The thought of her suffering further made me feel nauseous but I decided not to press the matter further. We did not speak for the remainder of the evening and we continued our work the following morning.
CHAPTER 4
The second week went by as the first, with Vettias and I shadowing each member of Polyperchon’s list for a couple days and recording their movements and activities in our growing ream of notes. I began noticing some looks of recognition in certain street vendors as the days drew on and our presence in Pella continued. Polyperchon had called a meeting during this second week to inform us his operative had reached out to Queen Adea on Vettias’ behalf and found a willing partner in our scheme. I didn’t know whether to think she was incredibly shrewd or incredibly foolish. Either way, I thought she was better off keeping herself out of palace intrigue after Triparadeisus.
“Alright kid, you’re going to see her tonight. Are you up for it?” Polyperchon asked, looking at Vettias for the answer.
“I have faith in him,” Vettias assured. “Please describe the role she is to play and how much of it Andrikos should divulge to her.”
“First, tell her nothing of The Hand or my involvement in any of this,” Polyperchon cautioned. “As I described earlier, the assassin believes he is working with allies of Cassander. I of course didn’t have my operative tell him this outright, but allowed some pertinent information be released through the course of their dealings that would lead a logical person to come to that conclusion on their own. The important point is to sell the plot to Antipater. At my operative’s next meeting with the assassin, he will be told of Cassander’s key role as leader of a broad network of assassins who provide the thumbs of their victims as proof of their achievements.” Polyperchon then produced a bundle of severed thumbs wrapped in cloth.
“Best if you don’t know where these came from,” he grinned sadistically. “This is the evidence I need her to plant within Cassander’s quarters. Because of Cassander’s outward antipathy to the Argead line, Antipater has ordered his quarters to be guarded at all times to prevent an attempt on his life. The discovery of this morbid bundle described by the assassin during interrogation tshould provide enough corroboration to the old man that his son was at least nominally involved in the plot.”
“Your instructions to Queen Adea will be for her to devise a scheme in which the evidence is planted without knowledge from the guards,” Polyperchon continued. “Her knowledge of the palace should allow her to get within a close enough proximity,” General Polyperchon emphasized while looking me gravely in the eye and handing me the bloody, rolled-up cloth. “The importance of your task cannot be overstated. You have the power within your hand to change history.”
“You know her temperament, Andrikos,” Vettias interjected to calm the moment and better focus me on the task at hand. “You’ll need to be confident yet deferential. The fact she won’t be threatened by you will work in your favor. If you’re lucky enough, your similar ages may entice her to remove some of the barriers she has erected – Triparadeisus likely chastened her daring but not her resolve. This is the culmination of all you’ve learned from The Hand thus far and we have faith in your abilities. Are you ready?”
I gave a confident nod. Vettias turned to Polyperchon, “How are we getting him in the palace?”
“One of my operatives works in the palace galley. He’ll be arriving shortly and will have you on as part of his detail delivering meat for the following morning. Do as he says and don’t open your mouth. A girl from the Queen’s entourage will escort you to the royal chambers. I am told you will know her from Triparadeisus.”
Vettias and Polyperchon shared a drink while I was left to my thoughts. There was a well of nervous energy within me that I stifled by thumbing clumsily through the many scrolls within Polyperchon’s study. Vettias was correct in that I felt increasingly confident in being alone now with the Queen of Macedonia than I ever could have before meeting my mentor in the dark arts, but the weight of the impending meeting lay heavy on me. Would she blame Vettias and me for her failures in Triparadeisus? Would she turn me over to Antipater’s guard to further her position within the halls of power? I was snapped out of these reflections by the arrival of Polyperchon’s agent, Pallas.
Pallas reminded me of Davos in his general appearance and propensity for swift violence, but did not look to hold my colleague’s subtle cunning. His hair and tunic were unkempt and several teeth were either missing or crooked. We were briefly introduced before Polyperchon hastened us down the cellar and out the adjoining apartment.
“We’ll meet two others from the royal mess to pick up a slaughtered lamb and several other sundries at a nearby butchery to deliver to the palace kitchens. I’ve informed them I am bringing on new help tonight, so no words of introduction will be required. Make small talk if engaged, but remain inconspicuous. What name will you introduce yourself as?”
“Nearchus.”
“Alright, Nearchus, your contact will summon you through the servants’ hallway and I’ll ensure you two exit the galley undetected. Keep yourself busy with the mess chores until then. Any questions?”
“No, lead the way.”
I followed my new associate through the winding streets of Pella’s back alleys which were by now deserted. The throngs of the larger thoroughfares were also beginning to wane as we turned on to Pella’s largest road, running from the palace to the agora. There we entered a large storefront where two others acknowledged Pallas’ entrance.
“This is the new kid, Nearchus.”
His introduction was met with disinterested nods – it appeared it wouldn’t be hard to stay ignored.
“Are we ready?” Pallas questioned.
Both nodded.
“I’ll bring the cart. Start loading.”
I quickly fell in with the galley detail and loaded the cart with vegetables, spices, wine, oil, grain and a fresh lamb carcass. Once complete, we continued down the main thoroughfare as it wound its way up the small bluff that housed the royal palace. It was a low, sprawling structure with a simple stone façade, brightly painted in some areas and interspersed with several marble reliefs and columns. The building was punctuated by an immense main portico that served as the grand entrance. We passed two massive torches lighting the grand portico where Pallas was allowed entry by four imposing sentries. We turned away from the main entranceway and arrived at a wide, wooden door on the side of the palace leading to the kitchens. Pallas gave two sturdy knocks and the door unlatched to allow our delivery to fill the galley stores.
“Nearchus, take the grain down the basement steps,” Pallas ordered. I complied and began making trips from the cart to the dark cellar. The galley was bustling with activity due to a royal event occurring that evening and I executed my task unnoticed. After my third trip, I was summoned by Pallas and looked up to see the Queen’s agent standing beside him. It was the same girl Vettias and I had met in the Triparadeisus palatial gardens. She gave me a slight grin of recognition and Pallas handed me a thatch basket containing a small jug of wine and morsel of fresh bread.
“This is for the Queen.”
I took the item without question and followed her through a dark servants’ passage. It appeared the palace had miles of these secluded corridors, meant for slaves and attendants to traverse the expansive grounds without notice of its royal residents.
“The Queen’s quarters are not far,” my female escort informed me. “Lord Regent Antipater is entertaining emissaries from Athens tonight which should allow us to move you in and out undetected. If we are interrogated by anyone, I will inform them the Queen has requested evening refreshment be brought to her quarters.”
I nodded as we continued snaking our way through the tertiary corridors of the palace. We finally came to a sturdy door where my contact gave a deliberate knock. The door unlocked from the inside where the Queen’s bodyguard stood waiting with sword drawn. He, too, was from Triparadeisus and didn’t look any happier to see me
this time than he did during our first tense meeting. I suspected he too felt his master should keep herself out of further palace intrigue.
We ascended a narrow staircase which led to the Queen’s personal apartments on the second story of the palace. Her bodyguard used a key to unlock the door at the top of the stairwell and the three of us entered to find two sentries guarding the secret entrance to the Queen’s suit. At the sight of their superior they saluted and sheathed their swords. We had entered what looked to be a private room for entertaining guests. It was dimly lit and empty. Despite having only the moonlight through an open window as an aid, I could still see ornate eastern carpets, marble statues, intricate tapestries and plush couches. My female guide scurried off to an antechamber while I followed my intimidating handler to an ornately decorated doorway with the Argead seal carved above the ingress.
“The Queen’s private chamber is beyond this door. I will remain directly outside. I have a key to this room should I need to enter at a moment’s notice,” the bodyguard reminded me with a violent leer. He gave a small knock and the thick wooden door, girded with iron, lurched open to reveal Queen Adea standing before me. She was a stunning vision of beauty wearing a colorful eastern robe, with radiant skin and glowing hair freshly anointed with oil.
“Thank you Markos. That will be all.” The Queen’s guard dog shot me one last sneer before closing and locking the door behind us.
A year had passed since our last encounter and any questions about lingering childish qualities disappeared before my eyes. During my two previous audiences, Vettias did all the talking which allowed me to stand quietly in the background. Now the full weight of her stature settled on my shoulders like an anchor.
“Come in, Andrikos,” she instructed warmly while motioning me to sit on a couch opposite her. “You travel alone? Vettias either has great faith in your abilities or no longer feels me worthy of his time,” she began with a smirk.
“Absolutely not, my Queen,” I stuttered, being caught off guard by her statement. “As you know, Vettias is well known in Pella, especially among the palace retinue, and would never risk endangering your interests by showing his face here.”
“And did he have the same regard for me last year when I was betrayed by the very men who cried out for me only days earlier?”
“Vettias and I were held captive by the Silver Shields after Antipater’s arrival and our enemies struck. We were helpless to intervene on your behalf, and narrowly escaped with our lives. Vettias was severely wounded and teetered between life and death for weeks. You mustn’t think our resolve is diminished in any way. We have traveled hundreds of miles to continue our campaign against the enemies of the Argead blood and have devised a plot to separate father from son here in the palace, with the longer-term goal to shape the succession of the Regency to an ally of our cause.”
I quietly exhaled during this brief statement, having believed I passed the first test of effectively communicating our steadfastness. Adea did not seem to be listening to me, however, and she stared off to an open window overlooking the city before turning back to my direction.
“Where will you go after your time here in Pella, Andrikos?” she asked whimsically.
Her question again took me aback before I muddled through an answer. “Assuming everything goes well, I believe I will return to the army of General Eumenes, who eagerly awaits to throw his full weight behind the Argead cause and place yourself, your husband and Alexander IV on the Macedonian throne.”
“Yes … my husband,” she responded sullenly. “Tell me, Andrikos, what became of the courtesan you spoke of back in Triparadeisus? What was her name?”
“Mara, my lady. I’m quite surprised you remember such a trivial matter. She is in the possession of a Battle Captain within the Silver Shields.”
“And do you love this girl?”
“I do, my lady.”
“Well, there’s nothing trivial about love. And what would you do if she were sitting here with you now?”
I blushed and smiled at the question.
“You may be taken in by the magnificence of these surroundings, but it is you who is the more fortunate of the two of us,” Adea stated. “You are free: I am a prisoner. You have love: I have none – not even the love of family, for I am an orphan wife without child. I may be queen, but it is you who are in control of your own life. You will, of course, take orders from your superiors within the army, but you are free to make your own decisions. There are many within these very walls who would see me killed for making the wrong decision. Can someone as lowly as you understand the paradox I speak of?”
“To be honest, no one even approaching your stature has ever spoken directly to me, save for General Eumenes, and your words strike me as incredibly sad. I apologize for being so forward, but your kind and simple demeanor has put me at ease. Someone such as me, being told his meager existence is the envy of the Queen of Macedon, is almost surreal.”
“And what if I left this place, this gilded cage. Would you and Vettias take me to General Eumenes?”
“That is why I am here, my lady. Not to bring you back with us, but to execute a plan that will firmly establish you and your husband in the position of power your stature deserves. This scheme has been set in motion over the past year and has entered its final phase. We requested an audience with you to ask you play a small role in its success, given your ability to move throughout the palace freely.”
“I cannot leave this room without the many eyes of this palace following my every movement. If it is movement with discretion you seek, I fear you’ll have to look elsewhere.”
“Perhaps if I told you what is required you could determine the best way to accomplish it, given your knowledge of the palace.”
“It’s true, I’ve lived here my whole life and know every dark corner of this place. Proceed.”
“As I mentioned earlier, my Lady, our plan aims to remove son from father, Cassander from Antipater. Several aspects, most of which I am not even privy to, have been set in motion already. All that is required from you is brief access to Cassander’s private chamber during his next hunting excursion.
“We will need you to place this small item within the ash bin of his fireplace,” I entreated, holding up Polyperchon’s wicked bit of evidence. “This seemingly small task will serve as the final piece in a larger plot to remove Cassander from the line of succession to the Regency.”
“You have performed well, Andrikos. Perhaps you should have done the talking in Triparadeisus. Convey to Vettias that I will assist in his little scheme, but nothing of my involvement is to be uttered at any time or I will have you both flayed alive. Now, I have a demand of you.”
“Anything, my lady.”
“Kiss me as if I was your woman.” My eyes widened at the unexpected command. It seemed everything this woman said caught me off guard. Before I could collect my thoughts she walked toward me, looking directly in my eyes. I remained still while my heart fluttered rapidly. As she neared, I motioned to speak but she placed her soft finger over my lips.
“Shhh. Grant me this courtesy. There is no love in my life, there is no love within the ornate walls of this prison. I want to feel what it’s like to be kissed by someone with love in their heart.” She ran her hand through my hair and pulled my lips to hers. I could feel the angst in her words, so I closed my eyes and thought of my time with Mara at Triparadeisus – alone in her tiny chamber. I let myself believe I was with her and acquiesced to the Queen’s order as best I could. Adea lingered with her eyes closed while showing a slight grin.
“Andrikos, I want you to make love to me.”
“My lady, I … I …”
“Consider it a royal command from the Queen herself,” she interrupted. “It is also the price for my complicity in Vettias’ plot.”
Before I could respond, Adea removed her robe and placed my hand over her breast. “Am I not to your liking?” she asked, knowing full well the degree of her beauty. She kissed me
passionately while guiding me to her bed. The heat of the moment overwhelmed me and I threw her down on her bed and removed my tunic. My force caused her to gasp as she pulled my hips to hers. She let out a moan as I entered her and lustfully writhed her hips with mine. We inched up on the bed and I now lay on top of her where she breathed passionately in my ear. Her hands moved through my hair before she flung them down on the bed and clenched the blanket as she began to climax. Her lust drove me to completion and I collapsed on her chest. We remained still for a long while, before our breathing became regular and I rolled to her side. She stood, poured herself a glass of wine and put her robe back on.
“Thank you, Andrikos. The evidence will be planted. My attendant will escort you back to the galley. My candor with you will remain between us.”
“Yes, my Lady.” I rose and donned my tunic before Adea opened her chamber door and bid me farewell.
I left the palace feeling a confusion of emotions on my way back to Polyperchon’s estate: elation in my success; guilt in my infidelity; and nervousness in the outcome of our plot. Polyperchon and Vettias had placed great faith in me – mostly out of necessity – and I had delivered. More importantly, The King’s Hand had conducted an operation within the palace of Lord Regent Antipater – in the very chamber of Queen Adea no less. Most importantly, my success hastened the day I would reunite with Mara. The thought of her after my time with Adea opened a pit in my stomach and I fought to rationalize as an act of necessity. The sight of Polyperchon’s servant opening his cellar door with sword drawn was a welcome one as I ascended the stairs to report on my success.
****
The hour had drawn late and my superiors were sufficiently full of drink when Polyperchon’s servant announced my arrival. Polyperchon was happy to see me and anxious to hear my report while Vettias shot me an aggressively inquisitive look. I gave him a nod and a smirk upon which he rejoined Polyperchon’s merriment.
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