This chapter is about Beauty again!

Chapter 14. The Surrender Day

Beauty's POV

We didn't know how much time had passed since the "dinner". Hansel and Gretel told me:

"Ariel, I mean the character from 'The Tempest' play by Shakespeare, is locked in a cell next to ours. He can see the sky and the weather outside, though he can't escape. On the moment of sunset, he knocks on our wall twice. At dawn he knocks on our wall three times. At noon he does it four times. That's why we don't lose the feeling of time."

Indeed, some time later we heard two knocks on the wall. Gretel sighed:

"Try to rest, Beauty. Tomorrow's going to be very, very bad."

"Why?" I asked.

"Didn't you hear what the guard said?" Hansel asked back.

"It's the Surrender Day tomorrow," Gretel explained. "On this day, any prisoner can become a member of the Scarlet Hand."

"O-oh!" I shuddered. "The last thing I will ever do."

"Prepare yourself," Gretel said. "So, good night."

"Good night," I replied and closed my eyes. It was hard to fall asleep, though. I thought about my daughter, Natalie. She left the Scarlet Hand officially after my divorce... What can happen to her in the fort? She's completely alone, poor kid. Why, why did I give her to Rumpelstiltskin thirteen years ago? If I didn't do it, then she wouldn't have been a part of the Scarlet Hand. Beast wouldn't have tried to urge her to stay with him (and in the Scarlet Hand). She wouldn't have been so uncertain about it. She'd have lived a much happier life.

But what was done is done.

I sighed and thought:

"Tomorrow I'll certainly meet my ex-husband. He'll remind me of our happily ever after - a perfect life together. I'll remember everything and... oh, what if I agree to become a member of the Hand? Oh, no, no, no. It's all my nerves. I won't do this for all the money in the world."

Thinking about all this, I fell into a dreamless sleep.

I was woken up by three knocks on the wall. When I opened my eyes, I heard Hansel and Gretel yawning and saying "good morning" to each other.

"Good morning!" I said to them. They both smiled faintly.

"Bad morning, in fact," Gretel sighed. "The worst morning in the week."

It wasn't long before we heard the guards' footsteps, and the same three goblins stepped into the cell. They unlocked our chains and led us through a dark cold corridor. Suddenly, a bright ray of light nearly blinded me, and we found ourselves in a large round hall, with a table filled with excellent food.

"Is it poisoned?" I whispered to Gretel.

"Unfortunately, no," she replied. "It's the best food ever cooked, and that's the worst thing."

The Sheriff of Nottingham, with an unnaturally pleasant smile, welcomed the prisoners:

"Hello, everybody! Take the seats and have as much food as you want."

I took a seat between Gretel and a fair-haired thin young man. Gretel introduced us.

"That's Beauty," she whispered to the man. "Beauty, it's Ariel."

"Gretel told me about you," I said. Ariel nodded and advised:

"You better not eat much. Everything's delicious, but it's a trap. Nottingham wants the prisoners to see that the Scarlet Hand members have such breakfasts every day."

I followed the advice and ate some black bread with a cup of weak tea. It was only a little better than the bread-and-water meal I tried to eat yesterday.

"Does anyone want to eat the same meal tomorrow and every day?" Nottingham asked, slyly looking at the crowd of prisoners. I sighed with relief. There were no such fools today. Nottingham frowned a little, but his fake smile didn't fade away. He led us to a large warehouse, full of gold, silver and gemstones, as well as fabulous jewelry. Mirrors were hanging on the walls. I closed my eyes to get over the temptation...

*Flashback Starts*

I'm standing on a marble stairway, in front of a full-length mirror. I'm wearing a lovely yellow dress with silk ribbons. There's a diamond necklace on my neck. My right hand is adorned with a golden bracelet, my left hand - with ruby and emerald rings. Opals are in my hair.

The Beast walks down the stairs and exclaims:

"Oh, Beauty! You look spectacular!"

He takes my hand, and we walk together to join the New Year celebration. I hear people's whispers: "Beast's young wife is gorgeous!" We start waltzing, the sweet music fills the air.

*Flashback Ends*

I shook my head and tried to hide tears appearing in my eyes. But Nottingham had already noticed them.

"Beauty, do you want something of the jewelry?" he asked. The fake smile grew as wide as possible, but it looked disgusting on his face.

"NO!" I snapped. He shrugged and walked the prisoners away from that room.

"What was that?" Gretel whispered.

"I had a flashback!" I answered sadly. "I remembered my happy life and..."

"I understand," Gretel sighed. "On the first of the Surrender Days, it was so hard for us not to eat everything on the table. Did you read the story of Hansel and me?"

I nodded.

Nottingham showed us a room full of rich clothes, then a library, then a wonderful garden... In the garden, Ariel sighed with sorrow, and Nottingham heard it, of course. But Ariel looked at him evilly, and he pretended he didn't notice the sigh.

Nobody surrendered. Finally, Nottingham brought us back to the dining hall and told us:

"Wait here!" His fake smile wasn't as wide as in the morning.

"Idiots," he added in a low voice and left the hall.

"Uh-oh..." Gretel said. "Beauty, prepare yourself for the hardest part. You're going to meet your former husband very soon. If you get over this part, then you'll earn my respect forever. Thankfully, it's the last trap set for us on the Surrender Day."

"Does everyone has relatives in the Hand?" I wondered.

"Mostly former friends," Ariel said. "Miranda and Ferdinand, the main characters of 'The Tempest' and my former best friends, are in the Scarlet Hand. They try to convince me to join them. Duh!" he said, just like Sabrina Grimm.

"Shut up!" one of the goblins announced.

"They're coming," Gretel mouthed. I didn't need the explanation: I understood everything.

The doors opened, and the Sheriff of Nottingham brought a huge crowd inside the hall. I saw the Beast among them.

That's all for now. Review, please!

TO BE CONTINUED.