Chapter 17: The Mother of Rulers -Part I-
When Waver stepped out of his tent at dawn, the men where already wearing their armors, gathering for a quick meal before they left the forest towards the shore where their ships waited for them.
He saw a small crowd gathering around Alexander and Cleo, who had been sparring for a while. Ptolemy suddenly jumped in from among the soldiers, watching Alexander knock his sister down to the grass.
"Excuse me!" He said, making his way through the crowd. "Alright, that's enough. It's time for breakfast". He pushed Alexander away.
"I'm OK", Said Cleo, panting, struggling to get back on her feet.
Ptolemy watched her, hesitant.
She went for another blow with her dagger, which Alexander dodged just in time, grabbing her arm against her back to immobilize her.
"Ah!" She dropped the weapon.
"Alexandros-" Ptolemy turned to him with a troubled look.
"Ptolemy…" Cleo turned to him, giving him a defiant look, "Do you forget who thought me how to fight?"
In a sudden smooth movement, Cleo picked up a bow with her foot, then grabbed it with her free hand to use the string to choke Alexander. He let go of her immediately, going into a coughing fit. She used that moment of distraction to trip him over.
"I sure did not teach you that…" Ptolemy scoffed with a smirk.
"Not fair!" Whined Alexander from the floor.
"You said to use whatever means I have," she accused, pointing a finger at her brother. "I am just following your own advice. You are stronger than me, so I have to find alternatives", she said, a triumphant smile on her face.
Ptolemy chuckled, amused. He looked for Waver in the crowd and gave him a look. Waver's eyebrows raised, smiling and shrugging.
"Ahem…" coughed Alexander, "it's time for breakfast". He got up.
The soldiers slowly begun to scatter. Hephaestion appeared behind them, joining Waver's side.
"What did I miss?" He asked, rubbing his eyes, huge dark circles under them.
"Nothing much, just Alexander running away from Cleo after getting his ass kicked", Ptolemy grinned.
"That is not what happened. I decided to stop because I am hungry" he said, his arms crossed.
They ignored him.
"And what happened to you?", asked Waver, observing Hephaestion's messy hair as he yawned.
"I couldn't sleep last night." He said, pausing to yawn again. "Did we drink last night?"
"No…not that I recall". Said Waver, thoughtful. "Why? are you feeling hungover?"
"I'm not sure. I don't think so. But-"
A sudden, sharp pain pierced his temples. He frowned, bringing a hand to his forehead.
"...I don't know, I feel strange, tired. As if I had been walking all night. And I had this… this strange dream. Like I was sleep walking…but, I can't remember anything, and then..."
He turned to Waver, "…did I talk to you last night, Waver? What were you doing?"
Alexander and Waver exchanged a short, awkward look.
"Y-yes... we talked very briefly, I think", replied Waver
"Really? What did I say?" Hephaestion tilted his head a little, clueless
"Nothing... just that you went to the bathroom"
"Oh" He shrugged.
"Let's eat something", said Alexander, and they all followed him for a quick breakfast.
They joined Parmenion and other soldiers, gathering around a small fire. Parmenion handed each of them a piece of goat cheese and bread as they sat by his side.
"You are very quiet today", Waver observed, watching Alexander play with some breadcrumbs, crumbling in his hand.
"Huh?" Alexander turned to him, distracted.
Waver gently shoved a piece of bread in Alexander's mouth as soon as he opened it to speak. The prince blinked a few times in surprise.
"Eat. You'll need it." Said Waver, now taking a bite from his own cheese.
"He is right." Agreed Hephaestion with a faint smile.
"I'm OK." Lied Alexander, dropping the water from the bag he had been holding without taking a single sip.
"Oh yeah?" Waver raised his voice, "Then why are you spilling all your water on the ground!?" He grabbed Alexander's wrist, taking the bag away from him.
"AH?!" Alexander yelled, alarmed by his own clumsiness.
Hephaestion watched them argue, as he usually did during breakfast back in the palace. He chuckled, shaking his head from side to side, somehow relived. Even with a kingdom at stake, with the weight of a war on his shoulders, Alexandros was still Alexandros.
But something begun to bother him. A sudden ringing in his ears. The sounds around him all faded and mixed in a chaotic fog that pierced though his brain, unable to see.
"Shut up". A voice inside his head.
"Shut up". Was it his own voice?
"Hephaestion". Someone screams his name.
He sees Alexander looking at him, his mouth is moving, yet he cannot hear him.
"…Hephaestion, say something! Waver is bullying me-"
"Shut up!" Hephaestion yells, his voice raspy and irritated.
Alexander stares at him, speechless.
"Shut up! All of you! I am tired of your bullshit!"
Hephaestion now got up, looking down at Alexander.
"…I'm tired of you fooling around carelessly, dragging everyone with you, selfishly!"
"Hephaestion…", Alexander now stood up, defensive, and walked towards him, "…what are you-".
As he came closer, he noticed there was something off with his face. He looked pale, shaky, his eyes the ones of a man who had seen horrible things.
He stopped and Hephaestion left.
"Hephaestion…" Alexander whispered and followed him.
Alexander found Hephaestion sitting at the riverbank, legs crossed. He was aimlessly tossing some rocks into the stream.
He stopped for a moment when he heard Alexander, took a deep breath and then continued throwing the rock.
Alexander sat by his side in silence.
"You've always been terrible at this…", Alexander said.
Hephaestion scoffed, somewhat annoyed.
"So are you…" He grumbled, and Alexander understood he was not talking about the rocks.
Hephaestion picked another rock from the ground, but Alexander grabbed his hand.
"I shouldn't have yelled at you like that…", Hephaestion turned to him, "I don't know what happened… I-".
"It's fine…" Alexander's face was serene, not a sign of resentment or anger.
"I don't know what happened, it was as if… as if I'm becoming someone else…" He looked away, shaking his head.
Alexander held his hand tighter.
"Fight me", He said after a while.
"What?" Hephaestion looked at him, confused.
Alexander got on his feet and on guard ready to fight.
"Alex-"
But the prince tackled him, tumbling him before he could speak.
"I need some real training before the fight!" Alexander yelled energetically, trying to strangle Hephaestion. "Nobody is a real match like you!"
"Wait- Why are you- ". He protested, struggling to get Alexander off him.
Their legs began to tangle in a struggle to dominate the other, but none of them would give in. Alexander moved more skillfully, but Hephaestion's' thighs were stronger.
"Stop!" Yelled Hephaestion, suddenly finding the strength to push Alexander away.
Alexander rolled to the side and fell on his elbows, panting, yet he jumped back onto Hephaestion like a wild beast a second later.
This time Hephaestion countered him with his fists and brutal strength. Alexander flew back two meters, then fell on his back. Hephaestion jumped onto him, his fists ready for a lethal blow.
He stopped.
He looked at Alexander's face, staring at him with a painful look. His hands knew Alexander's body too well to understand that pain was not physical.
Hephaestion's fist shook and lowered slowly.
"Do it", Alexander groaned.
Hephaestion's lips tightened.
"Something is bothering you…", continued Alexander, breathing with some trouble as a sharp pain pierced his ribs. "I don't know what it is, but I know I am the cause…"
Hephaestion's face softened, his eyes watered with guilt.
"I'm sorry…" He whispered, barely touching Alexander's face with the tip of his fingers. Then slowly moved away from him.
Alexander wrapped his arms around Hephaestion's neck to pull him close, and Hephaestion rested his face on Alexander's chest.
"I insult you… I beat you," Hephaestion chuckled, sadly. "And here you are…"
Alexander shushed him, and gently stroke his head, burying his fingers in those golden locks. Hephaestion took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"And here we are…" He echoed, softly.
A few minutes passed, but they did not seem to notice.
"I don't know what's happening to me lately", Hephaestion said after a while. "It's like…like I'm overwhelmed with rage and I don't know why…"
"It's alright", Alexander whispered. "We've all been under a lot of pressure"
Hephaestion remained quiet, thoughtful.
"I didn't mean it…", he said, slightly embarrassed by the memory of his own words and behaviour, "What I said-"
"I know". Alexander assured him, with his hands around his waist. "I know…"
Hephaestion looked up and their eyes met.
Alexander gave him a warm smile.
Hephaestion smiled back, and their looks lingered within an ocean of reminiscence.
"It's been a while since our fights have ended up like this", pointed Alexander with a faint smile "doesn't it bring you back memories?"
Hephaestion sighed, slowly rolling to the side to get up.
"We are not children anymore, Alexander…"
The prince stared at his friend's back. It was the back of a man. Once soft and weak under his touch, now rough and wounded and distant.
"We should go. The ship awaits…", Hephaestion turned to him, extending his hand to help him up.
Epirus looked more like a fortress than a royal home. Even far away from the river, the soldiers could see its majestic walls that separated the city-state from its enemies.
"We are almost there", Parmenion pointed from the deck, carefully observing the land ahead of them. "We still have some walking to do before we hit the capital. But the fastest way to get there is through these rivers".
He had been to Epirus once. He was still young and would have sworn his memories were altered by the lens of a child. But the fortress stood as tall and impenetrable as in his memories. Back then, king Philip had brought back with him a beautiful young woman. Her beauty had been stuck forever in his mind. Stunning and fierce as the sea. Nobody dared to look at her in the eyes. Men feared her, calling her a witch. Women admired and envied her, labeling her as barbarian. A few months later, that woman gave birth to the first prince and future heir to the throne.
"Thank god…" Waver sighed in relief, disrupting Parmenion's memories. His head was hanging over the deck after being sick the whole trip.
"Don't they have ships in the "London" kingdom?" Asked Alexander, puzzled by Waver's sea-sickness.
"Of course we do! We have the most powerful fleet in-!" He begun to complain, but another wave of heartburning feeling reached his throat.
"Come on Waver, it wasn't that bad, only a few hours". Alexander patted his back, more violently than he intended.
"I can't blame him", Hephaestion said from the floor beside him, his back against the railing. He had been sitting there for the past few hours. "There's barely any wind, and the sun is roasting us alive!"
"We should have begged Apollo for mercy", regretted Alexander. He brought a hand to his forehead, squinting at the clear, deep blue sky. Not a hint of a breeze or a single cloud.
At the bow of the ship, Cleo stood staring at the few waves breaking against the ship. Her hand resting on her chest, her fingers instinctively searching for a missing object that used to hang around her neck. Every now and then, she would forget she had left her expensive silk dresses at Pella, in the comfort of the palace. She now wore a short dress, pouldrons, grieves and leather bracers. Just like the ones worn by the Amazons she had seen many times in paintings and murals. She thought of Penthesilea, and all the stories about Troy that her bother and his friends used to obsess about as kids, and wondered if her name would ever be remembered many years from now.
"Queen Cleopatra…" She mumbled "…No, Empress Cleopatra", she corrected herself, fantasizing about a future in which she would rule some distant kingdom.
The ship turned suddenly as they approached land and Cleo stumbled, dropping her arrows.
She sighed, disillusioned by the hit of reality, and bent to pick up her arrows.
"Sounds good to me…"
Ptolemy appeared behind her, helping her pick up the arrows.
"W-were you listening?!" She nearly yelled, her face burning red.
Ptolemy smiled, without looking at her.
She continued picking up the rest of the arrows in silence. When she went for the last one, her hand met with Ptolemy's.
"I mean it", He said.
She looked up and their eyes met.
"I think you will be a great ruler one day…" He gave her a warm, sincere smile.
She could feel the blood rushing to her ears, speechless.
"… But for now, let me protect you…I mean… me and…Alexander…" He rushed to say, slightly nervous.
He begged her with his eyes. "You don't have to fight…"
Her astonishment quickly turned into disappointment.
Ptolemy extended his hand to help her up.
"Ptolemy", She sighed. Ignoring his hand as she got up.
"Do you know why I always liked you the most among Alexander's friends?"
He stared at her, clueless, a hint of red on his cheeks.
"Remember when we became friends?"
"How could I ever forget…" he thought, yet he did not speak.
Cleo smiled, as if she could hear his thoughts.
"It was you who encouraged me to learn how to fight. Remember? While everyone else was too scared about me getting injured, you would push me and trip me, yelling "it's just a scratch!", She giggled, amused by her own impression of a younger Ptolemy.
Ptolemy's stomach tightened, feeling suddenly exposed.
"T-that was… W-we were younger then. Now it's…different", He stuttered.
"Why?" She walked towards to him with determination.
"Because…", The heat of the sun burning his cheeks turned suddenly unbearable.
"Different how, Ptolemy?" Cleo frowned at his hesitation. "What has changed?"
"I-"
The loud howl of a war horn blasted their ears out of the blue, followed by a rocking movement of the ship.
"Watch out!" Cleo ducked, pulling Ptolemy down with her to avoid a wave of arrows crossing from one side of the ship to another.
"Ptolemy! Cleo!" Alexander came running to them.
"The Molossians are here!" He yelled, "They are attacking us!"
They looked around. Dozens of ships surrounding them.
Hephaestion and Waver joined them, struggling with their balance on the rocking ship.
"There's just too many of them!" Yelled Waver.
Alexander grinded his teeth as he watched the first ship of his small fleet beginning to sink.
"I though we were supposed to come here to negotiate first!" Yelled Ptolemy, putting his helmet on in a rush. "We didn't bring an army… we are just a diplomat party! What ever happened to the protocol of war!"
"These men are savages!" Stated a soldier that struggled to break an arrow he had stuck through his arm.
Waver ran over to help him.
"Careful, do not forget your prince share their blood through the queen…" Said Alexander, slightly insulted.
"A witch!" The man shrieked, slapping Waver's hand away. His pupils dilated like those of a wounded wild animal. "Treacherous snake! If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be here!"
"What did you say?!" Alexander grabbed him by his uniform lifting him in the air.
"Leave it. Now it's not the time", Hephaestion pulled his arm gently.
"They are boarding the ship!", Observed Waver.
The arrows stopped as a handful of soldiers boarded their ship. Waver looked around, and the rest of the fleet had already been raided as well. He tried to look for the queen among them, but was not able to see her.
"Alexander, she is not here. If we fight, many people will die in vain…" Waver whispered.
"Damn it!" Alexander put the soldier down, getting his sword ready.
Hephaestion followed him behind, and so did the rest.
"Wait!" Parmenion yelled, a note of despair in his voice, something Alexandros had never witnessed before.
"Alexandros…", the man gripped the prince's shoulders tightly with his massive hands. "…your father…he doesn't know you came here with me…"
"What…?" Alexander looked at him, astonished and confused.
"Your mother…", he paused, finding the right words, "She wants to see you…"
"What are you talking about Parmenion, What-"
"The king sent me to negotiate. And then she…" He stopped. "…the queen wrote to me. She-… if I brought you safely with me, she would reconsider an agreement…"
Alexander felt sick with anger a worry.
"Did you make an agreement with a traitor behind my father's back Parmenion?! Are you crazy!?"
Alexander grabbed Parmenion's wrists now. "Behind my back?! How could you!"
"No" He denied. Alexander felt the anguish in his eyes. "Alexandros…I've known you since you were in your mother's womb…"
"And you have been like a little brother to my father! And still, you-"
"Listen to me. If you still don't trust me, you can exile me, even kill me after this is over!".
Alexander looked around, searching for his mother. Useless, he thought. The queen was safe within the fortress. And her brother, the king of Epirus, did not even know they were coming. Even if he knew, who could guarantee he was willing to negotiate? After all, the Molossians and other tribes of the kingdom of Epirus had always been waiting for an excuse to rebel against Macedon. Now, the prince of Macedon, King Philip's heir to the throne himself, had come to Epirus' doors. With no army. Nothing to negotiate with. He could end his dynasty right then and there.
"Alexandros," Parmenion pushed him away. "Don't let them catch you. We need to get to Olympias".
Parmenion put his hands up in surrender, and his face returned to his regular sharp expression.
The Molossian soldiers now surrounded them.
Alexander and the rest imitated Parmenion. Then the rest of the Macedonians did the same.
One by one, the Molossians seized the entire fleet.
A short man with a long beard and patched eye approached Alexander and the rest.
"We are not here to fight", Alexander spoke, loud and clear, lifting his hand a little higher. Cautious, yet with determination.
"I can see that…" The man mocked him. "Who would have thought the great Macedonian soldiers would surrender without a fight"
The Molossian soldiers around him laughed hysterically.
Alexander's neck tightened, veins popping put, but he did not engage in his provocation. This reaction seemed to throw the short man off.
"Who is your captain!?" He demanded aggressively.
Parmenion stepped forward.
"I am"
The man walked up to him, smirking, and punched him in the stomach.
Alexander stepped forward, but a Molossian soldier grabbed him from behind with a knife to his throat.
Parmenion coughed a couple of times, then stood up straight again.
"I am Parmenion from the council of King Philip of Macedon and one of his generals. I was sent here to negotiate with King Epirus. If you kill me, you will be acting in a declaration of war against the kingdom. I do not believe you have the authority to declare war, lord…?"
The man showed his teeth and tightened his jaw in disapprovement.
"Tie him up". He ordered, bitterly, without taking his eyes away from Parmenion.
He circled around him like a lion a couple of times. Once Parmenion's hands were bound, he turned violently and punched Parmenion again, this time in the face.
"You are just a messenger. Do not think of yourself so highly." He said to his ear. "Now, let's see…does a messenger need his eyes to pass the message?" He asked the man that had tied Parmenion, sarcastically.
"Perhaps one", said the man, grinning.
The short man fixed his eye patch and took out his knife.
"Stop it!" Yelled Alexander, beating the soldier who was holding him. "Enough! Take us to Olympias, now!"
The man lowered his knife and chuckled.
"And who are you, boy?"
"You idiot!" Yelled Parmenion, "Stay out of this!"
Another man, who had been silently watching all the time, now spoke to the short man's ear.
"Captain," he said, loud enough for Waver and the rest to hear, "I could be wrong, but he resembles the queen a little. Although, his hair is auburn. But I believe he could be prince Alexandros…"
Hephaestion suddenly stepped forward.
"Forgive him, captain", He said while he easily got away from the soldier who had restrained him. "My servant talks too much. I am Alexander".
Alexander gasped. His knees became week.
The captain turned to the other man, looking for an answer.
"He does fit the descriptions I've heard of…" He said, slightly hesitant, "And he has Olympias golden hair…"
The short man studied Hephaestion from his feet to his head, then signaled with his head for another soldier to seize Hephaestion.
"Imagine how famous you will be if you killed the prince of Macedon with your own hands", suggested the man.
Hephaestion saw the horror in Alexander's eyes and gave him a reassuring look, slightly nodding.
"You do not need to worry about me, I am coming with you at my own will". Said Hephaestion, resisting the man that tried to tie him.
"Tie him up!" He ordered, and the soldier kicked the back of Hephaestion's knees forcing him to the floor. After he tied his hands, he pulled him up from his hair, violently.
"That's enough! He had already surrendered!" Yelled Waver, stepping forward, his eyes almost tearing with indignation.
"Just keep in mind… that if you kill me, my mother will take your eyes out and feed them to the snakes. Or rather, the eye".
"Take him away!" He yelled, and the soldier pulled his hair again, then pushed him, forcing him to move.
Alexander was shaking with wrath.
He beat the man who had seized him before and rushed toward Hephaestion.
"No…" Hephaestion whispered, shaking his head softly.
But Alexander did not stop.
Another five men jumped in to restrain him.
Hephaestion now turned to Waver and begged him with his eyes, eyebrows knitted.
"Waver…" He muttered, then was pushed again by the soldier.
Waver hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
He ran towards Alexander and held him down with all his strength. They were both beaten and tied by the soldiers.
By the time they got up, Hephaestion was already gone.
The Macedonians were taken to a refugee camp for prisoners outside the fortress. They walked for hours on the rough, dry terrain, without any notice of what would happen to them.
Once at the refugee camp they were put all together in a large tent – if that tarp could be called a tent- that sheltered other prisoners. The air was damp and reeked of sweat and blood. Other refugees stared at them as they joined them on the ground. The soldiers unbounded the Macedonians and went outside to start their watch. The camp was surrounded by Molossian soldiers.
Servant girls came every now and then with jars of water and baskets of old bread. By their torn clothes and bruised faces, Waver guessed they were also prisoners.
"Savages…", commented an old Macedonian soldier as he watched the guards beat one of the prisoners.
"I wouldn't judge them so eagerly…" Waver advised, gloomy. More to himself. "We are just on the loosing side now…"
"Are you trying to say we are no better than them?" The old man turned to him.
Waver knew better than to speak his mind at that moment.
By his side, Alexander sat in silence.
A servant girl knelt in front of him to offer some water. Alexander slapped the jar away from her hands, crashing it into pieces on the ground.
The girl instantly bent over with her forehead touching the ground, shaking.
"Enough, don't take it out on her". Said Cleo, helping the girl up. "Can't you see she is in the same position as you? Probably worse?"
Alexander said nothing. Just fixed his eyes on the ground, lost in his thoughts. Feeling even more upset at himself.
"Have you seen Parmenion?" Asked Ptolemy
Cleo and Waver shook their heads in denial, and Alexander smashed his knuckles against the floor as he heard that name.
A guard came in after a few minutes and asked them to stand up.
"Follow me", he ordered, and escorted them across the campground.
"Excuse me, where are you taking us?" Asked Waver with caution.
"To your tent"
They exchanged puzzled looks and followed the man into a smaller tent within the campground. The rest of the Macedonian soldiers were divided into smaller groups in different tents around them as well.
The man left without saying more, and soon the lights were out in the camp. Only a few torches still burned for the guards outside the camp.
"I can't see anything". Said Cleo, extending her hands in front of her as she crawled forward.
Ptolemy followed her voice until he found her hand and sat by her side.
"We should get some sleep". Waver suggested as he lied down to rest his sore body.
At the other side of the camp, Hephaestion lied unconscious in a tent. His hands shackled to a stake, resting his face against it. A numbing pain slowly beginning to crawl up to his face. He moved his hands to get rid of the numbness of his fingers, and wondered how much time had passed since they arrived at the camp.
His eyelids were too heavy and bruised to open them, but he could hear the distant murmur of two men outside the tent.
"I think he is telling the truth…", whispered one of them.
"…he has his mother's sharp tongue", commented the other one.
"If he is the prince, we will be in trouble… imagine if the queen finds out it was us", he warned.
"King Epirus is coming back tomorrow. Until then we cannot kill him."
Good. Thought Hephaestion. I only have to put up with this for one more day.
"…I think we showed him a lesson, I don't believe he'll be going anywhere like that". Continued the other man.
Hephaestion heard them walk away and sighed in relief.
At least Alexander and the rest were safe, he thought.
Other footsteps grew louder in the direction of the tent. Hephaestion shuddered a little. Someone entered the tent. He pretended to be asleep and listened to the person moving some things around. The sound of something moving in water.
"My lord", A girl's voice, unfamiliar to him. Then the touch of a hand on his wounded back.
Hephaestion slightly opened one eye. He could not se her face but could tell by the iron collar on her neck that she was a slave. He heard her soak a cloth in the water and felt the refreshing feeling of it on his back. He could not help a quiet groan.
"You are awake…" Said the girl, softly lifting Hephaestion's chin. "Here, have some water".
Hephaestion drank from a ceramic pot with her help. In his mouth, the taste of blood mixed with an unknown sweetness. He instantly felt relief in his body, so much that his head started to feel lighter and lighter. His senses became hazy.
He opened both eyes slightly.
Alexander…? He thought. His mind must have been playing games.
He looked again. It was indeed a woman, around his age. He resembled Alexander, except she had long, black hair. So dark that it gleamed purple under the faint light of the fire.
"Who are you?" He whispered.
The girl came closer. Hephaestion could see her eyes were different, one golden-brown and the other gray.
A stinging pain pierced his brain again, forcing him to close his eyes.
"Hephaestion" She called her.
The feeling of rage burned inside his chest.
"What do you want!" He yelled, shaking.
He opened his eyes, but the girl was not there anymore. Instead, he saw his own reflection in the water.
Hephaestion started to think she had been just a product of his mind. Maybe he was still dreaming.
"What is it you want, Hephaestion" The girl's voice echoed in his head, but it was his lips moving in the water as she spoke. His reflection suddenly shifted into the girl's face. He blinked a couple of times to focus his eyes.
He looked again, and he could now see Alexander.
"Are you sure that he is what you really want?"
The pain came back, this time so strong, he dropped to the grown.
"I wonder what he is doing right now in that tent… while you are here… suffering, lonely"
His head was now spinning, as if he had suddenly been lifted in the air, the feeling of void in his stomach.
"But yu still want him, don't you? Yet there is something keeping your from him. Something bothering you" She continued.
"I wonder… Is it that mage boy?"
"Go away!" He shrieked.
"…If you killed him, you would get him out of the way…"
"Never!" He cried "Alexander is everything to me, I would never hurt him like that…"
"And what are you to him?"
"I'm…"
"He has taken everything from you. His father's war took your father from you. Your pride, your glory in battle. He has even taken your heart…"
Hephaestion's mind became blank. His thoughts and feelings all lost in oblivion. Only the burning feeling in his chest. And madness. A maddening fever taking over him, like poison.
"Leave us"
Another voice in the distance brought Hephaestion back. A familiar coldness in that voice.
The slave girl got up, hastily. Nodded and left in silence.
The other woman walked up to Hephaestion, who instantly collapsed in her arms.
"You foolish boy…", She frowned at him, disappointed to find someone different than the prince she expected to see. "You and I are both fools…doomed by our love... Is this the prince we must pay for his love?"
She held him closer to her chest, and his hair merged with her golden locks. She caressed his forehead with the love and care of a mother to her own child.
"...But he is not the boy we once loved, Hephaestion…" She whispered to his ear, even knowing he was long gone. "Are we to remain forever haunted by a memory that no longer is?"
She unbounded his hands, and carefully put him down on the carpet, covering him with robes.
She turned and saw the slave girl peeking through the tent. The woman sighed and exited the tent.
"Let's go" She said, and the girl followed her back into the fortress.
Waver had been lying down for a few minutes but could not sleep a wink. He could hear the grieves of the soldiers walking around the tents clanging against the ground.
He thought his eyes would have gotten used to the dark by then, but the tent was still pitch black. He turned his head to the side, nonetheless, wondering if Alexander had slept at all.
The quietest sound of movement came from his direction.
Waver waited, and heard the tent opening slightly. Then slowly crawled his way out.
Still in the dark, he got on his feet, bumping into someone.
He gasped, terrified by the idea of it being a guard.
That person covered his mouth with his hand and dragged him with him from behind.
"Go back inside, Waver." Alexander whispered frantically.
They heard the distant sound of a soldier wandering around, and Alexander squatted against the tent, dragging Waver with him to the ground.
"Alexander-"
The prince covered Waver's mouth again, shushing him. They remained like that until the sound completely faded.
"…you are going after him", whispered Waver.
"Go back in the tent, Waver". He said as he got up, turning his back. "You can't stop me"
"I'm not here to stop you…", Waver whispered, calmly.
He then got up and held onto to Alexander's hand. "I am coming with you".
Alexander opened his eyes wide, although he could not see a thing. He sighed, and his shoulders suddenly became lighter. He held Waver's hand tight and stepped forward.
"You are not going anywhere…"
Alexander now bumped into someone else in the dark.
"Cleo?" He whispered
"Brother, if you go now, everything Hephaestion has suffered will be in vain"
"So what should I do? Sit here and wait?"
"No. You should go and talk to mother. It's our only chance"
"You are right"
It was Ptolemy's voice now. "…About sitting here and waiting"
"I'm going…" Alexander reiterated.
"…And you are right about the queen. She is our only chance. She agreed to negotiate with you. You should speak to her." Suggested Ptolemy.
"Exactly," Confirmed Cleo.
"I was talking about you, Cleo". He corrected her.
"…"
"What?"
"You can easily disguise yourself as a servant girl. Nobody will recognize you"
"Are you insane? It's too dangerous". Observed Waver
"M-me?" Doubted her.
"Your mother will listen only to you two. And Alexander cannot go, he'll be detained right away"
"You want her to sneak into that fortress all by herself? Have you lost your mind, Ptolemy?", Said Alexander.
"Not by herself. I'm going with her"
There was a moment of silence in which they all listened to the soldiers' steps come and go.
"You can do this. It has to be you…" Ptolemy assured.
"…He…he is right". She finally agreed.
"You can't be serious…". Said Alexander.
"No, actually that might work…" Agreed Waver, thoughtful.
"But-"
Another soldier walked towards their direction, this time the steps were not going away so fast.
"There's no time". Said Ptolemy.
"Waver…keep him safe". She said, grabbing Waver's hand in between hers, slowly letting go to disappear into the darkness of the night.
"Who is there?!" A soldier yelled across the tent, running towards Ptolemy and Cleo's direction.
"H-hi" Said Waver standing in his way. "I-I just needed to pee"
"I heard voices…"
"And me too!" Said Alexander
"Together?" Said the soldier "What are you, four years old?"
They chuckled nervously.
"Sorry, we will go back to our tent in silence now", said Waver
"…Macedonians…" The man scoffed, shaking his head, and escorted them to their tent.
He stood there for a long time, making sure they would not sneak out again.
Alexander and Waver sat inside the tent resting their backs against each other.
"He is not going away", complained Alexander.
"We'll have to wait until tomorrow", sighed Waver, and they both lied down to sleep.