POV: Asterion Minotaur
Gut-wrenching pain shot through my body, forcing me down to one knee as my stomach started rolling over into itself, demanding I find the nearest piece of meat and devour it. Losing control of myself, I felt the familiar sensation of blacking out, of my mind surrendering to instinct. I was on the brink of total loss, my hunger overwhelming! But then, from somewhere beyond the red haze, I heard my sister's voice. Ariadne. I remembered all the days she had spent sneaking into the Labyrinth, teaching me to control my emotions, not to run from my appearance, but to embrace it instead. The feeling of familial love surged through me, a powerful wave suppressing the embers of hunger that had almost set me into a mindless rampage.
Turning my hulking figure towards her, I lowered my head, a sign of apology. I felt her small hand gently placed on my head, and I released a huff of approval. We continued our journey, entering a place where the ground reached for the sky, where the forest floor was littered with life, and the sky was a canopy of singing creatures and bridges of vines that struggled to block out the sun. Ariadne told me we had entered the Enchanted Forest.
She explained as we traveled that we would pass through these gates that connect land to land, all coming together to be our new home, the Homelands.
We continued walking for a period of time before I heard Theseus yell for us to take cover! Ahead of us, a group of five people stood. Every one of them was dressed in black clothing, wearing some dark glass over their eyes. Not taking any chances, I immediately heeded Theseus' warning. I used my speed, moving far faster than my massive size suggested, and got out of the clearing, melting into the brush nearby.
Settling into the thick undergrowth, I saw Theseus run to the opposite side of the clearing. He disappeared into the dense leaves of the area, not leaving a trace that he had been standing in the middle of the clearing moments ago.
POV: Ariadne
Hearing Theseus shout a warning and watching Asterion, my brother, quickly jump into action like a trained athlete, my eyes snapped to the figures ahead. They were the Adversary's soldiers, those emotionless wooden abominations. Memories of them invading and destroying Crete flooded my mind, paralyzing me with grief and terror. I heard Theseus yelling for me to follow him, but I couldn't move. My emotions were crippling me, rooting me to the spot.
The wooden soldiers saw me. Their movements, which had been stiffly patrolling, immediately picked up pace. They were coming for me. I turned to run to Asterion, to the one place I knew I could find safety, but as I began to take my first step, my twisted ankle gave out. I slammed into the ground, a cry caught in my throat as pain shot up my leg. I could see the soldiers nearing me, their dark forms growing larger, closer. All I could do was close my eyes and await what I knew came next. My hope was at its lowest; I had given up all hope.
And then, even with my eyes squeezed shut against the impending doom, I saw it. A swirling, ethereal purple portalappeared in the clearing, right next to Asterion, glowing with an impossible light.
POV: Asterion Minotaur
Lying in the brush, hidden by the leaves, I saw Ariadne start to make her way over in my direction. Then she fell, face first into the dirt. I watched as the weird-smelling humans, the Adversary's soldiers, made their way over to her. There was no hesitation in their movements; they seemed completely unnatural, without thought or empathy.
Watching everything happen all at once, I was even more surprised when, to my left, the area that had once been dense forest completely changed. It became a view of a clearing behind a stone monolith in the shape of a 'W', flashing with lights that could only be magic. The portal. It was here. Not even looking at the magic beside me, I rushed back into the clearing. Arriving in the middle, I reached down and picked up Ariadne off the ground, cradling her. Struggling to contain my anger, I turned around and rushed into the crowd of weird-smelling humans.
Charging headfirst, I felt my horns pierce the head of one of these wooden automatons, ending its synthetic life with a sickening crunch. With the wooden automaton blocking my vision, I lost my balance, falling onto the ground, rolling around, struggling to get the wooden carcass off my head. It was proving to be a difficult challenge, its stiff limbs snagging on my horns.
I could see the wooden soldiers making their way to me with nets in hand, ready to capture me. They had the advantage; I was stuck at the moment.
Seeing the soldiers get closer, I watched Theseus make a break for the portal, rushing over to Ariadne's former position while the soldiers were busy with me. He was trying to get her to leave with him while the puppet soldiers captured me. My rage flared, but then I saw them going back and forth with each other, a quick, hushed argument. A look of resignation came over Theseus's face, and he turned, running to the portal alone, disappearing into the shimmering purple light without a backward glance.
Ariadne, seeing him leave, grabbed her golden wire. She stood up, a newfound courage etched on her face, and ran at the wooden soldiers, her expression set with grim confidence. Rushing up to the first oak-carved being, she ducked under its grasp and wrapped its arm with her wire, spinning out of the way of the next soldier as it tried to grab her as well. Using her off-hand to swing the coil of wire around the dense puppet's leg, she moved onto the next soldier, dancing around the automaton, trying her best to stay in its blind spot. Ariadne had woven herself into the center of combat, and I could tell by her smirk she was confident in her escape.
She simply pulled on one string, and every puppet that she had passed fell as if its strings had been cut. In reality, she had used her wire to wrap all of the soldiers together, tangling them into a helpless, unmoving pile, making them easy pickings. She walked over to me with all the confidence in the world, her ankle seemingly forgotten in the heat of the moment. "Thank you for coming to my aid, brother," she said, her voice surprisingly steady, though a touch of weariness lingered. "I'm afraid Theseus has left us, but I know as long as we stick together, we will be okay."
She helped me get the wooden soldier off my horns. Once free, I watched as she calmly began collecting her wire, untangling it from the now-motionless soldiers. Then, as she finished, I brought my axe down, smashing the head of every soldier she had captured, reducing them to splintered wood.
After we had collected all of her wire, we made our way to the portal. She held out her hand for me to take. "Asterion, whatever happens next," she said, her voice soft but firm, "let's do this together."
Ariadne and Asterion walked through the portal to Fable Town. Theseus had abandoned Ariadne when she chose to help Asterion. While Asterion got dealt a bad hand, Ariadne picked up the slack with an expert display of threadwork, truly showing why she is the Mistress of Mazes.