Leaving the King’s tent, I peeked into the Princesses’ tent and found Apama there, but Amastrie was absent.
“Have you finished your meal?”
“Yes. I have.”
“And Princess?”
“Well now. I do not know.”
Amastrie was outside the tent, enjoying the evening cool while idly watching the livestock leisurely grazing on the grass.
“Have you already finished your meal?” Apama asked Amastrie.
“Mm. I ate.”
“What are you doing?”
“Watching the cattle mumble on grass while dripping snot.”
“Are cattle so unusual to you?”
“Mm.”
“But the sun is setting, and it’s getting dark now.”
“But look, various insects have started chirping in the grass.”
“Do you like hearing the sound of insects?”
“Mm.”
“However, it would be best for you to retire soon, Princess. If you are exposed to the night wind, you will catch a cold.”
“Do you intend to treat me like a child?”
“No. That is not the case. I thought perhaps you were fatigued from traversing the steep mountains and valleys.”
“I am perfectly fine and lively.”
“Young people do not know themselves how fatigued they are.”
“Look, Apama treated me like a child again.” Ignoring Apama, Amastrie addressed me. “Say, Master Eumenes, that huge animal. Look, it cried with a voice like blowing a huge buffalo horn. It’s swinging its long nose around while crying. Is that nose a trumpet? Surely, that must be what is called an elephant.”
“You know it well.”
“That much, I also know. I saw it on a relief carved on a palace wall.”
“At which palace?”
“At our place of origin, the ancient city of Parsapura (Persepolis)… Animals of ten thousand nations were carved there. Besides, since leaving Sogdia and crossing the Hindu Kush, I’ve seen countless of them along the way.”
“If it’s the war elephants of the Persian army, I have seen them several times long before.”
“War elephants?” Amastrie asked Apama in return.
“Yes. They were in Assyria, Babylonia, Susa, Parsa, Hagmatana (Ecbatana). They were everywhere within the Persian territories.”
“Looking from a while ago, the elephant is always in the river, doing nothing but drinking water. Using that long nose, it sucks up water and drinks from its mouth.”
“Since its body is large, I suppose it requires a lot of water.”
“Because India does nothing but rain, does that mean it can drink a lot of water, too?”
“In all probability.”
“Heh.” Amastrie gazed intently at the herd of elephants. “Then, the elephant’s habitat was originally here, in India, which is abundant with water, and from there, gradually, we Persians spread the elephants further and further west. Is that how it is?”
“Perhaps so.”
“In other words, if one is a Persian princess, it would not be strange to even ride an elephant, then.”
“Well now. What on earth are you plotting, Princess?” I had a bad premonition.
“I rode a donkey at eight years old. My homeland, Sogdia, is a country deep in the mountains, you see. Even children all ride donkeys. Unless you have a donkey, you cannot go anywhere. You cannot carry water or baggage. And when I turned ten, my father permitted me to ride horses, oxen, and camels, but I have not yet ridden an elephant. I wish to try riding an elephant, too. Since I have come all the way to India. Apama, can you not ask the King for me?”
Amastrie’s selfishness had started yet again. Apama was bewildered. I had no choice but to come to the rescue.
“The King is fatigued from a long journey. If you report such a thing one by one, Miss Apama will be scolded.”
“Then, would it be alright to ask you, Master?”
“I would be scolded as well. Just now, I accidentally said even unnecessary things, and the King became ill-humored.”
“Then I shall try asking directly myself.”
“Please wait, Your Highness Amastrie.” Apama said in a panic. “I shall convey your wish to an appropriate person and report back to you tomorrow morning, so please retire for today.”
“Then, I am certainly relying on you.”
Amastrie grinned and went inside the tent curtain.
“Miss Apama. To whom on earth are you going to negotiate? Do you have an idea?”
“No. But unless I say something like that, Amastrie will persist obstinately and not give up.”
“Is that so. It cannot be helped, then. Shall we make it that I have tried inquiring with Ptolemy, for the time being?”
“Oh, Eumenes.”
Ptolemy, though he must have been completely exhausted after leading the royal army, receiving the envoys, and then supervising the camp establishment, was relaxing surrounding a bonfire with his peers and subordinates. He is a tremendously tough man.
Everyone was wearing a crown woven with grape vines on their heads.
Looking, Vaxsharda and Ardhanara were also immediately nearby, right in the middle of a drinking party. “Do you want to mingle here?”
“Yes. Later.”
“Master Eumenes,” Vaxsharda, holding a wine goblet in his hand and his cheeks dyed pink, says abruptly, “I understood it.”
“What is it?”
“This gentleman’s true name,” Vaxsharda stated, gesturing with his goblet, “is ‘Ardhanara-ardhanari-shvara.’ In other words, it means ‘The Lord who is half male and half female.’”
“Indeed. ‘Ardha-nara-nari-shvara’ is my guardian deity, and it is also my name. Since it is long, I usually just go by ‘Ardhanara.’”
“Is that so.” I wondered if there were many such strange gods in India.
“Oh, Eumenes.” This time it was Hephaestion who inquired. “Would you introduce the lady you have brought along?” What a troublesome fellow. He loses all discretion the moment he sees a woman.
“Lady Apama. This man, you see. Within the Royal Army, he is the tallest and the most stalwart, and moreover, he is the handsome general by the name of Hephaestion. He is also the King’s favorite confidant. He is always accompanying the King, but because he has a more magnificent build and a bigger attitude than the King, he is always being mistaken for the King. Moreover, he comes with the reputation of being the most fast-acting womanizer in the Royal Army. You, too, would do well to be careful, Miss Apama.”
“I’ll thank you not to give such an impertinent introduction, Eumenes. Miss Apama, was it? I am a man of sincerity and single-minded devotion. This man named Eumenes, you see, affects the air of a saintly gentleman, but I have heard various rumors. Whether in Athens, Damascus, or Babylon, he is a philanderer who cleverly seduces various women only to immediately make advances on another.”
“That would be yourself you are describing, Hephaestion.”
“Miss Apama, how about coming over here and joining us for a meal? We have Persian-style pilaf, fatty lamb sausages, sweet seaweed soup—everything you could imagine.”
Apama gave a little giggle. “I have already finished my meal with my work colleagues, and I am already full.”
“That is a pity. Then perhaps tomorrow?”
“My, could that be an invitation for lunch?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, for extending your voice to someone like me. But unfortunately, I wonder if I can be granted such time.”
“Are you really that busy? We’re going to be staying here for a while, you know. To whom on earth are you employed, you are? In the first place, who are you?”
“Who do you think?” Apama tilted her head a little and looked at Hephaestion with an upward glance. She occasionally showed this kind of playfulness.
“Well now. You do not look like a cook-woman of the Punjab? Or perhaps the daughter of a Gandhara merchant?”
“No. I am a Sogdian.”
“Oh, so a mountain spirit of Sogdia, then. If it were our country, I guess it would be Artemis, then. Truly divine.”
“Apama is the maidservant to the Princesses.” Ptolemy answered in her stead.
“Ah. Is that so. So you are Amastrie’s attendant, then. So that means Eumenes is making advances and leading you around.”
“I am not making advances or leading her around.”
“But, even if you aren’t making them now, you’ll probably make them eventually.”
Everyone gathered around, wondering what was happening.
“Sogdian Lady Apama.”
A young boy stepped forward from among the soldiers and bowed respectfully to her.
“The moon is shining and embers warmly glow, making it a pleasant night. If you are not too fatigued, would you care to converse with us for a while?”
At such smooth, almost corny lines, not only Apama, but Hephaestion and I as well, could only offer a wry smile.
“Well, well, Seleucus. Do you fancy women so much older than yourself?”
“Is it love at first sight?”
“Make sure you take her as your wife properly.”
The whole group erupted in teasing laughter.
“Miss Apama, perhaps you do not recall me?”
Apama tilted her head slightly.
The boy said with a chuckle, “You have a face that says you are not acquainted with such a young man.”
“When and where might we have met?”
“In Sogdia. It was my unit that was the very first to scale that fortress.”
“What?”
“When I slashed through the tent you were in and burst inside, you held a dagger and stood against me. You and I glared at each other for a while. You had resolved to die. You intended to take your own life rather than suffer humiliation at the hands of barbarians. Is that not so? That is why I was watching you, so you would not impulsively kill yourself. Before long, my subordinates gathered around me, and it was known that we had subdued the fortress, so I sheathed my sword, removed my helmet and armor, and revealed my face. Then you finally understood that we had no intention of harming you women and children, and surrendered to us.”
“That soldier was you?”
“You do not remember?”
“I was so distraught at the time.”
“That would be understandable.”
“Your name is Seleucus, you said.”
“Yes. And Miss Apama, you are the daughter of General Spitamenes, who fought the bravest and met a spectacular end in Sogdia. If you’ll pardon the discourtesy, I have taken the liberty of inquiring extensively about you.”
“My. Is that so.”
Spitamenes. Upon hearing that name, everyone recalled the fierce battles in the Sogdian mountains from three years past. The sweat washed away the wine, and they returned to sober faces.
“You must have endured considerable hardship until now. What kind of life have you lived?”
“Would hearing my story be interesting?”
“Yes. You must surely have learned various lessons from your own experiences. I, too, would very much like to know. But if you do not wish to speak, I shall tell you about myself instead.”
“About you? I should like to hear it, but at the moment, I have actually come here for a brief consultation, or rather, to ask a favor of Lord Ptolemy regarding the Princess.” Apama tried to return the conversation to its original track.
“Of me?” Ptolemy turned around.
“Am I perhaps inconveniencing you?”
“Not at all. Although both I and the guests have become quite drunk.”
I whispered into Apama’s ear. “Amastrie’s father and the Satrap of Gandhara are here too. This will speed things up. You should explain it.”
Apama nodded.
“I apologize for interrupting your enjoyment. Actually, Her Highness Imperial Princess Amastrie has seen the elephants kept at the pasture here and has expressed that Her Highness would very much like to try riding one.”
“Riding an elephant, you say?” Vaxsharda said in an exasperated voice.
“Who is this Her Highness?” Ardhanara inquired.
“My daughter,” Vaxsharda replied.
“Hoh-hoh? In other words, a Persian princess, the Macedonian King’s sister-in-law, wishes to ride an elephant. What kind of elephant would be best? Male or female? A child or an adult?”
“No, I apologize. I had not received such detailed instructions.”
“Miss Apama, was it?”
“Please call her Lady. She is a Sogdian noble. Not a servantmaid,” Vaxsharda added.
“Oh, forgive me, Lady Apama. Very well. Then I shall pick out an elephant that seems suitable for the Princess and present it to her.”
“An elephant? You mean you will give it to Princess Amastrie?” Apama was taken aback. “No, I think the Princess would be satisfied just by riding one for just a moment.”
“Lord Vaxsharda. Consider it merely a token of our acquaintance. Please accept it.”
“Then, I will accept it without hesitation.”
I had a tremendously bad premonition. Apama was also frowning. Knowing that tomboy girl, if she receives an entire elephant, she will be overjoyed and there’s no telling what she might do. I made eye contact with Ptolemy and Vaxsharda, but they looked blank and did not seem to perceive anything.
“I, too, must in return present you with a Sogdian fine horse.” Vaxsharda laughed cheerfully.