Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 01:16:54 -0700
From: gayauthor@hushmail.com
Subject: Little Alexander - Chapter Seven Eight and Nine

Please email me if you enjoy this story.  gayauthor@hushmail.com

Chapter 7

Leo let the goats wander along the bank while he swam in the cool water.
 At this point the mountain stream had formed a deep pool where it fell
in a small waterfall from the rocks above.

He put his head back and his legs and arms out in an 'X' and floated
perfectly still.  With his ears underwater it seemed he could hear the
secret life of the river, its insects and fish.  His cock lolled loosely
on his thigh, half out of the water.   He kept his eyes tightly shut
and felt himself merge with the water.

The experience at the sacred grove had changed him.  Just the journey
there and back had given him restlessness.  The world was a bigger place
than he could have imagined.  There were adventures to be had that he
had never even day-dreamed about.  He had met other boys, many more in
that one trip than he had met in twelve years on the farm.  He had sorely
missed the twins, Alpha and Omega, when at last they had parted company.


But with his restlessness and his longing for new friends his heart now
ached for his mother.  He knew now, that one day he would leave her.
 Just thinking about it made his stomach knot.  He tried to push the
idea from his mind and opened his eyes.

Above him a single white cloud floated in the bright blue sky.  What
did it remind him of?  At first a horse.  Then some sort of weird monster.
 A beetle perhaps?  Then he saw it clearly: the face of a statue.

He suddenly lost his buoyancy and had to struggle and kick his legs to
regain it.

He had played and replayed the event over and over in his mind.  He was
careful not to think of it at night in the bed he shared with his mother
and father, because every time he thought on it, it stirred his groin.


Despite their pleas he had refused to tell Machers and Drax what had
happened.  They in turn made lewder and lewder guesses, hoping to coax
it out of him, if only to stop their endless speculation.

It was still rare for the three boys to be together.  Mingling the herds
was a major headache and they couldn't risk it.  Sometimes, Machers,
whose farm was closest, would abandon his flock for a while to join Leo
on his rock in the hope of masturbating the younger boy, but Leo's heart
was elsewhere.

Leo turned thirteen that winter and as winter turned to spring his beauty
turned from that of a little boy into that of young adolescent.  Growth
spurts made him taller and he developed a willowy grace.  His mother
teased him about his big feet. Drax, who still looked young for his age,
 marveled at Leo's tight stomach.  On the rare occasions he was able
to join Leo in his rock, Drax would trace with his fingertips the outline
of Leo's defined abdominal ridges.  He knew Leo liked the compliment
and, more importantly, that with enough gentle stroking Leo would be
in the mood to let Drax feel the shapely muscle of his cock.

These thoughts had Leo fully erect now as he floated in the gurgling
pool.  His dick bobbing up and down like the stem of a water lily.  He
had come to like Drax's gentle fondlings, whereas Machers seemed rushed
and impatient for his turn.

The water sounds seemed to change.

Leo listened more intently.

They seemed to be saying something.

"Eeeleooloo."

"EEELEEOOO."

He lifted his ears clear of the water.

"LEO!"

Fuck!  It was his father on the riverbank.

He scrabbled up the bank, naked, dripping, muddy, erect.

"Sorry father, the goats are all here.  It was only for a minute..."

"Never mind that Leo.  Come sit with me for a while."

In the shade of the gorge, with his arm around his son's shoulders Philotas
knew his heart would break.

"Son, the recruiting officers are in the valley."

Leo was not sure what that meant.

"Alexander is going to conquer Persia.  He is building a new army."

Leo looked up into his father's worn face.

"Leo, it is time for you to join him."

Leo's jaw dropped open.

"By the time you reach the army you will not have seen 14 summers pass,
 but you are strong Leo, and quick.  You will make a fine soldier."

"But you... And mother?"

"We will be waiting here for you Leo.  Leo I want you to understand something.
 We are born, we men, to fight.  Most men live lives that are short and
fight in wars that time forgets.  But this war Leo, this will be a war
that time never forgets.  You remember your hero Achilles?  This is the
sort of war he would have loved to fight.  It is a chance of a lifetime,
 no the chance of many lifetimes."

Leo began, despite himself, to cry.

"Do not cry little one."

The sniffles continued.

"Why are you crying Leo?  Is it from fear?"

"No father."

"Then why?"

"It is for mother."

"Ah."    Philotas had to turn his head away for a moment.

"Leo, we will both be here when you return.  You can bring her back treasures
she has never dreamed of."

Some silence passed between them.

"You must do something for me Leo. Will you promise me?"

"Of course father."

"When you reach the army you will need to find a man who will teach you
the art of war.  You are beautiful Leo, and many men will want you -
particularly if they see you like I just did in the water with your little
sword sticking up!"  He nudged his son in the ribs and got a weak smile
beneath the tear streaked cheeks.

"Do not go with the first man who asks you.  Find a good man Leo."

"How will I do that?"

"Well..., a good way would be to see a man who looks kindly at you, but
who doesn't approach you.  Such men are careful; they hang back when
others rush in.  Then ask others about him.  See if he is a good fighter
or a coward.  Leo, how you choose is not really important.  But be sure
that you chose him rather than he choose you.  And once you have made
your choice, never leave him."

"Did you do that?"

"Yes I did.  Kraxsus was my teacher."

Leo's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Kraxsus?"

"Yes little man.  Anyway, dry your tears now.  There is much to be done.
 We are going on a trip to town to buy your armour and your weapons."

Leo's face lit up.  "Really?  But that will be expensive."

"Don't worry about that little man.  Oh, and by the way, you will not
be alone, Draxus and Lysimachus are going with you."

Leo brightened up considerably.  "Drax is too small though!"

"He can be a scout then, or a cook!"

Leo laughed.  "Yeah, a cook!"

They drove the goats back together to the hut.  Philotas kept his hand
on his boy's shoulder all the way.


Chapter 8

The column of boys snaked its way south-east, guarded by a detachment
of lightly armed troops.

>From time to time messengers on their way back to the royal court at
Pella passed them and gave them news of Alexander's deployment.  He was
on the move again and they would do well to catch up with him before
winter.

The days and weeks became routine.  They marched three days then rested
the fourth.  They ate when they were told to eat and drank whenever they
had opportunity.  Leo learned as much as he could by watching the troops
who marched with them.  They were hard men, and seemed to be afraid of
nothing.  When one of the column's two scouts returned with news of warlike
bands in the vicinity, the soldiers lost no time but grabbed their armour
and set off at pace in the direction of trouble.

After the first few days which had been miserable, the boys had raised
their spirits.  The quartermaster had issued them honey and wine one
night which had sent them all into a hyperactive drunken state.  That
night strangers had become friends, tears had been shed, oaths sworn.
 By campfires the boys had found their voices boasting of feats to come.
 The soldiers roared with laughter as the boys grew wilder and wilder
in their boasts, but none put the boys down.  They themselves had been
through the same fear and knew the boasting helped to build the bonds
that would finally overcome it.

Leo had been happy to see Machers and Draxus join the march and when
Alpha and Omega ran up with their father he was overjoyed.  The five
of them had become an instant team.  They looked out for one another,
 scavenged food and drink and slept alongside each other at night.

They passed Abdera and Maronea and pushed on down towards the coast.
 For most of the boys their first sight of the sea was at Sestus.  The
port was busy with military and civilian traffic.  Supplies for the army
were pouring through the port supervised by mean looking quartermasters
who didn't seem to know how to speak without shouting.

The column of boys drew plenty of attention both from female prostitutes
and sailors who whistled and pointed at the blushing boys as they passed.

The troops gave them strict instructions not to venture into the port
alone or in groups.  Some who did were never seen again.

It took two days to secure a crossing in a cargo boat to Abydus.  Puking
over the side, Machers promised that he would never set foot on a ship
again.

Relieved to be on dry land they marched through Dascylium to Ancyra,
then through the Cillician gates to the coast at Soli.

>From there it was just a short march to the army that was now at Issus.

Machers had been in his element on the march.  He had turned 15 and was
the oldest boy in the troop.  He boasted of having had sex with over
a hundred boys and Leo could well believe it.  It seemed that every morning
as he blinked open his bleary eyes there was another twelve year old
wrapped in Machers' arms just a few feet away.  Despite his conquests
though, it was the twins he lusted after most and was constantly pestering
them.  They took it as a joke and in turn called him 'the Goat' because
of his endless rutting and constant erections.  Machers confided to Leo
that it was not the idea of making love to the twins that excited him,
 so much as the idea of seeing them make love to one another.

One night the twins announced that they had decided to grant the Goat
his heart's desire.  As news spread, hundreds of boys gathered at one
end of the camp to see the show, with the Goat being given the place
of honour.

At some distance two of the tallest support troops held up a sheet, behind
which a fire burned.  The shadow of the twins was projected by the fire
onto the back of the sheet.  The crowd roared as the silhouettes made
lewd movements.  The twins suddenly sprouted erections, a development
that had the Goat on his knees on the other side of the sheet, much to
the approval of the crowd. Then one of the shadow twins seemed to be
wanking the other, whose erection grew and grew, longer and longer till
it was the length of a spear.  The crowds hooted as the ridiculous phallus
seemed to fuck the other brother up the arse.  In the end the soldiers
dropped the sheet to reveal the twins, arm in arm with limp dicks and
broad grins - and with hoots and catcalls the crowd mocked the Goat and
dispersed into the night still buzzing from the entertainment.

However, the following morning Leo noticed, there was still a sleepy
eyed tousle-headed blond boy naked in Machers' bed with his hand round
the older boy's meat, giving him his morning wank.

Before they made the final march to Issus the troop commander stopped
the boys at the base of a low hill and climbed up to address them.

"Men, we will soon be with the Army.  You must listen to me very carefully."

He had their attention.

"The army is at Issus and we face the enemy there.  There will be a fight
and it will be very, very dangerous.  If this makes you fear - good.
 You should be afraid."

"You are not ready to join this battle.  If you do - you will die."

"You must join the baggage train and watch the battle from there.  You
must not, under any circumstances, run forward and join the battle.
If you do that, Cratus and Diphrogenese..."  he picked out the two most
notoriously braggadocios boys, "you will die."

"Your training will begin after we win this battle....  There are two
things I command in addition.  One:  watch the battle carefully, you
may learn something.  Two:  Wear you armour and your weapons.  Although
you are forbidden to join the battle, the Persians like to attack the
baggage train.  They like to murder the women and children there.  Be
prepared."

"Section leaders are there any questions?"

"No sir."

"Then reform and wait to march on my order.  Troop - protective formation
as we move."

The atmosphere was feverish.  Leo slapped Drax on the shoulder.  "Come
on little man!  We're off to war at last!"


Chapter 9

The column of boys marched through the night and arrived before dawn.
 At two miles off they could hear the indistinct cacophony of the army,
 at one mile off, despite the cold and damp they could smell it.

At last they turned into the river valley.  It was an astonishing site.

Before them the army was preparing for battle.   Tents were being struck
and loaded onto carts.  Small boys were herding flocks of goats and sheep
in the direction of the rear. Men were helping each other struggle into
their armour.  Mules carrying baskets of arrows plodded past them.  There
were camp fires everywhere where groups of men huddled over steaming
cooking pots.  There were officers moving through the camp, bands of
horsemen forming up and everywhere the glint of iron.

It looked like chaos, but by the time the sun was at last above the horizon,
 the baggage train, the cattle and livestock, the servants and the boys
were come together at the rear, and all they saw now were the backs of
the men forming up in their ranks a quarter of a mile from their position.

Leo scrambled up onto one of the carts to get a better view.  He still
couldn't see very much.  The other boys were putting on what pieces of
armour they had and were standing around looking nervous.  There was
not much talking now.  Draxus was resting his sword tip on the ground.
 It was too heavy for him.

Leo climbed back down.  "Hey, this is crap, we can't see anything from
here." he whispered.  "What do you say to climbing up that ridge to get
a view?"

The twins looked at each other.  "OK."

Draxus, heavy helmet on his head spat out:  "Are you fucking nuts?  What
did the commander say?!"

"Oh come on Drax!  No one will see us."

Machers said:  "I'm in."

Drax took off his helmet.  "Please guys!"

"You can stay if you want to Drax.  But anyway, it might be safer to
be up there than to be down here, don't you think?" said Leo as he stripped.

Drax was in turmoil.  "Why are you taking your armour off?"

"Run quicker."

"Well I am going to stay right here."

"Someone's got to protect the goats eh, Drax!" said Machers.

"Fuck you."

The twins, Leo and Machers stripped naked.  Leo hugged Drax and whispered
to him "We'll be back soon, look after our stuff and keep safe."

Then they were gone, zipping through the tall grass and reeds of the
riverbed, looping up towards the hills.

"For fuck's sake, Leo, slow down."  Machers was struggling to keep up
as they scrambled up the slippery hillside.

One of the twins stopped to offer Machers a hand up over a difficult
outcrop.  Gripping the boy's wrist put a wide grin on Machers' face.
 "Thanks, Omega."  Omega smiled, turned and pushed on up the hill. "Thank
you, thank you, thank you..." Machers muttered to himself.

Leo found an outcrop, clear of trees that afforded a fantastic view of
the valley below.  He stood, hand on hips, panting and sweating and tingling
with excitement.

The twins arrived followed by Machers, who was walking slowly and panting
as he came.

"By all the gods!"

Below them, two armies faced each other.

The cliffs the boys had climbed were the foothills of the Ammanus mountains.
 The ridge stretched the length of the valley.  The other side of which
was the glittering Mediterranean.  Two small rivers snaked from the mountains
to the sea, one of which divided the opposing armies.

Alexander's army was in a series of tight formations.  In the centre
the Phalanx and on either side of the Phalanx, blocks of lighter armed
hoplites.  To the far left, close to the beach a huge number of cavalry.
 To the far right, close to the cliffs, another cavalry division and
slightly to their right another light infantry division and a solid block
of archers that faced uphill.

But it was the Persian army that sent a chill down the boys' sweaty spines.

First was the size of it.  The Persian army was three times the size
of the Greeks.  It seemed to fill the plain.  Then there was the colour.
 The Greek army looked gray and solid.  The Persians were red and yellow.
 Flags flew everywhere.  Persian infantry filled the plain from the sea
to the cliffs, but not in solid walls of one colour.  There were patches
of blue, or red or green, each with their own flags.  Many of these patches
seemed to have their own commanders in silver chariots, in spectacular
armour that flashed as they caught the sun.

Behind the first colourful wall was another one, that like the first,
 formed a thick wall across the entire plain.  By the sea facing the
main Greek cavalry, Persian horses were drawn up.  They were smaller
beasts and the men that rode them were the most colourful of all.

"Look there!"  said Alpha, pointing towards the hills at the far end
of the valley.  In the hills another block of Persian infantry stood
amongst the trees, above the Greek line.

Between the two massive infantry lines of the Persians, a solitary chariot
stood motionless.  Unlike the others, this one was pulled by six horses.
 It had a massive sun-burst behind the driver and a man dressed in dark
crimson.  It was surrounded by men on foot and a detachment of cavalry.

"See that one..." said Machers, pointing it out.  "Do you think that's
their king?"

"Must be." said Leo.

"Well, where's our one then?"

"The boys scanned the drab grey lines."

"There, there, there!"  Omega was pointing to a small detachment of cavalry.
 In the middle was a man in what seemed to be silver armour.

"Well spotted."  said Machers, putting his arm around Omega's shoulders.

Having spotted Alexander, the boys were riveted on him.  He rode slowly
up and down the lines.

Then the Greeks began to move.  The centre pushed across the stream and
up the other side.

The sound of the impact rolled up the cliff side.  A sickening sound.
 The war cry.  Screaming.  Death.

"Why aren't the ones on the edges moving?"

No one knew.

Now the troops in the hills were engaging.

The action was in the centre.  Greek troops were pushing hard.  The units
to the left and right of the Phalanx were sliding in towards the middle
too.  The cavalry by the sea was moving inland to protect the flank.

"Look!"  It was Omega again.

Alexander's group had detached from the centre and was galloping across
the plain in their direction.

"What the fuck?"

"Oh man!  They saw us!  We are in BIG trouble now!"

"Don't be such a prick, Leonnatus!  No way they saw us."  said Machers.

But there was no doubt about it.  Alexander and his Companions were headed
straight for them.

"Oh fuck!"

The racing horses disappeared from view below the cliff.

"Man, that was close!"

Then suddenly there was the sound of breaking branches and horses hooves
and then the clearing was filled with heavily armed men on horseback.

It was hard to know who was the more surprised; the boys to see the Companions,
 or the Companions to see a small group of naked boys huddled together.

The horses were snorting and hard to control.

"Who are you?"

"We only came up here to have a look, we didn't mean any harm."

One of the horsemen, who looked as terrifying as something that had stepped
out of a nightmare, pointed his sword at Lysimachus.  "You boy, what
is your name?"

"Lysimachus of Pelagonia."

"You are with the Macedonian recruits?"

"Yes Lord."

"What have we here?"  Horses shied away as Alexander on Bucephalus came
into the clearing, ducking to avoid the low branches.

"Some very naughty Macedonian boys my Lord!" laughed the rider.

Alexander looked down and pointed his sword at the boys' cocks.

"I'd say they were heavily armed Macedonian boys by the look of it."
 There was gruff laughter amongst the companions.

Alexander dismounted and led Bucephalus to the edge of the cliff, looking
out at the scene below.  "Well, boys, how does it look from up here?"

They didn't dare answer.

Alexander scanned along the tree line towards the fight in the hills.

"Peroedas, get over to the right.  Smash through there and then get behind
their flank."

One of the horsemen turned his steed, kicked the flanks and disappeared.

"Hephaestion, see what you can spare on the left and get it to join me
in the centre.  It is the centre, the centre, the centre: everything
we can into the centre....  See he is not moving.  He commands from the
chariot.  We must get to him and kill him."

He turned to Machers.  "Which one of you is the fastest runner?"

"Leonnatus, my Lord."

"Pantordanus, take this little lad with you, and send him to me the minute
you break though in the hills."  Turning to Leo he said "When he sends
you, run like the wind to me.  I will be in the centre, just run there
and you will find me.  Understand?"

"Yes my Lord."

Without another word, Alexander swung back up into the saddle of the
giant horse and was gone.  A horseman reached out for Leo's hand and
swung him up onto the horse in front of him.  "Keep your head down through
the trees."

Then they were gone.

---

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