Crow stifled a grin as Penelope gave in and grabbed the key from off the table and quietly unlocked his chain cuff from the bedpost. To his amusement, she attached it to her own wrist so they were bound together. He raised a brow at her curiously. That was a bold move. Physically, he was stronger than she was, and if he wanted to turn on her when they were alone, the chain would put her at an even further disadvantage by hindering her movement and preventing her from getting away. He would have thought it would be simpler to just bring a sword if she wanted to keep him in line. But there was no changing the woman’s mind once she had made it up, so he kept his opinion to himself.

[color=fff79a][b]“It’s much too early in the morning for me to be worrying about if you’re going to take off or not,”[/b][/color] Penelope murmured in her defense.

“Right,” Crow drawled sarcastically, rising to his feet. Standing so close to her now, he snuck a glance at her face. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but it seemed like she was uncomfortable being chained to him. [i]It’s like she thinks she’s going to catch a criminal bug or something,[/i] he thought irritably.

He followed the knight as she stepped towards the door. It was then that the thief realized another plus to their little midnight adventure. It would give him an opportunity to practice his stealth. Back in prison, he hadn’t had much room to work on his movement techniques. Fortunately, much of it had become habit, but he still felt a bit rusty. He wasn’t quite as light-footed as he used to be, and he even managed to step on a loose floorboard before he exited the room. He winced at the soft creak it made. A year ago, he never would have made such a careless mistake.

Once they were outside, Crow held up his chained wrist and winked at Penelope, “You know, you could have just asked to hold my hand if you want me to stay beside you. That would have been much more comfortable than this wretched piece of metal.” He shook his head and sighed.

“Anyway,” He glanced at her mischievously and leaned forward in a bow. “Where would m’lady like to go tonight?”