Journey of a Girl

Ajo: Chapter Seven

The Queen had a gift before Ajo ventured into the world.

She approached the gates of the castle with a stable groomer by her side. Behind the groomer marched a gorgeous but intimidating stallion. She reared the animal personally, the Queen explained, and had tended to it for almost as long as she had been raising her son.

"I thought I would go into the woods alone," Ajo said.

"You will and you won't," the Queen answered cryptically. "His name is Fallow. He carries all the courage of a knight, and will no doubt become a dear friend to you."

Ajo climbed the stallion and turned back to the few who had gathered to watch him leave. He searched for Galeia but she was not there, and it pained him that hers would not be the last face he saw.

"I will return to you, mother," Ajo announced. "I will make you proud."

He leaned down and whispered to the Queen, "Keep her safe."

He turned the stallion towards the trees and they were off, racing into the wood's embrace.

The King's Trial flew by in a rapid sequence of hazy memories.

Ajo struggled within the woods at first, and his initial nights were grim and difficult. He kept Galeia's lily close to his heart and often held it to his nose to give him comfort.

He would not return to his kingdom unworthy of her.

He met many of his future subjects, earning their gratitude and devotion through acts of charity and bravery. He fought monsters and tended to the weak. He gave wisdom and advice to those who asked for it.

As the Queen predicted, Ajo formed a deep bond with the stallion, Fallow. They learned to trust and protect one another in battle, like soldiers in arms attuned to the instincts of their fellow brother, and gave each other courage in the face of danger. Just as important, they shared soothing company during quiet and lonely moments, and in times of doubt the animal provided wordless comfort. Fallow was a reliable friend and vital companion, and Ajo believed that if not for the stallion, he would not have overcome many of the perils encountered along the way.

Their adventures made Ajo bold out of necessity, drawing him away from the shy, bookish child who only read about heroism.

He made allies in the courts of distant kingdoms, developing relationships with their royalty and leaders. Many he visited were already allies of his mother and expected his arrival as a formality. They received Ajo with open arms and grand festivities.

Others were neither allies nor rivals, but met him with strained civility and had to be wooed into fealty.

At worst, some were openly hostile and had to be subdued and won.

Ajo had a task at each of them, usually designated by the leader, be it chief or king or politician. They all wanted something different, forcing Ajo to learn the art of adaptation. There was so much more to ruling and politics, he learned, than could ever be found in books.

He spent a short time with a clan of goblins who made their homes high in the trees. They were unconventional people, unlike any Ajo had read about or met before. They kept their dwellings as pristine as the Queen's castle—a direct opposition to the way they comported themselves on the ground below, where they gleefully wallowed in mud and rot. It was with this bizarre tribe that Ajo learned the value, or joy, of getting his hands dirty from time to time.

He gathered trinkets and treasures along the way, intending to lay them at Galeia's feet when he returned home. He couldn't wait to see her awe at the sight of their glitter and shine. She would no doubt throw her arms around his neck and kiss him a hundred times.