I just had a cool idea for a lot farther along in the story. What if, after they come back from Younis, Crow and Penelope actually do end up going back to their regular lives (major time skip) and cross paths again two years later?
I remember that I had had an idea for a bigger plot twist, where there's a third kingdom that wants Brerra and Younis to go to war so they can swoop in and annex both kingdoms while they're weak.
Basically, I was thinking Crow either doesn't get the staff for some reason or Penelope gets ambushed by mercenaries from the unknown kingdom on her way back to the palace, and the staff is stolen from her, basically guaranteeing a war to happen.
So, two years later would put the scene right in the middle of the war. I was thinking Crow and Penelope would meet again because Penelope gets sent with a battalion of knights to fight Younis on the border where Crow lives.
Also, maybe at this point Penelope could have a nobleman (maybe another knight?) courting her for marriage, which would introduce a love triangle between them and Crow
I know it's a pretty big jump in the future, but I wanted to share it before I forget xD
What do you think?