TITLE: The Golden Boy and the Silver Wolf.
AUTHOR: Too_beauty.
CHARACTERS: King Philip, Queen Olympias, Iris and Nikandros Amyntoros, Asteri, Kyanos, Alexander, Hephaestion, some companions.
RATING: R – Mature chapters will be warned in advanced.
CATEGORY: Alternative Universe – Supernatural, friendship, angst, romance.
DISCLAMER: I do not know the people involved; they belong to History and to themselves but I would not mind sharing my life with Phai! *sighs*
WARNING: none for this chapter.
NO BETA so all mistakes are mine. This is my first NaNoWriMo novel so have mercy! and help me to spot mistakes, pretty please?
PROLOGUE.
Once upon a time, in a country farm in a distant wood, a myth was born.
It was a time of myths, of strange creatures; a time of capricious gods and goddesses who came down to earth to play with the human beings living peacefully down there, far away from the Olympus, leading ordinary lives and doing common activities.
However, this myth was not a common one, it was not as any other heard before; it was so unique that many people were curious, some others were afraid. Only one important woman was terrified, she was so afraid that the first time she felt the signs, she froze completely for hours in her chamber; it really took her a lot of strength and peace of mind to recover her calmness but she also realized that this state of quietness was just temporary.
She had seen this coming, she had had these revelations in her dreams and she had never liked them; they were too vivid for her liking, too full of disturbing images that made her feel insecure, unsafe, unprotected.
These dreams had been plaguing her sleep for months and they had also tortured her during her awaken time because they were not simple dreams, they were nightmares, a vision of terrible things to come.
This lady was a very powerful woman as well as beautiful. She was not a common lady, wherever she went, she always outstood not only because of her beauty but also for her intelligence. The former quality was easier to find among women there but the latter was not so that made her more than unforgettable.
She could be quiet and just played the perfect host or guest role, according to the situation. Whenever this was her choice, she showed off her beautiful face that held amazing big green eyes, a pair of thin and red velvety lips, high but thin cheekbones, all of these features crowned by a delicate mass of long dark curls, which surrounded that delicate face of fair complexion. The skin was flawless as well as her young body.
The lady was neither tall nor short, she was medium height, quite thin but not skinny, her long and slender arms and legs ended in delicate fingers and toes, the first ones with cared and varnished nails, also wearing many gold rings; the second ones always wrapped in the finest leather sandals.
Her intelligence was legendary, she was so smart that people in general, but especially men, came to see her and ask for her advice as if she were a seer in an oracle. She was good at giving advices and foretelling events and she was always right. She was also a woman of good wishes and intentions , she was a woman of light but suddenly, without any logical explanation, everything changed and what used to be good and luminous, was not anymore.
One day, a man, not just a commoner but a royal prince came to her door to ask for her wise advice. The young prince was about to marry but he could not make up his mind; he could not decide who of the two princesses was the best option, not only for him but also for his future kingdom.
One of the maids opened the door and let the young prince enter, after suggesting him to take a seat in the inner chamber while she told her young lady about his presence. The young man listened to light footsteps approaching so he raised his head, when the young lady set her green eyes on the man's light-blue ones, she knew instantly that she had to have that man for herself; that single look had captured her attention as well as the golden aura surrounding the man in front of her. She approached swiftly and set her slender and small hand on the strong arm of the man; the simple touch gave her the vision of his future, one that looked very promising and also a hint of her own future to come by his side. She immediately realized that her deepest dream could come true if she won the heart of the young prince.
But there was a big and significant problem: this prince was not attracted to this lady; in fact she did not provoke any reaction in him at all; she was not the one the prince was eager to spend his life with.
Sensing the lack of interest of the prince, which had profoundly molested her, the lady decided to put into practice something she had not used in a long time, this thing was magic, real magic, the one that did not come from the light but from the deepest darkness.
She invited the brave prince to sit with her outside, in the most secluded part of her winter garden. She explained that – in order to give him a good and accurate advice – he would have to share a special drink with her.
The brunette prince hesitated for a moment, this was not what he was expecting or had been told; he gave the idea a second thought and looking straight at those mesmerizing green eyes, he finally accepted.
So the lady stood up from her comfortable seat and went to a dark wood cabinet which was at the corner of the room and took out some small pots which contained different kind of spices, all of them brought from very far away eastern lands where only the smartest merchants could get them.
She also took out two crystal goblets of exquisite beauty, they were of a deep crimson colour and the brims were adorned with a thick design of intricate symbols. She also took out a tiny spoon made of silver, not bigger than a thumb pad. She stood on one side of the cabinet, she did not want to block the vision for the prince and she began preparing the drink. While the preparation was on, she started to ask the man some questions saying that his answers would help her to give him the best advice. However, this was not true, she wanted to gather this information so then she could use it for her own benefit.
She finished preparing the beverage and offered it to the prince, explaining that it was the first of three different drinks he would have to drink.
The prince felt confused and a bit intrigued. However, he asked her why he would have to drink so much so the lady, sat next to him on the seat she was using before, explained that the combination of herbs that composed the first drink would give him some peace of mind and clear thoughts. She also added that it would be useful because he would be able to explain clearly what he wanted about his perspective wife. Nevertheless, this was not true, the lady had just cheated him again, she had dropped some drops of allspice, an herb used to aide in communication, people tended to loose their tongues and only spoke the truth when drinking it.
The prince took a sip and he immediately began talking about what he liked and did not like about his likely princess and future Queen. He said many meaningful characteristics that the lady kept in her heart. He offered the goblet back as soon as it was empty; the young man was feeling more comfortable in the presence of the beautiful woman and he was confident enough that she would help him.
The lady accepted the goblet back and went again towards her cabinet to prepare the second drink. She explained that this second cup would give him confidence to trust in his choice of his life partner but it was not true again.
She used three different spices, the mix was quite powerful because the herbs were ginger for the inspiration of good memories, and especially of the last person they had talked to, cumin to have fidelity in new relationships and finally cloves, a very powerful herb for love and lust.
The lady went back and handed the cup to the blue-eyed man a second time; her slender fingers caressed slightly the strong ones when she handed the cup out. The man lifted his eyes from the content of the goblet and set them on the lady's face and smiled tenderly; the young woman returned the smile with another one that lit her green eyes.
She encouraged the prince to take his drink, in the meantime, she sat next to him and told him stories about herself, her childhood and she confessed – with a tiny voice – how lonely she felt in that old house, surrounded by servants but without a real family.
She also made up situations that contained part of the information given by the prince with the first beverage he took.
Without realizing that his goblet was almost empty, the prince started to look at the lady with new eyes and he immediately thought that she might be a good queen for him too because she knew him so well. The idea began to grow, not only in his head but also in his heart.
The young lady stood up for the third time, went back to the cabinet, this time with sinuous movements, and looked carefully around the little bottles that contained all her potions. If she wanted to win the prince's heart, she would have to make a bold move. Without hesitation, she lifted the hidden lid on one side of the cabinet, took the black bottle and threw ten drops of its liquid in the goblet for the prince and five drops in her own cup.
She turned round, walked towards the prince once more and gave him his cup; she raised hers and they drank a toast to true love. Both of them emptied the full content of their goblets in question of seconds; the effect was instantaneous; the prince looked at the young lady in front of him and declared his unconditional love for her.
The lady showed her fake surprise with a loud gasp, but seeing the pain her rejection could cause to the young enamored prince, she accepted his proposal of becoming his princess and future queen, when the right time came.
But a nudging feeling pocked her mind: love potions were extremely dangerous and if she did not use it in the correct way, she could suffer horrible consequences due to her mishap. The young woman pushed her own advice to a very dark and far corner of her mind and decided to enjoy and taste her recent victory over the innocent and credulous prince of Macedon.
She was a young woman and she was tired of waiting for the moment her father – who was living in his other house with a new family- would give her away to a man who would possess and control her life as well as her body and will forever. She was a strong woman – the opposite image of her weak mother – and she had decided, a long time before, that nobody would rule her. She was Olympias from Epirus and the gods would grant her the future she deserved; it did not matter how or when but she would force them to do it.
The young queen tried to erase these memories from her mind; she did not know why she was thinking about it again. It was true that she had used her magic powers to achieve her goal but she had never regretted this at all.
Well, she had never regretted until, years later, her dreams were full of these dangerous hints.
She was afraid of her dreams because the young woman was so near to have her most desired goal achieved, the one she had been working hard to get and because of it, she had tolerated the most difficult and disgusting situations.
It had taken her years to see her wish come true; meanwhile she had played the role of a devoted and loyal wife and caring queen. She had finally become queen a year ago when her husband, King Philip II of Macedon had taken the control of the northern Greek kingdom. Her king really loved her and made all her wishes come true, long ago had disappeared the first effects of the love potion but the queen had been smart enough to let some drops of cloves fall in her husband's drinks regularly, with the only purpose to keep his desire for her.
Therefore, when the queen whispered in her king's ear lovingly that she was ready to be a mother, the king was more than happy to start his own family, a true desire of his heart. His happiness was because not only he loved children but also because he would have the chance to have a legitimate heir to his throne, a son of his own blood and that he could raise to follow his very same steps and his beloved queen was the one who was going to grant him his wish.
However, the Queen's desire was profoundly different of her king's, while he wanted a lawful heir, born from his beloved wife; she wanted a royal heir of her own to rule the kingdom by herself or on behalf of her son. The direct consequence of her action would be to get rid of her annoying husband, a man who did not wake any interest or desire in her but that she had to tolerate until she got her heir.
Once her son was born, she would not need anything else; in fact, she would not need anybody else, just her son and her to live happily ever after.
But nothing was as she planned. She had seen lately the strange signs in the stars and in the guts of her sacrificed animals. Moreover, she did not like those signs she saw at all. She caressed her belly – still empty – and she realized that when the time came, she would have to do something drastic; just he would not smash her plans of power and supremacy. She did not know how she would get rid of this newcomer yet but she knew it would have to be something effective and quick, painless, if possible, but definite.
But let me go back in time, just a little back, and tell you this story, from the very beginning until its end.
TBC