The Heart of Alexander

Chapter Twenty Nine- Legacy and Love

Alexander's P.O.V. 

Darkness. It was everywhere. I had grown accustom to the darkness, for it always seeped into my world one after another, spreading tragedy beside my triumph. But in the darkness where I thought I would now spend the rest of eternity in, there was her. I heard her voice and I heard her wails. I heard her pleas and I heard her screams. She was still in the light, she was still in the world while I wasn't. I had left her vulnerable and unprotected in the midst of chaos on the battlefront. I had left her to fend for herself, something I doubted she could do. Although my queen was headstrong and stubborn, she was not trained to kill like I was. 

I fought my way through the darkness, following her cries. I would not go down without a fight. My legacy was not to die now and leave her behind. The more I fought the darkness, the closer I came to the light. Her light. She was the light in my life, something I desperately held onto. Panic rose within me as I heard her scream and the clashing of blades. My queen was in battle. I fought harder, begging to be released from death's hold. 

I began to feel again. I felt the earth beneath my body. I felt the air on my skin. I could smell the rotting stench of flesh, I could taste the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. Then, I could feel her. Her hands caressing me gently, her body ontop of mine trying to hold me as close as possible, I could feel her breath. I relaxed. She was still alive and well. I had her still. My sight came to me, and at last, I saw my vengeful queen. Then, I knew the truth.

"I love you," I whispered. 

Roxana's P.O.V.

"I love you," 

As tears streaked my bloodied and bruised face, I lifted my head to see Alexander's eyes piercing into mine. I gasped, jumping back for a moment in shock before crawling back to him, touching his face. He was here. He was really here. 

Suddenly, I realized the words that came out of his mouth. He loved me. Not once had he ever uttered those words. I should feel ecstatic, but in the moment I was stunned. The great Macedonian king loved no one. He was known to be the one who can't love or be loved. And here he was, barely conscious and professing his love to me. 

"What did you say?" I spoke shakily. 

I helped Alexander slowly sit up, me still sitting in his lap. His hand reached out, making him wince in pain from the small movement. He cupped the side of my face and I leaned into his touch, needing to make sure he was really here. His lips cracked into a small smile and he uttered it once more. 

"I said, I love you, Roxana of Bactria,"

It was real. This was all real. He loved me. And I loved him. We were two lonely souls who found love in the midst of a battle. The battle of life and death, and the battle of our hearts. 

"Say it again," I whispered. 

A chuckle resonated from deep in his chest as our foreheads touched, our lips so close to one another's. 

"I love you," he repeated a third time before hesitating to say his next words, almost like he was afraid, "...Do you love me?"

I smiled, "Yes, yes, I love you Alexander. I love you, my Macedonian King,"

Our lips touched and it was almost like the rest of the world didn't matter. It didn't matter if the world was burning around us. Everything had disappeared  when I kissed him. It was just him and I. We were both in sync, our lips and our souls. I held onto him like there would be no tomorrow, like he would vanish if I let him go, and he held me just as tight against him, despite his wound. We thirsted for each other, breathed in one another like we would die. He was my addiction. 

"Alexander!"

Perdiccas sprinted to us, looking relieved, "Thank the Gods you are still alive. We have figured out Porus is on one of the elephants. We must get to him before there is none of us left. Our army is almost half of what it was, but we would have less if it weren't for the villagers aiding us. What do you ask of us to do?"

"Capturing Porus should be our main priority. Someone needs to get up there and get him off that elephant. From down here, there isn't much we can do," Alexander explains. I watched him try to stand, but pain was visible on his face. He couldn't do such a thing himself. He was too weak. 

"I will," I said. 

Both Perdiccas and Alexander turned their heads to look at me in shock. Alexander stepped forward. 

"No, I am not letting you do that. You don't know anything about killing and you are just a woman. You will instantly be slaughtered. I'm sorry, but no," he replied. 

I pointed to Sibani's dead body that laid near my feet, "Her dead body is proof that I can kill a man just as well as you can. If I am just woman, then how was I able to bring a whole force of villagers with me with weapons? Don't underestimate me, Your Majesty, but I have been trained how to use a sword and I can take care of myself," I protested, remembering Kiro practicing in the abandoned courtyard with me. 

"You cannot go alone," Perdiccas said. 

"I won't go alone. Come with me. I will need your help to have my back," I replied. 

Perdiccas and Alexander looked at each other and let out a heavy sigh. Alexander tilted my chin up, our eyes meeting each other. 

"Okay, you can go. Please just be careful, for me," he murmured. 

"I will," I mumbled as I lightly kissed his head. 

Perdiccas jumped onto his horse, holding out his hand for me to grab onto. I hopped onto his stallion and we took off toward the center of the battle. My eyes drifted back to where Alexander stood holding his wound while watching us ride on. We galloped closer, the elephants now in view. Looking down, I noticed along the armor of the horse was coiled up rope. I held onto Perdiccas, talking into his ear. 

"Get as close to the elephants as possible. I will use the rope to climb onto the elephants and try to scale their armor. Just watch my back while I get to the top," I command. 

"Yes, my queen," he obeyed. 

We neared the elephants. One elephant in particular caught my eye. Its armor and decor was gold instead of dull colors. That must be the king's royal elephant, I thought. I pointed to the gold decorated elephant and Perdiccas directed his horse towards it. He reared close to a stop, and I tuck and rolled off the rump of the horse, grabbing the rope in the process. I ran towards the descending elephant, picking up a hook-like dagger from a fallen warrior. I tied the dagger to the end of the rope and threw it up at the elephant. The dagger snagged into the decorations that hung from the elephant and I smiled victoriously. Tugging on the rope, it was stable enough for me to climb. Looking to Perdiccas, he nodded as he took down yet another Indian warrior. 

I climbed the rope, swinging along with the elephant as it trudged forward. Looking down, fear coursed through me  at the height I was now at. If I would fall, I would land on knives and weapons and die. I climbed further, swallowing the fear. Fear could not stop me from saving these people. 

As I reached the end of the rope, I grabbed hold of the straps that held the top platform to the elephant. Taking out the dagger, I held it in between my teeth as I got closer to the platform. I reached the platform, slowly looking in. Two warriors guarded the Indian King Porus. I looked down at Perdiccas, who fought against more enemy soldiers. I sighed, closing my eyes. I can do this, I whispered to myself, I am a queen. 

Hurling myself onto the platform, the elephant shrieked in protest. The warriors turned to face me, almost surprised by my entrance. I pulled the dagger from my teeth and screamed, lurching toward the warriors. I met swords with the first man, almost growling fearlessly. Cutting down the first Indian man, I went on to the next. Elbowing him in the throat, I swiveled around to drill the dagger into his gut before tripping him. I watched with no regrets as he fell off the back of the elephant, falling to his death. I stepped forward, snaking the dagger around the Indian king's neck. I whispered close to his ear. 

"Your reign has now ended,"

I had caught the Indian King.