As they sat beside the edge of the water, Crow glanced at Penelope from the corner of his eye. The reflection of the water rippled across her face as she stared into it, making her look like almost ghostly. Her demeanor had changed a bit as well, he noticed. She seemed much more tranquil once they had reached the pond. It was a side he had never seen in her before, and in that moment, he found it difficult to view her with the same prejudices he held against the other knights. She almost looked like a young peasant woman, rather than a member of the king’s army. He found that he was relaxing a bit as well, despite himself.

He stretched out his legs and leaned back on his hands, closing his eyes serenely as a soft breath of wind rustled his dark hair. It really was peaceful, sitting there by the edge of the water. He had often taken moments alone like this before he went to prison, as he had always enjoyed seizing opportunities to stop and clear his head.

Even though part of his plan was to get the knight to trust him, Crow wondered if he was being a bit [i]too[/i] vulnerable with her. Relaxing beside the pond, he realized he had almost completely let his guard down. He had even shared a piece of his background with Penelope, which was something he hadn’t originally intended to do. The less she knew about him, the better. He would have to be more careful about what he said to her in the future.

[color=fff79a][b]“... Crow, right?”[/b][/color] Penelope said uncertainly, breaking the silence.

He opened his eyes again and stared at her in surprise. It was the first time he had ever heard a knight call him by his first name. A few of his prison guards had referred to him by his surname, Lockton, but the majority of knights he had met in his lifetime just called him “Thief.” She sounded so nervous when she spoke his name too. Her discomfort was amusing, but it also felt like she had somehow bridged an invisible gap between them. Until now, she had always treated him like a lowly criminal. For all he knew, she still thought of him that way, but now that she had used his name he felt hopeful that he could put an end to that. He just had to play his cards right. Maybe this was the moment he had been waiting for—the moment when he could turn the situation around in his favor; when he could begin truly plotting his escape.

After a brief pause, Crow smiled at her, “Yeah.” He turned back to the moonlit pond. “I’m glad at least one of you bothered to remember my name. I was beginning to think I was doomed to be called ‘Thief’ or ‘Idiot’ forever.”