Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. Every single one of them, no matter how short are very appreciated. I'm sorry I haven't been able to update as regularly as I should. I've been very busy, and somehow it seems that when I decide to take a break I have the worst writer's block. I swear I have not and will NOT give up on this story whatever happens.

I realised that I forgot to add a lot of warnings to this story. Let me just add them now so nobody gets any dirty surprises.

The story takes place between the early nineteen nineties and the present time by the way. I'm trying my best to give an accurate description of the time period, especially in the early nineties, but I was actually born in '88 so please bear with me.

Warnings: Alternate Universe (AU),slash(M/m pairing), threesome (M/M/M), drug use, character death, attempted rape, Non-con, Het, Abuse.

Disclaimer: I own neither the movie Alexander, nor the characters involved. I earn no money from this story. It's purely for entertainment.

Dedicated to Zophiel…

Chapter 3

"I bet you that I can get anyone in here to sleep with me tonight," announced the blond flashing me an arrogant smile.

"Pardon?"

His change of topic and mood had taken me completely by surprise, while the predatory look in his dark eyes made my loins stir painfully. He knew what effect he had on people and enjoyed every moment of it. I wasn't sure whether or not I could handle being the latest victim of his charms. My relationship wasn't great, but I had a wife at home, a fact that he already knew and I wasn't too eager to ruin things, a fact which I knew a man of his genius had already picked up on. Resisting him was like using a nutcracker to break a diamond. Absolutely impossible.

He leaned across the table and I immediately felt his firm grip moving slowly up my thigh. Even the thin cotton of my pants could not protect me from the liquid fire he sent rushing through my body.

"Anyone," he whispered hoarsely, making my breathing increase as his warm hand lightly brushed against my hardened crotch. I moaned softly. All my intentions to resist him began to slowly melt away.

Alexander laughed mockingly.

"What did I tell you?"

My cheeks burned in embarrassment and I suddenly began to focus on anything but him; the young couple laughing at the back, the elderly man and little girl entering though the glass doors, the disheveled man in a black pinstripe suit gesturing wildly while he spoke in hushed tones on his cell phone. I silently scolded myself for allowing the wealthy playboy to affect me so quickly and so profoundly.

The more time I spent with him was the more time I had found myself considering something his beloved Hephaestion said to me while I was interviewing him for the book. They might have been estranged, but they still knew each other better than anyone else did. When Hephaestion told me Alexander would flirt the whiskers off a dead kitten if it meant building up his ego, I thought he might have been joking or exaggerating, but after Alexander's little demonstration with his hand and my crotch, I realised the statement might not have been so far off.

"WAITRESS!" he screamed, making several of the restaurant's occupants jump.

A plump young woman with a small notebook in her hand rushed to our table. I could see a mixture of curiosity, recognition and intimidation flash across her features, before it was quickly replaced with a mask of nonchalance.

"Yes sir? Are you ready to order?" she asked.

"We'll both have a slice of the chocolate cake," he said. "And hurry up with it."

The waitress left quickly and a smug smile materialised on his face.

"I've been to over forty counties and tasted many delicious things, but their chocolate cake is to die for. I swear it!" he added.

"Are you always like this?" I asked, looking at him curiously.

"More or less," he smiled cryptically, taking our plates from the waitress who had returned as if the devil himself were at her heels.

"Now, where was I?" asked Alexander shoving a large piece of chocolate cake into his mouth.

"You were about to tell me how you first met Hephaestion."

"Oh yes," he smiled. "Hephaestion."

"My thirteenth birthday saw me in a vile mood, a tangled mass of hair, teeth, frustration and anger that paced the hallways like a starved lion searching for fresh meat. Frightened servants scurried out of my way as if my very gaze was a curse and my presence lethal. I could feel their pity filled stared and hear their ignorant hurried whispers behind my back. Apparently the gossipmongers had it that a chronic madness ran in my mother's family like scoliosis, and murder ran in my father's. I was its latest unsuspecting victim who would sit outside in the garden until the late hours of the night talking to myself. I would have laughed in their faces and given them something real to believe in had I not been so preoccupied and upset.

"You see, it was the kind of week that would make anyone fear taking any unnecessary risks. Some people call it bad luck. My mother had said that it had something to do with a strange arrangement of the planets or was it the stars? All I know is that while I had many events planned, literally everything that could go wrong went horribly wrong.

"It all started the Sunday Arrhidaeus went missing. Arrhidaeus was the son of one of my father's countless ex-wives and mistresses, and even though he was not much older than me, he was considered legally mentally retarded. He wasn't always like that though. He was quite normal at birth and would have quite likely been named heir to m father's "kingdom", but that's a story for another time.

"What you need to know is that they kept him locked in his quarters like a strange monstrous being that had been banished to the shadows. His room was like a child's prison, decorated with all the toy cars, trucks, planes and trains a small boy could possibly desire. While I had only been in his quarters a handful of times, I even heard that adjacent to it was his own miniature funhouse.

"Of course, his was all complete with a buxom Brazilian caretaker, whose manner of dressing left almost nothing on her curvy golden brown body to the imagination. I'm not sure where my father found her, but even though she could barely speak English, she had been there for a total of three years. That was much longer than any of Arrhidaeus' other caretakers cared to stick around, and it never too me three months to figure out that my father's weekly visits weren't directed toward Arrhidaeus.

"Well, it was during a weekend tryst that Arrhidaeus managed to slip away. Even though they didn't admit it, it was clear that the nurse and my father had more than a few drinks, and after thinking that they had locked him in the closet, commenced their rigorous activities. Unfortunately, in all their drunk stupidity, the closet door wasn't the only think left open and Arrhidaeus managed to sneak out.

"We spent hours searching for him in places only he seemed to be able to access in a miraculously short space of time. Of course, by we I meant me or a few servants, as my father had waived everything off, giving the excuse of having an important meeting. I couldn't care less.

"I surveyed roofs, climbed tall trees, searched the bottom of the indoor pools and at one point even considered getting people to drain and scour the two ponds that lay in the midst of our wild and overgrown gardens, but our efforts were futile. Neither the servants nor me had a clue where he could have gone.

"Many hours later after most people had given up, I was still hot on the trail. Problem solving was second nature to me, and Arrhidaeus' disappearance had the gears in my head oiled up and spinning faster than ever - "

I cleared my throat falteringly, unwilling to interrupt his story.

"Yes?" asked Alexander.

"Why didn't anyone call the police?"

"Things are a little more complex in my world," he replied. "Honour and reputation come first. People leak anonymous tips to the media and by the time stories are released, they've become the most exaggerated and perverted forms of gossip. I've experienced it myself."

Alexander pushed his empty plate forward and continued.

"I eventually found Arrhidaeus sound asleep in a hidden room near the basement, but what I found with him nearly made me scream in horror. From a distance the shreds of paper that surrounded him looked like what was left of a small child's doodling, but as soon as I drew closer my heart nearly stopped. I could recognize it anywhere, and the thought of a relic so ancient and priceless destroyed in such a callous act made my blood boil. There on the floor beside my slumbering half brother were the remnants of the oldest copy of the Iliad.

"It was gifted to me by an elderly museum curator who was impressed with the work of my father and my love of archaeology. He was so confidently that it had found a good home with me, and I had planned to copy it and put it in a safe place, where none but me could access it. How Arrhidaeus managed to possess it was a complete mystery to me. The worst thing was that until then, I had no idea that it was missing. I was filled with an uncontrollable rage. I was going to kill him.

"OH MY GOD!" I screamed. "OH MY GOD! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"I sifted through pieces of paper on my knees desperately hoping something could be saved. He was awake now and frightened. His brown eyes were wide and mouth formed a perfect "O" as he retreated slowly until he was nearly blocking the room's only window.

"Within a split second, I had launched at him, fists raised and teeth bared. His arms went up in a feeble attempt to ward off the blows, but before I could strike, a glimpse of something out the window caused me to stop in my tracks.

"A simple glance through that window would give anyone a magnificent view of the perfectly manicured front lawn, and the gargantuan iron gates like a metal fortress that shielded us from the outside world. Sometimes guests who were in a hurry would park their cars at the front.

"I had neither seen nor heard of him for a very long time, but as soon as I glimpsed that dark shoulder length auburn hair, I had recognized him immediately as if I'd seen him for years.

"From the distance it was hard to see the large blue eyes I had once regarded as alien, or the pale smooth porcelain skin that had come to haunt my dreams. He was different now, taller without much of the coltish awkwardness most adolescents had at his age.

"His mother was a Scottish actress, as freckled faced elemental with fiery red hair and large blue eyes that spoke of calm oceans and clear summer days. I had heard he looked like her and I watched her movies obsessively hoping to get an idea of what he would look like. Now that I saw him, I realised he was a darker version with a height that promised he would be much taller.

"He was walking with an older taller man, whom I had guessed from the few pictures I had seen of him was his father Amyntor. Where Hephaestion's mother was of fair and carefree, Amyntor was dark and serious. As they walked closer by the window, my breath hitched. For just a few seconds some of the shortest seconds of my entire life, I had a perfect view of my soulmate. He looked uncomfortable in the suit he wore, and on his face was a mixture of frustration and annoyance. His father didn't look much better.

"They were walking briskly to a slick black Mercedes that was parked under the shade. The driver stood waiting with an unreadable expression.

"I'm not going," said Hephaestion abruptly. His voice, which had begun to change, had a stoic determination. There was still a tiny trace of the lilting accent that he had when we had first seen each other, but for the most part it had disappeared like a distant memory.

"Italy, remember? You promised I'd get to study art in Italy."

"The decision has been made Hephaestion, and we're not going through this again. Phillip Argead has requested that you attend that private school along with his son. Very few people get into the school each year. You'll have enough time to pursue your hobby later. Just don't disappoint me."

"My heart leapt. Hephaestion would be attending school with me! My head was immediately filled with ideas of elaborate schemes on how I would conquer his heart and make him mine.

"I watched them get into the back of the car silently while the driver closed the doors. My beloved had a hurt look on his face. My arms ached to hold and comfort him, to protect him from pain and disappointment. By the time I had noticed Arrhidaeus' absence, the car had already gone and I had filed away a new picture in my mind of a fourteen year old Hephaestion. I was also reminded I had other things to worry about.

"My father was the head of a company known as Argead Industries. Of course, by the name you must have guessed that it was family owned, and it certainly was. As I mentioned to you previously, I was the result of thousands of years of noble breeding on both sides. Up to the late eighteen hundreds, our wealth mostly consisted of thousands of acres of land and animals. However, by nineteen twenty nine, my father's father founded "Argead Motors", a company that specialised in the making and design of luxury cars for the rotten rich. It survived the Depression like a champ, and by nineteen thirty, my grandfather also found oil on some of our land.

"By the time my father took over the Argead Dynasty, as my family is sometimes referred to, we were ten times wealthier than we were in the eighteen hundreds. We lived like royalty among the secluded class of the world's elite.

"Roughly a year earlier, before the events with Arrhidaeus and the Iliad and I had gotten to see my soulmate for the first time in many years, my father, Phillip Argead had given me one of the most influential positions in Argead Motors. Now, even though the position was only temporary, Argead Motors has been a virtual goldmine from the moment it began in the late nineteen twenties. It was one of Argead Industries' biggest earners, and my father's "strange" decision had scandalised both the board and top executives alike.

"To him, he was giving me the experience of a lifetime, teaching me what real responsibility was, the "ins" and "outs" of the fast paced dog-eat-dog business world. I would not be some pampered rich kid who couldn't even wipe his own ass. The Argead men were businessmen. I would be a strong leader and his worthy heir.

"What my father did that year was as unheard of in nineteen ninety as it is unpopular today. The board of Argead Industries complained bitterly. I was an inexperienced child who had barely reached his thirteenth year. Phillip was taking a gamble that had the ability to bring an entire company to its knees. One very wrong decision on my part could cause us to lose over half our income. Who knows? We could even go bankrupt! He was putting a twelve year old in charge of the jobs of millions of hard working employees worldwide. What would happen to them?

"My father remained resolute in his decision. In our world of the absurdly wealthy, boys lost their virginities at eleven and were practically men by thirteen. There was that, and a magnetism that he had seen in me, which he claimed had great potential.

"My ideas were different. I would prove the entire board wrong and win their favour and respect long before my time was up. My father had given me a year and six months and I would utilize it.

"By my third month, I had presented all sorts of wild and genius ideas that had top management listening and employees the most motivated in years. I was juggling my tutor Leonidas' lessons, along with working a high stress job and managing a chaotic household whenever my father was abroad.

"I didn't know of any other twelve year old who had half as many responsibilities, but I wasn't jealous at all. This was what I wanted. It was an overwhelming amount of responsibilities and I felt that if I did not figure out how to manage them all soon, I would either go crazy or die of exhaustion in the fifth month.

"I had adopted a hazardous schedule of sleepless nights, running only on Pepsi and the drive to someday take over my father's empire and make it bigger, stronger and infinitely powerful. I was the hardest working person in the company, and not a single important document got by me. I had no training, but whatever I didn't know, I read, did my own studies and sought advice. By the end of six months, my portion of Argead Motors was booming.

"I guess by now you're probably wondering what all of this had to do with my vile mood or bad week just a little before I turned thirteen. Well my hard work did not go unnoticed by many people, including the board. I had gone from being a potential liability to the entire company and possibly Argead Industries' biggest asset. They had even begun questioning my father's authority. The media went wild with stories of the twelve year old business genius who had accomplished the impossible in less than a y ear. My father began to feel threatened, and a day after Arrhidaeus destroyed the Iliad, and I saw Hephaestion for the first time in years, my father found a way to fire me. I was livid. The man who seemed to have the most faith in me once had robbed me of over six months for no valid reason. His excuse was that he was sending me to Mieza; one of the oldest and most expensive private schools in the world. Head sent me a letter explaining how he would have preferred that I used the remaining six months to prepare. However, I knew he did it because he didn't want me to outshine him.

"I was so angry. I felt like I had worked so hard all that time for nothing at all. As expected, my mother couldn't help but sympathise with her sordid stories that defamed my father's character and authority I had spent the next few days listening to her prodding and encouragement. It was a welcome change from the poison she spewed about my father, and if I didn't know by then, I knew that she loved me in her own ghoulish way.

"My thirteenth birthday arrived with me feeling significantly calmer. I had begun making plans two weeks prior so I could spend my birthday touring a recently excavated site of an ancient city that had been lost for thousands of years. I had looked forward to the trip for the entire two weeks. I would be far away from my father, mother and multitudes of troublesome siblings and prying servants. I would spend my nights in the desert, laying on my back staring at the starry heavens and dreaming of my future.

"However, I seen realised even that wasn't meant to be when I found out at the last minute that my father cancelled my trip. I spent the rest of the day alternating between sulking in my room and pacing the hallways angrily. I had invested a lot of money in that trip, and even more in keeping the secret from my parents. I didn't see what was so wrong with enjoying my thirteenth birthday. After all, I wouldn't be thirteen again.

"By sunset, my anger had turned into a mild depression. I lay on my bed silently staring up at the ceiling feeling sorry for myself.

"There was a small knock at my door. I could tell that it was one of the younger household staff. While the older ones knocked with confidence, the newer younger ones were always so unsure of themselves, especially with me.

"What?" I called my annoyance seeping into my voice. I wanted to be left to feel sorry for myself in peace.

"Your father requests a meeting with you at seven, sir. He says dress nicely."

"I sighed. The last person I wanted to see was my father.

"Where?" I asked, rolling over and smashing my face into a pillow.

"The ballroom, sir."

"I could hear her footsteps grow distant and I sighed, again. A meeting with my father in the ballroom on my birthday could only mean one thing. He and my mother had managed to tolerate each other long enough to plan a surprise party. It was quite obvious, but as intriguing as that sounded, I had no interest in going.

"It took me forty five minutes before I had taken a shower and began to get myself ready. My father said dress nicely, which meant I had the option of picking out my own suit. A part of me felt like rebelling and throwing on a t-shirt and cut-off jeans, but I eventually settled on wearing an expensive tailored suit I had never worn.

"Fixing my hair was always the worst chore, and that night wasn't any better. It was the year nineteen ninety one, before the long unkempt hair of the grunge music scene. Headbands, short hair and bowl cuts were still the order of the day. My hair was cut short, and that seemed to make it stick up in the strangest places. I found myself using nearly half a jar of hair gel before my hair was nearly slicked back. By the time I had finished getting ready it was minutes to eight.

"I rushed out quickly, nearly bumping into my mother Olympias near the entrance to the ballroom. She was wearing a haute couture pink skirt suit with pantyhose and heels. Her dark brown hair was styled neatly into a French Twist. I could see why my father married her. She looked amazing.

"Where have you been Alexander?"

"She scrutinized me up and down, looked shocked and then laughed.

"Have you seen yourself?" she asked smiling.

"She searched her purse for something, pulled out a small mirror and handed it to me.

"Look at your hair!"

"I looked in the mirror and saw my hair sticking up in all directions. I quickly smoothed it all down and walked in.

"The ballroom was beyond breathtaking. Above, on the high stained class ceiling was the Argead Sun of Vergina, our insignia painted in a mosaic of royal blue and gold. There was something about the way the starlight hit it that made it look illuminated and almost radiant. What was once polished hardwood of the floor had been replaced by shiny black marble that resembled a calm sea on the darkest night.

"The people were as plentiful and as colourful as the food. Even though I didn't know most of them, I could easily tall they all were among the world's elite. There were politicians, diplomats, business owners and I had even spotted a few who I knew to be of royal blood.

"It wasn't merely a birthday party. It was an event for me to form alliances and meet and impress very important people. It was things like these that made our money and influence even stronger.

"I greeted, conversed, charmed and entertained for what seemed like an entire night. I was always an avid reader, so luckily for me there was no shortage of topics for me to converse with.

"If they were passionate about music, I was a music enthusiast. If they were passionate about the Yugoslav Wars, I knew everything there was to know about it and the Brijumi Agreement. I was an all rounder who could charm the boots off anyone I so desired. However, many hours later, my back had begun to hurt from all the standing and I wanted nothing more than just a few minutes to sit alone.

"I escaped quickly, dodging guests and servants in the busy halls until I ended up in the garden. It had been my safe haven for years. I was the only one who seemed interested in visiting it regularly, and so I knew that I would be greeted by its solitude and warmth. I plopped down on the ground beside a tree, closed my eyes and sighed.

"Shouldn't you be inside with the other guests?" asked a voice somewhere above.

"My eyes sprang open and I came to my feet immediately. There was no one in front of me.

"Behind you," said the voice.

"At that moment when I turned around, my entire life changed. In the few times I'd seen him it was always from a distance, with me always regretting I was never close enough to see him clearly. I had thought he was beautiful, but seeing him even closer in the moonlight, he was godlike, stunning.

"He was tall for a fourteen year old with wavy dark auburn hair that stopped just above his shoulders. Like his mother, he looked almost elemental, with a few freckles like cinnamon sprinkled across the bridge of his nose, and a large impish smile. His piercing blue eyes appeared to glow.

"I hate these things," he said. "I don't know which one is worse, the stiffness or the fakeness. Everyone pretends to like each other, when all they do is boast about their money and influence. Since you practically ran out here, I'm guessing I'm not the only one." He paused. "I'm Hephaestion Amyntorous. Who are you?"

"I looked at him blankly, willing myself to speak but hearing nothing come out my mouth. He was the last person in the world I had expected to see. I had never seen his family at one of these events because they were simply not invited. One usually had to have old money flowing in their pockets.

"You don't talk much, do you?" he replied settling beside me on the grass. "I can deal with that."

He pulled me down beside him. I blinked in shock.

"Do you know Alexander Argead?" he scoffed, and continued. "I don't either; but he sounds like he'd be a very sad person. My parents forced me to come to this stupid thing and I don't even know the guy. Apparently his father wants me to go to some private school with him. I'm perfectly happy going to a public school. The last place I want to be is around some stuffy rich kids."

I raised my eyebrows. Amyntorous was his surname? That would make his father Amyntor Amyntorous. The world just got stranger.

Hephaestion lay back on the grass with his hands behind his head staring at the stars.

"You know, the worst part about this was that my father promised me I'd get to go to an Art School in Italy this year. You know what he told me after Phillip requested that I go with Alexander to Mieza? That I'd have enough time to concentrate on my hobby. Hobby. Do you believe this? He thinks it's a fucking hobby. Anyway, you must think I'm a whiner. You like music, don't you?"

I once again I tried to speak. Hephaestion rolled over on his stomach, and positioned himself so that we were face to face. He continued.

"Check this out. I managed to sneak this in my jacket when my parents weren't looking." He took out a walkman with blue headphones out his jacket, and gave me an impish smile that made me shiver involuntarily.

"Don't tell anyone, but it's Metallica's new album on cassette. I know right? I still can't believe it either, but I got it from this guy, whose older brother knows a guy who knows a guy who recorded them! I swear, it's one of the most metal things I've ever heard. You want to hear it? Or are you one of those hip hop guys?"

"I'm Alexander Argead, " I said softly, staring into his large blue eyes. I felt like I would lose myself if I stared too long, and had to restrain myself from kissing him.

There was a short silence.

"Oh," replied Hephaestion, getting up to leave.

This time I pulled him down.

"Stay with me," I said. "And I will make your evening worthwhile."