heart of gold | timothée chalamet

part seven - and a heart of gold

clanging of the dungeon cell bars wakes you from an unsatisfying sleep. you turn your body to face the door just as several guards open it. taking advantage of your drowsy and sleep-deprived state, they approach you without a concern. you feel no urge to attack.

one of the guards places their large hands on your shoulder, pushing you to lie on your stomach. you see the legs and shoes of the guards around you as metal encloses your wrists. they pull you up, tugging you along up the stairs and through the maze of the castle. in your delirious state, the doors of the aplenty hallways blend together into one shade of brown. when they tug you outside, you are blinded by the sun, deprived of light.

the horizon of sherwood forest is the first thing that you see past the rush of light. the tops of the trees are barely visibly behind the tops of the buildings housing the people you helped. the guards only pause for a heartbeat before continuing their lugging. there is a guard in front of you and two beside you as they escort you in a practiced manner. the gallows are in the center of town, a reminder to all citizens to keep in line. though, only the top of the wooden structure is visible past the crowd standing around. some are unfamiliar, but others are recognizable allies. there are tears in some of their eyes when they meet your defeated gaze, forming a pit in you. ashamed, you look down at the ground, the shackles around your wrists digging into your back. you follow the guard leading you up the wooden stairs and stand before the grand audience. the king stands on a platform on the other side of the crowd, a horrid smile blessing his wrinkled face. the sheriff is already on the platform next to the box to be stood on. you can't bare to look at him.

most of the guards that led you to the gallows leave to maintain the crowd, allowing the next guest to climb the stairs of death. little john steps onto the platform. he has noticeable bruising on his face and he looks as if he was torn apart and tortured. you look down, seeing some drops fall from your eyes and dampen planks of the floor. you feel his presence next to you and you face him; he's already looking at you, two guards surrounding the both of you. sniffling quietly, you mouth, "i'm sorry."

little john shakes his head faintly. "i'm not," he mouths back, and your eyebrows furrow. "i'm thankful, kit."

you mouth purses as tears line john's cheeks, and you have to look away to prevent yourself from breaking fully.

the crowd silences as the king forces their attention onto him. "welcome, taxpayers of nottingham!" you scoff lightly at his title for his people. "today, we're gathered to witness the execution of two of nottingham's most... determined criminals." he looks directly into your eyes from across the crowd. "robin hood and john the giant. they are being charged with countless crimes, of which there is theft on grand scales and the kidnapping and torturing of my son, prince timothée chalamet."

the king waits a beat for an applause that never comes. the audience is unreactive to the king's pleasures, but he continues nonetheless. "let's commence! first, the hanging of the outlaw known as robin hood."

with the king's gesture, the sheriff approaches you as the guard to your left unshackles you and grips your wrists. they escort you to the box, the sheriff putting the loop of the noose over your head. "goodbye, robin hood." he whispers before smugly standing next to you. he gets to kick the box from under your feet as soon as the king gives word.

the word doesn't come right away; however, as the king revels in the suspense. how you stand helplessly, waiting for his mercy to release you. as he is about to announce your death, there is a lone voice in the silent crowd, "stop!"

the audience part to reveal the voice. timothée stands, breathing heavily and bruised. you can't help but gasp, the rope scratching at your neck and tears pricking. timothée steps closer to the platform, raising his hands. "they've done nothing wrong, they only look out for the people of nottingham. how can you charge someone with death for only helping people?"