Crow stared at Penelope in surprise when she agreed to let him keep his dagger. He had been fully expecting her to ignore his protests and take the weapon away whether he consented to it or not. The knight was putting a lot of faith in him by knowingly allowing him to be armed like that. Was she honestly beginning to trust him or was she just playing at some sort of angle? He couldn’t think of any advantages she could gain by giving him the dagger, but maybe she knew something he didn’t. He slipped the blade back into his boot. Whatever she might have been planning, he now had a weapon he could use in his future escape. The dagger would be quite helpful when they reached the outer villages.

Crow took another bite of his apple and let out a quiet sigh as he watched the trees pass by the window. The journey was so dreadfully dull. He almost found himself hoping for another bandit attack just for the sake of entertainment. He finished off his breakfast, tossing the core out the window, and nestled more comfortably into the pile of blankets. With nothing better to do, he decided he might as well catch up on the sleep he missed from the previous night. He yawned and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off.

--

At about high noon, Crow awoke again. He was a bit dazed, momentarily forgetting why he was in the back of a wagon before he remembered the king’s assignment from the day before. Right. He was supposed to sneak into the palace of the king of Younis, steal a holy walking stick, and bring it back to his own king without getting killed or potentially smote by the Younisian gods. But, on the bright side, he was no longer locked up in a prison cell. That had to count for something.

Crow glanced across the wagon at Penelope. She didn’t seem nearly as concerned about watching him closely as she had been before. Somehow, getting attacked in the woods together seemed to have bonded them, if only just a little bit. She may not have fallen for him outright, but at least she appeared to trust him more. This was good news for Crow. If he could just get her to lower her guard enough, he wouldn’t even have to go through with the king’s ridiculous quest. He watched silently. She had been so nice to him lately that he almost felt sorry for manipulating her like this... Almost. The prospect of freedom was still too sweet for him to throw away to spare the feelings of one woman.

Thinking about his escape again, he felt his heartbeat quicken. They were getting close to the outer villages now. It wouldn’t be long before he found a chance to take off and leave these foolish knights behind. It was exciting, but he also knew the preparations had yet to be completed. He had to make use of the time he had left to get Penelope to trust him enough that he could get away from her.

[i]Just a little bit more.[/i]

“Well, that was a nice nap,” Crow said, raising his arms over his head in a long stretch. He glanced out the window and then turned to meet Penelope’s gaze across the wagon. “It seems like we still have a while to go before we reach the next village. How about we play a game? I’ve always enjoyed a good story, so here’s my proposition: If you tell me one from your days as a knight and I like it, then I’ll tell you something about myself.” He smiled at her mischievously. “I’m well aware that you have hardly any records on me. You must be dying to fill in the blanks, right?”