Hephaestion lay on his stomach, reading a letter from his father and listening to the rain falling outside. Distant thunder rumbled gently from the dark clouds that hovered over the hills. The sounds were very calming to Hephaestion, and he found himself growing drowsy. Putting the letter aside, he folded his arms and rested his head, closing his eyes and sighing softly. He was warm, comfortable and content.
It had been a good day. He had engaged Aristotle in a spirited discussion of philosophy, which he loved to do. He knew some of the others thought he was probably sucking up to their teacher, but that was far from the truth. He simply enjoyed talking about the differences between Aristotle's beliefs and those of Plato and the other philosophers, and he would often instigate a debate of those differences, much to the amusement of his companions. They were just happy for the diversion away from their studies. Only Cassander seemed to be bothered by it, but then again, everything annoyed Cassander.
He had continued his discussions at dinner, finally drawing Ptolemy into an in depth discussion of Phaedrus. Nearchus had thrown a fig at him and told him that he thinks too much and was starting to sound like Alexander. That made Hephaestion laugh. Perhaps he did sound like Alexander, but the others probably didn't know how many countless nights he and Alexander had sat up into the wee hours discussing these things and pondering the myths and the gods.
Hephaestion definitely believed in the power of the gods, and all the myths and legends that were told. He believed in the soul, and that a soul never truly died. He was convinced that the soul continued on after death, though he wasn't quite sure exactly how that worked. He never failed to make prayers and offerings to the appropriate gods, and believed in the power of omens. It was never safe to ignore the omens, and sometimes, much to his delight, they showed you clearly that your prayers had been answered.
Hephaestion was well aware that being sent here to Mieza was an answer to a prayer, and he knew without doubt what the gods had ordained for his life. He rolled over onto his back with his arms folded behind his head and smiled, staring up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. He could honestly say that he was happy. No, things were not always easy, but he accepted that, just as he accepted that the path that had been chosen for him would never be an easy one. It was a price he would willingly pay.
A loud clap of thunder snapped him out of his daydreams and he sat up. A flash of lightning lit the sky and the rain began to fall much harder. He rose from the bed and walked to the window, looking out at the dark clouds. Even they could not dim his mood today. He closed the shutters against the rain and walked back over to the bed. He needed to write back to his father, and he needed to study for tomorrow's lessons, but he didn't really feel like doing any of that right now. No, he felt uncharacteristically lazy this evening and decided to do absolutely nothing.
He poured himself a cup of watered wine and grabbed an apple before settling down, sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed. Biting into the sweet, crisp fruit reminded him of Alexander. Alexander loved those big red apples, and Hephaestion remembered some years ago how he used to leave apples for Alexander to find. This had gone on for many months without Alexander knowing who was leaving them. They were still back in Pella, several years younger, and Hephaestion had not been brave enough to tell Alexander how he felt, so he would leave the apples as a secret sign of his affection.
He chuckled, remembering the day Alexander caught him leaving an apple on his bed. Hephaestion had been horrified, scared that Alexander would laugh at him or, worse yet, reject his offerings of friendship. Instead, Alexander had smiled the most beautiful smile Hephaestion had ever seen and thrown his arms around Hephaestion's neck. Hephaestion thought his heart would burst with joy, and from that day on, they were completely inseparable.
He finished eating the apple and drank the last of his wine. Between the low hanging storm clouds and the lateness of the evening, it had grown quite a bit darker, so he got up to light the brazier in the center of the room. He stripped off his chiton and washed himself quickly, suddenly feeling very sleepy. After offering a quick prayer to Aphrodite, he climbed into bed and pulled a light covering over himself. He thought of Alexander, and with a soft, contented sigh and a small smile on his lips, he let Hypnos claim him.