A/N - Things are speeding up here because he knows he's very ill and is trying to get as much in as possible: I was trying to write it from his perspective and thought if I was ill with typhoid your mind would wander, and concentrating on only the most important aspects of your life. Warning - angst coming up and Roxanne makes her appearance.

>
>
>
>
>
Chapter Eighteen

The Sogdian Rock. It was perched high on a mountain, so high only a hawk could get to it let alone an army trying to break in through the valley. Oxyartes, its chieftain, sent a message that the only way the great 'Iskander' would ever get in was if he became a bird. But it had a weakness if only we could exploit it. Behind it rose an even greater cliff; get men up there and we could force the back door –or better yet, frighten the inhabitants into giving up. We indeed needed men who could fly.

There were no Icarus' in camp but we did have the next best thing, mountaineers. Macedon was a land of mountains and these men had spent their childhoods clambering up cliff faces after sheep or merely fun. I had also done this and asked Alexander if I could lead the team – he said no, politely but firmly.

"I can do it."

"Yes, I know you can – but I don't want to have to scrape you off the floor if you fall."

"Alexander…"

"Not this time, Phai."

I knew that tone and so left it but I regretted not getting to do the climb. We lost about ten men but the rest made it and signalled they were in position. Then Alexander rode up in sight of the fortress gates and called upon Oxyartes to look above and see that he truly had men who were birds. The Sogdians were as terrified as we had hoped and surrendered. Our 'birds' were feasted and given riches beyond what they needed. The dead were given the rights of heroes and their families looked after for the rest of their lives. Now we entered our prize and were invited to a feast put on by the chieftain.

The walls were of stone but the houses within made of brick and wood. They were dark places, built up of many stories and had small rooms. I found the architecture claustrophobic but warm. As to the people they treated us with polite deference but no enthusiasm; Maks came to me and said he was concerned – there was an undercurrent here he didn't like. The man's instincts had never failed me yet so I set some of my scouts about to mingle and gage the lye of the land. Maks' own men took on a lot of this and some were sent to reconnoitre the surrounding countryside.

Our host was congeniality itself, albeit toothless. Alexander was given a set of rooms deep within the fortress with an outer guardroom – I checked that there was only one way in which was good security but also made the hair on the back of my neck stand up – it was as perfect a place to entrap him as I had ever seen; he had no way to retreat. But by then he wasn't listening to me at all.

The first evening, as I said, Oxyartes threw us a feast and the entertainment was a dance by his daughters and some of the other Sogdian ladies. It was fast, furious and erotic despite, or because, they wore clothes from top to toe in elaborately embroidered costumes and headdresses. You had to be blind not to notice the lead dancer though – she was tiny but perfectly formed, beautiful as a panther with her dark eyes, kohl lined, holding you in their gaze and promising – everything. She turned them on every man there but most of all on Alexander. I was still watching the walls warily so I missed a lot of the interplay until Nearchus dug me in the ribs and told me to look at Alexander. I did and what I saw froze my blood.

He was mesmerised by her movements; nothing unusual there – I had seen him so as he watched Bagoas dance; but this time I saw more than pure lust in those grey depths that had turned as dark in their way as Roxanne's.

For that was her name: 'Little Star' and she had stolen his heart with one dance. The next day he sent her gifts and spent hours, chaperoned, talking to her using Tefi as his interpreter. Both Bagoas and I were left, literally, out in the cold – neither of us had been asked to accompany him. Well, if he wanted another mistress she seemed as good as any.

It was on the third night at the Rock that he sent for me, not for love, but to announce his decision to me in private before facing the Staff and the Generals with it. My reaction was heartfelt and instinctive and not at all diplomatic.

"Have you gone completely out of your mind, man? Marry the daughter of some petty hill chief that will bring you nothing! No allies, no wealth, no dignity and no use in your dream of uniting the people. You'll insult the Persians because you chose this woman over a princess of the blood, Stateira, whom I have been telling you to marry for years now; and you'll insult the Macedonians because you chose a barbarian from the backend of beyond rather than one of your noble's sisters. Alexander- you haven't thought this through! Take her as a mistress and be done with it."

I stopped, mainly to draw breath and then that hitched in my throat at the look he was giving me, one I had never seen before – I could only describe it as a look of hate.

"Have you finished?"

"That will depend on you, sire."

"I will marry her. She has spirit. She will bring the tribes to me and she will show to my subjects, all of them, that I am serious in my endeavour to merge our people. And it will satisfy all of you who have been demanding I get an heir. Will it not?" his voice was icy quiet and dangerous.

I could so easily have agreed with him and left; but I owed it to him to remain steadfast in our friendship – he was making a very big mistake and I could not, would not, allow him to go on for want of advise held back through personal fear that I could alienate him from me for good.

"No, Alexander, it will not. I can see you think you love her; perhaps you do – but you've only known her few days. Please! Hear me out – I say this to you in friendship and deep love."

Ah, the magic words – they always made him stop and think. He sat and listened to me after that for hour upon hour until my voice gave out. What did I achieve? A postponement of his announcement to the generals until he had thought on it another night. I sent word to Bagoas to ensure that he 'entertained' his king that night, whilst I talked to Ptolemy about it. I needed some advice and we agreed that we couldn't let this go by without a concerted effort on my part to make him see sense. Ptolemy had also picked up on the charged atmosphere about the place and agreed to set his men on guard.

The following morning I visited my king passing the eunuch in the corridor – he looked ashen and shook his head at me; damn. Alexander was pacing up and down liked a cage lion; when I entered he started telling me of something his 'Roxanne' had told him of last night when he had visited her. I was not going to be defeated without a fight – call me obstinate, many do and for good reason, he would see sense if I had to beat it into him; which is what happened.

He had told me he was still going to marry her; I asked him how could he ignore what his best friend, the man he said he loved beyond everything, was telling him about this woman; he accused me of being jealous; I shot back that he should know – he had either killed or sent away anyone I loved. There I drew blood and he lunged at me but I moved faster and struck him across the back sending him sprawling; but he was up in an instant and had tackled me by the legs – we punched each other, kicked and scratched until we both had nose bleeds and scratches all over face and arms.

"I will NOT give her up! I want her and I love her. Please accept that, Phai, or…"

"Or what?"

He looked at me, one eye already discolouring where I had jabbed in my elbow. He didn't have to tell me in words: he would choose her, a woman he barely knew, over me. It was Bagoas all over again only this time the love was real and not merely lust. Well, I was a big enough man to accept the inevitable when it hit me in the face. Now all I was left with was to ensure that this marriage did as little damage to him as possible.

I got to my feet, holding out a hand to help him up and then hugged him to me for a long time.

"Be happy, my Alexander. And get us an heir."

His smile would have warmed my heart except I knew it was not really for me.

"Will you be groom man for me?"

The room spun then; of course, Patroclus must be seen, as ever, beside Achilles. "Yes – my king."

The meeting with the Generals went pretty much as I had expected – disastrously. It turned into a pure Macedonian slinging match and a lot of things were said that day that should not have been and were not, truly, forgotten or forgiven. I said nothing, standing at the back propping up a wall, a wine cup in my hand, giving him my silent support. I would only go so far and if he had expected me to be more vocal he was disappointed. The wedding was set for the next day. As I swept out after him, Craterus glared at me and opened his mouth to speak but I brushed past too quickly and left.

It was a typical wedding, except a lot of the 'guests' wished they were somewhere else. I did my part as groom man and then left – mainly because Maks had returned with an urgent message.

"There are about three thousand men heading in this direction culled from various tribes here about. We caught one and Oxyartes sent for them. He plans to murder Alexander and trap you within the Rock."

"How does he expect to get away with that?"

"Kill the head and the beast will tear itself apart – he's no fool, Hephaestion; he has studied you Greeks."

"Surely he knows that to kill the king would bring the whole army down on him?"

"Not if he kills all the Staff as well. The main army is encamped a few miles away – you are all in the Rock."

"How does he intend to kill the king? We will be guarding him constantly."

"Will you?"

Of course! One time he will be totally alone will be that night, with his bride – the bitch!

"As soon as he's dead I assume she intends to signal her father?"

Well, two can play at that game. We discussed a plan and he went off to put the first part into affect whilst I returned to the wedding feast and mingled until I found Ptolemy and explained it all to him. He went off to organise the Royal Guard to be ready for trouble and for them to take control of the main and lesser gates. Meanwhile, Maks had sent a courier off to the army to get them here as soon as possible – we need only hold for a day. My main concern was keeping Alexander alive for those hours. At a signal from Maks I knew that the second part was now ready to be implemented and I waited.

I waited for the bride to withdraw to prepare for her husband and I followed at a discreet distance, along with Tefi – I needed him as my voice. Hiding outside we waited, again, until her maids left her and she was alone. Ptolemy and Maks were to keep the impatient groom at bay until I had finished. I slipped into the room as quiet as a cat, Tefi close behind.

She was standing with her back to me, putting something small and glinting beneath the pillow of the bed – a dagger of which I had no doubt. Turning she saw me and I moved like lightening, clapping a hand over her mouth.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked, Tefi translating for me. She nodded. "I mean you no harm but we need to talk. If you scream I will kill you."

She looked up in to my eyes and saw I spoke the truth and nodded again.

Removing my hand I picked up a cloth soaked it in a bowl of water and deliberately washed it before her -it was an insult and she took it as such, her yes flashing at me. We recognised the spirit of the other and could now proceed without preamble.

"I know you plan to kill Alexander tonight. After you have made love? And you think he will sleep, sated; well, he doesn't sleep after sex, he lies awake and thinks – unless he is with someone he has known and trusted all his life…"

"You?" she spat. "I have heard of what you are – you have less excuse than that pathetic little cut creature. You Greeks are disgusting – in my land men such as you are crucified."

"Threats? Good. Let me give you some of my own. Do you recognise these?"

I handed over a small cloth bag Tefi had been carrying and she emptied the contents into her hand and gasped.

"Yes – the bracelets were taken from the arms of your two young brothers; the locks of hair from your mother and sister. I have them held prisoner."

Here I walked up to her, backing her up until she hit the wooden wall behind her and could go no further. She did not cower, but held her head high – no coward; Alexander spoke true when he said she had spirit – this spirit I had seen before, many years earlier, in Olympias.

"If Alexander does not walk out of this room tomorrow; if so much as a hair of my king's head is harmed I will have your brothers throats cut and their bodies impaled for the crows; your sister and mother I will have crucified, after my men have raped them. Do we understand each other?"

Her jaw was shaking with rage but she nodded.

"Tell me you understand!"

"Yes! I understand!"

"Good. Don't be so angry – you will be queen of the world and not married to some petty chieftain living in some hill fort. Think on that – and give my king a son. Whether you are happy or not is your problem."

I could see that my words had given her pause for thought. Alexander would be safe; to be absolutely sure I bent and removed the dagger she had hid anyway. Signalling to Tefi we headed for the door when her voice stopped us both.

"He will no longer need you, Hepaisteeon; why do you care if he lives or dies?"

"He is my king, Roxanne. I love him."

Slipping out the way we came I was in time to see Ptolemy and Maks escorting the groom to his wife; earlier I had asked him to relieve me of that particular burden and he had agreed. Sending Tefi off to give my own men a message I felt I had done all that I could and I recognised I needed sleep. Aiming for my own rooms I never got there as something hit the back of my head and it all went black.

I awoke to that wonderful sensation of someone kicking me in the ribs and liver. There's nothing quite like it. Trying to open my eyes I realised I was blindfolded but my ears were working fine and the insults raining down on me were spoken in Macedonian – at least the Sogdians had not been alerted that we knew of their plan; it was my fool countrymen doing this but why?

"Filthy Athenian whore! You made him do this – marry that barbarian bitch!"

That voice I recognised and my blood chilled even as more blows hit me on the head, shoulders and abdomen; there were more than two men beating me to a pulp and their leader was a general no less. That was all he said and they finally stopped their attack, leaving me cold and in pain. I heard them walk away and gingerly lifted a hand to remove the blindfold then passed out.

When I regained consciousness I saw I was somewhere outside in an alley between two high buildings. Turning onto my back I could see the first rays of the dawn sun hitting the mountain cliff behind the Rock. Trying to push myself up elicited a cry of pain which brought help in the form of Ptolemy and Maks. Ptolemy clucked like an old hen but I asked them to get me to my rooms as quickly as possible, whilst checking that all was well; they said yes. Ty had kept Oxyartes company all night and the man had realised his plan had been foiled.

Back in my room they cleaned me up; I had had worse in battle and certainly during a boar hunt once in Macedon. The pain, however, made my tongue a little loose and I let them both know who had had me beaten up. Ptolemy was furious and was all for bringing charges immediately.

"No! We cannot show division in front of these people! Besides, it would shame Alexander – he needs the man too much."

Ptolemy was still adamant that this could not go unpunished – it was not the Macedonian way. I agreed but forced both men to swear they would tell no one; if they did I would deny it and stick to my story that I had gotten drunk and picked a fight with someone bigger than me. I would not cause humiliation to the King, now when he needed to have the army on his side more than ever. Ptolemy finally agreed and left me to take his shift as Guard on the King leaving me in Maks capable hands.

I had always found this man a comfort and a good friend ever since our talk at Siwah. He was so much more than a soldier, his intelligence a joy to me, somewhat starved of intelligent conversation when Alexander and Ptolemy were occupied – the rest were not my friends. Maks had no ambitions within this army; he was content enough to follow where Ty wanted to go and Ty wanted to be with us – for now. I had always had my suspicions their relationship was one similar to that between Alexander and myself but had never discussed it with either of them – they were not men who you would talk of such things to.

I felt that Maks and I had similar problems with our 'sole mates'; Ty was a man who acted first rather than thought it through – an instinctual person, much as my king was. So we had that much in common.

When Ptolemy left I lay down in Maks' arms and dozed awhile, his hands gently caressing me to sleep. I slept peacefully in his arms for some hours, feeling safe and cared for. What else happened between us that night, or morning, is not for these pages.

Alexander was furious the next day when he saw my bruises but accepted my story and went back to his 'loving' wife. The general in question looked at me with surprise and a little admiration; we would cross paths again.

It was soon after this that the first fruits of this wedding bore fruit – but not in a son; in a conspiracy to kill the king.

TBC