The Conqueror and the Rose

Chapter VI - The Battle of Hydaspes

The wind was howling, and the trees blew violently with it. A storm had assailed upon them, rain pelted the grounds, and the tents that the soldiers resided in began to blow away. Alexander was outside shouting orders to his men.

"It is time!" He shouted.

At this Roxana hurried to Alexander's side and mounted her horse. The armed camp also rose up and marched away. They were headed for the river banks. But once there, nobody rallied the ships. They got into a big line formation, and continued marching. The ships only being a trick, the soldiers would cross through another method Alexander had provided for them, a land bridge. 

The sky roared, and flashes of lightning illuminated the soldiers' apprehensive faces. Their shadows could be seen over the waters as they marched across the land bridge, spears in hand. It would be quite a journey to the other side.

Roxana, who had been riding side by side with Alexander, crumbled to the ground once they reached the other side. She was exhausted, and vaguely she could feel Alexander carry her into the tent they would reside in and lay her on the furs. 

The next morning, all was quiet. The sky had cleared. 

Roxana awoke, and found that Alexander was not by her side. She went through the tent flaps and stepped outside, and gave a start when she found that Alexander was standing at the entrance. Only..It was not Alexander. He had the blonde hair and blue eyes, but this was clearly a general, judging by his attire. Roxana grew curious as to who this was. 

"Has Alexander asked you to guard this tent?" She asked. 

"Yes," he replied, "For the duration of the war."

"Are you one of Alexander's Seven Bodyguards?" There was no reply. Roxana looked at the man, and saw that a scowl graced his features. 

"The weather is clear today, unlike the storm that raged yesterday." Roxana commented. There was no answer. She looked at him. He had a scowl on his face.

"It will certainly aid the -

"My queen, we are at a battle right now. By all means, if you want to chit chat then find someone nice to do so. I am not that person. It is frivolous to be talking of weather when so many lives are at stake." Roxana had no idea why he was speaking in this manner to her. 

"What is your name?" She asked.

"Lysimachus, my queen."

***

Alexander sat tall on his horse. He was at the frontline of the battle, as always. He tossed his head up proudly and gazed at his opponent, King Porus, who was in the distance perched loftily on a grey beast. 

Beside him were more elephants heavily armoured, dressed in leather, with jewelled cloths decorating their foreheads. On their backs, they carried howdahs with fierce-looking archers and javelin hunters positioned inside them. Their horses were large and handsome as well, while the infantry was dressed flamboyantly and wore bright scarves.

"Have these men come to fight, or do they plan to hold a banquet for us?" Hephaestion joked.

"Hephaestion." Said Polyperchon warningly, always being the elder.

Alexander raised up his hand. Nobody breathed. Then he dropped it, and the battle began. The horse archers came forwards, and, pulling their bows taut, they fired the arrows which zipped through the crisp morning air.

"Cassander." Alexander spoke. Cassander nodded in acknowledgement.

"Charge!" Alexander shouted, and swirls of dust were created as the cavalry headed towards the right flank of the enemy. As Alexander's cavalry prompted the Indian soldiers forwards, Cassander's cavalry appeared from their rear. This threw them into confusion, and their commander shouted orders so that they would come back into formation. But Alexander had already destroyed their right flank, many soldiers falling off their horses to be finished by the Macedonian spears. These spears were also hurled at the elephant corps, piercing their thick skins and their eyes. The animals bellowed in pain, while those inside the howdahs toppled and fell to the ground. Now the elephants were attacking their own with the spikes of their tusks. Desperately the Indians tried to kill the mad elephants, thrusting poisoned spears at the beasts.

Meanwhile, Alexander, who had been on his next mission to destroy the left flank, halted his horse. He looked around at the battlefield, at the chaos that had enveloped the Indians and his friends fighting amongst the confusion.

Cassander had dismounted from his horse and fought on the ground, his long hair blowing in the wind. Hephaestion was fighting off one of the Indian commanders while an infantryman tried to shoot him with an arrow from the back. He was cut down by Polyperchon, who looked enraged at the cheap tactic. 

Ptolemy and Perdiccas were on their horses, charging at their opponents, while Selecuo, his square jaw set into a line rode towards one of the last elephants standing.

Then there was King Porus. He was still intact on his mighty war elephant. He did not shout any more orders, but fought valiantly from on top. Porus was blocking the Macedonian soldiers that hemmed him in from his every side. But why was he fighting when the Indians were clearly about to be defeated?

"Taxiles!" Alexander shouted.

"Yes, my lord."

"Tell Porus to surrender, and to stop this slaughter." Promptly Taxiles ran to where Porus was, but when the Indian king saw this, he did not give a chance for the messenger to speak. Furiously he thrust a spear at him, making Taxiles flee. Alexander clenched his jaw.

"Maximus!" He yelled.

"Yes, my lord."

"Go and tell Porus to surrender. Tell him that I wish to save his life." Maximus also urged on his horse to where Porus was furiously attacking any Macedonian soldier he could find. Porus was about to throw a javelin to one of the infantrymen, when he saw Maximus running to him out of the corner of his eye. Changing direction he hurled the javelin at the messenger instead, causing him to rear back on his horse and flee just like Taxiles. After this many more messengers were sent, but each time the response was the same.

"Surrender!" Alexander bellowed in frustration. "I only wish to save your life!" But the stubborn Porus would not listen. Finally, Alexander saw another commander riding towards Porus, but he could not observe any longer as an Indian infantryman charged towards his horse and thrust it in its body. Alexander plummeted to the ground.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battle lines, a messenger was riding towards Porus. Without throwing any weapon at him, Porus watched and waited for him to come.

"Porus, you must listen." The man said once he had reached Porus' elephant.

"Set aside your pride for once. We all know that you mean the best for us, and we have seen you fight valiantly until the end. We know that you would not hesitate to give your life for the sake of honour. However, this time you must surrender. The battle has already gone downhill. If you were to be killed, there is no hope for us. I heard that Alexander treats those who surrender to him with respect. He already admires you, or he would not be trying to save your life. Even if you were to surrender you would maintain your honour here in India. Please, for the sake of our people." Continued the man hurriedly. At this Porus seemed to calm down. He raised up his hand.

"Stop the battle!" His deep voice rang out. Then he slowly dismounted from his elephant, and once his feet hit the ground, he turned to his friend.

"Meroes," He said, "I am thirsty." And he slumped forwards onto the ground.