Creature Chronicles

Story 5: The Smithy's Rodeo (minotaur)(f/m)

The Smithy's Rodeo

Minotaur/Human

M/F

A typical morning in my town, I am the towns blacksmith and was making some new swords and armour for the soldiers. I heard some children walking past my shop and heading to school, one of their parents approached me holing her son by his collar. She stood by my forge and waited for me to put the blade I was working on down to cool, putting it in the bucket it hissed as the steam rose. I looked up at her and her son.

"What do you have to say to Miss Y/N?" she asked.

"I am sorry for throwing stones at you and making fun of the way you speak" he said in a monotone voice.

I knew he didn't mean it regardless I picked up my slate and chalk then wrote, 'Apology accepted'. His mum smiled at me before dragging her son away, I resumed my work ignoring mostly everything and everyone until I had a customer. It was coming up to lunch time so I went inside to grab some stew, it was a basic stew of mainly veggies but it was filling. I sat at the doorway enjoying my food when an entourage of Minotaurs arrived at the village.

I recognised them from their village, their leader Pundras was leading the entourage, and he is very striking. Tall at nearly 8ft, black fur with rusty orange patches scattered around his body, fine clothing with armour on his thighs, shoulders and forearms and gold chains around his chest. His two bodyguards are his brother and right hand man Darnas and his friend Langa she is a master at duel wielding.

As it was lunchtime kids were out for their meals, I sat and watched for a few more minutes before resuming my work. I started to work on a new blade when I felt a large rock hit my shoulder, turning around with the blade in my hand I saw the kid from before with two others all with stones in their hands laughing. I tried to rise above it but another rock hit me above my left brow making it bleed, that's when I started shouting.

"Yeh uoy sdik teg tuo fo ereh! Era uoy gniyrt ot teg em dellik?!" I was angry and embarrassed.

"What weirdo? We can't understand you!" they shouted enunciating every word.

They were about to throw more rocks when, three large hands stopped them. The Minotaurs and our town's leader were stood around them.

"She said: 'Hey you kids, get out of here! Are you trying to get me killed?' Why are you all out of school and tormenting a woman, who is old enough to be your older sister?" Pundras asked letting the kids go.

"She is a freak she can't speak properly and doesn't fit in here, our parents say so! They said we should push her out of the town!" the leader of the kids said.

I wasn't shocked when I hear this; the Minotaurs and town leader were though.

"You kids follow me now!" town leader said his voice filled with anger. They walked away leaving the Minotaurs looking at me.

I started to get back to work when I heard the hoof-falls of the Minotaurs, I put the shaped blade into water to cool then turned around coming face to chest with Pundras. He brought out a clean rag from his pocket and pressed it to my forehead, I was stunned by this no one had ever wanted to tend to a wound I had even before my accident.

"My name is Pundras this is Darnas and Langa, what is your name?" he asked

Grabbing my slate I wrote my name out, "Y/N. Nice to meet you all"

"You shouldn't be working with an injury, come on lets get your injury tended to" he smiled at me.

We all went inside and sat down in the kitchen, he cleaned the cloth and started to clean the mess before applying a poultice. Picking up my slate and chalk back up I wrote 'thank you' on it, he smiled before asking what caused me to talk backwards.