One tiny little scene. Yes, it's in the book, but I won't tell you how old they are. Makes me think of the time Cassander saw people bowing to Alexander in Babylon, laughed, and it pissed Alexander off so much he grabbed Cassander's hair with both hands, and repeatedly smashed his face into a stone wall. Anyway.
The walls of the gymnasium lay open to the winter air, its stone colonnade casting long shadows across the sanded floor. Frost clung stubbornly to the outer edges where the sun had not yet reached, and the pale winter light fell thin and milky across the open side of the court. Wooden practice swords waited in neat racks along the wall, their surfaces darkened by years of sweat and use.
Leonidas stood at the center, arms folded. āPairs,ā he said. āQuickly.ā
The line broke at once into shuffling feet and jostling shoulders. Voices rose. Arrhidaeus reached for a wooden sword with the others, his grip settling firm if not easy. He looked once toward Alexander, then toward the forming pairs, and moved with the flow instead of waiting for someone to decide for him.
Cassander saw it. āTry not to break it,ā he muttered as Arrhidaeus passed.
Arrhidaeus kept moving, though his grip tightened as he frowned, eyes starting to turn downcast and shoulders hunching.
Alexanderās head came up sharply. āSay it louder,ā he challenged Cassander.
Cassander turned, brows lifting. āWhy? So he can miss it twice?ā
A few pages laughed, but Marsyas immediately cut through the noise from farther down the rack. āYou are just sore because he beat you yesterday,ā Marsyas called out, his loud voice turning several heads. āYou always stand by the wall and watch us after you get bested by princes.ā
Cassanderās expression hardened. āI didnāt realize the scribeās son was suddenly an authority on the blade.ā
āI know what it looks like when you lose,ā Marsyas shot back, leaning easily against the timber.
Before Cassander could find a response, Harpalus leaned heavily against the adjacent rack, his bad foot resting quiet against the sand. He didn't lift his voice, but his dry, clipped tone went clean across the floor.
āLet him watch, Marsyas,ā Harpalus said, his expression completely blank. āParmenion says his father is the only reason he is even permitted in the courtyard to look at us. The rest of us had to earn the invite.ā
The ring of boys went completely still. A few of the older boys, including Lysimachus, let out an involuntary oh.
Cassander flushed a deep, violent crimson, his jaw clamping shut as his gaze whipped between Marsyas and Harpalus, his mouth opening as he scrambled to find a footing.
Alexander looked straight at Cassander, slow, assessing, then laughed. āI always knew your dad liked jokes,ā he said, stepping smoothly into the quiet Harpalus had just cleared. āYouāre his favorite, right?ā
The laughter shifted completely now, loud, unburdened, and entirely at Cassander's expense. Cassander's jaw remained tight, the red reaching the tips of his ears as he held his wooden sword rigid at his side. He didn't find a comeback.
Alexanderās smile sharpened, his voice dropping into a flat, pleasant challenge. āIf youāre finished, you can prove it in the circle.ā
Leonidas cleared his throat. The sound cracked like a whip. āEnough. To the circle.ā
The boys spread out into a wide ring, boots scuffing softly against the sanded floor. Alexander moved first. He passed Cassander on the way in and clipped him hard with his shoulder, not enough to stagger him, but enough to make it felt. He did not look back.
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