Short Story Competition 2024 [CLOSED]

Entry 9 ~𝘌𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥~

Author: Minelle

Genres: Historical, Romance

Word Count: 3460

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In a kingdom known for its dazzling wealth and stark inequality, there lived a poor girl named Ella. She lived with her mother in a room they could barely afford until her mother managed to marry a widower nobleman. She had thought it was her chance to turn her life around.

Unfortunately for her, her mother died when she was barely fifteen years of age, and had only lived in the nobleman's household for three years at the time. The wealthy Marquis Pruitt and his two children, ruthless as they were, treated her like a servant. However, she endured it all, having nowhere else to go. Marquis Pruitt liked her mother well enough not to throw her out on the streets.

It was on her eighteenth birthday when she came up with an idea.

She was walking along the street when a thief bumped into her. The hooded thief shouted an apology and continued running. A loud shout told her what -or who- he was running from. Guards. Ella quickly stepped back to get out of their way. Shaking her head, she continued on her way. "Seriously, people are resorting to stealing now. And the King doesn't even care." She muttered to herself as she passed by an alleyway full of starving people.

There was a thump behind Ella as she turned to exit the alleyway. Twisting around, she spotted the thief from earlier. He ignored her in favor of opening his satchel to take out a loaf of bread. Just as he was about to take a bite, he noticed two pairs of eyes from below. She tilted her head in confusion at the two kids staring at his bread hungrily. Ella watched as the thief sighed, broke split the bread into two uneven pieces then gave the bigger one to the kids. She gazed at the scene for a few more moments before deciding to go back to the Pruitt Manor.

Walking the Manor's hallway, Ella stopped in front of an expensive vase and stared at it for a long time. She wondered why the Marquis needed such expensive things just for display. If he didn't spend his wealth on lavish but useless things, he could use it to help the people. Then it struck her. Maybe she could help the people. Stealing is a crime but the nobles weren't any better. They tax the people relentlessly and then go on a spending spree. As she walked her way up to her room -the attic the Marquis transferred her to when her mother died- she encountered the Marquis' daughter, Anna. Anna Pruitt was a year younger than Ella, but that didn't stop the younger girl from harassing her whenever she saw her. This time wasn't an exception. Rather than getting discouraged, Ella let the insults strengthen her resolve.

Over the next few days, she planned her strategy. Ella would strike at midnight when she knew that everyone in the manor would be asleep. Since the Pruitts reduced her to a servant, she memorized every part of the house, even the places where the Pruitts stashed their valuables. Of course, the Marquis and his children didn't know about this or they would punish her.

A week later, the most struggling neighborhoods were, not exactly thriving but they were more at ease than they were for the past few years. Ella also decided to steal not only from the Pruitts but also from the other corrupt nobles that she knew of. From the Marquis' closest friend to a random noble who almost ran over a child unapologetically.

Because of her actions -and her outfit- Ella gained a reputation. The Robinhood: A hero to the poor and an elusive thief to the rich. The nobles tried to put a stop to her thievery by adding more guards or transferring their money but to no avail; she began to target the bank where they stashed it. Ella continued the charade for months. Thankfully, the Pruitt family thought her dumb and foolish, not suspecting her one bit.