Supernatural Earth Pt. 06

Ajax stopped dead in his tracks, dumbfounded. "YOU?" He wracked his brain. "But Bigfoot... or Sasquatch... is normally an ape-like creature... isn't it? Covered in fur but no horns. You all seem to have fine hair covering your bodies."

"Well, we do wear furs to keep warm, just like humans do." Kurdor said with a pointed look. "You may have noticed that we keep our horns short and so who is to say what something looks like from afar?"

"But the footprints?"

"Human made boots that we modified. We had to do something to throw would-be Hunters off of our tracks." Kurdor led them to a large bonfire in the center of a big grotto that served as a communal area as the walls were now lined with dwellings. Ajax whistled, impressed. Kurdor motioned for him to sit. "Tell me, young one," he said as he sat across from Ajax at the fire. "What do you know of our kind?"

Ajax shrugged. "Not much," he admitted. "Stories that they tell us in history class. That's about it." When Kurdor motioned for him to continue, Ajax tried to dredge up what he knew. "There was this Greek Hero... Theseus... I think... who went into a maze to kill a half-man, half-bull creature called the Minotaur. I think that he was there to save a woman?"

Kurdor turned to the woman. "What of you, young Fae?"

"Fae?" Ajax asked, head whipping around to the woman. What was a Fae? Was that like a fairy or something? Now that he thought of it, he never did get her name.

She seemed to read his thoughts. "My name is D'Hibisca'na'rosa Ad'sinenist'ka."

"That's a mouthful." Ajax noted.

"You can name me 'Rose'. That's what our Winter Guardian calls me and he was a mortal like you." Rose looked at Kurdor. "The stories among my kind was that your kind was cursed by the Goddess for daring to lust after mortal women. That you were once super humans, heroes of old, and that you lusted after the wrong woman that was favored by the Goddess. So she cursed you in your current form and made your lust for women insatiable."

Kurdor raised a forefinger. Ajax noted that he had three fingers and a thumb as opposed to a human hand with four fingers and a thumb. "Partially true for both of your accounts," he said in an amused voice.

"Rumor... or legend I guess you could say... has it that there are no female Minotaurs?" Ajax said, now interested in what the Chieftain had to say.

"Incorrect. We do have females but they are such a rarity that we do not dare reveal their locations to others." Kurdor said. "If ill will were to befall them then that would indeed spell the end of our species. Now, let me tell you the truth." He took more of his green powder out, said a few words under his breath, and tossed it onto the fire. The smoke seemed to come to life in the shape of a Minotaur.

Kurdor began to tell the tale. "King Minos was granted a gift by the gods; the gift of his kingdom on the island you call Crete and a magnificent bull. In exchange for this gift, he was to sacrifice the bull back to the ocean, thus completing the pact. He refused. Now, the legends that you humans think of is that the god Poseidon cursed his wife to mate with the bull. That is in error. It was Minos who was cursed, thus becoming the first of our kind. His Queen, Pasiphae, went to the goddess, Aphrodite, to beg for intervention. But in her arrogance and vanity, combined with the revulsion that she felt towards her own husband, cause Aphrodite to curse Pasiphae with insatiable lust towards her husband. They mated; Minos in his new form and Pasiphae in her human form. Thus, the first of our linage came to be."

"Woah..." Ajax breathed as he watched the scene play out in the smoke.

"In order to propagate their newfound species, Minos demanded tribute of men and women. Pasiphae, in her curse, slowly became the half-bull, half-human form that she despised. Her and Minos retreated into the Labyrinth and had their tributes sent to them. Minos would lay with the women to birth more just as Pasiphae would lay with the men in order to be impregnated so she could birth more." Kurdor explained. "However, their still human offspring were ashamed at what became of their parents. The eldest son, Minos the Younger, took over the throne and put his sister, Ariadne, in charge of the tributes."

He looked at Ajax. "One year, Theseus was selected as tribute and Ariadne couldn't bear it. So, she gave Theseus the tools he needed to kill her parents. Theseus succeeded in killing Minos the elder. Once he presented the head of their father to Minos the Younger and Ariadne was Theseus allowed to leave Crete with Ariadne as his bride. Minos the Younger then had total rule over the island."

"But what about the Queen?" Ajax asked. "Surely she didn't stay within the Labyrinth waiting for another hero to come down to kill her?"

Kurdor smiled, pleased at the intelligent question. "She made a pact with Hades to allow her new children, the Minotaurs, to escape. Hades formed a tunnel from Crete to the mainland so that they could disperse and hide in the wilds, safe from any who would do them harm." He then looked at Rose and smiled. "And so, our curse that is passed down from generation to generation in our blood is our appearance that is born from our patriarch, and our lust that is born from our matriarch. While females are borne to us from time to time, they are so exceedingly rare that we have to mate with women of other races in order to maintain our already low numbers."

"But surely to God there has to be another way?" Ajax asked incredulously. "Kidnapping women and forcing them to bear your children is not the way to go!"

"You have another solution, human?" Kurdor asked, cocking his head inquisitively. "If you do, then speak. We would welcome it. Do you not think that we would like live like you mortals do? In the sun? In the daylight. In normal dwellings once again?" He spread his arms wide. "Look around you. We are not twenty miles from the closest human civilization but you had no idea that we were here. We are forced to live in secret and we are forced to take mates, mostly unwilling at first, in order to continue our line."

"Females of the different races are not willing participants, Ajax." Rose said morosely. "We don't exactly, how you say, 'line up' to be bred by them."

"As the years passed, the prince fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?" he quoted. His eyes fell onto rose. She certainly was beautiful with her lithe figure, her long legs, supple breasts, and snow-white hair that went down past the curve of her buttocks. He then mentally chided himself for even checking her out at such a time.

"I would." Rose said, looking at him. He gave her a funny look back. "I would mate with you. Without any thought of your own safety, you charged into the forest to save me, slaying the Minotaur who was forcing himself upon me. We Fae believe that when such an occurrence comes about that we repay the kindness shown to us by offering our own bodies to our rescuer."

"What kind of twisted, fucked up logic is that?" Ajax asked, trying to comprehend it.

"You came in charging like a Hero of Old, like the Greek Heroes that you were named after or even the mighty Theseus himself." Kurdor proclaimed. "It is an unspoken rule amongst the Supernatural Kind that to the victor goes the spoils."

Rose shrugged. "And it is like I said; I don't have a home to go to anymore. Now that I've been captured and violated, I'll be exiled even if I do return home."

"Why?" Now Ajax was totally confused. "It's not like it was your fault."

"It doesn't matter. Even if the Minotaur who took me, even as brief as it was, got one drop of his seed into me, I will become with child. That child will be Minotaur with the magic of the Fae."

"Which," Kurdor pointed out, "is where we get a majority of our magic power from. When we mate with some of the other Supernatural races, we inherit their power and infuse it with our own."

"Does that seem right to you all?" Ajax asked them.

"It is the way of things." Rose said.

"We will talk more tomorrow." Kurdor said, standing up. "But now, we have a ritual that we must attend to. Come." He beckoned.

Ajax saw that a crowd was now forming around the fire. Two Braves brought in a wrapped body that Ajax assumed was the Minotaur that he'd killed. They placed the body down near Ajax, who stood with Rose and backed away.

Chief Kurdor stood over the body next to the bonfire. "Tonight, we bid farewell to Brave Tarnun who lived and walked amongst the tribe for Fifty-Five cycles. He was a formidable hunter who provided furs and meats to the tribe so that out people could eat." he intoned.

As the Chief went on about Tarnun's exploits, Ajax took a look around. The Male Minotaurs all towered over Ajax. Ajax was six-foot-tall and these guys were making him feel small. He noticed that the all looked solemn but proud. They were mourning the loss but at the same time happy that their fellow Minotaur fell in battle. Ajax felt that it was a Warrior's Honor thing which made sense. He wondered if that was indeed where Blizzard got the idea for the race of Tauren in World of Warcraft. After all, Kurdor did say that some of their culture has leaked out into the human world.

Then Ajax noted the women. They were all human, or at least human looking, and they stood either behind the men or beside them. Some of them, to Ajax's surprise, were even lovingly leaning up against their men with their huge arms protectively draped over the women's shoulders. This floored Ajax as they were not afraid to be around them despite the fact that they all, or at least in majority, were brought her against their will and forced to mate. He couldn't wrap his mind around the concept. Was it, what was it again, Stockholm Syndrome or something?

"Rose," Ajax whispered to his newfound companion here. "Are all these women, human?"

Rose scanned the crowd and shook her head. "Only two of them... they must've been strong enough to survive a breeding. Let me see... I see other Sisters of my Fae here from the other seasons; Spring, Summer, and Autumn. There are a few werewolves over there. Oh! That's interesting. That one is a Vampire! How did that happen? And I see a trio of the Magi over there. They must've been taken by a hunting party as a triumvirate usually dies if separated from the others for too long or if one of them is killed."

"Amazing..." Ajax breathed as he looked back a Kurdor.

"I was a friend of Tarnun," Kurdor proclaimed. "Tarnun taught me the kindness of young towards elders. He taught me the patience needed to deal with our younger generation. And he taught me how to accept others from the outside." Everyone assembled bowed their head and murmured a ritual word that sounded a lot like 'Amen' to Ajax.

"I was a friend of Tarnun!" another Brave shouted, stepping closer to the fire. "He taught me the thrill of the hunt and the honor of the kill." More bowed heads and the ritual word again.

"I was a friend of Tarnun!" a third one called out. "He taught me how to blend in with my surroundings and how to remain silent during the hunt." And again, the heads bowed and the ritual word was intoned.

Around it went as each Minotaur in turn proclaimed their friendship to the fallen followed by the bowing of their heads and the ritual word murmured. Even the women were stepping forward to add their little bit of how they knew the fallen warrior and what they'd learned from him.

And then all eyes were on Ajax.

Clearing his throat, Ajax stepped forward. "I..." he was choked up in the moment of the ritual. "I was a friend of Tarnun..." he said, tears welled up in his eyes from the emotion and the adrenaline of the day finally coming to the forefront. "He taught me the meaning of true battle in a life and death situation and..." his voice trailed off as he looked at Rose, "and he taught me that we become responsible for what we take from others." Everyone bowed their heads again. This time, Ajax joined them and murmured "Amen."

"I was a friend of Tarnun," Rose said, stepping up next to Ajax to intertwine her hand into his. "He taught me humility. He taught me the price of arrogance. He taught me how to accept defeat. And... he taught me how to listen and how to see humans for what they are." She said, tears now streaming from her eyes.

Ajax couldn't help but wonder what she meant by that. Nevertheless, they both bowed their heads and intoned the ritual word.

Kurdor clapped his hands once. Four Minotaurs stepped forward to pick up the litter that held Tarnun's body. They then walked it over to the bonfire to place the body over it, held aloft by four poles. The body caught fire a moment later and everyone stayed until it had been reduced to ashes.

***

CHAPTER 3: Adjusting.

Ajax and Rose returned to Tarnun's home. No... my home... I guess... Ajax mentally corrected himself. Geez... what am I going to tell my family? Hi, I'm moving to the mountains to live in a cave dwelling that I killed a Minotaur over? Oh, and meet my new girlfriend-slash-slave who is a Winter Fae. He wanted to commit himself over that line of thought as it sounded crazy to him. Then it dawned on him that he probably wouldn't be able to leave now that he knew of this place.

He looked around the dimly lit dwelling. It finally dawned on him that the soft glow of torches that were close to the ceiling had to be magical as there was no other way they could still be lit after the meeting with Kurdor and the subsequent funeral ritual. The furnishings were modest but sized for someone eight foot tall. The whole thing reminded him of a studio apartment that was Spartan in decorations. A large tanned hide dominated one wall that had an impressive landscape painted on it. Nearby was a easel with paints that looked like they were created with all natural ingredients. Over in the corner was the bed... or what passed as a bed. It was set off only a foot or two off the ground but it was covered with pillows and furs.

"I guess Tarnun didn't have a house maid or kept up too much after himself," he noted as he shifted his gaze to the rack of armor and weapons on another wall. Looking at the wicked looking implements made Ajax glad that he didn't give Tarnun the time to grab one.

"That task probably would've fallen to me," Rose said as she too looked around. She sat down on the bed, the same bed that she was nearly raped on a few hours before, and opened the furs that Ajax had put on her body earlier. "Are you ready for me now?"

Ajax did a double take at her sudden nudity. Then he averted his eyes. "You don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do." she said as she stood up and walked over to him, one foot in front of the other that gave her hips a suggestive bob and weave to them.

Rose finally got how Lily could easily succumb to the charms of a human. They could be such noble creatures. She took Ajax's chin into her delicate hand and turned him to face her. "Per the laws of my people, the moment I was violated by Tarnun my life with my people was over. The punishment is clear; Exile."

"That's still not right."

"It's the punishment I must endure for my folly. You see, I blatantly disregarded the words of our Guardian, our Harbinger, and our Queen. I disregarded their warnings and I did not take my training from our Guardian seriously." She choked back a sob and crossed her arms to hug herself. "I was... arrogant. I thought that no human could effectively train a Fae. I was wrong."

"You've come across humans before?"

"Many times. But my Sister Maiden, Lily, fell in love with the one who'd saved her. Daniel. He hailed from a region you call 'Alaska'."

"Wait a minute? Daniel... Alaska..." he remembered something from the SCA newsletter about one of their members going missing not too long ago. "You don't mean Daniel Butler, do you?"

She gasped in surprise. "You know him?"

"I know of him. What happened?"

Rose went back to the bed to sit. Ajax started getting out of his armor while she talked. "We went to war. The werewolves killed one of my Sister Maidens. They were in conflict with the Vampires and as they'd brought her body back, we sided with them. As such, Champions were called up to defend us Maidens. The Champions then compete in a tournament to become Guardian; the head of all Champions. To our surprise, Lily took Daniel as her Champion to compete. All of the Champions agreed at the time to kill him to get the human out of the tournament and out of our lives. I..." her voice faltered. "I was one who opposed him the entire way. Daniel used... very unorthodox methods to win. Seeing you fight reminds me of him."

"SCA Combat." Ajax said. He was now out of his breastplate and was working on his leg guards. "We train in ways that humans used to fight and add in our own, new techniques."

"Which explains how Daniel won." Rose nodded. "He was paired against the Queen's Harbinger," she spat out another long name to which Ajax frowned at. "You call him Jack Frost."

"Ho-ly FUCK." Ajax breathed. It made him proud that another SCA member went toe-to-toe with a Fae of legend and won. "He beat Jack Frost, huh?"

"Jack abdicated the match. He refused to fight as he saw the potential. I just wish I saw it at the time," she said sadly. "I see now that you have defeated a Minotaur that human fighting is indeed superior."

"Well, when was the last time Fae ever fought?"

"In living memory?" Rose contemplated the question. "I believe you call it 'World War Two'?"

"Yeah... and humans are constantly fighting one war or another." Ajax said, grunting as he fiddled with a leather strap. It came loose and he let out a sigh of relief. The heavy lifting belt was the last to come off leaving him in only his costume.

Rose stood up again and walked over, this time lifting his tunic up and over his head to bare his torso. She planted a kiss on his sternum and then looked up at him with her icy blue eyes. "This is my fate now to be here, with you." she whispered. "I couldn't ask for a more noble creature to be beholden to." Rose placed a finger on his lips as he started to protest. "No, don't deny me. Please. This is the way things are; I became the Minotaur's property because neither me nor my Champion took Guardian Daniel seriously. My Champion is dead and I was rightfully taken in battle. You then killed the Minotaur and under their laws everything that belonged to him now belongs to you and that includes me. If it helps you, then think of yourself as my new Champion and as such you have the right to bed me."

"Actually... that does help..." Ajax admitted.

"Then take me to bed, Champion," she said in a husky voice as she struggled with his belt. Curse those wards at the entrance to the cave that blocked her magic! If she were back in the Winter City she'd snap her fingers and be done with these clothes.

Ajax came to her rescue yet again as he kicked off his boots, undid his belt, and let his trousers fall to the floor. Now that he was properly as naked as she was, she smiled at him, took his hands in hers, and guided them up to her breasts.

Finally relenting and just going with it, Ajax leaned in to kiss her while he fondled her breasts. After all, who could resist such an open invitation? He squeezed her breasts lightly, eliciting a tiny gasp from her as his mouth covered hers. Her hands drifted down his hardening cock. The instant that she touched it, it went rock hard. In fact, it was the hardest that he'd ever been in his life to the point that it felt painful. It now ached for release.

Rose pulled gently while backing up, silently urging him to follow her. He obliged and followed her all the way down to the bed where he wound up on top of her with her legs wrapping around him. Ajax reached down between them to grab a hold of his cock long enough to plunge it down into her waiting pussy.