Authors note
It was hard deciding to kill or not to kill Hephaistion off because though I love him to bits it would be a cliché if he survived.
So what I did was written two Chapter five, printed them off and put them in a box and did a best of three vote ( not me someone else ) isn't democracy great.
Chapter 5
Hephaistion was lost; he was surrounded by blackness and alone.
He had walked around and around but seemed to get nowhere. He had to keep walking because he found that if he stopped he would become so tired that he wanted to lay down for sleep and never wake up.
In his travels he came across a candle that was partly burnt down, he stopped and thought it odd that a candle was place in the middle of all the blackness.
Suddenly a great weariness passed over him and he found himself laying down and closing his eyes and as he lay in front of the candle it began to dim and at the same time a loud shouting began.
Hephaistion put his hands over his ears to block out the shouting, all he wanted were to sleep but the shouting denied him that right.
The candle sparked up as he jumped up in the anger and set out to find the shouter but something made him turn around and watch the candle.
It seemed to get brighter and eat away at the blackness.
Hephaistion opened one eye followed by the other it was night time and the room was bathed in the dying light of candles. He turned his head and found himself confronted with Alexander sound asleep in the chair with his legs drawn up and resting his cheek on one hand his golden hair coving his face.
Hephaistion smiled as once more sleep claimed him but this time he stayed where he was.
His next awaking was during the daytime he rubbed his eyes and looked at the chair it was empty.
He lifted up the covers with one hand and made a gap in his robe with the other. He saw that there was a small linen patch covering the knife wound. He slowly pulled the patch away causing him to wince as the two separated. The wound was still raw but slowly healing Hephaistion replaced the patch.
It was then that he realized that he was hungry he threw back the covers and slide out of bed.
The pain in his abdomen almost made him collapse back on the bed and give up. He sat there panting before he slowly stood up and staged over to his wardrobe for a change of clothes.
Once he had changed he took some small uncertain steps towards the door and out into the corridor.
He found Alexander with the others in his room. As Hephaistion entered he could tell that Alexander was mad by the way he waved his arms around and paced the room like the caged animal.
He was first noticed by Crateros who coughed discreetly causing Alexander to drift to a stop and turned around.
He was shocked and surprised to see Hephaistion stood there he rushed to his friend side.
"Hephaistion what are you doing out of bed." he asked
Hephaistion glad of help "I was hungry." He replied
Alexander ignored all of his generals and smiled "Well I will have some soup brought up once I get you back."
Once Alexander had Hephaistion back in his bed and all tucked in, he ordered the soup and flopped into the chair.
Hephaistion was quiet and it was then that Alexander realized that he had fallen back to sleep.
He reached over and brushed away a couple of strands away from Hephaistion's face as he did so he felt a twinge of relief and sadness as finally the reality of how close he had been to losing Hephaistion hit him.
He remembered how the news of Hephaistion arrived.
It turned out that a guard on his rounds heard scratching coming from Hephaistion's room, when he had called out he got on reply.
He had tried to enter but found that something on Hephaistion's side was stopping the door from opening.
He raised the alarm that something was wrong and Alexander had been sent for.
He remembered how he, despite his drunken head ache had stood outside Hephaistion's room pounding on the door all to no avail.
They couldn't get in by the door so they decided to use a siege ladder to get in to Hephaistion's room by the window.
Alexander had been the first to climb the ladder followed by two guards.
The room had been dark and still when the three men climbed into it
"Hephaistion!" Alexander had called out but there was silence
As one of the guards moved forward they had slipped and almost fell to the floor but had been steadied by his fellow guard.
Alexander had taken a candle and shone it down so that it had lit up the floor and all three where shocked to find blood everywhere.
It started in a pool as if someone had lain in the same spot for a long time and then slithered out in a line which headed towards the door.
They rushed to the end of the trail of blood and found Hephaistion laid out in front of the door not moving.
Alexander crouched down next to his fallen friend and took him in his arms.
There was a large bump on his forehead and a stab wound to his abdomen.
They moved him away from the door so that it could be opened and let everyone in.
"Hold on Hephaistion," Alexander whispered
At that point Hephaistion's eyes fluttered open they showed no recognition of any one being there before shutting again.
They would stay shut for many weeks of uncertainty.
After they had found Hephaistion and got him settled Alexander had called everyone outside Hephaistion's room. He wanted to know what happened to Hephaistion after his last party, he wanted to know who he had left with and why that person couldn't have taken no for answer but the main question he wanted to ask them was why.
Only one person had failed to turn up and that was Cleitus. In the chaos of finding Hephaistion half bled to death Alexander had failed to notice that one of his officers had been missing.
He had sent a guard to Cleitus' room to see where he was while he started discussing the plan to track down Hephaistion's attacker.
A couple of minutes later the guard had returned with news that Cleitus had not in his room neither had he been seen any where in the palace.
It was then that the tiny steps of wonder and doubt first creped into Alexander's thoughts.
He told the guard to set up a search party to find Cleitus and bring him in and told the other to be on the look out as it would seem they wouldn't have to go far.
After that he had dismissed them all and had gone back to watch Hephaistion.
A knocking interrupted Alexander thoughts and before he answered the door he wiped the tears away from his face.
It was the servant with the soup which Alexander took off him and closed the door.
He put it on the table for the time being and went to wake Hephaistion though he didn't want to.
He genteelly shook Hephaistion "wake up honey." He whispered
Hephaistion signed before slowly opened his eyes, he looked surprised to see Alexander standing over him.
"How long was I out." he asked
Alexander helped him sit up "Not long but here is your soup."
He sat down on the edge of the bed and took hold of the bowel he took a spoonful of and offered it to Hephaistion.
After he had eaten Hephaistion snuggled down in to the covers with Alexander laid out next to him.
"What are you doing about Cleitus?" Hephaistion asked suddenly
Alexander looked down at him "What do you want me to do" was the reply
Hephaistion was shocked "Me."
Alexander sat up "I thought you would want to, after all he did try to kill you."
Hephaistion frowned Alexander did have a point he nibbled his bottom lip
" I don't know," he said " I would need to think." he said
Alexander smiled "Or course." he said "Take all the time you need."