Bright and early that morning, or what it seemed anyway, Ezekeliah started banging on the cells. I shot up from the floor yelling "Don't take me away!". I looked out my cell bars to see Ezekeliah's eyebrow raise as he writes down what I just said as if it were some kind of evidence that will be put against me. The woman peered her head out along with mine. Ezekeliah put his hand in a bag he had with him and took out some bread. He grabbed two buckets and walked over to us, giving us each a bucket and a half loaf of bread. I scarfed down the bread and started drinking the bucket of water.

"No, no silly girl! That waters for bathing. I don't want to do tests on you while you're dirty!" He said.

I don't know why, but him calling me a girl was like a kick in the face. I couldn't stand to hear that word. It made me nauseous, but I had to put that feeling pass me. He watched us both as we undressed, putting his hands out to gather the clothes. He watched the woman specifically as she soaked her skin in water. He left for a few seconds, grabbing us towels and fresh clothes. I wondered if he got a kick out of this, or if it were for another reason. Regardless, I didn't like to be watched.

We put the clean clothes on and he yelled for a guard to come get us out of the cells. The guard who opened the gates had put a rope around our hands, and wrapped it around our bodies so we couldn't go anywhere, as if we were some type of criminals. The guard then guided us to Ezekeliah's lab. On our way, we got nasty looks and even spat on by the Royals and Servants passing by. It was humiliating.

"Why don't we see if they are sick first before we go around spitting on our people Sir Edward?" Ezekeliah said.

"Even if they aren't sick, they are a disgrace to our Kingdom. They want to protect the disgusting filth of a plague that is spreading through our home. We should throw them out or burn them where they stand like the witches they are." The Prince responded.

"Why don't you ask your father what he thinks of that. If it was spreading as quickly as your comment indicates, we'd all be joined in on a homosexual orgy by now, don't you think?"

"My father knows nothing." The Prince said before storming off.

"Well then, I'm sorry you had to witness the Prince behave like this." He said, slightly tilting his head back to us.

"Why are you being nice to us, protecting us?" I asked.

"I'm a scientist. I'm here to examine, question, research, identify, and cure if deemed necessary. I hold little judgment to the unknown. Even if its witches doings" He responds.

"Then, if you don't judge, why do you let the King kill the homosexual people? Do you think they are bad people too?"

"The King wants a cure, and I cannot provide a cure for these people. The King believes it's a disease that spreads among people by thoughts and influences, and he doesn't want those kinds of people to be let free to spread that disease."

"So you don't care what happens to them? It's a disease to you?"

"I believe he is making decisions he thinks is right and that is best for this Kingdom. I cannot argue with the King. Unless I have a cure, there's nothing I can do." He looked down at his feet as he walked. He looked up a little while after and took out his book. "Ah, here we are, my lab!" He says, excitedly, opening the door to let us in. "Thank you Raulph, that will be all. You can go from here." He says to the guard escorting us.

"But I have to make sure they don't escape." Raulph insists.

"They're tied down together, where are they going to do? If they run off, chances are they will get stuck on something or run around with their heads cut off in a Kingdom that as of right now despises them." Ezekeliah questions.

Raulph doesn't respond, he nods at Ezekeliah and Ezekeliah nods back before walking into the room, he motions for us to enter. He then closes the door behind him and motions for us to sit at the table. We do, and he sits across from us. He puts his book on the table and opens it up to the first page. It has what I said this morning on the first line. He labeled the heading 'Subject One' and then started asking me some questions.

"Let's start with something easy, what is your name?" He asks.

"Ashley Weston." I respond.

"Very good, very good. How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen."

"Who is your teacher?"

"Mrs. Yvonne." He continues to ask these basic questions, he sometimes repeats the same questions. I don't know why exactly, but I assumed he had just forgotten what he asked already. He then moves on to more personal questions.

"So, when was the first time you discovered your sexuality?"

"When I started puberty, not too long ago."

"Was it a weird realization?"

"I don't know, it wasn't what I expected."

"What were you expecting?"

"I thought it would be someone who was attractive in my head, but instead it was a person I don't like to think about." I said, knowing I had to be careful with how I said things. I wanted to lie, but unfortunately, I didn't have one capable bone in my body to lie.

"Why don't you like to think about this person?"

"Sh-Uh, they... The girls don't really find them attractive-" He stopped me before I could finish my sentence.

" 'they' Who? The boy's?"

"The unattractive ones."

He ignored my inability to give him direct answers and continued on asking questions. He asked them for hours and all this talking was making me thirsty. He kept asking the same questions too, I kept answering them as persistently as I could. But I knew I messed up sometimes. I was nervous, mother always told me to be careful with what I say to others and how I say it. She said I could never tell anyone else about me, and I intended to do just that. Take that secret to my grave if I have to, because that's what it is, a secret. But I'm far from perfect, as you already know and I can't tell a lie to apparently save my own self.

"Do you like boys or girls?" He asked, leaning in as if he were trying to hear my thoughts.

"Uh-um... Can I get some water?" I asked, trying to get him to leave the question.

"Answer first and then you can get water." He said.

"Leave her alone!" The lady protests.

"And what is it to you what I ask?" He responds.

"She's just a girl, why are you trying to find evidence to convict her of homosexuality? It was enough that you had to kill my son, now you're trying to kill this fifteen year old little girl. What's wrong with this Kingdom?"

"Tell me Ashley, which do you like?" He ignores the lady, putting all his attention on me. "You're hiding something. I want to know. Which is it?"

"Stop!" The lady yells.

"Ashley, tell me."

But I couldn't answer him, I wouldn't answer him if it meant telling him the truth and dying over it. I refused to say anything, I just looked down at the table. I could feel their eyes staring at me and the confrontation getting hotter. I couldn't give them the answer they were wanting. Or an answer at all. I started tapping my feet really loudly out of nervousness. He asked again as if I couldn't hear him the first few times. I could feel my face getting hot, and then the mother next to me stood up and began speaking once again.

"Um, I-I like girls. Are you happy? Proud even? Y-you have a homosexual here." She said, loudly. I look over to her, but she keeps her attention on Ezekeliah who was now more intrigued by her than me.

He looked over at me and then back at her. He smiled, got up, grabbed some water, put the water on the table, untied me and handed me the water. He told me to go to sleep on the bed in the corner while he asked questions. I drank the water and laid down. It was much too light out to go to sleep so I just laid there. But without knowing it, I started getting more sleepy and soon, the only light that filled the room was that of a lantern burning on the table. I kept staring at the light. It felt soothing and comforting. It seemingly flashed the darkness as the flame flickered on the candle. I soon drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

Unfortunately, my dreams consisted of women. Something that always seemed to wake me up at night. I tossed and turned before waking up from a deep sleep. My eyes are a bit blurry, but when they focus, I look over to the table, but instead of seeing two people sitting down and talking, I see a man sitting in a chair next to me, watching me. I gasp loudly and then realize its Ezekeliah. He told me to hush and to not wake up Alice. He has his book across his lap with a candle shining over his shoulder, he's been watching me sleep. But what would that determine? He leans back in the chair and begins asking me more questions. I let out a sigh and lay back in bed, turning my back to him. He quietly gets up, I smile, having thought I won, but soon I was met with a wet, cold, bath across my entire body. He had poured water on me. I got up quickly and looked at him angrily.

"Next time, when I ask, you answer." He said, calmly.

I wanted to tell him where he could shove it, but I knew that would do no good. "I want to sleep." I said.

"I want to sleep too, but instead, I have to figure out what you are and if I can cure you. Now, do you want to swim in the lake, or will you answer my questions?" He says, with a bit more persistence. But I still don't answer. "Fine." He says, losing his patience, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me towards the door. "We will just tell the King what you are and he can deal with you." He says in frustration.

I pull back, which of course makes his grip stronger.

"Fine!" I raise my voice. "I will answer the question." I said, in a lower one, remembering that Alice is asleep.

"Go on." He says while standing.

"I was dreaming about a girl."

"Oh!" He says, his facial expressions quickly switch to being intrigued as he finds a place to sit down. "Tell me about it." He says, ready to write down every word I say.

"She is someone I know. She is kissing a boy, and I don't like it."

"You don't like her kissing the boy?"

"I don't like him kissing her."

"Oh! Interesting. What else?"

"That's all I can remember. Now, can I go back to bed?"

"No, we are going to go to the yard now." He said, walking to the door, looking back at me to follow him.

I sigh again and I do. He calls over to Raulph who is sitting nearby to guard the hallway. He asks Raulph if he can watch the door and make sure Alice doesn't get out. Raulph agrees and we begin walking towards the yard. We go down these long stairs and are met with this large green, open field. We walk to the middle of the field and then he starts asking me to do some push-ups. I ask him why he wants me to do them, but he gives me no answer. He just tells me to do it again.

I get on the ground and start doing push-ups. I get to five when I stop. I look at him when he says to keep doing them until I feel like I will collapse. So I rolled my eyes and I tiredly continued doing push-ups. I got to about thirty when I pretended to fall due to exhaustion. He told me to get up and lay on my back next, I slowly roll over and he steps on my feet. He tells me to do sit-ups until the same result. Luckily I'm not good at sit-ups, and after about fifteen, I already start huffing and puffing. He tells me to stop and do another activity. Then another, and then another. My exhausted body wanted to collapse and I didn't get the point of whatever he was trying to prove anyways. But I tried doing the minimum that I could get away with just in case.

It was beginning to be daylight out, and today was the first time that I didn't enjoy the sunrise. The colors, the brightness, it was irritating. I was starting to get weak, my body felt like Jell-O, and I had sweat all over my body. I heard the castle bell ring and that's when he told me to stop. I instantly fell down to the round from a run and I laid there. He walked up to me with a smile on his face and that damn book in his hand. He continues to take notes on me as I lay there, practically lifeless.

"Well, on the bright side, if you ever wanted to become a Knight, I'm sure you'd succeed quite well, all you'd have to do is cut that hair and stop pretending you can't do anything." He said.

I instantly started smiling from the ground, and of course, he recorded that too. I did want to be a Knight, despite the fact that only the middle class and up were allowed to seek that position. I wanted to be as muscular as those men, as fierce, and as handsome as them. But I knew that was a dream that I needed to let go. But him telling me that, made it harder. I kept replaying my role as a Knight. I would ride my black horse, Starlight through the village and smile at everyone and make sure everything was going as it should. I would protect Gwen from any harm that might come her way and protect the village from harm. My name would be Henry Nikolas Weston and I would be a great Knight.

Ezekeliah picks me up from the ground and carries me back to the lab. He tells Raulph that he needs to look at his research and study them and refresh his eyes and that he needs to take us back to the cells. Raulph nods and grabs my arm and Alice's and drags us back down to the cell room. I lay down on the floor and sigh loudly as if to say I've been physically defeated. Alice sits on the floor and stares over at me, I hate when people stare.

She clears her throat and then speaks. "So, why didn't you want to answer Ezekeliah's question about liking girls or boys?" I don't answer her. "I have no reason to tell anyone, I had a gay son who I loved very much. Remember?"

I still don't answer her, but I laugh a little. "Why are you laughing? What's so funny?"

"Why did you tell him you liked girls when you clearly don't? Why did you help me?" I ask.

"You're a kid. I'm an adult. My time will be up in twenty or so years, you have sixty. And, I want to be reunited with my son. Wherever he may be."

"So, you lied to him?"

"Lying is sometimes necessary for your safety or your survival. It's okay to lie if it means your life isn't on the line."

"But that makes no sense, the King will kill you if Ezekeliah finds no cure."

"And that is what I want, sweetie. You don't have any idea what kind of pain I'm going through having lost my son to those sick bastards. When you become a parent, I hope you never feel my sorrow. I fear if I live, I will somehow kill the King, or die trying. As sad as that may be, I can't do that to these people. They may look down upon us, but they need a King, and I've lived among these people, making memories with them for a very long time. I can't hurt them how they've hurt me. Maybe you will do what my son couldn't and change these peoples minds one day."

"What makes you think I agree with homosexuality?"

"Because you cried. If you don't start to lie to Ezekeliah, he will start to have his suspicions if he doesn't already. You're not giving him direct answers, and that in itself won't help you. I don't know what secrets you are holding so dear to you, but you cried for my son, so you must lie to stay alive." She said before going off to singing and looking out at the village people.

Being physically worked to death, I have reached the end of my energy level, and as my limbs ached, and others were numb, I fell into a deep sleep on this cold hard floor. Leaving the last thought in my mind being of a better, happier future. Hoping I don't ruin my chances of getting out of here and surviving this ridiculous society.