Journey of a Girl

Ajo: Chapter Nine

As they walked through the woods, Ajo could not keep his gaze from lingering on Galeia.

She was lost in thought, her eyes fixed ahead and her mouth closed in a tight frown.

The ball to honor his return was two days away, but for all his anticipation it felt like an eternity. They had much to discuss, which made her reticence all the more unsettling.

"Guests are filling up the castle," he said, hoping to entice her into conversation. "Did you see the dignitary from the Plains? What interesting clothes they wear, don't you think?" 

When Galeia did not answer he continued to ramble.

"Mother will announce my kingship at the end of the dancing, not before it. And our wedding—"

He cut his words short. He'd misspoke, and mentioned the wedding as 'ours' instead of 'my'. He glanced at Galeia, simultaneously worried and excited she had heard the slip.

Galeia had not noticed he'd spoken at all.

"Do...you know the name I'm going to announce?"

He grabbed Galeia's hand and she looked at him, abruptly pulled from her concentration.

"What? I'm sorry."

"Are you excited about the ball?" he asked.

"I did not care for the last one."

She was referring to the noblemen who snickered at her expense. It happened years ago, but it appeared Galeia still carried a sliver of pain over it.

"If anyone utters a single untoward word about you, I'll put a stop to it." He squeezed her hand. "But I doubt they'll have anything other than adoration when they see you."

He did not mention that no one would dare jest about their future queen.

"Have you chosen a gown to wear?"

"Not yet."

"The one before was beautiful. I liked how you looked in it."

"You enjoy my discomfort?"

"No! I thought—aren't you used to wearing things like that?" He looked pointedly at her bodice and skirt.

"I don't enjoy it. It's expected."

"Since when do you care what's expected of you?" When Galeia shot him a hurt look he amended, "If you don't want to wear one, you don't have—"

"Stop it," she snapped. "You treat me too gently. You're going to be king, Ajo. You should be commanding me to wear a dress if that is what you want."

Ajo gaped at her. "That's not the sort of king I want to be."

"Why not? You'll have all the power. You could make anyone do what you wish."

"That's not what we were taught."

"What if we were taught wrong?"

"Galeia!" He shook his head with a startled laugh.

She must have been joking, must have been trying to provoke him into a harmless argument.

"It's not the way mother conducts court—and she's a good ruler, isn't she?"

"What's right for one ruler may be wrong for another."

"You're being grim."

"Have you seen nature? It thrives on the strong overpowering the weak. Fighting and killing and taking from one another."