The Buggery Act

15

King Henry VIII passed a new law in 1533 called the Buggery Act making all male-male sexual activity punishable by death. Harry couldn't believe it. Suddenly their lives were at risk and their only crime was love.
"What can we do? Can we protest somehow? This is outrageous!" He said, pacing back and forth in the living room.

"There's nothing we can do, love. If we protest we only turn ourselves into easy targets." Louis replied, looking worried and unhappy.

"We should probably move out. A house of five men will look suspicious." Niall added.

"What? No! We'll keep a low profile." Harry protested.

"We have neighbors, Harry. Eventually, someone will turn us in. We have to move out." Liam said.

Harry looked at Louis for support.
"Unfortunately he's right, love. I hate it but if we get caught... We have to stay safe." Louis said and sighed.

"So we have to break up our family and go back to hiding? Are we moving apart too?" Harry asked and teared up.

"No! I don't want to spend a minute without you. We'll figure it out. We just have to be really careful." Louis said and got up and hugged Harry.

Harry cried. He didn't understand why they had to be prosecuted like this. They didn't bother anyone. They lived a happy life but now a stupid law took everything away. They had made sacrifices to be able to love each other.
"Maybe you should go back home? Maybe you're safer there." Niall suggested.

"No. Even if our families wouldn't turn us in I have no idea about the ones working for us. We're safer here." Louis said.

"Then so are you. I don't want you to move out. Where would you go?" Harry questioned.

"We'll have to think about that." Zayn answered.

"Maybe... What if we dress like women whenever we leave the house? Not all of us, but I can do it. Zayn? Niall?" Harry suggested.

"Also something to consider." Zayn replied. He was used to dressing like a woman since he usually played the female parts on the theatre stage.

"This is ridiculous. I have to choose between love and death? I need to protest somehow!" Harry argued upset.

"You could always paint something." Niall suggested with a shrug.

"No, that can lead back to him." Louis protested, afraid for his husband's safety.

"Stone carvings! Liam taught me! I make a big one, divided into smaller pieces and then we can hide them all around the city." Harry said excitedly.

"What good will that do?" Zayn questioned.

"It's a silent protest. A statement! For the future!" Harry said and waved his hands in the air.

Louis didn't really see the point in it but he knew his husband and Harry had to be able to do something otherwise he would get unhappy.
"Okay. Start carving." He said and kissed him. It would take Harry's mind off things at least and making stone carvings would take a lot of time. Each stone had to be formed and then carved. Louis figured that Harry would grow tired of his project after a while but at least it would keep the anxiety away for some time.

Harry immediately got to work. In the meantime, Louis discussed the reality of the new law with the boys.
"You have to be really careful. Promise me that."

"Same goes for you." Zayn replied.

"I think it's stupid. How can they make a law like that?" Niall questioned.

"Male-on-male contact has never been seen we'll upon, Niall." Liam pointed out.

"Yeah, but killing people for it? That's way over the top." Niall pouted.

"We agree." Zayn answered with a sigh.

Their future felt uncertain. Suddenly they had to feel afraid around people. Niall stopped selling his paintings at the market. Neither of them left the house unless they had to. Zayn quit acting. The theatres were known for their alternative view on sexuality, or at least the people working at the theatres.

They still needed to buy food and other supplies and Zayn turned Harry's suggestion into reality. He and Liam did the shopping, and he always dressed as a woman when he left the safety of their homes.

The freedom they had experienced was taken away from them. Liam and Zayn worried at first that their families would turn them in but as the year passed they felt someone certain that they kept their relationship to themselves. No one came knocking at their door to drag them away.

Harry had made a painting of the image he wanted to carve into the stone plates. He and Louis had decided that he should make 28 plates. They got married on the 28th of September so the number was significant for them. When Harry showed them the image they all gasped. It was a painting of him and Louis being intimate. Behind them was the image of a burning church.
"What do you think?" Harry asked, directing his question to Louis.

"It's a statement, alright." Louis replied.

"You don't like it?" Harry pouted.

"It's beautiful, Harry. We have to burn the painting though, that alone could get us both killed." Louis smiled sadly.

"I just needed to see the proportions. I can carve it out of memory." Harry said. He walked over to the fireplace and threw it on the fire.

He was done with the first plate just before Christmas. He signed the back, H & L 1533. He and Louis snuck out at night, and with the prospect of getting robbed or killed in an alley, they dug a hole and buried the stone plate before they returned home.

Louis' birthday and Christmas wasn't as cheerful as it used to be. Hiding in plain sight was taking a toll on all of them and they feared that this was just the beginning. Who knew when the King would be to his senses? The prospect of spending their whole life hiding their true selves was depressing. Louis wouldn't have it.
"In this house, there's nothing but love, respect and acceptance. In this house, we are safe to be who we are. Let's forget the darkness of the outside world and celebrate!"

They all drank to that.