PIRITHOUS LET everyone know of the Minotaur’s allegiance to Theseus. It was one thing to know that, however, and another to truly believe it, and so all the humans on board the ship, save Theseus, kept their distance from the beast. Theseus patted Enclimatheus on his snout and whispered soothing words to him, and the Minotaur lay down on the deck and went to sleep.
“He did not ask to be made this way,” Theseus said to his friends. “And as you can see, he has been tamed. I ask that you show him compassion, and not fear.”
Still clearly nervous, they nodded. Theseus turned to Pirithous and whispered to him, “The Egyptian man whom we saw in the corridors, where is he?”
“He took a spear to his arm on his way out of the palace. Nothing life threatening, but I knew he would be of no use at the oar, so I sent him below deck to rest. Why?”
Theseus grinned. “Come, my beautiful Pirithous. We’re about to reunite Iphitrion with his true love.”
Pirithous’s eyes widened. “You mean to say that man is Amares?”
Theseus laughed. After the horror they had just witnessed, he was glad to do his part to bring some joy into the world. “Iphitrion,” Theseus said. “Come with us.”
Iphitrion, unspoiled from the battle but for a nasty bruise on his cheek from the butt of a spear, followed them down into the lower depths of the ship and to the door of the cabin. Theseus kissed Iphitrion delicately on the lips. “There is something I think you should see.”
“What, my prince?”
Without another word, Theseus opened the door to the cabin. Amares was sitting on one of the bunks, bandaging a wound on his bicep. He looked up at them and saw Theseus first. Amares rose so that he could bow to the prince, but then halted midmotion when his eyes came to rest on the slave at Theseus’s side.
His mouth trembled and dropped open. “Iphitrion? Can it be you?”
At Theseus’s side, Iphitrion gasped. “Amares,” he breathed.
Theseus saw tears brimming in Iphitrion’s eyes.
“Go on,” he urged, and Iphitrion ran to Amares, who caught him in a fierce embrace.
The two men kissed passionately, their mouths catching up on all the time that had been stolen from them, parting only to speak words of love and longing to each other and then crushing together once again.
Iphitrion was, of course, still just as naked as Pirithous and Theseus, having not been permitted clothes in the house of Minos. And so, as Amares moaned into Iphitrion’s mouth, his hands came to rest on the slave’s bare buttocks. Excited by the touch, Iphitrion reached under Amares’s robes and pushed them aside, exposing a large thick brown cock, as stiff as a board, with a pearl of fluid already appearing on its tip.
Iphitrion then sank to his knees and swallowed the great cock, slurping and moaning as Amares ran his fingers through his hair.
“Should we leave them to their privacy?” Theseus asked.
“Yes, it’s only right,” Pirithous answered.
Neither of them moved.
Iphitrion then gently pushed Amares down onto the bedding and grabbed for a bottle of oil the soldiers had left there. He poured some on his fingers and slicked his hole while Amares applied the oil onto his cock, and Iphitrion then clambered on top of him and sat down on Amares’s member until it slid right up inside him. Both men cried out in ecstasy as Iphitrion began bouncing up and down, then lowered his face to resume their kisses.
Just as Pirithous began to stroke Theseus’s stiffening cock, someone shouted for the prince from the upper deck. Reluctantly leaving Amares and Iphitrion’s generous show, the two young men ran up the stairs and out onto the deck.
“What is it?” Theseus asked.
“There!” Autolyca cried, pointing out at the sea many leagues behind them, where a fleet of ships were just visible. “Minos’s guards give pursuit!”
“Those are warships, Prince,” Braxius reported. “And we’re unarmed.”
“Damn,” Theseus said, biting his lip. He hadn’t even given thought to the possibility that Minos’s forces might follow them.
“It’s because of my sister and me,” Ariadne said miserably, holding the baby close to her chest. “I’m sorry, Prince Theseus. I shouldn’t have come. I’ve killed you all.”
“Don’t say such things.” Autolyca put a hand on the princess’s shoulder. “No one should be forced to stay in that awful place.”
Theseus nodded his agreement. “I would never have left you there.”
“So what do we do?” Pirithous asked.
“I believe I can help with that,” a booming voice said behind them.
They all turned and beheld a giant of a man, naked and as blue as the sea. Half of them screamed at the sudden appearance of the enormous stranger, but Theseus and Pirithous smiled and bowed.
“Greetings, Triton. It’s good to see you again,” Theseus said.
“I feel the same.” Triton walked forward and embraced Theseus, much to the prince’s surprise. “And this time I greet you as a brother. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the first time we met. I was forbidden.”
“I understand,” Theseus said. “Is it strange that our bare penises are touching, seeing as how we’re brothers?”
Triton laughed and released him. “We gods never wear clothing. I forget you mortals often do.” He looked around. “Although most of you are naked now. Why?”
“We were held as slaves on Crete, and Minos was not fond of his slaves wearing clothing. We’ve only just escaped.”
Theseus saw Pirithous staring at him. “Brothers?”
Theseus sighed. “Yes. It turns out Poseidon is my father.”
Pirithous sputtered. “But… but Aegeus….”
“Also my father. They both lay with my mother on the same night, and their seed mixed in her womb to produce me.”
“I can’t tell if that’s sexy or disgusting,” Pirithous said.
Theseus turned back to Triton. “You said you could help us.”
“Do you see that island between us and Minos’s ships?”
Theseus turned and beheld a relatively large island in the distance, covered in lush trees. “I do.”
“I can spirit the princesses there in full view of Minos’s men. They will then pursue them to the island, leaving you to return to Athens in peace.”
“Absolutely not!” Theseus said. “We are not abandoning them.”
“Forgive me, I was unclear,” Triton said. “The island is home to our cousin, the god Dionysus. He will protect the girls and let them live with him and his merrymaking followers. Minos’s ships will not be able to land on the island’s beach and eventually will give up and return to their homeland.”
Theseus turned to Ariadne. “What do you think?”
“I’ve spent all of my life as a captive in a gilded prison,” she said. “I think it might be good for me, living on an island in the fresh air, with the God of Wine and Song. I’m just grateful little Phaedra will never know of the life she might have been cursed to endure.”
Theseus patted the baby girl’s head and looked up at her sister. “Clever Ariadne. Thank you for your invaluable assistance in the Labyrinth.”
“It is I who am thankful, great prince.”
Theseus put a hand on her shoulder. “Farewell, Princess. I would hug you, but….”
“You’re naked.”
“I am.”
“It might be strange.”
“Potentially.”
They smiled, and Triton gathered the girls to him. “Oh, I almost forgot. My father—that is to say, our father—sends a message from Zeus. Something of a gift of apology.”
“Apology?”
“Yes, but not to you.”
Triton turned and raised a giant blue hand in the direction of the slumbering Minotaur. Before everyone’s astonished eyes, the beast was encircled in a golden mist, and his brown fur changed into fair, flawless skin. His horns and snout melted away, replaced by a beautiful face and a head of long auburn hair. Theseus beheld the man in all his glory, and couldn’t help but admire the heavy-looking cock and balls that lay between his strong, muscular thighs.
Enclimatheus woke suddenly, looking around, startled. He looked down at his hands in wonder, then pressed them against his face.
“You made him human,” Theseus whispered.
“No.” Daphnis, who had been watching with the others, stepped forward and knelt beside what was now a handsome, naked young man. He touched the man’s face, and Enclimatheus smiled. Daphnis pushed his hair back a bit, revealing ears as pointed as leaves. “He made him a nymph.”
“You will look after him, dryad?” Triton asked, and Daphnis nodded and placed a hand over his heart.
“On my honor, fair sea god,” Daphnis said.
“That’s settled, then. Ready, Princess?”
Ariadne nodded, gripping the baby even tighter.
Triton turned his head toward Theseus. “I will see you again soon, Brother.”
And with that, he raised his arms in the air, and he, Ariadne, and the infant Phaedra floated off the ship’s deck as though they were feathers on the wind, and they glided up into the air, diminishing into the distance as they traveled toward the island until they could no longer be seen by mortal eyes.
Pirithous looked at his lover. “You’re part god.”
“I suppose I am, yes. Does that change things between us?”
“Of course not. It’s just an adjustment.”
“For me too.”
“Well,” Pirithous said, taking a deep breath and looking around, “now that we’re safe, I’d say we’re due for a fair bit of fucking, without worrying if it will be the last night of our lives.”
Theseus smirked. “It would be a shame to interrupt Amares and Iphitrion’s reunion.”
“Are you kidding? I doubt they’ll even notice we’re there.”
And holding hands, the two youths made their way below deck.
The voyage home was calm, hopeful, and full of joy. Theseus and Pirithous took their pleasure in each other, as well as the soldiers Braxius, Telemedes, Aeson, and Hadaclus. At times they joined in bed games with Iphitrion and Amares, but the slave boy and the Egyptian mostly stayed to themselves, so wrapped up as they were in their cocoon of reunited love. On the second day, Daphnis visited them in the cabin with Enclimatheus in tow, and explained it was high time the newly turned nymph experienced the joy of lovemaking.
“It’s so hard to believe you were once the beast I battled in the Labyrinth,” Theseus said, letting his fingertips graze across Enclimatheus’s chest.
Enclimatheus’s beautiful cock began to pulse and thicken, and Theseus looked down at it, delighted. He leaned forward and kissed Enclimatheus, letting his tongue slip softly into the nymph’s mouth. He then dropped to his knees and motioned for Pirithous to kneel beside him. Together, they lapped and sucked on Enclimatheus’s cock and balls, and the nymph moaned in ecstasy. Daphnis licked and suckled on Enclimatheus’s nipples, and then walked behind his new companion, knelt down, and insinuated his tongue between Enclimatheus’s cheeks.
Enclimatheus moaned all the harder and shot a river of semen all over the mortal boys’ faces. Theseus and Pirithous giggled excitedly.
“Now that we’re properly warmed up,” Daphnis said, smiling wickedly as he looked at them from between Enclimatheus’s muscular thighs, “we can really get this show going.”
There were a great many more bed games after that, and Theseus found he was saddened when someone spotted Athens in the distance. True to his word, he made certain to hoist the white sail so that his father would know he was alive. He was nervous about seeing Aegeus again, as his adventures in Crete only further proved that he would have to have a long talk with his father about appropriate ways to rule a kingdom. It was not a discussion he looked forward to.
When they reached the harbor and docked, the tributes exited the ship first. Many of them, the four soldiers included, sank to their knees and kissed the ground of their native land. Daphnis led Enclimatheus off, and together they stood by Theseus and Pirithous.
“This is my first time on solid ground with my new body,” Enclimatheus said. “How wonderful the grass feels under my feet. Theseus, I can never begin to thank you for what you’ve done for me.”
“It was Zeus who transformed you,” Theseus said.
“But it was your good conscience that stayed your hand when you could have killed me. Daphnis has told me of the heroes of your lands, how they’re mostly known for slaying monsters. But you saw a monster and were moved to pity.”
“Our deeds live on in stories,” Daphnis told them, “and stories change as time moves on. I fear that in years to come, your story will be changed for dramatic effect, and Theseus will be known simply as the slayer of the Minotaur, rather than its liberator.”
“That does seem easier to remember,” Pirithous said. “Theseus goes to Crete, kills the monster, and saves us all. As opposed to Theseus goes to Crete, has sex with a satyr and a few gods, convinces his sea-god father to tell him the monster’s true name so he can turn him good, and the monster is then rewarded by Zeus with a transformation into a male wood nymph with a fantastic cock as recompense for his suffering.”
“That is rather a lot, isn’t it?” Theseus said. “Well, let people believe what they will. We know the truth.”
“And do you care so little for your reputation?” Pirithous asked.
“I have enough to worry about between my father and one day ruling Athens, I think,” Theseus said. “My reputation can wait.”
The blare of a military horn pierced the air, and Theseus turned and beheld a group of his father’s guards approaching them in tight formation. When they stopped ten feet away, each guard dropped to one knee, placed a fist on his breast, and bowed his head.
It was a gesture of servitude reserved for greeting a king. Theseus immediately felt all the blood rush out of his head.
“What happened?” he asked.
A large man in the middle of the front line stood. Theseus recognized him as Hatheus, the captain of the king’s guard and the very same man who took Theseus’s sword on the first day he came to Athens. “My lord. I bring sad news of your father.”
Pirithous put a hand on Theseus’s arm. Theseus tried to swallow. “What happened?” he repeated.
“King Aegeus stood by the cliffs of the Middle Sea every day that you were gone. Just this morning, before your ship was spotted, he… he fell, my lord.”
“Fell? How?”
Hatheus seemed reluctant to answer, but finally spoke up. “He had taken to drink, my lord. Much more than usual after you left. He was heavy with wine this morning, and against his advisors’ wishes, he always came to the cliffs alone. Servants saw him staggering about, and then he… he went over the cliff.”
Theseus squeezed his eyes shut. That his father would reach his end with such indignity, a stumbling drunk… the things people would say about him….
“That is not how he died,” Theseus said suddenly.
“My lord, I—”
“Listen to me, Hatheus. Let it be known that in my haste to flee Crete, I neglected to raise the white sail. Aegeus, seeing the black sail and thinking me dead, surrendered to despair and flung himself from the cliff.”
Hatheus’s eyes drifted past Theseus to the very white sails that still flew from the mast of the ship.
“Hatheus! Must I repeat myself?”
“No… King Theseus. It will be done.”
“I’ll return to the palace presently. Have my father’s—I mean my—advisors assemble in the throne room.”
“Yes, King Theseus.”
Hatheus turned and ushered the other guards back to the palace. Theseus looked over at his beloved, whose eyes were wide.
“Theseus,” Pirithous said, astonished, “you’re the king.”
“Yes,” Theseus said. “It would seem I am.”
“I’m so sorry about your father.”
“You have my condolences, friend,” Daphnis said.
“And mine,” Enclimatheus added.
“Thank you, all of you,” Theseus said, still in a bit of shock. He looked at Enclimatheus. “Where will you go now? You are welcome to stay with us here, of course, for as long as you like.”
“Your kindness warms me,” Enclimatheus said, “but I will go with Daphnis. I’m a wood nymph, now, and would very much like to learn just what that means.”
“We will see you again, boys,” Daphnis said. He kissed Pirithous and Theseus, and Enclimatheus did the same. Then they bounded off, and with their preternatural speed, they were gone in a heartbeat.
“Are you all right?” Pirithous asked.
“I… I don’t know. I barely knew Aegeus, and most of our talks were not warm. But still….”
“He was your father.”
“Yes.”
Pirithous embraced Theseus. No tears came to Theseus’s eyes, which surprised him, and he said so. Pirithous touched his cheek. “They might come in time. For now, let’s get you to the palace. The advisors need to meet their new king.”
The day was long, and Theseus met what felt like hundreds of men who had served under his father, and now served him. By the time he and Pirithous retired for the night to the king’s bedchamber, he had forgotten all their names.
He sat on the bed and leaned forward, massaging his temples. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this,” he said.
Pirithous poured a cup of wine and brought it to Theseus’s lips. “You are, my love,” he said. “You will be a great king.”
“How do you know?” He licked his lips, tasting the sweet wine.
“Because I know you. I’ve seen all the great things you’ve done, and I know what you’re capable of. You’re kind and generous. Fair. Nurturing. You want the best for everyone around you. But in addition to that, you have a keen strategic military mind. I’d say these are good qualities for a king.”
“A king must understand things like the treasury, though. And I’m terrible at math.”
Pirithous laughed. “Well, nobody’s perfect. But that’s what you have advisors for, I suppose.”
He reached his hand underneath Theseus’s tunic, found his cock, and gave it a squeeze.
Theseus raised an eyebrow. “Find anything you like?”
Pirithous grinned. “I’m about to suck the cock of a king. I’m really moving up in the world, aren’t I?”
Theseus laughed and allowed Pirithous to push him down onto the bed. Pirithous lifted the tunic and brought his mouth to Theseus’s cock, kissing the tip of it, licking just around the head, teasing. Just when Theseus thought he couldn’t stand it anymore, Pirithous opened his lips and took all of Theseus’s length into his mouth, sucking slowly and magnificently. Theseus sighed and surrendered to the pleasure, peering down and delighting at the sight of his lover bobbing up and down on him, watching his cock disappear and then reappear, slick and shiny.
Pirithous’s lips looked so beautiful as they worked their magic, and Theseus brought Pirithous’s face to his so he could kiss those lips. They whispered soft words of love to each other, and Theseus rolled them over and sank down to Pirithous’s groin, latching his mouth onto his lover’s cock, savoring the taste, the feel of Pirithous’s soft pubic hair on his nose when he swallowed his cock to the base, the tender balls as he cradled them in his hand. He raised Pirithous’s legs so that his hole would be accessible, and Theseus darted his tongue against the opening, grinning when he heard Pirithous’s ecstatic cries.
He knew the pleasurable bolts of energy that were shooting up and down his lover’s body, and he stroked himself, riding the wave of ecstasy.
“Fuck me,” Pirithous begged.
Happy to comply, Theseus reached for the bottle of oil that just happened to be placed right at the bedside. He smeared it liberally over his cock as he continued to plunge his tongue into Pirithous’s hole. Then, after inserting a few fingers inside him, he crawled on top of Pirithous, placed his lover’s ankles on his own shoulders, and slid inside. Both men gasped and cried out in pleasure, and Pirithous’s hands found their way onto Theseus’s buttocks, pulling him even deeper into him. Their mouths crushed together, passion propelling them.
“I love you,” Pirithous gasped between moans.
“And I you,” Theseus answered.
They stared deep into each other’s eyes as they made love, and Theseus thought to himself, It will be like this always. The two of us, together. I will never leave him, never hurt him. I will place his needs before my own. I am his, and he is mine.
They made love several more times that night, and slept soundly, wrapped in each other’s arms.
The next morning, Theseus awoke before Pirithous and watched his perfect face as he slept. Though he knew songs of his adventures on Crete would be sung for generations to come, his real adventure—a life spent with his perfect love—was just beginning.