Nearh woke up in a beautiful little garden in a small house, snuffled next to him, putting her hand under Eoyas head, beautiful in her nakedness, and tried to cover herself with a fallen blanket in a dream, and also opened her eyes and immediately attracted him to her, so temporarily walked home, but soon Nearkh began to aspire, and having kissed the girl goodbye, he left the purse with the gifts. He left the house, accompanied by a new acquaintance, and at the gates Teres, who was waiting for him at midnight, was sad and cold.
Hello, master, -promatmatal half-asleep squire,
Not master, but Nearh, how much to tell you, corrected him smoking, We went to Demad.
To the archons house, the Eters with servants slowly began to gather, and they began to gather, it was time to leave the hospitable Athens. By noon, the retinue assembled fully, and the horse began to be advanced to the city gates, led by Demad. At the gate, they warmly said goodbye, and quickly jumped into the camp of the cavalry mud to return home together, and then the news came that Philip Argeada was recognized as the hegemon of Greece in Corinth, all the cities of Istma and Peloponnese except Sparta, remembered that the dynasty of Argead originates from the kings of Argos and Mycenae, as well as the old hatred of Argos to Thebes since the campaign of the Seven Against Thebes. And about that, the joint union of the Greeks is going to go to war with Persia, which would liberate the Greeks of Asia Minor.In the same way, Alexander and his retinue moved to Pella, and remained in the capital, to wait for Philipe. Glory Alexander, as the future king, was indisputable among the warriors, and going out and at home of his ancestors, the prince heard the blessings of the warriors, the aphids of their wives, whom he healed from his wounds. One day, Alexander came out of his chambers, met his mother.
Good morning son. I want to talk to you, she said, lets go to your room,
And they went into his chambers, and Alexander tensed, anticipating again a difficult conversation.
Listen, said the mother sitting opposite him, You have to marry, she looked at him with a smile and love, like a little one, To retain power, and the Macedonians saw that you are the real heir to the kingdom, marry a girl from good family, give birth to my grandson. And then, fight yourself as much as you want, otherwise your father decided to marry again, Attals daughter, Cleopatra. And if they have a son, you will be in danger. Or do you burn for the love of a girl from Athens? she smiled wryly.
And what does she have to do with it? The young man immediately began to defend himself, What did she bother you with, and immediately thought that her mother would not be so easily killed, Shes just a hetera.
Okay, the mother immediately calmed down, but we must get married, the bride, the Macedonian, I will pick you up, you want even from Linkestids.
She looked and waited, and he knew that he could get out of this conversation, only showing how she loved her, and remembered what had to be done.
Mom, I brought you a gift, he said as he left, and recalling the silk bought in Athens, he climbed into the chest, took out a bundle, and showed it to his mother.
This is for you, he whispered holding out the present, and mother was very pleased, and kissed her son warmly, and the son, pretending that he was very busy, hurriedly left.
In Macedonia, preparations were under way for a large-scale war; weapons were harvested, especially arrows for Cretan shooters, stocks of swords and spears for ordinary soldiers, forged armor, sewed flaxtoraxes, forged helmets. It was necessary to have a lot of things needed for the war and they arranged warehouses, and for food in Amphipolis, including stored grain for three years.
And then Philip did not disappoint the expectations of the Olympics; he was going to conclude a marriage alliance with Cleopatra, the daughter of Attalus. The girl was beautiful, so it easily won the heart of a devoted lover of female beauty. Before the wedding, Alexander with friends tried not to go to the palace, finding a variety of things for himself, just to not listen to the lamentations of his beloved mother. Soon the wedding day came, and of course, the prince had to attend the wedding. He did not want to push at the temple, so he and his friends, who were invited, waited in the hall where they were served refreshments, the lodges were set apart, the ceiling and walls were decorated with garlands of flowers. So the newlyweds came, and Attal and his relatives, as well as all the generals of Philip, followed them. Alexander sadly recalled Thais symposium, where he felt happy, and here only suffering awaited him, and then he waited for the mothers withering lamentations, which he could not soften.
You see, said Hephaestion, not everything is so bad. Decent people gathered, they served excellent food, and he put the princes meat of goat, stewed in milk. Alexander tried, and his mood began to gradually improve. Then they tasted a stuffed hare, lamb with spices, so the cook was proto great and would honor the Corinthians. The prince already looked at the celebration with different eyes, and of course he understood his father, but he loved his mother. They drank fine wines from Rhodes and Crete. Then the servants brought Persian sweets, and the young men became quite cheerful, and reprimanded themselves to think about the bad.
Nearby was his friend Hephaestion, which made his flour much easier. So the feast continued, the prince heard an exclamation for health, he himself said something immediately forgotten, and in oblivion sipped the wine from the cup, talking to Hephaestion about Athens. Suddenly, as in a dream, he heard Attals toast:
I hope this marriage will bring Macedonia a true heir, Attal said in an unsteady voice,
Shut up, he was immediately interrupted by Philip, who jumped up from the bed.
Alexander, having heard the words of the brides uncle, imprinted in the brain.
What am I, what is illegal? with these words he jumped up and threw a silver cup into Attalus.Philip, who rushed to his son, either to separate the quarreling, or to take his son out of the hall, stumbled with a wounded leg and fell, Alexander rushed out of the hall, and Hephaestion ran after him.
Hephaestion, prepare horses and a wagon for the mother, as well as summon my friends with the squires, the prince immediately asked a friend, and he rushed to immediately do what he wanted.
Alexander ran headlong into his mothers chambers, and saw that she, with her maids, was already collecting valuable things.
Mom, were leaving, he told his mother.
Yes. I heard my son, lets go to Epirus. (for some reason, the young man was not at all surprised) Everything will get better, I love you too, she said with a smile, wrapping her shawl, presented by her son. They descended, and already the cart was harnessed, and the servant sat on the trestle, and the armed men waited for Hephaestion with a squire, and rode from different parts of the city to all his friends Garpal, Nearh, Erygius and Ptolemy with their squires, a detachment of thirty mounted, and they hastily drove the Olympiad carriage to the gate, and there the guards, seeing Alexadra, easily released the fugitives, and they moved westward through the passes to Epir. Already it was evening, they moved all night for fear of pursuit. In a month they arrived in Epirus, home of the Olympics.
The king of Epirus himself, Alexander also, met the procession at the gates of the palace.