Ariadne's string

Chapter 2 Part 2

I was speechless, trying to comprehend this. Did I want to kill the Minotaur?

"Do you still love him?" I asked, scared of the answer.

"No. He has become a monster, all due to my father. I blame Minos and only Minos for what he has become, but I no longer see him as the joy to my mother. I no longer see him as Asterion."
"Why did you come here?"

"I want to end this as well. My siblings think nothing of it, they think it is just. I, along with Phaedra, think it is cruel. When I heard of your arrival, I thought father had specifically asked for you, the heir to the throne, as an act of barbarism. I came to free you and the others, but now I know your intentions."

"I'm glad there are others who think of the situation as horrible. I want to end this, but will killing the Minotaur help?"

"I believe so. It is Minos' weapon, and once he loses it, Athens will want its revenge."
"Will you help me?" I looked at him, trying to tell if he was sincere. He took a deep breath.

"Yes," Theseus looked straight back at me. I nodded, smiling.

"I think I have a plan." I whisper.

                                                                                       ***

We stayed there until we saw the start of Helios' chariot, discussing our plan to kill the beast. I slept a bit, dozing on his shoulder. We quickly snuck back to the stable, finding Phaedra sound asleep under Theseus' cloak. He smiled, picking her up and walking back to the castle. I sat down in the hay again, waiting for the kids to wake up. I was filled with energy, adrenaline rushing through me. One by one, they woke up, yawning and standing up. Some had teary eyes. I'm going to end this.

Soon, soldiers and maids came up to us, retying our hands. My wounds had just healed. Great. We marched back to the palace while I wondered what Minos had meant yesterday, about the games. I regretted not asking Theseus about it.

Once we reached the palace, though, we didn't go inside. Instead, the soldiers guided us around the castle. We walked for a long time, and I told the kids stories to distract them. The sun was shining, even though it wasn't exceptionally warm. The maids gave us some bread and water, which I gratefully took. After some time, we started seeing a large dome. I could hear people cheering. Oh no. A heavy feeling settled in my stomach. Because I knew what this was. It was an arena.

Was Minos really going to make children fight in an arena, before thousands of people? I considered asking one of the maids, and I eventually did.

"Is your king going to make children fight for honour?"

"What? No. His majesty has never done such a thing. These are the first games in a long time. Everyone's excited." She grinned, but that only made me feel worse. It hurt to swallow, and I felt like throwing up again. Aeolus stirred the winds, and I had difficulty standing up. I'd tied my wavy hair into a bun, and I was so thankful for it now. We were almost at the base of the arena, the jeers were very loud. I wanted to cover my ears and scream.

Once we reached it, I saw there were two doors. One led to a staircase, and presumably the audience stands. The other wasn't even a door, just an entrance into the arena. I prepared for the soldiers to bring me into the arena, to make me fight, but they didn't. They led all of us to the staircase. My heart was beating fast. I couldn't understand what was happening. I thought the king would make me fight in the arena, to take me out before I would even get a chance to see the Minotaur.

This is good, I convinced myself. I wanted to relax, but I knew that king Minos is very unpredictable. The soldiers led us to the audience stands, and I noticed that we were next to the royalty stand. They had a sort of terrace, with slaves serving them wine and refreshing fruits. Our seats were just two planks of wood, deserted from the rest of the audience. The sun beat down on us as I made the children sit down next to each other. I sat just above them, so I could see all of them. Preferably, I would have wanted to not bring them here at all. They're so small, I don't want them to see what goes down in an arena.

I go into a trance as king Minos introduces everyone and explains the rules. I just stare into the distance, listening to my thoughts. I mostly look away from the sun, at a small tree just behind the huge stadium. I started to think of Theseus, quickly forcing myself not to. I thought of home, of my father. I thought of the last words he had told me. "Please, tell your men, when you come back home to raise the sails of your ship. If they are white, I will know you will have survived. If they are black, I will know you will have died. Be safe." Eventually, our men were not allowed to come. I started to get homesick, thinking of the many people of Athens. They all waved goodbye as our ship left, and the soldiers of Crete waited until Athens was out of view to lock us up in the ship. If I don't make it back, they will still never know what happened. They will still have to offer up children. I can't let that happen. I have to keep reminding myself. I'm going to end this. No matter what.

I shake my head, focusing on the games going on in front of me. We're pretty high up, but the children can clearly see what's happening. I quickly tell them to make a circle, and soon I'm telling them a story. I can even see some begin to smile. Once there's a break, I pause as well, telling them that I'll keep going in a minute. I take a deep breath, my throat dry from all the talking.

I watched the kids' heads, counting them to make sure they were all there. Twelve. Perfect. Wait, I was number twelve. I counted again, and again. Soon, I realised that the girl on my farthest right was happily chatting to the others, wearing a well-kept gown. That was the king's daughter Phaedra. I grinned, watching as all the kids started talking to her, curious about her life.

Someone sat down next to me, so I sat up straight, stopped smiling, and folded my hands on my lap, expecting a soldier, or worse, the king. Instead, prince Theseus was there, smiling. "Hi," he said. Could I trust him? I replayed last night in my head, thinking back to his sincere eyes. "Will you help me?" "Yes." But why? I had to believe him, he was my last chance. For me, for the kids, for Athens.

"Hi," I replied.

"I brought you some water," he gave me a waterskin, and I immediately handed it to the others. I called them by name one by one, letting them drink. Theseus waited until the waterskin was empty and then pulled out another one. Once the rest had drunk, I did too. The water felt so good in my parched mouth, and I greedily finished it all. "Sorry, I didn't mean to finish it."

"I brought it for you, you don't have to be sorry. I have more, if you'd like."

I started to get angry. I wasn't a charity. I didn't need his help and I didn't need his stupid water. "No." I said harshly. He looked taken aback.

"Sorry. I'll leave." He was about to get up, when I realised how dumb I was being. I get angry over this when people's lives are on the line? And I get angry at the one person that could actually help me. I got up as well, grabbing his wrist.

"No, wait, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be unkind. I'm just curious as to why you're helping me."

"I know it will be going against my family, but I am willing to give that up. I want to see Minos suffer, the way he made us suffer."I don't know the horrors he must have seen as a son of such a cruel king, but I knew it was dreadful. I wanted to hug him. Instead, I took his hand and sat down again. He copied me, a bit surprised. We stayed like that for the rest of the games, and as he helped me entertain all the kids, I felt happy for the first time in Crete.