A Hero
She stood among the mass of people, silently watching the faces. Many were crying and some were standing with their heads hung low. Many were watching the King.
There was a group of men in the front close to Alexander. A few were visibly shaken, but there was also a group that showed no emotion at all. These were the ones she had learned to loath. If they held any sadness for the occasion they had gathered for, they showed no sign of it, except if Alexander happened to look their direction.
It was hard to believe he was really gone. It still hadn't sunk in for her that Hephaestion had really died. She had heard he was sick but never guessed he would not recover, no one could believe it. There were rumors of the cause; illness, food poisoning and even murder, but none had yet to be proven.
Their paths had crossed many times in her short life. The first she had no memory of, just the tales her mother had told her. The army had been traveling and Hephaestion had come upon the cart she was riding in. She had been a very unhappy baby at the time and he put her in his horse with him and held her till she had fallen asleep.
The next time he had caught her practicing to be a soldier. He had taken her to see the King and at four years old, the King had told her to grow up a little more and then come to see him again.
Since that time, they had passed in the hallways or in met in the gardens. When they were traveling, she often saw him ride by. He always had a smile for her and sometimes stopped to talk to her for a while. He always made her feel special and she had more than a little crush on him the older she got.
He was like the bigger brother, uncle and older boyfriend all rolled into one. She adored him, the man he was and the man he was going to be. She knew he was an important man in the army but until this very day, she couldn't have imagined how special he really was.
But to her he was just a very nice man who happened to be incredibly handsome and special. He had filled a void in her life, touched her in so many ways even at her tender young years.
He had been her hero and now he was gone.
She looked towards King Alexander. He looked like he had aged years in these few short days, and she doubted he would get a lot better in the future. Of all the people gathered around, she had no doubts that he knew how she felt.
As if he heard her silent words, the King glanced towards her and gave her a very weak smile. He knew, he remembered her, and that little smile helped with her healing.
She would miss him. But he would stay with her in that special place in her heart she had reserved especially for him.
Today, and always, she would honor him, the man called Hephaestion.
She would honor her hero.