Kiya and the God of Chaos

  Chapter Sixty Five: Vitane

  The guard led Kiya along a corridor lit from above by ceiling grids. She hurried to walk beside him.

  “What can you tell me about the Minotaur?” she asked. “I have heard he is a man with a bull’s head, but I need to know more about him if I am to have fighting chance of survival.”

  “You are a woman of courage,” said the guard, “I am glad I have found a companion for the Princess.”

  As they walked along the corridor, Kiya saw that the walls were decorated in a swirling wave-like pattern with a frieze of shells. She would rather not be reminded of the sea and tried to press the guard further.

  “Does the Minotaur speak?”

  The guard laughed. “The only advice I can give you, young lady, is to stay out of the rooms of the maze, for they are traps.” He stopped at one of the many doors that led from the corridor. “Here we are. You can share a cell with Princess Vitane.”

  He opened the door and showed Kiya into a small room with two beds. On one of them a girl sat weeping. She looked up as they entered the room, hope dawning in her tear-stained face. “Has my aunt changed her mind?” she asked.

  The guard shook his head. “I am sorry, Princess.” He pushed Kiya forwards. “I have brought you a companion to cheer you up. She seems like a good, brave girl.”

  Vitane tried to smile at Kiya but a huge sob racked her body.

  “It will soon be time for a meal,” said the guard. “We have prepared a specially nice one.” He didn’t add – as it will be your last – but the unspoken assumption hung in the air.

  “I’m not hungry,” said Vitane.

  “I am,” said Kiya. Now that she no longer felt seasick her stomach was telling her that it had been more than a day since she had eaten.

  “Good girl,” said the guard. He left the room, closing the door behind him. There was the sound of a bolt being drawn. Vitane dried her tears. She was a pretty girl, even though her eyes were red and puffy with weeping. Her hair was in glossy black ringlets, and her skin was pale. When she rose to her feet to greet Kiya, she revealed a small but curvaceous figure that was enhanced by the clinched leather belt around her waist.

  “Hello, I’m Vitane,” she said.

  “I am called Kiya.” They shook hands. “The guard said you are a princess,” said Kiya.

  Vitane nodded. “My father is the ruler of Phaistos and is a cousin of the Queen. There was a battle over who should rule the south of the island. Phaistos lost and my father signed a treaty. I was chosen to be a hostage and live at Knossos as a token of my father’s good faith.”

  She sat down on the bed with a sigh. “My father had many daughters and I was honoured to be chosen. I thought my father loved me best to entrust me with such a task. I now realise that he always planned to break the treaty and I was the one he found easiest to sacrifice.” Tears were pouring down her cheeks again and Kiya sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.

  “Don’t cry, Vitane,” she said. “You cannot be sure that your father planned to break the treaty, perhaps circumstances forced him to do so. Besides, even if he did plan it, what better way to avoid the Queen’s suspicions than to give his favourite daughter as a sacrifice? He is probably as miserable as you are.”

  Vitane stopped crying. “I had not thought about it that way,” she said.

  “He might be planning to rescue you even now,” said Kiya.

  “Really? Do you think so?” Vitane gazed at her with shining eyes. “Do you think he really loves me?”

  “I am sure he does,” said Kiya and wondered what father would knowingly sacrifice such a loving daughter.

  The door opened and the guard came in with a tray laden with food. He placed it on a small table between the two beds. “Eat well,” he said.

  “I think I might be hungry after all,” said Vitane.

  The guard smiled at her. “Are you feeling better, Princess?”

  “Much better,” said Vitane, “thanks to my new friend, Kiya.”

  The guard flashed Kiya a grateful look and left the room. The smell of cooked fish filled the air and Kiya regarded the meal with interest. There were strange shellfish she didn’t recognise, animals that looked like bunches of suckered tentacles, and a stew with floating fish heads. Even her ravenous appetite quailed at such unfamiliar fare.

  Vitane tucked in enthusiastically and Kiya followed her example. The shell fish were quite nice but had a tang of the sea about them. The tentacles were too chewy. The stew was delicious and there was also grilled fish.

  As the plates emptied they revealed pictures on the pottery. Many were of sea images – shells, seaweed and smiling fish. One was of a bull with a girl somersaulting over its horns.

  “That is what we will be doing tomorrow,” said Vitane. “If we are lucky enough to escape the Maze of the Minotaur.”

  “Tell me about the Minotaur. Is he a monster or a god?” asked Kiya.

  “Do you not know?” Vitane looked at Kiya in amazement. “He is a monster, a crazed slayer who eats human flesh.”

  “Is he intelligent?” asked Kiya.

  “What?” Vitane was puzzled by her question.

  “Is he like a human, can one converse with him?”

  “Of course not. He is an animal, a monster.”

  “How long has the Minotaur been here in Crete?” Kiya asked.

  “Many generations. He swam in from the sea as a gift from the gods and he has been kept in the maze ever since. He craves human flesh and so once a year he is allowed to satisfy his desire with the Ceremony of Sacrifice. I have watched, but I never thought it would happen to me.”

  “What? You watched him kill and eat people?” Kiya was horrified.

  “What is wrong?” said Vitane. “We all watch. The day of the Ceremony is a public holiday. The maze is set into a terrace and there are tiers of seats all around. It is very exciting. We bet on which girls are going to make it through the maze without the Minotaur catching them.”

  Kiya felt more hopeful. “You mean it is possible to escape from the maze?”

  “Oh yes,” said Vitane. “The Minotaur does not kill everyone. Usually, a few get through and then dance with one of the sacred bulls in the central arena.”

  “Are the girls given their freedom after that?” asked Kiya.

  Vitane’s pearly brow wrinkled in thought. “It might happen, but I cannot remember it. Last year the dancers all tired and were gored by the bull.”

  It seemed like a poor choice of death to Kiya.

  Evening was coming. The slanted rays of the sun had a rosy tinge as they shone through the grating above their heads. There was a knock on the door and the guard came in to collect the tray.

  “You have eaten well,” he said.

  “Please thank the cook for a delicious meal,” said Vitane.

  The man bowed. “She will be pleased, Princess.”

  “And thank you, Duripi, for finding me a friend. I will not fear death with Kiya by my side.”

  The man bowed again and left the room.

  “That was a brave thing to say,” said Kiya.

  “I am feeling brave,” said Vitane. “I am sure that my father will come and rescue me.” She went over to her bed and lay on her back looking up at the grating. “I will stay awake all night and wait for him.”

  Slowly the light faded and the room became dark. Kiya lay on her bed and listened to Vitane’s breathing become deeper and more rhythmic until they both slept.