Day Fifteen: A drunken experience.
A/N: The words in bold belong to the lyrics "Don't speak" by No Doubt.
Nearly two months had gone by since the queen and her six maidens arrived at Mieza; they would be staying until the end of the summer and Olympias was determined to leave the lyceum with a promise of engagement on Alexander's side.
The best candidate was a small brunette girl called Athina but she was so shy and she got so nervous when talking to Alexander that she had already passed out two out of the three times she had dared to speak to him more than five words together. She was the perfect candidate because, due to her weak character, she would be quite malleable in Olympias's hands but the queen also understood that she would give a wrong impression to other rulers if she could not get over her lack of confidence. Alexander needed a strong queen; one who could accompany him in his decisions, who could stay strong during the difficult moments, who could accept her husband's whims and lastly but never least important, who could give him the children Alexander needed to follow his dreams and help him to expand the big empire she was so sure her son would build.
Athina was also discarded when she started to show her interest in Philotas, who was Parmenion's son and her biggest headache. The man wanted power so badly that she was afraid to discover that he would do anything to get more than the one he already had.
The queen resigned to accept the possibility of having Megara, the red-haired demon, as her future daughter-in-law. She had to admit that that particular maiden had many of the conditions a true queen needed: she had a strong character; she was intelligent and had a witty and quick tongue. She did not chicken out when she was confronted before during a conversation with the companions and she had already shown the calm of a confident person.
What it was also important was that Alexander seemed to be quite comfortable in her presence; he even laughed and chatted with her. During the last two months, they had spent quite a lot of time together, mostly alone and she had shown interest in everything Alexander told her; she was quick at understanding about manly topics and she had also seemed to feel comfortable in the prince's presence. Even though she had managed to snatch the prince out from Hephaestion's claws, she could still be kind to him whenever the brunette was around.
Olympias was a bit perplexed at Hephaestion's behaviour. She thought that the brunette was going to offer some resistance; she was so sure that the Amyntoros boy would show his teeth and claim Alexander for himself but he had stayed quite calm. She was feeling a bit disappointed because she had come to Mieza looking for a good fight with the blue-eyed boy. She had heard so many things about him that she was glad to have a good adversary for once; King Philip admired the young boy's quick mind and loyalty to Alexander; Cleitus had taken a shine to the boy's body and his looks; master Aristotle praised his intelligence and diplomatic skills and Alexander loved everything that the other boy had, did or thought.
Therefore, it was quite a shock to see the brunette retreat from the undeclared silent war without fighting a single battle. The queen had been worried because she thought that she would have to work hard to keep the boy apart from Alexander but the most decided Megara had achieved that in their first night and she had been able to keep Alexander's interest on her in the last two months.
The brunette might have retreated from the scene but he had not left it without scars; she had caught him watching at Alexander and Megara when they were spending time together and Hephaestion had never been quick enough at hiding the pain that clouded his cyan eyes. He had also seen him wringing his hands strongly whenever the red haired girl touched Alexander on his arm or when, sporadically she set a kiss on the blonde boy's cheek.
One evening, most of the companions were gathered in the garden at the back of the school; they were enjoying a well-deserved rest after an exhausting day of practice and studies and the young maidens were embroidering some clothes while speaking with them. Some of the girls had asked Ptolemy to read them aloud some poems, the elder blonde youth had a nice tone of voice and his reading had always had a soothing effect in anybody who happened to listen to him. He had chosen some poems by one of the greatest lyric poets, a woman called Sappho, the poet who had written about love and passion for various people and both genders. He knew that his choice would provoke a commotion in some of the young girls but he was in the mood to cheer his mates, especially the young brunette with cyan eyes who was suffering from love. He would also include some references the poet had written about Homer's poems, one of Hephaestion's favourite poets.
The reading provoked the reaction Ptolemy was looking for among the young women and suddenly one of them asked him to read parts of that story Sappho talked about. Ptolemy took his Iliad and chose to read the chant XVI, also known as the Patroclea. Hephaestion, who had been listening carefully to his friend's reading, could not bear the reading of that part anymore, his heart was hurting so much that he quietly left the garden feeling extremely sad. What hurt him most was that not even Alexander had noticed his anguish or his departure.
On his way out, he bumped into Cleitus who immediately realized that something had happened in the garden. He asked Hephaestion what his problem was but the brunette replied that he did not have any problem, that he had left because he was bored and that he preferred be doing something else instead of spending the afternoon listening to some lesbic poems. Cleitus decided not to push the brunette further, he knew that the boy would speak if he needed to. The black warrior told him that he was heading towards a kind of tavern outside the school grounds, in the nearby town and that he was invited to go with him. The brunette thought that for a while and decided to go with the man; thinking that he did not have to drink if he did not want it.
As soon as they entered the place, they were greeted by some women, all of them dressed in very transparent clothes that let their young and tempting bodies on display. One of the youngest ones took Hephaestion by the arm, led him to a nearby table and set a goblet of unwatered wine in his hand. The young boy did not hesitate at all and finished off the whole goblet in two big gulps. The red and strong Macedonian wine went directly to the brunette's head and he felt immediately dizzy but that did not stop him from asking for more. When Cleitus realized that he had not seen Hephaestion for a while, one talented mistress had been pleasuring the warrior thoroughly; he stopped the woman's ministrations and started to look around the room searching for the missing boy. The boy in question was being deeply snogged by a very talented young girl who had him pinned against a wall, her voluptuous body was rubbing against the muscled one and her hands were wandering beneath the short chiton. Hephaestion let a loud moan leave his mouth when the girl took his cock in her small hands and started to massage it to get it hard so she could have a go at him.
Cleitus did not know what to do; he knew that the boy was drunk and probably did not know too well what he was doing but, on the other hand, he really did not want to stop his pleasure at that point. He knew he had to think quickly and he was about to act when his decision was taken from his hands.
A furious Alexander had entered the place like a golden avenger and snatched his beloved from the arms and wandering hands of the slutty young woman who looked at him as if she wanted to kill him there. However, she did not do anything, she felt frozen in her spot when she saw the wrath in those strange two coloured eyes and she realized that the boy was extremely furious and ready to fight until death. She gave the whole situation a second thought and realized that, even the brunette was a handsome and healthy young man, he was not worth a fight. To put the matter worse, she had lately realized that the boy was so drunk that he would not be able to get it up and she was not going to work hard to end with a sleeping boy between her spread legs.
She released the boy into the blonde boy's arms who took him tenderly to a nearby chair. The brunette let his head hang over his chest and after some minutes he left the place running, a big hand covering his mouth. Alexander followed him at a quiet pace, he already knew what he was going to find, Hephaestion, at 15, could still not bear too much alcohol in his body and he always ended up vomiting the contents of his stomach and then feeling sad and needy.
The prince approached his young friend who was still retching in the deserted alley and started to rub his back with comforting movements. The brunette finished heaving and cleaning his mouth with the hem of his chiton, raised his face and looked at the prince, who had a worried expression in his face.
He sighed deeply and opened his mouth to speak but shut it immediately after. He approached the knelt boy and made him sit so he could sit by his side and speak about what was going on. He looked at those cyan eyes, which were now reddish after all that retching, and said calmly.
"You and me, we used to be together, every day together always but we do not do that so frequently as before.I really feelthat I'm losing my best friend. I can't believe that after all we had lived together this could be the end. It looks as though you're letting go everything we had and if it's real,well I don't want to know."
Hephaestion looked at him again and with his face still blushed he pleaded:
"Don't speak,I know just what you're saying,so please stop explaining, don't tell me 'cause it hurts. Don't speak,I know what you're thinking, I don't need your reasons, because they are no longer true and don't tell me that you still care about me 'cause it hurts as it is not true"
Alexander looked at his crying friend and could not really understand why he was saying that. He was going to ask him to explain it better when the brunette went on talking:
"Our memories, they can be inviting,but some are altogethermighty frightening, especially the ones we had been living for the last two months. As we die, both you and I and our love, with my head in my hands,I sit and cry about all the things I am losing"
What are you saying, my love? Can't you see that I am still in love with you? a desperate Alexander tried to make his lover understand.
It's all ending, I gotta stop pretending who we are. You and me, I can see us dying, are we? And with us, our love that used to be the purest thing two persons could have" the brunette said and hid his face in his arms over his bent knees.
"I don't really know why you are saying this when it is you the one who had been so reluctant to any kind of intimacy with me lately. Don't you love me anymore, Phai?" the fifteen –year-old prince asked his beloved.
"Of course I love you, Xander but you will announce your engagement in a month so I decided to set you free, you don't have to put up with me anymore. I am sorry about his, you know I cannot handle alcohol so well so it is my drunkenness speaking. From now on, I will not be a burden for you, my prince" Hephaestion said seriously, sobering up a bit.
"Of course it is your drunkenness speaking because I have never listened to you speaking so many stupidities all together" Alexander said angrily; Hephaestion was setting him free and he would not accept that at all.
"But it is true, you need Megara by your side, she is a nice young woman and she is beautiful and intelligent, she will be the perfect queen and your mother will be so proud of you. I will be helping you anyway and my future queen too, in anything you both would need" Hephaestion said, standing up.
"Alright, you want me to be engaged to Megara, I will do it just for you" Alexander said and left Hephaestion alone in the alley, totally dumbstruck, because due to his big mouth and stupidity, he would loose the only person he was eager to spend his life with.
Hephaestion left the place and walked slowly back to the school. He wanted to go and speak to Alexander but he did not know what else to say; he had pushed his friend too far this time and he was the only guilty because he had not believed his beloved's words of love. He had also misunderstood the former plan the three of them had planned to defeat Olympias's plot but the brunette had fallen victim of his own fears and jealousy and he had decided to throw the towel, even before starting the fight.
The more he thought about the disaster he had created, the guiltier he felt because he had, not only let Alexander down but also himself, renouncing so easily to the prince whom he had claimed to love with all his heart.
He really did not deserve the prince's love but he would work hard to regain his trust and maybe, with time, Alexander could see that he was still loyal to him and his dreams.
The brunette went directly to his chamber and avoided the main room where laughs and talking could be heard. Tomorrow would be a new day and the first one he would be living without Alexander's love.