Chapter 13

 

Another word:

 

Hypaspist: the elite Macedonian infantry.

 

CHAPTER 13

 

Next day Leonnatos went to Amyntor’s house. He had gathered all his guts to go and asked Berenike out, so he arrived looking impeccable, his chocolate long hair perfectly brushed and tied, and with an enormous bouquet of beautiful flowers. But, when he saw Berenike sat in the garden, reading while her Egyptian girl was doing her hair, he forgot how to speak, and when the 15 years old girl lifted her head and smiled at him, he panicked, turned and went straight to the house.   

 

- Dear Artemis! How beautiful flowers –said Antigone, when she saw Leonnatos just about to entered the house—For whom are they?

 

- For whom? –Leonnatos panicked, again—Er… for Phai.

 

Antigone saw him completely confuse but didn’t say a word. Who was she to criticize modern customs?

 

- Here, this is for you –said Leonnatos in a terrible mood, throwing the bouquet at Hephaistion, when he arrived at his room.

 

Alexander, who was sitting in front of Hephaistion’s bed, frowned.

 

- Since when do you bring flowers to my eromenos?

 

- Don’t ask –the Prince narrowed his uneven eyes and an evil smile curved his lips.

 

- Now I’m intrigue –he said and Leonnatos started to sweat, he knew that look in the Prince’s face—You came very well dress up today and…isn’t that perfume? –Leonnatos blushed and Hephaistion smiled—And you bring flowers, so you want to impress a lady, and since you came to Phai’s house it could only be his mother, which I doubt, or his sister –Leonnatos blushed even more.

 

- You are kidding me! –exclaimed Hephaistion—You like my sister –that wasn’t a question.

 

- Don’t say it like that –Leonnatos tried to defend himself, but Hephaistion kept staring at him. He sighed—Fine. Yes, I like your sister, happy now?

 

Alexander and Hephaistion saw each other and started laughing, embarrassing Leonnatos.

 

- What’s so funny? –he demanded to know, gathering the pieces of his dignity.

 

- Nothing… is just that yesterday… —Hephaistion laughed again—Alex told me –the Prince laughed harder—He wanted to marry Eni…

 

That information depressed Leonnatos and his friends had to spend hours convincing him that was only a joke. At the end, he didn’t believe them entirely.     

 

XXX

 

Alexander and his friends left Pella two days latter. Nikandros and Amyntor also left the city following the King’s orders and Hephaistion remained in his house just with his mother and sister. His grandfather insisted in going to Athens to see his sister. Demetrios wanted to make sure she was fine, before the war start.

 

Now, with the King and the Prince gone, Princess Cleopatra went almost every day to see Hephaistion, and when her half sister Thessalonica found out, she started going too. Now Thessalonica was 13 years old, with beautiful curl blond hair, like a doll, and big blue eyes like her father. It was obvious to everyone that the Princesses had an especial interest in him, and his sister Berenike teased him with that merciless.

 

- Who do you like most? Cloe or Thessa? –asked his sister one morning.

 

- Neither –answered Hephaistion tired of having so much attention. He wanted to rest and go with his beloved Prince.

 

- Cloe is hot, but Thessa is more beautiful, have you noticed that they always come to see you wearing very short chitons? –Berenike was having fun.

 

- No I haven’t –he was lying, of course he had notice, who couldn’t have noticed those thin chitons that marked their slender figures so shamelessly, and they were so short that left nothing to the imagination.... His mother once gasped in front of Cleopatra when she saw the Princess dressed like a whore, according to Antigone’s words.  

 

- Oh come on, you must like one more than the other –his sister insisted.

 

- Cut the crap, what did they give you?

 

- Give me? –she asked with all innocence but Hephaistion knew her better.

 

- In exchange of asking me who I like the most –Berenike tried to denied that, but when she saw the look in her brother’s eyes knew that was pointless. She sighed, defeated.

 

- Fine. Cloe gave me a necklace and Thessa a bracelet –she confessed—So, what am I going to tell them? I can’t tell them “neither”.

 

- Why not?

- Please Phai, just say something, anything… and please don’t tell me “I like Alex” because I will punch you –said his sister threatening him. Having grown up in a house full of “brothers” and no sisters, she knew how to punch and defend herself.

 

- Fine…between Cloe and Thessa? Mm… I will say…Cloe –said Hephaistion, he really didn’t care but his sister insisted so much.

 

- Why?

 

- Why? Do I have to give an explanation?

 

- Of course, why do you like Cloe the most? –asked Berenike with interest.

 

- I don’t know.

 

- Phai, make an effort, for me –she blinked adorably.

 

- Mm… I suppose because she…look more like Alex –said Hephaistion at last.  

 

Berenike frowned.

 

- I don’t like your answer but that should do –said the girl, leaving him at last—Phai, I want to ask you something.

 

- What? –Hephaistion sat on his bed, his hands on his lap.

 

- Do you have sex with Alex? –his brother blushed.

 

- What kind of question is that?

 

- I’m curious –poor Hephaistion who still thought his sister was innocent—So, do you?

 

- I’m not going to answer that.

 

- Phai!!! –Berenike insisted but her brother remained silent and at the end she had to leave.

 

Now that Alexander knew that his father was the thief of his letters he wrote to Hephaistion using everyone but the official courier, and so his beloved get a letter almost every week. Things were going well for the Macedonian army, but the year was passing without major battles and that cheered Hephaistion up, he wanted to be ready when the time came for the decisive battle against Thebes and Athens. 

 

Hephaistion had the worst of lucks. When he was recovering from his wound, he caught a cold, and that, along with his weak condition made him very sick. He spent months in his house and when Alexander’s birthday passed, he faced another problem: he was out of shape. Philip cruel words were still fresh in his memory and he had decided to prove the King he was wrong. So he decided to ask his grandfather for help.

 

- Grandpa, do you have a moment? –asked Hephaistion, entering in Demetrios room.

 

- Yes, son, what do you need? –Demetrios closed his trunk and took a seat.

 

His grandfather’s room was very simple, he didn’t like luxuries, in fact sometimes Nikandros teased him saying that he lived like a Spartan, just a bed, one table, a chair and a big trunk, there was nothing more in his room. Hephaistion sat down on the bed, in front of him.

 

- I want to ask you something –said his grandson a little nervous, and that took Demetrios by surprise—Do you think you could teach me fencing? I want to fight like you do.

 

His grandfather fell silent. Long time ago, when Demetrios was young, he learned to fight with 2 swords and no shield, quite remarkable, Hephaistion had heard that his grandfather was able to stop arrows with just his swords, he didn’t know if that was true but nonetheless Demetrios were the best swordsman in the time of King Amyntas III.

 

- Why do you want to learn to fight like me? Your father paid handsomely to that Spartan instructor in order for you and Nick to lean how to fight –said Demetrios very serious.

 

- Because I want to protect Alexander, I want to be the best swordsman in the kingdom, just like you were, in order to always be of some help to him, I don’t want to be a burden. I need to be stronger –there was something in Hephaistion’s voice that made his grandfather to shiver. His gray eyes were burning and he meant every word he said.

 

Demetrios nodded.

 

- Fine, I’ll teach you but I’m warning you, it not going to be easy –said his grandfather, serious as he had never saw him in all his life.

 

Hephaistion held his gaze.

 

- I will endure, everything for him –and his grandfather believed him.

 

Demetrios had never had a student before, he didn’t like to teach, he had created almost all his techniques and style of fighting, but until now he never found a reason to teach. When his sons were younger they wanted to learn how to fight like him, but when they saw how difficult it was, they gave up. But now… seeing that fire in his grandson eyes he knew that he had the spirit to endure his training, did he has the talent? Well, he would see soon enough.     

 

My grandfather decided that we had to go far away from home in order to train properly, he said that as long as I was near my mother and her excellent food I would never be able to make myself stronger. So this time we were to Illyria, not the border Macedonia shared with them, no, we were to the dangerous and indomitable land of the Illyrians. And then I knew a face of my grandfather that I didn’t know: the savage, powerful and merciless warrior. He made me train every day to make my body stronger and for months he didn’t teach me one thing; we established a routine: I have to wake up before dawn, go to the river and carried water, then came back and made the breakfast. After breakfast I had to do exercise almost all day, do the meals and clean everything, even if I was so tired that I just wanted to die.

 

I was growing tired, I wanted to finish quickly to run to my Alexander, but my grandfather appeared to have all the time in the world. And then, almost 5 months later, he decided to teach me properly. We trained with a pair wooden swords, they were very heavy at least 4 times a normal sword.  I was not ambidextrous, so I had to learn in the hard way. The first month after we started with the wooden swords, I was permanently covered in bruises, and my grandfather never treated my wounds…

 

- Want to know what you problem is, Phai? –said Demetrios, cooking a deer while Hephaistion laid on the ground, incapable of moving after a ferocious afternoon practicing with the wooden swords—Your parents have spoiled you too much, in my times things were very different, I remember one time when my parents left me to starved until I was able to learn how to hunt properly… Phai? You are too quite son, are you still alive? 

 

- Barely… —said Hephaistion, his entire body ached—I think I have a rib broken.

 

- Oh, well, you will be fine –said his grandfather with all calm—Once I had to fight with a broken arm, and I still managed to kill 3 men… those were good times.

 

- Grandpa?

 

- Yes, son.

 

- Where did you get your swords? –asked Hephaistion with sincerely curiosity. His grandfather smiled.

 

- It’s a long story.

 

- It’s all right, I can’t move anyway –Demetrios laughed loudly.

 

- Well, in that case –his grandfather stretched his legs to the front—When I was about your age I met a blacksmith, a very strange fellow that came from an Italian city called Etruria. He claimed to have travel to Hispania, near the Pillars of Heracles. There he learn to make two edge swords, he used to said that the technique of creating this swords was so difficult to master that after many efforts and almost a decade he just could created 2 supreme swords. And he decided he would give his swords to the best swordsman he could find, and started traveling across Europe.

 

- And you were the best swordsman he could find? –asked Hephaistion.

 

- So he said. I met him after one savage battle against the Illyrians –Demetrios continued—In Greece and Macedonia is common to fight like soldiers, following a strict discipline for the common good. Barbarians like the Celts or the Germans praise the individual, the warrior style of fighting. You must know Phai, a soldier and a warrior are not the same things. A soldier is trained to follow orders, has group behavior and has a strict hierarchy. A warrior lives for the individual valor of combat, is brave and has a code of honor.

 

- And you learn to fight like a warrior? –his grandson wanted to know.

 

- Yes, reason why I was called “The Barbarian” –answered his grandfather—But I also know how to follow orders, not like the barbarians of the northern territories.

 

- How much did you pay for your swords? –Hephaistion wanted to know.

 

- Nothing, not a single dracma –said his grandfather smiling—He didn’t wanted to charge me, he said: “the best swords to the best man” that’s all, I never knew his name. But he told me the swords names: Castor and Pollux.

 

- What’s that?

 

- He said were the names of gods of his land, Italian gods –explained Demetrios. 

 

They fell silent, for a moment they only could hear the sound of the fire and the meat burning.

 

- Phai, you have a difficult path to follow –said Demetrios in a soft voice—And I’m afraid you will suffer greatly in the future.

 

- I know –said Hephaistion and his grandfather wasn’t surprised.

 

- I know that something terrible happened to you, I just don’t know what exactly and you don’t have to tell me –his grandson saw him in awe, could he know something about the King?—I just want to tell you that you won’t have an easy life. I’m not going to make Cassiopeia’s mistake and say that you are more good looking than Apollo…but you are too beautiful for your own good, and men don’t like handsome men, we distrust handsome men, don’t ask me why, we just do it. And you have all ready attract so many eyes on you.

 

- Are you talking about Alexander? –asked Hephaistion with caution.

 

- Alexander, his sisters… the King, you know better than I do –said Demetrios, removing the deer from the bonfire—Do you want to know why I agree to train you? 

 

- Yes… —now he was intrigue. He never thought his grandfather could know so much about him. Nikandros was right he had underestimated his family.

 

- Because, of all of us, you are the one who is going to have the cruelest destiny and you have to be prepare –said Demetrios gravely—And you want to protect someone, there isn’t more noble thing to do, than become stronger to protect the one you love. That’s why we are here.

 

Hephaistion smiled, feeling a strange happiness, he was proud to have a grandfather like Demetrios.

 

- Grandpa, if I learn to fight like you, would you give your swords? –Demetrios laughed as if he had never heard something funnier in his life.

 

- Not in a million years, son.

 

A couple of days after Alexander’s 18 birthday, Hephaistion was starting to get impatient, he had read the Prince’s last letter and according to what it said the Greeks had abandoned their positions to make a stand at Chaeronea, between the Cephisus river and the citadel. If he didn’t hurry he would lost the battle. The battle his Alexander was expecting: against the Sacred Band.

 

- Grandpa, I have to go –said Hephaistion stubbornly one morning—I’m very far for central Greece if I don’t leave now I will never get in time.

 

- You are not ready –said Demetrios, and Hephaistion thought that talking to him was like trying to reason with a mountain.

 

- We have been here almost a year, I’m ready…I have to go. Alexander is going to fight against the Sacred Band, he needs me –his grandfather laughed.

 

- He needs you? Phai, you can’t defeat the Sacred Band –said Demetrios—They called those men the Shadow of Death, because the last thing you see before going to the Hades is their shadow, they are like Underworld furies, they never retreat or surrender. The luckiest of their enemies are the ones who die quickly.

 

Hephaistion felt a nod in his stomach, fearing terrible for his Alexander.

 

- I. Have. To. Go –he said slowly—Even if it’s just to die by his side. 

 

Again that fire in his eyes –thought Demetrios, holding his gaze.

 

- Fine. If you can hit me just once, you can go –Hephaistion smiled.  

 

They were going to fight using the wooden swords. Hephaistion was in front of his grandfather, weighing up his weapons, his gorgeous eyes on Demetrios. He was feeling uneasy, and had too many things on his mind; Alexander was clouding his thoughts entirely.

 

I have to concentrate –he thought taking a deep breath. He had to keep everything out of his mind, and be calm. His grandfather had taught him to exploit his enemies’ emotions and he was not going to make it easy for Demetrios—Just one blow.   

 

- Remember Phai, when you fight with two swords you have immense offensive power but not defense, you must be quick and finish your enemy before he attacks you –said his grandfather and he nodded—Ready? 

 

Hephaistion attacked first with a double thrust, the wooden swords side by side. Demetrios blocked him with one sword, and hit him with the other at his side. His grandson clenched his jaw and delivered another blow, it as a deceptive move, and with the other sword he went straight to his grandfather’s heart; he moved so fast that for a moment Demetrios didn’t see him.

 

- I win –said Hephaistion with an arrogant smile, his untidy hair covering partially his eyes.

 

His grandfather blinked and saw the point of the wooden sword against his chest.

 

- Mm, I’m getting old –he said.

  

- Getting old? –Hephaistion put down his swords—Don’t you mean I’m getting better?

 

- No, I’m definitely getting old –his grandson narrowed his eyes—But you can go now, if you don’t run you will arrive in time to clean the battlefield.

 

Hephaistion smiled and ran to his horse.

 

Hephaistion only stopped at his house to pick up his equipment and the new cloak Berenike had done for him, and he continued with his journey. His mother insisted that at least two of the house servants went with him as his escort, but her son refused. If he couldn’t take care of himself, how did he expect to protect Alexander? He took 2 horses with him, the magnificent white stallion whose name was Alastor, and a brown horse from his house stables. He rode all day and night almost without sleep and reached the Macedonian camp at the third day.

 

It was an impressive view, all the tents in perfect order according to their unit and place of origin. For example, all the troops from Upper Macedonia used to camp in the same area, as well as the allied troops. A palisade surrounded the tents, and sentries were posted in all the area. Hephaistion approached the main gate, he was covered in dust from head to toe, but even then he looked impossible handsome. He had two kopis (curved slashing sword) on his back, one with the hilt up the other with the hilt down, his hair was now long, almost reaching his waist, he would have to cut it, it was starting to be a nuisance, so he had brushed it and tied it in a tall tail pony tail, with thin, long, silky locks on his face.

 

- Whose there? –asked the sentry in charge of the main gate.

 

- I’m Hephaistion son of Amyntor –said the young man, stopping in front of the palisade.         

 

- What do you want? –Hephaistion didn’t like his tone.

 

And judging by the man’s strong accent he must be from Upper Macedonia…and new in the army –thought Hephaistion.

 

- I come from Pella to join the army.

 

- What’s the password? –asked the man.

 

Hephaistion took a depth breath and made an effort to answer politely.

 

- I just arrive from Pella –he repeated, very slowly—I don’t have the… password.

 

- Then you can’t pass, those are the rules –said the man, and the usually calm Hephaistion started to get angry.

 

- Why don’t you ask your superior officer if I can pass? –asked Hephaistion.

 

Stay calm, the man is only doing his job –he thought.

 

- You can’t pass, you don’t know the password –the man insisted in an irritating tone.

 

- What’s your name?

 

- Why do you want to know? –oh this was beyond irritation.

 

- Look, I’m in the Ile Basilike…

 

- No you don’t –the man interrupted him as if he had all the wisdom in the world in him—You are too young to be in the Ile Basilike.

 

Hephaistion rolled his eyes.

 

- I don’t care if you don’t believe me, I’m in the Ile Basilike and I’m Prince Alexander’s eromenos –he didn’t like to be like that, showing off the fact that he was intimate with the Crown Prince, but he had no other choice—So go and fetch your superior officer.

 

- Well, you truly look like someone’s eromenos.

 

- For Zeus sake! Just go –man looked at him with distrust but did as he was told.

 

Hephaistion dismounted Alastor and started to walk. He was numb after so many hours riding. He lifted his head and saw the sun, it was almost noon, maybe, with a little luck he would be able to take a bath and eat with Alexander. That thought made him smile, oh how he had missed his dear Alexander, all his body ached wanting to feel him against him once again.

 

The sentry, whose name was also Alexandros, looked for his superior officer, but the man was busy with an important matter, so he sent Alexandros directly to the Prince’s tent to ask if he knew Hephaistion. So Alexandros went to the Prince’s tent, the one under an oak, and asked for him. One page sent him to the King’s tent.

 

- The Prince was summoned by the King early in the morning, he must be there –said the boy, and Alexandros went to Philip’s tent.

 

There the guards made him wait for hours. Almost at nightfall, the Prince showed up followed by Ptolemy and the guards kicked Alexandros to wake him up.

 

- There is the Prince –said on of them.

 

The sentry stood up, and saw Alexander without knowing how to address him, should he called him Prince, highness, Alexander, young master? He had no idea, but he had to hurry because Alexander was leaving.

 

Alexandros ran after him.    

 

- Prince! –he said at last, praising himself for his choice of words.

 

Alexander and Ptolemy stopped and turned to see the young man. When the Prince’s uneven eyes settled on him, the sentry forgot how to speak, they was something beyond human in those eyes.

 

- What do you want? –asked Ptolemy and that made Alexandros woke up.

 

- I-I-I’m Alexandros son of Hypatos –said the sentry—I’m in charge of the main gates and today came a lad saying that he is your eromenos, sir.

 

The Prince opened his eyes.

 

- Hephaistion is here? –asked Alexander, walking to the man.

 

- Yes, he said that was his name –said the sentry.

 

- And where is he? –the Prince was so happy that Ptolemy smiled. Only Hephaistion had the power to make a fool of Alexander.

 

- Oh! Outside.

 

- Outside where? Outside my tent? Outside…?

 

- Outside the camp, sir. He didn’t know the password so I didn’t let him pass –explained the sentry with all calm.

 

Alexander saw him trying to decide if he wanted to kill the man or laugh before his stupidity. At last he decided to do nothing and walked to the main gate with Ptolemy and the puzzled man behind him.

 

I was almost dark. Hephaistion had been waiting for hours; he ate his remaining food and laid on his back staring at the sky, he was beyond boring and was seriously considering the possibility of start shouting until somebody who knew him appeared. 

 

- You know Alastor, that cloud looks exactly like Perdikkas when he is drunk –said Hephaistion to his horse when he heard the gate opening.

 

He stood up and saw 3 men approaching, when he was sure that one of the men was Alexander he smiled happily. His dear one had changed a lot, now he looked even more handsome, his body more muscular, his skin tanned and his eyes looked different too, he had grown in more that one way. He was starting to become the man he was going to be and that made him feel butterflies in his stomach.

 

Alexander for his part stopped a few paces in front of his beloved. Hephaistion also had changed, he was taller, now at his 18 years old with 7 months, he had reached the height he was going to have all his life: 1.80 m against Alexander’s 1.60 m (1) And now he was absolutely exquisite, he was no longer a boy and his beauty was supreme, and praised be to grandfather Demetrios, because thanks to him now Hephaistion had a dream body.

 

The Prince stared at him as if that was the first time they met, and in a way it was true, after all it was the first time he met this gorgeous version of his best friend.   

 

They fell silent for so long that Ptolemy had to clear his throat to make them wake up.

 

- Phai –said Alexander at last.

 

- Alex –Hephaistion smiled and ran to embrace him tightly, feeling the Prince’s arms around him. That was a dream come true, he had missed Alexander so much, that he was surprised that he had actually survived more than a year away from him. 

 

Ptolemy shook his head and patted the sentry’s back.

 

- Let’s go, I don’t think they will need us –said Ptolemy and as soon as they left, Alexander kissed his best friend.

 

The Prince kissed him swiftly, parting his lips with the tip of his tongue, and Hephaistion buried his hands in his untidy blond hair, tilting his head back to kiss him more deeply, his tongue exploring his mouth. Oh, there was love, the most pure love had ever existed but there was also desire, and their bodies were aching to feel each other more intimately.

 

Alexander’s thumb touched the corner of his mouth, and that made his soul mate to moaned softly.

 

- I missed you so much –the Prince whispered, caressing his cheek.

 

- I can tell –Hephaistion smiled and kissed the tip of his nose.

 

- Come, I think you must be tired –said Alexander not wanting to let him go, but it was getting dark and he was in a hurry to take Hephaistion to his own tent, away of indiscreet eyes.

 

- You have no idea, and your sentry didn’t let me pass –said Hephaistion taking his things with the Prince help.

 

- He is not my sentry, is the King’s –his friend laughed.

 

- Good one.

 

Alexander took the reins of the brown horse and with his other hand he took Hephaistion’s, their fingers intertwined, guiding him through the camp, where the men were getting ready to receive the night’s ration. Since it was the day before of the battle, the King ordered to serve them double rations and two cups of wine, not more, he wanted them strong not drunk or with a hangover.

 

- Perdikkas and Leon are going to be very happy when they see you –said Alexander. He couldn’t stop admiring this improved version of Hephaistion.

 

- And I don’t know why but I suppose I’m not seeing them until tomorrow, right? –oh he was so happy that he could start singing… if he wasn’t a bad singer that is. Once he had tried to sing with Berenike and the neighbor’s dog barked all the song. It was a divine sign: he hadn’t been born to sing.

 

Alexander smiled.

 

- Why is everybody so… excited? –asked Hephaistion.

 

- Tomorrow at dawn we are fighting Athens and Thebes –explained the Prince as if he were talking about the weather.

 

- And you telling me now? –his best friend was utterly surprised.

 

- Relax, we are going to win. I’m commanding the right wing; I spent all day with the King discussing the strategy to follow –explained Alexander. He talked with so much confidence, it was as if he could see the future and knew they were going to win. 

 

- The right wing? All the cavalry?

 

- All the cavalry –Alexander was excited—And that’s not all, we are going to stop the unstoppable Sacred Band.

 

Hephaistion lifted both eyebrows, remembering what his grandfather had told him about the ferocious Sacred Band.

 

- That’s not going to be easy –was all that he could say.

 

- Phai, I have so much to tell you.

 

- So do I, but first I will truly appreciate a bath… and food.

 

- Whatever my dear Phai wants.

 

After Hephaistion was clean and fed, they both sat on Alexander’s hard bed, one in front of the other. The Prince smiled when he saw the marvelous bracelets of white gold on his friend’s wrists.

 

- Did you like them? –he asked, pointing at his present.

 

- Of course I like them, I have to be mad not to like them –answered Hephaistion—But how many times do I have to tell you, I don’t like that you spend money on me.

 

- How do you know I bought them? Maybe I stole them or…? –Hephaistion kissed him.

   

- I know what are going to say. Thank you, but please let this be the last time you made me a gift like this.

 

- I will consider it only if you silence me again like that –Hephaistion pulled his blond hair playfully.

 

- Tell me about tomorrow’s battle plan.

 

- Fine –Alexander cleared his throat—But I will need something to illustrate my words.

 

- Do you want a piece of parchment? –as an answered, Alexander took his best friend’s hand.

 

- First, the King is commanding the left wing –said the Prince caressing his palm, making him smiled—With the hypaspist –he ran his fingers through his arm, enjoying the impossible softness of his skin—On the right wing –he took his other hand, he kissed his palm and left light caresses with his lips—Will be the hetairoi cavalry with me.

 

- And what about the center?

 

- Ah! –Alexander took him by the thighs and pulled him against his body. Hephaistion laughed—Well at the center we have the phalanx –he whispered hitting Hephaistion’s lips with his breath.

 

- General? –asked his best friend playfully, resting his weight on his hands back him,  with a sinful sensuality that had Alexander internally drooling—And what about the enemy formation? 

 

- We expect the enemy to take a classic formation –said the Prince in his best business like tone, but the red spots on his cheeks betrayed him—The Athenians facing our left wing –he ran his hand on his thigh—And the Thebans on our right wing, with the Sacred Band –his right hand moved up—The ally hoplites at the center, facing our phalanxes –he kissed Hephaistion, and his friend smiled against his lips.

 

- And then? What happens next, General? –Hephaistion spoke against his cheek, kissing him, tasting his salty skin and liking his earlobe. That made the Prince shuddered.

 

- Then, we let the enemy make the first move –Alexander threw him against the mattress, his weight over his friend—We make the Athenians and their allies believe they are winning.

 

- And how do we do that? –Hephaistion’s hair was like a fan of silk, he laid on his back with languid sensuality.

 

Alexander’s eyes were like the eyes of a predator, ready to kill. 

 

- The left wing and the center will have to give ground, as if they were running away to make the Athenian and their allies to follow them –Hephaistion bent his knees up, and the Prince caressed his left leg.

 

- And the Thebans? They won’t follow them? –Hephaistion’s cheeks were burning, so was the rest of his body, and he was breathing heavily.

 

- Oh, no, they won’t, they are too disciplined for that. They will hold their ground –Alexander took his right thigh, marking his fingers in the milky skin—And then –the Prince trapped his lower lip with his teeth—A gap will open –Hephaistion parted his legs, Alexander was so close to him, so close…his pulse quickened, he was overwhelmed by the Prince’s voice, his touch, his gaze on him…his finger’s were grasping the blankets beneath him, and he could just stared in those mysterious eyes, it was as if the sun and moon looked at him at the same time, day and night…his chest was pressed against Alexander’s and every word stripped him of all his defenses—And when the gap opens, I will lead the cavalry and crush the Thebans and his Sacred Band…

 

When they became one, Hephaistion touched the sky. He kissed his Prince as if he was the most important thing in the universe, and for him he was. He loved him, and now he knew that never again he would be away from him. Never, not in this live or in the other, and he vowed, he would protect him even if that cost him his life the next day on the battlefield of Chaeronea.   

 

XXX

 

(1) Ok, how do I get their height? This was my own conclusion. In ancient sources we are told that Alexander was short (very short considering that Darius throne was big for him) and Hephaistion was tall, that’s all. I research the average height of men in the ancient Rome, which was 1.69 m. Romans were consider short people, and they saw the Germans like giants, and the Greeks were more or less like the Romans. So, Hephaistion must have been taller than 1.69 m and Alexander shorter than that. I read in one book that a Roman senator had one ring of Alexander and he had to use it in his little finger, because Alexander was shorter than he. So, I made my conclusions and chose those heights for them ^_^ 

 

Note: Ok, I want to clarify something, but you are not obliged to read this if you don’t want ^_^ I just feel is important to say this. According with 3 different authors I consulted: Dr. Jeannes Reames, Dr. Waldemar Heckel and Dr. Peter Green, Hephaistion was a lousy soldier BUT was excellent at logistics and diplomacy. But after talking to a dear friend, I realized that in ancient sources he is never referred as a being a bad soldier. Now, is it true or not that he was bad in soldering? We’ll never know, and after Dr. Stephen Hawking said that we could only travel to the future but never to the past, I’m afraid we can only speculate. So what I did here is: he was a bad soldier, but he is improving and in the near future he will be an excellent warrior but a bad commander, which is not the same thing. Why did I decide to do this? Because I want him to have faults but also strong points, he can’t be perfect, that’s not realistic.

 

About his training with his grandfather. I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it, I love that kind of stories, and if I could, I would have gave him a pair of Hatori Hanzo swords ^_^ … I know, I must stop watching Kill Bill.    

 

Anyway. Again a million thanks for reading and don’t forget is good luck to leave a review…just kidding, but please leave a nice review.

 

Zophiel   

 

In the next episode: the battle of Chaeronea…