to take Pegasus, for he was a strong big horse, with a smooth riding gait. She needed him for her own escape. She would not leave her horse behind, could not leave her horse behind.
What to do? What to do?
It came to her.

 “May I be excused. I need to ask for Pegasus to be put out to pasture, since I won’t be riding him anymore. He has a sore hoof and the softer ground in the pasture where the draft horses are kept will help him walk easier.” The lies slipped off her lips easily.

The baron raised his eyebrows. “A sore hoof?”

“Yes a stone bruise. I’m sure he will be fine soon enough.”

“Very well. You are excused. I’m glad you have decided to bow to my wishes. From now on if you do any riding, it will be in the company of myself or your brothers. You need to start acting like a noble woman.’ He paused and added, “and this time, thank me for that concession.”

“Thank you.” The words nearly choked her. Akira forced herself to meet her father’s gaze briefly. She had much to do and little time in which to do it.

 Baron Rolfe dismissed his subdued looking daughter with a nod. Akira resisted the urge to run from the room. She forced herself to walk. Relief. No one would want to take her Pegasus on the hunt. His disappearance would not be noticed right away.

The baron stroked his thick beard. He barked at his manservant. “What fool allowed her to ride about unchaperoned?”

The man servant replied meekly. “I believe it was her mother.”

Baron Rolfe grunted. “That figures.” He waved his goblet high. “My cup is empty.”

The manservant quickly filled the raised cup, careful not to spill a drop and be cuffed. He hid his disgust of the baron. The questioning of his daughter’s state of virginity, was crude and uncalled for. The man was a pig. The manservant had noticed of late that the daughter avoided staying at home, finding any excuse to be away. He hoped her brothers would protect her. One had raised his dark eyebrows and frowned towards his father at the questioning of his sister’s purity. It seemed as if he too felt uncomfortable and had been about to say something but thought better of it. The older son, Edgar looked even more concerned by his father’s next comment about bringing the aunt back under their roof. They had quickly masked their feelings well if their father’s rants and threat actually bothered them. He hoped the sons of his mistress took more after their mother than their father. For if they did, they would at least have hearts.

“Remind me in the morning to ask my sister to take charge of my daughter and see if she can do something to improve her appearance.” The baron looked pained for a second until he belched.

“Yes milord.”

Baron Rolfe once again stroked his graying beard pensively, thinking perhaps he had been very foolish to let his wife have domain over the girl, but the late Lady Shy had been more attentive and agreeable when he had done so. The key to assure his wife’s obedience was the same as the key to Akira's obedience. It was to threaten something she loved, and Shy loved her daughter. Her daughter loved her mother, and her horse. The mother was gone. That hold was gone. But the horse was not. Love was a foolish emotion he mused. It made people weak. He needed to toughen up his sons. The hunt would be a good lesson. They had been too squeamish of late.

CHAPTER TEN

A
kira
was relieved to take leave of her father. She had held tongue. It had almost been impossible with the recent circumstances. Her mother had schooled her well to look obedient, sound obedient, and fade into the background. As she left the reach of her father’s eyes, she squared her shoulders. Looking obedient was not being obedient. She stood straighter and raised her head. Sounding obedient was a learned skill, not a state of mind. Years of practice served her well. She retreated to her bedroom. She gathered that which she would need.

It is time. I’m leaving
she thought. The anticipation of freedom, the removal of angst over deciding to run made her feel giddy for a moment. She had heard the whispers among the servants that Baron Rolfe had been making comments that it was time his sister took his daughter in hand and prepared her for marriage or a convent. Her thoughts were directed towards her mother’s dead spirit.
It will only be a matter of time before he follows through with his threats. I will make good on our escape plans mother. I shall leave this horrid place. I’m old enough, strong enough to make my own journey. I will ride Pegasus towards the mountains. I will follow our plan to seek sanctuary at the monastery of the White Rose. I can no longer abide living under his roof and rule. I fear I shall try kill him and fail and then be hanged hang for it. If I were to succeed it would be worth it. I’ve seen a look in his eyes that makes me shudder. He looks at my body and it feels like he is touching me with his eyes

I will free Anne. I will free her to run with me. The more we run in different directions the more we will have a chance to escape. If we divide father’s resources, we can beat him. Killing him would be easier.

Suddenly, Akira shuddered. She searched her soul. If my soul is at peace with killing him, does it mean I’m as evil as he? For it is abhorrently wrong to kill one’s father. No answering thought came, and there was no time to dwell on it.

She walked to the kitchen and asked for some carrots, and some biscuits. When Mary was busy looking for carrots, Akira helped herself to extra biscuits. She hid them in the folds of her dress. What Mary did not know would keep her safer. A defiant attitude was reflected in the way she set her lips, the way she tipped her chin out.

Her eyes, stormy blue, framed with sooty dark lashes swept the across the kitchen and the servants busily cleaning pots and tables. Some servants she would miss, others she would not. There was no time for secret goodbyes. Goodbyes would be a dangerous indulgence. She would not expose those she cared about to danger. They would need to be genuinely shocked and concerned over her disappearance for their own safety. She hoped no harm would come to them.

“Thank you for the carrots Mary. Pegasus loves them.” Akira gave the cook a quick hug. She hugged the servant for a few more seconds than she would have any other time. She would miss Mary the most. She turned away quickly. She could not afford sentimental emotions.

Akira left her bedroom dressed in several layers of her warmest clothing. She avoided the dining hall, and walked into the great hall. With purpose, she walked to the fire hearth that had not yet been lit. Making sure she was not seen she scraped black soot from the interior of the hearth and piled the soot onto on a cloth she brought just for that purpose. She folded the cloth over carefully so the contents would not spill. She hoped it would be enough. She took one last look around. A black hooded cape was hanging from a chair. Most likely one of her brothers had flung it there earlier.
Perfect
she thought, and stole it. It looked like Ben’s cape. He was always losing things. He would not begrudge her needing it. Most likely he would think he left it somewhere he ought not to have been. If in the days to come, he realized or suspected she stole it he would say nothing and if she got a good head start it would not matter.

Akira slipped into her mother’s chambers unseen. She knelt down beside her other’s bed and felt underneath the bed boards. Her fingers sought a small leather pouch. In the pouch was a stolen vial of sleeping powders. She knew her mother hid the powder there to put in her husband’s drink should he come to her chambers and try to enter her bed. She always had a goblet at her bedside, and mead, and none of the sweet honey mead crossed or touched her lips. Akira looked at her mother’s bedside table. It had been cleared of her mother’s possessions. The goblet was gone. The mead was gone. Akira found the pouch. She tucked it in her bodice. She quickly raced through the halls to her father’s locked chambers. A key hung outside the door. It was left there for the servants to open the door and bring meals to the room’s prisoner. Akira turned the key and pushed open the door.

Ann stood with her back to Akira looking out the window. The set of her shoulders was one of defeat. “Just leave the food beside the bed,” she said without turning.

Akira closed the door behind herself. She spoke softly. “Anne.”

Ann turned with a puzzled look on her face. “What brings you here Akira?”

“We must flee. I’ve come to help you escape.”

“But I can’t leave. If I leave, your father has promised to kill my Tom” Ann’s already red eyes welled up with fresh tears.

“He can’t harm him if he can’t catch him.” Akira grasped Ann’s shoulders.

“You mean he has not imprisoned him?” Ann’s eyes brightened.

“No, he is on the run.”

“A hunting party is going to be sent out in the morning.”

Ann groaned. The light in her eyes dimmed. Her shoulders slumped again.

“I’ve a plan, Ann. We can confuse the hunting party and help Tom escape. We need a head start. You must drug my father tonight. I’ve brought you the means to put him in a deep sleep.” Akira handed Ann the pouch. “Can you do this?”

Ann nodded. She impulsively hugged Akira.

“Light a candle and place it in front of the window when he is unconscious.” I will come for you. I must leave you now. I dare not be caught here.” Akira paused at the door way. Be brave.”

Akira closed the door, locked it and replaced it on its hook, looking over her shoulder to make certain her presence was not noticed. The servants would be bringing Ann food and the key needed to be in its place. She prayed Ann would place the candle in the window early enough in the night so they would have several hours head start. Akira would be waiting in the shadows of the outside garden for Ann’s signal. Akira returned to her bedroom

The temptation to confide in her brothers was overwhelming. Had they confided in her, she would have reciprocated, or so she reasoned. She might have asked for their help. There had to be a reason her mother had not confided in them, or had she?
Too late to find out now
she thought. She would not leave her fate to her brothers. They were men and would decide what was best for her, just like of her father would do. Akira decided her destiny was her own. Her life was her own.

Somehow, some way, she needed to atone for the mistakes she believed she had made. Akira wished she had told Anne to run, told the villagers to fight her father. She wished she had insisted her mother and Matilde wait out the storm on the fateful day.

She left the home that threatened to be a prison, and headed for the stables. She slipped outside flitting through shadows. A dog barked and she stood frozen. When she heard the hiss and yowl of a cat, she realized the dog was not barking at her. She walked across the courtyard as silently as she could. She wanted to run.
Nothing must look amiss, my actions must not look suspicious if eyes are watching.
No one called out. No one asked “who goes there?” A sigh of relief left her lips.

The stable doors creaked. The smell of hay, leather, horses and their droppings filled her nostrils. It was not unpleasant. It was earthy. A mouse scurried in front of her trying to hide as fast as its legs could carry it. It did not frighten Akira. It occurred to her, they had much in common.
Run little mouse run,
she thought. Long ears twitched and turned towards the opening door. Several pairs of equine eyes watched her entrance. Pegasus whinnied softly as he saw his mistress approach. The carrot from the kitchen was crunched noisily as she stroked his shoulders and forehead. She ran her fingers under his mane. Akira whispered in his ear. “It is time. We could fly away like the creature you are named for, if only you had wings my friend.” She fondly scratched him behind his ears.

With only filtered moonlight peeking into the barn Akira relied heavily on memory as she climbed up log ladder to the hay loft above the stalls. In the deepest corner under the thatched roof, where a man could not stand, she had hidden a small sack of grain, a ragged edged roughly drawn map, a long knife, dried jerky, dried berries and an old winter bed fur that had been her mother's. The aromatic herbs she had sprinkled on the robe to keep the mice away wafted up as she shook it and rubbed her face into the soft fur. Squirrelled away, mudded over between the cracks of the stone walls was a small cache of gold pieces her mother had pilfered slowly and carefully over the years from the monies allotted for running the household. It was their freedom fund.