A/N – here is the next chapter in Hephaistion's and Alexander's adventures. I hope you like it.
As always, I am grateful to all the readers who continue to take interest in this story and those who just discovered it and added it to their favorites and alerts. It means a lot to me when some of you leave your comments of appreciation, I am always looking forward to read them and respond.
The names of Illyrian tribes are mostly known to us from Romans but I took the liberty to use the same names. In this chapter we meet some new historical personages and also some fictitious ones but they all become the part of the story.
This chapter takes place in the beginning of winter 338 BC.
A warm drink, mellow and sweet, pleasantly smoothed down his throat; a tiny escaped rivulet thread-needled from the corner of his mouth to the beard and even managed to trickle down to the throat tickling and prickling almost playfully.
Hephaistion frowned, first mentally but then actually and opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a face of the pretty woman breaking in smile and then he felt the same warm drink dripped into his mouth from a clay jar whose cold rim pressed against his lips strangely contrasted with the temperature of the beverage it contained. He swallowed what was in his mouth and then brought his hands around the vessel to change the angle to a more convenient one. Instead the vessel, his hands covered that of the woman and he thought she smiled even wider.
"Who are you? Where am I?" He asked when he finished the drink.
The woman pulled out her hands from under Hephaistion's and turning, shouted something. A few moments later a boy, some seven years old, came to them holding a small shallow pot. The woman nodded in Hephaistion's direction, encouraging. The boy handled the pot to the son of Amyntor and indicated with his hands that contents should be eaten with the wooden spoon whose handle protruded upward quite prominently. Hephaistion looked inside, it was obviously some sort of stew and realization of being hungry made the contents of the pot very welcoming.
But eating could wait, should wait, there were more urgent matters to address. "Where am I?" repeated Hephaistion, "where is Alexander?"
"Sirra," the woman said and pointed her index finger at herself, "Theseus," and she pointed in Hephaistion's direction. "Alexander," and she pointed somewhere to the right.
"Alexander is here? Where? Let me see him," Hephaistion tried to stand up from the sitting position he realized he was in.
The woman managed to impede Hephaistion's intention pushing him down with her hands and making negative motions with her head. Hephaistion, the clay pot still in his hands, tried to convey the urgency of the situation by repeatedly saying Alexander's name. The woman abandoned the attempt to restrict Hephaistion and instead bringing her hands together put them to the left side of her head imitating someone sleeping and said "Alexander."
"No," insisted Hephaistion trying to pass the pot with the very temping contents to the woman whose name, he surmised, was Sirra, "Theseus needs to see Alexander." Not able to handle the pot to Sirra, he at last managed to put it on the floor and repeated the phrase, pointing at his eyes when he said "to see".
The woman stubbornly pressed her lips repeating the pantomime of sleeping Alexander and picking the pot from the ground tried to force it on Hephaistion. Their battle of gestures was interrupted by the new arrivals, two men and the boy, the same that was sent away on the errand, came into Hephaistion's line of vision.
The man in the front, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, briefly addressed the woman in a friendly manner and then turned his attention to Hephaistion.
"My name is Langaros and from the years of experience dealing with my sister," the man nodded in the direction of Hephaistion's insistent nurse, "I can tell you that the only way to get her off your back is to give her what she wants."
"Where is Alexander?" Urgently asked Hephaistion though he was relieved that there was someone with whom he could communicate in Greek.
"He is in another house; Sika, our physician is taking care of him. He got a nasty bump in the head, from the fall into the well I think, and also was wounded in the left upper arm. And, just like you, he stayed far too long in the cold water."
"Is he going to be alright? I need to see him. Now."
"Now you have to rest and take my word, well, the word of Sika, that your presence is not needed. There are other wounded and Sika has to attend to them all. We put them into the house with the biggest room but there is no space for you. We need everybody to be able to travel tomorrow morning. You should eat and sleep. You will see Alexander tomorrow, I promise."
"I have to make sure that Alexander is alive, please. I just go and see him, and come back."
"Maybe later," Langaros conceded and started to talk to his sister.
"You have to eat and have some rest," Langaros turned his attention to Hephaistion again. "I need you to be able to travel tomorrow on your own. My nephew," Langaros nodded in the direction of the boy, "will take you to see Alexander later."
"Wait," Hephaistion asked seeing the man turning to go away, "How do you know who we are? Where are we going and what happened to Pleurias?"
"Well, I don't have time for a long explanations now but Pleurias thought that he was setting up a trap for us whereas it was him who fell into out trap. I know who you're are from one of his soldiers, he told his name was Gaso, I think. He was severely wounded but it seems he valued your lives high enough to tell where you were. We weren't in a mood to take any prisoners but it seems he decided, and rightly so, that we may take an exception for the Macedonian prince and his companion."
"Is Gaso dead?"
"Yes."
"And Pleurias?"
"Unfortunately, he managed to run away with a few of his people but most of his force stays here, dead."
"Why he wanted you dead? And who are you? I mean, you told me your name but I never heard of you."
"I have never heard of your either," chuckled Langaros. "In any case, Pleurias wants to join forces with Cleitos, the new Dardanian king and Scerdis, the former general of my father, king of Agrianians. My father was wounded in the raid a few years ago and Scerdis, who is married Bircenna, Cleitos' sister, claimed that my father died from his wounds on the way home and now he is a king though not many recognize him. Cleitos is, of course, wants his brother-in-law to become the king because he thinks he can manipulate him and Pleurias wants an alliance with Cleitos so he offered his help to rid Scerdis of an inconvenient rival, me. My father, also Langaros, was on friendly terms with your king Philip, and of course other tribes detested it. They are afraid that if I become the king of Agrianians, I will surrender my kingdom to Philip and he can conquer Dardani, Autariatae, Grabaei and Taulantii more easily."
"I spent most of my adult life in the city of Chalkis on Euboea and know little of the tribes that are north and west of Macedon. Is this territory your kingdom?"
"No. This belongs to Autariatae, my kingdom is to south-east from here."
"So, why Pleurias laid a trap for you here?"
"My sister is a widow now, her husband Dazos was killed in the skirmish with Celts a few years ago. He was a chieftain of a small tribe that had to pay a tribute to Pleurias, long story. Before he married my sister, he took a Celtic woman in some raid to the north and later made her his wife. That woman was a sister of some powerful Celtic chief but was kidnapped before by some brigands. So my future brother-in-law actually kidnapped her from the kidnappers. In the end, that Celtic woman said she wanted to be married to her rescuer so some sort of truce and alliance was achieved with that Celtic tribe. But the woman died in the childbirth and then Dazos married my sister but he still maintained a strong connection with that Celtic tribe from where his first wife was from. In the skirmish that he died he fought on the side of the Celtic tribe his first wife was from against some other Celts. He hoped to get their help to get rid of Pleurias' but it didn't come to pass but Dazos introduced me to his former relatives. Did you ever meet any Celts?"
"No," admitted Hephaistion.
"They are formidable warriors, tall, strong, almost all blond. They said when I need their help… well, I don't count much of them but at least I feel safe from their raids. In any case, when Dazos was killed, my father was still alive so I went to visit my sister, to see if she wanted to come back. She preferred to stay here and it so happened that I met Dazos' niece, Latra, a very lovely lady…. So, I visit her…. Eh…often. Somebody brought the news to Pleurias and he decided to set a trap for me. Only Pleurias' own spy choose to bribe a wrong person inside this fortress and this is how I became aware of the trap and set up my own. But now we have to leave; my sister at last agreed to go back and also Latra is coming with me. Even before this all transpired, Pleurias' people constantly attacked the fortress and stole herds from its inhabitants. With my brother-in-law dead and unfortunately many of his warriors died in the same battle leaving lots of widows, there are not enough men to defend the settlement so most of the inhabitants decided to go with me. The first part left just before Pleurias' assault and the rest is coming now. We have to leave tomorrow morning, in case Pleurias returns in revenge."
"We travelled here for almost a week," said Hephaistion, "and you said many of Pleurias' men found their last resting place here. Even if he decides to come back for revenge, it's not going to happen soon."
"You might be right but might be not. I don't want to risk, he might have hid some of his people close by. Besides, he may ask for help from the locals. No, it's too dangerous, I prefer to go back as soon as possible."
"Don't you have to get your kingdom back first?"
"Yes, I know," Langaros smiled mysteriously without providing any further details. "Today, however, I still have a lot of other things to do. And you have to eat and rest. We leave tomorrow at dawn."
It was snowing at last. Not hard though and without the relentless wind. It was even beautiful how the snowflakes slowly descended from above and then dissipated when touching the trees or ground. It made the forest lighter and less gloomy and it wasn't much colder than in previous days. Of course, the cocoon of warm clothes he was wrapped in made the business of staying warm not very difficult. He bent slightly over and patted Bucephalus' neck in a reassuring manner. The horse behaved well despite the fact that the riders were Hephaistion and Thanis, Langaros' nephew.
In the morning Hephaistion wanted to ride with Alexander but physician argued that he was not yet strong enough to support Alexander so Langaros gave his own horse to Sirra who mounted it in a fluent movement and then Alexander was brought onto the same horse. Macedonian prince and Langaros' sister rode before Hephaistion so Bucephalus could see the back of his master and didn't cause any trouble probably sensing that Alexander was in no position to ride himself.
Previous evening, as promised, Hephaistion was taken to see Alexander but the prince was given a strong sleeping potion and didn't wake up. However, the son of Amyntor could see that he was properly cared for and his worries somewhat diminished. As the day progressed, the snow stopped but the dark clouds loomed ominously high above and Hephaistion started to worry that the snow storm will impede their progress and cause Alexander's condition to deteriorate. Luckily, the bad weather didn't materialize but when darkness started to fall, Hephaistion felt his strength was ebbing away as well. He struggled to stay in the upright position on the horse and prayed to the Olympians to give him vigor to endure.
At last he felt Bucephalus to stop and he realized they arrived at some sort of a camp – the were fires right ahead of him. Thanis and some unknown man helped him from the horse and he could see that somebody was already carrying Alexander to some resting place. To Hephaistion's relief he was brought to the same place which to his utmost delight was a wagon. Not questioning from where it appeared in the middle of the forest and not resisting the help to climb into it, Hephaistion fell onto the hay mattress and let his muscles to relax. He promised himself it's going to be only for a few moments but he closed his eyes and drifted into the realm of Morpheus.
x
"Theseus, wake up, Theseus," Hephaistion felt someone tugging at his arm.
"Go away, Perdiccas," son of Amyntor mumbled and tried to turn to the other side.
"It's not Perdiccas, it's me, Alexander…. Wake up, you slugabed!"
"I am not a….Alexander! You are awake!" Hephaistion jumped into sitting position but hit his head on the wooden frame of the wagon and slowly slid down.
"I didn't know you're dreaming about Perdiccas," Alexander widely smiled.
"I am not," Hephaistion smiled in return, "but it became an instinct, I guess, to think of him when I am woken up in a sudden manner…. Well, anyway, your friend always wakes me up when least expected and even least needed. I am so glad to see you awake, how do you feel?"
"I don't know," Alexander frowned trying to determine the answer, "Like I was wounded and then tossed from side to side for a long time. Where are we?"
"We have a change of hosts. Instead of Pleurias it is now Langaros. Did you ever hear of him? He is some sort of Illyrian Chief, or at least his father was. His father name was also Langaros, he recently died. It seems your father and Langaros the Elder were some sort of allies."
"Yes, I've heard quite a lot about him, the father I mean, he was the Chief of Agrianians and recently was killed in some battle. His youngest son Langaros tries to wrangle power from Scerdis, one of his father's generals who fancies himself a new leader of Agrianians. So, what happened?"
"Do you remember being wounded?"
"Wounded? No." Alexander sounded surprised, "but I fell into something, I remember falling and then, I hit water…. Went under it and… not sure… how I didn't drawn?"
"You almost did! I jumped after you and pulled you out."
"You did? I don't remember seeing you when I was fighting off those Illyrians, I was afraid they killed you."
"Well, almost," and Hephaistion retold Alexander everything from the moment they were attacked by Illyrians that happened upon them as if from nowhere.
Alexander was listening attentively and in the end he said, "So, Langaros thinks that by saving me and keeping me alive he can in future score favors with my father who will help him to gain the upper hand over Scerdis."
"Possibly but what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing," Alexander shrugged, "I wonder if he realizes that he might have bet on the wrong horse."
"Let's hope not," Hephaistion smiled, "Besides, I like these Illyrians more than the previous ones. Too bad I can't communicate much with them, only Langaros speaks proper Greek, though maybe some speak Macedonian, I am not sure."
"And with whom you're so eager to communicate? Some lovely lady?"
Hephaistion could discern light teasing notes in Alexander's voice but he wasn't sure how much the prince needed to pretend to sound as he did. Truth be told, he found Sirra, Langaros' sister, quite attractive and she was a widow. Under other circumstances he would take an initiative into his hands and openly court the woman but he didn't wish to offend Alexander. On the other hand…..
"You don't need to speak a language to communicate with a lady," said Hephaistion after some silence.
"I don't mind, Theseus," Alexander said quietly and seriously, "I can't be so egoistic and forbid you… well, I don't have any right to forbid, to begin with. I just meant, if you like somebody… well, and the lady is willing…"
Hephaistion didn't respond for some time and then said, "Alexander, we never actually talked about it, and… I don't know…. I never talked with anybody about… well… I don't know…. Do you really like me?"
"Yes," Alexander responded honestly and looked directly at Hephaistion.
It was rather dark inside the wagon and Hephaistion was glad about it, he felt uncomfortable about the conversation he wanted to have but he felt it was something that needed to be done, it was postponed for far too long and it made his relationship with the prince difficult at the times.
"But what do you mean you like me? Do you want to have sex with me?"
"I guess…." Alexander was equally uncomfortable.
"You not sure?"
"I don't know. Why do we have to talk about it?"
"Because the whole situation makes me…. uncomfortable. I don't how to behave around you. Sometimes I think it is simply in my mind, I mean, that you like me. But if yes, I can't give you what you want, I don't want to have sex with man and I don't have any such urges towards you but I like your company, as a friend, so I can't just walk away. Plus, I feel responsible for you, and not just because Perdiccas sent me… I am happy to be in your company, I like to talk with you, you make me feel good and I sincerely hope when the spring comes, your father will send for you."
"He doesn't even know where I am," said Alexander with annoyance, "as for other things, don't concern yourself with them. I won't get jealous if you want to seek some entertainment with a woman. It is none of my business since our feelings towards each other are different."
They both were saved from continuing this conversation by a tip of a spear that suddenly partitioned the leather curtains that hung at the end of the wagon.
"I was told that both of my guests are awake," the voice on the outside announced. "Prince Alexander, I am glad to discover this is true. I am Langaros, the lawful king of the Agrianians though I still have some fighting to do to prove it. In the meantime, I will have some food to be brought to you but we have to continue on our journey till the night falls. Do you need anything else?"
"Thank you, Langaros, but I am not used to travel like an invalid. Who is riding Bucephalus?"
"You are wounded and have to rest, at least till the end of the day. You stallion graciously allowed my woman Latra ride him. She is an exceptional rider and you have nothing to worry. You both rest today and we talk later in the evening."
"Thank you, Langaros, for your hospitality and for saving my life," Alexander said solemnly and fell silent.
"You should lay down," Hephaistion was glad to change the subject. Do you feel cold?"
"No. Why?"
"You were in the cold water for a long time. Let me help you."
"I am fine, thank you, Theseus."
"There is no need to be a hero. You should rest to regain your strength. Maybe you don't remember it but you were wounded, and hit your head too. You were unconscious for almost two days, I was worried sick about you."
"I lay down after I eat. What about you? You didn't tell me if you were wounded in the skirmish. I can't see much here."
"No wounds, just some bruises from the fall and I really got cold for staying long in the water, though I only now realize it; while we were down there, I was too worried how to get out and even keep you above the water."
"Thanks for saving me, Theseus," Alexander said quietly.
"That's what the friends are for."