Akira Rises

by Nonie Wideman

  “Mother?” Relief and joy was in her voice.” Mother!” She pulled the face closer and as mother and daughter hugged there were several smiles and suspiciously damp eyes in the room.

  “But how?” Akira, was feeling fuzzy and did not finish her question. It did not matter. She clung to her mother for a few minutes longer. Then gentle hands propped her up with pillows. A strange looking white haired man in a white robe put a spoon to her lips, and a broth that tasted somewhat like chicken soup tipped its contents into her mouth. She accepted and swallowed the broth, but refused to take her eyes off of her mother. Her mother held one hand as she sat beside the bed. What miracle is this, she thought foggily and drifted back asleep.

  Shy and the healer looked at each other with relief. The fever had broken. The mage standing on the other side of the bed placed a hand on Shy's shoulder.

  “You did not tell me our daughter was gifted.” There was a soft reprimand in his tone of voice.

  “I did not know. I truly did not know.” Shy looked at the mage, then at her daughter. Their eyes were the same blue, their hair coloring exactly the same. Akira had her father's finely sculpted nose and high cheek bones. Even the curves of Akira's ears were a daintier version of her father's. Akira had many of her mother’s beautiful features, but if one knew how to look for her father’s stamp, one could see them. Lady Shy smiled. Akira’s true father was a handsome man.

  “Does she have an inkling of what she possesses?” Morgan asked.

  “No Morgan, unless something happened since I came for your help.” Shy reduced her voice to a whisper. “She was such a rebellious strong willed child, I could not tell her the Baron was not her father for fear she would flaunt it to that bastard when he tormented her. I longed for the day when it would be safe to tell her his blood did not flow in her veins. She has no idea she is the daughter of a mage, that she is of mixed blood, a halfling.”

  The mage nodded his understanding. “She is as beautiful as you Shy.” He handed Shy her crutches carved from diamond willow tree limbs. It was time assist her to the healing pools. Her broken leg was just starting to mend and they needed to talk in private, talk about the extraordinary revelation of Akira’s ability to levitate.

  Lady Shy was reluctant to leave Akira, but indeed she and Morgan did need to talk in private. Shy wanted to know what powers her daughter could have, and what needed to be done to help her control them. Floating in a trance was not a good thing. She knew Akira would be gowned for an immersing in one of the hot pools very soon, as she had been herself when she had been brought up the mountain. Her thoughts retraced her own arrival to the mountaintop. It had been surreal. A beautiful dragon carried her gently and swiftly to the sanctuary of the mountain. She had been broken and semi-conscious, believing she was dead. Lady Shy had thought she was being carried into the spirit world.

  “You are in good hands darling.” She kissed Akira’s forehead and noticed it was cooler. “Sleep.” Lady Shy allowed Morgan to lead her from the infirmary. She looked back once. Good hands aside, she was still wanting to hold her daughter to her heart. Morgan gave Lady Shy a hug as soon as they were alone.

  When Akira next awoke, her mother was again in the room.

  Akira smiled and was enveloped in a long hug with kisses to her cheeks.

  Lady Shy touched Akira’s scarred lip. “Dare I ask how you got that?”

  “Long story, but it was worth it.” Akira gave a sheepish smile. “I spat upon a snake.”

  “A snake, with fists?” Lady Shy raised her eyebrows.” Did this snake harm you in any other way?” Lady Shy worried what her daughter might reveal. She mentally cursed her husband.

  “No, I did not give the snake a chance to harm me.” Akira smiled reassuringly. “Let us forget the evil snake until I’m well. Then we will discuss how to cut the head of the snake off.”

  “Very well, then. I see it is time for an immersion into the healing pools.” Lady Shy pointed to the assistants waiting by the entrance door to the infirmary. One assistant handed Lady Shy a modesty gown. Lady Shy helped Akira into a gauzy white gown much like that of a night gown while the assistants turned their backs and waited patiently.

  “You are a bit weak, my dear. Can you walk?” Lady Shy hovered.

  “I shall try,” replied Akira. She stood up slowly. “I can’t believe how weak I feel.” Lady motioned the white robed men into the room.

  The two assistants helped the wobbly patient walk through a corridor. When Akira's legs threatened to buckle, they formed a chair with their arms and carried her through an archway into a torch lighted cavern with a steamy pool of sulfurous smelling waters. An iridescent phosphorus glow shimmered on the walls. Wide steps had been carved into the pool side. Akira was gently set on her feet and with an assistant on each side of her she was led into the coolest end of the pool. The assistants instructed Akira to lay back into the water. Much to Akira's relief, she seemed extra buoyant in the water. It took no effort to float. Akira’s mother followed in them into the pool leaving her crutches to the side of the carved steps. She limped to a seat in the water and made herself comfortable.

  “Ah it feels so good to float. This is amazing.” Akira's whispery voice had gained strength after her last nap. The healer Pater had earlier removed the poultice from her wound, and said he would apply another after she had soaked in the second level healing pond. The first level healing pond was hotter and one needed to drink great quantities of water to replace that which was sweated out.

  Shy smiled kindly but dismissively at the attendants. The attendants bowed and left Akira to Lady Shy’s care. “Yes it feels good to float. Have you ever floated so lightly and effortlessly before?” Shy was quick to use the opportunity of Akira's comment about floating to ask about any other floating experiences.

  “Only in my dreams.” Akira replied, happy to be holding her mother's hand as she floated. Both mother and daughter needed to be touching. It was as if touching was extra reassurance that proved neither of them was dreaming. They were alive and together.

  Akira put her feelings into words. “How is it you are alive, Mother? I was told you were dead...told that you had drowned.”

  “I almost did drown. I was trying to arrange our escape plans when things went horribly wrong trying to cross the river. Our poor Matilde fell off her horse and was pulled under the current and trapped beneath a log jam. She drowned. We had exchanged clothes so that if we were spotted, we would ride in separate directions and she would lead anyone following us away from me. When her body was found, it was probably assumed that I had drowned.”

  “Poor Matilde!” Akira felt hollow.

  “I was miraculously pulled out of the river where I broke this damn leg. As soon as I could, I sent a message for the villagers to watch over and protect you. I dared not let them tell you I was alive. Your grief had to be real to arouse no suspicion. I wept for you... but could see no other way. Can you forgive me?”

  Akira replied, “There is nothing to forgive. Mother. I’m so grateful you are not dead. We seem to have had a little bad luck with our damned escape plan.”

  “Truly my daughter. Now my daughter... it is time for another truth that I’ve hidden from you.”

  Akira sat up on the ledge beside her mother, carefully avoiding put weight on her wound. “If you kept a secret from me it must have been for my own good.”

  Shy looked at her daughter. A new maturity was in her eyes and in her words. She continued, “Baron Rolfe is not your father.”

  It took a minute for Akira to respond. “Mother! You didn't...you did?” Akira's eyes were wide. Suddenly she looked sad. “You…you were raped?” Akira was trying to make sense of what her mother had just revealed.

  “No child of mine, I found love.”

  Akira looked confused as she felt. Suddenly she laughed softly. “You mean that bastard's blood is not in me? I’m no kith and kin to that beast?” Relief filled Akira. It was as if a great weight had been lifted. she almost felt giddy.


  “No, not one drop of blood in your veins is related to that horrid man. That beast has no credit for one precious hair on your head!” Shy laughed with Akira. It felt freeing to be rid of the secret.

  “Mother, all this happiness or perhaps this water is making me sleepy.” Akira sighed, and with a new found wisdom decided she would wait until her mother volunteered the name of her true father. It was enough for her foggy brain to grasp that Baron Rolfe was not her father. She smiled sleepily. Was it the broth or water that made her feel so sleepy and relaxed she wondered. No matter. It just felt good.

  Shy called out for the attendants who appeared from their discreet distance away and helped them out of the healing waters. Akira walked all the way back to the infirmary on her own. Shy helped her daughter into a dry gown and tucked her into her bed. They kissed each other's cheeks, and rubbed noses as they did when Akira was a small child. As Shy left her daughter to rest, Pater arrived with a fresh poultice. This time Akira independently lifted her gown just enough so the healer could check her wound and apply the poultice and covering.

  “Tis looking better already young lady. A few more herbs and some more bone broth and you'll almost be good as new.” He made no mention of her earlier levitation. He would leave that to Mage Morgan and the young woman's mother. “With any luck you, won't have as big a scar as I thought you might. Rest now, and then later in the evening I will ask the attendants to help you back to the healing waters.” He looked at her from under his scraggly white eyebrows. A halfling, he thought, a beautiful halfling with a gift of defying the laws of levitation. The potential of her possible skills was exciting. He left, humming a chant for speedy healing.

  ~

  Dimitri was summoned to the Mages' council hall. When he entered, Mage Morgan was standing behind a guest, Lady Shy. Lady Shy was seated on a cushioned chair with one leg elevated on a stool and her crutches within arms-length. She looked elegant and there was a new benevolent smile on her face. Gone was the sad countenance he had expected to see. Dimitri bowed.

  “Welcome Lord Dimitri. I owe you a debt of gratitude for delivering my daughter, Akira, to me.”

  “Ahh... was I fortunate enough to deliver your daughter to you unbeknownst to me?”

  Lady Shy nodded, smiling. “Yes you did.”

  “The pleasure is mine. Though I can hardly take credit for it. I was not certain who I was delivering. I had hopes. “She called herself Suraj. At our first acquaintance, she was disguised as a young boy. She had already escaped your husband's hold and was well on her way here. There was obviously more to Suraj than met my eyes. A very brave and determined daughter. Fate appears to have helped your daughter find you.”

  Lady Shy chuckled. “More than meets the eyes...you can say that again.” She thought of the shock she herself had, seeing Akira floating above her bed. Lord Dimitri did not know the half of it. A slight frown quickly passed. “If you will, please never refer to Baron Rolfe as my husband. Just use his name.”

  “My apologies, Lady Shy. We shall refer to that waste of skin and air by his undeserved title.”

  “Thank you Lord Dimitri. I’m having my marriage annulled as soon as can be arranged. I must return home to the land of my father where I was forced to marry and petition for an annulment. If the baron thinks I’m dead, the fool will remarry. Not that I care, but if he ever finds out I’m alive and well, I shall give him no excuse to want to arrange to make certain I'm dead so my existence does not interfere with his marital status. Nor do I want him to try reclaim me as his wife. I suspect a tragic accident would befall me, and he would be happy for it. I’m hoping to leave as soon as possible. I’m told there is a tunnel one can slide down to escape the mountain in winter.”

  “Yes my lady. I can provide you with an escort as soon as you can walk. I see the Mage has explained how we can transport goods and people off the mountain through a secret ice tunnel.”

  Dimitri frowned reviewing in his mind what he knew of Baron Rolfe. He had no respect for Baron Rolfe. His infamous deeds and doings were well known. What services the man provided to his King Loren must have been very valuable to the eastern king, very valuable indeed for Rolfe to have been given the title of Baron. Rolfe’s service to the king was awarded with large holding of lands and a title. Dimitri had no use for the man. Baron Rolfe’s methods were barbaric in business and war. Dimitri wondered if perhaps Baron Rolfe held something over his king. If so, it would explain his need for his continual efforts to flex his strength while appearing to be a staunch supporter of the king. Or perhaps he continued to provide services to his king, services that needed to be arms-length from the king. The world of kings and thrones and politics was a dangerous place. Dimitri made up his mind instantly.

  “It will give me great pleasure to thwart any plan the baron has to cause you harm.”

  “I was hoping you would feel that way.” Lady Shy looked at Dimitri. He was handsome, strong, and by all accounts a good man, an honorable man. |If Akira were to find a husband as fine as Marquise Dimitri of Fernwood, Shy would be content. It would take a very special man, a patient man, to earn her daughter's trust and respect, let alone her heart. Her child had learned men were cruel and had no experience with men of honor. Shy sighed. She soon hoped to remedy that.

  “I’ve more to ask of you.”

  Dimitri’s interest was piqued. What did Lady Shy want of him now that she was reunited with her daughter?

  Lady Shy had been discussing with Morgan how best to protect their daughter. She looked at the man standing before her and was pleased with her plans.

  Dimitri’s eyes perused the beautiful woman and then the mage. The mage placed his hand possessively on the woman’s shoulder. Her hand reached up and covered his. Clearly what was going to be asked of Dimitri was supported by the mage, and the mage’s hand on her shoulder was a message the woman was taken. The message was subtle but it left no doubt.

  “My daughter's tutelage is incomplete. She has learned as much as I dared to teach her under the dreadful, oppressing circumstances she has escaped from. I want my daughter trained as a warrior.”

  “A warrior?” Dimitri was surprised. “Will she be a willing student?”

  “She will be an eager student. She has always wanted to fight back against those who would harm her and those she loves. Akira needs to be able to defend herself. She needs to hone her body as well as her mind. She has inner strength but physically she is weaker, and vulnerable to those with more physical strength. We suspect she has hidden gifts she knows not of that would make her a valuable acquisition to those who would use her. She is a halfling, and does not know it.”

  A halfling? Dimitri absorbed the information, looking very thoughtful. Dimitri noted the mage did not remove his hand from Lady Shy's shoulder. A sudden insight of Akira's possible parentage occurred. No wonder Lady Shy needed to escape with her daughter from Baron Rolfe thought Dimitri. Dimitri knew the despicable story of how Lady Shy became the baron's wife. It was why he had agreed to try rescue Akira out from under the nose of Baron Rolfe.

  “Ahh, a halfling? Lady Shy, you, and Morgan need not worry about your daughter's training. I shall personally oversee training her for physical combat and self-defense. Am I to assume that Morgan is going to train her with regards to her hidden gifts?” Dimitri included the mage when he said “your daughter’s training.” Dimitri was watching the mage closely to see if his inclusion of the mage in Akira’s parentage would prompt a response, even a change of expression to confirm his suspicions.

  “Your assumption is almost correct, Lord Dimitri,'” Morgan answered. “I shall oversee Lady Shy’s daughter’s lessons with aki'l. The other mages on this mountain will have a duty to assist with assessing and developing whatever gifts Akira has had repressed by her mother for their safety's sake. It is late in her life to develop skills which would have come easier in her early childhood. Lady Shy assures me however that Akira has a sharp mind, and what does not come easy will be worked for
with determination.”

  That Morgan had pointedly not called Akira his daughter was duly noted by Dimitri.

  “I can do this. She can train with the other candidates. However, I must warn you she will be shown no special considerations. She will not be given a shield of the White Rose Order unless she has earned it.”

  “Fair enough,” Lady Shy stated. “I’m sure my daughter would have it no other way.”

  If Akira was a daughter of Lady Shy and Mage Morgan, Dimitri thought they were very careful to not say “our daughter.” From all that he saw of Akira, and he remembered the beautiful naked all he saw, Akira's facial resemblance to a parent was a remarkable resemblance to her beautiful mother. If Akira, being a halfling, inherited half of the powers of someone like Mage Morgan, she could prove to be a strong warrior, and a very exciting woman, thought Dimitri. There were probably many good reasons to keep secret the identity of the mage who fathered Akira for the time being. Mage Morgan's wisdom was not to be questioned.

  “Then I accept the honor of training your daughter to be a warrior.” As he spoke the words to Lady Shy, Dimitri's gaze locked with Mage Morgan's.

  Mage Morgan said nothing but tipped his head slightly as in approval, and perhaps thought Dimitri, the slight tip of his head was a silent affirmation Akira was his daughter. Time will tell thought the battle hardened warrior. No matter who Akira's father was, it was clear to him there was a bond between Lady Shy and the powerful mage. What mage would leave his daughter under the roof of Baron Rolfe for so many years? As soon as the question was formed in Dimitri's thoughts, it was answered just as quickly. A mage who did not know he had a daughter would not think to rescue that which he did not know existed, was the answer. Dimitri bowed and took his leave.