"Theseus Suite. It has a minotaur theme, which it sounds like your son will enjoy very much." The incredibly beautiful woman smiled mischievously and nodded to Derrick, who was staring at the bovine bellhop.
Sharon wrinkled her nose. "That costume is a little too realistic for me. I can smell him from here. If the Suite is anything like that, I'd really rather go somewhere else."
Derrick turned back, looking unhappy. "But Mom! This is fantastic! Give it a try, at least."
The receptionist looked at the computer screen. "Well, we do have a small suite available, but it only has two bedrooms and might be a little crowded for four." She glanced over at Derrick and grinned to herself. "Ah, but since the suite is smaller, I can give you a single room elsewhere at no extra charge. Small and not much in the way of amenities, but your son might not mind. It is a Minotaur's cave."
John and Sharon looked doubtful, figuring that Derrick would not want to miss out on Jacuzzis and king-sized beds advertised for the suites. They were surprised when their son grinned broadly and nodded. "That would be awesome! Is it decorated all up like a cave? Minotaur stuff and all?"
The receptionist smiled and nodded. "You will find it is most authentic, if crude. Minotaurs require very little in the way of comforts. It does come with a natural indoor spring, and fresh straw to sleep on." She chuckled, and Derrick guessed she was making a joke.
"Please?" Derrick looked hopefully at his parents. "It sounds incredible! I can always join up with you for activities, but I could be on my own in a private room. And it won't cost you any extra, and Mom can get a suite she likes, and..."
John interrupted him "OK! OK! You go to your bed of straw, and we'll take the other suite. But remember this was your choice, so don't come crying back if you don't like it."
Derrick started to grab his bag, but the huge minotaur porter snagged it and grinned down at him. The receptionist grinned. "Bull, show the young man to his cave."
Derrick looked up at the incredibly realistic costume bull's head, wondering how it could possibly work. "Your name is Bull?"
"All of our minotaurs are called Bull." The receptionist explained. "They are all identical, so it works well." She gestured to a slender girl who had green makeup all over her body so that she appeared to have green skin. "Willow, take this nice family to the Hesperides Suite."
Derrick waved to his family and then ran to catch up to the hulking porter who was clomping out of the lobby and heading for a back hallway. "Hey! Wait up!"
Bull did not slow down, even when the hallway started to get darker and rougher. Derrick was puzzled at first, then laughed. "Oh, cool! The hallway is a cave!" The hotel had gone to extremes to set the atmosphere - the air had a damp, earthy smell that also carried an animal smell - Bull's costume? Instead of electric lights, flickering torches lit the way, and he realized he was walking on what looked like dirt. Mom would have freaked at this - good thing they had switched out.
They passed several doors. One was marked Centaur Paddock, another the Satyr's Glen, and finally, the Minotaur Suite. Bull continued past, twisting through several turns until he reached a crude-looking plank door that had the word 'BULL' painted on it with childlike block letters, as if a first-grader had been given the task. Derrick was surprised when Bull pushed this door open and gestured for Derrick to enter.
The teen did as instructed, but stopped dead and stared when he got inside. It was a large cave, looking very real, with sputtering torches set around the sides. It smelled strongly of the animal stink, though Derrick didn't really mind it for some reason. But there was no bed, not windows, not even any sign of a bathroom! Two large piles of straw or hay were in one corner - one looked fresh, the other scattered and looking a little soiled. There was an irregular pool in the far corner, and some open bins of raw vegetables beside it. No furniture at all. The receptionist had not been kidding! Derrick felt flustered, trying to figure out what to do. He couldn't go back and complain now, like some whiny little kid.
There was a grunt behind him, and he remembered Bull was still carrying his suitcase. "Oh, uh. This is really it?" He half hoped that this was some sort of joke, something in character for the porter.
Bull gave another grunt, then made a curious lowing sound like cattle make.
"Wow! That's like real! How do you do that?" Derrick stepped further in so the huge minotaur could enter and set his bag down by the undisturbed straw pile. "So, this is my room?"
The porter snorted, again like an animal, and then moved to sit down on the used straw. The name on the door clicked. "Bull! This is your room?" Derrick frowned. Sharing a room with an employee? No wonder they gave his parents a break! "So, I'm going to share your room for a whole week?" Derrick still thought this might be some strange joke, but he wasn't really upset. It was weird, for sure. He sure couldn't tell his parents. Mom would freak if she knew he was sharing a room with...
Derrick frowned as Bull tugged off the crude loincloth that was part of his costume. At least he'd get to see who he was rooming with. He grinned when he saw the enormous package between the furry legs - this was not a family-rated costumer. Then the huge porter stood up and shuffled over to a hole set in the far corner floor. A few seconds later, a massive black penis pushed out from the 'costume' and erupted with a hard stream of urine. The teen's eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. This was a real minotaur!
"Fuck!" The boy stumbled back, his mind racing. This was impossible! Minotaurs didn't really exist! It had to be a trick, a really amazing costume, special effects like in the movies! But they were in a dark, stinking cave with no power, nothing that could create this kind of illusion. It should have been obvious from the start, but who would believe a mythical monster was working as a bellhop? He'd made himself believe it was a costume until there was no way to deny the truth.
Bull watched him calmly with huge, liquid-brown eyes. As he finished his piss, he turned back to face the boy, splattering a little on the floor. As scary as a huge black minotaur should be, Derrick felt no threat, no sense of danger. They stared at each other for a couple of minutes, the room silent except for the sputter of flickering torches. Finally, Derrick swallowed to relieve a very dry mouth, and asked "So, you are really a minotaur?"
The porter gave him a snort and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, right." Derrick felt his face redden. "Pretty obvious. I mean, it sure looks real."
Bull snorted again and shuffled close, looming over the teen. Derrick stumbled back, only to end up with his back against the rough stone wall. The smell was much stronger now, and Derrick could se the individual hairs of the animal hide which twitched as muscles pulled. His heart was racing, but he was excited, not scared. That seemed crazy, but he felt no fear at all. Bull stared down at him, the muzzle twisting slightly to form what might be a smile, and then he took one of Derrick's hands in his hard, three-fingered forehoof and pressed it against his chest.
Derrick felt the warmth of the skin, the pulse of blood and muscle. "Oh, wow." He ran his hand down the massive, barreled chest. Then he stopped suddenly and flushed as he realized where his hand had been heading. "Uh, sorry." He side-stepped from between the minotaur and wall. Bull gave no indication he was offended, or bothered at all.
"So, uh, if I stay? Are there, like, minotaur things to do? Explore caves, guard treasure, mount cows?" He grinned, expecting the minotaur to be amused. Instead, Bull nodded his head. "Um, so it's minotaur life for a week?"
The porter shrugged and gave a soft bellow. Derrick sighed and nodded, thinking he understood. "Guess that's up to me, huh? I bet most people run screaming, or won't put up with the smell or the stray and stuff." Then he grinned. "I'm not gonna give up the chance to stay with a real live minotaur! You can tell your boss I like the room. I'm staying!"
The minotaur showed no surprise at all. Instead, he shuffled back to his crude bed and picked up the ragged loincloth to put it back on. Then he gestured to where Derrick's suitcase had been left. The teen looked over, puzzled. Where was his suitcase? He walked over to stare down at the spot it had been just a moment ago. A ragged scrap of cloth lay on the dirt. His eyes widened. "A loincloth? Like what you wear?"
Bull nodded.
"But that will make me almost naked!" Derrick was both uneasy and curious. It wasn't really much more revealing than a lot of bathing suits. But it was so... primitive? People would stare at him, wouldn't they? And his parents would freak and make him change. But he hadn't seen anyone else dressed like this. "Is there a private area for the minotaur stuff? Someplace away from the main hotel?"
Again, the bull's head nodded.
So he had to make a decision. Derrick picked up the loincloth, noting that it looked well used and none too clean. It even smelled like Bull's. Did he have the guts to wear something like this in public? Yet he knew this was really important. Putting this loincloth on was somehow sealing a bargain, accepting this whole crazy situation. If he refused, he was sure that he'd be taken back out and given a more 'civilized' room. A nice, normal, place for a normal, boring vacation. On the other hand, he also had a prickling sense that putting on the loincloth would start a really strange adventure that he might not like the end of.