Hefaistìon Amintoros

Yolie:
Patrick is turned, giving his back to me. He’s remained stiff as a pole, standing six feet from the door for hours. The garden at the Villa’s entrance is impressive. I hadn't had time to look closely at it. There are all kinds of representative statues of the ancient Greek gods. Patrick looks like one of them, he doesn't move, I don't think he’s even breathing. Filling myself with courage, I walk towards him.
—Is there anything you need, Miss Bruzain? - He asks without turning to look at me.
— No. I don't want your help specifically, but could ... could we talk for a bit? There is ... something I would like to ask you. - I stammer.
Patrick scares me a little, really. I don't know how to explain it. His aura is heavy and his presence imposing. Alex's energy is engaging and his demeanor jovial, most of the time. Patrick on the other hand is too serious, too quiet.
He's too intense.
—Ask your questions. I promise to answer them as best I can.
—Do you know who I am?- I shoot.
—Yes, Miss. You are my lord's guest.
I recompose the question.
— Do you know who I was?
— Of course. It took me a while the realizar it, really. I didn't keep your memory in my mind as clearly as my Lord did, although the second time we... met, our meeting was not very... friendly.
—You hit me and took me in chains before Alex.- I say walking until I am beside him.
—You say it as if it was very easy, it was anything but.- He looks at me with an unreadable expression. -You were the toughest opponent I've ever had in my entire existence.
—I can't help thinking, even after so long, that you let yourself be trapped that time. If you had wanted me dead, you would have achieved it with incredible ease.- murmurs, closing his eyes into slits.
I frown.
—When did we really meet?
—In the fall of 324 B.C, my Lord’s army quartered in the city of Ecbatana to spend the winter. I became seriously ill during the games that were held in court, the doctor who treated me made it known that I would not survive. My lord went mad with pain, he stayed in bed for several days refusing to eat, drinking or even speaking, he had the head and manes of the army horses shaved and he canceled all the festivities. At that time you were widely known as The Oracle of Siwa and my lord requested your help. Unlike when my king fell ill, you quickly came in my aid.
— Really?
— Yes.

It's strange. Nothing about this appears in the Grimoire. Yoleandra mentioned that she spent a brief time practicing in the Oracle, but nothing more.
—You prepared a potion for me, I had to drink it three times a day for a period of seven days and a rigorous diet was mandatory for me to eat. At the end of the established time I was completely recovered.
I fiddle with a lock of my hair, absentmindedly.
— My lord wished to honor you with riches, but you rejected them and in a fit of fury he hanged the doctor who had predicted my death.
—You know Alex better than anyone. Don’t you? I mean, you've known him since you were little, you guys grew up together. Isn’t it so?
— Yes. My father, Amintor was his father's man of trust. We were educated together in the city of Mieza, with Aristotle as a teacher, like other noble boys.
— Your real name isn't Patrick.
He lets out a laugh.
— No. Like my lord’s real name isn’t Alexander Philipides. From a very young age we admired the ancient heroes, my lord had a great inclination towards Achilles and I for Patroclus, Achilles’ best friend. That's where I got the idea of calling myself Patrick.
— How old are you?
—Barely a year older than my lord.
—Has Alex always been this... pushy and authoritarian?- I whisper.
— There is something you must understand miss, Kkyrio Alexandros was rased and educated to rule what was Macedonia in his father stead. That time when Philip bought a great steed that no one could ride or tame, my lord, even as a child, realized that the horse was frightened of its own shadow and mounted it, directing its eyes towards the sun. Bucephalus became my lord’s horse from that day on. Hearing what had happened his father told him: "Find yourself another kingdom, son, for Macedonia is not big enough for you."
—When he began his campaign of conquests, he founded many cities and named most of them after himself. My Lord has always had a very high opinion of himself and about his importance. He grew up with the idea that he was destined to rule the world,so much so that not even death could change his mind.
I ponder his words for a moment. He’s right. Alex isn’t recognized as the Universal Emperor or anything like that but he is really the one who pulls the strings of the entire world. He and his mighty twelve direct the destinies of all mankind.
—The incredible library on the third floor...
— Yes. We managed to rescue It from Alexandria in Egypt, before it was completely destroyed.

—What about the treasure room? – I’d been dying to ask that one.
—What we managed to recover from his tomb, also in Egypt. Roman emperors stole from it for fun and reviled the corpse in it very frequently. The diseased wasn't my lord, of course, but he considered those misdeeds an outrage to his person.
— Many considered him a tyrant, but he really was not. During our campaign against the Persians, the entire family of Darius III was captured inside a luxurious tent, capturing his mother Sisigambis, his wife Statira, and their two daughters, Dripetis and Barsine. When we entered their tent, looking at both of us, the queen mother paid her respects by bowing before me. - He smiles and shakes his head.

— According to the Persian logic, who was the tallest, most beautiful and the more impressive of the two should therefore be the king.
Alex is about... six feet tall, while Patrick’s height must be about eight feet. Also, I've considered it before... Patrick's energy is... intense and his face that of an avenging demon!
— Understanding by the gestures that the entourage made, the queen understood that she’d committed a mistake and began another prostration before my lord. Lifting her, he corrected her saying: “Don't worry, mother, you have not made any mistakes. Hefaistìon is like myself.” My lord greatly honored me that day and showed how generous he really is. He could have had them killed without even blinking, but he didn't.
— On the contrary.- he continues. - He treated all of them with great courtesy and told them that he had no personal question against Darío, but that he was fighting against him to conquer Asia. He gave them royal treatment, and abounded in dowries for his daughters. At the time, he would propose to one of them, Barsine, asking her mother's hand first. While he arranged my own marriage with her sister, Dripetis. Our wedding was held together.
I bite my lip.
— You weren't with her long.
— No. I really didn't love her and she loved me even less. It was not at all difficult for me to abandon her and leave with my lord after our transformation.
— However, that isn't what history records. It is believed that you died before him.
He raises an eyebrow.
— History shows what the winners says, there are no greater winners than us. We have all the time in the world to change what really happens for what we want humans to know. A hundred years from now, no one will really remember what happened today, thus we have changed many a historical truth.

Okay, yes.
— What happened in the cave? Did Alex drink you dry?
He laughs again.
— No. I opted for the second option. As soon as my lord opened his eyes, I drank the Sorceress's potion and slaughtered myself with my own sword. When I woke up seven days later, I was pleased to see that my lord had not abandoned me. He kept hidden, drinking from the wild goats that abounded in the mountains and thus awaiting my return.
— You headed towards what is now China. Didn’t you?
— Yes. We hid on a sparsely inhabited island and were careful not to exterminate the islanders. A few centuries later, the then first Chinese Emperor, having heard legends about us, found us.
— Did you stayed there for a long time?
— Yes. We lived in Chinese territory for at least three dynasties. My lord preserves many of the customs, he takes his shoes off to enter the house and prefers to walk around barefoot.
He raises a wrist, on which I see a wooden beaded bracelet.
— This was given to me by a monk whom I rescued once.
I sigh. Time has come for the hardest part of the conversation.
— You love him, don’t you? You love Alex and he loves you back. Isn’t true?
He looks at me stunned.
— Who told you such a barbarity? - He asks indignantly.
— Nobody. I saw you two. Weeks ago, you were in the kitchen, I came downstairs to get some water and... I saw you. Together.
He growls in exasperation.
— The relationship we have, my lord and I... cannot be judged by modern standards. Where we came from ... it was acceptable to find pleasure in the arms of a woman or a man regardless of whether it was of our sex or the opposite. Love and friendship were expressed in different ways than those perceived as acceptable nowadays . - He runs his hand through his straight, black hair.
— You wouldn't understand. I am to my lord ... his right arm, his best friend, his comrade in arms. Even his lover, if that's what he needs.

My poor heart has fallen wounded to the ground, turning into dust.
— But you DO love him? - I persist,asking in a small voice.
— Of course I do. Not doing so would be like not loving myself. And you love him too. - He get ves me a suspicious look.
I look at him flustered.
Is it that obvious?
—If you really love him, if you really wish to retain his heart, don't try to understand him. Accept him, just as he is, with his flaws and virtues.
— I will have to suggest to my lord that he places a chain with bells on one of your ankles, miss. That way you will never again witness... ah... improper scenes.
I press my lips together and bite my thumbnail, nervously.
— What about his women? Doesn't it make you jealous that he has so many women? - I ask.
— No. I've had some too, but , they all come and go ... all of them disappear with time while I remain here.
That is a very clear warning. I may have been asleep inside a bubble but I’ve just received a rude awakening.
Poor Kira... And poor me.
— Thank you, for your... clarifications, Patrick.
He answers me with a bow.
— At your service, miss.
I bite my lip to keep from crying.
Alex doesn't love me. He cannot love me. He may be unable to resist the attraction between us, He may be addicted to my blood for the moment. But he found his true soul mate millennia ago, and I can't compete against that.