Crow nodded thoughtfully. It was interesting to him that her father had trained her to be a knight rather than a housewife. Since she was able to join the king’s army, she must have belonged to a family of high status, and from what he knew about noblewomen, they always seemed to marry young so long as they weren’t… hard on the eyes, to put it lightly. But Penelope had no physical deficiencies. He found it odd that her father would have trained her to fight rather than raise a family. Crow casted her a sidelong glance. She was a formidable knight. Perhaps her father had seen her potential early on and decided to put it to use.

[color=fff79a][b]“Alright, my turn then,”[/b][/color] Penelope said when she finished telling her story. [color=fff79a][b]“What led you to becoming a thief?”[/b][/color]

He thought for a moment. He knew the reason why, but he wasn’t sure if he was willing to share it with her. From what he could tell, the knights of Brerra had very few personal records on him, and he wanted to keep it that way. He had no intention to quit his life of thievery when he escaped, so he wanted to keep them in the dark for as long as he possibly could. Besides, how did he know Penelope wasn’t just trying to pry information out of him? She might have been attempting to coax answers out of him to report back to William.

But, thinking about it again, he somehow doubted that. She didn’t seem to bear any ill intent. Her voice and facial expression held only curiosity, and she had proven to be a terrible liar earlier in their journey. It wasn’t likely that she was hiding anything from him. He considered her request again. Maybe he could just share some of the vaguer details of his past in return for her answer to his question earlier. Besides, it wasn’t like he had to be honest about everything.

“My mother was also a thief,” Crow started slowly. That wasn’t too much information. His mother had never taken on any ambitious runs that would have put her name in the knights’ records. As far as he knew, they didn’t have any clue who she was, and therefore had no way to link him to her. “In the part of the kingdom where I grew up, there weren’t any opportunities to advance. Everyone was poor, and everyone was condemned to stay that way.” He paused again, feeling satisfied with his answer so far. All of the outer villages were impoverished, and they made up a large portion of the kingdom. The knight would have a hard time pinpointing the location of his home from that single detail. He looked up to meet her gaze as he went on, “My father left before I was born, so my mother took care of me by stealing food from the knights that patrolled our village. As I grew older, she taught me the basics of thievery, and eventually I was the one stealing food for her.

"Like many peasants, she became sick when she reached the age of thirty. She died shortly after.” He shrugged. Most people died young in the outer villages. They were underfed and many of their water supplies were contaminated. Diseases and death were an everyday occurrence, and he had come to accept the fact that his mother had just been one of the masses.

“But that’s not why I became a thief,” Crow continued. “Sure, my mother taught me the basics, but I don’t steal to ‘keep her memory alive’ or any sappy reason like that. I do it for myself.” He shook his head and smiled. “I know that sounds greedy, but it’s difficult to explain to someone who’s never experienced living on the outskirts of the kingdom. There’s just something rewarding about teaching the rich what it’s like to feel need. And besides, it’s fun.” Crow gave Penelope a teasing nudge. “You can’t lie to me; I know you enjoyed running from those nobles last night. That’s just a taste of what it’s like to be a thief—a successful one, mind you. Amateurs don’t know how to get away with stunts like that, but luckily for you, you’re working with a professional.”