Four weeks had passed since they had returned from India; the return journey had almost broken the army apart. There had been talks of mutiny when Alexander led his them across the desert.

"But this is the shortest route home," Alexander would say "Please give me a chance to prove that."

They gave him far too many chances and each time he failed to show anything for the time they had given him yet he always talked them down and around to his way of thinking. Hephaistion couldn't remember much of the journey, being in his weaken recovery state he spent it in a shaded carriage, dozing from the heat and lack of water.

Now he was back to full health and decided to take some air on a very humid afternoon. He came and out of the place and flowed the path into the surrounding hills.

He set a good pace and soon came across a little lake with a little waterfall, in this heat the water looked cool and inviting.

Hephaistion slipped out of his clothes and into to the water, swimming out so far he laid on his back and closed his eyes and just floated, total peace.

However his peace was shattered when he suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching, he opened his eyes. Whilst treading water he looked around only to see that there was nobody there. Feeling uncomfortable he swam back to the shore and quickly dressed, in this heat he would soon dry out.

As he headed back he still couldn't shake the feeling of being watched and followed, he turned around several times, and every time he found nobody there. He quickened pace as to do the thing following him.

Back at the place, he changed into some dryer clothes and went off to find Alexander and the others. As he entered the courtyard he thought he saw figure disappear back into the shadows.

The incident at the lake was the first of many feelings of being watched and followed. Everywhere he went it was there, the feelings yet when he turned to investigate there was no one there. Soon things started to happen, things going missing from his room and every time Hephaistion went down to tend to his horse in the mornings he would find it exhausted as if somebody had been riding it all night yet the stable hands did not see anything strange or out of the ordinary. The object of his torment came to light some enough.

One day Alexander called for his troops and generals to go on parade. Dressed in his finery on horseback between Ptolemy and Cassander Hephaistion suddenly got the feel of someone or something boring into his soul. He scanned the crowd and saw the source of his discomfort.
As always he was dressed in the same long robe that went all the way down to their ankles, the hood was pulled over their head. Though Hephaistion couldn't see their face he knew their eyes were fixed on him and only him and followed his every move.

He stared back; he knew from experience that they were smiling devilish at him. Someone snapped their fingers in front of his face causing him to blink.

"Huh." he said

"You're holding us up." said Ptolemy but when he saw the colour of Hephaistion's face he stopped

"Are you alright?"

"Did you see him?" Hephaistion asked the pair "The man wearing a hood."

The pair looked to where he was pointing

"There's nobody there." Cassander said

Hephaistion looked and just like Cassander had said there was no one there.

"That's odd; I could have sworn he was…" Hephaistion said drifting off when the other simply paced him.

He looked back to the now vacant space before shuddering and falling in line with the rest of the troops.

That was the morning, the afternoon Alexander let the army go to pursue whatever caught the fancy. Hephaistion stayed behind to get some well earned rest.

He went to the window and looked out only to find him stood in the same place looking up at his bedroom window. He was just stood, still as a statue looking in Hephaistion's direction. Feeling the tiny steps of panic Hephaistion moved away from the window and sat in the farthest corner making himself as small as he could

What did he want, why was he here, how, these thought went around and around in his mind. He could still feel him watching him. The feeling got so bad that he stood up went over to the window and pulled the curtain across and refused to open them till he want away.