The next day early in the morning, Alexander, bored and lonely, finally lost his patience and couldn't wait any longer to see Hephaistion. He was not sure if his friend could come to the palace because of his family's guests so he decided to go to Hephaistion's house instead. Hephaistion's mother was quite surprised to see that the young prince had come uninvited but she opened her home to the teenager very kindly and with the respect owed to a Prince. She told Alexander that her son and Kallos where in the garden, wrestling. Alexander joined them and was surprised to witness the fierce battle being waged between the two old friends.
Hephaistion seemed to be having a difficult time subduing the heavier Kallos. Amyntor's son let loose some grunts of frustration before he could eventually work his slimmer body free and roll on top of his friend beating him and finally pinning larger boy. Kallos screamed and gestured the sign of submission. Hephaistion released him and they hugged.
Alexander who had watched in awe of Hephaistion's skill at wrestling smiled broadly despite himself. No one could beat Hephaistion and he applauded with the pride for his best friend. Hephaistion and Kallos turned at the sound and were surprised to see the Prince standing there.
«Alexander! You're here!" said Hephaistion crossing to where Alexander stood.
"I was bored without you and I had the permission to escape the palace, since my mother is preparing my birthday and she doesn't want me snooping around trying to discover what she is planning for me." He explained and suddenly embraced Hephaistion tightly. The impulsive hug shocked Hephaistion, who after stepping away smiled at Alexander and studied the gray eyes that stared back at him still brimming with joy for Hephaistion's victory.
"Congratulations, you won again Hephaistion nobody can beat you!" he said but now he was staring at Kallos who stood waiting behind Hephaistion, clearly trying to send the message " mine" to older boy.
Kallos smiled to the prince in response and added «Yes, Heph you are so much stronger now! That's actually the first time you've ever beaten me! Congratulations!" Hephaistion smiled back.
«I guess , I just got lucky.» Hephaistion muttered sheepishly. «It's because you didn't sleep at all last night, you are just tired maybe."
Alexander listened intently to the conversation. He was quite surprised to learn that this was the first time Hephaistion had actually defeated Kallos but even more curious to know why Kallos hadn't slept the previous night. Jealousy getting the better of him he asked before thinking, " You didn't sleep Kallos?"
"Well, no Alexander, my parents threw a small party. We only fell asleep just before dawn." Hephaistion answered for the visiting boy.
"Yes, but I m not 'that' tired." Added Kallos trying not to diminish Hephaistion's victory in front of the Prince. He was certain that Hephaistion had not noticed but he sensed a bit of jealousy in Alexander's demeanor. "I could manage a rematch fight Heph, I'll beat you for sure this time."
Alexander hated when Kallos called his Hephaistion 'Heph' and once again spoke without thinking. "Well then 'Kal'…what about me?"
Kallos briefly pondered the question, as well as Alexander's insipid use of Hephaistion's nickname for him, then looked to Hephaistion who nodded it was okay.
"Why not, but I won't be kind simply because you are the Prince, Alexander."
"I wouldn't expect you to Kallos. Are you ready?" Hephaistion shuddered, Alexander's tone of voice hard become cold and determined, a sign that the Prince was angry and now prone to go to any extreme to get what he was after.
Alexander wanted to, needed to defeat Kallos. Logic should have warned him that it was madness to try and defeat the much larger boy. Hephaistion had suffered great difficulty trying to beat him and Alexander had never defeated Hephaistion. But he wanted to prove his worth, his strength, but most of all he wanted Hephaistion to watch him defeat Kallos. For that reason alone he would do his best, and go even beyond his limits to succeed.
The fight began and Alexander fought with all his strength and rage but Kallos even after having fought with Hephaistion was still very strong. There was no winner and no looser during the first five minutes. Hephaistion watched them very seriously, standing off to the side with his arms crossed. He knew Alexander was doing his best and didn't want to be defeated but he knew also that Kallos would not let the little skinny prince defeat him. The two were very stubborn and in watching them battle he was reminded his first time wrestling with Alexander.
After two more minutes, Alexander was eating dust and his screams were loud, Kallos was on top had an Alexander's arms were pinned very securely, which hurt Alexander a lot but still he didn't want to give up. He didn't want to lose but he didn't know how to escape either. As the battle was about to end and Kallos was going to declare himself the winner, Hephaistion suddenly realized that Alexander was truly going to loose so he yelled.
"No Kallos! He is not defeated yet!"
"But if I continue, I could break his arm!" yelled Kallos.
"Don't stop!" he looked at Alexander "He can do it Kal. You can do it Alexander! You 'can' do this!"
Alexander's heart began to beat faster, Hephaistion had faith in him and something inside soul blossomed. Hephaistion believed in him. He 'could' do it if Hephaistion said he could! Right then he forgot about the pain and realized the flaw in Kallos' position and in a blink of an eye, Kallos was eating the dust and wondering how Alexander could have reversed his hold and pinned him with such ease. Kallos submitted, fully knowing that he was soundly defeated and Alexander remained unmoving stunned by what he had done. Recovering from his initial shock he looked at Hephaistion who was nodding at him his face flush with pride and full of the knowledge that yes, together they could accomplish anything their young hearts desired.
Alexander smiled at his friend. It wasn't the first time he'd felt like this. Since he had met Hephaistion he had frequently felt stronger, felt like everything and anything was possible. He trusted Hephaistion absolutely and when he heard him say he could do it he didn't question Hephaistion's judgment and again conquered the task successfully, as always.
Kallos stood up still completely surprised and stunned by what had happened. Alexander again moved close to Hephaistion and with a calm certainty he kissed him on the cheek before whispering to his ear "Thank you." Then a bit louder, "I have to wash up now, can I go to your bathing room?" Alexander hated to be dirty and he always needed, after a fight, to get clean quickly.
Hephaistion nodded and Alexander left happily. Kallos looked at Hephaistion and glared at him.
"I could have broken his arm! Why did you tell to continue? It's a miracle that as small as he is he was able to break my hold. A chance he..."
Hephaistion interrupted him. "I know, you had a weakness in your positioning, I knew that if I could see, he could see it, he just needed an extra push."
Kallos stayed silent a few seconds then said, "He trusted you in a dangerous situation. Such a trust should not be taken lightly Heph." The awe in Kallos' voice told Hephaistion just how impressed he was by Alexander's feat.
"I knew he could do it." Stated Hephaistion again before entering the house.
Kallos watched Hephaistion as he walked quickly toward the house, "And you believed he could do it my old friend, you believe that he could." He whispered to himself before jogging to catch up to his friend.
Few hours later, a page, sent by the king, arrived and ordered the prince to return to the palace. Alexander was disappointed because he'd had a great deal of fun with Hephaistion's mother while Kallos and Hephaistion recalled old times. He knew as well that with him hanging around that Kallos and Hephaistion couldn't get to be to any closer.
As he made ready to leave Alexander held on tightly to a confused Hephaistion. "I will miss you tonight." He said sadly. The idea of another night alone threatened to crush his heart. He longed for Hephaistion's company. It was a gentle medicine for his soul; which seemed so easily wounded by his parents behavior and his loneliness.
Hephaistion knew Alexander didn't want to go back and deal with his father and he was a little worried for his friend.
"I m sure everything will be fine, Alexander." They looked at each other and not knowing quite how it happened they got lost in each other gaze until the page broke the spell and repeated that it was time to go.
They both felt some what embarrassed by the odd moment. As Alexander met Kallos' eyes he was certain that Hephaistion's friend had also noticed the intimacy growing between Hephaistion and himself. Hephaistion felt out of sorts as well because never Alexander had been so tender with him not even in private. He was always kind and warm to him but on this day Alexander had seemed to act differently, more physical and during the lunch he'd noticed the sweet stare from the prince in his direction, reading it in a way he never considered until now. Hephaistion didn't know what to think about it. Most of the time he thought he imagined much of the warmth between them.
Night came and Kallos, who wanted to talk to Hephaistion, shared Hephaistion's bedroom and bed as they had so often as small boys.
"You have changed Hephaistion!" he stated, a wry smile on his lips.
"Huh? What do you mean Kal?" Hephaistion asked rolling onto his left side to better see Kal.
"You were never a social type of boy and now your best friend is the Prince? I'd say that's quite a change. How'd you manage to catch his eye. There must be dozens of people fighting for his attention." Kallos explained causing Hephaistion to feel insulted. He glared at Kallos before speaking.
"I am not his friend because he is the prince." He said harshly unable to conceal that Kal's comment had upset him.
Kallos just smiled. "I know, I just wanted to tease you and it worked pretty well don't you think." He snickered, winked and pinched together Hephaistion lips which were drawn into a thin pout. " Oh, my foolish Hephaistion, don't pout." Hephaistion brushed the fingers off and rolled onto his back and glared at a spot on his ceiling.
"Well, I'm still surprised. In Athens I was your only friend." He laughed "After all, we grew up together, we are like brothers."
Hephaistion rolled back to face Kallos and nodded. "I just don't like or need very much company, that's all, you know that Kal."
"But you told me it took less than a month in Aristotle's class before you and Alexander became best friends! What happened to the lonely boy I used to know who hated 'all' the other stupid boys?"
"Do not mock me Kallos. You know why I hate people! How can we ever trust people after what happened to our families in Athens." Hephaistion said sadly closing his eyes tightly against the painful memories.
"I know, I was so sad when your parents had to run away with you."
"We had no choice Kal. The people who had loved us turned on us and then hated us, and betrayed us, I hate them Kal, I hate them! We had no one left to trust."
"Well, you had me Heph. You always will."
"You spoke true few minutes ago, you are like my brother! I only trust family now."
"If you say so? Now how on the earth, after all that happened and your opinion about other peoples capacity to do good, did you end up being the closest friend, and so quickly at that, with the prince himself."
"It wasn't so quickly really." Argued Hephaistion.
"Ah, less than a month, for you it's a small miracle. You were in Pella for 4 years before going to Mieza and your best friend, only friend was your cat 'Artemis'."
Hephaistion had no answer. Kallos was right. Something about Alexander had indeed unlocked a part of his heart that he had sworn to never allow anyone to ever enter into again. "I have no easy answer Kal." He replied his voice fraught with confusion.
"Well at least try to tell me... to explain it. Brothers right?"
"We have several things in common. He wants to see what's going on outside of Greece, see the world."
" Ok and knowing you as well as do, that is surely, in itself, not enough."
"He is…different."
"Different?"
"I don't know how to explain it, he is... it will sound ridiculous but he is like something 'pure'. He loves people, he loves being with people, he is a friend of all men and he is genuine in his thoughts and in his feelings. He is not corrupted Kal. Yes he longs glory and strives to do glorious deeds but it's not the same corrupted glory that other men want. Alexander wants noble glory. He has only noble and genuine thoughts and desires he is so different, unique."
Kallos frowned. Hephaistion's answer shocked him, it was not at all what he'd expected to hear. He could only pray that Alexander did not become corrupt and that he would never betray what he saw as blind trust on Hephaistion's side. He knew that his gentle friend would be destroyed by such a betrayal. «Quite opposite of you, this Prince. So it is this nobility, this purity that has rekindled your hope about humanity and the possibility of people's goodness?"
"No, I see men as they are. Corruptible beings that you can't trust, but I cherish Alexander's visions and I am in awe of such a vast and innocent capacity to love. Also with him it all just seems so possible, he is a such dreamer but with him, he is so sincere in his feelings, so impulsive, so tangible…it's like you can touch the dream, his dream. He is a treasure alive and I want to, need to protect him, to keep him safe. I want him to stay like he is and I will do my best to do that, no matter the cost to my own heart. He is so wild, he has a such incredible potential he only need sometimes...that…" Hephaistion trailed off, a bit embarrassed at the rush of words that he'd just spilled out. This was Kallos he was talking to. Kallos, his brother, his best friend his only true and good, untainted memory of his childhood in Athens and now he'd sputtered out such praise for Alexander.
"An extra push." Kallos finished the thought for and smiled, seeing in Hephaistion's crystal blue eyes the great joy he found in his companionship with Alexander.
Hephaistion nodded. " Plus, Kallos, his soul is shining and defenseless sometimes, so easily hurt. I…I want to be his keeper, from himself, from the others, I've never met anyone like him, Kal, never. With him, I'm feel a new, hope, a hope I gave up to when they tortured and raped and killed my sister when..." Hephaistion didn't have the strength to go further, the memory was simply far too painful.
"I know." Kallos said gently and brushed a bit of bronze hair away from Hephaistion's cheek, tucking it behind his ear. Sensing Hephaistion's breathlessness after speaking so many words drawn from his heart he allowed his friend to catch his breath.
" I am glad for you Heph. You finally found someone you can love. I told you that would find him, I told you. And even if you didn't believe me then, now you can see that I was right."
«Is it love Kal?" Hephaistion asked his voice a frightened whisper.
"You know that it is, Heph. Don't fear it. Alexander, it seems, loves you as well."
"What?" Said Hephaistion surprised at the comment. "Loves me as I love you maybe but nothing more. He is the prince and I…I am a refugee from Athens. I am…
"I'm neither blind or stupid or naïve Hephaistion, and nor are you. I have to add also that he is quite charming when he is acting as though I am his rival." Kallos finished with a smile.
"Are you sure?" Hephaistion persisted, his heart now thumping in his chest.
"I'm positive. By the gods Heph, he tensed up tighter than a bow string every time I came within a pace of you."
Hephaistion smiled at the thought. Alexander loved him. Alexander was jealous and protective of him around Kallos. Alexander could actually become his. He was drawn from his thought by Kallos' stern voice.
"You have to tell him Hephaistion. Tell him that you love him Heph, don't lose this chance at happiness."
"I don't know." He stared into Kal's eyes trying to check for some assurance of sincerity in his friend despite knowing in his heart that it was in fact there. "I just don't know. And you? You are…"
"Your brother dear Hephaistion, and that is exactly how I love you." He leaned forward a place a chaste kiss on Hephaistion's forehead. "Don't be afraid Heph, he trusted you. I could have broken his arm, but he trusted you blindly, why don't you trust his love for you the same way? You said he was different no? So trust him, trust again someone outside your family. You believe in him completely, you said as much yourself, and if you do so strongly and passionately believe in him then go to him, trust in his love. You've wallowed in hate and resentment long enough. I know and you know that you believe in him and that his feelings are as true and real as yours."
Hephaistion faked a yawn, he didn't want to talk more about it. He was confused, and somewhat saddened by recalling the horrible events that had driven his family from Athens. He closed his eyes against the whirlwind of emotions tearing through his body.
"Let's just sleep now, alright?" he said without opening his eyes. "Just rest now."
"Good night then Heph. Sleep well."
tbc