Crow gave Penelope a mildly surprised look when she asked him if he had any place in mind that they could visit. He wasn’t expecting her to ask him a question like that. It was almost as if she cared about his opinion, but surely that couldn’t be the case. Perhaps she had grown tired of wandering aimlessly and didn’t want to suggest a place, herself? Still, it was oddly satisfying to hear someone of the noble class ask him to share his thoughts on something. It had never happened before, with the exception of his prison guards sarcastically asking if he wanted help escaping from his cell.

“I’ve never been here before, remember?” Crow rolled his eyes. He looked around, trying to envision the location of the village in context with the rest of the kingdom. He might have grown up as an illiterate peasant, but he had seen at least a few books with pictures of their homeland. On their journey, they had been heading north from the central towns. He estimated that they were still only halfway to the outer villages, which meant…

“Actually,” he spoke up after a moment’s thought. “There is a place I’ve wanted to see. I think it’s somewhere in this area.” He tugged on the chain that bound their hands, leading the knight northeast.

As they walked, he was mostly concerned with rehearsing his old stealth techniques, but his mind wandered to other things as well. Every time they passed the home of a rich merchant or lord, he would habitually glance into the window and estimate the value of the objects he could see, and then guess the level of security that protected said objects. Overall, there wasn’t anything that particularly caught his eye, so he gave up his examination. It wasn’t like he could go and steal something anyways. Penelope would never let him get away with it.

Thinking about the knight, Crow pondered again why she had gotten the sudden urge to take a walk in the dead of night. He glanced at her curiously. She didn’t look like the type to suffer from wanderlust. But if it wasn’t that, then what made her want to leave the inn? He wondered if he could coax the reason out of her.

“I’ve always liked the night,” he said suddenly, tilting his head back to look up at the stars. “The darkness has always helped me cover my tracks when I steal from nobles, but it’s also very peaceful.” He turned back to her and smiled in a friendly manner. “Daytime is so busy. It’s nice to take a break from it all and clear my head. So,” he swung his chained hand, playfully forcing Penelope to follow his motion. “I told you my reason for wanting to go on this walk. Now it’s your turn. Why did you want to come out here tonight?”

Penelope opened her mouth slightly to give a retort to his comment before he suddenly decided that he had a place in mind. As he tugged the chain, she stumbled a bit but quickly gained her balance back as she was now following him. She was rather curious as to where exactly he had in mind. Typical. Penelope could help but think this as she noticed him looking into the rooms. He was a thief first and foremost, she supposed.

Once he asked her about her reasoning for coming out, she found herself rather embarassed. So much so that she let his playful swinging get by without any comment or annoyed look. A knight being shaken by some nightmare. The sound of it was just demeaning. Her cheeks turned a tad pink as this realization hit her. "No real reason... Just couldn't sleep very well is all." she lied, looking off to the side.

She hoped to evade the subject and instead looked ahead to where he was leading her. "Anyways, exactly where are we headed?" she now demanded giving him a very critizing look as she attempted to change the topic. "You better not be an idiot and get us lost." She added, making it almost sound like a threat.

Crow eyed Penelope with interest. By the color in her cheeks, he could tell that she was lying to save face from something. He wondered what was so personal about the reason that she would keep it to herself. However, he decided to drop the subject. It wasn’t that important, and besides, he had his own secrets. She could keep hers if she wished.

“Anyways, exactly where are we headed?” Penelope spoke up, changing the subject. “You had better not be an idiot and get us lost.”

“You’ll see,” Crow answered with a dramatic air of mystery. “And don’t worry, I won’t get us lost. Villages aren’t that difficult to navigate.” He stopped swinging his arm and looked around again. In truth, he might have been able to find his way back, but he had no idea where he was going to begin with. His references to find this place were an old map and a hunch, neither of which were very reliable. For all he knew, the place he wanted to see didn’t even exist anymore. But what did that matter? Hunting for it was half the fun.

Crow turned down a different street and caught sight of a sign pointing towards the woods. It was faded and overgrown with vines, so he almost missed it, but it was enough to convince him that he was going in the right direction. He grinned at Penelope and tugged on the chain again, “This way. It should be right over here.” He led her to the end of the road, where the stone pavement gave way to soil and trees. Instead of stopping, however, he continued walking beyond the edge of the village and into the forest.

After a while, Crow found what he had been searching for.

In a small clearing, there was a pond encircled by small, ancient relics. Underneath the moon and stars, the surface of the water seemed to glow with an unearthly light. He stepped close to the edge and gazed out over it, speaking quietly to himself, “So it is here.” He glanced at Penelope and laughed bashfully. “I bet you want an explanation, right? I mean, why would a thief be interested in some water? It’s completely absurd.” He sat down and gave the chain another small tug, gesturing for her to do the same, and then turned back to the pond. “There’s an old myth about this place back in the outer villages. It’s believed that this pond is a looking glass for the gods who watch over our kingdom, and, after seeing it for myself, I can understand why they would think that. It’s near the heart of the kingdom, and it does look like something touched by holy beings.” He shrugged and looked back at Penelope. “I guess I just figured we might as well pay a visit while we’re in the area, you know?”

Penelope followed him into the small clearing. She eyed it looking rather intrigued, if not amazed, with their new surroundings. Even she had to admit that the sight was something to behold. Her gaze then turned to Crow, giving him a rather questioning look.

She hesitated before moving to sit down next to him. She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned her head lightly against her legs. It wasn't that the position was more comfortable but she did have better access to the dagger in her boot. Despite the situation, she was still planning for the worst. Penelope turned to look at the pond once more. The glow of the water relfected very faintly on to them.

"Yeah.." She mumbled as he explained his reasoning for coming here. "Not a bad place to come in the dead of night I suppose."

Penelope bit her lip slightly before speaking again. "... Crow, right?" she asked after a hint of reluctance to address him by his name. She wasn't sure why she even bothered to do so. So far she had only referred to him as thief or other insults. Penelope would likely use the reasoning that it was due to the time and not being fully awake quite yet.

As they sat beside the edge of the water, Crow glanced at Penelope from the corner of his eye. The reflection of the water rippled across her face as she stared into it, making her look like almost ghostly. Her demeanor had changed a bit as well, he noticed. She seemed much more tranquil once they had reached the pond. It was a side he had never seen in her before, and in that moment, he found it difficult to view her with the same prejudices he held against the other knights. She almost looked like a young peasant woman, rather than a member of the king’s army. He found that he was relaxing a bit as well, despite himself.

He stretched out his legs and leaned back on his hands, closing his eyes serenely as a soft breath of wind rustled his dark hair. It really was peaceful, sitting there by the edge of the water. He had often taken moments alone like this before he went to prison, as he had always enjoyed seizing opportunities to stop and clear his head.

Even though part of his plan was to get the knight to trust him, Crow wondered if he was being a bit too vulnerable with her. Relaxing beside the pond, he realized he had almost completely let his guard down. He had even shared a piece of his background with Penelope, which was something he hadn’t originally intended to do. The less she knew about him, the better. He would have to be more careful about what he said to her in the future.

“... Crow, right?” Penelope said uncertainly, breaking the silence.

He opened his eyes again and stared at her in surprise. It was the first time he had ever heard a knight call him by his first name. A few of his prison guards had referred to him by his surname, Lockton, but the majority of knights he had met in his lifetime just called him “Thief.” She sounded so nervous when she spoke his name too. Her discomfort was amusing, but it also felt like she had somehow bridged an invisible gap between them. Until now, she had always treated him like a lowly criminal. For all he knew, she still thought of him that way, but now that she had used his name he felt hopeful that he could put an end to that. He just had to play his cards right. Maybe this was the moment he had been waiting for—the moment when he could turn the situation around in his favor; when he could begin truly plotting his escape.

After a brief pause, Crow smiled at her, “Yeah.” He turned back to the moonlit pond. “I’m glad at least one of you bothered to remember my name. I was beginning to think I was doomed to be called ‘Thief’ or ‘Idiot’ forever.”

Penelope side glanced at him and a gave a faint smirk. "Well.. It's certainly not our faults you made a poor career choice." Her voice was more teasing than cold for once. She seemed content for the time being as she sat there.

But it was very short lived. There was a distinct sound of the snapping of a twig that made Penelope become more tense. Part of her had expected it to be William and she looked around for the older knight. However, she quickly learned that it was not him that made the noise as the silence dragged out. She gave Crow a serious look, trying to tell him to remain silent. Another noise soon was heard and it sounded closer. They had been followed.

Penelope's hand darted towards the dagger in her boot only to stop half way. She wouldn't be able to fight properly if she remained chained to Crow. With a frustrated look she changed course and instead pulled out the key. Her movements were swift as she plugged in the key and unlocked the chains on their wrists. She barely moved to grab the dagger in her boot when she felt the icey touch of metal against her neck. She had been too slow.

"A knight without her sword is about as useful as a thief with no hands." came the cruel voice of her attacker. It was a woman with light blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Upon closer inspection, one could guess that she was of the noble class, despite wearing commoner clothing. Her hands looked delicate and oblivious to the hardships of manual labor. She wielded the sword with some skill though.

Penelope figured that this woman had been planning to attack them on their trip back to the inn, likely having some respect for their current surroundings. However, she was driven to attack sooner once the female knight had realized that they were being followed.

Crow froze when he heard the sound of quiet rustling in the foliage behind them, followed by the snap of a twig. In the next instant, Penelope began to reach towards her boot. She probably had a weapon hidden inside, which wasn’t surprising since she still didn’t trust him. Before retrieving the weapon, however, she paused and seemed to change her mind, instead slipping her hand into her pocket and pulling out the key to the chains that bound their wrists. In one swift motion, the knight freed their hands and began to move for her boot again, but their enemy was much quicker.

“A knight without her sword is about as useful as a thief with no hands,” a cold, feminine voice taunted as a blade appeared beside Penelope’s throat.

Crow whirled around to see a blonde woman standing over Penelope. She dressed like a wolf in sheepskin. She was adorned with the ragged, woolen clothes of a peasant, but he could see that she was of a higher class than she wanted to let on. Her skin was clear, her hands had no calluses, and she smelled like she had recently bathed. He eyed her warily. Just how long had this woman been tracking them? He hadn’t heard a single sound from her until only a few moments ago. Her stealth was impressive, even to him. She also didn’t look half bad. It was a pity that she wanted to kill them, otherwise he might have been tempted to try and steal a kiss or three.

While the woman was busy threatening Penelope, Crow reached into his own boot and retrieved the dagger he had taken from the wagon. He sprang forward, knocking the attacker’s sword away from Penelope’s neck and forcing her to the ground. He held the dagger up for her to see, “Unfortunately for you, this thief does have hands.”

“Get off of me!” the woman snarled, struggling to escape from Crow’s grasp. As she spoke, her eyes darted back towards the woods she had come out of. The single glance told Crow all he needed to know: She had backup out there. They had to move quickly.

“Sorry about this, darling,” Crow said. He spun the dagger around in his hand and used the butt of the weapon to deal one quick strike to the noblewoman’s head. She fell unconscious and he climbed to his feet with a sigh, muttering to himself, “I hate hitting women.” He turned to face Penelope. “We should run before her friends get here. She’s not alone.”

Once Crow had knocked the sword away, Penelope took the opportunity to grab the dagger from her boot and quickly stood up, taking a rather defensive stance. She eyed the dagger Crow wielded with narrow eyes. In a better situation she would have taken the time to punish him for taking it from the wagon.... But instead she remained silent and didn't bother with a cold look. He had aided her after all.

She followed their gaze out into the forest. Was that movement she had spotted in the distance? Penelope turned to look at Crow. "You're right. Let's go." she said in a very curt manner. For a brief moment her gaze lingered on the fallen sword. She could have felt safer wielding it rather than the pitiful dagger she held but there was no time to be lugging it around.

Penelope hurried out of the clearing in the direction from which they had came. A thought suddenly occurred to her that not only could Crow try to run off but she was technically suppose to be guarding him as well. It was her duty as a knight. Letting out an annoyed puff of air she slowed her pace enough to fall back behind him. "Keep going. If they manage to catch up to us, I need to be the one fighting." she told him, glancing over her shoulder as the sound of footsteps other then theirs could be heard.

“No arguments here,” Crow grinned at her as they sprinted for the town. Behind them, he could hear the thudding of boots against dirt as their pursuers took chase. Their footsteps blended together, but it sounded like there were about five or six of them in all. He let out an ecstatic holler and ducked as an arrow zipped past his head. No matter which side of it he was on, he had always enjoyed a good chase. He could brag a winning streak of forty-nine to one—the ‘one’ being the time he had been captured and sent to prison—when it came to pursuits like this. He happened to be quite good at them.

Up ahead, Crow could see the outskirts of the village. He cast Penelope an impish look, “Let’s have some fun with them, shall we? This way!” Just before they reached the edge of the road, he made a sharp turn to the left, leading her along the border between the forest and the outer buildings. In one swift motion, he reached up to grab hold of the edge of a wall and swung himself up, landing on top of it. He only paused for Penelope to catch up before he took off again, moving quickly along the wall with catlike balance. When he was close enough to the house that the wall encircled, Crow leaped onto its flat roof, crouching down as another arrow sailed over his head. He glanced back at the knight, who was keeping up with him rather well.

“Come on,” Crow teased. “It’s time you learned how to vanish from a real escape artist.” He waved a hand for her to follow and then kept going, jumping over to the next rooftop. He stayed close enough to be just within their pursuers’ line of sight, but far enough away that any arrows they shot at them would fall short. He stayed where he was for a moment, pacing back and forth on the roof as if he couldn’t find a way down, until the attackers started climbing the wall to come after them. Once they were all off the ground, the thief crossed over to the beams of some nearby stable rafters and jumped down into some bales of hay that weren’t visible from where their enemies stood. In their current position, he and Penelope now had a significant head start.

“Voila,” Crow said to her, flourishing his hands in a bow before they took off running again. “Who ever said we needed to fight?”

It was needless to say that it felt quite strange to be the one running away rather than the one chasing for the female knight. Penelope, for a brief moment, felt a mixture of fear and guilt, as if she had done something wrong. She quickly got over it though as she focused on following and keeping up with Crow. Feeling an arrow whiz past her head, Penelope tensed. In every training session with her father or brother, she was taught that a knight should never flee like a coward but instead fight bravely against their foes until forced to surrender. It only made the situation now feel more unnatural to her. Surely being this out numbered and without a proper weapon was excusable though.

Fun? Penelope silently questioned to herself at Crow's words. She gave an annoyed look. Exactly what was this thief getting her into? Shouldn't they just head straigh for the inn? It seemed more logical to her afterall. However, Penelope was in no position to protest and instead, just tried to keep up with him. She followed him along the outskirts until he swung himself up onto a wall. Penelope gave an unsure look but she quickly copied his movement and landed on the wall but in a less than stable fashion. She quickly balanced herself and countinued following him along the wall. She never had to do such things before. Knights often stayed on the ground due to being weighed down by their armor. The theory was that whatever went up must eventually come down. The stunts she was having to go through now made her heart beat fast and adrenaline pumped through her. She glanced briefly over her shoulder before ducking to avoid an arrow as well. When she turned her head back around she noticed Crow jump onto the roof. This time, when she copied him again, there was no uncertainy present but she did seem almost... eager.

Penelope rolled her eyes at his teasing. She jumped across after him and then came to a stop. She gave a confused and slightly angered look at his actions, believing that he was foolish enough to not know where to go. She took on a defensive stance as she noticed their pursuers climbing up, getting ready to fight. Then she noticed Crow crossing over to the beams and she turned quickly following him down into the hay bales.

Penelope took a notice of their significant lead and grinned a bit. "It's a precaution!" she justified with a small hint of laughter in her voice. She continued to run behind him until the inn started to come into sight. Their pursuers had likely given up by now with the distance put between them along with being inplain sight of the rest of the town. Penelope, however, didn't stop and instead picked up her pace slightly to now to come up besides Crow.

There was a gleam of mischief and amusement in her eyes as she turned her head to look over at him. "First one back gets half of the loser's lunch!" she challenged him like a child. For the moment, she wasn't thinking about proper behavior or the fact that she was being friendly with someone who was suppose to be her enemy. She had even forgotten her reason for coming outside in the first place! Penelope had a bit of fun, which was a rather rare thing for her, escaping with Crow and was looking to drag it out until the end despite her usual seriousness. The end being when they finally met up with William and Abraxas once more.

She shot a smirk at Crow. Before giving him a chance to reply, she turned her gaze back towards the inn and picked up her pace even more as she hurried towards the complex.

As they got closer to the inn, Crow glanced over his shoulder. Their pursuers seemed to have given up chase. He beamed triumphantly, but the expression quickly fled from his face when his eyes fell on an alleyway leading out to another part of the surrounding forest. A devilish voice began to whisper in the back of his mind. He was no longer chained to Penelope, and now that he had found a landmark—the Gods’ Mirror pond—that he could use for reference, he could easily find his way back to the outer villages. All he had to do was make one sharp turn to the right and he would be free—

“First one back gets half of the loser’s lunch!” Penelope’s voice startled him from his thoughts. She had run up beside him while he was distracted and was grinning like a child. He turned to her in surprise, never expecting to hear those words come out of her mouth. She was always so stoic and emotionless… But, then again, she had seemed a bit more relaxed since they went to the pond. In fact, in her casual nightclothes, he could almost mistake her for a wily middleclass girl. This unexpected side of her was much more pleasant to be around. Maybe he could stick around a while longer, after all. Besides, the knights were giving him a free ride into the outer villages. Why go through the trouble of wandering through the woods when he could have a first-class escort?

Crow quickened his pace to catch up with Penelope, who had sprinted ahead of him. Once he was beside her again, he grinned smugly, “Never put food on the line when taking me on in a challenge. I hope you’re a dainty eater, love, because I’ll be having half of your lunch tomorrow!” With that, he pulled ahead of her, running at the fastest pace he could manage. He had almost made it to the inn when he felt a short burst of dizziness that forced him to slow down. After spending a year locked up in a tiny cell, he had lost much of his former stamina. Still, he kept up a quick enough speed that he managed to reach the inn at about the same time as Penelope.

As soon as they arrived, Crow doubled over, panting for breath, “Well, I learned at least one valuable lesson tonight: Running is a terrible idea after you’ve spent an entire year behind prison walls.”

Penelope side glanced at him as he caught up with her again. She rolled her eyes, this time in a more playful manner. As he pulled ahead of her, a determined expression came across her features and she attempted to catch up. Instead he was forced to slow down but that didn't stop her from trying to out run him still.

They soon came to a stop at the end. It seemed to be a draw by the looks of it. Penelope was breathing rather heavily due to all the running and stunts but she seemed to be better at controling it. "Either way, so much for having half of my lunch tomorrow." she teased with a smirk. She let out a long breath trying to catch her breath again before turning to head inside the inn.

Almost as soon as they stepped inside, they came in contact with the now awake William, who looked incredibly aggitated, and a confused looking Abraxas. Both of them had woken up and quickly noticed the room was lacking two people. "Where in the world did you run off to?!" William growled. He stormed towards Crow at a brisk pace, clearly thinking it was his doing.

Penelope, however, cut off the older knight. She looked up at him sternly and he took a small step back but still glared over her at the thief. "He accompanied me on a walk nothing more. No reason to become violent." she stated.

"Then where are his chains?!" William had quickly observed Crow's bare wrists.

In the spur of all that had happened, Penelope had left the chains behind without second thought. They were being chased afterall. "A long story but I had to undo them in order to fight. We got attacked out there." she explained. William seemed less hostile towards Crow now and became more focused on the new information.

"What?" William questioned, sounding caught off guard, "What were they? Bandits, again?"

"No... I don't think it was just bandits this time." Penelope admitted crossing her arms. At the talk of the attack, she moved to go around William. "I'm going to go get my armor and sword. I'll be back down soon." she mumbled. She would feel more secure with her weapon and more protected with her armor. William didn't bother to argue for now but he clearly wanted more information about this enemy. Penelope wasted no time in disappearing into the room.

“It doesn’t matter,” Crow shrugged. “I can always steal something from Abraxas’s plate when he isn’t looking.” He followed Penelope as she headed for the door. Instantly, they were confronted by William on the other side. The knight must have woken up at some time during the night. His eyes flicked down to Crow’s wrists and he glared. The thief held up his hands in an innocent shrug. What did William have to be mad about? He was still here.

The knight didn’t seem to appreciate his gesture. He stormed towards Crow with a furious look on his face, “Where in the world did you run off to?!”

Crow took a step back, ready to duck aside if the knight made an attempt to grab at him, but instead Penelope intercepted William’s advance and actually defended him. Crow watched her with interest. She actually cared about how her companions treated him? Maybe his plan to woo her had been working after all, even if he wasn’t quite sure how. Since the attack, he had forgotten about the plan, yet it was then that the knight had become friendliest towards him. Perhaps she had mistaken his casual joking for flirting? Or maybe he had done something else that he just couldn’t remember. Well, whatever it was, it seemed to have worked.

“I’m going to go get my armor and sword.” Penelope said. “I’ll be back down soon,” She stepped around William to go back to their room, leaving Crow alone with the knights. There was a short moment of silence before he spoke up as well, “I’ll just… go help her get her things.” He hurried to pass them by, but William caught him by the arm before he had a chance to get away.

“Not so fast, thief,” he growled. “You’re not off the hook just yet.” He lowered his voice in a threatening manner. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but just know this: I’ll be keeping a close eye on you. If you try anything that looks suspicious, I have a spare set of chains with your name on them.”

“How is helping a lady with her armor suspicious?” Crow indignantly tugged his arm out of the knight’s grasp.

“Why would you be interested in doing a thing like that?” William challenged. “You criminals only act when there is something to gain for yourselves.”

My ‘gain’ would be getting away from you, Crow silently admitted, but he met William’s icy glare. “I was merely trying to be courteous,” he said snidely. “I may be a criminal, but I seem to have a greater sense of chivalry than either of you two knights.”

“Bite your tongue,” William hissed, reaching towards his sword.

“U-um, sir,” Abraxas stammered, worriedly eyeing his companion’s hand. “The king said we can’t hurt him, remember?” He glanced up at Crow. “If he wants to act like a servant, then why stop him? Err… I mean, Penelope can take care of herself. She’ll keep him from causing trouble if he tries to start anything.”

“Fine,” William grumbled reluctantly. He took his hand away from his sword hilt, but didn’t relax. “If you want to play servant boy to us, then go ahead. Just remember that I’m watching you, thief.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Crow rolled his eyes as he stepped around the knights. “I’m well aware.” He hurried past them to catch up with Penelope, eager to get away from William’s hot temper. Abraxas had proven to be slightly more likeable company, but he was still too much of a follower for Crow’s taste. He had barely even managed to speak out when William was threatening to attack him! If he had to be guarded by any of them, he much preferred the female knight.

“Quick, look like you’re mad at me,” Crow whispered when he caught up with Penelope. “I think William would like it.” He smirked at her playfully. “Do you think you could get away with it if you delayed going back to them? I want to give him some time to forget why he hates me right now so he doesn’t do anything rash… like make us skip breakfast.”

Penelope raised an eyebrow when Crow caught up with her. She had to admit she was a bit surprised that William let him pass. She rolled her eyes at his words. "Do something stupid and I won't have to pretend." she remarked with a half smirk. It was about then when she realized just how much she had let her guard down around him. Penelope grimanced inwardly at the thought. What had possessed her to be so naive and reckless? Perhaps she had just gotten much too carried away with this plan of hers to make him fall for her, which she had temporarily forgotten about since the attack as well.

Penelope cleared her throat, trying to regain her composition. She reminded herself that this was suppose to be an act and that befriending the thief in reality was idiotic..... Though, he wasn't as terrible as she had originally thought him to be. "A delay will only make him rush us, which means we'll likely go without a lunch again." Penelope told him in a more serious tone. It seemed like she slowly reverting back to her guarded self. Though she still didn't seem as cold towards him as before. "With the way things are going you should be more careful about what you say and do around him. He's a good knight but he might let his anger get the best of him and if me and Abraxas aren't there to stop him, you'll likely be killed. Despite the king's orders." She warned.

Penelope opened the door to the room and headed inside. She quickly locked her gaze on her armor and sword, which were piled were she had previously left them. The knight wasted no time in beginning to put the armor back on, beginning her return look like a well-trained, strong knight rather than a looking like some petite woman.

As she spoke, Crow could feel Penelope growing more and more distant from him again. He frowned. Just when they were finally beginning to get along, too. He wondered what he done to push her away this time. She was so back and forth with him that he couldn’t read what she was thinking at all. It seemed that it would be harder than he thought to win her trust enough for her to inadvertently give him an opportunity to escape.

He followed her to the room and crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe as she put on her armor. It was amazing how different she looked when she wore the metal suit, but now that he knew what she looked like underneath it all, he couldn’t quite see her as the big, intimidating knight he thought she had been before. If anything, it was almost cute how small she really was behind the layers of armor. He bit his tongue to keep from smiling.

“Finished?” Crow asked when she looked to be about done putting on her gear. He waved a hand, gesturing for her to exit the room first. “Come on, then. I want my breakfast.”

Once the knight had stepped into the hallway, he trailed after her, closing the door behind them. It was frustrating how he had made so little progress to gain her trust after all the effort he had put in during the first day of their travels together. Maybe I should have taken my chance to run after all, he thought bitterly as he remembered the alleyway he had spotted earlier.

For a while, they both said nothing as they walked, but eventually Crow had to ask the question he had been thinking about since the previous night.

“What made you decide to become a knight?” he said, breaking the silence. “I’ve seen very few women knights in my life, and none of them were as beautiful as you. Why would you choose the life of a soldier when you could have easily married and had a family?”

Penelope gave a small nod and headed out of the room. She walked silently, with her hand lightly resting against the hilt of her sword. During their run in with attackers, she had definitely missed it's presence at her side.

She glanced over at him as he began to question her, giving a small shrug. "Well... My father and my brother are both knights as well. My mother died not long after I was born so they raised me on their own. I suppose I just picked up the life style from them. I never really thought about being anything else than a knight." she admitted truthfully. She looked ahead as they walked, her gaze seemed a bit distant now as she thought about her reasoning for choosing to become a knight. "I may have only served as a knight for a short time now but I've been training since I was young. Unlike most, my father thought I'd be more useful as a fighter than some housewife. And I can't say I disagree with him." Penelope added with a faint smirk of pride.

Penelope slowed her pace slightly, becoming a bit more interested in the conversation now. She had been wanting to ask him a similar question. "Alright, my turn then, what lead you to becoming a thief?" she asked with similar curiosity. It was something she had always been naturally curious about but never had the opportunity, or patience, to ask any thief she had come across.

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.

“Alright, my turn then,” Penelope said when she finished telling her story. “What led you to becoming a thief?”

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.”

Penelope gave a thoughtful nod as gave her a vague description of his background. With no other intent but pure curiousness, the female knight wasn't bothered by the lack of details. She glanced briefly at the floor as he mentioned the poverty that plagued the outer villages. Despite growing up in a stable home, she had seen how bad it was in the past. Her father and brother both often traveled for work related reasons and at times she had accompanied them. A few times had been to some of the more needy parts of the kingdom. While Penelope was a loyal knight to the king before anything else, that still did not stop her from feeling a mixture of sympathy and guilt for the people who lived there.

When he nudged her, her cheeks became red out of embarassment. Quickly, she tried to recover. "Working with?" she scoffed as she tried to reduce the red coloring of her cheeks. A teasing gleam became present in her green eyes as she looked over at him. "I consider it more of babysitting if anything. Besides, I won't be running off like that again. That is the action befitting of a criminal not a knight."

Penelope looked back ahead as William and Abraxas came into view. The two knights hadn't moved much since when Penelope and Crow had left. "About time." William griped. As usual, his glare was purely directed towards Crow.

Crow laughed when Penelope became flustered and tried to justify her actions, “Is that so? Well, maybe you knights should take a hint from us ‘criminals.’ You wouldn’t have lasted until morning if you had stayed to fight with no armor and only a small dagger to defend yourself. Disagree with me if you like, but I think even the most cold-blooded warrior would have reason to turn tail and flee in a situation like that.”

As they rounded the last corner, Crow could see William standing with Abraxas right where he had left them. The former had his typical irritable look plastered on his face, and he glared at the thief the instant he came into view, “It’s about time.”

“It looks like she didn’t need my help, after all,” Crow threw the knight a lopsided smile and held out his hands in a shrug.

“Let’s head out,” William said to the others, ignoring the thief once again. “We need to reach the next designated inn by nightfall. If all goes well, we should make it to the bordering villages before tomorrow ends.” With that, he turned and started walking towards the exit. Crow followed after him, grinning to himself in unchecked excitement. In less than two days, he would be rid of these knights. He knew the outer villages well, so he would have no trouble slipping away when he found an opportunity to do so. It was only a matter of time now.

When everyone was outside, William sent Abraxas to fetch the horses and the wagon from the stables, where everything had been guarded by the local knights overnight. While they waited, Crow sat down on the ground and began stretching out his limbs. William gave him an estranged look, to which the thief indignantly replied, “Thievery requires limberness. Do you want me to steal the king his staff or not?” The knight just rolled his eyes, but Crow didn’t care what he thought as long as he bought the excuse. With the date of his escape looming so close, it was time he started preparing for it more seriously.

Penelope followed them outside. She stared off for a moment as she thought about them reaching the bordering villages. Due to her previous conversation with Crow, the though of coming across her father and brother came to mind. It had been a long while since she had last seen them... That was before they were sent to guard the kingdom's border. It would be nice to see how they were faring... The two men were never ones to show very much affection and never bothered to write her but she tursted that they were still alive since she hadn't heard any rumors saying otherwise.

Her thoughts were soon broken as Abraxas returned with the horses and the wagon, all in the same condition they had been left in. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and became alert once more as they were about to head out on the road once again.

"Penelope, you're watching the thief again." William ordered but paused, "Unless you'd prefer to ride instead." It seemed he almost pitied her for being stuck with the thief for so long.

"That's fine." Penelope reassured her comrade before moving towards the back of the wagon. She waited for Crow to get in first though.

"Let's go then." William said impatiently as he mounted his horse alongside Abraxas. Penelope hopped inside the cart, taking her regular position. It seemed that the same routine from yesterday would be repeated.