To The Strongest

by Robert Fabbri

Leonnatus considered the matter. ‘And what if he is?’

  ‘Do the arithmetic: at the moment he’s got three or four marriageable daughters – I lose count, as does he, no doubt – plus at least one great-niece, Berenice, recently widowed, and a couple more just ripening; that’s quite a haul of potential kinsmen by marriage he could lure. Now, say he offers one each to all those closest, geographically, to him: you, Krateros, Lysimachus and Antigonos, where will that leave you all?’

  ‘That, little Eumenes, is completely irrelevant.’

  ‘I’d have thought that it was the most relevant consideration of the whole matter in the light of your endeavours. And then he will probably give one to Perdikkas and Ptolemy; why not? Let’s be generous and treat all alike.’

  The smugness that oozed onto Leonnatus’ face was nauseating. ‘Not if you have no intention of taking one of his fillies. No, my motivation is that in coming to Antipatros’ aid, saving Macedon and then going on to crush the Greek rebels I’ll gain far more kudos than I would in your little sideshow – which would have served had not this bigger task have come along. Saving Macedon along with what I have been offered will certainly bring my endeavours to fruition and you will do well to help me. I need a mind like yours; someone good with figures.’ He pointed down to the chest. ‘How much would you estimate that to be, for example?’

  Eumenes did not need to guess, he had already weighed the thing in his mind. ‘Two and a half talents, give or take.’

  ‘You see, I wouldn’t have a clue.’

  That’s because you’re all beauty and no brains.

  ‘Do an inventory of it for me this evening and give me the exact figure tomorrow.’

  As if to prove my point: what an idiot you are, but thank you. ‘Of course, Leonnatus. But I would just love to know one thing: what is it that you have been promised that will be so helpful to your endeavours?’

  ‘Ah!’ Leonnatus looked around, ridiculously checking that no one had crept into the room since Hecataeus had left. He lowered his voice. ‘I received a letter a few days ago.’ He glanced around again before proceeding. ‘From Olympias.’

  Eumenes could guess what was to come. If this is true it could make him the favourite to claim the throne with full legitimacy. Perdikkas will be for ever in my debt when I bring him this news; it’s Babylon for me and that chest.

  Leonnatus lowered his voice even more. ‘Olympias has offered me the hand of Alexander’s sister, Kleopatra; I’ve already written, accepting the match.’

  OLYMPIAS, THE MOTHER

  ‘LEONNATUS!’ KLEOPATRA’s VOICE was shrill with shock. ‘When did you do this, Mother?’

  ‘At the beginning of the month.’ Olympias sounded vague.

  ‘And why, having failed to consult me before you set such a ludicrous plan in motion, has it taken so long for you to inform me of it?’ With a stamp of her foot, Kleopatra slumped down into a camp-chair, her hands balled in her lap. A lamp burning next to her, its smoke sweetened by incense, was the sole lighting within the leather tent.

  ‘Please don’t shout so loudly, the whole army will hear.’ Olympias moved to the entrance of the tent and pulled the flaps together to afford at least the vestige of privacy. She turned back to her daughter, keeping her hands on the flaps behind her back. ‘The reason that I didn’t tell you was because I knew that this would be your reaction. But think about it, Kleopatra. You’re still young and fertile; you are the only one who could give birth to an heir that most of the noble houses would agree to. An heir with no eastern blood, provided the sire was of noble blood himself. There is no one outside our immediate family with more Argead blood in his veins than Leonnatus; it’s perfect.’

  ‘Perfect for whom, Mother?’

  ‘Keep your voice down.’

  ‘I’ll do no such thing until you supply me with a valid reason as to why I should take that vain, preening dandy into my bed and allow him to foist a child on me?’

  ‘Children.’

  ‘More than one child? Even worse? He may be a brave soldier, and to have survived the last ten years and come out covered in glory goes some way to proving that, but how can a man who thinks so much about his appearance be a real man? And, believe me, Mother, I need a real man.’

  ‘I do believe you and you may find that he’s changed in the last ten years. Just because he likes to model his hair on Alexander’s and rubs creams into his skin to keep it soft doesn’t mean he’s not hard in the bit that really matters.’ Olympias let go of the flaps and approached her daughter, her hands to either side of her vision focusing solely on Kleopatra. ‘Take your mind from the physical and concentrate on the dynastic. Look at what we know: the eastern bitch has had a boy, yes, he’s my grandson and yes I should support his claim but how likely is the claim of a half-caste to succeed? About as likely as the claim of the idiot who has stolen my husband’s name; Philip indeed! I should have used a stronger dose on his mother and finished them both off.’

  Kleopatra knew her mother only too well to be shocked. ‘So that’s how it happened?’

  ‘Of course it is. You don’t think I was going to let that Thessalian dancer bear a royal child if I could help it, do you? Sadly the runt’s body survived the dose even if his wits didn’t. But forget him and think of yourself. You are Alexander’s only full sibling.’

  ‘And what about his half-siblings? Philip we know about; Europa and Caranus are, thanks to you, no longer a problem.’

  ‘Alexander killed Caranus.’

  ‘Mother, I’m not going to argue about the minutiae of dynastic assassination. My point is there are still two other surviving siblings: Thessonalike and Cynnane.’

  Olympias’ face clouded. ‘Thessonalike would never do anything to get in the way of my ambition; she does as I say. Out of the goodness of my heart I let her live when her mother died and brought her up as if she were my own.’ It’s useful to have a spare daughter, even if she’s not of my blood; she may one day buy me something of value. ‘As for that Illyrian monstrosity, Cynnane, she’s returned home to the north to bring her bitch-whelp up in the barbaric Illyrian tradition; we’ll not hear of them again. You are all that’s left of pure blood; marry Leonnatus, who shares the same great-grandmother as you, and together you have a better claim to the throne than anyone because your offspring will offer proper stability. What’s more, it could happen very quickly as he’s now in his satrapy of Hellespontian Phrygia.’

  ‘And you’ll try to be the power behind the throne?’

  And don’t I deserve to be? After all I’ve done. ‘I’ll be there to guide you.’

  Kleopatra contemplated her mother’s eyes as they pleaded with her. She stood, walked past Olympias and threw open the tent to reveal the Eperiot army encamped on a hill, ten leagues over the Macedonian border, as the shadows lengthened from the mountains to the west. Smoke from a thousand cooking fires, harsh voices from ten thousand throats and the equine snorts and bellows from a similar number of cavalry horses and transport mules filled the senses. ‘And just how will I explain this to my prospective Macedonian husband: an Eperiot army threatening Macedon’s western border while Antipatros, with his main army, is besieged in Lamia?’

  Olympias’ smile was sweet. ‘I suggested in my letter to Leonnatus that he meet you in Pella seeing as Antipatros has got himself all tied up in Lamia. The army came to accompany you as far as the border.’

  ‘And if he refuses my offer?’

  ‘He hasn’t.’ In triumph, Olympias produced a letter from the folds of her robes. ‘This arrived for me today and is the reason why I’ve told you now. He wrote saying that he accepts the match and would travel with a small escort to Pella as soon as he may.’

  ‘And if he changes his mind when he gets there?’

  ‘I don’t think he will with an army on his border and a rebellion to the south, do you?’

  ‘And if you have no personal need for the invasion then how will you persuade Aeacides to turn his army around?’

  ‘I’
ll travel to Pella with you; I should be safe with both Antipatros and Nicanor cooped up in Lamia. Before I leave I’ll tell the runt that if he so much as takes one step further into Macedon then the first thing that you will do as queen will be to organise a regime change in Eperius.’

  Kleopatra could not help but smile at her mother’s scheming, even though she had known it all her life. ‘You’ve thought of everything.’

  Got her. ‘So you’ll marry him?’

  ‘And produce Alexander’s true heirs; yes, Mother, I can see how it would be good for both of us.’

  ‘Then we leave in the morning; if Leonnatus travels by sea then we should arrive at about the same time in Pella.’

  ‘Pella is, of course, utterly provincial after being away for ten years,’ Leonnatus observed to Olympias, checking that his hair was in place, as they looked down at the city from the palace.

  Her smile was as icy as her eyes. ‘For the people of Macedon it remains the centre of the world.’

  ‘Unless they’ve seen the sights of the east.’

  Dionysus, he’s worse than I remember. ‘You are fortunate in having had the opportunity, Leonnatus. My son would never grant me permission to travel.’ Not that I would have wanted to for one moment and left that toad Antipatros unsupervised.

  Leonnatus looked sideways down his nose at her. ‘And where is Kleopatra? I have been here for two hours and am yet to meet my future bride; we have much to discuss. I want our wedding to be the grand affair that two people of our standing deserve. It will take months of planning; the people need to see it and feel awed.’

  Olympias felt wrong-footed by the notion. ‘Surely the marriage should happen as soon as possible?’

  Leonnatus’ thoughts seemed to be far away. ‘What? Oh, no, no; completely out of the question. In the ten days since I received your offer, I’ve had time to consider my priorities. For a start, I have to wait for my army to arrive and then I must recruit more locally, especially cavalry, I’m in great need of cavalry. And then—’

  ‘Leonnatus,’ Kleopatra cooed, stepping out onto the terrace. ‘I have yearned for this moment since you did me the honour of proposing marriage.’

  If Leonnatus was surprised at this rewriting of the way the match had been brought about, he had the good manners not to show it. ‘The pleasure is all mine, Kleopatra. Walk with me, my dear. We have plans to make.’ He offered her his arm, which she took with a coy look up at him from beneath lush, fluttering eyelashes and, with a fearful backward glance to her mother, joined her husband-to-be in a gentle stroll.

  Careful not to overdo it, child; he knows perfectly well you’re not a virgin as you’ve got two children and a healthy appetite to prove it.

  ‘Don’t they make the most elegant couple, Olympias my dearest?’

  Olympias spun round to find Antipatros’ wife smiling at her. ‘Hyperia, my sweetest, what a lovely surprise.’ Not a surprise for you, regent bitch; judging by your clothes, jewellery, coiffure and make-up, you’re dressed for battle. ‘I wasn’t expecting to find you here; I thought you would be with your husband.’

  ‘Would that I were sharing his privations with him; I would be such a comfort to him. It’s so fulfilling to be a consolation to a man, I do find; I’m sure you remember.’

  First blood to you. ‘Oh, I do, dear Hyperia; Philip was always very active, even in his later years in his forties. I’m sure you regret not marrying your husband until he was approaching his sixties.’

  ‘Fortunately he still has the energy of a younger man.’ Hyperia flattened her dress beneath her belly, revealing the swelling. ‘As you can see, my dearest, I’m pregnant again.’

  Olympias put on her most astounded look. ‘The gods be praised, yet another baby for all your unmarried daughters to fuss over. How are they, by the way, my dear? I hope they are not too wearied by Pella; although it does have so much to commend it.’

  ‘Oh, they won’t be here for that much longer, but thank you for your concern. We’ve had much interest in them of late: Ptolemy in Egypt has written requesting the honour of marriage into our family, as has Perdikkas. I still manage to communicate with my husband, despite his present…difficulties.’

  Humiliation.

  ‘We’ve decided that Krateros should be offered the hand of Phila—’

  ‘I’d heard that he had already taken it – or was I confusing it with another part of her anatomy?’

  Hyperia’s smile hardened even further so that her back teeth were now showing. ‘And we’re expecting them to come to Pella for the wedding.’

  ‘How lovely; but tell me, which of your daughters had you in mind for Leonnatus, for I’m sure that the poor love must be so bitterly disappointed.’

  ‘Originally Eurydike, but since Leonnatus’ refusal we’ve decided that she should go to Ptolemy and Nicaea to Perdikkas.’

  ‘It’s a bitter taste, that of rejection.’

  Hyperia composed her face into a countenance of regret tinged with triumph.

  This is her killer-blow expression; I must have walked straight into her trap.

  ‘Alas, it is, but fortunately in this case the rejection has been tempered by an honourable offer of service: Leonnatus is to take his army south to relieve my husband and extract him from Lamia.’

  Olympias felt the full force of the body-blow, just as Hyperia had meant her to. But surely he wants Antipatros to fail and preferably die in that siege? How can he be so stupid? And then a second strike almost took the wind from her lungs as she saw, now, exactly what Leonnatus had done. Never ever underestimate him again; the bastard has accepted Kleopatra over Eurydike because she holds the key to the throne. That done, he will then make a deal with Antipatros for him to support his claim should Leonnatus extricate him from Lamia.

  Hyperia gave a slight nod and a half-wink as she saw the implication of the deal sink in. ‘I’m so happy for you and your good news of Kleopatra’s engagement to Leonnatus, my dear. Now, I must be going as I have so much to organise for my girls.’

  Olympias watched her walk away, horror-stricken. My daughter may become Macedon’s queen but I won’t have any influence as Antipatros will still be the real power. And if I cancel the wedding then I’ll be no further forward and I’ll also run the risk of falling out with Kleopatra who’s my quickest route to power. Somehow I’ve got to stop this. She examined her options, chewing on her cheek. Wait, Leonnatus said he was in great need of cavalry; well, well, perhaps I should get some for him.

  PERDIKKAS,

  THE HALF-CHOSEN

  WAS THERE NO end to the difficulties that beset him?

  Perdikkas glanced down at the ring; how many times since he had received it from Alexander’s dying hand had he asked himself that, Perdikkas wondered as he contemplated the latest piece of news from an extremity of an empire convulsing?

  Perdikkas looked at the merchant with world-weary eyes, finding his long robes and elaborately wound headdress even more outlandish than Persian costume. ‘Are you sure, Babrak?’

  ‘Yes, good sir, when my caravan was escorted into Alexandria Oxiana, the messenger was waiting to tell Philo. The first thing that he did upon hearing the news was to call an assembly of the garrison at which they voted to abandon their posts and return home. They seemed to have a fixation with seeing the sea again.’

  Perdikkas sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Well, I can’t blame them for that. I’m starting to wish for the same thing; what with the news of Cleomenes’ execution and Ptolemy’s virtual declaration of independence by minting those hideous coins – why didn’t I think of that? And then the uncertainty surrounding Krateros. No, the sea sounds like a good place to be, right now. ‘But they hadn’t left their posts by the time you continued your journey?’

  ‘Some had, good sir. The last I heard was that they had secured the agreement of nearly all the garrisons in Sogdiana and most of the Bactrian ones; those that could make it before the weather closed in had come to Alexandria Oxiana; it is called thus becaus
e it’s on the Oxus—’

  ‘Yes, we all know where Alexandria Oxiana is,’ Alketas butted in, ‘we were there when Alexander founded it and a more desolate place for a city he could not have chosen.’

  Perdikkas gave a quick glance to Kassandros, who had been left behind in Macedon, and, seeing the well-aimed insult hit home and Seleukos’ and Aristonous’ shared look of amusement, wished that there could at least be some unity between his closest comrades. ‘Go on.’

  Babrak bowed and touched his forehead with the tips of his fingers. ‘Indeed, my good sirs, I apologise for giving offence with such a basic geographical reference. Well, quite a few of the garrisons had arrived by the time I had completed my business and was ready to move on; I’d say that there were at least five thousand men in and around the city in camps, with more coming in all the time; it was a great boost to trade and the reason why I did not need to tarry long in the city.’

  Perdikkas looked to Seleukos, inviting his opinion.

  ‘They’re being sensible this time,’ Seleukos said, leaning back in his creaking chair with his long legs outstretched and crossed before him. ‘Last time, after they thought that Alexander had succumbed to that arrow in India, they went piecemeal and were picked off one by one; although some did get back, enough were killed to discourage the rest. This time though…’

  Seleukos did not have to finish his sentence; all in the room knew what was now at stake and Perdikkas closed his eyes as he contemplated it. The very existence of the eastern empire. If our eastern garrisons desert then there will be no one to prevent the satraps breaking away from my rule. That in turn will lead to the Massaegetae and the Sakae, as well as other northern tribes, testing the borders in search of new lands. He groaned out loud as the danger in his mind grew. And then the Indian kingdoms; how they would love to take back what Alexander took. ‘Is there anything else, Babrak?’

  ‘No, good sir, that’s all I know.’

  ‘Thank you; you’ve done well.’ Perdikkas threw a purse of gold to the merchant and dismissed him.