inevitable entanglements » a.i. + l.h.

13

Dedicated to Brandon becasuse he put a fact about the middle ages in the comments and I used it! (Sorry, I forgot it)

"Brother, why don't you have any friends anymore?"

The young boy asked, his widened brown eyes barely visible in the dark.

"Please just go to sleep, Nicholas. I have to get up early next morning."

"But I'm so cold."

Rose interfered for the third time that night.

"Here, have my blanket."

He whispered, bundling her in the thin fabric. When he pulled his two younger siblings closer, the difference in temperature was obvious.

Rose was burning hot.

But that was okay. He would find a solution. No matter what.

*

The next morning they met up in the classroom once again. Ashton was allowed to study there, because Gabriel and Luke had agreed to do some Georgraphy instead of reading. Luke had already learnt all the letters anyway and Gabriel had given him some texts to read, along with a card with all the letters written on it in case he forgot one.

"Hey, how was worship?"

Ashton asked, as he took a seat at one of the desks. Luke looked a little distressed again, even though he had been to the chapel that morning.

"No one bothered you afterwards, did they?"

Gabriel questioned before Luke could answer the question.

"No, Calum wasn't even there."

"You see, it's not that bad if you miss worship for once."

He had heard about Luke and Ashton's conversation. It bothered him that his religion weighed down on him. It only motivated him even more the teach the boy everything he knew. Perhaps, if he knew more about the world, he'd be a less fanatic Christian.

"It's not that. I kept thinking about everything Ashton said yesterday. The things the priest said are so horrible. It didn't make sense."

Luke rubbed his face with his hands, trying to understand everything that was going on.

"According to the priest, masturbating is worse than rape. Because when you rape someone, there's still a possibility of reproduction. But two males can't do that, right?"

"No, they can't Luke. The male body misses certain parts that are necessary in order to give birth to children."

Gabriel explained, mentally making a note to give him some biology lessons too.

"So what your father did was wrong. God will punish him for it. He did it for pleasure, which is wrong according to the Bible."

Ashton considered this progress. Luke still held on to the idea of a god, but that wasn't all that bad. At least he was questioning the church's actions.

"No matter how you put it, what the duke did was wrong. Even when a male rapes a female or a female rapes a male, it's wrong. It's not okay to hurt people. Don't you agree?"

Luke nodded. He believed what Ashton said.

"And why does your god think it's wrong to do something pleasurable? I personally don't understand that. Doesn't your god want you to enjoy your life?"

Ashton asked it slow and clear, giving the younger boy enough time to think about it. He doubted he'd ever be able to convince him that there's no god, but at least he could change his perspective a little.