He was standing in front of the fireplace in his house. I could see the sweat dripping down his back. He looked over at me and I could see his beautiful eyes. I would remember them for years to come. He looked me in the eye. "I know."
I woke up sweating. I was in a four-corner bed in a room made of stone. A grand fireplace was in front of the bed. There was a red carpet on the ground. Today was the day. I flopped back down onto the comfortable bed. I was not looking forward to this.
I had just come of the age of 21, so I would be looking for a wife. I would be in my best, most uncomfortable outfit today.
I would be beside my father while "considering" all of the ladies who were to pass by me, one by one. The one I picked would be my wife. So for the rest of the day, I would see elegant dresses, "large" breasts, and larger hair. What fun.
You see, I have a bit of a secret. It is punishable by death. I would be going to hell for it.
I am a homosexual.
So, this day would be going quite smoothly.
Because most women stayed at home, I would not know very many of the women I would be meeting. I would probably be finding myself saying "I didn't know that he had a sister" quite a lot.
I had an hour or two before it began, so I went to my most trusted comrades house - Philip.
His father was a blacksmith, and Philip was in training.
I got dressed in my ~comfy~ clothes and left before anybody noticed I was gone.
Philip was usually up early to work, so he was in front of his fireplace when I arrived.
"Hello Philip. I simply had to get away before the ceremony.
"That's perfectly ok. I enjoy company while I'm working." He had on a thick black shirt that stuck to his chest underneath his apron.
I was entranced by his work. He had a rhythm when he hit the anvil. He had such muscles when he pulled a sword from the fireplace.
No I thought.
Philip had taken a moment for a rest. He walked up to me, and suddenly there was little space between us. I could feel his breath, his eyes on me, his soul. And what he said made my heart stop.
"I know your secret, Daniel." He smirked. "Prince."
And I ran. I grabbed my cloak and ran back to the castle.
My heart was beating. He knew. How. How could he know.
I ran up the rocky stairs. I quickly got dressed into my best outfit and tried to forget about it. I couldn't. I walked downstairs next to my father. He was sitting on his throne.
"Are you ready?" He asked me. I nodded.
And so it began.
I saw lady after lady. Woman after woman. And more than that. There had to be every lady in line to see me. Some even as old as my father. One by one. Their fathers walked through first and introduced them. And then they walked in front. And I said no every time.
Then something happened.
Mr. Lester walked in first. I didn't know that Philip had a sister. He said "I present to your majesty, my son, Philip Lester."
My heart dropped. My breath was taken away. He walked in shaking in a well-fitted suit and sword. Every guard dropped into fighting stance like he was about to attack. My father stood up and yelled in his booming voice, "What is the meaning of this?!" He looked at me, and then his look faltered.
He knew.
I stood up and walked back a step or two. "Explain this to me." My father said softly, obviously furious.
I was silent for a moment. "I'm going to hell." I whispered, though the whole room could here.
My father suddenly straightened his back and looked at Philip's father. Mr. Lester had gone red in the face.
I looked at Philip. He was looking at me.
I ran to him, in front of the guards, in front of Mr. Lester, in front of the King. I ran to him. I embraced him tightly, and he did the same.
I let go, and looked back at my father, who had his mouth hanging open. He closed it suddenly, and turned away. Like he didn't want to watch. He whispered something that I would soon hear in my dreams.
"Guards"
All chaos broke loose. Guards ran and broke us up. They grabbed my arms and hit me. I was seeing stars. I yelled for Philip. He yelled for me. Philip fought back. It was all intensity and sorrow and pain.
My father slowly walked up to Philip. Step by step. They looked each other in the eye. My father whispered "I'm so sorry."
He reached for his sword.
Philip did some sort of twist/flip that made all of the guards around him fall to the ground. He reached for his sword. He was going to sword fight with my father.
It took only a few seconds. Philip did turns and twists and suddenly had my father on his back on the ground with a sword to his neck. Philip had such a look on his face that said one thing- rage. I shouted his name. He looked at me and softened a bit. He closed his eyes and let all the guards around him grab him.
My father motioned for the guards to let go of me. He told me to run up to my bedroom and prepare to leave the castle.
And so I did.
When I came back down, Philip's face was red, like it had been beat. Was that his punishment?
He motioned for Philip to be released. We ran to each other. He looked at us and said quietly, "Leave son. Leave and never come back."
And so we ran.