Title: "The Psychology of Chaeronea"
Author: Baliansword
Type: Story
Chapter: 1, "The First Battle"
Rating: T for Teen
Warnings: Some violent content, some sexual content.
Summary: Alexander and Hephaestion fight in their first major battle, however, sometimes the battle with what you have done is worse than the battle itself. Hephaestion angers Alexander in a rather interesting way, and then has to make it up to him.
A/N: Hey everyone, time that I wrote an actual story instead of a one shot. I think this is a pretty good idea, but let me know what you think. I'm taking a psychology class, so as long as I'm not paying much attention in the class, I should write this. Look, I even put psychology in the title.
Dedication: For Mary, who suggested that for once Hephaestion needs to make up to Alexander for something. I guess that you are slightly right.
H/N: The Battle of Chaeronea was the first battle that Alexander and Hephaestion, as well as the rest of their young friends, fought in. I've done other stories about it, but this seems pretty cool too. Alexander would have been 16 and Hephaestion would have been 17, in case anyone needs to know.
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Hephaestion felt his grip on the sword tighten as he sat on top of the horse. The stead was pawing at the ground, anxious to charge forward. Hephaestion on the other hand was not sure if he was ready. He glanced to his left, where Alexander sat atop Bucephalus, hoping to see that Alexander too was unsure of what they were about to do. Alexander was nothing of the sort though. He was almost as anxious as the horses. He had even taken his helmet off, as had Cassander, Hephaestion noticed. He on the other hand was keeping his on, and wished for a moment that he could wear something to protect his legs. In truth, he was slightly scared of what was to come. He was a failure to be scared. All this time he'd been trained with Alexander in Philip's court to be a warrior and now, at the first sight of battle, he was terrified beyond all reason.
"Ready your swords," Alexander called out. Hephaestion glanced down at his hand. His knuckles where white from his grip on the hilt of the blade. Even with such a grip his hands still shook a little. He drew in another breath and watched as the Illyrian army came around the bend. It was what they had been waiting for, for the Illyrians to come to them so that they had better ground. Hephaestion glanced at Alexander, who gave the signal, and he let go of his grip on his stead's reins.
The two small groups collided with a sudden force. Horses screamed as pike were forced into their chests, and men screamed as they were trampled. Hephaestion gripped his sword firmly in his hand as he thrust it down into the shoulder of a man close to his horse. The man let out a cry and then fell to the ground screaming. He was crushed as Hephaestion's horse jumped to the side as it was prodded with the tip of a sword. Hephaestion was jerked to the side as well and lost his balance for a moment. Before he knew it, the horse was prodded once more, and this time reared backward. Hephaestion slipped from the sudden movement and hit the ground.
He pushed himself up, sword still in hand, and immediately made wide swing with his blade. He managed to slice through the stomachs of two men that were closest to him. From that point on, he forgot his fear and was concerned only with protecting himself from death. Hephaestion lunged forward, his sword sliding into the chest of another man. With a quick pull he removed his bloody blade from a man and knocked him down. He then turned, his blade raised, and blocked a sword from colliding with his own chest. The metal against metal sounded out and he tried to gain a footing. He did so well enough and pulled his blade back before making another effort to attack.
It took him a moment, but as he fought it was becoming easier and easier. He took a step back only once, to move away from a blade, but then lunged forward once more. His sword was brought down against the man, and blood sprayed from the wound, splattering against Hephaestion's face and chest. He immediately turned his head away, as if to avoid seeing what he had done, but there was no time to falter. He was still surrounded, and still was being attacked. It was not easy, not in the slightest.
Men cried out from all over the small field. Soon it was becoming harder and harder to move, because there were bodies littering the ground. It took everything he had to concentrate on what he was doing, and not that. There were some of them that were still alive, Illyrians that had fallen. There were Macedonians that had fallen as well. Hephaestion did not want to leave them there on the ground, screaming and bleeding, but he knew he had to. He continued to fight, and he fought with all the strength he had, and then everything seemed to go silent. He did not even hear the horn that signaled the Illyrians to retreat. In the end he stood, his breathing labored, and bloody from face to ankles. Some of the blood was his own, most belonged to others, but it was crimson blood none the less.
"Hephaestion," a voice called out. Alexander approached him from the side and threw his arms around him in a quick embrace. He looked much the same, blood covering him, only happier about the mess. "We've won! They have retreated! The run in fear from us Hephaestion!"
Hephaestion found himself only nodding, yet not listening. He was instead surveying the ground around him. He looked at the dead bodies on the ground, eyes still open in fear. Some of the fallen soldiers were men, old enough to have children his age. However, some of them were his age, and few younger than that. Alexander continued to talk, continued to praise what they had done, but Hephaestion could not listen. Instead, he heard nothing except for his heartbeat. Then, he doubled over, and vomited on the blood stained sands.
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There was never a moment where there was nothing glorious about what he was doing. Body after body fell and he continued to cut through them. When the retreat horn sounded, he screamed out a cheer of victory. The remaining Illyrians ran before they too could be slaughtered. Alexander reached up and wiped blood away from his cheek. He then dropped his sword and laughed. As soon as he had a moment, he began to step over dead bodies, looking for Hephaestion. There were not many fallen Macedonians, so he would have to deal with that later.
"We beat them," Cassander said as Alexander passed him. Alexander said something to him, and then continued on his way. Cassander went back to claiming things from fallen bodies. There were some men that had honor. There were some that did not. Cassander bordered both of these realms. This, however, was about to push him into a specific one.
Alexander took no notice of this though. He instead found Hephaestion and wrapped his arms around him. He spoke, and he went on and on, but he knew that Hephaestion was not truly listened. He stopped, and for the first time he looked at him. Hephaestion was pale, even though most of his face was covered by blood, his helmet long lost in the battle. Alexander placed a hand on his shoulder, and asked if he was alright. Hephaestion just knelt over and vomited.
"Hephaestion," he said as Hephaestion wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Alexander waited for him to glance over at him, but he did not. Instead, he trembled slightly, as if something had scared him. "Hephaestion what is it? Are you hurt?"
"He is a woman when it comes to war," Perdiccas answered for him as he walked up. He dragged his sword behind him, even though he could have carried it. He did not seem to care about what the sword was cutting over. "He always has been Alexander."
"Shut up," Alexander ordered. He then placed a hand on Hephaestion's forehead. He was sweating, and he was cold. "Hephaestion, look at me for a moment."
Alexander reached out as Hephaestion looked at him and began to wipe blood away from his face. Alexander managed to get some of the blood and sand away from Hephaestion's cheeks, but not much. It did not help that Alexander's hands were just as stained with crimson blood. Hephaestion blinked a few times and then swallowed. Alexander smiled at him for a moment. He then stood, and helped Hephaestion up, not caring in the slightest about who was around to see.
"Get cleaned up," Alexander told him. "You will feel better after you do so."
He at least had been told that. He did not know what Hephaestion would feel like though. He truly hoped that all would be well. He looked like he'd seen Hades. Alexander watched as Hephaestion slowly walked away, glancing at the face of every man it seemed. He was even careful to step over each and every one of them, whether he needed to or not. Alexander then shot Perdiccas a look, one which told Perdiccas not to say anything to Hephaestion again. Alexander just hoped that Hephaestion would be better by the feast that would be held for them tonight.
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A/N: More to come soon! In the next chapter is where Hephaestion will offend Alexander, as you will see. Hope to have it up by tomorrow night. Review, let me know what you think. Or don't review, but then, I won't know what you think!
