The Conqueror and the Rose

Chapter IX - The Mallian Tribe

"I do not have a good feeling about this," thought Roxana, as they silently rode by. They had already subdued the little tribes in the villages, and now they were at the Indian cities. Presently, there was a fortress that loomed over them, and its crenellated walls were so high that they could not see what lay beyond the wall. The bricks of this wall were so tightly wedged together, not even a crack or hole being visible for a spy to peer through.

Roxana noticed that horses seemed uneasy. Also, with each noise they made, such as a snort or an occasional neigh, or even the clopping sound as they made their way through the dirt ground, the sound echoed throughout the area as if it was being noticed by someone else. It was noticed by someone else other than their army but by who, she did not know. 

Roxana turned her head and looked at Alexander, who wore a solemn expression on his face, his back as straight and rigid as a board. She looked at his generals, who assumed similar demeanours, and she tried to look calm as well. All the while, she had a paranoid feeling that they were being watched. She almost wished she had not argued to ride her own horse. Then Alexander held up his hand.

"Bring out the ladders," He said. Promptly his soldiers came forwards with them, about three men carrying one up over their heads. They were trudging through the infantry, who opened a way for them to pass through, and their destination was the wall.

 Suddenly, there came an animalistic, hysterical battle cry from the distance. There was movement in the bushes lining the dirt path. One by one, conical helmets and turbans emerged from the foliage. Two people multiplied into ten, and ten into twenty, and twenty into fifty, and fifty into a hundred, and one hundred into many hundreds. 

In dismay, Roxana also jerked her head up to see that more were emerging from the top of the city wall. They seemed to be standing on a parapet, each Indian soldier having pulled his arrow taut. They were aimed at the army, yes, but mostly at Alexander and his generals, and at her.

Everything seemed to happen at once. The men who had appeared from the foliage attacked them from every side, while the arrows zipped through the air. Roxana wondered why she had not been hurt, but there was no time to ponder this thought as she saw the Macedonians scrambling up the city wall with the ladders. 

"Halt! I shall go up first," she heard Alexander ordering, and saw him go up first,  always being the leader. He was followed by two of his soldiers, then the rest of the soldiers crowded around the ladder to follow him. Unfortunately, as Alexander hooked his arm over the wall, the ladder began to lean backwards under the weight of all the soldiers. It shook, it toppled on its legs, and then it fell, causing panicked expressions on the soldiers' faces.

"My king, fall on me!" Cried the nervous soldiers who had never left the ground, looking anxiously up at Alexander, who was using one arm to keep himself on the wall and the other holding a sword. This sword he threw inside the parapet, then he disappeared over the wall. The generals and the infantry continued to fight off the Indians whose brown legs glinted in the harsh sunlight. 

Roxana felt something large land with force on her horse. She looked behind her, and was stupefied to find a fierce-looking Indian right behind her. Before she could think his rough arms were on her and he fell, purposely catapulting both of them to the ground. Roxana gave a shriek, and fortunately she was not hurt. But the Indian dragged her to towards the city wall. She realized that she was being captured.

"No!" She yelled, putting her feet tight against the ground. She wished she had a weapon, but she would have to do without. She aimed for his groin, bringing her knee up with full force. Unfortunately, the brown man merely caught her knee with his hand and chuckled. Roxana was furious as he threw her over his shoulder, and she hit and clawed him on the back. The warrior would not budge. 

It was Lysimachus that saved her. After having slain an enemy with his javelin, he turned around and threw the javelin at the Roxana's captor. It hit him at in the ribcage. Roxana looked on in shock as the javelin impaled itself into the man, creating a deep, gashing wound. Bloomed bloomed on his sides quickly, his eyes rolled backwards, and he fell with an agonized groan.

Then she was grabbed by a pair of arms again, but it was Lysimachus. She could barely say a thank you as he proceeded to drag her out of the way and into a hidden area in the shade of the trees. Then he went back out to fight. Roxana watched as he tackled a man to the ground, grabbed his spear, and speared anyone who came near him. His clear, blue eyes held no regrets.

Meanwhile, Roxana almost jumped in delight when she saw that Alexander had reappeared from over the city wall. Unfortunately, her joy was short-lived. This Alexander was barely moving! He was thrown over the wall by one of the enemy soldiers and time stopped for Roxana has he fell. She glimpsed an arrow sticking out of his chest and everything froze as he toppled to the ground. She barely registered Perdiccas catching the commander in his arms.

"Lysimachus! Lysimachus!" Roxana screamed. Hearing her, Lysimachus slaughtered his last opponent and ran to her, panting.

"What is it?" He asked, his voice ragged.

"Alexander has fallen," Roxana said. For a moment the general, who had never wavered even once during battle, looked lost.

"If the Indians find out that Alexander has fallen, they will take him away," Roxana continued, "General Lysimachus, you -you look a lot like Alexander, don't you?" She asked, peering up at his blue eyes and his fair hair. The general now knew what the queen was talking about. He merely nodded his head, then charged to the centre of the battlefield. He drew out a sword that was in its scabbard at his belt, and raised his arms high up in the air.

"I, Alexander the Great, command all you you Macedonians to keep fighting!" He cried. Roxana cringed at how fake it sounded, but it seemed to work as many Indian heads turned to him and they began to fence him in. Meanwhile, Roxana saw that Perdiccas was helping Alexander up onto his broad shoulder and getting him across the battle scene to safety. They came towards the bushes where she was seeking refuge in, and Perdiccas gently lay Alexander on the ground.

"I must entrust him to you, my queen," He spoke, and swiftly turned around and walked back into battle to help his fellow generals.

Roxana had not grown up with three brothers and a father, all of whom were warriors, to know nothing about war and its tactics. She knew that pulling out the arrow from Alexander's body was the last thing to be done. Instead, she ripped out a part of her dress and applied pressure to the wound around the arrow, attempting to stop the blood that was gushing out. Soon, three more soldiers came to the clearing, and they placed him on a stretcher, wincing every time Alexander groaned, and carried him out. 

It was then that Roxana realized that beside her, there lay a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Perdiccas must have slung it off of Alexander's back when he lay him on the ground. Roxana's lips stretched into a wide smile before she slipped an arrow out of the quiver with her dainty fingers. She drew it taut on the bow and rested it against her plump lips. Her large, perceptive brown eyes focussed on her opponent, an infantryman who was currently battling Lysimachus. She aimed for the left side of his chest. Then she fired. 

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