What Penelope called a lack of self-restraint was, to Crow, a way of life. He shrugged apathetically at her judgmental words. There was no reason for her to be upset. Perhaps using another person wasn’t considered honorable to members of her status, but it had been a benign trick. He hadn’t hurt anyone, and it wasn’t like the servant had expected anything more to come from his flirting. He had made her feel good about herself with his complimentary words, she had pointed him to the nearest source of food, and they would both never see each other again. If anything, the knight should have been grateful that he’d done the work of locating dinner for the both of them.

He smirked amusedly when she ‘reluctantly’ agreed to let him eat. Her complaining belly was proof that she was just as hungry as he was. Though she tried to cover it up, he wasn’t going to let her off the hook that easily. “Right, and you’re not hungry at all?” he pilloried, elbowing her teasingly in the side. “I think your stomach disagrees.” Revenge for shoving him earlier. It was petty, but it was the most he could do to assert himself when his guards held all the power. For good measure, he laughed and started towards the dining hall, indicating her to follow him. “Come on. William wouldn’t like it if you left me alone in a place where I could ‘cause trouble.’ So let’s see what kind of food this part of the kingdom has to offer.”

He opened the door, holding it for Penelope to step through first—he had to keep up his act to win her over, after all—and entered after her. Like the rest of the inn, the dining hall was eloquent. However, Crow wasn’t interested in the décor. He wasted no time in seeking out an empty table and sitting down with Penelope, excited to have his first real meal since his incarceration. All the food that he and the other prisoners had eaten had been old and stale. He could barely remember what fresh produce tasted like. Sitting in a real restaurant that smelled of cooked dinners and strong drinks reminded him yet again that he was on his way to becoming a free man.

Wasting no time, he flagged over a bar wench to take their orders. The girl walked up to them with a bemused expression, having likely never seen a pair as odd as them before. Female knights and ragged thieves didn’t commonly frequent high-end establishments like this one. Fortunately, she was professional in her mannerisms and covered her intrigue with a businesslike friendliness. “What can I get for you, today?” she asked with a smile, only giving away her condescending thoughts with her eyes.

“I’m not picky,” Crow answered with a shrug. He couldn’t have cared less what the girl thought of him. “Just bring me as much food as you can pile on a small plate. I want to eat like a king tonight.” He winked at Penelope. It didn’t matter what she did to try and decrease the size of his portions. He would find a way around it. Besides that, he was beginning to realize that he enjoyed riling her up. It was entertaining to crack her humorless façade and make her scowl when he irked her. Every opportunity to do so was like a game to him, and he played to win.

Pushing his boundaries once more, he placed his hand on top of hers and smiled as if they were together, a gesture which likely confused the wench as much as he hoped it angered Penelope, “What would you like, dear?”