Crow reluctantly allowed himself to be led over to the other knights by the man with the sword. The sickeningly familiar chill of metal around his wrists soon followed. He grimaced. These chains were heavier than the ones he had been bound with in prison, but apart from that it almost felt like he was being locked in a cell again. And that wasn’t even the most uncomfortable part. So far, the thief had been doing a decent job of distracting himself from Penelope’s wounded shoulder, but now that they were so close to each other, it was difficult for him not to notice the blood trickling down her arm. He looked away, nodding absently when the knight tried to speak with him, “Chains are maddening at first, but after a while you stop noticing them. It’s almost like the metal becomes a part of your body, and you forget what it feels like to be free until they’re off again.” He paused, knitting his brow in thought. “Huh. I suppose that, in a sense, they do drive you insane.”

Crow lapsed into silence as Penelope went on to question William about being captured, the latter simply responding that they had been outnumbered and taken by surprise. He seemed to be rather indifferent about it, but the thief suspected that he was just hiding his embarrassment. So, naturally, he had to take the opportunity to prod at William about his failure.

“Really?” Crow muttered incredulously. “And here I thought you knights were impervious to all enemies. I guess you’re not so powerful after all.”

William gave him a kick in the leg from where he sat. “You’re one to talk, thief,” he growled. “You claimed that no one could catch you, and yet you’ve been locked in chains twice now.”

Crow opened his mouth to argue and then closed it again, deciding that William wasn’t worth the effort. He [i]had[/i] messed up when he got captured the first time—he had gotten a bit careless with his bragging—but he was only wearing these chains because he went back to help Penelope instead of run away. He should have known better than to expect the knights to be grateful for his efforts, though. Despite his actions, they still thought he was a self-centered criminal. They couldn’t even begin to fathom the possibility that the thief would look out for anyone other than himself. He exhaled and glanced at Penelope, only to instantly regret it when his eyes fell on her wounded shoulder again. He paled and dropped his gaze to the ground. Even from the brief look he got of it, he could tell that the injury wasn’t healing yet. A cut like that needed medical attention.

“Damn it,” Crow snapped suddenly, turning on the two guards who stood nearby. “Just how selfish are you people? If you’re going to hold a woman captive, you should at least do her the courtesy of making sure she doesn’t bleed to death!”