Chapter 3

It's getting hot in here  🌶️

Put a horny queer teenager from the modern world with a curious, probably queer teenage boy, from the past and add water.

For my readers, I didn't want to write longing and sexual tension in this story, it is fine for other fantasy authors as I was the beta for @lomax61 Stranded: Heart of Black Ice. For this story and character, it didn't feel right to drag out the sexual tension. Eli is as some of my readers pointed out a Libertarian-Anarchist on the sexual freedom spectrum, basically "you like it, just do it". However, Eli wouldn't whore out for Robert, Eli is still in love with Jack, who resembles Robert. Sex isn't the problem, it's a matter of loving the person in front of you or the memory of the person before.

As for Eli, the ability to do memory recall is an extension of the language-translation skill. What other applications can you think of that would apply to to Eli's growing list of skills?

As for character introductions: Lady Jane Grey and Guilford Dudley, two very tragic characters in history. Guildford Dudley was the younger brother of Robert Dudley, and according to some sources married Jane. They were a star-crossed love story where both died in the end due to the ambitions and murderous intent of others. I could honestly imagine a scene where Elizabeth and Lady Jane were in the garden watching their future lovers on the field, daydreaming of romantic encounters that would never happen due to what will come soon. 

William Cecil was employed by Edward Seymore initially, he was his Master of Requests, which was basically a clerk. He eventually transferred over to work with the Earl of Warwick, John Dudley father of Robert and Guilford, John Dudley became Duke of Northumberland. As Elizabeth and Cecil probably met at some point during this time, along with the fact that he survived the various coup/counter-coups and purges of the era through switching sides, but never opposing Elizabeth directly, he was my top new character to add at tis point in the story. I imagine William Cecil in my universe to be someone capable of doing everything possible to allow a gifted monarch with big dreams and ambitions to rise to the throne. 

As to the political ideal nation, "Novum Imperium Britannia" is Latin for the "New British Empire". The concept of Empire in itself is not wrong, just how it should be run and how individuals interact within it. A different kind of society and government based on freedom, but not the freedom that is popular in today's world. Some political concepts on existential freedom versus choice freedom needs to be introduced as I write, hence why there's some political tags and why "Libertarian" subgenre is in the story description. To me, most modern Libertarians are just vanilla conservatives, who hide behind words like freedom to pretend they are something they're not. 

Finally, the law of power this week is 6th law of power, "Court attention at all costs". This is true for Eli as it is for Robert, who made an impression on our protagonist. Eli needs to get the attention of William Cecil, so an essay is written to lay out Cecil's ideas and extend it toward Eli's future goals. Knowing the target and making his desires an extension of your own, you can gain power and influence. As for Robert, his lack of martial prowess did not impede his wooing of Eli, who looked upon the attempt fondly. Despite not being from this time, Eli desires has never left him. The attention is rewarded with a small token of sexual release between the two characters. Not all power is based on authority or rulership, the sexual power between lovers is just as important.

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Note:

1. Gardens were at the heart of the Tudor England, there were many elaborate gardens filled with flowers and plants.  Herbs were used for cooking and flowers could be used for small scale perfumes. Large scale industry hadn't come about yet for perfume manufacturing.

2. While public bath houses existed in larger towns and cities, estates and manors had to rely on limited water supply, plus by the 1540s, there was a growing fear of bathing. The Bubonic plague had caused the closing of most of the public bathhouses in England, with the last one closed in 1546, a few years before the start of this story. Thus, I wrote this bathing scene with historic context in mind. Running water in private homes was introduced in the 19th century after various technological improvements.