Press green flag for ambiance and a surprise! My Entry: ꧁~The Labyrinth of the Minotaur~꧂ Chapter 1, The Invitation One morning in early May, a mysterious letter appeared in the mail. It was addressed to me and ran like this: Dear Miss Dixie, you are one of five horseback riders that we have chosen to compete in an obstacle course on the island of Crete. Expenses for you and one horse have been paid and a taxi has been arranged to pick you up on the 10th. You will be informed of the form of your challenge upon your arrival. You and your horse will sail on The Neptune. Pack enough clothes for two weeks and your jumping outfit. Please come. -We ensure your safety. It was the 8th. I rushed to the barn and tried to decide which horse to use. I couldn’t choose so I packed my riding clothes and my other gear. The next day I really thought about who I was going to bring with me. I decided I would bring Deathly Hallow. I wondered how my mysterious inviter would get Hallow to the ship. “Well” I thought, “There’s no backing out now.” Chapter 2, The Voyage The next day promptly at 9 o’clock, the taxi came with a truck and trailer in tow. Deathly Hallow went into the trailer, I got into the cab with my baggage, and we were off. We arrived at the nearby harbor and Hallow and I boarded the ship. I had a large cabin but there were only four other passengers, this seemed strange until I remembered the letter. Their names were Hazuret and their horse Hypnos’ Radiant Dream, Arwen and her horse Frozen Speckles, Midnight and her horse Frostshadow, and Eevie and their horse Wildcard. They were on The Neptune for the same competition as me and had no more idea than I did about what was going to happen. The 11th, it rained but when we docked at the Port of Heraklion near Knossos, we disembarked safely, and found our accommodations. That evening I rode Hallow around the city to explore and we found flyers for this competition inviting over ten thousand people to watch. The next day I was expected to go meet someone who would tell me what I was going to do. Chapter 3, The Explanation The 12th I tacked up Deathly Hallow and headed to a plaza where I was to receive my instructions. I met the four other riders there and asked who was our informer. Suddenly a man appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and said “Welcome, Great Riders, to the championship of; The Labyrinth of the Minotaur!” All of us (except the man) looked amazed. There was silence for a moment then the man asked “Do you have any questions for me?” Arwen asked “When is the championship?” “Each of you will go through the labyrinth in your own time and there will be a summons for each of you.” answered the stranger. I asked “What sort of competition is it?” The only reply made to this was “You shall see.” Then the man left as suddenly as he came. The five of us were astounded, then in silent agreement, we left. Chapter 4, The Wait The next day I got another letter, it said: Dear Miss Dixie, you will be the third to enter the obstacle-course, please appear at the site of the Palace at Kossos at 10 o’clock on the 15th. Please wear your riding clothes and bring food for 1 day. -Sincerly {Miss Cherry (in runes)} This letter, unlike the first one, bore a signature but it was in a strange writing that resembled runes. Using what I knew about codebreaking I came up with the name ‘Miss Cherry.’ As this was no clue to my possible inviter, and I knew no one of that name. I began to pack my food for the next day, along with a change of clothes, and some brushes and a hoofpick. I packed my supplies in a pair of saddlebags and firmly secured to my all-purpose tack that I brought with me. Deathly Hallow had been with me on many camping trips where I packed all my gear on him and went over small jumps and other obstacles. Finally I was ready, but it was still a whole night before I had to leave. I exercised Hallow until it was time to go to bed. Continued in credits.
Chapter 5, The Beginning The next morning I rode out of the small town toward Knossos. When I arrived an attendant stabled Deathly Hallow and I went to the small garden nearby to wait. At precisely 10 o’clock the man appeared as suddenly as he had before. He said in a quiet voice, “Welcome, third rider, I presume you are ready?” I nodded. He clapped his hands and the attendant hurried in, the man ordered that the attendant bring my horse and then turned back to me as the attendant hurried off. Then the man spoke again, “Your place will be based on your time in getting through the maze. In the maze there are obstacles and some of them are hidden. Do you wish for any advice before entering the maze?” I answered that yes I would like some advice. The man then said “beware the stones on the ground.” Then the attendant hurried in with Hallow and I took his bridle. I walked over to the entrance of the labyrinth and mounted. “Good luck” said the man, then he nodded. I started off, then looked back. The man was gone! I turned back to the maze and urged Deathly Hallow into a trot. The man's advice made no sense, there were no rocks here. Hallow then leapt into a canter, there was a jump ahead! We cleared it smoothly but then I pulled up sharply, now there were many small stones in our path but Hallow kept going. I was glad I packed a hoofpick. Then Deathly Hallow kicked a rock and as it skittered away there was a strange grinding noise. Chapter 6, The First Trap The noise was coming from a stone slab that was slowly sliding across our path. Now I knew what the man meant, the stone must have been the trigger for this trap. I urged Deathly Hallow into a run. We made it just in time. Now I guided Hallow around the bigger stones. Next thing we knew we were soaking wet. A tripwire, that had broken under Hallow’s sharp hooves, had released a ceiling panel on a spring that had water running over it. I dismounted and got out my currie comb and a towel. I cleaned Hallow up and tacked him up again, I also gave him a treat before we continued on our way. Chapter 7, The Maze Now we got into the maze. We ran into several dead ends but made our way smoothly to a chamber. In this chamber there was a barrel racing pattern. A sign on the opposite wall said: ‘There are electronic eyes set in the wall, do the pattern without knocking over any barrels, in under twenty seconds, and the door will open.’ I urged Deathly Hallow into a canter, and approached the pattern. The first barrel loomed up, we cleared it, the second we went around, then the third. The door then opened with a low squeak. I looked through and saw another chamber. Chapter 8, The Chambers The second chamber had a fence across it with a gate in the middle, a flag in a canister next to the door, and a hole to put the flag in beyond the fence. There was no sign, other form of explanation, or door other than the one I came in, I picked up the flag and walked Hallow to the gate. He stood still while I opened it and then he walked through and stopped for me to close the gate again. Then I dropped the flag in the hole and another hidden door opened onto another room. The next room had 10 jumps and some walking poles set up inside. Hallow trotted toward the poles. Then they began to rise out of the ground! The poles were actually hidden jumps. Deathly Hallow broke into a canter. He cleared the hidden jumps then the other jumps but then the other jumps began sinking into the ground and as they sunk the door opposite began to close. Hallow leapt into a gallop. We cleared the last jumps and just made it through the door. Then there were more dead ends and tight corners, we had reentered the maze. The maze went on for a little while then we entered the fourth and final room. In this room Hallow and I were supposed to jump through a hoop that was positively HUGE. As we approached the hoop it suddenly lit on fire! Hallow shied a little but made it through safely. Continued in comments
