Beauty and the Sheriff | SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM

5 | Dinner or Disaster

Suddenly the banging stopped. The silence filled the air and I felt myself holding my breath, waiting for what comes next. Then I heard a small chuckle. Sounded like a maniac. "Oh, well done, my little. You do the right thing in the end but I really want you to open up the door for me. I don't really want to wreck the place...but I will if I need to." He continued to threaten me. "Just give me a while to get myself cleaned up." I asked to hear his sigh. "Very well. I shall wait for you, but don't make me wait long." For a moment I felt a sense of relief, but then I realized, I still have to face him.

I putted headband in my hair, cleaned my face from all the tears and then slowly opened the door. Sheriff was leaning against the wall opposite my room, his arms crossed. "There you are, how adorable." He chuckled, reaching me. "Come, let's dine together." I sighed, walking next to him. "I guess.." His whole face lighten up with excitement as I agreed. "Let's go then. I've had a roast pigeon prepared, and there's a bottle of champagne to celebrate our engagement." Sheriff smiled, taking my hand as he walked me down the hallway, towards the dining room.

As I entered the dining hall I realized it's filled with guests. They all clapped and cheered as me and the Sheriff arrived. I felt the whole castle watching and I realized this whole dinner will only give the Sheriff more power and control over me. I started to shiver as all eyes were on me but I looked through his plan really well. More people there, lower chance I could escape. "Sit, my dear." Sheriff ordered, pointing me to sit next to him. I slowly did, still all eyes on me. I felt uncomfortable and uncertain more and more. The dinner and merriment were in full swing.

The tables were filled with food and drinks. As I sat at the head table, Sheriff's presence next to me was oppressive and intimidating. I was aware of everyone watching me, like I was some attraction. I couldn't bare it. The whole dinner seemed designed to make me feel inferior and trapped. "And where did you found yourself this sweet young wife?" Guests started to ask. "My sweet Caroline came to me in the most surprising of circumstances. I only met her when she came to my castle, asking for help for her uncle who had been arrested, and I...couldn't refuse such a lovely girl." Sheriff grinned, placing his arm on my leg.

I couldn't believe he was lying like this! Well, what did I excepted? I was disgusted enough and dedicated break free. "Because he threatened my Uncle's life if I refuse to marry him!" I spoken for first time during the dinner, making everyone gasp in shock. The guests started to whisper among themselves. A few tried to smile but the Sheriff's face showed pure rage. All he could do was growl to himself and his grip on my leg turned into a death grip. I was in pain but I tried fight it. I could feel his hand starting to tighten around my leg, he was clearly angry at me, but he held it back.

Suddenly he let go of me as if to suggest that he hasn't been hurting me, yet everyone noticed his grip. They all tried to remain silent after my little outburst, as they didn't want the Sheriff to retaliate. The main guest at the dinner table, who was a wealthy merchant, took the opportunity to change the tone. "My dear folks, it is my pleasure to tell you that soon this entire castle will belong to our noble Sheriff here and his...beautiful lady." He winked at me with warm laugh, the guests all joining in.

I felt the walls closing in on me at the main table. Everyone was now laughing and enjoying the party. They all seemed to ignore me, which made me feel that this whole thing was like a humiliation campaign against me. As the dinner continued I could see myself being ignored more and more, as though I'm not supposed to exist, while the Sheriff grown to be more popular and more influential. But I was not prepared to give up. Not yet. "What do you think about the hunger and poverty in Nottinghamshire?" I asked to be again center of attention.

At first there was silence, everyone wondering if I can really get away with speaking in this way. And then the Sheriff responded. "My silly Caroline, why ever would you be worried about something so trivial? Everyone has the choice to either pay their taxes or starve, and I think it teaches people a valuable lesson when they have to suffer those consequences." Guests were laughing with him, although there was a hint of discomfort in their laughter. "Because I saw the little kids along with the orphanage and the kids have no food. How do you except kids pay taxes? Especially orphans." I ruined the laughter.

"Maybe instead of having this useless feast, we could have feed the children." I added, hitting a certain nerve for the entire dining hall. Everyone was stunned into silence once again, including the Sheriff. There was no right response to what I just said. The Sheriff was struggling to find the right words to put me down as he couldn't control the room like normally. He was losing his influence at this dinner, and that has made him more furious than ever. "So if you excuse me, I'll sacrifice my meal for the children, when you all rather sit here and laugh." I announced, standing up with my plate.

Everyone stayed silent as I walked from my chair. Many of the guests were visibly in agreement with me. The Sheriff was stunned, only thing he was able to do was nod at two of his guards to watch over me. This moment was designed for him to gain more influence over me. But instead he was now losing it. I walked towards the orphanage, smiling as all the kids and staff watched me enter with a large plate of food. My heart skipped a beat seeing all the children happy. I handed out food to them, watching them tear into it with great delight.

As I returned back into the dining hall, I could see in everyone's face that my act of kindness has caused a shift in their perception, and their loyalty was starting to move towards me. The Sheriff was aware of it it, so he standed up from his chair to approach me. With a look of pure rage, his face turned red, walking towards me. All of the guests and guards were terrified what's going to happen next. "Here is your plate." I exclaimed, handing him the empty plate. Sheriff threw it onto the floor with violence, everyone gasping as the fine China broke.

The rage in his eyes was unlike anything I've ever seen before, he was out of control. "You...you...dare try to make a fool of me like that? That food...that food was meant for you and you gave it to those filthy peasants!" His voice was full of anger, his lips curled with disgust. "Well, when you as ruler of this city couldn't do your responsibilities, I had to do it. And trust me, eyes of happy children mean more to me than any of your gold." I admitted, checking the fine China he just broke. My response made him angry even more. I could feel his hatred for my behavior.

The whole room remained silent, all their eyes on me. "How dare you? Do you know how much that plate costs? It's worth more than those dirty children will ever be." Sheriff frowned in vicious tone. "Well, you was the one to break it, so..." I commented, making few guests try hide their laughter from my supposed roast. Sheriff stopped dead in his tracks, trying to not lost his temper. "YOU! How...how dare you?! You...you...dare...mock me after...after everything I've done for you?!" He shouted, so angry he couldn't even finish his sentence.

"What exactly? Threating my uncle's life? Forcing me to marry you?!" I snapped back. He was now right in my face, trying to hold himself back from attacking me. "Yes! That's exactly it, if it wasn't for me you would be nothing. I gave you a roof over your little head, a warm bed, a place to feel safe and protected. How dare you speak to me this way, after everything I've given you. You should be thankful for all I've done for you, and yet.." That was first time I heard something else than pure anger. Was it sadness? I couldn't believe.

"Then I guess I should rather return to my room." I said in the end. He remained silent, leaving me just a nod. He was somehow hurt, but I didn't care. I turned at the guests, giving them little bow and then rushed away from the dining hall, guards following me to make sure I won't escape. I slammed the door of my bedroom and then slipped on ground with sigh. Oh, Robin, my beloved, return to me. Rescue me.

• • •

Hello everyone! Here we are with another chapter, propably the longest one so far. I plan on setting a proper schedule of updates but school is getting really busy and I can't gurantee I'll post that often, although I'll try my best for you. I also apologize for the gif, it was very rushed and the lighting looks crappy, I will maybe change it if I find time. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I apologize for all my mistakes. Thank you so much for reading and see you in comments! Sending love ♡