Akira Rises by Robyn Wideman, Nonie Wideman

needed a step to get up on his back. He was a tall horse, bred to carry a man in heavy armor. Akira’s weight to him was nothing. With his rippling muscles, he could have pulled heavy plows, heavy carts with ease. He had one scarred shoulder from a jousting match. Ben had borrowed him unbeknownst to Akira. It had been cause for their one and only fight between brother and sister. Ben learned his sister was smaller, but she could bite in a scrap where boys would resist the temptation. She could also kick. It was one of the few times his mother chastised him. Pegasus’s scar had its story. Ann’s horse was smaller, bred to be a fast runner. It was a dark bay. Ann quietly followed Akira. They rode for a few minutes before Akira spoke.
    “I want to thank you for doing as I asked without question.”
    Ann replied thoughtfully. “I will do anything you ask to help my Tom.”
    “My plan is to cause a diversion. It will give your Tom a better chance of escaping. With us running in three different directions, my father’s hunters will be divided. Are you willing to ride south and disappear into the swamp lands?”
    Ann nodded. “Yes. I’ve relatives that will hide me. I want to be with Tom. But he may not want me anymore.”
    “I will head west for the mountains. With any luck, the hunters will follow my tracks. Your mount is swift.” Akira tried to give Ann a reassuring smile. “My father thinks Tom is heading north. If we ride in different directions, it may confuse them. If they follow us, Tom has a better chance, for he is on foot. From what the villagers have told me, your Tom wants you back.”
    Ann looked intently at Akira. “Are you being truthful? I’d not blame him if he no longer wanted to marry me.”
    “I heard he wanted to challenge my father to a duel, but was told he could not win. No one trusts my father. You still hold your Tom’s heart. He seems to be a good man. I wish I had convinced you to run before my father claimed you. I’m so sorry for what he has done to you and your Tom. It took me awhile to find the courage to do what my brothers ought to have done.”
    “Tis not your fault, young mistress. I must confess I wanted to smother your father when he was passed out from the drugs. Fear held me back, for I do not need the king’s men wanting to hang me for murder.”
    “I must confess that I too have wanted him dead, and fear stopped me as well.”
    “Are we cowards, milady?” Ann tried to see Akira’s face in the moonlight.
    “Well, if we are cowards, we are the bravest cowards I know. Tis no easy thing we do tonight. I see the fork in the road where we shall part company. Take these coins and buy passage north by boat when it is safe to do so.” Akira handed Ann two gold coins from her pouch. “Now ride south swiftly. May the gods be kind to you and your Tom.”
    “And may the gods be with you, milady,” replied Ann. She turned her horse at the fork of the road and soon disappeared into the night.
     

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    T he night air was cooling fast. Akira’s breath was visible in the moonlight. She took the hooded cape she stole and wrapped it tighter around herself. She fastened the hood snugly beneath her chin. It smelled like brother Ben. She liked its smell. Ben had been kind. She would miss him. She had his cape for protection. It seemed fitting. She wished she had been able to trust him, wished she could have said goodbye. Making soft clucky noises, she gently nudged her heels to the horse's sides. Pegasus responded to the progression of signals, a walk, a trot, and then a full gallop. Her heart soared as they galloped until the gravity of what she was doing subdued it.
    Akira hoped to put as much distance as possible between herself and the father she feared before her absence was discovered. She was determined to travel as far and as fast as she could in the opposite direction her father, brothers, and the hunters who would be travelling in the morning. Akira knew they