The upside of exile

Days turned into weeks. The young men practiced and worked out with Pleurias' men, wrestled and raced each other, doing anything to keep them fit and active. They had been treated quite well, but Alexander was restless. He did not like being idle in any sense of the word.

King Philip, of course, knew exactly where they were and no doubt had men on alert for any sign of trouble from the Illyrian tribes, or from Epirus where Olympias still resided with her brother.

Hephaestion had sent letters to his father and to Aristotle, and Ptolemy had written to Thais. They had not received responses as of yet, and hoped that their letters had been received. They did not know if Philip was monitoring their correspondence, but most likely he was.

Alexander had received two letters from his mother. Both times he had been in a foul mood after reading them, and had once slashed his pillow to shreds with his dagger in a fit of anger. He allowed Hephaestion to read the letters along with him, and it was no wonder he was angry. Olympias was still pushing Alexander to take some action against Philip and continued to encourage him to conspire with Pleurias. Her letters were full of disparaging remarks about Philip and little jabs at Alexander, subtly accusing him of not having the balls to stand up for himself. That did not go over well at all.

Each time Alexander had received a letter from her, Hephaestion had been on the receiving end of angry, rough sex. Not that he minded all that much. Since they had been in exile here, they had made love practically every day. There were no not-so-subtle hints from Olympias that he and Alexander needed to cool their relationship or end it outright. There were no prying eyes, no need to demonstrate "proper" behavior, and no one to judge them. The companions that had accompanied Alexander in his exile did not mind in the least and took great pleasure in teasing the pair mercilessly. The result of their activities was that it kept Alexander a bit more relaxed than he would have been otherwise.

Hephaestion was simply ecstatic. He had his Alexander all to himself and could freely show his affection for the prince with no repercussions. He knew it was foolish to become used to it, but it was hard not to. He tried not to think too much about it. He was not naïve enough to think it would be like this forever. Eventually, they would have to return to Pella, and everything would change. He had no idea where things with Philip would end up, but he dreaded the thought of dealing with Attalus and the possible fallout if Eurydice happened to have a son. Also, they were not boys any longer, and Hephaestion knew that pressure would soon be on Alexander to find a wife and have an heir of his own. It was not right, but he could not help it; he felt selfish and jealous about that.

Hephaestion vowed to reap the benefits of whatever time they had in exile together, while helping Alexander cope with the situation and supporting him the best that he could.

It was a sunny, warm day in early summer. They had spent time working out and training and were now spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Alexander had wanted to write a letter to his mother, reluctantly, but he needed to keep in touch with her. He retired to their room to write in peace.

Hephaestion had no desire to sit around watching Alexander write and listening to him grumble about his mother, so he decided it would be nice to go to the beach for a while. He packed a blanket and some wine and retrieved his horse from the stable. Their dwelling was high up on a cliff, overlooking the coast below. They had been to the beach many times, often the whole group of them, to have their own private little parties, drinking and laughing and engaging in some horseplay. It was easy to forget the troubles of the day when they were there like that.

Hephaestion smiled to himself as he navigated the narrow path that led down the rocky shore to the sandy beach below. He missed Pella, and he missed his family, but at times like this he almost wished they did not have to go back there. Here he was free. They all were. They were free to just be themselves, and do whatever they wanted to do. He had never been able to spend this much time with Alexander back in Pella, but now…they ate together, slept together, bathed together, read together, and made love whenever they wanted. Which was often.

He galloped his horse through the surf, a feeling of joy in his heart. Finally he stopped at his favorite spot on the beach. He tended to his horse, then laid his blanket on the sand and poured himself a cup of wine, which he drained quickly. The waves looked very inviting, so he stripped off his chiton and waded in. The water was warm and soothing, and he swam and floated on his back, absorbing the peace and tranquility of the place. After a while, he walked back up the beach and stretched out on his stomach on the blanket. The warm sun felt so good on his skin, and soon he fell asleep with his head cradled on his folded arms.

He was not aware that he was being watched.

Alexander had finished writing his letter and went in search of Hephaestion. He was tired of thinking about their situation, his parents, Pleurias, all of it. When one of the grooms told him that Hephaestion had taken his horse and ridden off to the west, Alexander knew exactly where he was going. It was a place they both went to frequently. He jumped onto Bucephalus' bare back with only a simple halter to guide him. It was no problem. They had been there so often that the horse knew the way.

He had rounded a rocky outcrop when he saw Hephaestion walking out of the water, pausing to shake the water out of his long hair. He eased the horse to a stop and simply watched him. Alexander didn't think he had ever seen anything more beautiful in his life, and it took his breath. Hephaestion's body was long and lean, with well defined muscles. His skin was smooth and tanned from hours in the sun. His hair had been kissed by the sun with streaks of red gold through the darker strands. He moved with a grace and ease that was unlike any other Alexander had ever seen. He smiled. He was completely, head over heels in love with the man.

At times, such as these, it was easy to forget about the troubles at home. He had to admit he loved the freedom he had here a great deal.

Hephaestion lay sleeping on his blanket, so Alexander took the opportunity to sneak up on him. Leaving Bucephalus tied up behind the rocks, he eased his way across the sand towards the sleeping man. As he reached Hephaestion's side all he could think of was how badly he wanted to touch him, yet he hesitated to wake him. He knelt down beside him and reached his hand to brush a strand of hair away from Hephaestion's face. Suddenly he found himself on his back and pinned to the ground. It happened so quickly that he wasn't even sure how Hephaestion had done it.

Hephaestion now knelt over him, grinning down at him. "Did you really think you could sneak up on me, Alexander?"

Alexander laughed. "It seems not." He reached up and ran a fingertip down Hephaestion's chest, causing goose bumps to rise on the other man's skin. "You look beautiful, Phai." His eyes darkened and narrowed and a seductive smile curved his lips. "Very desirable."

Hephaestion rolled them over so that Alexander was lying on top of him and pulled him in for a deep kiss. Alexander sat up and released the pins that held his chiton at the shoulder and let the fabric slide from his body, tossing it to the side. He leaned over Hephaestion and began to lick and nibble his way down his body. "Yes, you look delicious, Phai. I think I just may have to taste every inch of you."

Hephaestion closed his eyes and moaned softly as Alexander proceeded to do just that.

He knew it could not last forever, and that soon they would have to return to the reality of home. At least for the moment, their exile seemed more like paradise.