The wedding, however, was quite a festival. Everyone forgot their grievances. For weeks we prepared for the celebration. Cooks baked and barbecued non-stop, festive clothing was made, flowers were woven into crowns and posies, silk was measured and cut, tents were set up, and the scribes were put to work writing marriage certificates. The priests were busy sacrificing, smoke from the altars rose in hundreds of blue spirals into the winter sky, and Plexis married one of Darius’s daughters.
The girl had been in Ecbatana with her cousins and her grandmother, but the whole court had come to Susa to welcome Alexander. Darius’s mother, Sisygambis, adored Alexander, and was one of the first people to kiss him when he arrived.
Stateira had come from Babylon to be with Alexander. As senior wife, she insisted on staying with him. Alexander was stuck with her now; they were staying in the main quarters of the satrap’s palace. I was miserable about that, but I was trapped in the new court protocol, and there was nothing I could do to change it. I was also worn out after the long march, and for some reason I felt depressed and afraid to look towards the future.
I was lodged in a small suite of rooms near the servant’s quarters with Brazza and Calanos. Axiom and Usse were with Alexander and Stateira in the Master suite. Roxanne and her court were lodged in one wing of the palace. The women from Darius’s court, including his mother Sisygambis and Darius’s daughter Drypetis, were in the opposite wing.
Sisygambis had come to see me soon after my arrival. I was pleased to see Sisygambis, or Sis, as everyone called her. She was full of energy and cheerful as a kid goat (another Macedonian saying). She had lost her two sons when they fought against Alexander, but to Sis, war was war, the Persians had been vanquished, and Alexander had won. Furthermore, she’d known Alexander since he was a child and truly loved him. She had sent him mail for the entire time we had been travelling. Letters had come nearly every month following Alexander as he voyaged across the known world. Each letter begged him to take care of himself. They usually included a little prayer, a different amulet, and sometimes a recipe against frostbite, colds, flu, warts, or impotence. We never had to bother with that recipe.
Her granddaughter, Drypetis, was a tall, willowy girl with long dark hair. Plexis had been smitten from the moment he saw her, and we teased him unmercifully; the confirmed Athenian bachelor falling for the shy Persian princess. Luckily for Plexis, Drypetis only looked shy. She boldly asked Alexander to marry her to his general, Hephaestion. Their wedding would be celebrated with the ten thousand other soldiers.
Stateira and Alexander were also going to be part of the ceremony. They were planning to be formally married a second time. That’s one wedding I was not looking forward to attending, but I was obligated. Roxanne and I would be dressed in identical robes, carry identical posies, and wear identical teeth-gritting smiles. I felt sick just thinking about it.
Chapter Four
That morning I spent an hour retching miserably into the chamber pot. I drank some mint tea to freshen up, and then I tried to take a nap before the wedding ceremony, but I couldn’t sleep. I walked around my apartments picking up objects and putting them down, very much like Alexander when he was nervous. The weather didn’t help. Low clouds, pushed by a chilly wind, scudded across the grey sky. The wind whipped away the smoke from the sacrifices, making the priests happy. Supposedly, it was a good sign. Signs were everywhere. The wind was heavy with rain. Two herons had landed in the lake and mated. A man caught a fish with four eyes. A pure white camel with pink eyes was born. I stared out my window and wondered if the signs had always been there, or if I’d just started paying attention to them.
That’s when Sis came to pay her respects to me. She was the most maternal woman I’d ever met, and I knew Alexander loved her and thought of her as the mother he’d always wanted. She bustled into my room and held her arms out to me. Her face was wreathed in smiles. She was only slightly afraid of me. She tried not to show it. I hugged her.
I introduced Chiron to her, and she thought he was beautiful. We talked about the four-eyed fish and the forthcoming wedding. She had known Plexis for ages, so she was pleased that Drypetis was marrying him. Then she confided that she hoped that Stateira would bear Alexander many children, because she longed to be a great-grandmother again. She knew I was Alexander’s wife. She wasn’t being cruel to me. She’d lived her entire life in a harem and shared her husband, the king, with many other wives. She considered them part of her family, and their children were her children. She had never suffered from jealousy and would never understand mine, so I swallowed my pain, smiled, and said I hoped Stateira would bear many children.
Sis wanted to hold a baby in her arms. Chiron loved to cuddle and was feeling sleepy near his nap time, so he was perfectly happy to sit in Sis’s lap and doze. She ran her hand through his fair curls, ruffling them.
‘Such a lovely boy,’ she sighed.
‘I’m sorry about Stateira’s son,’ I said. ‘I hope she has recovered from the sorrow of losing the babe.’
‘Oh, it took her a while. It was hard; knowing Iskander was so far away and perhaps never even coming back. But she’s been patient and ruling Babylon helped keep her from brooding too much. The city is doing very well; she has a real flair for government.’ Sis spoke proudly.
‘And I heard about Dora, I’m terribly sorry. She was so beautiful.’ I was speaking of Darius’s wife, a woman reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the world. She had died not long after her husband. Sis had written to tell us, and Alexander had sent money for a huge funeral.
‘She was lovely, wasn’t she? I miss her terribly. She was as kind as she was beautiful. I would have liked her to have a child, but the gods never willed it. You’ll see the rest of the family soon. They are anxious to meet you.’
Sometimes keeping royal families straight was a real exploit. Drypetis, I remembered, had been Darius’s youngest daughter. Her mother had been his fifth wife and had died when Drypetis was a baby. Stateira was his eldest daughter by his first wife, who had also died in childbirth.
‘Do we go to Ecbatana after the wedding then?’ I asked.
‘Yes, we want to welcome Iskander to his cities. He’ll have to travel all over his kingdom now, showing himself. It’s lucky we have such a handsome king. Mind you, we always did have handsome kings. Darius was a handsome man, and so very tall.’ She hesitated, frowning. ‘Iskander can stand on a wooden box,’ she decided.
‘He’s fine the way he is,’ I smiled.
‘He is, isn’t he?’ She sounded pleased. ‘Such charisma. Darius was a handsome man, as was his father, but they didn’t have half the personality Iskander does. He’s such a fiery boy. It’s too bad his Greek and Macedonian generals don’t seem to worship him as much as the Persians do.’ Her eyes grew misty and she patted my hand again. Chiron was now sound asleep in her lap, his thumb in his mouth, his bare feet crossed at the ankles.
The breeze came in the open window and stirred our hair. The air was heavy with rain and I heard the faint sound of thunder in the distance. Clouds were gathering on the horizon. I thought it was apt.
I went to the wedding ceremony with Sisygambis that night. I’d left Chiron in Axiom’s care. Kalanos came to see the great wedding. He had a place of honour in the stands, near Nearchus and the generals. Sisygambis stood between Roxanne and I. I’d managed to ditch my bouquet but chafed in my scratchy bridesmaid dress. Roxanne’s eyes fairly smouldered. She had seemed content while apart from Alexander, but now that she was in the same palace, she was plotting on ways to get him back. Her face was pale and her eyes glittered strangely. I thought she looked insane.
Plexis was nervous. His smile wavered and he was alternately blushing and pale. Athenian to the very core, he still felt as if marriage was a yoke around the neck, and Alexander had to talk to him for days before he finally capitulated.
Drypetis looked down demurely at her feet, but her smile was like a cat’s that had just found the milk pot. I found my own
smile watching them. At least for a few moments. Then my history lessons came crashing down. I suddenly remembered when Plexis was going to die. Not the exact date, but I knew that he had married, moved to Ecbatana, and soon after, he’d died.
I didn’t know how, why, or when. But I knew that if I didn’t tell Alexander, he would hate me, and if I did tell him, he would despise me. The whole dilemma made me physically ill. Perhaps hearing the name Hephaestion pronounced so often jogged my memory. I’d thought of him as Plexis – never as Hephaestion. In the history books, it was Hephaestion who’d died, not Plexis, and it hadn’t struck me until the wedding.
I fainted and keeled over in the crowd. Sis was beside me as my eyelids fluttered open. I had been quickly carried to my own quarters, and she had accompanied me. Her face, as she leaned over me, was kind.
‘How long have you been ill?’ she asked.
‘Since this morning,’ I groaned. ‘Is it something I ate do you think?’
‘I don’t think so.’ She smiled. ‘I think Chiron will have a new sibling before next summer. She lifted my tunic and examined my tummy. It was hollow; months of marching hadn’t put any weight on me. She shook her head. ‘This will never do. You’re going to lose the babe if you don’t gain weight. You’re coming with me to Ecbatana as soon as I leave. Iskander will meet you there.’ Her voice brooked no argument.
I sighed. If I were pregnant, I would have to take care of myself. How could I save Plexis as well? If I did anything stupid, the Time Council, that group of historians and scientists who decided when the time-line was in danger, would erase me. So far, I’d been careful. However, time was running out, the grains of sand in the hourglass were falling faster and faster and I felt caught up in a panicked rush.
‘I don’t want to disturb Iskander on his wedding night,’ I told Sis, ‘but I must see him tomorrow. Please, send him to me as soon as possible.’
I was stuck in my rooms in the gynaeceum. Actually, for the first few days I hadn’t minded staying here. I’d felt more protected and I’d needed the solace of quiet for a while. But now I felt like a prisoner.
Alexander came to see me that evening. He left Stateira and his guests to revel without him and came to my room in the dark. Axiom let him in. There was no surprise on Axiom’s face; he had known Alexander would come. He had sent word that I had fainted during the wedding ceremony. I was stunned though. I hadn’t expected to see him. I hadn’t seen him in three days. When he touched me, I started to weep. I knew why. Now that I knew I was pregnant the signs were obvious. Easy tears, fatigue, illness in the morning, and nervousness.
We lay on the bed and he kissed me. At first I couldn’t talk, and then I didn’t want to, as our movements quickened and grew more urgent, searching for the release we both knew the other had the power to give. Much later, when I felt the pulse in his neck slow, I was ready to speak, but I still didn’t know what to say.
‘I’m going to have a baby.’ I decided to start with the good news first.
He sat up in the bed. There was enough moonlight coming through the window to show me his face. His eyes were shining. He smiled, and his teeth seemed to glow in the darkness. ‘That’s wonderful,’ he whispered. ‘Was that why you fainted during the wedding? I was so afraid that it was because you were upset I’d married Stateira again. However, it made her happy, and I remembered you said that she would die soon after I do. I feel so helpless,’ he went on, his voice tightening. ‘I wish I could do something. She’s a nice enough girl and she would love to stay in Babylon and rule the city. She’s quite good at politics actually. Then I thought maybe it was because Plexis was marrying Drypetis, but no, that’s not it.’ He went on in a rush. ‘You were so happy when he told you he was getting married, and you couldn’t have teased him so much if you were truly hurting. Besides, you know how much he loves you and Chiron. I think I was more jealous than you were. When Drypetis asked me if she could marry him, it gave me a shock. I never knew how much I really loved him until …’ He broke off and grimaced. ‘I’m sorry. I should let you speak.’ His voice was breathless, his colour hectic. I wondered if he were drunk. But there was no wine on his breath, he was simply all nerves.
‘I don’t know how to tell you this,’ I said slowly.
‘Is it harder than telling me about my own death?’ he asked, a note of teasing in his voice.
‘Yes.’ I was sad.
He caught my mood and sobered immediately. ‘Is it Chiron?’ he asked quickly. ‘Is he ill?’
‘No.’ I threw my head back and groaned. ‘Oh, no, I can’t! I can’t do this!’ I started to sob.
He grew frightened. ‘Is it you?’ he asked. ‘Are you dying?’
‘No. No, I’m fine.’ I wiped my eyes. ‘It’s just something I remembered during the wedding ceremony.’
‘During the ceremony, when you were watching me and Stateira? Or Plexis ...’ His voice trailed off as he watched my face carefully. I had flinched. ‘Is it Plexis?’ he breathed.
I put my face in my hands.
‘Plexis. Will he die then? Is that it?’ It was a whisper. Pain tightened his throat.
‘I’m sorry. It was the name. Plexis didn’t mean anything to me. I’d never read anything about him. I realized during the ceremony that … that Hephaestion died.’ I choked. My voice broke and it was a minute before I could breathe again. ‘I’ve been living from day to day. For me, it’s not history anymore. I was concentrating all my energy on saving you.’
‘Can Plexis be saved?’
‘How?’ I raised my head and stared at him, my face wet. ‘Will he accept to leave everything behind? His new wife? His cavalry? Will he accept that I know the future and that he must pretend to die, leave everything behind and disappear from his world? Will he be happy to travel with us, or alone? I’m not even sure I can honestly ask you to do all that.’
Alexander’s eyes were vacant. He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Suddenly he leaned over the side of the bed and threw up. He was ill, shaking, and a cold sweat covered his body. I called Axiom, and we cleaned up the mess while Brazza took care of Alexander, sponging him off and putting him in the bed under warm covers. Then Axiom gave him some hot tea.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I said, stroking his hair, pushing the damp curls off his temples and holding him tightly while he trembled.
‘I didn’t realize what you had to live with,’ he said. I wanted to say something but the tone of his voice stopped me. I waited a minute, while he gathered his thoughts, and then he went on. ‘I will speak to Hephaestion. I will tell him what I think I can. I will let him decide what he wants to do. Now, tell me, please, when does it happen? How? And mostly, Ashley, why did you tell me?’
‘If I didn’t tell you, and he had died suddenly, would you have forgiven me?’ I asked.
‘No, I could not have forgiven you.’ His voice was heavy.
I drew in my breath sharply. ‘See? You would have wondered all the rest of your life if I could have saved him. But I have no idea why he died, or when. It happens in Ecbatana, I remember that much. Perhaps in two, or three months.’
‘So soon?’ He shuddered.
‘I think so. Listen, Alex, all my life I would have regretted not trying to save him. Because as much as I love you, I love Plexis. You must believe me.’
‘It wasn’t just a phase then.’ He spoke almost lightly, and my tears fell again.
‘I was foolish. Love is never a phase,’ I said. ‘He’s the father of my child. I would do anything to save him. But we must also consider the chance that he dies in an unavoidable accident or illness.’
‘Well, the same goes for me,’ said Alexander, and now his breathing had returned to normal, almost.
We sat for an hour in moody silence. Alexander put his arm around me and pulled me to him. I was glad to lean against his broad chest. My mind was in confusion. I had no wish to put my own life or my children’s lives in jeopardy. I was frightened for Alexander, for Plexis, and for my children, and
everything was spiralling out of control.
Roxanne sent another present for Chiron, and I’d just managed to intercept it from the messenger before my little boy had come into the room. I shut the door in the messenger’s face so he wouldn’t see me hiding the toy behind my back. Then I gave it to Brazza washed my hands, and slumped to the floor, shaking. The toy had been a little wooden snake, fully articulated and painted in gay colours. When Brazza had tossed it in the brazier, a large spider had scrambled out of it. I didn’t want to tell Alexander, he had enough to worry about. However, Brazza and I had redoubled our watch.
Alexander had his own problems. The schism in the army was becoming increasingly apparent as the Greeks muttered angrily that Alexander was pretending to be a god. Even I had started to hear things.
‘You must be careful,’ I said to Alexander. ‘Your generals have started to grumble and the new scribes are angry because they cannot write about me.’
Alexander was surrounded by journalists now. His newest secretary, Eumenes, was a nice enough man, but terribly meticulous. He insisted on filling in each moment of Alexander’s daily life. He was Greek, and although not a sex and scandalmonger like Onesicrite, he was nonetheless concerned with Alexander’s private life. ‘What should I do? When I’m with Stateira or Roxanne, Eumenes can write all he wants, but I don’t know what to tell him about you.’
‘Tell him my name is Nobody, and if he wants to fill in the blanks, he can always say you were eating, drinking, or sleeping with nobody.’
Alexander raised his eyebrows. ‘People will think I spend all night drinking, and all day sleeping or eating by myself,’ he said with a wry grin.
I shrugged helplessly. ‘I think that’s what they wrote about you anyway.’
‘Oh.’ He didn’t sound happy.
Storms over Babylon Page 5
