I sit in the corner of a field rubbing my cold hands and feet, I glance worriedly around me, my Mama’s late, she’s never late, and I’m very worried. Stealing from a lord shouldn’t have taken such a time, his house is just over the field, and mum’s very fast she has to be to escape the guards of the house’s we steal from. Well technically she steals from, I’m never allowed to go with her; she just makes me look after my little brother Quiet. Yes his name is Quiet, mine’s silly too, it’s Whisper. It’s a custom among thieves to name your children, after the virtues you want them to have, my mama’s called stealth. Suddenly I hear pounding feet, and look up to see my Mama racing across the field from lord rowan’s house, I quickly get to my feet pulling my brother up with me. I grab our only possession; a tattered old blanket, and as my Mama shrieks “run” I dart off, yanking Quiet behind me. After halve an hour of strait running Mama gives the signal that means safe, and we stop to catch our breath. “What did you get?” I pant “Bread rolls, apples and cheese.” Mama lists, pulling them out of her bag “Yummy!” Quiet giggles and tries to grab an apple, but Mama puts in into her bag “They are for later.” She scolds him “if you ever want to be a good thief you have to make things last.” Quiet sighs and raps his arms around his grumbling tummy. I look at his sad face he is only little so when Mama goes to get some sticks to light a fire I nick a apple from her bag and hand it to him. “Mama will be mad.” He says biting into the crunchy fruit “No she won’t” I sigh “she wants me to be a good thief, doesn’t she.” Sometimes I wonder want it would be like to have a Mama that yells when you steal stuff, but that’s so far from my reality I can’t really picture it. Quiet makes quick work of his apple and it’s gone before Mama comes back with the sticks. I set to work lighting the fire, while Mama chops a small roll to share between us, and Quiet lays the blanket down ready for us to sleep on it “Whisper?” Mama calls me over to her Laying down my sticks I go and stand next to her “yes mama?” “It’s your twelfth birthday tomorrow.” “oh.” I wonder why she’s mentioned this; we don’t celebrate birthdays so there’s no reason for her to bring it up. “Do you know what that means?” she asks “no.” I say puzzled “It means that you are old enough to come with me when I break in somewhere next.” “Really?!” I gasp I’ve been wanting to go with her for as long as I can remember, but she’s always told me I’m too young now I can finally go! “yes, Whisper you can come.” I grin happily and run to start the fire and cook the rolls into hot toast. We munch hungrily through our small pieces of roll, then Mama leads me and Quiet to a small brook where we wash our faces in the cool water then drink strait from the stream, once we are done we head back to the blanket and as the sun sets we all lay down on it and fall asleep. “Whisper, Whisper. Wake up.” I startle awake and look around me, I see Mama’s figurer silhouetted by the moon bent over me. “What is it?” I whisper careful not to wake Quiet, who is slumbering peacefully next to me. “You need to get up.” Is mum’s reply, I look up at the moon and see it’s high in the sky, we can’t need to get up yet, it can’t even be midnight “Why? It’s still night.” I’m used to getting up early, we are generally on the move before sunrise, but this seems too early even for us. “we need to cut your hair short.” Mama remarks I gasp “what do you mean mama?” “it’s a tradition, the second you turn twelve we cut your hair short, legend that by the time you hair has grown back and is down to your waste then you have leant everything you need to know about stealing.” Mama explains I twiddle my still long hair and wonder what to do, I know I need to take part in the tradition, but I have always been rather fond of my long blonde hair, I’m not exactly pretty, I have large pale grey eyes and tanned skin, that’s covered in freckles, my long hair is the only part that is really pretty, so I’m not thrilled with the idea of cutting it. But I know I have to do it so I reluctantly say “ok I’ll do it.” And get up. I follow mama to the stream where she makes me put my head into the cold water so my hair gets saturated, then she looks up and the moon and nods at me “you ready?” she asks “I guess.” She reaches into the pocket of her old pair of trousers and draws out a knife. I kneel in front of her facing away, she takes my hair in her hands and waits a minute before in one smooth movement she cuts away all the gold curls. I stifle a small sob and look at my reflection in the water, my hair is no longer all the way down my back, instead it’s been chopped shorter than my shoulders, and ends at the top of my neck. “ok back to bed.” Mama suddenly says “you’ll need energy tomorrow.” I nod shakily and wander back to the blanket.
“Queen Snow White and King Charming’s palace.” Mama says as though breaking into the most heavily guarded and important palace ever is easy. “Couldn’t we do some place easier?” I plead “No. you’ll be fine.” Mama remarks before strolling off leaving my and Quiet with no choice but to follow. It takes us nearly the whole day to reach the palace, and by the time we do I’m filled with nerves. Mama tells Quiet to hide up a tree until we’re back and he quickly obeys so it’s just me and Mama “I don’t know about this.” I stutter, now we’re here it feels a lot more real. “This is what you’ve been waiting for all your life. You need to do it.” Mama replies as we creep toward the palace. We walk through the ornate gardens and up to the palace, it’s beautiful, made of lovely white bricks and bright red ones form apple shapes in the corners. It has a large front door made of wood with a real gold handle and hinges, we slip though the less guarded servants entrants and sneak up the old wooden stairs watching out for creaking steps, we find ourselves in what seems to be a laundry room with laundry chutes coming out of the walls, mama points to one and says “Climb up it. I’ll climb up the one on the other side.” “Climb up it?” I say wondering if I heard right but mama is already shimming up the other one, so there’s nothing to do but shimmy up mine. It’s hard work climbing up it for they are vertical with nothing much to hold on to, so I have to press my back against one wall and use my feet to walk up the other. After I climb for what feels like hours the chute branches into two. I’m not sure which one to take, but I pick left. I climb further and suddenly pull myself into a room. It’s painted red with a white desk and red chair, a sofa is against one wall, a large white wardrobe and vanity table are on the other, and on the back wall is the biggest grandest bed I’ve ever seen with white pillows with red embroidery on and a large red blanket folded neatly at the end of the bed, then I see something that makes my heart leap into my mouth, sat on the bed staring at me is a girl! “Help! Help! Thief!” she screams, and in seconds the room is filled with guards! I sit leaning on the damp wall of my cell in the palace dungeon; I’m the only one in here, well other than some skeletons! My cell is small and depressing, with cold hard stone floors, a dripping ceiling that looks mouldy, there’s no furniture not even an old blanket like the one I used to sleep on. I can’t believe I got myself caught! I miss my Mama and Quiet so much, I don’t know how I’ll live without them. I nibble on the stale bread I’ve been given sadly. I suddenly I hear a creak and the dungeon door swings open and a face pears round it, it’s the face of the girl I saw; the one that got me caught. “hello.” She whispers shyly, she has green eyes, deep brown hair and white skin. “What is it?” I ask wondering why a pretty girl like her is down here in a mouldy old dungeon “I wanted to say sorry, for getting you arrested.” “Why? I’m a thief.” “I don’t know your story.” “What do you mean?” “I don’t know why you steal, or what makes you do it.” “Umm…” I’m not sure what to say to this “No one’s bad for no reason. No ones truly awful” She says quietly “well other than my step grandmother, the evil queen.” “Wait… your step grandmother’s the evil queen? That mean’s you’re snow whites daughter.” “Yes, I’m Ebony. Who are you?” “My name’s whisper, don’t laugh.” “I won’t.” “Good.” “Tell me your story.” “What?” “Why do you steal?” “So we don’t starve. We don’t take anything we don’t need; we still don’t have enough to eat, but we’re surviving.” I say sadly “oh, I thought thieves were greedy, and just wanted everything for themselves.” “Sometimes they do.” I admit “but we don’t” “Who’s we?” “Me, my mama and my little brother.” “Hang on.” She says walking over to my door “What are you doing?” I ask “Letting you out.” she says frankly “You don’t deserve to be locked up.” She pauses “I will make sure you and you family have enough to eat and a place to sleep, if you promise me two things.” “What?” “one, you’ll stop stealing, two, can we be friends?” I can’t help laughing “ok, I promise.” I grin She opens the cell and I rush out, she leads me out of the palace “Thank you.” I smile “That’s ok!” I wave goodbye to my new friend and run of to find my mama and tell her that we don’t need to steal anymore!
