At first, Crow thought Penelope was going to decline his offer to share a mug of ale. The surly expression on her face was something he was growing familiar with as they were forced to spend more time together. He had never expected to befriend his guards, especially when his thoughts were honed in on leaving them behind to return home, so instead, he took pleasure in ruffling their feathers. A sly smirk crossed his lips. He had caught other knights drinking on the job in the past, but it was absurd for a noble with any self-respect to split a pint with a criminal. He was certain she would turn down the drink and make another scathing remark about his “poor life choices,” or something else she disliked about him.

However, before anyone could open their mouths to speak, the thief blinked in surprise as she suddenly swiped the mug from his hand and downed a portion of the ale inside. The unexpected gesture left him briefly speechless. Rationally, he knew it wasn’t [i]that[/i] significant, but it was the first time any knight had set aside their differences even to do something as simple as accept a childish challenge. It was difficult for him not to dwell on the fact that, for a second, she had treated him like an actual member of the group instead of just a bothersome tool to be used. Maybe he had misjudged her.

To Crow’s further delight, Penelope embarrassed William with a threat to tell a story that the older knight was ashamed of. He grinned amusedly, his eyes concealing a newfound intrigue for his unorthodox guard. Until now, she had been nothing but cold around him, but it seemed like she had more faces than he’d first thought. He did have to wonder what had changed to cause her to loosen up so much though. Whatever it was, he hoped it happened more often. She was much more enjoyable to be around when she wasn’t glowering at him at all hours of the day.

After a while of dining and idle chatter—mostly between the knights, since Crow was more focused on filling his stomach than he was on talking—they were joined by Abraxas, who had finally finished making arrangements for the knights’ horses at the stable and had turned over their supply wagon to the local knights for safekeeping overnight. The others waited for him to order and eat a small supper before they all followed William’s lead to the room they would be sharing until their departure in the morning.

“It isn’t one of the nicest rooms at this inn,” the knight explained as they walked. “But the king doesn’t want us to draw more attention to ourselves than is necessary.” He glanced at Penelope. “We also need to save the money he gave us, so I only paid for one room. It is spacious enough for all of us and has a wooden divider if you should need your privacy.”

Subtly, Crow glanced at her as well, curious if she was upset about sharing her sleeping quarters with three men. He didn’t know how knights operated, but he did know that nobles were often strict about the ways in which they interacted with the opposite sex. William spoke about the arrangement as if it was normal, but it was hard to tell for sure, since female knights were a rarity by themselves.

The group soon arrived at a plain-looking door on the second level of the building, which William pulled open to reveal a plain-looking room with two beds, a table with a softly glowing lantern, and a wooden divider folded against one wall. Crow trailed after the others as they stepped inside, followed closely by Abraxas, who took up the rear to ensure that the thief didn’t try to escape. His gaze swept jadedly over the room. The knight hadn’t underestimated it. Their bed space was quite humble considering the kind of inn they were staying at. However, it was still far nicer than a prison cell, so he had no complaints.

“Penelope, you can take the far bed,” William instructed once the door had been closed behind them. “And Abraxas and I can take this one.”

“Hang on,” Crow piped up, narrowing his eyes. It hadn’t slipped past him that his name hadn’t been included in the list. “Where does that leave me? That bed isn’t going to fit three men, and I’m certain Penelope wouldn’t appreciate it if I tried to share with her.”

“You will be sleeping on the floor,” William answered as if it was obvious.

“That isn’t right,” Crow folded his arms belligerently over his chest. “I’m the whole reason you three are even going on this mission. You should have purchased a room with four beds.”

“It’s for the sake of keeping our heads down,” William sighed in exasperation. “The larger rooms are in a more conspicuous wing. Now stop complaining and hold out your hand.”

“Why?” the thief eyed him bemusedly.

“Just do it.”

“Alright,” Crow frowned, uncrossing his arms and extending his right hand. In the next instance, William caught him off guard by unclipping a chain cuff from his belt and locking it onto his wrist. He winced as the metal restraint galled his preexisting sores, bringing back unpleasant memories of the iron he’d worn just earlier that morning. “I thought I was done with chains when I left prison.”

“Well, I want to sleep,” William stated brusquely, dragging him over to the bed and attaching the other side of the cuff to one of the end posts. “I can’t stay up all night looking after you.” The knight carelessly tossed a blanket in his direction and turned back to his equals. “Get as much sleep as you can. We leave in the morning.”

Crow stared bitterly down at his “bed” for the night before letting out a long sigh and laying down on the cold floor. Just when he’d gotten his hopes up that he would be able to experience the luxury of sleeping on a plush mattress, he’d been reduced to street trash once again. Part of him was tempted to spite William and use his pick lock key to slip out in the middle of the night, but they were still far enough away from the outer villages—and in a town he didn’t know very well—that the appeal of having a free ride the rest of the way there was compelling enough to keep him planted for now.

Too tired to argue about the sleeping arrangements anymore, he reached for the blanket that the knight had left in a heap and pulled it over his body. At least the wood beneath him was more comfortable than the stone slab he’d had in prison. He would have no problem falling asleep on it.