Day Ten: Friendship or something more?
Amyntas rode in secret to the royal palace to ask king Philip about the possibility of Hephaestion's return to Mieza. He went out early one morning under the pretext to visit an old companion who had had a nasty injury and was not doing well. Hephaestion did not object the reason at all, he was so naïve and gullible that he did not have a doubt about his father's word. Amyntas did not feel at all comfortable with the lie but if the king rejected his petition, he knew that Hephaestion would not take it happily, as most of his recovery was based on the promise to come back to Mieza and join the companions there again.
General Amyntoros should not have had any doubt about his petition; the king was so happy to know that the boy was really cured and ready to join his son that he immediately issued the order to prepare his chamber back and ordered a new set of books and all the study material he had missed in the last year. King and General shared a late breakfast and when it was over; the warrior rode back to his house being the bearer of such good news for his son.
He entered the house and called his son's name but no one replied to his call. He decided to look around the house but it was deserted. A feeling of uneasiness filled his heart and he ran out of the house but calmness went back to his body when he discovered his wife, hiding behind one of his tallest rosebushes, looking at their son who was riding Dione. He approached and gently hugged her from behind, making her squeal loudly. Dione pricked up her pointy ears and moved towards the place where the sound had come and that was how Hephaestion discovered his parents spying on him. The boy was startled at the confusing situation but then he laughed loudly and Dione, feeling her rider's happiness, started to gallop fast as a lightning bolt in a stormy sky.
Lady Amyntoros was about to shout Hephaestion to get back and be careful but she was soothed by her husband who told her that their son was a natural rider and tamer and, in spite of his vanity, he confessed that he was even a better rider than he was at the same age. Some time after, they saw boy and mare galloping back as fast as they had done it before but they stopped suddenly in front of them and with a short high-pitched whistle, Dione knelt one of her front legs and let the boy dismount easily. The brave warrior was amazed at that, he had had to work hard to teach Shadow that trick and his son had achieved it in hours. He felt so proud that he thought his heart would explode with so much pride in it. He congratulated the boy on that and Hephaestion told him that it had been quite easy to teach that to Dione because she was a good girl. The mare neighed loudly and stomped her front legs repeatedly on the dry soil as if she were clapping herself for making her rider happy. Amyntas laughed loudly and Hephaestion took a red sweet apple from a hidden bag and offered it to Dione who happily ate it. The General asked Hephaestion to see him as soon as he had finished attending his mare. The boy, who was now 11 years old, nodded and then took the horse back to the stables. There he dried her, filled her bucket with fresh water and gave her a pile of fresh hay. He went back to the house, wondering what his father had to tell him.
Before entering the house, he filled a bucket with fresh water and washed his hands and face. Then he took off the chiton he was wearing and shoved it inside the bucket, he then wringed it and passed it over his chest to clean the beads of sweat and specks of dust on it after his long and fast gallop on Dione. He also racked his fingers through his brunette tresses that were reaching the middle of his shoulder blades and were fairer than one year before.
He left the dirty chiton on a tree trunk nearby and entered the house by the back door, the one that was nearer his own chamber. He took a clean chiton, passed it through his head, and then he tied his hair in a tidy tail at his nape. He went to the kitchen where his parents were already sat at the table. Amyntas looked at him and he marveled at his own son, he was not only intelligent and quick but also handsome, he had acquired a nice body during the last year and his teen years were already showing in his frame. He had lately acquired well-defined muscles not only in his legs and arms but also in his chest and stomach where an incipient six-pack was nearly developed. He had also grown five or six centimetres and so his body seemed slender but strong.
"What did you want to tell me, father?" Hephaestion asked as soon as he sat at the table.
"I saw the king today and asked him permission for your return to Mieza" he said and put a very big morsel of roasted boar meat in his mouth and started to chew it slowly, savouring the juicy piece of meat.
Hephaestion waited for a while but as his father went on chewing that bite so slowly, he decided to ask again:
"And what did he say?"
"Yes" he said while putting a second bite in his mouth.
"Yes what? Can I go back?" Hephaestion asked, feeling a bit angry at his father's passiveness. The answer was really important to him.
"You can go back as soon as you feel fully recovered" he said, smirking.
"Alright, so stop eating and take me there" the boy demanded while standing up.
"Not now, I am eating this delicious roasted boar that your mother had prepared for me" he said while eating a bit more and slower than usual.
"Fine, when you finish your meat we will go" Hephaestion said a bit irritated.
"No, after the dessert, she had prepared oatmeal biscuits and caramel figs" the brave warrior said, licking his lips in advance.
"You can eat them while we ride, it would not be the first time we eat on our horses" Hephaestion replied, trying to get his father to move quicker.
"Alright, go and prepare your bags while I finish eating" Amyntas said, smiling broadly.
"Aren't you going to eat, son? I also cooked this for you, it is your favourite" lady Amyntoros said gently.
Hephaestion did not really feel like eating when he was feeling so anxious but the brunette, that was so in tune with his mother, could also, not only listen to her invitation but also to a kind of sadness in her voice knowing that his departure was so close that he decided to stay and eat the three together before his leaving, thinking that one hour or two would not make the difference this time.
They enjoyed the hearty meal and the dessert with a big cup of sweetened milk and finally the time had come. Hephaestion ran to his chamber and came back, only minutes later, with two leather bags already packed, they had been prepared for months in his hurry to go back to his friends.
This time, the young boy did not mount an old but faithful mare, he mounted his own mare, the one he had tamed all by himself under the direction of his father, but as the previous time, the loyal Sotiris was already standing by his side, ready to go back. Hephaestion looked at the she wolf and asked:
"Do you want to see Peritas? I am sure that you have missed him a lot, as much as I have missed Alexander" Hephaestion said, his last words almost in a whisper and his father could see how a slight blush covered his son's tanned cheeks.
Kisses, hugs and good wishes mixed with prays were exchanged between mother and son and then the two men departed and headed towards Mieza.
Aristotle had been already informed about Hephaestion's return but he was asked not to reveal the information to Alexander and his companions until they knew he was returning to stay definitely. The old master could not hide his joy, one of the best students of all was coming back and he might bring back the spark in the prince's two coloured eyes that had extinguished from his eyes the very same moment that a sick Hephaestion had left the school and disappeared on the horizon. No matter how many letters they had exchanges in that year, their inability to see each other had had a great impact in the prince's spirit. The old teacher had seen how happiness had been escaping from the prince's body such as the sand did through the fingers and he could not tolerate that any longer.
The canter of both strong horses made their travel quicker than their previous one and it was also more symbolic because father and son were riding onto a father and a daughter respectively. The arrival in the late evening was announced by the loud and grave barking of Peritas who had also grown up a lot, reaching its full height and strength. Sotiris sniffed the large black dog from a long distance and when she realized it was her old friend, she howled loudly, greeting him in return. They got reunited before their masters and were much more enthusiastic about their reunion.
Alexander came running to the front gate to see what that entire racket was about because Peritas was not a dog that barked without any logical reason. The prince froze in his spot when he saw his friend back. His return had been so desired but it had been completely unexpected. The blonde boy could not move because his friend's handsomeness had hit him on his chest as if it were a strike with one of his wooden practice sword. Hephaestion was taller and bulkier than the year before, his eyes were bluer if that were possible; his hair was fairer and longer and his posture showed more confidence than before, and that made him feel a bit uneasy. However, the prince was very happy to have him back but he had also realized in that precise moment that he would never be brave enough to tell this boy how he felt about him, how he considered him not only his best friend but also something more.
He remained in his place, without moving a single muscle, while he saw Hephaestion gracefully dismounting a beautiful dark-coated horse and taking two huge saddle bags with him and setting them over his shoulder as if they were too light when their appearance showed exactly the opposite. As soon as Hephaestion started to walk towards him, the prince realized that the boy had grown a lot and was much taller than him; luckily Alexander continued being stockier than the brunette even though the blonde could appreciate the hard muscles the brunette had acquired in the last year.
"Joy to you, my prince" Hephaestion greeted the blonde boy.
"Joy to you, my friend" Alexander greeted back without moving at all when all he wanted to do was to embrace his friend's body and never let him go.
He was about to speak to him when he was pushed aside by two other blondes, taller than he was and much more confident. Ptolemy and Perdicas hugged their friend and told him how much he had been missed and how happy they were of having him back and while they chattered like parrots, they took him away from the prince, who could only see them going with a painful expression in his two coloured eyes. The prince lowered his head for a second and so he lost the glimpse Hephaestion threw at him over his right shoulder as if he wanted to apologize for leaving him alone so soon after they had juts met.
When they were far away, the prince lifted his head and decided to sit on the higher step of the stairs at the entrance of the school. The blonde boy put his head between his hands and released a deep and loud sigh, speaking under his breath and even though no one would have been able to listen to what he was saying, everyone could have distinguish the painful tone of those words.
"You should have told him, my prince" master Aristotle said, startling the boy who was deep in his thoughts and regretting his shyness.
"Said what? To whom, Master?" he asked innocently, already knowing what his teacher was talking about.
"You should have told him how much you missed him, how sad you felt when he was not by your side. You should have said that to Hephaestion as soon as he greeted you, because who else has an almost complete reign over your heart, my boy?" the teacher said and sat with difficulty next to his second favourite student. He patted the boy's knee gently and that encouraging gesture allowed the boy to speak up his mind.
"I am sure he does not feel the same as I do so I did not want to embarrass myself by saying it and having to tolerate him laughing at me due to my idiocy" the prince confessed sadly.
"I don't think Hephaestion would be that inconsiderate with your feelings, he might not feel the same for you but I am sure he would never make fun of your feelings. However, he might feel the same for you but you will never know if you don't ask him" Aristotle explained him, trying to see the problem from a more logical point of view.
"Do you think that he would listen to me and he would not laugh?" Alexander asked, a little flame of hope dancing in his grey and green eyes.
"I am sure, he has a pure heart and he had never showed a bad attitude towards anything or anyone but if you are not still convinced, you can wait until he gets settled and he has unpacked his belongings so then you will have an excuse to go and talk to his in his own room" Aristotle said logically.
"In his room? Alone, the two of us?" Alexander asked with a frantic tone in his voice, swallowing deeply.
"Yes, his room, the two of you alone so you can have enough time to speak quietly and in peace and not surrounded by nosy companions. Would that be a problem for you, my prince?" Aristotle asked, suspecting the true reason.
"Maybe …. I might like him more than just a simple friend …" he whispered and his cheeks immediately reddened.
"And that is a problem why?" he asked seriously, he had thought that those two had understood the concept of true love better than the other companions.
"Because he might not feel the same and then he could feel disgusted in my presence and I would not be able to tolerate his indifference" he explained, stammering and confusing his own ideas more than it was logical.
Patting the boy's knee, Aristotle looked at him directly into his eyes and said:
"I am not going to repeat myself but remember that even though fortune is a capricious lady, she will favour whoever takes a risk, especially if it includes true love" and saying that, he left, walking slowly towards his own room.
With that smart piece of advice in his mind, Alexander made his own way towards his room where he thought about all the things that he wanted to tell Hephaestion. He also looked inside his mind and heart for the best words to tell him, to express what his heart had been feeling for such a long time, to tell him that he thought of him as much more than a simple friend but that, if he did not feel the same for him, he would appreciate too much just having his friendship.
Two hours later, the prince gathered the courage to leave his own room and go to Hephaestion's chamber that was at the end of the corridor. He gently knocked on the door and a soft "Come in" was heard through the thick wooden door.
Alexander pushed the door and let himself in, Hephaestion was putting some clothes into the chest he had left behind when he went back home and turned round to see Alexander. A big smile graced the brunette's face and Alexander felt his heart melt.
"Please come in. I was about to go to you when I finished here" Hephaestion said.
"Oh! Do you need something? Is something missing? I thought I had kept the room as you had left it but I might have made a mistake" Alexander hurriedly explained with a painful look in his two coloured eyes.
"No, everything is perfect and I really wondered who had kept all my things in such perfect conditions. I should have known it was you and you have not made any mistake, Xander" Hephaestion replied and called the prince by his nickname, testing the situation between them because he had thought that the prince was not so happy to see him back.
"I have really missed you calling me Xander" Alexander confessed.
"You have missed only the nickname?" the brunette boldly asked.
"No, I missed you dearly, there was not a single day that I did not think about you" Alexander replied thinking in Aristotle's former advice.
"That is so nice to know because I have missed you dearly too" Hephaestion replied and taking his prince's hands in his, he pulled the shorter body towards him and enveloped him into a tight hug that lasted forever as if both young boys were trying to show with that simple gesture all what they felt for each other.
"It is nice to have you back" Alexander whispered against the skin of Hephaestion's neck.
"It is nice to be home again" Hephaestion replied into the blonde's hair.
They might not have said everything they felt in their hearts but at least, they knew how precious they were to the other.
They would have another time to speak, now it was the time to enjoy that simple hug that could turn their friendship into something else, something deeper, something more similar to true love.