Herald of Steel

By the time Alexander woke up, the sun had risen well high up into the sky, signaling a significant part of the day had passed.

‘Crap, I overslept,’ Alexander quickly sat up from his bed as a strong, glaring ray of light hit his eyes, piercing the veil between the dreamland and reality.

Bright unfiltered light streamed out of the open wooden window doors, making the opulent room glow with the luster of luxury and decadence as the shiny metals and exquisite gems gleamed and sparkled under the sunlight.

“You’re finally awake. You looked so tired I didn’t want to wake you,” A fully refreshed and energetic Cambyses cheerfully called out from the balcony.

“Urggg, what time is it?” Alexander still felt a bit groggy as he tried to look out of the window to see where the sun was and get an approximate determination of the time.

“Almost midday,” Cambyses answered the question as she handed Alexander some water from the silver pitcher.

” Glug, glug, glug,” Alexander drank off the cup with large gulps to quench his parched throat.

Then he dipped his fingers in the water and began to rub the cool liquid around his nape, in an effort to drive away the drowsiness, a technique he had learned from his years in college where he had had to pull all-nighters to finish projects.

“If you are tired, sleep a bit more,” Cambyses asked in a concerned voice, as she gently caressed Alexander’s bare body.

“And whose’s fault is it that I’m so tired, you succubus?” Alexander playfully complained to the woman who had shown him heaven and hell both at the same time.

Like she had promised, Alexander didn’t need to do anything the last night, but that had left him completely under their mercy, who squeezed his milk dry to the point that he was sure by the end he was shooting blanks.

Alexander knew intense pleasure could turn to pain, but it was only yesterday night that he experienced it firsthand.

“Hehe…” Cambyses only giggled, showing her pearly whites at Alexander’s ‘complaint.’

This caused Alexander to get a bit hard, but soon a sharp prickle of pain from his little brother made him know he was still out and it was a bad idea.

‘I wonder if this world has the equivalent of Viagra? Or else, with all these succubi around, my kidney might not last.’ Alexander lampooned in his heart.

Finally, with his drowsiness abated Alexander could take the time to survey the surroundings and under the full light of the sun, could finally appreciate the grandeur in display in its entirety.

He wondered if this room could be compared with one in Buckingham Palace or the Palace of Versailles.

And he guessed it could fit right in, minus all the modern amenities of course.

But, then he noticed someone missing- the tall, sinful succubus from last night.

“So, where’s Tayin?” Alexander while looking around.

“She just woke a bit before you and left to get some breakfast,” Cambyses said.

Then asked, “You want me to get some?”

“*Gurgle*”, Alexander’s stomach gave the answer for him.

“Okay, you stay and rest. I will get you something immediately,” Cambyses then hurried out of the room.

Or she was about to when Alexander called out, “Wait! Call Hemicus first.”

Soon the guard was summoned and Alexander instructed, “Tell all the mercenary captains, Grahtos, and His Majesty to join me at the royal dining as soon as possible, Say that it is vital to the defense of the city.”

“Yes, commander!” Hemicus with a salute accepted the order and quickly left.

“What vital defense of the city? You look so tired, rest today.” Cambyses again urged Alexander as she had overheard the order.

“*Sigh*, I very much wish I could, my dear. But I fear that corpse will start smelling soon,” Alexander made a reference to something Cambyses had no idea about.

And the girl, though confused, cleverly chose to ignore Alexander’s cryptic reply and instead made the comment, “His Majesty? Hehe… and here I thought you would kill Ptolomy the moment the chance presented itself.”

Cambyses had a dangerous, almost unhinged smile on her face.

“Darn, woman, not so loud!” Alexander went wide-eyed as he whispered r.

“Hahaha, you didn’t even deny it, hahaha,” But this only caused Cambyses to burst with a burst of uproarious laughter as she clutched her stomach and bent down, having a hard time to even keep standing. .

Alexander failed to see what was so funny and only placidly looked at the almost by-now kneeling girl.

“What’s so funny?” Finally, Alexander asked out of curiosity.

“Haha, your scale of ambition astounds me even to this day, Alex. Anyone would laugh if a slave said he wanted to take over the biggest country in the eastern world.” Cambyses had finally composed herself.

‘You don’t even know what lies past the eastern endless desert. and you call Adhania the biggest country in the eastern world?’ Alexander sighed at the people of this time’s tendency to just assume stuff.

“But, Alexander, I don’t think it would be prudent to do it now. You lack the men and the support,” Surprisingly Cambyses came to the same conclusion as Alexander had.

The teacher had taught the student well.

“Of course, I know that. That’s why I don’t plan on doing anything for at least the next five years while I establish myself, That’s also why I’m working so hard to keep that fool in power for now. He is much easier than the others to manipulate,” Alexander reassured Cambyses that he would not do anything rash.

“Haha, Alexa, you sure you don’t want to serve Ptolomy and be a power in the shadows? After all, rebelling is dangerous,” Cambyses had a bit of fear in her house.

‘*Sigh*, she has tasted a bit of luxury and already wavering,’ Alexander lampooned a bit, though he could not really blame her.

She had been raised in abject poverty and was now experiencing the highest of highs, it was only natural she would want to protect this status.

So Alexander calmed her, “Cam, remember how I told you if you fly too close to the sun, you will get burned? I haven’t forgotten my own advice. Five years is a long time. Too many things can happen. Don’t worry, I will not let greed blind me.”

Though inwardly Alexander said to himself, ‘Ptolomy killed that old man just by the words of a stranger. And he might as well do it to me in the future.’

He furthered reasoned, ‘And that’s especially true once that Farzah guy gets inside his head. Ptolomy might be a fool, but that Pasha certainly isn’t. He will recognize me for the threat I am and given the kind of fanboy Ptolomy is of him, it won’t take long to poison his mind.’

‘Serving him with loyalty and devotion is the manifestation of utmost stupidity,’ Alexander made up his made and vowed no matter what, not to change his mind on this topic.

“Alexander you know I know when you are lying through your teeth right?” Cambyses had a penetrative pointed tone in her voice as Alexander noticed how Cambyses changed from calling him Alex to Alexander, a clear tell that she was very angry at being lied to.

But whether Cambyses was livid or not, she did not show any of it on her face or tone, as she advised, “*Sigh*, I never told you not to be Icarus. But to make sure you build better wings than one’s made of wax,”

What she meant was to warn Alexander to not be greedy and rush things, but instead to have the capabilities to match his goal.

‘Heh, this woman is really my kryptonite. What fearsome woman’s intuition,’ Alexander only smirked at her and then turned his head away to look out of the window, not denying anything.

Cambyses then left Alexander alone to his thoughts, soon coming back with a serving of thick white bread, a meaty soup with vegetables mixed in, cheese and fine wine.

Alexander had always preferred alcoholic beverages over water, not because he hated his liver, but because compared to the unpurified drinking water available at the time, which was the nesting grounds for countless diseases, wine and alcohol were sterile and hence much safer to drink.

Afterward, Alexander finished his breakfast in bed, feeling like a king as he did- an experience he had almost forgotten about under the brutal last ten years of hard labor,

By the time he was done, Cambyses had a few guards bring him a tub of water, which he used to dip himself in, ignoring all health regulations that say not to jump in a ‘pool’ right after eating and scrabbed his body clean.

Cambyses then helped him dry up and even made a few suggestive squeezes on certain places that made Alexander’s certain place stand up in attention, but ultimately was forced to cease when a guard from outside the door informed the couple that all the personnel had been gathered in the main dining hall.

So, Alexander quickly put on his armor and strode out to begin his day.