Hidden Courtship

1. Ellington Kendrick

• Ellington Kendrick •

Even before Ellington Kendrick was chased down the streets of Spittle Town by an angry butcher and his undoubtedly angrier ax, he wasn't having a very pleasant day.

He hadn't had the chance to swipe some food over the last two days. And earlier this morning, his younger sister Millie had fainted from hunger, bringing about heavy fast paced breathing from his brother Charlie, which quickly escalated into a full blown panic attack.

Although Charlie was 15, just three years younger than Ellington, he was—let's just say a fragile kid and easily spooked. This was part of why he never accompanied his older brother to plunder the shops. The other reason being that Ellington simply wouldn't allow it, for his sibling's sake.

Millie's swooning however, was the final straw, making Ellington's chore all the more evident and nonnegotiable. He had to head into town.

After making sure his siblings were alive and as well as two starving, pitiful orphans could be, he threw on his silver cloak and pulled the hood over his head as he walked out the door.

His home—it was more like a rundown shed—was right on the outskirts of the village center. So thankfully the walk was pretty short and it wasn't long before he arrived in the town market.

Normally, the young smuggler would settle for a good loaf of bread but his sister's health was obviously in quite a dire state and she needed something more substantial. Ellington's eyes darted from the leather stall to the weaponry to a stall that seemed to sell everything ranging from foreign cheeses to sandals. Until finally he spotted the butcher shop.

Protein! he thought, that should do trick.

The butcher was rather attentive when it came to his merchandise, at least, more so than the baker at the bread stall, he was slightly younger too—that might've been the reason.

Today, however, the man sat on a stool much too small for his freakishly large body, staring wearily at the floor. His broad shoulders slouched and his eyelids kept flickering as though he was trying his hardest not to let them shut entirely and allow himself to drift into slumberland.

Maybe the butcher spent a tad too many hours at the tavern yesterday, or perhaps, his mistress was in a frisky mood last night. Either way, Ellington didn't wish to investigate the old man's evening activities at the moment. The butcher was practically comatose, and our little thief wasn't going to let this chance go to waist.

His eye caught on a large slab of tenderloin sitting on the table. Ellington crept his way over, raising his arm to grab the steak when all of a sudden—Meowww—a calico hopped onto the counter.

Ellington didn't think much of it since it wasn't uncommon for stray cats to pass through the streets of Spittle Town and they would probably be attracted to a stall selling meat. The butcher however, didn't seem to take the animal's visit too lightly... the man's eyes shot open and he quickly turned around not looking very happy...

"That pesky beast!" The butcher grumbled while waving his bulky arms over his head "The meat's mine! Scram!"

The cat did indeed scurry away, leaving Ellington shocked to see that his feet had stayed in place and he didn't follow the feline out of the line of fire.

Unfortunately, with the furry thief out of the way, the butcher could now clearly see the very human thief about to snatch some good tenderloin.

Ellington and the man locked eyes and for a moment the world froze; the thief's open hand hovering over the meat and the butcher's hand hovering over his ax handle.

"Shit" Ellington mumbled rather eloquently.

A split second later his fingers wrapped around the steak and he started running.

646 words

OMG THAT WAS HARD!! It was really fun tho..
Props to all of you writers, you're amazing 🙌

This is my first time writing anything so if it's a bit incomprehensible at times, I'm sorry 😅

All tips and/or criticism are very much appreciated if given politely 🙏