Day Six: A day at School.
The day had finally arrived; Hephaestion was about to leave his family house to go to Mieza. There he would take classes under Master Aristotle and his classmates would be not only the sons of the Macedonian elite but also the prince himself.
Hephaestion was really excited, he had been taught to read and write by his mother; in fact, his mother had helped him with the most difficult letters because he had taught himself. It was such a surprise for both his parents when one day he started to read aloud, still fighting with the long words, the adventures of almighty Achilles at Troy. He could barely understand the whole meaning of it but he could comprehend the idea in itself. Homer was not the best author to start practising his reading due to the richness of his vocabulary and his detailed descriptions, however his repetitive phrases had helped Hephaestion to see the pattern of his writing. To add to that, the little brunette had fallen hard for the Iliad and the young blond hero, who wanted his name to be remembered forever.
His mother and father were marveled at their little son whispering those famous words and their hearts jumped with joy. What they did not know was that sweet Aphrodite had enhanced Hephaestion's natural skills to make things easier for him so he could enjoy the reading of heroes and gods; a way to speak to him easily when the gods did not want to interrupt his sleep because he needed it.
Lady Amyntoros did not want to cry; she knew she had to be strong for Hephaestion but it was her baby who was going to grow up far away from her. Her other children had left the family house too but they were older, they were around 12 or 13 and they did not have that privilege to study with any Macedonian heir so they went directly to learn the pages' duties before they were admitted in the army.
She had packed two big chests with warm clothes she had sewed herself. She had also knitted a thick woolen cloak for the cold days and a night blue blanket to use on the bed. Mieza was located up in the north so the weather was always colder than it was in their farmhouse and, even though Hephaestion was used to spending long periods of time outside, he did not like cold at all; in fact, it was one of the few disadvantages the boy had. However, his mother was sure that he would find the correct way to fight against it and conquered it successfully and definitely.
Lady Amyntoros came back from her daydreaming as the time of saying their goodbyes had finally arrived. His brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews had already said their goodbyes to him the day before after a big dinner that they all had shared at the family house.
Each of his brothers had given him a nice departure gift and he had carefully packed them inside a leather bag; they were a fine chiton for a probable banquet at the lyceum, a pair of sandals to wear in his free time and a pair of strong boots, useful to march and practise marching exercises. Their wives had also given him some presents such as a new quill, some scrolls and inks for his drawings and sketches. The children had added a sling and some round stones to use with it and his only niece had added a small rag doll to remember her if he was feeling alone.
Amyntas and his wife had asked a very well known blacksmith to forge a dagger for Hephaestion; the hilt had an engraving of Patroclus wearing Achilles's armour fighting against Hector on one side and his mother had asked a weapon maker to make a bow following the design that the very same Hephaestion had sketched. The man had made very tiny adjustments but he had assured her that the weapon had one of the best designs he had ever seen. As a gift to the inventor, the man had added two sets of ten arrows each with the initials of the name of the boy engraved on them.
Lady Amyntoros had secretly seen her son trying to make a bow with some branches and a string but even though he had done a good work, it had been a total failure because the bow had resisted throwing only one arrow before falling apart. The bow and arrows were accompanied by a quiver made of the finest leather with a long strap to set on his left shoulder; it also had another image of the Iliad engraved in it, this time was Achilles and Patroclus embraced before Achilles going into battle.
In the following years, Hephaestion would become a master at archery and, even though he would be one of the commanders of the Companions Cavalry, he would, for time to time, lead a section of archers, always standing at the front of them as his king did the same in front of the whole Macedonian Army. Many of the companions laughed at him due to his liking of that weapon, telling him that his archers were worthless, however, his men, firing their bows whilst mounted, offered highly mobile missile fire on the battlefield. At the Battle of Hydaspes, the massed fire of the horse archers was effective at disordering the Indian cavalry and helped to neutralise the Indian chariots. Hephaestion would no longer be questioned about their worth after that.
Fat tears fell from emerald eyes and rolled down pale cheeks; lady Amyntoros kissed her son on both his cheeks and finally set a deep and long kiss on his forehead, whispering a protection pray against it. Hephaestion hugged his mother's waist tight and resting his head onto her bosom, he promised her to write to her as often as it was possible for him and, without looking back, he mounted on Auburn, an old and loyal mare that would be doing her last long trips. Auburn was one of Amyntas's warhorse Shadow sisters and the General himself had tamed her.
Hephaestion gave a long and loud whistle and Sotiris appeared by his side and started the journey next to her two male humans; she turned round to look at her master's mother and howled loudly as if she was saying her goodbyes too. She quickly ran towards Hephaestion, there was no doubt that she would be joining her master in his new adventure.
The travel was long but enjoyable; father and son exchanged old stories about battles on the General's part and future dreams on Hephaestion's. As soon as they arrived at Mieza, Hephaestion felt his heart jump inside his chest; he was going to study with one of the most remarkable teachers of all the times and he was sure that he would learnt about many and different things. He was worried about only one thing; the companions had been together for two years or so and he would be the newcomer, a fact that he did not like because he felt he would be in disadvantage.
He dismounted his horse and patted her head, thanking the old mare for the comfortable and safe journey. He walked next to her towards the school entrance, Sotiris was on his left side, as any future war companion would do, and looking at everything with her yellowish eyes. She could smell danger from a long distance but her slow and relaxed walk was a sign that everything in her surroundings was in order and out of any peril.
An old man was standing at the door, his hair was short and white while his chiton was long and black; he had a white cloak wrapped around his right shoulder and his clear eyes had a piercing and deep look in them but they also had a warmth that invited the little boy to approach him.
"Joy to you, little boy" the teacher greeted little Hephaestion.
"Joy to you, master Aristotle" the boy said with emotion in his still low voice.
"And who is your friend there, next to you? She is quite a gorgeous animal" the old man said, admiring the she wolf.
"She is Sotiris. How did you know she was a she-wolf?" Hephaestion asked surprised because he had always had to explain that.
"In fact, it is quite simple, even though she is slighter bigger than common she wolves, female wolves had a clearer fur and then the shape of their heads is …" Aristotle began with his explanation.
A long explanation followed that first sentences and young Hephaestion was given his first lesson just at the school door and he immediately knew that he would enjoy a lot being there. Sotiris was also mesmerized by the old man's soothing voice and so she lay next to Hephaestion's feet, with her head resting between her front paws and she let her eyes close and took a short nap; her master was in good hands with the old human.
A tall blonde youth appeared and he walked directly towards the new boy and he suddenly stopped when he saw Sotiris on her four legs and a tiny display of her pointed teeth.
"Joy to you, I am Ptolemy and what is that?" the youth asked.
"Joy to you, I am Hephaestion, son of Amyntas and she is my she wolf Sotiris" Hephaestion answered, putting emphasis on the she pronoun; he would not let anyone treat his friend as a common animal.
"Sorry, she is a beautiful animal" Ptolemy apologized because he had seen the little boy's determination in his clear eyes.
"Yes, she is, she is also quick and intelligent" Hephaestion added with pride.
"Are you going to join us? You look quite young" Ptolemy said cautiously.
"Yes, I will. I am eight years old" Hephaestion answered firmly, he might be thin or young but he would not let anyone think him as weak.
"You are the same age as prince Alexander, and speaking about the devil, here he comes" Ptolemy said laughing.
A blonde boy, a bit shorter than Hephaestion, running as fast as Zeus' messenger, passed them quickly, chasing a really fat and brownish rooster.
"Joy to you Master, Ptolemy and joy to you too, stranger" Alexander shouted on his way after the cock.
Alexander laughed loudly and heartily on his way back to where they were still standing but he stopped suddenly when he saw Hephaestion opening one of his saddle bags and taking a dry biscuit out of it. The brunette crumbled it in his small hands and put the crumbs into a little pile on the cock's path … and the bird stopped to eat the dry crumbs happily.
Aristotle, Ptolemy and Alexander looked at the smirk in Hephaestion's face and the three of them started to laugh again.
"How didn't I think about doing that? It would have saved me all the running" Alexander asked when his laugh was over.
"Because I grew up in a farmhouse while you grew up in a palace; it is just common sense, my prince" Hephaestion said plainly and he saw Alexander blushed deeply because he had been subtlety called stupid.
"I will always be near you, in case I need your vast knowledge" Alexander said a bit sarcastically in order to save his honour.
"You will need doing that if you want to reach your puberty" Hephaestion answered back and turning round, he whistled long and loudly so Sotiris knew that they were on the march again.
The three other people remained in silence, all of them due to different causes: Ptolemy could not believe that someone had been able to shut the prince up with so much confidence. Aristotle was silent because he was thinking that the prince might have found his real match and the old man even dared to bet that he might have also met his soul mate. Alexander was in silence, thinking that the boy, who had the most beautiful and intriguing eyes he had ever seen, would be an excellent friend to have near and he also had a "I-don't-know-what" feeling that made his heart flutter and quicken his beat inside his chest.
The prince really wanted to ask Hephaestion to be his friend but he was afraid that the brunette would reject him as he had treated him so indifferently and answered him back so sarcastically.
He knew that he would do up to the impossible to gain his respect and friendship; he also realized that he would need that boy next to him forever and he would work hard to achieve this new dream that had just appeared under the shape of a tall brunette with cyan eyes. He knew that it would be arduous but he also knew that the result would be worthy of all his effort. If he succeeded, he would have gain a friend for life, a clever mind to hold him, a partner to share his dreams and worries, and if he was very lucky, he would have found a soul mate to share his life with, just like the blonde hero Achilles found his peace and love in the brunette and handsome Patroclus.