A/N: Hello everybody! sorry for the delay in posting but I had some serious issues related to my health and underwent two surgeries in the last months. I hope that I can catch up with the reviews and the fabulous stories some of you had already written. Have a nice week!
Day Nineteen: Diplomacy and Truth.
The situation between the two young men was still a bit tense; Alexander could not believe that his Hephaestion had taken a suitor soon after he had left him and Hephaestion could not believe that Alexander had claimed him even though he was still engaged to Megara.
No matter how awkward the situation was, Hephaestion had put all his former opinions behind and set his mind in his new and bright goal, learn as much as he could about diplomacy so he could put his skills at the service of king Philip. The Macedonian king had seen his value again and he was not going to disappoint him, this was the third time that the king had done something to favour him and he did not want this to be his last chance. So his time was fully dedicated to study the customs and languages of the peoples that had relationships with their kingdom as well as their histories, their strong points as well as their weaknesses. He spent the whole day studying and researching, except when he had his military training; the king had insisted that he should not leave that training because, even though his mind was strong, he also needed a strong body to accompany that witty mind.
Hephaestion did not waste his time, when he was not training, he was studying or talking to people who might have a direct knowledge about what he was learning. He remembered some of the things that Theron had told him about many things he had lived during his travels and he wrote them down to have them at hand if he was in need of them.
The companions looked at him in many different ways, some with envy and others with happiness but only one with longing. Ptolemy had approached Hephaestion in several occasions to see how he was doing and to offer his help; everybody knew that the elder blonde was a well-read person and that his memory was nearly as good as Hephaestion's. He was always ready to listen to the brunette's newest discoveries and he enjoyed seeing the spark in those cyan eyes whenever he retold them.
Cassander, on one hand, was deeply worried. Hephaestion had not only came back to Mieza but also he had gained a more important position that the rest of them, in spite of being no longer Alexander's partner. Parmenion was fuming because the brunette had achieved what he had intended his son to get for him but his son had failed royally in every single thing he had asked him to get. He had let Cassander know that he should start having a more solid friendship with Hephaestion as the young man was shaping up as an important man in the Macedonian court, especially if he counted with the king's support.
Alexander, on the other hand, did not know how to act when Hephaestion was around. He knew what his heart wanted to do but his mind had alerted him many times that what he wanted was no longer desired by the brunette or that it was unacceptable for an engaged man. Therefore, the young blonde man resigned himself to look at his former beloved entering and going out of rooms, following him with his two coloured eyes full of love and desire. Luckily, no one had ever seen him looking at Hephaestion like that, except Megara who was so in tune with Alexander's feelings towards the brunette, that she let herself smile whenever she caught that longing look.
One evening Hephaestion was reading, comfortably seated on a patch of grass and surrounded by numerous scrolls, when he listened to the faint sound of light footsteps. At first he thought that Alexander had finally decided to ambush him but then he realized that they did not belong to a man, the shoes were just not heavy enough. He lifted his gaze but his hand was still on his waist, near the place where he had his dagger hidden. He immediately knew who his guest was. Megara got closer to him and let herself fall onto the grass next to him. Hephaestion, always the gentleman, took his cloak and offered it to her so she could sit on it in order to prevent her peplos to be stained. She was about to refuse but she thought it better, she really wanted to recover his friend and she would not start by refusing such polite gesture towards her.
"What can I do for you, Megara?" he asked, leaving aside the scroll he had been reading.
"I just needed to spend some time with a friend. Am I interrupting something serious?" she asked, pointing with her head to the forgotten scroll.
"Not at all and you already know that it is always a pleasure for me to talk with you" the polite young man replied.
"Really? You could have fooled me" Megara said with a tiny smirk in her pretty face.
"Why do you say that?" the brunette asked, already knowing the answer.
"Because you have been avoiding me for the last three months, since your return" she said, now seriously.
"I have not, the thing is that I had been quite busy with my new duties" Hephaestion answered quietly, hoping that his explanation could have convinced her.
"If you say so" she said, letting a long sigh escaped from her rosy lips.
"Well, tell me what you have been doing" Hephaestion asked, trying to drop the previous subject.
"Nice trick, I am sure that if you perfected this trick, you would soon become one of the best diplomats king Philip will ever have, except your father who is already the best, in my humble opinion" Megara said, knowing Hephaestion's weak spot for his father.
"How do you know that? You have never met my father" he asked curiously.
"I haven't but Alexander looks up to him so much and he always remembers your father with love and respect" the red haired young woman said.
"My father loves Alexander a lot. Did you know that he was present when Alexander was born?" he asked and a tiny smile appeared on his face when he remembered the story his father had told him about meeting the prince for the first time.
"I am worried about you, Hephaestion" the young girl said seriously.
"Why is that?" He asked with a puzzled expression in his handsome face.
"Because you look sad" she replied.
"I am not sad, just busy" he answered, trying to justify himself.
"You may be busy but you also drown so deep in your studies so that you don't have to face the reality that surrounds you" she said.
"And what is that I don't want to face, according to you?" he asked with a smirk in his face.
"Can I speak my mind freely?" she asked nearly in a whisper.
"Of course, apart from that, you have always done it, with or without my permission" Hephaestion said and a tiny smile appeared in his face.
"One more thing, do you promise that you will not speak until I finish?" Megara asked, trying to make him see that she was speaking seriously.
"I promise, go ahead" he answered knowing in advance that he would not like what she was going to tell him.
My dear friend Hephaestion, you don't want to accept that you are still in love with Alexander and that …." But she was rudely interrupted by an angry brunette.
"I am not in lo…." He had started to protest but he suddenly stopped when she slapped his face and he saw anger in his friend's emerald eyes.
"Alright, alright … I will shut up" he finally decided to let her speak.
"… and that he is still in love with you. You cannot imagine how he was when he discovered that you had accepted a suitor; he trashed his chamber to pieces; he did not eat or drink for two whole days and he started eating and drinking again because he passed out during a training and he got a nice bump in his forehead. When the anger was over; sadness and depression took him over and it was common to find him mooning over you and writing your name on any possible and available surface" she said.
Megara stopped to take a breath and she then continued telling him about that sad time.
"This whole thing continued for a week until master Aristotle talked to him. No one knows what they spoke in Alexander's room for hours but, from that day onwards, the prince changed his attitude and adopted this calmer behaviour, a bit too submissive for my liking" she finally stopped speaking and went silent.
Hephaestion looked at her with his eyes wide open, he could not believe that Alexander had lost his usual strong control over himself so badly; and even though it had been a hard time for the blonde prince, Hephaestion was happy that he had been able to provoke such strong feelings and reactions in the Macedonian heir.
Megara waited until Hephaestion lifted his head and she could see understanding in his cyan eyes. Not being able to wait much longer, she added with happiness and a broad smile in her freckled face.
"Alexander came back to life when he saw you here again; I think he had his doubts about you coming back. You certainly took some days to plan your return. He was standing outside his chamber, till the night sky had all his stars out, looking in your direction, before going to bed. He used to sigh loudly and whisper that he was afraid you would never come back to him" Megara said and she tried to express with her words all the pain and sorrow the young prince had suffered waiting for Hephaestion's return.
"I had to sort many things at home before coming back. Theron was still there and I did own him an explanation. Luckily he had already seen how things were and he made everything easier for me, explaining in a letter that as he would never be what Alexander was to me, he preferred to remain being friends. So he set me free so I could be with whom my heart loved best" Hephaestion explained and in that moment he realized that the only blind person had been himself.
"Just out of curiosity, if Alexander had not gone for you, would you have come back?" she asked staring at his friend's eyes knowing that those blue pools of heaven could not lie.
"He did not go to fetch me; I was summoned by the king to come back here and he just passed the message" Hephaestion said, blushing slightly because he did not believe any single word he was saying.
"And why did he deliver the message himself? Why didn't the king send a page with the news?" Megara asked innocently, knowing that she was cornering her friend with her questions.
"Because it was a delicate topic?" an embarrassed Hephaestion tried to ask but he knew he was failing royally.
"And who knew the importance of such message, especially if it was a secret?" Megara asked and Hephaestion believed that she could become a terrific interrogator.
Hephaestion remained in silence, he had wondered before about that same thing but he had always stopped when he always reached to the same conclusion: Alexander had gone to fetch him and he had used the king's summon as an excuse. The brunette sighed deeply and he realized that it was high time he saw things as they really were.
"Why are you telling me all this, Megara? Aren't you supposed to hate me as you are engaged to the prince and he is mooning over me?" Hephaestion asked, more confused than when they had started this weird conversation.
"I think that the sun and too much studying had burnt your head; I will never hate you, do you really think I am so petty?" Megara asked truly offended.
"But I don't understand you at all" the blue–eyed young man said with a puzzled expression in his eyes and face.
"Let me make myself clear, when I met you, I could so easily see the love you two had and shared and in order to help you, the three of us thought about a plan that would help to keep Olympias away and you two together. I really don't know what happened between you two but I could sense a change in your relationship and, in a moment, you decided to step aside and leave Alexander on his own" Megara said, expressing for the first time aloud her confusion.
"I felt that I was stealing from Alexander the possibility of having a family for real if I insisted on staying with him. I could not bear him being unhappy, he deserves so much …" the brunette explained and his friend Megara could begin to understand what the young man was saying, he had acted upon the most unselfish act of love and he had been misunderstood … by everyone.
"I now understand what you meant but you also deserve the best, you are the most caring and loyal person any human being could ask for, so why did you suppose you were not entitled to that same happiness you were so ready to deny yourself?" Megara asked softly, trying to make Hephaestion understand that he had the right to be happy too, especially if that happiness included a young blonde Macedonian prince who would kiss the floor he walked on just because.
"I will think about this in my journey to Troy" Hephaestion said sincerely.
"When are you leaving?" she asked anxiously.
"Tomorrow at dawn, I need to ride to the port and then I would be on a ship for some days until I reach the coast" Hephaestion explained and he could not hide his excitement.
"Will you be staying at the city of Troy?" she asked, trying to get as much information as possible, she already knew a certain person who would appreciate all the information she could get.
"No, I will be staying in a nearby city but I will visit the tombs of …" and he was interrupted.
" … of Achilles and Patroclus, did I guess it right?" she said, laughing loudly.
"Am I so predictable?" he asked smiling.
"Only when you are distracted. So my friend, I wish you a speed and safe trip and an excellent diplomatic mission. I know that you will do well" she said and pecked his lips tenderly, in a sisterly way, and Hephaestion realized that she had almost provoked the same reaction Theron's kisses had had on him, they were nice but they had never felt totally right.
"Thanks Megara for the conversation but especially for the company and know that I will always be there for you, whenever you need me" he said taking her small and delicate hands in his and helping her to stand up on her feet.
The young red haired woman gathered her things and went away. When she was about to exit the garden, she turned round and blew a kiss to the smiling but pensive brunette. She asked the gods to listen to her prays and to help those two lovers to get their love back.
The following morning, Hephaestion prepared himself for his first diplomatic mission, he wanted it to be a success, he had been preparing for it for many months and the moment of the truth had finally arrived.
He set off at dawn with the company of his two loyal friends, Dione and Sotiris. He was about to leave when a loud bark stopped his movements, the large Saraman was sitting next to Sotiris and looking at him as if he wanted to make him understand that he wanted to go with them. The brunette young man knelt by the dog and rubbing him behind his ears, he told him that he could not go with them because he needed to look after Alexander. Peritas looked back at him, with very sad puppy eyes, and he lain by his feet with his big head hidden between his front legs. A loud whine left the dog's mouth and with a final pat on his head, Hephaestion stood up.
Hephaestion mounted Dione and whistled long and loudly to let Sotiris know it was time to go. What he did not know was that a certain blonde was watching him from his hidden place and that that same blonde was wishing him a good journey and a better mission.
He knew he was going to miss him dearly but maybe that time apart would help the brunette to think things better. He had let Hephaestion know that he still had feelings for him but the blue eyed youth had ignored every time Alexander had dropped a hint. The young prince only knew that he loved his brunette as the first day and that he would do anything to get his love back and he knew that Megara would understand and consequently help them both, as she had promised a year ago.
Hephaestion did all the travel to his destination without any problem or surprises during the trip. The only thing he was a bit worried about was that Dione had never been on a ship before and he did not know how the mare could react. Acting on that, he personally prepared a stall where he tied her to an extreme and he set also a place for Sotiris and himself; he would never allow anyone to take care of his friends.
Fortunately, the weather was calm so the sea was relatively calm too, both his animal friends did not have any problem, Dione could even sleep during the night and Sotiris slept all the time when she was not walking among the men and terrorizing some of the ladies who were going to the same place. After a two-day trip they arrived to their destination safe and sound.
Hephaestion arrived to a little inn where he would spend the night and prepare for his audience the following morning. As soon as he got up, he put special care in his attire; the governor was a very irritable man so he picked the simplest chiton he had but made of the best Egyptian cotton; he brushed and let his hair loose, the fat man had a soft spot for beauty and he finished his attire with a simple cloak over his right shoulder.
He got to the governor's small palace and announced his presence. A young page made him wait until he went inside to let the man known of his arrival.
Half an hour later, he was summoned to his presence, the old man had thought that this Macedonian emissary would be irritated for having spent so long but he did not know Hephaestion who had the patience of the faithful Penelope.
Their first audience was quite tough; the city governor was reluctant to speak to Hephaestion basing his decision on Hephaestion's youth and inexperience. Hephaestion knew that he had to be patient because his future success as a diplomat would be a direct result of this first audience. He had to prove not only to the governor and his king but also to himself that he was prepared to deal with it.
He went back to the inn to plan his second audience that the governor had accepted reluctantly. Once again, he dressed carefully but this time he added some local pieces of garment, not too notorious but that they could be seen if you looked with intention.
As soon as he was taken to the governor's presence, instead of dealing with the topic he had between his hands, he started to speak about the nice and exotic places he had discovered while wandering around the city the day before. While he retold his experience around the street markets and the narrow streets, Hephaestion added quality information about each place he had seen and he also named the different objects he was willing to buy before going back home, mentioning each of them by their proper name, in the local language and the pronunciation was so accurate that anyone could see that he knew the language quite well. The governor asked him a question in his mother tongue and Hephaestion answered him using the same language and the conversation went on in that language and if Hephaestion answered questions using some dialects, no one said anything about it but the governor looked at the young ambassador under a new light.
That second audience was a tremendous success and the governor not only accepted king Philip's conditions but also named Hephaestion his voice in the Macedonian court and he was invited to stay as long as he desired.
Hephaestion was truly happy that everything had ended well and when he returned to the inn to look for his belongings; the governor had insisted on Hephaestion staying at his house, he found a letter with the Macedonian seal on it. He thought that it was a letter from the king or even Alexander but it was none of them, the sender was Megara who officially announced the dissolution of her engagement with prince Alexander due to irreconcilable differences.
He did not know what to do, Alexander was free again and so was he but they were separated from many miles. The brunette, making use of his logical thinking, decided to spend two or three days there, giving the opportunity for things to calm down in Mieza. He knew that Olympias's shouts would reach heaven.
After asking for a while, a local boy told him how to get to Troy. The brunette was decided to pay his homage to his hero and his lover. He prepared for the short trip; he was going to spend the night there so he took some furs and his weapons.
As soon as he saw the tombs of Achilles and Patroclus, he felt his heart burst into a thousands pieces … a blonde young man was knelt in front of the tombs reading aloud passages of the Iliad with so much feeling in his voice that Hephaestion thought he had died and was now living in the Elysian Fields. He must have made a noise because the young man stopped reading and lifting his face, that was clearly tear-stained, and a whispered "My Patroclus" left his mouth. The cyan-eyed youth replied with just a simple "My Achilles".