They had gotten down the mountain by midday the next day. By that point, however, Hephaestion was exhausted, as Khalis was now sick and would cling to him whenever he had the chance. Khalis cried all day, and Hephaestion could not find the exact cause, even though he knew his babe was ill.
Faris watched this struggle as they trekked down the half of the mountain they had not been able to travel the night before. Hephaestion was currently to hold on to his fighting, crying child, who was grabbing at his own ears much too often for Faris' liking. He fell into step with Hephaestion, who he saw was silently cursing Alexander.
"You look tired. Can I help in any way?" he offered. It was more than he had ever said to Hephaestion, but he looked hopeful to help the desperate man.
"Can you make up a bed and let me sleep? No? Then no, you can not help," Hephaestion snapped at him before turning his attention back to soothing his young son, "Shh, Khal... You're okay... I know you do not feel well. Calm down, please..." Hephaestion had resorted to begging, but he didn't care; he only wanted his child to stop crying.
"Maybe if he was held by someone else..." Faris quietly suggested, his arms stretching out just a bit, as if hoping the child would be entrusted to him.
Hephaestion huffed loudly in defeat, "Fine. You want him, take him."
Faris accepted the child, making sounds to get his attention even though the little boy was looking everywhere but at him, his fingers in his mouth, sniffling. Then he looked over to his left and saw his mother walking beside him. Once he realized he was no longer in her arms, it was as if Tartarus had opened and all of the Titans had gotten loose from their prison.
"MAM!" The child screamed, loud enough to make Lutfi and Kareem stop intheir tracks and look back at the threesome from a few feet ahead, "Mam, mam, mam..." the child whined and squirmed in Faris' arms, reaching out to to Hephaestion desperately.
"ALL RIGHT, FINE!" Hephaestion yelled out in frustation, throwing his hands up in the air. He took his child back from the man beside him and began to scold him as Lutfi and Kareem came back to them.
"Is everything all right?" Lutfi inquired quietly, his attention on Hephaestion.
It was that question that broke the flood gates somewhere inside Hephaestion, and he began to sob, bending at the waist with the force of his emotions. Kareem gently took him by the arm, holding him up as Faris handed Khalis to Lutfi and helped his brother lower Hephaestion into a sitting position on the cold, frozen rock on which they had been walking just a moment before. They all sat with him then, Khalis playing lazily with Lutfi's fingers with his free hand while his other hand remained in his mouth.
Faris and Kareem stayed silent while Lutfi tried to calm his friend.
"Breathe with me, Hephaestion. In... and out..." he coached.
After a few moments, Hephaestion relaxed and stood up with both Kareem and Faris' help. It was only after he turned to look down at where he had been sitting that he saw the rather large pink blotch of melted snow.
"SHIT!" and he began crying all over again.
Lutfi hushed him and assured him that this was an incident that could be remedied, as he had cloths for if his water came in his pack, which Kareem was currently carrying on his back.
Lutfi took him behind a large rock for privacy and helped him to wash with snow and place a cloth in his underclothes, calling Kareem and Faris for a blanket to wrap him in and to carry the rest of the way down the mountain once Hephaestion decided he was in too much pain to walk the rest of the way.
Without further ceremony at that announcement, Faris was standing silently behind Hephaestion. When Hephaestion turned to address Kareem, he found himself with a face full of dark, warm chest. Dazed for a moment, Hephaestion began to back away, only to have a strong hand wrapped around his wrist and pulling him back. Next, Hephaestion found himself being lifted off the ground. These quick actions caused Hephaestion to cry out, as they awoke the crippling pain that had very quickly settled in his belly.
Then he was cradled in Faris' arms, and the man was shushing him and petting his hair in an effort to comfort him. It was only then that Hephaestion realized that tears were streaming down his cheeks, and Lutfi was pressing a leaf of Lady's Mantle to his lips.
"Chew on that, Dear. It should alleviate the pain until we can go see the wiseman."
Hephaestion turned away weakly, crying into Faris' chest. The man eased one of his hands down Hephaestion's back, only to rub his lower back in small, two-fingered circles.
They all moved more quickly now. Khalis' breathing had worsened and Hephaestion had such a bad headache brought on by his bleeding that he was nauseous. They reached the village at twilight, going right to the shaman's hut and waking him in the process. He disregarded their apologies and immediately began to work with Khal, who was crying through the entire examination, tired and in pain.
After he had diagnosed the boy with water in the lungs and an infection of the ear and had begun the treatment for his ailments, he turned to Hephaestion. The stubborn former soldier tried to say he did not need treatment, but one twist in Faris' arms had him crying out in pain and brought tears in his eyes.
With both Faris and Kareem's help, they maneuvered him onto an empty pallet. On the count of three, with Faris at his head and Kareem supporting his back and legs, the transfer was a success.
The shaman unwrapped Hephaestion gently before abruptly sending Kareem and Faris out of the hut. When they were gone, the healer turned to Lutfi, who was soothing Hephaestion by stroking his hair and whispering to him.
"Is this-" the healer cut himself off.
"It is he," Lutfi assured, nodding slowly.
The shaman nodded in understanding and then began to reach under the bloody blanket that was now only covering Hephaestion's front.
"Dear," Lutfi got Hephaestion's attention, and when he turned to him, wiped the tears that trailed down Hephaestion's cheeks away, "Shaman Hafid would like to see how your bleeding is. To do this he will have to touch you-"
"What? No! It hurts already! No, please! It hurts..." he had dissolved into tears, but Lutfi was patient.
"I know, Dear. I know it hurts, but to know how to best lessen your pain, Shaman Hafid must examine you fully. And your examination requires this," Hephaestion said nothing more. He just turned his face into Lutfi's arm, crying quietly, "Good boy," Lutfi praised, "Now just stay very still and try to relax," as Lutfi and the healer piled the blanket on his chest and Lutfi hooked his arm under Hephaestion's knees and bent them up toward his chest. This new, exposing position put pressure on Hephaestion's belly, and he whimpered.
When Shaman Hafid finally touched him and began his examination, Hephaestion screamed out his raw pain.
"Brother, you act as if you are expecting a son," Kareem observed as his brother paced before the hut where they stood waiting. The grass now lay flat where Faris' feet had trampled it over and over.
The only response he got was a glare and a grunt, but he knew his brother well, and he could clearly see the anxiety residing in those dark eyes. Then they heard a scream coming from the shaman's hut that raised the hair on their arms and the backs of their necks. They both rushed to the door, unable to make out who had screamed so loud. Even Kareem began to dance from foot to foot, his body now filled with nervous energy.
"If it is Lutfi-" but he never got the chance to finish, as Lutfi's voice rang out, clear and strong.
"Kareem, Faris!"
They both ran in, unable to stop themselves. What they saw both turned their stomachs and made their hearts clench. Hephaestion was tossing and turning on his pallet, grunting and screaming, sweating and grasping the pillow beneath his head so tightly that his knuckles were pure white and they cold hear the bones cracking and grinding against one another. The blanket that was under him to protect the pallet was stained with blood.
Lutfi was fighting to keep him still and keep his his legs up.
"The babe, take the babe!"
Instead of doing as asked, however, like Kareem had quickly done, Faris looked at the healer and then at Hephaestion, screaming until he was hoarse. Hephaestion jerked his head to the side and blue eyes met brown. It was only for a moment, but it was enough time for Faris to remember what Hephaestion had said when he was yelling at him. He had been raped. And this examination, if Faris went by the way the hurt man was acting, was more than not against his will.
Rage like nothing Faris had ever felt before filled his breast. Then, without even knowing he had moved, Faris was pulling the healer away from the helpless man being held down on the bed. He yelled at both the shaman and Lutfi in his native tongue and chased them from the hut.
Once they were gone, Faris grunted in something akin to satisfaction, and, shutting and bolting the hut door, went back to the weeping man lying on the pallet. Quickly, Faris heated water on the fire at the far end of the hut. He then found the healer's tub and filled it. Once that was done he eased the distressed man up into his arms and carried him to the makeshift bath.
Hephaestion whimpered as he was set down, his belly throbbing. Sensing this, Faris took a fresh cloth and laid it in the water over Hephaestion's belly and lap. When he went to wash him, however, Hephaestion stiffened. Faris understood, but he could see that the man needed help, as he was still distressed and in pain.
"I must, Hephaestion."
"N-no, I can do it..." Hephaestion moved to clean between his legs, but gasped at the discomfort the small movement brought him.
"It is obvious that you can not. Can you trust me this one time?"
"Why do you want to even touch me, help me? I am damaged goods. I am nothing," he lowered his head in shame.
Faris squatted next to the washbasin, to be level with his charge, "You are not nothing, Hephaestion. I must tell you a story. I was married a long time ago to a young Persian woman named Mishael. One night, she was stolen away from me. We searched for her for a fortnight. Finally we found her, beaten to death. The healer also confirmed that she had been assaulted. You have been treated the same, and you may feel damaged. But you survived, and you will heal. I want to help you heal. May I help you?"
By the end of his small speech, Hephaestion was crying silently. He did not know if he was crying for himself or for Faris. Finally he nodded slowly, and Faris began to very gently wash him. After he was clean, Faris took him into his arms once more and laid him on the pallet. Hephaestion was tired, and the last thing he was aware of before he visited the world of dreams was Faris' warm, long body laid alongside his and his arm settled over his side and his hand placed on his aching belly.