Featured Music:

"Escape from the Dragon" from Shrek

After what felt like hours of trudging through mud, vines, and slapping mosquitoes in the rainforest, Strawberry Sundae and Mace made it to a large castle, where storm clouds were blocking out the sun.

"Sure, it's big enough, but look at the location." Mace chuckled.

"Yeah. I can see why many knights might've steered clear. But I don't see or hear a dragon anywhere." Strawberry said. "But I've heard sea dragons are known to be masters of camouflage."

The minotaur and the pegasus walked through the widely opened door of the castle.

It was dark and very spooky inside. There were suits of armor, skeletal remains, and old weapons scattered everywhere, and a lot of seaweed and puddles of water too.

Strawberry ended up stepping in one of the puddles.

"Ugh!" Strawberry grunted in disgust as her back right hoof was wet now. "Oh, great, and I just managed to get all the mud off my hooves."

And then, Strawberry bumped into an old skeleton, knocking the armored helmet onto her head. The pink pegasus whinnied in a panic for a moment, until Mace calmed her down.

"Strawberry. Two things. Shut. Up. Now, go over there and see if you can find any stairs." said Mace, finding the helmet just the right size for him and with a few adjustments, got his horns to fit with it.

"Stairs?"

"The princess will be in the highest room in the tallest tower." Mace said.

"Then shouldn't we be looking for a tower before we find the stairs?"

"Just go find them. Holler if you spot anything."

"And what happens when you run into the beast of this castle?"

"She'll only be our problem until we get her to Palaptine."

"I was talking about the dragon, Mace."

Strawberry just rolled her eyes and then looked around to see if she could find any clue to where the tallest tower was. But, she didn't know that she'd walked right near where a scary creature caught a glimpse of her.

Meanwhile, Mace continued on his own, dressing himself in armor to protect himself in the event he ran into the dragon. That was when he spotted the tallest tower, with a light coming from the window.

"Well, at least we know where the princess is..." but there was one thing missing. "But where's the-"

"HYDRA!" Strawberry screamed and she quickly flew for her life as the large green, multi-headed creature stepped out and went after her as she led him to Mace.

Mace was shocked to see the enormous hydra that came toward him. Strawberry tried to escape, but the Hydra was very fast, and with so many heads came many eyes to see her everywhere, and one of them got closer and closer to her... until all the heads looked back to see Mace grabbing the hydra's tail.

"Gotcha!" Mace exclaimed.

Strawberry took that as her cue to run and hide. But despite his strength, Mace could only hold the beast for so long, and the hydra swung its tail around, carrying the minotaur with it until he threw him high up into the air and crashing through the roof of the tallest tower where Princess Brenda was sleeping.

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Strawberry kept running, trying to hide, but her natural scent of strawberries did not make hiding herself easy, as the beast was able to sniff her out, and that wasn't her only problem. When she entered another part of the castle, she ran into a big green dragon!

Strawberry tried to fly away, but the dragon breathed a huge cloud of smoke that made it difficult for her to see where she was going. Strawberry was forced to land on a broken bridge where she found herself cornered by the dragon.

The dragon roared, Strawberry shaking like a chihuahua.

"Okay, I know I smell like a strawberry, but I assure you, I do not taste like one." Strawberry said.

The dragon just roared again. This time, though, Strawberry got a better look at its teeth.

"Okay, I will say you have good taste, though. And very sparkly teeth too. Very smooth green skin too. Do I detect a hint of ocean breeze?"

The dragon seemed to smile at Strawberry, and then he did something she didn't expect, and turned into a green pegasus who looked to be made of seaweed from his mane to his feet.

"Oh! You're a kelpie!" Strawberry said with realization.

That explained all the footprints of many creatures she saw in the castle, and why the tales of this castle had many different creatures each time someone told it. Kelpies were known as a highly dangerous, seductive beast of the ocean. Most people knew them to resemble horses made of seaweed, or kelp, hence their name. And Kelpie's were also shapeshifters, which made them hard to beat in battle and Hide and Seek.

"You're pretty..." sighed the kelpie.

Strawberry froze for a moment.

"So you can speak! Then you'll understand when I tell you I do not appreciate you almost burning my tail back there, and-!"

Then Strawberry noticed the kelpie getting a little closer and trying to look into her eyes. And then Strawberry found herself being wrapped in kelp and carried away. She whinnied and screamed for Mace to help her, but he didn't seem anywhere to be found.

________________________________

Mace finally came to and shook himself back to reality. He got up and dusted himself off, unaware of Princess Brenda watching him from behind.

Princess Brenda couldn't believe her eyes. A big strong man had finally gotten past the beast of the castle and came to rescue her at last. This was the first time any knight actually made it to her room. She had to make this moment perfect. Quickly, she dusted off her sky blue gown, lay back down, and grabbed a bouquet of daisies to hold, awaiting her true love to awaken her.

Mace finally finished dusting himself off and saw the princess laying down in her bed. She was actually lovelier than he imagined... well, by human standards, anyway. He walked over to her, and shook her by the shoulder.

"Hey, get up!" Mace said, which woke her.

Not the wake up call she had in mind.

"Yes?" Brenda said, amid her surprise.

"Are you Princess Brenda?" asked Mace.

"I am." smiled the princess. "Awaiting a knight so bold as to rescue me."

"Yes, yes, that's very nice. Now let's get you out of here."

"But wait, Sir Knight! This is our first meeting? Should it not be a more wonderful, romantic moment?"

"Not exactly the best time, Lady."

Mace took the princess' hand and brought her to the door.

"Hey! This isn't how the story is supposed to go. By now, isn't this the moment where you sweep me off my feet and bring me down on a rope onto your valiant steed?"

"You've had a lot of time to plan this, haven't you?"

"More than you think."

The door handle broke off, so using his strong horns, Mace headbutted the door off its hinges.

"Way to use your head." Brenda admitted, only to be pulled out by the minotaur knight. "But we have to savor this moment. You could recite a lovely poem for me. A ballet? Sonnet? Lymeric, or something!"

"Not really a poet."

Brenda took a moment to catch her breath. This was not how she pictured meeting her true love, but she had to at least know his name so she could thank him later.

"Well, can I at least know the name of my champion?"

"Mace."

"Sir, Mace." Brenda held out a pretty lace handkerchief. "I pray that you take this favor as a token of my gratitude."

Mace accepted the handkerchief. Unsure what else he was supposed to do with it, he just used it to wipe some sweat away, when the sound of roaring and whinnying filled the air.

"You didn't slay the kelpie?" Brenda said.

"Last I checked it was a hydra." Mace said.

"No, it's a kelpie. It's a shapeshifter."

"Whatever it is, getting it's on my to-do list."

Mace then picked the princess up bridal style and continued to run with her. Though unexpected, it was slightly more romantic for Brenda.

"Well, this is more like it. But still." the princess said. "To slay the beast, you're supposed to charge in, sword drawn, banner flying. That's how all the other knights did it."

"Yeah, right before meeting their doom." Mace reminded her. "And that's just with dragons, which, if I recall, this time it's a kelpie."

"That's not the point."

Eventually, the minotaur and the human princess came across where Mace heard the whinnying coming from. Mace set Brenda down and told her to wait while he went into another room.

"Where are you going? The exit's over there." Brenda said.

"Well, I gotta save my steed."

This was not the kind of knight Brenda expected. He didn't wake her with a kiss, greet her romantically, or even come in on a white horse to ride away with her.

Hands on her hips, Brenda asked, "What kind of knight are you?"

"One of a kind."

Mace quietly snuck into another room in the castle, where he found what looked like a huge nest made of rocks, sand, and seashells surrounding a small body of sea water, which was likely how the kelpie got around the castle so quickly. And the kelpie wasn't alone.

"Look, I'm flattered, but most decent guys, when they ask a girl out, they don't usually tie her up." Strawberry said.

The kelpie looked like he was treating Strawberry as a princess, giving her fruit on a plate of driftwood, placing beautiful seashells in her mane and wrapping seaweed around her tail. By the kelpie's attitude, it appeared he found Strawberry attractive, but Strawberry was making it clear that taking her the way he did was not the way to get her to be his girlfriend.

Carefully, Mace snuck around until he came up to an iron chain that linked to a chandelier above. Mace listened to Strawberry sharing her knowledge of various magical creatures all through the boat ride, and he remembered her saying that iron was the one thing kelpies couldn't escape from, and just wrapping iron chains on them alone slowed them down.

Strawberry kept the kelpie distracted a little longer while Mace swung across the chain and made his way to the two equines. But, he ended up ramming right into Strawberry and the kelpie, who did not appreciate having his date interrupted.

"Sorry, Kelpie, the party's over." Mace said, pulling the chain as the kelpie looked up, and got trapped by the chain as the chandelier wrapped around his neck.

(Cue "Escape from the Dragon")

The Kelpie roared and shifted into a dragon, which made Mace and Strawberry take that as their cue to run.

"I thought you said iron weakened kelpies!" Mace said.

"I never said it stopped their power!" Strawberry said.

The minotaur and pegasus met with the princess, who Mace quickly scooped up and placed onto Strawberry's back.

"Welcome aboard, Princess!" Strawberry greeted.

"It talks!" Brenda gasped.

"Yeah, it's getting her to shut up that's a trick." Mace said, getting on too.

Strawberry carried the princess and minotaur and ran as fast as she could, leading the kelpie all around the castle. Mace guided her to running so that the chain crossed over in various places; he had a plan to keep the kelpie occupied long enough for everyone to get the heck out of there. Eventually, Mace hopped off and grabbed a sword.

"Alright, you two. Head for the exit!" Mace instructed. And Strawberry ran to the exit with Brenda still on her back. "I'll take care of the kelpie."

Mace stuck the sword in the middle of two crossing chains, and then ran as fast as he could to catch up with Strawberry and jump back onto her back and command her to fly. But with how far away land was, Strawberry had to get to higher ground and make a jump for it. Strawberry ran, ran, ran as fast as she could to get to a high cliffside at the far corner of the island, and just as the kelpie was about to catch up to them, Strawberry made the jump, spread her wings, and soared through the air. The Kelpie tried to fly and catch up to them, only for the chain to yank him back, as the sword Mace left made it impossible for him to move forward as long as he was still chained. So, he was forced to watch sadly as the pretty pegasus took off, and he was alone again.

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Strawberry flew for a long time before she finally reached dry land. She was exhausted by the time she landed and let her two riders off, and she fell to her belly, needing to give her wings a rest.

"Wow! That was a workout!" Strawberry heaved.

Brenda, however, was overjoyed the moment her feet touched the ground.

"You did it!" Brenda spun around happily. "You rescued me! You're amazing! You're... you're wonderful.. You're..."

Strawberry was ecstatic when she saw a lake nearby, and she rushed over and dunked her head in to guzzle down a big gulp of water.

"Oh, sweet relief!" Strawberry panted, her mane soaking wet.

"A little unusual, I'll admit." Brenda continued, then she approached Mace. "But thy deed is great and thine heart is pure. I am eternally in your debt."

"Don't forget who carried both of you." Strawberry said.

Brenda chuckled and tickled under Strawberry's chin.

"And where would a brave knight be without his noble steed?"

"You hear that, Mace? She called me a noble steed. I'm officially a steed!"

"The battle is won. You may remove your helmet, Sir Knight."

"Uh... I don't think so." Mace said.

"Why not?" Brenda said.

Mace tried to come up with a lie so the princess wouldn't see he wasn't entirely human.

"I... I have helmet hair."

"Please. I wish to look upon the face of my rescuer."

"Oh, trust me you don't want that."

"But, how would you kiss me?"

"What?!" Mace tripped backwards over a rock. Embarrassed, he picked himself up. "That wasn't in the job description."

Mace looked at Strawberry.

"Don't look at me, you're the one who said you read this stuff in books." Strawberry said. "Most guys in your position would see it as a perk."

"It's destiny." Brenda corrected. "You must know how it goes. A princess locked in a tower, and beset by a monster, is rescued by a brave knight, and then they share true love's first kiss."

"With Mace? You really believe he's your true love?" Strawberry's eyes lit up a little at the thought of it.

"Well... yes."

But then, both Mace and Strawberry started to laugh. Mace thought it was just plain ridiculous that a princess would think he was her true love, and as sweet as a beauty and the beast type story sounded, Strawberry couldn't help finding it hilarious that Mace of all people would have a princess wanting to kiss him when she'd just met him.

"What is so funny?" Brenda asked.

"Let's just say I'm not your type." Mace chuckled.

"Of course you are. You're my rescuer. Now, please remove your helmet."

"I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Just take it off."

"I'm not going to."

"Yeah, and it's not 'cause he's hiding a big zit under there." Strawberry said.

"Take it off." Brenda demanded more sternly.

"No!" Mace said.

"Now!"

Finally, Mace backed down.

"Alright. Easy. As you command, your highness." Mace said.

"But, don't be intimidated by what you see outside." Strawberry said.

Brenda was confused again... until Mace removed his helmet and the princess saw the horns she saw on the helmet were not part of the armor.

"You're... you're...." Brenda got scared. "A minotaur!"

"Don't freak out." Strawberry said. "He won't hurt you."

"I guess you were expecting Prince Charming?" Mace said.

Brenda took a moment to regain her composure.

"Well, yes actually..." Brenda held her head, making her tiara crooked. "No, no! This is all wrong. You're not supposed to be a minotaur."

"Princess, I was sent to rescue you, by Lord Palpatine, okay? He's the one who wants to marry you." Mace explained.

"Well, then why didn't he come rescue me?" Brenda asked.

"Good question. Why didn't he rescue her himself, Mace?" Strawberry asked, fluttering her lashes.

"You can ask him when we get there." Mace said.

"But I have to be rescued by my true love. Not by some minotaur and... and his pet!"

"Hey, I'm no one's pet. Even Sasha didn't call me a pet." Strawberry grumbled.

"Look, Princess. You're not making my job any easier." Mace said. "I faced a sickening boat ride, a man-eating kraken, nearly drowned and lost my steed at the hands of sirens, and fought a kelpie to get you out of there!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but your job is not my problem." Brenda said. "You can tell Lord Palpatine that if he wants to rescue me properly... I'll be waiting for him right here."

Brenda sat on a rock.

"Hey, I'm no one's messenger boy," said Mace. "Alright? I'm a delivery boy."

"You wouldn't dare."

And Mace picked Brenda up and held her over his shoulder.

"You comin', Strawberry?"

"Must you respond so obnoxiously, Mace?" said Strawberry, rolling her eyes before following along.

Brenda kept fighting, demanding to be put down.

"Put me down, or you will suffer the consequences! This is not dignified! Put me down!"

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After a while, Mace was still carrying Brenda, who'd given up on kicking and screaming. Besides, Strawberry's back needed a break after carrying two riders, one of whom was very heavy (and it wasn't the princess or her gown).

Strawberry decided to talk to Brenda. Girl to girl.

"Okay, so here's my sich. Let's say there's this guy who likes you. He seems sweet, but he doesn't make a good first impression, and you're not so sure you're a good match 'cause he's always changing. How would you let him down easy so his feelings aren't hurt, but he also doesn't become depressed and start emotionally eating everything?"

"Just tell him he's not your true love." Brenda suggested. "Everyone knows what happens when you find your true-"

Mace thought it would be funny to literally jump the princess.

"Hey!" Brenda sighed. "The sooner we get to Naboo, the better."

"Yeah, because you're a human." Strawberry said. "Naboo used to be a lot prettier than it is now."

"And what of my groom-to-be, Lord Palpatine? What's he like?"

Strawberry began to snort angrily as she thought of Palpatine.

"Oh, he's a selfish, horrible, inconsiderate-"

"I'll tell you, Princess." Mace interrupted, placing the princess down. "He's definitely a well-dressed man of high power."

"Yeah. His clothes are the only beautiful thing about him." Strawberry said as Mace stopped at a river to wash off. "Inside, he's uglier than a mud troll with the stomach flu."

"Lighten up, Pinky." Mace said, splashing Strawberry.

"Oh, that's how you wanna play it?"

Strawberry jumped into the water and splashed a big wave of water with her wings and soaked Mace from head to toe.

"Who's all wet now?"

"Stop it! Stop it, both of you." Brenda scolded. "I think you two are just jealous that you couldn't measure up to a great ruler like Lord Palpatine."

"I would never be jealous of that monster." Strawberry snorted.

"Nevermind her. For someone who smells sweet, she's just bitter." Mace said. "I'll let you do the measuring when you see Lord Palpatine tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Brenda gasped, seeing as the sun was going to set soon. "It'll take that long? Shouldn't we stop to make camp?"

"She's got a point, Mace." Strawberry said. "It is gonna be dark soon."

"No, that would take longer." Mace said. "We can keep going."

"But there's... robbers in the woods!" Brenda said.

"Another good point. Wandering outside at night is not a smart idea, and neither is giving her to Palpatine."

But Mace wasn't having it. He just wanted to get the princess to Palpatine, get his mountain back, and be done with all this.

"Hey, look. I'm scarier than anything we can find in this forest."

Then Brenda jumped in front of Mace, looking serious.

"I need to find somewhere to camp out now!" Brenda screamed, her voice echoing through the trees and scaring off the poor birds.

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Luckily for Brenda, Mace found a nice little cave of rocks that would make an excellent tent.

"Hey, over here!" Mace said.

Strawberry looked inside.

"Oh, yeah. That's a real cozy suite. Why don't we just throw in a few cockroaches while we're at it to keep her company? I know there aren't exactly hotels in the woods, but we can do better than this."

But the sun was going down, and Brenda needed to hide now!

"No, no, no, no! It's perfect." Brenda insisted. "It just needs one homey touch."

"Homey touch?" Mace inquired. "Like what?"

And Brenda yanked a huge slab of bark off a nearby tree.

"A door." she answered simply. Then she went to the rocks and placed the bark door over the entrance as she went inside. "Well, I bid thee both goodnight."

"You need anything, just holler." Strawberry said.

"I said goodnight!"

Strawberry winced. She figured it Brenda was just cranky because she was tired.

"Wow. No wonder she needed to make camp so soon."

Mace then started to move the biggest rock like he was going to block the entrance.

"Mace! What are you doing?" Strawberry gasped.

"Oh... well... I..." Mace laughed. "Oh, come on! I was just kidding."

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As the beautiful night fell and the sky was filled with tons of sparkling stars. Strawberry and Mace lay down to gaze up at the night time light show.

"You see that group, right over there?" Strawberry pointed with her wing. "That's my constellation. Pegasus." She giggled. "It's amazing how such a small sparkling dot of light really makes an impact on the eyes, isn't it?"

"You know, the stars may look like a bunch of 'Connect the Dots' to you, but things aren't always as the eyes perceive them."

"Is that so?"

"Forget it."

Strawberry had something else on her mind, though. Mace already told her she was more than welcome to live with him in the cave on the mountain once the mission was over, but she couldn't stop thinking about those other creatures.

"Mace, be honest. Have you really thought about what's gonna happen to those other creatures once we give Brenda to Lord Palpatine?"

"You're still on that? Look, I'm fine with you staying. You've been earning your keep, unlike the others. And the first thing I'm gonna do when the mountain is mine again is build a ten-foot wall around my land."

"Even if that weren't a multi-person job, it still doesn't answer my question. Palpatine isn't exactly gonna let them back in Naboo, on account that he banished all of us, including me, and many of those creatures had young children."

"Look, their living situation isn't my problem, or yours. You'll have a nice home all to yourself. No one to bother either of us."

Strawberry thought that sounded like a lonely life. Sure, the mountain was gorgeous, but to be there with only one friend, no other horses, or even kids to play with... and what if something happened to Mace or Strawberry? Then either of them would be alone again.

The pink pegasus started to think maybe there was more to Mace than he was letting on.

"I think this whole wall thing is just something metaphorical you're hiding. If my knowledge serves right, don't minotaurs usually live in stone labyrinths?"

"Usually, we do. But it's not your business." Mace said, turning to his side, but Strawberry walked over there so he would see her face.

"Ah, this is one of those onion layers things, isn't it?" Strawberry said.

Mace was really getting annoyed now.

"No, this is one of those drop it and leave it alone things!"

"Mace, why don't you want to talk about it?"

"Strawberry, why do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm a horse. I can sense distress a mile away."

"You don't sense everything about me."

"No, but I am concerned, and I know you'll feel better if you talk about it."

"Strawberry Sundae, I'm warning you!"

Mace got up. But Strawberry remained calm.

"Just answer me this. Who exactly are you trying to keep out with this wall?"

"Everyone! Okay?!" Mace exclaimed.

Strawberry's ears fell back for a bit, but then they perked up again.

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere."

Mace just groaned.

"For the love of Pete!"

"Mace, what exactly do you have against the entire world?"

Mace sat on a rock and looked up at the moon.

"Look, I'm not the one with the problem, okay? It's the world that seems to have a problem with me." he explained. "People take one look at me and go 'Aah!' 'Help!' 'Run!' A big, stupid, ugly minotaur who eats women and attacks children."

Mace sighed and looked down sadly.

"They judge me before they even know me. That's why I'm better off alone."

Mace didn't know it, but Brenda was peeking out at him, and she started to feel terrible for him. Like so many, she judged him at first and didn't realize that underneath that tough, intimidating exterior, he had a softer, vulnerable side.

Strawberry, on the other hoof, felt sad too. She walked up and wrapped her wing around Mace.

"You know, Mace. When we met, I didn't think you were a big, stupid, ugly minotaur. You're big, but definitely not stupid. Very smart, in fact. You have to be in order to do what you did with the land."

"Yeah, I know." Mace said.

Strawberry then thought of something else.

"You know, back at your cave, I noticed you had a portrait. You had a family at some point, and I think part of why you feel the way you do is because you miss them?"

Mace sighed.

"I did have a family once. But, they didn't live in the cave with me. And I did used to live in a labyrinth... until it happened."

"What?" Strawberry asked.

It was a terribly emotional thing for Mace; he'd never had anyone to share this story with. But now, it seemed as good a time as any to get it out.

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Many years ago...

Mace wasn't always a big, intimidating minotaur you know now. Like every creature, he started out as an innocent little baby. He had a father, and he had a mother, as so many do. Like the minotaurs you know, Mace's parents lived in a labyrinth as guards, made to torment the people who were flung into it as punishment for provoking the emperor.

People, however, always made up rumors that the beasts inside ate children or attacked women, which didn't make sense because Mace's parents were vegetarians, which didn't come easy to live by because they were purposely fed very little to get them angry.

One day, Mace's parents decided they'd had enough of living in this labyrinth, and they decided to escape. By this time, Mace was four years old, and his little horns were starting to grow in.

As night fell, the two minotaurs began marking various parts of the labyrinth to find an exit so they could run away and raise their son in a free land.

Mace's mom carried him dearly in her arms as she and her husband finally made their way to the exit, only to be spotted by guards, and the entire village to fall into a panic when they saw two minotaurs on the loose! Mace's parents ran as fast as they could, but there were so many knights coming after them. Mace's father grabbed some large rocks and began to fight the soldiers and slow them down as best he could.

"Take our son and go!" said Father.

Mother Minotaur ran as quickly as she could, carrying her son far, far away. Her baby was crying as his father disappeared into the distance and never caught up with them. She was crying too. It was just her and her son now; they had to find a safe place to hide.

The mother minotaur kept hiding in the woods with her baby in her arms until they came across a rope bridge that would take them to a new forest to hopefully find a new home. And Mother was halfway across when hunters came from the way she entered, and threw a lit torch in the middle of the bridge.

Mother tried to run to the other side, but the fire spread too quickly, and Mother was forced to do the only thing she could do. With all her might, she threw Mace to the other side as she fell to her demise.

"Mommy!" little Mace cried.

But he didn't have time to mourn then, because the same hunters shot arrows, and balls of fire. So, he did the only thing he could do: RUN!

Little Mace ran for a long time, hiding anywhere he could, but everywhere he went, even though he was just a calf, everyone who saw him attacked him or ran away from him. Mace needed to find a place where no one would find him. Somewhere people didn't tend to go.

Over time, Mace had to grow up sooner than he should have while he was just a little boy, and learn what most people do in their early thirties: how to take care of himself. He traveled on foot for a long time, surviving on what little food he could forage, sleeping in the trees to hide from the humans who lived below. It became clear that he was safest higher up where no one could see him. But, building a treehouse by himself would be hard as well as far from inconspicuous. He needed to look somewhere else. Caves were definitely a place people tended to stay away from, on account bears and bats lived there. But it was on the ground, and people walking by could spot him while he was foraging for food.

For years, Mace was all alone, struggling to survive. He was an orphan. He had no friends to keep him company either. Every time he hid, he would sometimes see kids running, playing, and having fun. He wanted to experience fun like that too, just being a kid. But he couldn't, because the children would sooner attack him than play with him. And even if they didn't attack him, their parents definitely would, just because he was a minotaur.

Mace would spend so many nights crying himself to sleep since the night he lost his parents. He had no one to comfort him in any way. His only friend when he was a kid was a little doll he made himself out of straw he found in a barn he'd hidden inside one night. He took care of that doll like it was his own child, because as he came to learn from his parents, if you love something, you take care of it. But a doll couldn't talk, hug him back, or do anything with him on its own. The only time people running away from him was ever a good thing was when they got so scared they dropped things they were carrying. It helped him to gain a lot of useful tools and sometimes food. He even once scared a scout troop in the forest, and he found a guide book that helped him to forage for a lot more food and uncover recipes and instructions for foods and crafts he could make using things he found in the woods; sometimes he even found other books just to read. Except, for a while he didn't know how. So, in the event he snuck by a village, he hid outside the window of schools to learn the alphabet and how to read.

Using the biggest backpack someone had dropped, Mace continued on his journey to find a new home. It took years for him to find a good destination. Until one day, when he was fifteen, he came upon a tall mountain. He climbed up it, and there were a lot of caves on this mountain. But for one reason or another, Mace didn't pick them. But eventually, he made it to the top of the mountain where he found the perfect cave to live in. It was big, roomy, sturdy, and it was at the highest peak of the mountain, where no one could bother him. And the natural resources were to die for. That, combined with the supplies he'd gathered was just enough for him to make his own home, where he spent the rest of his teenage years and adulthood to now living alone, occasionally chasing off people who came to the mountain. But, even with a beautiful new home, it was missing the one thing Mace wanted more than anything: his family.

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Present Day...

"I never left that mountain for that very reason." Mace said. "My parents gave their very lives just so I could be free. So, I stayed there because I knew it was the only way to stay alive."

"So... you never even thought of leaving to find yourself a family? You know, find a wife and have kids of your own?"

"I've thought about it, but Happily Ever After for minotaurs just doesn't happen."

"You don't know that. Most knights don't rescue princesses on a pink horse, or save them from kelpies. Yet, here we are."

"I suppose you do raise a good point. Still. I haven't seen other minotaurs since my parents died."

"There are probably more out there, but you probably don't see them because like you, if they have escaped their labyrinths, they hide from the rest of the world because they're afraid. You know, it doesn't matter the species, everyone faces some kind of tragedy at least once in their lives. Some, unfortunately, face ones that force them to grow up too soon."

Strawberry had tears in her eyes as she thought back to something she didn't dare speak of out loud. Mace was quick to notice Strawberry's teary eyes, and was about to ask her what was wrong, when she just dismissed his concern and got herself curled up to go to sleep. She was already very tired, and so was Mace. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow.