I expected to feel pain once I hit the ground, but to my surprise, I landed on something surprisingly soft. I pulled my face out of whatever I landed on and froze to see that I had face-planted in May's chest. Her face was bright red, and she was frozen as she looked up at me. I didn't pay her embarrassment any mind and got to my feet. "Wow, those are squishier than I expected. Thanks for the soft landing."
She sat up slowly after me, remaining entirely red. "Um, you're welcome?" I turned around to face the Minotaur and raised my sword. "You're going to have to do better than that." The Minotaur didn't answer and instead headed towards me. He punched the ground where I was standing after I dodged his attack, and he continued to strike. The walls and ground crumbled as he hit them and cracks appeared along the clay brick.
I was light on my feet and slipped away easily while attacking him with my sword. He blocked my swings with his metal armlets, and it soon became frustrating that I hadn't hit him again. 'I am the strongest man in the world, I will not fail to a Monster!' I thought. When he blocked another swing I hit twice as hard, causing his arm to fly back. I took the opportunity right after and immediately slashed his abdomen. "Ah!" His skin was tough so I didn't cut deep, but he became even angrier as blood leaked from his wound.
He then punched me hard into the far wall. I didn't break through this time, but the brick cracked with how much force he struck me with. "Ah!" I fell to the ground in pain but forced myself to return to my feet. For a moment I saw surprise on the Minotaur's face from realizing how driven I was. His expression returned to annoyance as quickly as it left and he walked towards me again. I was fully ready to end this and knew that I could when all of a sudden May flew in front of me.
The Minotaur stopped as she faced him and raised her arms as if to protect me. "Stop!" I became angry and started to yell. "What are you doing?! Can't you see that I'm winning here?!" May turned her head to look back at me and I was caught off guard by her serious expression. "Why must you always solve everything with violence?! I will not allow you to hurt yourself any longer!" I clenched my jaw at her response, and the Minotaur seemed irritated as well. "Get out of the way!"
She turned to him and stayed in place. "If you want me to move then you're going to have to hit me out of the way." The Minotaur lowered his fists to his sides. "I already told you! I don't hit women!" May raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Shouldn't a guardian like you not care who they kill?" The Minotaur huffed with frustration as he responded. "It's because my father taught me that hitting a woman is the lowest thing a man can do. He also taught me to protect the sacred ruins of our ancestors from outsiders! So move now before I throw you out!"
May's expression became that of guilt. "I am truly sorry." The Minotaur's face changed to shock from how unexpected her answer was, and he froze in place. May then tilted her head down a little as she removed the bow and arrow from around her torso and handed them out for him to take. "I shouldn't have stolen from you. I just wanted to help my friend with his quest. I hope you can forgive me, I should've explained beforehand and seen if we could have reached a compromise."
I couldn't express how angry I was at that moment. "May!! What are you doing?! Don't give it back to him!!" The Minotaur was speechless for a moment and I was about to cut May into pieces for such a move of betrayal. Before I could, however, the Minotaur smiled and pushed the bow back to her. "Wow, you know, no one has ever tried to make peace with me before. If all you want is the bow then you can keep it. I always preferred battling with my fists anyway. I thought you were tomb robbers or something. That's usually who I end up dealing with so sorry for assuming."
The Minotaur then patted her head and she smiled again. "Thank you so much!" My mouth dropped, and they continued talking. "My name is CherryMay, what's yours?" The Minotaur seemed surprised with her question. "Kaltar." May's smile only brightened. "Nice to meet you, Kaltar! Sorry for the misunderstanding. You say that you get frequent tomb raiders?"
The Minotaur nodded. "My people use labyrinths as their burial grounds. There are many graves in secret chambers within these walls, and it is custom for the dead to be buried with treasures to guide them into the afterlife." May showed intrigue in his explanation. "Wow, how interesting. I never knew that labyrinths were so sacred. I'd like to apologize again." Kaltar crossed his arms and continued to smile. "Don't worry about it. It's been years since I chatted with someone so I'll take this as repayment."
May nodded. "Thank you again. I wish we could stay longer but we do have to get going." Kaltar then walked past us and toward the hole in the wall he shot me through. "Understandable. I can lead you to the end of the labyrinth if you'd like." May excitedly followed him. "You're too kind! Come on, Dedrin!" I stood there for a minute, unable to comprehend what I just witnessed. After the minute was done I reluctantly followed them, feeling more annoyed than I ever had been. 'Unbelievable.'
For the next hour, I walked behind May and Kaltar as they talked to each other happily. I was expecting this to be a trick or something, but we soon reached another long hallway and a set of stairs. At the top of them, there was a light coming from the exit and we emerged to the surface once again. I noticed that the end of the labyrinth led to a part of the forest away from the desert. Saniel was already there waiting for us and laying down to rest.
He raised his head once he noticed us and May turned to Kaltar again after pulling a glass bottle from her satchel. She handed it to him and gave him a look of concern. "This ointment will help with your injuries. I hope you'll feel better soon." Kaltar took the bottle from her and laughed a little. "You're probably the sweetest fairy I've ever met. See you later, tiger. Visit whenever you like." He patted her head again and turned to walk toward the labyrinth.
As he walked past me his smile faded. "See ya Dedrin. I hope you find what you're looking for." He then made his way down the stairs without another word, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the distant tone he gave me. Once he was gone I walked over to May who carried the bow in her arms. "Tell me. Did you know that he would give you the bow if you returned it?"
May's face slipped into nervousness. "If I say no will you kill me?" My eyes narrowed at her. "Most likely." She smiled again even though her nervousness had increased. "Then yes I did! All part of the uh, plan."