Chapter 6.
Olympias entered the nursery chamber where Lanike, Cleitus's sister, was bathing baby Alexander. The nanny had requested this honour the very same day Alexander was born and Olympias wanted to refuse but King Philip had won her and accepted her offer in his and his wife's name. Olympias did not like Lanike too much because, even though she had a rude and serious aspect, her manners were quite soft towards the baby and she wanted her son to be strong and brave and never depending on others. She believed this up to the extreme of denying baby Alexander breastfeeding because she assumed that he could get to attach to her. She needed a strong, brave and courageous child to turn into a powerful king, not a spoiled brat who could succumb to weakness.
Even though the baby prince was only nearly four months old, he had started to show firm traces of great intelligence and he did things that other babies his same age did not dare to do.
Contrary to Queen Olympias's supposition, king Philip had demanded his own alone time with his son because he had revealed that he wanted to set strong and deep bonds with the infant, not only because he was his child but also because he wanted to be an active participant in his raising and education. The best teachers had instructed the current king, he had a considerable intelligence; he had also had a practical instruction and he wanted to share his son's life as his parents had had with him. He had been raised in a loving family and so he understood how important families were, especially when you are young. He also wanted to be near his Alexander, as he already knew that his wife, even though she loved their son up to very same Olympus, had never had a good relationship with her family.
Olympias had always said that her mother had been a weak woman and always afraid of her husband and her own shadow. She had died when Olympias was a little girl and her father re married soon after her decease and the stepmother could not deal with the difficult child, so she had been sent away with her nanny to a far away little town. He also knew that she had never had true friends because she was quite hard to understand, she was always mysterious and speaking about gods and myths and magic and other similar things.
The queen saw how Lanike took the baby gently off the water, wrapped in a smooth towel and dried him gently. She set him in the middle of the big bed, still covered in the towel and went to the wooden chest of drawers to get a loincloth and a cotton chiton to dress the prince. She took Alexander in her arms again and went to sit by the window on a comfortable couch. She placed the baby on her lap and with his head set on the crook of her elbow; she started feeding him while singing a lullaby, as ancient as the same gods were.
"May you find solace in the gentle arms of sleep
Despite the wolves outside your door
In time you will see them all as harmless
And their idle threats easy to ignore
And if ever fate should choose to smite you
Stand your ground, never walk away
Please don't ever let the world defeat you
Don't get buried in its decay
As you drift into the gauzy realm of dreams
May you take comfort in the thought that you are safe
For it only takes a fraction of a second
For all of this to change" (1)
Queen Olympias decided to interrupt the tender moment; she did not approve these moments and she did not care what her husband believed about them. She had grown up without them and she was a fine lady.
Lanike left the room and went to talk to Cleitus; her brother had been under king Philip's command since he was a teenager. The dark haired warrior could see how his sister was clearly affected by something but he knew he would better wait until she decided to talk. She was fuming, she could not believe the queen could be so cold towards her own baby after all the things she had borne to have him. Cleitus tried to calm her down and suggested to go on giving her love to the little Achilles – as the siblings used to call Alexander – and be careful not to do it so openly, especially when Olympias was around. He had also promised that he would keep an eye on the Little One, not only because he loved him but also because Philip had asked him to.
Months went by and little Alexander was nearly one year old; he had been giving his first steps, always helped by his loyal nanny and his father, who was totally thrilled with this. He was also planning and dreaming about teaching his son how to ride so they could go out together on their horses.
He decided that it was time to get a horse for his Little One so, as he had done six months ago, he sent a messenger to the Amyntoros's farmhouse and the couple came again to visit their king.
On arriving to the palace, Philip made them meet him in the garden, as the weather was sunny and warm. The king was there watching over Alexander, who was walking, grabbed to one of the king's hunting dogs back. The poor animal, trained to run as fast as a thunder, was obliged to walk slowly because the royal prince was still a bit trembling on his steps.
Lady Iris saw the scene as soon as she entered the garden and she could not stop her tears, her own Hephaestion would have been doing the same thing if he had not been taken from her side a year ago.
The little boy turned his head as soon as he listened to his father speak, he was always drawn to his voice as bees to the honey , and that annoyed his mother a lot because she had not been able to get rid of her king or at least of his influence over her son.
Alexander smiled at his father, showing his four teeth, two on the upper gums and the other two in the lower one. He then turned his face towards the newcomers and he walked directly towards lady Iris, who knelt by his side to kiss his forehead. As soon as she was at his height, Alexander threw his chubby arms upwards, meaning he wanted her to pick him up. She accepted and lifted him and he suddenly cuddled onto her chest. A stray tear rolled along the rosy cheek and the little boy lifted his hand and picked the tear with a fast finger and babbled softly : "Not cry, mum". Green eyes looked at the little boy in her arms and whispered:
- "I am not your mum, Alexander"
- "No mum, pretty ma'am"
- "Thank you, my prince, you will be a heartbreaker"
The little boy rested on her arms calmly and nuzzling her neck, he fell asleep. In that moment, Lanike entered the garden with a bottle with milk for the child and when she saw lady Iris holding the prince in such a motherly way, she smiled, because that was as it should be. But she also realized the pain in the woman's eyes, she was looking at the prince so intensely, as if she wanted to burn the image in her mind and take it with her.
Minutes later, queen Olympias entered and she froze on the spot, that woman was again in the palace and she was again holding her son. She went quickly to her side and demanded her to give her back her son. The rest of the people there, turned round and were astonished at the queen's harsh remark and the lady in question stood up and put the little boy in the royal arms. As soon as that happened, the little boy stirred in his slumber and sobbed, the same thing he had done six months ago. The queen was very furious and she marched out of the garden with a crying boy who did not want to stop.
King Philip apologized on his wife's name and said that she had been under pressure since some days ago and that she had not been able to sleep well. Lanike smirked, that was totally a lie but she understood why the king had said that, he was embarrassed due to his wife's irrational reaction.
They finally sat again and Philip told them what his desire was; he wanted the best horse for his son and he only trusted Nikandros to choose it. He also was happy to know that lady Iris had recovered her speak but was still sad about their missing child. Lady Iris said that she knew her little one was alive, she felt it in the bottom of her heart but she did not know where else to look for. She also told her king that the gods would reveal themselves and help them to find their boy; she had put her faith on Aphrodite and Apollo.
They bid their farewell and the king went immediately to look for his wife and demanded an explanation. The queen was still trying to calm Alexander, who was red due to his deep crying, and she was pacing while the boy was on his back, on the bed, having a tantrum and shouting. As soon as the king crossed the door, he made a beeline to the bed and picked the boy in his arms, rubbing his back and whispering soothing words into his little ear. The queen threw him a look filled with wrath and the king decided that it was time to take his son from under her mother's control; he needed to do that if not Olympias would poison his son against everybody except herself.
The king tried to think what had made his queen react like that and the only thing he could realize was that his wife did not like lady Iris, she behaved in her presence as if she were threatened, she was always nervous and on the defensive, as if she were guilty of something she only knew. He decided that he would keep on eye on his wife as well as on the Amyntoros couple.
