Hi, everyone! This is just another fluffy story I decided to write... I'd like to thank toobeauty, who inspired me with her fic The rise of the general to think of Cleitus under a different light.
I wrote this after listening to one of my favorite songs, and decided to adapt it to fit into the story. You'll see I've taken liberties with the historical facts: Cleitus, Alexander and Hephaestion are alive when Alexander's son is born, but please don't mind that. Think of it as historical science fiction XD Oh, and all grammar mystakes are mine.
:)
What had begun to seem impossible happened: Alexander had a child. A boy. Obviously, he was insanely happy and couldn't stop announcing the birth of his heir to the whole army. The men shouted with joy at the sight of their relieved and happy king. Even tough many of them didn't aprove his marriage to a foreigner, that wasn't the moment to remember that. The moment was of celebration.
A few days passed by, and one day, while the queen slept, Alexander managed to take the boy in his arms and show him to each single one of his companions. They smiled at the sight of the boy, who resembled his father with his blond hair. Hephaestion, of course, was the first one to hold little Alexandros, while the other men watched the tender scene. It was all going well, until Alexander was called to solve a problem and left the boy with Hephaaestion.
Hephaestion didn't even have the chance to say a word, when Alexandros began to stir in his arms and soon was crying. The general tried everyting he could to soothe the baby, from rocking him in his arms to humming every lullaby he could remember, but nothing seemed to work. So he passed the baby to Perdiccas, who passed him to Leonatus, who passed him to Nearchus, and the boy ended up with Hephaestion again, since none of them could think of anything else. Minutes which seemed endless passed by, until Cleitus showed up returning from his last mission. And before he could even notice it, everyone had their eyes on him.
"Hey, lads. What noise is tha –"
"Please, Cleitus, help us!", Perdiccas said, desperately dragging him by the arm.
"What?"
"Alexander left his boy with us and he can't stop crying", explained Nearchus.
"Alexander has a boy?"
"Yes, a son", it was Leonatus' time to speak up, "Please help us!"
"But what can I do –"
"Please, Cleitus", Hephaestion said giving him the crying boy, "You are my last hope"
Cleitus had no time to think, he now had the boy crying in his arms and he had no idea what to do. He had never nursed a child before, let alone a baby. Besides, he was a brute, how did they think he could something about it? But the boy's crying was begining to affect his mind, and suddenly Cleitus began to remember something he thought he had forgotten...
With the softest voice he could possibly have, he began to sing:
If I point at the sky and can't reach it,
How can I know how many stars are in it?
He tried his best no to give up, since the boy was still crying, but slowly Alexandros began to calm down. Seeing that, Cleitus sang again, with a steadier voice:
Tell me, how can I know?
If I point at the sky and can't reach it,
How can I know how many stars are in it?
Tell me, how can I know?
The boy locked eyes with him, and soon his tears stopped falling. He now listened attentively:
If the moon rests quiet in her place,
How does she know when it's time to show her face?
Tell me, how does she know?
Alexandros was completly silent, as if he was expecting to hear the rest of the song. Mesmerized, the men couldn't recognize that melody, which clearly seemed to have a magic effect on the boy. The silence remained, and the song went on:
Well, once I was told
To be free is not knowing it all
It's better to dream and sing,
Happiness is a mystery, after all
Happiness is a mystery, after all...
Cleitus whispered the last verse, whatching as the boy almost fell asleep again. He gave an incredulous smile, almost as amazed by that as his companions. No one dared to talk, fearing it would upset the child again. "Cleitus, how did you do it?", Hephaestion whispered.
"What song is that? I've never heard it", Leonatus asked in the same low volume of voice.
"My sister used to sing it to me", he answered, lost in memories, "Somehow I managed to remember that"
"Oh, yes... Lanike should know all types of songs for children", Nearchus commented, "Well, thank the gods for that".
Now little Alexandros rested peacefully in Cleitus' arms, and the young men couldn't stop marveling at the older soldeir's new-found talent. Even Cleitus himself couldn't believe it. They remained like that until Alexander passed by, excusing himself for having left the child with them.
"You do owe us an apology. From the moment you left, the boy wouldn't stop crying", Hephaestion said, and Nearchus complemented: "And if it hadn't been for Cleitus, we would be deaf by now".
"You should have seen it", Perdiccas said.
"What? What did Cleitus do?", Alexander asked with a smile.
"Let's just say from now on, you could use Cleitus for a whole differente mission", Nearchus joked, and while Cleitus passed the baby to Alexander, with his free hand he punched Nearchus on the nose.
I liked the idea of Cleitus nursing Alexander's son, just as his sister Lanike nursed Alexander when he was little... the song I adapted is called Mystery, whose name I borrowed. It's too bad I couldn't adapt more of it, because it's a really beautiful song and to me it looks like a lullaby. It reunites some questions kids usually make and that sometimes we can't answer properly. In the end, an adult says that freedom is not knowing it all, in an attempt to show the kid that no one can know everything, and that the beauty of things lies more in wondering than in knowing. If you are interested, the song is actually in Portuguese, but you can find it on Youtube. Its name is Mistério, and is sung by Anavitória.
I hope you enjoyed it!