Drabble – Safe
It was his duty to keep him safe. He had sworn to give his life to protect his King. He would step in front of an arrow aimed for the King's heart, fight to protect his back during battle and keep him surrounded and out of harms way. But the enemy was not the one who was the hardest to deal with. King Alexander claimed that title all by himself.
Hephaestion had lost count of how many times Alexander had put himself in dangerous situations and life-threatening places. He seemed to thrive on seeing how he could scare Hephaestion and the other companions. Many injuries could have been prevented for all of them if Alexander would have been more careful with his own well being. When he was in the mist of battle, Alexander lost track of everything but the battle itself. His own safety was never a consideration for him. He left that to the others.
Hephaestion had sat down with Alexander many times before battles and he asked, even begged, him to be more careful but Alexander had always just smiled and said he would try. But those promises were soon forgotten in the heat of the battle and Alexander would go charging into danger with his mighty horse ahead of everyone else, facing the enemy almost alone. By the time help finally arrived; the King would be surrounded by the opposition and fighting for his life. More than once Hephaestion had been sure that they all would not survive, let alone the King. Alexander would feel remorseful and say it would not happen again but always seemed to forget the promise by the time the next battle came along.
It continued this way for years until the fateful time that changed it all. The battle had been brutal. The chances of Alexander's army winning had been very slim if not impossible until Alexander charged ahead one more time and placed himself in the middle of the confusion. No one was there to stop the arrow that sliced into his chest and he went down with his dying horse beside him. Hephaestion had tried to reach him but had been struck down and seriously wounded. Neither should have survived but they did.
When Alexander had recovered enough to recognize his surrounding, he realized that Hephaestion was not around and he asked where he was. When told how seriously Hephaestion had been injured it finally sunk in just how much danger he had put everyone in, especially his Hephaestion.
He decided that he would not risk the life of his friend and companion more than necessary again. There was too much at stake if he lost his soul mate and source of strength. He knew how close he had come to losing it all in a matter of seconds. Both would suffer from their injuries for the rest of their lives as it was.
He would do everything in his power to keep Hephaestion safe from now on.