Roxanna was like one of the statutes so beloved by Aristotle – beautiful to look at, but you wouldn't want to sleep with it. She was truly a great beauty – I had certainly never seen any woman who remotely came close to her. But her flawless beauty was accompanied by an aura of cold, unapproachable disdain. She was perfect and she knew it.
Anahita, on the other hand, was utterly different. Yes, she was almost as beautiful as her sister but she had a softness that her older sister did not. Her lustrous eyes sparkled with a vivacious gaiety and a playful smile constantly danced on her face. She drew men to her like moths to a candle, and I was no different.
She bewitched me.
Around the campfires of an evening, the Greek soldiers would tell tales of fighting and of love. The fighting I understood. Love I didn't.
I'd never been in love. Yes I'd known a lot of women but I'd never loved any of them.
Was I in love now? I wasn't sure. A look or glance from her could make my heart sing, plunge me to the depths of despair or make me boil with rage.
She could provoke emotions in me that I didn't know I had.
Right now I was seething with frustration. Here I was sitting at the bottom end of the banqueting hall. At the far end, on the raised dais were Roxanna and Anahita, being entertained with tall tales of his adventures by Cassander, one of Alexander's Companions. Tall, good looking and battle hardened. I hated him with a passion that only a foot soldier can feel for a cavalryman.
Cassander! By Morrigan, those Companions thought a lot of themselves! Half of them were decent fighters but a lot were just strutting peacocks basking in Alexander's sun. It took me a long time to work out why Alexander bothered with the Companions. Parmenion explained it to me in the end. By taking the first born of all the nobles back home with him in the Companions, the nobles weren't likely to rebel against Alexander while he was on his travels.
Alexander was a clever one all right.
Along with a few Companions, I'd been with Roxanna and her family for the wedding, providing a guard of honour. Now we were having a farewell feast with Roxanna and some of the Sogdian nobility before we moved along on our campaign trail.
These days we seemed to spend more time at feasts that we did at fighting. Ever since Persepolis Alexander had turned more and more Persian. He was even ruling more and more like a Persian now – less fighting, more alliances.
More than likely Alexander would marry off Anahita to some noble he needed to keep sweet. It was hopeless to think of her.
It was lucky that Alexander had fallen in love with Roxanna; the Sogdians were a good alliance to have. You'd have needed a hundred armies to conquer these mountains.
Still, at least these Sogdians served up proper food, not like that dainty crap Hephaistion used to organise. Only fit for children and old women. I chewed another piece of boiled mutton and gulped some more ale.
Peals of laughter rang from Anahita as another of Cassander's tales reached a high point. She gazed intently into his eyes, seemingly unaware of anyone else in the room. I scowled at my food in jealous envy.
I felt sick to the very pit of my stomach. The piece of boiled mutton stuck in my throat. The air in the room seemed stale. I gasped for breath. I had to leave.
I cast a furtive glance either side of me. No one was paying attention to me so I quietly rose and slipped out outside into the cool of the early evening.
Here, high up on the Sogdian rock, I could see down into the valleys far below. The great Silk Road snaked between the farmers' homesteads that were dotted across the sparse areas of grassland, animals safely penned close by as night approached. I looked up from the valleys at the high mountains all around. These were big hills, much bigger than at home.
Home! I'd been thinking a lot about home recently. Maybe I should go home? I'd collected enough treasure to last ten lifetimes. Maybe it was time to go and enjoy it?
"Slioch!"
I turned to see Cassander approaching.
"Here you are! I've been sent to find you." He looked annoyed at being sent on such a menial errand.
"Why?" I replied, poorly hiding my hostility.
"Princess Roxanna wishes to speak to you."
"What for?" I said sulkily.
Cassander shrugged his shoulders. "Don't keep her waiting," he said barely concealing his impatience. He spun round on his heels and briskly walked back into the hall.
I really didn't want to go back in and be tormented, but I didn't have any choice so I turned slowly away from the spectacular sight of the sun setting behind the mountains and reluctantly walked back into the hall.
"Ah! Slioch!" Roxanna cried. She spoke my name with a thick accent, but at least she got closer to saying it properly than those Macedonian wallys. They always got it wrong. She made a sharp motion with her left hand and waved me towards the dais.
"Cassander here," she smiled and nodded in his direction, "has been entertaining us with tales of his travels with my lord Alexander. But I am anxious to learn everything I can about my new husband."
There were giggles from the ladies of the Court.
Roxanna gave them a knowing look. "My sister tells me that you have been with my husband for many, many summers. Is this so?"
My sour mood instantly lightened. I'd spoken to her at every opportunity over the past few days and Anahita had remembered something about me! Maybe she was actually interested in me!
I grinned. "Aye it is so, Princess." I couldn't resist a dig at Cassander. "I have been with my lord Alexander for a long time. Cassander here has been with us for what seems but a moment."
A snigger ran around the room and Anahita shot me a playful smile. Cassander scowled at me.
Roxanna smiled at me. "Good," she said, "then you know much about my husband. My sister," she nodded towards Anahita, "tells me that you are a barbarian from the ice lands far to the north. Tell me how you came to know my lord Alexander."
I glanced at Anahita, but she was looking down at the food on the plate in front of her and I could not catch her eye.
I was grinning like an idiot. She seemed to have taken an interest in me!
"Come, Slioch! Tell us the tale of how you met my husband!" commanded Roxanna.
I drew a deep breath, swallowed hard and drew myself up to my full height.