This chapter is my birthday present to my dear friend too_beauty – Enjoy!
Warning: adult content, mentions of rape and other sexually explicit scenes but not too graphic.
I am really grateful to all the readers who read, favor and follow this story and especially to those who take time to review whenever they can. Your feedback is appreciated a lot and as always, I look forward to those comments of yours.
-'wwwwwwwwww
338 BC, a few days after the battle of Chaeronea (presumably, Aug 2nd)
Macedonian camp
Pausanias watched, rather dispassionately, Philip's powerful thrusts into pliable body of the obedient page. There was not much to see in the almost complete darkness of the tent; even the King's movements were more betrayed by the satisfied grunts and rapid shifts of the vague shape than anything else. Identity of the page also didn't present a mystery, the bright red blob of hair could have belonged only to Seleucos, the only of the King's pages distinguished by this hair colour. The boy seemed happy enough to be object of Philip's desire remitting sounds that could have been taken for moans of pleasure, either genuine ones or faked. Pausanias didn't care much either way. Stupid people, and there were plenty around, still thought that he was sexually obsessed with King and tried to gain an invitation to the royal bed. How little did they know!
Pausanias' feelings for Philip were far deeper and sexual side of it was in a distant past. Even then, he hardly enjoyed being subject of the king's desire, Philip wasn't a sophisticated lover or at least he put little effort into being one with his pages. From the very beginning, Philip tempted him with a possibility of riches if Pausanias chooses the serve him loyally putting all his talents, abilities and family connections in the service of his king. Pausanias later learned that this offer was extended to almost every page from a noble family who was smart enough and able to serve his king's interest. Many accepted but few were interested in the benefits that went beyond monetary rewards. Pausanias belonged to those rare few. The more he stayed around Philip the more he became fascinated with his vision about what Macedon could become and the more he was willing to do to help Philip in this regard. Philip appreciated his efforts and when the time came he graduated from being Philip's trusted page to young officer under his King command. Not many pages were ever granted such an honor.
Pausanias' brilliant career first came under the threat when he barely turned twenty. His older brother, Tarrias, who became head of their family upon their father's death just a few years ago, joined in the revolt of other prominent Orestis' nobles led by Antiochus, a scion of former royal dynasty of Orestis, an area in Upper Macedon that Philip conquered just a few years ago. Instead of crashing the rebels himself, Philip, busy at the time with uprisings in other territories recently conquered by Macedon, sent Orontes, Antiochus' own brother to negotiate or to conquer by force. Orontes succeed but was killed in the last skirmish treacherously laid by his own brother who was shortly after hacked to pieces by Orontes' faithful followers. So, both brothers died and revolt died with them. Antiochus left no children and Orontes' own family were hostages at Philip's court.
Pausanias was less lucky as to his family's humiliation. His brother Tarrias was brought back as a prisoner and was tortured to death to extract the names of other nobles who took part in the revolt. Pausanias was sure that Philip's anger and thirst for revenge would successfully finish his career and he will be lucky not to end on the rack as his brother. However, it didn't happened. It wasn't a Philip's policy to exterminate all the prominent families of what the King envisioned as Greater Macedon. He preferred divide and conquer – to eliminate those who opposed the unification but promote those who saw the wisdom of such a union and were willing to work tirelessly in order to succeed. Pretty soon Pausanias' whole world became concentrated on Philip to a degree that even the glory of Macedon became less important goal than Philip's own success. Pausanias became obsessed with Philip, he worshipped him as a god, trying to eliminate any perceived threat and it didn't matter who stood in a way.
Philip, being an excellent judge of character, saw what he saw and encouraged the young officer with praise, surprise gifts and occasional tumble in the bed since he thought Pausanias was appreciative of such an intimacy. Pausanias was indeed appreciative but not of the sex itself but of the fact of being chosen. He also developed a habit of warning his king of the egoistical nature of other who tried to get into the king's bed naively thinking that it was Philip's weakness. The king laughed in his beard, taking his officer for the devoted but not very bright individual if he couldn't see that the king was using his bedmates as pawns and spies and never divulged information that was any importance.
This was why Philip dismissively brushed away Pausanias' concern about another Pausanias, a young man of some sixteen years old who was presented to him, quite shamelessly, by general Attalos.
"The boy is pleasing to eye and to other parts of my body," laughed the king when Pausanias, his face an embodiment of concern, tried to warn him about the fact that his namesake was Attalos' spy. "He doesn't have a brain to spy, only an ass to offer. Quite a delectable one, I must admit. If you wish, I can pass him on to you when I am bored with him, you'll see he is harmless and eager to please."
"He is not as harmless as you think, Majesty," Pausanias continued to press his point. "He was Attalos' lover before and now does his bidding. Attalos just pretends to be your supporter. Do you know that he is in a constant communication with your nephew Amyntas? And Attalos' first wife and Amyntas' mother were first cousins."
"I have enough real plots, Pausanias, I am not going to waste my time pursuing the fake ones. Leave it alone, Attalos is not plotting anything against me. And if you're jealous of your namesake, rest assured, he is nothing but a forgettable fuck. Don't make me start questioning your sound judgement, otherwise you are of no use to me."
"Yes, my king," Pausanias swallowed hard and hung his head in defeat. He knew for sure that Attalos recently became too close of a friend with Amyntas and he was frustrated that his king wouldn't listen to him. Still, he couldn't allow any harm come to his hero, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He couldn't have known that Philip, though trusting him with certain matters, never revealed to him, or anybody else, the whole extend of the web that he cast around Macedon and the areas that he intended to add to his already nicely sprawling kingdom. It was true that Attalos became overly friendly with Amyntas but the general did so on the King's own orders. Philip was informed by a few of his separate spies that it was Aeropos of Lyncestis who was suspiciously courting Amyntas and Lyncestis' nobles were always a trouble. Aeropos was a talented general who swore allegiance to Philip long time ago but he was related to the former royal house of Lyncestis that was in a constant state of revolt against Macedonian kings for centuries. Philip made it a habit to show a special personal trust in each of his generals encouraging them to spy on each other. If Pausanias couldn't discern this simple policy on his own, Philip wasn't going to enlighten him on the matter.
Pausanias, by now a senior officer known for his courage on the battlefield and dedication to the king had his own circle of devoted followers on whom he could rely and who willingly did his bidding. Since Pausanias couldn't be at the same time at two different places and most of his time was swallowed by Philip, sent two of his most capable adherents to spy on his younger namesake. For months they couldn't bring him any useful information and Pausanias even started to doubt his suspicions especially given the fact that by now Philip got rather bored with Attalos' present so much so that when they left Pella on the next Thracian campaign the young Attalos wasn't even in the official King's service but part of the regimen under Aeropos' control. One evening, after he was done doling out assignments for the night guards, Pausanias happened on a group of officers who, using their off duty time, were swapping gossips in order to pass time till it was their turn to retire for the night. Young Pausanias who didn't have yet much of the war experience to boast about, desperately tried to earn the respect of his fellow officers. Seeing his older namesake of whose resentment he was very well aware of and mistaking his tiredness for the lack of stamina, Pausanias made not so clever comment that he was too old, both for the king's bed and for the king's wars.
The younger Pausanias didn't realize first what a grave mistake he did. Pausanias of Orestis was very well known for his courage, cleverness and overall experience in military engagements. Such a derogatory comment, coming from somebody young and fresh, didn't sit well with the officers in whose company he was. The older Pausanias stopped in his tracks hearing the insult and fixed the offender with a cold gaze.
"And this coming from a catamite who not only got his first and only military assignment sucking other men's dicks but also dresses as a woman to get fucked as a cheap prostitute against taverns' walls!" he spit on the ground and moved away not dignifying his offender with a second look. He was pleased to hear laughter and offers of a free wine for spreading his legs that went in younger Pausanias' direction.
Waking up in the morning, Pausanias of Orestis was leeringly thanked by one of his fellow officers who happened to pass by for the entertainment he provided for the whole camp. Poor younger Pausanias was made a laughing stock of the camp and, not being able to deal with insults and taunts, broke up in tears that caused even more mockery. He ran away to hide somewhere between the trees and fall asleep on the ground only to wake up in the morning to the even more humiliating site of scattered nearby numerous pieces of wood all carved with proposed prices, one cheaper than the other, for his services. Even some of the nearby trees were carved with directional arrows to his location imitating the similar helping signing for locating prostitutes' houses.
Hiding in humiliation for the next few days on the outskirts of the moving camp, the young Pausanias couldn't take it any longer. Seeing the death as his only escape from humiliation, he took the opportunity to end his life in a small skirmish with Thracians. He was the only victim on the Macedonian side. When Aeropos' forces joined the main army, the incident was reported to Philip who chastised Pausanias for his careless remark but didn't see it necessary to reprimand him more firmly. If the younger Pausanias couldn't take a joke, if even a somewhat cruel one, he wasn't a good fit neither in court nor in the army; Macedonian society wasn't a place for weaklings.
General Attalos, however, harbored a grudge. He didn't care much about the death of a useless protégé but because he was the one who introduced the young Pausanias to the court, he deemed it as an insult to his reputation. He bid his time but upon the return from the Thracian campaign he casually approached Pausanias expressing concern over growing closeness in relationship between troublesome Aeropos and King's nephew Amyntas.
"I tried to convince the King to listen to me but he waived away all my concern," with worried look Attalos conspiratorially confided in Pausanias. "Maybe he will listen to both of us."
Pausanias remembered all too well that just months ago he accused Attalos of courting Amyntas. Was it possible that by doing so Attalos discovered somebody else's plot? Philip was too careless in letting Amyntas grow into adulthood. There were a lot of people who considered him a legitimate heir to the throne and Philip just a usurper. It was safer to eliminate Amyntas long time ago instead of leaving him as an enticement to anybody who wished to harm Philip. Attalos' concern was genuine enough and Pausanias, in his own world filled with obsession for his King safety, saw nothing suspicious of Attalos' invitation to come to his house and discuss how to better convince Philip to listen to their voice of reason.
The visit started innocently enough. They discussed how much more prosperous Macedon became under Philip, how much still was left to be done and how important it was for Macedonian nobles to stand by Philip and thwart any plots that some still harbor in hopes of promoting their own selfish agenda. As a good host, Attalos made sure that food and wine were of highest quality but he didn't try to ply his guest with too much wine. Initially a bit suspicious, Pausanias' reservations about his host dissipated and he let his guard down. Just when their conversation was about to turn to the serious matter, Pausanias started to feel a bit woozy. Too late he realized that though he didn't drink too much, his wine was possibly mixed with something that rendered him weak and incapable of concentration. He suddenly realized there were many unfamiliar faces around him, he didn't even noticed when they got a company. He thought he was about to be killed and cursed his own gullibility. However, Attalos' henchmen had something different in mind. Pausanias was rudely grasped and stripped of his clothes; with horror he realized that it was rape not murder that Attalos was about to inflict on him. He has no doubt that it was general's revenge for what happened to his protégé.
Pausanias tried to resist but he was too weak and assailants were too many. He was passed from one to another, the physical assault aggravated by verbal insults. In the end, almost unconscious, he was half dressed in a torn women clothes, rude makeup was applied to his face, his lips and nipples were painted red, his phallus was tied to a stick with frivolous bows to imitate erection. His arms tied behind his back so that he couldn't help himself, he was left at the doorsteps of bawdy house in Pella infamous for its cheap tricks and low level prostitutes.
The incident was the only news discussed in Pella for the next few days. Philip, though amused in the beginning, upon consideration didn't like the treatment that was given to one of his most capable officers, let alone known confidant. Attalos, when summoned privately to the King's chambers, smugly responded that if Pausanias was more of a man then he accused the now deceased Pausanias to be, he should find the balls to survive the incident unscathed.
"I will be the first one to applaud him for his toughness," conceded Attalos careful not to take it too far with Philip. "There is no place for weaklings in the Macedonian court and this is something both I and Pausanias agree."
"We'll see," somberly stated Philip, "but no more of this bullshit."
When in few days Pausanias was well enough to resume his duties in King's presence, he braved the ridicule of the court and showed up in King's chambers as if nothing happened. Surprisingly plagued by the guilt towards Pausanias for not taking any official measures against Attalos and at the same time wanting to remind the general in whose hands the power rested, he bestowed the title of Somatophylax on Pausanias. There could been only seven official Somatophylakes but one position became open during the Thracian campaign when one of them was killed. Attalos asked this position to be given to a certain Eudemos who was Attalos' relative by marriage and a worthy officer on his own. Philip verbally agreed but official investiture didn't take place and now the post went to Pausanias.
Attalos took the hint and said nothing. He decided to bid his time, there were other means of standing his grounds against the king and not bowing his head too low. Over the years the story became almost forgotten and even Attalos had to admit that Pausanias of Orestis had far more brawn and brain than his former protégé of the same name. At the same time Attalos, while continuing to prove his worth to the King as a capable general, never stopped at searching for other means to endear himself even more to Philip. Marrying Larisa, the only daughter of general Parmenion, was another stepping stone of the illustrious career Attalos dreamt of building. He had no surviving children from his previous marriages and he hoped that Larisa would provide him with heirs but in almost five years of their cohabitation, apart from suffering from a few miscarriages, Larisa wasn't able to fulfil her spousal obligations. Not that Attalos sought her company very often, he considered his wife to be a prude and cold in bed and chose to look for sexual releases in other places.
In the meantime his niece Cleopatra bloomed into a lovely maiden of fifteen years old and looked very ripe for marriage. At some point Attalos even considered divorcing Larisa and marrying his own niece, after all the wife's barrenness was a valid excuse but he thought such an action will put him at odds with Parmenion and it wasn't a clever move. Maybe he should force himself to visit his wife's bed more often. As for Cleopatra…. Attalos saw a sudden opportunity when, disturbed by the rumors that were circulated in the palace for quite some time that the young prince Alexander wasn't interested in women at all, King Philip and Olympias, in a rare fit of agreement hired for Alexander a very famous Thessalian hetaera Callixena. Apparently, their efforts and money were wasted, Alexander politely sent the girl away informing his parents that he didn't need their, or anybody else's for that matter, help.
Attalos prudently waited a few days for the situation to calm down and then one of the evenings, when the small royal banquet was under way and in Attalos' judgement Philip was relatively drunk but not so drank as to not be able to process the offer, the general, as if by chance mentioned to his King, "Maybe Alexander doesn't need a prostitute but a wife."
"Pfew," the King waived away, "he is too young for a wife though it won't hurt if he can have his dick occupied from time to time."
"You know, Alexander IS different," Attalos noted as if contemplating a profound wisdom, "a good and obedient wife can develop his taste for more, should I say, adventurous explorations. I happen to know a suitable candidate."
"And who such a candidate might be?" indulgently asked Philip.
"My niece Cleopatra, for example," modestly suggested the general.
The King broke out in a hilarious laughter, "You're very clever, Attalos, very clever," he boomed and winked with his only eye at his drinking companion, "but I think I will pass over this offer for now. You shouldn't worry yourself with my son's marriage prospects but," he winked again and licked his lips, "I've heard that your house is full of very inciting wenches and yet, you never invite me for a visit."
"I am a married man," Attalos gravely reminded his King. "I won't brook any debauches in my house." Seeing a disappointing look on his King's face, he hurriedly added, "however, if you won't tell Parmenion…."
"I won't tell Parmenion," Philip agreed and licked his lips again. Attalos could almost physically feel the lust that was grasping his king's body.
"I recently acquired this wench; very, very lovely; I didn't touch her yet, she is a frightened little thing and I wanted to wait when she, like a ripe fruit, would fall in my lap. Just this morning, I noticed how she blushed and turned away when she saw me approaching. I pretended to brash away an invisible insect from her barely covered chest and I could feel her trembling in anticipation. And then she asked if it is all right with me if she goes in the evening to the garden to sit near a fountain and look at the distant stars that would remind her of her house. I wonder if it is an innocence that she is hiding under the virgin looks or a clever seduction. So, my king, do you want to discover for yourself?"
If the king was somewhat horny in the beginning of their conversation by the end of it he looked like if he was ready to tumble Attalos himself in the middle of the hall. "I like the change of scenery," Philip drooled. "Let's go; for once, I am happy that your house is so close to the palace." In his rash to get a sexual release, the King didn't realized that the guard on duty was Pausanias. For Attalos, however, it was an additional bonus. "I trust you have no problem accompanying King on this journey?" he leeringly asked the bodyguard when he helped Philip on the horse.
"Your house is no different from anybody else's," dispassionately noted Pausanias and mounted his own horse. Attalos went as far as giving an almost imperceptible nod of approval to his former nuisance.
Of course, Philip didn't need to go all the way to Attalos' house to satisfy his needs but the journey would give an additional flare to his sexual boredom and Philip could endure the delay if it would make his conquest more challenging. Attalos didn't want to arrive with all the pomp to the main entrance of his house; instead, sensing that the King wished a cloud of mystery to go with his adventure, took his companions to a side entrance. They dismounted and Attalos signalled to the first servant they encountered to keep silent and don't appraise anybody of their return. There was no innocent maiden waiting for Attalos in the garden, he made the story up on the go; his intention was to show disappointment at finding the garden void of any presence and then provide the explanation that the promised girl either got scared or tired of waiting; then he could promptly go into the house and find a willing candidate to play the described role.
So, it was a complete surprise for Attalos when, noiselessly approaching the area of the garden where the fountain provided the desired coolness during the hot days of summer, instead of lonely murmur of the water, they all heard the stifled moans of pleasure coming from nearby area.
"Your girl is either fond of pleasuring herself or found somebody else to satisfy her needs," merrily whispered the King and teasingly elbowed his general into the ribs. "Let see what surprises are waiting for us, maybe we still can partake in those hidden delights." Attalos nodded but said nothing, he didn't like surprises and became somewhat worried.
The few moments later the trio found itself in an area behind two bushes from where it was easy to see what was going on. Under any other circumstances their appearance would be immediately spotted by the two people occupying the low bench but they were too engrossed in each other to notice anything around them.
Pausanias jaw dropped and he realized that if he ever wanted a revenge on Attalos, he couldn't have asked for any better, especially given the fact that is was happening under Attalos' roof, the same very place where he was so viciously violated on general's orders. Poor Attalos froze on the spot and as of Philip, Pausanias couldn't see his face but he was quite sure that his king enjoyed the view.
Larisa, Attalos' wife and his niece Cleopatra, both naked from their waists up, were pleasuring each other as if there was no tomorrow. Cleopatra, her one leg on the side of the bench and the other under her bum was hold in place by Larisa, whose one hand was around her slim body playing with the breast and another buried between her charge's legs. They covered each other in kisses and tried to get rid of the remaining vestiges of their clothes.
Attalos was the first one to get out of torpor and was about to rash out to separate the culprits but Philip promptly stopped his general. "Why won't we watch till the end?" he suggested with leer and continued to ogle both women. "When they are done, they can indulge us in a second round. Maybe even Pausanias can get his share."
Attalos growled and, too enraged to fear his king's anger, rushed forward to tear away his wife from his niece. At last realising that there were spectators to their show, both woman shrieked and sprang from each other. Attalos, mad with outrage, grasped his wife by hair and, throwing her to the ground, started to hit her with his feet oblivious on the places where his sandals ended. Philip, who first grasped Cleopatra who was about to faint from fear, passed her into Pausanias's hands and rushed to stop Attalos from kicking his wife to death. Their little amorous adventure ended quite differently from what any of them imagined.
If not for the King, Attalos would beat his wife into a pulp; luckily, Philip managed to drag his general away. It wasn't an easy task but the King sternly reminder Attalos that if he didn't want this story to become talk of the country, he'd better get grasp of himself and come to his senses. Those were wise words and the general, through the red mist of outrage, giving the final vicious kick to his wife, stepped away. Then he went in the Pausanias' direction and, unceremoniously pulling out poor Cleopatra from his hands, slapped her with the back of his hand across her face.
"Useless trash," he spat, "I took you into my house, cared for you, provided for you and this is how you repaid me?"
Cleopatra plaintively sobbed and hung her head in humiliation.
"Lovely lady," appraisingly said the King, "it would be a pity not to have her desires fulfilled. What do you say, Attalos?"
"You can have her," dismissively allowed the general, "and when you're tired of her, you can pass her on to Pausanias."
"I will be the one who makes the decision about your niece's future," stated the king suddenly sounding surprisingly calm and sober. "In the meantime, have her escorted to her rooms and treat her with respect befitting your niece." Philip took his own cloak and wrapped it around Cleopatra's body to conceal her almost nakedness. "And one more thing, Attalos, you can't divorce or punish too severely Parmenion's daughter and I wish the knowledge of this incident to remain between the five of us. Am I clear?"
Attalos was silent for some time but in the end he had to agree to king's conditions, he wasn't about to ruin his career because of the two slutty women. If the King wished to play a noble hero while fucking his niece, all the better, he wouldn't need to suffer the humiliation of his niece being talked about on the same level as his king's other numerous nameless and faceless concubines. He had, however, to suffer the constant presence of Pausanias in his house since, quite logically, Philip appointed his bodyguard as a messenger each time King felt like indulging his sexual appetite with Attalos' niece.
It came as a surprise to both Attalos and Pausanias when King expressed his desire to bring Cleopatra on his campaign against Thebes. Philp never brought his mistresses along, he preferred to find a fresh entertainment in every new place he went; besides, the Macedonian army under his command differed significantly from the armies of Greek city states by minimal amount of servants and almost complete lack of concubines. Before advancing to Chaeronea, Philip left Cleopatra in a comfortable house in Elatea. There was a rumor that Attalos' niece was pregnant with Philip's child. Whether true or not, Pausanias couldn't tell despite being quite often in Cleopatra's presence. Attalos' niece still presented very shy and demure façade to the outside world and even to Pausanias who remembered seeing her in not very presentable way. Even Attalos, quite taken aback by the King's unexpectedly prolonged interest in his niece, started to show her a certain respect even when there was no need for audience. However, whatever grasp Cleopatra hold on the King's heart and penis, didn't preclude him from indulging in occasional tumble, especially with his willing pages.
Philip was done with Seleucos for quite some time now and, having his needs satisfied to the fullest degree, peacefully snored on the camp bed. Pausanias sighed and kneeled before the king picking up the blanket that fell to the floor. He reverently took one of the king's hands and planted a devoted kiss on the rough knuckles. Then he lovingly spread the blanket over the king's body and stepped away, resuming his post of the night watch.
w
338 BC, late fall, Epirus
Passaron, the main city of Epirus and seat of its king Alexander, was no more than a sprawling village and couldn't stand any comparison to Pella or even the ancient Aigai. It was a bleak place and late autumn's heavy lead sky did nothing to cheer Alexander up during his few days' stay there. Now, at night, the sky was dark and merciless wind howled in the corridors of the place that his uncle magnanimously called a palace. Not that it really mattered because even this gods' forsaken place couldn't serve as even temporary refuge to the exiled prince.
How could the gods bring him so high and then mercilessly plunged to the very bottom in the matter of few months? But here he was, only recently unanimously proclaimed the victor of Chaeronea and chosen to lead an embassy to Athens, now wallowing in misery, abandoned by everybody, insulted by impetuous upstart Attalos, disinherited by his own father, unwanted by his uncle and accused by his mother of being incapable of defending her honor. What future did he have with no friends, no supporters, nobody to take up his cause and stand by him? Even a sudden unbelievable gift of gods, Theseus entering his life again, turned out to be just a tease, a glimpse of what it might have been that now dissipated into the mist of impossible with all other great things that Alexander thought awaited him in future.
How could a great king, and Alexander always considered his father such, fall so low as to insult and banish in a drunk stupor his only viable successor, the one who one day would bring the future of Macedon to an undisputable pinnacle of superiority? How could he, a person who duped and outfoxed far more cunning enemies, missed the obvious fact that Attalos' only purpose was to promote his own family's interests even when it was at the expense of the whole of Macedon? If his father suddenly died in battle, what would become of Macedon and who is going to be its king? Weak minded Arrhidaeus? Spineless Amyntas? An unborn child of Eurydice or Attalos himself vied for the role? Enemies of all sorts will descend on Macedon again and steal away, piece by piece, what so laboriously was collected by Philip and some of his predecessors. How his father couldn't see THAT?!
But did he, Alexander, blinded by fury, made a mistake of running away instead of standing his ground and fight for what was his? Should he had taken a chance of staying in Pella in hopes of his father coming to his senses in the morning and…. what? Taking his words back? Apologizing? Making Attalos to apologize? Or was it more logical to expect from his father throwing him into prison and killing his mother as an additional perk? And what of his friends and the army? Those who only recently hailed him as Macedonian bright future, what would they do? Would they take a chance and revolt with him against his father or watch dispassionately as the prince was humiliated by the almighty king and his newest abdominal father-in-law? Judging by the fact that none of his friends had chosen to share this forced exiled, the answer was obvious. He was abandoned by everybody and already discarded as redundant political figure, soon to be completely dismissed and forgotten.
"Prince Alexander!"
Alexander flinched at hearing his name coming as if out of nowhere and sharply jumped aside simultaneously drawing his weapon. In a dim light of his room, a frightened shadow swayed away.
"Who are you?" the Prince demanded sharply.
"Doron, Your Highness, don't your remember me? I was calling but you didn't respond," the frightened man haltingly started to explained mixing his native Epirote with mispronounced Macedonian words.
Alexander relaxed and sheathed his sword. He recognized the man that his uncle gave him as a temporary servant.
"What do you want?" the Prince asked harshly not being able to contain his foul mood.
"A messenger came for you from Macedon. It seems he travelled the distance in a record time, he looks exhausted and his horse in no better shape. He demanded to be brought to you immediately. Will you see him now?"
"A messenger?" Alexander asked in disbelieve. Was it possible that his father regretted his outburst and sent a person to bring him back?... No, it didn't seem likely, in such an event, Philip wouldn't send just one person, it seemed… not royally and…
"A messenger from who?" impatiently asked Alexander not getting answer fast enough.
"He wouldn't say. Only that his name was Theseus," hurriedly explained Doron.
"Theseus?" Alexander repeated in disbelieve. "It can't be! Why would he and how…" the prince stopped short and looked suspiciously at Doron. The frightened servant, sensing that the name didn't sit right with his short-tempered master, hurriedly nodded and hastened to add, "this is the name that the man gave me. If you…."
"Take me to him," Alexander ordered. It was just a coincidence, he decided; the name, after all, wasn't that rare; he shouldn't delude himself with an unrealistic hope that the gods took pity on him and somehow guided "his" Theseus to this god- forsaken place.
Doron vigorously nodded and hurriedly scooted away. Alexander followed him through the poorly lit and drafty corridors and then into a big and rather cold and empty hall. A single person wrapped into a woolly cloak was sitting on his haunches near a fireplace trying to get some heat from a meagre fire inside.
Alexander's heart sank, he immediately knew who it was.
"Theseus!" he called, still in disbelieve.
The man stood up and turned around, a smile lit his tiredly looking face, "Alexander!" he exclaimed and took steps towards the prince, "Glad to see you well and alive."
"Likewise," beamed Alexander trying in vain to supress the wild beating of his heart. He wanted to clasp the man that was within his reach into a rib crashing embrace and be hugged in return but managed to supress his urge. "How did you find me here?" he asked instead being simply satisfied to find himself in a very close proximity to a man.
"Long story," Hephaistion shivered. "I was hoping first to get some sleep and then begin my storytelling. Is there any place, preferably warm, where I can spend the night?"
"Yes, come to my rooms; everybody is asleep and it will take ages to arrange something suitable to you. Are you hungry?"
"Maybe, but not enough to delay shutting my eyes. I can sleep here on the floor, I don't need much."
"Don't be absurd," Alexander insisted, "come, my rooms are nearby, it's not a big place. Doron, bring additional mattress and warm covers to my rooms, and something to eat too."
The servant nodded and disappeared and Alexander lightly touched Hephaistion on the shoulder, inviting him to follow. The journey didn't take long and soon they entered the room that Alexander left in a hurry not so long ago.
"You take the bed today," Alexander nodded hoping that his friend won't refuse.
Hephaistion was too tired to argue or to think about any other alternative. He heavily sat on the bed and started to unwrap his cloak.
Alexander, still hardly believing his luck and not wanting to behave or sound too stupid, busied himself with checking the torches on the wall and rotating a single lamp on the table.
"I don't want to cause your death by curiosity, it would be highly inappropriate for a prince," chuckled Hephaistion realizing that Alexander tried to distract himself from staring at him and barraging with questions. "Perdiccas send me."
"Perdiccas?"
"Yes. Come," he invited Alexander with a wave of his hand, "I can't expect you to lay on a bare floor in expectation of your servant bringing something to sleep on."
Alexander hurriedly grasped the single chair that his room boasted and placed it near the bed where Hephaistion sat. "So, you know what happened, right?" the prince asked, sitting and facing his guest.
"Yes, but not in a way you'd expect, I think," said Hephaistion. "I lived quite a peaceful and worry free life at Perdiccas' estate. His mother is a wonderful woman and she took an excellent care of me, just as he promised. Alcetas turned out to be not as annoying as you both threatened me with and his younger sister Atalante (1) is a nice girl of fourteen summers who prefers fishing in the ponds and rivers to any other far more girly pastimes. I almost started to get bored when a week ago a messenger, Attalos' lieutenant, came with summons for Alcetas back to Pella. And there was a letter from Perdiccas."
"When you say "Attalos' lieutenant" did you actually mean…. my father's general?" Alexander asked with a mix of worry and disbelieve.
"Yes," Hephaistion chuckled. "It seems that our friend Perdiccas cleverly decided to cash in on his brother's questionable taste in patrons. Quite a risky endeavor but I think it went undetected."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, what I know came from Perdiccas' letter and Marsyas, Attalos' lieutenant; a few soldiers who came with him added bits of what happened. After you left the dining hall under the curses of your father and harsh disapproval remarks from his guests, some of your friends tried to follow you but were stopped by a man by the name of Black Kleitos, I think he is one of your father's bodyguards."
"He is a commander of the squadron in the Companion cavalry, serves as my father bodyguard, yes. His sister Lanike was my wet nurse," explained Alexander.
"Yes, thank you. Your friends that followed you, and I am aware those included Perdiccas, Leonnatos, Nearchos, Attalos from Mieza, Amphoteros and Hegelochus, maybe some others, were herded by Black Kleitos' men to their quarters in the barracks and forbidden to leave. They were temporally relieved from whatever duties they had and forbidden to try to follow you under the penalty of permanent exile and probably even death. A few days later they all were transferred under the command of Philotas, son of general Parmenion. I think your father trusts him as a talented commander and also Attalos' brother-in-law. They were all forbidden to get in touch with you but Perdiccas obviously found a way. Maybe not directly but still. Anyway, it seems he went to general Attalos, expressed regret at his previous blindness of following you, an unreliable and hot-tempered young man, instead of learning from the best, namely Attalos. Beats me how he managed to convince Attalos in his repentance but people tend to believe in what they want to believe so it seems Attalos bought Perdiccas' performance. Your friend also asked if it was possible to bring his brother back to Pella and Attalos magnanimously granted the request. Maybe he hoped that he can play two brothers against each other.
Perdiccas asked to deliver the pardon to Alcetas personally but Attalos obviously thought it's too risky to allow Perdiccas to travel in the same direction as you did so he informed his new recruit that he can't leave Pella but a messenger can be arranged to bring Alcetas back and he was encouraged to write a letter. Maybe Attalos thought that Perdiccas would commit too much to the scroll and thus reveal his duplicity, if there was any. Well, obviously, he doesn't know Perdiccas very well," Hephaistion smirked.
"It seems so," Alexander agreed sarcastically. "So, what did Perdiccas write and how did you know to find me here?"
"It was Marsyas who said that you and your mother run away to Epirus, it seems like a known fact in Pella. Luckily for me, there was a fella at Perdiccas' estate who came on a family visit from Passaron and who was about to return so I travelled with him, otherwise I would never be able to find my way so quickly here. Alcetas gave me his brother's letter to read. It was a lengthy and flowery letter, full of praises to Attalos and Philip and lots of disapproval for your behaviour and his own blindness at not seeing earlier who you really were, an egoistic, self-centric, conceited and selfish prince who readily swallowed his barbaric mother's lies about being impregnated by Zeus himself. You were called a pampered spoilt brat who ascribed other people military success to himself, who, just as his self-obsessed hero Achilles disregards all and any authority but his own, who is inconsiderate towards his friends and so on and so forth. And then, there was this piece – thanks gods that now he will never rule Macedon, otherwise just like Pirithous, the insufferable king of Lapiths, he would rush from one crazy adventure to another and he, Perdiccas, has no intention to play the role of Theseus and follow him everywhere, even to Hades, where, it seems, Alexander was headed anyway."
The Prince remained somber during Hephaistion recitation of the letter and then asked, "Do you think any of it is true?"
"What?"
"How Perdiccas described me?"
"Alexander, I think it is quite obvious that Perdiccas' intention was to get message to me through Alcetas. He risked his good reputation for it, since the words he had to write about you are nasty and who knows what else he told Attalos in person to feed his vanity and to lull his suspicions. I don't think he would do that if he believed, even for a shortest of moments, what he wrote or said."
"How do you know?" uncertainly asked Alexander. "You don't know me. And you don't like me much either."
"Well, true, I don't know you but I think I know Perdiccas. Besides, I suspect, though taking a risk, he enjoyed this performance a little. He would like to be here with you but neither he nor any of your other friends could, so he thought of the next best possible thing, sending me."
"He could have send Alcetas."
"No, he couldn't have, Alexander. Alcetas had to return back to Pella, otherwise Attalos would see right through Perdiccas' game."
"So, you came here because you think it was what Perdiccas wanted?"
"I am sorry if it is not good enough for you," Hephaistion admitted. "I owe Perdiccas my life and since I still didn't figure out what to do with it, coming here wasn't really a difficult choice, even if I had to trade one boredom to another."
"What do you mean?"
"I assume there is not much to do in Epiros?"
"Maybe, but I am not staying here," grimly said Alexander.
"Why?"
"Well, my uncle King Alexander owes his throne to my father. He is not going to incur his anger by harboring the fugitive."
"How do you know?"
"I was asked to leave. As a matter of fact, I have to leave tomorrow at dawn. He even didn't want his own sister here. He ordered my mother to take a pilgrimage to Dodona. She left this morning."
"Where would you go?" Hephaistion frowned.
"To Illyria."
"Aren't Macedon and Illyria at permanent state of war?"
"Exactly."
A brief silence fell between the men and then Hephaistion asked, "But isn't it dangerous for you to go there? You won't be safe."
"I will manage; besides, I don't have any other places to go. You don't need to come."
"Well, I don't have any other place to go either. And I promised Perdiccas."
"Promised? How?"
"I told Alcetas to pass a verbal message to him. Alcetas maybe rush but he is not stupid or naïve to endanger his brother's life. It seems they're close."
"I can relieve you from your promise," sourly said Alexander. He stood from his chair and started to lay out the blankets over the mattress that Doron brought at last. "You are tired. Go to sleep. I am grateful for your journey, for the news you brought, at least now I know that my friends didn't betray me as I thought and ready to stand by me but there is no need. After you rest here for a few days, go to Pella, I am sure Perdiccas will find a place for you at my father's Court, especially now that he is both friends with the King and his all-powerful father-in-law. You can make a good career and decent living by joining my father's army."
"You're right," Hephaistion yawned, "I better go to sleep. It's an early start tomorrow. Didn't you say you're leaving at dawn? Do you think you can find a fresh horse for me? There is no way mine will be in any shape to travel in a few hours."
Alexander stopped fussing with his blankets and looked forlornly at Hephaistion. He would like nothing more than his company but why lie to yourself? Theseus wasn't here for him, he was here out of sense of duty he thought he owned to Perdiccas. Still, beggars can't be choosers. He made one last attempt to dissuade the man he realized he was foolishly in love with.
"As I said, you don't have to come. I will feel much better if you join Perdiccas and let him know I am all right."
"Alexander, I don't have strength to argue. I can't offer you much help because I have nothing but if I would have been in your situation, I would appreciate a company."
"I would appreciate it too," Alexander couldn't resist and smiled sheepishly.
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Perdiccas indeed had a sister called Atalante, some five years his younger. Not much known about her except that in 322/321 when Perdiccas invaded Egypt trying to recover Alexander's body stolen by Ptolemy, she was married to one Attalos. I made him one of the boys in Mieza a few chapters earlier. He wasn't in Egypt with Perdiccas at the time because he commanded his fleet somewhere else. Because she was Perdiccas' sister, Atalante was brutally killed just hours after her brother was massacred. So much for Ptolemy's and Seleucos' generosity and goodness of heart.