The Minotaur and the Maid
Calonius Marlus
5E 68

Volume I

The street urchin had found her mark. He looked like a merchant. Not the wealthiest, but not paying attention, either. The marketplace was best place for marks. It was filled with distractions and the people there always had coin in their purse. She could always guess about how much coin based on what they were wearing. This man was wearing a mixture of clothing, so it was hard to guess, but he proved easily distracted.

Today was a holiday, so most of the shops and inns were closed. That just made the marketplace even busier, and provided more distractions so she would work her craft.

The street urchin waited for just the right moment, walked by, deftly dipped her small hand into his purse and…

Suddenly, something reached down and grabber her wrist. "You little thief," the man hissed. You're coming with me.

"Let me go!" the girl insisted.

"Make a scene and I'll turn you over the guards," the man said.

The girl stopped struggling when he mentioned the guards. Jail would not be a good place for her. Still holding her wrist the man half led, half dragged her away from the market. They approached the docks and he stopped by a building that had a sign with a Minotaur on it over the door. He opened the door and dragged her inside.

She found herself inside a medium sized tavern. There was a long counter at the far end, and behind that was a stone hearth. On one side of the counter was a stairway leading down and on the other side was a stairway leading up. There were tables of various sized, chairs and benches strewn throughout the tavern. On the far wall, there were a few doors. He led her to one of those doors, the one closest to the stairs.

The room had a large basin, big enough for a person, which was filled with water. There was a bed a wardrobe and a few chairs. The man pushed her down into one of the chairs, sat across from her and stared at her long and hard. His stare scared the young girl. More so as he didn't say anything. He just sat there, staring at her.

Fear turned to terror as he got up and walked straight towards her. She was frozen in place. Her mind raced. Was this what happened to those who disappeared? Was she going to disappear? What was he going to do to her. Would he make her suffer?

Terror turned to confusion as he walked right past her, as if she wasn't even there. He grabbed a tinderbox from the window sill, bent down and lit the wood that was piled in a pit beneath the basin. He got up, went over and opened the wardrobe. He pulled out some clothes and put them on the bed.

"It'll take a little bit for the water to get hot. There's some brushes over there and some fresh clothes. You should probably burn what you're wearing. Come out to the main hall when you are done." He left and closed the door behind him

The young street urchin was completely bewildered. She went over to the door and tested it. It wasn't locked. She could probably make a break for it. As she considered her next move, her eyes wandered to the fresh clothes and the basin of water being heated…

Volume II

The man was sitting at the counter when she emerged from the room a while later. The clothes were fairly loose, but they were much more comfortable then what she was wearing. She hid her old clothes instead of burning the, just in case she needed to make an escape.

Her eyes went straight to the counter. There were various vegetables cut up and small chunks of meat. She felt her stomach rumble.

There was a large iron cauldron sitting on the ground near the hearth. The man pointed to it and instructed her to pick it up. "You want to eat? Follow me."

The cauldron was heavy, the girl struggled, but she did as she was told. He led her out back to a well and ordered her to fill it. She drew some water and added it to the cauldron. The water made it to heavy for her to lift. She struggled to lift it and fell into a seated position, tears starting to form in her eyes.

The first signs of softening found their way through the man's stern expression. "Rule number one," he said. "Actions have consequences. Rule number two, if you want something you need to earn it. Now get up, pick that up and bring it to the fire."

The man grabbed the handle and the girl did the same. The man carried just enough of the weight to make sure the girl could carry it. They made their way inside and over to the hearth. The girl put it down, breathing hard. Her arms felt the strain of the hard work.

The man lifted the cauldron and place it over the fire. He then motioned to the food on the counter. He explained the different ingredients and the basics of cooking. He then asked the girl what rule number one was.

She was confused, but he repeated the question. "Uhh…actions have consequences?"

"Yes, that's why I forced you to carry the cauldron. What's rule number two?"

"If you want something you need to earn it."

"Very good. You are hungry. I can hear your stomach rumbling. You want to eat? You are going to make the meal. First, take this, it's a salt cube, and place it on the wood slab here."

She did as she was told and the man handed her a wooden mallet. He instructed her to smash the salt cube. She hit it and a shard went flying across the room. The man stifled a laugh, and his eyes softened a little more. The girl, undeterred, struck it again and smashed it. Then she took the wood lab, tilted it over the hot water in the cauldron and brush the salt into the water.

The man instructed her on how to cook the stew, making her do the work, including standing next to the hot fire and stir the pot constantly. When it was down, he gave her a ladle an made her put some in two separate bowls. He gave her a spoon and she started eating. Her eyes went wide. It was the most delicious thing she ever tasted.

By the time the meal was prepared and they had finished eating, the sun had long since set. The girl was worn out. The man brought her back the room that had the bed and large basin of water in it. "You can sleep here tonight."

Volume III

The girl was so exhausted, she flopped right into the bed.

"You didn't do too terrible a job today," the man told her. "I can teach you more tomorrow."

"How do you know I'll still be here tomorrow?" came the retort.

"Because you were hungry and now you're not."

The girl "hrumpfed" and rolled over, but the next morning she got up and the man taught her more about cooking, serving, cleaning. He worked her so hard that she was completely exhausted. The next night the man showed her to her room and said, "You didn't do too terrible a job today. I can teach you more tomorrow."

"How do you know I'll still be here tomorrow?" the girl replied, only without defiance.

"Because you were hungry and now you're not." The man closed the door behind him and then smiled to himself.

This went on for the next few weeks. Every day, the man would wake her up, teach her new skills and put her to work in the tavern. He bought her some new clothes, fed her well and made sure she had a warm bed every night. Every night he they would have the same exchange before she fell asleep.

The weeks stretched into years, until one day, the girl was in the basement getting some meat off a shelf and she tripped. She reached out and grabbed a wall sconce to steady herself, but the sconce pulled off the wall. She heard a click and the shelf with the meat moved slightly. Curious, she moved it aside and found a secret room!

She ran upstairs and told the man what she found. She saw an expression on his face that she had never seen before: fear.

The man closed the tavern, forced all the patrons out and locked up. He then brought her to the basement and let her in on his big secret: he was a blade. The government had killed nearly all of them and if they found out, they would kill him too. He told her the history of the blades, how they had formed, what their traditions were, and how the mighty organization had fallen. He left off his own exploits, and focused on the order itself.

When he was done, the girl sat in a stunned silence. She was too young to remember the purge, but she was fascinated by the man's stories. This man, who had become like a father to her, was now entrusting her with a dangerous secret. The man had provided for her, had taken care of her, had protected her. She promised herself she would do the same for him, no matter what that entailed. She would protect him and keep his secret.

That night, after they had eaten their evening meal and finished preparing the tavern for the next day, the girl headed for her room. The man said to her, "Well, I suppose you did an almost adequate job today. I can teach you more tomorrow."

The girl smiled at him as she said, "How do you know I'll still be here tomorrow?"

The man looked at her fondly, like a father would a child and replied, "Because you were hungry and now you're not."