A/N – I know my take on how Hephaestion dealt with the killing of Eurdikye's baby may not sit well with everyone – I apologise to a degree but this is how I see the man and that he would put Alexander's needs and safety first. Feel free to disagree, after all this is only my fictional interpretation. Feedback is definitely enjoyed, whatever it is!
Chapter Six
Philip sent the advance force of the expedition over to Asia, under the command of Parmenion and Attalus, to secure the crossing at the Hellespont. Perhaps, before the Carian debacle, Alexander would have been trusted with that task or even left in Macedon as Regent. Now Philip had decided he could no longer trust his son out of his sight so Alexander was to go with his father and command the Companion Cavalry – always under the hawk's eye. I was assigned to the Cavalry as well, in command of a troop as a junior, very junior officer.
There were two last things Philip had to do before we left: divorce Olympias and marry his daughter Cleopatra to his brother-in-law, Alexandros of Epirus.
The wedding was to be held, not at Pella, but at the ancient capital of Macedon at Aegae and festival games in honour of the gods were also to be held there to ask their blessing for the forthcoming expedition. It was going to be the most costly and splendid event ever held in Macedon in living memory, befitting the king's position as Pan-Hellenic war leader. That it was also used as an occasion to reiterate Macedon's power over them was not lost on any of the envoys attending from all the Greek States in the Alliance. On the day following the wedding we were all seated in the ancient theatre at Aegae to witness the dedication ceremony for the games.
There were musicians and acrobats, processions and chorus' singing paeans to the gods and Philip as twelve golden carts carrying over life size statues representing the gods of Olympus were drawn into the theatre – a thirteenth ended this pageant, representing Philip himself.
Alexander sat with his mother in the place of honour beside Cleopatra and her new husband, her uncle. All of Macedon's nobles were arrayed behind them as the King was to enter alone, thereby showing the Greeks that he was able to walk amongst his own people without guards or fear such as a despot would. Hubris, they say, is hated more than anything by the gods and they showed it that day.
I was seated with my father, some way from Alexander but I could see him talking to his mother and sister, seemingly cheerful if not happy. He was acting his part perfectly. Olympias had dressed to make her point today too – in blood red that stood out amongst a sea of white or cream like a wound. I shivered then and sent up a fervent pray against the bad omen. My father must have noticed as he turned and gave me a questioning look.
"I'm surprised she's here." I said to him quietly. We were at the far end of the theatre and had no one behind us to over hear our conversation, though the music from the parade was enough to drown our words.
"Only by command. She could hardly insult her own daughter by staying away."
We fell silent for awhile and I noticed Alexander turn in his seat, find me in the crowd and give me a small, secret, smile which I returned before he resumed talking to his mother.
"Talking of marriages, Hephaestion, your mother and I have been giving much thought to your own."
At first I thought I had misheard him but it slowly sank in what he had said. Turning my head slowly I stared at him, my jaw dropping open in shock.
"My what?"
"You're twenty – time you were married. And I think we have found the perfect wife for you. You remember your cousin, Hellanike?"
"From Athens? She's barely thirteen."
"It has been over two years since you last saw her and she is now sixteen and of marriageable age. I understand she is quite lovely, intelligent and witty, though with enough common sense to make her an excellent manager of your household. We've invited her here before you leave for Asia."
"No!" I cried out loud enough to have people nearby turn and look at me. Even Alexander had looked around having recognised my yell and looked concerned. "This is hardly the time father! I'm about to go on campaign."
"Precisely. The wedding can be celebrated and hopefully you'll be well on the way to becoming a father before you have to leave."
"I can't!" I whispered, grabbing his arm and pleading with him. "I'm not ready."
"This is all to do with Alexander isn't it? Hephaestion, you are no longer boys – that part of your 'love' has to stop, sooner rather than later. Besides, he has to have an heir and if you set an example by marrying I'm sure he will soon follow."
"Did the King suggest this father?" I growled.
"No – I did to him. It's time Hephaestion. You have to let go of him – for his own good and that of Macedon. Surely you see that?"
"That he has to marry? Of course I do! But you have to realise that he will never marry whilst his mother might be in a position to bring up his heir."
"She won't be here for much longer. Olympias leaves with her brother and daughter at the end of the Festival."
"And I suppose you two old men have 'cut out a mare' for him as well?" I spat.
"That is enough. Do not insult your king or me!"
"Why can't you leave us alone? We love each other. It is not a passing fancy or simply lust. We're – connected, part of the other. I thought you'd realised that by now."
"I do understand. But you MUST marry!"
"And I will. I want a family, father, as any man does – but not NOW."
I remembered the conversation I had had with Alexander on this self same subject the night before his sister's wedding feast. We were in his room, lying wrapped in each others arms and legs after making love. I was warm, content and fighting off sleep as I had to leave soon to go back to my own cold bed. What he said stopped then stopped my breath.
"I had hoped you would become my sister's husband, Phai – but now that cannot be, thanks to my father."
"Me? That would never have happened – I'm not of high enough rank."
"Nonsense. I want us to be related by marriage, my love. Now Cleopatra's taken and all your sisters married, we'll have to wait and find a pair of sisters for us."
"Sisters?"
"Yes, Phai – girl children born of the same parents?"
"I know that! Why is it so important?"
"Because then our children can marry and my heir's will be of your blood and mine."
I sat up and stared down at him in wonder – he was serious.
"You're truly serious about this, aren't you?"
"Never more so. It is the only way we can have children together – unless there's something you've not told me, sweetheart?"
I hit him then and that started a tussle which led to the inevitable and I never got back to my room after all. Now in the theatre his words came back to me and I knew that marrying Hellanike was out of the question. Where we would find these 'sisters' I was unsure but knew he would somehow. That was what he wanted and that was what I would wait and give him. How could I explain that though to my father?
I couldn't at that moment as the fanfare sounded to announce Philip's arrival. We all stood, except the four on the dais below, and awaited his entrance. From the shadow of the parados, the side entrance to the stage upon which his throne had been placed, I saw the stout, limping figure come out into the blazing light of day and raise his hands to the cheering spectators – his people, his Macedonians. It was the day he had worked for all his life, the pinnacle of his achievement of pulling the Greeks together, albeit loosely, under his leadership. His smile was beautiful and dazzling in its intensity.
Then I could not see him anymore as he was blocked from my sight by the figure of a Royal Guard.
"What's happening?" I heard my father say, craning his neck to see.
This was when the first scream began. Jerking my eyes back to the stage I saw the King, slumped on the ground, his white peplos turning horribly red before my eyes, as red as the dress his wife wore. The Guard was gone.
"The King has been stabbed!" someone screamed and pandemonium struck.
From all the entrances the Royal Guards rushed in, Cleitus amongst them who went straight to the King, bending over the body to check for life: I saw the shake of his head and then the rest of the Guards were surrounding Alexander, protecting him with their bodies from friends and foe alike, and leading him away to the citadel.
My arm was grabbed painfully by my father to steady himself as he sank down onto his seat, pulling me with him, and I glanced over at Olympias. What I saw that day chilled my heart.
She had not moved a muscle but sat there as still as one of the statues surrounding her dead husband, a smile on her face that curdled my blood.
"Medea." I whispered then looked to my father, tears running down his face, staring at the still figure of his beloved king, the man he had left Athens to follow. All around me I heard wailing and saw tears streaking stunned faces.
'What was to happen now?' I heard people cry and to be answered by others 'Alexander is king now!'
And so it was.
The General Assembly voted him as king within an hour of Philip's assassination. There were no viable alternatives other than him – especially not the two month old son of Eurdikye. I doubted the child would live to see his third.
The King's body was taken in procession to the Citadel where it was met by the new King, dressed in black armour, his eyes dry as sand. Merely laying his hand briefly on his father's covered corpse he nodded for the procession to proceed to the temple above – the funeral would be held the next day. Then he walked towards my father and me.
"I grieve, Alexander, for our loss." My father said barely above a whisper. "But we have you to take his place."
"This is not how I wanted to become king, Amyntor."
"We know that, sire. It is – the will of the gods."
"Yes. Their will. Lord Amyntor, I need your son to be with me at the palace from now on." It was not a request.
"Of course, my King. You have the loyalty of our family and our love."
As he turned to leave I whispered to him "No wedding father." He nodded numbly and left.
"What wedding is that, Phaistion?"
Would I never remember his sharp hearing?
"My father was discussing my marriage just before – the king was killed. It's of no importance."
"No it is not. Because it won't happen until I decide it shall. You know of my plans in that regard."
I bit back a sharp retort, remembering that he had just witnessed his father being murdered in front of his eyes and must still be in shock. He was, as well, no longer Prince, not even, perhaps, 'my Alexander' anymore, but the King to whom I owed all allegiance, duty as well as love.
"Yes – my King."
There is a tradition in Macedon on the accession of a new king: he removes all those who would endanger his succession.
It is pure common sense, more so in Alexander's case as he was due to lead an invasion into Asia and needed to secure the kingdom before he could make a move in that direction.
Philip had supplanted his brother's son and young Amyntas had lived quietly at court throughout his reign. But those days were over; he was of pure Macedonian blood, and an adult, a perfect tool for a coup. Evidence was sought and found of his 'disloyalty' to Philip and his heir; he was executed, as were two other rivals for the throne, brothers and Princes of Lyncestis, a previously independent kingdom in the west of Macedon. Only their elder sibling, Alexandros, survived due to his timely acclamation of Alexander as king in the Assembly. A smart move on his part, a bad decision on Alexander's, as I pointed out to him.
This left the Attalid faction. The head of the family, Attalus, was with Parmenion and surrounded by his own troops. However, we had proof of his treachery and no one doubted that he would never accept Alexander as king. The only surprise was how stupid the man was; a member of my family in Athens sent me copies of correspondence between Attalus and Demosthenes in which he agreed to bring over his men to work for Athens against Alexander. It was all we needed and the King dispatched a loyal officer, Hecataeus, to take Attalus prisoner and return him to Macedon for trial – or kill him if that proved impossible.
Attalus got wind that his letters had fallen into Alexander's hands and tried to sue for a pardon by sending copies of them himself to the king! How did he ever believe that would work? They were mortal enemies; the insults he had thrown at Alexander when he was Prince had sealed his fate long before. Hecataeus looked on this latest move in a suspicious light and, using his own initiative, decided to act; he killed Attalus and showed his Royal Warrant to Parmenion who acknowledged its authority, as did the dead man's troops.
That left two of Philip's sons alive. Philip Arridaeus was, as I have said previously, a simpleton and not much of a threat. Besides, my King cared for him and loved him – he would accompany us to Asia however where he could be under constant surveillance and out of Olympias' grasp. The baby was a different matter altogether.
"He's only a baby!"
"Baby's grow up."
Grey eyes locked onto mine.
"I don't like it. There is no honour in killing someone weaker than yourself and unable to fight."
"You don't have to like it, my King. It has to be done. He is Philip's legitimate son, no bastard this time. And he is pure blood Macedonian."
"My father left Amyntas alive…"
"Yes – because he was married and had children. You don't Alexander. Unless, of course, you want this half-Attalid as your heir?"
Fire flashed in his eyes but he agreed with me in the end. The orders were given moments later and we then sat in his father's old study looking at one another for the next hour, saying nothing. What was there to say? I felt sick to my stomach but did not doubt for a moment that I had given him the correct advice. He knew it too and perhaps, at that moment realised what his father had been trying to teach him – that to be a king you have to be cruel as well as merciful. A king's power had to be unquestioned or the entire kingdom would suffer in the chaos that could ensue. This truth did not make either of us feel any better, nor should it have done.
Besides, how long would the boy have survived once we had left for Asia? Olympias' would have shown no such squeamishness.
It seemed to be taking too long and I was about to go and find out why when the guard returned and reported the job done. He looked as bad as we felt. Alexander nodded and dismissed him with a gesture but the man stayed put.
"Sire – the mother is also dead."
Alexander's head jerked up at that. "I gave no such order!"
"No, sire. Your mother – sire…"
"Go on." I told him as Alexander froze at his words.
"She was already there, sir, when we arrived. She – made us kill the babe before its mother, sir, against your orders. Then she told her to choose – the noose or poison. Eurydike hung herself, my King."
"Thank you, captain." I said, leading him to the door. "You acted under orders, no blame attaches to you or your men."
The dull eyes registered my words but only barely. Damn Olympias! Could she never leave well alone? I went to Alexander's side, stroking back his hair from his forehead which he was rubbing insistently with his hand, a sign of a headache.
"Can I blame her, Phaistion? She's a woman; she could hardly call her rival out to do combat."
"No." I kept my thoughts here to myself, knowing it was too soon to set myself against his mother.
"Why does everything in my life come back to her?"
I laughed harshly at that. It was a question I had asked myself a thousand times since Philip's assassination. Another question I had was how much power she believed her son would share with her now, especially as he still intended to follow his father's plans and invade Asia. Would he leave her as Regent? I sincerely hoped not but did not feel confident enough in my position as adviser yet to query this.
The funeral had been held, the king's ashes interred, but Olympias had not attended – Alexander had ordered her not to. Rumour said she had, instead, gone to the crucified remains of Pausanias and laid a wreath on it, but I doubt its veracity. We also heard, from my family in Athens, that Demosthenes had called for a vote of thanks to be paid to this murderer for ridding Greece of a tyrant. The man was such a fool! Of especial interest was the fact that he had 'announced' Philip's death a day before the official courier had arrived from Aegae. Now how had he known?
Alexander and I discussed what he was to announce to the world concerning his father's assassination and its perpetrators. Pausanias had been struck down by the Royal Guard whilst making his escape and they had not been able to catch another man who had been waiting for him with a horse. The killer had tripped over a root as he had run through an orchard and the Guards had swarmed all over him. We lost the source of valuable information there, or we saved ourselves from facing an unpleasant truth. My first question to my lover that day was more important to me than anything I had ever asked him before.
"Were you, in any way, involved in this, Alexander? Did you arrange your father's death?"
"No." the reply was calm and immediate, with no emotion in it. "I'll not lie. I have – had – no love left for him as a son for a father. But he was my King and I admired him for what he has done for Macedon and the army he has given me. I never planned his death, nor wished for it – much. And if I had, be assured I would not have chosen to do so in such a public way. It has left us open to revolt, mark my words. Our enemies will think Macedon is now weak and I an untried 'boy'. No, the timing was the worst possible for me, Phai, in so many ways."
I agreed with him but was relieved at this denial. If he had told me he had loved his father and would never have thought of such a thing I would have known he was lying to me. Too much had happened between them this past year for 'love' to be any part of his feelings toward his father.
"The timing was perfect for two people I can think of." I said.
"Yes."
We shared a look, our thoughts mirrored in each other's eyes. The Persians and Olympias.
"What will you announce?"
"It was the Persians. They're the obvious candidates and I'm sure proof will not be hard to find. And it will act as an impetus to the troops."
"Why would Pausanias do it? He was Captain of the Royal Guard, trusted and loved."
"Perhaps he wanted revenge…"
"Oh, Xander! Not that old chestnut. There was no proof he was raped by anyone let alone Attalus' men. And if he had been, what Macedonian is going to wait for years to exact his revenge for such a violation? He was a pawn and used by someone I'll grant you, but who – Darius or your mother? He did, after all, come from Epirus."
"In each story there is a kernel of truth. You were not at court at the time it was supposed to have happened. I was twelve then but I recall Cleitus talking to his sister, my old nurse, about something that had been done to Pausanias – they thought I was asleep."
He got up and poured some wine for us both then returned to his seat.
"I spoke to mother the day of father's death – asked her point blank if she had anything to do with it. Much as you have just done. She denied it."
I recalled her face that day, watching the corpse of her husband with pure joy. "She was involved, Alexander."
"Yes – I know. What would you have me do, Phai? Put my mother on trial? Tell the world she's a murderess and she used an ex-lover of my father's, who had been raped and given no justice by his king, to do the deed? Or do I say he was in the pay of Darius?"
Oh, I could already hear Demosthenes getting his teeth into that! No, there was only one answer to that and he took it. There was every chance that Darius was involved anyway – he needed to stop the Greeks and what better way to do it than remove their leader; that was something Alexander could understand very well.
"One other matter, Phai. This wedding of yours."
This was a turn in the conversation I had not expected and saw no relevance for it either.
"I'm not getting married! I told you…"
"I know. I was only going to say – that day – my reaction to what you said was arrogant and not the whole truth."
"Xander?" I was confused.
"My mother hates you, Hephaestion, more than you know. For the past six years I've made sure your food was tasted and had men watching you."
"You've what? Alexander…"
"Please! Hear me out before you yell at me! I know her. You've seen what she's capable of. I think the only reason she's never moved against you is that she knows I will kill her, mother or not, if she does. But that protection will not be there if you marry and have a child before we leave for Asia – we can't take them with us and they would be vulnerable."
His words made me break out in a sweat. My family! I had never considered there would be a threat to them. I looked up at him and my fear must have been plain on my face.
"I'm sending Amyntor south as soon as we leave to be my ambassador to Athens. He won't like it one bit but you'll help me persuade him it's for the best."
I wrapped my arms round him and kissed him. With all that had happened to him in those terrible few days he still found room to worry about me and what might happen to them when we were gone. It was as great a proof of love as I could ever wish for. "I do love you, my King."
TBC
