heart of gold | timothée chalamet

part six - the crown of thorns

the sight of little john knelt on the previously comforting green grass made your skin crawl with fear. never before this moment have you been caught. robin hood is notorious for being slippery—suds aplenty to allow for a slick getaway. this idea, the expectation that you were held to, has now been shattered. the sight of your best friend is shattering.

you drop your bow to the ground without a second thought, as you'd rather save your best friend than your treasured engraved bow. your hands slowly rise up in surrender, though your eyes flicker undetectably to the boy who trailed you. timothée is nearly undetectable, blended with the shadows of nature.

"don't hurt him" is all that can escape your hidden mouth. your mind races with thoughts and potential outcomes of being caught, but your mouth is too slow to match pace. the sheriff sickeningly smiles, nodding his head towards you. a guard approaches you, roughly gripping your shoulder and pushing you down until your knees buckle. the impact and the brushing of the tainted grass burns your skin.

with you on the ground, but against your wishes, timothée emerges from the shadows. "let them go, i'm not hurt." timothée's attempt at civility is accompanied by his raised hands—a sign of peace. "i don't want them to get hurt."

"your highness, we're under orders to capture robin hood and the giant," the guard holding you addresses timothée sourly.

"i am of royal blood, and i release you from your orders. i'm not hurt," he repeats, but his attempt is met with the unsettling laugh of the sheriff. his grip on little john did not loosen with your surrender, and the blade of his knife dangerously shifts with his joyful movement.

"the king, your father, gave us these orders. they can't be overridden." his face scrunches into a snarl as he removes the blade from john's neck. a light mist of relief flutters, but fruitlessly. the sheriff turns the dagger and strikes little john in the perfect spot with the hilt. john's large figure falls to the ground, unconscious.

you struggle to get to your feet, but the guard presses you further into the ground, the cloth covering your knees beginning to moisten through contact with the hidden dirt. "you said you wouldn't hurt him if i cooperate! it's me you want!"

the struggle of robin hood widens his cruel smirk. "i only said i wouldn't kill him." his gut-wrenching words are followed by a gesture with his knife—a signal aimed at timothée.

the second guard wastes no time as he pushes timothée to the ground, no remorse for abusing the prince. timothée tries to fight back against him, and seeing john's body with the grass and timothée's struggles, your veins rush with adrenaline. "don't touch him!" you throw your head backwards with all your might, causing the guard to fold. you kick him to the ground once you're free and launch yourself from the ground toward timothée's flailing body. screaming fills the air as you reach for him, but your arm is crushed into the dirt with a stomp before you can touch his outstretched hand. timothée is pulled away by the second guard.

you retract your arm, pain coursing as you're pressed into the ground with a boot to your back. the arrows in your quiver snap. you turn your head to see the sheriff standing over you. the guard who was meant to restrain you raises his shoe and stomps into the ground, followed by the sound of wood cracking—your bow. the sheriff tears your hood from your head, bandana falling soon after. your face has been revealed. "didn't expect robin hood to be a girl." you fight tears as you look in front of you.

the last thing that you see is timothée's hand reaching for you.

you regain consciousness before your eyes open, a cold and itchy material pressing into your temple. your eyes open, fueling the pounding in your head, and you're met with dark concrete lit only with a distant candle by a staircase. the shadows of the barred entrance lines the floor with streaks of black. you sit up, feeling colder than normal. they stripped you of your cloak, leaving you only in your undershirt and pants.