Crow let go of Penelope when she moved to pull away from him. He could tell that she was still unsteady on her feet, but he said nothing as the knight attempted to stand and walk on her own. Over the two days he had spent with her, the thief had learned that she could be as stubborn as an ass, so there was no point in trying to argue with her. He stood aside and crossed his arms over his chest, deciding to let her figure out for herself that she was in no condition to make the trip back to the inn without help.

Sure enough, Penelope soon had to rest a hand against him to keep from stumbling. Crow smirked, about to ask the knight if she had given up yet, but she was ridiculously persistent. She made one more attempt to walk by herself before admitting defeat and leaning into the thief for support. He just sighed and took her arm, slinging it over his shoulder and placing his other hand on her waist again to take up the same position as before. “Good effort, but I have to say I warned you,” he said wryly.

As they walked slowly along the village road, Crow watched the alleyways and dark corners between houses for signs of movement. He wasn’t particularly keen to be caught by a patrol of knights at that moment. A woman being carried by a thief wasn’t a normal sight anywhere in the kingdom. If a night guard saw them like this, he might get the wrong impression, and Crow definitely did not want to be arrested again. Thus, he travelled quietly and with caution.

After a while, they reached the inn where William had made arrangements for them to stay. Crow paused outside the front doors and turned to Penelope as another thought occurred to him, “So… did William ever say which room he was in?”