Day Twenty-eight: A moonless day.
Alexander decided to move to Ecbatana and spent the summer there. Hope loved the palace and who was the king to refuse her five-year-old daughter such a simple wish.
Hope had flourished into a beautiful girl, blue eyes like her daddy's, only a shade lighter and her long and blonde curls, a heritance from the king, were no longer so fair but a colour similar to the purest honey.
The king was preparing a new conquest, just some nearby lands to gain an extra exit to the inner sea and Hephaestion was working hard to prepare everything they would need, from food and clothes to weapons and medical supplies. The 33-year-old brunette was working very long hours and it had begun to take a toll in his still strong body. Suddenly a very strange fever invaded his body and forced him to rest for nearly two weeks. He protested against the doctor's decision but it was Hope who made him rest by staying by his side once the doctor had assured them that it was not contagious.
She lied next to him and told him stories about warriors and princesses and the brunette laughed when he realized that many of those tales had been told by a black warrior who miraculously was keeping his word of staying safe and young for Hope.
Hephaestion left the bed totally recovered and he immediately reassumed his duties. However, Alexander had made him promise to take regular breaks and stop if he felt unwell.
A month and a half went by and Alexander decided to start his campaign but Hephaestion had decided not to go with him; Hope had been quite strange lately, hugging and kissing him whenever she had the opportunity, as if she were afraid of losing him. Hephaestion, for the first time in his life, put his heart first and stayed behind.
Alexander was not happy, he was not used to go into battle without his partner but if their daughter felt it was important for her daddy to stay, he would not go against her wishes.
The campaign was short and quick, the peoples accepted Alexander's rules fast as none of them wanted to see those rich and exotic lands devastated. Alexander wanted to go back to his palace in Ecbatana; nothing was exciting without his sexy and smart brunette by his side. He left a small part of his army behind to organize the new subjects while he took the rest of the army back to that city.
Cleitus asked Alexander if he could tell his little jewel that he was going to be back soon and that he was going to give her a beautiful jewel he had bought for her. Alexander did not like that at all but he was also surprised to see how Cleitus did not look a year older that when Hope was born.
The black warrior had joked about a gift the gods had given him, about getting older one year out of five lived, so he was just 39 and Hope was 5 and, if his counts were right, Hope would arrive her marriage age in 10 years being 15 and he would be just 41. Alexander knew that no one would be able to stop them if they decided to start anything between them.
Alexander just groaned and left, listening to Cleitus laughing loudly.
Alexander arrived after a month and ten days before Hope's fifth birthday. As soon as Bucephalus's gallop stopped at the palace entrance, little but fast footsteps took the little girl towards her father who scooped her up in his arms and cradled her brunette head against his chest, peppering the crown of her head with tons of kisses.
She kissed his father's cheeks, looked at him seriously and asked:
"Are you fine, father?"
"Yes, I am but now I am much better from having you in my arms" the king confessed and he did not care if anyone could listen to his sappy confession.
"Was it a difficult campaign?" she asked, really interested.
"Not so much" Alexander replied.
"Did many people die, papa?" Hope asked and her big heart was already sad for those fallen soldiers.
"Very few; most of them surrounded when they saw our magnificent army" Alexander answered, trying to soothe the worried heart.
"I know that, papa, we have the best Army of all" she replied proud.
"And how is your daddy? Did you make him rest?" Alexander asked, feeling quite eager to have news of his partner.
"I took good care of him but he is fine, no fever or pain but he misses you, I heard him calling you in his sleep, papa"
"I missed him too; luckily we are all here so we can celebrate together" Alexander said happily.
"Not everyone, papa. Where is my Cleitus?" she asked seriously.
"General Cleitus is following my orders and I don't know when he is coming back" Alexander said, a bit offended.
"But is he fine? Was he hurt?" Hope asked worried.
"He is fine, no hurt and he is not yours, young lady. Apart from that, I saw him chasing a very curvy black-haired woman and kissing her" Alexander could not avoid saying that white lie to stop his daughter's crush.
Alexander stopped in his walk when he did not hear his little one following him. He turned round and he saw his daughter standing up with her head down and, even though he could not see her fat tears, he could see her little shoulders moving up and down accompanying her low sobs. He cursed his own stupidity and ran back to kneel by her side.
"Don't cry, baby, that was a joke. Your Cleitus was not kissing any woman; he sent me with a message for you, he said that he was coming back soon and that he would give you a jewel he had bought for you" Alexander said, trying to cheer up his daughter's spirit.
Hope looked at him and if her eyes could kill, he would have been dead with just one single look.
"I hate you father, I hate you!" and she left, leaving the great king on his knees while he wondered why he had been so rude to his own daughter.
Alexander entered the palace and went directly to the royal chamber. There he found his mate cradling and soothing a very distressed young princess.
The king of the known world looked at his mate in the eyes and realized that he had managed to piss off his two most favourite persons in the world.
He approached them slowly and sat by Hephaestion who looked at him with disappointment in his cerulean eyes. He mouthed "Why?" and Alexander replied in the same way with only one word "Jealous"
Hephaestion shook his head and hugged his daughter even tighter. Alexander set a hand on her little back and whispered in her ear:
"I am sorry, baby, it was just a joke"
"It was not a joke, it was a lie, my King" and Alexander realized, how mad she was, she never called him My King.
"I didn't think, Hope" he tried to justify himself.
"But it hurt me, father" she said between sobs.
"I know now and I am sorry. Can you forgive me?" the king asked seriously.
"But my heart broke a little, papa; if Cleitus does not love me …." She stopped because she started to cry again.
"Cleitus loves you, hope. And he promised me when you were just a baby of three months old, that he would marry you" Hephaestion said while caressing her back.
"Is that true, daddy?" Hope showed her own name in her aquamarine eyes.
"Yes, it is, my love and I will see myself that you marry him if that is what both want when you are old enough to get married" Hephaestion promised and his daughter gifted him with the biggest smile she had.
"I will see to that too, Hope" Alexander said because he suddenly remembered where his own stupid jealousy had taken him when it was related to Hephaestion and he did not want to lose a single minute without them.
"Thank you, papa" and she turned in Hephaestion's arms and wrapped her little arms around the king's neck.
"You are welcome, my princess" Alexander said, smiling for the first time since all the problem began.
"Will you take me to bed and tell me story?" she asked, her big blue eyes fixed on his mismatched ones.
"Of course" and he started the story with "There was a time when a brave and strong black warrior saved his princess, who he loved deeply…."
Hephaestion listened to his mate's voice fade away as well as his daughter's low laughter.
When Alexander came back to the royal chamber, he found no one in it but he could listen to the sound of water in the inner chamber. He walked there and found himself admiring the most beautiful and sexiest image he had ever seen. His gorgeous mate was sitting inside the bathtub, his upper body outside the water so Alexander could see the broad chest, the brownish nipples, the flat stomach and that temping line of brunette hair that pointed to the treasure beneath the water. Hephaestion had his eyes closed and his head was resting against the tub border and his bronze tresses, already wet, were caressing his neck and back skin.
Alexander gasped and even though it had been very low, it made Hephaestion open his eyes.
"Hey" Alexander whispered approaching the bathtub and sitting by its border.
"Hey yourself, aren't you joining me?" Hephaestion asked.
"I didn't want to assume anything; I thought you were still mad at me" Alexander said and blushed.
"I was because you upset Hope due to your own jealousy but I have missed you, Xander, so much that it was painful" Hephaestion said and outstretched his hand so Alexander could take it between his.
"Let me undress and I will join you there. I have missed you too, Phai, not even the victories were joyful because you weren't there to celebrate them with me" Alexander said, while sitting behind Hephaestion and making the brunette chiliarch rest onto his chest.
"Tell me about those lands, Alexander" Hephaestion asked and the king could detect a kind of longing in his baritone voice,
"We will see them together soon; as soon as we can take Hope out of this Palace" Alexander assured him.
"I don't know Alexander, it is just …" the brunette stopped mid-sentence.
"What is it, love?" Alexander asked worried.
"I think that I won't see them" Hephaestion whispered his answer.
"Why not?" Alexander whispered back.
"Just a stupid feeling" he replied quietly.
"Well, don't say that. Let me wash you so then I can take you to our bed and show you how much I missed you, how much I need you and love you" Alexander said in a whisper, kissing the wet spot behind Hephaestion's neck.
They bathed each other and shared some long kisses that quickly were so heated that they decided to take their action to the bed.
They made love all night long, taking turns to take each other and showed their mates how much they had been missed and how much they were loved.
The following morning they were woken up by a little princess jumping on their bed and both fathers punished her by tickling her without mercy in her tummy and the royal chamber was filled with happiness and laughter.
A week later, the deafening noise of hundreds of horses and men woke the little princess who immediately ran towards the windowsill of her bedroom to see the exact moment when the Army was entering the city and the officers were already heading towards the palace entrance where the king and his chiliarch were already waiting for them. They exchanged greetings and news when suddenly a loud and baritone voice asked:
"Where is my little jewel?"
"Up her, Cleitus, in my window" Hope shouted waving her little arms madly while her nana kept a tight hold of her night gown.
All the officers there laughed loudly but the serious look in Cleitus's face told them that it was true love what he felt for his Hope.
The little princess climbed down the stairs, followed by her nana and she suddenly jumped into Cleitus's arms who reverently kissed her forehead.
"Joy to you, my little jewel"
"Joy to you, my brave warrior" Hope said and blushed.
"What do I have here? I think it is a gift for the little princess" Cleitus said, showing his right hand in a fist.
"I am not little, I am five years old, Cleitus" the little girl said a bit upset.
"No, you will be five tomorrow" Cleitus replied laughing.
"No difference. Well, what have you got hidden in your hand?" Hope asked curiously.
"Ummm, nothing and grown up princesses should not be that curious, milady" he said seriously.
"But I am a little princess today, Cleitus" she said, frowning her forehead.
Officers as well as her fathers laughed loudly, thinking that Hope would make a good negotiator as her father Hephaestion was and as determined and strong-willed as the king himself.
"Well, I have a jewel for my little jewel" and opening his big hand, everybody could see a ring of gold with an aquamarine in its top, the same shade of blue of Hope's eyes.
"It is beautiful, Cleitus, thank you" she said and kissed the stubble cheek.
"You cannot wear it yet, but I want you to wear it as soon as you are a grown-up princess; let's say in ten years …" Cleitus said and dared to throw a look at his future in–laws.
"Alright, Cleitus, but I will wear it with a chain around my neck until then" she said seriously.
"As you wish, my princess" Cleitus said and kissed her forehead once more, a bit longer than before.
Hephaestion looked at Alexander and whispered:
"Has our daughter got engaged in front of us and the Macedonian officers?"
"It seemed that she has" Alexander replied and smiled; they could not have chosen a better mate for their daughter but time would tell if they were right; ten years was a long time for a man to wait ….
The following day, Hope's birthday fifth birthday party was celebrated in the gardens of the palace in Ecbatana. There were musicians and jugglers, poets and athletes and an abundance of food and wine to satisfy all the guests. The different sections of the army presented their princess precious gifts and the army followers gave her presents that represented their skills so Hope got knitted peplos, wood toys and jewelry made of not so noble metals, among others.
Hope was surprised because her fathers had not given her their present yet and even though she was a bit upset, she could understand them a bit.
Suddenly a young page from the royal stables entered the garden with a black mare and stood near the king and his mate. He gave them the reins and they called Hope to introduce her to her own horse, an offspring of Bucephalus and Auburn, Hephaestion's mare. With difficulty, they had kept Auburn's pregnancy in secret, telling Hope that Hephaestion was training another horse so Auburn could rest.
Hope clapped madly and asked her parents to sit her on the horse but, before that happened, Cleitus approached them with a saddle made of the softest leather and set it onto the horse. When the bridles were all buckled up, Alexander sat her and took her for the first ride on her own horse along the gardens.
Her nana asked her how the horse would be named and, looking at her fathers first and then at Cleitus, she said it would be called "Beloved". The celebration continued with dances and laughter until the early hours of the morning.
Alexander was feeling restless, he wanted to leave Ecbatana and went back to Babylon but Hephaestion refused to leave the city.
Surprisingly, they had been having a spell of warm weather and the royal family could swim and relax by the small river that ran near the palace. After a very exciting day, they all took a very hearty meal and said their goodbyes.
Hephaestion fell asleep after a single round of lovemaking; he snuggled against Alexander's warm body but the king could not find his rest so he spent a long time contemplating the peaceful expression on his husband's face. Alexander then spooned the slender body and after some minutes, he finally fell asleep.
Morning came and the sky was grey, heavy with clouds. Alexander stretched and realized that Hephaestion was no longer in his arms; he smiled because Hephaestion tended to escape to his own side of the bed. He moved softly and kissed Hephaestion's earlobe, knowing that even the lightest caress in that sensible area would wake him up, but nothing happened.
"He must be very tired if he did not bat my hand" Alexander thought.
Alexander got closer and his chest brushed his mate's back and he felt it cold, even though he was still covered by the sheets and thought that it was really strange.
Alexander shook Hephaestion's shoulder and nothing happened and whatever patch of skin Alexander touched, he found it cold.
"Wake up, Phai" Alexander pleaded but the brunette did not move at all.
Alexander turned Hephaestion round and set his ear onto the brunette's chest, frantically listening for a heartbeat but there was none; the well-oiled machine had stopped during the night and Alexander had not realized about it.
A piercing yell woke the whole palace and the two guards protecting their chamber door entered immediately. They found the great king rocking back and forwards the lifeless body of his husband.
One of them went to the king while the other ran in search of the doctor. Minutes later, Cleitus, Ptolemy and Perdicas entered the room and saw the devastating image in front of their eyes.
Hope had also listened to the yell and ran towards her fathers' room with her nana but Cleitus stopped her outside the chamber, asking the nana to take her back to her room while the little girl shouted because she wanted to know what had happened to her daddy.
The good doctor entered the room and approached the bed. He gently asked his king if he would let him check Hephaestion. Alexander looked at him with clouded eyes but nodded.
"I am sorry, my king, but it was his heart, it just stopped during the night … no one, not even me with my medical knowledge, could have done anything to save him" the doctor added the last part because he knew that Alexander would blame himself for letting his mate die while they were sleeping together.
"Did he suffer?" Alexander asked between sobs and racking his fingers through Hephaestion's tresses.
"No sire, look at the peaceful expression in his face, his heart only stopped, from one second to the next" he said and left the king alone. He informed the Generals that were gathered about the situation.
Cleitus, Ptolemy and Perdicas got closer and Alexander's face had such a devastating expression on it that they could not help shedding a few tears. However, when time went by and Alexander still had Hephaestion's corpse between his arms, they started to get nervous; Alexander was about to suffer a serious breakdown and there were decisions to make.
Cleitus informed the little princess about her daddy's death and Hope cried in his arms until she fell asleep, exhausted and drained.
Ptolemy left the palace to inform Hephaestion's parents and to bring them to the palace to attend Hephaestion's funeral rites and accompany Alexander and Hope in that difficult moment.
It took three days to convince Alexander to let Hephaestion's body go. Even though his mind was still clouded, Alexander remembered the scroll that he had been given nearly twenty years ago with clear and important instructions for Hephaestion's corpse.
The rites were celebrated and even though Alexander wanted to have Hephaestion with him forever, he placed his body in a hidden cave at the foot of mount Olympus. The instructions said that Hephaestion's corpse had to be set onto a marble wide table, covered by a thick white cotton sheet. His body had to be perfectly cleaned and wearing a white chiton. A pitch of water and a bowl of seeds had to be left next to the table as well as his beloved sword and shield.
Alexander followed the instructions carefully and when they were finished, he let his closest relatives to pay his final respects to his husband. Hephaestion's parents cried over his body and wondered why he had left them when he was still so young. Hope set a crown of forget-me-not over his crossed hands and whispered a heartfelt "see you soon daddy" in his ear. She kissed his clean cheek and went back to his father's arms.
Alexander was left alone but the people waiting for him outside could clearly listen to him crying and asking the Olympians to kill him so they could be together again. While he was there, a strange light covered the whole body and Alexander realized that it was time to seal the cave.
Alexander spent the following week in the dark, refusing to eat or drink. He spent the whole day pacing, hugging one of Hephaestion's chitons and burying his nose in the fading smell.
Hephaestion's parents took care of Hope as Alexander did not have the strength to do it, but when night came, he spent the whole nighttime in her bed, hugging her and checking her breathing and heartbeat.
Everyone could clearly see that Alexander was losing his life wish and they wondered how long it would take the great king to follow his soul mate down to the house of death.