Title: "After Ecbatana"

Author: Baliansword

Chapter: 9, "Aryse"

A/N: Thanks for the support, for those who have reviewed, and those have not. Hope that everyone is having a good holiday. Also, enjoy.

Her dark green eyes went immediately back to the floor when Hephaestion turned his head towards her. It was odd. She knew where she stood but was beginning not to care. She only wanted to be able to be near him, this great man. He was lovely, a true divinity. The power that was illuminating from his eyes was enough to make thousands of women want him, and she knew that she was not the only one, but also knew that the Vizier had eyes for only Alexander. Apparently it had been this way for some time.

Hephaestion watched her for a moment before he turned his attention back to Alexander. The meeting was going well. Lands were being divided, and laws were being created. Everything that involved running an empire was being seen to. However, it was rather tedious and boring at times. Hephaestion could not look away from Aryse for long. There was something about her that intrigued him greatly.

She sat in the corner, among a few other slaves, but did nothing. There were two girls weaving together, a tablecloth by the size of it. The other girls did things. The one eunuch was really only supposed to be watching the girls for one of the Companions sitting at the table, making sure that no other touched them. Hephaestion had nothing to assign to the girl and was beginning to think that he should have found something for her to do. Anything would have been better than having her sit there, listening to this boring nonsense, if she were really even listening.

"That is enough," Alexander said. Hephaestion's attention fell back to Alexander and the meeting. One of the Companions was now talking. He did not know when Alexander had stopped speaking, and where the other had began, but it didn't matter. They weren't going to discuss anything.

"I am growing tired," Alexander finished. The rest of the Companions were feeling much the same. Hephaestion watched as the others left. Soon the room had become only Alexander, Bagoas, Aryse, and himself.

"Never again," Alexander said. "The next time that I tell everyone I want to hold a meeting, advise me against it. Especially if we come to the fourth hour of sitting in the same room, listening to the same nonsense."

"It's not nonsense, it just became rather boring."

Alexander glanced over at Hephaestion and laughed. He had never heard Hephaestion seem so unenthusiastic about something in all of their time together. He glanced at Aryse and Bagoas. They were so very different, the two of them. However they were both the same thing in his mind. He glanced again at Hephaestion, and then at Aryse. He still held the same fear about her. There was something seductive about her, even though she only sat there, and he knew that Hephaestion would see it as well.

"Let us go to bed," Alexander said as he rose.

Before he could say anything else there was a knock at the door. Without waiting for an answer, Olympias entered the room. There was a smile on her face, one which Alexander knew well. She was up to something. He was not sure what it was but knew that it could not be good.

"Alexander," she said, "your wife would like a word with you. She is not feeling well. I believe that the baby is soon to be born, within the week at least. Come see her Alexander, she needs you tonight."

Aryse watched as Alexander left the room with Olympias. Alexander stopped at the door to look back at Hephaestion. It was easy to see his apology in his eyes. He would much have rather spent the night with Hephaestion. But it was Olympias that winked at her. After doing so she left the room, closing the door behind her as soon as Bagoas had followed Alexander out of the room. There was now only herself and Hephaestion. The tension she felt in the room was excruciating.

"I'm sorry," Hephaestion said after a moment. "If I would have known that things would get so tiring I would have found something for you to read."

Aryse smiled softly, though she still did not look at him. He noticed her smile though. Instantly he knew that it was not her smiling at him, but more at what she had said. She smiled because she was blushing in embarrassment, because she could not read. Hephaestion felt disgusted with himself. How could he have said something so stupid?

"Come," Hephaestion said as he stood. He did not know what he could do to brake the tension between them. After a moment he decided that there really was nothing that he could do. They would be like this for some time, and it was all Olympias' fault.

Together they walked back to his room. Something had changed within him though, in the time it took for him to walk down the hall and get here. He knew that it was the same change that Alexander had gone through when he had seen Bagoas. He looked at Aryse once more, knowing that lusting for her would only lead to something far worse, but could not stop himself.

Apparently his eyes gave too much away. Aryse turned, and for the first time in all the while he had known her, she looked up at him. Her emerald eyes met with his, and he knew that something terrible was going to happen. It was going to happen, and there was nothing he could do to stop it, because in honesty he really did not want to stop it. He wanted to be with Aryse.

It wasn't to get back at Alexander for Bagoas, or for Roxanne, or even for Stateira. It was something he could not imagine. He wanted to be with Aryse just to be with her. He saw Aryse, and he knew what he wanted in life. He wanted Alexander, but at the same time he wanted something permanent. He wanted a family, a son, like Alexander was going to have within the week.

It wasn't even all Aryse's fault. She wasn't trying to seduce him, at least not that he could see. Her beauty was a factor to him, because he knew that she was beautiful, but it was something else. When her eyes were on the floor, and he looked at her, he thought he was looking at himself for some reason. Her soul seemed to be like his, what he really was. She was someone that wanted something but could do nothing to get it, she was a slave, like he was a slave to Alexander's will.

As he looked at her she reached up and pushed the dress away from her shoulders. It fell from her body and landed in a pile at her ankles. She stepped over the cloth and came closer. Hephaestion turned, and faced the door, but could not find himself leaving. Instead, he found himself locking the door instead. He turned and faced her, thinking of what to do, but passion quickly swept over him.

Hephaestion grabbed Aryse and pulled her to him. He put one hand on the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. He pressed his lips firmly against hers, and took all of her mouth in his. As he kissed her he tried to keep in mind that she was not Alexander, she was far from him, and was far more fragile. As he kissed her she pulled at his clothing, freeing him from his breastplate and shirt. Hephaestion put a hand on the back of her leg and pulled her up upon him.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and let him kiss her chest and the flesh of her breast. Aryse, having never been with a man, cried out as he bit the soft flesh of her breast. It was light, playful really. He continued to kiss her, and finally threw her back against the bed.

He removed himself from the rest of his clothing. He then carefully crawled onto the bed. If Aryse was regretting what she was doing, she showed no signs of it. Instead, she leaned up and put her lips against his once more. Hephaestion let his hands find her body. He ran his hands over the soft flesh of her chest, her thighs, like he did with Alexander. Yet he found himself being more careful, as if he would brake her at any moment.

Hephaestion put his hand on one of her thighs and pushed her leg away from the other. She shifted, lifting her hips slightly, and as he kissed her throat he slowly lowered himself closer to her. He kissed her lightly as he slid inside of her. At first she only breathed out gasps, but when he filled her completely, she let out a soft cry of pain. He kissed her lightly, knowing that it was just part of her becoming a woman, but at the same time he did not want to hurt her.

He put a hand behind her, on the small of her back, and pulled her up from the pillows. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her in the air, and kissed every part of her that he could reach. After a few moments of just holding her, and kissing her, he rocked his hips lightly against hers. The motion caused Aryse to gasp, as he moved the both of them, but she did not complain. Instead, she kissed him passionately and wrapped her hands in his hair.

Hephaestion kissed her neck where it met her shoulder, heatedly holding her as he steadied her in their motion. He then gasped as her nails dug into his back. Each time he hoisted her she cried out in little excited gasps. He carefully let her go then, and covered her body with his own. He kissed every inch of her, until he came inside of her, causing him to let out a moan that had been lodged deep in his throat.

"Hephaestion," she whispered as he continued to kiss her body. Even though his pleasure was over he continued to please her. He kissed her lips again, hard. He then fell away from her and lay on his back, silently stroking her hair. Aryse fell asleep quickly. The fervor of their lovemaking had quickly tired her. Hephaestion watched her sleep for a moment, but he could not sleep. Instead, he waited for more time to pass, and he then sneaked out of the room. (-Why is snuck not a word?)