Drabble – Damned
Hephaestion sat on the couch in the outer chamber of the King's tent. His exhaustion hung off of him like a cloak. In the inter chamber was his King, his lover, his best friend, his Alexander. Outside of the tent was the world Hephaestion was trying to protect him from. He was in the middle again, as always.
Roxanne and Cassander had left earlier, angry that Hephaestion would not let them see Alexander. The hate they shared for Hephaestion was evident on their faces. But there was something more behind that hate this time. Hephaestion sensed a danger he had never felt before, not only for Alexander but for himself too.
Times of change were at hand and not for the better, Hephaestion feared.
The times that Alexander would be followed without question were coming to an end. Too many rumbling could be heard through the army and even from his close companions. For the first time, Hephaestion feel that there was an end to this glorious dream they had lived and shared.
His thoughts these days often drifted to what was beyond all of this chaos. No one really knew what lie ahead after death. Many scholars had there opinions but none that had died had come back to tell what truly happened. Hephaestion wondered to himself if it could possibly be anymore cruel and tragic than the circumstances they now found themselves under. Kleitus was dead; by the King's own hands. Alexander was now deep into himself and Hephaestion wondered if he could even find his way out again. The army was falling apart before his very eyes and he could only watch and protect his King.
Maybe they were all damned. But maybe the damnation was here on earth and beyond was the sweet world of peace.