Alexander watched as the huge, black horse was hit with a whip over and over again, the grooms and his own father trying to beat it into submission. As his father raised the weapon to strike again, Alexander stood from his chair beside his mother and rushed down into the arena, where a show was being made of of breaking the animal.

"No Father, stop!" he made it just in time to take the brunt of the blow on his own back, tearing his chiton and leaving a deep gash. He fell to the sand with a groan.

"Alexander!" Hephaestion, his most trusted companion and best friend, raced into the arena and was beside him in a moment. Hephaestion knew of the abuse Philip would inflict upon his son in order to "make him strong, and worthy of a king." Hephaestion, however, saw the abuse for what it was and so knew why his friend had tried to protect this "devil of an animal" as the grooms called him.

Alexander's wails of pain split the air and suddenly the horse was beside him, nuzzling him. He quieted down as the animal lay beside him, shielding him from the king. The physician finally came and Hephaestion tried to move the horse away from his friend. After a few pushes that failed to budge the animal, Hephaestion started to coax the animal while trying to get him to move.

"Come on, you ox, the doctors need room..." finally, the horse stood, towering over the fifteen-year-old boy.

"I'm not scared of you, you ox. Move," Hephaestion put his hands on his hips and glared up into the horse's black eyes.

With a snort, the animal did so. He called to one of the grooms and ordered to have the horse's wounds cared for before turning his attention Alexander.

"I am here, Xander. You are safe."

Alexander smiled and then winced in pain, "His name will be Bucephalus. Ox-head..."

Hephaestion smiled and chuckled, "So it shall be, my defender of men. And now, horses."

Alexander smiled again, weakly, and then fell asleep to Hephaestion's quiet singing as the physician announced him healed.


For years after that incident, Alexander and Bucephalus were inseperable, all because of the pain they had suffered together. The reason they pushed east was because they wanted to share joy together too.