Adventure Story Page #10

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Oh, I did.

But I wouldn't have done, if there was

going to be all this mumbo-jumbo.

ALEXANDER:
The mumbo-jumbo,

as you call it, is very important.

The Great King of Persia

is taking a wife.

The ceremony must be carried out

according to the rights and usages

of his Persian ancestors.

"His Persian ancestors?"

Holy Gods above,

that I should live to hear

the son of Philip use such words.

-Get him out of here.

-PTOLEMY:
Come on, Cleitus.

"Persian ancestors!"

It's a pity your Persian ancestors

didn't win the Battle of Marathon,

-isn't it?

-Cleitus!

Then they might have saved us

all this fighting we've been doing,

these last eight years.

Oh, stop it, Cleitus, for heaven's sake.

The King didn't mean that.

I know what the King meant.

He meant, he's forgotten

he's the Captain General of Greece.

(LAUGHING) Oh!

And this is the man

who talks about barbarians.

I tell you this girl here is 100 times

more civilised than he is.

Oh, let me take his part

in the ceremony and he can take mine.

All right. But get him out of here now.

(SARCASTICALLY) All right, I'll go,

Great King and Master of the World!

And I'll carry your crown for you

this evening.

I'll not kneel in the mud

in front of you either.

I'm a free born Macedonian!

I'd sooner die!

That may not be so difficult to arrange.

Oh, yes.

I don't doubt you could

have me murdered, as you had Parmenion.

If you don't like the truth,

you shouldn't ask Macedonians

to drink with you.

You should stick to your Persian slaves.

Take him out or I'll kill him.

Thank God Philip isn't alive

to see the shame of his son!

-Let me go.

Unlike his son,

Philip at least was a man!

Call out the guard!

Kill Cleitus, I say.

Alexander?

It's just that I am rather drunk.

You shouldn't have thought that I...

(YELLING)

This has happened before.

The wedding banquet.

I've killed my father.

He came at me with his sword,

he tried to kill me and I killed him.

You were there, Hephaestion. You saw it.

I've killed my father! I must die!

(GRUNTING)

(ROXANA SCREAMING)

Be careful with that now.

Perdiccas, thank God you're back.

-Why are you breaking camp?

-India.

India?

But that wasn't

to be for another six weeks.

We move at first light.

But it's far too early in the year

to cross those mountains,

even the foothills

will still be snowed up.

We'll just hope that the Gods are kind.

What's made him

change his mind like this?

Cleitus?

-You heard about that?

-Yes.

It's had a bad effect on the army.

Was Alexander going

to move off without me then?

Yes, you're three days late.

It's not our fault.

You should see what the rivers are like.

(EXCLAIMING) Ah.

And what's going to happen

to the Queen Mother?

Are we going to leave her in this place?

"Alexandria, the end of the world,"

or whatever it's called?

She's to follow the march to India.

-Gods above! She'll never survive that.

-I've told him so.

What's the matter with him?

Has he gone off his head or something?

(LOUDLY) How was your commission?

Uh, can't say I enjoyed it very much.

Perdiccas.

You've saved yourself a court-martial,

by a matter of hours.

I'm sorry, sir,

but the rivers are in flood.

I didn't care to take risks

because of the Queen Mother.

-Where is she?

-I've arranged her old accommodation.

Bring her here.

-She might be asleep, sir.

-So might I, but I'm not.

-Bring her here.

-Yes, sir.

-How long till dawn?

-About two hours.

Oh, this night seems endless.

-Do you know the order the march?

-Yes.

See the men take the usual precautions

against frostbite.

Yes, the orders were issued.

I shall ride Bucephalus tomorrow

as if we were going into battle.

Yes?

Yes. I shall ride Bucephalus.

Poor, old Bucephalus.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

Leave us.

Hephaestion,

see that we're not disturbed.

Ah, I apologise for the discomforts

of your journey.

I hope they were not too great?

I see. Very well. As you please.

I have no doubt there'll be moments

on the march through

the Himalayas to India,

when you may feel

inclined to break your silence.

Yes, Mother, India!

You don't think I'd be fool enough

to leave an avowed enemy like yourself

behind me in Babylon.

An enemy who can still command

a certain amount of allegiance

from her former subjects.

I may be as mad as people say I am,

but I'm not that mad!

Have some wine.

Since I saw you last, I've rather taken

to the drinking of wine.

I have no doubt in Babylon

you've been hearing rumours

that I've become a drunkard.

But it isn't true.

Wine does not make me drunk.

It just makes me

see things more clearly.

What's that you're holding in your hand?

For me?

I recognise that.

It belonged to my father.

He gave it to... (CLINKING)

It's dangerous to do such things to me

in my present mood.

I killed a man the other day

with my own hands for less!

Go, now.

No! Don't pick it up!

Let it lie there and rot.

Like its owner's body.

Go and be ready to move off

within two hours.

Mother?

Mother, please turn around.

Come here.

Look at me, Mother. Please look at me.

I command you,

lift your eyes and look at me.

What do you see?

Tell me, am I so very changed?

Is this the Alexander you used to know?

Tell me. Only you can tell me that.

Speak, Mother, speak.

Alexander.

-You're not so very changed, Alexander.

-I am changed, I know.

But there's nothing I could have done

to save myself.

Once you had started,

there was no turning back.

-Before Gaugamela, I could have.

-Yes.

Before Gaugamela.

And you suggested it, do you remember?

That you should walk through

the darkness to the Persian camp

and make peace with your son.

Why didn't I let you do that?

Everything would have been all right,

I know.

I don't think it would.

The devil that's in you

wouldn't have let you rest.

What am I going to do now?

Go on to the end.

-Will the end be bitter?

-Yes.

Well, what does it matter,

provided I conquer the world?

And now that you're with me,

I shall conquer India.

Yes, my son, I'm sure you will.

And after India, Africa,

after Africa, the North.

There's plenty yet to do.

I must have action! When the Gods

give me action, I'm happy!

No time for thinking.

Just doing, doing, doing.

That's all that matters in this world.

That's all that matters

in Alexander's world.

Alexander's world is good enough

for Alexander.

-For him, it's the best world there is.

-Perhaps because he knows no other.

Well, if he did, he'd conquer it!

Yes?

I humbly beg pardon, sir,

but I have been asked

to present a petition to you

from the second division

of Thessalonian Horse.

As they were the first contingent

to cross the Hellespont,

they beg to have the honour of leading

the march on India.

-The request is granted.

-Yes, sir.

And, Perdiccas, you will join us

in India at the earliest opportunity.

-Join you?

-Yes, from Babylon.

But I've just come from Babylon.

You will return there

escorting the Queen Mother.

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