The Legendary Journeys

Full of Bull


	I had just come back from a long day of classes.  Being a
programming lab instructor isn't too hard, but it takes a lot of time.
It pays my way through graduate school, though.  I was waiting in my dorm
room on my friends to get back from their classes so we could go eat
dinner.  So, I decided to check my e-mail.

	I dialed up and logged on to my account.  "Wow, I have lots of
messages!" I said.  Most of them were from the TSA-List.  One was huge.
It was from Zen.  I opened it up and suddenly it seemed like my computer
exploded.

	I was in a room that didn't seem to really be there.  I looked
around to find something that would give me a clue as to where I was.
That was when I noticed the woman.  She was standing next to me.  I
didn't notice her before

	"Mortal," she said with a booming voice, "You are chosen."

	"Chosen?" I asked.

	"When I need you, you will be my servant."

	"Who are you?" I asked.

	"Do you not know Hera?  Queen of the gods?"  Her voice echoed.

	"You're Hera?"  I snickered.  "Bull."

	"That's precisely what you will be."  She pointed her finger at me
and a beam of light shot out from the tip hitting me square in the chest.

	I felt strange.  When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was standing
taller than I was before.  But, there was something blocking my vision.
I realized it was my muzzle.  A cow's muzzle.  I felt of the rest of my
head, and sure enough I had a bull's head.  But that wasn't the only
change.  My body was covered with brown fur.  My legs were digitigrade
with cloven hooves.  My hands had two fingers and a small thumb.  They
felt like the same texture as my hooves.  Plus I had a tail.  My clothes
had disappeared and was replaced by a loin cloth.  I looked at the
goddess with confused horror.

	"Yes, you are now a minotaur," she said.

	"What have you done?" I asked.  My voice surprised me by it lower
pitched and roughness.

	"You are my minotaur.  I will need your services eventually.  Then
you are free."  She walked around me admiring her handy work.  "I don't
think you can handle the job with your current state of mind.  You cannot
be a human in a minotaur's body.  You must be a minotaur."

	She lifted her hand to my forehead.  She didn't have to stretch to
reach either.  She seemed to have grown in size.  But, not really.  She
started scratching my head.  It felt so relaxing.  I could feel her
fingers massaging my brain.  It was so wonderful.  It felt like all my
troubles were melting away.  Then she stopped.  I grunted at her.

	"So, minotaur.  Who is your master?"

	"You are," I responded.

	"Good," she said.  She snapped her fingers.  A human appeared.

	I hate humans.  Humans are nasty creatures.  I must kill the
human.  I picked up my ax and swung at the human.  My ax passed right
through it and it disappeared.

	My master put her hand on my arm.  "Don't worry.  It was just an
illusion.  You will have plenty of time to kill humans."

	"Yes, master," I grunted.

	"You must return now," she said pointing her finger at me again.

	I suddenly felt disoriented.  "Where did I get this ax?  Did I
just try to kill someone?" I asked myself.

	"Take this ring.  If you put it on, you can never take it off,"
she handed me a ring.  It was large enough to fit on my minotaurish
fingers.  "It will allow you to transform between human and minotaur in
body.  That is what two of the stones in it are for."

	"What about the third?" I asked.

	"It is for your true minotaur form.  You will be the minotaur in
mind as well as body.  I am the only one able to transform you into that
form.  That is what you will become when I need you."

	I stared at the ring in my palm.  "What if I don't put it on?"

	"Then I cannot summon you.  But you need to wear the ring to
transform.  Now, be gone, Lance, my trusted minotaur.  But, use caution.
The more you use the ring to transform into a minotaur, the more you will
like it,"  She said with a grin.  She shot another bolt of light at me.

	I was suddenly back in my dorm room.  Less than a minute had
passed.  There was a knock at the door.  It must be Chris and Debbie
ready to go eat.  I walked to the door to answer it, but then I then
noticed that I was still a minotaur.  I guess I was too stunned from the
experience that I didn't even see that I was standing about seven feet
tall.

	The person at my door knocked again.

	I didn't want to put the ring on.  I didn't want to be summoned by
Hera and kill people.  But, if I don't put the ring on, I will be in this
minotaur body forever.  I could live like this.  Maybe.

	"Knock!  Knock!"

	I put the ring on.  It fit my finger perfectly.  I then
concentrated on my human form.  I opened my eyes.  I was human again, and
I was wearing the clothes I had on earlier.  I looked at the three-stoned
ring.  It had shrunk to fit my human finger.  "Now if only I could figure
out a way to not be summoned," I said to myself and answered the door.