would be travelling hard and fast to hunt down the runaways. Just who they would decide to follow was a gamble.
If the gods were benevolent, her father and his hunting party would be distracted from his hunt for Tom. She prayed they would follow her. For if they did, she could always hope her brothers could shield her from the full brunt of her father’s wrath. She paced Pegasus carefully, gallop, trot, walk, gallop, trot, walk... until she felt herself falling asleep in the saddle. Pegasus was strong, healthy, and she needed him to stay that way. To exhaust him, to lame him would be folly. She knew that. His heart was huge and if she asked him to run until his heart burst, she knew he would do so. She loved him. She would rather harm herself than him. He was the only thing she loved that she could take with her.
As fate would have it, no strangers did she meet upon the road in the dark of night. It was relief to be absolutely alone. Only fools and thieves travelled under the cover of darkness. She had no desire to meet either. Fear and common sense would keep a person who valued their life tucked safely in bed, behind closed and barred doors. However, fear and gut instinct told Akira she was safer on the road in the dark than she was at home. Every fiber of her being told her that her decision to run was the right decision.
Fate was kind. She had slipped away, unseen, melting into the darkness. Riding alone, she had passed no one, seen no one. For hours she travelled, ears tuned to every sound, eyes searching the dark for landmarks. After many hours, Akira found a roadside shepherd's hut. She slid off her mount. Her legs felt stiff and sore. She had not realized how tense she had been. She stretched her neck one way then the other, as she contemplated using the hut for shelter. She needed sleep, and Pegasus needed a rest. She thought about Ann and hoped she too had put much distance behind her.
The night was still except for the hooting of an owl. Her eyes, quite adjusted to the dark, took note of what she could see around her The moonlight revealed a sturdy stick laying on the ground. It was handy enough to be a club. She picked it up and walked cautiously up to the sod hut. She raised the stick prepared to use it as a weapon if some animal was inside. Cautiously, she lifted the tattered hide curtain that hung as a door. She looked inside. Nothing looked back at her. Nothing scuttled out when she poked the stick inside the hut. The hut was abandoned. Nothing big and scary lurked inside. It would shelter her until the break of dawn. She saw to Pegasus's needs as much as she could, rubbing his back where the saddle had been, stroking it, feeling for evidence of saddle sores. There were none. There was grass for him to eat and come daylight she would look for a source of water. A shepherd’s hut would surely be near water.
A handful of grain, a piece of carrot for Pegasus, and Akira was more than ready to sleep. She put her saddle on the dirt floor, spread her cape in front of it, and used the saddle for her pillow. With her knife tucked under the edge of the saddle, she felt she was as ready as she could be to let down her guard and rest. No more indecision, no more waiting. She had seized the moment and made her run for freedom. She was emotionally exhausted. She unrolled her mother's fur cape and pulled it over herself. As hard as the dirt floor was, it was the most comfortable bed ever she decided. For it was not under the roof of her loathsome father. As tired as she was, it was hard to sleep. The night sounds made her nervous. The night owl hooted again. It was strangely a comforting sound. Her eyes finally grew heavy and sleep claimed her for a few hours.
It was the need to relieve herself that woke Akira just after dawn. The early morning sky glowed red. The old ones said it was a warning of bad weather approaching. The winds were getting colder. Winter was fast approaching. The old ones, the old servants, said
If the gods were benevolent, her father and his hunting party would be distracted from his hunt for Tom. She prayed they would follow her. For if they did, she could always hope her brothers could shield her from the full brunt of her father’s wrath. She paced Pegasus carefully, gallop, trot, walk, gallop, trot, walk... until she felt herself falling asleep in the saddle. Pegasus was strong, healthy, and she needed him to stay that way. To exhaust him, to lame him would be folly. She knew that. His heart was huge and if she asked him to run until his heart burst, she knew he would do so. She loved him. She would rather harm herself than him. He was the only thing she loved that she could take with her.
As fate would have it, no strangers did she meet upon the road in the dark of night. It was relief to be absolutely alone. Only fools and thieves travelled under the cover of darkness. She had no desire to meet either. Fear and common sense would keep a person who valued their life tucked safely in bed, behind closed and barred doors. However, fear and gut instinct told Akira she was safer on the road in the dark than she was at home. Every fiber of her being told her that her decision to run was the right decision.
Fate was kind. She had slipped away, unseen, melting into the darkness. Riding alone, she had passed no one, seen no one. For hours she travelled, ears tuned to every sound, eyes searching the dark for landmarks. After many hours, Akira found a roadside shepherd's hut. She slid off her mount. Her legs felt stiff and sore. She had not realized how tense she had been. She stretched her neck one way then the other, as she contemplated using the hut for shelter. She needed sleep, and Pegasus needed a rest. She thought about Ann and hoped she too had put much distance behind her.
The night was still except for the hooting of an owl. Her eyes, quite adjusted to the dark, took note of what she could see around her The moonlight revealed a sturdy stick laying on the ground. It was handy enough to be a club. She picked it up and walked cautiously up to the sod hut. She raised the stick prepared to use it as a weapon if some animal was inside. Cautiously, she lifted the tattered hide curtain that hung as a door. She looked inside. Nothing looked back at her. Nothing scuttled out when she poked the stick inside the hut. The hut was abandoned. Nothing big and scary lurked inside. It would shelter her until the break of dawn. She saw to Pegasus's needs as much as she could, rubbing his back where the saddle had been, stroking it, feeling for evidence of saddle sores. There were none. There was grass for him to eat and come daylight she would look for a source of water. A shepherd’s hut would surely be near water.
A handful of grain, a piece of carrot for Pegasus, and Akira was more than ready to sleep. She put her saddle on the dirt floor, spread her cape in front of it, and used the saddle for her pillow. With her knife tucked under the edge of the saddle, she felt she was as ready as she could be to let down her guard and rest. No more indecision, no more waiting. She had seized the moment and made her run for freedom. She was emotionally exhausted. She unrolled her mother's fur cape and pulled it over herself. As hard as the dirt floor was, it was the most comfortable bed ever she decided. For it was not under the roof of her loathsome father. As tired as she was, it was hard to sleep. The night sounds made her nervous. The night owl hooted again. It was strangely a comforting sound. Her eyes finally grew heavy and sleep claimed her for a few hours.
It was the need to relieve herself that woke Akira just after dawn. The early morning sky glowed red. The old ones said it was a warning of bad weather approaching. The winds were getting colder. Winter was fast approaching. The old ones, the old servants, said
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