Chapter 15: A Princess' Duty

Waver had been reading in his room, waiting for the meeting to be over. His eyes followed the characters on the papyrus, but his mind was somewhere else. Every now and then, he would remember Alexander had ordered Ptolemy to take him away, and every time, it never failed to make him upset again. Not because he felt useless -he did not regret staying in the palace to help people- but something else bothered him. Deep down, he was mad at himself. Mad for not being strong enough to fight along the rest of his friends.

"Can I come in?"

Someone suddenly disturbed Waver's thoughts.

"Y-yes?" He said, jumping from his bed.

Waver was surprised to see Hephaestion

"Oh! Hi!"

"What?" Hephaestion asked with a smile, "Were you expecting someone else? A prince, perhaps?"

"N-no! not at all!"

Hephaestion chuckled, somewhat charmed by Waver's innocence

"You are too easy to tease" He said as he watched him blush. "I did say I was going to stop by, didn't I?"

"Yeah" Said Waver, putting his book away. "Yeah I guess you did"

Waver grabbed his medical supplies from the shelf. When he turned Hephaestion was already sitting on the bed.

"Can you remove your robe, please?"

Hephaestion stood and let his robe fall on the floor

"Not entirely!" Said Waver, alarmed

"Huh? Why not?" He asked, his hands on his hips

"J-just…just sit there" Said Waver, looking away

Waver examined Hephaestion's back and torso. He was surprised by how many scars a young body could have. He thought it must have been very hard for him. Most of his wounds were already treated.

He changed his bandages carefully and in silence. Hephaestion stared at him in equal silence.

"How do you feel about Alexandros?" Suddenly asked Hephaestion

Waver dropped the bottle of alcohol he had in his hand

"Why? What do you mean how do I feel?" He said, quickly picking it up

"Do you like him?"

"I mean…y-yes, of course I like him. He is a good prince. He cares about his people…" He said, quickly getting back to putting the bandages.

"Do you care for him?"

"Do you?" asked Waver

Hephaestion smiled

"More than anything in the world" He said, "I love him"

Hephaestion stopped feeling Waver's hands on his back for one moment. He waited, until Waver continued with his bandages in silence.

"You seem to recover quickly" Noted Waver.

"Yeah, it is only this one I'm more concerned about" He said, pointing at his thigh.

Waver removed the bandage and revealed a deep wound left by an arrow.

"We are leaving tomorrow again, so I was thinking if you could do anything to speed up the healing"

"Tomorrow?!" repeated Waver, surprised and disappointed, "but… but that's so soon…"

"I know. But it's the councils' the decision… or rather, the king's decision."

Waver sat by his side on the bed to clean his wound. Then gently pressed against it with his bare hand. Hephaestion let out a quiet moan and closed his eyes in pain.

"I'm sorry, it will be just a minute" Said Waver, and then recited a spell.

"It feels better already" Said Hephaestion, surprised, opening his eyes.

"Yes, but be careful," warned him Waver, removing his hand and letting the deep wound exposed again. "I have only numbed the pain, but the wound is still open. So please don't do anything reckless"

"Yes, my lord!" He joked, getting on his feet. He moved his leg, up and down, relieved.

"And, put some clothes on!" Said Waver, covering his face with his hand and looking away.

"Thank you Waver!" He said, as he kissed his forehead. Then he did a couple of squats to test his legs.

"That's exactly what I mean by reckless! Now go to bed or I will put a hole through your other leg myself! Damn it, you are just like him sometimes… no wonder you get along so well…" He mumbled.

Hephaestion chuckled.

"Yes, mom!" He said as he walked towards the exit.

"Who are you calling-?!"

"Oh! By the way!" He suddenly stopped "Alexandros is in the dungeon being punished. Thought you'd want to know"

"What?! What did that stupid prince do now?!"

"You better go and as him yourself…" He said, and he left the room.

Waver sighed.

"Is he ever going to learn?" He wondered, and made his way to the dungeons

In the garden, just before he turned to take the stairs, he thought he heard a noise coming from the bushes. Curious, he walked in that direction. Hiding behind a fountain, a girl crouched sobbing silently.

Waver approached her from the front, in a way he wouldn't scare her, and then he noticed he knew the girl.

"Cleo?" He said in a soft voice

The girl looked up, quickly wiping the tears out of her face.

"W-Waver? W-what are you doing here?" She said, looking at her feet.

Waver said nothing, but sat beside her in silence.

As soon as he did, the girl covered her face and continued crying in silence.

They stayed like that for some time, Waver wasn't sure how much exactly, until Cleo rested her head on Waver's shoulder.

"I just feel so useless" She finally said, now calmed. "Everyone I love goes out there and fights, and I am just here worrying and crying… that is the only thing I am good at… that and marrying some rich lord that owns a big army…that is the only thing I can be useful for… and apparently that's what they are planning for me…"

She smiled pitifully.

"That is not true, we helped a lot of people during the siege. They couldn't have survived without us" He said, "Or… at least that is what I like to tell myself…"

She looked at him, slightly confused by his way of cheering her up. He smiled, and his words suddenly made sense.

"I was always running behind my brother… Ever since I was a child, always tagging along in his adventures with his friends." She sighed. "But they never let me. I was too weak. I trained with them but always ended up getting hurt, and my brother worried. Except Ptolemy. He never treated me like a princess. We became close friends when he agreed to train me in secret, just to see Alexander's face when I kicked his ass."

Waver chuckled at the picture of Alexander's face when being beaten.

"But after that we kept meeting in secret for years. We just got used to it, and enjoyed spending time together. After some time, we stopped training. I could see he was becoming uncomfortable by hurting me and being in close contact with me as I grew older. But we would still meet every day. Here, at this same place, by this fountain…"

Waver listened to her attentively. They both went silence for a long while, listening to the water falling from the fountain.

"I am a very mediocre mage," He finally said.

"You?" Cleo asked, skeptical

"It's true. I'm behind most of my classmates. I don't have a powerful linage nor can provide a good source of mana. I cannot even do simple spells without the help of magical enhancement artifacts…"

He smiled, shrugging

"But I know my own strength" He said with determination, looking up at the stars. "Some people have physical strength, but other have different kinds of strength. I am very knowledgeable and have good deduction skills, but I am terrible at fighting, and I have to rely on others for that, as they rely on me for other things"

Waver turned to Cleo, placing his hands on her shoulders

"You are stronger than you think, Cleo. You just have to find your own strength, and you will one day become a great ruler"

The girl's eyes became watery, moved by his words. She smiled, speechless, and fought to keep the tears in.

"Once, a wise friend told me: "The inferiority you feel is actually the quality of a king", he said. "You may grumble a lot, but you know how small you are, and yet you still struggle to reach heights greater than you can imagine""

Waver recited proudly.

Cleo chuckled, amused.

"That must have been a very wise friend"

"The wisest I've ever met"

Cleo gave him a warm, charming smile.

"No wonder my brother likes you so much. You are really endearing"

Waver blushed violently.

"Huh?!"

"Thank you, Waver", she said, holding his hand. "Thank you for listening, and for taking care of my brother"

Waver gave her a shy smile, and looked away, embarrassed.

"W-we should go see Alexander. He's been locked up"

"Really? Not again! He'll see when I get there!" She said, and they both got up to go see him.

"Hey, Waver?" Cleo suddenly stopped before they took the stairs

"Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone…about what we talked before… please"

"About what? I have been reading in my room this whole time. I don't remember having any conversation with you" He said as he went down the stairs

Cleo smiled and followed him.

The dungeon was small and dark. Only a few cells with thugs and crazy people. When they walked through the corridor, a man walked up to them holding onto the wooden bars that kept him away from them. He laughed when Cleo and Waver jumped out of scare.

In the last cell, Alexander awaited in silence.

"Cleo," he whispered, "keep watch, I'll take him out"

She nodded and stood close to the wall, vigilant.

Waver looked behind the wooden bars. Alexander sat with his head down and hands tied over his head. Barefoot, no armor, his skin completely exposed, except for his skirt.

Waver thought how hard it must have been to be the king's son and felt deeply sorry for him.

"How long do you plan on staring from there?" Alexander asked without moving or looking, surprisingly energetic and sassy for someone who had been locked up in a dungeon.

"W-who is staring!" Yelled Waver.

"Well, are you here to free me or to watch me suffer?"

Waver's jaw drop, trying to think of something to reply with

"That depends…!" He said, crossing his arms and looking away, arrogantly

"On what?"

"On how you behave"

"Oh?" Alexander looked up, amused, "I didn't know you were such a sadist, Waver!"

"Shut up, you idiot. Do you want me to free you or not?" He asked, casting a spell to break into the cell.

"That depends" Said the prince, mocking him, intentionally trying to sound like Waver a moment ago.

Waver went inside the cell and stood in front of him, looking down at him. His hands on his hips, sign of annoyance.

"Depends on what?" He said in a challenging voice, bending to get to Alexander's level.

Alexander chuckled at Waver's tense eyebrows.

"What's so funny?!" Waver, stomped his foot in disapproval. "Maybe I should leave you here to rot!"

"Come on Waver, just get me out of here, my arms are cramped!" The prince whined, apologetic.

"If you beg, maybe I'll think about it"

Alexander chuckled, both annoyed and amused. "Excuse me? I'm still the prince, I could have you arrested for abusing your prince, you know?"

"Yes, yes. But then we would both be stuck down here, and I wouldn't be able to get you out of here. That could be a problem" He said bringing a hand to his chin, thoughtful.

"Please?"

"Also, I wouldn't want to have you as a cell mate, so-"

"Waver!" whined Alexander, "Please!"

Waver turned to him, Alexander was staring at him with a troubled face, begging him with his eyes. He felt suddenly guilty, yet he couldn't help to continue.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you" He said, putting his hand behind his ear

"Please, please, please!"

"Please what?"

"Please, my lord, my savior, my master, my-"

That last word suddenly triggered him.

"Don't call me that…" Said Waver, suddenly serious. Then he knelt to unleash Alexander from his chains in silence.

"What? Master?"

"Don't-"

"Why? You started it…"

"just- just don't", he said, as he gently released the prince's hands.

Alexander rubbed his wrists in silence, keen to notice that something was bothering Waver.

"Thank you, Waver", he said with a smile

Waver returned a shy smile and extended his hand to help him up.

Alexander's legs were numbed from sitting in the same position for a long time. He clung onto Waver, who was not expecting holding Alexander's entire body weight, and they both fell on the floor.

Cleo heard the loud noise of the fall and peeked inside.

"What was-"

Alexander lied on top of Waver, who was struggling to get him off him.

"Cleo!" Said Alexander

"What are you doing? I'm still here you know?" She said, covering her eyes.

"What? No! We are-"Explained Waver

"But I can leave if you want me to…" She went on

A sound of footsteps on the stairs alarmed her.

"Guys… you can do that after… let's go". Whispered Cleo.

"I'm trying!" Claimed Waver, finally able to get up. He helped Alexander up and helped him walk with his arm around his neck.

As soon as they stepped out of the cell, a tall soldier stopped them.

"Parmenion…" Said Cleo, clinging to the soldier's arm. "It's my fault. I asked Waver to release him. Please don't tell my father!"

"I am not here for that, my dear" He said, in an unusual soft tone.

"What happened?" asked Alexander

"Your mother… we can't find her. She was supposed to be locked in her room. We found the guards outside her room dead."

Cleo gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth.

"She has been kidnapped!" Claimed Alexander, alarmed.

Parmenion sighed, trying to find the right words.

"I'm sorry, but… I am afraid she killed the guards… and fled to Epirus to seek protection under her brother's domain. Olympias turned out to be the spy within the palace conspiring against the king, and she is now leading the rebellion against King Phillip to take the throne. The kingdom is at the edge of a civil war"