Elsa swore under her breath as she raced down the corridor. She was lost, but that was the whole point, wasn't it? This was a labyrinth after all, a maze, and every turn could bring disaster. Somewhere in here with her was a nightmare, or possibly more than one. She had heard a rumor that the minotaur had a brother.
Minotaur. That hulking great beast with enormous shoulders and a face that was only mostly human, with horns protruding from a heavy, wrinkled brow, and a wide, flat nose. From behind her Elsa thought she heard the clip clop of cloven hooves. She turned and ran, darting down a random corridor and trying not to sob out loud.
The walls were high and carved from living rock, a cave with only one entrance and a thousand turns to get lost in. High portals in the ceiling allowed a little light, as well as viewing by the priests and food drops. Occasionally she saw a face flash by, but they wouldn't intervene other than to occasionally toss a few scraps of bread her way. She was a sacrifice, as the gods demanded. Afraid, naked, and doomed. She ran on.
Elsa came to a dead end. A small pool of water glistened in the dim light though, and Elsa drank deeply. As she knelt by the pool the light dimmed behind her, and she turned in terror to see a silhouette at the end of the corridor. She should never have lingered in a dead end.
Elsa froze, like the prey she was, her breath hitching in her throat. She had no idea what the thing would do with her if it caught her, the priests hadn't told her, although presumably they knew. She only knew she would be hunted. Did Minotaur eat women? She didn't know, and was terrified to find out.
The minotaur approached, it's huge head moving from side to side as if sniffing her out. His hands were human, but his feet were massive cloven hooves. His only item of clothing was a buckskin loin cloth, tied around hips that were narrow in relation to the hulking bulk of his shoulders and upper arms.
In appearance he looked a lot like a hulking, hairy man, with massive hands and blue tattoos of mazes on his arms and shoulders. His hair was shaggy and black, his eyes equally black but unfocused, as if he didn't see well, and his septum was pierced with a large gold ring. He drew in a deep breath through his wide nose and honed in on her.
Elsa backed against the wall as the minotaur approached, turning her face away and shutting her eyes. She felt hot breath on the soft skin of her neck and she froze, eyes squeezed shut and breath barely fluttering. She heard the beast breathe in deeply through it's nose again and then let out a sound almost like a purr. Her eyes shot open and she met the gaze of the minotaur, which was crouched down before her, his black eyes right in front of hers. In one swift motion he picked her up, scooping her naked body off the ground and high into the air. The monster had to be nearly 7 feet tall, and she was dwarfed by the size of him. Her legs and arms flailed as he carried her, making deft turns down various corridors, until he reached what must be the center of the labyrinth. It was a wide hall, with many corridors leading out and a large viewing port above. In the center of the hall was a stone table of polished marble. As the minotaur approached it, he threw his head back and bellowed loudly, and animal noise that a human man could never make. From somewhere in the labyrinth came an answering bellow.
The minotaur laid Elsa down on the table, looming over her as he blocked the light.
