Crow settled down in his old spot by the blanket pile, fixing his gaze unsociably on the window as the wagon lurched forward. His first escape attempt had been a complete and utter failure, and it had soured his mood. As last minute as it had been, he had briefly gotten his hopes up that he would be able to go home sooner than he’d first expected. He wanted nothing more than to see something familiar after being isolate for so long. By this point, the outer villages felt like a distant dream. If only he had had more time to prepare, he could have made a clean getaway. Instead, he was back inside the carriage with Penelope and, to make matters worse, all of his guards were on even higher alert. He couldn’t afford to make a blunder like that again or he’d never get away. He would have to plan more carefully next time.

As they rode along, he noticed that Penelope had started to sneak more frequent glances at him. She was watching him much more closely than before now that she knew how eager he was to get away. Go figure. He toyed absently with the hem of his tunic, wearing an expression of boredom so as not to raise suspicion. If she could hear the thoughts running through his head at that moment, she would have clasped chains on his wrists in a heartbeat. The free range of motion he’d been granted was the only advantage he could hold onto right now. Losing that before they crossed the border into Younis would mean losing his chance to run, since he knew the foreign land even less than he knew the inner kingdom of Brerra.

With a sigh that was laced with both frustration and boredom, the thief glanced across the carriage at his guard. If he was going to get away from these knights, he needed to find a way to make her lower her guard again, otherwise she would catch him before he put one foot out of the wagon. He studied her discreetly. Underneath that cold exterior, she was still a woman. Perhaps he could try to win her over? Flirting had been a successful tool for him before, and he wouldn’t have to try very hard, since she was easy on the eyes. He decided it was worth a shot.

“You like what you see?” Crow said the next time he caught Penelope staring at him. He put on his most charming smile. “I can see you looking. I don’t blame you. Prison’s been hard, but I think I came out of it just fine, don’t you agree?” He chuckled to himself and leaned into the blankets, meeting Penelope’s eyes thoughtfully. “You know, I haven’t seen a pretty face in over a year. Yours is a nice break from those grumpy guardsmen I had to put up with for so long. I think I must have done something to please the gods to have been blessed with such beautiful company.”