“Alright,” Crow held up his hands. “I suppose I had it coming to me sooner or later, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I prefer to be at the administering end of a joke. It’s much more fun.”

“Though, if you keep up that terrible lying, we’ll have the whole kingdom confusing us as some sort of thing,” Penelope went on critically. “You couldn’t come up with anything better than acquaintances, huh?”

“What lying?” Crow scoffed. “It’s true. We only met a few days ago, and I didn’t think you’d go so far as to consider us friends. So, that just leaves me the option of describing the nature of our relationship as recent acquaintances.” He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his palm as a sly smirk crossed his lips. “Unless… you want me to introduce you as my lover. I mean, it makes sense, right? Two young peasants, a man and a woman, traveling together by themselves. It’s only natural for onlookers to come to such a conclusion. Why fight it?”

He looked up as Evelyn returned with their drinks. The old woman set them down on the table, “Okay, one honey mead for the village idiot and one more for his surprisingly beautiful lady friend.”

“Oh, stop with the sentiments, Evelyn,” Crow said with a false note of emotion. “I think I might start tearing up.”

“Just don’t forget to pay me this time,” the tavern owner grunted in response. However, the thief could see a hint of a smile on her face as she turned to walk away. He lifted his mug to his lips and took a swig, sighing in satisfaction, “Just as good as I remember.” He smiled at Penelope in mock adoration. “Go on then, darling; don’t take my word for it. Or would you rather share a pint with your lover?”

Penelope sent an annoyed glare at the thief. "You're lucky I don't have my sword right now." she growled defensively. "And don't you dare. You know that wasn't what I meant." The knight simmered down as she noticed Evelyn approaching. As the woman placed their drinks down and even offered Penelope a compliment at Crow's expense, the knight offered her a polite smile though said nothing otherwise.

She picked up the mug in her hands. Then she noticed the mocking look he gave her and let out a small snort. Under the table, she located his leg and gave him a light kick, partially restrained by the dress she wore. Not that she wanted to hit him full on despite how he was annoying her. "You're getting cocky.." she grumbled before lifting the mug up to her lips and taking a small sip. "Don't forget I'm a knight just because I'm forced to wear this clothing."

The honey mead was rather enjoyable though. Penelope had to admit that he at least had somewhat good taste. After a brief pause, the knight took another drink but kept her approval of the drink to herself.

Crow let out a quiet yelp when he felt an unexpected kick in his shin. He was momentarily tempted to kick Penelope back, but he restrained himself, instead shooting the knight a glare, “I was only kidding. Lighten up, would you? This was meant to be fun.” He downed another sip of his drink and went back to watching the other peasants in the small tavern. The group at the gambling table had grown sizably in the last couple of minutes. The thief observed their movements, looking for signs of tipsiness, and singled out a young man with sandy blonde hair. He swayed ever so slightly when he walked, but didn’t shout and jeer like his drunken friends. A perfect target.

“I know you just told me not to pretend we’re a couple,” Crow said to Penelope. “But humor me just this once, would you? Don’t ask me why.” He turned away from her before she could respond and called out to the young man, using his fake Younisian accent, “You there! Yes, you; I have a few questions.”

“Yessir?” the man said, walking over to their table.

Crow gave the blonde his best smile and reached across the table to place his hand on top of Penelope’s, silently praying that she wouldn’t object and ruin his act, “We were just married, you see, but my wife doesn’t want to move far from her family. She has a sickly mother, so instead of bringing her with me to Younis, I’ve decided to move to Brerra. This village seems pleasant enough and it’s close to my mother-in-law’s home, but we want to get a local’s opinion. What say you, kind sir?”

“Congratulations to the both of ye,” the young man gave them a toothy grin. “But if yer lookin’ for a pleasant village, ye should try further south. We ain’t got no jobs or money ‘round here. Terrible place to raise a family, it is.”

Crow frowned, “But I’ve seen men working in fields.”

“They’s only half the people ‘round here,” the man shook his head. “An’ all their money goes to the king, an’ then some. Rumor says His Majesty thinks we’re hoarding, so he’s gonna send knights to collect. Ye don’t wanna be a part’o that, no sir. Try lookin’ south.”

“I see,” Crow murmured thoughtfully. “Thank you for your help.”

The sandy haired man casted them another grin, seeming pleased that the had been of help, and ambled back to the gambling table.

Crow took another sip of his mead and swirled the remaining liquid in his mug. So, the outer villages really were worse off than when he had left. Last year, they had barely been scraping by with their meager earnings, but they’d had enough to pay off their taxes to the king. Now, it sounded like they were falling far behind. That wasn’t good news. He hoped he could finish the king’s assignment fast enough that he could come back and help them before His Highness sent in his next round of tax collectors.

Crow downed the rest of his drink and looked up at Penelope, “We should go find the inn before it gets too late. William might get mad if we’re gone for much longer, and I really don’t feel like putting up with his attitude right now.”

Penelope gave the thief a questioning look as he told her to play along. She wasn't very willing to do so but as he called out to another man using his accent the knight decided to at least figure out his reasoning for doing so. As he spoke to the man, she was actually a bit surprised by the thief's words. She was expecting him to try and use the man in some way but instead, he seemed more concerned about the well being of the village than anything.

It was respectable and even a tad touching to the knight. She quietly took another sip from her drink and watched the man leave. She remained quiet for the time being, a bit lost in her thoughts as she observed the place. Crow's voice broke her thoughts making attention snap back to him. "You're right. Let's go then." She said standing up. Her drink was about half full still but it was more important to get back on track with the mission than take her time to enjoy it. She quickly took one last sip before heading towards the exit.

"I heard talk about that job.... Sending collectors down here that is." she mentioned to Crow, quietly. The last thing she wanted to do was alarm the villagers more. "Almost signed up for the job myself.... That is before I heard of this one." A soft sigh escaped her lips. "We're oblivious to how it's actually like here though... I suppose that's meant to help us get the job done but.." she trailed off for a moment and shrugged. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I can tell you care for this place and I'm sorry things have gotten like this..."

Crow stood up from the table and headed towards the door, hardly noticing when Penelope got up to come after him. He was too caught up in the peasant man’s mention of the tax collectors. How had things gotten this bad in just one year? Even without his help, the villagers should have had enough money to get by without too much debt. The only way this could have happened would be a tax increase. He felt a stab of anger. The king was an even greedier thief than he was! The peasants had scarcely any money as it was, so how could he possibly expect them to pay more? He was taking everything they had, and sending in knights to collect the leftover scraps.

“I heard talk about that job... Sending collectors down here, that is,” Penelope’s voice drew him from his bitter thoughts. “Almost signed up for the job myself... That is, before I heard of this one.”

“Did you now?” Crow scoffed.

To him, tax collectors were no better than bandits. They showed up at whatever village their beloved king sent them to and overturned every home in search of hoarded money. It was nothing short of a raid except, unlike bandits, the knights would only come away with a few copper coins at the most. The force they used to get what they wanted along with the terrible ways they treated the villagers made them the worst sort of knights.

Besides that, he had his own personal grievances with the tax collectors who frequented the border. All of the peasants in Brerra despised them, but he had seen one especially heinous raid that had left him with a rather unpleasant memory. He shuddered, pushing the thought aside before he could begin to dwell on it.

The fact that Penelope had wanted to participate in such a lowly job made him taste bile. However, he supposed he couldn’t hold it against her. After all, her family worked in the outer villages, so taking part in the raid would have given her an opportunity to see them.

He blinked, mildly surprised at the thought. It was strange how quickly he was coming to understand her. If William or Abraxas had suggested joining a tax collecting patrol, he would have written them off as cruel and selfish, but somehow he couldn’t bring himself to feel the same way about Penelope. She was different from the others in a way that he was still just beginning to understand.

“We’re oblivious to how it’s actually like here, though...” the knight went on. “I suppose that’s meant to help us get the job done, but… I guess what I’m trying to say is, I can tell you care for this place, and I’m sorry things have gotten like this…”

Crow gave a mirthless smile and shook his head, “It’s not your fault. I just…” He sighed and looked up at her. “Never mind. It’s not important. Life has always been hard out here, and it always will be. That’s just the way it is.” He dropped his gaze again and cleared his throat. “But… thanks for the concern, I guess. Most knights just turn a blind eye, so it’s a nice change to hear it from a noble who doesn’t have to care.” He shot her a teasing glance, although his cheeks were slightly colored. “You’re not just saying that to score some points with me, are you, love? I mean, it’s a good effort, but you’ll have to do better than that.”

Penelope gave a small nod as he thanked her. Part of her understood where he was coming from. There were very few knights that preferred justice over wealth and doing what was right often got forgotten and uncared for. Penelope knew that she was responsible for such actions since obeying orders came like a second nature to her. However, she still had sympathy for those who suffered unfairly. All she lacked was action, feeling restricted by her loyalty and duty to both the king and the law.

At his teasing, Penelope scoffed rolling her eyes. "Never! Besides, that's a lot of talk coming from the person who couldn't keep his eyes off me since I put on this stupid thing." she smirked and her eyes gleamed slightly in amusement. Her responses to his teasing had become more playful than cold like before when they had first began their journey. Penelope even came to enjoy the banter now and then, provided Crow didn't actually annoy her with it.

Her gaze flickered back ahead as they neared the spot where they had last left the wagon. It seemed rather empty as there was no sign of William or Abraxas. The female knight found it strange that neither of them were within her sight line but perhaps it was just due to the distance. Still, Penelope became slightly more guarded and looked around more observantly.

“I told you, I was just distracted earlier,” Crow muttered in his own defense, though the flush in his cheeks refused to fade. “And I’m not used to seeing you wear something like that. Maybe if you dressed like a girl more often we wouldn’t have had that problem.”

He stared indignantly at the ground as they walked. She just had to bring that up again, didn’t she? He had been trying to forget his behavior outside the wagon along with William’s snide remarks about it. He hadn’t acted like himself at all. Even when he was around beautiful women, he had always been smoother than that. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t seen one in so long that he had become so tongue-tied. He chewed on the inside of his lip in thought. That didn’t add up either though. He had spoken to a few real peasant girls since his release from prison with no problems at all. So if that wasn’t the reason, then what was?

Crow snuck a glance at Penelope from the corner of his eye. By now, the evening sun had begun to set on the horizon, and the village was becoming shadowed in the dark of night. With the combination of the lower light and the simple dress she wore, Penelope looked exactly like a young peasant woman. He swallowed nervously and looked away, his heart pounding in his chest. Now that he wasn’t distracted by the village’s problems or his playful banter with the knight, her presence made him anxious.

Something must be wrong with me, he thought, absently kicking a pebble along the road. It doesn’t matter if she’s pretty. She’s a knight, and knights are my enemies. But she didn’t act like any other knight he’d ever encountered—he even found that he enjoyed talking to her—so was he still supposed to treat her like just another knight? He sighed. Why did she have to make this so confusing?

“Hey,” Crow started and then stopped, eyeing Penelope curiously. She suddenly looked distracted. He followed her line of sight to see what held her attention, only to discover that their supply wagon was sitting unguarded in the middle of the road, right where they had left it. William would never have been careless enough to leave it alone like that. He felt his heartbeat pick up for a different reason now, and he stepped closer to Penelope as he asked, “Did the others say they were going somewhere?”

Penelope shook her head at his question. "No..." she muttered. She paused before briefly bending down and slipping the dagger out of her boot. She gripped the handle tightly, seeming rather on edge. "William would have never left the wagon unguarded... Whether he left Abraxas alone or something happened...," the knight shook her head,"Either way, it means trouble."

It was a bit unnerving to think that someone had gotten the better of William. He was always sharp and observant, which meant they could be dealing with someone rather dangerous. "Stick close for now." she muttered to him before continuing closer towards the wagon.

Penelope stepped cautiously. She hoped that it was just paranoia getting the best of her. However, instincts told her otherwise as it felt like an empty silence as she moved closer. The knight didn't bother to call out to her comrades, finding it better to try and maintain a sense of stealth.... If that was still possible.

Crow nodded wordlessly and followed after her. While it was unlikely that they hadn’t been spotted by now, he didn’t want to risk drawing any more attention to them by speaking. He instantly fell into old habits, stepping lightly as he walked and keeping watch for places from which an enemy might appear. He also looked for places that might give him more coverage in case someone was already waiting for them. As they were now, he and Penelope were completely exposed on the road. They needed to get to somewhere safer, somewhere that an enemy would have a harder time attacking them without revealing his own hiding place first.

Unfortunately, there were only small shops and houses nearby, none of which would provide them with the cover he had been hoping to find. He clicked his tongue in resignation and reached for Penelope’s wrist, giving her a swift tug to get her attention. Once he had it, he tipped his head towards the edge of the road where there were a few dark pockets of shadow between buildings that they could take cover in. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

Crow let go of Penelope’s wrist and moved away from the open space of the road, leaving her to follow him if she chose. When they were somewhat hidden in a patch of shadow, he paused to take in his surroundings once more. Years of thievery had made him patient. He didn’t want to take any risks until he knew where his enemy was, where his exit points were, and where his target was. Unfortunately, in this case, he only knew one of those three things. Familiar the layout of the village, he could easily find escape routes from this area, but he had no clue where his potential attacker was, nor did he know where William and Abraxas had gone.

He cursed under his breath, his pale green eyes flicking between the shadows and studying the corners of the buildings all around them for movement. There were plenty of places for an enemy to hide amongst the old houses, but he had to figure out where the best place to strike from was. That was where someone was most likely to be. He held his breath, his mind racing as he tried to put himself in the shoes of an attacker and decide where he would want to position himself if he was after someone…

A high vantage point.

He froze and lifted his gaze to the roof of a nearby house. A set of narrowed eyes locked onto his. The man on the house was wearing all black and his face was concealed like that of a bandit’s However, what caught Crow’s attention the most was the loaded bow in his hands, its arrow cocked and ready to fly.

“Get down!” he shouted at Penelope. It was too late to try and stay hidden. He whirled around and tackled her to the ground just as the arrow shot past both of their heads. When he looked up again, he saw a number of other cloaked men running towards them from between the buildings near the abandoned wagon. An ambush.

“How many of them do you think you can take at once?” Crow glanced anxiously at Penelope. “I’m not much of a fighter, so I’m sorry to say you’re going to be on your own for this one, love.”

Feeling him tug her, Penelope flickered her gaze back to Crow. She gave a small nod at his suggestion of cover and quickly followed him. For now the knight relied on the thief for their next move. He had gotten her out of bad situations before and if anyone knew how to reamin low key, it was likely him more so that her. While Crow looked around, the knight took the chance to draw the second dagger from her other boot. Due to the attire she was forced to leave her sword in the wagon for the time being. While a sword was her preferred weapon, Penelope was also well trained in weilding daggers, though she felt safer with one in each hand.

She gripped them for a moment and began to look around again until Crow's voice rang out. She had little time to react as he suddenly tackled her too the ground. The familiar swoosh of an arrow zooming over head filled her ears. So much for keeping low. Her blades fell out of her hands and now laid in front of her. As she quickly took in the situation of more enemies rushing them, she quickly scooped up the daggers and hurriedly rose to her feet. "I'll do what I can.." she muttered in response.

With that said, she quickly dove into the fight. She picked out her first opponent with precision. He appeared to a thin, scragly man from waht she could see and he was weilding a sword. Penelope figured that she could perhaps disarm him and take the weapon for herself, provided she could find the time to do so. The knight was quick on her feet as she charged the man. He almost seemed a bit caught off guard by what looked like a peasant woman throwing herself into a very one sided skirmish. Still, he raised his sword to strike her. Penelope deflected the hit with her dagger as she hit the side of the sword in order to throw it off course. She swept to the side and went to lunge at the man.

However, she was cut short as she noticed a dagger coming her way. She ducked away from the other man who had came to aid his alley. She snorted in annoyance, a small fire burning in her green eyes. Penelope moved quickly and scraped her dagger across the arm of the other man before he could pull back. The cut wasn't deep but enough to make him flinch and take a step back. Just then a sword was swung at her, making the knight gasp a bit in surprise as the blade nearly came into contact with her side but managed to jump away just in time. It was the same scrawny man from before. He quickly took a defensive stance, ready for her next attack. The knight charged forward, aiming for a direct attack. It seemed to have tricked the man quite nicely as she then suddenly dropped and swept her leg out. It hooked on to his and caused the man to become unbalanced. Seeing a chance, Penelope had to move quickly. With dagger boy now recovered from his minor wound, he seeked to attack her again. She didn't have the time to deal with him though.

Moving quickly, she avoid the dagger and used her fist to knock the off balanced man to the ground. She put her boot on his hand that wielded the sword and pressed down slightly until he finally released it with a small wince of pain. The knight tried to be quick and grab ahold of the sword before her other attacker could come at her again. However, she wasn't quite so lucky this time. Just as she began to turn around with the sword in her hand, a sharp pain made her let out a small cry. The other man had charged forward and sunk his dagger into her shoulder while she was distracted with the other weapon. The knight clenched her teeth and drove the sword into the foot of the man in order make him pull back. He let out a holler of pain and quickly stumbled away, favoring his foot.

Penelope cringed as she moved her shoulder. The wound was already bleeding rather noticeably and staining the sleeve of her clothing with red. It was just pain she would have to suffer through for now. Looking around she quickly saw that the fight wasn't quite over.

Lingering behind, Crow crouched in the shadows to watch the fight. Even though he knew Penelope was a knight, he had to take a moment to marvel at the sight before him. It was almost comical to see the men be overcome by what looked like one small peasant girl. She struck out at them with furious speed and skill. It was the first time he had ever watched her in battle, and he had to admit, she was a fearsome warrior. Despite being heavily outnumbered, she looked like she was doing quite well at holding her ground.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lip, but it quickly vanished when he noticed something else about her. From a distance it was hard to tell, but for a moment he thought he saw a flash of scarlet on her shoulder. He paled and looked away, silently chiding himself for his reaction. The sight of blood had always made him feel faint. It was the reason why he had avoided fighting and never injured his enemies. Of course, no man would ever want to admit something so pathetic, so he had kept the secret to himself under the guise of being a horrid fighter, which was technically also true. He was only useful when he caught his enemy by surprise.

Catch them by surprise… Crow glanced up at the archer on the roof. The man had stopped loosing arrows, likely because he didn’t want to accidentally pierce one of his comrades in the skirmish, but his attention seemed to be solely focused on Penelope. No one was looking at the thief anymore.

He glanced back at the fight on the ground, counting seven enemies still standing, and then made his move. While everyone was looking elsewhere, he darted across the open road to take cover in a pocket of darkness between two houses on the other side. From there, he had a clearer view of the archer whom he had made his target. His heart raced with a mixture of nervousness and excitement as he moved silently towards the man and drew the dagger from his boot. It felt just like old times when he used to take out unsuspecting guards during his raids in the inner kingdom. The adrenaline rush that came with sneaking up on and knocking out an archer had always made him feel alive.

Moving silently, he lifted himself onto the roof of the house where the archer was perched. He paused for a moment, watching the man to see if he had taken notice of his presence yet. So far, so good. The bowman was still fixated on Penelope down below. However, he must have spotted an opening, because he began to raise his weapon, notching it with an arrow and taking aim. However, before he could draw back the bowstring, Crow jumped on him. The thief held his dagger to the archer’s throat, placing the blade just close enough to caress his skin, but not so close that he would pierce it.

“Drop your weapon,” he snarled. “Or I’ll pry it out of your cold, lifeless hands.” Of course, it was an empty threat, but the archer couldn’t know that. In his terror, the man released his bow and arrow, letting them both fall to the ground below.

Crow chuckled, keeping up his cruel façade for looks, “Wise choice. Now, why don’t you be a good lad and take a nap?” In one quick motion, he moved the dagger away from the man’s throat and used the butt of it to knock him unconscious.

The archer’s head lolled instantly, and his body fell slack, but before he could tumble off the rooftop, Crow caught hold of him by the fabric of his shirt. He dragged the man away from the edge and laid him down in a spot where he couldn’t fall.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked back down at the fighting below, but it was getting to be too dark and there were still too many moving people for him to easily make out what was going on. He didn’t have time to sit around and try to figure the scene out from the house, so he climbed back down to get a closer look. Slipping into a nearby shadow, he crouched down and inched closer to the battle, his eyes dancing from face to face as he tried to find Penelope. However, as he did this he began to notice something strange: There were still plenty of people left standing, but it didn’t look like anyone was fighting anymore. He felt a chill creep up his spine.

Where is Penelope? he held his breath as he began to hunt for her more intently. It was strange, but the thought that she had been overcome in the battle caused a lump to form in his throat. He was actually worried about the knight. He wondered why he cared so much. After all, it was in his best interest if she died at the hands of these assassins, because then he would be free to go home and forget about the king’s assignment. That was what he wanted. However, as much as he tried to convince himself to forget about her and save himself, something kept his feet glued to the ground.

“There’s the other one!” A voice cried out, shattering the quiet and making Crow flinch.

He’d been spotted.

In the next instant, every head turned in his direction, and the black-clad attackers began moving towards him. He jumped to his feet and took a step back, ready to spin around and run in the opposite direction before they could reach him, but he halted when he found himself face-to-face with two more enemies. They pointed their swords at his chest, smirking victoriously. He glanced back over his shoulder, but the others were too close now for him to get away. He was surrounded.

Crow held up his hands and offered them a half-hearted smile, “Would you believe me if I said I was just passing through?”

Unfortunately, his efforts only earned him a few chuckles from the men. One of them stepped forward and grabbed him by the wrists, binding both of his hands behind his back with a strand of rope and shoving him unceremoniously between the shoulder blades to force him to walk with the group. He shot the man an indignant glare, but otherwise said nothing. They could kill him at any second, and he didn’t want to give them a reason to do so.

As they walked, he noticed another figure nearby with her arms restrained behind her back as well. He let out a faint sigh of relief as he recognized who the figure was. “So, they got you, too, huh?” Crow said to a still-alive Penelope.

The knight rushed her next opponent despite her injury. However, this time things were not as simiple as her first attack. The rest of the men had been given enough time to group together in order to face the knight. She dodged a few attacks until she felt the hilt of one man's sword hit the side of her head. It wasn't at full force and it became clear that the aim wasn't to knock her unconcious. The force was enough for her to stumble and soon enough, she froze as several blades were now drawn and pointed at her neck. Penelope gave a cold look as she was forced to surrender. One man came behind her and roughly forced her arms behind her back as he tied her wrists. The motion sent a pain through her shoulder causing her to clench her teeth again.

They gave her smug looks to which she return with a deadly gaze. "Come on. There's one more! The Thief." said the man, who Penelope assumed to be the leader of this group. Some of them then hurried off to search for Crow. In the meantime, they moved her away from the scene and she began to look around for the thief as well. Perhaps he got away? Penelope hoped he had, at least someone would make it out.

However, that wasn't the case. As the group walked on she quickly noticed the new addition. At his question the knight gave a small snort. "Sadly..." she grumbled. "Have to admit, I'm a bit surprised you got caught so easily. Prison really made you rusty." Her voice held clear bitterness, that was mainly caused by the situation and not Crow himself.

The knight looked back ahead, quickly locating whom she assumed to be the leader of this group as he walked at the front. "Hey! What have you done to my comrades? And what do you want from us?" she demanded in a tone that quickly earned her a glare from many. The man glanced over his shoulder and smirked. "Fiery one, aren't you sweetheart?" he snickered before waving his hand casually. "I think you should be concerned about yourself rather than those two. Dead or alive they aren't going to be very helpful to you right now, don't you agree?" The man slowed his pace to fall back and walk besides the knight. He had a sinister demeanor and the behavior that made Penelope think of a snake slowly wrapping it's self around in prey in a cruel and taunting manner. "As far as what we want, well.... It depends on what all we can get."

"I hope you're expecting nothing then." Penelope growled, eyeing the man with caution. "I suppose you're seeking information then right? A weasel like yourself just loves gossip."

There a brief look of annoyance that came from the man before he resprted back to his rather cruel, taunting manner. "Ah, refreshing... A pretty face, a strong fighter, and not a dimwit... You really are quite the young lady aren't you?" He snickered again but then time his gaze flickered into a dark glare. He moved quickly and roughly squeezed her wounded shoulder. Penelope let out a small gasp of pain before quickly closing her mouth and meeting his gaze defiantly. "Everyone has their breaking points though and don't forget you're the powerless one right now. Think of this as a warning, wench. I don't enjoy playing games." he snarled before letting her shoulder go finally. Penelope glowered at him but fell silent for now.

“It’s not my fault,” Crow snapped, flushing at the accusation. “I came back for you. If I had been on my own, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.”

He looked away from the knight to stare indignantly at the ground as they walked. As much as he hated to admit it, he had made a pretty sloppy performance. He had been careless to choose a hiding spot that had been so open to the road. Yes, it had been veiled in shadows, but mere darkness was never enough when that many people were searching for him. He shouldn’t have let himself get distracted so easily. So what if Penelope had gotten captured or killed? She was just a knight. It wasn’t like she meant anything to him. If she had died, he could have moved on to another village and forgotten about the king’s damned assignment too…

Yet, somehow it felt wrong.

Crow glanced subtly at Penelope. He couldn’t have just left her to die. He wasn’t sure what it was yet, but he felt certain that they had formed some kind of bond over the past few days. Whether it was friendship or mere comradery, a small part of him felt like they were partners now. That meant he couldn’t throw her to the dogs and sleep peacefully at night. He let out his breath in a solemn exhale. He couldn’t believe he had let himself get this close to a noble. It was such a foolish thing to do. Even if she was different from other knights, she could never be part of the lawless world he lived in. He shouldn’t have even let her put her foot in the door.

He frowned, averting his gaze once again. Despite what he told himself, it had felt so natural to let her in. For all her harshness and stern words, there was just something about her that made it difficult for him to keep his distance like he did with every other knight. He just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“Hey!”

Crow snapped back to attention as Penelope suddenly called out to one of the men walking ahead of them. He listened silently as she began talking to one of the men in the group whom he assumed was their leader. The man seemed amused by the knight’s sharp tongue at first, but suddenly his expression changed to something darker. He reached out and grasped her shoulder, making her cry out and drawing Crow’s attention back to her injury. His eyes fell on her shoulder, which was covered in dark, scarlet blood... gods, that was a lot of blood. Feeling faint, he staggered into a man who was walking beside him.

“Watch where you’re going, thief,” the man growled, giving him an angry shove that just caused Crow to bump into someone on his other side.

“It’s kind of hard to do that when you’re all walking so close to me,” the thief mumbled bitterly. Still feeling a bit faint at the sight of Penelope’s wound, he attempted to distract himself by questioning the strange group’s leader, “So, where are we going exactly?”

Satisfied with Penelope's silence, the leader now turned his attention to Crow. "I suppose I can bother to give you that answer... It's our temporary camp. You see, it's been a very long and diffcult task tracking you people down. Finding the right time to strike isn't exactly easy either. I think you'll agree that we have a rather nice setup despite it all though." He spoke with a pride of a nobleman. Penelope narrowed her eyes at him.

"Anyways, you'll see what I mean soon enough. It's not that far afterall." He added before picking up his pace again and returning to the front of the group. In the distance, Penelope could make out a few other figures of people wandering about past the forest trees. She figured that was the camp that they spoke of.

It wasn't long before the group reached the camp. It was rather simple but heavily supplied. As Penelope had guessed, these people were not of lower class. With their arrogance, battle skills, and supplies, it was clear to see that they were well funded. A large firepit was at the very heart fo the camp but was not yet lit. Looking around further she spotted the place where William and Abraxas were chained up. Both seemed to have taken a rather good beating. William had a dignified and vicious look in his gaze while Abraxas seemed more tamed. There was a sense of relief that washed over Penelope now that she knew her comrades were still alive. It was then that her gaze became slightly more observant. It was time to come up with a way out of this mess.

"Well now, welcome to our humble abode." The man announced with false warmth as he turned on his heels to face them again. "I suppose we should start with reuniting you with your friends now shouldn't we?" His eyes gleamed as they swept over the two. "Please, make yourself at home before we get down to business."

Crow wondered about the leader’s answer to his question. So this group had been tracking them for a while now. Why would they bother to do that? The wagon the king had provided them with didn’t contain many things of value, and these men didn’t look like they were in need of either money or equipment. As far as the thief could tell, there was nothing special about him or his companions—at least, there was nothing special enough to warrant any attention—so it made no sense to him that the strange men would want to capture them. For a moment he wondered if they were working for the Younisian king, but that didn’t seem likely. None of the men had the slightest hint of an accent, and the Younisians were far too proud of a people to hire Brerratic mercenaries. So what did they want with him and the three knights?

Crow put the thought aside as they arrived in the group’s camp. He stopped walking and looked around, taking in as many details as he could. It was small and rather plain for his taste, but he supposed it was a perfect fit for their purposes. Its simplicity was also a problem for the thief in that he wouldn’t have very many options if he tried to escape. There were few places to hide and the entire area could be kept under watch by a small number of guards. If he tried anything, he would likely be caught within minutes... Well, he could always hope for a proper distraction, but the chances of that happening were slim as well. Overall, the setup put him at a major disadvantage.

Soon Crow spotted William and Abraxas, who were both chained to a tree near the middle of the camp. They looked quite roughed up as if they had also tried to fight off these unusual attackers. He shivered, wondering if they had gotten their injuries before or after they had been caught. Penelope seemed to think these men were after information, but to what extent would they go to get it? Had they already tried to pry at the other two knights? The thought was unnerving.

“Well now, welcome to our humble abode,” the leader was saying. “I suppose we should start with reuniting you with your friends now shouldn’t we? Please, make yourself at home before we get down to business.”

“‘Make ourselves at home,’ you say?” Crow mused. “Well then, do you have any food? I’m famished.”

“Not that much at home,” one of the nearby men scoffed, giving the thief a push towards the tree where William and Abraxas were chained up. “Come on. Go sit with your friends until we’re ready for you.”

“But they’re not my friends,” Crow objected, planting his feet and giving the man a hard stare. “And if you think I’m just going to let you put more chains on me, you’re horribly mistaken.”

“Is that so?” the man narrowed his eyes and drew his sword, poking the thief in the torso with its point. “How about now?”

“You know, I think I’ve changed my mind,” Crow said quickly, stepping back from the blade. He glanced at Penelope. “I guess we’re going to join our ‘friends’ now.”

Penelope shook her head at Crow's failed attempt. "Can I at least get a bandage to stop the bleeding?" she then questioned with a glance at her injuried shoulder. The cut had been deep and wasn't quite slowing down. At this rate not only was her clothing becoming stained but, more importantly, she was starting to loose a good amount of blood. Not to mention if it was let open and unattended like this there was a greater chance of infection. "For the time being, no." one man stated. "Now come on. Move."

Penelope glanced over at Crow with a small sigh before looking back towards the other two knights and beginning to head in their direction with the escort of a couple of the men. William gave Penelope a curt nod which she copied in return. The men proceeded to chain Penelope and Crow up as well. To the knight, the feeling of chains was unnatural and a new sensation. Something she didn't much care for. "I have to give you credit for not going insane after a year of this.." she muttered to Crow.

"They're good for now. Come on. We have to go speak to Elizabeth now." the leader ordered the other men from afar. "Malrick and Ryder can take guard duty for now." The other men nodded and hurried to follow the other man. It wasn't long before the other two came and stood a few feet away from the four of them.

Penelope was partly glad they were foolish enough to allow for her to be so close to her comrades. It could potientially mean for an easier escape. Her gaze now ventured to William and Abraxas. "Seems they caught you two off guard I'm assuming?" she quesitoned.

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 had 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!”

Penelope began to take notice of how the thief tried to avoid looking at her wound and when he did catch a glimpse, he almost seemed sick. Perhaps he had a problem with blood? She glanced over at him for a moment as she began to realize this, thinking it strange for a famous thief like him to have such an issue.

When he suddenly snapped at the guards, Penelope tensed. She figured his concern was more for himself rather than her own well being but even if he was concerned, in a time like this she didn't want to show any weakness. Even the clearly visable ones. "I'm fine." Penelope grumbled lifting her gaze to glare coldly at the guards before they could reply. "If you think getting me a little light headed will get you the answers you want at a faster rate, then I'm afraid you're terribly wrong."

The guards didn't take kindly to either Penelope's nor Crow's talking. The one snorted and crossed his arms. "I'm not even sure why we need all four of you.... Especially a useless thief." he growled. "Anyways, we have strict orders to do nothing more than make sure you fools don't try anything. So no one's getting help for now." The other guard smirked confidently at his comrade's words before looking to Penelope and adding, "We'll get what we want one way or another."

“You most certainly are not fine,” Crow said quietly, throwing Penelope a glare. “You’re bleeding all over yourself! I don’t know about you, but I think that qualifies as a life-threatening injury.” He let out a frustrated huff and shook his head, closing his eyes as he tried to recompose himself. In the rational part of his mind, he knew he was acting ridiculous. He needed to calm down and stop getting so flustered over a wound that wasn’t even his own. He was needlessly working himself up, which in turn distracted him from plotting a plan for escape. His irrational fear was just causing more problems.

Crow opened his eyes when the guard called him useless. His discomfort momentarily forgotten, he shot the man a venomous look, “Pardon? I’m the most useful person in this little group. These knights are just my bodyguards.”

“Is that right?” the other man spoke up, crossing his arms. “And just how are you so useful, thief?”

Crow was about to respond, but William kicked him hard in the leg again and whispered harshly, “Shut up, you idiot. In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re trying to tell them nothing about what we’re doing here.”

“Why?” Crow frowned and studied the two guards standing before them. “They’re obviously not Younisian, and I doubt they’re smart enough to be spies, so what’s the harm in giving them what they want and going on our way? I’d much prefer to fess up and live than die keeping some secret for the king.”

“And that’s exactly why you need to shut up and let us handle the situation,” William snapped under his breath. “You like to act, so why don’t you play the role of a useless peasant? You can stand aside while Penelope, Abraxas, and I take care of these people.”

“Hey,” one of the guards interrupted sternly. “Stop talking over there.”

Crow shot William one final glare and dropped his gaze, fiddling irritably with the chains around his wrists. The group that captured them was undoubtedly hostile, but the thief still didn’t see what would be so bad about telling them about the king’s assignment. He was a survivor. If spoiling one mission meant that he could live to see another day, he had no problem in doing so. But, unfortunately, the knights didn’t seem to agree.

Penelope shook her head and let out an annoyed sigh. Seeing as the guards were done talking with them, she began to try and figure out how exactly they would be getting out of this place. As she looked around, she quickly spotted two figured approaching them. One was the man from before and at his side was a woman with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes... Penelope's gaze narrowed at the woman. It was the same person who had attacked her and Crow in the past.

"It's you again..." she muttered eying the woman as she walked up. The blonde looked at them, seeming rather satisfied. "Of course... Did you think you could just knock me over the head and get away with it?" her voice was rather cold as she sent a glare Crow's way.

"I'm assuming we're not just here because a pety thief knocked you out cold? If we are, I think you mighthave some anger issues." Penelope grumbled.

The woman snorted and rolled her eyes. "No fool. You're here because we learned about this little mission that you four misfits are going on.... Trying to prevent a war by stealing the staff of the rival king... How heroic." she said the words bitterly.

The knights seemed taken by surprise as she revealed that she already knew about why they were here. William clenched his hands into fists, clearly aggitated. "If you already know then why are we still here?" he growled.

"Besides that, why are you trying to stop us? You're nobles from this kingdom aren't you? We're trying to prevent a war!" Penelope added.

"It's simple. We want a war." she said with a cold smile. "More specifically we want to over throw the king. Of course, that's quite a difficult task considering that he has a whole army at his disposal. But if he also had a war going on at the same time... Well then, we have a higher chance of sucess wouldn't you agree?" The woman seemed pleased with her own planning. "As for why you're here, well, we could get quite a bit from using you knights. From telling us the weak points of the castle to battle strategies to using you to get further funding from your family. The possibilities are many... As for you thief," she turned towards Crow again. She studied him for a moment before shrugging. "Well... I'm not quite sure yet."