Minotaur (21 page)

If I was disgusted by Ariadne’s close proximity, I felt almost sick due to the lack of another. Phaedra was seated on the far side of Minos, next to my other brothers, so distant I couldn’t talk to her unless I actually stood and walked to her side. Or shouted. But that would’ve been embarrassing. I couldn’t move as it meant I would have to pass Minos. Minos was determined to keep her as far from me as possible.

If Minos was offended by my presence, he didn’t show it. He didn’t even look at me. It was almost like I didn’t exist. I spent the evening staring at Phaedra. We exchanged several glances, and she smiled at me so warmly I kept expecting my heart to melt.

I managed to pass a note to one of the servants, asking her to meet me in my room later that evening. I saw her read it and glance up at me. She nodded but the expression on her beautiful face confused me. She looked uncertain.

I couldn’t even talk to Androgeus, who was seated next to Minos. My mother wasn’t there either. Androgeus told me that she had stayed behind in Crete, claiming that her health was poor. Everyone knew that was an excuse. There was probably nothing wrong with her other than having a desire to stay away from Minos, but her absence pained me. My mother had no idea that I was in Athens. No matter. I would’ve loved to have seen her again, but I comforted myself with the knowledge that I would soon.

What was important was that Androgeus and Phaedra were here. The two people I most wanted to see in the world.

The evening passed quickly, hastened onward by a great deal of drinking and toasts. Theseus told stories, which entertained and thrilled his audience. Especially Ariadne. She never took her shining eyes off him. I don’t think Theseus favored her with any special attention. I think that given he only had his father and her to talk to, he was often forced to make conversation with her by default. He didn’t seem particularly enamored with her, despite the fact that she was very beautiful. Theseus had met many beautiful girls in his time. He often slept with them too, discarding them quickly after he became bored. Ariadne was simply another potential bedmate, regardless of the fact that she was the daughter of a King.

Theseus was charming and polite. He was a prince and a hero. How could Ariadne not fall instantly in love with him? Many women did—to their eternal regret and humiliation.

I drank sparingly, only sipping from my goblet during toasts, my mind on Phaedra. I toyed with my food, looking for the first opportunity to slip away.

When it came later that night, I bolted with as much dignity as I could muster and hastened to my room.

My room in the palace was much less grand than that of Theseus’s, as you can probably imagine. It was well appointed enough and comfortable. I waited impatiently for about an hour before Phaedra finally made an appearance.

We stood looking at each other for a long moment, which seemed to stretch out for longer than I could bear. She was so beautiful. I wanted desperately to take her into my arms, but I was scared to move, wracked with doubt. I was just an ugly brute of a man. What did she possibly see in me? Perhaps her feelings for me had changed?

I needn’t have worried. She suddenly rushed at me, and I gathered her into an embrace. She felt tiny and fragile against me, and I was conscious of not hurting her with my great strength. We kissed and caressed for a long time. If we spoke, I can’t remember what we said.

Finally, she broke away from me. She looked sad, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong, my love?” I asked. I tried to wipe her tears away, but she pushed my hand away impatiently.

“Nothing … Everything,” she said.

She sat down on a stool, and I picked up another one and sat down facing her.

“I have missed you, Asterion. More than you know.”

“I’ve missed you too, Phaedra. Why the tears then?”

“Because,” she cried, gulping back another bout of sobs, “I have to marry another.”

“No you don’t,” I said firmly. “We can run away together. I have wealth now. Enough for a lifetime. We’ll be happy. We’ll find a place where your father can never find us.”

“It isn’t that simple,” she said miserably, drying her eyes on the sleeve of her dress. “Minos has my mother guarded by many men. He said that unless I marry, he’ll kill her. I can’t run away with you.”

“Then I will kill Minos,” I declared angrily, raising my bulk from the stool. “Tonight. I will go to his room and crush him with my club.” I would do it. Although burning with rage, I felt a strange calm settling over me. I could kill him. It didn’t matter how many guards he had; I would see him dead. For Phaedra.

She placed her delicate hand on my arm. “Sit, Asterion. Let’s talk about this. I don’t want you doing something hasty.”

Reluctantly, I slowly settled back into my seat.

“Minos has some loyal followers,” said Phaedra. “He has already told me that if something happens to him, one of those followers will return to Crete immediately and have my mother killed. You can’t kill him. If you do, you also kill my mother.”

“Then,” I said, thinking quickly, “I will kill your husband to be. Without a prospective husband, Minos cannot protest. Besides, this would-be suitor probably deserves death if he is prepared to align himself with Minos.”

Phaedra looked slightly stunned by the remark. “You have changed, Asterion. You never used to talk so lightly of killing and death. Everything you have suggested so far has involved killing.”

“Sometimes, a man is forced to do what he has to do. To do what is right.” The words of Theseus came to me unbidden. “I am a hero now. And heroes find their own path in life. We do not always do what others tell us to do.”

“You sound arrogant, Asterion,” said Phaedra. “Those are not the words of the man I love. Those are the words of someone else.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said, angry now. “I will kill this suitor, and then you and I will be free to pursue our love. Free from Minos forever. When the time is right, we’ll return to Crete and rescue your mother. Now, tell me who this suitor is.”

“It is Theseus,” she said, and the words were like a sword in my heart.

I’d be the first to admit that I wasn’t good company in the days that followed. I thought long and hard about Phaedra and the position she was in.

I couldn’t figure it out at first. Why Theseus? Minos had placed Ariadne next to him at the feast, a clear indication that she would be the one to marry him. Not Phaedra.

I puzzled it out eventually. It wasn’t too difficult. Minos’s hatred for me went far deeper than I would’ve thought possible. He knew that Phaedra and I were in love. He knew that I wanted to marry her. He was marrying her off to Theseus to spite me, particularly now that he knew Theseus and I were friends. If he couldn’t kill me then he would harm me in other ways. As long as he had his alliance, Minos couldn’t care less who married Theseus.

Minos was a truly despicable man.

What to do? I couldn’t, no, wouldn’t kill Theseus. Not even for Phaedra. In fact, if I killed any suitor of Phaedra’s, I would probably lose her forever. I could go to Theseus and ask him not to marry Phaedra. He’d probably been pressured by his own father but, knowing Theseus, he would easily be able to convince Aegeus that it would be better to marry Ariadne. What did Theseus care? For him, one beautiful woman was no different than another.

Other doubts resurfaced of course. Theseus was much more handsome than I. He was a prince—the rightful heir to one of the greatest cities in the world. I owned only a few sets of clothing and my weapons. He was charming. He was famous. I was none of those things. Not only that, but my horns made me a deformed freak. Why would any woman want to marry such a creature? Perhaps Phaedra really did want to marry Theseus? No one would blame her. He was a much more attractive proposition than I. Maybe Phaedra was just pretending, her reluctance to marry another just a sham?

And then I realized that frustration and my feelings for Phaedra were starting to make me a little insane. The Phaedra I knew wouldn’t do that. She was simply not that sort of person. I on the other hand was a mess, riddled with jealously and petty insecurities. A sixteen-year-old boy in other words.

It was Phaedra’s mother that was really the problem. I needed to get her off Crete and away from Minos. But how? I didn’t know. I considered and discarded several ideas as foolishness.

The Panathenaic games had already begun. Androgeus, as predicted, once again won what would later become the marathon—the run that traversed the hills between Athens and the small village that was its namesake. He was still the favorite for the wrestling, which was getting into the final rounds. I was extremely proud and pleased for him. Phaedra, Catreus, Deucalion, and I celebrated with him. Even Ariadne and Glaucus shared in his victory, although neither made any effort to talk to me. It was like I no longer existed. After my escape from Crete, I had effectively been disowned by them. They gave me as much attention as they would have a servant. In their eyes at least, I was beneath them. A stray dog probably had more status than I.

I tried to mend the rift I felt had grown between myself and Phaedra and succeeded to a certain degree. Both of us were a little miserable, knowing we were trapped by Minos’s schemes, but we made the best of it, trying to spend as much time together as possible, despite Minos’s efforts to the contrary. Neither of us could see a way out.

Finally, I approached Theseus. He was somewhat distracted by his involvement in the wrestling. He had reached the final rounds and didn’t really have time for my problems, but I was at my wits end.

“You can’t marry Phaedra,” I said. “You know I love her.”

“I know,” said Theseus, sounding a little exasperated. “But my father and King Minos have already agreed to it.”

“Well, get your father to change his mind then.”

“I have already tried. I said I would be happy to marry Ariadne, but Minos insists that it be Phaedra.”

“What are you going to do then?” I insisted.

Theseus shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. Let me get through the wrestling, and then we’ll come up with a plan together. Rest assured, my brother, I have no intention of marrying the woman you love. We will work something out.”

I felt a little better after that. Reassured. I still worried, but I was confident that between the two of us, we’d think of something.

Ω

Theseus made it to the final of the wrestling where he faced Androgeus. To no one’s surprise other than Theseus, Androgeus won. Though reasonably well matched, Androgeus was the best wrestler I had ever seen. I don’t think any man, demi-god or otherwise, could’ve bested him. There was no shame in losing to him.

Theseus thought otherwise. His pride was damaged. And for Theseus, that was unforgiveable. I tried to comfort him, but he wouldn’t let it go.

“He cheated,” raged Theseus, two nights after Androgeus’s victory. The night before, I had celebrated with my brother. Theseus had been conspicuous by his absence.

“No, he didn’t,” I said, defending my brother. Androgeus would never cheat. I had watched the bout and knew without doubt that he hadn’t. Androgeus had won fairly.

“What do you know?” said Theseus angrily. “You didn’t fight him. You didn’t see. Motherless dog! He attacked me when I wasn’t ready.”

That wasn’t true at all. I had seen Theseus nod when the referee had asked him if he was ready.

Theseus was already a little drunk, having consumed at least three goblets of unwatered wine. His eyes had that slight look of madness that they did when he fought. Suddenly, he seemed to come to a decision.

“I’ll fight him again,” he said firmly. “This time fairly. I’ll win this time. I know I will.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.

“You doubt me?” said Theseus, his eyes going wide. “You don’t think I can beat that Hades born brother of yours, do you? To the crows with you!”

“I don’t doubt your skills at all, my friend,” I said, trying to placate him. “You’re an excellent wrestler. One of the best in the world. But my brother is the best wrestler I have ever seen. He beat me far more times than I beat him. Even with my strength. But strength is not everything.”

“And you think just because you beat me as well, that I am no match for either of you?”

“I didn’t say that,” I said, suddenly fearful that this conversation was getting out of hand. Normally, I avoided Theseus when he was in one of his irrational moods.

“Fight me now!” challenged Theseus. “I will prove to you that I am a match for you or your brother.”

“No, Theseus. I don’t want to fight you.” I stood and made to leave his chambers. But Theseus had other ideas. He tackled me to the floor and soon we were wrestling in earnest.

Theseus, as I said, had been drinking. I probably would’ve beaten him anyway, but the drink made him slow, sluggish. Eventually, I got him in a hold from which he couldn’t escape. I was forced to release him though as I feared his violent struggles would lead to something else.

We both staggered to our feet, breathless from our exertions.

Theseus glared at me. “You freak,” he spat. “Bull’s spawn. You only won because you aren’t human.”

Theseus had never spoken to me like that. He knew I was sensitive about this issue. It was unforgiveable.

I stood there, swaying slightly with shock. I think even Theseus, deranged as he was, knew he had gone too far. I could see it in his eyes. But Theseus did have trouble setting his pride aside. He had been humiliated twice, and it was more than he could bear.

He stormed from the room in a rage. Normally I would’ve let him be, given him time to calm down, to see reason. But this time I couldn’t. I knew where he was going.

Ω

I raced after Theseus. Even sober, I was much slower than him. By the time I reached Androgeus’s room, they were already wrestling.

It was clear that Androgeus was winning. Theseus was out of control, roaring in fury as they struggled together on the tiled floor. I couldn’t stand idly by and watch. I had to do something. This was my friend and my brother.