Of Gods and Kings

Chapter 2: Blasphemy

Though music there was not in that quiet quarter of the palace, the Persian woman danced for Hephaestion in the most pleasing of motions. The general watched with wide-eyed wonder, his hard pretense wavering. The woman's hands gleamed gold and gemmed in the firelight as she raised them high with rolling wrists. Her hips hummed a secret ballad meant only for him and the sleek orchid robe swayed with her every movement. Fluidly her body flowed and fluently did it speak to the man with provocative and perfect parlance.

She slipped the silk from her shoulders, covering the marble floor with a purple pool at her feet. She stood still as a statue of gold, naught but a length of pricely pendents covering her modesty. The woman smiled at him broad and bright as he summoned her with a curl of his finger to come to him. With a simple sway, she strutted to the man and sat upon his lap, knees on either side of his thighs so she may look at his face. His scars did not mar his beauty, but made him more handsome, the rugged roughness so juxtaposed with the soft slopes of his features.

She wished to wash the kohl from his eyes; to shower him with kisses; to comb his discheveled hair with her delicate fingers. She wanted to polish him with her touch and make him like new, allowing him shine and sparkle in all his splendor the way he could if only he did not have to bear such a heavy-hearted burden.

"Tender temptress," spoke he, "reveal to me thy rightful name so I know who to call upon in the days to come."

Quoth the woman, "Sadira, my precious god."

She laid a palm upon the general's cheek, stroking the stubbled flesh. His sapphire eyes, so stunning and splendid, gazed into her gray own, half-hooded with unhidden lust. The man's hungry hands, coarse and calloused, carefully caressed her thighs, her hips, her breasts with earnest. She whispered words of praise as he laid his lips upon her throat.

Sadira craved for him to claim her; to take her as his own with no thought of lost lovers. She recalled her deceased king and wondered if her present desire was displaced. Should she not hate the man that helped take him away from her? Darius was once her deity, but this night she gave tribute to Hephaestion. How she had forgotten her former feelings! Was this man factual and the foregoing king a false god?

"Hephaestion," spoke Sadira. His eyes, thought she, must have mirrored her own. Eyes she thought were so wonderful moments before, now looked world weary when he stared at her. His sorrow left her weak and willing to be anything he wished. Alexander she would be if only she could, coming to Hephaestion to ease his emptiness and reassure him with promises of love. "What am I," asked the woman as she gazed down at the wounded warrior, "who worships a god who worships another?"

The general spoke her in the softest of tones, stroking her skin as he did answer her inquiry. "A blasphemer," qouth he.

The woman removed herself from Hephaestion's grasp and crawled across the bed, laying herself upon the cushions. Sadira called out to the man for him to join her and joined her he did, clinging to her as he laid his head on her naked breast. She covered his hair with compassionate kisses, comforting him in her embrace.

Spoke Sadira, "Sleep, sweet seraph. Lose thyself to the land of dreams."

- Oo0oO -

The woman had stayed in Hephaestion's room until his smooth breath confessed slumber. Sleep off the wine, he would, and remember with fondness the next day of the past night's events or curse himself for his frailty. With a kiss of the cheek, she slipped from his bed and quickly adorned her abandoned robe. As quietly as she could, she shut the door behind her, and all that was heard in the silent hall was the soft patter of her own bare feet.

The sun was just beginning to rise, tinting the walls around her in a deep red glow. A dark figure slunk from the shadows of the hall, surprising Sadira in its swiftness. "Did he have thee?" spoke the spirit. She suppressed a scream as she turned to the figure, clutching at her chest when she realized who it was.

"Aye," the woman lied when she summoned the strength. "It is done."