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.

[color=fff79a][b]“I heard talk about that job... Sending collectors down here, that is,”[/b][/color] Penelope’s voice drew him from his bitter thoughts. [color=fff79a][b]“Almost signed up for the job myself... That is, before I heard of this one.”[/b][/color]

“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.

[color=fff79a][b]“We’re oblivious to how it’s actually like here, though...”[/b][/color] the knight went on. [color=fff79a][b]“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…”[/b][/color]

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.”