The year was 1621.
The Vardø witch trial.
It was on December 24, 1617 Eastern Finnmark in northern Norway suffered a terrible storm, where "Sea and sky became one". This happened suddenly, "as if loosened from a bag." A great majority of the male population was out at sea at that time and were surprised by the storm, which sank ten boats drowning forty men. The new law of sorcery and witchcraft for the union of Denmark-Norway was issued, and announced in Finnmark in 1620. Thus, bringing us back to 1621. For what no better way to explain the horrible disasters then to blame it on a witch, and what no better witch can be blamed than the country itself that it seemed to have cursed.
So the people of Norway betrayed their own kind and hatched up a plan to frame the boy at hand. His name was Lukas. So beautiful and frail. Many said he was good to the women, but many others said he was better to the males. For his blond locks ran so silkily and his eyes as cold as ice. Those believed he sold his soul to the devil, and had affairs with its demons to live a forever life.
For the rumors flew on and on. The townspeople grew more suspicious towards the young lad, only just turned 20. Now he was framed with these rumors, but only one secretly held true. He was indeed in love with a man. A man from a different land. His name was Matthias, a strong willed Dane. The opposite of Lukas, but their love was the same. Their love was forbidden, and they were separated by a long distance, but in no means was the Dane's love towards this Norwegian any of the devil's work.
The date was then the late night on the 26th of April, 1621, when the townspeople took Lukas in the middle of the night. They dragged and kicked and spat in his face screaming "The witch must pay, the witch must pay!"
"Let me go!" He shouted, "I did nothing to you people!" they kicked him more, and stoned his face in soot.
"He must pay for killing our men! He must pay for sleeping with our men! He must pay for tainting this country in the curse of his ways! The witch must pay! The witch must pay!" They chanted and screamed, making it loud enough for others to hear and join in.
"I am not a witch!" he retaliated and moaned, his wrists starting to bleed from the rugged dragging threw the village.
They threw him into the church and tied up his limbs, they poured holly water on him in hopes to melt him down, but when it proved to be ineffective they stated "We will burn him at the stake on the 28th!"
"No, please! I am not a witch!" He pleaded, the holly water still dripping from his fair hair and tarnished clothes.
"Shut your mouth you whore slut! Or else you'll get more men whether you like it or not!" a guy shouted from the back, with a few others agreeing,
"I wouldn't mind to have that," said one.
"He already looks like a girl, I wouldn't mind," another one added.
Lukas held his tongue and feared for the worse. The only one who could claim him, and the only one that had, was his beautiful Dane. He wanted to see him at least one more time.
"What's this!?" a man yelled mockingly as he pulled of the cross pin that has always been in Lukas's hair, "You don't deserve this!" He yelled as he threw it across the room to where a child with purple eyes and icy skin, picked it up and ran away.
Matthias had planned to surprise Lukas, by showing up in Norway on the 28th during his voyage. He had heard about the witch trials going on in northern Norway that where controlled by the Scots and Germans, but it never worried him about Lukas, because Lukas was such a sweet little thing, who would hate him? He thought to himself. Though it still made him uneasy knowing how close the trials were towards Lukas.
He headed out.
It was April 27th, the day before the burning. The Scotts and Germans that were in charge of the trails, when heard of Lukas and his "crimes" had their "fun" with him during his screams and yells of protest. Though, it wasn't too long before the other men didn't find it "entertaining" anymore and left him alone.
But of course they couldn't stay away for long. They came back but this time with torture mechanisms. They held Lukas pinned down to the ground as they took cow branding and iron melding tools to scorch signs into the pale skin of his back and torso. The pain was too much, he could feel his mind slip away once again, and blacked out with not a word.
The date was April 28th, 1621.
Lukas had been tied up to the stake, beaten and bloodied from the previous day, and stripped of all clothing besides his pants.
The little Ice boy who sheltered his cross pin before, put it back in Lukas's hair with tears running down his face, mumbling "You're not a bad person, I believe you." And ran away.
The townspeople yelled some things and threw some things, but in all the same they were all shouting "Burn the witch! Burn the witch! Burn the whore! Burn the whore!"
Lukas kept his regular neutral expression as they started to set the wood on fire. The burning flames danced across his pale toes.
The Dane, coming in from his voyage heard about the witch burning and rushed to see as he heard it was a guy that was getting burned that day. He ran, and ran, and ran, pushing people to the side, his eyes tearing up.
When he finally reached to the burning, the flames were already making their way up Lukas's torso, with silent tears rolling down his chalked up face.
Matthias was about to yell out to Lukas as he saw his love burning, crying, and covered in marks, when Lukas made a hush tone. Matthias couldn't believe what he was seeing. His one and only love slipping away from him and he couldn't move. He stared at Lukas petrified as more tears ran down his face.
And as the flames were just about to engulf Lukas's body, the little face that was still showing, he smiled.
He smiled at his beautiful Dane, and mouthed
'I love you'