Alexander looked around his room and stomped his foot in disgust.
"What the fuck? Where is Bagoas?" he muttered to himself.
He glanced over to the bed to see that a beautiful silk robe of royal purple with gold embroidery and gold pants had been laid out for him. A carafe of wine and tray of fresh fruit was on the bedside table. His bath had been drawn and was still warm.
Everything was there ready for him. Except Bagoas. And Hephaestion. Shit.
He poured himself a cup of wine, since there's no one here to do it for me, he grumbled. He drained the cup and poured another.
He was in a foul mood and seriously did not want to go to the banquet and pretend to have fun and smile all night. Most of the guests there would just be trying to suck up to him since he was the King, after all. And spending an evening beside a group of his drunken generals left something to be desired as well.
"I am going to kill Hephaestion when I find him", he thought. "And Bagoas…I think I'll give him to Cleitus. That should fix him!"
He walked out on the balcony and looked out at the beautiful city that he now considered his home. He felt a sting of tears, which only served to worsen his already bad mood. He couldn't believe that Hephaestion…his Phai…would forget his birthday! He had never done that before. For a moment he worried that something might be wrong, but he knew that one of Hephaestion's pages would have let him know immediately if that were the case. He thought maybe Hephaestion had been called away to attend to business at the last minute, but he knew him well enough to know he would never leave without letting Alexander know where he was going. They didn't get to spend as much time together as they used to these days, he acknowledged. Perhaps Hephaestion had found someone to warm his bed and was busy having a party of his own. No, he shook his head, not his Phai. He was almost certain that was not it. Hephaestion had never even looked at anyone else, that he knew of at least.
As for Bagoas, he was totally perplexed. Bagoas was ever attentive and faithful to him, and had never once failed to be there for him when needed. He always insisted on helping him with everything, be it bathing, dressing, whatever. He didn't even like to be away from him at night, though Alexander did not allow him to spend every night there. Some nights were reserved only for Hephaestion.
He wondered if Bagoas' absence had something to do with Hephaestion. Several months ago, those two had seemed to have reached some sort of understanding. They no longer glared at each other. Quite the opposite. They seemed affectionate and friendly, often giving each other a conspiratorial look like they were up to something. Alexander had never really pinned Hephaestion down as to what had changed, but after today, he would make a point of it.
He finished off the second cup of wine and sighed. Might as well get dressed and get this over with. It would have been nice to have Bagoas here to help me get ready, he thought. He didn't feel like taking his own bath and decided to skip it. He had, after all, already had one this morning. If he ever found Bagoas again, he might let him help with the next one.
He dressed, looking very regal in his royal purple robe. Too bad his mood didn't match his appearance. There were many people expecting him this evening, and he had to at least appear gracious. He put on his best game face and headed for the hall.
Bagoas had been hanging around in the rooms outside Alexander's, watching for when he left. He had gotten everything ready for him for tonight, drawing his bath and laying out his clothes. He had to admit that he felt more than a little guilty hiding from him all day. He knew Alexander was probably angry with him, but he knew that in the end it would be okay. He truly hoped that this all worked out the way Hephaestion had planned it.
After making sure that Alexander was safely in the banquet hall, he went to get Hephaestion, who had been hiding in the quarters of one of his pages.
"Lord 'Phaestion, Al'Skander is at the feast. His room is clear now, so we had better get started."
Hephaestion patted him on the shoulder. "Good job, Bagoas, thank you. And what did I tell you about calling me 'Lord'?"
Bagoas smiled shyly. "Yes…'Phaestion."
Hephaestion threw an arm around Bagoas' shoulder and grinned at him. "Come on…we have much to do."
They quietly let themselves into Alexander's room to prepare their little surprise.
No, Hephaestion hadn't forgotten Alexander's birthday. In fact, he had been planning this for a while now. He had an idea of what he could do for the man who had everything….well, almost everything. He smiled. It should be a lot of fun.