Were it not for the situation, seeing the outside again would have been good for the Minotaur. It was still early autumn and the trees were just starting to turn causing the forest to seem as if it had been set alight by some unseen force. The birds had not yet begun to go south for the upcoming winter and they were abuzz with some sort of forest gossip, chirping almost incessantly with their silly bird-musings.

But he did not have time to sit and listen to them twitter. The great and mighty Silverton had decided that one of his fields needed tilling so that it would be ready for the spring planting. Not that it would have mattered; they'd have to till it again in the spring anyways. It was this pointlessness and the fact that two of the Three Stooges were hounding him since he got out there early that morning had put him in a bad mood. He stopped for the first time in hours, cricked his back and turned a little to the skinnier of the guards. "'Ey, you mind holdin this for me? I gotta whizz." he said, referring to the yoke on his shoulders. His arms were bound to it and chains from the yoke led to a pair of large blades for tilling the ground with. The great Minotaur, lowered to do the work of a common cow.

The guard hit him in the ribs with the butt of his spear. "Get back to work, you dog!" he said in return. The hit hurt, causing the creature to cough for a bit before finally getting back to work. His breathing was laboured but he could still work so they didn't bother worrying about it.

A few hours later, the Minotaur spoke again. "What the hell is that thing?" he asked as he walked, motioning with his head towards another beast in a different section of the field. It was an arachnataur of some sort, walking on six dagger-like appendages, the other two having been recently sheared off, probably in battle. Its upper torso was similar to a man's but it had large fang-filled face and mouth. It's two arms ended in a veritable pincushion; it had at least ten fingers per hand and spikes going all the way up its arms. More spines lay on its back and they constantly shivered, as if waiting in anticipated excitement. Chains kept the spikes down and out of the way for the most part and it was being put to work in the same way the Minotaur was: it clawed and worked up the dirt for next spring's planting.

The other guard looked at the Minotaur and shook his head. "You mean to say you've never seen one of those before?"

The creature huffed and smirked a bit, as if what the guard said was funny. "Nope. Can't say that I have." he replied. "Sure looks like he likes spikes though."

The guard shrugged. "That thing's called a Barbed Anguisher. Bastard demons, not good enough for this world and not bad enough for damnation. Dunno why the boss wants one of those regenerating bastards around. I'd just as soon kill it."

The Minotaur's eyes went wide. "Regenerating, you say?" he said. He was watching the creature intently now as it slowly made its way closer to the sentries posted to guard it. The Minotaur itself began to pick up speed.

The guard nodded. "Yeah, any one of those spines can regenerate in a matter of seconds if that thing wants them to. Why do you ask? Wait... hey get back here!" By the time the Minotaur had broken into a full run, they had more important things to deal with. The other two legs of the demon, the ones that were sheared off, shot out of the creature's body and impaled the two guards that were keeping watch over it. They didn't even have time to scream. There was a third guard, a patroller, that was nearby but when the Anguisher attacked she turned and began to run. Tilled dirt is not exactly a good surface for sudden acceleration though and she promptly landed flat on her face. The woman turned around, full in the shadow of her killer. The Anguisher reared up and raised its clawed arm, ready to bathe in the blood of yet another victim. It opened its mouth in anticipation, revealing row after row of sharp jagged teeth.

"Hey, you! Catch!" the Minotaur yelled, whirling around. The Anguisher turned its head just in time to see two large tilling blades hurtling towards it. The first one missed but the second dug into the creature's midflank, spewing yellow demon ichor on the ground. Incensed by the audacity of this new attacker, the demon turned and slashed at the Minotaur. It drew a gash across his chest, blood spilling on the ground. It followed up with a vicious bite but the bull-man ducked down, causing the Anguisher to bite into the wooden yoke.

That bite weakened the wood just enough. "You lose, bugeyes." he said. With a mighty roar, he broke free of his bonds, freeing up his two most dangerous weapons: his hands. A right hook to the midsection led the Anguisher's head right into the Minotaur's left cross. Several of the creature's teeth caught on the fist but that didn't stop the finale. With his body extended around from the cross punch, the Minotaur clenched both fists together and smashed them both into the monster's lower jaw. With a cry that sounded like the mix between a zebra and an immolated cockroach the Barbed Anguisher crumpled to the ground, its compound eyes glazing over then darkening.

The Minotaur huffed, kicking the thing a few times with his hoof before looking at the lone survivor of the incident. He crouched down on his haunches and helped her up. "You should tell your boss to keep less dangerous pets." he said as he began tearing the barbs out of his hands, wincing every time. The guard drew her sword and pointed it at the hulking bull-man. She was terrified, her legs were weak and the sword itself almost vibrated she was shaking so much. The Minotaur shook his head, insulted. "You intend to slay me, but for what? Glory? I'm a prisoner, there's no glory in that. Self-defence? I have no intent to harm you. Never did. Courage? Look at you, you're not cut out for this. Put away your sword."

She shook her head, surprised at his choice of words. She stood still as the other guards rushed the Minotaur and dragged him to the ground. As they beat him and chained him up again she finally spoke, "Why didn't you kill me?" she said softly.

The Minotaur spoke when they finally dragged him to his hooves. "Simple." he said with laboured breath, "I could not live with the blood of an innocent on my hands." He smiled as they led him away to an awaiting carriage. He was roughly shoved into the horse-drawn cart where they chained him again from his current shackles to the carriage itself.

"And perhaps I have something I need to redeem myself for." he mumbled as they rode away.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Oh, my aching everything." The Minotaur grumbled as he slowly drifted back into consciousness. He shifted slightly, causing bruised muscles to protest by sending spikes of pain throughout his body. He cursed and looked around, trying to think about anything but how much he hurt.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much to see. A lot smaller than the holding pen he was in the day before, this cell was clearly made for a more human-sized occupant. Although he could easily stretch from one end of the cell to the other lengthwise, his hooves rested against the opposite wall as he sat on the raised stone table that served as his bed. He noticed a pair of rune-encrusted leather bracers on his wrists. They made his fur itch and he could barely lift his arms to his face.

"They're cursed, you know."

The oddly marked bull-man swore and skittered to the rear of his cell as well as a 650 pound Minotaur could. He looked at the human who stood at the cell's door. "You're the head slaver's worm." he said, remembering the face peering from behind Silverton when the elf magistrate met him the other night.

The man known as Judas frowned. "I prefer adjutant but yes, I do assist Master Silverton in his business here."

"Right. Whatever. When do we get to the part where you take these stupid things off?"

Judas' frown turned into a predatory smirk. "I'm afraid I cannot do that. You are a very dangerous catch, my horned friend, and we need to keep you contained. Controlled. Weakening your body is the best way to do that."

The reaction was not what Judas expected, nor wanted. The caged monster simply shrugged. "Fine. Whatever blows your hair back, I guess." he said flippantly, turning his body so he was resting against the prison wall in a way that he could stretch his legs out. "So, remind me why you're bothering me again? Maybe you're here to demand recompensation for that Barbed Whatsit I broke. There's also the slim chance that this was all a big mistake and you're letting me go, but I doubt that." He looked at Judas again, his eyes taking on a predatory glint. "Maybe you're here to gloat? If so, walk on in and I'll let you know how I feel."

The smirk returned. "You are wrong on all accounts. Although your actions today were admirable, they were outside of the rules. You are little more than an animal to us. Animals need to be trained and those the respond well to their training are rewarded."

The Minotaur snorted. "And if I'm a bad dog and pee on the carpets instead?"

Judas made a dismissive gesture. "Bad dogs need to be punished." he said, the meaning quite clear. He snapped his fingers and two burly guards appeared. The bull-man recognized them from last night, they were the last two faces he remembered before passing out. His hands balled into fists and he was ready to fight when they instead moved to one side, revealing a naked woman in shackles, looking very afraid. She was strikingly beautiful, her long aquamarine hair cascading down her soft skin like a waterfall. Her eyes were a pale green and the Minotaur couldn't help but notice that the irises were constantly shifting, like looking at a light from the bottom of a deep pool of water.

"What the hell is this?" The Minotaur asked. He stood up, his horns scraping the ceiling of the cell.

Judas bowed, managing somehow to look apologetic. Inwardly, the Minotaur was skeptical. This sudden change in demeanor from master to accomplice was not only unsettling but superficial; it made him wonder how sincere he truly was. "This naiad made the mistake of trying to strike her trainer. Her formal punishment will begin tomorrow, but I think that something a little extra is in order. I offer her to you for the night."

"Oh?" the Minotaur said, arching an eyebrow. "I thought I was just an animal." he mimicked, taking a step forward and imitating the human's posture and pose.

Judas was nonplussed. "Even the animal kingdom understands the concept of peace offerings, does it not? Consider this an offer of truce between two groups who should not have been warring in the first place. You'll be fighting for us in the gladitorial arena tomorrow and we want to make sure you'll be in top mental form." Judas' voice was icy slick and his smile, on any other person, would have been warm and inviting.

"Don't do it!" the naiad cried, letting her voice be heard for the first time. She sounded desperate. "He's trying to buy your soul!"

The Minotaur stood silent for a moment, weighing his options. Eventually, he nodded. "Alright," he said. "I'll take her."

"Monster!" the naiad shrieked. "You're just as evil as them!"

The Minotaur reached forward and grabbed the woman's chain through the bars. He yanked the girl towards him, causing the naiad to slam into the cell bars shoulder first. "Shut up, witch!" he yelled as she stumbled back from the rebound against the cold iron. The bull-man looked back to Judas and continued, "I have one condition: cordon off my cell. This ain't no public showing."

Judas nodded. "Of course, but remember your loyalty comes as a part of the package." he said as he began to unlock the door.

The Minotaur smirked. "For now. Respect is earned, not deserved. Treat me as an equal and you shall be rewarded in turn not only with my loyalty, but my servitude as well."

Judas chuckled, as if that was exactly the answer he wanted. "Enjoy your treat, then." he replied as the guards shoved the river nymph into the cell.

She stumbled and fell into the bull's arms, trying to struggle desperately away as he pinned her in a one armed embrace. He held her there, glowering irritatingly at the guards who seemed to take their time in leaving. When at last they did leave and the privacy screens were set up, the Minotaur took one stride to the 'near' end of the cell, sat back down and released the girl. She scrambled to the darkest corner of the cell and cowered there, glaring angrily and defiantly at the Minotaur for several minutes. He sat there silently and soaked in her hate, watching back with sad eyes.

"You must be cold." he finally said, his voice slightly detached.

The naiad sneered. "I'm sure you'd love to warm me up, you filth!" she spat, both figuratively and literally.

The Minotaur dipped his large head and wiped the spittle from his face with his shoulder, a move that caused him no small pain. It felt like his shoulder had been popped out of joint and then put back into place. "I suppose I deserved that." He rumbled,  "Woul..."

The naiad cut him off. "You deserve worse! I'll die before I let you defile me!" she screamed.

The Minotaur frowned and threw a thin blanket at the girl. The tightly bound mass unravelled in the air and landed near her. "I was going to ask you if you wanted a blanket, but it looks like all your choices have to be made for you." He shook his head and looked upward. "I save her life and this is what I get? I tell ya, I get no respect around here."

The woman in the corner slowly reached for the blanket and when she had a firm grasp on it, she hastily pulled it around her body. It was only after she wrapped it around her body did she realise how cold she was.

The hulking Minotaur smiled. "Hey, that wasn't so bad." he said reassuringly. "Now, how about your name?"

The naiad didn't move or make eye contact. "What did you mean when you said you saved my life?" she asked timidly.

His first response was a huff. "Would you rather be spending the night with a troll?" he added after a minute or so. "Or those two Orcs down the hall? Or maybe that pack of gnolls that won't shut up?" The girl's eyes widened with the thoughts of what could have been if the minotaur hadn't said 'yes.' "That's what I thought." he said, continuing. "I figured what was going to happen if I'd have said 'no' and I knew that I had no intention of hurting you, so I saved you a lot of pain, discomfort and humiliation."

The girl rubbed her shoulder, which was just beginning to bruise. "I wouldn't really say that." she softly said, still rather hurt by the action itself.

The Minotaur shifted his body so that he was no longer leaning against the cell bars but across the width of the cell instead, sitting kitty corner to the frightened river nymph. "For that, I sincerely apologize. I have an image to uphold to these idiots." He cracked his neck and spine a little and winced when his broken ribs took particular offense to this movement. His arms went to his sides and he swore.

"Are you okay?" the nymph asked as the behemoth fell to one side, propped up by his arm, and began to cough up blood, swearing whenever he had the oxygen to do so.

He continued to cough for about a minute or so, but he didn't cough up any more blood. "Yeah, fine for the most part." he managed. "My habit for sticking up for myself and others came back and bit me in the chair." he added.

"They beat you?" she asked, creeping a little bit closer.

The Minotaur closed his eyes and nodded. "Like you wouldn't believe. I made Silverton look like an idiot in front of his men. They beat my arse till their arms fell off, then they got replacements. It stops hurting after awhile, ya know. Remember that for tomorrow, little nymph. You'll need it."

The naiad crept forward slowly, trying very hard to make as little movement as possible. She was halfway across the small room when he cracked open one of his eyes and smirked. "I don't bite, you know." he said wryly before coughing once more.

She froze, terrified by his gaze. Eventually she smiled meekly, realising how silly her fear was. Something about the creature made her feel that she was in no danger at all. "I'm not sure how'd you react to me touching your injuries." she said.

He actually managed to chuckle. "I'd react a lot better if you had some bandages. Maybe a painkiller or six." he said grunting and trying to think about anything but how hard it was to breathe.

She looked into his eyes and smiled again. This time she seemed a little more confident in herself and her gaze seemed almost piteous, like a little girl who comes upon a fox in a trap. "Just hold still. This might hurt a little." she said as she placed her hands on his side. They began to glow and actually turned to water, all the way up to her shoulders. She seemed to push and her water-arms seeped into his body like it was a sponge.

The Minotaur sat silently for about five seconds before roaring in agony as the healing spell forced him to relive all the pain he had recieved in order to reverse the damage it had caused. This unimaginable pain was only temporary and before he knew it, the naiad removed her arms from his body.

The Minotaur held one arm to his side, using the other to keep his body from tipping over onto the river nymph. His eyes were wide and he was gasping for breath. "You ask a girl to do something for you..." he wheezed.

The naiad put her slim hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, but I had no idea the damage was so severe. You could have died if I hadn't done something." He hands began to turn to water again and she stood to reach the Minotaur's head. "I can dull the pain for you if you wish." She was just about to cast the spell when the Minotaur lifted his arm and blocked her.

"I'd rather you not, little nymph." he said softly, but with authority. "My pain is a result of a mistake I made, not because of some elf's bruised ego. I have a penance to pay to those four men's families. A debt I plan on repaying."

"Is that why you didn't contest the arena designation? Most gladiators die." the naiad replied.

He nodded somberly. "If I win Silverton's favour, then he may hear my case and recompense the families of those I killed. If I die, well... I'll die free and without regret."

"But you'll die with your guilt. Isn't that worse?"

The Minotaur blinked, unsure of what to say. "Perhaps." he finally said, still mulling over what she said. "What do you suggest I do instead?"

The river nymph smiled with a familiarity that both unnerved and strangely comforted the massive demi-human. "Honour your faith. Honour your God. You were placed here for a reason. Seek to understand that reason and you shall find the peace you so desperately seek."

The Minotaur was taken aback. "Uh... say what?" What the nymph had said felt more like a compulsion than a suggestion. And that feeling! He knew that the nymph was trying hard to comfort him, if to not anger him at the very least, but his feeling went far beyond the comfort of sweet words and a pretty face.

The naiad looked at him funny. "Huh? I didn't say anything yet." she said, "What did you think I said?"

He just smiled. "Don't worry about it." He shifted a little to get more comfortable. He looked at the small softball-sized window that served as a means to bring air and a little light into the cell. "Heh, it's pretty late. We should get some sleep."

"Woodhaven."

The Minotaur arched an eyebrow. "What?"

The naiad leaned up against him and smiled. "I've gone by many names over the years, but the humans call me Woodhaven because there are a lot of forests along my banks. I like that name the best."

He draped his arm around her shoulder and brought her closer, using his fur and body heat to keep her from being cold. "Heh, so what they say is true. Beauty does calm the savage beast."

She giggled a little. "That's sweet."

The Minotaur laughed and looked down at her. "No, I'm serious. You did more than you thought tonight." His smirk disappeared and he spoke softly. "Up until now, I was scared of what might happen to me here." He paused, thinking of what was to come. "Now, I'm not so afraid. I know what's in store, and I'll meet it head on." He stopped, chuckling to himself. "I'm rambling, sorry. I do it when I'm nervous." He looked down at the girl and realised she was fast asleep.

He smiled and repositioned the blanket so she wasn't so exposed by the dungeon's drafts. "Sleep well, little Haven. We both have a difficult day tomorrow." He whispered as he shifted his body and closed his eyes to sleep.