He was second in command of the largest army in the world. He could build bridges, organize thousands of soldiers, feed and clothe an army and their families. He helped plan battles and fought on the front lines.
All of these things were of no help to him now, his mind was a complete blank.
What do you buy the person who has everything for his birthday?
Hephaestion had been to the market place several times already in the past few months and had found nothing he wanted to give Alexander. It didn't help that Alexander had everything he could ever want already. He was wealthy beyond imaging and had no interest in material things.
Others years, Hephaestion hadn't had any trouble finding anything. It had been so easy to find just the right present or make something himself. This year was different.
Frustration was raining down on him and he was running out of time. Alexander's birthday was only a couple of days away.
Walking slowly in front of a tent, he looked at the different colors of materials on the tables. Nothing caught his fancy though and he started to walk away.
From the back of the tent came angry yelling and the sound of crashing vases. Suddenly, a blur of blonde fur came running from the back of the tent and ran headlong into Hephaestion's feet, flipping over several times before righting himself. About 10 pounds of adorable cuteness look up at Hephaeston.
Big brown eyes met blue eyes.
The puppy was completely tangled up in red ribbon and looked full of mischief.
Hephaestion was just about to lean down and help him get free of the ribbon when the yelling started again. He looked to the front of the tent and saw another blur of fur come barreling towards him, only this time it was brown. Unable to stop in time, the brown blur ran into the blonde blur and sent them both rolling together in one big ball of mischievousness. Now the red ribbon was wrapped around both of them, hopelessly tangled.
An older woman came charging out of the tent next, bellowing in anger. She had a frying pan in her hand and was ready for a fight. Knowing the cause of her frustration was probably tangled at his feet, he watched her come towards him. The woman began yelling again and pointed at the two puppies.
The puppies, upon hearing her raised voice, quickly scampered behind Hephaestion and hid under his long cape, peeking out from between his ankles at the mean old woman.
Trying to calm the woman down, Hephaestion started talking to her. She had had all she could take from the two little trouble makers, she said, and she was going to get rid of them, once and for all. They had caused nothing but trouble from the day they were born and had her home in a shambles. She didn't care what happened to them as long as she didn't have to see them ever again.
Hephaestion looked back behind his legs and saw two pairs of big brown eyes looking from him to the woman. He was hopelessly lost in those eyes and knew he couldn't let anything bad happen to them. Besides, for some reason they reminded him of a couple of other little mischief makers he knew once, one blonde and the other brunette.
He asked the woman if he could buy them from her and she said to just take them, and added, that he must be crazy in the head to even want them, they would never amount to anything.
Seeming to realize that they were off the hook, the puppies decided to start playing tug- of-war with Hephaestion's cape, one pulling to the right and the other to the left. Hephaestion thanked the woman, all the while trying to keep his balance and not tumble over. He pulled his cape free and squatted down to get a closer look at the two little monsters.
He suddenly found himself surrounded by soft furry bundles of energy, licking him affectionately with big sloppy kisses. Hephaestion sat them back on the ground and untangled the ribbon. He told them to sit, and to his astonishment, they did as they were told.
He started talking to them, telling them they had to be good and stay out of mischief. He would take them home with him and train them to be good puppies. All the while he was talking to them, they sat very still and listened to his voice, cocking their heads to the side occasionally.
Hephaestion was completely and utterly in love with them already. He picked them up and carried them back to the palace, still getting kisses and trying to hold tight to the squirming bundles.
Over the next few days, Hephaestion worked with his new charges and found them to be quick learners and very bright. They were eager to please him and ready to learn all the new things he had for them to do. He was very pleased with their progress and could hardly wait to give Alexander his presents. He knew Alexander would love them as much as he did.
The big day had finally arrived. Alexander received many beautiful and expensive presents, each one nicer than the next. The party was just about over when Hephaestion approached Alexander and told him he had gifts in his room for him, something he was going to like very much. Alexander perked up right away at this and said he was ready to see what Hephaestion had in mind.
It didn't matter to Alexander what the 'gifts' were, it was from Hephaestion so he knew he would love it. Actually, having Hephaestion was all the gifts Alexander would ever need.
Walking on the way to his rooms, Hephaestion explained how hard it had been to find just the right thing for him this year but he finally found the perfect gifts. Beautiful, full of life, just like Alexander, he would enjoy these gifts for many years to come. Alexander's curiosity was peaked and he could hardly wait to see what Hephaestion had picked out for him.
They reached the door to the room and Hephaestion asked if he was ready. About the same time there was a loud crash from the other side of the door. Rushing in, they both stopped and their mouths dropped open.
Before them lay the ruins of Hephaestion's room. Feathers still floated in the air, the floor was covered with broken vases, scrolls, curtains, bedding and everything else that had once been neatly in it's rightful place.
In the middle of all of this mess was the two troublemakers, covered in feathers and happily rolling around together, nipping at each other and having a grand time.
Upon seeing their new master, they had a moment of remorse and promptly lay down with their heads on their tiny paws and looked up at the two men with big puppy eyes, trying very hard to look adorable. It worked.
One last feather floated down and landed in Hephaestion's hair and Alexander reached up and took it out. Grinning widely, Alexander asked if this was his surprise.
Hephaestion could only shake his head in bewilderment, saying yes, but he hadn't plan on it turning out quite like this.
The 'presents' on seeing the smiles and not angry faces, came bounding over towards them, running sideways and tripping over each other and their own paws, ending up in a little puddle of affection in front of them.
Alexander stooped down and was rewarded with the wettest, most loving gifts he had received all day...and the ones he was enjoying the most.
After getting his face washed several times, Alexander stood back up and pulled Hephaestion into his arms and gave him a big hug, wet face and all.
Alexander was so happy he had tears in his eyes.
The puppies were so happy, they promptly peed all over Alexander's sandals.