Alexander looked towards the surgeon for reassurance that all was well, he had ridden to Thermia thinking he might arrive too late, now he was here, reunited with Hephaistion, he could not bear the thought that anything or anyone might part them again.

Philip sighed. "I hoped to examine him but he needs to rest." He gently pulled back the threadbare blanket which covered Hephaistion, hoping to be able to see more but gave up the task when Hephaistion murmured in his sleep.

"I forget my manners," the potter said. "Would you like some wine?" He slapped his forehead with the palm of his right hand. "I am Euripedes...named after the playwright," he said and smiled, "I named my son after another, we joke that he will call his son Homer."

"I would gladly accept some wine," Alexander replied, finding a cup ready to be offered already being pushed in to his free hand.

Euripedes nodded towards Hephaistion. "We thought he must have family and guessed he might have come from Pella, partly because it is the largest place we know."

"The fates must have guided your son then," Philip laughed.

"Ah," smiled Euripedes, "Icarus has scars from a blade and a noble face, I told my son to go to the barracks, to the cavalry and prayed to the gods he would find someone who knew him." He handed Philip a cup of wine. "What is his name?" he asked.

"Hephaistion, his name is Hephaistion," Alexander answered, the same of his lover's name sounding so good to him.

Nikias came forward again to say that Sostrate and Epaphras were making camp and would then go hunting for supper. He looked over at Hephaistion and then at the surgeon. " I wondered how Hephaistion was. Will he live?" he asked, his face concerned.

"His life has already been saved by Euripedes and Meon," Philip replied, "I can ease his pain and help him rest, he should be back on his feet in no time at all."

Nikias grinned to hear it, taking the cup of wine that Euripedes placed in his hand and drinking the contents down in one go. "I thought when they said he had fallen from a cliff..." he said, and smiled.

"Meon deserves praise," the surgeon said, "for setting the shoulder right away. Had it been left until this day then the arm would have been useless to him, the damage irreparable."

Euripedes nodded. "He doesn't speak, I don't think he can. Meon just turned up here one day, like a stray dog might, and began to load the cart for market. My wife died when my son was born, he was just a young boy when Meon arrived here and the man has been invaluable even if his mind is a little slow." He looked towards the door. "He won't come in, not with you all here."

Alexander looked down at Hephaistion, then around the house, feeling grateful for all that had been done, words of thanks would never convey the way he felt. These men had saved a life so valuable to him, but at the same time he wished that Hephaistion was at Pella, lying in more comfort, in a light and airy room. "It should be no trouble to find Pelagia in Rhodes," he said, to himself.

"A dagger would have done the job just as well," the surgeon said, judging Hephaistion to be so deeply asleep he could now pull the blanket back, revealing a bruised and battered body. "It's a wonder he survived."

"There is a ledge, covered in sand, he landed there when there were rocks either side," Euripedes said.

Philip placed his hand on Hephaistion's right hip, black and purple from where it had obviously hit the rocks. He reached over and took Hephaistion's hand from Alexander so that he could examine his arm, running his fingers over the bruising, flexing it, then he ran his hand along Hephaistion's right side.

"He has bruises on the left side," Euripedes offered, "they are hidden by the bandages'.

Nodding, the surgeon examined Hephaistion's legs, the left thigh was bruised badly but no bones were broken though the skin was cut and scraped. After pulling the blanket back in place he looked over at Alexander. "Some god must have wanted him alive, that's all I can say," he said.

Alexander sat up straight, not realising that he had leaned forward during Philip's examination, anxious that it would show no lasting ills. He sighed, then looked over to where Nikias stood watching.

"Nikias, I know we have travelled quickly over a distance to get here, but one more favour," Alexander asked. "Would you ride to Thermia and fetch some supplies, blankets...cushions, a couple of chitons for Hephaistion."

"I have spare blankets for him," Euripedes said, laying his hand on a bundle of worn pieces of cloth.

"They are for our camp, I cannot put you to any trouble," Alexander replied, fully intending the cushions and a new blanket to be given to Hephaistion.

"Take my horse if you need it, to carry things," the surgeon said, getting to his feet and groaning, "I need to stretch my legs, I'll be outside if you need me."

Alexander finally found himself alone with Hephaistion as Nikias and Euripedes followed Philip.

OOXXOO

The night of the banquet, that was the last time they had been alone, when he had been so cruel because he wanted more and Hephaistion had the sense to see the danger. He leaned forward now and stole a kiss, pulling back to see lapis eyes gazing on him.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Alexander whispered..

"I have slept enough," Hephaistion replied, "I used to dream of you, but now that you are here I would rather stay awake...but I am tired, my body aches."

Alexander reached up, he had placed Hephaistion's pendant around his neck, he took it off and gently placed it over Hephaistion's head, taking another kiss which was all the sweeter as Hephaistion returned it, slow and gentle, saying more than words could ever do.

"We will not be parted again," Alexander vowed, "I will take exile again if my father so much as suggests we should not be together. We can ride back to Illyria, go hunting along the way, find a tribe who need a leader."

"You hated it...last time," Hephaistion said, "I know how much you wanted to return, to be King of Macedon some day."

"You mean more," Alexander said, earnestly. "We may be able to go to Rhodes to find Pelagia and her lover, take revenge. She thought to kill you, she will think she is seeing a shade when she sees you walk in to the room."

Hephaistion nodded, then sought Alexander's hand. "The vengeance might be all yours," he said.

Confused by the reply, Alexander looked in to Hephaistion's eyes, seeking understanding. Sadness and fear. "Pelagia deserves to be punished for what she has done, if my father..."

"Alexander....some things are not to be," Hephaistion interrupted.

"Philip says you will recover," Alexander assured him, noting Hephaistion's reaction and feeling unsettled by it. Something was wrong. "What is it, Hephaistion?" he breathed. "What do you know? What do you fear?"

Hephaistion bit his lip and studied Alexander as if judging if he should speak or not. "I would go to the end of the world with you if I could," he said.

"One day," Alexander said, fighting the urge to call the surgeon back, to find what he had missed."

"The fates have not done with us...I was crippled in the fall, Alexander, I cannot move my legs, or feel them."

Alexander laughed in disbelief. "You will recover," he insisted, choosing to ignore what he had been told.

Reaching for Alexander's chiton, Hephaistion gripped it once more. "When I woke...after the fall, I tried then to move them, I was in pain but my legs felt numb. I have been ill but in any lucid moment the fear that I will not walk again has haunted me. He looked down. "You have your hand on my knee, Alexander, and I cannot feel it."

Alexander looked down at his hand, then moved it to clasp the hand that clasped his chiton. "Perhaps Philip will know," he whispered, "perhaps he will know what to do. I should fetch him back here."

"I can not go anywhere with you now," Hephaistion said softly. "It might have been better if I had been killed...but now you are here I want only to live."

Tears filled Alexander's eyes, he leaned forward and kissed Hephaistion's lips. "It can't be true, I won't let it be true. Let me fetch the surgeon."

"Not yet," Hephaistion pleaded. "Let me have a moment alone with you."

"I shall find Pelagia and have her punished, the servant and the men they hired too," Alexander vowed.

"I missed you," whispered Hephaistion, "with every fibre of my body, every day, Alexander. I would push you away when all I wanted was to hold you, to have things back the way they were."

Alexander gripped Hephaistion's hand tightly, unwittingly making him gasp.

"I still feel my hand," he said, smiling as Alexander softened his hold. "It is so good to see you," he said earnestly, as another tear rolled down his face. "Perhaps we were not meant to have it all."

Alexander lay down beside Hephaistion, resting his head upon the pillow, because he could now, he would not allow anyone to part them. When his father arrived he would tell him as much, although the man seemed to have realised his mistake. "I will see them punished," he vowed once more, "and keep you close".

"I thought of Mieza, of our times there...the first time you kissed me."

"You seduced me," Alexander said.

"You were jealous of my spending time with Perdiccas, you pounced on me."

"Before Perdiccas did, you were going hunting with him..."

"...and you thought something might happen." Hephaistion looked in to Alexander's eyes and smiled. "I am glad you were so jealous."

"Of Perdiccas? Never."

Hephaistion nodded, then closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again to focus on Alexander, once more. "You had no need to be, I never had feelings for Perdiccas, it was always you, Alexander, my love."

"I still say you seduced me."

"If you call enlisting Perdiccas' help seduction. We thought you would never take the bait."

Alexander laughed. "You will make a general some day."

"And how people would have talked. Things can not be the same now."

"I should fetch the surgeon."

"Not yet."

They were going to Rhodes."

"I know," Alexander soothed, "you already told me."

"Yes," breathed Hephaistion, his eyes closing again. "Rhodes," he murmured before sleep claimed him once more.

Alexander held Hephaistion's hand close to his chest, saying a prayer to all the gods he could think of at that moment to help his love, thanking whichever of them had saved him. Yet, he was crippled. Alexander thought on the life that Hephaistion might have now, even if they were together. Hephaistion would be confined to a bed, a chair or a litter, trapped like a wounded animal, dying inside.

Moving gently, Alexander got up from the poor bed, pausing a moment before he walked outside. There he found Philip, sitting talking to Euripedes, who was checking how the clay pots were drying in the sun.

"He's asleep again," Alexander said.

"He's better than he was," replied Euripedes, "I just began to think he might survive it all."

Alexander signalled to Philip, then moved away, aware that the surgeon was following him. He walked up a slope and found himself looking over at the sea, a ship was on the water, it's sail unfurled.

"Don't worry if he sleeps," soothed the surgeon, "it will heal him."

Looking at the ground, Alexander hesitated, finding himself afraid to admit what Hephaistion had told him. If he said it then it must be true; if he said it then his father would soon know and might interfere in his plans to keep Hephaistion close. He shook his head and looked at Philip, distracted for a moment at how the man shared the same name as his father but was the antithesis of the man.

"He cannot feel his legs," Alexander whispered.

Philip looked puzzled, as if he might not have heard the words correctly, then he sighed and ran his right hand across his face before shaking his head and spitting on the ground as if the news had left a bad taste in his mouth. "It might have been too much to expect that he could escape with just cuts, bruises and a broken shoulder," he said.

Alexander looked back to sea, unable to speak, angry with the fates.

"He's still here, Alexander," Philip said. "Euripedes might have been pointing out the site of the pyre, but he is not. With your help, Hephaistion can learn to live with his disability. He's from a noble family, with support from his family's estate..."

"Is that what you tell everyone?" Alexander snapped, instantly apologising to the man. "I'm sorry, but why should Hephaistion have to suffer?"

"A poor man would have no hope but to beg on the streets, or be a burden to his family," the surgeon said, softly. "Hephaistion has you."

Alexander nodded, knowing the truth of it. "Examine him again," he asked, "let's see how bad it is".

"When he wakes," Philip replied, then walked away, back to Euripedes.

Kicking at the ground, Alexander waited for the storm of his emotions to settle, then turned and made his way back to Hephaistion.

OOXXOO

Nikias returned just after dark, greeted by Sostrate and Epaphras who had returned from hunting and were already cooking the meat over a fire.

They helped him to unload Philip's horse, then fetched Alexander, who chose a couple of large pillows and a blanket, then asked that they inform him when the supper was cooked, before heading back in to the house.

Hephaistion had woken and Philip had carried out a full examination, more to satisfy Alexander than for doubt of Hephaistion's self-diagnosis.

Gradually, they helped Hephaistion to sit up, using the two new pillows to support him. The action caused him a little pain but he seemed better for it and at least now he could see around the room and he smiled at Euripedes and asked after Meno, who still stayed outside. He spoke a little then he fell asleep once more.

Euripedes enquired about when Aeschylus would return, whether he might see his son again by morning or later in the day. Alexander replied that he thought it might be by late morning. Apparently, Meno would be leaving for Thermia at dawn, to take some pots to the market there, Aeschylus normally accompanied him but this time Meno would have to go alone.

Alexander offered to send someone with him and Euripedes was pleased with this and thanked him for his kindness.

"I owe you a great deal, Euripedes," Alexander said, "for giving Hephaistion help and shelter as you did."

"I never thought he was the friend of a prince, I did worry he was some rogue who had been hurled from the cliff as a punishment, but he was too weak to cause harm and Meno has an instinct when it comes to people. He was keen enough to help, carrying him here from the beach and setting his shoulder like he did." He looked to Hephaistion. "I never knew...I suppose he will be cared for...but he is a fine boy it is tragic that he will not walk again."

"When my father arrives, we will set up a larger camp here, if you don't mind. Euripedes. Then I shall move Hephaistion out of here."

Euripedes grinned. "I never thought to have Philip of Macedon, or his son, here as my guests. Wait until they hear at Thermia."

OOXXOO

Hephaistion woke during the night, with the thought that something had happened yesterday, something good. Confused for a moment, he became aware of someone lying at his side and remembered. Alexander.

Alexander was with him now.

He moved his head a little to the right, it was too dark to see the detail of his face but Hephaistion knew it all by heart so it did not matter. Alexander's breathing was soft and slow, he was asleep, his arm draped around Hephaistion's waist. As it should always have been.

Tears filled his eyes as he thought about his wedding day, of the marriage he had tried to make work. If Pelagia was unhappy, then he was doubly so. Yet it had been Pelagia's wish to marry because in the end, free of her family, she just had to rid herself of a husband and then she could be with Phokas.

Anyone, any man would have done. Alexander's proposal was discovered at the perfect moment for Alkaios to find a groom, to rid himself of a daughter only too happy to be rid of him.

His thoughts brought him to the cliff edge, and in the dark, even safe with Alexander he felt panic grip him. He had dug his feet in to the ground, tried to resist as they pulled him to the edge.

His right hand sought Alexander's chiton, it calmed him, he had a tight enough grip of the fabric that he could not fall.

Turning his head to look up in to the dark, Hephaistion tried to move his legs. He had prayed that the feeling in them might return but still they would not obey his commands. He tried to move his feet but even that simple effort tired him and he allowed himself to sink back in to oblivion, where he did not have to think of what his life would be now.

He had thought it would have been better if he had been killed, but Alexander was with him now. He turned his head again, closed his eyes and felt sleep claim him.