by Vivian Leigh
Falina’s mare twitched again, as if she wanted to escape the crowds. Falina did her best to rein the horse in, but she had never been much of a rider. A merchant’s daughter didn’t to need to be.
Erarus reined in beside her. “We’ll be away from the crowds soon.”
“Good. I don’t think my mare likes them.”
“Perhaps not.” Erarus swatted his reins against the mare’s rump, sending her skipping forward. He laughed at Falina’s discomfort.
She adjusted herself in the saddle. It was already nearing evening, and she wasn’t looking forward to riding in the dark. At least the gods had that nimbus around them to light their paths.
When Falina next looked up, she jerked with surprise. Cedric stood by the side of the road. He waved, then jogged along beside her. “Remember me, Falina! Remember me always!”
Falina waved back, but she couldn’t respond. She thought of what she’d done with Erarus, and shame swept over her. She was going to be a god, immortal, forever young. By the time she would be able to come back for him, Cedric would already be an old man.
Cedric gave up running and let Falina and the gods continue on without him. It broke her heart, but what else could she do? She had been chosen. Falina wiped her eyes. If there was a way, any way at all, she’d come back for him. But she couldn’t give him false hope. That would be too cruel.
She turned back around and faced ahead. The crowds were beginning to thin, and soon the riders passed beyond the furthest fringe of people.
They rode toward the sun, and Falina watched it sink toward the horizon. The clouds turned orange, then pink. The riders around her were quiet, the only sound the thump of the horses’ hooves.
The last sliver of sun seemed to hang above the horizon for ages, then it, too, slipped below the rim of the earth. A mist rose around her escorts, and their nimbus of light dimmed. The stallions shimmered, their silvery flanks darkening.
Falina gasped.
Where there had been glorious stallions, now there were only nags and donkeys. And where a moment before had been half a dozen glowing gods, now there were only men. Men with the heads of bulls.
She screamed. Her heels dug into the mare. “Go!” Every fiber of her being screamed to run, to get as far away from the nightmares as possible.
The one that had been Erarus cut his donkey across the mare’s path and snatched the reins. “You’re so close to immortality, Falina. Why throw it aside now?’
“You... you aren’t a god. You’re a...”
“Minotaur.”
She shuddered. “Yes.” It came out a whisper.
“We, too, are among the pantheon.”
“But Zeus, Adonis...” The words would barely form, she was shaking so badly. Her people had just given her to monsters, and they didn’t even know.
“Not everyone can consort to the king. We offer you immortality just the same.”
Falina stared, open-mouthed. Immortality, but at the hands of these beasts? It was a terrible bargain, and she wasn’t so sure it was one she was willing to pay.
“But you came as men, not minotaurs. You lied to us.”
“Did we? We claimed to be gods. Gods we are.”
They rode on, the beasts forming a cordon around her wild-eyed mare. Falina’s mind churned. There was nowhere to go but forward, but with them?
The group rode for hours, and by then Falina had given up on crying. She only needed to wait until they stopped for the night and fell asleep, she decided. Then she could ride back to Athens. Her mare could outpace their nags and donkeys. Add the horse’s fear of the minotaurs, and it shouldn’t be any problem at all.
The problem was, the minotaurs expected that. “If you try to run, you will be punished.” Erarus held up a length of rope. “Your wrists.”
“But...
He grabbed her arms, his hands rougher than she remember. This was the man--the thing--that had made her forget all about Cedric just hours ago? It made her stomach turn.
The ropes bit into her wrists, holding her arms tightly together. One of the other minotaurs took her reins, not even letting her ride her own horse.
“Why do you bind me? What have I done?” She waved her fists at Erarus.
“We are minotaurs, girl. You are not our first consort. In time, you will come to love us. Or the ambrosia.”
Falina shook her head.
The whole group laughed. “They all say no at first.”
“Well, the men from Athens will come for me. They’ll never let this stand.”
Erarus chortled. “Really? Do you recall a rescue party going out seven years ago?”
The fear that gripped her stomach tightened its icy grip. “No.”
“We are gods. Why would they dare come after us? They believe you are to gain immortality. Why would they endanger that?”
Cedric would come for her. He had to. But... how would he know she was in danger? He hadn’t even followed to the edge of the crowd. Falina sighed. Truly, she had no hope.
A breeze picked up, causing her robe to flutter. Falina lowered her hands and caught the hem. It wasn’t much, but if she could tear just a piece... The material gave with a rip, and she soon had a strip of white wool in her fingers.
She glanced around, checking to see if the minotaurs were watching. They were talking amongst themselves, sure that they had their prize and no one would be coming to rescue it. Falina let the scrap of cloth flutter to the ground. It wasn’t much, and Cedric would probably never even come this far, but it rekindled a tiny spark of hope.
It was better than nothing.
***
The moon was high in the cloud-addled sky when the minotaurs tugged Falina’s mare’s reins toward a copse of trees. Falina’s legs felt like they’d been laid over the blacksmith’s forge and pounded for hours. Her wrists felt as raw as a newly caught fish, rubbed and chafed by the ropes that still bound her.
The group stopped beneath an enormous tree, deep in the shadows cast by its wide canopy. Falina wobbled in the saddle, waiting for whatever came next.
Erarus called two of the other minotaurs over. “Tie her to the trunk.”
One of the stopped, his cow eyes huge, even in the darkess. His hands were on his hips. “You taking her again?”
“I lead you lot. Once I have my way with her, the rest of you can take a turn.”
Falina slumped forward. There was no hope for her.
The minotaurs lifted her from the saddle and set her on her feet. She could hardly stand, instead staggering like a drunkard.
One of the minotaurs gave her a push and send her sprawling amid the roots. “Erarus, how do you want her tied?”
“I don’t care as long as she can’t escape.”
The minotaur looped another length of rope around the one that bound her wrists, then circled it through an upturned root. “That ought to hold you.”
The other minotaur crouched before her and caught her by the chin, forcing her to look straight into his bullish face. “I hope you try to run.” He clutched his manhood. “Punishing you would please me greatly.” He cackled with laughter, then left her.
Falina rubbed her chest with her wrists. She had to find some kind of peace. If she didn’t, she knew she’d go mad. She wasn’t so sure that she wasn’t already going mad. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast half a day ago.
She tried plucking at the ropes, but they were tied too tightly. One of the minotaurs came over and scolded her, but he didn’t see fit to retie her, either. After half an hour of trying, she finally gave up.
A while later Erarus came over and sat on the root where she was bound. He had a length of bread in hand. Honey glistened on the end. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
He broke off a piece and held to her mouth. Falina ate it greedily. It was the finest bread she’d ever tried.
“What is that? It’s amazing?”
“Ambrosia. So long as you consume a few bites
a week, you gain immortality.”
“Can I have more?”
“Not yet, girl. First you must prove your worth.” His eyes swept over her chest.
Falina scooted away.
“It won’t be so bad, you know. We are more than half men.” He rubbed his bull head. “And the half that’s beast isn’t so terrible. You already experienced it once today.” He let his tongue loll out.
Falina scooted farther away. It had been one thing when he had been a handsome god and licked her with that tongue. But now... She shivered at the thought.
“There’s more to a man than the face he wears, girl. You’ll learn that in time.”
“You people aren’t exactly charming, bullheads or not. Tying me up, threatening me.”
Erarus rested a hand on her leg, his fingers gently stroking her knee. “You will come to accept our herd in time. When you do, you will be free again.”
Falina shook her head. “Never.” But the ambrosia was making her light-headed. Every touch was magnified, and her resistance was crumbling.
His fingers traced up the inside of her thigh. They were so delicate, so careful. Falina didn’t know whether to kick or scream or enjoy it.
He kept stroking, teasing higher. Falina let him lift her robe, exposing her to him again. His fingers traced around her sex, up to her belly. Her body responded to his touch, and she felt her juices start to flow. In the darkness she could barely see his head, and her loins remembered the way he’d brought them to ecstasy earlier in the day.
She ached to have him again.
Erarus caressed her, exploring. His hands teased her breasts, fingers tightening briefly on her nipples, making them hard. When his fingers slipped away, her nipples stayed firm, a faint sensation of burning spread outward across her chest.
Erarus’ hands found her sex again. His thumb stroked her nub, and the familiar, stormy ache started to build. Falina leaned back against the tree, letting him take her in any way he chose.
His hands caressed, explored, taunted. His tongue lapped at her channel, pushing her open, redoubling her wetness. He teased up and down her crease, even lower than before, around her pucker. It sent a shiver through her; she’d never played with herself there. Still, she waited for that velvet curtain to find her nub and drive her wild, but he held off, pushing her along more slowly.
Falina thrust her hips forward, trying to guide him where she wanted, but he caught her by the thighs and pushed her down. He was in control. She could feel it. Slowly, so painfully slowly he started to creep up toward her nub. It screamed for him.
He passed right over it, his tongue flicking along her belly.
“What? Please?” She wanted to push his head back down, but her hands were still tied to the roots.
Erarus’ manhood pressed against her pussy. He rubbed it over her sex, coating himself with her juices. Falina’s eyes went wide. Before she could complain, he slipped his way inside.
A brief lightning bolt of pain blossomed through her. She cried out, arms straining against her ropes.
Erarus thrust slowly, working his way deeper. Each thrust lessened the pain. He cradled her head, his face pressed to her breasts. That velvet tongue caught her, licked her, sucked her. The pain vanished, and all that was left was pure, molten pleasure.
Falina groaned as Erarus worked in and out of her tight channel. She imagined it was Cedric, and her pleasure doubled. Oh, Ced. Fuck me, baby.
The woods rustled around her, but she didn’t care. Let the minotaurs watch. She only wanted to come, to feel that exquisite release. With a dick buried deep inside her, it could be better than before, she was sure of it.
Erarus thrust faster, harder. Falina panted for breath. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Erarus’ cock grew harder, and his panting matched her own. He sucked hard on her tit, pulling her nipple with his teeth.
Falina’s volcano erupted.
She writhed and screamed. Her nails raked over Erarus’ back. Molten pleasure ran through her veins, and her body tightened around his cock.
“Harder!”
He thrust again and again, driving into her. And then the world crashed back down, and she was spent. Erarus was spent with her.
He slipped himself free and rose, his come still dripping from his engorged prick. “You did well, Falina.”
She collapsed against the tree. She’d done better than well. She knew that much. The only question was: how would she do next time?
***
No more minotaurs came for her that night. When she woke in the morning, she was happy they hadn’t. She ached all over. Whether from the riding or the fucking, she wasn’t entirely sure. The minotaurs untied her and gave her bread and water, but no more ambrosia. She ate and drank greedily. Then she rose and tried to walk some of the stiffness away.
Erarus came for her not long after she’d finished eating. “We ride again soon. Today we’ll let you ride without being bound, but if you try to flee...”
“I know. I’ll be punished.”
He nodded.
***
The hem of Falina’s robe hung in tatters by the time they stopped at mid-day. Without the ambrosia addling her mind, her thoughts had returned to Cedric. With her hands free, it had been easy enough to tear off strips and send them fluttering by the road-side. She still held little hope that Cedric--or anyone--would be following, but it was better than nothing. The worst part was that she hoped they weren’t following. She hoped that the minotaurs would give her more ambrosia, would take her body again, and use her in ways unimaginable. She felt shameful for having the thoughts.
She sat near Erarus. “Will we reach Olympus today?”
“No it’s days away yet.” He passed her a hunk of ordinary bread.
“I thought we would make better time.”
“Alas, but we have no wings. We’ll get there soon enough.”
More time to escape then. If she dared.
“Back in the saddle, girl.” Erarus heaved himself to his feet.
Falina went toward her mare, but Erarus cut her off. “You get the donkey today. Wouldn’t want you getting any ideas.”
Her heart sank. Galloping away was out of the question then. She’d have to make her break when they stopped for the night. Perhaps that would be better, anyway. More time to put distance between her and pursuit before they realized she was missing. But if they offered her more ambrosia, would she even feel like leaving?
That evening they didn’t bind her. Three minotaurs sat with her, each feeding her a single bite of the wonderful ambrosia. It melted in her mouth, honeyed and delicate.
One of the minotaurs rested a hand on her back. “You’ll make a fine goddess.”
“I will?”
“In time. If you can accept us, anyway.” He rose, flexing his prodigious muscles. “The herd is manliness incarnate. We are the price of immortality. Is it too high?”
Falina cocked her head. Erarus had not been cruel. For all his bluster, he’d been patient and careful.
“No,” she whispered.
One of them motioned for her to rise. She complied, and followed him deeper into the woods. The other two came behind her.
They stopped on the banks of a stream. The trees thinned, and moonlight glittered on the burbling water. A wide, flat area of grass stretched down the near bank.
“What is your pleasure?” Falina asked her captors.
The first minotaur peeled off his tunic. “Why, you are.”
The others followed suit, and in moments Falina was surrounded by nude men with the heads of bulls. If she squinted, even the bull-heads disappeared. It was not entirely an unpleasant sight. In fact, their thick cocks and rippling chests were combining with the ambrosia to make her ache. She slipped out of her robe, letting it fall to the grass.
The first minotaur came forward and guided her to the springy ground. His hands caressed her shoulders, massaging the tension of the day’s ride away. The second minotaur came over and took her left leg. The t
hird took her right. They worked their strong fingers into her muscles, rubbing and massaging until she felt more relaxed than at any point since leaving Athens.
The man on her left leg massaged higher, and soon his hands were caressing her between her legs. Falina shivered. Her sex glistened as he slid a finger over her folds. Her nub throbbed as he teased past it. She lay back, accepting them. Accepting it all.
It was hard to track which man was which. They slipped around in the moonlight, taking turns stroking and caressing. When one strayed near her head, she coaxed his thick cock toward her mouth.
It throbbed warm and hard against her lips. The scent of wildflowers filled her nose. The splash of water soothed her ears. She slid her tongue down the cock, tasting the salty hardness. The minotaur groaned.
One of the others mounted her, his prick pushing against her pussy. Falina sucked the cock into her mouth, moaning as the other one penetrated her soaking hole. Other minotaurs emerged out of the darkness, each as naked as the next, and each as well-muscled as the next.
Falina was surrounded by magnificent pricks. Still with one buried in her pussy and another filling her mouth, she caught two more with her hands and stroked their velvet crowns. Her body quivered with lust. Something about them--the forbidden pleasure of something not quite man, not quite beast--drove her mad with lust.
It drove them mad, too. Firm hands caught her head, and the minotaur in her mouth took control. He thrust into her, pushing himself deeper into her throat. Falina’s eyes watered, but she only sucked him harder. Mouths found her breasts. Hands looped under ass, lifting her, teasing her pucker, driving her wild.
She bucked against them, willing them to fill her, to give her all their seed. If they wanted to breed her, by the gods she would be their Hera.
The minotaur in her pussy stroked in and out, faster and faster. Hot waves of lust coursed through her, filling her and blotting out everything but pleasure. She convulsed, the first crest of orgasm carrying her like a spring flood. The rumble of water was replaced with the roar of the pack, celebrating their new goddess.
Falina came and came again. The minotaurs inside her filled her with their seed. The ones around her covered her with theirs.
