Minotaur
by
Phillip W. Simpson
Publication
Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: Month9books
“Where
shall I start?” asked Minotaur.
Ovid
made an expansive gesture with both hands. “Where else but the beginning of
course.”
Minotaur
nodded his huge head. “Yes,” he said. “Yes,” his eyes already glazing over with
the weight of thousand year old memories. And then he began.
So
begins the story of Asterion, later known as Minotaur, the supposed half bull
creature of Greek legend. Recorded by the famous Roman poet, Ovid, Asterion
tells of his boyhood in Crete under the cruel hand of his stepfather Minos, his
adventures with his friend, Theseus, and his growing love for the beautiful
Phaedra.And of course what really happened in the labyrinth.
This
is the true story of the Minotaur.
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Scene 3 – Asterion and Phaedra in love
When I say love, we
were young, and it was largely innocent—kissing, caressing, and the like. Still
heady stuff for a young man, so of course I tried to lure Phaedra away from the
palace at any opportunity.
Sometimes, we would
lie sheltered from the sun amongst the cyprus and oak trees, talking, kissing,
and doing what other young couples in love did. They were probably the best
times of my life.
On one such
occasion, Phaedra and I had taken some food and a little wine I’d stolen from
the kitchen and wrapped up in cloth. We set it down in a clearing amongst the
trees and ate and drank our fill. I confess I’d probably drunk more wine than
was good for me and was feeling more than a little bold.
We kissed. Reluctantly,
I broke the embrace to ask a question that had been plaguing me.
“Why do you love
me?” I asked.
Phaedra looked at
me askance, her head tilting slightly to show the perfection of her jawline. I
desperately wanted to kiss her again.
“Do you really need
to ask such questions?” she replied, her face serious.
“Of course I do.
Look at me. Look at you. Don’t you think we are an odd match?”
“Asterion, you of
all people should know I don’t judge based on appearances. To me, you are the
most handsome man in the world because of who you are. You are gentle and have
a kind soul. That’s more important to me than looks. Besides,” she said, with a
twinkle in her eye, “you have big muscles. Every girl likes big muscles.”
“Is that all I am
to you? A slab of meat?” I tried to joke, but my tone was all wrong. I knew I
half meant what I said. I was only too conscious of my massive size and, like
my horns, knew it marked me as an oddity or a strange freak of nature.
Phaedra slapped me
playfully. “Most of the time. Sometimes you’re able to string a sentence
together that is almost intelligent.”
Phillip
W. Simpson is the author of many novels, chapter books and other stories for
children. His publishers include Macmillan, Penguin, Pearson, Cengage, Raintree
and Oxford University Press.
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He
received both his undergraduate degree in Ancient History and Archaeology and
his Masters (Hons) degree in Archaeology from the University of Auckland.
Before
embarking on his writing career, he joined the army as an officer cadet, owned
a comic shop and worked in recruitment in both the UK and Australia.
His
first young adult novel, Rapture (Rapture Trilogy #1), was shortlisted for the
Sir Julius Vogel Awards for best Youth novel in 2012.
He
is represented by Vicki Marsdon at Wordlink literary agency.
When
not writing, he works as a school teacher.
Phillip
lives and writes in Auckland, New Zealand with his wife Rose, their son, Jack and
their two border terriers, Whiskey and Raffles. He loves fishing, reading,
movies, football (soccer) and single malt Whiskeys.
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