Eye of the Beholder
Chapter 1
The letter was supposed to arrive before he did. But the timing was off and because of that, the events that transpired became very complicated, very emotional and very funny, depending on who was relating the story.
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It had been a shock to everyone in the Amyntor household when he had suddenly shown up on their doorstep. The excitement of having Hephaestion come home from his travels with Alexander's army was soon replaced by disbelief. It was hard to believe that the man in front of all of them was not their beloved Hephaestion.
The same lean frame, broad shoulders and crystal blue eyes looked back at them as they stared at him. His hair was the exact replica of Hephaestion's hair in its shades of copper and browns but was shorter than they had remembered Hephaestion's being the last time they had seen him. There was nothing to say that this was not the man they had all known their entire lives and loved devotedly, except for one thing: it was not Hephaestion.
The man standing before Amytor's widowed wife and her children had pulled away from their embraces and taken a step back to put some distance between them. It was when he had begun to speak that the difference became apparent. Unless Hephaestion had been able to pick up an entirely different accent, this indeed was not the person they thought it was.
Doubt began to creep into the edges of their minds as the shock began to wear off and they took a closer look at his attire. While they continued to take him all in, he began to explain who he was and why he was now standing on their doorstep.
His name was Kylas, he explained slowly, and he was from one of the far northern tribes. His mother, Mallena, had recently died after a short and painful illness, but before slipping away, had told him a very strange story. They listened silently as he began his tale.
Kylas' Story
Mallena's family had been very poor when she was growing up and to help feed the many mouths of her ten younger siblings, she had been sold into slavery in a nearby village. The family that had bought her moved shortly after she had arrived and they took her with them when they relocated farther south from their homelands. She had spent five years with them as a nursemaid and nanny for the younger children. She was devoted to her little charges and loved them dearly.
Her quiet life changed completely when a tragic fire had swept through the household and killed the master and his entire family. Mallena had been away in the fields gathering flowers when the blaze had broken out, leaving the children in their rooms taking an afternoon nap. Something inside of her died that day. The guilt she felt for not being there to save them was something she would never get over. She gathered anything she could find among the ashes, and alone and afraid, she made her way to a nearby town.
Mallena spent the next few weeks taking any odd jobs she could find to help keep her fed and sheltered. It was a poor village and not much work was to be had. Her already shattered life was becoming desperate when one day she saw the man who was to change her life.
He had come to town looking for someone to help his pregnant wife. It had been a difficult pregnancy and she was now only a few months from her time. Her swollen belly was larger than normal and a local midwife was not ruling out the possibility of two births. He needed help for her before and after the possible double births.
Mallena was more than eager to go with the man and work for them. The promise of food and a warm place to lay her head at night was so much better than her current situation. Hoping this was the thing that would help her repair her shattered heart, she followed him to his home.
During the next couple of months, she helped the wife as the birth drew nearer. With her belly stretched to its limits, the young wife did less and less and depended on the young girl for almost everything. They grew close and became friends. When the man was called away to help in the King's army for a few weeks, he promised to return before the birthing time came.
And so began the twists of fate that changed the course of many lives…
The labor began when nature's fury matched the howling of the young mother. The midwife was sent for but the storm delayed her arrival. The baby was not going to wait, however, and came wailing his way into the world. It had been a very difficult labor and Mallena had given her something to help ease the pain. It had made the mother sleepy and disoriented. By the time the first cries of the newborn were heard, she was already quite incoherent.
So incoherent, in fact, that she didn't remember the pains renewing again minutes later as a second life fought its way out of her womb, the sounds of new cries being added to his identical brother's; nor did she feel the hands carefully cleaning her up, or see the look on Mallena's face as she looked from one beautiful child to the other.
She also didn't hear the crying of both babies suddenly become only one.
The midwife arrived at the home to find only one baby nesting in his sleeping mother's arms. She checked them over and was satisfied that they were all right. Mallena came into the room shortly after and said that there had indeed been two births but one had been malformed and had not survived. Mallena said she had just buried it to save the mother more sorrow. The midwife nodded and said it was probably for the best.
The man returned the next day and found he now had a new son. He was told about the other lost one and mourned the death. Mallena led him to a small grave were she said she had buried the malformed baby.
Mallena told the man that she had received an urgent letter from her family in the northern lands while he was away, saying she was needed urgently. She had delayed leaving till he returned to care for his wife and now new son. The small family was sorry to see her go but they were very understanding and thanked her for all of her help and care.
She said her goodbyes and gathering her few possessions made her way to a nearby abandoned cottage. She picked up the precious bundle she had left there. Mallena and her new perfect son made their way north to start a new life.