Corruption of Fate

The trek through Minopolis had become unnervingly silent after leaving Pasion’s store. The reindeer passenger had not said a word after her condemning question, while the minotaur driver had no ability to excuse what she had learned.

“Why didn’t you tell me how the slaves were stored at the Deer Depository?”

Inquiring about that particular topic was not the minotaur something wished to speak on, as what happened there was an act that defied any notion that the relationships between his kind and those they enslaved could be overall positive or at least benign for those accepting their subjugation. It might have even been the greatest sin the minotaur committed against those unwillingly bound to them, and cemented the idea that they were seen as nothing more than possessions.

‘Cemented’ was perhaps the most apt way to describe the functions of the Deer Depository, as it was not some form of daycare or kennel where slaves were sent to be taken care of when not in use. Such a facility would probably have been seen as yet another positive aspect of minotaur society by the Antlerteans, a place that would give servants a vacation away from their masters when they were not needed, or to allow them to spend their elder years in retirement, but it would not have been cost efficient for the bulls that would end up paying for such a thing either up front or by tax. No, instead a few enterprising bulls came up with a more clever and inexpensive means of storing slaves that had no purpose to fulfill.

Having once hailed from the lands neighboring Equestria, minotaur were no strangers to the magical animals known as Cockitrice. Half fowl, half reptilian monsters that possessed the ability to turn beings of flesh into objects of stone, and reverse the process if convinced to do so. A creature petrified in this manner did not require food, water, heat, or any other necessity or comfort to survive, as once they became flesh once more their bodies would be just as they were prior. All that would be needed was a small space to put them away, as if they were a bottle of wine awaiting the day they’d be uncorked.

All it took was the gathering of enough Cockitrice to farm a steady supply, and a good advertisement campaign presenting this as a method of preserving one’s preferred females for future use, and one of Minopolis’ most successful services was started. The practice became popular quickly, mostly used with does to prevent them from reaching a point where they would run out of eggs and no longer be useful as breeders. If a minotaur ever wished to enjoy the female again, or another bull inherited them, all they would have to do was reverse the process.

This period of de-petrification would typically last only as long as it took for the female to give birth once more, due to regulations that were made preventing any impregnated female from being turned to stone. This was not only due to the government mandates of the time promoting the re-population of the minotaur as a species, but also because petrification had a side effect that was deemed too cruel to inflict upon the unborn, minotaur or otherwise. While all bodily functions of any turned to stone were effectively frozen, they still experienced the time in between one look into a Cockitrice’s eyes to the next.

Tests performed by the Antlerteans showed that three of the senses, that being smell, taste and touch, would get locked into whatever they were experiencing the moment of being petrified, leading to experiments where does were made to smell the scent of freshly cut flowers, had their favorite foods pressed against their tongues, or were made to climax at the same second of petrification, each leading to a prolonged experience of the sensation that was held until they were reverted to flesh.

Contrary to that, the senses of sight and sound were for the most part fully functional, as were the thought processes of those who underwent petrification. Every second that passed would be felt, every word heard, and every event that passed by their stone eyes perceived like a scene they could not participate with. This type of incarceration, imprisoned in one’s own body, able to think but not interact, as their stone bodies held the memory of their last moments of sensation, was deemed torturous to many of those who underwent the tests, which lead to the decision to not allow a newly emerged consciousness growing in a mother’s womb to have to endure it, but did not prevent it from being legalized for use on those of proper age.

After all, the experience or even the threat of it seemed to do wonders in terms of endorsing obedience among the deer, and even now it when it was implemented on the rare stag or doe who more conventional forms of punishment didn’t reach, it would educate them quickly on the importance of submission, while causing no harm to the parts of them that mattered. Even more so than the enslavement, the corporal punishment, and the forced breeding, it was a practice of the minotaur that was completely inexcusable, as it had zero purpose outside of keeping a creature alive longer for the selfish reasons of the one forcing this state upon them.

It was one thing that the bull men had bound an entire species to their will, where they and their descendants would live their lives tending to the whims of their masters, but this created a situation where said lives, and thus their time as slaves, had no truly set expiration date. it was already a common enough practice to just have a female petrified just before they can be impregnated for what would be their last time with the intent of never turning them back, turning them into display pieces and monuments, preventing any means to bring their servitude to an end, even by way of the finality of death.

Assuming that Alice knew all this, and this information bolstered by her reasonable distaste of the enslavement of her own kind, it was not beyond Babi’s understanding why the reindeer became spitefully quiet. This wasn’t a matter of a few cruel minotaur doing something for sadistic reasons, while most merely repurposed a cultural norm to make things easier on all involve. Minotaur knew this held no benefit to the deer, as they would never allow such a fate to befall themselves, but did it to their slaves anyways. Babi himself often considered doing this, as a few of his deer were getting on in years, and he was too attached to think of the possibility that one day they might not be around. As self serving as it was, knowing that a loved one still existed in some form, that you could talk to them and share your feelings, even if they could not talk back, was comforting.

While Babi wasn’t going to make up excuses to this practice, the silence was adding a hefty toll upon his debt of guilt. A less empathetic minotaur could just negate the balance, wipe their ledger clean, but Babi could not so easily ignore his feelings. He wished there was a way to ease this burden, to make his passenger overlook this transgression on deerkind, but knowledge of this nature was not easily forgotten.

As Babi kept walking the streets, his externally stoic demeanor displaying nothing of the turmoil brewing inside over this matter, he ignored the sounds of the active city taking place around him. He could not be bothered by the words of other minotaur debating current events, or deer slaves walking around, either during performing some duty to their masters or enjoying some free time permitted to them. All of these noises faded into the background as Babi’s thoughts overwhelmed them. That was until a loud flood of voices struck his ears, and momentarily pulled him away from his brooding.

The minotaur knew what this sound was, as the familiar cheer of an excited crowd flowed out of the only building that stood tall over the ‘walls’ of the maze. While he had perfect knowledge of what part of the city he was in, it had slipped his mind that he was getting close to this location.

“Hmmmm…” the bovine hummed aloud, considering how the deer wished to know more about his people.

If she wished to see something his people did that didn’t involve the enslavement of others in some capacity, this would have been the place to do so. With a new destination in mind, Babi did a U-turn to pull his cart into the opposite direction from where he was heading, an action that did not go unnoticed by the one riding within it.

“Where are you going?” Alice asked immediately, unable to retain her silence with this change of course.

If a minotaur had perfect navigational skills, then there would be no reason for them to turn completely around unless their destination changed. He had been heading to the city’s exit now that his deliveries were done, so any change had to be anywhere aside from the way out.

“Oh, sorry.” Babi said, not stopping for a second as he headed deeper into the maze, “An idea popped into my head, something that I thought you might enjoy. I would have warned you before changing course, but I wasn’t sure you were ready to talk yet.”

“What?” Alice said, clueless about what this idea Babi had come up with was about, and not really in the mood for a deviation in their plans, “Don’t you think we should just leave? What about your schedule?”

“My schedule is done,” Babi replied, “And my deer know I sometimes stay in the city to do things after working. If you weren’t here, I might have gone to get a few drinks.”

By Babi’s statement, Alice could remove the idea of a minotaur pub being where they were heading, but that still left every possibility aside from that, and she didn’t know enough about minotaur to hazard a guess at what they considered ‘enjoyable’ .

“You said you are here to learn about our nation,” Babi continued, “But you’ve also made it clear from the start that you came here with less than positive thoughts on us minotaur. I know learning about the Deer Depository has only soured that opinion further, but it couldn’t have helped that you haven’t done anything but sit in a cart and the storage area of a shop all day. So I’d like to take you somewhere. A place where you might be able to see a different side of us, before we make our leave.”

“A place? Like a public place?” Alice said, not liking the direction this conversation, or the cart, seemed to be heading.

“Yes,” Babi answered, “But you should be fine there. A cloaked deer, no matter how strange, will not be able to pull the eyes of my brethren away from what will take place.”

“Are you sure?” Alice questioned, for a moment wondering if this change of course was a deviation from the path of fate, and could get her in trouble.

That was until the reindeer thought things through, and reminded herself that in order for someone to alter the path, they would have to know what they were changing to defy it. It was Babi’s destiny to suggest that they go to this new location, and so long as Alice didn’t know what exactly would be happening, it was her destiny to return to the Gift Givers’ cabin in a few days.

“I suppose it’s fine if we go,” said Alice, assuming her safety was assured. Allowing herself a little room to relax, she let the minotaur guide her to whatever place he had in mind.

The way to their destination was not as straight a shot as it could have been, had the layout of Minopolis been like any other kingdom of less convoluted design, but it didn’t take too long for Babi to navigate his way to the destination. Along the way, Alice noticed the occasional loud cheers coming from the tall building they seemed to be traveling around, and came to the conclusion that this was where they were heading on her own. Her correct assumption was validated when they entered into one of the ‘rooms’ of the maze, where within was housed the monumental building.

“What is this place?” Alice asked, not sure what she was looking at.

“This is the Colosseum,” Babi answered, “A place of sport, where my brethren come to compete against one another, as spectators watch for their entertainment.”

“So it’s like a stadium,” Alice said in reply, having heard the name of the Colosseum several times before, but only now understanding its purpose.

While this structure was vastly larger than any other stadium Alice had seen, they were not a concept unique to Minopolis. The reindeer village she had come from had one built from before she was born, where they held the ‘Reindeer Games’ every winter. Of course, she didn’t expect to see the same types of competition here that her people held, especially when reindeer sports often involved flying. With any sports she was used to out of the question, it brought the doe to wonder what the minotaur did in their stead.

As Babi pulled his cart and passenger into this space made for the Colosseum, Alice could see that as huge as this building was, there was still room for other things of interest. Vendors could be seen all around, ones that would typically be expected around this kind of event location. Minotaur attending stands as they peddled off what had to be souvenirs and trinkets for what went on inside, with items ranging from photos to medals to… weights?

Sizable barbells and disc shaped weights were being sold, with numbers etched into them that denoted how heavy they were in measurements of pounds, starting at fifty and growing in multiples of that. As Alice noticed a few of the disc weights, which she knew were used for lift bars, went up to two-hundred and fifty, she couldn’t believe that these amounts were normal for even the physically endowed bovines. They had to be what a creature already as powerful as them used to get stronger. As the reindeer was brought closer to these stalls, she spotted large jars of protein powder and keg sized containers of hydration drinks being sold as well, leaning more into the idea that what these vendors were selling was minotaur sized versions of regular gym equipment and exercise supplements.

For how many merchants were set up within the area, they didn’t take up but a fraction of the space left unclaimed by the Colosseum, as a large majority of the area around this central building was paved over portions of land used for parking space. It made sense that such a thing would be needed, since citizens from all around the city, and perhaps from the other minotaur cities on the island, might flock to this place to witness the competition that took place within. A lot of the spaces were filled already, and there was no reason to assume that was a rare occurrence.

As Babi tried to find an open spot to use, and Alice tried to help spot an open space, she was reminded that not every vehicle of this kingdom was pulled by bovine hands. Several of the chariots they passed by had their ‘steeds’ still bound to their pull bars, Antlerteans left standing outside waiting for their master’s return, a large majority of which being stags, with a small few being does. Remembering how her future master used a bunch of bucks to pull his own chariot, use of females had to be a personal preference of the minotaur who owned them.

Not every chariot was currently being crewed though, as there were just as many completely vacant ones parked as well. At first Alice believed that reason for this was that those ones were being granted the luxurious privileged of joining their master to watch the show, and while that might have been right in a few cases, the search for a place to put Babi’s cart lead to her spying another part of the parking area that reserved for something other than vehicles. An area which the signs around it designated as ‘deer parking’.

Here, several rows of parallel bars were set up, with deer stationed at them like bikes on a rack. Some stood upright, while others used the bars to bend over and lean on, and a small few either crouched down or had their bottoms planted on the ground. No matter the position they took though, each deer kept their hands firmly grasped to the bar their master left them at. Alice couldn’t begin to comprehend the level of discipline and obedience being displayed by the Antlerteans, as nothing was binding them to the bars save for their own grip. The reindeer couldn’t see herself capable of doing the same, not just from having no desire to obey a minotaur, but also since it had to be dull and frustrating waiting in one spot, knowing the person you were waiting on was doing something far more interesting without you.

“Here we are,” Babi said, finding an empty spot, and pulling in with no hesitation.

Once the cart was parked and tied up, Babi and Alice made their way to the closest entrance to the Colosseum, and merged into a small herd of minotaur and deer lined up to watch the competitions held within. None of them paid too much mind to the solitary doe walking around with her hood up, more interested in discussing with one another about what they expected to see. Alice could hardly make out one word from another, but one word she was able to pick up over and over was ‘fight’.

So they hold combat sports here, Alice thought to herself, though that should have been one of her guesses from the start.

Judging by the natural physical aptitude of a minotaur, it would be a no brainer to believe their favorite form of competition would be showing off their strength. While things like weight lifting or shot put would have been more pacifistic ways of displaying raw power, that was not what a species of conquerors would turn to in terms of pitting one’s abilities against another. Combat oriented sports allowed them to assert dominance upon one another, and would innately establish a hierarchy among this tribe. Dragons, being a savage race with no concept of order outside of who was stronger than who, created pecking orders as well through aggressive activities like wrestling. So while Alice knew only slightly more about dragons than she did minotaur, this comparison gave her some understanding on how fighting could be ingrained into some part of a society.

Understanding or not, Alice wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of watching the bulls enact unknown degrees of damage to one another. She wasn’t expecting death matches, as those would go against the minotaur’s initiative to repopulate their species, but injuries and broken bones were still possible in even the least violent sports. Still, her goal for this trip was to learn about the minotaur, and Babi was offering her a look into his culture’s pastime. Refusal would be a betrayal of her goals, so while she might have to avert her eyes when things got extreme, she would will herself to watch for as long as possible.

The group Alice and her guide had joined with dwindled down bit by bit as they waited their turn to enter, and eventually they made it to the ticket booth. Blocking their way inside was a turnstile, minotaur sized of course, which was a bit silly looking considering how the deer present could probably slip through the rotating bars if they wanted in. Inside the booth was another Antlertean , a stag who received payment and used some mechanism to lock and unlock the turnstile for each customer. An arrant thought flashed through Alice’s head, as she humored the idea that this stag might have been the most powerful deer in the minotaur’s nation, as he had been granted the ability to withhold a service from the bovines, lest they pay his tax.

The price these bulls had to pay to be permitted entry was listed above the teller’s window. Minotaur, listed as ‘citizens’, had to pay ten denarii for a ticket, which Alice quickly figured was the name of their coin, while any ‘servants’ they wished to bring with them only cost five.

Are they just devaluing their slaves for the sake of it?, Alice thought to herself, ignoring the possibility that it might have been cheaper due to the sizable minotaur taking up more space. Assuming prejudice, the reindeer silently chuckled at how the minotaur had created a system where the deer, if given some form of allowance, held a financial advantage over their very masters.

“Enjoy the fights.” said the stag from behind the ticket counter, as another bull made his way through the turnstile, it becoming Babi’s turn next, “And how many for you, sir?”

“One citizen, one slave,” Babi replied, tossing the amount needed on the counter, “And I’ll need a program. Haven’t been here for a few weeks.”

“Of course, sir.” the stag replied, ducking down for a moment to grab a schedule sheet, handing it over the second he was upright again, “Enjoy.”

Babi took the pamphlet and pushed the unlocked bars open for himself and his guest, appreciating that the reindeer didn’t so much as scoff when he claimed she belonged to him.

“So how long does this place stay open?” Alice asked, more so she could get an idea on how long they were intending on staying.

“Matches run all day,” Babi said, “Starting at dawn and ending at dusk, but few attempt to stick around for the full duration. We come in, watch a few matches, then leave once we’re satisfied. If there is a particular fight we are interested in, then it’s better to schedule yourself to come around that time.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Alice replied, “But your kind fight each other all day long?”

“There are breaks,” Babi explained, unsure if Alice was being literal, “But this is a business. While any bull is allowed to compete if they wish, there is money to be had and wages to be paid.”

“You minotaur really like looking at everything through that lens, don’t you?” Alice replied, but didn’t press further on the statement.

Instead, she took a moment to look at her surroundings, noting that it held the same strange feeling of normalcy as the rest of the city, as bovine and cervid alike walked the halls or loitered about, talking to one another casually about the matches they had witnessed, putting no credence into the fact that many of those present were property. While Alice still had a concept of how this was possible, it was not something she wouldn’t find weird so shortly after the revelation.

As Alice followed Babi past a few groups of minotaur and deer speaking on equal terms, not trying to focus an ear to any gathering for too long, another peculiar sight was noticed by the reindeer. The walls in this hall bore murals of chiseled stone, presenting minotaur in glorious depictions of battle and victory. This might have seemed like something that would be common in a place of competition, but such displays of artistic expression were absent everywhere else in the city. She hadn’t seen so much as a statue to honor the king, and the only thing that gave off a sense of having artistic merit were the intricately weaved glowing Antlertean power lines adorned on many of the stone structures in order to fuel the many devices around Minopolis.

“Hey, why doesn’t this city display more works of art like this?” Alice asked her guide.

“Art holds no inherent value,” Babi replied, “No profit to be gained from putting effort into something that might not return your investment. The most well made painting in the world could be housed in a gold frame, but unless someone else has some sort of sentimental attachment to the painting, it is only worth the value of the frame.”

“So minotaur don’t have an interest in art?” Alice asked, while remembering that Pasion did sell some knick knacks that could serve no purpose more than to be put on display.

“We do not possess the same fascination other creatures seem to have in these things,” Babi replied, “But we have found that gifting some bauble to a servant as a reward, or allowing them to explore their creativity through crafts, helps with their mood. Why this is, me and my brethren do not understand, but there is much that our servants do that we do not fully grasp.”

“So I assume these are Antlertean made too?” Alice asked, curious because none of the murals were magically charged like a lot of the other Antlertean made things.

That might have just been because stone etchings didn’t require it, but the reindeer did spot several torch holders in the wall, which would not have been needed if magitek lights had been installed. Even the turnstile up front was a simple mechanism, so it felt like there was some sort of magic ban in place here.

“They are, though the imagery was guided by the owner of the Colosseum. Our Master of Combat, Attilius. He above most others respects the ‘art’ of battle, and thus he might have had an interest depictions of it displayed thought actual artistic means within his arena.”

“I guess so.” Alice said, looking over the murals as they passed by each depiction of venerated battles. Loving renditions of brutal combat enacted upon one another by bovine warriors, showing grand displays of victory and defeat, that no doubt acted as a record of the past fights held in this place.

“Oh, would you look at that.” Babi said, looking at his program sheet, “It looks like we are in luck, and will be able to sit in on a match with the champion of the Colosseum and one of the up and coming combatants. A very lucky coincidence to stop in at such a time.”

Alice had a feeling that luck played little part in this, as fate itself had to have guided her to this moment. For what reason, she couldn’t hazard to assume, but perhaps she would learn something important here.

“Ah, here we are,” said the bull as he stopped at an open archway that headed out into the stands. They had passed several already, but Alice was too distracted to notice, “My favorite place to sit is just outside this pathway.”

Alice continued to follow Babi as he led her outside, and while it took a moment for her eyes to adjust from the shift in lighting, she was soon able to see one match in progress, and it wasn’t what she assumed having seen all the murals that purely depicted bull on bull bouts.

Out in the center, within a vastly open arena, stood four minotaur, equipped with a combination of lassos, nets, and bolas. Tools used for capture, not combat. The four bovines were not facing one another, but instead going against the last thing that Alice expected on there, that being a group of stags and does who had been released out into the arena with them.

Alice quickly scooted up aside Babi, and as quietly as she could have said to him, “You have deer fight against your warriors? Isn’t that completely unfair?”

“Huh? Oh, it must be an exhibition round.” Babi answered, taking note of what was going on, as the four minotaur individually went after small portions of the deer, “It’s not entirely what you think, and those deer aren’t meant to actually fight the gladiators. In this kind of match, the slaves are just supposed to keep away for as long as possible, while the competitors try to capture them. For each deer caught, that minotaur will get a point, the objective of this competition being to get as many points as possible.”

As if on cue, one of the does had got tripped up by a bolas that caught her by the ankles, and as soon as her body hit the ground, she was scooped up by a charging bull and tossed over his shoulder.

“Of course, it’s not simple enough to capture them, but you also have to take them to your goal.” Babi pointed to several fenced off areas at the edge wall of the arena, where several deer had already been standing in wait.

“Isn’t that really dangerous for your slaves?” Alice asked, having to raise her voice as those watching this display cheered at the capture. It was hard not to be concerned for the deer participating in this, as even the fall she just witnessed that doe take looked like it could have hurt.

“All sports come with physical risk,” said Babi, climbing up a set of steps between the bleachers of the stand, “But the deer used in this belong to Attilius, and are put through a regimen to make them suitable for this kind of activity. Believe me, if they didn’t pose some sort of challenge, their master would not allow them to set hoof onto the combat grounds.”

Alice tried to keep an eye on things happening in the arena as she followed Babi, worried that her guide was underestimating the potential danger this sport posed. Yet, despite the previous doe being caught shortly after Alice’s arrival, the remaining deer were fairing better against the minotaur than she thought they might. The bulls had power and training, but the deer were small and nimble targets that were hard to catch once they got moving. When a minotaur tried to lasso or net them, the doe or stag in question would zip off or duck away, getting thrilled reactions from the crowd on par to when the one doe was caught.

Had Alice seen earlier moments of this match, it would have been clear that the only reason so many were already in their scoring nets was because the amount of bodies on the field provided them little room to dodge the minotaur effectively, and the problems they faced now was that they were running out of steam after being hounded for an amount of time only those watching from the start knew, while the bulls had took their time and preserved their already gigantic reserves of stamina.

“Here we are,” said Alice's guide, locating some empty space for the two of them, picking a place right next to the stairs to save Alice from any incidents that might have come from her walking in front of another creature. Setting himself down upon this empty spot, the bull then requested the reindeer join him by saying politely “Please, sit”.

Alice did so without issue, having gone this far, becoming a part of the crowd watching the crude sport taking place below. A few more of the remaining deer had been captured during the brief moment she turned away, one caught in a net while the other had been corralled into the scoring area, which showed Alice that physically picking up and placing a deer in the netted off spaces was not the only legal means to earn points as the crowd gave another enthusiastic cheer at the act.

Only a few competing deer remained at that point, slightly outnumbering the minotaur. Those remaining did their best to keep their distance from the their pursuers, taking every moment they could to stop and catch their breath. In the flat, open arena though, there was no place they could go that truly gave them time to recover from the endurance test they had been put through, only given a moment to stop when they were not the one being pursued. However, just as it seemed like a few more would be rounded up, a loud gong was sounded, and a voice from the stands yelled out, “Time up! All participants stop where you are!”

The crowd followed this up with a final cheer that was much louder than the ones prior, participating in the announcement that this round had come to a close. The minotaur on the field obeyed the call to cease, with one, who had managed to picked up a buck just before the round ended, lightly swing his arm to express his regret that he had not made it to the scoring zone. Setting his captive down, that stag, and all others remaining on the field, collapsed to the ground, taking a seat or laying flat depending on how hard they exerted themselves.

“Question,” Alice asked, wondering why the deer had been pushing themselves so hard, “Do the Antlerteans get punished if they get caught?”

“I wouldn’t think so,” Babi replied, “All the slaves that participate in these events are, like the arena itself, owned by Attilius. I’m not personally acquainted with him, but it is well known that he holds strength, fortitude, and effort in high regard, even among his possessions. So while he is one of the elders, I don’t believe he would punish any of his servants that tried their best. Even the first one out should be spared if they at least made an attempt.”

Alice gave a murmur in response, clearly not convinced. That was when Babi decided to present an alternative outlook to this situation.

“I probably shouldn’t be surprised you’d think that, but did you not at least consider the opposite?” said the minotaur, “That they were working so hard because it came with a reward? Personally, if I was under a cruel master who would punish me if I didn’t meet his expectations, and I felt the likelihood that I would fail was great, I would not subject myself to this kind of suffering on the slight chance to avoid it. If my master instead promised me something for success though, I might push myself harder in order to get it. Could be something as simple as a few days off to relax after proving myself, so long as it was something that held value to me.”

“Yeah… I guess that could be the case.” Alice said as she watched the heavy panting of the deer in the arena stabilize.

Those that were able to make it to the end looked more ecstatic than relieved with their victory, and those in the scoring zones showed little fear as they gave applause to those who managed to make it to the end. Giving this all a second thought, creatures pushing themselves to past the point of exhaustion to win was normal in these kinds of activities. Once more, an activity in this kingdom that Alice wanted to see as sinister turned out to no outwardly expressed evil intent, and without the reindeer’s ever wavering presumptions about the minotaur, she would not be able to tell what she was seeing apart from any normal sporting event.

As Alice continued watching, there was also a bit of competitive comradery put on display as the minotaur, who just moments ago had been trying to run the deer down, help them to their hooves, and walked them to one of the exits as all participants left the field.

“So, who won?” Alice asked, though not knowing any of the minotaur who competed from one another.

“Huh? Oh, well this was just an exhibition match, so the winner of it really doesn’t matter.” Babi answered, speaking the truth, “I’m sure those boys will gloat over who had caught the most, but for the most part this place is about testing your abilities, not winning or losing.”

“You said there were wages involved,” Alice said, “Doesn’t the winner get a bigger payout?”

“One would think that was the case, but no.” said Babi, clarifying Alice’s assumption, “To help minimize any hard feelings among the competitors, each one has to agree to receiving equal pay for each event they are a part of. The only rewards they receive are recognition and titles. This applies to the perks granted to them as well, as even a newcomer will be granted all the amenities the Colosseum has to offer. This includes use of the private gym in the lower levels, free food and drink, and…” Babi gave a slight sigh, knowing that the reindeer would not like what he was about to say, but having learned his lesson from trying to withhold information from her before, “Sexual use of any of the deer that staffs this facility.”

Alice put a hand over her eyes, shaking her head slightly, “Of course that would be one of the things they did here. Honestly though, this is the first time you’ve brought up the idea that you minotaur would share slaves with one another.”

“That’s cause we usually don’t.” Babi went on to explain, “Minotaur usually keep their females to themselves, and it takes a certain type to want to share their property with another. However, Attilius has a strange outlook on the breeding mandate. He supports it, completely, but has never bred a female himself as none has deemed themselves worthy of his seed in his eyes. Regardless, the count of his privately owned slaves dwarfs that of a slave merchant’s stock on any given day, as he kept buying women in hopes that one would display a level of strength he could respect. So since he has so many, he lets the fighters breed them instead, to help raise the minotaur population.”

“So that’s why he owns a chimera.” Alice said, putting the thoughts in her head together.

“A chimera?” said Babi in confusion, “I don’t believe I’ve heard of one of those before. Must be something from your lands. What are they like?”

Alice realized that she had brought up a detail from her trip to the future, where she had first encountered the arena master. “Well… They are kinda big… With three heads. More monster than a civilized creature like us, really.”

“We minotaur are sometimes called monsters by those we bring here from across the sea.” Babi said, “Maybe one of these chimeras are what Attilius would like, but I don’t believe he has one already. If he had a woman he felt met his standards, I have no doubt he’d parade her around and let everyone know.”

Yeah, I know, Alice thought, having seen this happen in a yet to come history, and having interacted with the chimera in a less than pleasant fashion.

The reindeer wished that she let slip the existence of that creature, now worrying if this wasn’t the closure of some loop, and that mentioning it to Babi here would lead to that point where she’d get bit by the chimera in the future. If that was the case, then the path of fate had a cruel sense of irony.

“You’re right,” Alice said, trying to laugh off her mistake and look like she had a moment of foolishness, “Besides, how would I know that? I’ve never met the guy.”

“Are you feeling ok?” Babi asked, agreeing that it was an odd claim for the reindeer to make.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Alice said, “Must have been the heat. It’s not usually this warm where I’m from. Now, wasn’t that match you were looking forward to suppose to happen next?”

Babi, not being stupid, could tell Alice was trying to hide something, but if Alice didn’t want to talk about it, he wasn’t going to pry. “Yes, intermission should be done soon. Then the next match will start.”

It took a little while longer, but shortly after the awkward talk came the sound of horns, followed by the voice of a doe through a set of pipe speakers set up throughout the bleachers, reinforcing the idea that there was some sort of ‘no magic’ rule within this building. “Masters and slaves, we here at the Colosseum are proud to announce this upcoming match. Featuring the Colosseum’s champion, the massive mountain of might and muscles Asterius, in a one on one battle against one of the freshest faces from our fierce fighters, Talos!”

The crowd cheered wildly at the introduction of the combatants, with many standing up in their seats as the two bulls stepped out from opposing archways that served as entrances to the combat grounds. Both looked like the type that even other minotaur would hesitate to challenge, their bodies stone slabs of beef that gave off the impression that they were so solid they could deflect arrows if need be. They made their features more pronounced by trimming down their fur so close to their skin that they were practically shaved, which was a grooming measure the previous minotaur combatants had also had taken, but had gone unnoticed by Alice due to how far away her seating was.

To the reindeer the two bulls looked like any others of their kind, but a bit bulkier than the average bovine, not noticing any real differences, though she did make a personal note on how the cloth garbs the two were dressed in left more parts of their body exposed than she thought was appropriate for a fight. One was a light tan, the other was a silverish gray. One was taller, while the other more stout. If not for these aspects, the reindeer might not have been able to tell them apart.

As the two bulls got into the center of the arena, they stopped once they got within ten feet of one another, at which point a small team of deer ran out to them, holding with them a set of equipment for each combatant comprising of a club, a shield, and a helmet. Alice wondered for a split second why they didn’t have these things coming out, but as the crowds’ cheer heightened once more, it became evident this was part of the spectacle. Watching the bulls gear up and take on arms, to test the weight of their provided weapons in front of everyone, must have charged this audience waiting to see conflict.

Alice, on the other hand, just couldn’t get into it. While she was sure the upcoming fight would fill her with strong emotions, excitement was the one thing she didn’t believe would befall her. In fact, the only thing she felt at that moment was hunger, as she felt a rumble in her stomach, the loud yelling going on around her drawing out the growl it made. It made sense, as she hadn’t had a bite to eat since departing from Babi’s farm, the bull at least giving her a courtesy breakfast that morning before their trip. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any food vendors anywhere in the stands, unlike at sporting events back in her village. As much as it would have pained her to ask Babi to spend a little more on her, she was truly starting to feel the void in her gut, and was craving about anything at that moment.

That’s when she remembered that she had been given something earlier, a small food item that Pasion’s doe had handed her on the way out. Reaching for the inner pocket of her cloak, she found it was still there, waiting for her to partake of.

I hope there isn’t a ‘no food’ policy in this place, Alice thought, while also assuming that everyone was too distracted to notice her. Carefully bringing the purple skinned peach, which the natives of this island called a Passion Fruit, to her lips, the reindeer doe opened her mouth to take a bite.

It was a shame that she had decided not to use her powers of future sight while on this bovine ruled island, assuming that it would somehow lead to her being brought into a trap by her future self. If the Gift Giver had used it cautiously, she might have seen how mere minutes from now she’d be struggling against her own body, as she entered into a heat unlike any she had felt before. She might have been able to piece together the puzzle, and make a conscious act to stop herself from this pivotal moment in history. The first step in her corruption, that would lead her to the version of herself that indulged in her lust, channeling it through service towards the minotaur.

But as her teeth sunk into the pulp of that fruit that would act as the seed, the seal of her fate forged, making the destiny she wished to never see all that more certain.