The Minotaur

She found herself on her knees in a low sandy floored corridor. The walls were of a pale pinkish stone, which glowed like flesh, even in the dim light. It was not dank or damp as she had expected...but quite pleasantly warm and only mildly humid. There was a slight, warm breeze, teasing the loose locks of her long dark wavy hair. It came from before her, and smelled faintly of the sea...with an undertone of some pungent, animal scent. There was blank stone behind her.

She looked up as the grated hatch was dragged across the opening and barred from above. She had been dropped bodily through it, held by two huge men from the arms and let fall. It hadn't been so great a distance that she had hurt herself, but the impact had brought her tumbling to her knees, and winded her badly. Only now did the fear begin to creep in...How had she ended up in this place, how was she going to survive it, how was she going to get out?

Lost in her thoughts, she was startled when the warm stillness was broken by a distant bellow, like an animal in pain...or hunger. The sound came again...low and drawn out. Then faded away to nothing. It had come from somewhere in front of her, down the long tunnel that seemed to curve off into the dimness.

She gathered herself and scrambled to her feet. Dusting off her long draped gown, sleeveless with gathers beneath her full breasts and a deeply plunging neckline. It was made from thick spun raw silk. Samite...dyed a lustrous blue. A sacrificial gown.

At any other time she would have been pleased by the way it enhanced her voluptuous figure, showing off the pale sheen of her white flesh, clinging to the curves of her breasts and thighs. On her feet were thin leather sandals, tied up her legs with soft thongs. No good for a trek, but they provided some protection from the soft sand. She looked around her.

Cast off to one side was a leather flask full of water that one of the burly guards had thrown in after her, and a small hessian sack with some food and her personal belongings, a comb, and a cloak. She bundled the sack and stuffed it under one arm, then began to walk determinedly down the tunnel. The ceiling was barely half a metre above her head. As she walked she realised that the tunnel was not completely silent. There was a sound, barely audible, like a pulse...a giant heart beating, and then the slight susurrus of the warm breeze passing her in the tunnel.

As she walked further down the tunnel, turning as it turned...the pulse became louder, more pronounced. Though still muffled, she felt it was leading her to something. Then abruptly, the tunnel ended, and branched. To the left, it curved down wards, into darkness. To the right it seemed to extend along the same elevation, but was lighter. The sound was louder from that direction as well. So she turned right.

She began to feel a strain in her calves and thighs and realised that in fact the tunnel was edging upwards lightly, and then down again...Light flooded her sight, and she stopped, and blinked.

She was gazing out across the great expanse of the blue Mediterranean Sea. And it was sunset. She was facing west...she stood in the opening of the tunnel directly onto a cliff face. A few metres in front of her was a sheer drop to jagged rocks where the surf was pounding regularly...this was the rhythmic heart beat she had been hearing, the sound of the surf crashing against the rock. She arched her neck, to either side and above was clear cliff face, smooth rock. This was no way out. And the sun was going down. Soon she would be lost in these tunnels, in darkness...alone. With whatever that creature was making the noise. She thought briefly of staying where she was. In the fresh air, within sight of possible freedom...but also exposed. At least it was warm now, but night would bring a chill breeze. Summer was drawing to a close, and autumn was on its way. She took the opportunity of relieving herself in the sand and then sweeping the resulting mess off the edge of the cliff. It would not do to go down into the darkness with a full bladder and bowel distracting her.

Finally she took a deep breath, turned her back to the settling sun, and started back down the tunnel. As she stepped into the down wards sloping tunnel, she knew that she was stepping into the Labyrinth...from which no one had ever re-emerged.

A few minutes into the tunnel, as the light was fading...she heard the animal again. Logically she knew it must be the rumoured monster of the Labyrinth, half man and half beast, but instinctively she felt sorry for it. It was such a mournful, lonely sound. Perversely, she was going towards it. She was almost curious as to what she would find.

The tunnel branched, and branched again. She chose arbitrarily, still with some dim light to show her the outlines of the sides. But then the light faded so completely that she was plunged in darkness. She began to walk with one hand trailing against the sandy rough rock. Her left hand. She held her right out slightly in front of her. Feeling for changes in the air. The faint pulse of the sea had muted with distance, and her own breathing sounded very loud in her head. She became lost in the pattern of her own life moving in and out of her body. The evenness of the floor reduced the distractions of her movement, and she walked steadily down the tunnel without interruption, and without realising that she had followed the curve of the tunnel past several more branching tunnels, taking her ever deeper into the labyrinth.

Once or twice she was startled by a slight sound, a movement in the tunnel, she stopped, and her breath caught, and then sighed in relief when she recognised the slight sounds of some vermin, a rat or a mouse.

And eon in, but probably only about 10 minutes of walking, she heard the bellow again. It was very close...she stopped. Her heart was thudding...but was it fear, or excitement? She was tired now, weary from the confusion and terror of the day. Abruptly she wanted to stop, to sleep, to make it all go away and wake up in her own bed in her brother's house...away from the politics and the scheming that had brought her to this place.

She should have just agreed to marry that filthy old reprobate, the Archons aide. Let him run his gnarled claws over her body and use her as he wished. At least she would have known what to expect, would have had access to wealth and comfort and food. Her brother would have protected her from the worst of it, and the bastard would have probably dropped off in a few years. But he also had a reputation for cruelty to his previous young wives. And there were rumours that the last one, sweet Persephone, had not really committed suicide at all, at least not on purpose. No, she shook her head at herself, she had volunteered for the alternative, to the shocked response of the assembly. Marriage to Achres or sacrifice to the Minotaur. Her brother had been furious, Achres had been practically apoplectic. They had not really expected she would call their bluff.

Unexpectedly she began to cry, tears trickling unchecked down her cheeks. She was tired, she was footsore, and she was terrified. She was also hungry and thirsty. She fumbled for the water skin tied at her waist and took a couple of long swallows. Then she hefted it in her hand....barely enough to last her another day. If she were to survive down here, she would need to find a spring or something. That's if the Minotaur, or something else, didn't get her first.

Suddenly she realised the significance of the opening in the cliff...it WAS a way out, but a way out by suicide. She wondered idly whose bones she had brushed her wastes down onto. And shivered. It was somewhat cooler now in the cave, but still not as cold as she expected. Nevertheless she pulled out her cloak, and swathed herself in its warm woollen folds, then started out again down the tunnel, continuing left.

Even though it was pitch black, she had kept her eyes wide open, so it was that she astonished herself when she realised that there was a light ahead of her, steadily getting brighter. She paused, and then went ahead at a reduced pace. Reassured now by the roughness of the stone beneath her fingers.

She could hear a snuffling noise. Like something eating...she came to an opening, there was a faint luminous glow spilling out, and she peered around it. And saw the Minotaur for the first time.

He had his back to her, and he was huge. With the body of a wrestler, smooth rippling, bulging black muscle, he was at least two metres tall- seemingly entirely human, until you saw his head. She could only see the back of it but it was shaggy, covered in a thick black hair, with two curling horns jutting out either side above the long pointed ears.

Inadvertently she gasped. And instantly cursed herself. The Minotaur stopped whatever he was doing and cocked his head; he turned on what she now saw were giant cloven hooves, and peered around into the darkness where she was crouching. She recoiled in shock. He had a face like a bull, with a long bovine jaw and fur over his face. Both of his eyes were set at the front, but looked curious rather than angry or aggressive. He made a funny whuffling noise, of enquiry she thought.

In his large human hands he grasped what he had been eating, she was expecting some gory chunk of meat from Zeus knows what source, but instead she realised that he was gnawing on a long corn cob. So, she may as well get it over with. She stood up straight and stepped into the room, for that's what it was. The light was coming from a hearth against one wall, with a chimney drawing away the smoke to one side. It was a warm room, not too stuffy, with an alcove against one wall that appeared to be a sleeping shelf, scattered with what looked like rugs and furs. Off to her right there was another opening in the wall, and she could feel a cooler night breeze. She wondered if there was another opening to the cliff face there.

The Minotaur stood standing with his mouth slightly open, staring at her. He put the corn cob down on a low stone table, and brushed his hand off, then strode towards her suddenly, reaching out one of his large powerful hands and grabbing her hand, she shrieked and he dropped it as if burned. Taking a step back and making a noise in his throat as if in apology. She swallowed.

"Hello...do you, can you, talk?" He shook his head at her mournfully, then opened his mouth and pointed to his long tongue. "NNNnah tlk"

"Oh" She considered, "but you do understand me?'" He nodded affirmative.

"Oh." She hadn't really expected the beast to be intelligent...What should she say to him? Hi I'm your not quite virgin sacrifice? I have been sent for your ravishment? For your dinner?

Dinner, damn. "I'm Calliope, and please...I am terribly hungry." Right on cue, her tummy made a peculiar gurgling noise, and she had to giggle. The Minotaur's liquid brown eyes, very human eyes really, widened in surprise, and he made a choking noise...laughter, damn, he was laughing! Calliope began to laugh too...and then everything went swirly and dark, and she fainted dead away.

The heartbeat was loud in her ears, she could feel it through the soft fur under her ear...it crashed and crashed...she was caught up in its warm embrace, the rush of the sea in her veins. Coursing through her, heating her flesh, making her tingle and swell with life...

But it wasn't the sea; it was a real heart beat. She was being cradled in the arms, the warm, human arms, of the Minotaur. Slowly she opened her eyes, the musky animal scent of him filled her senses...Her hand rested against his broad chest, she could feel his chest rising and falling with his breath. He was looking down at her, but his weird features meant that she couldn't quite define the expression he wore, was it curiosity, or something more...intimate? Something flipped over inside her, and she grew very warm...could it be that this creature was attracted to her? It was unthinkable!!! Or was it.

He patted her slightly, then left her side and pulled one of the furs over her reclined form, smoothing it over her protectively. Then he heaved himself off the sleeping platform and went back to the hearth. He returned a few minutes later with some fruit and bread and cheese on a platter, and offered it to her... Carefully she raised herself on her elbow, letting the fur slip away slightly, and reached out to grasp a piece of melon. As she placed it in her mouth, biting the sweet flesh with her small neat teeth, she realised that the beast was staring at her cleavage with strange intensity. He saw her notice and quickly turned away, but not before she glimpsed what his barely there loin cloth was attempting to hide....

Suddenly her hunger had vanished, though she continued to chew mechanically, but in total shock...well, there was something you don't see every day!

Of course the legends surrounding the Minotaur were numerous. The accepted story was that he was the son of the great god Zeus and a beautiful black slave. The slave used to tend the cattle of her master, and Zeus had been so taken by the way she cared for the beasts, that he had become enamored of her, and had transformed himself into a huge black bull. He would come to the paddock at night and would wait for her to come and check on her charges, and she would talk to him and feed him sweet grass by hand. His intention was to transform into a man and seduce her, but one night he became so inflamed with lust, that he mounted her in his bull form, and impregnated her...and the result that some nine months later, the fruit of this union was born, half man and half beast. Hera had discovered her husband's indiscretion, and had interceded decreeing that he and his mother were banished into the Labyrinth beneath the city of Minos for all time.

Of course Calliope had been told that such a creature was an evil abomination, but to kill him would have been to anger Zeus, and so he was kept prisoner, yet fed and given gifts of beautiful virgins to placate his terrible hunger and lust.

Of course Calliope had thought all of this was just a story made up to scare young women into doing what they were told.The women of Minos had always been warned, that if they were not good girls, and did what their families told them, that once every 10 years, a woman would be sacrificed to the Minotaur. So of course, it was rebellious young Calliope who had tested the legend, and this was her fate.But then Calliope was far more rebellious than they had even imagined. Had they really thought that a woman of 5 and 20 would moulder for years in her brother's house waiting to be married off to some rich sycophant, without trying herself the wonders of the flesh? Calliope was no virgin, there was no way she was going to submit to her fate quietly.

And now, she wondered if some of the legend had maybe been...underestimated? She started to chuckle to herself, very quietly, and continued to eat her melon, as the suddenly bashful beast pretended to busy himself at some task near the hearth. She rearranged herself on the rugs, letting the cover fall even more.

Finally the beast turned, with his eyes downcast and brought her a mug of wine, in his strange prancing walk...caused by the hooves that were his feet. She reached out with a slender arm and took it..."Thank you" She breathed, "you have been most kind."

If a black hairy beast from the pits of Hades could blush, then that what he did. And provoked another response too, well she had not been imagining it the first time, from his nether region raised an erection so prodigiously huge, she almost choked on the wine he had just handed her. The member was black as night, and veins like thick ropes twined around it. The head was almost as large as her own clenched fist!

Almost immediately she felt faint again, but at the same time instantly became aroused. Her nipples hardened and she became aware that her pussy was tingling and awash with juices.

"Oh my..." She swallowed. "Well that is a very...large, member." She sat up completely, almost unable to take her eyes from it. He too seemed frozen in place, staring at her.

Hesitantly, he came forward. The massive cock bobbing with his prancing step. He was at the edge of the platform; he reached out one huge hand and lightly caressed her head and face. His hand was so warm; she rested her cheek against it. Breathing in deeply and closing her eyes. He moved closer, perching on the edge of the platform, his other hand slid down the front of her robe, cupping one of her large breasts in his huge hand. She was quivering in excitement. She raised her own hands. Resting them on his abdomen, hard and rippling with muscle. She felt it contract. His cock was right before her face now, a pearly drop of precum was shimmering on the end...she stuck out her tongue and slid it gently along the underside of the frenulum and over the tip, the drop shimmered on her own tongue as she looked up into his bovine face. And she swallowed.

He whuffled, both his hands now moved to her shoulders, very gently, he caressed her. She would not have thought such a beast capable of such tenderness. She brought her hands together as if in prayer, and gathered the shaft of his cock between them, clasping him firmly, as she took another long lick. She was so slick now; she could feel her thighs sliding together as if she had just been given a bath in oil. Barely was she able to engulf the head of his massive cock in her hot red mouth. Sweet, he tasted sweet, like tea with honey. Like grass after rain.

She swirled her tongue around the head of his cock, drinking in his taste, his smell. His breathing was beginning to sound like a blacksmiths forge bellows. Deep and forceful. She grasped the base of his cock and ran her tongue up its length again.

His hands were on her head now, his fingers tangled in her dark locks. She looked up at him and wondered. His head was thrown back, all his muscles were taut and quivering...she bent back to her task, her forehead brushed against his belly, and it was like a drum skin, vibrating with tense anticipation. Such power, such restraint, such gentleness.

Again she took the head of his cock into her mouth, and then slid forward; so that her legs were dangling over the edge of the platform...She shrugged off the top of her dress, letting her creamy full breasts hang free. The nipples were as hard and erect as they could get, she gathered them herself and rested the shaft of the Minotaur's cock between them, cradling it there, and continued to run her tongue lightly over the head. He reached down to caress her breasts; almost reverently she thought...then took his cue and squeezed them together around his own cock.

He moved very slightly, just enough for friction, and pincered her nipples between the thumb and forefinger of each hand... She almost melted, she loved having her nipples treated so. She felt him catch his breath and raised her head and arched back as his climax come suddenly....he bellowed...not the mournful sound she had heard down the tunnel, but one of true triumph and ecstasy, as thick gobs of cream began to pulse out of his cock, spilling over her shoulders and neck and her breasts. She laughed as he came, sharing his climax, even without having touched herself. She threw herself back onto the furs, as he lowered himself down beside her. His animal face was buried in her bosom.

They breathed together for some time, and at first she thought he had gone to sleep, then she felt something wet and warm on her breast...he was licking her, licking at her with his long bovine tongue. Licking her clean of his own creamy cum. The spattered drops and great gobs over her breasts and neck. It felt delicious. His tongue was slightly rough and muscular. Hot and wet. He swirled it around her nipples, then took one into his mouth, suckling it almost painfully. A little electric shock went through her and she felt her cunt contract. She arched her back so that he could get to it more easily. She gasped in pleasure, and he turned his attention to the other one.